One and walking

#3 turned one on Saturday. Thanks for the 'surprise party' Kris and Bobbi!

She started walking last week.

It makes for interesting days here...

tired doesn't even come close to explaining how I feel...

This morning already I have;

• pried my newborn off my nipple to get up and make daddy coffee before he left for class
• made whack 'em on the counter cinnamon rolls to accompany breakfast because I feel guilty about the next bulleted item
  

• gotten oldest child off to school with a dose of Tylenol because she gets a flu shot today and I cannot drag the circus there to be with her
• changed two poopy diapers
• cleaned up a spilled (forgotten) cold cup of coffee off the living room carpet
• stepped in some squishy substance on the kitchen floor and immediately had to wash all the carpets and bleach the floor, I think it was poop
• went through clothing from my sister to find only one matching mitten to go with the one shoe she normally sends
• finally downloaded first birthday pictures and have yet to post them
• nursed the baby again and again
• answered the phone a dozen times

Labor and Delivery...by the numbers

25 hours in the hospital BEFORE baby arrives
2.5 hours prepping for induction
22.5 hours of labor starting and stopping

4 shift changes of nurses
2 on call shift changes for the doctors (24 hour shifts)

1 bored out of his mind hubby who
12 times needed to "get some air" and resulted in
3 unnecessary shopping trips and who consumed
5 lbs of junk food in front of his wife who only got to eat
1 cup of chicken broth and
4 pieces of toast in
29 hours

1 book read, now I want to see the movie, (the Secret Life of Bees)
2 movies watched ; 21 and Ocean's 13

7 unsuccessful iv attempts in my hands, wrists and arms
4 infiltrated veins resulting in swelling, bruising and annoying, burning, pain
1 port FINALLY accessed
10 hours after first iv attempt

3 doses of oral induction medication
1 iv drip of pitossin
1000 mil of saline iv
1 epidural that wore off an hour before baby came

38 minutes of hard labor with no medication
1 episiotomy resulting in
9 stitches to bring a
8 lb 6 oz beautiful baby girl to
2 exhausted but blessed parents who cried an
undetermined amount of tears of joy

Sister Love...for Wordless Wednesday

I do have time for Wordless, but that's about it. Maybe when we get our days unmixed with nights I can post more...I am exhausted!

It's a girl...

We're home.

I have lots to say, not enough time or energy to say it.

Thanks for the prayers and for the well-wishes.

We have once again been blessed:)

Baby girl, 8lbs. 6 oz., 20 and 3/4 inches long, she is beautiful!

Born October 15th, 10:13 a.m.

D(elivery) Day!

Here are some games to help pass the time...

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uh - oh

While crawling in the rafters dad put his foot through the floor, you guessed it, into my newly cleaned nursery.

*really huge sigh*

I really didn't even bat an eye. Two kids ago I would have freaked. Another wonderful blessing of being the mother of four, I guess. Some things just don't bother me as much as they used to...

24 hours and counting

This morning at the breakfast table my daughter asked me if I was going to breastfeed. I tried not to choke on my cold cereal as I answered her. Her face twisted into a grimace when she heard my reply. "Well, I am not breastfeeding my babies!" she said with her typical 6 going on mommy tone.

We all can't stop thinking about it. I suppose it doesn't help that I am as big as an elephant, sort of hard to hide it, you know?

People who see me out and about say things like;

• You're STILL here?
• No baby, yet, huh?
• Are you ready?

I try to smile and answer but inside I am screaming. LET'S GET OVER WITH IT ALREADY!

I spent all day Saturday packing up toddler toys and cleaning out the 'toy room' for the babies. We put the crib up in there a while back and #3 is napping in there. Now, with the toys gone, it looks like a nursery. The bassinet is out again and the bedding is washed. The infant car seat has been cleaned, again, and is ready to safely harness another little miracle for us.

Dejavu aside...this time IS different. It feels different. I can't really explain it. Maybe I am finally feeling like enough is enough instead of questioning if we are done building our family. I have never been really good at anything except maybe singing a solo in church. Making babies is something I can do. My body is able to handle these aches and pains for the miracle of life inside me. I complain about it, but I cam DO it. I feel extremely blessed. It makes it hard for me to turn it off when I know there are people out there who want so badly to have a child and for reasons only God could give us, can't.

Still, I am nervous. It is not an easy thing, labor. Fresh in my mind is the pain and the sweat and the first few moments of that baby's life when he/she takes a breath and cries. It is amazing, but emotionally draining. This will be the first time that the ob who has been with me for the birth of all my children will not at least check in on me. It will be someone new, who knows me only by the interesting name on my chart...who doesn't know about my history of bringing big babies into this world and my fear of epidural needles and my need to have my husband holding my hand the whole time and my desire to hold that baby immediately, no matter what.

We check in tomorrow morning around 9 am. I am certain the medicine for the induction will not begin until closer to noon. Twelve or so hours later we should have a bouncing baby. It is so close we can taste it. Get ready for a ride #4, we can't wait to meet you...

UPDATE 12:15 pm: Don't think we're taking it easy today. Dad is in the rafters putting insulation in. I have round steak strogonoff in the crockpot and breadsticks rising. I already cleaned out the freezer and am toasting the leftover bread to make crumbs and have apples thawing to make DeAnn's apple dessert! We had an easy bake tea party already this morning and a friend kindly took the kids for a bit so dad and I could get some 'work' done.

meccaleccahimeccahineyho

I think the baby speaks Pee Wee style. You be the judge...



*****playing this video back was complete torture for her, she kept looking all over the room trying to find the baby who was talking her language...heads up, she is as winded as her mother :)

Exposed

I love my husband...(you know where this is going, right?)

but,

he finished his 'nesting' painting project at 3 pm yesterday when we planned to leave for the boy's birthday party at 3:20. It was stressful, but the party was a success. The little guy was happy. It was plain to see.


As we unpacked the car last night, ds found a gift bag from one of the J boys and it had a button you could push to play music. We all busted a move in the kitchen until I remembered that the curtains,which usually hide our goings on, were still not put up. We partied like rock stars anyway;)

I didn't realize how much I enjoy my privacy. It's sort of scary being completely exposed to the world. We don't live in a big city or anything but the traffic here is pretty constant and the thing is EVERYBODY knows who we are. I don't mind showing my belly to the world or even announcing that I peed my pants, but when our everyday life is visible...it tends to stress me out.

In the event that our personal 'normalness' may not be all that normal is cracked up to be I would like to take this time to apologize to everyone who has driven by or will be driving by in the future to observe the following scenarios:

• my almost one year old chewing on the remote, telephone, cordless drill, phone charger, screwdriver or any other inappropriate item, these are just a few of her personal favorites
  
• my bend over technique to grab the inappropriate item or lift up the said child - spread 'em and hold the belly while attempting the grab
• any inappropriate scratching or picking
• the pile of Hershey kisses wrappers on the end table
• the pile of dishes in the sink
• the family standing instead of the more 'normal' practice of sitting around the dining table eating breakfast, lunch or dinner
  
• my get out of the chair technique, I promise you it's not pretty
• any or all of us dancing like a rock star
• the diaper change - this is about the time when I wish I had born an octopus

If you do happen to view any of the above instead of calling 911 just give a friendly honk and I'll wave you by...I am hoping the real life window viewing will end shortly when dad puts the hardware up for the curtains...preferable before the nursing season begins:)
A girl can hope, can't she?

The boy turns 5 today

Turning one...
Turning two and finding my sisters lipstick
I am three, finally...
Number 4

Happy Birthday!

3 things you may not know about me and other random Tuesday thoughts

This sort of post has been traveling around my little group of blog girlfriends and I have been thinking about what my big mouth has not already told everyone. I feel like I know you all so well already, these are the things that perhaps I have not shared with everyone as of yet:)

1)My name is Rani and I am a germophobe.

There may be a better word for this but after the weekend I had my brain is mush and I can't think of it right now, I'll get to the weekend later, but - I cannot stand germs. I make my kids wash their hand a lot. I use bleach on my kitchen table and counter tops. If I am making something with eggs and I drop a speck - I fanatically clean it up before I can move on. I NEVER TASTE TEST. I am so freaked about sharing germs, I just don't do it. I will not let my kids lick the bowl or the spoons unless I am positive that there are no raw ingredients, which pretty much leaves frosting and melted chocolate chips... I sanitize everything. I use a baby wipe or hand sanitizer when I am in a hurry or on the go. This is something that I am sort of ashamed of. I wish I could relax just a bit. When people are around I try to hide it as much as I can. My family just puts up with me. Want more milk? Get it from the fridge because there is a slim chance I leave it on the table during the meal, it may get warm and kill us all.

2)I count steps all the time, does that make me OC?

This is something I have done for as long as I can remember. There are 16 steps in the house I grew up in. I counted them every time I used them. There were 6 steps in the front porch and it was about 78 steps give or take to the bus. It's mostly when I am walking and I have no idea why I do it. It sort of freaks me out. I know that recently, when I was subbing, it was about 93 steps from the front office to the high school computer lab. The parking lot was a different number every day, because I never had a consistent parking spot.

3)I cannot bring myself to watch live T.V. anymore.

I think the same person who started this sort of post also recently blogged about the dvr. I can't remember the last time I watched live television. This is something that is very new. My mom hated the tv and we never watched anything except perhaps a pbs show every once in a great while. Even when we were first married I thought it was nuts that my husband wanted a tv in every room. He is the complete opposite of my mom. Shortly before I was diagnosed with cancer we got the dvr. I LOVE IT. I turn the tv on in the morning and go about my chores like it isn't even there. When I get the chance, I rewind and watch the news in about 10 minutes. I dvr all my favorite shows. I am embarrassed to tell you how many there are. When the kids go off to bed and the kitchen is cleaned I sit down and watch some, in half the time :). I sometimes do a marathon on Saturday or Sunday to clean out the dvr. I put it on the Twins for dad and the Vikings games for him so he can fast forward through the boring parts and watch the fantastic plays over and over again. I am addicted. It is so sad. Please forgive me, momma.

That about does the get to know Rani session for today. Hope you all learned a little something.

This will bring me to the 'other random Tuesday thought' of my post...

Last night I finally slept. It has been a few nights. I go to bed these days right after the kiddos, usually no later than 9. By then my little piggies (toes) are almost purple from swelling and my hips feel like they need to be replaced. I get up often to pee and usually am up pretty early. I have been an early bird my whole life.

Friday night the baby was up a few times. I didn't really think too much about it because it coincided with my frequent bathroom trips. Then Saturday was even worse. She was whining and wanted to sit up and sleep. I skipped church on Sunday because she was feverish and Sunday night was the worst. I don't remember much of it because I was so exhausted I couldn't move. Dh rocked her at 5 am and noticed some goop in her ear. My heart split into a million pieces. It was an ear infection. DUH!

We took her to the dr. who said it had probably perforated during the night, OUCH! She's on some really expensive meds now and back to my beautiful baby girl. I am ashamed that I am so out of touch with the kids right now. My oldest had an ear infection just a few weeks ago. Dh figured we are using ten dollars of gasoline at least once a week to take kids to the doctor and then I go once a week, too! That made me feel so useful, since I am no longer subbing. I wonder if I could get a part time job where I sit on my bum and take care of my own sick children and get paid for it? I think it's called mommy.

The project man has returned. While I was at the doctor he went and bought some paint. Yep, you heard me...P A I N T. Wouldn't you do that if there was a baby coming in week? Of course you wouldn't, but we did. So, the house is completely torn apart. He is painting the living room and hallway and the ceilings. I can't even get supper made because I am too busy keeping the baby away from the paint mess...I am too tired for this.

All the romanticism about being pregnant; the first kick, the cute belly, the excuse to eat more calories is gone, gone, gone. It has been replaced by the painful punches of a large baby pounding on my pelvis with all his/her weight, a huge stretched piece of skin that will NEVER be the same and hunger that I cannot keep up with. Thank goodness for chocolate.

The plan for today includes making cupcakes for my son's 5th birthday, washing the curtains, and watching the !#@$ paint dry.

Here's to your Tuesday being much more pleasant!

It's all a part of the Big Plan...

Okay, I admit when the nurse called me this morning and told me that the induction date had been pushed back to the 14 of October I was completely caught off guard. I kept kicking myself for not waiting the 2 extra hours to see my doctor yesterday so I could have talked to her in person. I was angry at myself for believing her when she said that she would take me before she went on her two week vacation and not leave me to labor with a doctor I don't know from a mad scientist. I thought to myself how in the world am I going to make it another 11 days. Then I took a deep breath and prayed.

I asked God to help me relax and put this baby first and not care about aches or pains or how big of an episiotomy a 10 pound baby requires. I asked Him to give me the good health and the patience to bring this baby into the world in the safest way. I asked Him to be with my doctor and to help her make the wisest choice for my health care. I asked God to bless her vacation as I know she works hard and need some time off to relax and refresh. I thanked Him for the three blessing I have already and for the opportunity to bring a fourth one into our lives. I thanked God for the opportunity to have three birthdays in October, none of which fall on the same day, I hope:)

Then I felt much better:)

It really is better for that baby to cook a little longer anyway, right?

B is for big

Baby update number too many to count...

Ultrasound technician said the baby is measuring 8 pounds give or take (give or take what a pound, a kilo, a ton?)

I am 37 weeks tomorrow.

My doctor had an emergency c-section to attend to so I saw someone else today. Someone who was unable to schedule my induction for next week more than likely to fall exactly on my son's fifth birthday.

Waiting to hear from the doctor's office with the date of induction...

The baby's heartbeat was 161 today and the someone else that I saw, after she reminded me she had ten years experience at this sort of stuff, said it was probably a girl.

Conversation on the way to the doctor this morning went something like this.

Me "I can't wait to see the big baby on the ultrasound, what do you suppose it will look like?"

DH "It will look the same as #3 did. We had an ultrasound at 36 weeks with her, too."

Me "(GASP) We DID?"

DH "Um, yeah, you were measuring big and they wanted to see how big she was."

Me "Oh, I don't remember that. (evil snicker from DH)... I wonder what they will tell me today."

DH "Well, I suppose they are going to tell us it's a big baby and we will induce next week, just like last time. I am getting so good at this I should just be a baby doctor."

Me "Yes, honey, you are an expert. "(evil snicker from me this time)

Wordless Wednesday