Week One

Our first week as a family of five has been one long love affair ... and how wonderful that has been.  Perhaps we've overdone it with the boys, but Mr. Right and I both want them to know how much they are loved as all kinds of time - by necessity - is being devoted to their sister.  Babies also do this special thing to people - they make everyone happy.  The honeymoon will certainly wear off, but for now we are enjoying every moment of it.


We came home from the hospital last Thursday - me still loopy from the whole hormonal experience as well as some particularly fabulous pain meds.  We all were spoiled for another 2 days while G&G M were still here to make the house run - grocery shopping, school drop offs, pick ups, chapels to attend, meals to cook, etc.  All four grands have been unbelievably helpful in keeping things "normal" which has made a world of difference for all of us.


Saturday was our first day alone as a family of five ... also "family fun night." The boys chose a Garfield movie for evening entertainment and inhaled a bag of popcorn.  I would like to say that #3's eating habits are different than the boys, but it seems she's an inhaler, too.  We're going to have to move to farm country and get some land and animals in order to feed this family in a few years.  We can barely keep up with the boys as it is!  Anyway, Garfield was an OK hit ... the popcorn was a bigger hit ... whole fam on the couch together was the biggest hit.


Mr. Right headed out for work on Sunday night and I started sweating.  He was only gone for one day, but still ... I was nervous.  Sunday night storytime started a new ritual - all 3 kids in their bean bags together.  Before #3 we used to do separate stories and goodnights so the boys would settle down.  So far, this new arrangement is working pretty well.  We'll see how it goes. As you can see, #3 prefers eating to stories.

And here we are - starting week two with our little ladybug.  She has been a dream of a baby thus far - crying when she's hungry and that's about it.  The boys have been as gentle as they know how to be, but have at times manhandled her a bit and she's fairly chill about it.  She's almost back up to her birth weight and seems to be enjoying the ability to stretch out.  This is shocking to me given that all signs were pointing to staying in the belly forever. We're all (still) thrilled that she is here and fighting over who gets to hold her.

You Decide

Siblings or what?

"THREE!" Worth the Wait

Well, I just had a 41 week 5 day lesson in patience.  Not sure if I'm more patient now ... but I did survive the lesson.  Baby steps, right?  I was induced (it wasn't bad) and she arrived at 7:00AM on October 5th (her Great Uncle's birthday).  Perhaps hanging in awhile longer helped ... or maybe it is just her personality ... but she is a very chill baby so far. She fusses about not much, is very alert and just takes things as they come.

Here are the official stats - Lyle Elizabeth - 7 pounds 5 ounces 21 inches long and two very proud big brothers.  Where did "Lyle" come from?  No fancy story, not a family name, Mr. Right and I just like it and she's growing into it quite well.  The boys seem OK that her name really isn't cupcake or poopy head, although I'm sure those names will make their way back to her over the years.


At #1s suggestion we had a "birth day" party yesterday to celebrate #3's arrival.  Just as any new sibling knows, she brought presents for the boys and we had cupcakes.  #1 said, "she's a baby, she doesn't know how to shop.  Who bought these for us - Mom or Dad?"  He got part of it right ... but the part he got wrong is that she is my daughter ... she is born knowing how to shop!  The big meeting between the boys and their sister was priceless and precious.  The boys were so gentle in movement and in their voices.  They both had words of wisdom that I was surprised to hear ... "Don't forget to hold her head carefully.  Touch her gently."  They are so proud to be big brothers and so happy that their sister is here.

The Longest Pregnancy in the History of the Universe

It has to be, right?  Today marks 10 days overdue (10. Very. Long. Days.) and I will be induced in 2 days.  I was scheduled to be induced last Tuesday, but I wanted to give my body and this baby time to do things on their own, so I pushed it back a week.  But this time I have no choice.  I will go into the hospital on Monday night and start down the Pitocin path very early Tuesday morning.  I know women do this all the time and are fine, but the whole induction process freaks me out.  Especially since I had no trouble going into labor with either of the boys.  All of this waiting has given me way too much time to think about totally obnoxious "what if's" which is really not healthy for anyone.  One set of grandparents has already come and gone home again.  Our time with the second set is tick-tocking away.  And the boys ... I'm pretty sure they've come to the conclusion that this whole baby sister thing was just a mean joke.  If I didn't have days full of practice contractions or a baby that kicks me in my ribs and side all day long, I'd think it was a mean joke, too.