Ainsley Renee's Birth Story

My due date was November 3rd and I had been getting pretty anxious pretty much the whole month of October. I was feeling miserable most days. Not sleeping great at night and not feeling good during the day. I was ready to meet this little girl. A week and a half before her due date, I started having contractions. I thought, "here we go, this is it!" I was able to time out the contractions to every 2-4 minutes apart and Aaron wanted me to call the doctors and go in because he thought we would for sure go quickly! (Need I remind you of how fast Atley Mae was actually delivered????) He wasn't confident in his ability to deliver a baby roadside and quite frankly, I didn't have much faith in that either! :) I never ended up calling and I took a shower and we went to bed thinking that we should get some rest before I will be up with contractions that will be more intense. They went away. Seriously, I was soooo sad and disappointed! I had an appointment that Monday and I ended up seeing Dr. Naylor who said I was only dialted to a one and not really softened or anything. So basically those contractions I was experiencing did nothing! So frustrating! He did say, "I don't believe we will see you next week, though. I have a feeling you will go into labor before that." Well, that felt like a million bucks to hear him say that! I didn't care that he couldn't tell me for sure, just the fact that he was telling me there was an end and it was coming soon was all I wanted to hear! That Saturday I started my "Bloody show" and I was excited! I did this same thing with Alivia so I knew that labor would be close. It took me four days with Alivia before I went into labor but at least I knew something was happening to my body. Well, next Monday came and I was still pregnant. I cried and cried because I had taken his words to serious and thought I would for sure be holding a baby at that time and not still miserably laying around. I went to my appointment that Monday, late afternoon and because they were short-staffed that day, they sent me to the mid-wives side. I was a little irritated because I wanted to be able to talk about induction and I wanted someone that knew me and my body and someone I had been seeing already. The mid-wife checked me and I was now at a three and almost completely effaced. Yea! At least I was hearing some good news that day! I had a few contractions going on, but nothing that was timeable and intense. We had dropped the kids off at our friends house and the mid-wife had suggested that we go walking and get the contractions going. Aaron and I set off for the mall and we walked. I was miserable! We decided to go out to eat and it was there that I felt "wet." I went to the bathroom and I was but I dismissed it because I had just gotten checked and I was still have the "show" so I didn't think much of it. We left the restaurant, picked up the kids and then went home to bed. Aaron had taken a few days off here and there because of the "false labor" that I had so on Tuesday, he decided to go back to work. I agreed that he needed to because nothing was happening. Wednesday came and I didn't feel any different. I actually felt a lot better than I had in a while. I went and put the girls down for a nap and I went to the bathroom. I had a small amount of bright red blood and for some reason it freaked me out a bit. I decided to be better safe than sorry and call the office. They called me back within a half hour (which NEVER happens!) and the nurse was asking me questions and then she said, "do you think you are leaking water?" I had leaked water with Atley and never knew it so I told her it is possible but I don't think I have. She wanted me to come in right away so they could test it. I went and woke up the kids and tried calling our friends to watch the girls but couldn't get ahold of any one. So I threw them in the car and drove straight to the office. They tested it right away and sure enough, I had been leaking amniotic fluid. When we finally configured when it could have happened (we were thinking Monday night or Tuesday morning) he told me I had to go straight to the hospital. My face must have had pure shock written all over it because he looked at me and said, "I take it this is not what you were expecting!" I guess I just figured they would send me home since I had been so disappointed the past week. Couldn't believe it was actually going to happen now! We told the Dr. that we wanted to take the kids back home and get our bags and he said, "Um, why don't you have your husband do that. I need you to get to the hospital now and we need to have that baby." I really didn't expect him to have that much urgency to him. It made me a bit nervous. We went and dropped the kids off and grabbed our bags (obviously not listening to the dr! ha!) and we drove straight to the hospital calling all our family to let them know what was happening. I then remembered that it was October 30th and my birthday was the next day and I couldn't believe that I was going to share a birthday with our baby! I was so excited! When we got to the hospital after 5:00 p.m. They started us on paperwork and all that good stuff. I told the nurse that I was hoping to have her on the 31st because of my birthday and she said, "I'm sure we can do that!" The doctor came in and said, "We are going to have this baby as soon as we can because of risk of infection. So let's not wait around." Ugh! Fun hater! Just kidding! Around 6:00 they started my IV and wanted to get fluid in me since I told them I was going to want an epideral. At 7:00 p.m. they started the potocin. Oh.My.Goodness! Ouch! I remembered all those labor pains I had with Alivia and Atley. Not fun at all! At around 8:30 p.m. I asked for the epideral. This was the first time I had a different dr. for that and I had to sit up. The other two I got to lay down and I enjoyed that. I guess I was a bit nervous since it was different. Once that kicked in I felt much better. I still had control of my body and I felt things (unlike I did with Atley) which I liked. They came in and checked on me a LOT! They knew what had happened with Atley and they didn't want me to deliver and not know it this time. When I got to an 8 I realized that I was not going to make it to my birthday. I was ok with that. I wanted to have that happen naturally anyways and not forced. At 11:00 p.m. the Dr and nurse came in and asked if I would be ok to start pushing because otherwise she was just going to slide out on her own. I was at a 9 at this point and I said, "Sure!" You should have seen how hilarious it was to watch me push her out! Aaron and I were pretty much making fun of how inexperienced I was at it. I pushed for about 10-12 minutes and she was out! She made a sweet litle cry (seriously for about one second) and then she was completely silent! I thought maybe she wasn't breathing, but no, she was just observing everything and was just quiet as can be! I definitely thought that maybe this child was going to be my quiet, calm child. No, no she wasn't. She cried, no she screamed, every 10-15 minutes the first 24 hours. She was amazing at feeding though so that was good! We named her Ainsley Renee Wood. Renee is my mother's middle name. Ainsley is a name I found online that I really liked. We decided to continue with the "A" theme. She was my tiniest baby at 6 lbs 12 oz and 18 1/2 inches long. She was born at 11:22 p.m. almost making it to my birthday! How fun is that! I will forever remember my 32nd birthday now! She is absolutely precious and the girls are just smitten by her as are we! As I write this, she is now almost 3 months old (so hard to believe!) and she is my calm baby. It took a good 8 weeks of being colicky and now we are past that. She started sleeping through the night right before 2 months. Yea me!!! That made so much of a difference in our lives! I think she looks identical to Alivia's baby pics. I will post some pics to show the resemblences. She definitely looks like our family though! She is a mixture of all of us. I love it and I love her.

My sweet daughter

On our way to church today, we heard the song by Audio Adrenaline, "Kings and Queens" and I decided to talk to the girls about being a real princess. I told them that when we have faith in Jesus and we ask him to forgive our sins and follow him, we are real life princesses to the King! Alivia was so excited to hear this, but my sweet Atley responded with a quivered lip, "but what about Zacchaeus???? He's a boy, mommy!!!). I had to quickly explain that boys will be princes and that he didn't have to be a princess. I love her little heart! ;)

Oh Happy Day!

I just got done praying with my sweet, four year old, first-born. Alivia prayed and asked God to forgive her of her sins and asked to be with Him in heaven one day! OH HAPPY DAY!! Now, I realize she is four and she may not completely understand what faith in God means, but this mom is happy, happy, happy! She has recognized that there is a need for a Savior and that she doesn't want to be in hell one day, but with Jesus in heaven! LOVE.THIS. I am documenting this in my blog so that I may never forget this day. I want her to know that I will remember it's importance.

The verse I needed to hear...

That's right people, I'm blogging again. I have actually been thinking about this weekly, sometimes daily, and I haven't had the chance to sit down and come up with what I wanted to say EXACTLY. BUT, that's the joy of blogging. I can write something and then go back and read it and think "what in the world" and that is ok! I don't have to write the perfect post every time. Aaron and I are getting ready to welcome our THIRD girl! Wow! Amazing how God has blessed our lives and I never would have imagined I would be the mom to three precious girls. But soon it will all be reality. I have a little over 5 weeks to go and I am hoping that I only have 3 left. Wishful thinking, I'm sure! :) The beauty of this pregnancy has made me realize how wonderful it is to feel the movement inside of you and knowing that a foot is just stretching out and feeling so wonderfully secure inside. With that comes my anxieties and worries all over again. Yesterday I heard the verse, Proverbs 31:25 "She is clothed in dignity and strength. She can laugh at the days to come." I have probably heard that verse a hundred times and yet yesterday I HEARD it for the first time. I WANT to be that Proverbs 31 woman. The one that trusts God with all her heart and never worries about the future. Once my children entered the picture, the idea of "never worry" seemed impossible. One minute I feel like I can relinguish all control to God and the next I feel as if I will never be able to give Him everything. At Sunday School our teacher mentioned how amazing it is that God is in control. No matter what, even in the worst situations, God has His hand on it all. He knows that number of days we will be here, he knew what decision I would make before I even knew of the situation. Knowing that, we can find comfort that even in the hurt, fear, frustration, man's sinful nature that causes a situation...GOD IS GOD and has brought that instance into existence to bring glory to Him. We may never know why but we can find comfort in knowing that He has a bigger picture than our small minds can fathom. AND isn't it wonderful that he has control of the situation and not man?

Marshmallow Faye Wood

So, Alivia is big into telling us our full names.  I ask her what mommy's full name is and she says, "Lindsay Faye Wood."   I ask her what her full name is and she says, "Alivia Faye Wood."  I then ask her what daddy's full name is and she says, "Marshmallow Faye Wood!"  Well, his middle name is Marshall and so she calls him Marshmallow and apparently since Alivia and I share the same middle name she thinks everyone's middle name is Faye.  Ha ha!

Yes Ma'am!

Alivia has been saying the funniest things lately.  I need to put them somewhere so I never forget them...

Today was the first day of MOPS (Mother's of Preschoolers) and I had to be there at 8:30 this morning.  I was running around and Alivia was finishing up breakfast when I said, "Alivia!  Hurry up, we need to go pretty soon!" Alivia replied to me in a soft voice, stern eyes and a finger pointed in my direction, "That's not your job to tell me that.  You say, yes ma'am."  With wide eyes I looked at Aaron to see if he heard the same thing and sure enough he did!  It was so hard not to just burst out laughing at that point!  She hears this from me because usually she is telling Atley no during the day and I have to remind her that it is not her job to tell her that and that it is mommy's job and then I tell her to tell me Yes Ma'am.  I guess she pays attention, huh?

He's Here, He's Here!!

On Thursday, March 10th my nephew Mack Jordan Hickel was born!  He weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and was 19 1/2" inches long.  That is exactly what I weighed when I was born which is so cool we share that!  Mommy and baby are doing good and I know my brother is on cloud nine!  He has sent me numerous pictures on my phone and I am so thankful because I cannot be there and I want to see everything!  I cannot tell you how excited I am that he has finally arrived and I want to kiss on his sweet little cheeks so badly!  I am planning on taking the girls with me to Kansas the first week of April to go meet this little cutie and I am counting down the days.  I am a bit nervous traveling 10 hours with both girls by myself but I think I can do it!  I think the biggest challenge will be that I will have to stop and nurse every 3-4 hours and also stop even more frequent for Alivia to go potty.  I love that my daughter is potty trained but why does it have to be such a pain when we take trips!?  I guess I shouldn't complain though because last week I was so thankful that she was potty trained. That is because last week she had the flu and it was coming out on both ends...not so fun!  I was so thankful when she would say, "Mommy I have to poopy," because I saw what came out and I would not want to change that in a diaper! 
I have no idea how I got from my nephew being born to Alivia's poop but oh well!  I guess that is what being a mom is like...highs and lows all the time.  I do know that one thing is for sure, I have more and more highs everyday with my family. 

Twins???

Alivia Faye - 1 Month

Atley Mae - 1 Month

They look so much alike it is scary! 

Date Night

My husband is the most amazing husband in the world!  Wanna know why?  Well, it all started this past week where every day he would give me a hint at a "surprise" that would take place.  On Thursday I received a phone call from our hairdresser and the message said that I will be receiving a cut and wax on Friday.  Normally, I would think "Oh great, he thinks I look like crap!" but most of these days with two kids I know I do so I took no offense! ha ha!  Thursday night when Aaron got home from work he brought me into our bedroom and gave me a letter he had typed.  The beginning of it was about how much he loved me and how he wanted to something special for me since I am stuck at home all the time.  Below that was a hour by hour itinerary for all day Friday.  Things such as "pump at this time to make a bottle for Atley," "get dressed at this hour, " and "get the kid's clothes together" were all one there.  This man is a very detailed man!  It also indicated what type of attire I should wear for the evening.  Of course right after I read this I immediately said I have no idea what I am going to wear!  He then told me to close my eyes and proceeded to place in front of me a new dress, new top and new jeans that he had went and bought me and thought I would like to decide to wear!  HOW AMAZING IS THIS MAN?!? 
We dropped the kiddos off with a wonderful family from our church and then we headed downtown and he took me to Duck City Restaurant.  It was amazing!  We had so much fun talking and being giddy!  After dinner we went to the Adler Theater where the Broadway Show "All Shook Up" was playing!  Now I know that he did that for me because I know he would never want to do something like that but he knows I love doing things like that!  It was so much fun!!  We didn't do the most amazing things in the world but just knowing all the details that went into the night and every little thing he did (yes, buying me clothes sealed the deal!) just amazed me and definitely made me cry!  I am so blessed to have this man in my life!  He knows me so well and knows just what I need at just the right time!  Love him! 

Holy, Holy

My daughter LOVES this song and will run around the house singing it at the top of her lungs!  Here is the words if you can't recognize what she is saying...


Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Highest Praises, Honor and Glory
Be Unto Your Name


We are the broken, you are the healer
Jesus redeemer, Mighty to save
You are the love song, we'll sing forever
Bowing before you, blessing your name


(Sigh!) I just love her!

It's Potty Time!

I have never wrote anything about Alivia's potty training yet but I am one proud momma!  Alivia has been in big girl panties for the past few months and is doing quite well!  We still put a pull up on her during naps and for nights but she really is staying dry during the nap.  When we brought Atley home from the hospital Alivia regressed a little bit and we knew that could happen.  The past couple of days she is back on track and doing great!  The funny thing she is doing now when she poops is that she says, "Shhh, Listen!" because she wants to hear it go into the toliet!  She also pushes herself up off the toliet to watch it come out.  This little girl is too funny!

Introducing Atley Mae Wood!

Little Miss Atley Mae Wood was born at 4:38 p.m. on Monday, November 22nd and she is 2 weeks old already!  I truly cannot believe how fast time flies!  She was 7 lbs 1 oz and 19 1/2" long. 
The story of her birth started on Sunday morning at 6:45 a.m.  I woke up to a few trickles of water and I literally thought I had peed in my pants.  I was embarassed but I didn't know how it could happen.  At 8:30 a.m. the same thing happened so I knew I couldn't have just peed again.  I began to think that it could be my water breaking however, I quickly doubted myself because I thought it would be a continues trickle or a sudden gush.  I didn't want to go into the hospital and for them to tell me, "Honey, you just urinated on yourself!"  I am sure every woman fears that.  Aaron wanted me to call the doctor but I assured him that if it happened again I would call.  We went on to church and had our whole day hanging out and nothing happened.  Later on that night we came home from the Thanksgiving Praise Service at our church and I had a few more "trickles."  I called the doctor and he suggested that I come in to the hospital and they could test it to see if it was truly amniotic fluid or not.  At 2:00 a.m. we arrived at Genesis and from that point of our arrival my contractions started about 2-3 minutes apart.  They tested the fluid and sure enough, it was my water.  They quickly admitted me into the hospital and I was pretty comfortable but I was only dilated to 1 1/2 cm at that point.   My contractions slowly started to spread to 4-6 minutes apart so they decided to start me on potossin.  Um...I didn't like that very much.  I wanted to say no thanks but I had a feeling that they would do it anyways!  Finally, they checked me and I was at 4 cm and I said, "I would like an epideral...like right now."  They called the doctor and he arrived about an hour later so I was at a 5 or 6 and my contractions were coming now every minute.  It was so hard to sit still while he did my epideral because I had about 10 contractions!  Not fun!  Finally at 3:30 the doctor checked me because I said that I started to feel pressure a little bit.  I was at an 8 and she was still at a -1 station.  I thought for sure that I would have to push for a while because with Alivia I was a lot lower and I only had to push 3 times.  They assured me that after your first child your baby doesn't drop until delivery.  They said that I would not have to push that much at all.  Well, they were right!  An hour later the nurse came into the room and my mom, mother-in-law, Aaron and I were just hanging out and talking and she asked if she could check me.  I said sure and then before I know it she was pushing the emergency button saying, "Help, Help now!" and talking in codes!  I did not know what was going on but she looked at me and said, "The baby's head is out!"  Aaron and I thought immediately that she was crowning and that it was just time to push, but no...Atley was litterally laying in-between my legs out all the way to her shoulder!  She just had me push to get the other shoulder out!!  So, the nurse literally delivered Atley and the doctor came flying in with about 5 other people at that point!!  I was in shock!  I am still in shock to think that happened to me!  You know those stupid shows, "I didn't know I was Pregnant" well, they are going to have another show called "I didn't know I delievered" and that will be even more idiotic and that is me!  Seriously! 
Atley was admitted into the NICU the next morning because of the fact that my water had been broke more than 18 hours and the risk for infection for the baby increases and also for the fact that because she delivered so quickly she swallowed a lot of amniotic fluid and never got the chance to release it.  I was crying so much when they told me that they were going to watch her, run some tests, give her an I.V. and hook her up to monitors.  It was hard to see your newborn go through that.  We are so blessed that she is completely healthy and all her tests came back good!  We brought her home on Thanksgiving morning and we were truly thankful to God that he protected her!

33 1/2 Weeks!

So I thought I would share how my pregnancy is going so far with my baby girl.  I am 33 1/2 weeks and due Thanksgiving Day although I am convinced I will not make it that long.  Lately I have had a TON of pressure and cramping in the stomach and I pray that I can last a few more weeks for the little one to mature.  I will go in to the doctor in 2 weeks and then after that every week till she is here. 


I am getting very excited to see what this little girl looks like!  Will she look like Alivia or will she look totally different?  For some reason Aaron and I think she will be bigger and longer than Alivia was when she was born.  I hope not too much bigger! 


Also, my brother and sister-in-law are expecting a boy in March and I am super pumped about that!  I cannot wait to add more babies to my side of the family because it makes it that much more fun for when the holidays roll around.  Next Christmas should be a blast with 3 grandkids!  Also, I am glad they are having a boy because deep down I really wanted a boy this pregnancy at first and now I am glad they are able to have one so we can balance out the family a bit! 


I never really shared that with a ton of people, but I have to admit I was a little sad when the ultrasound technician said it was a girl.  I was absolutely sure that it was a boy and I was so prepared for her to tell us this, but when she said, "It's a Girl!" I don't think I said anything for a whole minute.  I needed to take it all in and, I'll admit, shed a couple of tears.  After the appointment I started thinking of all the wonderful things another girl will bring to our family.  I cannot tell you how excited I am that it is a girl again!  I have gotten past my disappointment and realized how blessed we are that we can bring another child into this world.  I really hate that I even felt that way in the first place, but here I am being honest to the world!  God obviously knows what he is doing and for that I am so thankful that he is in control and not me.  My selfish ambitions would only ruin things and I am glad that there is a "Master Planner."

She's All Talk!

Since these past few weeks Alivia has been saying & doing new things daily and I wanted to record it somehow so that I will always remembered these special moments.  I caught her the other day counting as she put her ring stacks back on the base.  Well, counting as in, "Two, Seben, Eight, Nine Ten! Yea!!!!"  I don't care that she left out 6 numbers...I am a pretty proud momma!  You will see a few other adorable things that she has picked up on.  Even right before we shot the video I was telling Aaron how I LOVE fall and I put my hand on my chest (am I dramatic?? um, yes!) and then I see Alivia say the same thing to him and do it too!  So funny!  We recently had a garage sale and when I brought Alivia outside, she ran over to my box full of stuffed animals and said, "Oh, there it is! There it is!"  Aaron said, "You've never seen those before in your life!"  She carried them around all afternoon because she acted like they were her long lost friends she had just found again! 
Sorry for the shrill voice in the video.  I'm sure you will think, "but that is how she always sounds!"  Therefore, I should apologize for my voice altogether!  It is not a pretty thing when you listen to yourself!

Fall

I love fall weather and fortunately, today was a perfect fall weather day!  I am so excited for this fall...mums, pumpkins, my birthday, the new baby coming, apple pie/crisp, etc.  I was having such a bad day today and once I went outside it immediately put me in a better mood.  I had to run to Walmart for a couple of things and on my way I heard the song by Trace Adkins, "You're Gonna Miss This."  I absolutely love that song and on top of that, I realized that life is too short to be upset about certain things or down in the dumps because things are not going my way.  I really hope I can learn to keep that perspective when days are not going good or I feel like the world is crashing down on me.  I just want to enjoy every minute with my family and not think that I can do things some other time, but I want to live in the moment and enjoy life while I can. 

Swimming

Alivia LOVES water too! We put a cheap blow-up pool on our deck for the summer and now she can go play in it whenever she wants. It is nice and convenient and mom can even lay in it with her.

"Yum! This chlorine tastes good!"

Dress Up!

Ok, so first off I realize that I haven't blogged in a while, but I am hoping that is about to change.

Secondly, my daughter LOVES to play dress-up. I mean, really??? Does a 1 year old know how to have such an imagination as this??? Yes, she most certainly does!

She will then run to the full length mirror and go, "Oh Boy!" and look herself over. It is precious! I just love being the mom to this little girl!

Love you!

Alivia is doing some the sweetest things right now that I have to share...

Yesterday during dinner, Aaron and I said, "Love you!" and Alivia kissed her hand and tried blowing us kisses!
Lately when we put her on the changing table she will grab a kleenex and sniff it like she is trying to blow her nose and then she throws it down.
Today when I got out of the shower I put on lotion and Alivia came walking over to me and bent down, put her hands on her knees and sniffed my lotion! It was soooo cute!

These precious things make me so proud to be a mom!

I was bawling like a baby tonight watching 16 and Pregnant. There was this couple on there that decided to give their little girl up for adoption and went through a Christian adoption agency. I cried watching their struggles with giving the child up and watching the adoptive parents guard their hearts until the deal was done. What an amazing experience and I was so amazed how mature this young couple was even against their own families wishes of giving the child up! I just can't imagine going through that. This couple gave their little girl a life they couldn't have given her themselves. How amazing. I am so thankful for my life and my little girl and the fact that I never had to go through anything like that. I am thankful for not having to make that kind of a choice. Thank you God for the life that you have given me and for blessing me with a baby girl who I can take care of.

"Pants on the Ground, Pants on the Ground Lookin' like a fool with your Pants on the Ground"

I decided to put an outfit on Alivia that my mom had bought her for her birthday. It is a 12 month outfit and since she is 12 months I thought it would fit her perfectly. Well, they don't. Needless to say the American Idol song hit fits this description perfectly. Alivia was watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse "lookin' like a fool with her Pants on the Ground."

Birthday's

Alivia has changed so much over this past year...it is so hard to believe! It seems like our family has changed so much! Aaron turned the big 3-0 in December so that was something big! :) He doesn't like me talking about it much so I like to mention it every once in a while and act like it is a big deal to give him a hard time! Ha! I guess I better go easy on him since I will be turning 30 in a couple of years and I will probably take it just as hard as he has.

We celebrated Alivia's birthday the weekend of the 16th and had our family come from Kansas and Missouri. It was a house-full but I absolutely loved the chaos! We had 10 people plus Alivia staying with us all weekend and I wouldn't have had it any other way! We had friends and family for the birthday party and then we dedicated her at church the next day. I didn't think I would get all emotional about that but I was wrong. I shed a few tears knowing that our baby girl is being prayed for and looked over by our church, family and friends. That is such a blessing to know!

Here are a few photos from her festivities: