Photos from Christmas

While we were home in Billings for Christmas, Ann had a friend come over and take some family photos... Here are some of the best ones:

Labor & Delivery Story

So here is the L&D story this second time around.

If you want the FAST version (minus details... don't worry they are not gruesome at all) head on down to the bottom of the post:

To be honest, if I could have a labor like this every time... We'd be in business!

So to start off the story, Ben has been planning an Annual Awards Banquet for the base for the last few months. Because of the ice storm, original plans were altered, but Ben went ahead with the original date of the banquet, which was February 12th.

My Mom was supposed to get here Friday afternoon, but her flight was cancelled due to a big snow storm in Dallas. She bought another ticket for Saturday afternoon...

On Wednesday night I noticed my contractions were a little more painful then just plain old braxton hicks, but they weren't regular. I contracted randomly throughout the night and was practicing my breathing (knowing the contractions were only going to get a lot worse). Thursday, less contractions... but the pain was the same. I kept thinking to myself, this has got to be doing something to my cervix.

Things started happening at about 2pm on Friday. The contractions were getting even stronger, I was still practicing my breathing, focusing on relaxing through the contractions. To tell you the truth, I didn't really think I was in labor. My body had been tricking me throughout the last few weeks contracting regularly... so I really didn't think this was it.

At 3:30 I took Belles for a walk (or I should say that Bella took me for a walk) we stopped and talked to neighbors and I joked saying I was going to try and hold off until the banquet was over. At this point the contractions were 5-6 minutes apart. Still really didn't think I was actually in labor. Just before 5pm I called Ben at work to see how preparations were going for the banquet and I told him "I don't want to put a kink into things... but I just want to let you know that I am contracting every 6 minutes". I told him I was going to go drop Bella off at the Church for parents night out and then let him know how I felt.

15 minutes later, Ben called and was on his way home. The Wing Commander heard that I was contracting every 5-6 minutes and kicked Ben out of Banquet planning preparations. I got nervous at this thinking to myself... what if this is just false labor?

Well as soon as Ben got home, the contractions started getting more intense. Perfect timing! So at 5:30 we loaded into the car and drove to the Church to drop Bella off at parents night out.

We got to the hospital, in processed and was in the room at 5:45. The nurses monitored me for about half an hour, and then checked me. At this point I was asked what kind of pain medication I would like... to which I responded: NOTHING! I have always wanted to have a totally natural labor, without any pain medications

I was at a 7 and 100% effaced and my bag of waters were protruding. I guess I was in labor!

The doctor was called in at this point and said that he thought we'd have a baby within an hour of breaking my water. Wow... in between contractions I kept looking at Ben and saying "this is SO different then last time"!!! The doctor broke my water just after 7:00. My contractions did get more intense, but luckily stayed about 4-5 minutes apart... so it gave me good time to relax and watch the opening ceremonies for the Vancouver Olympics!

At 7:30 I had two REALLY painful contractions and felt the pressure on my bottom. Doctor checked me and it was time to push.

This time around I really 'got' the pushing part. I pushed through about 4 contractions and our little mister was born at 7:42! CRAZY! I just couldn't believe it when the doctor said if you push like that during your next contraction, we'll have a baby on the next push!!!!

So Ben missed the banquet he had been planning... But all went well without him there. At least he had a good excuse! Col. Thomas even announced our new arrival at the end of the banquet!

A little boy! It is a little crazy to think we now have a son. When he came out, I was shocked how fast and relatively easy it was. I was also shocked, because he looked nothing like Isabella! He is so fair and his hair is so light compared to hers. He actually has PEACH FUZZ... compared to Isabella's BLACK FUZZ what was all over her body.

He's so cute and precious! We are so thankful for the safe and easy delivery. Thanks for all of your prayers and support. We are so grateful!

QUICK RECAP:

February 12, 2010

2:30- Contractions got painful and noticed they were coming somewhat regularly

3:30- Bella and I went for a walk down the street... Contractions every 5-6 minutes. Painful enough to have to stop walking and breath through.

5:00- Informed Ben that I was contracting every 5 minutes

5:15- Ben came home

5:30- Dropped Isabella off at the Church for Parents Night Out

5:45- Arrived in hospital room, started monitoring labour

6:15- Nurse checked me... at a 7 and 100% effaced

7:00- Doctor broke my water

7:30- Started pushing

7:42- Ethan Abner Shaub was born, 100% drug free!

The End... or should I say... Just the beginning of our lives with this little man!

Isabella Meets Ethan!

This is a little video of Bella right after Ben brought her into the hospital room to meet her little brother for the first time...

She has been an absolute wonderful BIG sister so far!

Isabella loves making sure Ethan has his susu in his mouth and his blanket. She wants to see him all the time and is very concerned when Ethan starts to cry. Today Ethan was in our room sleeping, while Ben, my mom and I were eating dinner and Isabella went to check on her little brother and came back saying oh o, oh o, oh o... And sure enough Ethan was crying.

What a great big sister.

Ethan's 1st Shrinking Bear Photo

Here's our little man at 4 days old. What a cutie!

He's Here!

Friday was a BIG day!

We became a family of 4 and welcomed a son into our family.

Ethan Abner Shaub

February 12, 2010, 7:42pm

7lbs 8oz, 20 inches

All the prayers over the last little while were answered, as the labor and delivery was NIGHT & DAY compared to last time. Details to come later... For now here is our little man making his debut into the world!

Our little pea!

Going home giraffe outfit!

Bella and Maddie

Maddie is Isabella's best little buddy! They have a hoot with each other whenever we get together.

Julie watched Belles when I had a drs apt a few weeks back and took this cute video.

This is literally what these girls do every time we get together... their nursery workers even tell us, that when in the nursery Maddie and Bella chase each other non stop. Notice how Bella just goes the way she wants, never sharing directions with Maddie (we might have to work on that). That girl sure does LOVE to get chased!

How Cute!

38 weeks!

I must say I am a little surprised this baby hasn't come into the world yet.

But I will also say, that I am feeling really good about things.

At my dr's apt on Monday I was dilated to a 3 and 50% effaced.

I've moved on from the 'get this baby out' faze. I guess knowing that my body is preparing the way it should for a natural delivery, makes me realize he/she will come when their ready... and I'm fine with that.

Here is my 38 week photo:

Ben just took this photo tonight and I have been contracting every 10 minutes. Will baby come tonight... or tomorrow? I say... hopefully!

And check out my new pink slippers.

Weather Update

Here are the rest of the photos I took as we were heading out of town after 24 hours without power or heat! These photos were taken after more freezing rain and snow from the last post!

Literally all of the trees here on base looked like this:

All of the branches were droopy or broken off due to the ice accumulation. And as it turned out over 200 power poles between here and Lawton had the same fate and snapped to cause the power outage.

We stayed in Wichita Falls through the weekend and headed back up to Altus for my OBGYN apt on Monday afternoon. I have to say, I was getting nervous being away from home and all the logistics if I had gone into labor down in WF. So after my apt we decided to buy... I mean invest in a generator. We were lucky that our furnace hooked directly into the generator so we were able to heat the house have a few lights on, get the fridge plugged in and even enjoy a little technology while watching a movie.

The power finally came back on yesterday morning (Wednesday morning) after 6 days without electricity. So I must say we have been thoroughly enjoying having the modern day convenience of electricity! Even though we only used the generator for two days, I am happy to say that I would buy one again is a second to be at home. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed! Not to mention the forecast for tomorrow is freexing rain and snow... who knows, we just might have to use the generator again!

Weather update

Well, Friday afternoon Ben decided he had had enough of the cold and boredom and started calling for a hotel in Lawton. Evey hotel room in
Lawton was booked, so he started calling Wichita falls for a hotel. Luckily we were able to get a room. So here we are... In wf and I must say I am thankful to have a warm place to sleep. I've heard FEMA hAs declared oklahoma in a stAte of emergency. Perhaps we are, but I keep thinking about the tragedy in Haiti and the people down there. We may not have power and we may have lost The majority of our trees and a little of our modern day conveniences... But we still have our health, houses, food, water and EachothEr. Not to mention that our family is enjoying the luxury of warmth, while many families in atus are not as fortunate.

With thAt all said I find this situation quite humorous! Those of you who have been following the blog since before Bella was born will remember the tornado and straight winds that ripped through Altus in June 2008. We lost power then too and headed up to okc for the weekend. The next weekend Isabella was born during a tornado warning, where I went from a 6-10 in the hall of the hospital. It was a crazy and chaotic birth to say the least.
And now this baby...although due on the 17th, at my apt last Monday I was dilated to 1-2 and 25% effaced and lost my mucous plug on Thursday. So now the question is... Will this baby come during the worst snow/ice storm in oklAhoma history. At least the hospital in Altus has power from generators! I Am supposed to have another ob apt tomorrow, but with no power, who knows! Rumor has it, Altus could be without power until tuesday or wednesday. So I guess we will stay here until we get word of the power coming back on, or I go into labor before then. What an adventure.

Please keep all the families in Altus who are without power and not as fortunate to stay in a warm hotel in your prayers. I would say over half the town is in this boat.
I'll keep everyone posted via ben's I touch.
As for now I'm signing off warm and still with child!

Oh the Weather Outside is frightful!

But I like it!

Bella slept in until after 10... Ben is home, as the base is closed. I'm still in my pajamas and we are just hanging out. It's supposed to get worse in the next 24 hours. Oklahoma has declared a State of Emergency... which to me is humorous, considering its just snow and ice... and where I am from, it's the norm. Here, not so much!

Here is what it looks like outside:

I had a dream last night that I delivered the baby in the car on the way to the hospital, because Ben had to drive so slow on the icy roads. Wouldn't that be funny... Isabella born during a tornado and this baby born during a snow/ice storm!

As of right now... that will most likely NOT happen... and thankful for that!

As long as we have power, I'll keep posting photos of the weather outside. Our lights have been flickering... so who knows if I'll be able to!

Keeping busy!

I have been keeping busy lately while Bella has been napping!

I have wanted this (a photo printer) since my birthday...

and finally ordered it after Christmas. It has revolutionized my scrapbooking capabilities. Very exciting!

Here are some of the layout I have done for Bella's scrapbook. They aren't totally done yet, I still have to do some journaling.

36 weeks

Here I am at 36 weeks! I feel huge! I am huge... well at least my belly is!

At this point in my pregnancy with Isabella I was still going strong teaching spin... I really never got to the point in that pregnancy where I was like "get this baby out!". I felt great up until the day I went into labor.

With this baby, I must say that I am READY! I haven't been sleeping the greatest, my heartburn is kicking in hard core and I feel huge. And my favorite thing in the world is when people tell me that I'm huge or comment on how big I am. Common people have a little compassion for the ready to pop pregnant women!

Hopefully I wont have to share another 4 weeks of Pregnancy photos with you all. I would be perfectly fine with this baby coming early.

34 Weeks

Just when I thought this baby couldn't get any higher...

He/she is right up in my rib cage. It is a little uncomfortable let me tell you.

My heartburn is getting worse too (but good ol' Tums still does the trick).

Less then 40 days to go... Crazy!

Christmas in Billings

We had a wonderful time for Christmas... I can't believe it's over already. We had a full holiday with Ben's family and extended family (Grandma, Aunt Theresa, Uncle Mike and Theresa's sister in from Pennsylvania). It is always so wonderful to spend time with family, especially during this holiday of celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Some highlights for me were:

• Being able to hand off my child and just take off, knowing she is being well cared for. I took FULL advantage of this and hit the town on more then one occasion. It was great.
• Having our feast on Christmas Eve and listening to Grampy read the Christmas Story from the Bible, while Isabella listened intently on his lap.
• Watching Bella open her first present... A baby doll she named "Happy". She was and still is obsessed with Happy.
• Spending quality time with family
• Spending a night up in Red Lodge... sans Bella (our first night away from her together... Ben cried!)
• Just joking on that last one... Ben didn't cry, neither of us cried or even came close.
• Getting to Shop in a mall and at decent stores
• Eating aunt Theresa and Ann's cooking. I thought for sure I would have gained a ton of weight... but at my 33 week apt on Monday, I had only gained 2.5 lbs since my last apt almost 3 weeks ago. Ben gained 5 over the holidays! lol
• Finally meeting Unky Dan's girlfriend, Frannie
• And more I'm sure... But there's a good list!

Here are some of my favorite photos... the rest I'll put in a slide show: