Another Month Older!

My sweet *Memphis Queen, you are so big and strong at two months old.

During the month of June, you...

-moved into size one diapers-- although some people are trying not to waste those newborn diapers that you can still (not quite) fit in. You've also worn g diapers and did quite well in them.

-quit liking tummy time. You are totally content to hang out on your belly, but you really don't care to try and lift your head. You think it's relaxed tummy time.

-still have days where you sleep all day except to eat. And then when it's about 7pm you are WIDE awake and ready to play.

-love to "talk" to us. You "say" so much for such a tiny little girl and you love to make eye-contact and comment on your day's events.

-have an adorable smile that makes my day. You love to smile and it doesn't take much for us to get you to smile!

-mimic very well. We all like to stick out our tongue at you and you will always do it right back.

-still sleep pretty well. Recently, you've shown signs of wanting/needing to go to bed around 7:30 (on the days you don't spend totally asleep). I wake you for a feeding when I go to bed around 10-11. You wake us for a feeding around 3ish and then again around our wake up time.

- have decided you don't like bottles. Since I choose to pump in the middle of the night you have always eaten from the bottle between midnight and 6 or 7am. But now you've decided that you'd just rather breastfeed-- I hope I can learn to not be too groggy for such a feat. I hope you are patient with me on trying to learn this:)

- weigh about 10-10.5 lbs. At 6 weeks you weighed in at 8# 10 oz and you were 21 1/2 inches long. You grew 2 inches and gained 2 # between your 2 and 6 wk check up!

-are a cuddly lady who has awesome hair, a great smile, and a new passion for bath time.

-are still loved on A LOT by your 3 big sisters.

* The nickname Memphis Queen comes from the fact that I have called her Elvis baby because of her totally rockin' hair. If she were a boy, I might just call her Elvis-- but she's a girl so she is my Memphis Queen. This is not her official blog nickname--I'm still just testing it. We also call her Layney-Loo-Who because her middle name is Layne. We'll just wait and see what ends up sticking.

Where have we been this month?

We have been staying rather busy with many summer activities like...making a mud river in our backyard with our cousin, then playing in said mud and loving every minute of it,

painting with chocolate pudding on big white butcher paper,

some of us chose to eat the pudding when we thought mama wasn't looking.

Somebody decided to stay clean...

...and get all dressed up for a party.

We also spent time with Auntie while she was in town for a visit.
We played in water, well some of us just decided to dabble in it by dipping our hair in a bowl of water!

Then she thought it may be safe to venture near the tub containg her fav bath toys!

Peach felt very safe near the water with her first swimming class. And while she looks rather innocent...

...she's also the one behind the hose and squirting everyone when we play in the water.

We've also had some good family times.

We went on a Father's Day hike out at the Governor's Mansion. The little gal and I were there but we were behind the camera!
And speaking of the little gal, without asking my permission, she up and decided to turn two months old.

And to think that I always said our busy time stats in July--I guess I'll just have to change the month.

Adrenaline Rush, Smadrenaline Rush

I used to love riding on the back of a motorcycle.

Before I had children, I rode on the back of a friend's bike many a weekends and evenings. We'd find winding roads, country roads, highways, streets, and old beaten paths to travel. This was a bit of an adrenaline rush (no, not for an adrenaline junkie, but I'm not one of those) for me. Not being closed in and confined by the walls of a car was all I needed to feel free and alive. I don't think many of the people I know now would ever imagine me on the back of that bike, but I soooo loved the rush of energy running through my veins.

Before the kiddos came, I also picked up running as a hobby. Naturally, adrenaline is released during a run and I felt great at the end of my workout-- not to mention that I couldn't wait to do it again, (Yep, I need to pick that hobby back up-- I know people who know me now would never believe that)! Again, though, I loved the rush.

FAST FORWARD 5 YEARS...

and the adrenaline has ceased production in my body!

And in case you're wondering, "Gee, how could that ever happen? I didn't think that was possible!" Here's the facts.

I have 4 kids all under 4.

I have been pregnant 36 months+ of the past 52 months, and breastfeeding most of the remainder of those months. I spend much of my time with diapers and dishes, giving baths and hugs and pigtails, cleaning up toys and dirty faces, vacuuming and dusting, and lots of grocery shopping.

My days, though exciting to me because I love spending them with my kids, can be considered boring, dull, and mundane to people not in my shoes. I mean, let's face it, I'm not driving cattle on a ranch, or parachuting into war, or trying to make a deadline before I get canned or demoted. Nope, there's not much adrenaline being pumped through my motorcycle-riding, wannabe-runner veins.

That's why, when my hubby and I were watching a show the other night that left us wondering how we get our adrenaline rushes, I was left speechless and clueless.

Adrenaline rush, smadrenaline rush! I thought. My life is pretty ordinary!

When the next morning came, I was awakened by a sweet, tiny baby needing to be fed. I had overslept on accident and was in dire need to get myself cleaned up before my husband left, BUT that little gal needed food. So I fed her, giving myself about 5 minutes to get downstairs looking somewhat presentable so I could be seen in public later on that morning.

I arrive downstairs with 20 minutes to get 2 of the 4 fed, clothed and out the door with sunscreen on so they can go to soccer camp! I start finding sneakers for Brownie and Peach when I hear the Feed Me Now cry that only a young infant can produce. I skip the scrambling for shoes and hope that she's done in time for me to start again. Luckily, my oldest is quite resourceful and finds both pairs of shoes while my hands are tied--now if only I could be so resourceful and learn to help them tie their shoes while breastfeeding!

Baby's done eating and the older girls are out the door--ahhh now I can rest with having just the baby and..., ummm...,
the other baby-- she is still a baby at 19 mos, right?!

I go to the kitchen to clean up breakfast (which is a huge ordeal when you have 3 young cereal eaters, I.E. cheerios everywhere), load the dishes, and wash any bottles or pacifiers used in the night, when low and behold both my land line and cell start ringing.

Hey, Carrie, can I call you back- my other phone's (which doesn't have caller id) ringing.

No, I don't care for any life-insurance, thanks (as in, thanks for wasting my time)!

Ooops, Bug just spilled her milk.

Note to self: Call Carrie back later today.

I abandon what's left of my kitchen duties in order to prepare for our next outing in 30 minutes--SWIMMING LESSONS!

After grabbing the diaper bag and checking everything twice, you-know-who needs fed again!

While the baby is eating, Bug decides it'd be fun to leave her path of destruction for the hour(yes, this girl is called tiny tornado because she leaves a little path of destruction just about everywhere she goes) by throwing every shoe in sight throughout the main level of our house. While this may look like just another mess to be picked up later to the untrained eye, I know better because I know I'm going to have to hunt for the one pair of sandals that fit Bug.

Baby's done. The hunt begins after I put M in a safe spot out of Bug's reach. I enlist Bug's help and she complies after only 2 tries. We find her shoes and put away the others, but not with a moment to spare-- now the older two are back home and it's a rush to see how fast I can get Peach changed out of her soccer clothes and into her swimsuit.

With only three minutes to spare, we take 2 potty breaks, change one diaper, find a beach towel and flip flops, load four children into four car seats and make our quick trip to swim lessons.

In the two minutes it takes to drive there, I feel like I can finally breath for the first time that day. Then, something huge fell out of the sky and hit me like a ton of bricks--okay I'm speaking metaphorically here, folks!

This is my adrenaline rush.

I don't need a pair of boots and a horse, or a parachute and plane, or a computer and boss to feel a rush each day. I've got kids to drive, keep from jumping out of a plane (or car, or off the stairs), and... well, let's face it, they are my boss! They are my adrenaline rush!

My daily life may seem anything but extraordinary and full of high-voltage energy to the average person, but from where I sit stand it's a crazy, mad adrenaline rush!

BUT...

Then there's nap time!!

Riddles

While somewhere in the midst of my elementary school career, I came across a clever little friend who introduced me to this riddle.

“Pete and Repeat went out on a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left??!!
Repeat! “
“Pete and Repeat went out on a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left??!!
Repeat!”
“Pete and Repeat went out on a boat…”

You get the picture.

This riddle could be never-ending, but hopefully the person on the “Repeat” end of the joke would eventually catch on and the two friends would share a chummy laugh and cease their riddling ways.

But I want to know what would happen if the friend telling the joke somehow tricked the other person into continuing the back and forth this joke offers. What if the “Repeat” person never caught on? Or, what if they caught on but the riddler wouldn’t let them out of the joke?
Yes, there is a good reason I’m asking you this question?

This riddle explains so much of my day—heck, it is my day. This riddle is where I live. I feel like I’m stuck inside this ridiculous conundrum- trapped somewhere between Pete falling off and the next “repeat.”

And who’s the clever little riddler, you ask?

None other than my own flesh and blood. Those four little people who can match half their DNA to mine. Those four little girls who look so darling and innocent while they secretly hatch out a plan—well, actually I don’t think they have any intent here. But they also have no clue what they are doing to my brain all day as they keep me inside their riddle asking me the same questions over and over and over.

I know this is all par for the course when you are raising four little girls aged newborn to 3 ½ years. I know that this is just a phase. I know that one day when they are fighting about clothes and privacy I will miss the constant repetition of their favorite questions.

Questions like, “Mom, where are we going tomorrow?” “Who’s coming over to see us?” “What are we doing in the morning?” These questions are all part of Peach’s nighttime routine—fitting in right between her hug and kiss goodnight!

Then there’s Brownie who comes up to me while I’m cooking her mac ‘n cheese and says, “Mom, I want pasta!” And I tell her, “I know honey, I’m cooking your pasta right now.” But I know that in about one to two minutes she’ll trot right back over to me as I stand there stirring her pasta and demand again, “Mom, I waaaaant pastaaa!” Uh-huh, I know little Miss Repeat.

Right now, it’s all I can do to not shout from the hilltops, “LEAVE ME ALONE!!!” when they start in with their 20 million questions that repeat themselves. That would be rude and I know I’d end up causing them some kind of complex that would land them in the therapist’s office 20 years down the road.

Instead, I try to look at their little quirks as just that—little quirks!

They’re all unique—just as each and every one of us is. And we all have our quirks. My kids just happen to like repeating themselves over and over again. For now, I’ll just learn to deal.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering—no, I never intend on teaching them that silly riddle about Pete and Repeat! And if you personally know us, you better not teach them either!!

It's Summer Time Again!

I know some girlies who love ice cream-

and really, who can blame them?

This creamy, melt in your mouth treat can evoke such emotions!

Bug takes it seriously!

Peach is lovin' every minute of her treat!

And my Brownie questions it!

I know some girlies who have loved ice cream for some time now! The three of them participated in our library's summer reading program last year--I swear they didn't do it for the rewards!

And here's Peach two years ago-- lovin' on her ice cream.

Yep, it's definitely time for fun in the sun during the day and ice cream in the evening!

The New Gal in Town

There's a sweet little gal I know who turns one month old today at 9:06pm. So really, she's not quite one month old, but we'll just go with it. I'm just trying to keep her a young little baby forever, but I know that's not how it works or should work! I know, I know, she must grow.

M just minutes old

At one month old you are...

-sleeping very well-- you go to sleep around 9ish. We wake you for a 10:30 feeding. You lets us sleep until somewhere between 3 and 3:30 am. Then you usually want to eat somewhere between 6 and 7 am. You've been like this most of your short life.

M 1 wk old

-eating ever 1 to 2 hours during the day and about every 3-4 hours at night! Days are crazy but at least you are letting us sleep!

-loved on A LOT by some older sisters. They are always kissing you and you tolerate it very well!

-holding up you head for about a minute when we put you down for belly time. Then you try to creep along the floor, all while trying to hold your head up.

M 2 wks old

- probably weighing in around 8lbs, but I'm not sure. I just know you are filling out your clothes more!

- also filling out your swing much more than you used to. When we first put you in there, you kind of curled into a ball because you were so tiny. Now you are hanging out in there like a big girl!

M 3 wks old

- liking the snuggles, cuddles and just being held! Daddy often falls asleep with you on his chest or in his arms.

- still smacking your lips around those fingers and hands. You are often satisfied with a binky- which is very unlike any of your sisters.

- giving us a few previews of what your smiles will be like. There have been two instances (one with me and one with dad) where we were "tickling" your belly and we both swear you were trying to smile/giggle but couldn't quite get it!

M, you are one sweet blessing to our ever-expanding family and we all love you so, so much. Like I always say, no month of my pregnancy went this fast and it's just crazy how fast this first month of your life flew by. I will always cherish you for just being you! I can't wait to see you change and grow this next month (you know, since you HAVE to grow and change--pout, pout).

M 4 wks old

Three Weeks and a Thanks

Well, my little missy M will be three weeks old tomorrow!

What's that? How is it possible that she's already that old?

I don't know how to explain that one. On top of the usual fast-pace existence that overwhelms us when we welcome a new baby to our family, the past few weeks have been anything but calm and relaxing-- so maybe I do see how the time has flown. BUT IT'S STILL NOT FAIR!!!

When we brought M home, we enjoyed three days of hectic craziness. We had wonderful help from my mom with meals and child care-- truly a blessing!

After being home for three days, we revisited the hospital because of my "condition-" which we still don't know what exactly that was for sure. I just hope it's gone. And thankfully, Matt was still on paternity leave during my stay at the hospital.

We came home to some sweeties who were missing mommy A LOT by this point-- after hearing some of their thoughts and questions, I'm sure they thought I was moving into the hospital.

Oh, did I mention we came home to Brownie trying to potty-train herself. After all of our hard work tyring to get her trained before the baby came, here she is deciding to take on that task now. She is doing rather well!

At about that same time, our dishwasher decides to kick it. It was so messed up at one point we had to shut off our water. We just got our new washer installed last night! YEAY, no more doing dishes the way I did in college!

Thank God for all of the lovely ladies in my MOPS group who were so kind as to bring us meals every other day during all of this confusion. I'm so thankful that I didn't even have to think about dinner, let alone make it.

We also had Grammy stay with us for a couple of days last week after some minor surgery. While I know the girls were totally excited with Grammy "having a sleepover" at our house, I know she was probably short-changed on some rest she was supposed to be getting while she was here trying to recover. I just hope she caught up on that rest after she went home this last weekend.

Needless to say, we've had our share of craziness, but as you all know (and can see in the picture directly below), we are coping just fine--certainly because we have wonderful support from family and friends!

Thank you everyone who has offered us any kind of support during the past month. We definitely couldn't have survived as well as we did without you and your kindness!

Here's a pretty recent picture of all four darlings hanging out in baby M's crib.

A clean baby who needs to eat. But instead of feeding her, I'm making her pose for pictures and...

she expresses her feelings quite well as you can see by her hand gesture!

And believe it or not the picture above and below these words is of two different babies. If I didn't know better, I would not be able to tell you who is in what picture!

Brownie is in the last picture and M is in the one above it. How's that for confusing cuteness?!

A Week At Home

I have been wanting to post about our first week and now I may just get my chance. Two are napping and two are playing in the yard with Dada. Sleep sounds tempting, but it would only last about 30 minutes before I'd have to wake up to pump again-- so blogging wins.

We have been home a week now, more or less. We had a minor interruption to our routine Monday afternoon when we took M to her doctor's appointment. While we were there I described some symptoms I'd been experiencing over the weekend (shortness of breath and chest constriction while lying down, a slow heart rate, headaches, a choking sensation when I reclined, and pain under my ribs)and the doctor decided to check my blood pressure. Sure enough it was elevated, and just enough so to send me to the hospital to get a chest x-ray and blood work. The original plan was to wait at the hospital until doc called us with any results and then we'd either head home or head upstairs to be admitted. Honestly, I thought I'd be home by late evening, but that would turn out not to be the case.

I won't even begin to describe the awful mess that is the ER, but I'll just say that we spent 9 hours there waiting and having a few tests done. I had a chest x-ray, ad EKG, a series of blood work, and a V Q lung test (ventilation and quantification), and the remainder of those hours were spent waiting in a tiny room with a curtain, one t.v., a sweet newborn and her very tired and cranky parents.

Those tests revealed nothing to be in my lungs, fluid or an embolism-- Thank God!

While we were doing all of our waiting, my stats were constantly monitored and my heart rate ranged from the upper 30's to the mid 40's. My blood pressure hovered around 150/80, which I've learned is not as high as I thought it was. Having a normal bp of 107/70 is the reason I thought the former numbers sounded so high. Once they ruled out my lungs as the source for my problems, they moved on to a number of other body parts. Heart, gallbladder, and brain. They were thinking of cardiomyopathy, due to my one week post-delivery status. So they admitted me to the hospital at about 3 am so that I could undergo an echo in the morning.

I had the echo, and everything looked fine. I had a bit of elevated pressure going into my right atrium and right valve, a bit of fluid around my heart, and it was slightly enlarged--but no cardiomyopathy. They attributed the other things to being one week post-partum.

They scanned my gallbladder, kidneys, and liver-- all normal.

Last but not least, and MRI for my brain-- which also came back normal.

A complete relief-- heck yes!

A complete frustration that they can't exactly figure out what's wrong with me-- heck yes!

Since there was nothing serious that they could find, I was finally released into the wild to go home around 10 Tuesday night.

I'll be checking in with my gp on Tuesday and the cardiologist in a month to make sure the fluid, pressure and enlarged heart have all gone down or away. Hopefully, my symptoms will disappear before then and I'll just feel silly going in to see the cardiologist feeling fantastic.

The ironic thing about all of this:

I planned an elective induction last week for a number of reasons, just to be shown that I'm not really in control. My one child who was delivered at 40 weeks was 9 pounds-- I wanted a slightly smaller baby to make an easier delivery. HA. She was born at 39 weeks and 2 days weighing an even 7 pounds, but her delivery was very different and more difficult than the others. Never had the C-word been said in my delivery room until this time. Never did I stall at dilation once my water broke until this time.

And let's not talk about experiencing an easier recovery-- okay, let's do.

This has been the most difficult recovery due to everything I listed above. Usually, once I've been home a couple of days, I'm all but back into my normal routine. I tried getting back into the swing of things immediately this time and it came back to bite me-- well, it took a little bite, but still, I've never had a bite taken at me before!

But let me tell you about what has been super, awesome, beautiful, precious, and perfect!

And here is a recap of all the other wonderful moments from the week!

The hospital now hands out little birthday cakes when you take your new baby home. Yes, it's a great start to my new plan of eating healthy!Coming home to a quiet house with all three older sisters asleep! Having three older girls who take care of each other and love on each other so sweetly. Here is big sis Peach reading to sissies. And most importantly, adding a beautiful little miracle who sleeps and eats like a champ!

I Know, I Know, I'm a Bit Late

I'm about 7.5 hours late from the post I promised for yesterday. Here is my gorgeous little sweetie.

She looks so much like all of her sisters. When I get home, I'll post pics of all four of them at this age and I bet even I will be confused. Her hair is the thickest of all our children and the darkest as well. She loves to suck--I've never had a binky kid-- one who is addicted to the thing. I'm thinking she's proving to be a bit of a fan!!!!

She's not super great with eating yet. She thinks that if she tries for about 2 seconds, then she's tried hard enough. Well, that doesn't work for me, so we are adjusting. She's also more hungry than I thought she'd be. I know it'll take time, but we'll figure this thing out together.

She loves to be swaddled, kissed, held, and snuggled. Her mommy, daddy, and all three sisters (and everyone else for that matter) are happy to oblige.

She's had some good periods of awake time where she'll spend some time talking to you about the (possible) swine flu pandemic, the American economy, and how dumb Miss California USA runner-up is. Yeah, I know she's so smart already!

We all got some decent sleep last night from about 3am-6am-- and that my friends is about the only sleep I've had since I woke from slumber Monday morning. There has been two 10 or 15 minute power naps and a one-hour stretch of sleep shortly after I delivered. Mama's ready for some z's! Oh, did I mention she spent all three of those hours tucked into the bend of my right arm? Yes, I know she's I am spoiled!

I'm going to spend some more time filming, staring at, and holding her, now. And I'll come back with some more pictures of my dark-haired beauty!

She's Here!

Our little girl has arrived! Unfortunately, her mama is tired, hot, and ready to eat-- I promise there will be pictures tomorrow!

Born at 9:06 pm after a long labor. Her head was turned sideways, thus stalling the progress to birth.

She weighs in as my smallest baby at 7lbs 0 oz. My other three were 7lbs 1oz, 7lbs 2oz, and 8lbs 15oz. I thought she'd be bigger, but luckily for me she wasn't!

Still don't know how long she is-- but I do know she is getting a bath as we speak!

All 9s on her apgars!

Did I mention that she's perfect, gorgeous and a 2lb smaller version of big sister Brownie with a full head of black hair and cheeks you want to munch on?

And as I adjust to my new normal tomorrow, I promise I will post some pictures of my little cutie.

Nope, Not Yet

Well, I got less than a peaceful night's rest...
too many, although, not strong/hard/long enough contractions stuck around during the night

and

these beds--they are so awful.

And I can't forget the hunger pangs! Guess who called me at 2 AM---mmmhhmmm, that's right! HUNGER!!!! And boy oh boy was that a loud call!

I finally got some Graham crackers 30 minutes ago and am now awaiting some wonderful breakfast food to be brought up to my room. And after breakfast we have some big plans!

LABOR!

We'll start the pitocin shortly after my eggs and tea--Bring it on!

Coming To You Live

This is the first time I've ever had wifi from my hospital room. I've gotta say--- I dig it!

I've had two really good contractions since starting the induction. At about the 10 minute mark I had my first picked-up-on-the-monitor contraction. YEAY! Seven minutes later, Bam! another one. We are due---wait a minute...

... okay, we were due for another one, and like clockwork- another one came.

I actually don't mind if I skip the sleep tonight and instead get this labor started and this sweet thing in my arms! Although, I'm sure Peach would not be the least bit pleased if this baby decided to make her appearance before she could get here. She's kind of been promised to be the first to hold her new sister.

I'm already starting to think about missing the big belly and feeling her kick-- so I snapped a last minute shot!

I figure it's a fair trade though-- the belly for the little bundle of love!

I Don't Want To Forget...

... how life was--the relatively same life I've lived for the past 18 months. Life with one loving husband, three young daughters, an outdoor cat and a dog who can never get enough attention.

I don't think I'm about to be hit with a sudden case of amnesia, but I am about to have a baby-wait, those things are almost the same, right?

I know that all of you moms out there can relate-- it seems that every time you add another person to your family, you almost forget what life was like before baby. Even when you add that first baby to your family, it's hard to imagine how you lived before her arrival. I always feel as if I've known this new little person my whole life-- kind of like she's one of my long-lost friends I need to sit down and get reacquainted with.

It's one of life's little mysteries that I don't quite understand. How can the everyday routine become so in the past so suddenly?

I'm happy to oblige with the newness of a sweet babe and all but forget what life was like beforehand; but, I love my life right now. Yes, it stressful and hectic and one crazy mess half the time, but it's also filled with giggles, (happy) screams, running around, chit chat, cuddles, snuggles, hugs, and kisses. Can you blame me for not wanting to forget that?

In reality, I don't think I'm going to miss out on much.

In reality, I'll just be adding to the loveliness.

In reality, there will be one more little girl for me to nurture, cherish, hug, kiss, and watch as she runs around our house (happy) screaming, giggling and chit chatting!

I guess, what it all comes down to is a new normal. It's not like I'm going to have absolutely no memory of the past 3 1/2 years; I'm just going to accept a new normal and never look back. But really, people do that all the time-- as humans, we're just expected to constantly adjust to a new normal!

And what a wonderful new normal I'm going to get to know!