Paperback Rider

Nora has started hating going down for naps, and if she thinks you might be putting her down she'll start to cry and use all stalling tactics.  So we have usually spell out N-A-P when we are going to put her down.  Nellie likes nap time because it usually means she gets to watch a show or play with something that Nora can't play with.  After church Nellie said, "hey mom, aren't you going to put Nora down for her P-S-D... or whatever?"

Nora and Stevenson have a cute little routine.  First they put their heads together and rub ears on one side and then the other.  Then they rub noses. Last, Nora gives him a kiss on each cheek.

Growing up in California most of the playground equipment was in tanbark or that soft padded mat material.  In eugene most of the playgrounds are in sand.  It's been weird to get used to, and messier, but maybe it makes it so the rain doesn't puddle up as much?  Anyhow, at the park today the big kids were playing in the sand while I was nursing Lucy. Spencer finished his castle and then came back by me to get a better look and said, "wow mom, you've got a great view from here of my impressive sand castle.  I'm really impressed with my skills."

For FHE we talked about Martin Luther King and read 2 Nephi 26:33.  I was impressed with my kids' knowledge of MLK- good job preschool and public school teachers! I am so thankful for Martin Luther King Jr and what he accomplished, and that my kids are growing up in a place where they think it is so weird that someone couldn't use the same drinking fountain as somebody else because of the color of their skin.

Nora has been waking up in the night thinking that she's waking up from a nap.  She calls for me and I think maybe she will go back to sleep, but then she starts to cry.  Sometimes I can go in and put her blanket on and she'll fall back asleep.  Lately though she is awake and wants to "go outside" of her room.  She then proceeds to say "that way" and point any direction except towards her room.  So I hold her and we stumble around in the dark at 2am getting drinks of water, or pieces of bread, all while trying to be quiet and not wake everyone else up.  If she was content to snuggle and sit together I wouldn't mind one bit.  She is sort of half asleep though and starts to cry anytime I sit or try to snuggle her, or am unable to understand what she wants.  She will just keep saying "mama, mama, mama," over and over.  I think she is half asleep and doesn't know what she wants either.  The nights when she hasn't had a nap are the worst, I think because she is so overtired. Naps are getting harder and harder to make happen though.  She knows she is missing out on something, or she finally falls asleep and I have to wake her up to go pick Spencer up from school. Today when I went to get her up from her nap she was completely relaxed and in a deep sleep- laying flat on her back, arms up by her face and breathing deeply.  I stood there and stared at her for a moment, wishing I could keep letting her rest.  If it didn't take 20 minutes, round trip, to get spencer I would let her rest, but I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened while I was gone.  So her sleep often is interrupted, poor 3rd child.  I always fall asleep after those  late night sessions worried that my tiredness will contribute to feeling depressed the next day,  too tired to do the things I want to accomplish, or to interact patiently with my kids, which makes me feel lousy. I fall asleep telling myself "you will be tired tomorrow. So when you feel lousy just remember that you are actually just feeling tired."   I don't mind getting up with her, I just wish I knew how to best help her on those rough nights. I hope I can remember her sweet face from her afternoon nap today forever.

Being a parent without Stevenson by my side would be so difficult.  He seems to know exactly how and where to help.  He came home from work today and sent me to my room for a nap since he knew I had book club tonight, had been up in the night with Nora and was feeling tired and he wanted me to be able to go and enjoy book club.  He took the kids downstairs to play, finished making the dinner I was in the middle of preparing, fed the kids, and cleaned up dishes.  The whole while at book club I enjoyed feeling rested and kept thinking how grateful I am to be on the same team as him.  Marriage is wonderful in the way that his kindness towards me evokes such a feeling of love and I want to do whatever I can to make his life easier and show my love in return.  It is truly an inspired institution that we both become better through.

Spencer threw up also night during dinner, almost right on me 😁 He said he had a headache and wanted to rest so we told him he just needed to eat one bite of his, curried carrot, soup and he could be done. Not our best parenting moment there.  He is fine today but I kept him home from school anyway, just in case, and because then we all get a sick day and can relax and have an excuse not to do anything we don't want to ;)

I've been reading Nellie the book "Girls Who Choose God."  It is awesome.  I love reading about the righteous examples of women in the scriptures in an easy to read format with beautiful artwork.  It has brought up a lot of good discussion and some deep questions from Nellie like, "I heard that Eve wasn't supposed to eat the fruit, so why was it the right choice that she did?" It's been good.  Nellie also has an obsession with gum.  We've had to limit to one piece a day.

Nora also loves gum and her aunt Jessie, and since aunt Jessie usually has gum it's the perfect combination.  I did pigtails on Nora today.  I'm sold.  I hope she'll keep them in.

Lucy's tummy seems to be bothering her- I might need to change my diet. And so far her eyes are staying blue, but we'll see.

Today is Stevensons first day of staying late at the office.  They will have extended hours until 6:00 on Thursdays and he and Jessie will rotate every other week for who stays late.

Thursday October 9th I went to a Dr. Appointment and was told that my baby was going to be very large.  Probably not 10 lbs but at least 9.  Dr. Konradi asked if I thought I could do it or if I would want a C-section.  I told her that I would way rather recover from labor than a C-section and that I could do it.

I had been having contractions for 2-3 hour blocks of time on and off for the last two weeks.  I was feeling pretty tired and irritated by it ;) as soon as I would think that I might actually be in labor the contractions would stop.

So Thursday afternoon I find myself at Spencer's soccer game feeling pretty uncomfortable.  As we make the long walk back to the car I tell Stevenson that it might be tonight.  We hurry home and get the kids fed and to bed.  I tidy up the house and fold some laundry, all the while having contractions, and then sit down to time them.  And they start to get further apart.  By now it is about 9:20pm. Just as I start to tell Stevenson that it's another false alarm I have two big contractions 5 minutes apart.  I know what real labor feels like and this was finally it.  I also know that when it hits for me I don't have a whole lot of time.  I wait about 20 minutes and then have Stevenson call Jessie to stay with the kids.

We call the hospital on our way and they try to tell me to call my doctor first to make sure I should come in, ha.  I let them know that it's my 4th baby and that they are usually fast and that I know when I'm in real labor, that we were calling our doctor next, but wanted to give the hospital a heads up since we were on our way.  We called our doctor and the on call dr and the back up on call dr were both at the other hospital in town.  They asked if we could meet them there instead (as we were about to pull into the other hospital). I said no.

We get to the hospital and no one knows who we are or remembers us calling (??) and they are under construction so even though we get a new room, they can't find anything (heart monitor, towels, etc). At this point it is 11:00pm and we are wondering if maybe we should have gone to the other hospital.

They finally let me get in the tub which feels amazing.  After about 30 minutes of that I am ready to get out and have them break my water.  It never breaks on its own, and I knew as soon as that happened I could push and get this over with ;)

The on-call doctor, Dr. Sarah Schram was awesome.  She broke my water (which Stevenson says splashed everywhere (TMI, I know!) and then we were ready to push.  I knew it would be hard with a big baby but I still thought that once I got the head out the rest would follow.  Well, that wasn't the case this time.  I pushed and pushed and finally got her head out.  And then they told me I needed to push again.  I was so worn out that I didn't think I could.  Stevenson said that the doctor reached in and helped grab her out.  She was born at 12:45am weighing 9lbs 11.6 oz and measuring 21 inches long. Lucy was so chunky and had the chubbiest, cutest cheeks.

I could not have done this delivery without Stevenson.  I grabbed his hand so hard through each contraction.  He is the best support , and  this was the smoothest birth yet (despite the construction thing ;). All the nurses commented on how good Stevenson was as a support/coach and that we seemed like a perfect team.

My recovery was awesome.  She did almost zero damage despite her huge size.  Nursing, besides a breast infection during the first week, has been problem free.  She sleeps so much, and started sleeping through the night around 9 weeks.  The hardest part really has been Nora adjusting to not being the baby (and teething and being sick).

We feel so blessed to have Lucy in our family.  The kids adore her and everyone looks out for her.  Our family wouldn't be complete without her.

Tonight for FHE we had a birthday party for 2015.  I made a chocolate cake for the occasion.  As a way to introduce goals I asked the kids "how did we get our FHE dessert?  Did it just appear?" Then we talked about how it takes steps, and work, to make a cake. Then we talked about family goals and what's steps it would take to achieve those goals.  We voted on our favorite two goals and ended up with "go to bed each night without any trouble" (getting out of bed, asking for drinks, talking too loud, etc and " be on time for school."

Nellie got to go home from preschool with Reese.  When I picked her up she was dressed in a beautiful, sparkly princess Tiana outfit with high heel shoes, a bracelet, wings, and a ring.  Reese is letting her borrow them until school on Wednesday.  Nellie stayed in it all day and was extra careful at dinner to keep it clean.

Spencer had basketball practice today.  He is really enjoying it.  He seems like such a big kid when we drive up and he hops right out of the car and runs in while I get the girls unstrapped.  I feel so lucky to be his mom.  I know he won't always want to snuggle with me and give me hugs, so in enjoying it while I can.  I love his smiling eyes.

Nora got a doll and stroller for Christmas.  The doll even came with a pacifier.  She says "where baby" whenever it is time for her nap or bed.  Then we find the a baby and out her to bed too.  Nora has a special blanket (and I can't quite remember who gave it to her!) it is a tied quilt and to help her falls sleep Nora grabs one of the tied yarn strands between her thumb and pointer finger and gently brushes it across her face and around her eyes.  When she is really struggling to fall asleep all I have to do is find one of the ties and hand it to her and she immediately starts to calm down.  It is really sweet.

Lucy slept through most of basketball practice , and since Nora was happy and content, so I was able to chat with my good friend Darci.  I am so thankful to have her as a friend.

The kids are excited about getting baby chicks in February.  Stevenson might be even more excited than them.  He had everyone come up with a name for their baby chick during dinner.  Nellie picked "Star." Spencer is still debating.