Growing Up

The other night we finished dinner and chores and all headed outside to enjoy some nice weather.  I grabbed my camera and am so thankful I did.  The lighting was perfect and I got some great candid shots of our family.

First up is Jack.  He was rocking his pjs while we all played outside.  Since he is a Winter baby this is his first time to truly get to PLAY outdoors.  He is learning to love it!

Next up is Grace.  This is classic Grace.  She is always moving, running, dancing and flipping.

Then we have Benjamin.  I had a hard time getting a shot of him.  But I loved this one of him playing with Sissy.

Then we have Kayla.  She is my hardest child to photograph but I happened to snag this photo of her.  It takes my breath away.  I cannot believe this beautiful girl is ours and that she is almost 11!

And lastly, is my husband!  His family has the tendency to ALL close their eyes every time a camera is brought out.  So we worked for about 10 minutes to get this. LOL!

Happy Friday!

Weekend with the Grandparents

Snuggling with Grandpa.

Flying with Daddy!

Looking adorable for Grandma!

Enjoying the Spring weather with some tennis!

A bottle outside with Grandma! 

Coming back in to snuggle with Mommy!

Handsome boy!

All wrapped up with breakfast for dinner.

Just Can't Get Enough

I love these guys!

RSV. Part 4

After that amazing half-smile, things slowly improved, but not until after a long, hard night.  He still had the feeding tube and cpap machine on.  He had not eaten in 40+ hours though.  A feeding tube bypasses the stomach so even though he was getting the calories he needed, he had no sensation of being full.  Well, I called in a nurse after they removed the Cpap machine and we rearranged all the tubes and cords and made it so I could squash a chair right next to his crib and hold him.  That was an amazing, amazing moment.  He calmed instantly once he was in my arms.  But then, he recognized my smell and feel and started trying to nurse.  He was still unable to and it was making him inconsolable so I had to lay him down.  That actually calmed him but it broke my heart.  Then he realized he was hungry and the crying started.  He cried and cried and cried.  At my wits end, I called a nurse and said there had to be something we could do for him.  As weird as it sounds, they brought my 2 tablespoons of breastmilk and a pacifier.  I could dip the paci in the milk and let him suck on it.  He was in Heaven.  He "drank" about one tablespoon one drop at a time and fell sound asleep.  I had to repeat the process with him numerous times throughout the night.  The next day he was simply ravenous so the doctor said I could bottle feed him.  He started with one ounce.  At the moment that was enough.  By the end of the same day he was up to 6 ounces at a time!  They removed his feeding tube and began to wean him off the high flow oxygen.  Unfortunately we moved a bit too fast and he took a step back.  They increased the flow for about 12 hours and tried it again.  This time, his stats remained steady and he passed his blood gas tests again!  Once he sustained that for 12 hours, they put him on regular oxygen and we moved to regular floor.  Bye PICU!  My husband knew I needed to spend time with the other kids and get some solid sleep so he came to spend a special night with the Linebacker.  They hung out and watched HGTV.  But that night he polished off all the milk I had pumped.  And when my husband tried formula, the Linebacker would have nothing to do with it.  So I had to load up the kids and rush back down after only being gone about 12 hours.  Thankfully, the Linebacker was to be released that day around 4:30.  5 nights and 6 days in the hospital, one ambulance ride, 2 ER rooms, 3 rooms in the hospital, 3 nights in PICU, 5 IV attempts and over 10/heel pricks later our son was HOME! 

A Moment to Savor

The Professor and his sisters.  

A pic. of all 4 and it is at least a good shot!  Not the best, but I will take it!

I LOVE this!! How cool is this shot?

Don't you love the Hippie?

Can you tell the Linebacker is growing up?

I love days like this and capturing these moments.  Time is going so fast.  I love savoring these moments and beautiful days. 

A Beautiful Sight

What No One Likes To Discuss....

Poop.  Yep.  I am going to blog about poop.  Specifically baby poop.  Exclusively breastfed baby poop and the extremely wide range of what is considered normal.
If you are squeamish…just stop here.
Our first child was fairly textbook.  She pooped several times a day.  Our second and third were much the same way, with poops 2-5 times every day.
Then….we had our 4th.  First off, he was the first we had who had his first merconium poop while inside me.  In fact, the nurses informed me it was a gargantuan amount.  They pumped 8 cc’s from his tiny belly.  Evidently, it was massive and nurses kept talking about it.  In fact, nurses who had not even been there came into the room to talk about it.  He never pooped again while we are in the hospital.  As we were being discharged, I asked how many days could he go without pooping.  The doctor told me to call in on Monday (this was Friday) if he had not pooped.  Well, Sunday he finally pooped and it was the perfectly typical mustardy, seedy breastmilk poop.  And then….we waited.  10 days later I had him in for check up and asked about his lack of poop.  I was honestly not concerned because he was passing gas, his belly was still soft and he never seemed to be in any pain.  The doctor said that breastmilk is like the perfect food and is so “clean burning” that exclusively breastfed babies can go 2 weeks without pooping because they just use it all.
The day after the appointment, our son did poop.  About 10 days later he pooped again.  Today was day 10 and he pooped again.  And these are different than the other kids poop was.  His is more of a very deep yellow or orange color…and the smell.  It smells SO disgusting.  I cannot even describe it, but trust me, it is gross.  And the poops are massive.  Think blowout diapers times 5.
All this served as a great reminder that parents are ALWAYS learning and all kids are different.
Do you have any poopy stories?? Please share in the comments below!
Oh and as a side note….for breastfed babies did you know the poop is considered normal in a rainbow of colors including green, yellow and orange.

Time Off

Next week cannot get here soon enough.  My husband has to take 5 days off before his contract renews.  Sadly we do not get to choose his days they are automatically the last 5 of his contract.  We did not even realize it was coming so soon.  Needless to say we are VERY excited!  He has not had more than 2 days off at a time in over a year.  He has not had a single Saturday off and almost every week has worked 6 days.  Yes, we are thankful for the job but it gets very lonely never having him with me at events, taking the kids everywhere by yourself and since his only day off is Sunday, we NEVER have an entire day to spend at home.  We have no real plans for the week.   He has some projects to do around the house, I plan on snagging some majorly needed naps, we are going on a date and leaving, gulp, all four kids with my mom and sister (our heroes) and we definitely plan on creating some special family moments with the kiddos.  Meanwhile....here are a few pictures for your enjoyment!

Our Baby is Here!

This pregnancy started off rocky and ended with a bang!  This was the roughest labor but easiest delivery of our 4 kids.  My husband and I had waffled back and forth on our decision to induce 2 days prior to our due date.  We were not inducing for medical reasons so much as to ensure the doctor we trusted would be the one to deliver our son.  After how this delivery went though, we are beyond thankful that we listened to our doctor and allowed the early induction. 
Delivery day:
We arrived at the hospital a few minutes late.  We had taken our time and just enjoyed the drive.  We laughed, talked, worried and tried to envision how the day would unfold.  After check in it felt so chaotic and nothing like the calm feeling we had during the Professor's labor.  They were sort of rushing to get us checked in and settled before the shift change.  There were 2-4 nurses bustling around, attaching monitors and doing the iv and asking all those questions.  Eventually we were settled and they came in around 7:45 to start the Pitocin.  Almost immediately I began feeling small contractions.  They were quite regular too.  However, due to my anterior placenta they could not keep the baby on the monitor.  Literally every 15 minutes or so the alarms would start going off and they'd spend another 5 minutes trying to get him on the monitor.  At one point I had to shimmy myself into this very tight, very uncomfy band to try and keep the monitors extra tight.  It worked.....a little.  The alarms were going off only once every 30 minutes or so now. 
The contractions continued and were getting more noticeable but when they checked me around 11:30 I was still only at a 3 and about 70% effaced.  My husband and I started fretting and worrying that this little man just was not ready to arrive.  Around 12:30 my doctor came in and broke my water.  At that point she said "We have merconium."  My heart sunk.  I had never envisioned hearing that.  Then she went on to say there was a lot of it.  They were worried about what he may have been exposed to.  They placed the internal monitor and my contractions picked up at a rapid pace.  By 1 I was having trouble talking, or even thinking, through them.  But I was hesitant to get the epidural since my progress had been so slow.  However, I decided to go for it since typically my labors have gone quickly after my water has been broken.  I got the epidural and it was a very easy one.  Right afterwards a nurse comes rushing in and tells us that the doctor called and was not happy with the baby's heartrate on the monitor.  I was put on oxygen and flipped to my left side.  By this point I was in tears.  I was scared and really worried about what would happen.  Things seemed to settle down and we sent my sister-in-law after some lunch for my husband.  We figured the baby would arrive by 4:30 or so and I wanted to make sure he did not pass out from lack of food.  A few minutes til 3 the nurse came in and noticed I had the shakes.  She cleared the room and did a cervical check  Immediately she called the doctor.  The nurse then calls in the teams and everything was moving so quickly.  We were complete and ready to meet our little guy.  At 3 the doctor zoomed in.  We were introduced to the respiratory specialist and pediatrician who were standing by in case he had trouble breathing and we were briefed on the fact that he would be whisked away as soon as he was out.  Around 3:05 I was told to push.  At 3:07 he flew out!  It was so fast we could barely process it.  He was whisked away and they pumped 8 cc's of merconium from his belly.  Thankfully he did not have any in his lungs.  After he was pumped and breathing good (about 10 minutes) he was weighed and measured.  He was exactly 9 pounds and exactly 21 inches.   Then we finally got to hold him.  He was so calm and sweet and we just fell in love with him.  My husband and I enjoyed our skin to skin time and relished the calm after what had felt like a rocky labor.  We brought in the siblings and introduced them.  They all loved him but the Hippie was completely smitten by him.  She seems to think he is her baby.  The rest of the family got to meet him and hold him and love on him too. 
Shortly after we thought we were calming down the pediatrician came in and informed us that in addition to the hole in his heart they were hearing a loud murmur and that we might have to get a transfer to the Children's Hospital.  That was so terrifying.  To make a long story short, there was no problem with his heart and we just follow up with his cardiologist in January.  We did have to stay two nights due to his heart, merconium and having a higher birth weight.  On Friday at lunch time my husband and the kids came and picked us up....in the middle of a huge snow storm. 
Our little man certainly came into our lives with a bang!  We are thrilled to have him here and are all falling in love with him more each day.

Check

The bassinet is up and ready with a freshly washed sheet.
Hospital bag is packed and waiting (except for bathroom items).
Kids bags are packed and waiting.
The diaper bag is loaded and ready.
My husband installed the carseat yesterday.
Supplies have been purchased and are waiting to be used.
The house is (mostly) in maintenance mode.
Now....we wait.
I am scheduled for an induction this coming Wednesday, but am still hopeful that labor could start on it's own.  No matter, we are as ready as we are ever going to be for this baby to join our family. 
I am very uncomfortable now and am so thankful that I squeezed so much in with my husband and the kids over this past month.  This afternoon I am making gingerbread houses with the kids.  Last night we drove through a park with over 3 million lights, went to a live nativity, took a horse/wagon ride and saw a house with lights set to music.  So many memories have been made and treasured.  Now we look forward to making new memories as a family of 6.

Fitting it all in

38 weeks today!  Knowing that we have 2 weeks or less really makes me feel like we are in a time crunch.  I truly do not have much left to do.  Most of my list could be knocked out in an hour.  But still, I am ready to know everything is crossed off.  Then I just have to focus on my family and keeping the house cleaned.  Yesterday we got the bassinet set up, the carseat cover washed and ready and a few other things that were on my list. 
Even though there are things I need to get done, there is also a list of FUN things I have planned and want to do.
Tonight there is 2 live nativities and a park filled with Christmas lights that we want to take the kids to.
Sunday my husband get a real date.  A date where my parents take the kids and know we will be gone for awhile.  Some time after church they will get the kids and my husband and I will get dinner, a movie and a little bit of shopping.
Monday I have an ultrasound and a check up.
Tuesday my friend and I and the kids are supposed to do a little shopping and get some yummy Chick-Fil-A food.
The Professor has his 6 month post surgery check up.
We have home-school to try and get ahead on.
And I'd really love to cook a few family favorite meals since I know ramen noodles will be a staple soon enough. Ha!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

It's the Cutest Thing

Our Thanksgiving traditions are pretty simple.  A meal with family.  A walk outside if weather allows.  And typically the day after Thanksgiving we put up our Christmas tree while my husband's sister is still here visiting with us.  The kids love including her in the festivities and we all have fun....well except for my husband who is in charge of all the manual labor. Ha! This year we had to switch things up a bit.  His sister had to leave the day after Thanksgiving and my husband had to work today.  We decided to move things up a day and do it on Thanksgiving.  Yesterday while the Professor was napping we all put up the tree and all the decorations.  He came downstairs and was amazed at the transformation.  On our tree we have several bell ornaments that will ring.  He spends so much time standing in front of them, gently ringing them and then giggling.  He just loves it and it is seriously the cutest thing! 
Oh, our other tradition is that after doing the tree and decorations we make homemade pizza and watch a movie by the lights of our tree.  Since we live in a rural town we typically make our pizza but other places we lived we would order it in.  Last night I made homemade pesto pizzas. YUM!
What are your Thanksgiving traditions?

How Long Does it Take

24 hours or less is the answer is our home.  But what exactly is the question?  Well, I want to know how long it takes after you clean your bathroom before it is nearly impossible to tell that you did clean your bathroom.  In our house it is less than 24 hours.  I cleaned the bathroom the other day.  I sort of have a schedule for which rooms get cleaned on which days.  Of course in between there is maintenance cleaning.  Well on this day I had done my big bathroom cleaning....bleaching out the sinks and toilet, wiping everything down including the tile portions of the walls etc.  The next morning when I flipped on the light I found nasty toothpaste leftovers caked onto the sink, fingerprints and water spots on the mirror, the clean hand towel was dirty and all askew, my nicely straightened towels were now hanging crookedly and where the kids keep their toothpaste, well, there was a toothpaste splotch on the tile.  It's not the place was trashed or that anyone was inconsiderate it just gets used.  We only have one full bathroom so 5 of us use it all the time.  But if someone had walked in there they might well have thought that I had not cleaned it in a week.  So how long does it take at your house before a freshly cleaned room looks dirty again?

Overnight Trip!

Surprising the kids was so much fun!  It actually took a lot of work to pull it off but they were totally surprised in the end.  We acted like we were heading off to church.  My husband had packed the van the night before.  The Hippie asked where we going and my husband said to get gas.  We were about 20 miles away when they asked again.  This time I told them.  They flipped!  Then we really did stop for gas, drinks and to hook up their dvd player.  We ended up shopping at a few stores and then had delicious Skyline Chili before heading off to the Creation Museum.

The Professor spent a lot of time looking up.  He was equally fascinated and slightly nervous of the dinosaurs.  "Saur-saurs" as he calls them.

The Hippie helping Noah build the ark.

Getting to ride a dinosaur!!!

The Hippie has officially entered the "i must pose in a weird/funny way for every photo" phase. Ha!

The water fountain was also a popular place to visit.

Attempting to get your family all in one photo.  Kinda hard to do.

After the museum we went to a few more stores but the kids were done.  We had found a really neat place to take them for dinner called Pizza Tower.  Every kid gets a very unsticky dough ball to play with!

The Professor was too tired for dough.

There is a kids area.  We got to sit here so he was able to run back and forth playing.

I believe that is a dog in the front and a heart in the back.

Dinner was delicious! A tad expensive for pizza with kids but well worth it since they were so entertained.  They got free ice cream with their meals.  The kids meals were kinda basic but the pizza my husband and I had was probably the best I have ever had!!!!

After dinner we checked in at the hotel and all went swimming!

Night time was rough with all of us in one room.  The Professor was exhausted and kept calling us all by name and saying "all done".  It was well after 9 before all the kids were asleep.  6 a.m. and everyone was awake again. 
We enjoyed the free breakfast and then took off for the Aquarium.  This was really the only snafu we hit on the trip.  We knew the Aquarium opened at 10 but there was a Barnes and Nobles bookstore next door.  So we went at 9 to go to the bookstore.  They did not open til 10. Uh-oh.  And it was cold and pouring rain.  Luckily there was a closed mall but the lobby areas were open.  We spent 45 minutes playing on escalators and running.

Finally, finally it was 10 and we got to go to the Aquarium.  We got there in time for the Penguin Parade.

The Professor was honestly just too tired.  The girls were loving it and he was just....grumpy.  We still made some fun memories though.  Afterwards we did end up going to the bookstore.  The Professor had never been to a Barnes and Nobles.  He LOVED the trains.  We let the girls each choose a book.  I was super proud of the choices the made with ZERO guidance from us!

When we left we drove through and got lunch in the van.  The Professor was asleep from the time we got in the van until we got home. Ha! 
We had a great time and I am so thankful for the time we all spent together!