Welcome, baby Shedd #3!

 I have severely neglected my blog, and keep having so much to write that it overwhelms me so that I don't take the time to make a post.  

Well, I have no excuses today because it is only 5AM, and the thunderstorms outside are so intense that there's no way I'll be going back to sleep.  May as well catch you all up on my life happenings!

First and foremost, a sweet little girl joined our family May 21st at 11:35PM.  Eliza Beth came roughly two weeks before her due date, and the birth went smoothly with no complications.  I was able to again, do a water birth, at home, and that was very nice.  

The friday that she was born, I mowed the lawn, shoveled and spread mulch for the church flower beds, and then prepared that afternoon for a visit from our friends who live in VT.  Made some peach cobbler, cleaned the house quickly, and made the meal, and then our friends arrived.  As soon as we sat down to eat at 7PM (we were running a little behind schedule), I began having contractions.  Thinking they were just the normal braxton hicks, I just kept eating.  When we finished eating around 7:45, Dan suggested we take a walk down the road to the waterfall which is roughly a 2 mile walk.  I suggested to him that we rather drive.  We got in the truck and our friends rode in the truck bed, so I called the midwife on the way there and let her know I might be in labor and we made plans for me to call her back after the girls were in bed at 9.  

When we hiked down to the waterfall, I knew these contractions were real, and not going away.  We enjoyed the water for a few minutes.  I didn't want to tell our friends since they were our guests and plus I thought it'd be odd.  When we all got back to the truck, we piled in, and then I called the midwife back on our way home and told her that I thought she'd better come right away.  

When we got home, we ate some peach cobbler and ice cream and then I broke the news to our friends that I was likely going to have the baby in a few hours.  They were already planning to leave soon by then, but they said quick goodbyes and left for home.  I read the girls their nighttime stories and then helped them brush their teeth before bedtime.  By the time the midwife and assistants arrived, the girls were in bed, dishes were washed, and it was just sitting around for what felt like forever, waiting for things to really really intensify.  They did, fairly quickly, and Eliza was born at 11:35pm.  My wish was that she'd come before midnight because I was hoping to not have to labor into what would feel like the "next day".  

She was our littlest baby at 6 lbs 13 oz.

The girls were very excited the following morning to wake up and meet their little sister.  

Right now, life seems to revolve around changing diapers and feeding the baby.  Eliza does quite well at nights, for which I'm very grateful.  

So that is my biggest news piece.  I'm very thankful that she came early, and didn't make us wait until June.  

I'll probably split the rest of my "news" up into a separate post so that this one isn't so much like a book to read.   

As always, I hope you all are doing well and I hope you enjoyed reading about our newest little Shedd!