Of Late

So many pictures, so many domestic happenings, and so little time to blog!

As you can imagine, adding a fourth child has changed up our routine. Well, truth be told, we don't really have a changed routine yet--we're still figuring things out. And my mom was here till this past Tuesday, so I've only had the kids on my own for the last few days.

There's nothing momentous to tell, but here's a little photo journal of our recent life . . .

Six weeks old

Clara is a delight! Everyone loves her. Josiah came up with his own pet name for her: "Honey-bun-boo." I'm not sure how he thought of that, but he thinks it's quite funny and has stuck to using it for weeks now. The girls like to copy him and so use it, too, though they more often call her "Baby Sisser Flara." 

 Two weeks old

Just under three weeks old

 

Four weeks old

As with each child, we marvel at Clara's meeting of milestones and above-average skills. :) She has pretty good neck strength and lifts her head easily and well. (Of course, she still flops plenty, too!) She gained over three pounds in her first month of life--at her one-month check-up, she was 9 lbs 5.5 oz!

Three weeks old

Four weeks old with friend James Jr.--two weeks her junior, but a couple pounds heavier! 

 James Jr. is only 3 weeks old here, but he started out at 9 lbs 2 oz . . . Clara may never catch up :)

She obviously smiled at me for the first time at a little over three weeks old. (She possibly smiled at Jeremy and Grandma a day or two before.) Now she more readily smiles at me when she's alert and fed--big, dimpled, beautiful smiles. Pretty soon she'll be smiling at her siblings. They're always eager to see her awake ("Let me see her eyes!" Josiah says), so I'm sure they'll be thrilled to see her responding to them with smiles.

A day after her due date--almost two weeks old!

 

Six weeks old--she's filling out!

She likes to look at fans (like her brother did), and she startles more at noises. Unfortunately this also means we're leaving the newborn ability to sleep through everything. I have more trouble getting her to sleep when her siblings are in and out and about; and she takes better, longer naps when laid down in our room in her bed. (She slept her first six-hour stretch last night!)

During my mom's stay (just under four weeks), I mostly didn't have to worry about laundry or getting up early or cooking everyone breakfast or wiping poopy bums. It was wonderful! She capably handled lots of household and child-related work and allowed me a more leisurely recovery. Because of her, I was able to better enjoy Clara's newborn days--with plenty of time to cuddle and nurse her without constant interruption. I also had the luxury of sleeping in with Clara because my mom graciously got up with the older kids.

They loved having Grandma around (Josiah even started calling her "Dramma" vs. "Lala/Glala"). Most days they played outside and she joined their games. I asked Josiah what his favorite game to play with Grandma was, and he said "Dread Pirate Grandma." 

The girls are forever pretending to be animals, so sometimes they were lambs and Josiah and Grandma made a sheep pen for them. Sometimes they were newborn colts just trying their legs. Sometimes they were Santa's reindeer (and Josiah was Santa and Grandma was his wife). Together they made a campfire of sticks (unlit), swept up their house (patio), traveled abroad on their ship (the fort), baked plenty of pies (dirt and leaves), collected gold (leaves and rocks), etc. 

 

My mom made some great progress on potty training the girls while she was here. They mostly wear undies and stay dry/clean during the day now! We have to be on top of making them sit on the potty regularly (and long enough to do something), but they often tell us on their own when they need to go. They still wear diapers for nighttime and naptime, though, and will use diapers if they have them on.

Indoors the kids continue to love their Duplos. Lydia loves building houses or castles. Abby likes to make trains for all the guys to ride. Josiah is thoroughly Boy in his love and design of guns. Tonight he asked Daddy to help him make a "skewer" (bayonet) on the end of his Duplo rifle. (I'm not even sure where he's seen such things . . . He always has a stash of weapons both indoors and out. And we often must remind him to shoot animals, not people.) Sometimes all three collaborate (usually with encouragement from us) in a building project. But often they fight over the platforms, the long pieces, the last few pieces, etc.

Grandma also took the kids to Chick-fil-A (which Josiah calls "Chipotle with the cows") and Einstein's Bagels, as well as to the park and the zoo. They each enjoyed an individual outing with her, too, and still talk about that. They still often talk about when Pa and Grandma from Flagstaff took them to Chick-fil-A and Burger King and let them watch Lassie and Flipper! (Today they played pretend games involving both Lassie and Flipper.) "Maybe sometime you and Daddy will leave and we'll watch those movies again, Mom," Josiah tells me.

Lydia enjoying her cup of water and ice from "the bagel store"

 

 Abby on left, Lydia on right

Starting with Josiah, the three big kids came down with a cold this week. Josiah and Abby have a croupy cough and a runny nose, and Lydia started coughing yesterday. They've been reasonably good about covering their mouths when coughing (in the crook of their arms, just like Pa taught them!), but I'm still concerned about Clara catching the sickness. So the constant task of keeping them a safe distance from her has certainly added to the stress of the last few days!

Lydia especially misses cuddling with Lala

 Can you believe these angelic children get into spats?

Colds make everyone feel miserable--but not miserable enough to actually take naps or just lie quietly on the couch. So we've dealt with lots of fighting, crying, tantrums, whining, bugging, etc. 

Still, I'm thankful the kids normally play pretty nicely together!

Well, it's past 1 a.m. and I'm squandering sleep to write this . . . I probably shouldn't stay up later, because I'll certainly pay tomorrow! Let's hope everyone sleeps in (no naps + cold + late sunrise = later wake-up? I pray so!). But I may see this face at 6 a.m. . . .

 

. . . and almost certainly this one at 3 a.m.!

 

Pregnancy Update and . . . Baby!

I started a post with a pregnancy update about two weeks ago now--when I was 37 weeks pregnant. Since then a lot has happened! But I'll keep what I wrote pre-baby . . . and then follow up with post-baby updates . . . 

37 and a half weeks pregnant

37 Weeks

I haven't posted much about our upcoming November baby, but that's not an intentional slight! The three born children take up most of my energy and attention (and, of course, are photographable). But I thought I should post at least once more about the baby inside while she's still there. Hopefully she'll vacate current accommodations in about three weeks!

Tuesdays mark the counting of the weeks till my due date, so Tuesday the 20th was 37 weeks gestation--meaning I'm "in the clear" for delivery. At my appointment with my midwife, Emily, on Wednesday the 21st, Baby's heartbeat was strong at 135-140 bpm. Fundal height measured 36 cm. Emily felt around a little and determined Baby is head down, for which I'm grateful. My strep B test came back negative (yeah! no antibiotics during labor!). I've gained about 23 pounds in all thus far and have plateaued the last few weeks. (For reference, I gained a total of 25 with Josiah and about 50 with the girls.)

In terms of pregnancy symptoms, this pregnancy has been the easiest thus far. Josiah's was quite a difficult pregnancy--enough to make me rethink my hope for several children! Daily nausea, lots of throwing up, hungry but averse to food, reflux, heartburn--contrary to my mother's experience, being pregnant was NO FUN. I wasn't as sick for as long with my twin pregnancy, and I would happily take the aches and pains that came with stretching pelvis and ligaments and extra weight gain with twins over the nausea and vomiting that lasted forever with Josiah's pregnancy! But I was pretty huge by the end of pregnancy with the girls . . . it was difficult to handle everyday life with a toddler, cooking duties, picking stuff up off the floor, getting dressed, etc.

So in comparison, this singleton pregnancy has been pretty nice! I still don't love being pregnant. I've had nausea and reflux and heartburn. But I haven't thrown up once, I'm much smaller in the belly than I was with the girls, and the second-trimester pelvic soreness has cleared up. Pretty nice!

The fatigue this pregnancy felt more pronounced, but perhaps that's only because I'm already mother to three active children. Our September bout of awful bronchitis and our current cold have tired me out more, and I'm sick of being sick. I hope this will be the last of illness before the baby arrives.

Other than a high blood sugar result on my glucose screening test (and a week of subsequent finger-pricking to ensure I didn't have gestational diabetes), everything about this pregnancy has been pretty normal. Baby seems to be developing on schedule. Our 20-week ultrasound was routine. And here I am, already 37 weeks along, with increasing Braxton-Hicks contractions but otherwise no sign of impending labor!

I hope to avoid induction this time around. Perhaps the baby would be pleased to come around, oh, November 11th or 12th? That's my current wish.

Our preparations for Baby's arrival have been fairly laid-back so far. I still need to pull out the bin of newborn clothes and cloth diapers. We still need to clean up the "baby spot" in our room, set up her crib, get out her car seat, pack our hospital bag, etc. I did start freezing a few meals, and we rearranged the "big kids'" room so as to free up a crib for Baby's use. (Now they have bunkbeds and a toddler bed between the three of them.)

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38 Weeks and Birth Story

And that above is what I wrote about two weeks ago. Based on my experience in my last two pregnancies, I was convinced I'd go at least till my due date--if not a week or more after. But Baby Girl surprised us by coming almost two weeks early!

I had a routine check-up on Wednesday the 28th. My sister Elisabeth was visiting for a few days after attending a good friend's wedding in Los Angeles. She stayed with the kids while I went to my appointment. Emily (the midwife) confirmed the baby was still head down. Baby's heart rate ran quite high initially (around 180 bpm), but she was moving around, and Emily waited a bit to make sure her heart rate came down. It did. In retrospect, perhaps the minor detail that I had lost a couple pounds was actually an indicator of imminent labor. But neither the midwife nor I expected Baby to come so soon.

Last Thursday (Oct. 29th) was my sister Elisabeth's last day here. That morning while making breakfast, I felt a contraction that was distinctly different from my typical Braxton-Hicks--it radiated out to my hips a little more and involved more downward pressure. If this is the start of real labor, I thought (half-laughing at myself), maybe we should see about canceling Elisabeth's flight and keeping her here a few more days!

But of course, I didn't think it could be anything like early labor. I was only 38 weeks along, after all. So we continued about the morning, and I kept getting an occasional contraction that was stronger and lower than my usual Braxton-Hicks. I also felt like the baby had dropped--my belly seemed heavier, with more downward pull than before.

We dropped Elisabeth at the airport soon after noon, came back home, and did the naptime routine. I put my feet up between dealing with a wakeful Josiah and diaper changes for the girls (why do they always poop during nap time?!).

The evening continued uneventfully: Jer came home, we ate dinner, he gave the kids a bath, we dealt with bedtime meltdowns, and finally all three were sleeping. As we cleaned up the kitchen, Jer told me about some work drama, and I got a stronger contraction--I had to zone him out a little and concentrate on it till it passed.

Soon those harder contractions came a little closer together. I thought they were probably prodromal labor and would quit in a bit. But still, I figured we should be on the safe side and make sure we had childcare covered if we had to go to the hospital. I texted to ask my friend Jamaila to keep her phone on in case we needed to call her to come over that night.

Meanwhile, I thought we'd be wise to write up some notes about the kids' routine and throw some things into a hospital bag--just in case. Between contractions I jotted down notes, pulled out some clean clothes for myself, did a load of laundry, tidied up the living room, and reminded Jeremy to print the birth plan and pack the camera--just in case.

I updated my mom on my contractions a few times that evening via WhatsApp. She skyped me at about 10:30 p.m. At that point I was breathing through hard contractions coming about five minutes apart, but I was still mostly convinced it was prodromal labor and would probably taper off and leave me pregnant for a couple more weeks. I told her they weren't easily manageable anymore, but they weren't long enough to qualify as "real labor."

Emily (the midwife) had told me to make sure labor was truly established before going to the hospital. Both Jeremy and I convinced ourselves we needed to wait several hours to ensure the contractions didn't peter out. Plus, I had never gone into labor on my own (I was induced at 41 weeks with Josiah and 39 weeks with the girls). Sure, I knew what labor contractions felt like . . . and these were surprisingly similar--but at 38 weeks??

I told Jeremy I'd get in the tub and see if the contractions subsided. I kept my mom on Skype and she timed contractions and talked me through them. I mostly wanted to be on my hands and knees as I breathed through contractions, and the water felt good--but it didn't slow the labor.

At some point I went to the bathroom and realized I lost my mucus plug. Maybe at that time we decided to call Jamaila to ask her to come--I can't remember exactly. I was wholly focused on working through contractions, which were closer and longer. Jeremy continued to pack a hospital bag and ready the guest room for Jamaila.

She arrived (she had to drive about 20-30 minutes) and later reported that when she heard the noise I was making during contractions, she thought I should hustle right along to the hospital! Perhaps 20 minutes after Jamaila came, my mom (over Skype) said she thought I should mention to Jeremy that we might want to make a move toward going to the hospital.

Well, I didn't want to move from the tub and I certainly didn't want to labor for hours at the hospital or be sent home. I wasn't sure what to do (and the indecision showed I was probably entering transition!).

It may have been around 12:15 a.m. when I got a few contractions in a row that made my arms tingly and that felt too strong. "I don't know if I can do this anymore," I told Jeremy--at which cue he decided we'd better hurry up and get to the hospital. He threw the bags in the car and brought my clothes and shoes into the bathroom. As I got out and dried off (scared of contractions at each move I made, and with constant crampiness that comes in transition), I told him I didn't want to get in the car. "Maybe we should call an ambulance. Or maybe we just shouldn't go to the hospital," I told him. I felt the first urge to push with a very strong contraction--and Jeremy propelled me to the car, firm in his resolve to get to the hospital ASAP.

That car ride was perhaps the worst I've ever experienced. (While Jeremy did go 80+ on the freeway, it wasn't due to poor driving that I felt so miserable!) I knelt over the front seat and tried to breathe through each terrible contraction while bracing myself against the swaying and stopping and starting of the car. Jeremy rubbed my back when he could with one hand--that was strangely comforting and helpful.

My sense of time was foggy as I concentrated on the contractions that hardly let me rest. Jeremy pulled into a parking spot and stopped the car. When I looked out the window and saw a parking garage, I said, "No, no, no! MAIN ENTRANCE!" He drove back out and found an entrance (not the main one). It was quiet and dark at almost 1 a.m., but the security guard noticed my condition and went to fetch a wheelchair.

I clung to Jeremy as we walked across the lobby (I was barefoot--wasn't up to putting on shoes in the car, I guess!), and the security guard brought the wheelchair just as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. I vehemently denied the offer of the wheelchair (I couldn't imagine sitting down while dealing with the contractions), and suddenly my water broke and splashed all over the floor. I apologized to the security guard and we went up in the elevator to the Labor and Delivery floor.

We exited the elevator and the long hall stretched before me, seeming impossible to cover. I made Jeremy move quicker between my contractions so we'd make progress toward the intake desk. The nurses saw us coming and brought a wheelchair--this time they forced me to sit in it. We sped toward triage, where I tipped over onto a bed and started pushing. Those contractions are inexorable--I couldn't fight them.

A nurse checked me and said, "She's complete! She's crowning!" She asked me to stop pushing and they wheeled the bed into the triage L&D room (one with a door vs. curtains), and with a couple more pushes, Baby's head was out--and then the rest of her followed.

She cried briefly as they rubbed her and put her on my chest. We heard them talk about clamping the cord, and I told them not to--we wanted to wait till it stopped pulsating. So Clara (though we hadn't named her yet) cuddled under a blanket with me and I rejoiced that labor was over and marveled that my baby was here!

Clara latched beautifully after just a little while and started nursing away. The midwife arrived about 20-30 minutes after Clara's birth and orchestrated the cord clamping/cutting, placenta delivery, stitching (I had a first-degree tear), etc. I asked the nurses to wait to give me a shot of pitocin until Emily arrived, and she said it wasn't necessary. Clara was nursing well and I could feel the afterbirth contractions clamping down the uterus. My blood loss was fairly minimal. Interestingly, while I've heard the afterbirth contractions are horrid with a third delivery, mine weren't as bad as those I got with the twins' birth. I wonder if the lack of pitocin had something to do with it--plus my uterus wasn't as stretched out!

Clara was 6 lbs, 4 oz--just one ounce more than Lydia at birth! She scored 9 and 9 on her Apgars and was quite alert. I think her hair is darker than any of the other kids'. According to the hospital measurements, she was 20.5 inches long. But at her pediatrician appointment at five days old, she measured just 19 or 19.25 inches . . . so I think she's probably closer to her other siblings (who were all in the 19 range) than an extra inch and a half taller. She's sweet and beautiful and we all love her dearly.

In retrospect, it's a fun birth story and I'm glad we skipped some annoying hospital protocol by staying home . . . but Jeremy had a scare, we almost had the baby in the car--we should have gone a little sooner! (I was especially glad to have skipped the 20 minutes of mandatory monitoring in triage. The Lord answered my prayer about that--just in an unexpected manner!) I'm so grateful for the short labor and fairly easy, uncomplicated birth. And Jeremy is happy we didn't have to pay for an ambulance (an out-of-pocket cost--not covered by insurance--which certainly motivated him to get me to the hospital).

So--there's the story of Clara's arrival. I'll post more soon about her first meeting with her siblings, grandparents, and great-grandma and the other events of her first week of life.

Clara!

I have a "real" post with birth story and other details in the works, but meanwhile, here are some photos of our little Clara Elisabeth, who is almost a week old!

Baby #4

We had the "big" ultrasound for Baby #4 today--here you can see some creepy ultrasound pictures of 21-week-old baby (due November 10th). It looks like Baby is measuring on par with the due date. 

The other three (and Jeremy) came along to "see" the baby. They tired of the process pretty quickly (Josiah kept complaining of the dark room, the girls tried to touch everything, someone gnawed my shoe, they wanted to go back to the lobby to see the fishies, etc.). But they're excited about the new little sibling in their own ways. We'll be happy to meet this little one in November!

We didn't get any great profile pictures, but here you can see the outline of the lips and nose and forehead 

 Another profile picture--Baby's arm was up by the face

 Pretty clear leg and foot!

So Baby wasn't very cooperative and kept arms/hands up by the face almost the entire time. The 3D images below show that arm/hand quite clearly, but the face is pretty distorted.

And just a couple more for good measure . . .

 See the bent arm and little fingers?

You can see the fingers again at the chin, and then parted lips and nostrils above that

New Baby

We wish we had filmed the kids' reactions to our baby news! They were so different and funny and cute in their responses. Abby and Lydia definitely grasp the essentials--that Mama has a baby in her belly, and that they will be able to hold and help with this baby sometime in the future.

Lydia

Initially Abby was the most interested and enthusiastic. She kept saying, "Nice! Baby! Nice!" But she was devastated when bedtime rolled around and the baby wasn't actually here yet. She wanted to help "change baby's diaper" right then. She cried for about twenty minutes over that disappointment.

Abby

Since the initial expectation that the baby would arrive imminently, the kids seem reconciled to the fact that their new sibling will take a while to materialize. Lydia believes the baby will come out crawling, though. She also perversely loves to prod my stomach, lie her head on it, and sit down hard on my lap whenever possible.

Lydia and Josiah

Josiah asks lots of questions--how long the baby will be in Mama's belly, how big it is currently, whether it will "kick out" of my belly, whether the doctor will cut me open in order to get a picture of the baby (when we went for ultrasound), etc. He likes to know why about everything these days, and his curiosity leads to lots of good (and sometimes difficult-to-answer!) questions.

Josiah is certain the baby is a boy. He has foreordained it and even chose the name months ago (before I was pregnant): Jonah Nicholas. (We're pretty sure the "Jonah" is from his admiration of my cousin Jonas [a "big boy" a few years older than Josiah], but we're not sure where he got Nicholas--I don't think he interacted with my cousin Nick. But apparently he admires Aunt Wendy and Uncle Brad's taste in names!)

 Soon we'll really have our arms full! :)