Home Visitors

Here are a few pics of some of T's first visitors once we got home.

On Our Way Home

Here are a few pics of our journey home from the hospital with all 3 kids. We were very fortunate that a good friend and someone that has been watching the kids for 3 years was able to keep the older 2 kids while M and I went to the hospital.

He's such a proud and good big brother!

He's Here!!!!

Teagan Ford arrived on Monday, March 22 @ 5:34 p.m. He weighed 7 lb 6 oz and was 20 in long. The delivery went fairly quickly.

After getting stuck in traffic, picking up the kids something to eat, and then dropping them off at the sitters, we finally made it to the hospital about noon and was admitted about 12:30. Although I was having contractions, I had not dialated much more since my last Dr. visit, so they went ahead and started the induction. I got an epidural about 1:34 p.m. and 4 hours later, our precious son arrived with bleach blonde hair. K was SO excited that he was right about the baby being a boy. During delivery the Dr. told me I dislocated my tailbone, but much to my surprise, it hasn't hurt at all. Of course, I did send a prayer request out before I left the hospital so I'm sure that had something to do with it. ;-) God is amazing!

The past few days have been filled with wonderful company and a mile long to-do list, but the adjustment hasn't been bad. The kids absolutely LOVE their new brother and shower him with hugs and kisses. K loves to help get diapers for me when I change T and L just runs around screaming "baby".

T saying his bedtime prayers!

Maybe Today???

I'm scheduled to have an induction tomorrow, but I may not make it. I've been up since 2:30 a.m. with contractions and throwing up. I do have to say that oranges taste much better going down than coming up. I asked M to call in to work so he could stay home with me and help take care of the kids and get the van ready in case we do go in today/tonight. I'm planning on waiting as long as I can before heading to the hospital as I don't want to be in there any longer than I need to be. Of course, if I could get some rest in the hospital, that might be good too.

I guess I'm not going to get the oil changed in the van today. :-)

Either way, the next time I post, I'll probably have pictures of the newest blessing. I know K is ready as he keeps counting down the days until the baby gets here. It's really cute and he is SO excited about helping out.

2 Days Left

With only 2 days left until we meet our newest blessing, the names we had picked out have possibly changed, which is exciting to me. Now, we can meet the baby and then decide which name fits him/her best. I slept pretty good last night, but my back has been aching all morning as I prepared for church. I'm planning on taking my camera to church today just in case we end up in the hospital today. I'm not holding my breath, but it would be an ideal day for it.

The Fort

Ms. Alex watched the kids for us the other night so M and I could go on a date. When we got home, this was in our living room. K slept in it until about 4 a.m. and then got in bed with us because he was cold. I think they used every blanket they could find that wasn't in our bedroom.

A Different Perspective @ 39.5 weeks

39.5 weeks - notice my "outie" belly button. VERY obvious! There's no hiding it so I don't even try.

With only a few days left until my actual due date, my belly and baby are continuing to grow. Here's a different angle. To me, it looks like a movie belly; I just can't take it off when I want to go to bed. ;-)

Spring Time

We went to the park the other day for our MOPS playdate. The kids had a good time.

On our way to Ms. Alex's to play while mommy goes to her final Dr. appt. before the baby arrives.

It's Paying Off!

He's getting a lot better at his flips. Gymnastics is paying off!

Oh, How Things Change!

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day and she was a little freaked out about the video of the baby that I had posted. In our conversation I told her about the odd shapes my stomach takes on because of the baby's movement. It just so happened that same night I was able to take a picture of exactly what I was telling her about and thought I would share it with everyone.

Here's a picture of my current ankles, or at least what's left of them. Can you see the sock lines? I'm SO swollen that I can no longer wear my wedding ring because I can't get it on and if I did get it on, I probably wouldn't be able to get it off. Oh, the things our body goes through when we are given one of God's greatest blessings.

Ms. Independent

Since my daughter was able to push a chair, she's been pushing it to the fridge to open the door so she could get something to eat when SHE wanted it. She's also been "stealing" frozen fruit from the freezer since she was about 18 months old (as soon as she was strong enough to open the freezer). She really has been showing a lot of independence even from an incredibly young age. Those of you that read this know that she's potty trained, but recently it's hit a whole new level. I used to leave the light on in the bathroom in case she ever wanted to take herself. I quickly realized she couldn't even pull her clothes down so I really didn't have anything to worry about. The other day, it all changed. As I was in the living room talking on the phone, my son come running to me yelling, "Mommy, she needs to go potty." As quickly as I could, being that I'm 38.5 weeks pregnant, I ran to the bathroom only to find my daughter naked, sitting on the potty, and holding her hand out to me telling me "no". Apparently she didn't need or want my help. Not only did she not want my help, but she didn't even want me in the bathroom. She even wiped herself, which is where I insisted on stepping in. I HAD to make sure she was clean. I restrained from laughing because it really wasn't funny, but to see someone so tiny and so independent really is cute. At times her independence can be a little frustrating, but it truly is a blessing knowing that she wants to learn and do things on her own.

12 Days Left

I had my 38 week appointment today and everything went good. Although, I'm still dilated to a 1, the baby is lower than it was last week and my cervix has actually started to drop and is softening. The doctor even did the wonderful "stripping of the membrane" to help speed things along. Of course, it didn't help with my other two, but again, this pregnancy is SO different than the other two were that there is NO telling what will happen. Since I'm not confident that I will go into labor early or on my own without passing my due date, we scheduled an induction for March 23, the day before I'm actually due. I would love to go into labor on my own and wouldn't even mind having it past the due date (like in April so I can have 3 April babies), but I decided to work it around my husband's schedule so he can be there without having to take a day off. Due to the fact that we are inducing during the week, this will be the first time my mom won't be in the delivery room with me. She's such a great support and encourager. I'm going to miss having her there, but will savor the moments of it just being me and my husband as we will be the first two (aside from the Dr. and nurses) to know the gender of the baby.

K's Dental Appt.

K had a dental appointment today. It was his first one in over a year and it was at a new dentist that is not considered a "pediatric" dentist. He did SO good. I was a little disappointed that I forgot my camera because of how well he did. Not only did he sit there and do everything she asked, but there was no hesitation on his part to let her "count" or clean his teeth. He did better with her in an adult chair than he did with his former pediatric dentist in the children's chair with the television on the ceiling. Although they didn't do any x-rays this time, the outcome was good. He has 20 teeth and his 6 year molars are right under the surface waiting to come out, one of his bottom front teeth is a little loose, and he didn't have any cavities. She also said he has a good bite and the little gaps in between his teeth are a good thing because it allows for his "big" teeth (I can't say adult) to come in without them being too crowded. I guess it's a good thing by daughter has lots of gaps in her teeth. ;-)

It's Alive!

Watch closely!

9 Years!

It's been 9 years since the day I said, "I do" to my wonderful husband and every year gets better and better. I never anticipated the day I married him, or even the first year of our marriage, that our love for one another would deepen as much as it has. I knew we were both very committed people that didn't give up easily and were both in this for the long haul, but I had no idea what the long haul would entail. There have been very trying times, but the good FAR outweigh any and all growth cycles that we had.

I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful husband that keeps me in line but adores me and helps me want to be a better person. He's a great dad and I love watching him with the kids. He's such a great example of a loving husband and dad that K, our almost 5 year old, is looking forward to getting married one day (when he's around 30 of course).

I'm looking forward to more decades with M as we grow together.

A Visit From Granny Nee

This past weekend, my mom was able to drive down for a quick visit. It was really nice to be able to see her right before I have the baby and the kids had a blast. I'm amazed at how much energy my mom has and can only pray that I have half the energy she does when I'm her age. The kids love being around her because she almost has as much energy as they do. I don't know how she does it! While she was down, K talked her into helping her dig to China. Later, he realized that they would probably never get to China by digging because they would burn up before they reached the other side. His suggestion was to take a fan to cool off the center of the Earth.

Week 37

Well, another week and another Dr. appt has gone by with no change. I wasn't really expecting any change, but one can hope. I'm really anxious to meet our new blessing and introduce him/her to his/her brother and sister and to the rest of the world. A friend of mine mentioned on a previous post that someone told her that your lips swell right before you have your baby. She said the night someone told her that, her water broke. I have noticed that the baby has dropped a little. It seemed like I was awake all night last night for bathroom breaks. Here are a few pics of me at 37 weeks and 5 days.
Look how wide my nose is! I never noticed it with my first two until I looked back at pics, but it's obvious this time! ;-)

Week 36

I didn't post anything about my 36 week appointment because there was no change. I was still dilated to 1 cm and the baby was still low. Fortunately, because of the massage I had the Monday prior to my appointment, I was feeling great and felt as though I could actually make it another 3 weeks, comfortably.


Now that I'm approaching 37 weeks and another Dr. appointment, the feeling of "good" is starting to vanish. Although the pain I had from carrying the baby low is gone thanks to the wonderful massage I got, other things are starting to change. My sinus issues finally caught up with me. I was hoping to avoid them all together this pregnancy, but better the last few weeks than the first 12 weeks, like when I was pregnant with my daughter.


The past two days have been a little bothersome. I have been very nauseous and my sinuses were dry yesterday and last night and can't seem to stop running today. With the sinus drainage I also have a slight headache, but at least it's slight and not intolerable. I go for my weekly on Thursday. I'm not expecting any change as my back pains and contractions are very minimal.


Did I mention that my nose has widened. I never noticed that with my other two until I looked back at pictures, but with this one, it is VERY noticeable.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I got another ultrasound. We only stayed in the facial region as not to "accidentally" find out the gender of the baby. I have to say though that this one looks a lot like K did in his late ultrasound pics. I'm getting very excited about meeting the newest addition and watching K and L interact with him/her.