3 little Ducks went swimming one day....

3 little Ducks went swimming one day,

Over the river and far away,

Mother Duck said "quack, quack, quack, quack"

4 little Ducks came swimming back!

Life always happens between posts, but this has been an exceptionally exciting 3 weeksish! In the time since my last post Paddle has arrived! We have a new bouncing baby boy and we are all loving him so much. Here's the story of his arrival:

Wednesday, August 18

2:15 a.m. I wake up to a contraction. I went to the bathroom, then started timing. They were about 7 minutes apart. I stayed in bed, watching the clock for an hour. They continued, so I got up to get some water. I was hoping to let Albert sleep as long as possible, I know how intense these things become. When I left to get water, he thought one of the boys were sneaking into our room, so he came to check on me. (We are both very jumpy over contractions since our last two came so quickly.) I told him that I was having contractions every 7 minutes for the last hour. He told me to call my mom and we started getting ready for the hospital. I'm not sure what time we got to the hospital, but everything was starting to settle down. By the time the nurse checked me, I knew I wasn't in "real" labor. We were both a little disappointed. Our last three arrivals have come after little to no sleep, we were so excited to have had almost a full nights rest before labor began! The nurses told us to walk the halls until my mid-wife came to do her rounds. Upon her arrival it was official that I was not in labor and I could cancel my appointment for later that morning. Albert and I squeezed in a quick trip to P@nera for breakfast, then headed home. We enjoyed the hours to just be together, walk and talk, but we were both a little disappointed.

9:00 Albert heads in to work and my mom goes to work, nothing has changed.

Nap time: I have a couple of noticeable contractions.

4:00-5:00 While talking to L on the phone, I have a couple of sharp contractions that I have to stop talking for. Albert called at 5:00 to say he was on his way home. I was wanting him to come home, it was perfect timing. I loaded the littles up and we walked down the street once, then back to the house. I had a few strong contractions while we were walking. Albert got home at 5:30 and instantly knew I was in labor. My mom came over again and by 6:30 we were on our way to the hospital. My contractions were about 5 minutes apart. On the way into the Emergency Room, I stopped to get through a contractions and a lady walking by shouted, "Congratulations" then I heard laughing. I'm still not totally sure what that was about, but it was distracting and I would recommend any readers to do that if they see a woman in labor!

7:00ish I was checked into another labor room. All of the nurses were still there from when we left in the morning. I had a terrible time getting comfortable and this time when I was checked I was 6-7 cm dilated. Much better than the 1 I received earlier that morning. I moved to the labor tub and was able to feel some relief. My nurse was great. She suggested a variety of things to try to relieve pain and just helped me labor. This was a first for me and such a blessing! I stayed in the tub for 30 minutes or so, then started feeling the urge to push. I was complete when I got out. I would guess it was about 8:30 by now.

Once I was out of the tub and checked, I asked J to break my water. My back was killing me. The contractions were manageable, but my back pain was so great. Paddle's head was turned sideways, so with every contraction he was pushing on my tailbone. It felt like I could feel my tailbone going out and in with each push. This is not an incentive to push! At one point I asked "How are we going to get this baby out?" I really just wanted someone to pull him out. I was ready to be done. Praise the Lord, I pushed with two to three contractions and Paddle was born. Albert said, "It's a boy." J said, "Well, he surprised all of us!" J, the baby nurse and I all thought it was a girl. What a blessing to have another little boy!

Paddle weighed in at 7 lbs 3 oz and was 18 3/4 in. long. He swallowed a bit of fluid during birth, but cleared it all out within about 30 minutes.

Widdle, Waddle and Piddle love Paddle very much. They have all adjusted beautifully and I really could not ask for a better adjustment on their part to a new little Duck. Widdle can't stop talking about how cute Paddle is. He and Waddle argue over who gets to hold him. Piddle is often begging for a turn with her baby brother.

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Widdle has also has some excitement in his life as he turned 4 on the 19th. In some ways I cannot believe he is 4 years old and in other ways he seems to be so grown up. He just looks like a little boy these days. His birth story is quite different from his baby brother's, but a miracle guided by the Lord nonetheless. It is just amazing to me how the birth of each child has revealed so much to me about the character and provision of the Lord. It is so easy to get caught up in the daily craziness of having many littles and forget what a gift and miracle each of their lives are.

I feel so much love for my littles these days. I hope to remember each snuggle, each hug, each kiss, each beg for holding their brother, every little thing. I know this time will go by quickly and my arms will long to hold them, so for now we are treasuring the moments and trying to slow them down.

Baby Thoughts

With my due date being roughly a month away, I can't help but almost constantly calculate when this little one might arrive. This is a very fun guessing game for me. I seriously think about it almost daily now. Though, I don't have to do the figuring, I know the dates by heart almost. So, here are the facts and my estimation.......

If Paddle comes on Big Big brother Widdle's timeline, he or she will be born on September 11. To be honest, this is one of the days I've blacklisted. I just feel a tinge weird about the baby being born on September 11 and would rather almost any other day.

If Paddle comes on Big Brother Waddle's timeline, he or she will be born on August 16th. This is fine with me. If the baby did come then, we would have plenty of time (idealy) to make it home for Widdle's 4th birthday. Also, it would kind of be fun to have four under four for a few days.

If Paddle comes on Big Sister Piddle's timeline, he or she will be born on August 13th. That is next Friday. One week from today. I'm not that ready to go and I don't particularly want the baby to come on Friday the 13th. It's not a blacklisted day, but not a favorite. Piddle's timeline was crazy though, and I am still not convinced that she was as early as the doctors thought she was. I keep mentioning that the baby could come as early as next Friday, but I am not expecting anything until the 16th(ish) or later.

The wrench in the figures is Widdle's birthday. His birthday is the 19th of August. I don't think it would be terrible, but I just don't really want the baby to share a birthday with Widdle. I love birthdays and I want each of them to have their own special day. A day that I can think about the days leading up to their very first birthday and well, I just don't want to have to split that time. Even now I am daily thinking about how I thought Widdle would never come out. I can picture myself walking around T@rget looking for castor oil and the pharmacist begging me not to use it. And here he is almost four years old. Those last weeks seemed so long, and the last 4 years seem to have gone so quickly. I could cry..... but I won't. At least not right now. I still have two weeks.

Here's the other thing. I've been reading "The Birth Book" by Dr. and Mrs. Sears. It is an excellent resource just over flowing with information about birth and tips to help with labor. I so wish I had studied it exactly four years ago! Any who, with knowing how big our babies can be, I am really hoping this baby comes a little early. The dates I really like, with no real significance other than that I think they sound like nice birth dates, are Aug. 22nd or Sept 2nd. August 22nd would put three of our four children's birthdays on the same date. Also, it's a Sunday, so people would be easily available to help out with our littles. I'm not sure why I like September 2nd, I just like the sound of it. So, with reading this book and previous experience and all of that, I know that having your membranes swept is one way to move labor into action. I asked my midwife about this and she said that she would do it only if I asked and no earlier than 37 weeks. *Let me just add here that while I would like this baby to come early, my number one objective is for the baby to be healthy. If that means I carry him/her until the middle of September, I may be stinky and sweaty, but I will do it. I do not and will not (within my control) risk the health of this baby over wanting him/her to be smaller. And by smaller I mean smaller than 9 lbs. Preferably in the 7s somewhere.* With Waddle I had my membranes swept just a few days before 37 weeks, since Widdle was late and the sweeping never did anything for him, and he was born that night. Blah blah blah, with all of that, I will be 37 weeks and have an appointment on that day, the day before Widdle's birthday. Looking back over my own experience, that would have Paddle being born on Widdle's birthday, the very thing I am hoping to avoid! Though, if I moved my appointment to Widdle's birthday, the baby may come the next day, but I don't want to be at the doctor's office on his birthday either. I am not really worried about any of this timing, it's just a fun, silly thing for me to think about. It passes the time and helps me drown out all of the noise around me.

All of that to say, I am excited for this little one's arrival. Sometimes I am torn over the convenience of scheduling a c-section or induction, which are both options for me, but I know the ease of going into labor on my own and the benefits for the baby. While it is more chaotic for the rest of us, it is best and I can and can't wait for it to happen!

Another list

I am still here and still pregnant. I guess that takes away one excuse for such a delay. To be honest, I just don't know what to talk about on this thing! Here are a couple of funny things and other that have been heard and happening around our little pond:

• I recently switched all of the clothing around for the boys. I had to take every single long sleeved item out of Widdle's closet and dresser because he kept wearing them. He wore a long sleeve button down shirt with a vest to church no less that 6 times, even in this crazy heat. So, with the shirts gone, he is forced to pick something else. He was excited to see a new blue and white striped shirt and wore it the first Sunday available. After getting dressed he asked me, "Mommy, can I wear this when I marry Chadleigh?" I replied, "Well, I think you look very handsome and that would make a nice wedding outfit, but it would probably be best to ask her what she thinks."
• Widdle said "Will Chadleigh have babies in her belly when we get married?" Me, "I hope not when you get married, but maybe after you are married if the Lord wills it. How many babies would you like to have?" Widdle, "A brother, a sister, a brother and a sister. LOTS of babies!!" I hope the Lord does bless him with lots of babies, even if he doesn't end up marrying Chadleigh!
• Waddle told me (at the dinner table) "Mommy, don't take your shirt off!" I replied, "Don't worry buddy, mama will not be taking her shirt off in front of you, especially at the table."

Not so funny, but good things that have happened:

• My pre-registration for the hospital arrived in the mail yesterday or the day before, I haven't looked at it yet, but at least I have it!
• Our sibling shirts arrived and have been washed and dried, ready for wearing! I think I mentioned these before, but I just have to shamelessly plug them again. These are THE cutest sibling shirts I have found and I have done a lot of looking! I ordered the baby one with a big blue bird, medium blue bird, medium-small pink bird and a tiny green bird, underneath it just says "baby". Once Paddle arrives I will re-order his/her shirt, but the others will continue to have a tiny green bird on theirs. Receiving this package in the mail escalated my excitement over our little one's arrival!
• The boys are moved into their new room. We are doing a room shuffle to prep for the baby. This house is truly a blessing from the Lord. And I am thankful for it. When we first looked at it I had everyone placed and purposed each room, now that we have lived here for several months, I am repurposing rooms and trying to figure out ways to make everything work more efficiently. Maybe there's a bit of nesting happening too. Who knows! With that, the office/school room has been combined and is in the room that most families would use as a formal living room, right inside the front door. Except that it's always a mess, I love this room. The office originally was in our 3rd bedroom. When the office moved, that room became our guest room. The thing is, Piddle was sweating to death in the 2nd bedroom, which is on the corner of the house, and the guest room was always nice and cool. We could have just moved Piddle from the 2nd bedroom to the 3rd, but that would be too easy and I am a chronic furniture re-arranger and I'm nesting. So, the turquoise 3rd bedroom was painted red, the new bunk beds were partially disassembled and the boys happily relocated. They love their "news room" as Waddle calls it. With their move the other red bedroom, bedroom 1, had to be repainted. Albert took care of that last weekend. There is a bit of touch up left and the outlets need to be replaced, but it is functioning well enough for my nesting to relax. Piddle has switched to the new crib, the toddler bed is in place and I moved her dresser in yesterday. I was hoping to transition her to the toddler bed this weekend, but I don't want her to be able to play with outlets that aren't covered, so she has a little more time in her comfort zone. At least with the toddler bed she can use the same mattress and I am hoping that helps her. A couple of newborn outfits are hanging in her closet and half of the dresser has been cleared out. The second bedroom needs to be painted still. But, thanks to our dear friends, we have a queen size guest bed set up and ready for sleeping on in there. I also have the original crib, a changing table and glider in that room. It will be the newborn nursery/guest room for a little while. I am thinking I'll pull out the changing table and glider when we have guest and put the baby in our room then. After the baby is sleeping moderately well, he or she will move into Piddles room. Hopefully her need for sleep will rub off on the baby!
• I will be shifting the car seats around tomorrow and vacuuming out the buffet in prep for a ride home with the whole gang.

Everything is pretty well ready to go, I just have to cook this baby a little longer and wait for the Lord's timing!