Liam's Birth Story

Last night before Jace and I fell asleep, Jace says to me, "I was thinking about when Liam was born and our stay at the hospital and, you know, that was a really nice experience."

I sarcastically responded, "Well I'm so glad you had a good time!"

Of course I know that what Jace meant was not that giving birth and the after effects were just super fun.  I know that he was just expressing how comfortable the hospital was and how nice it felt to be taken care of by the wonderful nurses we had.  I agree, we had a great hospital experience.  In fact, the whole giving birth part wasn't really that bad either.  In retrospect, giving birth was the easiest part of becoming a mom!  :P

Jace's comment last night got me reminiscing about Liam's birth story and I thought it would be a good idea to blog about it so that I have it written down somewhere and won't forget it.  I also thought my readers might enjoy hearing our story.  Don't worry, I'll spare you all the gross details. ;)

Liam's birth was the result of a scheduled induction on the day I reached 39 weeks in my pregnancy.  Our doctor decided it was best to induce me since Liam was considered small for gestational age (SGA) and she thought he'd have a better chance at growing and thriving outside of my belly.  Although, Liam's measurements were consistently proportional to the rest of his body and it was likely that small was just his normal, our obgyn thought it best to go ahead and get the little guy out here with us.

My induction was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 1, 2012.  We were told by my obgyn that it could take awhile for things to get going and that we shouldn't expect Liam to arrive until late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.  Although I checked in at the hospital at 7:30, I didn't actually receive prostaglandins (used to ripen the cervix) until about 9:30 a.m.

Most of the morning was spent sitting in the birthing room reading the Kindle while Jace did some work for his internship.  Unfortunately, Liam kept kicking the monitor on my belly which meant the nurse continually trying to readjust it while I attempted to eat breakfast (which was delicious and free!).  Around lunch time I received Pitocin to get labor going.  I was only on the drip for bout 10 minutes at the lowest setting because my body immediately started to respond and contract.  For me I just started feeling a little crampy.  Nothing significant in my opinion, just a tad annoying.  Our parents made it into town sometime in the afternoon when I was starting to feel a little less comfortable.  Thankfully they understood that we wanted privacy (I'm not a fan of being the center of attention when I'm in pain.).  I'm not sure what all they did the rest of the day, but then again, I was a little busy. ;)

Around 3 p.m. things really ramped up.  My doctor broke my water (strangest feeling in the world, by the way) and that's when the real contractions started.  My method for dealing with the pain was to squeeze the heck out of Jace's hand and breath, attempting to relax every muscle in my body.  I was determined not to get an epidural if at all possible (anesthesiologists are expensive!) but I did end up getting two doses of a mild pain medication and two doses of nausea medication.

Sometime around 8 p.m. my body started to physically contract.  What I mean is that every time I had a contraction, my entire body would literally convulse.  Apparently my body decided it was time to get the baby out and if I didn't start voluntarily pushing, it would just have to do it without my permission!  When I told my nurse that I thought it was time to push, she measured my cervix, which was completely dilated, and told me that she'd call my obgyn who had apparently gone home to tuck her kids into bed.  I wasn't sure if I could hold on until then but miraculously I did!

When my doctor arrived around 9 p.m. she got everything ready, including me, and I started pushing during each contraction.  No one had to count for me or encourage me to keep going.  I pushed as hard and for as long as I possibly could during each contraction.  Finally, at 9:35 p.m., Liam Patrick Adkins was born!  I admit, my first reaction was to cry.  My tears were of joy, amazement, and relief.  I was so relieved to be done with labor and contractions.  I was amazed at the fact that the little human now laying on my stomach was just a moment ago actually INSIDE of me.  I was also overjoyed that he appeared healthy and perfect.

Liam was all arms and legs when he was born.  When they laid him on my tummy he initiated me as his mom by peeing and pooping on me. :P  Then he stuck his fingers in his mouth and just stared at Jace and I.  He cried when he was supposed to to let us know he could breathe but then just kept sucking on his fingers and staring at us. 

Our firstborn son weighed in at 5 lbs., 10 oz. and measured 19.5 inches long.  Later, at his one week pediatrician appointment we would find out that he was really only 19 inches long (he was squirming so much when they measured him at the hospital that they apparently didn't get an accurate measurement. :P).

Liam was a small little guy but he's always been strong.  Since he was born he's been alert and curious.  He always has a thinking look on his face and we can't imagine what's going on in that little noggin of his!  Liam is also super active.  Even as a newborn he never was still.  He can kick like a mule and he keeps those little legs of his going most of the time.  I think Jace and I might be in for some wild adventures with this boy!

Thanksgiving Fun

Its Monday and back to reality for the Adkins family.  We had such a wonderful week off from school and enjoyed all of our time with our parents who visited us down here in Las Cruces.  In fact, we were having such a great time that I haven't had time (or energy!) to blog since before Thanksgiving!  I was so pleased with how everything turned out for our Thanksgiving dinner.  Planning and scheduling really did save my sanity after all!  Here's a look into our first Thanksgiving with Liam and hosting it at our place...

 Liam lounging with Bepa (my dad).

 I forgot to take pics of the entire Thanksgiving spread before we all dug in.  But here's one of some of the pies I made (half-eaten!).

 Early Christmas present from Nana and Papo (Jace's parents)! He's still not too sure about his Bumbo. :)

 The Adkins guys - Liam, Daddy, and Papo!

 Just before Jace and I went to bed on Friday night, we heard Liam making noise in his crib.  This is how we found him - busted out of his swaddle, looking like a perturbed superhero!

Snatched the opportunity to take a family photo yesterday.  Liam was obviously distracted by something much more interesting than the camera! 

After such a fun week full of good food and lots of family time, its been a struggle today getting back into our routine.  Thankfully we only have two more weeks of class and then finals week before we're free and clear of school!  December should be a busy month though between traveling, holiday festivities, and packing for our move to Colorado.  In spite of the guaranteed exhaustion all the fun and busyness will bring, we can't wait to celebrate Liam's first Christmas!

Busy, busy, busy!

Whoa!  Its been awhile since my last blog post and quite a bit has happened here in Adkins-land over the past few days.

First, and most exciting, Liam rolled over for the first time on Monday morning!  Jace decided that Monday was the day Liam was going to roll over so he put Liam on his tummy and whipped out his phone to record the milestone.  After about a minute of effort, Liam pushed himself up and leaned over enough to complete a roll onto his back!  Needless to say, his former cheerleader mom was super excited!

Yesterday, my parents came into town for Thanksgiving and in between my mom helping me prep for turkey day and my dad adventuring with my sister, Liam has had tons of fun playing with his Nana and Beepa!

Speaking of Thanksgiving prep, today was by far the busiest day so far.  Up to today the only cooking I'd done for Thursday was baking two pumpkin pies and cooking cranberry-apple sauce.  However, today I successfully cleaned and brined the turkey (Jace had to help with the cleaning part. I couldn't dig out the neck from inside the bird!), baked homemade rolls, prepped sweet potato casserole, prepped green bean casserole, fried onion rings for the green bean casserole, and sliced canned cranberry sauce (Jace loves it! Me, not so much. :P).  I also prepped the ingredients for the dressing which will be cooked in the Crock Pot tomorrow and roasted garlic to go in the mashed potatoes that will be cooked from scratch tomorrow as well.  My mom has been my awesome dish washer and is still here at our apartment to help bake the rest of the pies (two apple and one pecan).  I love baking pies because of the awesome crust recipe I have from my grandma.  It literally makes the best pie crust I have ever had and anyone else who's had it agrees!

So there you have it!  I've been up since 5:30 this morning and don't expect to go to bed before these pies are finished and the prep work for tomorrow is done.  Hopefully that will be sooner rather than later.  Liam still wakes up once during the night to eat so I really don't want to be a zombie trying to feed the little guy!

Blessings to you and yours during this Thanksgiving holiday!

My First Thanksgiving as Hostess!

As if I don't have enough consuming my life between taking care of Liam, retaining a semblance of cleanliness in our apartment, taking online classes, and getting ready to move in less than two months, I've also decided to take on Thanksgiving this year! 

I'm both excited and nervous about hosting Thanksgiving at our apartment for our little family of three, my parents, and my sister. 

I'm excited because I love entertaining!  Having people over is so much fun, especially now that I spend the majority of my days at our apartment with a 3 1/2 month old who, try as he might, isn't the best conversationalist.  I treasure the time Jace and I get to spend together when he's not away at class, but the nature of his workload for finishing up his master's degree this semester does not lend him much undivided time for fun and relaxation.  So Thanksgiving will be a great day for food, fun, family, and no homework!

I'm also nervous though because there is so much planning to do!  In fact, I've been compiling recipes and building a schedule for a couple of weeks now.  I find comfort in being prepared, so lists and plans are borderline addictive for me. ;)

                                                              Highlighters, sticky notes, recipes, and a prep schedule will hopefully save my sanity!

On top of planning and scheduling, I've also honed in on my crafty side and done some decorating!  Thank goodness for Liam's naps that allow me the time to do fun things like this!

 I couldn't resist framing the "Keep Calm and Bake Pies" printable when I found it on a blog!

I can't wait to host Thanksgiving!  The prep work has already begun with cleaning some of the apartment today and continues throughout the rest of the week leading up to Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday.  Wish me luck!

Both a Title and a Conviction

Look at me posting two days in a row! Woo hoo! Today I thought I'd put down all my thoughts on how I came up with the name of my blog - "Stay at Home Sheila."  The most obvious reason I chose this name is because that's who I am!  My name is Sheila and I'm a stay-at-home mom.  Now this is where everyone says, "Hi, Sheila" in their best AA member voice. 

There is another side to the story of how I titled my blog though.  It can also be read as a command - "Stay at home, Sheila."  I believe that God has called and convicted me to stay at home as a wife and mother without pursuing a professional career.  I actually feel that God has been calling me to this role since I was a little girl, dreaming about my wedding and the tussle of children I would one day have.  At one point during my childhood I had my heart set on getting married shortly after I turned 18, having 10 kids, and living in an old RV that was parked in my grandmother's backyard at the time.  As I got older and entered my teen years, the age at which I wanted to get married and the number of children I intended on having changed (and of course I no longer dream of living in an RV!).  I figured I would at least start college and get a good way through it before becoming my soulmate's wife and then we would wait until we were finished up completely with school before expanding our family.

I met Jace during my first semester of college and we were engaged within a year.  We got married less than two years after meeting each other and planned to wait on having kids until we were out of school and had somewhat of a game plan for Jace's career and our future.  Well turns out God had a different time frame for "our plans."  Jace and I had been married about six months when we found out I was pregnant.  I remember sitting on our bed in complete shock, frozen with panic.  I realized that I only wanted God to give me the desires of my heart as long as I dictated when and where.  In an attempt to retain control over the situation I quickly decided that I would still finish up my college degree even though that meant student teaching and finding alternative care for my child.  I decided that I could "do it all!"

However, God began to work in my heart and convict me of my strong-willed determination to finish college even at the expense of His blessing of a child.  I prayed and prayed about what to do.  I knew I would regret missing moments of my baby's first year of life but I also clung to my reputation as an honor student whose goal was to graduate college with an intact 4.0 GPA.  God finally spoke to me clearly through Jace and undeniably told me, "Stay at home, Sheila."  My academic aspirations and reputation have been some of the most difficult idols to cut down.  I still find myself envious of my friends who are achieving in college and I often wonder if people who knew me as a straight A student shake their heads and think, "What a shame."  However, these thoughts are quickly quelled when I look at my precious son and realize that I'll get to experience every single "first" of his life.

God is good and His timing is always perfect.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." -Romans 8:28   

First Blog Post!

Well I finally did it. I finally started my own blog. I've been contemplating this for quite some time now but kept coming up with excuses as to why I couldn't/shouldn't/wouldn't start one.

The idea for starting a blog first came to me over the summer while living in Fort Collins where I had plenty of time to do whatever I wanted. Jace was working at his internship all day and I was in a new city, pregnant, and without any school to worry about. I began reading other blogs written by Christian moms and thought, "Hey, wouldn't it be neat if I started one of my own?"  However, that thought was always followed by, "You shouldn't start one now because when you have Liam you'll be so busy that you won't be able to keep up with a blog. So it would really be a waste of time."

After I gave birth life was crazy. Liam was born in Fort Collins, less than two weeks before we packed up and moved back to New Mexico for the beginning of a new college semester. The move was crazy and tiring with a newborn. Neither Jace or I were getting enough sleep at that point so driving 11 hours over the course of two days was not a super enjoyable experience. Things didn't seem to fall into a rhythm once we got back down to Las Cruces until a few weeks ago. I was still trying to breastfeed (with lots of struggle and plenty of tears), while continuing to do homework and help make Jace's life as easy as possible since he's working extremely hard to finish up all his master's program this semester. Throughout all this hectic-ness I kept telling myself that right now was not a good time to start blogging. Instead, I should just wait until we move back up to Fort Collins in January and we're somewhat settled.

Well we recently decided to go ahead and invest our money by building a house in Ault, CO (twenty miles east of Fort Collins and Jace's new job) instead of throwing our income into rent while trying to save up more for a down payment. Since our house isn't scheduled to be completed until sometime in February, the idea of waiting to be "settled" in Colorado meant waiting at least another month before I started a blog. I have finally come to the conclusion that if I keep waiting for life to slow down before I take on a new hobby I'll end up on my death bed, never having pursued many of my interests.

So here I go! I intend for this blog to be a place where I can unload my thoughts and experiences involved with being a wife and mom while also sharing with friends and family all the adventures God takes my little family of three (for the time being ;)) on. I also hope this will help me record all the little moments of "mommy-hood" that I'm told so easily slip away without any effort to preserve them as memories. I may not have much time to blog, but I'll do my best and, as my not-so-favorite fitness instructor from the P90x videos always says, "forget the rest!"

-Sheila