Sickness

It has been a tough couple of days at our house. Really more for me, than any of the kids. I noticed on Friday that Pete felt a little warm but didn't think that much about it because we had been playing. A little while later, Avery was laying on the floor trying to go to sleep (which is SO not her personality!) After I took their temps, I realized they both had fairly high fevers. I called the pediatrician to check our dosage amounts for Tylenol and just happened to ask what I should be watching for if my newborn happened to develop a fever. Well, if a newborn gets any fever at all it is super serious. So of course, I freaked out. On top of the kiddos being sick - guess who else is sick . . .the one person that CAN'T be sick . . .me. I seem to have developed mastitis, which as many of you know can really throw you for a loop. It sure knocks you off your feet.

So after two days of trying to keep the kiddos separate, running up and down the stairs, and basically trying everything we can . . .Pete and I are exhausted. The kids still have a fever, but are acting as if nothing is wrong. It has gone down considerably and now is just basically borderline fever. We're just more worried about Hailey getting something. So we are hand washing fools around here and I think we change our clothes every few hours just to make sure we don't have any germs on them! I'm really hoping that everything is better by Monday when I'm alone again . . .

2 weeks

Can you say exhausted!? And I had help for the first two weeks!! The first day that I had the kiddos all alone I was a little scared to say the least. I keep thinking that as they all grow it is going to get easier. I keep thinking a newborn is easy, the twins are easy, but put them all together and it is tough!! Pete and Avery are being super sweet to Hailey. Avery has almost mastered her little sister's name and it is so cute. She says a little bit of something like "Ha-ey"!

Hailey is a completely different baby than Avery and Pete. They were always super content to sit in their chairs and hang out. They were never super "cuddle" babies (which I guess they had to be since there were two of them!) Miss Hailey is pretty much unhappy unless she is being held. She is finally starting to like her chair and FINALLY starting to like her pacifier (thank god - yes I'm one of those mom's that LOVE and NEED paci's)! She is also a amazing eater . . . she is wanting to eat about every 2 hours during the day. During the night we are making it 3 - 4 hours at a stretch, which I think is pretty good for a newborn (I also think the formula during the night helps too)!



She is also a very noisy sleeper, which poses a problem since she is in our room. Avery and Pete went straight to their nursery when they were little, but our house setup is so different this time. So after a few sleepless nights, I finally figured out where to put her . . .in our closet! Everyone I tell that too freaks out, but we have a huge closet! It's like she has a little room and it's connected to our room so I can easily hear her! She also will not sleep in the bassinet, so she is sleeping in her car seat . . .I know, I know. A little diva already!

At her 2 week check-up she was 9lbs. 4 oz. and the peditrician said that she is perfect!! The nurses oohed and ahhed over our chubby little baby!!!

Hailey's first bath

Hailey really seemed to like it . . . not near as much screaming as her brother and sister did for their first bath!

Coming home

Avery and Pete seemed fairly uninterested when Miss Hailey came home. It was one of those rainy, cold, unusual March days. The funny thing about it was that is was such a similar day to when we brought the twins home a little over a year ago. I guess all our kids just have to come home for the first time when it is raining and nasty outside!

I keep saying this, but Avery and Pete really thought Hailey was our new dog. Avery pointed at her and said "dog" and they both tried to pet her. We have really been working on the difference between "dog" and "baby".

The first night at home always seems to be the toughest. Hailey's schedule is a bit off. She does fine for the first stretch of the night, but wants to be awake after that 2am feeding. Otherwise, she is just the perfect little baby. We are trying to figure out her sleeping situation. Avery and Pete immediately went to their cribs in their room at our old house, because their room was so close to our room. Now we have quite a different situation with all the kids rooms being upstairs. So, we are basically trying everything to find a good place for Hailey to sleep so that I don't have to go up and down the stairs.

I am going to have helpers here at home for the first two weeks. My mom, Pete's mom, and then Pete is also taking off a few days to help me get situated!

Visiting

Hailey had both sets of grandparents come visit while we were at the hospital. Everyone thought she was absolutely adorable . . . I have to say I agree!

My parents, Nana and Grandpa.


Pete's parents, Grandma and Grandpa.

A new chapter begins . . . Hailey has arrived!!!

On March 11, 2009 our sweet new addition, Hailey Alyssa, joined the world. She was born at 5:50 pm weighing a whooping 8 lbs. 15 oz (1 oz from 9 lbs!!!) and was 20 inches long. This labor was much easier, as it only lasted 9 hours! I got the epidural about 1:00 and it was smooth sailing from that point forward! I was on the phone about an hour before she was delivered! This time too we were in such a more intimate setting in the room, instead of the operating room. So it was just my doctor, nurse, and Pete. That was so nice!!

When Hailey was born, we just couldn't believe it. She seemed so heavy when they gave her to me. When they called out her weight, Pete and I just starting laughing and everyone in the room couldn't get over how big she was! I was able to see from where I was as they cleaned her up which was really neat. She started crying alot, and as soon as Pete went over there and stared talking to her, she got really quiet and just listened. It truly was one of the best memories I have.

I guess there is always that point when you kinda of realize that things might be going a little bit differently than they should, though. With the twins I lost alot of blood and had to recuperate for a long time afterward. Everyone's opinion, though, was that it was because of the twins and their big size and that it wouldn't happen again. Not so . . .

It seems that with the size of Hailey, my blood just couldn't clot fast enough and I started having the same problem. I began to realize something was wrong as my doctor stared to look concerned and they began calling all the other people into the room to help. Losing blood is a very surreal experience because you think "I'm ok, I'm ok" but then the next second you are out!

All in all, I'm fine, I just have a longer recovery time than most. I was lucky that I didn't have to be given blood because I really didn't want to do that. I feel SOOOO much better than I did after the twins and I don't think I lost as much as last time. I have to not lift/drive/do much of anything for 2 weeks. Then after that I'm not supposed to do anything strenuous for 6 weeks.

It's one of those things, though. You look at that sweet, sleeping little face and you think "I could do that again, it wasn't that bad." The funny thing is that Pete always jokes that maybe we should have more, but after Hailey's birth, he has been saying that our family is DEFINITELY complete! I agree whole heartedly with him and I am ready to say "Party of five, please!"

Spring Fever

We are so ready to be outside and have some fun! The kiddos got some awesome new toys for outside playtime and they LOVE LOVE LOVE them! For about a week now we've had the short sleeves and shorts on!

Memories, Like the corner of my mind . . . Sterilizing memories . . . To think I used to sterilize and clean every night! I think I blocked it all out! My nesting continues!!

Nesting

I believe this is called nesting . . . anyone think that I am doing anything and everything to get this little baby girl to come!!! You better believe it!



I went to the doctor today and found out that in her opinion, this baby could just stay cuddled up with me indefinitely. Which, I mean, I'm really not looking forward to childbirth, BUT . . . .she is getting really big. So, I am scheduled for an induction next Weds, March 11.

I have really thought about this over and over. I have said from the beginning I don't want to be induced again (I felt like it didn't work that well with the twins and just prolonged labor) but I really don't want to have a C-section. And that is what it looks like will happen if I don't go ahead and have this child soon. My doctor said that I probably won't be able to deliver a 10 lb. baby!! YIKES!

So, the best thing, I think, would be to go into labor sometime in the next few days. I'm giving it my best try . . . .we'll see!

Pete runs to it, Avery runs away

What is "it"? Their cribs, of course!! All you have to do is say "Nap" or "Go to bed" to little Pete and he is off and running to his crib. Avery sometimes does it, but more than often we have to run after her. They are both fantastic about going to sleep. We have been very lucky in that department!

Forget the guilt!!

Throughout this pregnancy I have felt such guilt because I felt like I just haven't been enough. Enough of a wife, mother, friend, ect to everyone around me. This has probably been one of the hardest times that I have been through physically and emotionally and the scary thing is it is almost over! Pretty soon we will be embarking upon a whole new life with our brood!

I read this one woman's blog, www.mycharmingkids.net, because she has such an amazing story with her kids (4 under the age of 4!) and her newborn was not expected to live past his birth day. But by the grace of God, he is thriving and doing well. She posted this poem and as I read it, it made me smile. I don't know if it made me feel "OK" with how messy my house always is or if it made me realize that I need to stop and "smell the roses" more.

"Song for a Fifth Child"

Mother, oh mother, come shake out your cloth!
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking!

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Oh, cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
But children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby. Babies don't keep.
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton
(first appeared, Ladies Home Journal, October 1958)