Our Easter Weekend...

We have never done Easter Egg hunts for our kids but Grandma and Grandpa do! 

 Ready to get all the candy!

On your mark, get set...

 GO!!!!

 Looking everywhere

 And finding them EVERYWHERE!

 Just hard to have self-discipline! 

 Must try the candy now!

 His real first "taste" of Easter!

 And of course, baby's first Easter with her new Easter dress!

And now, 4 beauties in our household to dress up for the occasion!

(I did not even attempt to get the boys gathered for a picture BEFORE church!)

We had a beautiful Easter Sunday and hope you did as well!

Foto Friday

These pictures make me giggle and thought you might need a little laugh to get you through the weekend!

 

Yes, we do wear shirts in our house but this little guy prefers hats over clothes!

 

Just a cute little redneck from the midwest and proud of it! :)

More S-W-E-E-T-N-E-S-S!!

Yes, she is pretty much all we talk about lately and so she is pretty much all I blog about right now!  What else can I say! :)

Here is a little update:

This sweet little angel has put us in quite a tailspin the past 2 weeks!

Today, she is 2 weeks old and we have had feeding issues, jaundice counts so high that she had to be admitted to the hospital, and had a loss of almost an entire pound!

Becasue of her being born early, we are hoping things will turn around by her official due date of April 25th!  But until then, we will continue to do what we have been doing with hopefully no more hospital stays in the near future (or entire future as far as I'm concerned!)

 

I think she is on the road to a more "normal" newborn!  She has started to wake for feedings, sometimes anyway!  Eating close to 2 1/2 oz per feeding and she has tipped the scales at 6lbs 12 oz!  (She was down to 6lbs 7 oz, losing 15 oz after birth!)

I can tell you whether you have had one or 12, the worry is still intense and the incredible love that is so intense it hurts, is there also!

We are TOTALLY in love with this sweet little girl and are loving every moment of having another baby girl in our home!

Birth Story

I always love reading about other people's experience with birthing a baby.  Well, not necessarily all the details, but it is fun for me to find out how other women have made it through.  So I thought I would share mine.

I went to the doctor last Thursday for my routine weekly checkup.  I did not feel very well.  Crampy and contracting but nothing that was out of the ordinary.  I sat down to get my blood pressure taken and a nurse said, "You are not your normal perky self.  Are you okay?"  I just commented that I did not feel real well and was hoping I was not getting the flu.  My husband and I then went in the room and waited for the doctor to come in.  I had a pretty decent contraction and leaned forward and my husband said, "Uh, Heather, look under you.  That does not look right."  I looked and saw a big wet spot.  I either had a loss of bladder control or my water had broke.  (I won't even tell you what my "humorous" husband said.  It involves sweating)  My husband went and got the nurse and she called the doctor in right away.  Yes, my husband had to share with them his opinion of what was on the table!  I was mortified to say the least!  The nurse thought it was hysterical to say the least!  She checked and it was amniotic fluid.  I was then wheeled to labor and delivery and began the rest of the process.

I was at 4 cm by the time I got there and contracting every 3 minutes.  With my other children my labor's are pretty quick once I get to 5 centimeters.  So I was thinking I had about 3-4 hours left.  HAH!  I have also had epidurals in the past but was wanting to do everything on my own this time.  It was now around 1:30 pm and the doctor said we needed to finish breaking my water because it was just leaking slowly and the risk for infection would increase if we did not get the baby out in adequate time.  Contractions continued.  Strong but bearable.  Then...they stopped!  I have never had that happen!  The one thing I did not want was pitocin!  They waited for about an hour to see if they would start up again and they did not.  So the doctor slowly administered the pitocin and the contractions started in again.  I stated at 6 cm for over 6 hours!  The rest was pretty much common labor!  Until...the nurse checked me at 11:30 pm and I was still at 6cm.  I was exhausted and sure I could not do it anymore!  (Yeah, like who else is going to do it!)  I then had 3 REALLY bad contractions and thinking I had 2 more hours of that left, I was a mess emotionally!  The third contraction did not stop!  I then began to realize, it was no longer a contraction but the baby trying to make it's way into the world fast with no nurse or doctor in the room!  I sent my husband to get somebody QUICK!  I then realized I was now in the room myself and the baby was coming!  I began to yell for help, (not really my normal self)  The nurse came in and pulled the sheet back and said, "OH MY!  Don't push!"  Oh Okay, I will be sure to do that!  IMPOSSIBLE!  The doctor showed up as the baby was crowning and 2 pushes and she was born at 11:40pm!  I DID IT!  Our sweet baby girl was here and although 4 weeks early, she was screaming and moving vigorously. 

Now, the rest of the story of the past week coming soon!  Just to let you know, 36 weekers can have some problems that can put a family on edge. 

more baby pics

We are officially in LOVE!

She's here!

Our sweet baby girl has arrived!

4 weeks early!

She arrived March 31st at 11:41pm

Weighed in at 7lbs 6oz and 20inches long

She is healthy and LOVED!

just to let you know...

I have been following a blog written by a lady that had a baby due March 16th!  I check everyday to see if there is any news.  Well, so far nothing but she has at least posted so I know what is happening!  To you, my blog friends, I have not done the same!  So I thought I would let you know what has been going on.

My blood sugar levels have been GREAT!  I am only taking the slow acting insulin and my levels have stayed right where they should be.  I had an ultra-sound last Thursday, and the baby measured about 6lbs 4oz.  Smaller than most of mine at 36 weeks!  I had a baby at 36 weeks and he weighed over 8lbs!  So size, which is something they were worried about, seems to be in check also!  I have been contracting off and on for days and dilated to 1cm with the baby at -1 station.  That is good news!  I could go any day the doctor said and she would be fine with that.  If I do not go before the 18th of April, she wants to induce me.  Not sure if that is what I will do yet, but I am asking for God's hand in this so I will not have to make that decision.  REALLY praying that she will be born before that IF she is ready.  My anxiousness is gone and I feel at peace with all that has happened and I am thankful He has had his visible hand in this little one's life!  The only regret I have, is not resting in Him more from the very beginning.  However, that is when we realize our true need for Him.  Sometimes it takes pure desperateness before a total surrender comes.  Well, I was desperate!  The doctors gave me their opinions and I realized I was listening more to them then to the one who created me and this sweet baby!  I have had non-stress tests every week and they have been showing that she is doing great also.  So now, I wait!  Something I am terrible at!  And it makes it worse when you have other kids that are so excited and ready to see their baby sister! :)  I am ready NOW, but again, I need to remember, God knows when she should come so until then... I will endure the hip pain, achy back, hourly trips to the bathroom, sleepless hours, and my impatience.  It WILL all be worth it!  This much I know! 

Until she comes, I am signing off and rest assured, I will be back with all the details!  Maybe more than you care to know!  ;)

Numbers

I was cutting fingernails the other day and was tallying up some of the numbers of things in our home.  It kind of amazed me when I really sat down to think about it!


We have...

• Soon to be, 140 fingers in our home (goes great with my favorite saying to my children, "Many hands make light work!")
• Also soon to be 140 toes with 14 pairs of socks a day to go through (probably explains all the singles in my sock basket)
• 14 brains- you would think that would be useful, but sometimes it makes things REALLY difficult!
• 28 eyes to see EVERYTING with!
• 14 mouths- that makes things REALLY loud sometimes
• 14 tummies to feed AND that can get the stomach flu!
• 12 potty-trained people- well, most of time!
• 14 noses that need kleenex
• 28 ears to hear with- selective hearing at times!
• 2 benches, 12 chairs, 1 booster chair,1 high chair, and one 9 ft table in my dining room
• 1 couch that seats 6 adults but for now, while their buns are still little, our entire family if we need to
• 1 TV
• 9 slots for school notebooks and 9 pencil boxes
• 2 bathrooms (not enough but better than 1!)
• 1 6X9 ft backyard (I am not kidding!  Not big enough either but better than none!)
• 19 bunnies (WAY to many but better than 100!)
• 1 roll of toilet paper a day- and that's a double roll!
• 1 gallon of milk a day, 7 a week, 30 in a month!
• 3 dozen eggs for breakfast with 1 loaf of bread
• 5 loads of laundry a day to wash, fold, and put away (well, sometimes I have to put 15 loads away because I get a touch behind!)
• 3 drivers, 4 cars in our driveway
• a van that seats 15 people
• 6 carseats/booster seats to buckle
• 10 bikes in the garage
• 28 feet to go and share the gospel of Christ
• 28 hands to fold in prayer
• 14 spirits to spend eternity in heaven with each other!