Once Again...

I am debating between whether or not I should go back to school/work/not work, etc.

My ideas are:

Masters Degree in Nutrition:
Why?: I LOVE anything that has to do with nutrition, always have. I love helping people eat more healthy, choose better foods, etc. Nutrition was one of my favorite and most memorable classes in College. I passionately feel that a lot of the current health problems most of us face are a result of poor nutrition. I obviously still have a lot to learn in this subject and my advice would be way more legit if I actually got a degree in this area.

Goal: Start my own Nutrition Consulting Business

Pros: Allow me to choose what hours I want to work
Help people feel better
Change people's lives
Get to socially interact
Educate...I've always wanted to be an educator

Cons: Probably 3 more years of full time school
Might become too obsessed with food?

Master of Arts in Teaching: High School Health
Why?: I love high school. Seriously, I'm 7 years out and I still love going to CV to visit Denny, interact with students, etc. Other than being a "mom" the first career I ever wanted was to be a teacher. I love educating people and I feel comfortable teaching. I think high school students desperately need some solid role models and I've witnessed the amazing ways God has used Denny teaching HS kids. Why Health? I love pretty much anything that has to do with Health. In fact, if it weren't for my HS health teacher I would not have gone to college with the intent of studying health.

Pros: I could get my degree on-line and part time from my alma mater, WOU.
Get to interact with a variety of people all day
Teach a variety of classes from, Personal Health to Anatomy and Physiology.
I would have the option of substitute teaching while my kids are young, same schedule as my kids when they're in school, summers off,
GET TO WORK CLOSELY WITH DENNY :-)
Betsy and Bella can be my aids when they're at CV!
I'd get to use my espanol...

Cons: I'm totally disorganized and the thought of making lesson plans kills me
It might overwhelm me...not sure, though.

Master of Science in Health Education: Community College Teacher/Lower Level College Professor
Why?: I also love College. I had some pretty awesome professors at WOU who taught classes like Nutrition, Personal Health, etc, and they only had to get their Masters Degree to teach those. I understand to teach higher level courses you pretty much have to have your PhD but that could always happen down the road, if necessary.

Pros: The degree (if still available at WOU) would only take about 1-2 years to complete depending on how quickly I'd want to finish
I'd get to study nothing but health for 45 credits
Dealing with students who mostly WANT to be in their classes
The schedule would be super flexible
Maybe I could even teach aerobics :-)

Cons: No clue how hard it is to get a job at a community college
Not as much interaction with students compared to teaching in a high school

Associates in Nursing (LBCC)/Bachelor's of Science in Nursing(Monmouth OHSU)/Accelerated 15 month Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (Portland OHSU)
Why?: In short: I love helping people, learning about the body, medicine, etc.

Pros: Schedule. Could be awesome if I got a 3-11 shift since I love staying up late
Getting to help people LIVE
Could be a Community Health Nurse, Hospital Nurse, Family Practice Nurse, Hospice Nurse, Home Nurse, etc.
Get to treat people and educate them

Cons: There are a lot of things about the medical field I highly dislike and I might find myself getting frustrated at the standard procedures, choice of medications given, PAPER WORK, politics of it all.
Again, weird to be in the medical field when I, myself, believe so much in Naturopathic medicine
The actual education to become a nurse (clinicals, weird hours, etc.), might be way too much for my body.


Naturopathic Doctor: haha...unfortunately WAY too much schooling and $$$

There are still a few other ideas rolling around in my head but these 4 rank highest.

Basically here are a few last thoughts:

*We could really use some additional income
*I want to first and foremost be an incredible mother and wife; I want to be there for my girls and husband when they get home from school, be able to attend for the most part all of their endeavors whether it be soccer games, piano recitals, plays, etc.
*The additional income I would bring to the family would free Denny up to not have to find work on the weekends or during the summer.
*I want to use the gifts God has given me for His Kingdom
*I want to be where God wants me to be :-)
*I don't want to officially work until my girls are in school but wouldn't mind being in school up until then

Now, I always appreciate and love hearing from my friends and family what careers they think would fit me well. Any ideas, opinions, thoughts?!

Modern Family

Before Kids: Satellite cable television, watched our "nightly shows," even applied for The Amazing Race-sadly, didn't even get an interview

After Kids: 10$ cable that covers channel 2-11 (ABC, NBC, CBS, OPB, FOX, CW)

Denny and I probably watch about two hours of cable t.v. a week. I'm not sure why we even have cable, I guess it's just $10 bucks...

There is just NO time to really watch TV when you have two little ones, homework, grading, etc.

If we can catch one show a week (The Office, and usually through HULU) we are pretty excited.

UNTIL we discovered a few more awesome shows:

1. Modern Family: Oh my goodness. Have you seen this show? It is absolutely hilarious. Denny and I pretty much cried through the first episode we were laughing so hard.

2: Parks and Rec: We tried this show out last year and thought it was pretty lame. We rediscovered it this year and decided it was pretty funny thanks to the awesome Indian guy...I don't even know what his name is but there is something about the way he talks...

3. Community: Again, we like it thanks to the Asian Spanish Teacher.

4. Ellen: I never seem to like girl comedians but Ellen always makes me laugh.

5. Glee: Makes me miss high school, kinda.

Where did all these funny actors come from all of the sudden? And when did tv writers catch on to good humor? Maybe I'm just stuck in the land of Toddler Humor and forget how adults interact?

While I was bedridden with my 10 day flu bug I happened to watch a ton of TV that I'd normally not choose to watch...

1.The Oprah Show: I can't quite pin point it but I'm disking her show more and more. But, I'd still love to fulfill my life-long dream of getting a makeover on her show. And actually, her kareoke show last week so super fun. Maybe it's just how much people worship HER that upsets me.

2. Dr. Oz. He is SOOOOO cute. He reminds me of my OB, Doctor Rampton. The only thing that bothered me was the episode when he told everyone to get a flu shot...that doesn't seem to line up with his practice. I've considered writing into him a few times...you know with all my weird thyroid stuff-I'd love to be on his show.

3. The Doctors: Oh my gosh. I am surprised this show is lasting on the air.

4. Kathy Lee and Hoda @10 a.m.: It's pretty much tailored to stay-at-home moms. Kathy Lee always interrupts Hoda but it's definitely entertaining. Last week they had Hulk Hogan on the show. He was talking about how he's turned his life around, is a Christian, etc.

5. KGW News Channel 8. 7 @7. Normally I can't stand the news...BUT my favorite news anchor, "Steph" is back from maternity leave from 7:00-7:30 p.m. She's awesome.

Okay, now I can move on to grading Denny's papers :-) I can't imagine what I'd write about if we had Satellite T.V. again, The Real World (Is that even on still?), Run's House (LOVED THAT SHOW), HGTV, Baby Story, Birth Day....

Country Livin'

For some reason I BADLY want to live in the country. I want property, animals, southern sun, my neighbors not looking into my front window constantly, peace, quiet, etc. Life on the 1/3 acre Bain Family Farm has given me a tiny glimpse into a world I want to know more about.

Unlike the old days when I looked up baby stuff, I now use Craigs List strictly for finding property.

Yesterday Denny and I went and looked at a property about 1 mile from our house. Right next to Bald Hill. 2 acres of undeveloped land with incredible exposure to the East, West, and South. Perfect sun exposure for those of us who get the S.A.D. here in CornValley. Unfortunately I got a weird vibe from it...AND it costs way too much.

Denny often reminds me of all the hard work it takes to maintain a farm but I'm ready for the challenge. I admire my friends who grew up on farms and learned the definition of hard work. They also have gone on to become excellent housewives- Cooking, Gardening, Landscaping, Sewing, etc. Now I totally understand you can do all of this without living on a farm, but again, there is just something about it.

One of my girlfriends (who had NO idea about my desire to live in a farm) told me she had a dream that we were having a party in our house that was on a ton of property up on top of a big hill...prophetic?

I think Denny knows if we ever do get our farm I will definitely be more inclined to homeschool, of which Denny is certainly opposed.

On the other hand I loved growing up "close to everything." I could ride my bike practically anywhere from my house, walk to school, etc. After school, in between games, after dances, MY parent's house was the place to be. I'm sure most of it was because my parent's were awesome, but we also lived in an awesome location, close to school, fast food, Shari's :-), etc.

I want Betsy's and Bella's friends to want to come to our house...I want to make cookies for them and drive them around and make them dinner and host sleepovers and be a part of their lives. I want our house to be the same "hub" my parent's was (and still is).

Ah...what a dilemma. Realistically, NOT a dilemma since I'm sure we won't be moving anytime soon. But still, fun to think about.

Maybe we'll just move every few years :-)

"Can you just act like a mom for a minute?"

I got hit hard with a weird flu bug and all I could say to Denny last night was, "I just need you to act like a mom! Can you PLEASE rub my back?"

When he started massaging my back I said, "No babe! All you need to do is rub it!"

"You mean you don't need a massage?"

"No babe, just a rub!"

It was pretty cute. He rubbed my back and gave me chocolate.

Gosh it's weird when you become a mom yourself and don't have a mom/woman/girlfriend in your house to rub your back when you don't feel well.

Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class

Speaking of balance...

I have converted to the wonderful world of being a "Yogi." Which not only includes me literally having to balance, but has helped bring balance in many other ways :-)



After a year of trying to get me and Denny to try Bikram's Yoga, my sister-in-law, Esther, finallywon us over. We tried our first class 3 months ago and now we are completely hooked. (So hooked that Denny, the master of hitting his snooze button 4 times, went to the 6. a.m. class today before school).

What is Birkam's Yoga?:
It's a 90 minute (hot) yoga class consisting of 24 postures and 2 breathing exercises. The class starts with a breathing exercise followed by the standing poses . The second 45 minutes consist of sitting poses followed by one breathing exercise. You bring your yoga mat, a towel (or two, or three!) and a water bottle. There is one teacher in the class. Every Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class(yes, there are advanced classes, as if this isn't hard enough!) consists of the same dialog and the same poses. You can walk into any Bikram's Yoga Studio and every class will be the exact same. From the beginning "Welcome to Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class..." to the end "Namaste."

Who is Bikram?: I hear he's a really wealthy guy who lives in L.A. and has tons of nice cars... BUT his history is pretty interesting from what I remember...he was born in Calcutta,he began practicing yoga at age 4, he was a weight lifter, got hurt, was told he could never walk again, went to his yoga guru-who developed a specific series of stretches and poses that would work every organ, muscle and joint in the entire body. Ends up these postures could be done more effeciently when cranking the heat up, so that's where the heat element comes from, as well the idea of sweating out your toxins.

My reservations about trying Bikram's Yoga included:

*Being in a HOT (98-105 degree) room
*....with stinky people who never wear deoderant
*"Stretching" for 90 minutes
*I preferred running (even though it hurt my joints tremendously)
*I doubted that you could truly get a "workout" doing yoga
*As many "normal" yoga classes as I tried, I always left feeling more sore
*Yeah right, how in the world can I commit 90 minutes a day to Yoga when I can't even get 2 minutes to myself
*Not being able to socialize while working out
*The weird "side" of yoga, ....seriously...what in the world does, "Namaste" mean anyways?

I COULD NOT BELIEVE HOW MUCH I LOVED MY FIRST CLASS.

After my first class I could not stop saying, "Why didn't I try this earlier!?" and "Denny, I'm dropping our Timberhill Membership immediately so we can do yoga instead."

Although it DID smell and it was BLAZING hot and I could barely see with how much sweat was running into my eyes, the energy I had that day was unlike any day I'd had in a LONG time. And, the best of all, my joints didn't hurt! For the first time in years my body didn't ache after working out.

Now instead of a weird list (although, some stuff is still weird) I can proudly say:

*I long to be in a hot room for 90 minutes
*I absolutely love that I can look forward to 90 minutes of quiet in my day
*I rarely notice the smell
*Bikram's Yoga is HARD!
*My body has felt the best it has in years
*I am now "regular" if you catch my drift
*Since starting B.Y. I have lowered my medication from 100mcg to 25-50mcg
*I love being in the 'real world" surrounded by people who challenge my beliefs and with whom I can share Christ (Before and after class, of course. Remember, it's 90 minutes of only the teacher talking.)
*I love being able to practice next to Denny, when we are able to make the same class
*Even though it is very time consuming, it is SO worth it. Denny and I manage 3-4 times a week. I have built in times and days where I know one of the grandparents can watch them.

In 3 months, Denny has lost 10 pounds and is eating healthier than I've ever seen him eat.
Although I haven't lost any weight, I feel lighter, healthier, leaner, and stronger.

In addition to the obvious physical changes, Denny and I are so much calmer. Maybe it's because we're in the thick of things right now with two little ones who need us 24/7 and the sole fact of being quiet for 90 minutes has had a tremendous effect. Although I LOVE to socialize I'm learning the importance of being still. So hard.

One more observation, although the dialoge is pretty much exactly the same every class, the seasoned teachers veer off during the 20 seconds of rest between poses and this is where the "weird" part of Yoga can take place. Some teachers talk about how much they love thier dogs, biking, recycling, football, gardens, etc, Other teachers talk about about weird self help books they've been reading or, well, you know, stuff like that. Essentially depending upon what teacher you have that day and the mood they are in will determine the stuff/advice that you have to decide to take it or leave it.

My mom said she's going to try it soon and I have a feeling she'll love it.

Wanna come? :-)

Balance

Seriously, I took way too long of a hiatus from this blog because now there are like 100 little ideas running through my mind that I want to blog about.

I'm considering buying a little hand held recorder so that I can at least get my thoughts onto something before my brain explodes.

Denny thinks it's so weird that my mind rarely settles...then he remembers that I'm talking to Little Ones every day with very little adult conversation. When he walks through the door it pretty much takes all my strength to supress bombarding him with my full day of thoughts.

Oh, how I love rich conversation. It's my emotional orgasm. That's what Denny and I call it.

Yes. Girls love them.

Anyhow, lately I can't seem to shake the idea of "balance" from my brain.

Balance. Balance. Balance.

What in the world does it mean to be balanced? What would it look like in my life. How would being balanced effect my health, kids, marriage, friendships, etc?

Would being more in balance mean being more in tune with the Spirit? Would being balanced be another area to look at when thinking of abundant life?

My sister was here a few weeks ago and I was telling her the many things I want to be in life, but how I've currently been thinking about being a high school health teacher or college health professor (that's an entirely different blog). Both Rae and Denny laughed a bit when I said high school teacher because they said I would have a really hard time leaving my "work" at work and not taking it home to my family, and vice verca. "It's just who you are!" they both, said. "You put so much of yourself into whatever you're passionate about that it kind of takes over your whole life."

I got a little defensive..."Yeah right, I'd be an awesome high school teacher." Of course when I actually thought about what they said it made sense to me. When I get really excited about something I just put so much into it and have a hard time balancing whatever else is in my life.

It makes complete sense to me that if I'm this "type" of person my kids should be getting ME, not a high school or a hospital, or whatever!

However, maybe if I could learn balance, then I wouldn't feel so trapped with all of my desires. Does that make sense?

Not only do I think balance is important, but I WANT to be balanced. I NEED balance.

I think Denny and I were so out-of-balance/busy for so many years that we needed to make some changes.

Saving a few nights a week for our immediate family: Family Balance
Making sure Denny and I have planned date nights, alone time, prayer time: Marriage Balance
Spending Bella's naptime purposefully with Betsy: Betsy Balance
Spending Betsy's naptime purposefully with Bella: Bella Balance
Making sure we have a day a week to fully clean the house: House Balance
Going to Yoga 3-4 times a week: Physical Health Balance
Eating healthy but enjoying dessert: Nutritional Balance
Watching just a few shows a week : TV Balance


I am simply trying to be aware of where I'm "out of balance." To be mindful in all situations. To realize that balance to me is different than to Denny.

Holy Spirit, please show me where I am out of balance. What is causing me to sing off tune with You.

I want to be in tune/balance with the Spirit who gives peace and discernment and joy.

I don't want to miss out on the abundant life great things you've prepared for me in advance...

Bella's Birth

Baby #2's due date was July 3rd, 2008. When I was 37 1/2 weeks Denny left to the East Coast on a trip with some high school kids. Upon leaving I was instructed to not do ANYTHING that could possibly bring about labor. No walking, hiking, cleaning, etc.

I made it through a long week doing nothing and Denny got home on a Monday evening. I was in my 39th week of pregnancy. Thrilled that I could finally allow myself to relax and go into labor I started getting a little anxious about the reality that labor day was approaching :-) During that week we made tons of downtown fountain trips with Betsy, cleaned our house, went to the zoo, AND bought a new car (we wanted a car with A.C.).

Unfortunately Betsy got really bad pink eye from our zoo trip and the doctor said she needed a few days to heal before she could be around a new born baby. In the Lord's perfect timing I didn't go into labor...even though I wanted to :-)

Sunday rolls around and I am entering into my 40th week. We wake up around 7 a.m. expecting to hear little footsteps running into our room but they don't come. 7:30 passes, 8 passes, 9 passes, and finally we wake Betsy up at 10:30 a.m. just to make sure she's okay. See seemed a little lethargic so we decided to skip DOX and stay home. Good thing- because in between changing Betsy's diaper she had diarrhea all over the floor, meanwhile not being able to see out of one eye. She falls asleep again around noon and takes almost a 5 hour nap. Poor girl was so sick.

So instead of the normal long walks or other means of initiating labor we decide to just relax and nurse her back to health...trusting in God's perfect timing.

My diet was disgusting this day: I had Cheeze-its for breakfast. Denny went to Burger King for lunch and I ate a BK Burger, then for dinner I had chocolate and Cheeze-its with cream cheese. This should have been a sign that labor was going to begin. I never/rarely eat stuff like that.

We stay inside eating crappy food all day while Betsy sleeps off her sickness. During her nap I boss Denny around telling him to clean every nook and cranny of our house. I even made him clean the windows outside. This should have been another sign :-)

Then we surf the T.V. finding nothing but lame Sunday afternoon shows and reruns while my Braxton Hicks contractions continue throughout the day.
Betsy wakes up around 5 p.m. Thankfully she's able to eat a bit and her diarrhea has stopped.

We all go to bed early that night.

For the first time in probably 3 months I SLEPT STRAIGHT THROUGH the entire night. Not once waking up to go potty or out of discomfort.

I wake up at 7 and go potty. I have a really heavy feeling in my bottom and my vagina that doesn't go away once I pee- It actually gets heavier. I get back into bed and lay down. Betsy and Denny are still sleeping. For a split second I think I'm really constipated...but wait, this is kind of what I felt with Betsy but WAY more intense for my first contraction...hum..

Betsy runs into our room a few minutes after I lay down and she is like her old self again. Talking, laughing, wanting to play, hungry and able to see out of her eye! Praise the Lord.

All of the sudden I have to go poo. So I go to the bathroom and it hits me. I'm in labor!!! After a big bowel movement I go tell Denny I think I'm in labor and that he should get Betsy dressed.

Less than 2 minutes later I go to brush my teeth and have to bend over from just my 3rd contraction of labor. Oh no, i thought, I am either way more of a wuss this time or i'm farther along than I think. After brushing my teeth I sit down to read Betsy a book while Denny loads the car and I can't even read out loud because my contractions get stronger and stronger.

By 8 o'clock we are out the door...none of us had eaten breakfast, none of us looked nice. Still rubbing sleep out of our eyes :-) I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who even stopped to brush my teeth.

We head to Dr. Rampton's office. He's wasn't in the office that day but I insisted/begged/pleaded that he check me instead of the other OB at his office that I'm not too fond of. So being the sweet man he is, he drove into town just to check me. I was 5 cm dilated and he told me to go to the hospital, this was going to be a fast labor.

Heck yes, I was thinking. I'd only had like 5 contractions and I was already 5 cm.

Suuuuuuu-weet!

So we drop Betsy off at my parent's house which is right by the hospital so that she can have breakfast, etc.

I head to the hospital. Right went I get to my room a bossy nurse tells me I have Strep B and need to get an IV for antibiotics.


"Oh no," I said, "you MUST have the wrong person, my doctor never told me I had it.

"Aren't you Abby Bain? It says right here you have it."

So there I was, totally surprised that I had Step B in the first place and then choosing whether or not I wanted to even take the antibiotics since antibiotics and my body often don't mix well.

"I would rather wait for my doctor to help me make this decision." I said.

"Well it will be too late by then...blah blah blah." She said.

So, in fear of my baby catching the strep B virus (which would be totally awful) I went ahead and got the IV to start the antibiotics, although I asked (insisted) that I be able to walk around as much as I want.

My friend Caylan arrives and me and Denny and her hang out, pray, listen to Reggae music, and are a little confused that my contractions are not growing in intensity.



Doctor R. arrived around noon thinking I'd be ready to push and surprised to see us all laughing and hanging out. Perplexed at the situation he decided to check my dilation. I was only 6 cm. Hummmmmmmmmm....

So he asked to break my water and I said sure. It had been basically 3 hours and no dilation. It was a fun 3 hours though. Just hanging out in the room, jammin' guessing the sex and size of the baby.

Let me back up just a sec, BEFORE we even checked into our hospital room, news had spread that I was in labor and sweet Ryan Henthorne and Nate Dodson were already at the hospital waiting for us :-) We told them it might be awhile so I think they left to get breakfast somewhere and then headed back.

I also forgot to add that Jenna, the trusty text-messager, was in the hallway giving minutely updates :-) I had no idea she was there and then went to walk around a bit and she was sitting in the hall, looking very professional, eager to tell people what was happening. I loved it!

Rampton broke my water around noon or 1, (I truly don't remember) and within 10 minutes my contractions got super intense, but not overwhelming. Amanda (my doula who was with me at Betsy's Birth) arrived right when my contractions got intense.

Unlike Betsy's birth experience when I wanted someone touching me, I did NOT want anyone to touch me. I even remember swatting Denny's hand away from me. Good thing he had his trusy Mountain Dew to make him feel better!


I had back labor with Betsy and "normal" labor with Bella...and I'm pretty sure I would prefer back labor. Bella's "normal" labor was way more intense and towards the end I even remember telling myself I would never do a natural birth again. Haha!

That lady standing in the background started her shift right when things started picking up for me. She was SO sweet and I later found out she trained as a doula MANY years ago, then became and RN. She was also a very strong Christian. We could tell there was something different about her! I was so pleased to have her.

After my water broke I labored standing up, then kneeling on the ground, then sitting on the birth ball.

And like my first labor, I was unable to make it to the toilet once again and peed on the floor. (Only this time Amanda tried holding a towel under me to at least catch it)

My goal for this birth was to wait until I had the urge to push instead of just pushing as soon as I was 10 cm. So I didn't want Rampton to check me, I just wanted to start pushing when I felt it.

About 30 minutes before I started pushing Bella out my high pitched noises turned to long grooooooans...and unlike Betsy's birth....I couldn't catch my breath in between contractions.

After Rampton telling me a few times he thought I was ready to push I kept saying, "no" I just feel "pressure."

I told Rampton that WHEN I decided to push I wanted to be kneeling, hands and knees, anything but my back.

AS I was groaning on the birth ball Rampton checks me and i'm 10 cm. It was so weird now that I think about it because somehow he slipped his fingers in without me really noticing...weird.

I was 10 cm. He told me to push if I wanted to.

Then all of the sudden I couldn't stop doing this weird new noise I never thought a human could make and without asking, Rampton and Denny physically picked me up off the birthing ball and put me on the bed. Then I start pushing.

My back was to everyone and I was on my knees facing the back of the bed. I gave a few pushes but they didn't seem to do anything so Rampton suggested me flipping over on my back. "ON MY BACK?---noooooo!" I screamed in my head. And my trusty doulas chimed in saying "She doesn't want to be on her back."

But my sweet Doctor said, "Abby, the way your pelvis is and the way the baby is I think you will find a lot more relief and success if you push on you side-or back,"

I said, "No."

Then he said, "Can you just try ONE push on your side?"

Since I adore this doctor I agreed to TRY it just for him and to my surprise he was totally right.


2 pushes later and Isabella Joy Bain had arrived. She was a huge baby 7 lbs 14 oz.


I tore a little bit due to Bella's broad shoulders. But it was nothing compared to how much I tore with Betsy.

A girl?! A big baby?! Pale skin?! Blue eyes?!

Did this girl really come out of me?

She looks nothing like me, Denny or Betsy.

Denny and I were so happily surprised by her arrival. What a true JOY!

It was a totally different birth experience than with Betsy, but it was equally as powerful and emotional.

I was so happy to have her in my arms.

We couldn't believe we had TWO GIRLS!!!

*Oh yes, i forgot to mention. My sister flew in from Colorado just like she had for Betsy's birth, but again, she missed it by a few hours :-(

**Also, Denny threw up that night after everyone had left. It was an intense day for him...not seeing me in so much discomfort but not being able to touch me like he did during Betsy's birth.

Hours of labor:
Betsy: 19
Bella: 8

Hours of "painful" labor:
Betsy: 1
Bella: 1

Hours of pushing:
Betsy: 1.5
Bella: 10 minutes

Aftermath:
Betsy: Episiotomy and bad tearing
Bella: 1 small tear

Water breaking on it's own:
Betsy: No
Bella: No

Bowel Movements during labor:
Betsy:10-ish
Bella: 1

Type of labor:
Betsy: Back
Bella: Front

Weight difference:
Betsy: 6lb 5oz
Bella: 7lb 14oz

Day born:
Betsy: Monday afternoon 5 days early
Bella: Monday afternoon 4 days early