Micah's First Days at Home

We brought Micah home on Monday, January 3, which was really nice because Guy had the day off work. My mom was so happy to finally be able to hold Micah. She wasn't able to hold him in the hospital because she had a cold and she was juggling three kids every time she came to visit. So, she held him every chance she got. It was so nice to have her stay with us! She took the kids to school, cooked, and was the "go to girl" for everything. It was like having two of me around. The kids loved all the extra attention.

All the kids loved holding baby Micah and being little helpers for mom and grandma. Elliot was constantly saying, "I hold baby" and would grunt with disapproval when I told him that it was my turn to hold baby. The kids also loved to hang around Micah when he was in the swing. Elliot pushed the swing with too much enthusiasm that I hoped would wear off quickly. Amelia was (and still is) very diligent in making sure that the mobile was turning and the music was on for Micah. Ashley has been a great helper, always making sure that poopy diapers get thrown in the garbage.

Ashley drew a beautiful picture for grandma and wanted to make sure that I took a picture of them all together.

Grandpa Steve was nice enough to lend us his wife for the week. The kids were really glad when he came down for a visit too.

When we left the hospital, Micah's bilirubin levels were on the high side of acceptable. The following day, we took him into the hospital to have his blood drawn and check his levels again. They had escalated slightly and we were told to increase feedings to every 2-3 hours to give his liver more of a workout and hopefully flush out the bilirubin. On Wednesday, I took him to my pediatrician and they checked his bilirubin again and this time it had dropped a little bit but the doctor still wanted to check again the following day. When he was checked on Thursday, his levels had increased again so the doctor ordered him to be put under the lights. Micah started his light therapy late Thursday night. We were told to keep him under the lights at all times, except for feedings and diaper changes. My mom and I traded off shifts during the night which meant that neither one of us got much sleep. To help us stay alert during our shifts, we watched Grey's Anatomy, one of my favorite shows. All day Friday was spent trying to make Micah comfortable without being able to hold him. That was when my hormones kicked in and the water works started. I had a really rough time just sitting with my new baby and barely being able to hold him. My mom was gracious enough to give up going to the funeral of Steve's step-brother to stay with us one more night and help out with Micah. On Saturday morning, Guy got up and took the three kids to Manti for our niece's wedding and my mom and I took Micah in for a check-up. Micah's bilirubin levels had nearly been cut in half and we were told that he could come off the lights. What a relief! We celebrated with lunch at Kranky Franks and then Steve came down to take my mom back home again. I packed up Micah and headed down to Manti for the wedding reception and to give Guy a little break from handling three kids all day. To make it back home that night, I needed a giant Coke that I hoped wouldn't affect Micah too much.

This was Micah's bed for 36 hours. He was too long for it and even when we tried to position him just right, he would still stick his legs out. It was really cute.

Grandma Corinne and Grandpa Steve gave Micah this cute new outfit. But, being a 0-3 month size, I knew that we better hurry and get a picture of him in it since he likely wouldn't fit it for long.

Grandma Van Horn with Micah before we headed over to the wedding reception on January 8. Micah was 1 week old.

Ready or Not...Here Comes Baby!

When I first found out that I was pregnant with baby #4 and figured out that my due date would be January 9, 2011, I thought that it would be really cool to go a few days late and give baby the birth date of 1/11/11. How cool would that be? Then, I thought that it would be even better if he weighed 11 lbs 1 oz and was born at 11:11. I know, who actually wishes for an 11 lb baby? I figured that I did it once (with Elliot) so I would have no trouble doing it again. At about 38 weeks, this baby decided to take matters into his own hands.


I had a check-up on December 28 and discovered that there was protein in my urine. The level was not terribly high, but it was high enough that my midwife wanted me to do a 24-hour urine test where I had to collect all my urine for 24 hours. Way too much fun. I completed that adventure on the 29th and made my deposit that afternoon and also had my blood drawn. The next day, I talked my my midwife (who rattled off all sorts of medical stuff) and she told me that I was approaching pre-eclampsia. Huh? I thought that the major sign of pre-eclampsia was high blood pressure which I did not have. She told me that we had to deliver the baby soon before I got any sicker. But I didn't feel sick. However, blood and urine tests don't lie so we scheduled my induction. Why not pick another cool date? We went for January 1, 2011.


Now we had a mad rush to get things done before baby came. Each of the other three kids had come at least 5 days past their due date so this was something new for me. We rushed over to Sam's Club and bought a mattress for Amelia so we could move the girls to the downstairs bedroom. Next on the list was to set up Elliot's bed in the girl's old room, although he didn't move in right away. And I nested as much as I could in a day and a half, washing little baby clothes and setting up the Pack n Play in our room. On December 31, we had my mom and Steve over for dinner to celebrate Elliot's birthday and then my mom spent the night so that we could head for the hospital first thing in the morning.

I was scheduled to be at the hospital at 6:30, but we didn't rush too much and finally arrived at about 7:00. I got changed and then my LD nurse, Jill, came in at about 7:30. After asking a billion questions, she finally started the Pitocin at 8:30. Let the fun begin!! Since I knew that things would likely take a while, I didn't do my make-up or hair before coming to the hospital so that I would have something to do during contractions. I asked Jill to bring me a mirror so that I could sit in bed and do my make-up. That also made it possible for me to stay hooked up to all the monitors. My Pitocin started out at 4 mL/hour and was increased by 4 mL/hour every 30 minutes. Jill told me that we would continue at that rate until I made it to the max dose of 20 mL/hour. When I got to 16 mL/hr, I told Jill that the contractions were plenty strong and I didn't need it to be increased any more. She agreed and let me stay at that level. My midwife, Jennifer, broke my water at 10:30 and I was dilated to about 4 cm. Around 11:30, Guy was getting a little hungry for some lunch. Before he left to warm up a little something to eat, I was dilated to 5 cm but I told him not to be gone long just in case things started to move more quickly. He was worried about bringing his food into the room but I told him that the aroma didn't bother me. A little while later, my lunch was brought in but since I was still in labor, Guy ate it. He was nice enough to save me half the sandwich just in case I delivered soon and was able to eat.


Around 12:30, I decided that I would curl my hair so I would look nice and pretty in the pictures after the baby was born. The cord on my curling iron wasn't long enough for me to sit in bed for this one, so I got up and went over to the mirror. This meant that I had to unplug from all the monitors but Jill was ok with that. While I was up, I had some pretty strong contractions that required some concentration and breathing. I also started to have the feeling like I needed to poop. As I was sitting on the toilet having contractions, I realized that this baby was starting to make his way down and I really didn't want to have a baby in the bathroom. Also, while I was in the bathroom, Jill came into the room to check on me since I had been unplugged for quite a while. When I came out of the bathroom, Guy told me that the nurses wanted me to call them so I could get plugged back in. As he and I were trying to plug things in, a big contraction came and I knew that this baby was ready to come out...NOW! I was trying my hardest not to push while Jennifer and Jill calmly got the bed and room ready to have a baby. Once they were ready, they told me that I could push whenever I was ready. I decided to wait and push with the contractions. Our little baby was born about 4 pushes later (at 1:35) with the cord wrapped partially around his neck and tucked under his arm. As he was placed on my belly, I remember him looking a lot more blue than any of the other kids. He also didn't cry right away but I don't remember being too worried about that because I knew he was breathing.


Phil, a respiratory therapist, came in to check on baby and was concerned because he was grunting when he was breathing. So, after his weight check (9 lbs 13 ozs - 21 inches) and a couple of pictures, baby and daddy were off to the nursery.

Here is my first picture with baby. I'm so glad that I took the time to do my make-up and curl my hair! Actually, getting out of bed and moving around was probably what got baby to move down and be born so quickly. In fact, he came so fast that the right side of his face was bruised.

Baby (still no name other than Goober at this point) had to be hooked up to a C-pap machine to help force the air into his lungs. One of his lungs was doing fine but the other wasn't. He was never on oxygen, just the air in the room was being pumped into him. He also had an IV started because his blood sugars were low. He was put on a little sugar drip that he stayed on for about 24 hours. This meant that I had to go to the nursery to feed him every 3 hours and he didn't get his first bath until Sunday night. Guy jokes that you shouldn't let your baby stay in the nursery for too long or the nurses will poke your baby until they find something else wrong with them. Baby hadn't even had a chance to nurse yet which is why I think his blood sugar was low and wouldn't stabilize.

Jennifer came in to check on me and baby on Sunday morning. She had to rush out to help another patient and so we didn't get any pictures together when baby was born. It turned out that we had the first baby born at Orem Community Hospital in the new year. We were given flowers and a gift card from the hospital to congratulate us.

After church on Sunday, my mom brought the kids in to see their brother. They were only able to see him through the window of the nursery and didn't get a chance to hold him until he came home on Monday. Another new experience for us.

The kids loved running around my room and playing in the bed. Ashely had quite the shiner from running into a wall while holding onto Grandma Corinne's pocket. It was actually kind of funny.

Baby finally got his first bath on Sunday night. He still have the IV in his arm but they had stopped the sugar drip. Guy and I had not had a lot of time to talk about names so baby was still Goober. Luckily, after his bath, we decided on a name.

So relaxed.

When Elliot was born, Guy was very firm in wanting to name him Guy Elliot, after his grandfather. I wasn't real sure about it so Guy told me that I could pick the next boy's name. Talk about pressure. I read the baby name book cover to cover and was having the toughest time finding anything that I really liked. I knew that I wanted his middle name to be after my dad, but that was as far as a got. I had mentioned the name Micah to Guy a few months before baby was born, but Guy wasn't too sure about it. I told him that I would go back to the drawing board and come up with a few more names to consider and he said that he would keep an open mind about Micah. In the end, I suggested a few other names, but we kept coming back to Micah as the name for our little one. So, finally on Sunday night (right before Guy went home for the night), we settled on Micah William. I sent out a text to my family to spread the news. It was so great to finally give our little boy a name!

Elliot's 2nd Birthday

We celebrated Elliot's birthday 2 days late this year so that we could have Grandma Corinne and Grandpa Steve join us for the party. We started out with dinner (tacos and a 7-layer dip) and then presents.

We really need more "boy" toys in our house. Elliot was so excited to get this tool set. He also got some clothes from Grandma and Grandpa.

His big present from mom and day was this car. I was a slacker (mostly due to being so pregnant) and I didn't get it wrapped or assembled. We had the box hiding under a blanket in the living room and when no one was paying attention, Elliot went in and tore off the blanket. Oops. We all missed him "opening" his present. But there was lots of fun had by all as Guy tried to put it together with 3 little helpers.

The party guests. Elliot had a great time riding his car around the house. I think that Guy had even more fun pushing his little boy in his new car.

One of the greatest traditions that we have is the pennie jar. Elliot was able to get a huge handful of money!

We finished off the night with cake which I neglected to take pictures of. And Ashley is still talking about how we didn't have any ice cream for Elliot's birthday. Oops. There's always next year.

Another lost tooth

Amelia lost her third tooth on New Year's Eve. The tooth had been hanging by a thread for what seemed like the longest time. I was so glad when it finally came out. I had her put it in a little plastic bag so that it wouldn't get lost before it was time to put it under her pillow for the night. But when it came time to go to bed, the tooth was nowhere to be found. I had other things on my mind (like having a baby the next day), so we kind of forgot about it. The next morning, Amelia excitedly looked under her pillow to see what the tooth fairy left for her. But like I said, the lost tooth was MIA so the tooth fairy didn't "pay" a visit to our house. My mom had spent the night with the kids so that I could go to the hospital the next morning and the first thing that she told me when I talked to her that day was how disappointed Amelia was that there wasn't anything under her pillow in the morning. I figured that this would teach her a little bit about cause and effect so I didn't worry to much about it.

As time went on, Amelia still could not find her tooth. We looked all over for it and I figured that it must have gotten thrown away accidentally. I even considered having her write a note to the tooth fairy and explain the situation so that she could still get paid.

Then there was a day (many weeks later) that I decided to clean up the basement. I had been pulling all sorts of toys out from under the couch when I found a little plastic baggie...that contained a little tooth. I asked Amelia to come and see what I had found. When I showed her the bag, she didn't realize that it had her tooth in it until I pointed it out to her, then she was so excited! Finally, she was able to put the tooth under her pillow and have the tooth fairy come. The next morning, she was a little disappointed to see a $1 bill under her pillow. Apparently, coins that total $1 is more money than paper money. Who knew?

Christmas 2010

I've been avoiding this post for long enough. I knew that there would be a lot of pictures to upload and move around, and since it can be a little bit of a pain to do all that, I have been putting it off. But since I also want to post about our latest addition to the family, I figured that it would be a good idea to do Christmas first.

Elliot, Ashley and Amelia opening their jammies on Christmas Eve. I love how excited they all are to open a present.

These are the jammies that Elliot got for Christmas, but you won't see him wearing them on Christmas. He woke up Christmas morning completely soaked so I had to put him last years jammies. He didn't fit in them too well, but at least he looked festive.

All the kids ready to open presents!

Elliot was a little bit behind on getting to his stocking. Mostly I just love this picture because of the smile on Ashley's face.

Look at the grin! Elliot was so excited to get a new tie for church.

The one big thing that Ashley wanted for Christmas was Hide and Seek JoJo. Mrs. Claus thought that it was a little bit lame and didn't want to get it for Ashley. Luckily, she also asked for a crawling baby. When she opened it, she forgot about Hide and Seek JoJo for about 1 minute. Then the only thing she would talk about was how she really wanted Hide and Seek JoJo. To this day, she still talks about how she didn't get Hide and Seek JoJo for Christmas.

Gotta love Amelia's reaction when she realized that the tiny package in her hand was an mp3 player. Now she can be like all the big kids on the bus.

I made matching aprons for the girls for Christmas and all of them got homemade pillow cases. Amelia loved her apron but Ashley didn't really feel the same way. When I asked Ashley why she didn't like her apron, she told me that it was because it had too many flowers on it. Now though, she loves to wear it and help mom cook in the kitchen.

Elliot got a mower to push around and make lots of noise. He absolutely loves it!

Guy was so happy to finally get his bullets! He also got a new pillow which he says is so nice that his neck doesn't hurt when he wakes up.

After Christmas morning at our house, we went up to my mom's house for more fun, more presents, and more food. I was in the midst of fighting a cold, which Tamara later came down with, then my mom and Brian got it too. Guy had it the week before and was getting over it. But we didn't let that spoil our fun. We were all spoiled with lots of presents and wonderful food. Grandpa Choo-Choo and Grandma Helen joined us for dinner and the kids wore them out.

Ashley got another baby doll from Tamara and Brian that had a ton of accessories. She loved playing with Grandma and her new doll and was not interested in much else.

Elliot got a truck that he can push and ride on. It is just perfect for him. Grandpa Steve was our garbage man and tried to keep the room tidy.

Insulation

Guy has been hard at work lately working on the bathroom. It has been a long time since much has been done in the bathroom so this is a great accomplishment. For a while (a really long while), Guy was stumped because of the heating duct that we wanted to put it. He thought that we would have to hire someone to do it, but then he found a way to do it himself. Hooray!

The next thing to do was insulation. I know what you are going to say...Why insulate such a small space when the rest of the basement doesn't even have insulation? Well, here is my thinking on the matter. It's not often that you have a room torn down to the studs so you may as well go the extra mile when you do. And, this new bathroom is right off the family room so a little bit of sound deadening will be well worth it. I am already loving the insulation. When the toilets are flushed upstairs, you would never know it if you are sitting downstairs. Also, the furnace room (right next door) has been silenced. Such a wonderful noise.

Whenever I helped Guy with the insulation, I couldn't help but start singing "Overkill" by Men at Work. It became my little theme song.

See that sheet of green? Yup, sheet rock is next. There is hope for this bathroom yet.

Ashley at school

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE Ashley's preschool? Well, I do! And every time I read their blog, I love it even more.

There was a day not to long ago that Ashley was told to bring mittens to school because they would be doing activities with ice. When I checked out the blog, I saw this picture and was surprised that I didn't see Ashley in it. Upon closer examination I saw her puppy, her hat and her mittens. I just wish I could see her.

I love this picure and when I first saw it I started to cry. Her teacher titled the post "Through the eyes of a child." Ashley drew this picture and called it "My Teachers and Me." Ashley has always been a little bit shy and it takes her a while to warm up to people and new situations. Seeing this picture gave me hope that she will do just fine when Kindergarten rolls around next year.

Amelia's Christmas Party

Before school was out for Christmas break, Amelia had a Polar Express themed party at school. My mom was nice enough to come down and watch Ashley and Elliot so I could go help out with the party.

The morning started off with all the Kindergarten classes getting together and singing for all the parents and grandparents. My mom tried to make it there to see her sing, but trying to get out the door with two kids is a lot harder than it looks and so she missed the performance by about 5 minutes.


Next, all the kids decorated gingerbread houses. It kept them busy for a few minutes.

Since it was a Polar Express party, the kids got to read some of the book and then watch a little bit of the movie. Luckily, I had let Amelia watch it a few days earlier so she wasn't completely lost. The kids also got to drink hot chocolate and eat donuts while they watched the movie.

Then, they were able to do different activities around the classroom like punch their train ticket and make a bell necklace. While they were doing this, a special visitor came...Santa. And he was being followed by a photographer from the local newspaper. All the kids gathered around Santa for a picture. There were a ton of kids there because it was both the morning and afternoon classes. She had so much fun and I was glad I got to be there too.

Amelia with her teacher, Mrs. Buck.