Sleepy Boo

Boo is really growing up. Obviously I'm noticing that more with a baby around. One problem we have is her falling asleep at totally random times throughout the day. When this happens she doesn't want to go to bed at night. It's a vicious cycle. This too shall pass I suppose.

2nd Verse, Same as the 1st....

It would seem that either my ear infection never really went away or I have a new one all together. I am more inclined to believe it never went away being I never fully regained hearing. Obviously I need a stronger antibiotic or decongestent. This has been going on for 25 days, yes I'm counting, and I'm ready to move on. I tried to make an appointment with my GP today but couldn't get in until tomorrow. I took it, but not happily because the baby also has an appointment tomorrow. It will be a busy morning.

Luckily the little girls have cooperated well today and I've just been taking it easy. The insane wind kept me up a lot last night. It's been nice to rest a little this morning. The weather is gorgeous outside and it makes me sad we're not out enjoying it. Hopefully we have a nice spring and there are plenty more to come.

2 Weeks

I won't know for absolute sure until Thursday at his 2 week well child check, but I really think he's filled out a lot since birth. Of course he's still pretty tiny, but bigger none the less. He eats like a champ and he really hardly ever cries. In fact the only times we have ever really heard him cry were during bath time or when he was in the car seat. He hasn't ridden in the car very much at all but he doesn't seem to care much for it at all. I'm enjoying his early babyhood, but I won't be too terribly sad when he sleeps for longer than a couple of hours at a time at night.

I made the kids an appointment to have their Easter pictures taken on Friday. I'm a little nervous and will be glad when it's over. Afterwards we're going to take them to see the Easter Bunny. They've all said they will sit on his lap and I'm hoping to get a picture of all 5 of them with him. I just don't know how many opportunities like that I'll have so I want to take advantage of the ones I do.

Anticipation

It seems like there's just so much going on right now. I really think there's more going on in my head than in my life, but that's probably always true. Anyway, Chiggie goes back to school tomorrow and even though I'm not thrilled with the idea of getting up early again, I'm looking forward to establishing a more predictable schedule. On top of a returning routine we're busy planning our Easter Sunday. The kids (it feels weird not saying "the girls" anymore) are getting their pictures taken on Friday and it's our plan to have the baby dedicated on Sunday as well. We're hosting the dinner again this year after a break last year due to remodeling.

Today I set out some Easter decor, better late than never, and it's looking more festive. I'm struggling a little in the housekeeping department. There don't seem to be enough hours in the day yet I'm happier when things are organized. In time I suppose. I really am enjoying the down time I've had with the girls and cuddling with the baby and that's what matters anyway. Next month our town is giving out free "dump" vouchers and I hope the King can get a little time off to make a run with his truck. Our back yard has been taken over by clutter. I'm glad the stuff isn't in the house anymore, but it needs to be gone for good. It's that spring itch I guess, just wanting everything done at once.

1st Real Bath

So yesterday Buster's umbilical cord stump fell off. It's weird because all 5 kids had theirs fall off on the 11th day. Very strange. I was excited though, because I knew he would be able to take a real bath today. I wasn't sad to leave the sponge baths in the past. He didn't seem to like this bath any more than he likes the sponge baths. He loves to be bundled up and I think this just feels too "free" for him.This is his very sad, hurry up already look. This picture is actually from yesterday but these booties are too cute and he and I both love them.

Ginormica

Again with the 2 posts in one day. What can I say, it's feast or famine around here. Ginormica is my new nickname for Boo. Who would've ever thought tiny little Boo would look ginormous??? It has happened though. She's still my baby though. Well one of my babies....

Outing

Today we absolutely had to get out of the house. Spring Break is coming to a close and the weather still leaves a lot to be desired. So we settled on a trip to the bowling alley. It was surprisingly dead. Hardly anyone was there. The girls enjoyed themselves immensely and it was nice to just sit while they were entertained for 3 hours. Camie took over the camera and captured the following:

Okay, Okay

I know, 2 posts in one evening, but I had to add these, just for good measure. This was his very first time in the swing and he loved it. It gave me about an hour to get some things done around the house. I plan to use the swing for naps here in the beginning so that I can spend time with the girls and get house chores done.

Here he is all decked out for Mom's birthday dinner. I tried to tell him this outfit was a little big for him, but he insisted on wearing his finest. *Sigh* such a gentleman already....

29

I never would've thought my life would be where it is at 29. I can't believe I have 5 beautiful, healthy kids. I love being a stay at home mom and I'm so glad that the King and I share the same vision for our family.

I had a great day today. It started off at 9am. Yes, that's right 9am. My wonderful kids slept in allowing me to do the same. Sure I was up several times in the night with the newbie, but it still felt great. Especially after the previous night which was a blur of feedings and pumping. The King got off at 3:30 and we went to dinner with my Mom, Step-Dad and little sisters. It was a lot of fun and felt great to get out for just a little bit. It was a Happy Birthday indeed.

Long Day

Today was a very long day. I can't believe I'm actually still up and functioning to be honest. It started early and cold. We woke up to 8+" of snow. Not cool on spring break, very not cool. I had already decided that today would be the day that I would take Buster to get his 2nd PKU so I got everybody up and moving right away. The hospital lab only does the draw between 9-12 and he had to be weighed in labor and delivery first so we had to hurry. Of course everything that could go wrong did and we were extremely rushed. I ended up leaving the house with semi wet hair. It took an extra 10 minutes to get all of the snow off of the car just so that we could safely drive.

By this time it was 11:25 and too late to take the girls to my Mom's so they had to come along. Fortunately they were wonderful and helpful. We went upstairs and he was weighed. 6#'s 10 ozs. Up four ozs from his birth weight. At only 8 days old this was a huge relief. Unfortunately the jaundice he developed over the weekend was looking just a bit worrisome. The nurse suggested having him looked at by the pediatrician. Ugh. I knew she was going to want labs drawn and I really just wished we could do it all in one shot. Nope. We went back down to the lab and they did the PKU draw and we went home.

We were home long enough for him to have some visitors, who brought him some great treats by the way, and have a quick lunch before we were back out the door on our way to the docs office. Just as I suspected she wanted lab work done. There's a different lab right across the street from the office so we just walked over and they saw him right away. Poor guy was not happy and he was sure to make himself very heard.

The doc called this evening and she is fairly sure he has breast milk jaundice. The cure=24hrs without breast milk. I was disappointed, worried and anxious. It freaks me out to think he won't transition back and forth. The King calmed me down and bought me a new pump. I had no problem using it and that relaxed me some. I was even more relaxed when Buster had no problem with his first bottle. It's only a day and I just keep telling myself that. The sad thing is after such an exhausting day, now I have to pump every 2 hrs ALL NIGHT LONG plus make him bottles. Yikes. This newborn stuff is hard work, but it is so worth it!

One Week

I think he's already changed a little really. He's filling out. He eats every 2hrs pretty much around the clock. Last night he had his longest stretch ever and it was like 2 hrs 5 minutes :) He's a very content baby and only cries during bath time or when I'm not front and center at feeding time. The girls are loving snuggling with their new little brother. Tea was even upset today when she asked when I would be having another new baby and I told her he would be the last. He seems very content with them as well.

Last night we put him on the floor for some tummy time and he didn't fuss at all. In fact, eventually he just fell asleep. It seems like he's been here a lot longer than a week. We're looking forward to all the time that is to come.

Ouch!

One thing I did not anticipate with having a 5th child were the after pains. Holy Moly, there are times when I am certain I am going to give birth to his twin. I looked it up on the internet to see if there was anything I could do for relief and the recommendation was Lamaze breathing. What?? Cramps you have to breathe through just don't sound right. I'm taking Motrin and it takes the edge off. I can't really take anything stronger because I am breastfeeding. I'm hoping they're about done at this point, but today was by far the worst.


I'm also getting pretty tired. He is a great sleeper, but up about ever 1-2hrs all night long nursing. This is a good thing really, it's just hard to go on that little of sleep. I've never been a great napper and it almost always makes me feel more groggy. The bright side is I love taking care of him at night. It's so quiet and I can just soak him up. He's a little dream!

Sisters

It is so nice to have so many little helpers around. He sure gets to be held a lot!

Visitors

This weekend the baby has had his first out of town visitors. G'Pa and G'Ma came from Grand Junction to see the new little man and his sisters. We have enjoyed the visit and I'm so glad they got to come so soon!

3 Days Old

I can't believe he's actually here. More than any other time this all feels like a dream. The pregnancy went so fast and then really so did the end. We're enjoying the heck out of him though. Chiggie is officially on Spring Break for the next 10 days and we're all looking forward to just hanging out.

First Bath

I've decided to make the official merge over. My pregnancy blog was just that, a pregnancy blog. I hope to wrap it up very soon with a birth story. From here on out our new little guy will be featured over here with the rest of the family. Right where he belongs.



Speaking of the new little guy, this morning he got his first sponge-bath at home.

First I very carefully got my supplies ready

He was very suspicious right from the start.

His fears were confirmed when his hair got wet.Clearly he was traumatized.Isn't he gorgeous!

Neglected

With everything going on in my pregnancy right now, this blog seems neglected. It's certainly not for lack of things to say. The girls are doing great. Despite the viruses we've all been fighting things have been fairly calm around here. Chiggie has one more week of school and then Spring Break, which she is very excited for. Making plans would be much easier if a certain stubborn little boy would just come out already.

Every time we pull up to the house the girls count the bulbs that are up. We're up to well over 40 and counting. I love that this excites them. They know it means spring is coming and they're ready for some warmer weather and a quicker pace. It was funny to see Boo today. When I carried her out to the car to take Chiggie to school yesterday there was snow everywhere. The trees were literally covered. This morning it was gone. Not a trace at all. She looked really confused and just said, "what happened to all the snow." It was cute.

Tea registers for Kindergarten next month and she could not be more excited. She is only going half day which makes me happy as well. She already knows all of her letters, numbers to at least 20, and can read a lot of words. Her memory is amazing and I think she's going to be a really good speller. She memorizes the oddest words like, lollipop and weasel. Socially she is ready too. She makes friends easily and is a good listener. Hopefully very soon I'll be back down to just one blog!

Craziness

Check out my pregnancy blog for the latest!

Distracted

This post could easily be one for my pregnancy blog as well, but it's not entirely pregnancy related so here it will go. I posted over there last night that I have an ear infection. This remains to be true. The night went surprisingly well in the beginning and I was able to sleep with no real problems until about 2:30 when the pressure and pain was just too intense. I took more Tylenol and heated up a rice bag to put on it. Somehow I fell back asleep but woke up shortly after to a soaked pillow. The fluid was clear, but I'm assuming my ear drum must have ruptured?? The pressure was gone, but the pain still hung around.

I feel about the same today. No fever or anything. just achy. The pressure is still gone, but it feels really plugged if that makes sense. I have an appointment on Monday so hopefully we'll get this taken care of very soon. I feel like distracted has been a theme this pregnancy. I don't really have time to dwell on his impending arrival, I'm just too busy. For now that's a good thing, but when he comes I hope things slow down a bit.

Moody Midge

Eye drops, apparently, are the end of the world. I hear about them practically in my sleep. For the next 2 days our lives will continue to revolve around them. Midge has never had to take any kind of medication, other than otc pain relievers, so this is my first experience with her non-compliance. Someday she will thank me that she has her vision and her eyes are not permanently sealed shut with goop. Okay, probably not, but it's what keeps me going for now....

Better

The bad never got worse. I think we caught this second round of pink eye early because as of yesterday they both looked fine. Of course we're continuing with the dreaded drops, but at least the goop is gone. Midge hasn't had a fever at all since Monday, so the virus cleared itself up as well. They've been sleeping good too, so I think it's safe to say we're back to normal, whatever that is.

The weather has also been gorgeous two days in a row. We're talking short sleeve shirts. That's a big deal around here. Chiggie was so excited to see some of her fall clothes again. Pretty soon we'll be back to jacket weather. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but we also have a ton of bulbs coming up. It's so exciting to think of color coming back to my yard. Well, calling it a yard is a stretch, but color is always good.

Well Child Check?

I guess it's Murphy's Law or whatever you want to call it, but every time I have one of the kids scheduled for a well child check they get sick. Today it's Midge's turn. She has the darn pink eye, which Tea has again go figure. Nobody else got it the first go around so I thought by now we were in the clear. Other than that it's just a virus. This doesn't help much at night when she's crying and neither of us have gotten much sleep at all. She's been sick since Friday so this should be wrapping up fairly quickly. Giving them the eye drops is hideous. I rarely resort to bribery but I do have a bag of candy they get to pick a piece from if they get the drops with no struggling. So far, so good.

The weather here stinks. I am so ready for spring. I know it's still a few weeks away, but I can dream right? Hopefully the baby will come soon and then he'll be old enough to take out when the warm weather comes.