Life is still good even with 2 kids...

Yes, she pulled off her bow all by herself.

We have a mini-ToysRus on our porch. My mom bought Ashbug this water table. He just figured out this week it's more fun to sit in it and splash than to just stand on the side. And in case you're wondering what is on his forehead David put a peace sign sticker on him. I guess because I get to put bows on Hannah he wants to help Ashton accesorize?

David blessed Hannah at church on Sunday. She was only 10 days old but we thought we better do it while my parents were already in TX. I don't know how many babies get blessed before their umbilical cord has fallen off. I would make an excuse about this picture being too close up and that's why I look chubby and tired - but the truth is I AM chubby and tired and VERY okay with that.

I should be sleeping...

But why not give a little update...
Ashton's obsession has moved from socks to shoes. And he always seems to choose David's.

He's adjusting to having a little sister like a champ. He still gives her kisses. And she has only one small flesh wound from him so far. We consider that a victory. He has my parents here spoiling him rotten and he is loving life. I hope he still loves David & I next week when it's just us again.

Little Hannah is doing her best to get rid of the jaundice. She spends a good hour in the mornings basking in the sun.

And is already staying awake for longer periods of time. Had to make this one black and white b/c her eyes still look a little yellow this close up.

David snapped this picture today which I thought was pretty classic.

They seem to like eachother fine in this one or they're just pretending like the other one's not there.

Recovery (knock on wood) has been a breeze. Lack of sleep is still in it's own category but it does not feel like I had a baby 8 days ago. Life is good and we still can't believe we have "children".

The whole story and pictures...

My mom and dad drove into town on Tuesday afternoon. A lot of phone calls went on about how when I would have her and how we could make sure my mom was here... anyway long story short my parents were baffled I had gone the whole pregnancy without being checked. So my mom said and I quote on Tuesday night before went to bed "So do you think you can just will this baby here?" I said "yes". And the story begins...

Fast forward to 3am that night. I have some back pain that wakes me up but it definitely wasn't anything timeable or even contraction like so I go back to sleep. 5:30 I wake up with distinct tightenings but I think these must be braxton hicks I'm going back to sleep. Around 6am I started to time them and they were 10-12 minutes apart but I could still lay down through them so I wasn't convinced today was baby day. Then just 30 minutes later I had to get out of bed. So I went out to the living room where my mom was already awake reading and said, "So you think I can't will this baby out?" and she said "Oh my gosh you're in labor...". My contractions still weren't very intense so we went out walking around the apartment complex and just 10 minutes later they were every 4 minutes apart. And starting to get a little more intense. It wasn't until we came back inside at 7am that I was convinced today was the day.

We woke David up and started to get stuff ready to fill up the birthing tub. It was around 7:15 when my mom started telling me to call the midwife and I wanted to hold off. Apparently she was getting nervous that I was going too fast because by now the contractions were just 2 minutes apart. So I called Cori and she said she'd head right down. The tub was filling and I was having serious contractions that I no longer could talk through. I kept saying I was going to wait till Cori came to get in the tub but around 8:00 I said forget it and I hopped in. I was still having intense contractions but they were only coming every 4 minutes now. Cori walked in at 8:20ish and started setting everything up right away. She never checked me she just listened to the baby's heartbeat and took my vitals and let me labor away.

Then before I knew it my body started to push with the contractions that were coming every 4 minutes. Then there was a period of 3 contractions really close and Hannah came out. Cori said look down and pick up your baby at 8:58am. And I pulled Hannah up right onto my chest. I don't know if it was the water but it was so distinct from pushing out Ashton. My body did all the work I never had to consciously think to push. Don't get me wrong it was still hard but it was so much more natural. Good thing my mom made me call the midwife because I wouldn't have and she only had 40 minutes from the time she got here until I delivered.


After that everything just went very calmly and slow after that. I nursed her for a good 20 minutes before they even measured or weighed her. Everything was so peaceful and normal. It was not a big event and I never felt pressure to do anything. I had exactly who I wanted around me and didn't have to worry about strangers coming in and out of my room offering me all sorts of random things. I was SO glad to be in my own bed with my own things around me afterwards. And while I hung out with Hannah the midwives with some help from David & my mom cleaned everything up. You would have never known I had just had a baby in our living room.
My mom and David now say that homebirths are the way to go. I'll never do this in the hospital again now that I know how easy it is to do at home.


And here she is...

David weighing Hannah. I've got to give BIG kudos to David. He thought I was crazy in the beginning but is always willing to let me explore my crazy ideas. How many husbands do you know would have been on board with this?

Ashton kept trying to poke her so finally today we let him hold her. He was so calm and gentle with her and just kept smiling and kissing her.

He loves his little sister and cried when I took her away.

Hannah is here!

We have a VERY cooperative little girl on our hands. My mom got into town yesterday afternoon and apparently Hannah knew we were just waiting on her. AND David only had to miss one class and is at school finishing up a root canal as I type.

We love her already! She nurses and takes a binky like a champ and pink is awfully cute :)

Stats:
Hannah Lei Jacobson
5/13/09
8:58am
7lbs 2ounces
20 inches long

So Kara is the winner and Chantel came really dang close.

Pictures and details about the birth tomorrow. But let me just say homebirths are the best!
Off to get some sleep - thanks for checking in.

Mother's Day!

I've got to admit I totally balled at church today when the primary kids were all up front singing "that's my mommy". Seriously, David had to tell me to compose myself - gotta love the hormones!

I'm so grateful for our moms. David & I never miss a day without remembering to give thanks during our prayers for our wonderful families. We truly do have two of the greatest women in the world that we both get to call mom! So Happy Mother's Day to you two. We LOVE you both and are so grateful for all you've done for us.

In other news, no baby yet (obviously, right?). I'm VERY grateful little Hannah has decided to stay put. My mom gets in Tuesday afternoon around 4:30ish so I'm hoping she'll make it in plenty of time. She no longer thinks I'm crazy for doing a homebirth and is getting pretty excited to be apart of it. Who knew my mom and sisters would come so far when it was just 2 years ago that they all thought I was a little bit nuts for switching to a midwife when I was pregnant with Ashton. I'm sure they still think I'm nuts but they don't think I'm full on crazy - right guys? Plus I know that everyone is dying to hear about it afterwards.

Anyway, we're hoping Hannah will be super cooperative and come Wednesday night. We might just be indebted to her forever if she does. You see, David is in his last week of clinic of his 3rd year and he needs, needs, NEEDS, absolutely every hour in clinic to finish all of his requirements. Due to some very flakey patients this year he's cutting it down to the wire finishing basically his last four fillings on Friday afternoon. Thursday is his only break from his own patients when he'll be on Oral Surgery rotation which he could actually miss. If I go into labor during 9-5 on Mon, Tues, Weds or Fri he might just get a phone call that says your wife is in labor and he still will need to finish a filling. So we're hoping for labor at night again!

Anyway, that's the update for us. Hopefully the next post says Hannah is here!

Rainy Days

It's been raining a ton in Dallas lately and the poor bug was tired of being trapped inside. So we let him outside to play in the rain on Saturday. I went with him to supervise and David stayed dry and took this picture through the screen.

Once we decided he was wet enough we let him play on the porch. You can't see from the picture but he had dirt caked all on his chin and neck.

He decided to give his beloved car a bubble bath which was very thoughtful.

And then he decided to taste the bubbles. I love this picture- he is such the little boy in his camo shorts and crocs.

And finally when the rain stopped and he was dry he decided he would rest a little with me & Hannah.