My Life: Beautiful Chaos: Mondays are for Memories

*Warning: this is a long one, but I couldn't help it.

Today is November 1st! I can hardly believe that my baby girl, Chandler Rae, is 7 months old today! I finally got started on her baby book and her 1st year calendar last week (took me long enough, I know) and so I thought I would take this Monday to remember my pregnancy, labor and delivery, and my sweet baby girl's first 7 months of life!

We found out we were pregnant on August 10th, 2009, just 1 month and 1 day after our boy Landon Joseph turned 1! Crazy right?

Landon loving him some cake at his first birthday!

My pregnancy with Chandler was rough!! I was constantly nauseous and threw up frequently! I didn't even start gaining weight until almost the 3rd trimester (but don't worry, I packed it on after the puking stopped).

We found out we were having a girl on November 17th. I was 18 weeks pregnant. We were stoked! Matt could not wait to have a little princess!

It's a girl!

This is the first outfit we bought for her. She is our Princess!

Here is her profile.

20 weeks pregnant. Landon is giving his sister a kiss.

26 weeks and 1 day pregnant. Landon was 18 months here.

Good friends of ours put on a "sprinkle" for us at our church on February 21st, I was 31 weeks pregnant. Unfortunately, I am waiting on the photos from my sprinkle, so I have none to share, but I hope to have them soon. I'll throw them in here when they come!

Two days after my sprinkle, I was admitted to Winnie Palmer Hospital with a stomach virus. I was so dehydrated that I was (to my surprise) in early labor. When they hooked me up to the machines my contractions where pretty intense and it turns out I was already 3cm! The fluid that surrounded Chandler was low, which is one of the reasons I had Landon 3 weeks early. That would have to be monitored the remainder of my pregnancy. When the doctor told me that they were going to have to admit me, I had a major breakdown. Landon and Matt were both at home sick with the stomach virus too and my boys needed me! (I think it was God preparing me for what was to come. With a newborn and a one year old, I had to learn to let other people help and to let go of my need to control it all!) I was moved to the 5th floor where they gave me some serious drugs to stop labor. I have to say it was probably the most painful experience I've ever had (aside from having natural labor with Landon)! My Mom stayed at the hospital with me and took care of me the way mommies do and Matt became super Dad for Landon. Fortunately, I was discharged in 2 days, but put on bed rest until I was at least 37 weeks! Yes, bed rest with a 1 year old! It was not an easy task to say the least! I wanted to take care of my boys and our home (especially since we had just moved into a new house less then a month before my big hospital sleepover). What I had to learn very quickly was that I would love Chandler just as much as I loved Landon and that if rest was what I had to do to keep her safe, then rest is what I would do!! Luckily, I have a great husband, amazing family and friends, and a very generous church family to take care of me through it all. I could not have done it with out their prayers, love, visits, meals, and support!!

Landon liked to decorate my belly. Here, he is putting stickers on it.

35 Weeks and counting! I was exhausted!

The weeks passed by and I was having lots of contractions! Every night I would wake up with them and think it was time to go, but then they would stop and back to sleep we would go. At my 37 week appointment I went in hoping that it might be go time. I had Landon at 37 weeks, so in my mind that was when I would have Chandler too. After a long morning of monitoring her and checking my fluid, the doctor decided it was safer for her to be out than to be in, so off to Winnie Palmer we went!! We were so excited!! My mom and dad were on Landon duty for the next couple of days so we had no worries about him, but of course we were going to miss him too!

We got into our room around 4pm. I was given pitocin shortly there after, and progressed to 6 cm within a couple of hours. The doctor on duty decided that since I was only 36 weeks and 6 days pregnant that he would like for me to make it to 37 weeks exactly, so he slowed down the pitocin. His plan didn't stop my labor though! My water broke when I got up to walk around and I moved to 8cm! At that point my contractions were getting intense, but I still kept thinking to myself, I can do this. It wasn't in my "labor plan" to go natural, but my epidural didn't work with Landon, so I already knew what I was in for. I stayed at 8cm for an hour and decided around 11pm that if I didn't have to feel the pain anymore, I didn't want to! It was epidural time for me! The epidural actually worked this time around and so quickly that it threw me into a panic attack. I was so numb (duh, that is what is supposed to happen), but it freaked me out. My blood pressure started dropping, and I began to dry heave. My nurse gave me some oxygen and I was able to calm down. Within 20 minutes of all that, I began to feel some pressure, but it was nothing like what I felt with Landon, so I figured it was nothing. I laid back and closed my eyes and about 20 minutes later I decided I should maybe call the nurse. She came in, checked me, and her exact words were, "okay, close your legs please, your baby is falling out, do not sneeze, do not cough." I was pretty surprised by this considering with Landon I called my nurse in and pretty much told her to get the baby out NOW! I knew it was time with him and there was an urgency to get him out! Chandler was a whole different ball game and I have to admit, it was awesome! The nurse called in the baby team and my mid-wife (they didn't have time to get a doctor, but the mid-wife was 100% better than my doctor with Landon anyway). My mid-wife had me push for a few seconds and stop and then push for a few more seconds and stop and out came Chandler Rae Sanders at 12:32am. She was 6lbs 12 oz and 20 inches long. She was born exactly 3 weeks early just like her big brother.

Oh please take more pictures of me, Matt. I know I look great. Yeah, right!

There she is. No pain at all!

As soon as I heard her cry, I could breath again!

Daddy with his Princess.

In love, all over again.

Our new family of 4!

I have to say over all the second time around is so much easier! My labor and delivery was a breeze compared to the first time and as far as taking care of a baby, we already knew what we were doing. The first few weeks at home where challenging though. Just figuring out how to take care of not one, but two children and our home as well, not to mention myself took some getting used to. One of the hardest experiences I have gone through as a mother happened when Chandler was 6 days old. Landon of course, caught a cold and it turned into croupe. At Chandler's 1 week check up, the doctor advised us to take Landon to be admitted to Arnold Palmer Hospital for treatment. The croupe had turned into strider and was causing Landon to have a hard time breathing. I had to drop my boys off and take Chandler home since we didn't want a brand new baby sitting in a hospital full of sickies. It broke my heart to leave him, but he was in good hands with Daddy and again, I think it was God once again preparing me for what was to come with a new baby and a toddler.

As the weeks go by, it only gets easier and easier. Chandler is now sitting up, eating baby food, taking baths with Landon, and SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! (When I wrote that last part I sang it in my head because it is such a glorious statement!) I'm also giving her bottles too now since she has become little miss nosey and doesn't want to be covered up anymore! Life with two kiddos definitely has it's moments, but I wouldn't trade it for anything! Here is just a glimpse of Chandler's first 7 months...