On my noggin

I have thought of posting several times lately. I'll decide I have something worthy of sharing with everyone BUT... when I sit down at my computer, I am almost always nursing, and writing an entire post one handed is just not relaxing to me! (Besides... I'm so prone to typos with TWO hands, no one would be able to comprehend a post written with one hand!)





But here I am... 2 older girls napping and one wee baby fussing at her Daddy, while he attempts to study. I could go rescue him... but this father-daughter bonding time is important for them. ☺





Leila is one month old! I can't believe how fast life is flying by! I took her to be weighed today and she is exactly 10 lbs! That's pretty impressive weight gain from her 6.9 birth weight! The name Leila sounds similar to the Chinese word for hungry (or so I am told... can't say I know even one word of Chinese, despite the hundreds of fortunes from fortune cookies I have read...uh eaten... you know what I mean!) She is doing better at night and lets me get 5-6 consecutive hours of sleep. I took the advice of a friend and began putting her to sleep in her car seat to keep her snug and secure feeling. This has made a big difference in her restfulness, and my ability to get out of bed in the morning! I tend to think being inclined during the bulk of the night (I put her in the crib in the wee hours when she more easily goes to sleep so she will be accustomed to the crib) helps her tummy and tendency to spit up.





Though time is flying, I am glad to have reached this one month mark. Nursing during the first few weeks is somewhat difficult and I am glad to have those days of terrible soreness behind me.





Other than "baby brain"... you know; that remarkable phenomenon where I as the Mother of a newborn can not retain a single detail or remember anything other than when I last fed the baby... I have a few other things on my noggin:





- I'm hosting Thanksgiving at my house. My sisters in law are contributing to the meal so it really isn't much more work than a typical Sunday with our big family. I excited about it. =)





- I am ready to admit that I am addicted to sugar. And fast food. I know... it's terrible. I'm working on it. I have filled my fridge and pantry with healthy selections and have vowed to eat at home this week. I am awfully hungry ALL THE TIME. Which doesn't help my attempt to break my addictions. It so tempting to grab something fast, easy and rottenly bad for you. BUT... be proud of me, everyone... when my tummy started growling this afternoon, I resisted the package of cookies (the ones my husband MUST have in the house at all times... he requests few things; I will not deny the man his cookies!) and instead had a cup of tea (with only a teeny weeny bit of sugar) and a small bowl of whole grain granola cereal. Kashi is actually what it is. Tasty really. Not Lucky Charms but not cardboard either.





- Buying Maddie a pack of Go Fish cards was a bad idea. I pick them up and find them all over the place. They are being thrown away as I find them.





- I went to Rite Aid today and bought $119 worth of household items (diapers, toilet paper, tooth paste, shampoos, etc.) and paid $45 for it all. I have such fun coupon and sale shopping!





- Leila is balding and so am I. (Post partum hair loss...)





- I've come to the conclusion that in our Christian walk, we are really not very far from success or failure. Just one poor choice away from opposing God and (thankfully) just one prayer away from being right with Him. The two spectrums used to seem very far apart to me... but as I see more how depraved we as man really are, I seem to be capable of being in both positions at different times even in the same day. Our God must surely be more patient and loving and merciful than we could even conceive.





- My finger nails are in sorry sorry shape.





- My tea has grown cold.

- I have an amazing ability to smell newborn poopie from anywhere in the house. What's funny about this is that I have a dull sense of smell... normally Seth is the one to notice a scent... he is particular about cleaning products and candles for this reason. But it never fails that I can be in a different room and KNOW when Leila needs a change. And it's not that it's horrific smelling or anything... just distinct. So there: I am not without talents after all.


- This was the tree in our front yard a week or so ago:
Awesome right?


Love,

Happy to have my hands full..

{Maddie's hand on left; Eden's on the right}

Leila is three weeks old today. I already feel like her infancy is flying by!

And since I am pretty much feeling back to normal... normal plus 10 lbs, minus a few hundred strands of hair, and a few residual aches and pains... I have been taking my three little ladies out into public a bit. Nothing exciting... grocery store, WalMart, story time, etc. I smile at myself, remembering back when Eden was born and how I really felt that taking TWO WHOLE CHILDREN out by MYSELF seemed like an awful lot of work. Maybe my muscles are bigger, maybe it's the fact that Maddie is older and a genuine help (open door, carry diaper bag, walk next to me, etc.) but so far going out with all three is quite doable. Takes time... there is no rushing anywhere.

{Modeling a cute new outfit}

One thing that has amused me as I venture out into the world is how many remarks I am already receiving from strangers. The line is almost always the same:

"Boy, you sure have your hands full!"

To which my automatic reply is:

"Better full than empty!"

It's amusing to me because I don't really feel like I have a big family. I would expect the "hands full" comments if I was toting around 6,7,8,... 10 kids. But 3? Really?

Not than I'm saying 3 isn't a full time job. 'Cause it is. My washing machine has put in a long hard work day, and so have I. Today, before noon, I had cleaned poop off walls (Leila has a unique talent: projectile pooping), urine off of floors and rugs (all that I said the other day about how well Eden is doing potty training- I take it all back ☺not really but today wasn't her finest...), and vomit off of bedding (I guess since Eden had an upset tummy, the potty accidents are understandable, right?) And all of that was done while functioning off of 2.5 hours of sleep... literally. (Please- no nominations for martyr hood... my fantastic father in law took Maddie for the entire afternoon while the younger two and I napped for a couple of blissful hours.)

{Smiley Tushie... he he he}

I suppose it's the decreased average family size in America; and although I have no research to back it up, it seems that our region in particular has smaller families. I don't mind the comments... just wasn't expecting them at this point. It makes me wonder what kind of reactions people with what I consider large families receive in public.



I sincerely am glad to have my hands full... even if those hands have touched some nasty substances on this day! Somewhere, there is a woman who would give anything to have newborn poop to clean up, or a sick toddler to cuddle or a chatty preschooler to listen to. Thank you, Lord, for my pretty little blessings.

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Ps.127:3

Love,

And then there were three...

I've been MIA. I know. But you understand.

Life with three little girlies is going well. Madison and Eden adore Leila and shower her with kisses and beg to hold her all day. Usually they are happy to hold her for a just a minute or two. Of-course, Maddie keeps insisting she is old enough to hold her baby sister without assistance but Mommy disagrees. ☺

Leila is a hungry little thing and growing like a weed. A pretty weed though. ☺

She has a cranky period every evening from oh right about now (8pm... Daddy is on duty at the moment) until um... 11pm or midnight... or 1am. We have had a handful of really good nights... meaning she slept soundly from 11pm until 3am and then slept until 8am. But we've had as many, if not more, not so restful nights. I'm working on scheduling her, and she is in a natural 3 hour feeding pattern right now. My challenge is motivating her to get a good full belly before conking out. If I don't encourage otherwise, she would be "snacking" all hours of the day instead of really filling up and being content for a few hours. For the most part, she is a happy fun baby with lots of personality already. ☺

It is my intention to end every paragraph of this post with a smiley face, whether it is warranted or not. ☺

In the midst of our newborn occupied life these days, I decided Eden was more than ready to be potty trained. She was going through about 20 diapers a day since she can NOT tolerate being the least bit wet. At 2 yr.s and 5 mo.s, she was VERY ready and was MUCH easier to train than Madison was. And boy, am I grateful!!! My approach was different this time around... for starters we offered no incentives. Simple praise and cheering was enough to please her, and I really think the M&Ms were more of a stumbling block for Maddie than a help. Maybe it's because she is such a sweets lover (I know who she gets it from...) and she became totally fixated on the candy rather than focused on the potty. And if one day she decided than she just wasn't in the mood for M&Ms, she would just not go on the potty. Grrrrr.... Anyway, with Eden there were no charts, no pull ups, no demonstrations with baby dolls. We just put undies on her and said "We really need to keep these dry!" and she agreed. When she did have accidents (usually she's go a bit and stop herself) she was completely devastated. She is a wee bit dramatic, my little Maureen O'Hara impersonator. I can only hope Leila will be as easy in a couple years...

Oh, excuse me! I forgot: ☺

Maddie and I also celebrated birthdays since Leila's arrival. Maddie turned 4 yr.s old on Sunday, the 17th. The oddest thing happened on her birthday: After Sunday dinner, we were about to serve her birthday cake and let her open presents from her Grandpa, Nana and a couple aunts and uncles when suddenly, the poor birthday girl had a mental breakdown! She became so shy and withdrawn (detesting every pair of eyes that looked upon her) that she burrowed into her Daddy's shoulder for the entire "Happy Birthday" song. She didn't even emerge long enough to blow out her candles! And then... you're not gonna believe this... she did not even want to open presents. I mean I've heard of shy kids but I've never heard of a four year old who did not want to open her presents!!! I was at a loss of what to do. I was embarrassed that she was being so ungrateful so I considered sending the gifts back with the givers. Finally, after I opened one for her and revealed a nifty sit-n-spin, she decided her curiosity was stronger than her timidness and she started to open them for herself. ☺

A few days later, I turned... shall I say it? TWENTY SEVEN. Wow. That's awfully close to 30, isn't it? ☺

So while I may not be posting with any great frequency these days, know that I am doing well. I'm often found nursing my little cutie or cleaning up messes made by my other cuties. And sometimes... only sometimes... I'm found sleeping. ☺

Love,

Expressive little Leila

Leila makes the most expressive faces!

Happy....

Sleepy...

Happy again...

Peaceful...

Sleepy some more...

I'm in love. ♥

Love,

Leila's Birth Announcement

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Love,

Leila's Birthday

A beautiful baby

Leila's birthday story actually begins on Saturday, the 9th when strong contractions started. I had been very busy all day, amid mild contractions, and by 9pm, was heading off to bed. After about the fourth time of waking up to good long contractions, I let Seth know I was starting labor and got up to shower and finish packing my bag. Seth said it was great timing... by the time she arrived, it would be 10-10-10 AND he had the 11th off from school for Columbus day. He then said he would nap until I was ready to go. ☺

A happy Daddy

But, to my great disappointment, all contractions ceased once I started getting ready. Bummed out, and confused (I thought contractions were supposed to get stronger with activity?!), I went back to bed. We went to church as usual, though I was having random mild contractions all day. After our customary Sunday family dinner, I went home for a nap and began to feel quite yucky. Not like I was going into labor... but yucky. I debated whether to even go to the evening service... and since I've probably missed 5 evening services in the last 10 years (for reasons other than a sick little one), you know that I was not feeling hot! I decided to go, and truthfully I did feel a little better once I was there.





After church, my father in law invited folks out to McDonald's for food and fellowship but I asked Seth to drop me off at home because I was just too tired, even for my favorite fancy restaurant. As soon as I was cozy in my jammies and firmly planted on the couch, contractions began again with consistency. After a half an hour of contractions averaging to be about 2-3 minutes apart, I called Seth. You never know what time these Baptist pastors are going to come stumbling home after a late light grease run....





I didn't realize it, but quite a few people were gathered around my husband when he received "The Call".... the much anticipated you-need-to-come-home-'cause-I'm-having-a-baby call.





After getting the girls settled at their grandpa's house for the night, we headed to the hospital with contractions, though not super strong, coming every 2 minutes without fail. After being admitted, the contractions actually slowed down and I began to fear that this was going to be a very long delivery... and I was right. Even when contractions picked up again, they just didn't seem to be strong enough. Maybe my memory had exaggerated the details, but I seemed to remember contractions hurting much much more in the previous deliveries.

A relieved Mama

I started to bring up my concern to the nurses.





"I'm not crying yet. I think I should be really in pain by now."





She laughed at me and said to count my blessings.





I waited a while, while studying the monitor to see if they were growing stronger or not. My impatience mounting, I asked again.





"Is there something we could do to speed things up? I'm still joking and smiling... I shouldn't be able to do that!"





By the time I warned her that my IV wasn't gong to work where she was doing it (which I was wrong about...) and had complained about 5 more times that I just wasn't hurting enough to be making much progress, the nurse and my husband had a conversation about what a control freak I am while I was using the restroom.





"I can hear you, you know!!!" I laughed as I re-emerged.





Finally, I began to really feel the contractions working their magic and asked for an epidural. he he he Not happy without pain, not happy with it! ☺BUT to my GREAT disappointment, the epidural man didn't do a very good job. After THREE tries... yes THREE attempts with a big ugly needle stabbing my back... it only numbed my left side. Oh well....





Hours and hours and hours passed... 12 to be exact... before she was born. I actually stalled very late in the process and was given some pitocin, and another attempt at the epidural. Once it was time to push, however, life was a breeze.

A proud big sister

With my eyes still closed, ready to bear down again, I heard Seth say, "Open your eyes!"... and there Leila was, being held up to me. As soon as I saw her, I knew she was not the 8 pounder that the ultrasounds had led us to believe. At 6.9 lbs. and 21" long, her lanky skinniness replicated my older girls completely. She has great color in her skin, auburn hair and dark (at this time) blue eyes. She's delicious!

An ecstatic Nana

Just as her delivery was totally different than my previous babies, so is her personality so far. She has a fairly big cry for such a little girl, and she is not shy at all about using that cry to let me know when it's time to nurse! Both Maddie and Eden had to be coaxed to eat during their first week but Leila is a hungry girl! I had terrible difficulties with latching while nursing my other newborns but Leila seemed to be a pro right from her first few minutes of life. I am soooo glad. I had been praying for a smoother nursing experience and the Lord definitely answered that prayer.

Another difference is her tendency to spit up. I am not sure if this is due to her being in the birth canal for only about 30 seconds and is working out some mucus, or if she'll keep this habit. I hope for the former!

An emotional grandpa

Leila and I came home Tuesday afternoon and I think we're off to a good start. I am bless with a wonderful extended family who have been so helpful in watching after Maddie and Eden. Madison, for one, is really enjoying getting to spend time with her grandparents, aunts and cousins. And both of the older girls are completely smitten with Leila. Eden prefers to use her full name "Leila Christine" and is constantly keeping track of her. "Where the new baby?" she'll ask when she doesn't see her. Maddie enjoys holding her and keeps commenting on how cute she is. ♥ Don't they know that they were just this tiny and captivating just a little while ago?

A blessed family

So there you have it. Another precious member of our family. It already seems like she was always one of us... like we never were without little Leila.

A gift from Heaven



Love,

Introducing...

Love,