Miriam Video

My bro-in-law, Joe, is awesome!  He made me a little video of Miriam.  I wanted to share with you all.  Just click HERE and enjoy.  You may need tissues, I did.

Maid Miriam and Her Crew of Merry Men

Whenever we visit my in-laws, my father-in-law announces our arrival along these lines, "Jared and his crew of merry men are here!"  He has been trying to figure out what to say now that we have a daughter.  On Sunday, he figured it out.  Our children are now referred to as Maid Miriam and Her Crew of Merry Men.  This is very fitting, as in a week, she has wrapped all of the men in this house around her finger.  (I am totally smitten too.)  Here are some photos of our first week.

 Wherever Miriam is, the boys are sure to be close by.  

 Look at that sweet face.

 Grayson, especially, loves to hold and snuggle his little sister.  

 Gigi gave Miriam her first bath on Sunday.  She absolutely loved it.  As soon as Gigi had her wrapped in her cozy towel, she had a huge poop.  So, she actually got two baths.  Speaking of poop, little one also pooped on me.  Shot straight out during a diaper change and got all over me.  With four children, that was a first.  I've been peed on tons of times, but never poop.  How I love firsts.

 Snuggling with Daddy.  The best time with Miriam is when the boys go to bed. Jared and I really enjoy our one-on-one time with her.

Just threw this one in here because it was so cute.  Jared was painting our fence yesterday and Ethan and Grayson decided to join him.  They love having Daddy home so much.  He gets two weeks off!  It's been awesome.

Miriam Elisabeth

Okay, so I totally jumped the gun and complained for no reason in my last post.  About two hours after I posted, contractions started and less than five hours after that Miriam Elisabeth arrived.  Here's her story.  It is detailed, so skip to photos below if you don't want any TMI moments. 
Monday morning, I was so anxious about Miriam's arrival.  You can refer to my previous post for a little on that.  I had a lot of energy, so I battled my anxiety with chores.  I did three loads of laundry, cut the dog's hair, cleaned a bathroom, and helped Ethan make his Valentine's for school on Thursday.  All before 10 o'clock!  It was a very busy morning.  The boys wanted to go outside and as I was readying for that activity, I thought I felt a contraction.  The last thing I wanted was a false labor, so I didn't get too excited.  I'd had about three supposed contractions when my mom called.  I told her what I was feeling and she quickly said she was getting in her car to come to Orlando.  I kept track of the time and after having six contractions in one hour, I decided to execute my plan to get to the hospital in time. 
Sabra came to be with the boys, Suzanne picked me up, Jared came from work and met me at the hospital. It worked pretty smoothly, I think.  I was admitted at noonish and Miriam was officially on her way.  (When I walked in, it was BUSY!)  I was one of five other women and I was the only one who looked like I wasn't dieing.  The staff didn't seem to take me seriously and thought I'd had a false labor on February 1.  My mid-wife cleared that up by asking them to look at the full date and they saw that I did come in on February 1, 2011 and was admitted.  (Landon was born just after midnight on that visit.)  Anywhoo, even though I was calm, I had started to really feel those suckers.  Contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and I knew we probably would be moving along quickly.  Once admitted I was assessed and was dilated to 5 CM.  Half-way!  Woot Woot!  An hour later, they checked again and I was at 8 CM.  They took me up to delivery on the stretcher for fear we wouldn't make it.  I was a little embarrassed to be wheeled through the lobby, yes the lobby, on a stretcher.  Not sure who designed the route, but that was a little awkward. 
My water still hadn't broken an hour later when I'd dilated to a 10.  That is the magic number, but I wasn't quite ready to push, so I waited.  Started really pushing at about 2:30.  Water broke on a push (that is as disgusting as it sounds) and the next push allowed Miriam to join us.  It was awesome!  She was born at 2:47 PM and weighed in at 7 lbs, 1 oz and is 19.5 inches long. I did not get an epidural.  I am not superwoman, I just prefer the recovery from natural labor so much better.  I did not get a trophy, but Stacey did bring me cookies.  Our midwife, Mary Kay (whom I adore), said it was a good thing the water didn't break until it did.  Miriam came out sunny-side up, just like Jared did, and the water bag acted as a pillow protecting me from some serious pain and made pushing less difficult.  I know that's a lot of details, but this is my journal too and I want to remember these things.   

 All cleaned up and ready to snuggle.  Also, angry to be away from mommy.  This was the first time I got to do skin-to-skin immediately after birth.  It was amazing.  There is nothing like that in the whole world. 

 Thanks to Mary Kay, the most amazing woman, midwife, and friend.  She makes having babies so much fun.  Here's our first photo together after Miriam was born.  Side note: When the pediatric nurse was asking questions for her chart, she asked about our other children.  I explained that we had three boys and Miriam would be our first girl.  I was so happy, I just started crying.  The emotion and reality of it all was overwhelming.  I am so blessed to be a mom and I love my children so much.  I'm crying now just thinking about it.

 Gigi made it in time to meet Miriam right away.  Papa came a little later on that day.  They were her first visitors. We had lots of visitors and feel so loved.  Thank you for coming and enjoying our new girl. 

 Our family of six!  The boys have been so sweet.  They kiss her and want to "help" her and love on her.  She is one lucky lady. 

 Grayson has been waiting for so long to hold his baby sister.  He held her for probably about an hour (off and on) yesterday while he was at the hospital.  He is so sweet.  When he came in to visit, she was in the nursery for a daily check up.  He frowned and questioned, "Where is my baby sister?"  He was so disappointed she wasn't waiting for him. 

 Ethan came after school and also got to hold Miriam.  He declared that she was "so soft."  If you could see her up close, you'd see she has that soft, white hair all over her body.  She even has tufts on her ears.  When I told him on Monday I was going to the hospital to have the baby, he became very anxious and asked me if I was going to start screaming.  I assured him I would wait until I got to the hospital and he wouldn't have to hear that.  

Ready to go home and enjoying a snuggle with Daddy.

We think she looks most similar to Ethan as a baby, but time will tell who she resembles most.  Her bilirubin is up, so we're on a bili-bed but are doing very well.  So happy to be home. 

37 Weeks

I have been so spoiled.  All three of my boys came at 37 weeks.  If baby girl fails to arrive today, I will officially be pregnant longer than I ever have been.  At my visit this week, I was already 80% effaced and 3 cm dilated.  That just means things are happening, which is good.  The more I do prior to active, hard labor the better for me.  The anticipation is killing me and as each day passes I get more and more worried baby will be so big I'll need a c-section.  Even in arriving 3 weeks prior to due date, all boys weighed in at healthy weights.  Landon was nearly 8 lbs!  Here's the latest photo of belly!

Sugar and Spice

A few of my dear friends talked me into having a baby shower.  I am not a huge fan of showers, even if they're mine, but they were very convincing.  I am so glad they were successful.  I had a blast and I felt so special.  It was simply wonderful.  See for yourself.

 No party, especially for me, isn't complete without delicious food to eat.

 Shea made these yummy treats.  They were so cute. Glad we got a photo before we ate them all up.

 I invited about 25 people and pretty much everyone came.  I felt so loved.  Each individual introduced herself and then shared something they like about me.  Talk about a self-esteem boost.  I truly wish I'd recorded their comments.  My heart grew ten sizes I think.  Truth is, I could say the same wonderful things about each of the women there.  I have been so blessed by each of them.

 Just a silly photo of me.

 Elisabeth and me.  Elisabeth has become a dear friend.  She is one my convincing friends.

 Stacey, Me, and Mom.  

So excited to have another girl in our family. Currently we're very outnumbered.

Mom, Me, and Sabra.  Gigi and Grandma can't wait to spoil her.

Trista, another very convincing friend, put together a super fun game for the shower.  See how well you do on the quiz she created. Answers are at the bottom.

1. Which of the following did Andrea do while in labor with Ethan?

A. Ate ice cream cake on a towel covered dining chair with her husband's family.
B. Listened to tribal music while biting on a birch stick for 6 and a half hours.
C. Yelled out "The ring of fire!" Causing the neighboring patient to demand an epidural.
D. All of the above

2. When Andrea asked Ethan, "What kind of baby do you want?" Ethan said:

A. A baby what?...kitten?
B. We don't need another baby mom.
C. How about a girl baby? We don't have one of those.
D. All of the above.

3. About which child does Andrea say, "he's always in a hurry...even at birth?"

A. Ethan

B. Grayson
C. Landon
D. All of the above

4. With whose delivery did Andrea say, "I'm not getting that epidural, am I?"'

A. Ethan
B. Grayson
C. Landon
D. All of the above

5. What birthing education courses has Andrea participated in over the years?

A. Hypno birthing classes, two different times
B. Winnie Palmer Labor and Delivery class where Andrea allowed Landon's delivery to be video taped for educational purposes.
C. Some no name pregnancy and birthing DVDs that she didn't finish
D. All of the above

6. Landon was...

A. Suppose to be a girl based on the 20 week ultrasound.
B. most definitely a surprise baby.
C. So eager to be born that he broke Andrea's water during a talk in church.
D. All of the above

7. During labor, Jared said "what are you doing?" When he found Andrea...

A. Making homemade macaroni and cheese for a freezer meal.
B. vacuuming the inside of their car.
C. Shaving her legs
D. All of the above.

8. Andrea has been known to pack for her hospital stay

A. Months in advance
B. never. Jared does it for her.
C. During labor
D. All of the above

9. Andrea says

A. Landon was born with a broken collarbone.
B. She was in shock until 2 weeks before Landon's birth.
C. She shed the most tears during Landon's pregnancy.
D. All of the above.

10. Andrea delivers

A. On her due date
B. 3 weeks early
C. 13 days past her due date
D. All of the above

11. Most women want to punch Andrea in the face while she is in labor because...

A. She can be found saying things like, "So what you are saying isthat I am having a contraction right now? I can't even feel anything!"
B. She also has been known to say, "I'm really already dilated to 5 cm? But I can't feel the contractions!"
C. Her legs are shaved.
D. All of the above.

Answers: A, C, B, B, C, B, C, C, D,B, D

 

Grayson is ready

I am so ready for this baby to come, but I'm trying not to get too anxious (and failing miserably).  Grayson is also ready for baby sister to come.  This morning I could barely tear him away from a new baby sister of one of Ethan's friends at school.  As we walked to the car, we had the following conversation.
G: I want to look at that baby.
Me: Don't worry, pretty soon you'll have your very own baby to look at anytime you want.
G: When's she coming out Mom?
Me: Soon, honey, hopefully really soon.
G: I don't want her to come soon.  I want her to come NOW!

I feel you, Grayson, I really do.

Golden Birthday

 We celebrated Landon's Golden Birthday yesterday.  Our little man is now 2!  He has been very excited about his birthday this year.  All week he has been caught singing, "Happy Birthday to Me!"  Landon is our happy, enthusiastic, "ray of sunshine" child.  He loves to smile and show off his cute dimple.  He is our loudest boy and does all that he can to keep up with his older brothers.  Landon is going to make a great older brother when baby sister arrives later this month.  Landon's favorite things are to give out smooches and hugs, hang out with Daddy, "call" Gigi and Papa on the phone, run, snuggle with Phoebe, eat, go for walks, and play in the dirt.  He seems to be capable of getting so dirty that more than one bath a day becomes necessary.  Here he is enjoying the delicious cake that Aunt Stacey made for his birthday party. 

Kid Conversations

Landon has started to show an interest in prayer.  Whenever he hears anyone praying, he starts praying too.  Here is what he says every time.  "Father.  Jesus.  Father.  Jesus.  Father.  Jesus."  It's pretty darn cute.

Me: Landon, can I have a hug and smooch?
L: No! Hugs and smooches all gone!

My mom also had a pretty sweet conversation with Ethan yesterday.  I asked her to write it down, so here it is in her own words.

"While putting Ethan's shoes on, I asked him to sit on the chair so I could reach his feet more easily.  He asked me if I could bend over all the way because his mommy can't because she has a baby in her tummy.  He said "his dad has to do everything for his mom." (Okay, WHAT?!)  I told him he had a good mom who knew how to do a lot of things and take good care of him and his brothers.  He said, "that's because you taught her, because you are her mom."  Best birthday present I've had in awhile to share this conversation with my oldest grandchild."

January Photo Round Up

 Aunt Teresa, Aunt Margo, and Mom came by one Saturday in January and helped me recover my dining room chairs.  Our dining room table was inherited from Jared's sweet grandparents and was NOT kid-friendly.  The material on the chairs was a beautiful creme color that quickly became nasty once our three boys began spilling and drooling and doing who knows what to them.  Aunt Teresa had this fabric at her home and was generous with it and her time.  I planned to help out, but she and Aunt Margo pretty much did all the work and I am so happy with the result.  We've had some spills and now no one is the wiser. 

 We did some painting this month.  Landon decided to paint himself.  The best part about this is he did it while I was sitting next to him!  Not sure how he was so sneaky, but I missed the whole thing until major damage was done.  

 I love my mixer!  I use it several times a week to make sweets, treats, bread and finally this month I tried out a homemade graham cracker recipe from Weelicious.  They turned out so yummy.  We made them with our letters and numbers cookie cutters.  

 Here are the boys cutting out the dough.

Jared and Norb put up a fence for me.  A smallish section of the yard at our rental was not fenced in.  This was a must-have for me for when baby arrives and my man delivered.  We bought our supplies on the cheap through Craigslist and after two days, it is up and functioning perfectly.

Ethan drew a picture on the chalkboard last week that had me giggling.  He included clouds, sky, and three of our family members--him, Grayson, and yes that's me complete with a big, pregnant belly.  (You may need to click on the photo to see it more clearly.)