Easing into routine

What a great day - of doing relatively little. I don't think I've indulged this way in a looong time. The kids were all at school so I went back to sleep with Baby M for an hour - woke to feed and back to sleep for another hour. Off and on feeding (and changing), catching up on blogs and reading. Back to sleep for another hour and then the kids got home. We went to Mitchell's first doctor appointment (he's up to 8lbs 6oz) and then took Matt to play practice, and then home for a late dinner. I have to admit I am now a bit sore and ready to sit for a while. Neat how the day prepared me for that though.

I was saying to Drew that this schedule looks like it might work well - I have every other day where I can nap more if needed since the kids are at school and the baby and I will be alone, and the opposite days are longer with the extra kids. By the time the kids are out of school in June we should have a better night time routine in place that will coincide more with the kids and the daily routine. Oh how I hope so! Otherwise, so far so good!

We're Home!

Well we have made the transition from a family of 5 to 6 (except that Cierra isn't here right now) and we are so glad to be home! I have to say that it was so nice to look around at the living room Drew prepared that I shed a quick tear. Don't get me wrong - the hospital was fine but there is just something about home.

Drew transformed the living room into my own little haven for the next week or so. I am going to try to be good and not use the stairs very much for at least a week (although I will need to shower!). I guess just because I'm not stopping the daycare I want to reduce the stress on my body in other ways as much as possible - and I also think the bed might be more difficult to get out of then the couch. That and Marlee still joins us regularly in bed and I'm not sure how this will work with Mitchell. I also know that once I allow myself to start going up and down the stairs, it won't be long before I regularly want to use them. So Drew got the couch ready for me to sleep on, the pack and play with the diaper station all ready and he even brought down the tv from our bedroom. It's quite a sweet deal.

We were able to leave the hospital around 12:30 and made a pit stop at Taco Bell take-out for lunch (I'm sure that is comparable to the ducosate sodium I have to take LOL!). Drew got us settled and then he went back to work. The kids were so excited to see us home after school, it was really sweet. I think Marlee in particular found me being away a little hard. She was a little emotional at times but held her own well. Again though, just glad to be home. Grandpa John brought them home and stayed at the house until Drew got in - a little odd for me to be waited on but I could get used to having someone do the dishes, prepare the snacks, tidy up - you get the idea!

So this is the plan for the next couple of weeks - I have someone in every day to help with the older kids and to do the drop-offs and pick-ups for school. All in the hopes of taking it easy for a few days so that I am really ready to do the walking. It does allow me some time to rest and get back into things slowly. It is so nice to have such willing friends and family to help out.

Now if I could just get Drew to stop making me laugh!!!

Welcome Baby M-3!

It's a BOY!!! Welcome to baby Mitchell Alexander - born Thursday, March 25th at 8:30am via c-section and weighing in at 8 lbs 8oz. He is perfect - and did I mention a BOY?

Everything went very smoothly - again a surreal experience knowing that when we arrived at the hospital at 6:45am that within a few short hours we would be parents yet again. This was a much better experience then with the other two - I lost a lot of blood with Matt and then with Marlee I remember being so cold - and shaking a lot. This time other then feeling a little nauseous right after getting the spinal (which is normal), I was alert and involved the whole time. Drew and the doctor talked real estate, I looked around at what was happening (I could see some of the action in the ceiling). The anesthesiologist chatted with me and answered my questions. He was very informative!

When everything was said and done Drew went with the baby and I went into recovery. The hospital was short on beds so I had to wait there until around 10:30 before I was taken to a ward bed for a few hours. At that point we had a few family visitors and those friends with pastoral privileges. Later in the day we were moved to a semi-private room until a private room came available.

To say that Marlee and Matthew are smitten would be an understatement. Matt seems to have a perm grin and both can't stop touching his hands. It's so sweet. They were both able to hold him rather quickly and stay for a good amount of time during our stay. They were both anxious to pass on gifts and new clothing from their aunt for him.

At that point we were still not completely sure on the name for him. Both of us (although we hadn't voiced it) had had a feeling I was carrying a girl. I guess not. We had narrowed it down to a few names for boys and finally decided on Mitchell Alexander. Not for any particular reason other then it was an M name and we liked it.

A little history...

The boy's name Mitchell \m(i)-tche-ll, mit-chell\ is pronounced MITCH-el. It is of Middle English origin. Variant of Michael, via the Norman French Michel. Surname used in the Middle Ages, and transferred as a given name in the 19th century. Band leader Mitch Miller.
Mitchell has 4 variant forms: Mitch, Mitchel, Mitchill and Mytch. It means Who is Like God.

Baby names that sound like Mitchell are Michele and Micheal.
Mitchell is a very common first name for men (#222 out of 1220) and also a very common last name for both men and women (#41 out of 88799). (1990 U.S. Census)

The boy's name Alexander \a-lexa-nder, alex(an)-der\ is pronounced al-ek-ZAN-der. It is of Greek origin, and its meaning is "man's defender, warrior". From the Latin form of the Greek name Alexandros. The name was probably coined originally as a title of the goddess Hera, consort of Zeus. Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) conquered and ruled the greater part of the known world before his death at the age of 33. History describes him as a man of high physical courage, impulsive energy, and fervid imagination. It was a royal name in Scotland. Alec and Zander are modern offshoots. Sandy is a Scottish pet form; Alessandro is an Italian form; Alexandre and Alixandre are French. See also Lexer. English poet Alexander Pope; American statesman Alexander Hamilton; actors Sir Alec Guinness, Alec Baldwin; American Secretary of State Alexander Haig; Soviet writer and dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn; writer Alexandre Dumas.

Marlee was a little unsure of the name we picked. She has a classmate who's name is Mitchell who she is actually really good friends with and who lately has wanted to "kiss" her. She's not too impressed with that and was concerned that he would think she liked him and chose his name for the baby. We had to reassure her that she didn't pick the name but she could tell him that WE did. It actually worked out well because the next day he was sick anyway and she was able to get used to the name before telling him.

Grandparents and other family were able to finally see him around 10:30 when I was able to get over to the other wing. The security and visiting regulations have been beefed up significantly since we were last there to visit friends with a new baby in July. We had brought the kids to see her in the family visiting room. Now only 2 significant others are allowed from 7am-11pm, grandparents are allowed from 7am-8pm and siblings during this time for limited amounts of time. Other friends and family are limited to 4-8pm. A friend tried to come earlier and was denied - even after trying to pose as the flower delivery person for me. Did I mention that they have security cameras too? I think in retrospect the new rules are good - really just looking out for the interest of the patients. Now if they could just work on how often the nurses interrupt you...

It's amazing how quickly they just become a part of us. Welcome Mitchell!

Before and After

Before the room purge...


And after....
Wow - what a transformation. I have been wanting to help Matthew clean up his room for at least a few months now. His desk has been covered with loot bag toys, papers and books for at least as long. It took some doing but once he got going his phrase became "yep - I think someone else could use this". We got rid of two laundry baskets full of boxes, papers, toys and junk. I keep reminding him not to be like his mom... I'm not sure if it is helping or not. Maybe if I actually got rid of some more stuff??

My Husband is actually pretty funny

Today when Drew and I went on our usual thursday nite "date" nite, which this week consisted of a trip to Zellers and No Frills, (I know fun date eh? you take what you can get) , He actually made me laugh out loud---on more than one occasion--- I often forget how funny a person he actually is. This comes up every now and again when we meet new people- they seem to think and say "you must laugh all day at home with that guy" I usually respond with a very stoic "ohh yeah, ........yeah I sure do" But every once in a while he really does make me laugh.........not sure what he said tonite........but I know that it was funny, rather, funny, funny enough for me to LOL!! I LOVE THAT GUY!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Happy St Patrick's Day to you all! We were a little more downscaled then last year but we did have a few decorations up and the kids asked for green pancakes for breakfast. They forgot about the lucky charms - which is good because I forgot about buying some. We did all wear the requisite green. Hope it was a lovely green day for everyone!

Barefoot and pregnant and in the kitchen

Drew seemed to get a big kick out of this cliche moment... and doing the dishes none-the-less!