Firsts

Even though Genevieve is our third child, we still had some firsts with her.

She was the first to have formula. Before leaving the hospital, they checked her bilirubin. It was elevated. Ben and I weren't concerned since both other kids had this and everything was fine. But for some reason they freak out about that here. So, our choices were one more night in the hospital while they put her under lights in the nursery, or supplement her feedings with 20 ml of formula for 24 hours. We would rather be home. So we agreed to formula. Her bilirubin dropped drastically by the next day when we brought her in again. No more formula!

She went to her first buffet at about 36 hours. We had both sets of grandparents in town. I felt great. So, Sunday morning we all went out to brunch. The hostess was a little appalled that we took our newborn out. To a casino. Where there are germs. Someone else thought that we had the baby and then flew to Vegas. But one thing is for sure, the Bacchanal Buffet is AMAZING! The food was terrific. And you should see the dessert counter. I would pay just for that! Genevieve did great.

She was the the first to co-sleep with us. Honestly, this was due mainly to the fact that I was so completely tired. I would just snuggle up with her to feed her and fall asleep. When she fussed, we would roll over and she would eat some more and I would go back to sleep. As I got caught up on sleep, or my body got used to the lack of sleep, I started to get paranoid that she would suffocate - she really liked to snuggle into me. So, gradually we transitioned her to her crib. I miss my snuggle bug, but I think it's the best for both of us to get a good night's sleep.

She is the first to like tummy time. Just a few times I've put her on her tummy. Absolutely no complaints! Adelyn and Odin would basically scream bloody murder until we moved them back to their backs, or they figured out how to roll. Genevieve does not mind one bit. In fact, I think she likes it. I'm trying to take advantage of that.

Genevieve Marie

At 9:30 pm on August 22, 2014, we welcomed Genevieve Marie into our lives.

She was 8 pounds, 1 oz and 20.5 inches long. Ten fingers. Ten toes. And absolutely perfect!

On August 21 I had my weekly doctor's appointment. I was dilated to a 2. I figured that our little girl would be making her appearance soon. My mom had flown in on the 16, so we had child care for Adelyn and Odin all set, so really, the baby could come whenever she wanted to. That night I had contractions on a fairly regular intervals (every 6 minutes). But they weren't painful yet. Before heading to bed, Ben and I made sure our bag for the hospital was all set and ready to go.

We made it until morning with nothing much happening. We had breakfast and tried to have a normal day. I played with A and O. I worked a bit. Contractions were coming more frequently. And they were starting to hurt. Ben started to get concerned that we were going to have the baby on the freeway on the way to the hospital, so after we fed the kids (well, everyone but me) we packed up in the cars and went to the hospital.

They checked me out and I was at 4 cm with a bulging bag, so they weren't going to let me go anywhere without having the baby first. Once I got into a room, we said goodbye to Adelyn, Odin and Grandma.

The nurse,Janice, was having technical difficulties with our room. She couldn't get the computer up. That meant she couldn't monitor remotely my contractions or the baby. That meant she had to stay in our room. That was fine, just annoying for her because she had to keep calling other nurses in to do things. We all thought baby was going to come quickly, so Janice was working quickly to get everything set. I made it to 6 cm. and had just got an epidural when the decision was made to move me to a room with working technology. I think Janice thought the baby was going to be delivered in the hallway. She kept informing everyone helping to move me (had to move the bed because of the epidural) that I was at 6 and this was my third. We made it without incident to the new room.

Then things slowed down. I think my body was too comfortable. Contractions slowed way down and my progress slowed down too. At this point they wanted to give me to pitocin. We asked if we could wait an hour. The doctor agreed. So, we tried to make me uncomfortable. Instead of relaxing in a reclined position, I sat up more to get gravity to help more. I moved from side to side every 10-15 minutes to get the baby to move on her own. It worked! I was back to making process.

At some point during all this, my doctor made the call that he wasn't going to deliver for me. He technically had the day off and had already been at the hospital most of the day with others. Janice assured me that the doctor on call was excellent and one of her favorites.

Nurse change! We said goodbye to Janice and said hello to Keisha. She was very nice too. My pain level was going up. We talked about getting more drugs. We had some more administered. The next time I was checked, she asked me to do a practice push to make sure I could push. She said the baby's head was "right there." So I gave a little push. Keisha started to yell at me to stop. She told me to not even sneeze until the doctor came in.

Our room got a little busy with the baby nurse getting everything ready and Dr. Juarez getting ready. He asked if I was ready to push. Sure! Let's get this over with. :) With the next contraction he had me push. He told me to stop basically mid-push... she was born! Seriously, less than one push and she was out. No tears even.

Adelyn's 4 Year Well Check

Adelyn has been asking for weeks when she gets to go to the doctor. The combination of me going weekly and her fascination with Doc MCStuffins has fueled this. I'll take it! I finally got all medical records transferred and new insurance in place. On Friday she finally got her appointment.

She weighed in at 40.0 pounds (78 percentile) and is 42 inches tall (83 percentile).

She was being a little shy, so she wasn't talking much when the doctor came in. So, naturally the doctor asked if she had any problems speaking, forming sentences, etc. I chuckled. She's been a talker for so long now, I barely remember her not talking in complete sentences! Meanwhile, Odin wasn't shy, so he was busy telling the doctor lots of things. She was impressed with his speaking too. I wonder where my kids get it...

Adelyn did end up needing shots. Uh oh. In Minnesota she didn't need any until 5. But here, they do the last round before school at 4. So, she got 2 shots. We talked about it while we waited for the nurse to return. She was so brave! After the nurse left the room again, she let out a little sob and said, "Mommy, that did hurt a little bit!" But that was it. I think knowing that a sucker was coming helped.

Getting Settled

We have been back in Vegas for two weeks. And what a crazy two weeks it has been!

When we got here we had a mattress, two folding chairs, a memory foam pad, a highchair and a pack n' play. And a few random kitchen things. Not much to live on. We started off looking on craigslist for furniture. Turns out that is a lot of work. We wasted so much time! In the end, we did get a bed for Adelyn and that's it. We found a nice furniture place (after going to two separate ones that ended up to be being out of business). We ended up with a couch and rug for the living room, dining room table and chairs for the dining room (duh) and a mattress. And just in time!

Friday night we had our first event at our house. We ended up having about 30 or so people over. It was a busy day of shopping and food prep. First guests started arriving around 9 pm. We had a great time and it was fun to see the different social groups collide.

Saturday Mickey came to town for a few days. And on Sunday Rick joined us.

It is so nice to have some furniture. It was getting challenging to eat every meal on the floor. And I'm sure Rick and Mickey appreciated a mattress versus sleeping on the hardwood floors. We are still on the look out for a few more pieces, but we've actually been enjoying the minimalist lifestyle we have started. 

Gone

This past Father's Day the plan was to meet my parents, brother and Katie to go bowling followed by dinner. The kids were both so tired that we had them take a nap before the festivities. They were still sleeping when it was time for us to go. I was about to text my brother to let him know we were running late when he texted me saying that Gram wasn't doing too well. They were going to stop by the rehab center on the way to go bowling.

Doug, Jane, Leah, mom, dad and Jacob were all there. They couldn't wake her up at all. Her breathing was labored. She would take a breath and wouldn't exhale for a few moments. Then she took her last breath.

Needless to say, Father's Day wasn't what any of us were expecting. We decided to pick up dinner and eat in the privacy of my parent's house.

My last conversation with my grandma wentsomething like this:
Gram: How are your beautiful children?
Me: They're great. They must get their looks from the Obert side of the family.
Gram: [blank look]
Me: I mean Bridenbaugh (her maiden name).
Gram Yes. That's more like it.

Even with her difficulty breathing, lack of energy, etc. she still was able to show off her feisty wit. I miss her so much.

First Broken Heart

The other day I was going downstairs to let Zoey out. Odin followed me down. Zoey was in the middle of doing her "business" when I heard Adelyn upstairs crying hysterically. I hurried Zoey along and ran upstairs. Adelyn was sitting in her chair in the library, holding her blanket. I asked her what was wrong.

Adelyn: He broke my heart!
Me: Who, sweetie?
A: Odin!
Me: How did he do that?
A: He told me I couldn't go downstairs with you and that just broke my heart!

Happy 4th Birthday Adelyn!

What a lucky girl this year - she got two birthday parties!

On July 1 we celebrated with Grandpa and Grandma O, Uncle Pranob, Auntie Krys and Asher, Uncle Jake and Katie and Uncle Doug and Aunt Jane. Asher's birthday is July 4, so we had a combined party for the two cousins. Pranob and Krys made some yummy tandoori chicken. Adelyn and I made cupcakes. She picked out a recipe that she thought Asher would like. They were supposed to look like this:

They didn't quite work out that way, but they sure were tasty! 

As we were singing the happy birthday song, I realized that it was the first celebration without my grandma (more on that later). Typically with my family we sing also sing the birthday song from "Howdy Doody." I was really hoping that no one starting in on that after the typical birthday song, because there was no way I was going to be able to keep it together. Fortunately for me, no one tried to start it up. Phew.

On July 3, we headed up to the lake. There was a party waiting for us there! Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle John, Aunt Sara, Malachi, Simon and Coen were waiting for us. They had games and prizes set up for the kids. Adelyn had so much fun. Well, I think all the kids did. 

Adelyn, I love you so much. You are growing into such a fun and spunky girl. I love that you love to dress up, even if that leaves your room a disaster. You are sensitive and kind. You are a great helper in the kitchen. You love books. You are willing to try new things. You still bring use your purple blanket, but it doesn't have to come everywhere with us. You like crafts. In so many ways, you are like a little me. Happy Birthday, Little Lou!