My Christmas present weighed 6 lbs 13 oz......

You guessed it! Stella Makayla Flynn was born Christmas Eve day!

And this is how I felt around 5 am....

Not good at all. This labor SUCKED. Why can't men be the one to go through it??

Anyway....let's get to the good stuff. The LABOR STORY. TA DA!

Around 3:30 on Wednesday night, I started having strong contractions. I had a doctor's appointment Monday, but I was only dilated to a 1. I went to the hospital at 9 and was only at 1.5 dilated, so they decided to monitor my contractions and see if there was any change. 45 minutes later, I was at a 2.5, 45 more minutes later, I was at a 3.5. They admitted me and got my antibiotics started since I tested positive for Group B Strep. At midnight, I was between a 4 and a 5 and the Dr said I could have my epidural if I wanted. I decided to get it so I could get some sleep. About 10 minutes later, I started feeling weird and numb all over and blacked out. I tell you what, I was scared to DEATH. As was Clancy. The anesthesiologist came back quickly and lower my epidural and put something in my IV. I started to come to, threw up, and felt fine. It was the weirdest thing ever. My blood pressure had dropped to 60/38!! Scary! This happened another 4 times before they said to stop the epidural for now. My contractions stopped completely and I slept. Around 7 am, my doctor came and said Let's get this show on the road! I couldn't agree more. They started a pitocin and a low dose of epidural. My water broke around 8, and I could really feel the contractions. There was blood in the amniotic fluid, which they discovered later was because part of my placenta had ruptured. My left side was numb, but I could feel everything in my right side. NOT FUN. I have soooo much respect for all you mama's who go natural!!!

At 10:15, I was a 9-10, and they called my Dr to come deliver. I started pushing and she was born at 10:32 am on 12/24/2009! Her cord was around her neck, but it was long enough to not bother her until her head was out. I was able to up my epidural right when I was at a 8-9, so I could feel her coming out, but I didn't feel any pain. She arrived 17 days early, but weighed 6 lbs, 13 oz. and 19.5 inches long!

She is perfect! She sleeps a lot, eats well and is adored by her sisters! The best Christmas present we could ever receive.

Now, enjoy the pictures.

She LOVED her bath!

I just can't get enough of her! She reminds me a lot of Livia, but definitely has the Flynn nose!

I know, the no make up look is really in right now.


My three girls, AKA my life.


Our family of five! Don't you love how the nursing pillow is still on. I think it's classy.

Baby Shower!

On December 10th, my AWESOME co-workers at the credit union threw me a babyshower! You know how much I LOVE presents, so I was very excited!! They threw it at Cyrus O'Leary's (yum!) and we all ate and had a blast! I am going to miss these people soooo much. It has definitely been the best company I have ever worked for.

The BEST cake I have ever tasted! Can you tell what name they want me to pick for this baby??

Opening some presents! I love how there is a chicken with sunglasses behind me.

I love presents!

Krista and Deb!

Connie and Krista!

Cora, Louisa and Amy B!

I was sooo excited that so many people were able to make it. Even my boss, Joe, came and he is a busy man! I left so loved! I am so glad that everyone supports me in my decision to stay home with my kids after this baby while they have to keep working....is that rubbing it in a bit??

Louisa being her fun self! I put her in charge of pictures and she will probably kill me for posting this, but TOO BAD. You take a picture like this and you know it will end up somewhere! Love ya Lou!

Eric and Sandy

Tricia.....the mastermind behind it all! She organized everything. I am going to miss her!!! Next to her is Amy K and her adorable little girl, Avery.

Kaylee, me and David

Kaylee, Tricia, me, Louisa, Cora and Toni!

I got so many cute things for the baby! It just made it all that more real that I will be holding a newborn in the next couple of weeks. Okay, everytime I look at this huge belly I am carrying, it makes it real to, but all the baby clothes made me so excited! I can't wait to dress her up! Yes, just like the Cabbage Patch doll I had growing up....I wonder where Elva is now? Hmmmmm

Anyway, thanks to everyone who came and for those who pitched in to get me a gift card to Target! I spent it the other night and bought all the last minute things needed before she arrives. 3 weeks (or please, Heavenly Father, SOONER) to go!

I just had to throw in a picture of her crib. I finally washed the bedding, put it on and put the mobile together. Her bag is also packed and ready to go!

Quick baby update!

Wooo hooo! We are past the 36 week mark!!! I had a check up today and my Dr. says she is VERY low ( tell me about it---I can feel the pelvic pain!). I am dilated to a 1 but only 20% effaced. So she probably won't come today. And I am typing this as I have a contraction....I know, I am dedicated. :)
Anyway, everything is good and she is still measuring a little big. My Group Strep B test came back positive (UGGGHH), which means that he won't strip my membranes on the 30th to get things going, as we had planned. That's okay though! She will arrive when she is good and ready! Any bets on when baby girl will choose to make her debut???


Oh yeah, and you need to click here to enter this awesome giveaway on this blog I found! She is quite entertaining! Then give it to me!

Disney on Ice

Can I tell you how much my mom rocks?? She took me and the girls to Disney on Ice a couple of weekends ago. Gracie can't stop talking about it and thinks that it is something she should be able to go to everyday. Needless to say, they loved it!!!

My mom and Livia inside the Princess Room that we went to before the show started. In the Princess Room, they had displays of certain princesses dresses and items from the movies.

Snow White, standing by Snow White's ACTUAL dress! :)

The Princess and the Frog.....I think her name is Princess Tiana.

Belle's dress from Beauty and the Beast.

Inside the Princess Room, they also had two real live princesses there! Cinderella and Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog!

Patiently waiting for the next princess.Cinderella!

Finally, it was time for the show to start!
Me and Livia (AKA Tinkerbell) before the show
Gracie said this is her "I'm so excited!" face.

We had so much fun and the girls were entertained just about the whole time (they kind of got bored during the Lion King part)! Gracie loved Ariel and Livia screamed when Lightning McQueen and Tinkerbell came out!
I highly recommend it to anyone with kids! We are going for sure the next time Disney on Ice comes to town!
Thanks Mom!!!

Soap and Face

This morning, I decided that it wasn't too early to put up our Christmas decorations.
I have one red wooden decoration that says HOPE and another that is green and says FAITH. As I was putting them on the bookshelves in our living room, Gracie asked me "What does that say, Mom?" I told her "That one says hope and that one says faith."
After a second of thinking, she looked at me and said "Oh! Soap and Face!"

A little hockey story

Once upon a time, there was a mother of 2 little girls who LOVED hockey. When she found out that the NHL would be having an exhibition game play in Everett, WA, she screamed before she even knew who would be playing (even though she was really hoping it would be the Carolina Hurricanes....but whateva!).

Anyway, this girls AWESOME husband said "Go! Go have fun with your hockey friends!" She found out that the game would be the Tampa Bay Lightning vs. the Phoenix Coyotes. Not really her favorite teams, but she has a soft spot in her heart for the TB Lightning because one of her beloved goalies, Dustin Tokarski, was drafted by them. She hoped and hoped and hoped he would be playing.

After 5 hours in a car with her friends, she made it to Everett in time to eat Ivar's (How awesome is it that they have Ivar's in their arena????) and watch warm ups.

Then all her friends spotted him. He was in the wrong number (usually #34) but there he was.

The poor goalie didn't get to play, but the girl was thrilled to see him in a TB sweater.


So the game began and the girl had a blast rooting on TB when it seemed like she was surrounded by Coyote fans.




What would a hockey game be with out a fight??



Then, the game was over. TB won and it was GREAT.




She had a blast with her friends and was glad she was able to see a live NHL game!




The end.

Baby bump

Here I am in all my 33 week glory! I can't wait to meet our new little princess!


I know....HUGE, right?? *sigh*

Everything seems to be moving right along! She and my uterus are measuring a head of schedule. We had a scare Tuesday night though! We were up until 12:30 am with consistent contractions that had worked up to 3 minutes apart. I was scared to death. I do not need a 4 lbs baby in the NICU right now, thank you! Luckily, I was in touch with a nurse from the maternity ward at my hospital that gave me tips on how to get them to stop. Finally, after a nice HOT bath, my body relaxed and we got some sleep! Too bad I drank like 20 liters of water, so while Clancy went peacefully to sleep, I got up every 5 minutes to pee. Lovely.

I know I am way behind, but I promise to get some stuff up this weekend. I have Halloween, an NHL game I went to with friends and more to post! Plus my mom and I are taking the girls to Disney on Ice this Saturday! I am sure there will be some great pictures from that! I am sooo ready for the weekend!

Down

Our laptop is broken, so I have been ignoring doing an update on Clancy's computer because it is in the cold, creepy basement! Hopefully we will be able to afford to fix it next week! Until then, everything is good here, but lots of stuff to post! I don't like to mess around too much on his computer because I tend to break things......

You swing like this.....

Isn't this the CUTEST picture ever????? My sis-in-law Ryanne captured it last weekend and I stole it from her (hope it's okay!). I think Clancy may have come to the realization that he doesn't make boys, so he's going to have to play baseball with his girls. He is the best dad. Gracie and Livia just adore him to death. I so thankful for him and thankful I have never regretted agreeing to marry him after 10 days of dating!

Labor Day Weekend

This last weekend, we took the girls to Lake Coeur d'Alene for the afternoon. Our picnic turned into a picnic in the car as we watched Coraline, because of the yucky weather. The girls thought it was cool to fold down the back seats in our Expedition, eat lunch, and watch a movie!




The best picture I could get of them after a million attempts!



It was a great, LONG Labor Day weekend! I ended up with 5 days off, and Clancy got 4 days off! It was great to spend time as a family and much needed time off! We also went to Cat tails Zoo that has lions, tigers, leopards and other big cats. That was a blast, reasonably priced and fun! We also checked out Frank's Diner up north. It was really good, the girls ate all their pancakes and they thought it was cool to eat on the choo choo train. It was hard this morning when Gracie told me she didn't want me to go to work today. 4 more months kid. :)