Dressed in White

The other day when my Mom was here she took some pictures of Alice and I dressed in white. 

I'm so glad we captured these sweet moments.

Here I am with all 3 of my children. It's amazing how quickly they grow. I am so very grateful to be their Mother.

Counting our Blessings

Today was a hard day at home with the kids. I called Wes to see if he could come home early from work to help out. He told me he would be home around 4:30. As 5 o'clock came around I tried calling him but he didn't answer. It wan't unusual for him to be home later than expected. Someone or something comes up right as he is about to leave for work. But I was starting to worry about him.  

We decided years ago that if there was an emergency that we would call 3 times. If the other one didn't answer and they noticed 3 missed calls we would call the other one back immediately. But Wes didn't today. He finally called me around 5:15. He told me that he was in a car accident, he was in an ambulance on his way to the hospital. 

I cried. He said that he felt okay they were just going to take him to the ER and do some tests to make sure he was okay. Since we only had the one car I had no way of getting to him. After talking with my parents I called Wes' mother and she immediately went to the hospital as well as his brother Adam.

 I felt so helpless at home. I really wanted to be there but I knew I needed to take care of my 3 children. A social worker from the hospital called me every hour to give me an update of what was going on and how Wes was. I cried each time I talked with her. 

Finally around 8:30 Wes called me and told me all the tests came back good. They were releasing him from the hospital. When he came home about an hour later I came him a hug and couldn't bring myself to let go. I was so very grateful he was okay and that he was still here with us. His brother left his car for us to use until we were able to figure out other arrangements. 

There have been multiple car accidents here in town where people have died on impact. I am just so very grateful Wes is still here with us. I love him so much and am counting our blessings tonight.

Here is what Wes wrote about the accident:

Yesterday I was driving home from work alone in my vehicle. Shamefully I was driving distracted. As I looked up from the distraction I saw brake lights in my immediate vicinity I slammed on my brakes and attempted to swerve but could not avoid the inevitable. Thankfully the other driver sustained only minor injury...

I share that story and pictures to hopefully help teach myself and others a lesson and...

I now vow to all of you as I hope you will too: I will never again use my phone when driving. My calls can wait my texts will wait, and my phone will be waiting in the BACKSEAT until I come to a complete stop! I will strive to end all distracted driving!

10 days old

Our little Alice is 10 days old today. We have loved having her! She is such a sweet baby. She doesn't cry much only when she is really tired. She doesn't like to be put in her bed when she is awake. You have to get her to sleep first. 

Sophie and Oliver have both been sick so I've been trying to distance myself and Alice from them. They have loved having Alice around. Oliver cried when he first saw me feeding her. He was convinced she was going to eat me. He's now okay with me feeding her and knows that she will not eat me. :)

Sophie and Oliver are also both convinced that she has teeth. I think they now understand that she will get them when she gets older. They have been really funny this time around. I sure do love all three of these little ones. The days are long and hard and at the end of the day I'm just glad to have made it through. 

For the first week Wes was able to take time off of work and be home with us. It was so wonderful to have him around. It's been hard with him gone but my Mother has been coming over to help out. Each day I am so grateful for this sweet little one. She has such a sweet spirit about her. 

Introducing Alice Mae Womble

Since we didn't know the gender of the baby I asked Sophie if she wanted me to tell her on the phone or come to the hospital and see for herself. She decided upon that latter. I called my Mom when we were ready to have her bring them. 

I had made a heart garland that had pink, red and white hearts and one that had blue hearts and gray arrows. We told them that if they saw the first one on the cradle it was a girl or the blue one a boy. That was their clue. 

When they entered the hospital room they looked at the cradle and then at me. Where I was holding Alice. I then told them to come and meet their sister. Sophie was smiling from ear to ear. It was so priceless to see their reactions. 

It's a girl!!!

 I was scheduled to be induced tomorrow but wasn't given a specific time. They told me to call them around Noon. I was number 5 on the induction list. They told me to take it easy and enjoy my night. Little did we know we would be welcoming this little one. 

It all started yesterday when Sophie came home from school. Wes was taking the kids on a walk and I decided to join them. Which shocked everyone. It was a simple walk, just around our little neighborhood. At 5:30pm I started having contractions but they were very inconsistent. They were 10 minutes apart then 25, then 10 again. 

Since we live 30 minutes away from the hospital where I was going to deliver our doctor suggested leaving our house when the contractions were 7 minutes apart. But they never got that close together. They stayed consistently inconsistent all night long. Around 11pm they started to get more painful but never got closer together. Finally at 11:30 I woke up Wes and told him it was time. I then called my Mom and told her it was time. The original plan was to have my mom come here and then we would go to the hospital. Instead I told her to meet us at he hospital in 30 minutes. Wes got Sophie and Oliver in the car while I gathered our bags. 

It was a long drive to the hospital. Oliver fell back asleep quickly but the contractions were getting so painful that I was screaming and quite uncomfortable. Which kept Sophie awake. I looked over at the spedometer and Wes was only going 65 mph. I had to keep telling him to drive faster. He finally got up to 70 mph. It was the longest most uncomfortable drive I've ever had. 

We finally arrived at the hospital at 12:30am and met my parents. They quickly took over Sophie and Oliver and gave me some hugs and good luck wishes. We couldn't find a wheelchair for me to sit in so I walked to the elevator. Once at Labor and Delivery Wes took over and told them all my information. I was hunched over the counter trying to remain calm. They sent me to a room to change so they could check me. It seemd like it took forever but was really only a few minutes. While waiting I had a really big contraction and started yelling and screaming. A nurse finally came in and I was able to lay down. She said in a shocked voice that I was already at an 8. They asked if I wanted a wheelchair but I guess I just kept walking. They admitted me and had me lay down on the bed where they hurried and started an IV. I had tested positive for Group B Strep  so they needed to start the antibiotics quickly. They then informed me that the Anestheiologist was doing a c-section and would not be able to give me my epidural. 

I had not planned on doing this all on my own. I was mad at the nurses and kept saying, "You guys!" over and over again. They told me this baby was coming in the next 20 minutes and there was no time for an epidural. They called the doctor on call and we all waited for her to come. My water hadn't broke yet which surprised all the nurses. I was in so much pain and kept yelling and screaming. I just wanted this baby out as soon as possible. 

The doctor finally arrived and broke my water. As soon as she did I had a sudden urge to push. She told me to slow down. But I didn't hear her. I wanted this baby out! I also quickly told them we didn't know what we were having. After one big push Wes was the one to tell me, "It's a girl!" I was so shocked that it was a girl and relieved to have her out. 

As they layed her on top of me I was still in shock. Shock that I gave birth to her all on my own. Without any meds. I wasn't prepared mentally to do that but I'm so glad that she came so quickly. I don't know if I could have been in labor with her any longer. The pain was excruciating! 

As they took care of me I felt everything. The doctor numbed me a bit but it didn't work very well.  I was so glad to have this sweet baby girl in my arms. It helped to hold her to forget about the pain a little bit. After they were done taking care of me they brought our daughter over to the scale and weighed her. She weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and was 19 inches long. She was so beautiful and perfect!