Evelyn is one of the sweetest and most thoughtful 4 year olds that I know! She always makes sure to share everything with Adalie and Jackson. If they are not awake she will save some of her treats to give to them as soon as they wake up. She is always ready with a helping hand and she loves to 'be like Jesus.' She has learned on her own the joy it brings when she is thoughtful and she helps others. The other day she came into the kitchen bouncing up and down excited to tell me that she felt very good and warm inside. I asked her why, and she responded that it was because she was thoughtful and helped Jack first. She is a joy to have around and she is absolutely in love with Adalie and Jane stories. Adalie and Jane are best friends who fight monsters such as the candy monster, sock monster, spit up monster, and the bat monster (the list is endless!). Evelyn loves hearing these stories and she generally gets at least one a day from either Logan or me. I love seeing Evelyn's imagination growing. She loves books and anything to do with princesses. I am proud of our little girl and I can't believe she is growing up so fast!
One sad part of Maren's early arrival is that we had to postpone Evelyn's friend birthday party. It was planned for Monday afternoon, but we will have to reschedule it for a few weeks down the road. With this pregnancy I learned that the last minute 'to-do' list should be completed the week before delivery!
Here is Maren's Story:
Okay, okay, okay. I learned my lesson. Maybe it is a good idea to pack a hospital bag a few weeks before your due date. Maybe not a bag, but at least a list of things that it would be good to throw in the car before leaving. I did not pack a bag, and I didn't feel like I really needed to. The hospital provides everything for you- from your clothes (lovely hospital gowns), to diapers for the new baby, to other little hygene necessities for after the baby is delivered. I also knew that Logan would be going home every day to be with the other kids and he could get anything that I needed. I knew that we would leave the hospital with a change of clothes for me, clothes for Maren, and her car seat. Nothing else to worry about right? When my water broke it would have been nice to have planned ahead to bring the camera and the Kindle Fire computer. I guess that I still will never understand the people that pack a thousand things that never even get used.
The birth story-
I have always wondered what it would be like to have my water break... I didn't think I would ever have that chance because I will always have a scheduled C-section a few days before my due date. I was scheduled to have my C-section on Thursday, February 16th, but Maren decided that she was ready to meet us before that day.
On February 10th I babysat for the neighbors so that they could go on a date. Logan was at an Elders Quorum activity. I took advantage of how well the kids play together and I cleaned like a maniac for 2 1/2 hours. I have been having pretty debilitating back pain for a while now and on this night I felt great! When Debbie came to pick up Micah she joked that there was no way that Maren was going to make it to the 16th. Imagine her surprise when I called her an hour later to come over and watch the kids because my water had broken!
At around 10:30 my water broke, but it wasn't what I had expected, and It took me a while to convince myself that it was the real thing. I have always wondered about having my water break, and I have always been secretly glad that I wouldn't have to labor through the night and have a newborn without having any sleep. Both of these became a reality for me.
Debbie arrived and we left for the hospital. It was confirmed that my water had indeed broke and the doctor said we would have a c-section at precisely 7:00 a.m. the next morning. He also gave the nurses permission to give me an epidural if I was in pain from contractions. I ended up getting barely 2 hours of sleep that was interrupted every 15 minutes by contractions. So much for avoiding a sleepless night the night before!
The c-section was the best one so far. They get easier and easier. This is where the camera would have been nice. The nurses were very sweet and they took a few pictures of Maren after she was born. These pictures are on our previous post and they look nothing like our little girl! I don't even think I would recognize her if I was shown these pictures now!
Recovery from the c-section has also been much easier aside from the fact that I have three young children and I am not supposed to lift anything heavier than Maren! This has worked pretty well so far with three extra people around to help me.
Nancy flew up early to help us with the kids. She arrived on Monday and Greg and Allison arrived on Wednesday (as originally planned). They have been SO much help! The kids have barely noticed that I have been MIA because they have Grandma, Grandpa and Allison to play with.
Maren is a wonderful and sweet little girl! I have been praying for a while now to be blessed with a baby who does not spit up. I wondered if such a baby even exists judging from my experience with my previous three. I have found my answer. Maren is 9 days old and has only spit more than a teaspoon once in her short life. Thank you Maren! I have never experienced life with a newborn without smelling like spit from sunup to sundown.
Maren has settled very well into our family life. She is a very sweet, quiet baby. She eats a LOT, sleeps a LOT, and is calm and bright eyed when she is awake. She has a predictable hour of fussiness in the evening, but other than that is happy.
Evelyn, Adalie and Jackson are all very loving and sweet with Maren. I am a very lucky mom. It is crazy to think that I have FOUR kids! Four sounds like a much bigger number than three. It will take some time to get used to, but things are going great so far!
Bring on the pictures!
Evelyn, the birthday plate, and that crazy hair!
Oh that hair!
Bye for now
AAAHHH I love your chillens. They are so cute.. I absolutely love the little hair styles, they are so cute on both of them! I agree that 3 seemed manageable and normal and telling people you have 4 kids seems like so many haha I am so excited to see your kids soon!! I love you guys :D
ReplyDeleteOh, I miss you all! It was so fun to be with you and get to be part of your family for a while. Glad things seem to be settling down. We LOVE you guys!
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