Hayley Mae's dramatic entrance

I can't believe it's been a week since it all started! Everything has gone by so quickly. I just wanted to jot down Hayley's birth story so I don't forget any details.

Last Saturday evening, I decided I better go get checked out because I had felt like I might be leaking amniotic fluid for a couple days. I set up a babysitter for the boys, thinking it would probably turn out to be nothing and I would be home in a few hours. Boy was I wrong!
My doctor was out of town but the doctor on call had delivered Jackson so I knew I would be in good hands if something ended up happening.
I went to the hospital and they did a few tests to check for amniotic fluid. The first ones came back negative, but I had started having contractions every 2-3 minutes so the doctor said to sit tight until they went away. A couple hours later they were still going strong so he gave me some medication to stop them and told me I would probably be spending the night. I called Jackson's amazing sunbeam teacher and asked if she could spend the night with the boys since Weston was working the night shift.
The next morning, when I was still contracting, the doctor did another test for amniotic fluid that came back positive and he decided to admit me and told me I wouldn't be leaving the hospital without my baby. Seeing as I wasn't dilated or effaced at all an only 35 weeks, I could potentially be in the hospital for weeks. He told me at that point they weren't going to induce labor but they wouldn't stop it either.
I did A LOT of walking around the labor and delivery ward that day to try to get labor started. Weston sleepily showed up after coming home from work, getting the boys ready, and sending them to church with our amazing friends. Around 2:00 tht afternoon the doctor told me that if I wanted, he would start pitocin. I til him yes please since I had no clue how my children were going to be taken care of for days. At 2:30 the nurse started pitocin and told me I had to wait until I dilated to a 2 for my epidural. I spent two pretty uncomfortable hours contracting until I asked her to check me. When she did, I was at a 2 and told her to please call the anesthesiologist. By 5:00 I was resting comfortably through my contractions.
Everything went smoothly through the rest of the evening. The doctor must have really liked us because in between deliveries, he would come hang out in my room and talk medicine with Weston. When I was dilated to about an 8, things started to go downhill. Hayley's heart rate started dropping with every contraction no matter what position I was laying in. The doctor wasn't too worried at first, but as time went on and I wasn't dilating fast enough, I could tell he was getting more and more concerned. He told me I give a couple good pushes and then he started yelling for more nurses and the NICU team to get in the room. The nurses told me I really needed to fucus and push hard to get the baby out. After a couple contractions, the doctor asked for the forceps and I felt him start to yank on my poor baby's head. She finally came out after a couple more pushes--face up and blue because she had a nuchal cord. I didn't hear her cry and they rushed her out of the room to be stabilized. At this point I jut started bawling because I had no idea how she was doing. Finally, the NICU doctor came in and told me she was doing just fine. They just wanted to monitor her for 48 hours. Weston was able to go see her and bring her back to me for a couple minutes after that. She was able to come home with me on Wednesday.
I am so thankful that everything worked out the way it did! I am thankful that my doctor didn't jump the gun and go for an emergency c section. I am thankful that he kept me because who knows what would have happened if I would have been sent home. Hayley is such a goo little baby. The boys and her daddy adore her and we feel so blessed that she is part of our family!

Interview with a 2 year old

How old are you? I two

What is your name? Jackson Caywood

What is your favorite food?  Dinner

What is your favorite thing to drink? Lemonade

Who is your favorite person? Jackson

Who is your best friend? Addie

Where is your favorite place to go? the park

What is your favorite song? twinkle twinkle little star

What is your favorite show? monster truck show

What is your favorite toy? my big monster truck

What is your favorite game? the truck game (on my iPhone)

What is your favorite color? my green crayon

What is your favorite letter? J

What is your favorite shape? a circle

What is your favorite animal? a cow

Out of the mouth of Jackson

I have so many things I need to blog about (monster truck show, rodeo, etc.) but I'm lazy and don't want to upload pictures right now, so instead I'm going to write down a few things that Jackson has said lately just so I don't forget:

Sometimes, when we put him to bed, he will knock on his door and ask to come out a few times before he actually goes to sleep. One night, Weston and I both called back to him to get in bed while he was knocking. After we had both told him to go to sleep, Jackson said, "Hey! Don't you be mean!" He likes to tell me this every time I tell him he can't do or have something. Apparently I'm really mean.

Every Sunday after nursery I ask him what he did and what he learned and what songs he sang. He usually tells me he played with cars and learned about Jesus. One Sunday I asked him what song he sang and he said, "The jumping song!" I asked him, "Oh, how does the jumping song go?" He proceeded to jump up and down and yell, "Jumping song! JUUUUUMPING SOOONG!" He now does this with pretty much every word i.e. "Daddy song! DAAAADDDY SOOONG!" etc.

I get asked several times a day if he can "do dishes." He mostly just likes to play with the water in the sink and make a huge mess.

Whenever he says "no" to me it sounds more like "NO-AH!" I wonder where he got that from...

(Warning: potty humor ahead) Every time he poops, he looks in the potty and says, "what's that?!" We have also been playing with play-dough a lot lately, and he likes making snakes (can you see where this is going?) The other day, he pooped in the potty, turned around and looked at it, and said, "I made a snake! I made a snake in the potty!"

Whenever Weston sings, Jackson puts his hands over his ears and says, "Daddy hurt my ears." haha Maybe he should be an American Idol judge.

Post Edit: Oh, I almost forgot. The other day, I had Jackson on my lap, putting on his shoes. He decided it would be a good idea to swing his head back and hit me right in the eye. I now have a nice shiner on my right eye. So, if you see me, don't worry I am not a victim of spousal abuse, it's just my two-year-old beating me up.

4 months!

Carter turned 4 months old last week! What the heck? Where did my little newborn baby go??

He is still such a calm, easy-going baby. I am so grateful for his sweet demeanor. I think he knows that I might go crazy if he was too high-maintenance :)

He has started to eat "real" food! He loves everything I put in his mouth. He eats like I haven't fed him in weeks!

He really likes putting anything and everything he can get his hand on into his mouth.

He loves his big brother so much! He just lights up whenever Jackson gives him attention. It is stinkin adorable!

Rise and Shout

3 Months!

Yesterday, Carter turned 3 months old! What a big boy :)

He is becoming more alert and active every day

He is starting to bat at toys

He rolls over every time I put him on his tummy!

We love him more and more every day.

2 Months

Carter is 2 months old today!

We went to the doctor yesterday and he is doing great! He weighs 9 lbs 10 oz (a little on the small side), he is 23 inches long (about average), and his head is 15 inches.

Carter is still such a good little baby! He is so easy going and still hardly ever cries (only when he's gassy or hungry).
At 2 months Carter is:
-smiling so much! I love, love, love it! he has the cutest little personality :)
-starting to make cute little cooing noises
-sleeping for a six hour stretch then another 4 hours
-starting to roll over! He has done it from his tummy to his back 1.5 times (I had to help him when he got stuck on his side one time)
-recovering from his first cold. It was so sad, but he was such a trooper!

I can't believe how fast the time is flying. I love this little boy so much, and I love seeing his little personality come out.