Sevilla Marie...her birth story

On July 22nd, 2011 at 12:04 a.m. God changed our lives forever by blessing our little family with a healthy baby girl. Born at 8.5 pounds and 20 1/2 inches long, our little miracle, Sevilla Marie instantly made my heart expand in special way. This is the story of how she came into the world, and how God once again showed Himself strong to our little family...





Sevilla's due date was on the calendar for July 18th. I made the mistake of thinking she might just come meet us early...After all, I was carrying very low...so very very low, and I had started some contractions a week and half before her due date. On and off they would come each night...some small, some quite uncomfortable. I tried to be patient but let me tell you, when you are having contractions, dilating and then end up going past your due date, this is very difficult to achieve ;) Every morning, Vince and I would glance at each other and joke that I was "still here"...

As the due date came and went, those "jokes" became emotional floodgate starters...I did my morning ritual of crying before rising...I felt miserable, I was dilated to 4 cm and I had lost my mucus plug. Again, another day came and went...and another...

Thursday morning (July 21), I woke up an emotional wreck. "Yes Lord, I do trust You, but this is hard. I can barely walk more than a few steps without pain and I really want to be brave about the birth but the longer this goes, I get fearful of the labor because I have more time to think about it. Thank you for being patient with my emotions, please have the baby come soon." God was not the only one having to be patient with me and my emotions...my dear sweet husband was so loving and kind throughout this difficult time.

My midwife came to check things out. My contractions were still on and off and it ended up that I hadn't dilated any more than what I was a few days earlier (of course this brought more tears). My husband, seeing I needed a change of pace and my mind on something else, whisked Vienna and me off the Starbucks and Wal-mart. It was refreshing being out, I couldn't walk much but hey, it was still great! We were loading up the car with our purchases in the Wal-mart parking lot when suddenly...my water BROKE! I was in denial, this couldn't be...I just didn't believe this was actually it!

Reality soon hit when on the way home, the contractions really kicked in hard...

Minutes later, we met the midwives at our house, the project of setting up the birth pool commenced as I stayed focused on my breathing :) I was SO excited. Truth is, I didn't mind most of labor. Sure it hurt, but until about 8 cm, it wasn't unbearable. I was able to labor in the water, which was wonderful.





However, my fear of having a similar complication as I had with Vienna ended up coming to pass. The final "lip" of my cervix was being stubborn. With Vienna, I was stuck at a 9 1/2 cm for five hours...it appeared that this was happening again and I wept. I didn't want that pain, I was too exhausted, I was disappointed. Thankfully, the Lord guided my midwives. They hooked me up to a fluid IV to hydrate my body and moments later, I began to complete the opening process. Pushing Sevilla out was extremely painful...more painful then I remember it being with Vienna. Unfortunately, I express my pain during childbirth. When it's time to push the baby out...you know how I feel about it :P Yes, I screamed, yes I begged my midwife to save me, yes I thought I would die :/ haha!

Then...
Sevilla arrived and I was relieved, overwhelmed, excited, exhausted, in love, and blessed all at once. IT'S A GIRL! I can't believe I have another princess to cherish. God is good and I am so thankful He pulled me through the dark waters of childbirth once again. Praise His name. We love you baby Sevilla Marie...you brighten our every day with your priceless sweetness :)













My amazing Midwives: Stacy Lewis and Jessica Arno...




My dear Mother and sweet Sisters came to help during labor and delivery and to welcome our baby girl into the world. I am so thankful for ALL the work they did to make things run smoothly. I am truly blessed...






It was quite the event...and we were all sleepy when it was over :)

Illness, learning new things, and sink baths...

It's been a rough couple of days with Vienna being sick, trying to relieve her physical discomfort, help her get hydrated, learning how to deal with illness in a more natural way. She's been running a fever and also has a cold. I am totally fascinated at the harmless natural substances that help the body fight infection and build the immune system. I am not opposed to medicinal drugs by any means but I prefer, when possible, to treat things at home with harmless remedies that have no side affects. Learning this stuff is both overwhelming and fun. I feel like my progress is slow but each step is encouraging.

The following pictures aren't of the past couple days but were taken last week. No, Vienna doesn't usually take her baths in the sink but one night she had a sore bottom from a dirty diaper so she got to soak it in the sink and play with mommy :) My little princess is quite the handful, joy and delight all in one package :P

A Post...FINALLY!!

Well, it's been awhile...I've actually missed blogging but have felt overwhelmed by the fact that I have a lot to catch up on, and so ended up letting months slip by. I am also a bit frustrated to not have a picture editing program on the computer we are currently using (not that I'm a pro at such art work but I do like to get rid of red eye and crop my photos a bit). Oh well, I have decided to make due with what I have a get a post up. I have opted to not write a long "catch up" post on all that has gone on since my last one, but rather just start fresh today and maybe think about posting past due pics sometime...maybe...

Today was lovely. The weather was in the 70's, sunny, breezy, pretty perfect in every way. Sundays are one of my favorite days of the week...Vienna and I get Vince home all day and we enjoy every chance to hang out with him. Lately he has been working many hours and I just love the "down"days where we can have family time. I love watching Vince take care of Vienna in church, I love to watch her clapping during the singing time in service, I love to watch her give her daddy hugs and fight for his attention every minute. I love every bit about the family the Lord has blessed me with, I love it that we can freely worship the Lord together at a Church that is so God centered, I just love Sundays...

Little baby #2 is growing healthily...24 weeks along now and feeling lots of movement. I am totally amazed at feeling a living, breathing being inside of me. Wow! Again I wonder how I am so blessed.

Today Vienna turned 17 months. Not quite sure where the time goes but I'm loving watching her grow up, learn new things everyday, interact with us more, say new words, learn motions to songs, and adore her daddy. Today we took some pictures of her outside on the Church lawn...I think you will see how much she's grown since the last pictures I posted, such a big girl, such a delight to her daddy and me :)

That's all for now, I just felt like getting back into the swing of things on this blog and writing about the gratefulness that is brimming over in my heart tonight :)

A Bit of News...

A couple pieces of news for my poor readers who keep checking our blog and wondering where we've gone and what Vienna looks like now, what we've been up to and why I've neglected you...

Our computer has broken down! I am currently on my parent's computer writing this which means, I don't have pictures to post and this blog may be "neglected" for just a bit longer until we can get a new computer and transfer all our pictures.

Next bit of news is WAY more exciting and many of you may already know...
WE ARE HAVING ANOTHER BABY! Yes, Vienna is going to be a big sister and we are going to be parents once again :) Our hearts are filled with joy and gratefulness for our new blessing, at the same time we are overwhelmed with the great responsibility before us and pray for wisdom to raise this new child. After the miscarriage of our last baby, we don't take any day of pregnancy for granted and are praying that the Lord would allow us to meet this child and enjoy life with him/her. Many are asking if we will find out the gender before his/her birth...the answer is, No. We love the surprise of finding out on the exciting day of birth :) We do have ultrasounds throughout pregnancy however and have already seen our baby...the little heart beat fluttering is truly amazing!

Signing off for now...hoping to get some updated pictures up soon.

A post by Vienna...

This past weekend, mommy and I enjoyed a special treat that we don't usually get...a whole Saturday with my daddy! We went crib shopping, daddy got a haircut, we ate a picnic lunch in the van and then headed to 6 flags!
There were tons of people there and I couldn't get enough of all the sights and sounds...I loved every minute! Daddy and mommy took me on all sorts of rides (my favorite was the wiggles cars).
The rule for being able to ride most of the kids rides is that you have to be able to walk...I've been working really hard on my balance and am doing quite well! I showed off my new skill a lot that day so the ride keepers would let me through the gates :) I think everyone was impressed that I could act like a big girl even though I'm so small. Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words so I will stop rambling (like my mommy always does) and let you see our adventures for yourself... ~Vienna ~


Waiting in line and making sure everyone knows I can walk!






The big circle thing that went up, up, up...




On the wagon trail with my strong, handsome daddy...




The Wiggles cars...my favorite!!!






Last time I was at 6 flags, I was too little to ride the horse and had to sit on the bench :P That was so boring! I'm glad I got to be a real cowgirl this time...



Ah, the school bus, I kept clapping and saying, "Yay!"




Food break...very important to my happiness...



Time to go home, what a fun night!



Great memories, I love my family...

Priceless Moments...

If you're a mother, you know that if your child crawls into the kitchen and then proceeds to be quiet as a mouse for more than 5 minutes...he/she is definitely into some sort of mischief. Vienna wasn't choking, and I could see the top of her head, so I let her do whatever it was she was doing for a while before going to "rain on her parade". When I did get up to go see what had her so occupied in silence, I discovered a messy little girl, apple sauce smeared on the floor, her clothes and her face. She had found the little containers of apple sauce in a grocery bag, poked her little finger through the foil and helped her self to some yummy goodness! It was too cute, I had no desire to stop her...after all, the mess was already made and she was having a good time eating exactly what mommy had bought for her anyway...












Our puppy has a name! ~Reeses~

Watching these 2 babies rough house together and play is so cute. Vienna is always crawling over to the "puppy bucket" to "talk" to and pet Reeses. They both love being outside, the fresh air, freedom to roam and get dirty. At times, it can be a handful having a little toddler and a puppy but seeing the joy on Vienna's face as she plays with her "buddy" is worth it all...


Pouting girl...needs to be cheered up:


*Hug* Reeses can make her smile:


Best buddies: