So far so good - it's crazy!

So obviously the blogs have slowed down with a newborn in the house. The first two weeks have been good because I have had the best help in the world. Matt was home for the first week and my parents have been here this week. Next week I'm sure I'll lose my mind.

Thomas finally was discharged on Wednesday. It was touch and go because of his jaundice levels. We got them under control and he has been great ever since. Since Sunday he has been up only 2 times per night which is something I can handle as long as he goes down fairly early or talks to dad until its time to eat again. That way I can rest for a while and feel refreshed when the alarm goes off at 5:30am.

The boys have done really well. Patrick doesn't seem to mind him much and only patted his head roughly a few times. It has been crazy with my folks here this week. I think they are ready to go back in their own beds. I know I'm ready for them to sleep in a little later. Patrick's molars are bothering him. Some are closer to coming through than others. I hope they come in quick so he can rest peacefully and we don't have anymore distractions at night.

I think next week I'll have to be more organized than ever - easier said than done. Changing 3 diapers, getting lunch ready and getting 2 little ones off to nap will be quite challenging. Hopefully I will be able to nap during Sesame Street so John will be entertained otherwise I will have a 4 year old checking in on my napping progress. I can't wait until I'm stronger so I don't have to nap. That will relieve some anxiety that I will be able to hopefully accomplish some work for my virtual assistant job during the day - especially if I get a job at night or on the weekends.

Chicken Little aka Tom is looking to eat now. I'll update when I have enough time and strength not to nap!

The fun has begun! Thomas Andrew is born!

Thomas Andrew has arrived! Now the “fun” has begun. It all started on Sunday night. We got the boys down for the evening and I was starting to fold the last of the laundry for the weekend when I felt like I lost control of my bladder. I ran to the bathroom and took care of business. Now I decided to grab a pair of clean underwear from the basket when it happened again. I know I just went so I didn’t think I was having an “overactive bladder” moment. Could this be my water breaking? While I’m in the bathroom I decided to summon my dear husband to go upstairs to get me a maxi pad. The last thing I wanted was to go through 5 different pair of underwear. I then filled him in with what I thought was going on and he was like ok – now what? I said we call my sister and we go to the hospital to find out for sure. So as we waited for Lori – I grabbed the last minute items I didn’t pack and made many trips to the bathroom. It is just weird when you don’t have control of what is coming out of you!

The ride to the hospital was full of mixed emotions – excited and nervousness. I kept hearing about how the more kids you have the faster the later ones arrive. I wasn’t having any contractions but when the baby moved I kept wondering if this was the time it was just going to come out? I told Matt I think we should go in through the ER. He agreed. They took me right up to L&D where shortly after we arrived it was confirmed my water did break. After being a pin cushion my IV was hooked up and they began the pitocin. At that point I knew Matt and I were in for a long night. I even mentioned to him what is up with the kids arriving in the middle of the night. We both tried to rest as we watched some TV.

At one point in the wee hours of the morning when the nurse came to check on me or the IV that was beeping, I explained to her that the last time I gave birth to a baby came very quickly near the end – no doctor’s no nurses just Matt and I asking for help. She said that is ok she would be hear to remind me what to do and to stay focused. Her words really helped put me at ease and I kept those words in my head so I knew to relax and it would be ok. So around 5am the contractions were getting closer together so I called the nurse in and made sure Matt was more awake than asleep. At one point she said do you feel like pushing? I said yes. So on the next contraction she said I would push and she would check to see where I was at. That is when Thomas started to come down the birth canal like a train. The next thing I know she and Matt are telling me to stop pushing – easier said than done when you just want the pain over with. Well I tried to stop and the nurse was freaking out as the doctor was not in the room, the baby was coming – so she called in the other nurses and out Thomas came. He was ok but in the mass confusion of everything I’m not sure if they took his initial Apagar score. I was very relieved that was over and this time I wasn’t the one freaking out! What Matt and I thought was funny was the nurses asking me if I was having my tubes tied. I am going to have my tubes tied with a new procedure that will take place in about 6 weeks. I couldn’t help but wonder why didn’t they ask me after the 3rd child was born?

Thomas weighed in at 7lbs 8oz and 20 ¼ inches long. I was disappointed that he didn’t weigh more – that means most of the fat landed on me! He sure is one handsome little dude!

Matt and I both rested late in the morning. It was nice to sleep for a while. Thomas was nursing like a champ – especially after he was born. Matt brought the boys to the hospital to meet him early in the evening. John and James were a little hesitant to come by me but Patrick was sure happy to see me. The boys warmed up after a while – of course when they received a present from Thomas that helped!

Last night was pretty good. He nursed well before I had him taken to the Nursery so I could get some rest. They brought him in around 2am but he didn’t seem too interested in nursing. He then nursed great again after I finally woke him up around 5:30am. The only problem we ran into is Thomas’ bilirubin level is high for his age. They are treating him with lights and phototherapy and supplementing him with some formula. I’m waiting for the results hopefully the levels will start to go down so he can come home tomorrow.

Tomorrow John has his kindergarten screening. I was hoping to take him but maybe he will do better with Matt there and not his overly protective mother!

Well American Idol is on. I think I will get ready to rest and wait for my little man to nurse some more. Good night!

TGIF

Boy I am glad it is the weekend. Week 2 of 3 before the baby arrives. Yesterday was fun but today was much better. Yesterday I took the kids to the mall. They enjoyed the play area and running the stink off. The only problem was a little nap went a long way for James while a little nap wasn't long enough for me. Today I was room parent for John's Valentine's Party. It was a lot of fun of course I brought the fun with me. Today I realized why God has blessed me with boys and not girls with attitudes. All the kids were good but some just had their issues. John was great this afternoon and I got a good nap in. Just in time as Patrick took the short nap today.

I got the house cleaned up some more. It would be really cool to get the refrigerator cleaned before the baby but that would mean I would have to do it sometime during the week next week. Usually I like to do it on a Friday night when the fridge is just about empty. I still could attempt that next week. I wonder why our bathroom turns into the grossest, dirtiest place after one week. I have been talking myself into a good cleaning every week instead of maybe a quick clean - just in case the baby is born and the company starts to arrive. The basement could use dusted too. Maybe that might be a job when the kids are watching TV.

I need to decide very quickly what to make for next week's dinner. The choice hopefully will be easy without a lot of mess. Tomorrow is Ashley's baby shower. That should be fun. I hope she enjoys herself. Big decision for dinner tomorrow - do we get pizza or burgers. With Lent in season now I don't get the burger on Friday nights so this decision becomes difficult. Pizza is good anytime so maybe we'll go with that - and a wrap! I wish they would bring back the coupons for the wrap, fries and coke for $6. 75. That was a great deal!

Winter Blues

It feels like it has been a long two days. The weather hasn't been too great, the list of things that need to get done is long and the house seems small. I feel it has been hard to have some "me" time lately. If I'm not taking care of this kids then I'm doing something for my virtual job or John's school party. I am also worried about what the future might bring as I still don't have a solid plan to earn more money to help make ends meet. I am hoping the job and if we need childcare will fall into place. It's hard to imagine taking care of the kids and then do something else for 4 hours and still have energy the next day - because right now I'm exhausted with what I'm doing now but that could be because I am 9 months pregnant too. I then wonder - and I'm going to add one more child to the mix - hence the title to my blog - "What was I thinking??"

Some funny things have happened today that make being a stay at home mom a joy. John called me "dear" like his Dad does. Patrick waking up after an hour and half nap wasn't joyful but watching him and James trying to waking up John who fell asleep in the living room for a little bit before dinner was pretty cute. Patrick has these pants on that are the right size but the elastic in the waist is a little "loose" so they are hanging off his butt most of the time. So he is bending over John then sitting on top of him like John is going to wake up and give him a ride. James is sitting in his Cars chair yelling "wake up John!"

Thanks for listening to my rant. I feel better getting that off my chest. I guess it is good it only took 10 days and a lot of snow before I started to break down mentally. Hopefully I have reached my low point until after the baby when the lack of sleep will be sure to get to me again - however - the weather will hopefully be a lot nicer so this house won't seem so small :-)

Great Weekend - Busy Day

We had a good weekend. Today was busy. The good news was John didn't have school because it was too cold. I had a doctor's appt this morning and tons of work just came in for my virtual assistant gig. I have the one trip squared away but several other I will need to tackle. I would like to do it in the afternoon when James and Patrick are napping. I just have to think of something for John to do while I am doing it. I'm sure the computer or TV would be fine with him but I wish I could be more creative than that.

This is a short one today because it is so late. Hopefully more time will be available tomorrow. More snow tomorrow so it will be another in the house day. I was hoping to take the kids to the mall to pick up my engagement ring. Maybe Thursday will be the better day.

The house is coming together

Today I was able to finish vaccumming our bedroom and living room and clean the carpet in the living room and one area of the bedroom and hallway outside the bathroom. The main concern was at the bottom of the steps where there were some noticeable spots. Of course with this type of stain you should really pre-treat it with a spray - which I didn't have. It made it a little better but still noticeable. It was amazing how dirty the water was.

John had a good day at school. He was very happy. It is funny that he won't tell me what happened but I have to "check out his bag" to see what they talked about. James had a rough morning. He hasn't been happy that Ashley is coming over. I think his problem today was still a result of yesterday's no nap incident. Patrick was very happy. He cracks me up when I watch him play or interact with John or James. Not to mention this kid must be on a growth spurt because he is eating like he has a hollow leg.

Nothing else note worthy. Its getting late and I would like to get some sleep. We are going out tomorrow evening so I'm not sure how long I will be able to nap and I still need to think of what we are going to eat for dinner next week! Yikes - that is the only thing I miss about work - the "free" time to figure out what's for dinner and reading all the news stories.

Google better snap out of the funk its in - pages are taking a long time to load today. Bummer!

February 7th

Well it was a good night as far as Patrick was concerned but my mind got the best of me and made me worry a lot. What was I worried about?? Having the baby today while I went to Babies R Us. The worst part was I couldn't get in touch with Matt and I had the three kids by myself. I kept wondering if I could get in touch with Kathy to come get the kids and to get to the hospital. Well, to solve my problem, I called Kathy this morning and asked her to meet me at Babies R Us. I was lucky enough that she was available.

We met her and it was so helpful because she could push James around - even keep John and him occupied while I located items off the baby registry for my cousin on top of looking for my now - 4th child necessities. I almost started to blow all the money on cute clothes - I don't need but am a sucker. Then I remembered that I needed a changing table pad as the one I currently have (which was bought used) is tearing and could really be replaced. Did I think to measure how long the table was - heck no. I was about to buy the cheaper, flatter changing table pad until my SIL Kathy talked me into the contour shaped pad - the one I really wanted . Turns out I made a good decision shelling out the extra money because this pad fit perfectly and the other one woudn't have fit my table. The other reason that was making me not want to get the contoured shape pad was the fact I would probably need new covers - more $. I found one that was $8 because it was discontinued and then I paid the full price for the other one. Well after we got the cutest Irish outfit on the way out I ended up going over the card limit of $100 by $12. I even put back an outfit I was going to use as a going home outfit and maybe Easter outfit (only $7 but still I'm trying to be good :)

Kathy then treated us to Wendy's. I can't believe how well James ate. I guess that is good because he didn't eat very very well yesterday.

We came home and Patrick and I napped. John and James did god only knows in their bedroom. Well I found out James moved his and John's duck banks on to James' bed. I wish he would stop doing that. I guess James was excited at the fact his cousins, Carter and Paige were coming over and I wasn't sure of the time so I was hoping he would go to sleep fairly quickly but maybe not take such a long nap. That plan didn't work out. He made it until 7:45 tonight and went to bed with no problem.

The kids enjoyed seeing their cousins. The toys and noise level was at a all time high. Ok Celebrity Apprentice is on and I have laundry to fold.

Good news - no baby today - maybe I have another 20 days left in me after all!