Sleeping like a baby

I used to think sleeping like a baby meant that you slept really long and hard. Of course babies sleep a lot but not usually when you want them to. I have a whole new definition of what sleeping like a baby means. To me it means not going to bed until 2am like last night because somebody, we will not name names, thought it would be lots of fun to eat then sleep for 5 minutes, then wake up and eat and sleep for 5 minutes, then fuss a little and continue the pattern. Finally she stayed asleep at 2am and I could at last go to sleep. She actually will go a long run of it by that point. She slept till 7am and ate then went back to sleep until noonish. It would be great if only I could go to sleep when she does, but when you have 3 other kids it is not an easy thing to do. Here's to having a new baby! I try to still hold on to these moments, to remember them, even the hard ones. For one, I want to enjoy this last time I will ever have to experience new mothering, and two, when Adyson is a few years old and I somehow start to think that I am baby hungry, I can remember these moments and say - "phew, I am done with that!". Well, here is to hopefully a better night of sleep.

Camping

Sunday we had a BBQ with the neighbors and Ben went paint balling with the guys. The kids played on the slip ad slide again and we hung out with the adults. I got a little break holding Adyson with many hands who wanted to hold her.

Ben set up the tent for the kids and they camped out in the back yard. It was a bet of who would come in first, and it ended up being a tie with Loryn and Elijah. Caleb stuck it out with dad all night. I think they had a lot of fun. Caleb says they played shadow puppets. Raza did the best when she sat on the porch in front of the light, she cast a big kitty shadow. What a great dad Ben is, always doing things to have fun with the kids!

Saturday Fun in the Sun!

Slippin' and Slidin' fun!

The kids and the "big" kids (Ben and our neighbor, Christian) had a blast on the slippin slide. They combined two and put it on the hill, added some soap and there was nothing stopping them. They actually added a third slide of which Ben said he made the record of sliding 5 or so feet off the end of the the bottom slide.


Elijah is finally in the process of some serious potty training. He is officially wearing underwear during the day. He is having some accidents but is getting better and better each day.


His favorite is peeing in the woods, which his lovely father has encouraged him to do. Such a cute butt! My little boy is growing up!

Week at a glance

The first week Ben stayed home to help with the new adjustments. He was a big help keeping the kids busy, and even holding and sleeping with Adyson to help me get some sleep. Adyson did pretty well. Her schedual was of course off and she was up most of the night. She loved sleeping on daddy and was actually one of the few times she would sleep for more than 4 hours. She does not take a binky very willingly and actually gets mad if you give her one and she is still learning to nurse. She doesn't seem to want to open her eyes much, maybe she is afraid to.

The kids had a good time playing games with daddy. They are adjusting well. They love holding Adyson and are very willing to help. Caleb is getting a little sad wanting more time with mom and dad, and gets a little frustrated that he has to clean up after everybody and now the baby!

Pretty much this week was keeping the kids from killing each other and destroying the house and letting mom and baby get some rest and get adjusted. Not an easy job. Sometimes you just got to throw them in the bath.

Overall we survived and Ben returned to work on Monday the 19th. The next week without Ben was actually not bad at all. I went to the store with all 4 on Thursday and other than not having room in the grocery cart it wasn't that bad. It was just a short trip to if I had to do a lot of shopping I still think leaving them at home would be the best way to go. Adyson does her best sleeping in the mornings which is good and bad. It is great because I can get things done and bad because I can't continue sleeping because the other three are awake. In time I guess she will finally sleep at night and give me more normal sleep.

Time with Adyson

As I mentioned before my dad, Lisa, Chris and Aimee came over Saturday morning to meet Adyson and to take the kids out.

Here is Elijah getting ready to go to Marci's house. He was trying to figure out the swim vest.

The kids had fun at Marci's. They swam, played Wii, played outside, and had a great sleep over. Ben and I enjoyed not having to worry about the kids and just rest and get to know Adyson. Ben went and got some sushi and made beef stir fry to go with it for dinner. By 10pm I fed Adyson and Ben took the first shift to let me get some solid sleep for a few hours before heading into the night with Adyson. He brought her to me about 130am. Adyson did well last night. I was able to feed her well and she would sleep for a few hours at a time.

We didn't get moving until about 10am the next morning. Ben went and got the kids about 12pm. We threw them in the shower and let them go out and play for a little while. When they came in Ben was holding Adyson on his chest and all the kids wanted to hold Adyson the same way too. The kids continue to love her and want to hold her. They just think she is soooo cute.

Adyson Mae - 1 day old

We are all doing great! Having a home birth has been the best experience I wish we thought about it with the other 3. The kids are very excited and are constantly asking to hold her. Adyson doesn't seem to be phased with all the noise from the other kids - she sleeps right through it, even if she is being passed around. The kids are currently at my friend Marci's house having a sleep over. It is great having a friend like her. My brother, Chris, and his wife Aimee, came over this morning and my dad shortly after that. They visited and then took the kids out to lunch.

I am doing well, the midwife, Debi came over today and she checked the baby and me. Other than a lot of painful after pain contractions and lack of sleep I am feeling lots better, even starting to feel restless. Here are some pictures of today.

Adyson Mae Doolittle

Welcome Adyson Mae Doolittle

Born: May 9, 2008
Time: 3:25am
Where: Chattanooga, TN
Weight: 8 lbs 10 oz
Length: 21 inches ?

Prodomal Labor

I have a lot of catching up. I just haven't felt like writing lately. I have been a little frustrated. Last Thursday I visited my midwife and she checked me and did sweeping of the membranes to see if we could "stir" things up. It definitely stirred things up but not enough to produce a baby as you probably could figure out since I am not writing about having the baby at the moment.

When she checked me (this is last Thursday the 1st), I was dilated to a 2, 80% effaced, but the cervix was still back a ways, but I was very soft. By about 4pm after getting home, I started to have contractions that were 1 to 3 minutes apart. They continued to get stronger but nothing really strong. I called my midwife and she said to call her in an hour. I did and the contractions continued 1 to 3 minutes apart. She said she was coming. My thoughts were that I knew they were not strong enough to warrant a serious concern of having the baby real soon but the fact that they were 1-3 minutes apart definitely gave me concern. I thought surely, if they are this close, this is labor and it would continue till we had a baby.

Operation baby kicked into gear. We called our friend Eileen to pick up the kids, called Marci and Wendy for support, finished picking up the house etc. Midwife got here checked the baby, everything looked great, checked me and I believe at that point which was around 6pm I was a 3 dilated. Wendy, Marci and I started walking up and down the street, I met my assistant Midwife Michelle, and we just kept waiting for labor to kick into a higher gear. When I walked it would get to sometimes 30 seconds apart and very strong. Things stayed about the same. Debi check me at about 930pm and I was at 3 cm dialated, 100% effaced. She said the cervix did come down a little bit. She didn't feel I was really progressing very fast and was concerned with how late it was getting. She wanted me to rest and see if I could sleep. Her and the assistant left for a little bit and I tried to lay down to sleep. It was restless to say the least and I really could not sleep. They came back around 1130pm and suggested that I take some Benadryl and a Tynal to see if that would relax me enough to help me sleep and she would go home because she felt sure that things would probably slow down. There sure is something about having all those years experience. She was right. After a few hours the contractions subsided and I was able to sleep. By morning they all but stopped.

The midwife said I was having prodomal labor (false labor), nothing false about it in my mind. She said it is normal especially in women who have had several children. Your body kicks in a little, then rests. Plus the baby is hanging way out front of me (all those babies have stretched out my muscle!) Which means the baby is not helping put pressure on the cervix to help open it up during a contraction.

By the weekend contractions were every now and then and not strong at all. Tuesday they picked up a little feeling more crampy but no real pattern.

Today, I had another appointment with Debi, she checked me - I am still at a 3, the cervix is still back but she was able to get to the baby easier. She says the baby is bald! She did a little sweeping of the membranes again to see if we could "stir" things up again. I am a little concerned we are going to have more of this prodomal labor again. Of course it is all really good for the baby and me just mentally is exhausting. I am so ready for her to come. I have part of me that wants to do everything to make her come and then the other part that is more rational and listens to the Bradley teacher in me that all is for the baby and that me and/or the baby may need more time and I need to let things be, relax, and wait for her to be ready to come. I will not stay pregnant forever, even though it sure feels like it.

So here we are - contractions are starting again every 3-10 minutes apart, stronger than normal. This time I am not going to concern myself with them until they get a lot stronger. Last time the 1-3 min is what threw me off in how much attention I should have been giving them. I am trying to stay positive and have faith the Lord knows when the right time is. It is 6pm, going to get the kids fed, to bed, and I am going to bed early in hopes to sleep or if the baby is ready have a baby. We will see...