One Month old

Time has still not slowed down one month later. We have been enjoying having Nellie around. A month seems so long and so short at the same time. While I can’t believe she is a month old already, it is hard to imagine that she just came into our family. Nellie still likes to sleep a lot and sleeps pretty well. She is particular and likes to be laying on her tummy and not being held, and only sometimes gets woken by her siblings who are still getting used to being quiet because she is sleeping. She has been to the beach, barefoot bay and the movies and slept the whole time. The last few days she is starting to have more awake periods, but it seems that most of the time when she is awake she is wanting to go back to sleep. This is usually when I am trying to get breakfast, lunch or dinner on the table. Tonight she was up for a few hours just quietyly observing the world so we might get to see more of her open eyes. She eats a lot and is getting pretty chubby. Her face and thighs I think have filled out the most, but her arms are developing some rolls as well. I can’t wait to see how much she weighs when we go to the doctor this week. I have been bad with taking pictures and we were busy today so I never took a one month old picture today. Here are a few from this month.

Denial makes for a speedy delivery

The last few weeks of this pregnancy were longer than with the other three kids. I am a planner. I like to know what I am doing and when I am doing it in advanced so I can mentally prepare. Obviously when it comes to having a baby, planning cannot be done. Even when I had a scheduled c-section with Caleb, I went into labor 5 days early so it was still a surprise. Since it is a forced surprise I like to make the most of it. I prefer not to find out the sex of the baby (we did with Toby). I think it heightens the anticipation of the birth. Although, if I thought I could keep it a secret I would find out the sex and not tell anyone. I always had a love/hate relationship with waiting by the phone to find out what my new sibling was. Now, though I enjoy keeping others in anticipation for the call. Our first 3 children were born in morning and we went into the hospital in the middle of the night so only people who needed to know (the ones watching the other kids) knew we were going in. Since they were born 10-18 days early, we were able to surprise many people with the call that the baby had arrived. In addition to wanting to keep with tradition of surprising people, I had been hoping that I would labor at night again so that I would not have to deal with watching the other kids while in labor.

As any mother would admit the end of the pregnancy and the waiting game of WHEN can be hard. I figured I would have this baby before my due date, but that is as far as I could plan. At my 36-week doctor’s appointment, I was told that I was already 2 cm dilated. Although you can be dilated for weeks, this got me excited because Caleb and Lucy were born within a week of being 1 cm and I was not dilated at all 2 days before Toby was born. One night the following week I could not sleep through contractions and they were coming every 3-5 minutes apart. By the time the kids were awake, I suggested we leave for the hospital so that I would not have to deal with the kids during labor. The contractions had not made any progress and after being there for a while with still no progress they sent us home. For the next 3 weeks I had contractions for several hours nearly every day. Each day that I had them, they grew more intense. I tried to ignore them, trying not to think each contraction might be labor, and joked that we were going to have the baby in the car because I would not know when I actually was in labor.

The day before my 39-week appointment they were intense enough that I had to stop during many of them. Like all of the previous days, the contractions stopped, but because of their intensity I was pretty sure they had at least helped me progress a little. The next morning at my appointment, still no progress. The doctor told me not to worry and that things could happen quickly. I was pretty bummed that the waiting game was continuing. With the other kids, the first sign of contractions meant labor. Now I had already had 3 full weeks of painful contractions that were not doing anything but tricking me.

We had a busy day planned for Saturday: yard work in the morning, writing/revising Andy’s paper that was due at 6:30 and a visit from a contractor and insurance adjuster for the siding. Just after 10:00, the kids and I were “giving the bushes a haircut” when I started getting contractions. Same as the previous days’, but I think I was even better at ignoring them since my doctor’s appointment. I had them all day and timed them for a little while I was reading Andy’s paper, but they were not very consistent. Just after dinner (around 6:00) my water broke. My water had broken with Lucy and I had wished that I had waited at home for longer than I had so I was not certain we were going in right away but I was finally assured that I was in labor. After a few minutes I decided to call my parents and see if someone could come over, thinking at least I could sit and relax and they would bathe the kids while Andy was finishing his paper. Andy realized that his quotes had not been saved so he left to get the textbooks he shares with the neighbor.

In the 10 minutes or so it took for Mary Jo to arrive I had decided that we were going in. I got the rest of the things for our hospital bag ready and called down to see how the paper was coming. He had just turned it in (6:23). I said lets go and Andy said he needed to shower. He hurried. As we were about to leave I realized that I never called the doctor. I called and said we were coming in. He was going to finish up his dinner and be right in. As we were leaving, Lucy was asking what the baby was. We told her we would not know until it was actually born and she would probably be asleep. Mary Jo reminded me that I added, “maybe it will be born before you are in bed, miracles do happen.” We left at about 6:35. On the drive over I told Andy to time the contractions so we knew what to tell them when we arrived. 2 minutes apart. When we were pulling into the parking lot Andy asked if I wanted to be dropped off at the door or walk with him. At first I said walk, but then realized that I really couldn’t move well and was being irrational. A contraction had just stopped so I ran through the door so I could grip a beam. The man at the desk called up to labor and delivery and asked if I was okay and if I needed a wheelchair. I said no, but he said he would get one if I felt at all light headed. Just then I did feel light headed and said fine get me one. Just then Andy came in and I had him push the elevator button. The man said we had to wait for a nurse since I was in a chair. I was in the middle of a contraction and told Andy that if it ended before a nurse was there we would walk instead. It ended. We bolted into the elevator, leaving the wheelchair. We made it just through the labor and delivery doors before the next contraction hit so Andy checked us in. I am not sure why we didn’t need to go to triage, but they sent us into a delivery room.

As I had the next contraction, the nurse calmly explained to me how I needed to change into the gown and they would hook me up to the monitors. I told her no the baby was coming right now. As soon as the contraction was over I rolled into the bed. She could see the head and since my doctor had not arrived yet, called in a doctor that was passing by the room to deliver the baby. Nellie was born at 7:06, we figure around 10 minutes after arriving to the hospital. I sat there amazed that she was already born and amazed that she was a girl (I had been convinced of a boy from the beginning). We called home within minutes of her birth so the kids would know it was a girl. Apparently Jaime called in on the other line asking if we had left for the hospital and a shocked Mary Jo told her the baby was already here. I guess most of my “plans” didn’t work out as I labored the whole day watching all the kids even after my water broke. I did however get to keep the surprise factor alive. A quick end (only an hour since I knew I was in labor) to a long three weeks.

It's been a while

I have never been good at journaling so I am not surprised that I have let this blog go.   The stress of a miscarriage followed by the sickness of a new pregnancy got me further behind.  Then getting over the fact that I had not posted prevented me from getting back on.  Well I have finally decided to bite the bullet and post.  I hope to keep up with it.  Hopefully our few followers didn't give up on us. We have been a busy little family since I last posted and I will not even attempt to capture everything but here are a few highlights.

In February we had a blizzard in Chicago I think we got 22-24 inches of snow overnight.  The kids were in heaven, but the clearing the driveway scare Andy and I to death.  We got the kids bundled and started digging though the snow.  Thankfully a nice neighbor brought over his snowblower to aid in the clearing.  It ended up breaking down on the last leg of the driveway.  Thankfully our neighbor is handy, and he happened to have an extra engine in his garage, and fixed it.  He also garbage picked another snowblower, fixed it up and gave it to us.  It was after the last big snow so we have not had a chance to actually use it yet, but I am sure it will make clearing our large driveway much easier.  

We got a new swingset this summer.  Our old one was free a few years ago but was over 20 years old.  With the kids getting bigger and the swingset only getting older it seemed a little unsafe.  We got an awesome one at Costco.  I have been horrible with pictures so I don’t have a picture of them playing on it but here is one of them helping to set it up and the manufacture’s photo.  We were thinking of getting it for Christmas but were glad we decided on the summer as it was a HUGE undertaking to set it up.  Andy, Grandpa Ed, and Uncle Matt spent a day working on it.  Then Andy worked several evenings and 2 whole days himself.  Uncle Matt came back up on the 4^th of July to help finish to job.  When we are outside they are usually found playing on it.

3 weeks ago our power was out for 30 hours.  Then just last week it was out from Monday morning until Saturday afternoon.  Thankfully a few of the days were in the 70s (this week we are in the 90s all week). The first few nights were too hot to sleep upstairs so we had a family campout in the basement.  We borrowed a generator from Grandma and Grandpa Ed but are very happy to have power restored.  

Of course our biggest adventure has been adding a new member to the family.  Nellie Grace was born on June 25^th.  She was our biggest baby weighing in at 8 pound 15 ounces 20 ½ inches long.  Her chubby cheeks just make me smile.  She is a good baby, if she is being held by mom.  She still sleeps most of the day away and as long as she is being held she typically only cries when she is tired or hungry or in the carseat.  She hates the carseat and screams the whole time we are in the car no matter how short or long the ride.  We brought the pacifier into the car today on the way to the library and it was much quieter.  She is always trying to suck on her finger, something she did well in the hospital and I suspect in utero, but has not figured it out again just yet.  I think she will be an even happier baby and will go to sleep easier when she does. 

Caleb finished kindergarden.  He is reading at a mid first grade reading level, which is pretty good considering he was not really reading when he started school in the fall.  He loved school and met so many kids.  It is weird for me because everywhere that we go he knows someone, most of the time someone that I do not know.  We are enjoying having him home for the summer and can’t believe he goes back on August 16^th.  He is branching out a little from Spiderman and has been really into Star Wars.  He has a Wii game where he has learned a lot, plus he loves to get Star Wars books from the library.  Andy and Caleb have even started watching the movies together.  He is a great big brother to all his siblings.  He always wants to hold Nellie and wants to make sure he can see her face because “her face is so cute.” He is playing flag football this summer and Andy is one of his coaches. The league is extremely unorganized, but he is having fun. 

Lucy learned to ride a two wheeler this spring and can often be found riding in circles around the driveway.  She has always loved riding bikes but I think her love has grown.  She started ballet this summer and really seems to like it. She still wants to do everything that Caleb does and wants to read.  She does not, however, want to sit down with me to learn.  She always gets this set of books from the library called Bob Books which all the words can be sounded out and can read most of them.  Maybe this school year she will let me help her branch out a little more.  She is my little helper with cleaning, organizing and the babies.  She got to take the train downtown with mom and dad to pick out an American Girl doll for her birthday.  She is ecstatic that Nellie is a sister for her and is a big helper. 

Toby is just getting big.  He is potty trained and he talks so much it is hard to believe that just a year ago he hardly said a word.  He uses complex sentences and of course is always asking WHY.  He learned to pedal a bike this summer and rides his training wheel bike constantly. He is really great at it on the driveway but freaks out if we go off of it because there are “hills”.  He was also afraid of the new tube slide at first, but now he loves it and can even climb the rock wall up to it.   He is such a great big brother he introduced Nellie either as “Nellie Grace” or “Our Nellie” which combined with his 2 year old voice just makes me melt.  He always wants to get diapers and wipes or a spit up blanket for me.  If I put her in the swing or bouncy seat he is always right next to her. One night I was fixing dinner and he was singing songs to her in the bouncy seat, while strumming on the guitar. He goes up to Nellie at ever chance to kiss her or cuddle her.  When he holds her he pats her bottom just like mom does and tells her not to cry.