Still Here

We are still here. Life hasn't swallowed us whole with all of its twists and turns. Yet.

Our long break from blogging was primarily due to having Grammy Sara here for 9 fantastic days. She flew in on the 18th and left on the 27th. Grampy came in on the 23rd and flew out with Grammy.

Having that extra set of hands for over a week was wonderful. My mom definitely spoiled us by getting all the laundry from the floor to the washer and into drawers, taking on dishwasher duty, cleaning up the kitchen every night, taking the troops outside to play (she really loved coming from the 70 degree weather to below freezing!), and helping out at night so I really only had to get up once. As Jake and I looked at each other last night over the mound of toys on the floor, the mountain of laundry that popped up shortly after the airport drop-off, and the disaster that erupted in the kitchen, we realized that reality is here. We now have to figure out a new routine with our newest addition. I can tell you that the new routine will not include Jake making a milk run while the twins are in the tub because that didn't work out very well last night. One bloody nose (Ava - think she picked it a little too hard. Eew), a crying baby, and one tired mommy trying to regulate it all just didn't work.

I'm working on accepting the fact that life just isn't going to be normal for awhile. Chances are it will never again be the normal of old. We'll probably just end up settling into a new "normal". And while my OCD self hates having to let things go, life is such at the moment that mess will abound, clutter will grow, and walking through the house while weaving around all the projects going on is just the way it's going to be. The four large totes sitting in the loft with old clothing to be sold at my multiples sale will likely continue to sit there until the sale in 3.5 weeks. The wall in our bedroom that my dad taped and finished along with the wall that he attempted to fix in the twins' room (apparently my drywall work was so bad that he was unable to leave it be!) will probably sit in their current states until the end of the month when I finally find the time to slap on a coat of primer and two coats of paint. It will feel like we live in the South, where everything moves at a slower pace. But persevere we will and eventually my house will reachieve my standard of cleanliness, the baby will sleep through the night, and maybe, just maybe, we won't have to continuously remind Carter to be gentle with the baby.

As it is, everything is going well. Sweet baby Hannah is still getting up only two or three times at night. She was weighed again last week and clocked in at a whooping 8 lbs 6 oz. The baby just keeps on growing bigger! Ellie lost another tooth this weekend and Ava & Carter are doing fabulous as well.

I will try to post again later this week with photos. The desktop is having issues so I'll see if I can get it fixed and running properly. Thank goodness for the old laptop, which while a pile of crap, has come to the rescue so we have a connection with the outside world!

Welcome to the Mad House

Where life is as crazy as can be. Yesterday was another one of those Manic Mondays. It was Jake's last day off before returning to work. Ellie had school and a Valentine's Day/100th Day of School celebration to prepare for. Ava and Carter had school. Hannah had her newborn check-up. And life just ran its course through our house. With all the running around, when Jake, Hannah, and I got home around lunch, the kitchen looked like this.

I've actually been doing a really good job of keeping up with things around the house. However, Monday mornings involve making lunches for kids, packing toddler backpacks with extra clothes, cramming a bite of breakfast down several throats, and the new added task of packing a diaper bag again with diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, spare clothes, and hunting down one of the pacifiers that Ava has hijacked as her new toys. Preschool starts at 9:30 and Hannah's appointment was at 10 so there was no time for one of us to do drop-off and the other to pick up the house first. Add to this mess the fact that I hadn't hauled out my Sunday paper and other recycling, needed to unload the dishwasher, wash bottles and other non-dishwasher items and the kitchen was a ground zero for household disaster.

Of course, there is also the mess of the living room. While this is just one container of Littlest Pet Shop toys, this is the result of what happens when Mom and Dad tell you for the millionth time to leave the baby alone. If your name is Carter, you don't handle scolding well and tend to get destructive before running off to the downstairs bathroom where you shut the door and hide out until you are no longer mad that you were scolded.

How Jake and I have wished we could have spent the last week much like this little baby has. Sleep she does, nearly all she does. And Miss Hannah weighed in at 7 lbs 9 oz at her newborn check-up. She has surpassed her birth weight and is growing well. Poor baby does have a cold though, the unfortunate result of being sneezed on by her adoring brother when only 7 hours old. Which is why my hospital stay was supposed to be my solitary honeymoon and older children were only supposed to be allowed to visit when I decided I missed them (which likely would have been several days after I had returned home!). But alas, it is over and done and if there is one thing to be said, it is that Hannah will have a very strong immune system as she grows.

The weekend was a busy one, including Hannah's first trip to Target. She slept the entire time we picked up groceries. But it was still a wonderful bonding moment between Mother and Daughter, specifically because it was nice and quiet for both of us!

We also entertained Joy and Tonester on Saturday. Zoey came with as well and succeeded in ruining a few more toys and licking the baby's face. Note to self: remember what a pest she was when kids start talking about wanting a pet. Ava and Joy danced together while Daddy and Tonester grilled and Carter ran in and out of the house checking on everyone.

And while there was nothing I wanted more yesterday when getting home than to take a nap for a few hours before the twins came home and Jake returned from the gym, I decided to leave the sleeping to the babe.

I redeemed myself and decontaminated the kitchen. Social services need not be called now as it has been sterilized and scrubbed down.

Now to keep it like this for more than 10 minutes!

More Hannah

This baby is seriously one of the easiest babies I've ever encountered! (knock on wood) Granted, she is only 5 days old and newborns are supposed to sleep all the time but she is so laid back, easy going, and sleeps, sleeps, sleeps. The only time she ever gets really upset is when she needs a diaper or clothing change. She get really mad and screams during those moments. Otherwise, she is just very chill. A baby is supposed to hear in utero as well as they can when out so she has had months to get used to all the noise and chaos of our house. In fact, when Jake took the twins to the gym yesterday to give Hannah and me some time alone, she was awake almost the entire two hour+ time frame. I think it was almost too quiet in our house and she wasn't able to sleep with the silence!

Hannah is also only getting up about twice each night. She eats around 10, we crawl into bed around 11ish, she sleeps until about 2:30, back in bed fed and changed by 3-3:30, and up again sometime between 5:30-6:30. I could really get used to this! We had a visit from the clinic's home health nurse yesterday and she said the reason she sleeps so good is probably because she is such a good sized baby. A seven pounder needs less nourishment than the little 4.5 pounder they sent us home with last time. Hannah was also weighed yesterday and is almost 7 lbs 4 oz. When we were discharged from the hospital on Monday, she was 6 lbs 14 oz so she is gaining weight well and is already bigger than her birth weight.

Life is also getting a little bit easier every day. Everyone is still fasinated by Hannah but each one is learning to control themselves a little better. We are lucky as Jake doesn't go back to work until next Tuesday and my mom flies in on Friday. I'll only have 3.5 days on my own and Jake's mom is just a phone call and 10 minutes away if I really need help next week. It definitely helps having Ellie at school all day. In fact, my mom's visit is timed to a 4 day weekend for Ellie just so we'll have another adult here to help with all the kids. When my dad flies in on the 23rd, we'll even have a man-to-man defense for a few days with 4 adults to 4 children! Looking forward to locking myself in my room for a day or two and letting the other adults manage on their own! (Mom and Dad, you have been forewarned!)

INTRODUCING...........

HANNAH JADE

born February 5th at 1:38 am

7 pounds 2 ounces and 20 inches long

Everyone here at home is enamored with her! All we've heard all afternoon and evening is whose turn it is to be close to her. Ellie got upset earlier when I told her that I was just going to hold Hannah for awhile to keep her safe from all the affections. I had to remind Ellie that Hannah will be here tomorrow, the next day, and forever! Ava likes to look at her but then goes about her business, coming back to check on her from time to time. Carter is concerned with absolutely everything about her: here's her bottle, here's her nukie, where did her blankie go, etc. In fact, as I type this, he is at my side kissing and touching her head.

Delivery went as well as can be expected when you don't get to the hospital in time for an epidural! I was told to call the doctor when contractions were about 7 minutes apart for an hour. Friday night, the 4th, my contractions started around 9/9:30 at about 7-8 minutes apart. By the time an hour or so had passed, they were down to about 6. I waited another 45 minutes to actually time them out, at which point they were 4 minutes apart. I finally called in, was told to come get checked out, and made the call to Jake's mom to come over to watch the troops. Jake and I left for the hospital around 12:15 am on the 5th. It was a deja vu of when Ellie was born. As they were checking to see how dilated I was, the nurse said something about there not being much there. I thought she meant I wasn't that dilated and would have started crying since the pain was already reaching unbearable. However, she meant that there wasn't much cervix at all and I was pretty much ready to go. They had already asked me what I'd like to do about pain management and she apologized and said that there was no way I was going to get that epidural as I was basically ready to go. Just as with Ellie, I had to wait for the doctor to get there! I was told by the nurses and the doctor though that I am a real trooper and do a great job giving birth. The doctor was impressed that I was ready to go already since I had sounded so calm on the phone. I must have really good self-control for outward appearances since inside I was screaming! Jake's favorite line during the delivery process was when I told the doctor to just cut her out. I didn't realize her head was already 1/3 of the way out! But all is well. She slept really well both nights at the hospital so I hope we can carry that on at home. The only thing she doesn't like is being unwrapped or undressed, especially for diaper changes. She gets real loud and mad at that point! She is a healthy little doll and we couldn't love her more!

Waiting, waiting, waiting

Finito is in no real hurry to get here. Good thing this is the last one because I have a hunch it may (heaven help us!) be the most difficult and/or stubborn of our children.

My doctor had mentioned the possibility of elective induction at 39 weeks a few weeks ago. I have waited for my appointment today in anticipation for weeks. There are two criteria for elective induction: 1) Baby at 39 weeks and 2) everything soft and pretty well thinned out down there.

#1 - check, #2 - uncheck times 12. Ok, maybe that's a bit dramatic but nothing is thinning out or changing to allow the baby out. Its little head may be right there but it isn't trying to find the exit. According to my doctor, inducing when things are not thinned out is like trying to push something through a locked door. It's not happening. Since I'm not interested in a 20 hour labor, we have to now wait for either Finito to make an appearance on his/her own timetable or until my appointment on Monday. Since I'll be past my due date on Monday, then we can discuss induction for real.

Sigh. I'm running out of things to do around the house to prepare. I clean almost every other day in anticipation of something, anything happening. While the contractions are there, they tend to last an hour or two and disappear. Jake has joked for months that this will be a Super Bowl baby. At this point, he may very well be correct. And as long as it happens before I have to really get forceful with Dr. Sabal about evicting this baby, I'll take it. What really adds to the difficulty is having never actually lasted until a due date. The twins were 2.5 weeks early for obvious reasons (there being two of them in case that wasn't clear enough) and Ellie was 5 days early. This getting closer and closer to my due date is new territory and super frustrating.

So now we just continue to sit here and wait. Wait for little Finito to finally decide the time has come to join the world. I knew this one was trouble when I found myself suffering far worse morning sickness than with the twins and Ellie combined. Just come soon little baby. Mama gave up mentally a few weeks ago and can't take this much longer!

Best Friends

I've been hearing the phrase "best friend" around here a lot lately. The first instance was one night in the tub when Carter took one of Ava's toys and wouldn't give it back. "Grrr, Carter if you don't give that back to me, you won't be my best friend anymore!" was what I heard Ava say.

Then last night, Ava was talking to me about what she and her best friend were going to go do. I asked her if she meant Carter. "No," she responded. "Ellie's my best friend, Carter is just my brother." That one slightly broke my heart because while I'm glad the girls enjoy playing together, poor Carter gets left out a lot.

Here is a pic of the sometimes best friends singing. Remember before Christmas when I shared my dream of having these kids sing Christmas Canon? I started playing the video for them on Youtube. Now it is all Carter will listen to. Over and over and over again. However, all the listening to the song has helped both of them to learn the words. They will both stand there and sing along with the song! It is one of the most adorable things I have ever seen! I've tried to get it on video, but I'm lucky to have gotten this one shot as they both get embarrassed when they see the camera. Looks like I'll be able to make that dream of all my kids singing that song a reality in a couple years though!