My First Baby

My little girl turned four yesterday! She was ecstatic from the moment she woke up. "I'm four! I'm really four! Oh, it IS my birthday!" When she got down stairs and saw two balloons on the floor, she screamed. Then she declared it the "best birthday EVER!" Then she saw the pink princess table decorations and was rendered speechless. (God blessed me with an easy to please child, since I have zero creativity when it comes to decorating and throwing parties.) At church she told everyone that it was her birthday, and was all smiles when the primary sang to her. She even got to say the prayer and read the scripture at the microphone. Her day was just getting better and better. After church, we had a family party for her, and just basked in the attention. Her unrelenting excitement melted my heart. Since Gwen has two little siblings to compete with, I'm glad we were able to make her feel so special on her birthday. 

Here are some recent Gwen Facts:

She's incredibly bright. She reads now. There are very few words that she can't figure out. We read to her a lot, but she taught herself how to read. The downside - Logan and I can't spell out words to each other that we don't want Gwen to know. The upside - she can read! I don't feel so bad now that we can't send her to preschool. 

She's the friendliest kid I know. She greets every other kid she meets like they are her best friend. "I missed you! I love you so much!" She's a big hugger.

She's a great big sister. When Isaac cries, she is right there to sing to him. When she gets a special treat, she makes sure Phoebe gets one too. She can be so patient with them, too. She has such a big heart.

Her favorite reads are parenting magazines and she's been known to read the phone book. 

She loves to run and kick a soccer ball up and down the yard, and she's darn good at it! 

I can go on all day about my baby. She is beautiful and charming and funny. She is growing up so fast. Breaks my heart a little.

Gorgeous! I want to scoop her up right now and never let her go. Next year I'll be sending her off to school...  I don't think I'll be ready for that!

When You Have Two Sisters...

You wake up thinking "What's going on around here?!" a lot.

Just go with the flow.

The Repercussions of Leaving Doors Open Around Here

Why did I want so badly for Gwen to be potty-trained? Since she's been using the toilet, I've had to clean up more messes than ever before. And I've had to take the child-proof handles off the bathroom doors. Meaning, this is what could happen -

Yes, that's a soaking wet Phoebe. Because after Gwen was done using the potty, she left the bathroom door open. And when I found her, she was dipping her pink, baby washcloth into this: 

Notice the lack of water. 

That's because, somehow, my little girl dumped the contents of Gwen's un-flushed toilet water all over herself. I wouldn't be surprised if Phoebe dumped her head in a few times. The only reason I went to check on them during bedroom time was because we heard Gwen laugh and Phoebe exclaim, "Stinky water!" 

I'm ready for a vacation. 

Doctor Visit

Today I took the three kids out on my own to Isaacs 2 week well-baby appointment. It was pretty stressful, got to tell you. But we managed pretty well, even with Gwen and Phoebe running amok in the doctor's office. Isaac is doing very well. He's already over 10 pounds and he's 22 inches long. My big boy! He's healthy, but the doctor did find a small fracture in his collar bone that he got from being born. His body's already taking care of it, and will heal completely on its own. Poor thing! I figured he was sore, because sometimes when I picked him up he would cry like he was in pain. Now I know why, and I just want to cuddle the heck out of him.  

Isaac waiting for the doctor in the Submarine Room. 

The Suns hat Grandma made. Looks good on him, I think. 

Less swollen, and still looking like his daddy.

Well, I had better go pick up the husband. Should be fun loading all three kids on my own again, and hopefully I won't get lost. I'm terrible with directions. I don't like to drive on my own if I can help it. Good thing my sister is coming from New Jersey tomorrow to visit for 2 weeks! I'm so excited to see her! 

The Labor Story

Feeling slightly more human right now, so I figured I'd try to update the blog finally. I'm still pretty out of it, so please forgive me if this post doesn't make a lot of sense. 

On Friday night, we went to bed like any normal night. I was having some minor, painless contractions, but since I had these type of contractions every night, I ignored them. Once in a while, they woke me up because when I have contractions, my lungs seize up a little and make it difficult to breathe. Still, I didn't think anything of it, because they were painless. Then a little after 3:30am, my water broke. I will never forget that experience. My water broke before real labor began with both my girls, but it was never, ever like this time. I swear, the explosion lifted me three inches off the mattress. I was terrified for a second, because of how violent it was! But everything was normal - no meconium like with Gwen - and contractions, painful ones, started coming regularly. So I excitedly woke up Logan and we prepared to leave for the hospital. 

We arrived at the hospital an hour after my water broke. I told the nurse I was in labor and that my water had broken. She seemed annoyed at first. She gave me an incredulous look at asked me, "Are you sure?" My pants were soaking wet and I was holding a towel. "Yes," I told her. "Or else I need a new bladder." Then she mumbled something about possibly finding me a room. Apparently, that night they had four scheduled inductions and three to four walk-ins. And this was the night AFTER Friday the 13th. I guess everyone was holding it in until a safer date. 

Labor was labor. I don't think any labor is fun in the least. They checked me when I got situated in bed, and I was already a 5. Throughout the entire laboring ordeal, the baby's heartbeat dropped with the contractions and didn't always recover fast enough. I was dilating fast, but the baby wasn't dropping. Before I was even fully dilated, my doctor asked me if I wanted a c-section. I love my doctor, but I was pretty upset with her for that. The baby wasn't in any distress, I was only in labor for a few hours, and the baby was moving down, just very slowly. I told her we should wait a couple hours, and see where we were by then. In a couple hours, I was pushing (six-ish hours after being admitted.) I pushed for 2 hours. This baby was just too big for me to get the job done. For a very scary couple of minutes, the doctor was preparing for a c-section. I pushed my hardest at every contractions to make that baby come down. Finally, FINALLY, the baby dropped low enough for the doctor to use forceps. She said if they didn't work, I would have no choice - cesarean would be the only option. Well. She used the forceps for 10 seconds, then didn't need them any more. I was able to push my big baby out on my own! He was perfect! I pushed for 2 hours and he wasn't even bruised! Not even a cone head! I got to hold him right away, and he cried for the first time on my chest. That was the first time I got to experience that. My other two babies were whisked away too fast. He cried and I got to soothe him. And of course, I cried right along with him. To me, he was perfect. His breathing wasn't quite adequate enough and he had a lot of mucous that he couldn't cough up on his own. I was allowed bonding time with my guy before they took him to the nursery. He was 9lbs, 4 oz! Smaller than Phoebe by 6oz. He is my longest baby though - 22in! Big and perfect!

Despite the ordeal, I loved my laboring experience. I had great doctors and nurses surrounding me, who shared my same faith. Everyone, including the anesthesiologist, was praying for me (in fact, he helped my husband give me a blessing. My nurse suggested it.) After my baby was safely delivered without a c-section, my nurse hugged me and said the blessing worked. I love her! 

We came home a couple days later. The baby and I are doing very well, but recovery for me has been it's own ordeal. Because of how long and hard I had to push, something in my neck went haywire. For a few days, I couldn't stand because the pain was so great, it shot up into my head. Tonight, however, I can finally sit and move around some without the horrible pain. Thankfully, Logan's mother has been with us since the baby was born, and she's been a major help. I feel like a total bum, but she doesn't complain. I'm surrounded by great people. I feel so blessed. 

Today is Logan's birthday. 28! Today also concluded his first week at the hospital. He started the Monday after Isaac was born, while the baby and I were still there. He got to visit us on his lunch break and then take us home after he got off. Pretty cool. He's really liking his new job so far. He's catching on quickly and we are loving the new benefits. God's been so good to us. 

I'm feeling a bit light headed. I'm thinking I need some more peppermint patties. I'll post some pictures of the week (there aren't that many because I've been down for most of it) on the next post. Tomorrow, Logan and I are planning on a date to celebrate his birthday, so we should get some more pictures. Hopefully, this neck pain doesn't come back, and I'll feel normal again! I can't really complain, because my beautiful chubby baby boy makes everything worth it. :) 

Too Mean

What a day. Last night, I didn't get a wink of sleep because I started having contractions. Real ones, this time. The kind that got closer together and more painful. I thought for sure I would have this baby on mother's day, but as soon as I got everything packed and pulled Logan out of bed, they started to die down. I just about cried. How could I have been up all night with uncomfortable pain, only to have it die away once I'm ready to go to the hospital. Well, I made Logan take me to the hospital anyway. I was monitored for a while - I was having real contractions, it wasn't all in my head. But I wasn't dilating fast enough. I stayed at a 2 for an hour. So they sent me home with instructions to walk and take warm baths. I thought for sure I would be back in a few hours with strong contractions, but guess what. My body is so fetchin' mean! The contractions haven't measured up to a thing, though I've been having them all day long. They aren't regular, they aren't too painful (though they do hurt) and the pain intensity diminishes when I shift positions. I'm so frustrated! How can I spend an entire day in false labor? I'm hoping and praying that by tomorrow morning, I'm checked into that hospital in real labor. A full day of fake contractions just seems ridiculous. They have to be doing something! I want to cry. I'm so ready!

Getting Ready for Baby and Big Changes

Well, I'm sitting here, timing contractions, and getting frustrated because they are dying off AGAIN. So I decided to update the blog with random (kind of) stuff.

I've been getting contractions about every day, and every other day they start to get regular and painful. But, since I don't have a baby boy yet, they never resulted in anything. This is either the longest labor in history, or my body is being very mean to my emotional state. I have such plans when I get my body all to myself again! Mopping floors, for one. Making my kids go to timeout, rather than rolling off the couch to chase them upstairs. But I can't really complain. The baby and I are both chubby and healthy. This little guy will come when he's good and ready.

The girls are very excited to have a little brother. We've been talking about what it will be like to have a baby in the house. Gwen promises to help me and to be very gentle around him. She swears she won't hit him. Haha, we'll see. Phoebe talks about "Baby Isaac" too. She pets my stomach and will give him kisses. It's very different being pregnant when you have a child or children who understand what is coming. They make so many precious memories. Isaac is already so loved by so many.

Well, a major change besides the birth of our first son is coming to our family. Logan got a job offer this week! He's starting in the admissions department at the hospital! This is a great foot-in-the-door position for him. Most people that work in this department move onto other departments, and I'm just ecstatic for him. Chesbro put him through college and the early years of having a family. Now he's moving on to a job where he can actually move up and make going to college worth while! The thing is though, he starts his new position May 16th - my due date! So... it would be REALLY nice if this BH would turn into the real deal! But if I do go into labor on or after my due date, at least he'll just be downstairs. Finding a baby sitter might be tricky though! The hospital should really create a child care department for the kids of mothers who are in labor. I mean, it's hard to get a hold of people in the middle of the night. Anyway, I'm very excited for my husband! He'll be just 10 minutes away and most days he'll be home a whole lot earlier than we're used to! Logan worked at Chesbro for 6 1/2 years! We're very blessed that he's been able to hold onto his job even through this rough economy, and now he's getting a new job. We're extremely thankful.

May has been a great month for us so far! We attended our nephew's baby blessing, bin Laden was "taken care of," Phoebe got new shoes :), Logan got a new job, and we're having a baby! Plus mother's day and Logan's birthday are coming up. Love May!