Time just flies! I keep meaning to do better and just can't seem to get my head above water. Oh well, it's just my season in life. I am considering a blog makeover to help me get motivated. I sure hate to waste money though.
Miss Lillie's 5 month update. I can't believe she is already 5 months! Time goes by so fast. She seems to be so big and then looks so petite sometimes too. I'll have to get on the scale tomorrow and see what she weighs. She has the cutest little bottom and chubby thighs! I could just eat her up. It has been so long since Madalynn was a baby and Jack never had a chubby stage. I am loving it. She is wearing a size 3 diaper though she could wear a 2. I just really like not having blowouts! Speaking of that, we have started solids. We started brown rice cereal February  and she tried applesauce for the first time on Monday, February 20. She seems to like the applesauce a little better. That or she is just getting a little better at getting the food in her mouth and not pushing it out. I am in no hurry. She is my last baby. I will miss nursing and the boobs that go along with it! Ha! She doesn't nurse as much. Not sure if she is just eating less or if she drinks quicker and gets more, more quickly. I read an article that says they used to think as a baby got older, that the mother would produce more milk and have since found out that isn't the case. They don't go on to say why or what does happen though. I need to look that up.

3 Month Update

Miss Lillie is growing like a weed! I have no idea how much she weighs or how long she is I just know she is getting longer and heavier. She is wearing 3-6 month clothes. She is also losing her hair except for the long twig in the front on top. She was born with that. She is definitely going to have her Daddy's hair.
Today we took the big kids to the dentist and she was so good! This is a rarity! Our appointment was at 10:00am (prime nap time) so I expected a meltdown. she just happily sat in her car seat and didn't even fuss once! In all honesty though, we were only there a grand total of about 30 minutes. I love the kids dentists these days. Instead of having to wait on one to finish in order for the next to go back, they have two dental assistants and do the kids simultaneously! Love it!
We then went to Wal-mart to get another Wii remote and she went to sleep in the cart just as pretty as you please! Slept throughout the Wal-mart visit, the car ride to Starbucks and then home and sat for another 30 minutes or so while we ate lunch! I love that girl so when she is low maintenance!
Anyway back to what i am loving at 3 months...I love how you want to hold onto my shirt while you nurse. I think it is funny how you get so impatient (furious) when you are hungry and will open your mouth and kind of wait on me while I am gaining access to the milk supply. :) I love the little dimples on the backs of your hands. I love your big eyes and how you will sometimes try to "talk" to us. You are able to turn yourself in a circle and can arch your back and "travel" too.
You laughed for the first time on Tuesday, December 13 and Daddy even heard it for the first time too. This was also the morning your poop changed over to more conventional baby poop and not breastfed baby poop. ie no more mustard colored seedy dirty diapers. You started sleeping through the night on November 17th. This was the first night Daddy was gone to San Antonio to AAEP. We had a 30 minute cry it out session that night, a 20 minute one the next night and by the third night I just laid you down, you went to sleep, and I saw you next at 6 am the next day! Love it! You still have to cry it out many nights unless i nurse you till you fall asleep. Not 100% ideal since they say if you have to nurse to fall asleep, if you wake up during the night, you will need to nurse to fall back to sleep. So far it hasn't been a problem but i wish I could put you in bed sleepy and you wouldn't scream!

Halloween 2011

Well, Halloween 2011 didn't go exactly as I had hoped since I had not one, not two, but three sick kids on Halloween! Madalynn and Jack missed school with the remains of a stomach bug and colds/bronchitis. Poor Lillie Claire didn't escape the sickness either. She started being sick at about 3 or 4 that afternoon.
Madalynn and Jack recovered enough for Jeremy to take them trick-or-treating that evening though.

We always go to the Moreheads neighborhood since we live out by ourselves and would have to spend the two allotted hours of trick-or-treating just driving around. We did usually stop by Calumet to see Bill and Linda but, of course, we didn't do that this year. Sweet Mr. Bill bought the kids each a sack full of candy anyway.
Jack was a race car driver and Madalynn was a queen.

I didn't worry with a costume for Lillie. She had a very cute outfit to wear, but since she was sick no one got to see it.

Jeremy and the kids took a quick trip around the block and came on back home since Madalynn wasn't feeling well again.
She has come to the door during the night and before bed pretty much every night this week and said she thought she was going to puke. I don't understand it. I don't think she is sick, but has some super amped up gag reflex. That and the ability or inability as it were, to not stop thinking about throwing up. Jack on the other hand, barely talks about it even when he is sick as a dog.
As I said, poor Miss Lillie was sick too.She rarely spits up to amount to anything, but Monday night was different. I had called the pediatrician earlier in the afternoon because I had the feeling she was getting sick. They recommended giving her 2 oz of pedialyte every other feeding. She took 2 oz. at about 5:30pm, and went to sleep. I fed her again about 8 and later she spit all that up. I fed her some pedialyte after that but she promptly spit that up too. So before I knew it, it was midnight and she hadn't kept anything down since 5:30. So I called the UK Pediatric Triage and asked what I needed to do. The nurse that answered was super nice. So after speaking to her, I ended up staying up till 2 am because they recommended alternating between feeding her just a half an ounce of pedialyte, then nursing for just a few minutes every 15 minutes for the next two hours. I did and she was able to keep the food down so I was glad to do it. It is very scary having a tiny baby sick like that. Neither of the other kids was ever that sick that little.
Lillie Claire also turned 6 weeks old on Monday! I can't believe how big she is getting!!!

Let's hope next year we actually get to carry her trick-or-treating!

Well, I keep thinking I will get into a groove and have a routine...well not yet. I now have a 7 year old, a newly 5 year old and a 6 week old today.
Lillie Claire is getting a little more used to life on the outside every day. She doesn't have to be held 24/7 anymore. Her upset stomach has resolved itself for the most part. Nursing has gone great. She usually only gets up once a night now. She will fall asleep in the car seat, the swing, sometimes the playpen or the changing table. My only real complaint is that she doesn't want to go to sleep at night like at the normal going to sleep time. I am pretty sure I let her get too tired, but it is hard to put her to bed early when you have older kids running around and when the girls share a room. So I end up nursing her and trying to put her to bed, she goes to sleep for a few minutes, then is back up and we do it all over again. Last night I attempted to let her "cry it out" for a while. She was fed, dry, warm so I let her cry it out in the crib for a while. Well, as soon as we turned off the TV, that wasn't going to work since the girls room is right next door to ours. So I took her to the swing downstairs, I didn't turn it on though. I have a trip to Tennessee in less than two weeks so I am trying to avoid needing a swing, since I won't have one while I am there. She cried for a little while, fell asleep for about 30 minutes, then woke back up around midnight and I went down and fed her again. I put her in the crib and she slept until about 5 am.
In the meantime, I had another kid wake up puking. Joy! I have slept on the couch at least 3 nights in the last 4. I was majorly sick about 2 am Saturday morning. Then Jack was sick Saturday and then Madalynn had it about 2 am this morning. I am holding out hope that Lillie and Jeremy don't get it. I think the big kids are well enough now to go trick-or-treating although the thought did cross my mind to just offer to buy them a bag of candy and call it good. I am sure they would not go for that.

Day One

I had originally been scheduled for an induction on September 13th, but since I wasn't overdue- the insurance called the doctor's office back and said they would not cover it. So I was scheduled for an induction the day after my due date. My doctor and I discussed it at my last doctor's appointment on September 14th.
Last Monday, September 19, I had been told by my OBGYN that I would  be induced at 6am. She told me to  be sure and call Labor and Delivery before we left the house to make sure they hadn't gotten behind during the night before. So I did. I told them my name and asked if it was still good to come on in. They said yes. So I get ready and pack up the last minute stuff, and get Jeremy up. We finish getting ready and take everything downstairs. I ate my piece of toast, which is all I could have. We ran to McDonald's and got Jeremy some breakfast. We then headed off to the hospital.
We get there (about 15 mintues late) and parked the car. We go up to Labor and Delivery on the 2nd floor and go to check in. Well, the lady at the desk says she doesn't have my paperwork. Not a good sign. So she calls L & D and tells us a charge nurse will come down and talk to us. All I could think was this is not going well. So a lady comes down and talks to us and says they don't have us on the schedule for the 19th. We weren't scheduled until the 26th!!! I wanted to cry. We reemphasized that I had been told by Dr. Fuson to be there at 6am on the 19th. So they call her and she says she will drive on in to her office and get the paperwork and we can wait in the waiting room! So there we are sitting in the waiting room with all our stuff: suitcase, pillow, purse, camera case, laptop case, everything. Luckilly, there was only one other family in there. So we sit until almost 8 am.
Finally someone comes out and Dr. Fuson has found where they had it handwritten that I was scheduled for the 19th, but both the hospital and the office had it down for the 26th. We finally get to go to a room and I get changed and answer all the questions for the paperwork. They do the IV, and we get the pitocin going. Around 10 am, the nurse checks me and I am a 4. I had been a 3 for weeks, so I was hoping for faster progress.
Nothing much happens until about lunchtime. I can feel the contractions slightly, but nothing major.  When Dr. Fuson came back around 12:30 I was still only dilated to a 4. She broke my water and man did things get going then! My nurse asked me if I wanted to go  ahead and get the ball rolling for an epidural. I said yes, I guess, because who wants to take a chance on the anaesthesiologist getting tied up and getting in major pain before you can get the drugs? Not me. So I say yes, let's go ahead. They had to run a bag and a half of fluids, well by the time that happened I was already in pain. The anaesthesiologist gets there and everyone assures me he gives really good ones that last a long time. Sounds like a plan to me. By the time he gets done I am having major contractions. It seems to take forever for it to kick in. My legs slowly get numb but by the time it fully takes effect, I am about 20 minutes away from giving birth. I don't know how much more painful it would have been, but let's just say I experienced the most pain I have ever been in in my life! To make things better, there was a lady giving birth naturally down the hall and was screaming bloody murder. I was trying to breath deep or whatever you are supposed to do. Like I know! I never planned on needing to know anything about Lamaze. I now know you can't take a deep breath when having a contraction.
So finally the nurse says she wants to check me again. She does and says I am complete. So they get the bed ready and she asks me to push once. I do and she immediately says I'll call Dr. Fuson. Dr. Fuson comes in and I push once and start to push and she tells me to stop and I look down and can see Miss Lillie Claire making her appearance. So after major pain, an epidural that almost didn't take in time, and exactly 2 1/2 pushes my little girl was born!

Lillie was born at 2:43 pm, she weighed 7 lbs 9 oz and was 20 inches long.

Our smallest baby!

Needless to say, since the anisteiologist had bumped up my epidural I was good and numb for a long time. I think that is why we got to stay in the LDR room so long. We didnt' move to a regular room until almost 5 pm. I got there and got situated. They now leave the baby in the room almost all the time. She even got a bath in my room. I got to eat supper. It was so good! That's how you know you are hungry. Later that night the kids and Lonnie and Peggy came up to see the new baby.

This is it...

Tonight is the last night as a family of 4. It makes me teary eyed just thinking about it. Tomorrow we will meet our newest daughter. I am supposed to be induced at 6 am tomorrow morning.
I am excited and nervous too. Every mom knows you can have a healthy pregnancy and that really only takes care of part of it. You want to have a healthy delivery and a healthy baby too. One never knows what the future will bring. I look forward to meeting her and seeing how our older kids take to this new family member.
Jack seems very excited. He got out one of Lillie's burp cloths the other day and wanted me to show him how to do it. Then again tonight he got it out and was walking around showing Lonnie, Peggy, and Jeremy how to place the burp cloth on your shoulder.
Madalynn on the other hand, is telling everyone that after this baby she is "retiring". i.e. I don't want any more siblings. I am not sure why she isn't crazy about this. She seemed excited when I first told her. She wanted a sister and that what we ended up having. She has said that she doesn't want the baby to have blond hair, because she would be jealous since Madalynn thinks blond hair is the prettiest. I hope she improves. I tried to assure her tonight that she would always be our first daughter and she would always be special. No one can ever take her place. I hope she does OK.
Of course this is sale month in Lexington. So my husband isn't crazy about having to miss work for this. I wish the timing was better. I haven't even asked if he is just going to miss work, I am afraid of what the answer might be. Another reason I really hope I don't need a c-section! When Jack was born, a good friend of Jeremy's dad came up to be here when Jack was born. Well, he ended up having an appendicitis and having to have emergency surgery that led to complications. So Jeremy spent a good deal of time checking on him. I  almost feel like I was in the hospital by myself. It wasn't Jeremy's fault, he was tring to be a good guy. I am not one who likes to be alone in a strange place like that. I hope this time is different.
Jeremy's grandparents are here to stay with the kids. That is a good thing about being induced and knowing when you are going to have a baby... you can plan better. I have written notes and left reminders everywhere. I hope everyone goes to school the days they are supposed to and Madalynn  gets to school with lunch and snack and homework.
Jeremy's mother and grandmother will be here on Wednesday and I hope Lonnie and Peggy are leaving on Thursday. I had a really bad experience with Lonnie, Peggy, and Martha visiting when Madalynn was born. Their 'help" was me cooking supper for extra people. Being confined in my bedroom. Having people barging in my bedroom and bathroom when I was nursing. They cooked breakfast for themselves and if there wasn't anything left when I got up, oh well. They finally did laundry and some vacuuming the last day of their visit. So pardon me if "help" feels more like more work.
I hope everything goes well tomorrow.

Gripes, gripes, and complaints

Well, as my third and final pregnancy draws to a close. ( Induction 6am Monday! If they aren't busy.) I'd like to reiterate all the aches and pains that this gestational episode has brought me.
First we will start with the "normal" complaints.
Heartburn
Sleeplessness (at least at night)
Achy back
Swollen feet and hands
General Discomfort
I can handle all of these. I have had them all before. Now for the list of the ailments that made their debut this third time around.
* Hips that feel like they are going to come out of their sockets. As in during my third month, I could barely go from standing to sitting, sitting to standing, and getting in and out of the car was torture. I have days where they still bother me, but at least I'm not hobbling around like a 90 year old with a broken hip.
*General digestive illness- as in I still have days or parts of days where nothing agrees with my stomach. Not cereal, not applesauce, not anything. Weird. I also spend a lot of time in the restroom. I might feel nauseous after I eat or it might  be that everything is so unappealing that I don't want to eat anything, even though I may be lightheaded from hunger.  Thus why I have only gained 23 lbs. to this point. I gained 35 with Madalynn and 40 with Jack.
* Feeling like I am going to fall/pass out. I don't know what the deal is. I can be fine, as in not feeling hungry one minute, and feel like all the blood has drained from my body the next. Not sure why. I had to take the lovely 3 hour gestational diabetes test and it came out normal, so not sure what the problem is.
* Being so miserable physically. I have never gained so little weight during pregnancy. Now take that with a grain of salt, because let's face it, I weighed more than I should have when I began this odyssey. I have also never felt like I was so unable to move around like wanted or needed to. I feel like I literally have a basketball, a large basketball, sewn to my middle that prevents me from sitting up, bending over, crossing my legs normally, getting any kind of comfortable, etc.
*Never have I waited so anxiously for a baby to arrive! I have been ready for her for a good solid month now. I mean really ready. Room ready, clothes ready, diapers, everything. I am ready to move on to the next stage of life and see how it is going to be with 3 kids. I am also ready to get back to my "normal" life. I miss being able to do what I want in the yard and at the farm. The only slight benefit this pregnancy has had is that I don't have to clean out the litter box. I say slight, because the only time my husband cleans it out is when the stench is so bad that you need a good 45 minutes to air out the garage after opening the door in the morning, prior to actually walking through there to get to the car. The last time he cleaned it out, he only left the litter that filtered through the "litter saving bag". Did I mention he doesn't clean it often, so let's just say there isn't alot of litter left.

When I got pregnant this time, I said "I don't want to be miserable, but when it is over I want to be glad it is over." Well, guess what? I have gotten my wish.

First Day of School 2011

Well, we finally went back to school on August 17th!

I had a boy who was very excited and a girl that wasn't! That is quite the switch! Usually it is the opposite.
Jack could not have been more excited about going to his new preschool.

Madalynn would have preferred to just drop out at this point. She isn't crazy about her new teacher mainly because she loved her teacher from last year so much!

I have to say, I think 2nd grade may be more of a struggle for her than anything has been before.
She still doesn't really want to go to class in the mornings. The days Jack has school, I walk them in and she really doesn't want me to leave.

No tears thank goodness, but she is definitely not happy. I sure hope it improves! She has also turned into a somewhat reluctant reader..I am shocked. I don't know what happened. I never had to ask or make her read last year and this year I have already had to start requiring her to read at least 2 books or two chapters a day. No off to a good start.
Jack on the other hand can't wait to get to school on Mondays and Wednesdays! Dropping him off is easy because he goes right in and just starts playing away. I have already received a compliment on his good manners and behavior from his teacher!
I hope Mady settles in and that Jack continues to enjoy his school this year!
I also hope to eventually have some time to do what I want to do on those two mornings. So far I have done nothing but run errands and go to doctor's appointments. Come on Lillie Claire!

Yard Sale

We finally sold our big house in town back in June!

It was on the market for years! Literally! I hated owning it and not being able to live in it. Plus the deadbeats that had rented it from us and paid the rent only half the time work at Madalynn's school, so seeing them made me see red! So we didn't get what we wanted for it, but at least we aren't still making mortgage payments on a house that is sitting empty.

So anyway, before we sold it the kids and I had a yard sale over there. It was a success! We lived in town for a few months one other time and Jenna and I had a yard sale. It is great! Tons of traffic and since people are already out scoping out yard sales in the neighborhoods, you don't have to spend money on advertising! I just made a couple of neon yellow signs and put them up at intersections and ta-da the people showed up.

We did it the weekend after Madalynn got out of school this summer. We held the sale on Friday and Saturday. On Friday we had a great turnout and sold a ton of the stuff. So much so I felt bad on Saturday because we had nothing but the junk's junk left. We actually had very few come by on Saturday so we packed it up early and left about 10 am. I took two big carloads to Goodwill. We did really well considering I didn't have anything worth anything to begin with. I will miss having access to a great yard sale location next time!

And Her Name Is...

We have a name for our newest daughter now...


Lillie Claire

Jeremy really liked Lillie. It grew on me and I really didn't have anything else that my heart was set on so we went with that. I picked that spelling since I had a great-grandmother whose name was Lillie. I liked the sound of Claire with Lillie and would really like to call her a double name. I have a really cute onesie with her full name on it to help encourage the use of both names!

I had already bought big brother and big sister shirts for Jack and Madalynn a while back, but at that time we didn't have a name for her yet.

Super cute! Can't wait until she is here and we get to use them!