Rub-a-Dub

Noley's in the tub. And he loves it, as long as the water is warm and I keep him covered up. We try to keep him awake from 9-11ish every night, so a bath definitely helps. He's a good sleeper so far! We go to bed at 11pm and he wakes up at 5am...eats and back to sleep until 8am. No complaints from me.

Mud Run

Last Sunday Jack and Tyson ran in a 100 yard dash obstacle course. It ended with a run through the mud.

They got to run with our old neighbors Sydney and Jessica. Jack wasn't a huge fan of the mud, but Syd down right HATED it. 

 Jack showed off his big muscles after the race.

Our friends Nick & Christian Festa ran, too. Since Christa and I have recently had babies & couldn't run this year, we have dibs on next year!

Nolan's Birth Story: The Perfect Ending

Every person has a birth story. Whether yours was a long drawn out labor, an emergency C-section, or you were born in the car on the way to the hospital...every person has a story. Growing up, I remember my parents telling me mine (2 weeks early, snow storm, emergency C-Section). I've decided to write out each of my children's stories, so they will have them forever. This is Nolan's.

As most of you know, on Tuesday, August 19th I had a midwife appointment. I knew she wanted to "strip my membranes" since I was full term, very dilated, and had a "favorable" cervix. After my appointment I came home and sat on a birthing ball for a long time. After lunch, I took a short nap and waited for my friend, Brooke, to arrive.  She was REALLY hoping to meet Nolan, but he just couldn't be bothered with coming out yet. She and I walked with the kids down to the park in our neighborhood, it was good to catch up as the kids played.

I went to bed Tuesday night around 11:30 - feeling like nothing was going to happen. Then at 2:45am I felt a gush. I was pretty sure I hadn't peed the bed, so I got up and ran to the bathroom. Sure enough, it was my water breaking. I yelled for Tyson from the shower and he sprang into action. We both showered and dressed...I woke my mom up to tell her we were leaving. We were in the truck by 3:15. I called Nancy to let her know what was happening.

As we got closer to Ann Arbor, my contractions got harder and faster. I was timing them at 6 minutes apart. For the record - riding in a "Monster F&%$" on Michigan's pot-hole filled roads, while having contractions is VERY unpleasant. We made it to triage by 3:45am.

Around 4:15 the L&D nurse came to take me to my room. It was a long walk, but I was able to get there in between contractions. I sat on the edge of the bed while she entered my info into the computer and the tub was being filled with water. My body was shaking, which I knew meant I was in transition phase. At 4:45am I got into the tub. The water was hot, but it felt good! I sat up on my knees and leaned forward, resting my head on the edge of the tub. Immediately contractions got stronger and I started feeling a lot of pressure in my back. I won't lie - this sent me into a panic...thinking I was having another posterior baby.

My midwife walked in around 5:10. She applied pressure to my lower back as I was contracting and I felt immediate relief. A few contractions later I asked her if she could check my progress...and in the very next breath I was screaming that I was ready to push. She checked and sure enough, the baby's head was crowning. I got in all fours (instinctively, because I never imagined I'd deliver in that position) and 4 pushes later - the midwife passed Nolan under the water, between my legs, so I could lift him up into the world. He was born at 5:34am. It was amazing.

He never cried, just looked up at me - calm and alert. He was perfect. I was on an oxytocin (birth hormone) high afterward. I felt great. Tyson and I were blessed with our third child and we knew our family was complete.

If I would have written out the way I hoped Nolan's birth would go (before he was born)...this story, his story, would have been perfectly written.

A few more from the hospital...

Nolan and I had an extra day in the hospital. Long story short, he needed to receive an antibiotic before delivery - but he came SO fast there wasn't time to administer it via IV...so he had to stay 48hr for observation. I was discharged Thursday morning, but moved to a "Nesting Suite" so we could have a nurse continue to observe him. (FYI - he was PERFECTLY healthy, it was simply a matter of following hospital protocol)

 Jack and Josie did some pre-Nolan shopping at the Dollar Tree. They came with gifts! A stuff dinosaur and a mini soccer ball...along with a Happy Birthday balloon.

Despite being a little guy - he was definitely "fully cooked." Just look at those cheeks!

Tyson is the most amazing Daddy! So much love.

See that hair? We're debating color. Some believe it has a hint of red, while others see "dirty blonde" or "light brown." Only time will tell....

Time to go home!

Meeting the Grandparents

Nolan has already met all four of his grandparents! He hopes they all visit him again soon - because he's pretty sure he slept through most of their first visit. He's Nancy & Denny's third grandchild and my mom & dad's sixth grandchild!

Which reminds me...HAPPY 35th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY to my mom & dad today!

Jack and Josie Meet Nolan

When I was pregnant with Josie - I remember feeling guilty and sad that I was going to be taking time & attention away from Jack. As Josie and Jack have grown up together over the last 2.5 years, I've come to realize that - while they don't always get along - they do LOVE each other SO much.  As we waited for Nolan, instead of feeling guilt I was excited. I couldn't wait to see how Jack & Josie welcomed their new baby brother.

When they came to the hospital to meet him - it was AWESOME! Truly a moment Tyson and I will never forget.

 Josie was SO excited to hold the baby! She had to inspect him from head to toe.

Love this picture. I'd like to think it was her, "You did good, mom" moment...

Jack is a natural big brother. He held Nolan and told him he'd teach him to play soccer.

Then...this. My heart melted.

Lucky Nolan...he has a BIG brother and a BIG sister who can't wait to love him to death.

He's HERE!

Tyson and I are proud to announce the arrival of 

Nolan Walter Netherland Becker. 

Nolan arrived on August 20, 2014 at 5:34am.  He weighed 7lb 10oz and was 20.5 inches long.  He's perfect and we all love him so much! More pictures and info to come...

Also - the Family Pool WINNER was Shirlee - who guessed Wednesday, August 20th at 4:30am and she guessed he'd be 7lb 5oz. I guess spending 2 weeks with me gave her some good insight!

September isn't so far away...

My midwives will let me go to 42 weeks...should this guy decide he's not ready to join us on his own. 42 weeks means I will have a September Baby. That's funny... But not really.

When Nancy was pregnant with Tyson - Denny LOVED the name August. He wanted to call Tyson "Auggie." Obviously, Nancy's name choice won out.

Fast forward 33 years... Like father, like son - Tyson threw out the name August. But - knowing that his due date was August 21st...I was pretty adamant that we would NOT be naming him August. Should I make it to 42 weeks, into September...the name August may be re-entered into consideration. I'm not down with that.

UPDATE: Had a midwife appt this morning and things were about the same as last week. She predicts this guy is fairly small - 7lbs or so. She stripped my membranes. If you know what this is...you know that it wasn't enjoyable. If you don't know what this is..."stripping membranes" - it's about as pleasant as it sounds.  And as I left, she said, "So I'll probably see you tonight or tomorrow night." Let's ALL hope.

South Lyon

We took a drive over to South Lyon, MI today for a visit to a toy store. Being a "sleepy little town" - the toy store was closed. We ended up having lunch (and ice cream) at a really cute Root Beer stand.

Then we found a park to burn off some energy. Both kids were hot & sweaty by the time we got ready to leave.

We said GOODBYE to Grandma Nancy. She is heading back to FW, but will be back when Baby Boy graces us with his presence.

No Baby...

I'm feeling worse - as if that's possible. I'm hoping it indicates labor is coming soon. The Becker/Clevenger families have entered predictions on when this guy will arrive...

A big THANK YOU to my lovely brother-in-law, Devin, who predicted he'd arrive TODAY and weigh 9lbs. NINE POUNDS?!?!

He's still cookin'

We're still hanging in there. Grandma Nancy is here now, too. Jack was VERY excited to have TWO grandmas at his house.

We've been going to lots of local parks...bonus when they have a path to walk & stairs to climb.

And a little Flashback...

One year ago today we bought & took possession of our house here in Northville! I knew I had a picture somewhere and found this in my Instagram Acct. Look at how little hair Josie had! I showed this to her and she said, "Look! I'm a BABY!"

I think Jack looks about the same. Definitely taller these days...and more ornery.

NST and Ultrasound

Baby Boy gave me a bit of a scare today. He's been moving less over the last few days and I've done some Kick Counts to check on him.  Today he was pretty quiet and I got worried. So I called Triage and the Midwife said to come in for a Non-Stress Test. He was fine, good strong heartbeat and some movement.  The nurse reported that I have an "irritable uterus" - meaning I'm having a lot of small contractions all the time. I reported this to Tyson, so he understands that an irritable uterus is also linked to an irritable wife.

They did a quick ultrasound to check fluid levels and everything looked great. Baby Boy was "practicing breathing" and was flexing his arms & legs. Not gonna lie - he looked pretty comfy. I did not see any packed up boxes indicating he was planning on vacating in the near future.

So I will continue along with my day-to-day labor inducing tricks...and hope he comes this weekend.

Just No. Nothing. Nada.

Hot & Spicy

All of my girlfriends from college (who are also either pregnant or just had a baby) convinced me that SPICY Thai food was the answer to getting this child out of me. I tried it, along with some "brisk" walking on the treadmill. I was up most of the night with contractions, pacing the bedroom, timing them, even stopping at times to breathe through them (yes, they are real!)... And then, they just STOPPED.

When I got pregnant I read a book called Baby Catcher (highly recommend) and the midwife said that the third pregnancy is always "up in the air...no one ever knows exactly what to expect." She couldn't have been more right...

At least it's sunny today...and cool. We'll be going to a park - where the kids can play and I can do more, you guessed it, - WALKING.

Rain, Rain...

We had so much rain yesterday - most of Metro Detroit is under water. Tyson sent me a text from his commute home with a picture of traffic & standing water everywhere...followed by: "please don't go into labor right now." It took him over 2 hours to make it home from work.

By 7:20PM - my kids were in desperate need of some fresh air We hit up our favorite puddle.

Grandma Shirlee has been playing A  LOT of board games with Jack. He's a hard one to keep occupied...especially when we can't be outside. She's also been cooking & doing laundry for me. I don't know what I'd do without her at this point...I'd definitely be A LOT more grumpy & tired.

Midwife appointment today...wish me luck...and dilation.

UPDATE: 4 cm and 80% effaced. My midwife was super excited...I was hoping for 6cm & 100% - which is like full-blown labor. Totally unrealistic, but a girl can dream. More walks, more tea, more (insert labor inducing acts HERE). 

Still No...

The Super Moon was gorgeous last night. The raspberry leaf tea I'm drinking three times a day is not as delicious as my normal tea...but I've heard my uterus thinks it's pretty great. I may or may not have added another herbal supplement (twice a day) that is rumored to be "good for inducing labor."

And despite very hard contractions for most of the night last night...

STILL.NOTHING.

Don't hold your breath, people. This child is very happy in his current abode.

Bye, Bye Idaho

Uncle Devin and Aunt Kristin came back to Northville for one last visit before they leave for Idaho. Jack and Josie had so much fun with them!

It was sad to say GOOD BYE. We wish Idaho was closer...or easier to get to...

We love you, Uncle Devin and Aunt Kristin {and Rufus}! Safe travels!

If you're wondering...

...if Baby Becker has arrived....

You can just go HERE.

Music Makers

My mom and I took the kids to the Northville Farmer's Market on Thursday. The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra was there with instruments for kids to try out. Jack played the violin and Josie tried out the cello. Jack decided after a few minutes he'd like a faster beat...perhaps he's more of a fiddler.

Not surprising - he was pretty dang good on the trombone! I'd rather not foster that one...

 Josie attempted the clarinet, but she has a lot less "hot air" than her brother.

After playing the instruments, we ate lunch and listened to members of the A2SO play for us! It was a very cool way for the kids to explore music!

Summer Reading...and more

The kids participated in Northville Library's summer reading program. We read 50 books, wrote them down on a special paper, and turned them into the library for prizes (and books!). I'm not sure if the kids understood what we were doing - but we do love to read, so it was a good reason to spend lots of time at the Library this summer. The Library always has good A/C pumping!

They did some puzzles before we claimed our prizes.

Jack & Josie have learned that when their mommy is pregnant - sometimes she really WANTS...wait, NEEDS...ice cream. The other day I saw a commercial for the new Dairy Queen Chips Ahoy Blizzard...and I decided I NEEDED a Blizzard. So Tyson made that happen...and Jack & Josie got their mini-blizzard, too. Thanks, Pregnant Mommy!

Going along with being SUPER healthy {sarcastic} - Joe & Gina sent me an early "push present." That's 10 packages of Mega Stuf Oreos (courtesy of Amazon). Not gonna lie - I'm not sure even I can eat all of those! If you come to visit - be ready to leave with a parting gift.

And finally - this is my friend and his furry green dog, Don-on. The "man with the glasses" is an artist. I have no idea...I just go with it.

38 Weeks...We Got Moves

Dear Baby Brother -

We broke out our best moves for you. We think you should come out and join us. We have a month before school starts and we'd like to spend time with you.

Love,

Jack & Josie

Baby Boy Update:
I'm 38 weeks today. Josie arrived on this day during my pregnancy with her. So if Dude stays put - he will officially be my longest pregnancy of the three. I had a midwife appt yesterday and I was measuring a little behind (36weeks). They didn't seem concerned. Because I've been having contractions - my midwife checked me and I'm 3cm & 50% effaced. Which could mean labor is coming soon...or not for another two weeks. My midwife mentioned the "Super Moon" coming up soon...and believes things will be crazy in Labor & Delivery because of it. I gave her a skeptical look...but she insists she's seen enough full moon shenanigans to believe it has an effect on childbirth. We'll see...

Oh - and baby has an official NAME. Woohoo! Only took us 38 weeks!

Grandma Shirlee arrived yesterday....she's on Baby Back Up Duty! So he is welcome to come - day or night.

You might live in Michigan if...

You come upon a very large bobble head of Red Wing star, Pavel Datsyuk, as you walk down the street.

Summer Fun List: The Drive-In

Friday morning Tyson traded in his Yukon for his next vehicle (see bottom for how his car deal works)...and showed up with a HUGE truck. It's a 2015 GMC Sierra 2500 or as Jack likes to call it "a REAL monster f*&%." Lovely. Go ahead and imagine how great it will be when he starts pre-school in September and tells people his dad has a "monster f#@*." Yes, super.

Anyway - Saturday night Tyson & Denny headed downtown Detroit for a Tigers game. Nancy and I decided to brave the Drive-In with the kids. Here's the only problem with the Drive-In...it doesn't start until it's dark...which means the movie starts around 10pm. That's late {for kids, new retirees, and pregnant ladies alike}.

Jack was JACKED about going. He loaded everything in the truck bed, organized it, and then didn't stop talking until the movie started...

See what I mean about the talking? He was amped. Not even popcorn could make him stop. Josie was along for the ride.

And I surprised myself by hiking my very large structure into the truck bed, too. Once I was up - I wasn't coming down (until it was time to leave). We watched Planes: Fire and Rescue...then headed home before the 2nd movie started. Shhhh. Don't tell my kids there was a second movie. Thank you, Nancy, for braving the drive-in with us for the first time!

Tyson's Car Deal: Ty is part of a program at GM where he gets a new GM car every 6 months. The fun part is - you never know what car you'll be coming home with...The down side is your 4 year old thinks it's normal to get a new car every 6 months.