Girls Weekend

Brian left last night and headed to Flagstaff with his brother Jared and sister Laura. They drove the rest of the way today with his parents, other brother and sister (not all in one car though). There was a viewing tonight and another viewing and the funeral tomorrow. The girls and I are surviving fine so far. Today we colored quite a bit. Eliza had preschool and I did a Target run. This afternoon I had a presidency meeting. And this evening the girls and I ate pizza. After Ellie went to bed, we colored Easter eggs and filled plastic eggs with candy for the Easter party at my parents' tomorrow. Then it was off to bed for them.

On Wednesday, Eliza had a field trip to the fire station. My dad was nice enough to take Eliza and Libby on the field trip. They had a great time, especially trying out the fire hose!

That night, I had mutual and we did our cooking certification with the girls for camp. The camp directors did a great job planning and organizing it. It went so smoothly and the girls seemed to enjoy it.

Last night I went to a Stake Leadership Training. I really learned a lot that will help me in my young women's calling. One training was based on this talk. I really want to apply the suggestions in the talk. I started with the first suggestion in our presidency meeting by focusing on each girl and her needs.

All right--here's to a good night and a fun Easter-y day tomorrow.

Birthday Boy

Yesterday was Brian's 28th birthday! It didn't start out so great as he got news that his grandpa Trimble up in Utah passed away. I guess he didn't ever want Brian to forget the date! So that was sad, but he is definitely happier and having more fun there since now he can run around and see much better. Several years ago his grandpa was hit by an out of control truck and it resulted in having one of his legs amputated at about the knee. He wasn't expected to make it then, but he did and has enjoyed many years of farming with one leg! His eyesight was also failing, so now he can see and run and walk. He also had a couple of brothers who passed away as babies, so I am sure that was a happy reunion to meet them.

The rest of the day was pretty normal. For his gift, he got tickets to the Rush concert in July. The tickets went on sale at 10, but there were some special presales over the weekend. By the time he could buy tickets yesterday morning all the 100 level seats were taken!! He was bummed but is excited to go anyway. I also got him an i-Tunes gift card. My parents got him this book that should be here any day and a gift card to Albertsons. Sounds funny, but it's right by his office and he likes to go there and get lunch sometimes, so it will be perfect!

Last night we enjoyed cake and ice cream to celebrate!

Yesterday I also bought tickets to this. Brian, Eliza and I will go. I am excited and excited to take Eliza to a little cultural/fine arts event.

Today was Hattie's one-month well check. She is 9 lbs. 9 oz and 22" long. She sure is growing!! But the doctor says she looks great! She also had one shot and didn't like it at all. Poor girl.

I'd better go...I have tons to do this week.

Favorites

I thougth it would be fun to make a list of a few of my favorite things right now:

--Capriotti's "Slaw Be Jo" sandwich--A couple in our ward opened up one of these sandwich shops at 91st and Thomas and we tried it out for lunch today. I had the slaw be jo--roast beef with cole slaw, mayo and russian dressing. Yum!!! I can't wait to go back and try the cheese steak.
--Rosie O'Donnell. I know. I loved her show when it was on several years ago, but then I kind of turned her off and didn't pay attention when she was going through some "issues". But now she is on The View and I'll catch it every once in a while, while I am feeding Hattie. She just makes me laugh. I really enjoy listening to and watching her.
--Dryer's Light Almond Prailine ice cream. ...with Mrs. Richardson's Butterscotch Caramel topping. I looked and noticed there are 14 servings in the carton of ice cream. I wish it lasted me 14 days. I'm stocking up way faster than that. Can you say, "Portion size?!?!?"
--Chrystalyn' s (my sister-in-law) homemade rolls. She brought us a dozen today and there are 2 left. The girls helped us, too! But yum.
--General Conference. My favorite talk today was Elder Holland's talk about words. Loved that one and it's one I needed.
--I would love to buy some clips from here. Or here.
--Or a skirt from here.
--Love Brian singing Primary songs to Eliza and Libby as he is putting them to bed.
--a freshly bathed baby.
--Super Target.

Happy Saturday.

What We've Been Up To

Laundry list of what we've been up to the past couple of days:
--coloring (with Eliza and Libby)
--playing the Wiggles game and Guess Who with Libby
--went to Enrichment last night. We celebrated the Relief Society birthday (165!). It was decorated so cute and springy--green and pink. They served dinner, then had a few people talk about how they have been served in various ways. I am so inspired to serve more. For our "gift", each sister got a wooden board that said, "Serve" with "Do It" across the middle. I have it on my counter. I left with a resolve and desire to serve more--I am excited. This morning in the car, I was telling Eliza and Libby about enrichment and how we can pray to know who to serve, etc. So in our prayers this morning, Eliza said, "Please help us know who to serve. Please help the Holy Ghost tell us who to serve. And please help Mom to serve us more." Yikes! Not what I had in mind, but it was cute!
--took Eliza to a friend's birthday party at the park today
--my cousin came over this afternoon to help out with the girls so I could get some work done
--worked on editing the Designing With 2008 calendar
--worked on editing Heidi's class for her BPS class
--date night: picked up dinner for me at Paradise Bakery and Brian got Pei Wei. We took it to my parents' house so I could feed Hattie; got two baby shower gifts for showers coming up

That about sums it up! General Conference is this weekend. I always love watching it and learning so much.

Easter Pageant

Tonight for mutual the young men and young women went to the Easter pageant out at the Mesa temple. I hadn't been since I was in high school, so it was neat to see it again. I took Eliza with me and she enjoyed it. She didn't like the ride over or back because she said all the kids just talked the whole time. She didn't like that!

Can we talk about American Idol for a minute??? First of all, Sinjaya...give me a break. When we saw him last night we were like, "You've got to be kidding me." It is like a big joke now to see his next antic. And then...the kicker was that he didn't even make it to the bottom three. This is getting ridiculous. I was sad to see Chris go--Sinjaya better be close behind.

Chores

We are on week two of successful chore charts. I was a little nervous how things would go--wondering what I would have to do to bribe them to get them done. But I haven't had to do anything, surprisingly. They just like the fact that they are "done" with their chores for the day. I think people push their kids to be successful at sports or dance or gymnastics or music, but they forget to teach them how to work, which is ultimately what will really make them successful in life. So with that in mind, I wanted to start them on more chores and responsibilities around the house. Not that they didn't have any before, but it's more structured and they have a few new ones. They now have to clean their room (make bed, make sure clothes are put away and things put away), clean a bathroom (wipe it down with a cleaning wipe), help with laundry (they bring clothes in from their room, sort, fold, put away or start a load or move it along--depending on what needs to be done that day), empty silverware from dishwasher if needed, and they take turns either emptying the bathroom trashes or cleaning the playroom. So far so good. They have done a really great job doing their chores. Last night Libby knew she had to clean the playroom, so right after dinner, she said that is what she was going to do. I didn't hear from her for a little while, and when I went in there, it was seriously spotless! It was cleaned better than I had seen in a while and totally organized. So funny! And tonight she helped Eliza empty the silverware but then proceeded to empty all the rest. She left some things though for Brian that she couldn't' reach to put up. Look how she arranged them.



But I am glad they are doing well so far!

Today is so windy. Ugh. That is the one weather condition that is not my favorite at all.

Date, Weekend and Today

Friday night we had a short date since we did get to go to the basketball game on Tuesday. We just ate dinner at home, then went to Costco (looking for a new printer) and Super Target. We bought new pillows and some other stuff.

On Saturday we hung out at home, then went to my niece's baptism. After that we went to Cheesecake Factory as a little celebration. All the girls did pretty well for eating out and how long it took to order and get the food. We couldn't feed Ellie fast enough, that is for sure! She enjoyed more bread than anyone, sliders (mini cheeseburgers), stuffed chicken tortillas and chicken salad sandwich. She is an eater! That night I went to the General YW Broadcast. It was excellent...great speakers and messages. My favorite quote was about modesty by Elaine Dalton. She said, "Modesty is not a matter of being hip. It is a matter of the heart and being holy. It is not about being fashionable. It is about being faithful. It is not about being cool. It is about being chaste and keeping covenants. It is not about being popular, but about being pure." Love the contrast of the words.

Sunday morning started early (4:45) with feeding Hattie and getting ready for my 7 AM meeting. I wasn't sure how it would work with Hattie's feeding schedule, but it seemed to work out. Brian got them all ready and Hattie took a bottle just fine. Church went well. For the past couple of weeks we've been going into nursery with Ellie since our other option is to roam the halls or sit in the foyer with her. She loves it in there and does great. Yesterday Brian walked the girls to primary and on the way he opened the door to nursery and Ellie walked right in and got playing. I spent the last hour with her in there so Brian could go to class and she did well. The Oreo and goldfish crackers probably helped, too. Only 7 more weeks until we can leave her!!!

Sunday evening we had dinner at Brian's parents' house. The kids had fun playing together after and even enjoyed a fun game of kickball. Libby really picked up on that and seemed to love it.

Today started out with baths for Eliza and Libby. Ellie slept in until 9:15--which is normally unheard of--and when she did, I was welcomed with a smelly mess. Nice. After getting that all cleaned up and getting Ellie a bath, too, we played until time to take Eliza to preschool. It was a very busy day as I was always up doing something. I think that is what things will be like for a while!

Ok--off to do some writing!

Sinus Pressure

On Tuesday night, Brian and I got to go to the Suns' game. Some friends were going out of town and couldn't use their tickets, so we were able to enjoy them. They were in a suite, so that was fun and couldn't have been more perfect since we took Hattie. She slept the whole time, but we were able to leave her in her seat and just put her in the little room there. We also enjoyed some finger foods. The Suns won, too, so that was a plus. Luckily it was spring break, so finding a babysitter was easier. Oh--I put that photo of Hattie in there because a lady in the suite was looking at her and she said, "Oh, he is just sleeping through it all....It is a boy, right?" Um, no, I don't know what mom would use a pink, fairy blanket for a boy. Oh well. Wouldn't you guess it was a girl?!?

Wednesday was one of my craziest days. We started by picking up Sarah--our babysitter in the morning. She watched all the girls (except Hattie) while I went to my doctor's appointment. This is the appointment I made a long time ago with the dermatologist to have her check a couple spots I wanted to make sure didn't need to be removed. It was a little crazy there with Hattie who wanted to be held...kind of hard when you are supposed to nearly strip down and wear a paper gown. But we survived. And the spots I was concerned about were totally fine, but there was a little freckle/mole she was concerned about near my temple. So she took it off right then! It really didn't hurt--not even the shot, so I was glad about that. From there, I raced back home and picked up Eliza and Libby so they could play at their cousins' house. Sarah stayed at our house with Ellie. I went to Brian's office to take a conference call for some work I am going to be doing coming up. I also ate lunch there--Brian surprised me and had gotten me my favorite salad from Babbos. Yum! After the call, I had to orient my new Personal Progress person for Young Women's, then it was taxi-time again to pick up Eliza and Libby, then take Sarah home. Woosh!!! Busy day. That night I went to Becky's for a scrapbook night. We mostly chatted, but Kristi helped me work on baby shower invitations for a friend who is expecting.

Today Brian just went into work for a couple of hours, then he came home so I could hopefully get a nap. I've had some sort of sinus something going on, and the pressure in my face is excruciating! It feels like a terrible toothache, but I've had this happen before and know it's sinus related. Ugh! But he played with the girls and took them somewhere this afternoon and I actually took time to take a short nap. So nice!!

Now it's time to work. So I must go. P.S. The other day, Eliza wanted me to go outside and take her pictures...she is good at posing, huh?!

Weekend

Here are a few random photos...the ones of Hattie on the floor between the chairs is explained in an earlier post. The note on the counter was one of Eliza's "secret services." And dress ups were from Sunday.




Things have been busy! Let's see...On Saturday morning, Brian helped out with an Eagle project at the shooting range. Eliza and Libby had a primary activity day, so I took them to that at 9. They played some games, did a little bit of service by cleaning the toys in the nursery and had cupcakes. As a handout, they got a folder that had little slips of paper that said, "You've been secretly served." They were supposed to do service around the house and leave the note. So after getting home, Eliza did various "chores" and left her notes around the house. It was very cute.

The rest of the day the girls played outside off and on and got worn out! That night we got a sitter and went out. We ate dinner at Chili's, then we went to Mountain Ridge's play...Cinderella. The girl we went to see who is new in our ward played the part of the Queen. She did a great job and has a very nice voice. It was a really good play all together. After that was over, it was time to come home and Hattie had had enough.

Sunday was my first time back at church since having Hattie. Brian had to fill in at the 7 AM meeting, so I had to get all 4 girls and myself ready and to church. ...Happy to say we made it about 10 minutes early and I don't think we forgot anything. I had matching shoes on and fully dressed (I hope). I had to revisit the mother's room when Hattie needed to eat. There are quite a few women who use it now, so I have get better at being discreet while nursing. I am not very good at covering up with a blanket and getting Hattie started eating. I must practice or else flash everyone in there! After church we came home and got ready for Sunday dinner. My grandpa came over along with my parents. I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes. We also had corn and my parents brought various Popsicles and ice cream bars for dessert. We had a youth fireside that night, so I went to that, came home and visited with our home teachers and went to bed. I was so tired!

Today Eliza didn't have preschool, which was kind of nice since we didn't have a time schedule. After morning naps though, I ventured out to Target with all 4 of them! It was a sight I am sure, but we survived. I got one of those carts that has a spot for 2 kids in the front, then a cart in front of that. So Ellie was in one of the seats and surprisingly, she did great! She sat there the entire time. Libby and Eliza traded off (fought over) the other seat. Hattie did well about 1/2 of the time and cried the other half. We got a lot of looks at Target. Someone said, "Are all these girls yours?!?!" Ha ha!

Weekend is Here!

The rest of this week has been much of the same. On Wednesday morning I went with Eliza to her preschool "field trip" to Papa John's Pizza. The kids saw how they made pizza and toured the store. Then we went to the park so they could eat the pizza they made. That night I went to mutual. We did a spotlight night of one of the girls, so we played her favorite game (Catch Phrase) and had cookies.

Thursday and Friday Eliza had preschool, so that was our afternoon. The mornings are spent getting ready. Yes--it takes nearly all morning!

Tonight we would usually go on date night, but our regular sitter couldn't watch them until tomorrow night, so we hung out here and will go out tomorrow night. I think we'll get some dinner and one of my young women is in a play at her school, so I think we'll go watch that.

Sleep is getting a little better, I supposed. She is up about every three hours, but she is doing better about going back to sleep or I can put her in her car seat and she is content, then she'll fall asleep. Not the best habit I am sure, but if it means sleep I am all over that right now!

A Better Night

Last night, thankfully, was a better night. After I put Hattie down at 8 or so, she slept until 11:45, then she slept--albeit in our bed--until about 3 when she ate again and slept until 7:30. I got more sleep so I was happy about that.



Today was filled with taking care of and entertaining the girls and trying to keep Libby from holding Hattie's hand too much. That girl is obsessed with hands--just like she is with Ellie's. She can't walk past her without putting her thumb in Hattie's palm and gritting her teeth.



We also picked up the CD of photos from Becky that she took on Saturday. I used a few in Hattie's baby announcement, but here are a few other favorites.








Tonight Eliza was holding Hattie in the playroom while I did somethings in the family room. One time when I went to check on her, she had made her a "bed" on the floor with a doll pillow and blanket. The second time I checked on her, Hattie was in the doll crib. I had to rescue her and take her in the other room with me.


Tomorrow will be a hectic day. We have to be at my parents' house at 9:30 to drop off Libby and Ellie so I can take Eliza to her field trip at Papa John's by 9:50. Then at night, Brian is going to a G3 concert with his brother, so my cousin is coming over to babysit while I go to mutual.

A Better Night

Last night, thankfully, was a better night. After I put Hattie down at 8 or so, she slept until 11:45, then she slept--albeit in our bed--until about 3 when she ate again and slept until 7:30. I got more sleep so I was happy about that.



Today was filled with taking care of and entertaining the girls and trying to keep Libby from holding Hattie's hand too much. That girl is obsessed with hands--just like she is with Ellie's. She can't walk past her without putting her thumb in Hattie's palm and gritting her teeth.



We also picked up the CD of photos from Becky that she took on Saturday. I used a few in Hattie's baby announcement, but here are a few other favorites.








Tonight Eliza was holding Hattie in the playroom while I did somethings in the family room. One time when I went to check on her, she had made her a "bed" on the floor with a doll pillow and blanket. The second time I checked on her, Hattie was in the doll crib. I had to rescue her and take her in the other room with me.


Tomorrow will be a hectic day. We have to be at my parents' house at 9:30 to drop off Libby and Ellie so I can take Eliza to her field trip at Papa John's by 9:50. Then at night, Brian is going to a G3 concert with his brother, so my cousin is coming over to babysit while I go to mutual.

What's New...

On Sunday I stayed home for one last week since Hattie isn't even 2 weeks old. I kept Ellie home with me, too, so Brian could actually go to Elder's Quorum without having to leave. But of course, Ellie and Hattie were on opposite schedules. So I only got to shower but no nap or rest. That afternoon we went to watch one of our good friends and one of Brian's young men--Tanner Davis--open his mission call. He is going to Bangkok, Thailand. Should be a pretty interesting mission! While we were there, the Davises had ice cream sandwiches and ice cream bars. Ellie saw everyone with one and she was nearly drooling. Our Bishop saw that and offered her some of his. And she totally chomped off a bite. She probably ate 1/3 of his ice cream bar. It was pretty cute and funny! She loved it. That night we went to my parents for dinner.

Today went pretty well with all 4 girls. Eliza had preschool, so that broke up the day. This afternoon while Ellie took a nap, we went out front and Eliza and Libby rode bikes and played.

Have I mentioned that Hattie has had three terrible nights?!?! She does not want to go right back to sleep after she eats. She wants to be held. Ugh. I am worn out and I am sure Brian is, too. Last night I finally brought her in bed with me and she slept great. I think she just wants to be held and cuddled. Nice, but not during the night! Tonight I just fed her and she went right down, so I hope it's a sign for a better night ahead.

Back to your regularly scheduled date night...

Yesterday was my first day all by myself! I think I survived! We made it to preschool on time and I picked her up on time, too! After preschool, the girls helped me make and frost cupcakes. Can you guess which ones they did? :) At least they tasted good.

Last night Brian and I went on our date night, but we did have a cute little guest: Hattie. We ate dinner at Bravi's--an Italian food place. It was pretty tasty. Then we went to Payless and I bought some shoes with a gift card I had gotten for Christmas. They are some slip-on/mule type tennis shoes. After taking a break to feed Hattie, we finished our date doing a little shopping and browsing at the new Super Target. I tell you--it is so handy to have it so close.

Today we took a little day trip up to Wickenburg. We found a park there and had a picnic lunch--the girls had lunchables and Brian and I had a fresh deli sandwich he picked up this morning from none other than...Super Target! After eating, the girls played on the play set they had there and they also threw the Frisbee around. On our way out of town, we stopped at the Tastee Freeze to get some ice cream. I think everyone had a great time and Hattie did well on her first road adventure.

Soon after we got home, Becky came over and took Hattie's newborn pictures. I can't wait to see them--I think she got some cute ones.

Tonight we hung out at home. Brian's brother's wife and daughter came over to see Hattie, so it was fun to visit with them. Then the girls got a bath and are in bed!

Euphoria!!

Guess what opened just a short 4 minutes from our house??? SUPER TARGET. After we dropped Eliza off at preschool today, my mom, Libby, Hattie, Ellie and I went and checked it out. It is so nice!!! All of the regular Target stuff plus groceries. It doesn't get much better. And it's so close to our house. Now it's not 10-15 minutes to the nearest store! I told Brian it is going to be dangerous that it is so close.

Today was good, despite being up three times last night. We hung out this morning and my mom came over around 11. We made it to preschool on time, so that was a success! Then we had a fun Target adventure and made it home in time to feed Hattie and pick Eliza up from school. Eliza had dance this afternoon, so while Ellie napped, Libby and I went out front so she could ride her bike.

Here's to another unpredictable night!

Oh yea...I forgot to mention this, but how hard is Hattie's name to say??? Yesterday at the doctor's, the lady at the front desk called her "Haiti". Um no, she is not named after a country. And there are two "t"s in her name, so it's pronounced "Hat-tie". I didn't know that would be another problem with her name. Oh well. People need to learn to speak! Just kidding.

And Don't Count on a Salesperson to Make You Feel Good Either

Sorry the one picture is sideways...I didn't have time to turn it yet. But that is Hattie at 5 days old. And the other is Ellie laying so cute on Brian at my parents' on Sunday. She is a daddy's girl. And so is Hattie. ...and Libby. and Eliza once in a while, too.

I was nursing Hattie this afternoon and the doorbell rang. I wasn't going to get it, but someone was going to bring dinner tonight, so I decided to cover up and get it just in case. Bad choice! It was two girls--actually young ladies--they were 19 and 21. They were going around selling magazines to earn "credits" that will help them improve their life, etc. You know the story. Making small talk, they asked how many kids I had. Well, first, they wanted to see the baby. I was like, "She is eating." They asked me how old I was. I told them 28 and the one girl turned to her friend in disbelief and said something like, "Is she for real? No way!" I was feeling pretty good about myself thinking...wow--they think I look so young. Then she said, "I thought you were for sure like 34 or something." Nice. I for sure won't buy your magazines now!!!! I wasn't going to anyway, but I was like, please no! Don't tell me I look older than I really am. Oh well.

Today was a pretty good day. Hattie had her newborn check-up with Dr. Kleiner. We are taking her to Pediatrix and I really like it so far. He is a great doctor, so I am glad we decided to go with them. Our neighbor across the street is a pediatrician with this group so we thought we'd give it a try. But Hattie checked out great. She was 7 pounds and 20 1/4" long. I felt good after getting all 4 girls out the door, dropping three of them off at my friend Leslie's house and getting to the doctor on time!

Last night was a little rough. She ate at about 12:30 and didn't go right back down to sleep. We tried the pacifier, the bouncy seat, letting her cry, etc. Nothing worked, so at 3:30 I fed her again. Even after that she cried herself to sleep for a minute or so, but then she slept until 6:30. I was so tired this afternoon. For her naps today, I tried rolling up blankets and putting on either side of her and at her head. She slept for over 4 hours this afternoon. I hope it has the same effect tonight. I need some sleep!

Don't Count on Your Kids to Make You Feel Good!

OK--this lesson was learned over the past few days with comments from Eliza and Libby like the following:
"Mom do you have another baby in your tummy?"
"Mom--it looks like you still have baby sister in your tummy."
"Mom--when is your tummy going to go down."

Nice. It's only been 5 days, true, but ugh! Come on stomach!!! Go back to normal!!!

I was also trying to talk to Eliza about needing her to be my big helper and I told her, "It's hard to have 4 kids." Her reply? "Well, that girl has 8 kids." I guess at church today Brian pointed out a lady in our ward who has 8 kids. So I guess my 4 is no comparison to her 8. Oh well. Nice try.

Today Brian took Eliza and Libby to church. I stayed home with Ellie and Hattie. It wasn't too bad, but there was always something to do and someone to take care of. This evening we went to my parents' house for dinner. Everyone came, so that was fun. Dinner was delicious--roast, carrots, green beans, veggies and dip, mashed potatoes, etc. Yum! Hattie had a graet time on her first outing from the house. She got held a lot and was in heaven.

Better get to bed...who knows how long I'll get to sleep!
Oh yeah---nursing is going much much better. I don't dread feeding time anymore. That was a good $125 (ouch) spent!

Semi-Real World

Today I felt like I was fed to the wolves. Well not really, but Brian had to go in to work today for a couple of appoinmtents and for a vendor faire that he the first Friday of each month. My mom came over and was my saving grace--she took Eliza and Libby to the grocery store and to take Eliza to preschool. So that allowed me to just have Hattie and Ellie. But it was still a hard day! The hardest part was trying to keep Eliza and Libby from mauling Hattie. Libby kind of follows what Eliza does, so Eliza is really my biggest challenge. She thinks she can pick up Hattie and hold her any which way, etc. A little mother for sure, but we need to have a talk with her so she is more helpful than making things harder for me. I am worn out and my back hurts...probably from holding Hattie and/or Ellie.

I also had a lactation specialist come over tonight to help me out a bit. Things starting hurting A LOT again and I wasn't about to just "tough it out." So it was either get help or go staright to bottles. I decided to try this route first. I used her with Ellie and she came and helped me out again. I hope I can work it out. She said she would help next week, too, if things didn't improve. I hope they do though.

In other random news...what is up with American Idol? Why in the world didn't Sanjaya get voted off? I can't stand him! He reminds me too much of Michael Jackson. And why in the world is Antonella still there. She was terrible for the past two weeks. I don't get it. I hope they go next week!

Tonight Eliza and Libby are having a sleepover at their cousin's house. So Brian and I will get a little break.

A Baby Story

Warning: LOOOOONG post ahead. ...continue reading for a full run-down of the birth, welcoming our newest little girl to our family and lots of pictures.

The hospital was supposed to call on Monday night to let us know what time to come in on Tuesday morning to be induced. They didn't call, so at about 10 PM I called and found out that all inductions were on hold because they were full. Ugh. I was so bummed and worried that things wouldn't work out, etc. because Brian was already not going into work that next day and our girls were already at his mom's house. The hospital said they would call as room opened up. So we went to bed and I didn't sleep well--just thinking that they would call any minute. I woke up a little before 7 and got ready. I called my doctor wondering what I was supposed to do but had to leave a message. I was getting anxious because who knows how long it would take the nurse to call me back. When I started going every week to the doctor, I made my appointments four weeks out and fortunately I made an appointment for the 27th. I called the office again and made sure I still had that appointment. Sure enough I did, so we went to my appointment at 9:15. We took our bags and I was hoping that he would just send me over. That morning actually, I was having quite a few contractions. They were totally tolerable but harder than I had been having.

OK--while waiting the usual 1 hour in the waiting room, the nurse would call patients back and one time she said, "It's not looking good for today." That's not what I wanted to hear. But she finally called me back and Dr. McKernan listened to her heart (and could feel I was contracting), then he checked me and I was dilated to a 5. So he said I was in labor and said he was going to send me over to the hospital. Yes! I was glad to be going in on my own, too.



We walked over to the hospital to the labor and delivery nurses’ station and they were cleaning a room for me. Dr. McKernan had called over and told them I was coming, so I was glad about that and glad I didn’t have to go to triage, etc. I got into my room around 11 AM and got all dressed (or is it undressed?). The nurse started my IV and I got fluid and she started my antibiotics. She also hooked me up to the monitors. We just hung out while the bag of fluid finished, then I got my epidural right away. I had some more contractions but they were manageable, but I knew I didn’t want to wait for the epidural. The anesthesiologist ended up being just fine and he did a great job. The first numbing shot is a little “pinch” but after that it doesn’t really hurt—just some pressure, but it is WAY worth it for the end result. For me, it makes labor and delivery something very enjoyable and fun. But I got the epidural just fine (and NO spinal headache this time) and the epidural worked great. There was one spot on my right side that was in pain, so I pushed the button to give me some more. I did that for a while and I didn’t get any relief, so I was worried that I would feel that the entire time. After some looking, Brian noticed the button wasn’t hooked up. So we got that hooked up and it helped right away and I didn’t feel a thing! After the epidural I also got my catheter.


OK—after the epidural, I just had to wait to get the second dose of antibiotics for the Strep B. He didn’t want to break my water before I got that second dose and they have to be given 4 hours apart, so that is why it took so long. They also started a little bit of pitocin just to move things along even more. After that dose of antibiotics was in (4:50 PM), Dr. McKernan checked me (dilated to a 6) and he broke my water. I still felt great and didn’t feel like I needed to push. But he came back in at 5:20 and checked me again. I was complete and ready to deliver. So they quickly broke down the bed, turned on the “stage” lights and got me all ready. Brian got one leg, the nurse got the other and when the contraction started, they had me push. I started for like two seconds before he told me to stop. She was practically out. They had me do a little ½ push and she was out. Too easy!!! I reached down and pulled her up to me. She was so cute and looked a lot like Ellie when she came out. Brian cut the cord, then the nurse got her and did her tests (8-9 APGARS) and cleaned her off. She was my second smallest baby at 7 lbs. 7 ounces and 20” long. I just had to have one stitch. While they were cleaning her off, the doctor and nurse got me all cleaned off. When she came out, I knew she looked like a Hattie. We didn’t really even have to go through our other names because she just looked like a Hattie—dainty and girly. We went back and forth a little bit about the middle name, but Brian said he really like Blair and how it sounded. So that is what we chose. Hattie Blair Trimble. It’ll take people some time to hear what her name is and get it right…after we say it, people will say “Addy” or “Patti.” No—it’s Hattie! And it was a name on our list, but we didn’t really share it with many people—you have to have some element of surprise in there!








I got dinner right away; I was starving having not eaten since breakfast. My parents were there and enjoyed Hattie, then later Brian’s parents came and brought the girls. They had to look at her through the window since kids under 12 can’t come in the rooms because it’s RSV season. They were so sad—Eliza was crying—because they really wanted to hold her. So hard for them to understand they had to wait.

After they left, I got taken to my post-partum room and it was a private room. Yay! The rest of the hospital stay was pretty low-key and normal. Hattie ate about every 4 hours, so it wasn’t too bad. Yesterday we had lots of visitors, so it made the day go quickly, but by the end I was so tired. Hattie is a good eater. They did give her a bottle during the night last night but that was just so I could sleep. The nurse said she loved it!! I’m sure she did. She’ll probably get a bottle every couple of days just so she will take a bottle so I don’t have to be her only source of food! I did have the nurse help me this morning with her latching on because I was hurting. That has been the case with the other 3 girls, so I didn’t want this to get out of hand. I think we might have it down this time so it doesn’t hurt. The after-birth pains were real again, but my nurses were great about keeping me up on the Ibuprofen and Percocet. They were my friend! They aren’t so bad anymore, so I should be able to just do the Ibuprofen.





We came home around noon today and it was a smooth ride home—Hattie just slept. After we were home for about 30 minutes, Brian’s mom arrived with Eliza, Libby and Ellie. They were so excited to see Hattie and just looked her all over and held her and rocked her and made sure she had everything she needed (and more!). Ellie was more interested in Hattie’s car seat, so that was helpful. She did like to point at Hattie and touch her face. We’ll have to watch that. Libby just wanted to keep looking at her feet and legs. She loves them! After a while of taking turns holding Hattie, I fed her and put her down for a nap. I ended up having to lock the door in our room to keep her “safe” and sleeping. But she slept for a long time!







Tonight our friend Meg from the ward brought a delicious dinner and we had some family visitors to see Hattie.

Here is to a good first night home!!!

The Countdown

Tomorrow is the big delivery day. I am waiting for the hospital to call and let us know what time to be there. I hope they call soon.

Today was a pretty good day. Eliza had preschool and I even got a short nap after we picked her up. Libby usually keeps me up with things she wants me to do, but she found something to do for almost an hour and I got to rest. This evening after dinner and family home evening we took the girls to Brian's parents' house for the first night of their sleepover. They are excited to go and more excited that "baby sister" is coming tomorrow. Now is when I start getting a little nervous. I am totally excited because I love the whole hospital/birthing thing, but I just want it to go as smoothly as the other ones. I hope my epidural works as good as it has the past three times with no pain. ...and no post spinal headache. And I hope they'll give me my antibiotics right away (for Strep B) so when I am ready for the epidural they will give it to me without making me wait. Ugh. I talked to our friend David who is an anesthesiologist and he told me that the doctor on call isn't the most personable so I am a little nervous about that. But I am optimistic that it will go well.

So here is to a good night and welcoming another cute, sweet baby girl Trimble into our family! We are excited to meet her.