Shawn - birth story

Today would have been my due date if I had made it to 40 weeks. With my history, I didn't really plan to make it that far. My first two were born at 37 weeks 6 days and 37 weeks 5 days, and with Katy we made it to 39 weeks. My blood pressure always go up, and at that point, they decide it's safer to get the baby here than to wait. Though they have been induced, I have had 3 normal deliveries (the last one purposely drug-free, even forgoing pitocin for breaking my water). I kind of expected this one to be the same. Even after we found out that this little guy was still breech at 35 weeks, I thought we'd be able to get him to turn. And when that didn't seem to be working, we were interested in a breech delivery (which one of my Dr's was willing to do). But when all attempts to turn him failed and my BP ended up "up" again, I ended up with a c-section. I never thought I'd have one, though I knew it was always a possibility (especially here in the U.S.) 
When all was said and done I can't say that I felt that much worse with my c-section last week (at least for the 1st 24 hours, while the pain meds were still really good.) than I've felt after my other deliveries. I would never -choose- a section, because the recovery is taking so much longer, and there are still possibilities of complications even though everything seems to be healing okay.
Though I had prepared for this possibility mentally (and somewhat, emotionally) over the two weeks before, and while I was on bedrest for the several days before, I went into it very freaked out. Still, the actual section was not at all a negative experience. Getting my IV in after fasting was way more traumatic than any part of the surgery, including the spinal, which was so much faster and easier than either of my epidurals with my previous deliveries (which didn't work well). My anesthesiologist was super friendly, helpful, and laid-back, and my doctor and midwife were both there and super supportive. It was a little freaky being in the OR, but once my spinal started working, I wasn't even that nervous anymore. The only responsibility I had left was breathing! They attempted a 2nd version (they had tried one before, without anesthesia the Monday before) once the spinal kicked in, and they were pushing HARD. That was the hardest part - I couldn't breathe well during all that, because there was so much pressure going on. After the version failed (little guy wasn't moving either direction, and then my water broke from the pressure), it was only 8-10 minutes before my baby boy arrived,and since I wasn't in any pain this time, I actually got to appreciate the moment and even cried. They popped his darling (though bloody) little head up over the sheet to say hi as soon as he was out, and his eyes looked surprised. After they cleaned him up a little I got to kiss on his head and see him before I sent him to the recovery room with Jeremy while they took care of me. One of the other doctors came and sat by my head and chatted to distract me once they were gone, which I really appreciated. Pretty much everyone at Mercy Gilbert was so nice, helpful, and respectful of our wishes, and we're so happy we decided to deliver there!
 I was out in recovery and got to nurse him within about 45 minutes of birth, and could wiggle my toes soon after. Not what I would have picked, but not as bad as I feared. They had a little trouble getting my pain and bleeding under control that first day, but the rest of the hospital stay was mostly uneventful. I got up and walked (after they would let me) as often as I could that first 36 hours, because I heard that helps with recovery. Shawn was born at 10:50 that morning (section had been scheduled for 10, but the prep work and attempted version took some time) and we didn't settle on a name until late that evening. His name kind of surprised us - we had considered Shawn for a middle name, but never for a first name until it happened. :) 
We had never "roomed in" with a baby and not had a nursery to send them to. That first night was a doozy - the kid was up with spit up and gas most of the night, and I don't think Jeremy or I got more than 2 hours of sleep total. I sent Jeremy home to sleep the next two nights (knowing the nurses could handle helping us, and needing him in one piece by the time we were discharged!) and thankfully sleep went better. I was only semi-ready to go home on Monday (he was born on a Friday) because I was pretty attached to my hospital bed with it's big side rails and automatic-sitting-up magic. Having meals brought to me wasn't too shabby either. It was better to get us home though, so Jeremy could have us all in one place to take care of. 
Not what we expected, but not as bad as we hoped. And Shawn is beautiful and perfect and we love him. (And our love will even increase once we get him sleeping in his own space one of these weeks...) His siblings are all thoroughly enjoying having him around too, and are constantly asking if they can touch and kiss his little head. :)

First Day of School (and the rest of August)

Reilly started 1st grade at his 4th school. He did a pre-K express in Virginia right before we moved, started Kindergarten in Pima, switched to the Benjamin Franklin Charter School in Lehi when we moved to Mesa last December, and since it closed, is now attended the Franklin School in Mesa's regular school system. He has rolled with it, though, and has loved each of his schools. He has enjoyed school so far, and likes going to school with some of the same kids he sees at church and in our neighborhood.

Jaina was a little nervous about starting school, but has thoroughly enjoyed it. She is in afternoon kindergarten and loves her teacher and enjoys her classmates. I'm glad we didn't put her in full-day, because she and Katy really enjoy playing together most mornings, and Katy is kind of bored in the afternoons when they're both at school.

August was the month of lost teeth. About a week after Reilly had his first one encouraged out by the dentist, Jaina suddenly screamed and started completely freaking out. She had accidentally caught her hand on her very loose tooth and it had come out, complete with a good amount of blood. I was afraid she was going to have a complete panic attack, and it took several minutes to calm her down.  It took me a few minutes to find the tooth after she threw it like it was a scary bug when she saw the blood. By that evening she was mostly over it and excited to see if the tooth fairy would come.

Within a few days, Reilly had lost his -2nd- tooth while trying to open something hard with his mouth at lunch time.

Jaina's other tooth was pretty loose, and we tried to convince her that the tooth fairy paid double for two teeth in the same night. It was a no go. But the very next day she finally let me grab it with a kleenex, and it came right out. So here are our non-twins with their twin missing teeth. :)

A not-so-fun thing that happened is that on our last real day of swimming for the summer (things seemed to busy after August mostly, though it was still really really really hot for a while) Reilly decided it would be a good idea to jump backwards into the pool. He didn't understand my instructions about NOT hitting the side, and hit it hard with his stomach. The pic is after it had actually faded a lot. We were pretty worried about him for a couple hours, but eventually decided there probably wasn't any internal damage. Kids can be scary!

This is just a cute picture of Katy being Katy. She was "reading" us one of the "No, David" books. :) So silly.  Also, it has been SO nice to have Reilly reading really well. He can read pretty much any of our books to Jaina and Katy, if he's in the mood.  (Also, a picture of Jaina and Katy's haircuts)

The only other exciting thing that happened in August was that Jeremy turned 30! I tried to make it special by giving him a gift a day, and we had a little party for him the weekend of his birthday. Since I had been 31 for several weeks, I was pretty excited for him to finally join me in the 30's...

Hmm. Summer?

I never thought I'd be such a terrible blogger. But everything falls by the wayside at some point, and this spring/summer blogging just hasn't happened. Not that anyone cares. But -I- will when I go back and try to figure out what happened to us this year. So let's see if I can summarize the rest of the summer (which really could go all the way through October, if you're just looking at weather...)

In June I got to see our new baby Kerrigan on the ultrasound for the first time. I was about 14 weeks, and it was such a relief to see that everything looked good and that he/she was growing well in there!

We went to Pima for a few days at the end of June. I don't really remember why, but I was finally up to making the trip on my own. It was fun, but Katy was sick for most of it. :(

4th of July was a little quiet. We didn't feel up to seeing any fireworks, and only did a few ourselves. Katy was still kind of sick, and Jeremy and Jaina were asleep at 7 AM, so Reilly and I walked over to our ward's 4th of July breakfast. Even at 7, it was HOT (above 95) and since I had been lying in bed for about 3 months, even that much of a walk was a little much for me. Lame.

The next day we went BACK to Pima/Thatcher so we could be there for Chloe's 5th birthday, and so we could go up to the cabin for the day Saturday. It had been a while since I had been up there, and the kids hardly remembered it. It wasn't our family's turn for sleeping rights, so we just stayed for the day, but it was so nice to get up out of the heat and take my kids there. So much of my childhood and traditions are connected to Columbine that I want to make sure it's part of my kids' life as well. It was nice that we were able to drive up, because my dad, Spencer, Jason & Emily all hiked up the mountain and were ready for a ride home after all that.

We added a darling niece to the family - little Miss Carlee turned David & Nicole into a 3-person family, and she's basically the first niece or nephew we've been around for. Definitely the first one I got to visit in the hospital! Such a cutie!

The kids and I actually did something "extra" when Chick-Fil-A offered their free meals for dressing like cows. I'm not too great at doing stuff like that, but every once in a while I do make an effort. They've got to have some memories, right?

One of my best friends, Isabelle (whom I met at EAC), and her troop of 6 kiddos came down to Arizona (from Washington) for almost a month. It was so great to get together with her a few times. It had been QUITE a while since we had seen each other in person (July of 2009, I think) and we hadn't met each other's youngest kids. (2, in her case) So, so nice to get to spend a little time together. I hope they can move down here permanently some year, but at least for now I live in the same city as her parents. :) We managed to get together 4 different times while she was here, which was pretty impressive with all we both had going on.

I had my Level II ultrasound in late July, and we were excited to find out the baby was (probably) a boy! Reilly had been praying for a baby brother for months before, so I give him most of the credit. :)

Jeremy threw me a little early surprise birthday get-together that was fun. He's always good at spoiling me on my birthday. :)

At the end of the month we trekked back to Pima/Thatcher one more time before school started and spent time with grandparents and cousins. The kids all also got to have their first dentist appointment in several years. (It was Iowa...) Thankfully, none of them had any cavities, and Reilly even let the dentist pull his loose tooth. He was pretty excited, and looked so grown up! We tried to convince Jaina, since hers was even looser than his, but she wouldn't have anything to do with that... :)

We also managed to fit in doctor's appointments for all 3 kids in the last few weeks of summer. I found a pediatrician in Scottsdale that we like and we do try to get them in at least once a year, just to show that we did, so it worked out well. I like the office a lot, and all 3 had good experiences.
Here is Katy, being cute at her appointment.

It's a good thing that we did, because otherwise we probably wouldn't have known that Reilly was getting a little nearsighted, and might have been frustrated in school if we hadn't managed to get him into an eye doctor as well, and get him some glasses. He doesn't wear them all the time, but definitely prefers to have them if he's doing anything he cares about. (Like, you know, Lego Star Wars... :) )

The last landmark we hit before school started was that Katy traded her nighttime pacifiers for some toys. She was a little nervous about it, and it was a MUCH bigger deal for her than it was for the other two. (Or at least long-winded. Bedtime was pretty difficult for a good 3 weeks, and I was regretting taking them away more than once.) But things are mostly fine now. She's always had a hard time getting to sleep (she gets that from both of us) but it's easier now than it was when she was 1 and 2, so we'll take it.

Whew! Made it through the summer. When I get most of it down at once, I realize it was a lot busier than I thought it was!

Bring on Summer! (Katy Turns 3)

Of course in Arizona, typical summer temperatures start in April and really start heating up in June. But June was still a good month. I finally started feeling like a human being again much of the time, and it was nice to do more normal family things.

We got good news early in June. Since April I had been stressing about where our kids were going to go to school (since we found out Reilly's charter school was closing that campus - the next closest campus was in Gilbert, and 20 minutes with good traffic...). As soon as I found out I was able to get Jaina registered for kindergarten at our next school-of-choice, but Reilly was on a waiting list. The school was part of the Mesa Public School system, but was a magnet school with basically the same curriculum and schedule his charter school had been on. And visiting and observing there, I felt comfortable with the idea of my kids attending there, which was NOT the case with either of our neighborhood schools. Because it was one of the best choices in our area, the charter school shutting down left parents scrambling, and there was a waiting list for most grades at all 4 of the campuses of these schools within 10-15 minutes of our house. Of course our first choice was the one that's only a mile or two away, but I also had Reilly on one other waiting list if this one didn't come through. But we finally got the okay to come register him at our first choice/location, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Having kids at two different schools (or homeschooling) were both things I wasn't excited to deal with, along with having a new baby mid school-year. So I was quite excited!

Katy was pretty excited about her 3rd birthday, and thankfully I was up to partying. :) We had a lot of family from both sides and had a fun dinner-cake-pool party that everyone enjoyed. There were few to none meltdowns, and Katy enjoyed getting to be a little princess and twirling around in the ballerina swimsuit she inherited from her cousin. Birthday party success!

That was a few days before her actual 3rd birthday. We tried to make that day special, too, with birthday pancakes, and a trip to the mall where she got to pick out something small at the Disney store, have ice cream cones, and do a few of the fun little extras that we usually say "no" to. It's so weird having a 3-year-old and no baby (yet). I'm a fan.