Moving on up!

Lauren bought a house in 2005. It was perfect for her and a roommate or 2. Then Zach moved in and it was still a great house. It seemed to get a bit smaller after Lolli was born, and again so after Poppy arrived. After Oz was born back in May, the Pucillo home seemed to shrink to a size so small that Lauren could barely breathe. She rehomed some of the pets to see if that would help but even without Otis, Daisy and Deuce the house seemed to be closing in around her. So she got Zach's blessing to get busy prepping the house to sell. After a million gallons of paint, carton after carton of vinyl plank flooring, a couple cases of peel n sticks, a new front door, faux wood blinds in every window, and countless trips to GoodWill, the dump, and Gma's house for storage, the Pucillos listed their home for sale on September 29. They had many showings and were fortunate to get an offer 47 days later! They settled for a full price offer ($89,500) with giving $3500 back in assistance to the buyer at closing. Not bad! House hunting in their target area was limited by their budget and desire for a 4th bedroom for Oz. But one house they saw stuck out in their minds as the clear winner. So Zach signed the official offer and after a week of craziness, their offer was approved by the bank that owned the property. The Pucillos were moving to Easy Street! Then came inspections and appraisals and closing dates that seemed to be pulled out of thin air. But it all fell into place. Lauren closed on the sale of her home on December 19th. And Zach closed on the purchase of his first home on December 21. It was a very stressful week because originally closing on the new house should have happened before closing on the new house (Dec 18; Dec 26) which meant a nice overlap for moving leisurely. Instead the Pucillos and their super helpful extended family had to really hustle to get the job done before Christmas. But somehow it happened and Ozzie got to spend his first Christmas at the new house! It was sort of sad saying goodbye to the Coralberry house. After all, it's the place where Zach and Lauren first met when he picked her up for their 'blind' date after meeting online. It's where they brought Lolli home from the hospital to. It's where Poppy and Oz were actually born. So while leaving it was sort of sentimental, it was definitely the right choice! The new house has 4 bedroom, 2.5 baths, a bonus room for the kids, a living room, kitchen w/ island and eating area, a formal dining room and a den. It's in a neighborhood full of playmates for the kids and just beyond the backyard is a basketball court, tennis court, playground and pool! Lolli's done her room in La La Loopsy and owls. Poppy chose Minnie Mouse and Oz has an Avengers theme. We're so happy to be here :)

Fist bump!

Ozzie lights up whenever anyone talks, smiles, or even just looks at him. His new way of getting people's attention it to stick his arm straight out with his hand in a fist. Random strangers love to fist bump him, and Oz sure loves the attention!

So long, swaddler!

Oz has been swaddle-free for a couple days now, even at night. We think he'll be really excited here in another day or 2 when he gets his very own room and his very own crib!

Well checks

Oz has his 6 month check up today and Lolli had her 5 year one. Oz weighed in at 16 lbs, 10 oz and measure 27.5 inches long. He's 25th for weight, 75th for length, and his head is in the 50th percentile. Lolli weighed in at 42 lbs, 4 oz and measured 43.5 inches tall. She's 25-50th for weight and 50-75th for height. They both had to get shots. Lolli's all ready for kindergarten! She also got her blood pressure taken, her eyes checked, and had to pee in a cup (with Lauren's help lol).

Wiggly tooth!

Lolli's bottom left middle tooth is really wiggling! She's been waiting for it so long, I didn't really believe her when she told me. But Gma checked it out and it's definitely loose! She couldn't even eat her apple this evening because it was hurting, so I promised to cut them up for her until she's past this 2nd round of teething. She's really growing up!!!

Thanksgiving

I asked the girls what they're thankful for: Lolli: "I'm thankful for Jesus and God." Poppy: "I'm thankful for everyone giving me food. And everyone giving me dessert when after I eat my food."

Getting hurt

Zach decided to cut Ozzie's nails while I ran down to CVS last night. As I handed him the clippers and walked out the door, I jokingly said, "If you cut him, I'll hurt you." Well as I was paying, my phone rang and it was Zach telling me he was ready to face his punishment because Oz was bleeding :/ I got home to find Zach's shirt splattered with Oz blood. But the little man himself was all bandaged up and swaddled and calm. Lolli told me the whole story in full detail and then wanted to count how many times Ozzie has been hurt in his life. We came up with 6: twice for shots, twice when Lolli tripped over his bouncey seat and landed on him, once when Poppy rolled him off the couch, and now the snipped thumb. Then Lolli surmised she's probably been hurt, "hundreds of thousands of times." She's probably right LOL BTW, Zach did manage to snip 9/10 nails without incident; it was only the last one that got bloody. But still.... this is why I do no cut my kids' nails. They're still sharp, just shorter now. Oh well! (PS - No Zachs were harmed in the making of thos story ;)

Ozzie's a playmate!

The girls are always begging for Ozzie to be allowed to play upstairs with them. Today I gave in, but told them that as soon as he starts crying, I'm coming to get him. So far he's having a blast and every time he squeals or laughs, Poppy yells down, "Mom, that wasn't a cry! He's not crying; don't come get him!" ♥

Ozzie's 4 month check

Ozzie had his 4 month check up today. He weighed in at 14lbs 6oz and is 25.25 inches long. He got shots again and recovered pretty quickly :)

A tooth!!!

Lauren just discovered Ozzie's very first tooth barely poking through his gum. How exciting! It's his bottom middle right one. Yay Oz!!!

Poppy's 3 year visit

Today was Poppy's 3 year check up. She weighed in at 35 lbs 2oz and measured 37.25 inches tall. She got her eyes checked and her blood pressure taken, which she thought was cool! She also got to pick out a book.

Lolli said....

Lolli: I can't wait 'til I get to have lots of moles all over like you, Mom. And wiggly arms, too!

Thanks, kid.

Happy Birthday Poppy!

Today Poppy's THREE years old! We started out the day with her opening her gifts. She got a Minnie Sing-A-Ma-Jig, a Minnie swimsuit, some goggles, a bike helmet and a big girl Barbie bike! Then we took donuts over to Gma & Gpa Morgan's and Poppy got to blow out the candles on some yummy brownies and got some spending money! After that we headed back home and skyped with Gma Cathy & Rod while Poppy opened her package from them. She got an adorable blue dress and cute pink flip flips and even coordinating hair bows. She also got a cheerleader Barbie! Then Papaw Lucky came over and gave Poppy a princess laptop, a Brittany doll, and a cute yellow outfit. Lolli even got a coloring book and Oz received his piggy bank! Then it was hotel time! The fam spend the night at Staybridge on the west side. The outdoor pool was perfect and they even upgraded us to a 1 bedroom suite. This was Oz's first time in a hotel and he did great. Poppy had a blast and so did Lolli. On Sunday Poppy received more spending $ from Gma & Gpa Bowen. On Monday she went shoe shopping with her $ and chose a pair of black ballet flats with a bow on the toe. It was very surprising that she passed over all the sparkley ones for those, but hey - it's her money so she got to choose :) She was also kind enough to offer to buy Lolli a pair of shoes. Such good sisters! Poppy had a wonderful birthday and is definitely the best 3 year old I know!

VBS!

Lolli & Poppy both attended VBS at Zion this week. Poppy doesn't quite make the cut off of being 3 but they let her go anyway. They went M-F from 9-12. There was a Sky theme this year and the lobby was fully done up as an airport complete with ticket counters, security, luggage claim and a jetway. The girls really enjoyed it and of course Poppy got all the teenage volunteers wrapped around her little finger in no time. Last night we all went to the 6 o clock church at Zion because the VBS kids were going to sing some of their songs. They sang 5-7 songs and both Lolli and Poppy were well behaved up there during the church service, thankfully. Ozzie slept through almost the whole thing!!

Ozzie's weigh-in!

Ozzie got weighed in at Lynda's today - 10lbs 9oz! Woohooooo!

13 days old!

Lynda came by for a check-up this afternoon. I had her bring the scale so we could get a weight on Ozzie.
Day 0 - 9lbs 4oz
Day 2 - 8lbs 12oz
Day 6 - 9lbs 1oz
Day 13 - 9lbs 12oz

Hooray :) Everything's good and normal with both he and me. And he's been less fussy this afternoon than he was last night and this morning so that's good!

The birth of Orion Zane

My due date (Thursday, May 17th) came and went, as usual. I walked a 5k race that Saturday and just tried to keep busy. Monday I moped around a lot but Tuesday I went grocery shopping, mowed the grass, and cleaned up a bit around the house. Wednesday I went to the gym and walked a mile then ellipticaled a mile. After that I took the girls to a park then when we got home the 3 of us spent an hour splashing, relaxing, and playing in the kiddie pool in the backyard. It sounds silly but I don’t usually get in there with them, so this was a special time for all of us and they kept saying how much fun they were having on a special day, yada yada yada.
That evening I had contractions (the ‘real’ kind, that go down low) about 12-15 minutes apart for several hours. Right before I went to sleep, I talked to my mom (in Denver) on the phone and we tried to decide if she should fly in Friday or Saturday. She surprised me by buying a ticket to fly in on Thursday (the next day) because she just had a feeling she’d miss it if she waited. So when I woke up around a couple hours later around 12:20am, I was pretty bummed when I realized the contractions had stopped. I got up to the bathroom and then laid in bed thinking about the next day.
The baby started moving like crazy which caused a contraction. I was slightly annoyed and just breathing through it when suddenly I felt a pop and a gush. I woke Zach, told him my water had just broke and asked him to grab me some towels, then I checked the clock – 12:58am. I got cleaned up (hooray for clear amniotic fluid!) then we called the midwife just to let her know what was going on. She said we’d just plan on keeping my regular 41 weeks appointment for the next day unless she heard from us again sooner. So I drank some EmergenC, chugged some water, and went back to bed. I worried the random contractions would hurt more without that cushion of fluid but they felt the same. I didn’t sleep a whole lot because I was sort of pumped up, plus every time the kid moved or I had a contraction, fluid would gush out of me. I’d forgotten how that felt – I am NOT a fan!
(My water broke before labor with Lolli, also. The difference was, my fluid wasn’t clear – lots of meconium, and we were having a hospital birth. Long story short, labor hadn’t started by hour 30 so Dr. Soper started Pitocin. I couldn’t handle the sudden onset of horrific contractions and got an epidural. Still had a vaginal birth so it wasn’t a terrible experience but I did have a few moments of anxiety when my water broke first with this labor. I’d been empowered by Poppy’s birth, though, and I trusted my body to eventually go into labor this time and was content to wait it out).
The next morning Zach decided to stay home from work to drive me to Lynda’s and the airport to pick up my mom. It seems sort of silly since I wasn’t even in labor yet, but I was worried it might hit me fast and I’d be stranded on the highway with 2 kids, unable to drive through the contractions. We spent the morning cleaning up the house (and my puddles) then went to Lynda’s. I felt like a fool wearing regular undies with a pad, plus mesh undies and a giant maternity pad over that, but I couldn’t very well walk around in public holding a towel between my legs the way I had been at home. We talked about precautions (monitoring my temp, staying hydrated, EmergenC 3 times a day, not inserting anything into my vagina) and time frames. Lynda said as long as my temps stayed normal and the baby was moving well, she wouldn’t walk to discuss the use of herbs/castor oil/nipple stimulation until Saturday afternoon, unless it was just because *I* wanted to. Baby’s heart rate was 138, I was measuring 40cm and my BP was 120/78.
So we went about the rest of our day: Orange Leaf, airport, then home for the evening. I felt a final big gush of fluid as we got home around 4:15pm on Thursday (so 15 hours after my membranes ruptured) and after that I had no more leaking, which left me feeling slightly paranoid. Regardless, baby was moving well and I got good sleep that night. Friday morning I woke up a little irritated that the 24 hour mark had come and gone but I felt encouraged that I was now having lots of gunk (clear or pink-tinged mucus). Mom and I dropped the girls off at school then stopped by Sarah’s house to have her feel baby’s position. Ever since my water broke, my belly had felt/looked sort of deflated and more squishable, although it stayed round. She could definitely feel pockets of fluid and suggested that the reason I’d stopped gushing was the forebag slipping down to cover the tear. Made sense to me and the midwife apprentice concurred via text message. I was just happy not to have to wear my diaper. Zach and I went to Rustic Gardens for some mini golf. He beat me by 4 strokes but I had a couple contractions while we were out on the course so I was feeling optimistic.
After that it was Qdoba and Target with Zach & Mom, then he went disc golfing while we picked the girls up from school. I called Sarah and asked her if she could come check me (the only vaginal exam I had during the entire pregnancy/labor!) so I’d have some sort of idea of my “starting point” before labor began. She just happens to keep sterile gloves on hand at all times and was happy to pop by! She declared me 2cm, 80%, and very soft – she was able to stretch me to 3. So once again I was feeling irritated (more than 36 hours after my water broke and I had to assume I’d made pretty much NO progress from the random contractions) and I just knew I was never going to go into labor. I had a good crying spell then decided I needed Zach to come home NOW and that I needed Mom & the girls to go away for the night. I felt terrible asking my mom to go spend the night somewhere else after she’d flown all the way here to spend time with us, but I just really felt like I needed some alone time with Zach. (Looking back, obviously this was the start of my labor so I wish someone had talked me into letting mom and the girls come back here to sleep for the night so they wouldn’t miss anything, but I probably would have been hard to convince at this point.)
Thankfully mom understood. We all ate dinner together (during which I had a few contractions) then they headed over to Gma’s. I stripped down to nothing and sat on a towel on the birth ball while Zach and I watched Just In Time. My contractions started to get more consistent, coming every 6-11 minutes. Then my lower back started to ache, which was a relief - when one is 41 weeks, 1 day pregnant and has had ruptured membranes for well over 36 hours, feeling pain and discomfort is actually quite a happy thing!
For the most part I was breathing and rolling my hips through each contraction without much fuss but every now and then one would take my breath away and leave me squirming in pain. I think it had something to do with the baby moving during a contraction. It was something I’d not felt in either of my other labors and it sucked. Zach and I worked out a system where I’d say, “Ok.” at the beginning on a contraction and he’d pause the movie and kneel in front of me so I could lean on him if I needed to, or just hold his hand. This allowed me to relax more completely. Then I’d get up and pee (always hoping to find some bloody show but only finding the same clear/pink mucus each time) before reclaiming my spot on the birth ball to watch the movie and wait for the next one.
After the movie we went for a walk to see if it would bring the contractions closer together. It did not, and I felt too “watched” to relax because it was still light outside and people were sitting in their garages. I definitely prefer to labor without a strange audience. When we got back home I laid down on the couch and snoozed between contractions while Zach watched another movie. Some contractions I could just breathe through but some had me springing up off the couch and lunging for Zach’s support. But somehow I fell quickly back to sleep after each one.
At some point we moved to the bedroom but the routine stayed the same throughout the entire night. Zach slept with his hand outstretched so I could reach it if I needed it, but I tried not to bug him as I breathed, moaned, shrieked, rocked, writhed and relaxed through contractions that came every 9-11 minutes without fail. I have no idea how or why, but I had no trouble falling back to sleep between each contraction, even the horrendous baby-moving-around ones that had me panicking and running for the bathroom (they were making me pee).
When 6am rolled around, I decided I’d had enough rest and it was time to get the show on the road. I got up and settled in on the birth ball again while Zach watched some show about Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks (I wanted to kill him). The contractions went back to averaging 8 minutes apart – maybe a bit longer and stronger but definitely not getting much closer together. Between 6:30 and 7, I decided I’d like to call over Shannon (the birth assistant/midwife apprentice) to come check my cervix and listen to the baby’s heartbeat. I knew a prolapsed cord was a slight risk since my labor began with my membranes already ruptured, so I wanted the reassurance of hearing the heartbeat stay strong throughout a contraction. Zach summoned her but told her she’d likely be going back home since I was still in early labor with spaced out contractions. He also texted the family to let them know I was still having contractions but it was looking to be a very long day.
I remember telling him I felt like such a loser because here I was, with contractions 8 minutes apart, daydreaming about going to the hospital for some Pitocin and an epidural. Even though that thought process is usually a sure sign of transition, it never really occurred to me that I could be so far along in my labor since I’d just spent 8 hours sort of sleeping and my contractions were still so spaced out. I wondered what I was doing wrong that was making coping with them so difficult. I figured it was a combination of my water being broken and not having done Hypnobabies this time. I was anticipating a long day of laboring ahead and was feeling rather grumpy about that.
Around the same time, I decided I hated the birth ball and was going to get in the tub, even if it was early labor and I’d slow everything down. I’d been holding off on it since it seemed sort of like an infection risk to be in there very long before the birth, but that no longer mattered to me at this point. I remember thinking “Go ahead and infect me, birth tub, I DO NOT CARE!”
I skipped a contraction when I first got in the tub and thought maybe I’d stopped labor altogether. Which was fine with me, I’d just wait it out and start over again later. But then a contraction came, then another shortly thereafter. I wasn’t even watching the clock at this point so I can’t say for sure but Zach said they got closer together and I got a lot louder (I suspect some of these were spontaneous pushing noises that got cut off by me yelling – questioning the universe and my body about why this was hurting so freakin’ bad when I’d been asleep just over an hour earlier). I needed the water in the tub to be higher so he hooked up the hose to the hot water spout and pumped some in. Then I was too warm and asked for some cold water. He spent what seemed like hours trying to get the hose connected to the cold water. I was so mad because all I needed was for him to dump in some buckets of cold water, but he was determined to hook up that damn hose. By this time I needed him to do counter-pressure on my back during each contraction to help with the pain, so I was getting pretty hysterical that he kept leaving the room. After flooding the laundry room, admitting defeat, and carrying in buckets of cold water, he decided to call over Sarah so he could have another set of hands around.
At some point in the tub my body started feeling pushy and kind of like my vagina was doing the fish lips thing I remember from just before Poppy’s birth. This pissed me off even more. I was sure there was NO WAY I was even close to fully dilated (I was guessing 5-6, and thought even that might have been a bit optimistic since the contractions had been so spaced out). So then I tried “hee hee hoo” breathing and horse lips and screaming cuss words during contractions to try to avoid pushing. The only result of that was Zach making fun of me, so I told him we better call Lynda (the midwife) to come. As soon as he hung up with her, he texted the family/birth attendants and told them it would probably be ok to head on over, but that there was no rush. The time was 7:36am.
I’m not exactly sure what happened in the next 5 minutes, but at 7:41am Zach texted my mom saying simply, “Hurry!” because it was becoming apparent that the birth wasn’t going to be as delayed as I’d anticipated and I really really wanted her, Lolli & Poppy to be there when the baby was born.
But that just wasn’t meant to be. During my next contraction, I found myself pushing full-stop. I was on my knees, leaning my elbows and head on the side of the birth tub. I reached down and, sure enough, there was a head between my legs. Oops!
I told Zach I could feel the head so he hopped in the tub behind me (or maybe he’d already been in there to push on my back; I can’t remember). I remember thinking something along the lines of, “Well shit, looks like we’re birthing this baby on our own. SHIT!” Maybe I said it aloud, because I remember him saying something like, “It’s ok. People used to do this in fields all the time.” To which I know I responded, “SHUT UP!” then proceeded to push out my baby’s head. I remember briefly giving a thought to the fact that Zach has no idea how to support a perineum and hoping I didn’t tear horribly. After the head was out, I told him he’d need to feel for a cord around the neck. He said he couldn’t feel anything which reassured me, but later when I asked him, it became clear that he didn’t really check as thoroughly as I’d assumed he did. Thankfully it was a non-issue.
We heard the front door open and Zach calmly hollered, “Help! Help! Help!” and in walked Shannon. Woohoo! I remember saying, “We’ve got a head.” I’m not sure exactly sure how much time passed but I don’t think it was long until I felt another urge to push, so I did and the rest of the baby’s body oozed out into Zach’s hands at 7:49am. Zach told me later that for all the whooping and hollering I did during labor, I was actually completely silent during pushing. It was definitely my favorite part of this labor (probably because I spent the rest of my labor either sleeping or being pissed off and in denial of it really being productive labor).
Shannon helped him untangle the cord which was wrapped across 1 shoulder. As they were doing this, they both said the word, “he” and my ears picked right up on it. I looked over my shoulder and was like, “Um, did you guys say he?” and Zach said he was pretty sure. So I snuck a peek and yup – we had ourselves a baby boy! Zach and I were both completely stunned. He’d stared at the screen closely during our routine diagnostic ultrasound and was convinced he would have seen a penis if one had been present, so in his mind, the baby was 100% girl. I knew the ultrasound wouldn’t have showed us the answer since the tech never focused on the right area, but my pregnancy had been no different than my others, so I just assumed it was a girl, since nothing indicated otherwise.
I had to do some sort of weird leg lift so they could pass the baby to me without tugging on the cord or sticking him back underwater. Once I had him in my arms I was able to settle comfortably and lean back against the wall of the tub. The baby started searching for my nipple immediately, which always amazes me. I had expected to feel hyper and sort of amped up like I had after both Lolli & Poppy’s births, but instead I just felt happy and stunned, but not other-worldly at all.
It wasn’t long before we heard the front door again and in walked Sarah. It was fun watching her reaction and I was so glad she got there when she did to start snapping pictures, but I remember feeling apologetic for her having missed the birth. (I did a LOT of apologizing that day as the family and birth attendants all trickled in during that first hour of our baby’s life.) Shannon and Sarah helped me move out of the tub and over onto the bed where I nursed the baby and waited for the placenta to come. I’d forgotten how big those feel. It doesn’t really hurt, but it’s scary to feel things stretching again so soon after birthing a baby. Shannon checked our vitals frequently and all was normal.
At some point, my mom, grandma and the girls arrived. We let the girls in the bedroom first so they could meet their baby brother. They were super sweet with him! Lolli was very interested in how he was still attached to the cord and placenta but Poppy got a bit freaked out by the blood. I have no idea of the order of arrival but my dad, Zach’s parents, my grandpa, Rod, Lynda (the midwife), Tonya and Jaime all came to welcome the baby.
I still wasn’t 100% sure on a name for the baby but Lolli had insisted all along that it was a boy and we’d name him Orion, so we just went with it and named him Orion Zane Pucillo, but he goes by Ozzie.
Once Lynda arrived, we were able to clamp and cut the cord. Zach did the honors since Dr. Soper cut Lolli’s and I cut Poppy’s. Lynda and Shannon checked my perineum and found a clean 1st degree tear. She offered me the option of a stitch, derma-bond, or just keeping my knees together. I chose the last option because it seemed the simplest and least painful (it’s been 8 days since his birth as I type this and I feel great down there so I think it was the right choice). Then it was time for Ozzie’s big weigh-in. He tipped the scale at 9lbs 4oz and measured 22.5 inches with a 13.75 inch head. As he was on the scale, my dad came in to “take a picture of his balls – gotta have proof.” Ha!
I got up and showered then headed out to the living room to introduce Ozzie to everyone. Several people helped Zach get the tub cleaned and taken down and Tonya and Jaime were busy in the kitchen making peri tea and birthday cake. I kept telling everyone how sorry I was that they’d all missed the birth. At some point it dawned on me that there is no video of Ozzie entering this world and that made my heart hurt pretty bad. I treasure the birth videos of Lolli and Poppy so much. It still makes me tear up to think about it. But pretty much nothing went according to plan for this birth since it caught us so off guard. The only 2 things on my birth plan that were accomplished were having a water birth and Zach cutting the cord. I’d wanted lots of pictures and video during labor and the birth, I’d wanted mom and Lolli and Poppy all to get to see the baby be born, I’d wanted to catch the baby myself, etc. Oh well. Maybe next time (I’m kidding, Zach! Sort of. I do really really really enjoy giving birth, despite handling it like a maniac, very much unlike those calm and quiet water births I see on YouTube).
This was a very strange labor. I’d been hoping for lots of advance notice before the baby was born, and I got it – my water broke 55 hours before Ozzie was born! But the waiting around for labor to start wasn’t really very fun. And I never really enjoyed my labor or welcomed my “birthing time” because of the odd way it presented itself. I’m still baffled at how easily I feel back to sleep between each contraction during the night – who does that?!? I kept waiting for the bloody show that had preempted both Lolli and Poppy’s birth but it never came. I certainly wasn’t wishing to come within 60 seconds of an unassisted birth – we’d planned on it being a big gathering with all our family gathered in the living room to hear the first cries, with both the midwife and the apprentice in attendance plus both photographers snapping pics. I’ll always be a little mad at myself for not catching on sooner to how fast the pushing stage was going to start and finish, but I guess that’s what I get for having such a number-oriented brain and being a clock-watcher. Still, I’m proud of Zach for not freaking out about having to “catch” Ozzie’s head without anyone there to supervise or assist. He’s a pretty amazing birth partner!
Ozzie is a very content baby. He sleeps a ton but is nursing well. He was 9lbs 4oz at birth on Saturday (41w 2d). He hadn’t passed any meconium in utero or at birth so he did a ton of pooping in his first 24 hours! My milk came in Monday morning (I noticed the first dribble spill out his mouth around 45 hours after his birth) and that afternoon he weighed 8lbs 12oz. His cord fell off on Thursday (the girls were so happy he finally has a belly button!) and on Friday at the pediatrician he weighed 9lbs 1oz. He’s off to a great start and our family of 5 couldn’t be happier!

First doctor's appointment!

Zach and Lauren took Ozzie to Dr. Roscoe's today. He stayed awake and happy for the entire appointment. He weighed in at 9lbs 1oz and got a perfect bill of health :) The nurse sent home "Big Sister" stickers for Lolli & Poppy!

No more stump :)

Lolli & Poppy are super excited and proud to announce that as of 4:09 this afternoon, their little brother has a belly button! Ozzie's cordless!!!

Big day!

Zach, Lauren, Lolli, Poppy & Ozzie picked up breakfast at McDonalds and took it to Sugar Creek Park for a picnic. Then Zach and Lolli disc golfed and the girls played on the playground. Poppy ran some laps to get her energy out LOL It was a great first outing for the entire family of 5!

Then they went to Gma Great's and visited for a while. Zach and Lolli fished while Poppy hung out inside with Lauren, Gma Great, Gma Cathy & Ozzie.

Then Zach took the girls to Great Time while Lauren, Gma Cathy & Oz headed to Babies R Us for his first shopping spree. The kid had no idea he left the house! He slept through the whole thing but at least he got some super cute clothes and a pair of sandals out of the adventure :)

Finally, Zach, Lauren & Ozzie went to Stone Creek Dining Company in Noblesville for an anniversary dinner from Gma Cathy. Again, Ozzie slept through the whole thing! So it was a very wonderful date night for Zach & Lauren, who are actually getting enough sleep and feeling like humans despite having a 4 day old baby!

First outing!

Lauren, Gma Cathy & Ozzie went bra shopping today! It was Oz's first time being outside the house in his entire life, so it was a pretty big deal! It took Lauren forever to get the car situation (had to get that middle seat 'front and center') but eventually it worked out. He was a very good shopper and Lauren managed to find 4 bras she actually liked!

48 hour check-up

Lynda and Shannon stopped by this afternoon for Oz's 48 hour check-up. His exam went perfectly and he survived his heel stick for the newborn screen. He weighed in at 8lbs 12oz which is no surprise considering how much he pooped in his first 24 hours of life!

Orion Zane Pucillo (condensed version)

Orion Zane Pucillo was born at home into the water (my first tub birth!) at 41weeks 2days, weighing 9lbs 4oz and measuring 22.5 inches. Still can't believe he has a penis!!!

Long story short: My water broke during a random contraction Thursday morning at 12:58am... and we waited and waited and waited. Labor didn't start 'til Friday evening and even then my contractions never got close together. Somehow I slept in 5 minute increments from 10p-6a 'cause my contractions were still 10 minutes apart even though they SUCKED.

The pushing stage caught us off guard this morning and little Ozzie's head was born into his dad's hands just as our first birth attendant was walking in the front door. Zach was sure glad to have someone else around to help as the rest of Oz emerged about 60 seconds later at 7:49am, just 13 minutes after we sent out the notice for my birth team and family member to think about starting to head over, but telling them there was no rush. Whoops!

Other than the fact that I have no pictures or video of the birth, and not even 1 friend or family member made it in time to see Ozzie's big arrival, it was still very amazing ♥ He's a natural at breastfeeding and I feel great!

Also very thankful we weren't planning a hospital birth because even if I had been able to talk them into letting me wait 55 hours between my water breaking and giving birth, we only really had about 7 minutes notice that birth was imminent, so I would have ended up with an unassisted, unplanned home or car birth, which would definitely not be ideal!

Looking back, I suppose I was going through transition around 6:45am when I told Zach I was thinking about heading to the hospital for some Pit, an epi and a nap... but I was in total denial since my contractions had stayed so spaced out. Even when I got into the tub about 45 minutes before the birth, I was a little worried that I was getting in too soon during early labor and I'd slow things way down. So interesting!

Another overachiever!

As of 1:26 this morning, Baby #3 has officially gestated longer than its biggest sister. It still has a ways to go if it wants to beat out Poppy, though! That milestone won't be reached until 3:51am on May 30th. We shall see!

The tub was delivered Thursday night (my EDD) and we got it all set up Friday morning. We filled it Saturday afternoon and Lauren got in it twice yesterday just because it feels AWESOME to be weightless. Plus it's in the bedroom so she can watch tv from the tub ;)

Poppy is super sweet and when you ask her what's in the bedroom she says, "A pool! For mommy to get in to get the baby out! Of her vagina!" Hahahaha And if I ask her if she's going to help she says she's going to "Hold your hand and kiss you and tell you I love you!" Lolli is doing a fantastic job of being patient; I love that "due dates" don't meany anything to them so they're not getting impatient, as we've told them all along it'll probably be a May baby but it could be a June baby, too.

Today makes the kid a Gemini instead of a Taurus. Lauren's a Capricorn, Zach's a Virgo, Lolli's a Libra and Poppy's a Cancer. We've got quite a variety in this household, especially considering Lolli & Zach's birthdays are only 2 days apart. It's also neat that this will be a spring baby, Poppy's a summer baby and Lolli was born on the first day of fall :) I have no desire to have a winter baby, though - I like my warm weather 3rd trimesters very much!

46% of the birth date guesses on the ExpectNet poll have expired. No one even guessed a June date although I won't hit 43 weeks until June 7th. Ay yi yi!

Families R.O.C.K. 5k

The girls spent the night at Gma & Gpa Great's last night. Zach and Lauren took advantage of the opportunity to go out for a leisurely and YUMMY dinner at the Melting Pot since they won't have the chance again for several months! At first they were seated in a booth they'd never sat in before but oddly enough, the burner wasn't working right so they had to be moved - to the exact booth they've sat in every single other time they've been there. Hilarious! This morning Z & L put on their running clothes and headed for Southeastway Park for the Indiana Creek Church Families R.O.C.K. 5k. It was a HOT and cloudless morning but 3.1 miles seemed so short after the race they'd run just 2 weeks ago :) Gma & Gpa brought the girls to the park to play, cheer, and get their faces painted while mom and dad were racing. Zach finished in 29:28 and Lauren, despite being 2 days pas her due date, finished in 47:25. That's still 19 minutes slower than the last 5k she ran (the MeltDown in July where she got 28 something) but she was just happy to be out there working up a sweat and getting a little endorphin rush! There aren't any nearby 5ks going on next weekend so Zach says if Lauren's still pregnant he'll organize a Wanamaker 5k for her to walk ;)

Due Date!

With both previous pregnancies I've written a nice reflective post on my EDD. For some reason I don't feel like doing that just yet, so I'm not gonna force it. I had an appointment with Lynda today. Sarah, Molly & Charlie came along! And actually they brought me cupcakes and a Diet Coke for my due date, because they are the most thoughtful people ever :) The kids played nicely at Lynda's and Sarah snapped some pictures that I'll treasure forever! Lolli was very sweet and helpful, feeling around to find the baby's position and kissing me while Lynda did the measuring and whatnot. BP was 104/78, fetal heart rate was 138 w/ good variability, I measured 40 cm (same as I did at 40w with Poppy) and my urine was normal. Hooray! After the appointment we headed to Holliday Park for cupcakes and play time. It was hot but not unbearable and the kids had fun. Of course Lolli begged for Molly to come over, which was fine. So Charlie invited Poppy to come play with him - her first ever playdate without Lolli! So we swapped kids for a couple hours and everyone had a blast. Then it was time for the girls' preschool graduation. It was a cute ceremony and the girls had lots of proud relatives in attendance! Papaw Lucky, Zach & Lauren, Gma & Gpa Morgan (who even brought Paige!), Great Aunt Jodi and Gma & Gpa Great all came! Lolli looked nervous up on stage but sang along and did her hand movements well. Poppy looked as far from nervous as ever and also did a great job with her singing and motions. Just 1 more week of school then they'll be home with Lauren & the baby for 2 months straight - Yikes!!!

NOT miserable!

My EDD is tomorrow so this is an exciting time! However, I'd like to put out a little PSA of what not to say to a happily full-term pregnant woman after inquiring when her little one is due to be born:
"Oh, you poor thing, all of mine were born by that point."
"Oh my, you must be absolutely miserable."
"Why haven't they induced you yet?"
"For your sake I hope it's soon."

I know this is mind-boggling to some people, but I'm determined to enjoy these last few weeks, say active, and do my best to focus on the positive (as I've done for the past 36 weeks). I'm not saying I don't have my complaints (just ask my DH ;) and I realize people mean no harm with their comments. But it seems like a majority of the strangers I've encountered have this perception that a 40-weeks pregnant lady must be in agony, and it's just not always true.

That's not to say I haven't encountered positivity from random people as well. The favorite comments I've received in the past few weeks:
"You look great!"
"How exciting!"
"You're moving so well!"
"Wow, and I couldn't even tell you were pregnant from the back!"

Each one of those comments may have been total BS (my thighs are huge, I waddle, and my triple chin is back with a vengeance), but those words sure made me feel a lot better than people trying to talk me into being miserable. I'm not promising I won't have my moments of grumpiness and suffering in the weeks to come but if I do, it'll be on MY terms not because society keeps trying to remind me that I'm "supposed" to be that way at this point.

Rookie Run!

Lolli & Poppy both ran the Rookie Run today. We had to fib a little bit on Poppy's birth date because it was for kids ages 3 and up, but she did just fine. Lauren ran with Poppy and Zach ran with Lolli. Both girls had a 2-block course and received medals and bottles of water at the finish line. Gma & Gpa Great came down to cheer them on. It was also Kid's Day on the Circle so there was lots to see and do. The girls races bikes/pedal carts around a track and Poppy got a tattoo and balloon. Lolli watched a dog show and played a numbers game. Poppy got really freaked out by a peacock mascot but eventually mellowed out. The weather was gorgeous this year!

Lolli had a baseball game earlier this morning so it was a big day all around for sport in our family!

Play ball!

Lolli's baseball game tonight was so cute! Not only are the kids adorable, but all 3 of Lo's grandpas were out on the field coaching and helping guide the kids ♥ Which was good because the coach was a no-show :/ The kids didn't seem to notice, though, and 1 other dad helped out, too. Apparently it takes a village to coach a teeball team! And Poppy was the perfect cheerleader with her new pom poms from Grandma (until she ran off to play with her new ball diamond buddies, who all happen to be 8/9 years old LOL).

39 week midwife appointment

Took the girls with me to see Lynda today. They did really well! They played with the toys while Lynda and I chatted, then shared the stool so they could see as she did the palpating, measuring and listened for a heartbeat. My BP was 104/70, baby's heart rate was 130 and I measured 39 which is spot on. We'll definitely get to meet this little guy/gal in the next 4 weeks!!!

Less than a month to go!

The only thing I know for certain about this baby's birth is that it won't happen past 43 weeks. Which means that I can safely say, without a reasonable doubt, that this is the last 8th of the month that I will be pregnant this go-round! ('Cause June 8th I'd be 43w 1d ;)

2012 Mini Marathon!

This baby already has a full marathon under its belt and today it earned its first medal for a half marathon :) Zach and Lauren walked the course in 3:33:28 despite her being 38 weeks 2 day pregnant, temps in the upper 70s by the time the race ended and the humidity being about 10000%. The baby slept the whole time and Lauren only had 2 or 3 contractions and never stopped to pee (despite taking in massive amounts of water and gatorade) so they finished about 22 minutes faster than they'd expected. Zach wore his Captain America costume t-shirt and wore his frisbee shield on his back. He got lots of comments, especially when he put his cowl on! But Lauren got even more attention in her shirt that read, "Does this baby make my belly look big?" on the back and "Due May 17th" on the front. Feeling very fortunate to have been able to complete a half marathon at this stage of pregnancy! (Oh, and Lauren lost another good chunk of her plug right before leaving the house for the race! Combined with all that walking and the 'Supermoon' occurring that night, it was probably her best chance of going into labor before 40 weeks. Not surprisingly, it didn't happen ;)

Love these girls!

As I tuck Poppy in she always asks about our plans for the next day and tonight was no exception. I told her all about tomorrow, and then she asked where we're going on Wednesday (my kids suck at staying home and it's exhausting, but I digress...). I told her I hadn't thought that far ahead and asked her where she'd go if she could pick anywhere in the whole wide world. She responded, "Um, probably Target."

Woohoo, I get to be super cool mom because I can totally make that dream trip come true! If only it were always this easy...

And tonight before bed, Lolli came up and hugged me and told me she loved me and that she was really going to help this week to keep things picked up and clean up all her messes for when the baby comes and when Gma Cathy & Rod come :)

Home Visit!!!

The home visit went very well! Here's a brief (or maybe not-so-brief) re-cap for those of you who couldn't make it (we missed you!) Midwife: Lynda Barton-Kirch, CNM (Certified Nurse Midwife) Lynda was a L&D nurse at Community North and Wishard for years before earning her Master's in midwifery. She's been involved in home births for over 16 years, including having one of her own babies at home. Birth Assistant: Shannon Greika Shannon is a birth doula and midwifery student. Her main role will be to assist Lynda with whatever she needs, and maybe even take the lead under Lynda's supervision! Support: Sarah Mockaitis, Tonya Henderson, Jaime Aguayo. Sarah's a photographer as well as L&D nurse! Tonya's a photographer as well as doula and massage therapist. Jaime's planning her own home birth and will be in charge of handling my type A needs while I am too out of it to do it myself (phone calls, computer stuff, etc). That's our superstar birth team :) Sarah and Tonya weren't able to make it today but my dad and grandma were here with us! Lo & Pop were at school. First things first, we all ate! Pizza from The Ordinary, veggies, fruits, salads and lemonade. Yum! Then Shannon took my blood pressure (110/80) and everyone got to listen to the heartbeat through the Doppler (136ish). My fundus measured in at 39cm, right on target for me (I always seem to measure 2 weeks ahead). Then we went through the list of home birth supplies we've collected (towels, receiving blankets, peroxide, fish net, witch hazel, heating pad... lots of fun stuff) and showed Lynda & Shannon where everything is being stored so they won't have to ask during the birthing time. Lynda gave us a few supplies (sealed in sterile packaging of course) like the cord clamp (sooooo cute), bulb syringe, sterile gloves and whatnot. Then we showed her around the rest of the downstairs and made sure to point out the washer and dryer (they'll start a load before they leave, woohoo!) and where stuff is in the kitchen. After we all came downstairs Shannon swabbed me for the Group Beta Strep test. We'll get those results sometime this week. If it's positive, I can opt to have an IV or injection of antibiotics once the birthing time is coming, or I can do a cleanse to get rid of the bacteria and test again. And we turned in our consent forms for baby care in the first 48 hours. That's really all there was to it! I'll be 38 weeks on Thursday, so we've got the green light to go ahead and get to birthing whenever baby is ready. Lynda attends home birth up to 43 weeks gestation, although absolutely refuse to stay pregnant into June so this kid had better get with the program ;) Our birth tub should come sometime in the next 2 weeks! Lynda suggested we have 6 feet of space in case we get the big jetted tub so Zach laid down on the floor as our measuring tape. It'd fit!!! So anyway, everything is going really well and is as normal as can be. We got our house all in order and all of our big projects out of the way and we feel so prepared for the birth and having a newborn (well, as prepared as anyone can be!). The Mini Marathon is this weekend and I really wanna finish it, but after that the baby can come as it pleases :)

Another midwife appointment

All is well! BP was 120/66, fundus measured 38, FHR was 148. Zach was able to meet me there so that was nice. Next up: the home visit!!!

Things are a'changin'!!!

***Lauren lost a little bit of her mucus plug!*** 36 weeks 5 days

It sounds like something silly to be getting excited over, but she doesn't get prenatal cervical checks so this little glob of clear gunk is the only verification she has that some pre-labor dilation is going on down there. Woooohooooo!!!

36 weeks!

Lauren and Zach made it through the trip to the Dominican Republic without so much as a hint of trouble as far as the pregnancy is concerned. And today marks 36 weeks, which means the birth would no longer be a high risk one, although it'd still mean going to a hospital (midwife attends home births between 37 and 43 weeks). Hooray for another healthy full-term pregnancy. So thankful!!!

Sleepover!

Lolli had baseball practice at 7 last night and Zach was able to take her. Poppy stayed home with me and went to bed on time. She really wanted to sleep in Lolli's room and agreed to trying out the bottom bunk. (She asks to do this sometimes when Lolli's here but L always says no because 'Poppy still pees in her pull-up and it stinks' hahahaha.) I agreed to let her try, laid her down, tucked her in, and she went right to sleep.
When Lolli got home, she really wanted Poppy out of her room. I turned on Poppy's night light and got her room ready, but then Zach just carried in some stuffed animals. I was so confused, but apparently Lolli was already up on the top bunk and so Z was trying to trick her into thinking he'd moved Poppy out. Lolli was hesitant to believe him (glancing down to the floor and saying she say little feet move under the sheets) but somehow Z convinced her it was just his feet.
So the girls are having a sleepover, even though only 1 of them knows about it and consented to it. It's 7:05am as I'm typing this and they both slept through the night. It will be interesting to see how it goes when they wake up HA!

Lolli's making grown up plans

A couple of Lolli's friends are in the process of moving, so it got her thinking about it. She told me when she's a little bit older, she's gonna get her own house and live there all by herself. I told her I couldn't wait to see it and she informed me that she'll come visit me a lot and even still spend the night at my house :)

Poppy can open doors!

Big day for Poppy. She came downstairs on her own this morning instead of yelling for me or Lolli to come get her. Better late than never! Ha ha

First baseball practice!

As Lolli was getting dressed for her baseball practice, I surprised her by letting her wear a pair of my hot pink knee socks (the feet are cut off) to match her shorts. Her response: "Wow, you are such a great mom!"

♥ Treasuring this moment 'cause I know it won't always be this easy to get such a response!

(She's playing in the 3-4 year old Pee Wee division at Lowell Little League. Tonight's her first practice and she's so excited! She and Zach are out playing catch right now (with her hot pink and black mitt and her hot pink baseball ;))

I'd say tee ball is a hit with Lolli! She & Z practiced in the side yard for an hour, then her actual practice lasted an hour, then she begged to practice more when she got home.
Her favorite part? "Running the bases. And throwing the ball. And catching the ball. And hitting the ball. And running the fence." What kind of glutton for punishment likes it when the coach makes them run the perimeter of the fence?!? LOL Glad she's so excited, though!
Her next practice is Tuesday but she keeps asking if maybe they'll decide to have one before then. Only 3 kids showed up tonight including Lolli but they all seem to be pretty good! Papaw Lucky was there to help out the coach which was nice - I can't imagine how the coach would have handled it had all 10 kids been there!

Sweet moments

Favorite moment of the day: Listening to Poppy sweet talking the baby in my belly and then laughing hysterically when it kicks her hands ♥

Baby dream

I *finally* had a dream about this baby. I gave birth to him at 31w 6d (which is tomorrow) in a hotel, in my sleep, and he was about 6 inches long with a HUGE butt, perfect lung function and he was already able to roll and sit up.

Based on this insane dream, today I make my final accusation: this baby is a girl. And I couldn't be happier :)

Dry Pull-ups!!!

While we were on vacation, Poppy started waking up with a dry pull-up. We chalked it up to being in bed for less than 12 hours each night as well as not having a cup of water in there with her. But since we got home, she's kept up her dry streak, even with spending 12-13 hours in bed with her 2 sippy cups of water (she insists on 1 for each hand)! This morning was like the 8th day in a row. Yay, Poppy!!!

Midwife appointment

Lauren is 31 weeks today. Zach and the girls were able to go with her to Lynda's for a routine check-up. All is normal :) Baby's HR is 138 and fundal height is 32ish.

Vacation Day 6

Packed up and left Disney World. Drove about 2 hours Southwest to Lido Key near Sarasota, FL. Spent a fantastic afternoon at the beach, walked to St. Armand's Circle for dinner at Cha Cha Coconuts then splashed around in the pool until the sun went down. A great end to the vacation!

Vacation Day 5

Up early and to MK for Extra Magic Hour. Rode Buzz Lightyear, Asto Orbit, People Mover, Haunted Mansion, It's A Small World, Mickey's PhilharMagic Symphony, Winnie The Poh & Z rode Space Mountain. Saw parade again & met Chip & Dale and Stitch. Swam at Swimming Hole. Dinner at Trail's End buffet at the camp ground. Lauren & Lolli snuck out late and went to the camp fire to watch Tangled on the big screen outside in the dark.

Vacation Day 4

Lolli puked around 3:30 and 5:45. Went to MK around 11. Rode Aladdin ride, Jungle Cruise & Pirates of the Caribbean. Went swimming in pool w/ slides (chilly) and played on beach. Cooked dinner in cabin and got girls to bed by 7.

Vacation Day 3

Breakfast at the castle with Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora, Ariel & Belle. Rode carousel. L & P went back to swim while Z & Lo rode Stitch, Peter Pan. Went to Downtown Disney and ate at Rainforest Cafe. Roasted marshmallows, sang & danced with Chip & Dale.

Vacation Day 2

Breakfast at hotel; on the road around 7:30. Stopped 2 times. Arrived at Disney around 2:15. Settled into cabin, swam for a while, hit the MK. Saw parade w/ Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Timon, Jessie, etc. Rode tea cups, It's A Small World & Speedway. Watched Fireworks.

Vacation Day 1

Left parking lot of Community South at 7:45. Stopped 3 times. Arrived at hotel in Macon, GA around 6:30. Ordered pizza. Poppy was wild; Z & L were exhausted.

Lolli's First Report Card!

Lolli got her Pre-K Developmental Profile for the 1st Semester today. Lauren was nervous to open it because Lolli wasn't even in the pre-k for the 1 semester, so it seemed likely that her report would have several gaps in it.

But NOPE! There was only ONE area that she was marked down as lacking in. Which means she has officially mastered:
Saying her first and last name
Recognizing her name
Knowing how old she is
Knowing her address
Knowing her phone number
Knowing her birthday
Holding a pencil correctly
Holding scissors correctly
Gluing neatly
Spelling her name
Printing her first name
Knowing 8 basic colors: red, yellow, blue, orange, green, purple, brown and black
Working simple puzzles
Counting to 20
Completing AB patterns
Sorting objects
Identifying groups of more than, less than, equal to
Recognizing number 1-10 in random order
Knowing 6 basic shapes: square, rectangle, triangle, oval, circle, diamond
Associating numbers to groups (counting how many)
Recalling familiar nursery rhymes, poems, songs, finger plays and bible verses
Understanding the progression of a book
Tracing letters and numbers
Recognizing all upper case letters in random order
Recognizing all lower case letters in random order
Walking forwards, backwards and sideways
Imitating body movements
Running, jumping, galloping and hopping
Balancing on one foot

Ms. Linda has Ms. Jeana fill out the social/emotional part of the report since Lolli's still new in Ms. Linda's class. She received 1's on everything (on a scale of 1-4, 1 being the highest):
Accepting and responding to teacher's authority
Listening with understanding
Working and playing cooperatively with fellow classmates
Following directions in a group setting
Recognizing others' personal space
Accepting responsibility for her personal belongings and classroom materials
Accepting responsibility for her actions
Sharing and taking turns
Participating in group activities
Understanding and obeying school rules
Having an appropriate attention span for her age group
Following easy two- to three-step directions
Showing an active interest in classroom activities
Having personal self-esteem and confidence
Bring remorseful when she does something wrong

The only "no" she received was: understanding the basic calendar concepts (days of the week, months, year etc).

Yay, Lolli!!!

Yes!

Poppy just said "Yes!" instead of "Wes!" Thought it was a fluke but she followed it up with "yeah" and "yellow" as opposed to "weah" and "lellow". Woohoo!

Poppy's day at school

Poppy solemnly informed us that all the kids were running around in her classroom today so her teacher turned the lights out and the whole class got a time out. She said she told her teacher she was sorry, but that it really wasn't too bad because during the time-out she sat on the butterfly rug, her favorite spot.

"Mom, just eat a pacifier!"

Poppy accidentally bounced on my belly. I said, "Ouch, that hurts the baby!" which prompted Lolli to suggest I eat a pacifier so the baby won't cry in there.