What a busy month!

My brother and his family have moved back to California. It has been awesome getting to see them a few times already since they've been back. I am hopeful that he will find a job soon.
Christmas was held at our house again this year. It was a fun filled day! We love hosting everyone at our home. Jane stayed awake for the opening of her presents. This year we had Dawson on Christmas Eve so we did presents that morning, went out to brunch, then went to a Christmas Eve dinner with my brother-in-laws family. Dawson got to open up Santa gifts, other family gifts and his stocking the day after Christmas. New Year's was rather uneventful. We stayed at home and watched the ball drop. Jane decided to stay up until 2am-she was the party animal that night! We were begging her to fall asleep.
Last Monday I finally had my gall bladder surgery. My recovery is going as quickly as possible. It's hard to get a lot of rest when I'm up during the night a few times with the baby and can't get a great nap during the day. I hope within the next week I'm feeling much better. I am thankful to have it over with and to not have to have that type of pain again.
Jane also had her baby blessing a week ago. Brad did an awesome job on her blessing. It was very touching. I was so happy that my family (minus Crissy) were able to be there. Jane looked absolutely beautiful.

So Much to Blog About...

Jane is 3 weeks and 1 day old today. How times flies! I took her in for a 2 week check up last week and she weighed 7lb 3oz. She gained 1lb 3oz in just 2 weeks! I was impressed. It means she's getting plenty to eat. We are working on getting into a routine now. My biggest worry was being able to wake up and get Dawson to school on time. His school starts at 7:45 which makes for us being up rather early. Jane is usually asleep during this time so getting Dawson up and ready and to school has not been a problem. I have been able to get out of the house a few times which is nice. I haven't been able to spend as much time with Mary's kids but hopefully now that Jane is a little bigger I will get back to seeing them more. Cora loves baby Jane. Asher has only really noticed her once and wanted to play with her feet and was laughing. It was pretty sweet.
Brad and I took the kids into Sears to have their pictures taken together and seperate. While we were at the mall we also decided to take them to see Santa. It was perfect going during the week. There was no line at all to see Santa and Santa really enjoyed holding Jane. Their pictures all turned out so cute and I had a hard time choosing my favorite ones.
Brad has officially passed his last Master's class and is a graduate now! I'm so proud of him. He had his winter concert last week and has nothing to worry about for school for a couple of months. I've already noticed a huge difference and we have gotten to spend a lot more time together. It was almost strange to be able to sit and watch TV together knowing he didn't have to get up to go back and do homework or work on musical music.
We had a great Thanksgiving. Jane was 5 days old and was an angel. She did decide to wake up as soon as it was time for us to eat as did Mary's son Asher. Gotta love the babies though! Brad and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house (although we didn't do all the work....every time I got up my mom told me to go sit back down.) It was really nice to have my family here and I am thankful they were willing to travel here. For the past 10 years we have always gone to my Aunt's house and before that my Grandparents house. I just knew I wouldn't be able to travel yet.
We are looking forward to having Christmas dinner at our house again this year. Our home is all decorated now and we are definitely in the Christmas Spirit. We love this time of year. We have so much to be thankful for. My brother and his family are moving back to CA this week! I can't wait to have them close by and to get to be around their kids more. I hope he is able to find a job here in Redding (or near by) so that we can get together a lot. We are also excited that Brad's sister is having another baby. She is due on my birthday (June 21st.) She just told us last week-although I've had a feeling since mid October that she was. It will be nice for Jane to have another little cousin. We are hoping they have another girl since they have 3 boys.

Jane Elizabeth Fowers

Sweet baby Jane was added to our family on Saturday, November 21st, 2009. She was born at 12:45pm weighing 6 pounds 10 ounces and 18 inches long. She is absolutely beautiful and the perfect addition to our family. Dawson adores her and is thrilled to finally be a big brother.
I went into labor early Saturday morning. I went to bed feeling like she was lower than normal and it was hard to walk. At 3am I woke up to a contraction (I was also dreaming I was in labor at the same time.) I didn't think much of it because this had been happening for a couple of weeks now. I went back to sleep and woke up 15min. later to another contraction and dreaming again that I was in labor. I decided I would time them. They were not too consistent about every 6-10minutes. Around 4:10 I decided I should wake Brad up and go to the hospital to get checked just in case. We got there around 5am and I was still only dilated to a 4 (I had been a 4 since my Drs. appt on Wednesday.) I was a little disappointed about that. The nurse hooked me up to monitor my contractions. After an hour she said they weren't regular so they might send me home but the Drs. were changing over at 7 so they would wait until then. At 7:30 they checked me again and I was still a 4 with irregular contractions (3-8min. apart.) They mentioned sending me home again...I was not so happy about that At 9am the nurse came in and checked and said that although I hadn't dilated anymore I was showing some progress so they would admit me. I then asked for an epidural because I was tired of the pain and figured at the pace I was going this was going to take a long time. The anesethelogist came in around 10 and got it going. I wasn't feeling much just a little pressure here and there but the monitor wasn't picking up contractions at all. I thought great the epidural stopped my labor and this is going to be awful. The nurse checked my progress around 10:45 or so and said I was now 6cm and 100% effaced. I was shocked! She said my water needed to break and if it didn't break soon she would try to help me with that. At 11:15 I'm having Mary read to me what is for dinner and the other options in the cafeteria when I felt a lot of pressure and told her to hold on. I then heard and felt a pop (she heard it too) and sure enough my water broke. We got the nurse in there and she checked and said sure enough that was your water and you are now a 10 and ready to push. The Dr. came rushing in and I started freaking out. The baby's heart rate dropped so they put the internal monitor on her head (which was tangled up in her hair after I delivered.) They gave me oxygen to help me and the baby out. With the epidural going I couldn't feel anything so the nurse turned it off. Within minutes I was feeling intense pain! I ended up pushing for 3 contractions then took a 10min. break. I then pushed again for a few contractions and they said to take a 15min. break. I was having to breathe through the contractions that were very painful. Mary became my focal point for whatever reason and I just kept staring at her and saying breathe. She lost it at one point and laughed at me. I apologized after wards for being a little bit crazy/creepy by looking at her. All the sudden I had the worse pain/pressure feeling and the nurse had me try to push and sure enough Jane was ready. The Dr. came back in and I pushed a couple of times and out she came. It was rather scary and exciting at the same time. It was not my finest hour in life and I'm thankful to not be pregnant anymore. I have so much more energy and am feeling more like myself again.
Brad has been an awesome dad and husband. He just loves his daughter. Dawson wasn't able to come see us at the hospital because of h1n1. He adores her though and has been a huge help when he's around. He just looks at her and you can see his love for her. Nothing makes me happier than that. I'm sure he will be very protective of her.
I have to end my post with a HUGE THANK-YOU to my amazing twin sister Mary. She showed up at the hospital at 5am (with her make up on) and went through labor and delivery with Brad and me. She brought us food when we needed it and kept everyone updated. She let me squeeze her hand and stare at her when I was freaking out. She kept Dawson Sunday night and took him to a movie on Monday so Brad and I could have some time with Jane. I can't thank her enough. I also have to thank all my family who came to visit us and who have been helping us out. It means so much to us. We are indeed blessed.

Halloween and Pregnancy

Dawson had a fantastic Halloween. We didn't get to carve pumpkins with Mary and her family this year because time just flew by and our schedules were a bit crazy. Dawson and I carved pumpkins together (Brad has been SO busy at work with musical.) I let him be in charge of his own pumpkin and he was very proud of his creation.
Halloween was a busy day. Dawson had his last soccer game of the season followed by their team party. Brad and I stayed at the house to hand out candy and babysit Asher while Dawson went out with Mary's family and his dad. He had a blast and loved being a skeleton. I loved that he was a skeleton because it's a costume he got last year for Christmas so I didn't have to buy him a new one this year.
Today I am 35 weeks and 4 days pregnant. I am pretty sure I will be having this baby early. I went to the Dr. last Thursday and was already dilated to 1 1/2cm and 70% thinned out. I have been having inconsistent contractions daily and my hips are killing me. Brad and I feel pretty ready for the baby but it is a stressful time of year with him having his school's musical and finishing up his Masters Degree. Once Dec. 10th comes life won't be as crazy for him. I just worry about going into labor at the worst possible time for him. Thankfully I go to the Dr. weekly now so should get updates on my progress and if he thinks labor is close.
And another Dawson update is that he's FINALLY able to read chapter books and loves it. I'm so proud of him. I'm so amazed at how well he can read now compared to what he was doing a year ago. He's also really good at Math and seems to enjoy it. He does not really enjoy spelling at all.

33 Weeks Pregnant

I went to the Doctor today for a routine checkup. He says everything looks good so far. I was worried that the baby was transverse (sideways) due to where I feel movement. He said he's pretty sure that she's curled up on my right side with her head down and her bum by my belly button which is why I feel the movement where I do. I am glad to hear that but as time goes on we will know for sure. I was worried that I might have to have a c-section. Brad and I are finishing up our childbirth education classes. It has been a good refresher for me but thinking about the labor process gives me anxiety. My Dr. did tell me that I should be able to get some medication even if I'm progressing quickly if I request it. He also said that I shouldn't have to push for 2 hours like I did with Dawson. I sure hope I don't! It was too tiring. We are getting more and more anxious as the time draws nearer. I am hoping to have the baby between 37-38 weeks so keep your fingers crossed for me! If I have her a little early it means I can get my gallbladder out sooner. I have had a couple attacks recently that were pretty intense and resulted in driving to the ER only to have the pain disappear on the drive there. Brad has been pretty good about it and is very helpful.

Disneyland and Baby Shower

Dawson had the opportunity to go to Disneyland with Mary, Ben, and Natalie. I baby sat Cora and Asher for the weekend as a trade off. He had a BLAST and can't wait to go back. He did come down with a bit of a cold on his 2nd day there. He was exhausted by the end of the day and ended up sleeping through the fireworks show. He was very brave and went on all the fast roller coasters.
This last weekend Mary threw me a baby shower. It was fantastic getting together with a bunch of family and friends. Mary did a great job planning it and it meant a lot to me. She made an edible fruit arrangement and a butterfly cake. She didn't like how it turned out but I thought it was very cute. I am feeling more prepared for baby Jane's arrival. I do have my moments of anxiety where I am not sure I can do it (but it's a little late for that now isn't it?!) The picture of me in front of the fireplace is me at 31 weeks pregnant. I think I grow more and more each day.