The New Normal - Weeks 1-7

The week after surgery was glorious. The boys were with grandparents all week. Bethy and I snuggled and slept on the couch most of the week.

The up-all-night thing was killer the first few weeks. I slept really well through the entire pregnancy, so I wasn't used to waking up all hours of the night. I got to the point where as soon as I would hear her cry, I would start rehearsing that this was Jesus' baby and he is trusting her to me and I need to take care of her well. Sounds cheesy, but it's the little things for a sleep-deprived mama!

On Wednesday, March 6th, my dad took us to Bethany's first doctor appointment. He was a proud grandpa and Bethy was on her cutest behavior all morning. I don't remember her stats, but she looked good and the little bit of jaundice she had was cleared up in a couple of days.

That same Wednesday night, John and I went down to visit the boys at Sheri's. We took the truck for some reason and I was almost in tears by the time we got there. I didn't realize all the bouncing and turning from riding in the truck would be that painful!

By the second week, I still didn't feel as well as I thought I should have. (My expectations were way too high!) That first Monday morning the boys were home and John was back to work. After I got the boys breakfast and let Hugo out I started to feel dizzy and have an incredibly sharp pain in my side. I sent a desperate text to my mom and she rushed over to help out. I think it must have been a fluke thing because I slept all morning while my mom watched the kids - then whatever weirdness it was never came back.

We took that second week really easy. It was kind of fun to have an excuse to lounge around all day and enjoy the new little person in our family. The boys spent lots of time snuggling with baby girl and their mama. (In between fighting monster trucks and wrestling, of course!)

Everyone asks how the boys are doing with a new person in the house. They truly love her. They both smother her with hugs and "pisses" all the time.

One of the sweetest things to watch is the way that the boys talk to Bethy. Those little parrots repeat exactly what they hear John and I say: "It's ok, baby Bethy." "You are so pretty." "We love you baby girl." and my favorite from Nate when B was crying (in his sweet little nasally voice): "I know, sweetie. I knooow."

Beth joined me for the Women's Retreat at church on Saturday the 16th. It was my first day driving and out of the house by myself. I missed a lot of the teaching time, but the fellowship I had been missing was... refreshing.

The third week was fairly uneventful but was also harder because while I was feeling a lot better and was very mobile, we had no routine or "normalcy" to life. It was hard to balance wanting to get everyone started on a new routine while also being so tired and sleep-deprived that I really didn't care what we did or when we did it.

Baby girl's fussy time for the first 4 weeks was right around 10:30-11:30pm. (Pretty much as soon as we would try to go to bed.) It wasn't that bad looking back now, but in the moment it felt like an emotional battle.

Beth wasn't a fan of her first full bath - actually, she's never been a fan. But, she loves hairdryers. The sound puts her right to sleep.

Friday the 22nd, we got a big snow fall. The boys were crazy excited to go play outside. It only took about 40 minutes to get everyone fed, potty-ed, dressed, potty-ed again, and outside. I'm still a rookie.  :)

Hugo goes crazy for snow.

James wouldn't make a snow angel so our ever-adventurous Nate threw himself down just to prove to James that it was no big deal. He's a man.  ;-)

Last time it snowed, we ate lunch by the fire so the boys were adamant that we do it again.

I don't remember when babies start smiling, but Beth seems like a very early smiler. This was not her first smile, but the first one I got a good picture of. {Taken March 22nd - at 3 weeks old.}

The 4th week home was a bit better. We started going back to the gym and I just walked on the treadmill. I also started waking Beth up in the morning to start her (very loose) new schedule. It always seems like when I start waking the babies up at the same time each morning, they jump on board and start sleeping really well. It worked again - within a few days, B was sleeping 4-5 hours at night.

We visited Great-Grandma & Grandpa on March 29th. Grandma let the boys cut out shapes with cookie cutters for their pb-j sandwiches (it was a huge mess - something only a grandma would do!).

Then the boys got to eat lunch inside the playhouse in the back yard. They had a great time!

I have loved watching James & Nate love on their sister. They both have a special bond with her.

James asks to hold Bethy all the time and is very gentle with her. He reminds everyone -including strangers- not to touch her face, just her hair. He is quick to go hold her hand and try to calm her down when she cries. I can tell that James and Beth already have a close bond and will be good friends.

Nate is the first to claim his little sister if anyone asks about her. A stranger will ask how old the baby is and every time Nate yells out - "Yeah! That's MY "thits-ster"! That's my baby Beppy!" Nate is so sweet to Beth in his own semi-awkward way. Sometimes he will just walk over and look at her. Other times, he'll ask to touch her hair or give her a (gross, drooly, sloppy, wet) kiss.

Week 5 - Bethy started sleeping better and better at night. She sleeps anywhere from 4-7 hours now!

I also went from wondering if I would ever walk straight again to running at the gym. Now lest you think I'm super-awesome:

I have cut out almost all of our activities right now because I really want to make the gym part of our daily routine. I'm still doing big-time trial and error finding out what works for us. Trying to get everyone out the door clothed, fed, changed, clean and happy at one time - without going all "Nazi Mom" on them - is taking a lot of practice!

My sis-in-law Keri, and good friend April, threw Bethany and I an amazing shower last Saturday, the 13th. It was SO much fun and they did a stunning job with decorations and food. Not to get all personal, but after spending 6+ weeks feeling a tad overwhelmed with a new life and a little lonely for adult conversation, I felt so blessed and loved and spoiled at this shower.

I didn't get any pictures of the morning, but Keri got a lot of good ones over at her blog. I can always count on Keri!  :)

This last Monday, the boys came down with fevers. They literally spent all day watching PBS and napping. I think I could visibly see their brains being slowly sucked out. But, did you know that pigeons poop when they're scared - it helps them lose weight for a quick flight. Also, the gender of a crocodile is determined by the temperature of the nest. Thank you, Wild Kratts.   :-)

While the boys were contained on Monday, I got caught up on so much random stuff in the house. (Still playing catch-up at 7 weeks - not sure if I will ever really be caught up again.)

Overall, it's been a roller coaster ride the last few weeks. Some days I feel on top of everything, some days I wonder how moms with more kids even have time to get dressed. But, I can definitely see huge steps in a less-chaotic direction every week.

I'm so thankful to be completely recovered from surgery and (not that I had the choice) I still think I'd do the c-sections again. I'm thankful for another healthy little baby that God has trusted this family with and I'm thankful for little boys who are the biggest helpers and best big brothers.

I have this verse in my kitchen window right now as my reminder (because I need the reminder often!):
"Children are a gift from the LORD. They are a reward from Him."  -Ps 127:3

Speaking of....... My little presents are awake -- and hungry!

Bethany Michelle

Boy, it's only taken me four five six almost seven weeks to resume posting -- apparently I've been trying to finish this for a while! I've had a sweet little priority hanging around the house. 

I'll start back on March 1st -

My cesarean was scheduled for 10:30 on Friday, March 1st. Everything is routine by now-- We showed up at 8:30 (last time we had to be at the hospital at 5, so this was great!), I was hooked up to all the monitors, the nurse asked a million mandatory health questions, and after two hours we took the elevator up (or down, I have no idea!) to the operating room.

The OR always creeps me out. Who in their right mind would willingly walk themselves into a room where they will be cut open and in pain for weeks? (Ooh, ooh, pick me! Pick me!) I always want to play "Eye of the Tiger" or "Another One Bites the Dust" as I walk in.

While waiting for everything to begin, I did my best to not look around the cold, sterile room. Last time, I started checking things out and discovered the "tool tray" and a million other things I'd rather be ignorant about.

At 10:30 on the dot, I got the spinal, they strapped me down (Why?? It's not like I'm going to try to jump up or anything!), the curtain went up, John came in, and a little baby Bethany was born.

This was actually the first surgery that I have been able to see the "heat lamp" area from my bed. I could tell right away that a girl was different when I heard her cry from the table and all I wanted to do was jump up and comfort her... the boys' crying never bothered me - it makes them tough!

One of the sweetest moments was after B was all wrapped up. She was not happy. John brought her over and put her by my face and she calmed down almost immediately. I was smitten.  :-)

{ Warning: medical talk ahead -- }

Apparently the placenta was slightly attached to my uterus so my doctor had to take the placenta out in pieces. The time spent on the table after Bethy was born felt like an eternity and John said they sucked out a lot of blood in the process.

I was a tad concerned about the implications of what happened, but in my 2 week post-op appointment my doctor assured me that it's not unusual. He also said that in future pregnancies they'd be able to look at ultrasounds to see if I'd need extra attention during surgery.  { Very worst case scenario - I'd need to have the cesarean at UW and if I were to start hemorrhaging uncontrollably, I'd get a hysterectomy... No biggie, ha ha! But really, chances of that are very, very slim. ;-)  }

Sweet Baby Bethy was 7lbs, 5 oz and 18.5" long. She didn't have as much hair as the boys, but at least she had hair! I had this weird fear through the entire pregnancy that my girl would be a bald, fat baby. (Of course, I would love her... the boys would just make fun of her all her life!)

After I was all emptied out and stitched up, we headed into the post-op room for an hour or two then into my recovery room.

The next few hours were horrible. Usually, I feel fine and awake after surgery. This time, because I lost so much blood, I was dead. (Not literally. That could be taken wrong in this situation!)  I could barely keep my eyes open let alone be alert and happy to see our visitors. Thankfully, they were only there to see the baby!

After the flood of family left, I started throwing up every half hour or so. OUCH. OW. OW. OW. There are not enough drugs in the world to cover up that pain!

The nurses helped with some anti-nausea meds and I think I slept for the rest of the evening.

My first nurse was kind of a jerk about not letting us fall asleep while holding the baby. I get it, but come on! The nurses after her were totally cool about it and even encouraged Bethy to sleep with me at night.

Speaking of night, we decided to have John go home to sleep because poor Hugo was neglected all day and I had plenty of help at the hospital. Let's be honest, those plastic couches aren't that comfortable either! If I could do it over again, I would have John stay with me the first night because I was still chained to the bed and needed lots of help from the nurses. I hate bugging them, but I did!

My nurse both nights at the hospital was a sweet older Asian lady who I could barely understand. At first, I was kind of irritated that we couldn't communicate well. I was also irritated that she would wait for me to ask for pain meds - as though 14 hours after my surgery I might want to skip a dosage! But, over the next couple nights I grew to love her. She helped so much with swaddling and changing Bethy and making sure I was comfortable those nights John was gone.

I didn't get out of bed and unhooked from everything until 4am the next morning. I know, poor timing. But I was awake anyway! I was also very thankful to get that part out of the way because my next nurse was a man. Super great, nice guy... but that would have made my least favorite part of the process even more awkward!

The entire weekend at the hospital was kind of a blur. I didn't get pictures of all our visitors, but here are a few:

Big brother James

Big brother Nate (and Great-Grandma Ford)

Cousin Kenley (and Dannie's hand!)

My sister Tonia also drove up on Friday. It especially meant a lot that she was there because she had to leave early and could only see the baby for a few minutes.

Bethy meeting 2 month old Baby Shepherd

Gracen - I have lots of pictures of Gracen holding B. She sure does love those babies!

My parents took James and Nate Thursday-Monday and John's mom took the boys Monday-Friday. {We have rock-star parents!}  Normally I would try to stay at the hospital as long as possible, but since the house was empty, we decided to go home Sunday afternoon.

Man, we did NOT realize what a hassle that would be! Everyone and their sister decided to go into labor Saturday night and Sunday - leaving the doctors and nurses BUSY. Bethy was cleared to go home in the morning then we literally sat and waited all day for the on-call doctor to clear me. I'm not sure how many episodes of Pawn Stars we watched that day, but it was ridiculous.

Finally, around 7:30pm - right in the middle of shift changes and chaos, we were free to leave.

Baby girl made this bizarre face the entire time we walked from our room to the car. Looks like a weirdo!

First car ride - First to Walgreens for some much needed Percocet or Vicodin or something, then home... where all the fun begins!

Baby Announcements

(I'm pretty sure she's giving herself bunny ears. She must have Nate's sense of humor...)

Little Sister

I realize this is cheesy - But I couldn't help myself!

James takes his Big Brother role very seriously.

Good Morning again! Baby B and I are just hanging out waiting for breakfast.

Yesterday and last night went way better than the previous 24 hours! Bethy is turning out to be a fantastic nurser and a great sleeper.

We'll probably be going home today - and I'm actually looking forward to getting out of the hospital. James and Nate would probably like to hang out with their little sister soon too.

Good morning from hospital room 423! What a surreal 24 hours this has been. I'll write out the detailed story later - just so I can look back on it - but right now I can hardly keep my eyes open to write anything at all!

Baby Bethy was born at 11:07am yesterday weighing only 7lbs, 5oz (my smallest yet!) and 18.5" long with lots of light brown hair. She is BEAUTIFUL!

I love this little girl to pieces already!