2 1/2 Weeks

I have now been a mom of four kids for two and a half weeks.  So far the transition has been easier than when I had three kids.  Beckett is an absolute dream baby.  He rarely fusses, sleeps well, eats well, and is adorable.  He is so wide eyed and just stares around when he is awake.  He sometimes fusses more when I try to hold him when he's awake.  He prefers to lay flat on the couch or be propped up in his boppy and check stuff out.

 

The other kids are adjusting to their new baby brother well.  Davin has been fussing and inexplicably bursting into tears about small things lately, which I think is his emotional response to the changes in the house, but these little outbursts aren't too horrible and I'm trying to be patient with him and talk him through them.  Talia was a screaming horror for the first week or so, but every day she gets a little better.  She can still be really demanding and difficult, but she is mostly kind to Beckett and loves him.  She brings me diapers when I'm changing him and loves to give me his binki.

My awesome mother came and stayed with me for the whole first week after Beck was born.  It was so great having her here to run interference with the bigger kids, snuggle Beckett, help with nights/mornings, cook, clean, and keep me company.  We really had a nice week.  We took Beckett on his first outing to the mall for some baby and make-up shopping when he was 5 days old.  We had a few visitors come to the house to meet Beckett too.  Aunt Barbara and Uncle Terry brought him this adorable little lumberjack outfit.  I am definitely still missing having my mom around, but I guess I eventually had to get back to real life with my family of six.

 

 

 

 

 

The Monday after we brought Beckett home was Weston's school's Fall Carnival.  Ian took the boys.  They had a blast.  They got their faces painted (I can't get over how funny/cute it is that Davin wanted a butterfly on his face), played on the playground, enjoyed the inflatable, but spent most of their time launching rockets.  I think it was good for them to have a big kid outing after all the baby excitement.

 

 

 

 My first week on my own with the kids was busy and pretty exhausting.  I attempted to go to the grocery store on the first day.  That was a bad idea.  It was really hard.  I will be grocery shopping at night while they are in bed for the next year.  Sigh.  I am really trying to take things easy, but with 4 kids it's hard to not be busy.  Plus going anywhere is a major deal and we have had doctor's appointments, school, and errands to run.  I even attempted a "for fun" outing to the Thanksgiving Point gardens.  We just walked behind the waterfall, had a snack, then walked back to the front to buy some tulip bulbs, but it was enough.  I am trying to enjoy getting out in this gorgeous Fall weather!

 

Today is one of the few days so far that we don't have anything on the calendar, which is why I am finally blogging (in my pajamas).  Luckily Beckett is getting better at going back to sleep after he eats at night, which means I am slightly less exhausted during the day.  He even slept a 6 hour stretch last night!  There are still times when I feel a little overwhelmed and everyone needs something or the babies are both screaming, but overall I am feeling very satisfied with my busy stay at home mommy life right now.  More on that to come. . . right now I have to go get Talia off time out (for screaming, as usual) and maybe hop in the shower while Beckett is still asleep.

Meeting the Family

It took awhile to get settled into the maternity ward on Friday night and even longer before I was completely un-numbed from my epidural.  Ian stayed to do Beckett's first "bath," which was more of a wipe down than a bath, then he packed up and headed home to relieve Auntie Mel and Uncle Brad from kid duty and to get some sleep.  I actually slept pretty great that first night in the hospital too. 

Saturday morning I took a shower and got ready to introduce Beckett to his brothers and sister!  He was excited.  I could tell.  :)  Ian brought the kids to the hospital and the next couple hours were pretty chaotic.  Hospital rooms just aren't made for preschooler/toddler exploration.  Talia was mostly just excited to see me.  We snuggled and I fed her all my snacks while Weston and Davin took turns holding their new baby brother.  They were both really excited to meet him and had practiced saying his name at home. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Finally I put Talia in the rocking chair and gave her her brother.  She was kind of speechless for a minute staring at him then she looked up at us and smiled.  It was too cute.  She didn't want me to take him from her for awhile after that.  I was glad that she liked holding him and didn't try to maul him or anything.  I had my concerns.  We managed to take a family pic in the hospital with our new family of six!

 Bowles Baby Trivia . . . can you tell which Bowles baby is which?

 

At the end of the kids' visit Mel and Brad arrived with my mom!  They had picked her up from the airport and come straight to the hospital.  This was the first time I have had any of my sisters close enough to visit my baby in the hospital.  It was really fun to have Mel and Brad there and they were so great to help out with the kids while we were having Beckett on Friday (I can't believe I didn't get a picture of them with Beck!).  And, of course, my awesome mom came to stay with me for the week and help out.  She's the best.

By the time everyone left I was ready for a nap!  Ian came back that afternoon to hang out with me.  And I had some more visitors that night.  My friends from my old ward came to see Beckett and chat.  It was fun. 

As much as I love having people care enough to come and see me in the hospital I also loved the quiet hours I got to spend with Ian and Beckett before we had to go home to our actual busy, loud life. 

 

 

 Saturday night was rough with Beckett being more fussy and nurses needing labs and vitals and to give me more meds.  I didn't get much sleep.  Once Ian got back in the morning on Sunday I finally settled in for a good nap.  We spent Sunday quietly enjoying our new baby before checking out in the late afternoon.  Beckett looked so cute in his dinosaur outfit coming home.  So happy to have Beckett as a part of our family.  Now it's time to start adjusting to our new normal. 

 

A Baby Story

We have a baby!  Here's the story.  Friday, September 21st was the big day.  I went in at 9am to be induced.  It was pretty relaxed.  We got checked in and settled then they started my GBS antibiotic and some low dose pitocin.  I started having regular contractions but they weren't super painful.  I was only dilated to a 3 and baby's head was still really high, so I spent a few hours with higher pitocin trying to get the baby's head to be lower so that Angela (my midwife) could break my water.  Finally in the afternoon I got an epidural.  It was the least painful epidural insertion I've had.  I wasn't in a ton of pain, but Angela suggested getting the epidural before she broke my water, which was a really good call. 

One last snuggle with Talia before leaving for the hospital

 

After the epidural the baby's head still wasn't low enough to break my water, so they upped my pitocin even more and that helped.  Angela broke my water around 3:30 and placed an internal electronic fetal heart monitor that we were testing out for the hospital as part of a research study.  I'm really glad that we decided to participate because having the more accurate heart data for baby was helpful as he didn't tolerate contractions well after my water broke.  His heart rate kept dipping with each contraction.  Probably because the cord was in a place that was being squished with each contraction. 

They found a position for me that seemed to help a little, so I was laying all the way back slightly tilted to the left with an oxygen mask.  Not the most comfortable, but it was ok.  My epidural wasn't blocking the pain as contractions got worse, so I decided to have the anesthesiologist re-dose me.  This helped with the pain, but made me very very numb.  I couldn't move at all.  Just when Angela was starting to get nervous that baby's heart rate wasn't improving (she was getting ready to call in the doctors she works with) I told her I was ready to push.  This was around 5:30. 

Luckily Angela had things all set up so I got to work.  I didn't have to push too long, but I did have to push pretty hard.  Our sweet baby was born at 5:42pm.  I immediately got to hold him and they took his vitals and Ian cut the cord while he was on my chest.  I loved having this immediate contact with him!  We decided to name our baby Beckett Lawrence.  He weighed in at 6lbs. 10oz. (our smallest baby!) and was 19.5 inches long.  He cried at birth for about 10 minutes, then after getting cleaned up was quiet as can be and wide awake.  We had some skin to skin time and he nursed for a good 40 minutes.  I've never had a newborn nurse like that!  Then he just looked around while we oogled him. 

 

 

 I don't know if it is because he is my last baby or what, but I was so much more emotional at his birth.  I don't usually cry, but I just couldn't help tearing up as I snuggled this sweet little boy and held my husband's hand.  It was really special.  What a great experience!

Beckett is still just the sweetest, mellowest baby.  Very much like Weston as a baby.  He is by far my best nurser.  He sleeps great and at his weight check yesterday was already up to 6lbs. 13oz.!  I am absolutely smitten with this new little man and am feeling very very blessed to be his mommy.

I Heart My Family

Obviously I wouldn't be having another baby if I didn't already kind of like the kids I have, but I really do love them oh so much.  They make me laugh (most of the time) and sometimes I just watch them and my heart feels like it's going to pop.  Other times I wish I could donate them to D.I.  Or at least to their grandparents for a week or two. 

Our new morning routine involves me getting up before 7am every day for the first time in years.  It's still kind of rough, but I like being up in the morning with my kiddos.  I make Weston breakfast (and usually lunch because I'm lazy at night) and chat with him while we eat, then we have family prayer and I walk him outside and watch him walk to the bus stop. 

Then I come inside and do the same thing with the littler ones.  Talia is asserting her big girl-ness these days and wanting to eat at the table instead of in her high chair.  It's fine when Weston's not home, but we are going to need another chair pretty quickly.  Although the novelty of eating in a big chair seems to help her stay and eat more. 

After breakfast Davin usually disappears to the basement and his Lego's for an hour or so while Talia squeals for a "show."  She is finally big enough that she doesn't freak out if I disappear for a shower during her morning Baby Einstein.  Which makes this mama happy.  The other day though Talia asked for Elmo, so I turned on a Sesame Street Alphabet DVD.  It attracted Davin and they ended up both wanting to relax on their blankets while they watched.  It was adorable.  Nothing starts a great day like Sesame Street and chocolate milk, not if you are 4 or under anyway.

This last Friday evening we spent some time at Farm Country.  Talia loves the horses and chickens and ducks and bunnies.  The boys mostly like playing in the harvesting exhibit, but they also nervously enjoy a pony ride.  It was a gorgeous, warm night and we had some good family time.  I like the kids, but I like Ian even more.  He's pretty much awesome and I'm always glad when he can hang out with us. 

(Can you tell I followed Talia around the farm while the boys played in the exhibit?)

Speaking of loving this cute family of mine . . . we are adding to it.  Soon!  We have had some major insurance stresses over the last couple of weeks, but it's official that I am now going to be delivering at a different hospital than all the other kids were born at.  I just met my new midwife today.  She's not my fun, bubbly, empathetic Vicky, but she's nice and personable and will be there on Friday to induce me if I don't go into labor before then. 

 

I will be 39 weeks tomorrow.  Even though I am ready to be done being pregnant I'm kind of amazed that we will be having a baby this week.  I can't wait to snuggle my newest little baby boy.  We will keep the blog updated, so check back for any baby news and to find out what Baby Bowles #4 will be named!

Football and the Great Outdoors

If you know me/my family then you know I am not an outdoorsy type of girl.  But I do enjoy nature.  It's beautiful and fresh.  I just don't like the bugs and dirt and uncomfortable camp chairs.  Ian is more outdoorsy than me and therefore we manage to make it outside every once in awhile.  On Labor Day we didn't have plans so we decided to head up Big Cottonwood Canyon for a picnic.  We found a day use site and explored, played, and ate lunch.  It was a warm day, but cooler up in the mountains.  We all had a fun time and enjoyed being in the mountains soaking up the sunshine surrounded by trees and rocks and lots of sticks to play with.  There was even a little playground!

If you know me/my family then you know that I'm not super into sports.  We never followed any professional sports growing up.  We played our share of kid sports and we were/are especially fond of water sports and "dancing" sports, but beyond that not so much.  However, I have come to love watching college football over the years, especially the Cougars!  We had planned to go as a family to see BYU play Weber State last Saturday.  We didn't want to bring Talia though since she would not be interested in sitting in one place in the sun for 3+ hours.  I tried to find a sitter, but in the end decided it would be best for me to stay home with Tal.  Luckily Uncle Brad was able to take my ticket.

This was Davin's first time going to a BYU football game and he was super excited.  They got there early so there was time to do some of the pre-game activities outside the stadium.  The boys both won prizes and ice cream, so it was hit.  Weston came home with a BYU/Ford lanyard and a BYU/Ford drawstring backpack.  Davin won a lanyard and a BYU/Ford mini towel.  The towel came in handy when soaked with ice water during the heat of the 1pm game.  It was a long day for them, but I think everyone had a good time. 

And I was grateful to be watching the game from the sofa in my air conditioned house (remember how I'm not outdoorsy?  It has something to do with comfortable temperatures too).  Talia and I ran errands and went out to lunch, then came home and crashed.  She napped through the entire football game.  I only napped through halftime.  She napped so long that I got to watch the game in peace and quiet AND got the house vacuumed and brownies baked while she was sleeping.  I think there are some teeth coming in and a growth spurt going on, which make for great napping, but not so great behavior.  Talia is getting to know the time out corner pretty well these days.

Saturday night our friends, the Bayles', stopped in to hang out for a couple hours and talk all about their exciting adoption news!  They are now officially matched with not one, but two adorable little boys from Ethiopia!  We couldn't be happier for them and I loved staring at the pictures of their sweet new additions.  Can't wait to meet them in person!  It was a fun night and a fun weekend. 

You Have Been Warned

Warning: This post will more than likely contain whining.  If you are over your quota of whining for the day either skip it or come back first thing tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will officially be 38 weeks pregnant.  If you count by weeks that means that I am 9 and a half months pregnant.  Pretty much I'm just really pregnant.  I feel like I haven't talked too much about my pregnancy on the blog this time around, but I've hit the wall.  I'm now taking it day by day.  I don't really want to have this baby until next week, but even that sounds really far away right now.  If he is sleeping and not trying to move around in his limited space then I feel pretty good, but whenever he's shifting and kicking and stretching it is pretty painful.  I also am tired.  My back hurts.  You get the idea.

Despite being ginormously pregnant I have still managed to stay pretty busy with the day to day of running our house and getting everyone to and from school.  The boys have been building a lot of Legos.  Especially Davin.  That kid spends hours in the basement building "creations."  And he always wants a picture of them.  Weston built this alien to enter into a Lego Jr. magazine contest

  

Last Friday was Weston's spotlight day in his 1st grade class.  He put together a little booklet about himself and got to bring in 10 things to show and tell.  He was so excited and pondered for days what he would bring to show his class.  He ended up showing a craft he made, his Lego space shuttle, his Star Wars encyclopedia book, his favorite book Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 2 of his Webkinz, and his fossil from the Paleo Lab at the dino museum.  He did a great job presenting and it was fun to see him with his classmates and to see his teacher interact.

Talia has just been doing her normal things.  Playing, watching "shows," becoming a more picky eater by the day (and following in Bowles kid tradition wanting cheese all the time), learning new words, popping bubbles, and fussing at me.  She sure is cute in the mornings though when she is happy and has crazy hair.  Ian took these pics of her a couple weeks ago when he was up with her in the morning and I was sleeping (it was fantastic).  We sure like our girl.

Davin Goes to Preschool

 Davin has been waiting two whole weeks since Weston started school for his first day of preschool.  He was so excited to finally start.  He is going to USA Tykes Preschool in a beautiful home across the freeway from us.  On the way there he told me he didn't want me to walk him in because he "knows everything about preschool."  "I know how to walk myself into preschool Mom." he said.  I walked him in anyway, but told him if his teacher said it was ok he could walk by himself next time.  :) 

 

Davin could hardly be bothered to worry about saying goodbye to me.  It was more emotional for me than sending Weston off to 1st grade.  Davin is just so little and still seems to need me so much.  He did great in school though and had a super fun first day.  He is even more excited for today!