Wordless Wednesday: The New Sonic Playground

Our small town has had a Sonic for as long as I can remember (big surprise, when the headquarters for Sonic reside in our great state). I am addicted to love their Cokes. Hubby likes their Sweet Tea.

Great. Now I’m thirsty.

Anyway, we now have a brand new Sonic that includes a fenced-in playground.

Looks like I’ll be getting my fix in Cokes for awhile {there goes the water-only drink diet}.

Well, it was supposed to be a wordless post. But, wordless might just be beyond me. Oops

Originally posted at Amy Loves It!.

Labor Day Weekend Trip to Great Wolf Lodge

"Labor" Day...

Well, Labor Day is almost over, but I saw this post on DoodlesPlace, and I just had to participate!

So, here are my "Labor" Day stats:

How long were your labors?
Abby Grace – 22 hours, 15 minutes
Ella Reese – 11 hours, 1 minute
Meleah Faye Estelle – 1 hour, 30 minutes

How did you know you were in labor?
Abby Grace – major back pains and regular contractions
Reese – regular, hard contractions that woke me up
Meleah – when the nurse was about to give me Pitocin, and I had 2 contractions within one minute

Where did you deliver?
Abby Grace - hospital in Ada, Oklahoma
Reese – the same hospital in Ada, Oklahoma
Meleah – the same hospital as her sisters (are you seeing a theme here?!)

Drugs?
Abby Grace – Epidural
Reese – Epidural
Meleah – none

C-section?
Abby Grace – no
Reese – no
Meleah – no

Who delivered?
Abby Grace - our *favorite* student-nurse-midwife, Kyanna
Reese - a midwife (whom we liked!)
Meleah – a doctor who I had never met before (and who almost delivered her bare-handed!)

(And a bonus question) How long were you pregnant?
Abby Grace – 41 weeks, 1 days
Reese – 39 weeks, 6 days
Meleah – 39 weeks

Meleah's 1st Birthday Party

My BABY is ONE!

It was one year ago, today, that my sweet #3 graced us with her presence in this world.

Meleah Faye Estelle was born at 8:00 am on Wednesday, September 3, 2008. You can read her birth story here (please keep in mind, that it was one of my first posts… lol). Yes, I really had her naturally… without any medication. And, no, it did not hurt. I only had a few painful contractions, and they came about 20 minutes BEFORE she was born.

Children are a priceless treasure. We are so blessed by our three girls.

The history behind the name…

Meleah is a special girl… we named her after my grandmothers, who have lived with Jesus for several years now. I may be sentimental, but I like to think that my Gigi and Mamaw “met” Meleah before we did.

Mildred Faye is my maternal grandmother, Gigi, who went by her middle name: Faye.

Estelle comes from my paternal grandmother, Mamaw, whose full name was Frankie Juanita Estelle.

Meleah is a name we fell in love with, and she shares the name with a girl who went to church camp with us last summer.

Going Bananas

Meleah ate her first "real" food tonight... mashed bananas. I plan on making my own baby food (for the most part), and it does not get any easier than to feed my girl straight from my own plate!

She loved it, of course. If she could talk, she would say, "Nom, nom."

Meleah's dedication

Sunday, March 1, we had Meleah's baby dedication. One of our best friends is the Children's pastor at FBC, and he did the dedication for us. It was really special to have Shane (Wolfe) do our third little girl's dedication.

In attendance were Meleah's big sissy Abby Grace, big sister Reese, Grammy and PoPow (maternal grandparents), MeMe and PaPa (paternal grandparents), Nana (paternal great-grandmother), Daddy and Momma, and MANY friends and supporters (aka, wonderful church members!). Everyone was well-behaved... especially the Baby-of-Honor who slept through her entire dedication :)

FYI, Meleah is named after her maternal great-grandmothers, Faye and Frankie Juanita Estelle, both of whom are in Heaven with Jesus. Meleah's full name is Meleah Faye Estelle. She is a special girl named after two very special women.

Meleah... almost a crawler!

Meleah has been scooting around quite a bit lately, and she pushed up on all fours today! Once she was up on all fours, she was rocking her chubby body back-and-forth. She did this several times today. Abby Grace and Reese hampered her efforts just a bit because they got soooo excited and crowded around her.

Meleah is their pride and joy. They love teaching her, playing with her, feeding her, dressing her, "babysitting" while Mom runs (very, very quickly) to another room. They are the best big sisters in the world!

Look at that face...

Naked Baby Pics

I cannot leave Meleah out. Check out her sweet rolls! She is such a little doll.

Sleeping Cutie

Just so you all know, Shane and I lay her down on her back to sleep. This girl is only 4 months old, and look what she can do! Unfortunately, she gets her chubby legs stuck between the crib slats and can't move!

Meleah's letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

Hi! This is my first Christmas. I need some new pajamas because I am getting so big! Please bring my big sisters Abby Grace and Reese some new toys and may-be some pajamas that match mine.

Thank you,
Meleah Norton
3 ½ months

Meleah's birth story

Well, this story is not for the faint-of-heart. I have no qualms about going into detail about the births of my daughters, so if you are a bit squeemish, I recommend you bypass this blog. Shane and I went to the hospital on the evening of Tuesday, September 2. I needed antibiotics because I tested positive for Group B Strep. Unfortunately, I am allergic to the main medication that treats strep, so I had to come in the night before to receive two doses of another med. I also took a pill to soften my cervix (which was supposed to help me dilate faster the next day. I got up at 5 am on Wednesday to take a shower and "get ready" for delivery. That means, I did my hair and make-up. I wanted to look good for all those pictures. At 6 am, Shane and I made our way down to Labor and Delivery. The "plan" was that I would be given Pitocin (to bring on contractions) and they would eventually break my water. For my other girls' births, Shane, Barbara, Mom, and Kristi were all right there with me, while Dad, Ronnie, my neices, and brother-in-law Griff were on the other side of the curtain. Even Abby Grace was there for Reese's birth! That was the plan for this time, of course.

Before my nurse could administer the Pitocin, I had two contractions less than a minute apart. She decided to wait on the Pitocin. A little bit later, they took my blood pressure, and it was high (of course... I'm in labor!), so they made me lay on my left side to re-take it. I felt a "pop" in my stomach and a "whoosh!" of something down below. I looked at my nurse and Shane and said, "Um, I think my water broke." Yup, it did, all by itself. I was really excited because I actually went into labor by myself. They checked me, and I was only dilated to a 3 (you have to get to 10), so we figured it would still be awhile. It didn't take long, and the contractions started to hurt. And, I wasn't getting a break; they were constant. I have a high pain tolerance, but I really didn't understand why they hurt so badly; neither of my other births felt like this. I said something to the nurse, she offered pain medication, and I said I would wait. I have always had an epidural (it numbs from the waist down), and planned on having one this time. WRONG! I told Shane that I felt pressure, and wanted to push. I finally decided that I might want some IV meds, when the nurse checked me again. Now remember, this is around 7:30 am. I've only been in labor for a little over an hour. Abby Grace was 22 hours, Reese took 11 hours. The nurse's eyes got HUGE and she said, "You aren't going to believe this, but you are a 9 and ready!" That's when the chaos started. My two nurses were running around, getting the tools and pads and baby stuff ready as fast as they could. It was quite comical. They gave me the IV meds really fast and kept telling me not to push. I didn't push, but she was coming anyway. The midwife wasn' there yet because it was right at shift change. One of the nurses ran to get the doctor on call. He was getting ready for a c-section. He comes running in, trying to get his gown on, and says, "I'm going to try to get these gloves on before I catch this baby." Meleah was coming without any help from me, and the doctor didn't know if he was going to have to get her bare-handed! As soon as those gloves were on, her head came. Three pushes total (and that's because they made me stop), and she was born. But, even though I didn't push, she was coming anyway.
It is the most incredible feeling to give birth. It didn't hurt at all. It was so awesome. I watched the entire thing. It was just Shane and me (and one doctor, and two nurses). The doctor was in our room less than five minutes. Meleah came in about 2 minutes. Meleah Faye Estelle was born at 8:00 am on Wednesday, September 3, 2008. She weighed 7 lbs, 4.9 oz, and was 19.6 inches long. She is perfect.

Baby #3's room

Here are pictures of #3's room (formerly Reese's room). It isn't fancy, but Shane and I love the blues, pinks, yellows, and purples. We are going for a mix of gingham, paisley print, and vintage. If you will notice in the pet net are stuffed animals from Shane's and my younger years. Anyway, for those who care, here are some pics! Also included is a pic of Baby's "Coming Home" outfit. Notice the "Just Hatched" on the little tee. Cute, huh?!