A long overdue update.

The last update I did on Madigyn she was 18 months. That means it was prior to her enter the “Terrible Two’s”, she quickly welcomed me to that stage while on vacation in Chelan last year while I was three months pregnant and immediately asked myself what exactly have I done, having a 2nd child while I didn’t even really know what it was like to have ONE just yet. I laugh at this now but, at the time it was a very scary situation. At the time I thought she was ready to give up her 2nd nap of the day and boy was I wrong. She had also been experiencing some very dramatic life changes. We had just started our own business and Brad was working full time so her little life as she knew it was no longer. She was now going to “day care” at my sister Sally’s on a daily basis. Not only that but, I had lost my SAHD! So, now I was back to grocery shopping, cooking dinner, cleaning house, and chasing a Toddler around while pregnant! Needless to say 2010 was a crazy year. So, we welcomed Jayma on November 15, 2010 and immediately Madigyn became an amazing big sister! She has done a wonderful job with the transition from only child to being the eldest daughter. She loves every bit of her little sister and is always helping me. If she hears her sister poop, she runs and gets a diaper and a wipe for me, she must then be able to throw the dirty diaper away as well! Needless to say we are still logging the hours in at the sink washing our hands over and over and over again. Madigyn is by far the funniest little girl ever. She does the most amazing and funny things. You never know how incredibly dull and lifeless your days are until you fill them with a child (or TWO). She is so smart! She is counting, learning colors and potty training just to name a few. She continues to amaze us daily with how much she has learned and how fast she has done it. Among her favorite things are Mickey Mouse, helping Mommy and Daddy, her baby doll, “Baby” (which is her blanket) and Lamby (Which if you ask her is a Sheep!), and her FROG boots (I received them as a baby gift for Jayma and she swiped them and has not taken them off since!). She loves to run and put garbage in the garbage can, to dance, help us cook, and to help feed the dogs. I had the pleasure of spending 14 weeks at home for maternity leave. I tried to make every moment count, we made popcorn at 11AM, had movie days, play dates with friends and cousins, colored, painted, did manicures and pedicures, went to Great Wolf Lodge and Crescent Bar on vacation, we played in the back yard and at the park when the weather was nice. I enjoyed every sleep deprived moment of it. She is growing up so fast and for the most part is well behaved and a very good little girl.

Jayma is now 19 weeks old. She rolls from front to back and from back to front! She is amazingly strong. She loves to try to stand up and almost never likes to sit up. She drools like crazy, I swear she is teething. She is almost always happy. She sleeps about 8-9 hours at night and then goes back down again after I feed her. She takes 2 hours naps and eats very well. She is so quiet and rarely ever cries, if she does you know she is tired or something is wrong. She is growing so fast just like her sister. She is very different than Madigyn was at her age but not in a bad way. It is very interesting how two babies could be so different even in the womb!

My sister Sally is watching the girls four days a week and Sadie is watching them one day a week. I am so blessed to have my girls be with family and I will never be able to repay them for the gift they have given me and my family. They love my girls like I do and nothing is more important than that.

Our business is doing very well. Brad has been very busy and we are very fortunate that is the case. I was able to be home with our girls for more than enough time and I am so thankful that Brad was able to stay busy in order for me to be able to do so. He works very hard at what he does and has such an amazing work ethic that no one ever thinks twice to call him up when the time comes the next time. The books got a little out of control the end of last year but, I was able to spend sometime straightening them out this year and we have a really good system going now.

As for myself, I am back to working full time. The transition from Mom to career woman is always difficult in the beginning but, I know that I am not cut out to be 100% SAHM. I need a reason to get out of bed, to get dressed and find a kind of peacefulness in my office. It’s a love hate relationship much like that of any job I guess. I take care of 75 employees from 7-3:30 and then take care of my family when I get home. To switch gears nightly is hard and getting up at 4:45AM is not my favorite but, I wouldn’t give up being able to be a breastfeeding mother for the sleep and I am so thankful that I am able to provide for my baby in that way. I am so thankful that I found Brad. He is such a wonderful Dad and an even more amazing husband. He always makes sure that I have time, time to go tanning, get a manicure or massage, be with my girlfriends, all the little things that keep you sane. Life goes rushing by and when I forget about myself, I am very unhappy and I am not the best that I can be. It is hard to remember to care for yourself when you are going 100 different ways at once and he helps me remember that I need to care for me too and I am so very thankful for that reminder and welcome the time for me when ever possible! Our lives are so different with children and we often laugh at how times have changed but, we have never known so much love until now.

Savor the Moment

Life has an amazing way of helping us forget the pain we have experienced in the past both physical and emotional. You forget the heartache and emptiness of loss, the pain of giving birth, the toe curling lighting that shot through your toes while trying to breastfeed your newborn. I am so very thankful to forget those moments and be left with the much brighter, vibrant, heartwarming moments of my newborn’s first smile, a two year olds attempt at singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and a welcome visit from a lost loved one in a dream so real that I wake up with a smile left upon my face and still warm from the love I still feel for them. One thing that has become far more apparent to me after becoming a mom is that life is too short and moves far too fast. I don’t have time for pain, remorse and regret. I must make time to learn from my mistakes and live each moment to its fullest in order to maintain those wonderful happy moments and not dwell on the past or wish I would have done things differently. A great friend once told me that she doesn’t care if my house isn’t clean; she still wants to visit and spend time with me. It takes a lot for me to not clean when I know stuff needs to get done but, I am not harmed in any way for coloring a little longer with my child or snuggling on the couch for a half hour instead of doing the dishes. Dishes and cleaning can wait, my child doesn’t mind at all and I should take notes from her more often. Children are so innocent and care free, I yearn for that freedom that adulthood has stolen from me. I make great effort to slow down and savor these moments as they fly by or next thing you know our kids don’t want to color with us or snuggle any more.

The Welcoming of Jayma Rae Price

Sunday November 14th, 2010 – Our family had plans to take The Brian Price family to the Children’s Museum as a thank you for watching Madigyn while my sister Sally was on maternity leave. We headed down to Seattle about 10AM. I was having random contractions all morning, nothing strong or concerning but, considering my first labor was Six hours long, we made sure to have “Baby Price #2’s” car seat installed and our bags packed. We had a wonderful time and finished up the afternoon with lunch in Seattle Center. At the center house around 2PM, I started having contractions 10 minutes apart. We headed home and swung by Target to pick up a baby girl coming home outfit in case we had a girl (I had kept my baby boy outfit from when I was pregnant with Madigyn). Having to stop every few minutes for a few contractions was humorous to us. We got home and relaxed, I lounged in bed and Brad made us dinner. About 6PM we sat down and had dinner, at this point I started timing my contractions and writing them down, they were 6 minutes apart. I had one large contraction and that was it, I was on the phone with my Mom to have her meet us to drop off Madigyn with her. She met us to take Madigyn to my Dad and then wait for the ok to head to Kirkland to meet us. I also text my sisters and friends to give a heads up that we were headed down to get checked out. We got to Kirkland about 7PM and I was still 1 cm dilated and had been since Monday. At this point unbeknownst to me, they were sending me home but, baby wasn’t active enough, they wanted to see more activity in regards to the heart I believe. They monitored me for about two hours, they had me eat, drink cold water and buzzed by stomach with some thing to stimulate the baby…then baby wouldn’t stabilize so, they waited to see if the heart would calm. My Dr. comes in since she was there already delivering another baby, she considered giving me and ultrasound to check out baby but, knew that she would peak at the sex and decided against it since I had an appointment scheduled for Tuesday at 9AM. She made the decision to send me home, saying “See you Tuesday”! At this point we are so confused and making the 1 hour drive home at 10:30PM, perplexed I let everyone know it was a false alarm and that I was not in active labor. My contraction remain 10 minutes apart, I get zero sleep. Monday I call in to work and everyone is texting asking what is going on. I can’t do anything, just lay in bed and I move to the tub every once in a while and sit there and then go lay in bed again. My mom had brought Madigyn to Sadie’s house since she had to work, mean while her son Carter pokes her in the eye. She calls Brad about 12pm to let him know that she is willing to keep Madigyn but, that she would like to get her eye checked out. Brad leave to pick up Madigyn about 1:30pm. I am texting friends letting them know nothing has changed. When he is getting home, I am filling the tub up AGAIN and hopping in. Madigyn is at the side of the tub wanting to know why she doesn’t get to get in with me, Brad heads down to refill my water glass and receives a business phone call, meanwhile I get a large contraction and Madigyn is very scared, she tries to jump in the tub with me and is crying and asking what is wrong, THIS is just what I didn’t want her to experience…I am trying to call for Brad, then I try to call the house phone and then his cell phone, he returns to find me in tears, saying I didn’t want Madigyn to see me in labor, she is so scared. He sets her up with an episode of Mickey Mouse Club and begins to work at his desk in our room. At 4:50pm Monday November 15th, I email work from my phone and let them know, contractions still 10 minutes apart, I have an appointment tomorrow AM and will know more then. 5PM – contractions 5 minutes apart, 5 minutes, 5 minutes..at 5:30PM I hope out of the tub and move to the bed to see if they spread back out again, doesn’t seem like 5 minutes is passing while listening to MMC in the background, finding it pretty funny at this point. 5:40 pm something changes, not sure what, just something.. I tell Brad to call my Mom and see if she is going to Sally’s house for a party she is having at 6pm, why he asks, I tell him I want her to swing by and get Madigyn, and to call Kirkland and let them know we are headed back, he reminds me that I haven’t eaten since 11am, I tell him I will be sick if I eat, he calls my Mom, she asks to meet us at Safeway like the night before, I say No, closer, they decide on 84th and Hwy 9, Spring brook Nursery. At this point, my Mom notifies Sadie and Sally of what is going on. (Sadie and Sally assume I have notified everyone else). The gal at Kirkland of course asking me to scale my pain level between 1 and 10, I am telling her that doesn’t work for me but, that I feel the most pain I have for the last 24 hours, I then toss the phone to Brad in order to have a contraction, she hears me in the background and I can hear her tell him “If she feels the urge to push, you call 911”. Brad runs Madigyn down to the car and then returns to see where I am…laying in bed having contractions…where else would I be (ha), I was able to put on a sports bra and couldn’t get to my pants in my walk in, I tell him what ones I want and am trying to figure out how I am going to get down stairs, that contraction ends and I run, down two flights of stairs, slip in to crocs and out the front door, greeted by a very chipper Schwann man…Having a contraction at the car, he asks if I am ok, while I tell Brad to grab a bag cause I might throw up. I get in the car and there is no way to sit comfortably, I am lying sideways, crooked, over the consul and closing my eyes. Madigyn is unusually quite and never says a word the entire drive. We get about 10 minutes down the road and……… I push! Brad says “Did you just push?!” I reply “I can’t help it”. He proceeds to pass three cars at once and I tell him to turn on the flashers and slow down because Madigyn is in the car. (At this point in his mind we are driving to Providence, not Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland). We whip in to the parking lot sideways (ok, maybe not sideways but, we did SKID), and he tosses Madigyn to my Mother and tosses her car seat in my Moms car and she takes one look at me and immediately knows that this is nothing like last night! Brad is driving away and I let him know that Madigyns door is OPEN! He stops, phone to ear with 911 on the line, runs out to close the door and Mom just looks at him, knowing now that he is on the phone with 911…she waits, while he is trying to find the ADDRESS of where we are, I tell him to take me to the Getchell fire station (it’s only ½ mile away), the operator says No, stay there she has already dispatched the aid car, mean while asking me to remove my underwear….I’m not wearing underwear, the remove your pants…dome light on in car, 3 doors open…. Mom and Madigyn standing in parking lot and car passing East, West, North and South…fire trucks arrive in moments to find me ½ naked, letting them know “the heads coming out” that was all I could say, they has 100 questions, I can’t even say my name just “the heads coming out and I have major pressure”, they hook me up to oxygen, take my blood pressure and are waiting for the aid car from Lake Stevens. Once the aid car arrives, they are deciding how to get me out of my car and on the stretcher, they then pick me up (spread eagle, naked!) and spin me in the air and place me on it! Then they decide who is going to drive since, they need two in back with me, one fire fighter drives so they others can ride in back with Brad and I. Brad tosses our keys to my Mom, tells her to put Madigyn back in our car and drive it to Everett since our bags are in there, she leave her car there for Sally to pick up later, he then gives them authorization to take us to Providence instead of Evergreen and lets Mom know we are headed to Everett and not Kirkland. They begin tracking my contractions, they are 2 minutes apart. After each contraction he cringes and looks to see if he can SEE the baby!! I hear him tell the driver “Lights & sirens on and go, if we see crowning, we pull over” at this point all I can think is do not push, do not push, do not push. All Mothers out there know this is by far one of the worst feelings ever. In order to push correctly, I was taught to not make any sounds, hold it in and use it to push baby out so, naturally I am thinking, if I make noise then I wouldn’t be doing it correctly and I do NOT want to push so.. I scream and I continue to scream during every contraction (Brad said it sounds like someone being murdered every 2 minutes!) I can’t think straight or see straight. I can’t see anything at all since I left my glasses in the Denali! He is giving me a count down of how many minutes away we are from Everett, all I can think is that is 10 more contractions and TEN more times of screaming and not pushing and holding this baby in. At Colby, I let them know that my water just broke; he tells me two minutes, we will be there in two minutes. They arrive at the entrance and tell Brad to get the doors, and to RUN (wheel) me down the hall and that I need to let them know when this contraction ends, they run. We are greeted at the elevator by Dr. Vold, he enters with us, feels my stomach and lets the nurse know that we will not be going to the labor and delivery floor or I will give birth in an elevator, sends us to triage, lets us know that he is going to run out and is not leaving us, he is getting gloves, meats us as they move me from stretcher to bed and place one foot in a stirrup, I ask if it’s ok to push, he say ready, I push THREE times and he lets me know it’s a girl!! She is laid on my stomach and at this point, I can see, hear, focus, and welcome the clarity. Once I tell the nurses my name, they let me know that the EMTs would like to congratulate me, I say sure let them in, nothing they haven’t seen already. I say “No offence but I am SO glad you didn’t catch this baby!” (Meanwhile, Travis is driving Sally to pick up Moms car and drive to Everett. Sadie gets in hauls to the Colby campus, parks in emergency, explains to some EMTs that her sister was rushed in an ambulance; they let her know I am admitted at the Pavilion on Pacific.) Sadie calls Chilly..
Sadie: Are you here?
Chilly: Where?
Sadie: Providence
Chilly: Do you mean Evergreen?
Sadie: No, Everett, Sarah had her baby
Chilly: What?! Why is she in Everett? (The line of communication went to Mom and that was it)
Brad carries un-named baby Girl Price to the 3rd floor, we are greeted in the hall by my Mom, Madigyn and Sadie (who is so upset that she missed the birth by about 4 minutes). Madigyn is saying “Baby Sister, Baby Sister” and is immediately very protective to her and doesn’t want the nurse to take her temperature or even touch her.
We welcomed the arrival of Jayma Rae Price at 7:05PM, weighing in at 7lbs 10oz and 21inches tall.

Being able to have a second drug free labor is very empowering. I am so very thankful that I was able to provide a non-drug induced welcome to my child (even if I did have to arrive in an ambulance!). My sisters are the most important woman in my life. The unconditional love of a sister is priceless. To be able to give Madigyn the gift of a sister warms my heart and brings tears to my eyes. Watching their relationship evolve over the past three months is the most amazing thing ever and we couldn’t be happier to welcome Jayma to our family.