Happy Birthday, Baby Boy!

Ahhh... It's here, Soli-boy-- Your first birthday! This year has been a blast and a blur. And every morning, I pinch myself because I still feel like I'm in a dream!

You, my dear sweet boy, have been the easiest Bee Baby yet! You are so laid back and happy. You laugh and smile easily, go with the flow and in general are just so mellow. You are the longest "mama holdout" too. You still prefer mama to daddy although I cherish each moment that you prefer me because I know soon the pendelum is going to swing towards Daddy hard! Then I'll only be good enough if you are hungry or hurt, if Daddy is home.

But I'll always get to brag that you are the first Baby Bee to say "Mama" before "Dada." Attaboy!

All of us are shocked when we compare how much you look like your big sister, Julianne. She is thrilled that you look so much like her. Although she says that your hair is "totally, totally differwent!" *giggle*

Lainey loves to help me feed you baby food even though she says she has "No idea!" how you can stomach your veggies mixed with your fruits. We whisper that when you are around because you think you don't like veggies, my dear. Yup... Mama has tricked you but it is for you own good.

Xander loves to bring you toys and pat your head. One day you'll be best friends and thick as thieves. We often joke around about how much mischief you'll get into together. Oh the stories I'm sure I'll get to tell!

I love to hear you clap when we get excited about something. Know that I'll always be in your corner clapping for you! I pray special blessings over you. I pray you grow up to be a wonderful man. If you are half the man that your Daddy is, you'll make a young lady very happy one day. You are SO much like your Daddy, sometimes I make sure that there isn't a cord attaching you to him.

I pray you continue to show such amazing patience, that you always laugh and smile easily and that you always have a place in your heart for your family... especially your Mama!

I've loved learning your habits and your likes and dislikes. Can't wait to see who you turn into!

~Mama

Solomon Kincaid's Birthstory

(Just oh ummm... 7 weeks late LOL! I wrote this the day after his birth but haven't posted it here yet.)

The morning of Friday, May 28th, Brandon and I laid in bed and discussed whether or not to send the children to Georgia with my Aunt. She was returning for the weekend to take care of some things because she had been in Virginia with us since Mother's Day. I had been hospitalized for preterm labor and put on bedrest so she came to help with the children. After I was taken off of bedrest, it seemed like Solomon was going to arrive any day so she stayed with us.

But, I had some hard contractions during the night that made me nervous. Brandon decided the children were to go with my Aunt and I packed them up while they were eating breakfast and then I saw them off. Right after they left, I wondered if I had whined too much about being uncomfortable or if I really was supposed to send them to Georgia. I decided that I did the right thing by submitting to Brandon's decision.

Friday afternoon I took Brandon back to work after lunch and ran errands. I had more contractions-- but by this point I had had contractions since 33.5 weeks and it was nothing really new. Friday night we went out to dinner... I remember telling Brandon that I thought this baby was much larger than our past babies because I could feel him on more than one side of my tummy at the same time. We laughed.

Saturday, I had a strong urge to get out of our house. We restocked the pantry and the freezer. Brandon bought minor league baseball tickets for Monday night. I accused him of “stacking the deck” (LOL!) but he insisted he was just trying to keep my mind off of the impending labor and if it cost $20 to encourage Solomon to arrive-- so be it.

Sunday, we slept in, ran an errand, ate lunch and then went swimming. It felt SO good to be weightless. We got rained out, came home, grilled out, and then went back to the pool after we cleaned up from dinner. Brandon and I teased that if Solomon was going to come early, our health insurance year started over on June 1st. I felt great. I was without pain in my hips/tailbone/pubic bone and I was walking a thousand times better. The pool was shut down for thunder and we headed back home.

Suddenly I felt really floaty and went to into our bathroom and shut the door behind me. I felt like I needed to be in a small, enclosed space. Then, I started having contractions. They hurt a lot and I had to really breathe and concentrate to get through them. I laughed and told Brandon “Oh they are nothing.. we've been doing this for weeks, now!” Solomon kicked and squirmed in between contractions. And then I couldn't talk through them anymore. I started getting a little cranky even between them. I just could not get comfortable. Brandon decided to call my doctor (who was on call) when I got “stuck” on our bed on all fours. Nothing else felt decent.

Brandon chatted with Dr. S and he said to come on in and we'd see what was going on. When Brandon told me, I started crying and said “I'm NOT ready to do this!” Brandon rubbed my hair and said that we were just going to check and we'd be back home soon and I could shower when I got home. (He knew we weren't coming home.. but he said he just needed me to actually walk to our van!) He grabbed our things and we headed in. I still smelled like chlorine and sunscreen from our pool outing! We walked in from the parking deck and had to stop several times. Brandon says I kept doing this thing where I looked like I was going to fall down and sit on the ground or something and it made him very nervous.

We had to check in through the ER and the poor lady had no idea what she was doing to register me. There were two of us in the ER pregnant and trying to check in and neither of us were getting admitted very fast. They came and got me and took me to L and D in a wheel chair. My blood pressure was VERY high (this was causing the floaty feeling.) I had been having great blood pressures up to this point. They tried to start an IV and they weren't having any luck. Finally I got one that worked but it was in the bend of my wrist... a very yucky place to have one! They sent off labs to check and see why my blood pressure was so high. I was steadily contracting and Solomon would NOT stay on the monitor. I had a nurse at my bedside for most of the evening trying to keep him monitored. My blood pressure was sky high and not coming down.

I dilated some more and Solomon's heart rate was going up and down... but I was still sure I was going home. I remember telling Brandon I could NOT wait to get home and shower... I want to say somewhere around 5-6 am, Dr. S came in and asked if I wanted an epidural and I said. “YES, PLEASE!” He asked if he could break my water and put a fetal electrode in the top of Solomon's head to keep his heart rate monitored better as well as monitor the strength of the contractions. I told him that was fine as long as I got my epidural first. (I'm such a chicken. I seriously told myself “Oh if the epidural doesn't work, I won't let them do anything-- I can go take my shower and we can try again another day!”) Brandon and I prayed that my epidural would please work- since I had a very bad experience during Lainey's pregnancy. I had tears running out of the sides of my eyes and down my face but didn't make a sound.... Next thing I knew, I had an epidural that was WORKING! I got my catheter inserted since I wouldn't be walking anymore and they put the monitor in for Solomon. Then they took the monitors off of my belly. And my blood pressure dropped down to a more normal range.

We called my aunt to let her know that it was Baby Day and Brandon called my mother in law. We finally announced it on MOMYS and on Facebook. Dr. S was off call and Dr. B took over. Dr. B is the doctor that admitted me over Mother's Day weekend. At 11ish, I was 6 cm. I was amazed that things seemed to be going quickly. And then Solomon's heart rate dropped. I had a handful of nurses in my room ASAP and they were repositioning me trying to get his heart rate to go back up. I asked to be checked again, and I was 9 cm. His heart rate dropped again and this time Dr. B came in. I was repositioned again and his heart rate came up. Dr. B said that if it happened much more, that we'd have to discuss another csection.

My first thought was “OH NO! I've gotten all the way to 9 cm and NOW I'm going to be sectioned! And then right as I completed that thought, my mind said "Stephanie.. this baby has been planned by God for forever. He KNOWS if this baby will be a csection or a VBAC, it's already decided. DO NOT STRESS!” I was so peaceful in that moment. Brandon was rubbing my hair and I said to him “Either way, he's got to come out...” He thought this was hilarious in the moment. The nurse said she'd be in, in about an hour to see if I was ready to start pushing but to let her know if I needed her before then.

I didn't make it an hour. After about 30 minutes, I told Brandon that he had to get someone NOW because I was feeling like I needed to push. The nurse came in and said I was right, that I was complete, started setting up and called my doctor. It all still felt surreal and I was thinking “I just want a shower!” They couldn't find the stirrups to my bed... and I was breathing hard, trying to not push... I grabbed Brandon's hand and said to him “Please, tell them to hurry or he'll be born in my bed without a nurse, doctor and stirrups.”

I finally got to push at 2pm. I had a contraction and pushed three long pushes. Dr. B commented that I sure did remember where to push. The nurse walked away after and said next time I felt another I could push... I couldn't even get the words out. I just said “Another!” and went to town. Then they had me stop pushing and I was given oxygen. I could hear that Solomon's heart rate had dropped... My next contraction came and I told them I couldn't put off another one-- I had to push! Dr. B said to go for it and then they started cheering me on. I heard Brandon say “He has a lot of hair, Stephanie!” (YES, the same man that said he wasn't looking at anything other than my eyes!) and the next thing I knew, when I opened my eyes, he was on my chest. I didn't get to look in the mirror because I didn't realize that I was so close. I had gone back and forth a few times in my mind, not knowing if I really wanted to see, and planned on asking after that contraction. Oops.

Solomon was born crying at 2:14pm and had vernix all over him. I had never had a new baby on my chest and remember thinking that I didn't know what to do with him as I started wiping him off. Brandon exclaimed that I finally got to hold one of my babies first. Solomon peed all over and they took him to the warming bed where he peed again. We all took guesses on his weight. I said low 6's, Dr B said 7's and Brandon said high 7's. My OB, Dr. S, had said 7 lbs even, earlier in the day. He was 6 lbs, 15 oz. I watched Solomon get feisty with the nurse and eventually delivered my placenta. I had one stitch and then Dr B said I needed one more. They had to turn on the pitocin to get my uterus to clamp down a bit and I felt a little light headed until they got that under control.

They brought Solomon back to me and the first thing I did was kiss and smell him. And then I pulled his hat back so I could see his hair! I got him latched when he was about an hour old but he wasn't interested in nursing. He kept making the worst faces and pulling off. He did suckle a little bit but he was a little congested-- they said it was typical of a very fast pushing session AND common for 36 weekers. He went to the nursery with Daddy to be checked out. There we found out he was 19 ¾ inches long. I eventually got my shower.

Solomon did have his stomach suctioned out because it was full of mucus. But he nurses like a champ. The only breastfeeding issue we had was getting him to flare his lips out for a great latch!

My aunt returned with the children on Tueday and I was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday.

Solomon is my earliest baby and also the second largest! DeLainey beat him out at 7 lbs even but she was born at 38 weeks and some days and Solomon was born at 36 weeks and 5 days. The rule of thumb is a half a pound a week so if I would have kept him in for another 2 weeks, it's estimated he would have been almost 8 lbs! My OB, Dr. S, teased and said that Solomon WAS 7 lbs before he peed all over everyone. LOL!

God's perfect timing through the whole thing was just amazing. We are thrilled that everything worked out so well.

~Steph

It's Tuesday

(Creative Title huh?)

It's also 6:05 am as I am starting to write this blog entry. I've not been to sleep yet and my husband's alarm clock is going off, letting him know that now is the time for all of us to wake up.

I have an OB appt at 8:00AM. Most people that know me, know I NEVER pick first thing in the morning appointments. I'm NOT a morning person and have never been one. I'm not sure I'll ever be one.

But I have to fast for this appointment and well.. I can't very well fast until 2pm or later (my usual appt time of choice) while pregnant... or rather, I can't fast safely while pregnant.

So.. I'm up, about to start my day, get the kids ready, make them breakfast ,while I abstain and then take them to a friend who has so graciously offered to watch my three at a crazy time in the morning, the day after she got married. Seriously folks.. that is friend LOVE!

Then we'll go to the doctor's appointment, I'll drink nasty overly sweetened syrup with no carbonation, have my ultrasound and then about an hour after the last drop of overly sweetened syrup is gone, I'll have bloodwork done.

And I'll do this all on no sleep. I've almost passed out TWICE doing this test for both of the girls and that was with a full nights rest. So pray for me.

Afterwards, my wonderful husband has promised me breakfast or lunch at the restaurant of my choice and we have a few errands to run but we'll have to make it quick because I have a breastfeeding support group meeting at 1pm.

After that, all bets are off for the rest of my day. I'm tired and cranky... and Solomon is using my bladder as a trampoline. But I hope to sneak a nap in at some point.

A belly picture for the curious cats out there!

I've always been a curious cat.. and was told "Curiosity killed the cat" so many times that I could own a house debt free if I'd just been given a penny each time!

Since it wasn't paying off, I became a smart alek and responded with "But satisfaction brought it back." Those of you who know me in real life, can certainly see me saying it back right? *blush*

Anywho... I've gotten a few messages asking for a belly pic... so I figured I'd put it here instead of embarrassing myself on Facebook.

Before scrolling down, keep in mind that I wasn't a tiny mama to start with.. and this is my 5th pregnancy... things happen a little faster each time. ;)

Here is January 12... I was 16 weeks ish (I can't remember and don't want to count backwards.)

And here is the most recent picture I've taken... January 29th. (Again I'm not counting backwards)

I'm 21 weeks 1 day as I post this.. so you can do the math. :0) Remember.. be kind!

~Steph

It's a....... BOY!

Brandon and I had a blast during our ultrasound watching our sweet baby on the screen. I nearly jumped off of the table when she said "Dad.. it's a boy!" I think I said something really dumb like "Let me see what that looks like! I've never seen a "turtle" only a "hamburger!" She laughed and then showed me what she saw.

Little Solomon however was NOT cooperating for all of the pictures they needed to get. He is breech (which is fine at this point and not something to worry about.) I had to go back after my doctors appointment so that they could try to get the picture they needed of his heart. We eventually got it.

So without bogging you down in words.. here is our little guy!

As I expected, Lainey was thrilled and Julianne burst into tears. She is feeling much better about the whole thing today and even sat with me and "talked" to Solomon for a long time. She is three and still learning how to react to disappointment and not having things her way. I know the disappointment won't last long and now she has til June to wrap her head around having TWO brothers! The teams are even... for now. ;)


~Steph

Overheard in the Bee House...

I've heard some hilarious things lately and I really want to journal them before I forget them.

We were discussing our appointment for the ultrasound with the children... Lainey has been adamant that she wants another brother. She started praying for a brother after my miscarriage in early 2007. Then when we told her that we were going to start the process to adopt in 2009, she started praying for TWO brothers. When we found out that we matched with Xander, I told her there was a baby at the hospital for us and she asked immediately "What is my brother's name?" Oh childlike faith. Well she always takes the opportunity to tell me that she prayed for a brother and got Xander so SURELY God has heard her prayers for a second brother right?

Usually when she says this, Julianne gets huffy, crosses her arms and said "NO! I prayed for a SISTER!"

Someone will have a lesson about unanswered prayers tomorrow. *wink*

I guess DeLainey decided that she needed to start showing God some advantages of us being blessed with another baby boy... so the other night as I was walking by her bedroom door I heard "Dear God... please give momma a baby boy in her tummy... so she doesn't have to do so much hair before church." Thatta girl.. trying to plead your case yet remaining practical.

I've heard the following over the last few days..

"Dear God.. Please give my momma a baby boy in her tummy...."
- so that she can buy more shorts and pants. She is tired of buying so many dresses. (The girls only wear dresses these days so buying shorts and pants for Xander has definately been different. LOL)

- so that Xander will have a buddy to do yardwork with when we have a big yard. (Way to look ahead.. we live in an apartment right now LOL)

-so that we will have the same numbers. (She is very into "teams" right now.. and a boy would leave the boy team even with the girl team.)

- so Xander doesn't just have to throw a ball up in the air and catch it himself. He can actually play catch with someone. (I guess my little Tball player forgot that girls CAN play ball... and whatever happened to playing with daddy?)

- Because there are already two Daddy's girls.. and our Daddy only has two hands to hold and two legs for us to sit on. (Has she really seen Daddy's that have more than that? She makes Brandon seem incomplete or hindered. LOL)

We are very excited about our appointment tomorrow. I'm praying we see a healthy, wiggly baby. Once we see that I'll be happy to know the sex.... but having had a child that refused to show us at the big ultrasound appointment, my heart isn't set on it. I am thrilled to be pregnant and to be carrying yet another little person... and I love, love, love seeing the little baby on the screen! I know that we will ALL love the baby no matter what gender our little baby is! No matter who is been praying, it will be exactly what God has planned for us.

It's been busy around here!

Well.. more busy than usual. *grin*

Brandon and I have always seemed to have a very fast paced life. So what we consider a "slow time" still receives comments from friends and family like "Don't you EVER slow down?" Oh and we got lots of "Number 2 will slow you down." And that was followed by "Number three will slow you down." Well.. now we are starting to get "Number 4 will slow you down." HA! I think each one adds a little bit more speed to our "busy." But we do slow down.. in our own way.

So let me catch you up.

1. I've been busy thinking about revamping our homeschool for the 2010-2011 school year. Our homeschool is an ever evolving process and I'm okay with that. After 20+ years of watching my mom change her thoughts and plans as a public school teacher, I see this as a normal and good thing and it doesn't freak me out. January starts what I call "Homeschool Season" with new catalogs arriving and conventions. I've been keeping a working document on my computer with my thoughts and what I'm looking for for each subject so that will help me decide. This next year will add the challenge of adding another "little" as I teach Lainey who will be in 2nd grade this coming fall. 3 littles, 1 student and 1 teacher/mom. Some days it feels frazzled but Lainey gave me the best compliment that I could ever receive as a homeschool mom. We were at a restaurant and someone asked her what grade she is in. She said 1st. Next they asked about her teacher.. do you like your teacher? She said "Oh she's great.. and she's my mom. We homeschool." This big blob of hormones had to fight back tears.

Sooo.. we are keeping Math-U-See. As a visual learner this is a definitely a plus in my book (and Lainey's.) She loves the video lesson that she watches once a week and loves playing with (ahem.. manipulating) the blocks as she does the work each day. Thumbs up!

For science and history/social studies we'll be using a unit study approach by Christian Cottage. Unit studies will be new for us but I love the way the curriculum is laid out and compared to other unit studies, this is a steal of a bargain!

Bible, phonics, reading and grammar are still up for discussion although the field is narrowing quickly. I'm also looking at more "fun" elective type things for Lainey to explore this coming school year. One of the huge advantages of homeschooling is that you can really tailor your child's learning to the way that they learn best and what they are passionate about or interested in. The flip side of that, is that the choices are numerous so you really have to pick and choose what works best for your family.

2. We are going to a convention! HEAV has their convention in Richmond in June.. but it is pushing it due date/delivery wise, especially if I follow my past pattern. I've not seen a due date yet without holding a baby in my arms (for successful pregnancies.) Walking a convention either hugely pregnant or newly delivered is not my idea of fun. So we branched out. We'll be attending the Midwest Homeschool Convention in April! It's in Cincinnati, Ohio which is exciting for Brandon and I since we've never been. Brandon actually has never been to a homeschooling convention and I only attended one day of the HEAV convention last year.

3. We are taking a detour to the Creation Museum the day before the convention starts. Brandon and I have wanted to go for quite some time and we are finally going to be near enough for a little detour. I can't wait to report back!

4. There is a tiny rumor that we are expecting snow on Friday and Saturday. Saturday is my new shopping day after being moved for Brandon's schedule. Normally that would not worry me but since we've been doing the Pantry Challenge, things were looking pretty bare. So we went shopping to replenish things.

5. Xander is highly mobile! We've had to put the Bee House on lockdown with babygates. Not only is now a speed crawler he is also pulling up on things and taking steps to reach for things. He also has a new found love for touching things that are not his. He is by far my youngest mobile child in the history of Bee children at 9 months old. For example: Lainey was barely pulling up and walking holding onto both of my hands at 13 months. We have a record breaker on our hands folks!

6. Lainey's 7th birthday is coming up and we've been busy preparing for that celebration. Since moving so far from family, we've greatly toned down birthdays. But they are still fun and she'll still feel special on her special day. I'm trying not to think about how much my first baby has grown and blossomed because I do not want to get mushy. I'm usually fighting back tears around 4:48pm on her birthday which is when my first princess made her appearance now almost 7 (goodness is that really right?) years ago.

7. I'm 19 weeks today! Given my above mentioned history of delivering early, I'm over halfway through this pregnancy! It seems to be flying by! Maybe the distraction of my three little blessings are helping that right along. I'm still feeling good. I do have some back pain but after three surgeries on it, I think I'm holding up okay. I'm still losing weight and don't have much appetite. My love for chicken has returned.. so that is nice! Every now and then I do experience nausea but it's nothing my little friend Zofran can't handle. Sleeping isn't going so well lately but I'm just dealing with it at this point. I'm craving protein A LOT and carbs just aren't doing it for this former carb junkie. Brandon is a little concerned about my lack of appetite and he doesn't think I'm eating enough. We'll see. My next appointment is February 2nd and hopefully we will see a beautiful, healthy baby and know the sex. I can't wait to announce the name we've chosen! This was the easiest name decision we've had so far, although actually finding names is quite difficult for us.

8. Speaking of craving protein, Brandon and I realized that Q Barbeque is here in Richmond! Brandon has been watching TLC's BBQ Pitmasters and I put two and two together when we saw the logo after my dentist appointment. So we stumbled in yesterday. And guess who was standing behind the counter? Tuffy Stone himself. He is a very nice, friendly, humble gentleman and he chatted it up with Brandon. Brandon asked if he could take a picture with the pit and Tuffy said sure.. and even took pictures with us! It was BY FAR the best BBQ I've ever had... although that may get me disowned by some of the in laws since I married into BBQ Royalty. Oh well.. I'm honest.. right? Oh and this Georgia girl approves their sweet tea and banana pudding! (It's very hard to find good tea here and the pudding tastes just like mine.. so maybe I'm a touch biased?)



9. The Church hunt is back on. We actually have a few candidates on our list. They are a bit of a drive (25 miles) but we are thirsty and hungry and NEED a church home!

10. Taxes are prepared but not filed. We are waiting on Xander's birthcertificate to arrive and then we can apply for a social security card. I'm SO excited and can't wait to call Dave Ramsey with our debt free scream! It's coming soon folks!

PS: I finally figured out how to hyperlink! Thanks Google!

WOW.. it's been a while...

It's been a while. I haven't done a good job of keeping this blog updated. Of course I have had plenty of time to read blogs... Sigh....

So I have quite a bit to catch up on.

1. #4 is on the way! We found out in October that what I thought was bad Chinese food was actually a little one creating hormones that cause morning sickness. After what is now years of heartache in the fertility department I was in denial. Brandon is the one that begged me to pretty please test late one night and two lines popped up quickly. I was speechless. He said "I told you so!" Okay, honey. You were right. *smile*

I was only 3 weeks and a few days... I knew it would make for a long pregnancy but I was able to get in and get some bloodwork drawn and find out that my HCG numbers were great but my progesterone was iffy. Since I've lost 2 pregnancies of my 4, the doctor seems to think that low progesterone might be the culprit. So I started progesterone supplements. I'm due June 23rd and so far everything is going well. I love the practice that I blindly picked here. LOL I've never made it to a due date before and have had issues with preterm labor so they will be following my case closely. I'm thrilled there is a peri in the office just in case!

I've had to actively battle my fear. Part of me believed that I'd just lose this baby too. Afterall, I had lost half of my pregnancies and I am ONE miscarriage away from having the most hurtful words written on my chart. "Habitual Aborter." It makes me nauseated to type that! What a terrible label for a woman that loves her children deeply and has never done anything to harm them! Even in my first pregnancy which was a complete surprise and the news came at an interesting time (like uh.. right after my ex- husband and I separated...) I NEVER considered abortion. NEVER!

But each day, I'm SO very thankful that I've been allowed to carry the baby yet another day. And here I am 11 weeks today!

2. Xander is now crawling...



and holding his bottle, except for Mama...




He is also pulling up on the edge of the couch and in his crib... and the other night attempted to stand up on his own without pulling up on anything, but well, that didn't go so well.

3. Homeschooling is going well. I'm getting a little frustrated with our particular curriculum and I've started making a list of things to change next year. I hope that I can make it to the Homeschooling Convention. I think it is June 10-13 and as mentioned above I'm due with #4 on June 23rd but haven't made it to my due date yet. We are still doing written schooling four days a week but now we have school Wednesday-Saturday so it coincides with Brandon's work week.

I promise I'll try to do a better job of keeping this up. I might make this my homepage so I see it every day. Maybe that will help. LOL

~Steph