Week 1

It's been a busy, almost, 2 weeks now. Our stay in the hospital was the most relaxing I had out of my three stays. I just enjoyed my quiet time with Jordan, didn't stress about the kids being taken care of at home, and enjoyed seeing visitors. We had her on Friday and I was able to go home Sunday afternoon, Valentine's Day.



Everyone was very happy to have Mommy and baby home. Reagan and Ethan continued to "fight" over who got to hold Baby Jordan. She is well loved.


Ethan wanted to snuggle in bed with his new sister all the time. He thinks he's the only one who can properly administer the binky to her. :)



Here's our little angel sleeping soundly. At 7 days old she gifted us by sleeping 6 hours in the night so Mommy and Daddy could get some proper rest.


Unfortunately, not everything was smooth sailing for me. As far as recovering from the delivery, I was feeling pretty good. Jordan was nursing all the time. By Monday my milk had come in and nursing was SO SO painful, I dreaded it. Tuesday I was in tears from the pain and frustration. It felt like I was on fire everytime she wanted to feed. I made an appointment with a lactation consultant and I'm so thankful I did. It just happened that Jordan wasn't latching on quite right. I just had to wait it out and toughen up a bit. Things are so much better now, just a week later.

Grandma enjoyed snuggling and changing diapers. Since she's not bottle fed, those are the responsibilities my mom was happy to take over. It was such a blessing to have my parents and husband home all week. This was the first time I'd ever had post partum help and it was tremendous. Also, women from my MOMS group at church have been supplying us with dinners, another task that I don't relish. These are a couple pictures I took of my baby at 10 days old. I've by no means mastered photography and a lot of the pictures were not turning out how I wanted but these were a couple that were pretty cute.


Lovey little sisters. How precious!

A Baby Story: Jordan Lydia Faust

On February 12, 2010, we welcomed our third child, a girl, into the world. Here's our little story:


I went into the hospital that Friday morning, the 12th, to be induced. It was 6 days before my due date, but I didn't care. I was so ready to be done carrying this baby. We got there at 7am and got all settled for the day. My doctor came in to say hi, check me (I was 3cm when I came in) and she broke my water right away. They hooked me up to Pitocin to get my labor started. This was at 8:20am.The first few hours I had some mild contractions. I was feeling well enough to sit up and play Phase 10 with my family. Luckily the contractions started getting harder and I had to stop. I was losing anyway. :) That was at 10:30am.
By 12 noon, I was in so much pain I definitely need my epidural. What a relief. It came none too soon. I was dilated to 5cm and labor was progressing without the Pitocin so they turned it off. At about 2:30 my doctor checked me once more and I was still at 5cm, so they turned to Pitocin back on to get things moving. And did they ever. At about 3pm, my nurse came in to turn up the Pitocin and turn me on my side. That really really did it. I looked at my contractions monitor because I was feeling them despite the epidural, and they were not stopping. My back was in agony and I think I was going through transition, and feeling every bit of it. My nurse came back and checked me at 3:30. "You're completely dilated, we can have this baby." I couldn't believe how fast that was. But the pain was still so great that the anesthesiologist gave me an extra dose of medicine to help me through delivery.

Getting ready to start pushing.

So at 3:35pm, Jordan Lydia made her entrance into the world. Yes, that's 5 minutes after I was checked. Thanks to the extra meds, I felt absolutely nothing as I was pushing her out. Her cries were soothing to my ears as I held her for the first time. Funny how all the pain disappears in those moments.
She weighed in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces and was 20 inches long. As she was coming out everyone was commenting on all the hair she had. And did she ever.
I'm swollen and tired but I'm so glad to finally be carrying my baby on the outside instead of inside my tummy. What a relief.

Meeting Grandpa Jeff,

and Grandma Nettie, who also got to witness the birth of their fourth grandchild.

Snuggles with Daddy.

Ethan and Reagan were very excited to meet their new baby sister. The only thing they fought about was who got to hold her.

I love my precious one. She will more than likely be our last and I want to savor every moment I get to have with her. Don't grow up too fast, sweetie.

Welcome to the world, Jordan Lydia!

39 Weeks

Yes, I am 39 weeks pregnant today. AND, I'm scheduled to be induced to have this baby tomorrow morning. I'm so excited to meet this little one. This pregnancy has not been the easiest on me or my family. But everyone has been so great, understanding and patient with me. So many people are anticipating the arrival of our precious addition.

Below is a picture of an adorable diaper bag my friend Gretchen MADE for me. Again, I have so many talented and creative friends.

Prayers for my delivery and health of baby and I are always coveted. We'll see you on the flip side. :)