Loving on the baby

Paige is pretty loved around here. Darby is still convinced she is her baby, and the other two coo over her frequently as well. Too bad all she wants is me nowadays. That will change in a few months and I will have built-in entertainment for Paige. I am looking forward to that.

Daddy Daughter Dates

Don't worry, there are father son dates too. They just have less pictures because Daddy and Bubbs are so active.

Darby and the hat

Paige was wearing a hat to keep her head warm so Darby insisted on wearing one of her own. Then she wanted a photo shoot. I was happy to oblige. She's the only one of my children who will ham it up for the camera.

Sleepy baby

Holding a newborn is like taking a sedative. There's just something about holding a sleeping little bundle that makes you drowsy. Paige is no different. Not to mention that she sleeps a lot by herself as well.

And a rare awake shot at 2 weeks old.

Our 8th Annivalentine

Eight years ago on February 14th, Jason and I were sealed in the Oakland Temple for time and all eternity. We have had a blessed life ever since. There have been struggles but the Lord has always guided our path and led us to where we needed to be. Through the years I have learned that the Lord is truly in charge of it all. Now we are parents of 4 beautiful, lively children and are living across the country from all we grew up with. I think our relationship is better and deeper than ever before. I still look at him and think how lucky I am. We look forward to what the next years hold for us.

The biggest sister

Eva is four years old now and she is ready for so much. Its an exciting age.

This coming school year we plan on enrolling her in a Pre-K program (the same one Brendan was in). She will thrive in that social environment I think. She is so spunky and full of energy. She still runs everywhere even when walking will do. Her speech has dramatically improved. She has never met a stranger (which troubles me some) and is very socially savvy. She can be quite the charmer and is often a favorite in her church classes, even if she is a little naughty. Despite that, she is a really good listener and loves to help out, especially with the cooking. I enjoy our time together in the kitchen.

Eva has never really been a girly girl and prefers outside and wrestling and animals to dolls, princesses and sparkly things. She is rough and tumble and can easily take down her brother who is nearly a foot taller than her. I have to remind her to "be soft" quite often. She is a daredevil as well and I am amazed that she hasn't broken any bones yet. I would like to get her into gymnastics. Eva id a daddy's girl and I fully support that. She has a tendency to wander, given her innate curiosity. She is artistic as well, showing a preference for coloring and painting. She also surprises me often by the things she knows; I think I underestimate her and how much she pays attention to things.

Her favorite color is purple and she loves Diego (since he rescues animals). Her hair is usually messy but she doesn't want me to cut it. She has yet to potty train, mostly due to stubbornness. She CAN do it (and will be accident free for other people - just not for me), she just has no interest in it, which is really frustrating. Eva has the best laugh of any kid I know and her dimples show when she smiles, which I love. She also gets her "smiter face" when she's angry and you know to back off.

I often say in reference to Eva's resemblance to me, "Its weird to see your face on someone who is doing something you would never do." Its true, she is in many ways the opposite of me. But I could not love her more. I am anxious to see what's next for Miss Eva. We love you, BabyGirl!

Magic Birthday

Eva turned 4 on the 4th! Sadly, I was in the hospital then but Daddy was given the charge of making it special.

I got a call around 7am from him to include me in her present opening and breakfast. She got a Little People Zoo playset and once it was open she ceased talking to me on the phone and ran off to play.

They came to see me in the morning and then went to Monkey Joe's where she jumped and played until her heart's content. Then Daddy took them all out for pizza.

The rest of the day was filled with hide n seek, piggyback rides and another trip to see me (my roommates had been discharged so finally the room was all mine).

They ate dinner at a favorite fast food place that has amazing shakes.

I sure wish I could have been there for her birthday but Daddy is way more fun than me anyway. Happy Birthday Eva!!

First meetings

After I was transferred to the Mother Baby Unit, Jason went home to be with the other kids. They came to visit me after Brendan got out of school that day. I was so excited to see them. Darby was immediately enamored with her baby sister. She said, "That's my baby Paige!" and wanted to hold her. In fact, she has wanted to hold her every second since. I don't think the jealousy I feared will come to fruition. If anything, she'll be jealous of anyone else who gets to hold the baby.

Eva was a little more wary but gave her kisses too.

Brendan loved on her and was excited for his turn to hold her. He has been a big helper.

Mommy with her kiddos

A Baby Story

Here is the story of Paige's birth. If you are not one to want to hear a delivery story, you should skip this post.

I was 39 weeks along and on Thursday I decided that I really wanted to have this baby out. It was a lovely day and so I took the girls for a walk. I walked around the neighborhood for over half an hour. When I got home, after a rest, I started to feel contractions unlike the Braxton Hicks I had been feeling. They began around 2pm and were slightly intense but never got very regular until around 4:30. I began to time them and they were anywhere from 3 minutes apart to 11 minutes apart. I sent Jason a text that this might be it. He had a meeting but came home right after at about 5:45pm. Meanwhile I did the last minute packing, made dinner and proceeded to get the kids all ready for bed so that our kind neighbor who was coming to watch the kids would have less to do. The contraction got more intense so that I had to stop whatever I was doing until they passed but I knew I was still hours away from baby arriving. That was good since I was Group B Strep positive and needed to have two doses of antibiotics 4 hours apart before delivering. We left for Womack Army Medical Center around 7:30.

When we got there, we had to wait for a check in room to open up. When they finally checked on me, I was at a 4.5 and they told me it wasn't enough to admit me yet but that I needed to walk around the hospital for an hour or two and come back. Okay. I knew it was true labor at this point (I mean, I HAVE had three other babies) but whatever. So we walked. After about 20 minutes, the contractions were bad. I started to feel nauseous and shaky. I knew from previous experience that I was in transition and so, even though it had only been such a short time we headed back. Once again, we were made to wait while they readied a room. The contractions were three or less minutes apart by now and I felt AWFUL. Again they checked me and I was at 7 cm. Yep, 45 minutes later and I had moved about 3cm. I was quite proud of myself since I had been able to breathe through the contractions up to this point. I kept telling myself that I could get an epidural soon.

While they were doing all their paperwork, talking to me (I wasn't listening - I was in PAIN), giving my an IV and getting a delivery room ready, I felt a pop. I told the nurse. She checked and no fluid came out so they ignored it. I knew what it was - my water had broken. I was pretty peeved at this point because I felt no one was taking me seriously. The back labor was awful, I felt paralyzed. Soon, the nurse told me I needed to get up and walk to the delivery room (never had that happen - usually they wheel me in). When I tried to move the water came out and the nurse asked me if I had peed. Seriously?! Then they decided to just take me into the delivery room on the bed. Good. But then they wanted me to move from bed to bed. I was in such immense pain that it took all of my strength to move my body over. I was screaming with each contraction at this point. The midwife chastised me but I didn't care. I knew that after my water had broken the baby would come really fast. I was angry at her for not listening to me in the first place.

The anesthesiologist started asking me questions to prep me for my epidural. Jason had to answer them. While that was happening, they checked me again and declared that I was at a 10 and 100% effaced and that I needed to push. What?! No pain meds for me at all - she's coming! From 4.5 cm to 10 cm took 3 hours, and from the time they got me on the bed to the time Paige arrived was 14 minutes. She came in just after midnight on February 3rd.

In retrospect, they really should have admitted me initially. This IS my fourth baby, after all. And they knew I needed the two doses of antibiotics. My midwife was a student and I can honestly say she was the worst at stitching me up ever. Twenty minutes later I got to hold and nurse my baby. I was so grateful to be wheeled into the Mother Baby Unit where everything about my stay was pretty good (except I had to share a room - boo!) until we were discharged on Sunday. We had to stay 48 hours because they didn't get the antibiotics to me in time and Paige had to be monitored.

And that's the story of my quick delivery with no painkillers and a beautiful baby girl. :)

She has arrived

Paige Marie arrived at 12:01 on the 3rd of February. Guess she didn't want to be born on Groundhog's Day so she made her appearance right after midnight. She weighed in at 8lbs 3oz and was 20.7 inches long. She made a quick entrance too. More details to follow but here are some pictures of Baby Paige.