Third Street Thoughts

And......we are back!!

Sorry it took so long
Here is a picture from one week before D-day!!

It's a girl!!!

Cadence Joy was born 12/24/2012 at 12:35am and was 7lbs 10oz and 20 inches long! She was the best Christmas gift ever.

Our very first family photo just moments after she was born

Ed's mom guessed the right date and length, but she was very convinced the baby would be a boy.

My due date was December 21st, but with some problems with early contractions, I was for sure that the baby would be coming early. My due date came and went and I was disappointed and getting very anxious. On Saturday the 22nd, I knew for sure things were happening though! Ed and I spent the day cleaning the house, buying our last few Christmas gifts and doing a little grocery shopping. By the evening, I knew fairly certainly that I was having contractions, but they were mild. We ordered some Chinese food from our favorite place and ate at home. We relaxed and we soaked in our last few moments of being a family of 2. By a little later I figured we better call our Doula, Kleopatra, to let her know what was happening....

Because I really wanted to have a natural birth we had a Doula to help me through the labor. She taught our Bradley Method classes and was awesome. I could not have done it without her! She was so knowledgeable and is such a sweet friend. I would definitely recommend her!

On our way to the hospital, very late Saturday night, we called family to let them know. My Mom and Dad went to the hospital right then and they waited in the waiting room 20 plus hours! My sisters, Ed's Mom and Step dad, my Grandma and my Aunt Linda all came up to the hospital a little later

Kleopatra has a blog and wrote our birth story there if you are interested http://www.theloveofbirth.com/1/post/2012/12/welcome-baby-cadence.htm l

I am so incredibly thankful that besides having a little staidol to relax me at the end, I had a natural birth. I wanted to give up so bad, Ed and I were really both breaking down after 30 hours and I started not to care how the baby came, c-section, epidural, I didn't care. I was exhausted, delusional and pretty well falling apart. After a short bout of foul language and pushing for about 45 minutes our baby girl was here. I could not believe it. It was so cool to have that "it's a girl" moment. I think Ed really enjoyed that part especially going out to the waiting room to tell everyone.

That day, our hearts were changed forever. I thank God for her sweet little face everyday, the chance to be a Mom and experience new life. My neighbor Carla put it right when she said it was a "meeting of the worlds". It really was. I believe that God is creator, but if I didn't I would sure be sold after having a child. Everything works together perfectly...a perfect sequence of events. If that's not intelligent design, I don't know what is. I can't believe how much I love her and I know Ed feels the same way. We never understood how much our parents love us until now. I get it. I really do.

Further more, God loves his son this much?!? Just as much as we love Cadence? ...and he gave him up for our sake.....I'm speechless

Picture Time....

Our Christmas gift

I look rough, but there are the Aunties Leslie and Lynsey

Ed's Mom and Mark

Ed's Grandma

My Mom and Dad

My Grandma McManness and my Momma

One thing that has been a huge help keeping Cadence happy is the swing! She loves it and it really calms her down sometimes. It plays music too - which I think she likes. A couple different times Ed and I have caught ourselves singing the song it plays. If that doesn't make us officially parents, I don't know what will.

..maybe a good diaper "blow out"....I can hardly wait

I find that after having her, I can cry at just about anything. If it is remotely sad, I am crying. Poor Ed, he's had to deal with her and I crying at the same time. He's hanging in there. In the car now if I am listening to a really meaningful country song or joy fm song I can hardly hold it together. Sometimes I just have to change the channel to some really shallow ke$ha song and listen to her sing about brushing her teeth with Jack Daniels...whatever it takes I guess.