I usually don’t do the whole “New Year’s Resolution” thing because I know I will fail. This year I have several things that I hope to accomplish so I’m just going to list them and maybe that will become my resolution at some point.
1. Daily devotional time – I am really trying to be better about this now. It doesn’t take much time and my day is so much better when I can have a few quiet moments with God. I plan to use my “Through the Bible in One year.” I’ve had that bible for several years and still haven’t made it more than a few months.
2. Way less computer time – This is probably my worst struggle. I spend way to much time on the computer. My goal is to check email in the morning and then not get online or check email again until the boys go to bed. I need to be more present during the day instead of stuck behind a computer screen.
3. Read more – I have several books that I want to read but usually can’t find the time because of #2. I would also like to go back through some of my SS studies and use those for some of my devotionals.
4. Exercise/Running- I really want to make sure I do this 3/4 times a week. My plan is to do the couch to 5k treadmill version since it’s freezing outside and either add in some weights or do the 30 day shred video. I’m 3 weeks pp right now and plan on waiting a few more weeks until I am feeling a little better and start.
5. Cooking- I really don’t like to cook. I’m working on a master list of things we like for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. I’ve started making weekly menu plans but am thinking of doing monthly plans. I’m trying to incorporate a lot of crock pot meals into the planning to help me out.

I’m sure I’ll add to the list as I think of them but that’s it for now.

We decided on a fake tree this year. We went on our first outing as a family of 5 to Lowe’s and bought a 9 foot tree. I really love having a real tree but I am pretty sure it would not last very long with Camron around. He is such a SPUNKY little boy. He has the best personality and he is so very cute. He could take the place of about 5 boys 🙂 We have the tree up and we put lights on today so hopefully I’ll finish decorating tomorrow.

We went out for a drive today to pick up our maternity/family/newborn pictures from Natalie. We decided to take the boys to Chick fil A to eat and play. It was a good trip but I don’t think I could handle taking all three out on my own for a while.

Charles was born on Monday, November 14, 2011 at 8:21 am. I had been feeling crampy for a couple of days and had a few random contractions but nothing major. My due date from the OB was November 13th and my midwife had my due date as the 14th. I woke up around 4:15 am with a contraction and just laid in bed for a few minutes because I thought I was dreaming until I had another one. I got up and started timing them at 4:30 am. They were really consistent at 2-3 minutes apart. This is exactly how it was when I went into labor with Camron.

Around 5 am Camron woke up and I had to get Brandon to go get in the bed with him because I couldn’t. At 5:30 am I asked B to get up with me and we decided to call my midwife, Donna to give her a heads up. At that point I was handling the contractions well. I was talking through them and thinking I had a little while. She wanted to see them getting a little stronger and lasting a little longer so the plan was to call her back in an hour. By 6 am they were pretty strong and I was having to hold rice packs on my stomach and really concentrate. I decided to call her back at 6:20 and she said she was heading out and told me to call Layla, her assistant. I called Layla and she said she would be on her way.

I remember telling B that I thought he needed to get the pool set up now. He said that it was already blown up and it wouldn’t take that long to fill. I emphasized again that I thought we needed to get things set up now so B got the boys ready and took them over to my Aunt Lisa’s house. My Dad was having a block done for his back and they were at the hospital. It’s only 3 houses over so B came back and quickly started setting up the birth pool and getting all of our supplies laid out for the midwives. As soon as the pool was filled I got in. I’m not sure the times exactly but I was feeling lot’s of pressure and got out of the pool to go use the bathroom a few times. I knew things were going fast because my body just started bearing down and I couldn’t control it. I got back in the tub and continued to push with my contractions but they were so close that I wasn’t getting much rest and relief in between.

Layla showed up at 7:45 and she listened to the baby with a contraction and then checked me. I was complete with a bulging bag. She started setting up her supplies. I pushed a few more times and my water broke. I remember her saying there was some meconium but I couldn’t tell. Donna arrived at 8:05 and Calen was born at 8:21. We waited for about 20-30 minutes for the cord to stop pulsing and to deliver the placenta. They kept commenting on how great the cord and placenta were 🙂 Brandon and I joked about it being all those twix bars I had been consuming.

After I delivered the placenta, I got out of the pool and took a quick shower then got into bed. The midwives assessed me and again I had no tearing or anything. They started their assessment on Calen. He weighed 10#3oz and was 20.5 in long. His head was 14.5 and his chest was 14 inches. He latched on right away and is now a great nurser.

My mom and my grandmother brought the boys over around lunchtime. Carson and Camron crawled up in the bed with us and kissed on their baby brother. It’s really amazing how easy the transition from 2 to 3 has been so far. The boys are doing great with their brother and we are all settling into a good routine.