7 weeks and counting

My little Sweet Pea is 7 weeks. How time flies! We had our photos taken by a friend and here are two of the many captures she got. She did a great job! Getting good photos of a squirmy little one is quite a feat!
It helps if they fall asleep! These days, it's a blessing to have him sleeping. I think he is going through a growth spurt. We've been up a lot at night these past few nights with a little guy who has his days/nights mixed up. But it seems to me, it was the same while he was in my womb.
I have to remind myself that this is a stage. Both Flying Jae and Lil' Cowboy both made it through this stage with flying colors! Nowadays they are great sleepers and have a hard time getting up in the morning. That is only a problem when we have to go somewhere early.

We are getting ready for the holiday season. Once again, where does time go? I think I have been in la-la land (aka: Baby brain) lately. How can Christmas be right around the corner?
I still have Christmas shopping to do, Christmas decorating to accomplish and who knows if I will get to Christmas baking this year. It may be that I have to call upon the help of Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines to help me out.

But then again...who needs all of those goodies when one is trying to lose the baby weight? Although now that I mention it, one does need to keep an extra layer of "fluff" on to stay warm in these kinds of temperatures, don't they? :) Bring on the sweets, tomorrow is supposed to be 9 degrees!!

If it gets any colder, I may just need to eat a batch of cookies a day (chocolate chip cookies to be exact!) just to stay warm and not run the risk of having to turn the heat up and having to pay more for our electricity. Hmmm, a larger electricity bill or a smaller waist line? Decisions, decisions...but so far the extra goodies seems to be winning in my mind! ;)

Try to stay warm out there, and if that means adding an extra cookie or two to your meal times, then by all means, do what you HAVE to do.
Floraladie

He's Arrived!

Our littlest Sweet Pea has finally arrived! He made his arrival into this world on October 14th, 2010 at 37 weeks exactly.
I had mild-pre-eclampsia symptoms starting to come on a couple of weeks prior. The doctor decided to induce me before things got worse.
10/13/10 My blood pressure was 160/90 and I had trace protein in my urine. My head felt like there was a lot of pressure behind it and I just didn't "feel right."
So during our check up the doctor told us to make plans to head to Labor and Delivery that afternoon.
Thankfully my sweet sister, was home with the kids, and Mr. Pilot was with me (with bags packed-just in case!) for this appointment, so we were ready to go!
Our previous pregnancies have gone this way, so we knew what to expect. Our doctor encouraged us to spend the afternoon having fun before I was tied down to a bed for induction.
So Mr. Pilot and me had a wonderful afternoon date together. Mongo's Grill for lunch...YUM!
Shopping at Anthropologie and then window shopping at "frou-frou" baby boutique shops was a wonderful way to relax and enjoy the gorgeous day.

10/13/10 4pm We got to the hospital and set up for the induction. I was given Cytotec (sp), a capsule to ripen the cervix. By 10pm, I was getting contractions, but was not dilated enough.
So we were told to get a good nights sleep and start the second round of induction at 7am.
Try sleeping in a hospital, with nurses checking you often and having magnesium being pumped into your IV! So not the most restful night, but I was excited...and OH SO NERVOUS!

10/14/10 7am. The pitocin drip is started, contractions start coming on strongly, the epidural is put in place at 11am (thank you LORD!) and by 12:10pm I started feeling the strong urge to push. At 12:26pm 6 lb. 6oz 19 3/4 inches long our little Sweet Pea arrived into the world!
He was born with a higher bilirubin levels, so the doctors decided to keep him an extra day or two. And my blood pressure went up after the birth. So Sweet Pea was sent home with a bili-blanket and me with blood pressure medicine. We were released at 5pm on Sunday.

Here our Sweat Pea's big brother's Lil' Cowboy and Flying Jae with Grandma a.k.a my sweet birthing coach and Mr. Pilot a.k.a wonderful birthing coach and husband!
Flying Jae had a run-in with the wall, and had to get a staple in his head while we were giving birth. But my sister took care of him and the doctor run during that incident. He was quite proud to show off his headband and tell of his time at the clinic.

We are HOME sweet home now. Trying to catch up on sleep and getting little Sweet Pea into a routine (HA!). We have a followup doc appointment to make sure all is well with the both of us tomorrow. So far he is filling his drawers and eating good, all good signs that bili-levels are lowering.
Very grateful to my mom-in-law for taking Sweet Pea's brothers for the week. I miss them terribly, but I am glad to have some peace and quiet.
Don't be surprised if this is the last post for a while now...life with 3 kids is going to be interesting, I just know it! :)
Happy to have my little Sweet Pea finally here, in my arms!
Floraladie
PS. Newborn babies smell so delicious! Just thought I'd add that for all of those ladies out there considering having a baby anytime soon (you know who you are! ;).

Life these days?

Life's latest happenings? Well, it was going well, until the past 24 hours. My blood pressure started going up again. Maybe baby this week? I have a doctor appointment Friday, that could be D-Day. But only the Lord knows what is in store for this little guy. He and I both are anxious to get this show on the road. I can tell he wants OUT! :)


Meanwhile we've been enjoying the beautiful weather we've been having these past few days. We spent one afternoon at the lake. We had a great time on the water fishing (so much so I didn't get pictures!) and touring the homes by boat.
The boys had a wonderful time holding the dead minnows we were using as bait. (They were alive when we bought those sucker's but they don't live long!) Lil'Cowboy had a little too much fun with his fish and squished the head off. Or possibly bit it off? Not sure exactly what happened there.

And the last, but definitely not the least, the biggest, happiest happenings around here is having my dear 18-year-old sister visiting to help out with the kiddos during the end of this pregnancy. We always tend to have "dramatic" births around here. So having all the help we can get is very much appreciated!

Here is a picture of her beautiful face:



Hoping to have some pictures of the boys to post soon. And hopefully their brother will be here quickly to join them on the photo shoot--coming soon!
Floraladie

Officially Nap Day

It's been one of those weeks. I've been on the go a lot! We had the chance to stay at a hotel for 5 days while Mr. Pilot took some classes for his work this past week. This week followed a previously busy week. My first thoughts upon hearing we'd be staying at a hotel suite was, "Yes! Finally some rest! Nice comfy king size bed, cartoons for the kiddos. Sounds fabulous!"
Well, the suite was nice. Very nice, because there was a door between the suite area and the room. So the kids got their own room and so did we. So nap times, I could close the door so everyone had peace and quiet.
But 3 of the 5 days there, we were on the go, driving back and forth between the hotel and home for MOPS stuff, shopping for essentials and getting our tires replaced. So I made sure we had 2 days where I planned nothing but REST.

Haha, rest in a hotel room with kids is comical to say the least.

One of the reasons I am resting (trying to) is because near the end of my pregnancies I start developing pre-eclampisa. My blood pressures goes up, I start swelling up like a blowfish and they find protein in my urine. Last week, my blood pressure started to go up. Uh oh, this could be the beginning of the a very interesting next couple of weeks.

So back to the hotel room. The 2 days we had nothing planned but rest. It did happen...in spurts.
I brought coloring books, crayons, books, toys, snacks galore. And then there is the good ol' cartoons all day.
But every time I laid down and got comfy--(that takes a lot of doing being 8 months preggo) the kids would get into some sort of trouble.
Whether it was drawing on the walls with crayons, making "soup" out of their snacks in the ice bucket, not making it to the bathroom in time to get the "poopies" in the toilet :{ or bumping heads on coffee tables, there was not a whole lot of resting that happened. In fact, I think my blood pressure went up even more because of it. Thankfully, my sweet hubby, would come back from his classes in the evenings and take over with the kids.
Took them to the indoor pool, let them sit the tub for a long time to play and kept them busy for me so I could lay down. Ahhh, now that was more like it! :)


Thankfully, by my quick doctor's appointment at the end of our trip, my blood pressure was down to a normal range.
So today, we are home sweet home. My agenda for the whole day was: Nap-Day-Because-Mom-Is-Exhausted-Day! Which, by the way, should really be a weekly event.
It worked! We all slept in until after 10am. Took naps at 2 and got up at 5pm. I think everyone was exhausted from our hotel stay. It's been a "suite" day! Just don't drop by and look at my house any time soon. ;)
Glad to be back home,
Floraladie

Praying for Gabbie

Pray for our friends sweet 3-year-old daughter, Gabbie. She was just diagnosed with Leukemia on Friday. She is being treated at the Children's Hospital right now.
I can't even imagine what her parent's are feeling. But I know, if it were my boys, I would want to be surrounded by prayer to get through this tough time!
Please pray for her health, and strength for the whole family during this time.
Thank you- Floraladie

Speaking of Pregnancy!

Well, we had a surprise this weekend! My twin gave birth 4 weeks early to little Ezra Willem. He was 5 lb 2 oz 18 inches long. He is a healthy little guy. Momma had some trauma with a detached placenta. She needed a blood transfusion. She is feeling much better now that she has some more blood flowing through her system. Our Mom flew out to see her and help take care of her new grandbaby.
Mr. Pilot and I are hoping to see our new little nephew hopefully around Thanksgiving. But sooner would be nice! :)


I love seeing the glow on my sweet twin's face of being a mommy! Her hubby looks like he is beaming as well. Could be the sleepless nights giving them that dreamy look. But I say, it's due to the euphoria they are feeling over having a sweet little boy--sooner than they expected!
Praying for the full recovery of my twin and continually good health for Ezra.
Floraladie

Pregnancy Happenings

Here is my lovely twin in the beginning stages of her pregnancy. This is her first baby! She is due in 4 weeks. Everything is going so well for her. Before you know she will be holding her sweet baby boy in her arms.
Here she is at 35 weeks or so. So just imagine her belly a smidgen bigger. Yep, she is all baby! I can't wait to hear her thoughts on being a mother as she holds her crying baby on her tummy in the delivery room! I think she is going to LOVE being a mother, and I know she will be a good one! I think it won't take long and she will be wanting more. :)

Now here is my sister-in-law, pregnant with her 7th baby. Yep, that's right, 7th and yes, she is SUPER MOM! She is a pastor's wife and homeschooling mother. I admire her for her energy to keep up with everything she has going on. Here she is with my brother.

She is the cutest little pregnant lady! Here she is with her friend (below). I don't have a lot of pregnancy photos of her...she is always on the go, I don't think she has time for such things as photos! ;) Would, you? Pray for her, she has found out she has excess amniotic fluid and has to go in to be checked lately due to the complications surrounding this diagnosis. One possible risk is pre-term labor. She is 33 weeks, so her baby girl needs to hang on a few more weeks at the very least!

And then I am pregnant, almost 30 weeks with our 3rd boy. Yes, my parent's are going to be bombarded with grand babies this year! This was taken at 27 weeks. I am not taking weekly photos of my belly like I should. But you get the idea of how big I am getting and I still have a ways to go! Watermelon belly here I come! Pray for this pregnancy, I have a low-lying placenta, and have to be watched closely. Have an ultrasound at 33 weeks to make sure things look okay. If nothing's changed there will be a c-section scheduled. Not the end of the world, but it would be nice to deliver naturally. :)


So there you have it, a little pregnancy post for you. And all those Momma's out there thinking about pregnancy again...it could happen to you! Watch out...don't drink the water, it's an epidemic happening all over the continent! ;)

Have a blessed week,
Floraladie