Hunter's Birth Story

Crazy! That's how Hunter's birth story starts but it ends pretty easy.

His original due date was January 24 but I had been measuring a week early for awhile so they moved it to January 18. Like last time, my cervix never really dilated even though I had hard contractions for the entire month of January. I went to my Dr on Thursday and they decided to induce Friday January 24. So I went home & freaked out about what the next day would involve. I honestly didn't imagine that scared emotion. You would think that doing this for the 2nd time would be no big thing but I don't believe that crud about how you forget the pain of delivery. I just did this 18 months ago & I knew what I was in store for and that scared the crap out of me.


Here's where the crazy starts. Friday morning we woke up at 5:30am so we could be at the hospital by 6:30am. Overnight, Southeast TX received snow, sleet & rain. It literally NEVER gets that cold here so of course the day I need to deliver my son, there's a freaking ice storm. Just as we were about to walk out the door, the phone rang and it was a nurse saying that we were on "hold" this morning because some of the nurses couldn't get in because the roads were so bad. I was totally happy with that and thought they would just reschedule me for Monday and I'd get the weekend to relax. They called back 3 hours later and told me to start heading to the hospital. By then I had lost my nerve. I wasn't prepared for it and didn't want to go. I especially didn't want to be on the street with all the crazies who don't know how to drive in ice & slush but I had no choice. I said goodbye to Paisley & Momma T and Todd and I were on our way. What should have been a 15 minute drive took us 1.5 hours. Parts of the highway were closed so we had to take back roads to get there. There were a ton of accidents and Todd literally went 25 mph so it took us forever to get there. I'm sure the people that passed us up thought he was a 85year old woman driver! I'm sure they had no clue he was driving his 10 month pregnant wife to the hospital to give birth. We finally got to the hospital at 11:30am and once there, things moved really quickly.

 I was terrified at the thought of Pitocin since it almost killed me last time. You want to torture somebody? Give them pitocin! I insisted that they give me an Epidural immediately. On my very first visit to the Dr back in May, they told me that I had to pay for my epidural now because people were not paying and they were denying patients the medicine. I paid for it that day and I kept my receipt in my purse for 9 months just in case someone even thought about refusing to give me an epidural! When the anesthesiologist came in, I asked him if he wanted to see my receipt and he looked at me like I was crazy. I told him the whole story about carrying it around in my purse for 9 months and he laughed.

Once the epidural was in, I chilled. I took a few cat naps and was happy to hear that I had progressed to 4cm. Since things didn't get started until noon, I thought it would be midnight before I had the baby. It took over 12 hours last time with Paisley so I prepared myself mentally for a 12 hr day. They came to check me at 4pm and said I was 9cm! I told the nurse she smoked crack. There was no way! Sure enough! Within 30 minutes, they had the room prepped and the doctor came in.

I had a friend take photos of Paisley's birth and I cherished every picture from that day. I had asked my cousin Jessica to take pictures but I realized that she worked full time and had a family so I knew that depending on when I delivered, there might be a chance that I wouldn't have those some pictures with Hunter. Well God allowed Jessica to be there just in time before I started pushing. I was so happy!

Just like last time, the pushing didn't last long. I think I pushed for about 10 or 15 minutes and Hunter James Craig entered the world at 5:18pm. He was 7 lbs, 12 oz and 20 inches long. Strawberry blonde hair just like his sister (I have NO clue why Todd & I have these red headed babies). He looks like a skinner version of Paisley when she was born. And he's just perfect. 10 toes. 10 fingers. Perfectly healthy baby boy!

Another thing that I have worried to death about was Paisley's reaction to Hunter. She has lived with 4 adults for the last 8 months and is the center of everybody's world. We just moved into our house a month ago which was a huge transition and now she has to share the lime light with a younger sibling. I have been so anxious about her reaction but she has done really well. She came to the hospital on Saturday and I thought that she would be upset to see me in a hospital bed so I got myself ready & forced myself out of the bed. It worked because she couldn't have cared less about me, she wanted to hold her brother. She kept poking at his face and touching his eyes and his nose. I was a nervous wreck the whole time because I didn't want her to hurt him. The only time she got upset is when we took him away from her. So I guess all that anxiousness was for nothing since I had been praying about it for so long. (Phil 4:6-7)  Don't you just love the green couch at the hospital. I mean who really wants a green plastic couch in all their pictures???!!!

Since there were no complications with the delivery, we were able to leave Sunday. My milk has already come in & he latched on right away. Hunter is a great nurser and a great sleeper (praying that continues). We have now survived a week with 2 kids under 2 and I'm proud to say everybody is still alive.

Thank you to all who have prayed and called and checked in on us. We are doing great and look forward to figuring life out as a family of 4.

"Every good & perfect gift is from above" James 1:17

Much love,
Candice

P.S. Todd is working  on a birth video for Hunter so stay tuned..............

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Week 40

Well here I am! 40 wks pregnant!!!

My original due date was January 24 but I have been measuring a week early so I'm actually due this Saturday January 18. My friend Mel asked for a belly shot this week so this is for her.

A little comparison for ya. Can you tell my attitude has changed since my last pregnancy? I couldn't get Paisley out of my belly fast enough last time. This time I want Hunter to stay in as long as he can. Our house still isn't picture perfect ready & I can wait a few more days before I am a mother to 2 under 2. So he can cook for another week if he likes. We'll see what happens this weekend.

My P always wants to get in the shot with mommy. Doesn't she look cute in her Carhart outfit??? Thanks Geraldean for that! Now if Paisley would just let me do something with that mop of a hair do, we'd be set!

It's probably going to be quiet around here for a while since I'll have a newborn soon. I promise to share pics and the story of his "birthday" once I get my wits about me. Until then, could ya do a mommy a favor and pray for a safe & healthy baby with an EASY delivery.

Thanks a bunch!
Candice

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Memories, Dreams & Reflections 2013

I'm participating in Memories, Dreams & Reflections once again this year. Every year my friend Ashley Sisk asks for 25 photos that sum up your year in photographs. I love going through all the photos each year and remembering things that I so quickly forget. So without further adieu, here is what my 2013 looked like.

1. Me - I really can't believe I have been pregnant most of 2013! What a surprise that was this year. Seems like I just was pregnant with Paisley and now she's a toddler and we will be welcoming another baby in 2014. God is funny because I SWORE I would never be pregnant again and that we would buy our next baby but He had other plans. I'm not a big fan of belly pics but since this is my last pregnancy, I thought I'd share with you the full monty since we won't be seeing this again!

2. I Love You - The two loves of my life earlier this year in the snow. I absolutely love the way Paisley is looking at her daddy.

3. Still Laughing - When I took this picture of P in the bath tub, I immediately thought she looked like the munchkins from the Wizard of Oz. I still laugh looking at the comparison. She cracks me up. Heck, I crack myself up!

4. Winter Wonderland - Paisley's first time to see snow while we were still in Raleigh earlier this year.

5. Birthday- I can't believe my girl was a year old in July! Time truly does fly.

6. Friends- We had to say goodbye to so many friends in NC in April. It's been very slow process of making new friends here in TX. Fortunately God blessed me with a girlfriend here in Spurger that I love. She has 2 girls and they love Paisley so they're all friends now!

7. I was Inspired- I was pretty sick at the beginning of my pregnancy which meant I put the camera down for a few months. I took naps instead of editing pictures. But there was one day that my mom came home with sweet corn from my grandmother's garden. The yellow on that corn got me inspired and I bust out the camera for a little photo shoot with P & the corn.

8. Spring Fever - We were begging for Spring in April before we left Raleigh because it was so cold. The sun came out & we went to the park. Love the sun flare in this photo.

9. Travel or Vacation- I love this picture of P and Todd on our trip to Destin in May.

10. Summer Days- We endured our 1st Texas summer this year and man was it H.O.T! Our days involved swimming in the new pool but unfortunately I lost a ton of pics this fall when my hard drive crashed and apparently I don't have any from the pool. Instead we have a pic of Paisley watering the plants in her tutu. Love this pic

11. A Day in My Life - Paisley's favorite hobby is to throw things on the floor. Being 9 months pregnant, its a challenge to bend over and pick up anything especially small Cheerios. My parents HAD an open pantry until about a month ago when they finally got the hint that we needed doors on the pantry since P was going in and eating the cat's food. Somehow she still manages to get in there and I found this mess on the floor yesterday.

12. All Smiles - It's hard to get her to smile on 'cue' but once you do, it will brighten your day!

13. Autumn Harvest - We had a chance to go to Raleigh in October right before the leaves started to turn unfortunately. But I think this pic reflects autumn.

14. Family - I always take pictures of my brother & sister in law when we are together. This was Labor Day in Destin, FL. This picture ended up on their Christmas card this year. I got published!!!! :-)

15. Celebrate - In August we announced to the world (a.k.a. Facebook) that we were expecting a baby BOY! My husband couldn't be more excited after living with me, my mom and Paisley for the last 8 months.

16. Let's Do It Again - Forgive the quality of this picture but Paisley LOVES slides. We took her to a local county fair this fall and she loved riding this huge slide with her daddy. Her expression & her hair are just priceless.

17. I Miss You - I can't believe Paisley is a toddler now. I seriously miss those days earlier in the year when she was a baby. Seems like life was much easier back then. I could put her in one place & walk away for a second without her destroying something. I could also set up photo shoots for us and she would participate. Long gone are those days. She has grown up so much since we've moved to TX and I miss that little baby!

18. Beautiful - I mean is that the most beautiful Easter bunny you have ever seen?

19. Dress Up - P was a cow for Halloween. I picked the outfit because she loves the cows on the farm. She wore this outfit several times around the house because she really liked it. Unfortunately we didn't wear it Halloween night because she got the flu that morning. Maybe next year we can trick or treat.

20. Macro - Not necessarily a macro shot (haven't done those in awhile even though I have a macro lens) but this is a close up of the Destin sand on her feet. My in-laws just moved to Atlanta so our trips to Destin are over.

21. Holidays - Need I say more?

22. My favorite - I've taken a TON of pictures of Paisley but this is my absolute favorite. Her blue eyes. Those chubby cheeks. She looks like a perfect porclein doll to me in this picture.

23. Don't Ever Change- Paisley has truly become a country girl. She loves living on the farm and loves ALL animals (gets that from her mommy- NOT!). She has absolutely no fear and the thought of walking up to a 1,000 cow is no big deal for this chick. Although her 'no fear' scares me to death, I think that will come in handy once she is older.

24. Just Because...So There! - My parents are the B.E.S.T. grandparents that ever existed. They have been such troopers over the last 8 months while we have taken over every.single.inch of their house. I know they can't wait to get us in our house and out of theirs but the time that Paisley has spent with them has been invaluable. It has established their relationship and she is really gonna miss living with Momma T & Pops

25. Hope and Dreams - I've got high hopes for 2014. A new house. A new town. A new baby. A new season. 2013 was a stressful/challenging year for us but we are here and have made it!!! I look forward to a new chapter in 2014 as we become a family of 4 in our dream home.

To see what other photographers did this past year, click on Ashley's link


Happy new year everyone!

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