we need pink cigars!

She came!  I'm sure most of you are well aware of this by now, but last Thursday, our little bundle decided to come into this world a full week early.  We are so proud to welcome Lillian Estelle Franks, "Stella", to our little family.  We just knew it'd be a girl!  She's been an absolute blessing and joy to us all.  I haven't decided yet if she's just an "easy" baby or she's waiting to reveal her true, wild Franks/Hindman heritage (haha), but so far she's been quite a delight!


A brief synopsis:
I started having contractions last Wednesday night, just before my Aqua Zumba class- they were mild, just regular and frequent.  After class I came home and Michael and I furiously finished all relevant to do lists, just in case.  After making a call to the doctor, we all decided it probably wasn't real labor- so I settled my mind, put the boys to bed and grabbed a few hours of sleep.  


When I woke up, the contractions came back and they were stronger.  So, Michael stayed home from work, I took Caz to school, and we waited for them to get a little more intense.  I decided once I couldn't talk through them, we should probably call family to head up from Tyler and finish packing the hospital bag.  This was around 9am.


Less than 5 hours later, our little pink bundle was in our arms!  Stella was born at 1:43pm weighing 6 pounds 14 ounces and measuring 20 inches long.  She scored 9's on her Apgar tests (woot! woot! for those who even know what that means).  Labor was swift, natural and drug-free (we just won't say pain or primitive-grunting free...check back for detailed blog with TMI on that subject in the near future).


Well...duty calls!  Here are some quick pics, including some we didn't post on Facebook:

Sweet big brother - he's done amazingly well!

 First visit

 Adoring boys

 Footprints

With Grandad (and a big hat)

First nap together- Caz in bed (right) and Stella in crib (left)

-K

the real countdown

It's Week 38, folks!  Exactly two weeks from today, I'll be officially due.  How do I feel?  Fantastically diverted!  I've been able to distract myself by creating daily to-do lists that never get completed and seem to grow by the hour.  And furthermore, I've been signing up to sub as many fitness classes as possible.  A Zumba-induced labor.... why not?!   Last week the doctor said the baby is "measuring for the 21st" (5 days early).  On Tuesday, the doctor said the baby's dropped a tiny bit, but not fully... Months ago, my Lubbock practitioner was pretty convinced it'd be the 30th from early calculations.  And the suspense builds (insert dramatic musical interlude)...

I think Michael  and I are both in that state of limbo where we're incredibly impatient and anxious one moment- anticipating every strong kick as a possible contraction-starter, wondering if this will be our last ___ (fill in the blank: night, dinner, shower, etc.) before the little bundle arrives, and being absolutely overjoyed and overwhelmed by love for what is to come... countered by feelings of hesitation and reluctance the next moment- wondering if we're really ready for this, if we've crossed enough things off the perpetual checklist, and even feeling the sting of the bittersweet realization that we'll never again be our little trio of Franks'- for lack of a better metaphor- this is just "all we know", you know?  But we're confident that our lives are only going to get better, fuller and more abundantly laden with love.

Of course, any self-doubt or fear (specifically coming from the constant "advice-from-anyone-who-sees-me-big-and-pregnant", which is most commonly the doom-impending warning: "Get ready!  Two is a lot different than one.") is all put to rest when we remind ourselves that: 1) We at least have an idea of what to expect in caring for a newborn, 2) We are surrounded by loving friends and family who would do anything for us, and 3) As my wise friend Laura says, "it is what it is".  We'll just have to figure it out.

That all being said, we're trying to savor each moment we have together in these last few weeks.  We've had some great extended family visits (for the last 3 weeks in a row, actually) and have been going on some fun small-family dates; the latter of which, has been to go fishing at an awesome park we found near our casa.  I've posted a few pics from one of our recent trips.  As a side note, Caz actually fell into the water that day.  I didn't get any action shots, but you can tell he's half-soaked in his cheesin' pic (that's not a shadow on the left side of his body...).  No tears though- he still wanted to play on the playground afterward.  And... there's a belly pic (as requested)- yeesh!

Until next time! 

-K