Disneyworld May 2012

Knowing we would have 6 kids in the house once Noah was born, I convinced Matt to take me, the girls, and Noah to Disney world to recharge.  When we booked the trip I thought I was going back to work in June, so we made it for the last week in May.  And lucky for the trip Noah came a whole 2 weeks early.  So we drove to Orlando.  I think it took about 15 hours to get there between stops to feed him or change him, or get snacks for the girls.

We surprised the girls with this trip.  They did not know where we were going until we got there.  We didnt tell them until we were going under the "big Mickey sign".  But our hopes of a huge reaction was totally deflated.  They didnt believe we were there and thought we then had to drive another 8 hours to get there.  I guess next time if we surprise them it will be revealed when the castle is in sight.

Still it was a fabulous trip.  Noah was the easiest child.  I just wore him the whole time in a baby carrier and fed him whenever we ate.   We were a bit of a spectacle taking a 5 week old to Disney, but I think he was easier than he will be in the next 5 years of trips.


We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge which was really nice.  The girls got to watch giraffes and zebras out the window to the room.  We thought we would be taking it easy this trip, but that did not really happen.  Since Noah was fine going along for the ride, we visited every park, kept late hours, and had a blast.  We did all sleep in though!

Our view from our window


It did rain a lot.  It cooled things down which was great but many days I had a poncho over Noah in the baby carrier.  He didnt seem to mind much.  Many times it helped with the lines too.  And most nights the rain was gone.  Overall it worked out fine.

The highlight of this trip was a visit with the princesses.  We have done this numerous times.  We went through the fast pass and were the last ones in the group.  The standby line was almost an hour.  The girls went through each princess and when there was no one else in the room but us, Aurora asked to talk to Leah again.  Leah looped back around.  At which point Aurora, Ariel, and Cinderella were talking to the girls together.  Leah kept talking about the trip in October that we were going to take for their birthday and they would have a birthday party with them all.  The princesses took a good 15 minutes with Hannah and Leah, dancing with them and planning a party.  It was a wonderful moment and the girls were in heaven.  I have no idea why they took so much time with our girls but it made them feel very special.

Hannah told Ariel her hair was crazy.  Ariel told Hannah that her hair was also in need of a dinglehopper, and turned to the camera man and asked him to get one for herself asap.  I cracked up.


Practicing some ballet


Group Hug.  Leah is in there somewhere.


The girls personal Heaven.  Can you tell we went to the Polynesian resort for dinner?  Leah loved her lei.


This was a wonderful trip and a much needed time of rest for us. It was our first time as a family of five and I am so glad we did this trip.

Dance Recital May 2012

The moment the girls had been waiting for finally arrived!  And on rehearsal night I got very worried.  Hannah freaked about getting on stage.  She was the only one crying.  Luckily she was in between Leah and her foster sister and so she begrudgingly went out to practice.  Then she loved it.

When we got there for the actual recital they were all antsy to get on stage and perform, and they did a great job.


Hannah, Leah and Papa after the performance




one day we will all look at the same camera

with Mimi and Dandy

Hannah had to keep posing.  We was getting the hang of the modeling thing.

Visiting Oak Mountain State Park

I had to get out of the house.  The girls had to get out of the house.  They were so patient with Noah and it was time for an outing.  So to the petting zoo and the little beach we went.  And had a great time.  Hannah named every goat and sheep and whatever else she could find at the zoo.  And when we ventured to the beach area I was shocked at how much they loved this water (last time they would not get in).  Overall a great day!


this was "blackie"


They think they are cute


Yo





The girls found some friends, as usual

Coming home as a family of 5

Technically we were and still are a family of 8, since we still have our 3 foster children.  And all 5 of the other kids were extremely excited to have Noah home.  The three girls were assuming their roles as little mommies and all fought over who held Noah next.

This is one of my favorite pictures, because it is so indicative of how much they were RIGHT THERE under me at all times.


And of course we had to get some pictures of him in his Auburn attire



Adjusting back to life with a newborn (plus 5 kids) was challenging, but I still think it was so much easier than life with twin premies.  I was amazed in the hospital that no one cared how much he ate, since I had been used to that being a huge issue with the girls.  It was very relaxing.  Also being able to exclusively nurse so far has been wonderful and a lot less stressful for me.

I only had one postpartum breakdown at about a week in - which I think is expected with the constant state of business and decibel level our house stays in.

I did get to enjoy 2 weeks of the girls still being in Mothers Day Out 2 days a week.  So I had 4 glorious days before schools got out for the summer that I got to spend with just me and my little man.  I NEVER have only one child in the house, so this was actually a rare moment for me.

He was a little jaundiced when he left the hospital, but by the time he went for his check up 2 days later his levels were normal.  I was worried because he had not had a BM since he was 2 days old, and at a week we had to give him a little suppository.  We have these issues still with Hannah so I was a little worried, but it has all worked itself out.

Within the first 2 weeks he was sleeping 5-7 hour stretches at night.  I was amazed and also felt a bit guilty at letting him go so long, but his 2 week checkup looked great and he had been gaining weight well.  After that however he started fighting his swaddle and altogether hated being on his back.  (he still hates that at 3 months old).  Still, being able to nurse I actually really enjoyed the quiet moments in the middle of the night and got some good snuggle time with him.

Hannah and Leah proved to be great big sisters with no jealousy issues at all.  I think it is a real blessing to have had him with the girls at this age.  The gap is perfect for me.




I wish I could post some pictures of Noah with the other kids because I have some cute ones, but alas it is not allowed.  They all fell in love.

Noah's birth story - labor

So at 38 weeks exactly I was at the hospital ready to meet my Little Man, and ready to get my darn epidural. Because I had been so sick, they had to wait until I had some fluids in me so they just kept telling me to remember to breathe. I have to say, I commend anyone who goes drug free because that was awful. I did not have pain like that with my twins, and frankly it hasn't been long enough for me to forget it yet.

I think it was a good 2 hours (maybe 20?) before I got my epidural, and I was already at 7cm. That's when my sister got there. She wanted to be there during the birth this time. I did get the shakes again but also got zofran so I was feeling much better. My water broke on it's own and it is silly but I was really excited that it was another thing I got to experience without intervention. And then it made me question our IQ because we had not even thought to put towels in the brand spanking new car on the way to the hospital. Lucky us.

I figured I would progress faster now. The girls, matt's parents, and my parents all came to see me. Unfortunately I stalled out a bit at that point so everyone just waited around forever.
I got to a 9 and then didn't go any further. They started me on a pitocin drip to get me to the final stage. He was still positioned high, but my awesome doctor finally gave me the go ahead to start pushing for the nurses.

I pushed once and Noahs heart rate dropped to the 50s. The nurses got worried yet tried to act nonchalant. I'm a nurse. I'm not dumb. I knew what was going on, but didn't say anything.
Dr. Ross came in and took over. I pushed again and his rate dropped again. The cord was definitely wrapped around his neck. Dr. Ross stayed calm though and said he wasn't thinking of a section yet. I just wanted my baby out safely.

His heart rate did continue to drop but would immediately come back up. At 5:47pm he was finally born, weighing 8lbs 9oz and was 21 inches long. Big boy!

And unlike the Girls, I got to hold my baby immediately! It was nice not having a premie.

And daddy and the girls got to hold him when we finally got up to our room :)





Our first picture as a family of 5

Noah's birth story- getting to the hospital

Well, Noah is 12 weeks old and I am just getting to blogging about his birth. The good thing is that it takes a lot longer than 3 months to forget the details of something like this, so I feel like I can share this with some accuracy. I did, after all, blog about the girls' birth and would hate for Little Man to be left out.

At 37 weeks I went to work and was having a ton of contractions. That was not abnormal for me but it was enough that I wanted to be checked anyway. Even though I was done with the whole pregnancy thing, Noah wasn't - and my doctor said I was effaced but not dilated at all. Boo.

And honestly at that point I started thinking that if my body wasn't doing anything with that many contractions and I was able to carry the girls until they were each around 5 and a half pounds, Noah was going to stay in there until he was an 11 pound baby! But I was also so thankful that this pregnancy had not had any of the issues I had with the twins, like preterm labor, terbutaline pumps, bed rest, and preeclampsia. I decided I was going to be grateful for this wonderful gift and if he came at 67 weeks and was 15lbs I would be happy. :)

The following week I went to work like normal, and worked too hard like normal. I went to my discipleship group that Tuesday evening and was very uncomfortable, as most women 38 weeks pregnant are. I remember walking out to my car and having an painful crampy feeling and having to stop moving while i caught my breath. Not a contraction, just a pain. It went away and I didn't think much more of it.

About 10:30pm I talked to Matt, and expressed some concern. What if I can't tell the difference between a real contraction and these painful fake ones I've been having for weeks? My contractions with the girls never really bothered me.  I was able to get my epidural early on and was already in the hospital. ha.

We went to bed late and I got up around 12:30am sick. Very sick. Throwing up and all other kinds of sick that is just miserable for anyone, let alone a very pregnant someone. I finally emerged from the bathroom long enough to tell Matt that I was either dying of a stomach bug which is a cruel joke or I was in labor. I was having some contractions, but was it because of severe dehydration at this point? I tried taking a bath.

At 2:30 I called the doctor on call. I told him what was going on and he asked if I had been dilated at any of my checkups. Well, no i hadn't, so he said call back if I could no longer handle the pain or come in the office in the am. Somehow I went to sleep around 4, but still would scream out frequently according to my husband.

Of course that morning I had planned on taking our oldest foster child to school for a field trip before I went to work. He had to be there at 515. Matt got up and had to take him, then came back to take the other two foster kids to their school. Hannah and Leah were supposed to go to mothers day out later. Having a baby is tough to not plan out with 5 kids in the house!

Matt headed on to work after dropping off all school aged kids, and I was at home with Hannah and Leah, still not feeling well and obviously not going to work. My plan was to go to the doctor at 8am and get checked then possibly just take the girls to mothers day out at 9. By 715 I could not keep my eyes open during the contractions and knew I would not be able to drive. Matt came on home and I quickly got myself ready, and hurting like crazy every 5 minutes or so. Poor Hannah was so worried.

Matt was also brilliant enough to pack our things - and I had just packed my bag 2 days before.  Glad he thought to bring them with us!

On the way to the doctor, Hannah told me "I'm sorry mommy, we are going as fast as we can. We can't go any faster because there are cars in front of us". Good little mommy. I may have said that to her a few times when there is a potty emergency.

We all went to the doctors office, which at this point I could no longer walk through my contractions. However, I was still sick with the stomach stuff so I was very concerned that he was going to tell me I had an awful bug but wasn't progressing.

He checked me and jokingly said it was a bug! I nearly cried until i realized he was kidding. I was 3cm dilated and he wanted me to go to the hospital where they would immediately put in an epidural and break my water.

I was definitely knowing the difference between those fake and real contractions. We dropped off he girls at my inlaws and headed to the hospital.

Of course we went the wrong way in and I had to walk to the labor and delivery floor. I nearly got stuck in elevator because I had a contraction and couldn't walk forward off of it, but I made it to my room, where I continued to get sick and was just begging for the epidural. But, amidst all that I was so thankful that I was getting to experience labor unplanned and not brought on out of necessity but naturally. I may have forgotten that every 2-3 minutes or so, but it was what I wanted. And my epidural...

Matt snapped this picture of me right before i changed into my gown. Its pretty much my only belly picture. I wanted Noah to have proof that i did actually carry him. I just wasn't as cute with this pregnancy as i was with the girls :) I was faking that smile as I was so sick at that moment.



 and then the fun began...

Dogs are resourceful

And it is so annoying.  I fed the girls lunch outside one day.  And after they finished eating I went outside and this is what I found.  The girls thought it was hilarious.