A Baby Story

This'll be short and sweet. Because my labor and delivery with Ryleigh was the fastest of my three babies. It was pretty amazing.

So here goes...

On Tuesday morning, May 18th, Andy and I headed to the hospital at about 6:15. We checked in at 6:30. I got changed into my attractive hospital gown, peed in a cup, and weighed myself. I'll keep that precious little number to myself. =)

A couple of nurses got me hooked up to the fetal monitor, put in my IV, and asked me a million questions. I got a little nauseous when they put the IV in which is normal for me. I am NOT a fan of needles! I never even actually looked at it, but I still got really lightheaded. Yuck.

And then I sat there and waited. My doctor was supposed to come and break my water and it felt like it took FOREVER for her to get there. I was getting so impatient. I kept thinking that the later she got there the later my baby would be born. And I just wanted to get the show on the road!!!

So my nurse started me on pitocin at 7:45. And then my doctor finally showed up at 8 and broke my water. She said that I was dilated to a 4. My contractions became strong, regular and painful almost right away. I wasted no time asking for the epidural and I had that at 8:30. (right around this time my sister called to say that she was leaving the cities and was on her way to the hospital)

A short time later the nurse checked me (I don't remember the exact time) and said that I was dilated to a 6 or 7. She asked if I typically progress pretty quickly and I said yes. She said she was going to call my doctor and have her come back to the hospital so that she wouldn't miss anything. I was thinking, "Are you serious?" Even I was amazed at how fast things were going.

So when my dr got back she checked me again and said I was about a 9. This was probably at about 9:40 or so. And my sister wasn't there yet and I was starting to get nervous that she was going to miss it because I was beginning to feel lots of pressure.

Dr B went and changed her clothes and when she came back I was fully dilated. She asked me to breathe through a contraction or two. And then my sister showed up!!!

And then, I NEEDED TO PUSH. My bottom felt like it was on fire. I started to push and it hurt so bad that tears came to my eyes. And I was thinking, "I really need her to come quickly because I don't know how long I can do this."

Two contractions and five minutes later Ryleigh Adele was born at 9:59!!! I was absolutely stunned and majorly relieved. Andy and my sister couldn't believe how fast she had been born. It was unbelievable. Andy just kept saying, "Wow!"

Ryleigh's face was very bruised and they said it was because she came so fast. 24 hours later her little face already looked much improved and within a couple days the bruising was all gone. She is a perfect, healthy, beautiful baby and we are SO thankful!!!

If you'll recall, I had some issues with my bottom when T was born. And I did not have those issues this time! My recovery has truly gone so well. I just feel like God has been so good and gracious to me in every aspect of my labor and delivery with Ryleigh. Thank you, Jesus!

Here are a couple of Fun Facts for you:
* I was induced with all three of my babies.

* With Lily they broke my water at 7 am and she was born at 11:27 am.
She weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces and was 19.5 inches long.

* With Taylor they broke my water at about 7 am and he was born at 12:42 pm.
He weighed 8 pounds 14 ounces and was 21 inches long.

* With Ryleigh they broke my water at 8 am and she was born at 9:59 am.
She weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and was 20 inches long.

* All three of my babies were born on a Tuesday!

Here are a few photos from Ryleigh's birthday. Enjoy!

Ryleigh in my womb on the morning of her birth. I cannot believe that less than four hours later she was in my arms!!!

I wear my stretch marks proudly. And I love how sexy my bottom looks in this photo. Ha! =)

She's here!

Getting her id bracelets.

Her poor little black and blue face!

Skin to skin with my precious baby. Unforgettable. Awesome.

Adoring our new baby.

Daddy is excited. Mommy is tired.

Proud Papa!

She's amazing

Things are going well. Ryleigh is an absolutely wonderful baby. She's making things pretty easy for us.

So far she is the best sleeper of the three. Yay! She's been giving me a 3 or 4 hour stretch of sleep almost every night for the past week. We tried the bassinet her first couple nights at home but she was waking up almost hourly. Not good! We tried the carseat last Friday night and she slept for four hours straight! It's been working pretty well, so we're gonna go with it. =)

She loves to eat! Nursing is going well. The first couple weeks are always interesting. Enough said. =)

She is really peaceful and content. It's so new and different for us! Lily had colic and cried A LOT. And Taylor was fine as long as he was being held. I don't get to hold Ryleigh as much as I'd like to simply because there are two other little people to be taken care of! But she does really well propped up in the boppy pillow or in her swing or bouncey seat. I am so grateful for a happy baby!!!

At her 3 day check up she was only down four ounces from her birth weight. And at her two week check up (she won't be two weeks until Tuesday) she weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces - four ounces over her birth weight! Oh, and her cord stump fell off last night.

Taylor is having a hard time. And that's hard for me. He LOVES Ryleigh, but he is letting us know that he's not getting as much attention as he's used to. He's a totally different kid right now. He melts down SO easily. He cries about the smallest things. And he's being naughty - throwing things, antagonizing Lily, etc. It's so unpleasant. Please pray for him as he makes this adjustment to being a big brother. And that we would know how to respond to him.

Lily is an absolutely wonderful big sister - again! She loves Ryleigh and gives her tons of kisses. And she says things like:
How cute is she?!?!
She's so cute!
I'm so happy we have a baby.
We waited a long time for her!
She's a little angel baby. (She gets this from my mom who calls Lily an angel baby.)
Little chubby toes. (She calls Taylor this as well. I have no idea where it came from, and Ryleigh definitely doesn't have chubby toes, but it's a term of endearment.)

She is a wonderful helper and will run and grab anything I need. She's such a trooper and I'm really proud of her.

My recovery is going well. What I say next could qualify as "too much information" so don't read any further if that bothers you!

My back is doing SO MUCH BETTER! It's amazing how much better it felt soon after she was born. My bottom feels fine. I did tear a little and I have a couple stitches, but all that seems to be doing fine. Within a couple days I was feeling really good down there. I pooped the day after she was born and almost every day since! Wah-hoo!

I went for my first post-baby walk the other night with my girls. Lily walked with me as I pushed Ryleigh in the stroller. It felt great! But my legs were a little stiff the next day! It didn't surprise me because of how badly my back hurt the last month of my pregnancy. Some days I could hardly walk.

Andy went back to work on Monday and it's pretty crazy being outnumbered three to one all day long. But I think the first week went pretty well! The days have gone pretty fast and it seems like Andy is home before I know it. I think this summer is going to fly!

So here are a few pictures from the past week or so. Enjoy!

T giving Ryleigh one of many kisses!

Sweet Ryleigh girl. I just love her little hands - they're so delicate and she has long, pretty fingers.

My awesome sister and her wonderful husband came to see us on Monday. It was an unexpected and fabulous surprise!!! They "made" me take a nap and I appreciated it SO much!

I took the kids to the park for a picnic on Tuesday. All by myself. Am I crazy?! It actually went well and they needed to get out of the house.

She has the best smile!

This little slide is perfect for him. He must have gone down the slide 20 times!

Having fun!

Ryleigh's one week birthday

Lily really wanted to make cupcakes this week. One night after T was in bed she and I made them together. The next morning we frosted them and she did the sprinkles. =)

Ta-da!

My mom was here on Wednesday and we picked up Wendy's and headed to the park for lunch. I just have to say here that I have the most amazing mom in the whole world. She is so supportive, so loving and so helpful! She's a delight to be around and I'm SO thankful for all she does. I can't imagine what I'd do without her! She is an incredible grandmother! She's a huge part of my kids' lives and they are blessed to have such an amazing grandma.

Wrestling with daddy!!! This is pretty much a daily event when Andy gets home from work. They love it!

T loves to hold her!

My precious babies.

He's so good

So in the days leading up to Ryleigh's induction I was really wanting a pedicure. I just thought it would be so lovely to have nice feet and freshly painted toenails in the hospital (since I obviously couldn't paint them myself)!!! But we didn't really have money to spend on a pedicure this month so I didn't think it was very likely to happen. But I decided just to ask God if He would provide a pedicure for me. I said to Him, "Lord, I would just love to have a pedicure before I go to the hospital. Would you please provide that for me if you see fit to do so?"

I'm not joking. I asked the Lord for a pedicure.

On Monday afternoon, the day before Ryleigh was born, I went to the mailbox and inside was my check from Ebates!!! I almost cried. And I said out loud, "God, you are SO good!"

So that evening after I dropped my kids off at our friends' house for their sleepover I went and got a pedicure. And I had nice feet and freshly painted toenails for Ryleigh's birth.

God is so good.

Our little lovey. She's seriously so awesome.

Introducing...

Ryleigh Adele Becker

born on

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

at 9:59 am

7 pounds 15 ounces

20 inches long

Ryleigh from Dawn Becker on Vimeo.

She's changed our lives and we're all in love with her! It's amazing how your heart grows, because I love her so much and I already cannot imagine life without her. She is such a blessing! God is SO GOOD!

I have 2 kids

This is my last opportunity to say those words.

BECAUSE WE'RE HAVING BABY #3 TODAY!

We have to be at the hospital by 6:30 this morning. If you're friends with me on fb the news will probably break there first. =) And the announcement of her long awaited name! We're probably about 95% sure that we have a name chosen. That's progress, people!

But I just wanted to take this moment to say how much I love the two little people pictured below. Lily and Taylor are the sweetest, cutest, funniest, most precious, most awesome, bestest kids in the entire world and I'm so proud to be their momma!

They have brought such joy to my life and I am blessed beyond measure.

Lily and Taylor, I love you as big as the sky!

Whee! Fun!

Taylor's new phrase is, "Whee! Fun!" It's SO cute! He has just exploded with new words in the last couple weeks. It's tough to tell which ones are actually in his vocabulary, because he can copy (and does) pretty much anything.

Here are some of his newer words that I can think of off the top of my head:
water
puggy (this is our word for pacifier)
durdur (burger)
fy (fry)
sure (shirt)
arm
co (cone)
beeyu (spoon)
puddo (puddle)
button (belly button)
Sam (Samson - Mandi and Bryan's dog)
low (loud)

I just can't say enough about Taylor. He is just the dearest baby! He's getting more and more independent, and like any toddler can have a fit with the best of 'em, but a majority of the time he is so cooperative and so easy going. He has a great personality and he's just so fun to be around.

When it's time to go somewhere I ask him to get his shoes or coat and he runs off to get them. He loves to "help" zip up his coat and also hangs it back on its hook when we get home.

He's trying to figure out the buckle on his carseat. He tries to buckle himself in - it won't surprise me a bit when he figures it out.

He loves busses and trains. He points to any bus or train with great enthusiasm and repeats, "Bus!" or "Choo choo!"

His favorite movie is Monsters, Inc. I wouldn't believe it unless I'd seen it. But he will sit and watch most of it. And he's absolutely captivated.

He loves his daddy. He loves his mommy. His loves his big sister. He loves his grandparents. He loves babies and so we're hoping he'll love the baby that's going to be living here permanently!!! =)

He really enjoys playing outside. If he ever figures out how to open the door we may have a problem!

He helps transfer laundry from the washer to the dryer and likes to push the buttons.

He has become a wild man in the tub and loves to splash!

He has started to sing along with whatever CD we're listening to in the car. He doesn't know all the words, but he sings the ones he does. And it's usually the last word of each phrase. Stinkin' adorable.

He takes a great afternoon nap - usually about two hours. Sometimes longer. He's a much better napper than Lily was. And she was done with naps when she turned three, so I'm hoping that T won't be!

Tonight I rocked him before putting him to bed and I cried. Tomorrow night he and Lily are spending the night at some friends' house because we have to be at the hospital so early on Tuesday morning. So this was my last night putting him to bed as my baby. Very emotional for me! I clearly remember putting Lily to bed the night before Taylor was born, and how life was forever changed. And I know that life is about to change again.

I'm so thankful for Taylor. The last 22 months have been absolutely incredible. I can't wait to see what he'll be like as a big brother and what big things God has in store for his life. Thank you, Jesus, for Taylor!

Taking a moment to smell the "roses"

Mmmm. Yogurt.

Trying on shades at T.arget

He put his rainboots on (on the wrong feet) and then climbed the stairs to his room, picked out a book and climbed into the glider to read. Seriously cute.

About 48 hours before meeting his baby sister.

Rollin' Rollin'

Last week was busy and fun-filled! We made three trips to the cities and kept the wheels rollin'!

On Tuesday evening we went to our first T.wins game at the new T.arget Field. FUN! The four of us Beckers and our friends Bill and Steph rode down together in our car - a smidge squishy, but it worked okay. And Lily was in some kind of mood and talked the entire way.

My lovely dad babysat our babies (my mom was working). Thanks, Dad!!! And all the next day Lily talked about how much fun she had with grandpa.

Anyway, the new field is pretty cool. I'm resistant to change and I had no problems with the dome! I particularly enjoyed the part of the dome that allowed me to stay dry during games. Ha! And when it started to rain on us I gave my husband "the look" and told him how "awesome" outdoor baseball is! The rain came and went several times throughout the game, but we still had a great time. And the T.wins won!

It was a lot of walking which was hard on my back. I sorta suffered for it the next day, but I think it was totally worth it. I also had to pee four times while we were there. The second time I walked out of the restroom, turned around and walked back in. I'm pretty sure Baby is using my bladder as a pillow because I have to pee all. the. time. Good times.

Here are a couple of pics from Trip One to the cities:

Steph and I trying to stay dry =)

A gorgeous rainbow over the field!

My husband and I during a non-raining moment

.

Trip Two to the cities took place on Friday. My college roommate Heidi was in town (all the way from Singapore) for her niece's wedding. She managed to squeeze me into her tight schedule while she was here and we met for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Yum! It was such a short visit, but so good to see her. Love you, Heidi!

.

Trip Three was on Sunday for Mother's Day. Sometimes I amaze myself with how bad I am at taking pictures. I DIDN'T EVEN GET A PICTURE OF MY OWN MOTHER ON MOTHER'S DAY. I just don't believe it. But here are the pictures I did take:

Taylor and daddy at lunch

Grandpa and Lily

While T napped at my parents' house Andy, Lily and I went to I.kea. My husband was looking for closet makeover ideas. Our closet has been somewhat of a disaster and needed help. Andy decided that the week before the baby comes would be the perfect time to re-do the closet. And so currently our bedroom and the guest room are an absolute mess with clothes everywhere. I really am thankful for what he's doing, and I'm also trying to stay calm. And positive. And hopeful. That everything will end up back in the closet in an orderly way before the baby comes! =)

So here's Lily in one of many chairs she sat in at the store! She had so much fun and I think she loved being there with us and getting our undivided attention. I loved it too! It's so nice whenever I get the chance to be one-on-one with either of my kids.

She liked this light fixture behind us - the big round one - she had to touch it. =)

She enjoyed this kitchen. Isn't she a little model? =)

More fun at I.kea! She's such a nut!

HAPPY!

Grandma's Memorial Service and Burial

We made the whirlwind trip to Illinois for my Grandma Adele's Memorial Service and I'm so glad we did. All seven of my grandma's children, and most of her grands and great-grands were there and it was so nice to see everyone. I feel like it's such a testimony to how beloved she was to see how many of her offspring came and the distances they traveled.

The service was perfect. It was held at the little country church that my grandpa attends and I thought it was so appropriate. (I wish I had thought to take a picture of the outside of the church!) We filled the little sanctuary and there was standing room only. And all of the pieces of the service were so nice.

More than anything I just felt so grateful for the godly example that my grandma was. What a privilege to be her granddaughter and to have such a remarkable heritage. She loved Jesus so much and was such a faithful lady. And she wanted so much for all of us to love Him too.

She battled dementia the last several years and it was very difficult to see her in that state. In many ways it was a relief that her struggles were finally over and that she is finally in the presence of Jesus! But she also left a huge hole. I definitely miss her. I knew that I was loved and prayed for by her. I couldn't have been more blessed.

So here are some snapshots from the service in Illinois and then the burial in Minnesota.

My uncle Pete reading from I Corinthians 15:50-58

My uncle Jon shared some memories

A group of Adele's granddaughters sang I Will Rise by Chris Tomlin

My dad gave a wonderful message

Aunt Floy's husband Duane sang Finally Home

My uncle Tom closed the service in prayer

My sister and I hugged and cried - the tears had finally come

Adele's seven kids lined up by height =)

My three aunties - aren't they precious?

A Family Picture

My wonderful sister and me

Our little family

My amazing, adorable and awesome parents

The Cousin Photo

My kids running around and playing at the cemetary in Sauk Rapids

Mya, Lily and Taylor

My dad gave some brief remarks at the burial

Lily and Mya have such fun together!

My grandpa Curt weeping

Uncle Tom read Scripture

Sam, Nancy, Jean and Tom

Adele's kids

Dad and Mom

Mya and Lily at the luncheon at our church

There were the most gorgeous pink roses as centerpieces on the tables! My grandma loved pink! I think that's where I get my love of pink. =)

Sam and Adele Crabtree and their seven

Can you tell which one is my dad???