Transition

I wasn't sure how having three kids would be, but I think it's really great. I admit it's much harder to get out with three kids, but I think it' more that it's harder to get out with a new baby than the fact that there's another kid.

Breanna thinks Kaylee is really great. She was not happy at first. She cried and cried when she came to see us at the hospital. It took a day or two for her to accept her new sister. Brett has really seemed to remain oblivious to the change most of the time. He has gotten more aggressive, but not towards the baby. I think it's just that he's two years old now.

The first two weeks of recovery were very hard. I had to sleep in the recliner, because it was too painful to get in and out of bed, and I was on pain meds that made me very dizzy and drowsy. That, on top of being exhausted from a new baby, made taking care of the kids very difficult.

Luckily, my mom was very very helpful. She took the kids for several afternoons, including taking them to the zoo, along with Sean and James. James was in town for about 10 ten days, and he was a big help too. He drove me around, and babysat the kids when I had baby appointments. It was great.




Now I'm off the pain meds, and life is getting back to normal...somewhat. I still have three weeks of recovery time to go, but at least I can take care of my family now. Plus, it helps that Kaylee pretty much sleeps through the night, so I get a lot of rest. (She goes to bed between 9&10, and sleeps until 3 or 4, then sleeps until 7 or 8). I am enjoying having all three little ones.

Home and All is Well

Kaylee Brielle Van Horn was born at 12:52 PM Friday. She weighed in at 6lbs 9oz, and was 19.25 inches long. She is healthy and happy--at least when she's eating. She likes to eat a lot. She also likes to be held a lot. My girls are very needy. Brett was happy all the time. He really liked to sit in his swing, but Kaylee thinks I've abandoned her as soon as I put her down anywhere.

I got to come home a little early from the hospital. Everyone kept asking me if I wanted to stay one more day, but I really missed my family and I wanted to be home. It's hard to not pick up the kids, but they are pretty used to that by now. I was so huge by the end of the pregnancy that is was just impossible to carry anyone, or anything. But I'm glad to be home and able to sleep in my own recliner. Yes, recliner. I can't sleep in bed. It's just too difficult to get out of bed. I'm keeping up on my pain meds, but there are still a few things that just are impossible to do without pain.

Well, let's get on with the pictures:

Decision made

Well, the decision has been made for me. The baby is not where she should be, which means there is no way she is getting past that fibroid. Plus, I have high blood pressure, so I am scheduled for a C-Section tomorrow afternoon--NOT what I wanted at all. Even if I went into labor today, I would still have to have an emergency C-Section to get her out.

So, the thought of having to stay in the hospital for four days, and having a six weeks recovery from surgery, is not pleasant, but the baby is healthy and that's all that counts.

One week and counting

I must say, I am truly jealous of one of my friends who is planning to have her baby in just a couple days. I really thought I would have had this one by now, but things aren't going as I planned. I have had absolutely no progress and only one week left until my due date. The doctor is a little concerned that I won't be able to start labor on my own, due to the "massive fibroid", as she puts it. It is right in the way of where the baby's head should be in order to get things moving. But she is also sure that I have always had this fibroid, which didn't cause any problems with Brett at all. Now, no one knows what the deal was with Breanna. I still think she was just showing her stubbornness from the beginning to be over a week late. So now I just have my fingers crossed that labor with start on it's own sometime in the next week so I don't have to be induced.

If I do have to be induced, I have to decide when. I can have it done next week, but my parents are going out of town starting Wednesday through the weekend. So I could wait one more week to see if she comes on her own, and then proceed to induction if necessary. What to do, what to do.

I think Brett is starting to realize something is about to change. I don't think he can fully understand what is about to happen, but he is having fun helping me put Kaylee's room together, and he knows there are things he is not allowed to touch, such as the baby toys, bassinet, and pacifiers. He knows that we point to my belly and say Kaylee is in there, but he can't understand what that really means. It will be very interesting to see how he reacts to a new baby. (Breanna, on the other hand, is very excited.)

So now I just sit back and wait to "pop", as Elise so graciously put it.

False Alarm

Last weekend was quite an adventure. Saturday was Brett's birthday. We spent the whole day cooking a family dinner and getting ready for his party. We had my mom and dad, Sean, Mat and his family all over for dinner and then we opened presents and had cake and ice cream. I don't think Brett even knew what was going on that day. We kept singing "Happy Birthday" to him, and he thought that was fun, so he'd sing it back to us. He got a couple of fun new toys, but his eyes got really big when he saw the candles on his cupcake. He new just what to do with those. I think it was a successful birthday.

John had a little too much fun the with balloons.

Sunday was a little unusual for us. I wasn't feeling all that well, but John had to attend the Euless ward in the morning so he could go to some training for work in the afternoon. Therefore, I had to take the kids to church in the afternoon all by myself. My mind was on other things and I ended up staying in nursery with Brett the whole time. That worked out well, because there was only one nursery leader that day.
When we got home, I started to have contractions. That, along with a few other signs of labor, scared me right into packing my hospital bag, doing laundry, and getting the kids rooms cleaned. But then the contractions died off and nothing came of it.
I called the doctor's office the next morning just to make sure there was nothing to worry about. They took just about all day to call me back, and then sent me to Labor and Delivery for tests. I wasn't too happy about that because I was pretty sure everything was fine. The baby was still moving and I was feeling fine (other than anxious about the tests). But I went in anyway, and it took them 2 1/2 hours to tell me that nothing had changed and the baby was very healthy. I find that very annoying. But with everything else going on, it looks like labor isn't too much farther away. We'll see. Needless to say this weekend has been a bore compared to the last.

Just a little tid-bit

Happy Valentine's Day! (Two days early)

It's funny how this holiday changes over time for me. For so long it was all about what guy would do something for me on Valentine's Day, and then it was just what surprise John had in store, and now it is all about my kids. I get John something too, but I'm lucky to get anything from anyone...and that just doesn't bother me at all. So never call it Singles Awareness Day...I HATE THAT!

Anyway, my life is getting harder and harder as time passes. Every night now, I have to put my feet up and make John do stuff for me because I always have swollen ankles and feet, and sometimes if I've worked too hard that day, I have contractions. I am trying my best to keep that baby cooking as long as she needs. I don't want any early surprises. At least not too early.
Brett is always asking me to pick up him up. He is not as heavy as Breanna, but he is more compact, and it wears on my back. I have to pray every morning for patience with the kids because they just don't understand what's going on and throw fits if they don't get their way. (Breanna is a little more understanding).

We are trying to get Brett used to sleeping in a toddler bed. He sleeps in it just fine for his naps, but he doesn't want to have anything to do with it at night. We are going to have to buckle down on this soon and take the crib down so he has no other option. I'm just worried about my sleep. If he's going to be up all night fighting me, I am going to be even more tired than I am now. Anyone who knows me knows I do not function well when I am tired.

For anyone who watches Survivor, I went to school with Joe. The moment I saw him on TV I knew him. He hasn't changed at all. Well, maybe a little older, and not quite so scrawny, but pretty much the same. I went online after I watched to make sure I was right, and I was. It makes me want to get out my year books for fun. I laughed because I still remember in 9th grade I had written on the bottom of my shoe, "Joe Dowdle is FINE". I had forgotten about it, and crossed my ankle over my knee and he saw it. He and his friends just laughed about it. He was always a nice guy.

Well, I'm sure it will be a couple more months before I write again, but at least I write here and there. Most of the time I forget I even have a blog.

It's a girl!

We found out we're having a girl. I'm not sure I'm ready for this, but I must say, I wasn't ready for either of the first two. At least I have experience handling two different kinds of personalities and am ready for almost anything. I hope she is mellow and sweet like Brett, but I'll be armed and ready if she's anything like Breanna.

I thought as soon as I found out the gender, I would want to rearrange things in my house immediately to make room for her, but I haven't found that to be true yet. I was ready to give Brett his own space the moment I found out he was a boy. I am running ideas through my head about where to put this one, and how to decorate, etc., but I am not anxious. I want to get through the holidays first, and then maybe tackle those things.

Unfortunately it's more than just clearing out a room and painting it for her. I have also discovered that I need to buy a new car seat because our infant seat is very old and probably does not meet safety standards anymore. Plus, this discovery has led me to research car seat safety in general, and I fear I need to buy another forward facing car seat for Breanna to sit in because she is just too short and small. My biggest problem with these, besides the cost factor, is finding seats that fit our car. There is always something.

We are excited the baby is healthy and doing well. We've finally come up with a due date of April 6th--whatever that means.

Merry Christmas!!