Thursday, February 28, 2013

Brooks, Party of 5

We've been adjusting pretty well to being a family of 5.  We had our first family outing last Saturday night to one of the kids' favorite places...Chick fil A.  Hunter and Charlotte were so excited to get out of the house and play.  They had a great time playing with the other kids in the play area, and of course loved the ice cream...


Grey slept snugly in his carseat all through dinner...
We made a quick trip to Target after we were done eating and then headed home.

I've loved being home on maternity leave, and I'm trying really hard to live in the moment and not think about how sad I'm going to be to go back to work when Grey is so young (8 weeks).  I am blessed in that my work days will be really short and I'll only be gone a couple of days each week. 

The kids have been really helpful with Grey.  Charlotte loves to hold him and sing to him and give him hugs and kisses.  They are both really encouraging during tummy time, which Grey does not like.  He rolled over 10 times in a row the other day because he would get so angry every time I put him on his tummy that he'd kick himself to his back almost immediately!  The next day he did much better, though, and calmly laid on his tummy for several minutes before getting angry and kicking over to his back.

We tried to put him in the Bumbo one day, but he's still too tiny for it:)...

Since Grey was too small, Char decided she'd take a turn...

I love being mom to these 3 kiddos.  They are my favorite!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was Grey's due date, but we had already had him with us for 12 days by then.  Long enough for the adrenaline to have worn off and the sleep deprivation to have kicked in:)  He's definitely worth the lack of sleep, though!
 
Somehow I managed to get all of the supplies for Hunter's Valentine's party at school and make it up there to work it with the other home room moms.  We played Valentine Bingo with conversation hearts and had a stacking game with the same candy.  Then they decorated cookies, and after they finished eating them, they listened to a Valentine story...


Since Grey's been born, some days are no make up days...
I also made these cute s'mores valentines for all the kids.  And I really liked the valentines that Hunter and Char gave out this year (the blowing you kisses ones on pinterest...with bubbles and Hershey's kisses).  Pictures haven't been on the top of my priority list lately, so I didn't get a photo of either.  Nor did  I get one of the kids in their cute Valentine shirts from Grandee and Poppy which makes me sad.  You can kind of see Hunter's in the pictures above.  It says I love Candy.  He told me that all of his friends were reading it all day:)  Charlotte's had her name and hearts on it (in pink jewels).  And Grey had a Dr. Love one that Aunt Katie bought for him.

The night that I had my first bleeding episode with Grey, I started putting these hearts on Hunter's and Charlotte's doors.  There were some missed nights while we were in the hospital, but we made up for it and got all 14 hears on their doors by the time Valentine's Day arrived.  Here are Hunter's...
Day 1:  We love how helpful you are to everyone.
Day 2:  We love all the notes you write us!
Day 3:  We love how sweet you are to other kids.
Day 4:  We love how thankful you are for what you have.
Day 5:  We love your giddy laugh:)
Day 6:  We love how you are compassionate.
Day 7:  We love how you love to learn new things.
Day 8:  We love when you say, "I love you___" and give that person a big hug!
Day 9:  We love how respectful you are to everyone!
Day 10:  We love your sensitive heart.
Day 11:  We love how you play with Charlotte.
Day 12:  We love listening to stories about your day at school.
Day 13:  We love how you work hard to do things independently.
Day 14:  We love you because God made you perfectly for us.

And Charlotte's...
Day 1:  We love how you love to sing and dance as loud and big as you can!
Day 2:  We love how affectionate you are!
Day 3:  We love your silly side!
Day 4:  We love how much you love Greyson.
Day 5:  We love what a beautiful princess you are!
Day 6:  We love your hugs and kisses.
Day 7:  We love your vivid imagination!
Day 8:  We love when you say, "I love you _____" and give a big hug.
Day 9:  We love how great of a ballet dancer you are!
Day 10:  We love how you always compliment others.
Day 11:  We love your fashion!
Day 12:  We love playing games with you and your brother.
Day 13:  We love how you play with Hunter.
Day 14:  We love you because God made you perfectly for us.
 
I feel so blessed to have so much love in my life!  Happy (belated) Valentine's Day, y'all!
 



Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Meeting the Family

The day after Grey was born, lots of family and friends came to visit him.  But the most anticipated visitors of all were big brother and big sister...
My sister had been keeping Hunter and Char, and she stopped at the gift shop on the way to our room so that they could pick out a stuffed animal for Grey.  They chose a blue bear, and I love that Hunter brought his blue bear up with him, too.  Vanesa and Zack bought that for him at the hospital gift shop almost 6 years ago when he was born.  He started sleeping with it around 2 years old and then took a short break after he turned 5, actually giving it to Charlotte for a while, but recently took it back and put Bear in his old spot in bed.

Rich, Nana, and Tina were already there when Hunter and Char came...

They kind of had the sniffles, so we made them foam up really good...


And put masks on if they wanted to hold him...

Which of course, Charlotte did...


I love this series of pictures...





Hunter didn't want to hold him just yet...actually I think he's only held him 1 time in the 11 days he's been here with us! 

We had my mom pick up some mini cookie cakes for Hunter and Charlotte that said "Big Brother" and "Big Sister"...


As you can see, they were thrilled to have their own big cookie!

And sweet Tina got both H and C their own gift, too...

An Ariel dress up doll and a lego set, which H proudly put together all by himself:)  He even pulled the directions out and followed them carefully...

Aunt Katie with her nephews and niece...


The oldest and the youngest...

Brooks, party of FIVE...

Sweet Tina has come to visit all 3 of my babies in the hospital...

A little while later, Nanny and Grandad showed up.  Grey is their 17th great grandchild...

Before they left, I got some snuggles with all 3 of my little loves...

After all of the family left, I had several friends stop by to visit, but I forgot to take any pictures:(  Then Grey and I had some quiet time to just sit and cuddle...

The next morning, Grey had his circumcision and we slowly got ready to head home.  We were all set, just waiting to be discharged, and Grey peed all over the two of us as I was changing him.  So we switched into nightshirts since our going home shirts were all wet...

We had one more visitor, Pastor Jim from our church.  He sang with us and prayed over Grey.  It was a really special time...

 

Finally, all of the bags were packed, bills were paid, and discharges were completed, so we were able to head home!
 
My mom was waiting with Charlotte when we got there and James was able to go pick up Hunter from school.

They were so excited that their brother (and mommy and daddy!) was home!


We've been settling in to life as a family of 5 pretty well.  We are definitely tired, but so thankful and blessed.



Friday, February 8, 2013

Grey's Birth Story

So I never forget...
 
Thursday night (1/31/13), I was working on a little Valentine surprise for the kids while James worked on his computer.  I got up to go tape it onto the kids' bedroom doors and noticed that my pajama pants felt wet.  I went to the bathroom, and my worst nightmare seemed to be coming true.  All I could see was fresh, red blood that wasn't stopping.  I called James back to the bathroom, and began to panic while he tried to remain calm.  I am a dramatic, over-reacting girl, and in moments like this, I need to freak out and not be calmed.  James is very different, needing things to remain calm in moments of stress.  God carried us through our differences in that moment, though, and I was able to call the doctor while he called his parents to come over.  The doctor on call calmly told me to head to L&D.
 
My mom met us up there, and we all waited to hear what was going on.  I was a mess and was convinced there was something terribly wrong with Grey.  But, once they checked me, the bleeding had stopped and he looked perfect on the monitor.  So after about an hour of observation and some urine tests, they sent us home, reassurring us that this does happen and can be "normal" late in pregnancy.  Although I found that odd, they were really insistent that he looked great and so did I so I didn't need to worry.
 
The next day (2/1/13), I felt normal.  I went to the mall and lunch with Charlotte and some friends, and that night James and I headed to a party at the Satterfield's house.  We were getting ready to leave, and I told James I needed to use the bathroom really quickly before heading home.  I went back there and nearly the exact same thing happened as the night before.  So after a group effort from our friends at the party, we called the on call doctor (which, sadly, was once again not my doctor), our babysitter, her mom, my sister to come watch the kids, and my mom.  Then James and I headed to L&D once again.  I was so much calmer this time around...I was even surprising myself at how together I had it.
 
Once again, the bleeding had stopped by the time we got there.  I liked this nurse much better...the night before I felt like the nurse didn't believe me when I told her how much blood there was, and this one seemed to really believe me; although, she did ask me if I had bathed before I came because once again, there was no blood to be seen.  So strange. 
 
Grey looked perfect on the monitor again, but I told her that I didn't feel comfortable leaving until we knew where the blood was coming from.  She called Dr. Dullye (the doctor on call for my doctor), and she decided to admit me overnight for observation and do a sonogram first thing in the morning.  So they wheeled us up to antepartum, and after unsuccessfully trying to convince them (with the help of my sweet friend, Kim, who came up there at MIDNIGHT) to do the sono that night, we tried to go to sleep.  I didn't sleep at all that night.  Our room was blazing hot because the A/C was broken and was blowing 80 degree heat on us all night.  That combined with the monitors and my nerves led to a restless night.  I had no more bleeding, but did think that I may have a trickle of amniotic fluid a couple of times.  I didn't want to overreact, so I told myself it was probably sweat from the constant 80 degree stream of air blowing on me.
 
The next morning (2/2/13) we waited and waited on the perinatologist to do the sono.  Finally at 1pm, the nurse came to get us.  The perinatologist was a trip!  James described her as having 2 volumes...loud and louder.  I'd say she was REALLY over the top.  We thought she was funny, though.  She said my fluid was low and that I needed to be induced (which she recommeded before even starting the sono because I was 38 weeks and gushing blood 2 nights in a row).
 
So we were wheeled back to my antepartum room where I took a shower, put on make up (yes, I did), and was then wheeled to L&D for an induction.  We definitely weren't prepared to be having a baby that day, so it felt so surreal that we would have our third child by the next day...


I LOVED our first L&D nurse. We had several connections...her daughter had been an inpatient at OCH while I was there and she grew up in Garland and graduated from Naaman the same year I graduated from GHS, so we had many common friends. She made me laugh and laugh. I told James and my mom that I wanted to be BFF with her:) She had a student with her that day, so they put my IV in quickly and my pitocin was started at 4:10pm.


I had been 1.5 cm dilated, 80% effaced, and he was at a -1 station since the past Tuesday at my appointment with Dr. Hunt. None of that had changed by the time they started the pitocin, so I was nervous it was going to be a looooong labor.   Around 7:15pm Dr. Dullye came in, and I was 3-4 cm dilated, 90% effaced, and he was still -1 station. She broke my water, and the contractions became much, much stronger. I knew I would probably get an epidural at some point, but as I kept telling everyone, I needed to be in tears before I was ready for that. The pain has to be so bad to me that it's worth getting a huge needle stuck in my back. That point came around 9pm. I was still really nervous about the epidural, but my contractions were literally on top of each other...it felt like one was coming every minute. I had about a million contractions throughout the process of getting the epidural because the pitocin was making them so close together. It was finally over, though, and slowly the pain became less and less. I had never had this happen before, but the epidural didn't take as well to the right side of my body, so my catheter (she put it in pretty soon after my epidural) was really bothering me. Eventually, my right side felt better, but my left side...especially my leg...was pretty numb. My leg kept falling off the bed, and I couldn't lift it without help!

Around 10:05pm, I became really nauseated, really quickly. She gave me a bag and I kept vomiting. I remember it smelled like a pill bottle because of the antibiotics they had me on, which totally grossed me out.  (I was positive for Group B Strep for the first time.)  I was surprised because I always thought when a woman threw up in labor, it was from pain. The nurse said that it was common with and without epidural and that I was probably getting close.

So after I had recovered (around 10:15pm), she checked me and I was 7 cm, 90% effaced and he was a +1 station. Then about 10 minutes later I told her that I knew it was probably impossible, since it had only been 10 minutes, but that I was feeling a lot of pressure. She said, "No, it's your third, so it goes a lot faster. You're probably ready." Dr. Dullye walked in right then, checked me, and said, "Yep. You're fully dilated and effaced. It's time."

My mom was there to take pictures and was in the bathroom, so I yelled for her to come out because it was time! I quickly felt like I needed to push, so I told Taryn (my nurse) and Dr. Dullye.  They told me to hold on while Dr. Dullye gowned up. I really had to concentrate to fight the urge to push because there was so much pressure.

When I did start pushing, it was so different from my other 2 deliveries. Instead of the nurse guiding it, they let me guide it. I counted in my head and pushed as long as I could, trying to push 3 times for each contraction. I pushed for about 5 minutes, and at 10:39pm, he was here!  He started crying instantly, and so did I.  I loved him so much from the moment I heard his voice...It overwhelmed me.  As Dr. Dullye guided him out, his face looked just like Charlotte to me, and then we all quickly thought we saw Hunter in him, too.  He definitely looked like a Brooks baby from the start!
 
My mom took lots of great pictures in the room, but since I was in such a hurry to push, Dr. Dullye didn't have time to cover my legs, and the pictures have just a little too much thigh for me to be willing to share on the blog for all to see.  So I'll spare you all of those.  James did cut the cord as usual, and we got some good pictures of that.
 
Things were much different even from when Charlotte was born 3.5 years ago.  After the cord is cut, they immediately put the baby on top of you for several minutes...before they even wash him, y'all.  That totally didn't bother me in the moment, but I admit that if this was someone else's picture I was looking at, it would totally gross me out...

 It was so sweet to be able to hold him right away.  After about 5 minutes, the nurse asked if she could take him to go weigh him. 



 

She told us he weighed 6 lbs, 13 oz, which was a surprise to me because that's much smaller than Hunter and Charlotte were.  Then she quickly brought him back over to me, and he laid skin to skin on me for about an hour while I thanked Dr. Dullye for helping me deliver our perfect son (and not getting completely offended that I was totally upset that Dr.  Hunt - my doctor - was out of town)...

And thanked our (second) nurse, Taryn, who was with us after shift change at 7pm and stayed through the end.  She was great and so encouraging...

And just enjoyed snuggling with my newest son...
 
Finally an hour after he was born (look!  the clock is proof!), James got to hold him...
 

My dad drove up and arrived pretty soon after Grey was born...

And finally, it was my mom's turn...
 
 It's hard to believe I had been apprehensive about having a third child just days before, because I instantly loved Grey the moment he came into this world.  He truly completes our family, and we are so in love with him!