Everything Happens For a Reason

Life Ain't Always Easy...But we always survive!

The last week of July, as I was heading into my final month of pregnancy, Mike found out that his position as Operations Coordinator of the FedEx St.Jude Classic was going to be be condensed with another position for the following year. Being a non-profit...the decision was made by the board and not a lot could be done by the people that worked directly with him . They thought it was only fair to give the new position to someone who had been with the tournament 7+ years. Knowing that this scenario was possible, he had a backup plan...well long story...that fell through. And here we were weeks away from me not working, with Mike no 'day job' income. ( he still had his side work of landscaping and fitness) July 30th was his last paycheck from the tournament.
Let me add that the day after we found out this news was Pierce's bike/head accident...
First anger, then fear, then tears, then SURVIVAL MODE! Being the hardest working man I know, Mike got out and landed several great landscaping projects.  And of course started looking for another career route. He is great at anything he does so his options are wide...but it's still a long process of opportunity and interviewing and such.  As the days/weeks ticked by, drawing closer to Hyde's arrival, we did become more and more nervous about finances but trusted everything would work out. On paper, we HAD to have him get a paycheck on 9/30.
The entire month of August, though it wasn't ideal financially, Mike was able to spend abundances of quality time with Pierce and Kade. Doing things like school work and outings with them he normally doesn't get too.  I had even more help around the house than he already does during my exhausted 9th month of pregnancy.  And I was blessed to even work my 9th month! Considering what my work is!
When I hit 37 weeks Mike had made it to a third interview with a company that was his top pick out of a few that had called him back for 2nd interviews. At 37.5 weeks, he accepted an offer from them. A great offer. A position that is right up his alley and ideal for our schedules. At 38.5 weeks, Hyde arrived!!!! Hyde came at the PERFECT time. We got Kade's birthday celebration in the day before he was born. He did not come on his due date, the 13th, which is Kade's birthday! And he came just early enough for Dad to be home for the first couple weeks!AND Mommy was able to teach up until 24hrs before his birth! Not sure if I could have taught all the way til the 13th :)
Though it was one of the HARDEST motnhs of our marriage...financially strapped, 9 months pregnant, etc... him being at home turned out to be such a blessing!  And it all has worked out in the end! He has been able to be at home with us these first 2 weeks of Hyde being at home and starts his new position as Operations Manager of the Memphis Towne Park accounts downtown on this Friday.  Not all Dads get 2 weeks off with their newborn and family, though they should! I could not be more proud of him.  He ALWAYS comes through for our family. ALWAYS. I couldn't ask for more.  
Today we went and purchased and fitted Mike for some new suits because he will need to wear suits a few times a week for this new job. Total hotty!!! :) The sales lady thought so too.. she kept commenting on all the tailoring that "athletic, muscular, V-built men need". "suits aren't built for men as in shape as you" ;)
When life throws us curve balls ( we Hills have had several thrown our way), it's hard to remember that the clouds WILL part soon enough and in hind sight, we will always be able to see the reason that it happen.

Hyde's Birth Story: Part 2

Becoming a Mother of Three

Today Hyde is one week old! We celebrated by taking him on his first trip to the park. The big boys wanted to walk with me and Hyde to help push :)  ( they usually ride their bikes)

Part of the miracle of life is the immediate, unconditional love you feel for your baby, and the strength that is given to a woman each time they give birth.  When Hyde was in my belly, I pictured what life would be like loving, teaching, mothering three kids. But you really just do not know until you have your baby in your arms, and take them home.
First of all, I thank God for trusting me to bring another child into this world. The past week has been filled with mostly, thankfulness and love. "Too blessed to be stressed". Sure taking care of a newborn requires a lot.  But is there anything in life that is rewarding yet easy? No. Plus, the third time around there are little to no nervous parent emotions so the whole process is much more lax.

 I am in total happiness with my current days of doing nothing but nursing, changing, bathing, and snuggling. ( of course with walks snuck in while Hyde is asleep with Dad) All the while enjoying all of this time with my big boys too!  I now can fully grasp what our new life is like.  It does not make me nervous in one bit... this is where our family was meant to be and I am excited waking up every single morning for our new day as a family of five!  It feels like he has always been here! I am sure he has been in our hearts from day one of The Hills.  Mike and I see so much of Pierce and Kade in Hyde. The three of their heart strings are definitely already tied tightly in knots together.  Hyde was immediately part of team Hill in their book ;)  It took them a few days to get used to him crying.  They would tear up themselves because they thought he was hurting.  Pierce was very upset when Hyde went to go get circumsized. He begged us not to... His Biggest Brother role was immediate! And Kade is very ready for Hyde to be able to play!

I don't even know how to express how much I love my Hyde Hill!! Well I could express it with how much I love Pierce and Kade Hill!! I have always said... kids do not share one big bucket of love from their parents...each have their own bucket :) No one ever goes without.

What a wonderful first week as a family of 5!!!

 

 

 

 

Hyde Christopher Hill's Birth Story: Part 1

Small recap of the last few weeks of the pregnancy:
Like any other woman , the last few weeks before his arrival were very taxing. You are not sleeping well, you feel huge , etc. Even though you KNOW it will all be worth it...it becomes hard to remind yourself of that.  Having some trouble with groin and hip pain , on top of knowing what natural child birth involves/feels like.  I went natural with Kade(#2) and had an epidural with Pierce(#1). I was not quite as 'Gung Ho' about Hyde's natural delivery. But I did know it was what I wanted again. And that like everything else surrounding welcoming your child...it will all be worth it in the end.  So, I was nervous the last few weeks about the labor and delivery.

Saturday 9/1/12: 38.5 weeks
Woke up trained personal client, taught Fusion, taught Core. Felt pretty good! He of course felt very low during Fusion but I still was moving pretty good and worked up a tremendous sweat! The rest of the day was Kade's 5th birthday celebration with our family and I really felt like I had another week or so left before Hyde came.  Went to bed with a disaster of a house from the party...thinking, oh we will clean in the morning...

Sunday 9/2/12
I woke up at 6:20, feeling what I thought for about 15 minutes were my strong Braxton Hicks that I had been having for months.  About 20 minutes into it, I started thinking they felt really low and a little more "pain " than "discomfort".  So at 6:40 I woke Mike up and said I was about 70% sure this was it. He was like,"what the heck does 70% mean?" ;)
We decided to start cleaning and showering and all just in case they got stronger and it was the day.  As I was in the middle of changing my clothes, my water broke in our bedroom right in front of Mike at 7:00AM on the dot. We were both so shocked we laughed and freaked out all at once. "Guess this IS it!".  We quickly showered, and got Mike's Mom to head over to the house for Pierce and Kade.  On the way to hospital my contractions were 4-5 min. apart but VERY bearable. I was putting on my makeup in the car on the way ;)
When we arrived at the hospital around 8:45AM, and got checked in, I was 4 cm dilated, confirmed bag of water broken and good patterned contractions.  I was immediately relieved that my nurse, April, seemed great!  For the next couple hours, I was chatting on the phone, and walking laps around the L and D halls to try to get things going and pass time.  The nurses were all smiles each time I passed them and they told Mike I "walked strangely fast" " is she really in labor"  My friends and family that I talked to on the phone were surprised of my joking and laughing too.
My Dr. was not on call that day. So again, I was worried but then quickly relieved to find out the Dr. who would be delivering was awesome too, just like my nurse. Things looked good!
When the Dr. checked around 11AM, I was 5cm.  Only  1cm progression in 2 hrs.  I was surprised.  But as soon as that dilation check happen, the pain grew quickly. I no longer was cheery, and was having to start my mental challenge of figuring out how to deal with the pain.  Things that had provided some coping with Kade's labor were not working and I quickly became scared of the pain and pretty much just miserable.  Mike of course was being awesome and trying to help as much as he could.  By 12, I knew this was going to be extremely difficult and I wanted just Mike and I in the room . Our plan was both Grandmas and Aunt T, just like with the other two. But my mental place was different this time...very all of the sudden.  Around 12:15, I still had not been checked again but the nurse was now in there trying to help Mike and I find where I was somewhat comfortable. Sitting, lying, squatting, standing, etc.- nothing was working.
At this point, the pain was so excruciating that my will power was gone. I wanted to be out of pain. NOW. In child birth, the unbearable pain...the pain your literally do not think you can live through is at 8-10 cm mark. And the last time I was checked, I was only 5-6cm. So, in my head, I was thinking this is only the half way point, there in no way I can keep on!  With Pierce and Kade, delivery was about another 4 hours after the 5cm mark and the pain progressed slowly but surely over those 4 hrs. I told Mike I didn't think I could do it this time.'It' being not get the epidural. He initially encouraged me that I could but then got scared with me and didn't like seeing me that way. When I told my nurse I was wanting to call the anesthesiologist, she said she would if I wanted. But, she that really thinks that by the time I got it and it kicked in, I would have already delivered. She encouraged me that I was close and that we should check one more time before I made that big decision. ( at this point checking was very painful so that's why they had not been). And...she was right. She checked and I was at 7-8cm.  I owe my nurse ,April,  a lot. Things could have been a lot different if I had had a different nurse. 
  It was about 12:30 now. Encouraged, remembering that I CAN do this, and knowing I was close, I found my "zone". I sat down on the birthing ball ( exercise ball)  leaned back into my husband's arms and prayed and cursed through every contraction.  This time unlike with Kade, every contraction, I squeezed on Mike's fingers. After the fact, he told me he thinks a few are broken. And just now he told me he still, can't even hold his dumbbells today ;) In between the contractions, I tried my best to relax and take several deep breaths. The nurse let us be for few during that time and said to push the call button when I felt the pressure change..  At about 12:55, the pain was scream worthy, and that I did. I couldn't even tell Mike to push the call button. I popped up and pushed it myself. The nurse could tell by my body language when she came in and immediately called for the Dr. and 'the team'. They all rushed in as I climbed up on to the bed.  Before the Dr. even said I could, I pushed as I was climbing up there; I had to! Dr. said, "Breathe , let's make sure you are fully dilated to 10cm." She checked- I was- so she said, "go for it, push again" I did. Then did again, as I was pretty much half trying to stand up in the bed because I didn't want to lie down.  On  my 3rd push, Hyde's head was out. On my 4th push at 1:00 sharp, my little miracle ( who certainly did not feel so little) was all the way out and I was holding him.  There are no words for that emotion(s). At that very moment is when the "IT IS ALL WORTH IT" part sets in . The relief is immediate and the definition of true, unconditional love at first site is there all at once.  I watched my husband fall in love immediately with his third son as he tried to see past his tears to cut the umbilical cord. God shows you the purpose of life. And the postpartum euphoria that comes with natural child birth was there. I was ready to walk right out of there with my new love!  WE DID IT!!!