One week ago...

I can't believe it has been a week already, last Saturday at 2:00pm we checked into Fremont hospital to have our little baby. We were fortunate enough to have a lot of family come and help with the other kids at home. Everyone took turns coming up to the hospital, made dinner together, and got them all to bed. It was a huge relief for me to know that everyone was so willing to help...so Thank you!

Right after I arrived at the hospital, which was about 2:00pm the nurse checked my cervix and I was dilated to 3cm and was 70% effaced. Oddly, that whole morning and night before I had been having some stronger, not consistent contractions, the nurse said it had something to do with the storm we were having...interesting uh. We had a great little nurse taking care of me, she was probably in her late 60's, and just so cute. It didn't take long to get the pitocin pumping, which was started about 3:30pm, things started to happen pretty quickly. The Dr. broke my water when I was about 3-4cm and in about 5min my cervix was at 5-6cm. I knew it wouldn't be long. I decided to get an epidural, yes I was debating this, because the last time I had a bad experience with it. I decided since was going to be last time giving birth, I wanted to be in the right state of mind to enjoy as much as I could. When I got to 8cm, I knew it wouldn't be long, because I could feel the baby coming down. I told the nurse that I was feeling something, but she said I was fine, they were watching the monitors, and she was going to go and finish her cereal. I know....what?... why was she eating??? Her shift just started, and I was in active, active labor (This was a new nurse...not our sweet Mary Jane we started with). Finally I had my sister go out there and tell them that the baby was coming. She decided to look and sure enough there was his head...hello people...this is my 5th baby...needless to say one long push, followed by a short one he arrived at 8:11pm.
Bryan says, my first words that came out when I looked down and saw all the outside plumbing parts...was "Oh No" But than I quickly became overwhelmed with emotions, Bryan did as-well. We were both so happy to have another little boy in our family, he was perfect. It was really nice to share that moment with Bryan, just the two of us. For me that first moment when you see your little baby is amazing. Most of my fears and anxiety about having another baby left, and I knew that Landry is suppose to be here in this family. He fought his way from the beginning and I understand what a true miracle he is.
I wish Bryan had the camera on when he went out to the waiting room to announce the birth. This is something Bryan loves to do after each baby. I was told he walked out with the camera in his hand, and showed everyone the picture and didn't say anything at first. Than he said, Landry is here! Everyone cheered and cried, just sounds like a fun moment I wish I could have seen it. Than of course I didn't see him for awhile after that because he had to call everyone he could think of ;)

I thought I would just take the time to blog about the birth, it really is a nice way to keep a record. Thanks Lindsay for the nice pictures...hope you don't mind me stealing them from your blog ;)

We got a good laugh...

I had to post this picture of Landry. Recently my mom and I have been trying to learn how to knit using a loom. It really isn't too hard to learn, but we are still trying to get the hang of how long items should be etc. Here is a great example. My mom did this little hat while we were at the hospital, and it is a little too long!!
I tired folding it down, it sort of worked...

Who can resist a face like that?

Introducing Landry Todd Collins

Landry Todd Collins arrived on Saturday March 21st at 8:11pm. He weighed 7lbs 7oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. He is healthy and perfect in every way and for that we feel so blessed to have him here with us. I will share more about his great "birthday" later, but for now I am going to go enjoy sleeping in my own bed tonight.

The Black Rhino

I had to post this because I knew that my mom would want to see how Kelci's Rhino diorama project turned out. Even though it didn't need to be down until May, she was so excited to work on it everyday and I knew she wouldn't let up on me until it was done. She is not a procrastinator like her mother when it comes to these types of things ;) She did do a lot of the work by herself, I just had to help with the glue gun.

She was so proud of how it turned out and excited about taking it school...I just had to get a picture of her big smile about it. I learned that black Rhinos are not really black at all, they are grey.

The stork is on the way...

At 38 wks pregnant, I am feeling physically tired of being pregnant. I'm not sure if I am mentally ready for the baby to arrive yet, but my Dr. informed me yesterday morning that we will be induced on Saturday. I love the thought of knowing my hips can slowly began to shift back into normal position, that maybe my restless leg syndrome will die down a bit, no more heartburn right as I lay down at night, and maybe some of my energy will return (I am not one who likes to sit around and not be doing something).

So Saturday morning we will call the hospital about 6:30am to see if there is an available bed and if not we will keep checking throughout the day. I am excited to meet this little one though...it still amazes me, the whole miracle of life. Especially with all my body goes through to carry out a pregnancy, and the fact that through all the bleeding I had early on that this baby survived. I am also feeling so grateful that I have so many people willing to help with the other kids and just help our family out. It means a lot to me and I wouldn't be able to do without them!

So wish me luck...and I will post some news as soon as I am available.

Pay it Forward!

Pay it FORWARD
--
How it works:The FIRST THREE people to leave a comment on this post will receive at some point during this year a handmade gift from me.
What it will be and when it will arrive will be a total surprise--to both of us.
The CATCH is that YOU MUST PLAY TOO! Before you leave your comment here, write a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (you can cut and paste these instructions).
Then come back and let me know that you are going to play, and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift. It's THAT easy!
Remember, only the FIRST THREE comments will qualify.

Good luck!

Picnic Fun

Sunday was such a nice sunny day out we decided to take the kids on a picnic lunch. We live close to Ellis Lake, but have never taken the kids there to eat or feed the ducks, so we decided to give it a try. It was a little windy, which made it a little colder than we liked, but the kids still had a fun time. I was just hoping that none of the seagulls or pigeons would poop on me ;)


Here are some snaps of the kiddos when this duck decided to join the fun...they crack me up...


Cambree found a safe spot to sit and toss bread.

Bellies and Babies Fair

I picked up a flier the other day at Costa Vida for this upcoming fair to be held at our local mall. I thought it might be interesting to check out, it's kind of a nice way to check things out in the community etc. So I went home and checked out who was going to be at the fair online. I noticed there was a photography featured on the website and decided to check out her work. Her website is http://visionsbyjanessaphotography.com/, if you are interested. She specializes in using natural light and does a lot of maternity, infant, children, and wedding photos. I was impressed with a lot of her pictures, some are a little different and not really my style, but she is unique, and I like that. So where am I going with all this...my friend Lindsay and I were talking about her website one day, and she called the next day to tell me, that Janessa had posted on her blog that she would be needing an infant model for an up and coming workshop at the end of the month. So I thought there is a chance this baby could come a little early (I know it might not)...but I decided to e-mail her and tell her I was very interested in providing a little model. For helping out, she would give 5 complimentary 8x10 prints of the baby. She replied and said that she would love to use the baby, and that she was willing to take a couple of complimentary maternity shots of me as-well. I was excited about this part too, I have begun to realize that this is the last time I will be pregnant, and being pregnant and going through so many changes physically is a special time. I have never taken "real" maternity pictures, something that would actually capture the moment. When I look back, I really don't have that many pictures of me pregnant at all. I was a little nervous after looking at some of her maternity pics, because I'm not interested in showing skin for everyone to see etc, but I thought I would give it try anyway. So I went to the mall today and met Janessa at the fair, she set up a small studio there, and was taking live pictures for people. Lucky me was able to pose and take a few maternity pictures (clothes on ;) in front of a crowd of people watching. That was a little nerve racking, I could feel myself getting hotter and hotter, and just trying to not pay attention to everyone watching. I'm excited to see how they turn out, and I'm really hoping my little bambino doesn't have plans to stay inside of me for too much longer, so we can attend her workshop. I have learned to love photography, but I'm not really that great at it. I feel like I appreciate it a lot more now than I have ever before (I have Lindsay to thank for that, she has taught me a lot and probably doesn't even realize it). I think every pregnant woman should take the time and have some nice photos taken of them. It is a beautiful time and no matter how cheesy it feels doing it, it will be a precious treasure to you later.

Having some fun

Because I babysit everyday, and it just happens to be a couple of 2yr old boys, Cambree and Brody don't get a lot of alone time. With the exception of the bathtub, where they love to be together, they don't spend much time playing during the day because of the others that are here. So when I catch them together and playing, it is really cute to listen to them. Even when they are sitting in a box of toys playing with a Sharpay doll...Brody loves to hear her sing.

We are alive!

This poor blog, I have completely ignored it. Part of the problem is that I am not able to post pictures right now on my computer. I think because I am such a visual person I feel like I need to have something to post to make up for my lack of writing ability (see what I mean).

It really is time for a new computer now, but first things first, we had to get a new recliner for Bryan for his birthday...why...well because we have been talking about it for about 2 years and never seem to just do it. Plus if we bought it now he would have about 3-4 wks to enjoy it before the baby is born and than I take over....kidding.

Speaking of baby, we only have about 3wks left until this little one is here...man it has started to go fast. I'm not sure if I'm ready to start over and care for another little newborn, but I am excited to meet this new little Collins. We have picked out the names, bought diapers, washed clothes, and set up the bassinet, so we are ready right???

~~So I was finally able to upload some pictures onto the computer so I'm going to highlight our month of Feb.

This picture is for you Ang, I finally made a shade for our backdoor...no more sun beating us down in the afternoon. Thanks for the shower curtain!

This picture is proof that I am officially 9 months pregnant for the last time, and really I think my muscles are a little stretched out and tired...can you tell? Things are coming along fine, just the normal aches and slowness that come from being 9 months pregnant. I had to recently switch Dr.s because my original decided to move...how could she? My new Dr. does not agree with some of the things my other Dr. said, so now we are revaluating where the placenta is, and whether or not it would be safe to have a vaginal delivery. I'm not too thrilled about this, I was perfectly content with the others Drs. decision. Because I still have anitphospholipid antibodies floating around in my body (these are what cause clotting). I have to start going for non-stress tests twice a week. This new Dr. also says that I should continue blood thinners until 6 wks after the baby is born, this is different that the other Dr. as-well. So here I am in the end, confused, and hoping the little one will just come with no complications, so we can put an end to all this confusion.

We also celebrated Bryan's birthday last week. Isn't this a cute picture...everyone wants to be pictured blowing as hard as they can...and yes he did make a wish!

For some people, at the end of a pregnancy they start to nest, well I'm way past that now, mostly because my body doesn't enjoy chores at this point. But for me right now I feel like it's a time to go and do some things that we may not be able to do so easily when a new baby arrives. So we took a trip to the snow this past Saturday. It was a lot of fun, after we drove for almost 3 hrs to find a location, I will spare those details. The snow was deep and the kids fell A LOT! But they all loved it, even Cambree who is not always ok with outside elements, being cold, falling down, etc. Eventually the kids ditched all the sleds and just started sliding down the hills on their bellies and bottoms. Brody thought it was great to throw the snow and even falling down didn't seem to bother him much. I fell a couple of times, and that didn't feel so good, so most of the time I just stood there and Bryan had to do all the work of getting kids up and down the hill.





At the beginning of the month we took a trip to the Sacramento Zoo with my sister Stacey and my nieces. This was probably Brody's first time at the zoo and he was amazed by the animals of course. For Cambree it has been awhile since she went and she wasn't in the best of moods. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, until finally half way through the zoo, she told me she was afraid the animals were going to get her. I should have figured this out, because the day before we were at the pet store and she was acting the same way. Afterwards we had a nice picnic in the park and than headed back to Yuba City to hang out, and the girls wanted to show off the new hamsters they got for valentines day.



Here are the girls with their new hamsters, Sage and Sugar.