second trimester. time, slow down!

something about pregnancy makes the time go quicker for me. while I don't know what the future holds, and I really shouldn't say things out loud ...mostly for fear of everyone in our small town repeating them back to me a million times... "you like even numbers, right?!"   

I feel pretty content preparing myself with the idea of this being The Final Smith (not enough to use it as a blog post title though;). it better be a good one ;) all joking aside, we've been blessed. healthy pregnancies. smooth pregnancies. smooth deliveries. and healthy babies. I really couldn't ask for more! maybe more Starbucks while in the hospital... *wink*wink* sistasssss ;)

so here we are... half way through my second trimester and wishing time would slow down. although, it doesn't take a pregnancy for me to wish for that.

I don't get in front of the camera often so have to make it a point to have one of the kids or one of the sisters snap just a few quick photos of me. it also has to coincide with when I've showered... so Sundays for sure ;)

I'm a fairly boring pregnant woman. No complaints really... only to Dave ;) apparently pregnancy is good to me :) not really craving anything extraordinary. I like food. I like cookies. and ice cream. and Starbucks. I frequent the chiropractor often. Varicose veins have snuck up on me. My sisters like to point out my age so that's catching up with me as well. There was mention of AMA at one of my initial OB appointments. but there is no talk of that or my weight since ;) 

we don't share the gender, nor do we find out. and we don't share any names, although we've nearly run out of names... feel free to send any this way! the kids are pretty excited, kissing my belly often. Will asks if it's coming out... today... right now... ;)

mostly feeling tired and large and grateful I get to do this again. praying for a healthy baby!

many thanks to my photographer, Lia. who claimed to be James 2.0 and reminded me a lot of this popular video ;)

photos taken at 25wks. currently 26wks... give or take ;)

a complete softball team

post by Courtney

surprise!!!

just kidding ;)

photo courtesy of Dave

sharing this news isn't much of a surprise to anyone (except the dentist and his hygienist who I saw early this pregnancy. he asked me if this was my first: nope. then asked how many this was: our tenth... he was speechless. literally. and I am well aware how TEN sounds ;)

well before Coy celebrated his first birthday, we were being asked when the next one would be coming along. repeatedly.

so for everyone who has been so patient, baby Smith #10 is expected mid-October!

photo courtesy of Lia

my mood is better than when I wrote this post (you're welcome!) while pregnant with Will, but most of the questions you may have can be answered there. a couple extras/modifications I thought of: 

Q: Haven't you run out of names? 

A: Yes. Yes we have. Throw some letters at me. 

It may be a one syllable, two letter name this go around.

Q: Is this it for you guys then?

A: I am more receptive to more babies than Dave, but my body (and maybe mind) are receptive to no more babies. that doesn't really answer the question well... this is my second pregnancy holding the title of advanced maternal age {insert eye roll}  and I can't be sure when I earned the titles of multigravida and grand multiparity. I just like to think those titles make me extra special ;)

and what does one do after they find out they're pregnant. indeeeeed. online shop ;)

1 + 2
I've got a slight obsession with boat neck tops. yet I have not a single one in my wardrobe. why not get some maternity tops that I'll wear only a hot second. doh.

3
am I ready to wear a form-fittingish dress with my tenth pregnancy? we shall see. but this wouuuuulllllddd look adorable with my red Toms!

4
if you see me in this very outfit from August until the end of October... I'm not sorry ;)

5
I may or may not have eyed this up for each one of my October babies and never pulled the trigger. it's currently on sale and calling my name yet again! 
although, a friend's beautiful daughter had this one on and it's pretty dang adorable. 
wish I wasn't obsessed with hoods!

6 + 7
baby sandals are always adorable.

8
we're leaning toward girl over here. which means, in Casey's experience, it's a boy. 
but good golly, how cute is this romper!

***

let the online shopping continue! 
and the mint bonbon
:)

IKE.

post by casey.

we welcomed our 3rd son into the world. Third son. Fourth child. 

HOW?!??!!?!? - I'll tell you 'how' in just a minute but I gots to compose myself:')))).

IKE Ewalt Smith

October 15, 2017 . 151AM

8lbs 2oz . 19-3/4"

IKE: in Hebrew the meaning is, He Laughs. Laughter:) We also just liked it!

EWALT: a family name on my dad's side. My dad's mom, my grandmother's maiden name. I was named after my great-grandmother, Mildred Arlene Ewalt (Casey M-A-E...I was also born on her birthday, March 23rd:).

Some people have also mentioned that it sounds very Starwars-ey. Which Jacob is totally cool with;).

photos by Courtney Smith Photography:)

i know most love a good birth story but I'm going to try to keep this short and sweet - similar to all my births!:)

Ike came 3 days early, after about 5 hours in the Hospital and 2 pushes. You did wonderful, baby boy:).

some of the highlights were:

- me calling the Birthing Center at 7PM on 10/14/17 to let them know we were coming BUT that I planned to stop at Target first...and then we'd be there...they later told us that they all laughed prettyyyyy hard after getting off the phone with me!!!!;)

I also hung-up after that call and looked at Jacob and said: "WHY DID I SAY THAT??!?!? WHYYYYYY DID I TELL THEM THAT?!??!?". SO embarrassing...so typical;).

SIDE NOTE: contractions were too intense and we did end up skipping Target;(.

- unlike with the other kids' births, I was able to walk around at the Hospital and try to keep things going on my own this time around.

When we arrived at 830PM, I was 6CM dilated, which I was really happy with. I felt really calm and somewhat motivated to let things happen naturally for a while...it just...felt...right!!! I declined the epidural and wondered if I might actually do this shit au'natural...BY CHOICE...this time - if you remember...we didn't have time for it with Rocky and so that shit went down fast and painful but you know, crossed Natural Birth off the Bucket List;) - Rocky's Birth Story HERE.

After 2 hours of wandering the halls and trying the Birthing Ball for one contraction, I was STILL 6CM.

1045PM: EPIDURAL, PUUUUUUULEASSEEEEE!!

- I do have to say...I've had wonderful experiences with the Epidural and this time may have been the best yet. It most definitely 'took the edge off' but it was much more localized to my stomach/contractions and so I was able to, very much so, recognize contractions/feel that intense pressure/pain - but on a smaller pain level - and my legs hardly went numb but I felt really present for the birth and aware and it was really perfect for me.

- the epidural did slow things down. My contractions were about 3MIN apart prior and then slowed to about 8MIN:/

We even inquired with our doc about what happens after you're at the hospital for more than 6HRS?!?!?;) We've never been at the Hospital for longer than 6HRS before birthing a baby...which has been wonderful:).

- I was 8CM at 1AM on 10/15/17 and so they broke my water

- sometime after 130AM on Sunday, October 15, 2017...2 contractions and 2 pushes...Ike was born at 151AM:)

one of my favorite parts was them asking us if we knew what we were having and how excited they always get about the not-knowing and surprise to come:). Of course, they asked Jacob and I what we thought we were having and I replied Girl - and explained that I've guessed wrong with EACH baby so far...and Jacob, boy.

when they laid the baby on my chest they said to me: "You were RIGHT!!!!" and so I excitedly said: "OMG!!! We had a girl!!!!???!!!!". To which the doctor replied: "No, you were right...you ARE always wrong! It's a BOY!!!!".

We all died laughing!!:)

it's taken 4 pregnancies and 4 births for me to find this place of pure contentment:). They've ALL been wonderful. We are SO fortunate. Lucky. Blessed!! They've all been so so good and different and perfect in all the ways. But this time around, especially...I wasn't too anxious. I felt at peace about what was coming and what would happen...the unknown. I feel especially excited about the future. 

this isn't me announcing that we're 'done'. :)

but what I think I'm trying to say is that I'm finally embracing the hard and the easy and the scary and the recovery and finding patience and...I'm finally taking the time to take care of myself in all of this. It's SOOO much about this family and these babies. But I finally feel like I'm still here too. And I can have them and give them all that I have...but that doesn't have to be it. I get a little bit too and that's OKAY!!!! If anything...me taking care of ME is going to pay off for them as well:).

and I'm not just talking about making time for a Target run;). I'm talking about asking for help. And putting things off. Embracing our messy days. Letting go of the guilt. Taking time to use the fancy/organic butt spray;). 

i'm very happy:) 

the kiddos are in love and have already started physically fighting each other for their place in line to hold baby Ike. That's gonna be cute for like 37 seconds;).

now that I'm home...we're settling in and Jacob and I have already talked about our game. How we're gonna do this. The answer is: we have NO clue;). BUT we're not scared about that. We're just pumping ourselves and each other up!!!

"let's not yell at them!!!"

"let's try to be SUPER patient!!!"

"let's not argue over who has it harder or has gotten less sleep or is more stressed out...at 227AM!"

"if the baby is screaming and I haven't slept in 4-1/2 dayssssss and Homer's hiding behind the chair with my phone playing a video game I said no to and Theo is screaming cause she can't watch Spirit on Netflix and Rocky just came out of the bathroom wearing my $27 lash lengthening mascara all over his god.damn.face...We will NOT . TURN . ON . ONE . ANOTHER!!"

i know that all of this is bound to happen and saying it out loud and preparing for the worst...has actually only benefited us:). I couldn't do this without Jacob - wait, I currently am...cause he's at some sort of Sportsman's Banquet on my 1st night home...!?!?!?!?!! - I encouraged him to go...no worries:).

SO...baby Ike. Good grief. We love you so much. You're surrounded by a mess of love. SO much of it. It's evident to me on the most mundane of days, how much love there is in this family. But especially, every time these babies arrive:)

Find your tribe. Love them hard.

"In raising my children, I have lost my mind but found my soul."

- Lisa T. Shepherd

thirty-eight weeks.

post by Casey.

these might, DEFINITELY, be my fav maternity photos...OF all.time.

COURTNEY SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY

38WEEKKKKSSSSSS. It's about this time where it gets a tad more 'real' to me. I never feel too anxious about 'gettin' this thing outta me' or anything like that...more so, excited about the story, how it will begin, who we'll be meeting at the end of all of this:). 
I feel really good and so I'm really in NO hurry to get to the end. We've been very fortunate.

this is also about the time where I don't, so much, like people - see: strangers - looking at me;). I take great offense to stares that aren't followed up with "you look so great!" or "your 4th? NO, I don't believe it!! I retract my first statement and replace Great with UNBELIEVABLE!!!". JUST staring is, basically, unacceptable.

i'll also go for my walks after dark or in the peace and quiet of the very early mornings. NO, I'm not trying to 'get things started'. I'm a human, with another human in me...out walking my big body...like a normal human. STOP STARING AT ME!!!!;)

you guys. I've also gained LESS than 45lbs, so far! I mean...I can do a lot of damage in 2 weeks but this is a RECORD low for me! Diet-inducing-heatburn FOR.THE.WIN;).


i'm so exciteddddddd!!!!!!!!


jacob and I settled on 4 names. 2 girls and 2 boys. We've got a pretty clear idea of what direction we're going to go but we like to wait and see what the baby looks like - HA. Just kidding. If we did that, we'd probably name it: What's That White Stuff On His Face Smith. OR just the sound of me sobbing...we're  working out the spelling on that;).
Nahhhh, we just like to wait until the baby is here and we've always just had a feeling in that moment. Nothing really to do with what the baby looks like:).

so I'm hoping to be back with another round of photos and a 40WK update in 2WKS!:)
Really though, how did we get here already?!:(

also. My hair has changed colors (liking the lighter better) and grown a measly 2IN in 9MO. I'm annoyed.

all the beautiful photos, courtesy of Courtney Smith Photography.

the makings of the 'perfect' bump photo.

post by casey.



both Jacob AND Homer do a pretty amazing job at helping to capture quick photos that I need, especially, in the rare case that I feel it necessary to be IN the photo! 
Jacob's found that just clicking is the approach to take: start clicking before being asked and don't stop until I'm able to grab the phone away from him;). It works:)

i'm 20WKS PREGNANT, today!!! Half-freaking-way!! Like I said in my earlier baby update post - HERE - there have been some slight hurdles and so only over the course of the last few weeks, have we been able to really start to relax and enjoy and be truly excited! I haven't been feeling great over the past few days and I plan to get an official photo from Courts this week - I have a baby appt. on Thursday. So I'll update you and go on and on a bit more about where I'm at mentally andddddd physicallyyyyyy in a couple days!

but in the mean-time...wanted to leave you with these photos that Jacob took of me at the game we went to the other day - SO.FUN...more to come on that as well!. 
He just captured so perfectly exactly what it is to have him help me with photos! Oh, man. Real Life here, folks;).

- lets go over here...

- wait...let me take my sun glasses off...

- try another one with my arm down over (what feels like, to me) my large thigh...

- smile without teeth...

- smile with teeth...

yeahhhhhh, it's that annoying;). I'm so appreciative that Jacob humors me:).

#nailedit

two weeks. TWO WEEKS.

post by Courtney

warning: this is going to be an overabundance of photos. 

my due date came and went. I was worried baby would share a birthday with Meg, but he was patient and thankfully stayed put. just a couple from Meg's day. beautiful girl :)

while I have been induced twice before, just like every other birth story... this labor and delivery was almost... almosttt entirely different than the rest. my OB physician was on call Saturday so at 40 weeks 6 days, we went in on Friday night to be induced. my cervix was apparently no where near ready sooo nothing went as fast as I was hoping it would. everyone wants to blow the doctor and nurses mind by how fast they labor... that didn't feel like the case Friday night/early Saturday morning.

fast forward 6ish hours and contractions started.

fast forward a couple more hours and my water was broke.

epidural. no, I did not attempt this one natural. I hadn't slept since Thursday night.

add a little pitocin.

fast forward a couple hours.

one hard contraction. frantic nurses. this is the familiar part. 

this time the nurses believed me though. crowning baby.

my regular OB physician made it in time! 

I'm going to tell him how ssslllooowww he was getting to the room next time I see him ;)

. . . . . . . . .

and again the familiar feelings... there are no words... 

it brings me to tears thinking about it...

(which is strange because I'm *never* moved to tears at the actual birth)

welcome baby boy! we are beyond in love with you!

I was told the weather was beautiful while I was in the hospital :) 

my favorite visitors :)

Peyton was sick so he wasn't able to see Coy for a few days after he was born :(

just couldn't stop :)

us.

ready to go home

left his bands on for a few days so I could get photos but mostly to keep him new ;)

too much!

this is a bit of a shout out because I'm not sure who sent this, butttt someone sent me this adorable calendar swaddle. thank you so much, modern burlap!

and because I'm always taking photos of Coy, we had to take some of the other not so little babies in the house :)

thank you so much for all the kind words and visits and gifts and I'm sure I'm forgetting everything... BUT we sincerely appreciate all the well wishes. I've said it before, and there's a good chance I'll say it again, but we're very thankful! God is great :)

and hey, if anyone is interested in placental encapsulation, send me an email! I don't encapsulate them, I... just email me ;)
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