Reality? Check!

West Virginia Sunrise

Since Freddie was born a mere 18 days ago I've had loads and loads of help. My parents were here, my husband was off of work, and the sitter was on spring break, so she was around a lot, too. Since we live in a college town, the kids didn't have school during spring break, either. That meant that there was no schedule to stick to. Neighbors and friends and relatives brought food, so I barely had to cook, other than to heat things up.

It was glorious.

Today, however, things came crashing back into real life territory. The kids are back in school, which means Lucy has to be up, dressed, fed and at school by 8am. This means that I get up around 6am and wake the brood up by quarter of seven. Before Freddie was born I only had to get up by 6:30, but now there is an added 'newborn uncertainty' factor which must be accounted for. For example, today he decided to wake up just as I was about to wake the other kids. I already had their breakfasts on the table, milk on the cereal and everything, so I had to run up and rouse all of them as fast as possible before Fred got into meltdown mode. Luckily today I was successful. Everyone had breakfast, brushed their teeth, was dressed and in the car by 7:40am. I was on top of the world!

I'm sure there will be days when Sam and Maggie ride to school in their jammies or eat breakfast after dropping off their sister, or when Lucy goes to school with her shoes on the wrong feet and fifteen minutes late, but that's ok. Only two more months of school and then we'll be blissfully unscheduled this summer.

Remind me in July how I referred to our summer as 'blissfully unscheduled' and ask me if I still feel the same way, ok?

Gratuitous nekkid baby photo!

Freddie's First Photo Shoot

Don't Go Breaking My Heart, Part TWO

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back before Lucy was born, I posted this entry about Sam growing up. It included this photo of Sam in our gymni from when he was three weeks old:

And this photo of Sam in the same gymni from when he was about eighteen months old:

And you can probably guess what's coming, right? Here is a picture of Sam in the gymni at 61 months:

Do you hear that? It's the sound of a mother's heart exploding.

One, Two, Three, Four

Freddie's Birth Story

This long overdue tale begins on a Wednesday. Wednesday March 9th, to be exact. I had an appointment with the midwife in the morning, and had been sadly informed that I had not really dilated much from the previous week. After what I thought was a rather, um, rough internal examination, I was listed at 1cm with some wiggle room. Based on the exam, I think the "wiggle room" was created by my midwife, not that I'm complaining.

That night, SOB and I went out to dinner, and I was having contractions throughout the whole meal. Once we got home, I experienced what those in the business of delivering babies refer to as The Bloody Show. Which is a pretty horrific term, if you ask me. It was about 10pm, so I called my folks just to give them a heads-up that we might be heading to the hospital sooner than later. This was how things started during my labor with Lucy, and I ended up at the hospital in less than four hours.

That was not the case with little Freddie, however.

I spent most of the night sleeping, with intermittent painful contractions. I woke up on Thursday and spent the entire day in the same situation. Noticeable, irregular contractions with no indication that things were going to be getting serious any time soon. SOB was on call that night, so he was hoping that I would make it until at least 7am on Friday when his shift ended.

He got his wish.

On Friday morning, annoyed beyond belief, I called the midwife. My next appointment was not scheduled until Monday, and I knew my patience wouldn't last that long. She had me come in, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had dilated to 4cm since Wednesday. She asked if I wanted my membranes stripped, and I emphatically said YES! If I didn't feel ready to head to the hospital by the end of the work day I could come back into the office to get checked again, just for my own information.

SOB and I went out to lunch, where he informed our server that I was in labor, totally freaking her out. Then we went and walked around Lowe's. At this point I was feeling some pretty good contractions, and frequently needed to stop while picking out light bulbs. After we got home, my parents quickly arrived. I decided to take a bath, in the hopes that relaxing would speed things along.

WRONG!

Instead of quickening things, the bath slowed everything down to a near stop. Since it was about 3:30pm, I called the midwife's office to see about coming back in. And as I suspected, I hadn't progressed at all. So we went for round two of membrane stripping and headed back home to wait. One thing the midwife did mention was that multiple pregnancies may have made my uterine muscle less efficient. She suggested tying a half sheet from the office around my waist, just above my belly button, as tightly as I could stand. In her past experiences, the sheet would kind of hold things down, so that the contractions could be more effective. Which is how I came to spend the next three hours pacing around my house looking like I was wearing a backwards apron.

After dinner, which I did not eat, we put on Monsters, Inc. for the kids and I began timing my contractions. After 40 minutes or so, things seemed to be getting pretty consistent. I was averaging a contraction every 4 minutes, so we headed to the hospital. As soon as we got there, they checked me out, and I had only dilated to 5cm in the last few hours! I was a wee bit crushed, but asked to have my water broken ASAP. With Lucy and Maggie, once my water was broken the babies came out in a matter of hours, and even though my other experiences hadn't been a good predictor, I was optimistic that this one would work.

Finally, I was right about something!

Around 10pm, I was really feeling the pain. I asked to be checked, and decided mentally that if I was past 7cm I would stick it out. I wasn't quite as committed to going drug-free this time around, but it still seemed attractive to me in the right setting.

Sadly, I had only progressed to 6cm since breaking my water two hours earlier.

So the epidural went in, and despite being a little patchy, I was able to get some pain relief. For about half an hour or so. Maybe 45 minutes. Because then, well, Freddie was ready to make his entrance.

Three solid pushes later, my boy had arrived. He was screaming and slimy and absolutely perfect. He was born at 11:46pm, weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.

love at first sight

Freddie's First Bath

March Madness: Sam Edition

The past two days have been unseasonably warm here in WV, so we've been outside as much as possible. Currently, Sam is as obsessed with college basketball, despite the fact that neither his father or I have ever watched a game. This means that when he's outside, he's working on his moves. Now, the hoop is only five feet off of the ground, but I think he's making progress from last year!

And of course, SOB has been developing his skills as well. He finally mastered the "Slam-dunk-while-nurturing-your-newborn" move he's been working on.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Fun with Freddie

Just like with the other three, we had our requisite two-day-no-sleep dance party.

However, now there is milk in abundance, so everyone is happy.

My Boys

Introducing...

Frederick Michael

Born at 11:46pm on 3/11/11

Weighing in at 7 pounds 14 ounces

Measuring 20.5 inches in length.

On the Way

So I'm officially in labor. I'm still at home, but am hoping to have the baby today. Stay tuned!

Then and Now

I was chatting with SOB the other day about Sam's progress with hockey, and we went back to watch some videos he had made on his phone. Here is one from sometime during the first month of practise.

He's the one in the gray shirt with green socks. At that point all he was interested in was getting the puck into the net, even if that meant falling on his ass!

Mid-season, though, he began to realize that skating was kind of an important aspect to playing hockey as well. After watching a few real hockey games I think he noticed that most of the guys don't just stand in front of the net waiting to take a shot. He got more interested in the drills, and his ability to stay on his feet.

Of course, in the end he still wants to score a goal, no matter what!

Still the One

I've finally gotten to the phase of my pregnancy where I honestly and truly realize that very soon a new baby will be living in our house. And just like my two previous pregnancies, I'm agonizing over those precious final moments with the one who is now the baby. The one, who at this very moment is trying to put a hair bow in my ear.

She always wants to cuddle, and more often than not you can find her draped across a lap. Mine, Sam's, my mom's, or Sam's teacher. She doesn't discriminate. She especially likes to snuggle before going to sleep. We read Goodnight Moon, sing Twinkle, Twinkle, and she rests her head on my shoulder while I rub her back. If I don't give her an adequate back rub, she'll grab my hand and put it back in place until she's satisfied. Finally, after several kisses, she'll let me lay her down.

Every time I leave the room, I wonder if it will be the last time I put her to bed as my baby. Every time I greet her sleepy head in the morning, I wonder if I'll still have this huge belly the next time I lift her from her crib. Every bath, meal and kiss is tinged with mystery, hopefulness, and just a little bit of sadness.

She's so big, but until the next one is born, she's still my baby.

Once Upon a Time

I remember doing this as a child, and it being fun.

Flower Power

Lately I've been dreaming about flowers. Maybe it's because March is finally here, and I've been seeing all sorts of blossoming plants at the store. But I think it's mostly because I've been remembering all of the amazing flowers that would have been starting to poke through the wintry ground back at our old house.

Before moving there, I never took any interest in gardening, but when a yard finally became part of my world I decided I wanted it to look pretty. I knew that I didn't have the patience for annuals, so I set about looking for perennials that I wouldn't mind looking at year after year. The first plants I came home with were lilies. Then came the hydrangeas. The apple blossomswere there when we moved in, and quite possibly were my favorite. The rose of sharon bushes were there, too, when we moved in, and they blossomed just as we were leaving last spring. I planted a young lilac, but never got to see it bloom.

I'm waiting patiently to see what will come up here this spring. I'd like to plant some hyacinths and more lilacs, but with the baby coming sometime in the next two weeks, I don't know how likely that is. And I'm trying not to think about the plants and flower we left behind. Luckily with a later growing season, I should have some time to get something into the ground this year in WV.

Kitchen Counters: After

I never thought it would be possible to love a flat, stony surface, but dear Jebus, I love these new counter tops!

It's only a matter of time before they're dirty and cluttered, but gosh, aren't they pretty?