Hair Gel?

Grateful

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful this year! Richard was home all day Wednesday and Thursday, so we just got to hang out as a family. On Wednesday, Ella's Preschool had a Thanksgiving Feast where they got to dress up as pilgrims. I asked her who the pilgrims were and I was surprised when she told me a whole story about how they came in a boat and there was a bad storm. Then the Indians helped them build houses and gardens. I love her school!

That night we started baking our pies for the next day. Richard and Ella made a Caramel Apple Pie and I made a Sweet Potato Pie. Yum! We hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house with some fantastic friends. I had so much fun and all of the food was killer.



I had so much fun decorating the table. Richard was in charge of the food. He made the turkey, some delicious stuffing, and the gravy. I got to set the table the way I wanted. So it worked out perfectly!

Jonas, Richard, me, Annie (in her first non-pajama outfit!), Camille, Andy, Melanie, Cadence, Garrett, and the three girls up front - Ruby, Ciella, and Ella.

I just love all of these people. We are so blessed to have such great friends here, who are more like family. I can't even express the gratitude I feel to have three healthy, wonderful, intelligent, funny daughters who keep me laughing and loving every day. Also, for Richard, who is the most selfless person I have ever met. He treats me like a queen and I couldn't ask for a better husband and best friend. I am grateful for all of mine and Richard's families. We are so well taken care of by them. I am in awe at the human body and how fast I have been able to bounce back from having a baby. Having children truly is a miracle. I hope that I can remember how grateful I am for these and many other things, every day. I know that I take them for granted, so I'm glad that this time of year reminds us to stop and reflect on the many blessings we have in life.

Lifesavers

I could not have survived this last week without the help of my Mom. She got here the day after Annie was born and stayed for a little over a week. Richard was at school all day and would come home for about an hour to eat dinner, then go back to school to study until all hours of the night (or technically, morning) for the boards. It was so wonderful to have my Mom here to help cook, clean, take care of me, hold Annie, and most of all, entertain Ella and Ruby. Her legs are probably broken from playing "Horsey, Horsey on Your Way" over and over and over again!

We even ventured out with all three girls a couple of times. We walked around Sam's Club, the Outlet Mall (big mistake, by the way. It took me 15 minutes just to find a parking spot!), and Target. Some lady was questioning why I was at Target after having a baby only a week ago, so I told her that I had to go while I had my Mom there, because once she's gone, I will not be going there with all three kids by myself. They don't make big enough carts for that. And even if they did, I wouldn't be able to steer it anyway! My Mom was so nice and got us all set for Christmas, and I even got most of my shopping done as well.

We were so sad to see my Mom go. Ella has cried a few times, saying she misses her Grandma and that she wants to go on an airplane to her house. I had a few full circle moments that made me laugh! Once while we were in the car, Ella and Ruby were fighting about something, so I said, "Girls, keep your hands to yourselves!" I just started laughing because that's totally something my parents said to me and my brothers in the car. Yikes! I feel like I'm getting old. We are now a family of FIVE! I can't believe it!

Richard left the same day as my Mom to take the boards. He had to take them in Rochester, so he just stayed in a hotel for two nights (it's a two day test). I was very nervous to be by myself with the girls for two days, but we survived. My lifesaver for those two days (and on MANY other days!!!) was Melanie. She just knows what I need before I do and just does it. She came over and made us a delicious pancake dinner and we just got to hang out while the girls played and watched The Grinch. I truly am so blessed to have so many people looking out for us!

Richard is home for the next couple of days. He has to take the NERB (North East Regional Boards) on Friday morning, but other than that, he will be home all weekend! I'm so glad that he finally gets to spend some time with us and have a little break. I feel like he hasn't even had a real chance to get to know Annie yet, so this will be a fun weekend. We are hosting Thanksgiving here with some of our favorite people and I'm so excited! Richard is doing the cooking, of course, so it should be delicious! I do love the holidays!

One Week Old!

Homecoming

We came home on Sunday, the 15th. Here's Annie, all set to go in her car seat:

The girls have been so great with Annie! When we first came home, we brought them little toy cribs and baby dolls. We were so nervous about Ella being so emotional and upset about the new baby. The toys were a great ice breaker. They played with them for about ten minutes and got their babies all set up in their cribs. Then they seemed ready to pay attention to Annie. They just looked at her at first, but after a little while, Ella asked to hold her and of course, Ruby wanted to as well. Ever since then, they are in love with her! Ella loves to hold her every chance she gets. She thinks it's kind of strange that Annie sleeps so much and doesn't play with toys yet. She's also very protective of her. She always makes sure she has a blanket and tonight while we were watching "The Grinch", she had her arm around Annie just in case she got scared! So cute!

Ruby is hilarious around her. Her line is, "Awww. She's-a wuvs me!" She thinks Annie loves everything about her. She likes to touch her hair because it's so soft. Both girls are very concerned about her belly button. Ruby calls it her "owie on her bebo" and Ella calls it her "plug". We are having a great time having Annie here now. I'm so glad my mom has been here all week. I think I'm just extra sensitive to the noise, but I feel like my kids are hopped up on caffeine all the time, so it's great to have her here to play with them. She has been cleaning, cooking, entertaining, playing, and baby holding. Richard is studying for the boards, which he takes next week, so we usually see him for about an hour every day. It's so sad because I feel like he's missing out on all the fun (ha ha! he'd probably rather study than be in this mad house!). I'll be so glad when next week is over so that we can get back to normal...whatever "normal" is going to be for us.

Timeline of a Birth

Friday, November 13, 2009

11:00 am - Went to my regularly scheduled weekly Dr.'s appointment. I was still dilated to a 3, the same as last week. I planned on listing all of my complaints (painfully uncomfortable, worst heartburn, starting to feel the flu coming on, etc.) but ended up being too tired to tell him all of that and figured it wouldn't do any good anyway. He asked if I wanted to be induced on Monday. My real due date wasn't until Wednesday. I was a little nervous, but I agreed. He was going to be at the hospital doing surgeries anyway, so why not?

12:30 - Go to Melanie's house (who should be awarded sainthood for how much she watches my kids, and with such a great attitude about it. Seriously.) to get my kids. Of course I stay and chat for a while. Cry to her about my induction fears, but she eases them and makes me feel much better about it. I call Richard and tell him.

1:30 - Still at Melanie's, but I secretly wonder if my water has broken. So I packed up the kids and drove to McDonald's drive thru to grab them some nuggets. Start feeling very painful contractions, but I thought maybe it was just cramping.

2:00 - Both kids fell asleep in the car, so I carry them inside, although I'm afraid I'll drop them because I'm in so much pain. Ruby doesn't stay asleep, so she's up eating lunch. I try to walk around a little bit to see if the contractions will go away. (Going through my mind at that point was, "Erica, you've already been to the hospital twice with false alarms. You just had an exam, so it's probably just from that. Wait a little bit and see if they go away.") Go away, they most certainly did not. I couldn't even stand up and was sobbing from the pain. Ella woke up and started crying because I was crying. During that time, I did manage to get mine and the girls' stuff together and unload the dishwasher.

2:20 - The contractions were coming every two minutes. I called my dr., hoping he would believe me. He told me to hurry to the hospital. Called Richard at school. Jonas answered his phone because Richard had his hands in a patient's mouth. I was sobbing when he answered. I didn't want to freak him out or yell, "my water broke!" to him, so when he asked if it was an emergency, I said, "Tell him it's time!" How cliche, right?! I never thought I would actually say those words.

2:35 - Richard comes home and gets the girls and all the bags in the car. My contractions are still painful, heavy, and coming fast. We joke as we're pulling out of the driveway, "Why in the world do people choose to do this without an epidural?! That would be crazy!" We both comment how this is just the beginning of the pain, how could anyone handle when the contractions get worse? If we'd only known!

3:00 - Drop the kids off at Melanie's...AGAIN. I feel so bad! Especially since this happened to be the weekend she was watching two other kids overnight as well. Of course I go into labor this day. But she is cool and confident and says it will be one big party with all SIX kids! Love that girl. I feel even worse because the kids seem tired and Ella is overly emotional. Everything was happening so fast and she seemed a little freaked out.

3:15 - Arrive at the hospital. Longest drive ever. I swear we were stuck behind the slowest slow pokes around. Richard pulls up to the entrance in front of the valet stand and runs inside to get a wheelchair. I've never been wheelchaired into the hospital before, but there's no way I can walk. As he and a security guard come up to the car, I have another painful contraction, so I motion for him not to open the door yet. I am screaming, sobbing, and writhing in pain, all in front of the security guard and three teenage boys in the valet booth. Lovely. I get in the wheelchair and the guard takes me up to Labor and Delivery while Richard goes and parks the car. (He would have valeted it, but they close at 6 and he wasn't sure how he'd get the car back after that).

3:20 - I am in L&D, crying and screaming. Everyone rushes into action and before I know it, I'm on the table, being told that I'm fully dilated and ready for the baby to come. What? No epidural?! One of the nurses tries three times to start an IV, but says my veins are too tiny so she gives up. The senior resident and midwife tell me to try pushing, so I do it three times, but no baby yet. Just practice, I guess. I am in so much pain, but the midwife and nurses are so helpful and coach me through the breathing so I don't hyperventilate. Magically, Dr. Mechtler appears. He's cool as a cucumber in the delivery room, which is why I'm so glad he's my dr. He says to try getting my IV in again, which is successful this time. So they are able to quickly give me some Nubane, which is fabulous. The contractions are still painful, but it takes the edge off. They have me lay on each side through a couple contractions. Richard held my hand through it and let me squeeze his hand as hard as I wanted. Meanwhile, Dr. Mechtler goes down the hall to have a cup of coffee. Everyone is joking about how I should have had a beer before I came in.

4:15ish - While on my left side, the contractions feel even stronger, despite the Nubane. I tell the midwife I need to push. So the senior resident comes over, they guide me through one long push, and Annie was born at 4:22 pm! She is purple and big. Richard cut the cord. They take her to the baby station to clean her up. Richard said when they put the little oxygen mask on her, he watched as her whole body went from purple to pink. Pretty cool. She is crying, but she is very healthy! In the meantime, Dr. Mechtler has come back in the room and seems a little mad that nobody paged him. "I was just in the next room!" The nurse tells him she thought someone had. Oh well! The resident dr. did a fantastic job! I was so glad to be done with contractions!

I felt great after the delivery! I don't think I would necessarily choose to go without an epidural again, unless I knew it was going to be that fast. A nurse did warn me though that with each baby, the labor time is cut in half, so next time, I'd better hurry to the hospital! We got to hold our sweet baby for about an hour before they took her to the nursery for all her testing. She cried a lot, but it was so fun to look at her. I thought for sure she'd look like either Ella or Ruby, but she has a look all her own! How does that happen?! Especially with all of her dark brown hair. Both of the other kids had very little light hair. Her body seems teeny, but then you see her giant chubby cheeks and swollen eyes and it makes her seem huge!

Since then, she's been a champ. She's doing great at nursing, sleeps all the time, and even drank a little over an ounce from a bottle. She hasn't really cried, but I know as soon as she comes home, she'll start to wake up and things will change. I'm just enjoying my time in the hospital when she's so sleepy and I can always send her to the nursery if I need to sleep.

So from the time my water broke and I started feeling contractions, to the time I had her was only about three hours. That's pretty dang fast!

In the meantime, here's what the girls have been up to:
Looks like they're having a party to me! I'm a little nervous about Ella. Melanie said she burst into tears when she heard that we named the baby Annie. Apparently, her plan was that all of the baby sisters (the one in my tummy, the one in her tummy, and some mystery third one) were all supposed to be named Emery. That was a name I had liked when we first found out we were having a girl, but Richard quickly vetoed it. For some reason or another, it stuck with Ella and that has been her "baby's" name all along. We are coming home tomorrow morning, so I'm hoping that once she sees Annie, it will sink in a little bit and she'll like her. Plus, my mom is here now, so that should help her feel better.

Welcome Baby!

Annie Mae Smith
November 13, 2009
4:22 pm
8 lbs 8 oz
22 inches long

We are all doing very well! We can't get over what a chunk she is! And how dark her hair is!