A Sweet Valentine's Day

I threw the children a little Valentine's Day Party this morning. I have been building this party up all week and they were so excited. It truly is the little things.....

Like pink balloons and heart shaped confetti.

 

And home made Valentines cards made by mommy.
 

And chocolate covered pretzels.
 

Valentine's Day puppy chow.
 

And a sweet little newborn sleeping nearby.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate covered faces.
 

And pink lemonade with heart papered straws.
 

Sweet, juicy watermelon.
 

And a "make your own Valentine" project.
 

 

 

Lots of sibling love.
 

And mommy love!
 

Our First Week Together

Thatcher is one week and one day old today. I have loved every minute. Even the middle of the night snuggles. We are continuing to get to know him, but already I am seeing little pieces of his personality. He is very snuggly and very sweet. He is easily consoled. He rarely opens his eyes, but when he does he looks all around taking it all in. He is most alert about 7pm and then drifts off to sleep once again. For the first five nights he wanted to be held while he slept, which meant Eric and I took shifts staying up and holding him. He is getting better about sleeping in his crib and just last night he went 3-4 hours in between feedings. He sleeps in the same room as Eleanor and they have been doing great! He is a beautiful 6 pound addition to our family. We just love him so much!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome To The Family

For months we have talked with our children about Thatcher and prayed for him every night. They have rubbed my belly and knew he would be arriving soon. So when my sweet little ones came marching into the hospital room the day after he was born, I was overwhelmed and felt incredibly blessed. My four children were finally together! And I was overwhelmed. Four children-under the age of four! It felt like a lot. They were so excited to see him and every one had a different reaction. Everett was cool and calm, like it was no big deal. I can't blame him. He has now witnessed three small babies enter our family. But he was happy. And he asked me if I still was his mama. I reassured him I am always and forever his mama. Hampton was the most interested. He immediately said, "let me see that baby!" and wanted to hold him. He told us the baby wants his mama and demanded we put the baby in his hospital bassinet. He continued to return to him throughout the visit and never lost interest. And then there was Eleanor. She kept repeating "bebe" and slapped him across the face upon meeting him. It wasn't a mean slap, perhaps a love tap? I am not sure, but she will be the one I keep my eye on most! She also seemed perturbed that I was holding him and not her.
I was so happy for their visit. Thatcher Reid is a beautiful addition to our family!


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thatcher's Birth Story

Friday, February 1st started off like any other day. I was 36 weeks, 3 days pregnant. Pregnancy insomnia had kept me up until 3:30am, so I began the day already exhausted. Eric went off to work and thankfully my friend Sally Ann had came over with her girls for a play date. I was so thankful for the company and an ear to complain to about how tired and sore I was. The children played and I had on and off contractions throughout the morning. I had been having contractions for a few months now, but these that morning were more intense and closer together. Sally Ann and her girls left about 11 and she had helped me get all my children in our van. My plan was to kill some time and walk around Target. However, we never ended up at Target. I felt like I could barely walk and so I didn't think a shopping trip was going to work. So I called my OB office and explained my situation and how I was feeling. The nurse talked with the doctor and they said I need to immediately come in. So the children and I headed to the office and I prayed the whole time they would be very well behaved and we would make it through. The children were great! The all sat in the waiting room chairs while I tried to hold it together and not make a scene about the amount of pain I was in. The OB checked me and I was 3.5-4 cm dilated. Since I was only 1 cm a day prior she determined I was indeed in labor and I needed to head to the hospital. When she reported this I instantly started crying. I said, "I don't know why I'm crying or why I am so emotional." The doctor's response? She said, "because this is not an ideal situation!" as she was looking around at all the children at my feet. So we headed home, I called Sally Ann to come back to my house to watch my children, and I ran upstairs and got all my stuff together. As soon as Eric got home we headed to the hospital and up to Labor and Delivery. It was about 12:30 in the afternoon. Eventually my OB, Dr. Goodwin, who happened to be on call that day (she has delivered Hampton and Eleanor) came in to check me. We were so happy to see her! I was about 4 cm dilated. She called anesthesia to see about an epidural. We discussed my previous epidurals and how they eventually "wore off." In the end we decided to give it a try. I am so glad we did because up until the very end, it relieved a lot of the pain. After the epidural was placed my OB checked me again. I was 6 cm dilated at about 3:30 and she broke my water. Contractions were about 1-2 minutes apart at this point. And so I labored. At about 6:24 I was checked again I was 7 cm and felt like I was getting close. And I was. At 6:45 I was 8 cm and 90 percent effaced. At this point I started to feel very nauseous and my OB decided to stay in the room. She knew it would be any minute. And it was. It gets blurry at this point, but I know the next time she checked me I was 10 cm and 100% effaced. I pushed for about 5 minutes, pushed 3 times (and I felt every bit of the pain), and he was out! It was 7:21 pm. During that time the OB and nurses kept saying "I've never seen this before." It of course scared me, but they were referring to the fact that Thatcher had his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck 4 times! Crazy, active boy. The doctor immediately placed him on my chest and he screamed! We spent the next hour admiring him and then he was eventually cleaned up, weighed, and then nursed for 30 minutes. He had an APGAR of almost 9, weighed 6 pounds 15 oz (our biggest baby), and was 19 inches long. It was then up to the mother/baby unit. Although he is technically premature, he is perfect. We know we are blessed.


 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts on Thatcher

I am nearing the end of my pregnancy with Thatcher. In fact, I am now 36 weeks and 1 day. I realized I have not documented much about this pregnancy. That being said, it has been such a whirlwind! I guess having 3 little ones is somewhat distracting. 

At our 20 week ultrasound we found out that Thatcher has a 2-vessel cord. Basically he has one artery coming out of the his umbilical cord instead of  two. It was scary to hear that, but our OB reassured us that it is fairly common. Because of this we have had a few extra (and very detailed) ultrasounds throughout the pregnancy. Praise the Lord because everything so far has looked great! He is a healthy, growing boy and apparently has not been affected by it. Also-it will cause no long-term problems. 

The first trimester with Thatcher I definitely was more sick than I was with Everett and Hampton, however not as sick as I was with Eleanor. I think this definitely had something to do with how active and how much energy having 3 children under 4 requires. Now that I am nearing the end, I am beginning to feel all the pregnancy aches and pains, many Braxton-Hicks contractions, and just overall icky. I feel SO tired all the time! It is worth it always though. 

Today we had another ultrasound and I got to see his squishy little face with chubby cheeks and his button nose. His little hands were covering his mouth, but I could detect cute little lips. He is in position and ready to go! Currently I am now 2 cm dilated. If history were to repeat itself a 4th time, I would have him in 1 week. However, Thatcher may be the rebel of the crew and go longer. 

Especially after seeing him today, my anticipation in meeting this sweet baby has grown even more! I am a little on edge about the "when" but I know God's timing is perfect.

4 months pregnant

6 months pregnant

8 months pregnant

9 months pregnant

Thatcher's crib. 

Hampton "practicing" loving on baby. 

I asked the boys "where's Thatcher?" and they both showed me their bellies.

Fresh Air

We love being at home, but this morning all the children were going a little stir crazy and the temperature was mild-so we headed for some fresh air! We packed a picnic and headed to the arboretum. It was damp and it even rained a bit, but to get out was worth it. The boys ran and Eleanor enjoyed a morning stroll in our BOB.

 

 

 

 

And we packed lots of snacks/lunch and picnicked in one of the few dry spots we could find. Best of all-we only had 1 meltdown! Success in our book. 

Learning at Home

In efforts to simplify life, we withdrew Everett from preschool a couple weeks ago. I was having to get all 3 children dressed, fed, and out the door by 9am to drop Ev off and then go pick him up 3 hours later. It was interfering with naps and taking a toll. I was willing to keep doing it though for Everett (even though the thought of Thatcher coming next month and adding him to the mix completely stressed me out). However, after praying about it and talking to Everett we decided it was the right choice. So far it has been great! Everett learns really well at home and I am so happy to have extra time with him. It has also made for a more peaceful day. So, since that decision was made I have had to be more intentional about making play dates when possible and getting him around children his age. We have also started both boys in AWANA and I am looking into a gymnastics and/or music class for them.
I am so grateful they love to learn at home doing.......
Lots of puzzles.......
 

 

 

And painting/artwork.......
 

Learning on the iPad (Everett playing with the BOB books app)
 

Reading a lot of books.......
 

And Ellie getting upset when she can't join in on the "big kid" fun (like when she was trying to destroy their puzzle)......
 

or when she was trying to destroy their BINGO game boards....
 

 

And during Hampton and Eleanor's nap time Everett and I have enjoyed spending a couple of hours on "seat work" and lots of one on one learning time. We are currently focusing on learning to read-which he is doing great!