More baby pictures and the first day of school

And finally, tired baby at the end of the day--I love how he curls up like this.

And here is one from yesterday--wide awake and actually in clothes for only the second time as opposed to pajamas and gowns:-)

We were not having any cute pictures in our hat--apparently we don't like them at all:-)

Precious baby feet--love how little they are:-)

Will on his beautiful blanket from Jennifer--so soft and I love the personalization.

Will and daddy--too cute!

Second real bath but we didn't get pictures of the first one--such is the life of a 4th child.

Thought this was cute of Will--love the tongue out:-)

A shot of Will with with Nana--at least her shirt:-)

Trying to get a good shot of Will with his eyes open--and I really can't tell now what color they are:-)

Proud big brother--although his arms tend to get tired very quickly--especially if Will starts crying:-)

First day of school--and yes, every picture of Emma she had her eyes closed:-)

And once again I managed to put in every pictures backwards--it's a talent I have:-)

Baby is here:-)

Our newest bundle of joy arrived on August 10th at 5 pm and weighed 7 lbs 11 oz and was 20 in long. We started out our morning headed to my routine doctor's appointment. While there, our doctor asked when we would want to have the baby--and he decided that we would be able to go over to the hospital right then and get induced! We went next door and were admitted and set up pretty quickly. Shon was completely unprepared and was in a suit for work, so he ran home and got all of our stuff while I was being prepped for induction---they started the IV and got the antibiotic started due to me being Group B strep positive ( a first for me). They started Penicillin, and I immediately became sick to my stomach and threw up. The nurse was unsure if it was from the meds or from the strong contraction I had just had, so we waited a few minutes and tried again. That's when things got fun:-) A few minutes after restarting the medicine, I felt myself get very light-headed and then everything went black. I could hear the nurse but that was about it--she told me that my blood pressure had bottomed out at 70/30, and that we would definitely stop the penicillin and try something else! Shon felt really bad that he was not with me but there really wasn't anything he could have done. Anyway, they got orders from the doctor to stop the penicillin and start Vancomycin instead. That went in fine until about the last 5 minutes when my scalp started itching very bad and my palms and in between my fingers were itching. So they had to stop that as well but I got most of the dose. Then I got a dose of Benadryl and felt fine--it was so strange for me to have all these reactions as I have never had a problem before.

She had the Pitocin going during this time and my contractions were regular but not very strong, so she came back in after about an hour and doubled the dose--after feeling about 4 of those contractions, I opted to have my epidural put in:-) That went fine this time ( I had issues during my epidural with Jake) and I was not feeling any pain:-) My water broke on its own while the epidural was being put in, and I think that helped speed things up as well. I was able to rest a bit over the next hour or so, and then apparently the baby's heartbeat was going down with the contractions so they put on an internal monitor and then another monitor to measure the baby's heartbeat a little better. I think I was about a 6 at that point. About 20 minutes later I felt a lot of pressure and I was at a 10.

Mom and dad had left Mountain Home about 12:30 and made it to Columbia about 4:50pm. Mom was able to come into the room just as I was getting ready to start pushing:-) We had my doctor, a medical student, 2 residents, and Shon and my mom in the room--it was pretty crowded! I pushed 2 times, and Will was born! He did so well and was able to be put right on my chest--he cried right away and had a great color--I thought he looked just like Jake!

They took him to be cleaned up and weighed/measured and then brought him back all snug and secure. After everyone cleared out of the room, dad was able to come in and see him for the first time. My nurse and the doctors were all wonderful that day--everything went great!

The kids were able to come that evening and see him--along with my mother-in-law. They helped us when we had to move to the post-partum room:-) All of the kids did really well around the baby--something I was very happy about.

We went home after 2 days in the hospital-we were able to leave after 24 hours but I was given the option to stay another night and I took it:-) I knew I needed more rest than what I would receive at home and it was nice to send Will to the nursery in between feedings. Shon and my mom were able to come and help us get home while my mom-in-law stayed with the other 3 kids. Dad had to go back to Mountain Home after the first day, so mom has been with us since he was born and has been such a big help. My mother-in-law was here up until he was born and she was a huge help as well-we have been very blessed with our family support.

Will is doing great so far--he goes about 4 hours between feedings at night and 3 hours during the day. The kids only fight about whose turn it is to hold him:-) They are all very gentle and loving with him. I am learning to survive on less sleep again and trying to nap at least once a day right now. I will post more later but wanted to get a few pictures up while I had the chance (sorry about the order of them--not sure how to change that).

2 weeks or less to go!

So don't fall over, but yes, this is another post:-) I went back to the doctor today--still only dilated to 2 but he said anytime the contractions start and are regular to head straight to the hospital--I can't believe I am already 38 weeks! It has been SOOOOO hot here, as I know it is everywhere else but I have really just been trying to stay in and soak up the AC as long as possible. I have washed all the baby clothes, put the pack n play together, the swing is ready, now all that is left is to put the car seat in the car and pack my hospital bag.

My older 2 kids arrived home after 3 weeks away on Saturday. My mother-in-law is staying with us right now and I am very thankful for her--not only did she have my older 2 the past 3 weeks, she is going to stay until this baby arrives:-) I was worried it would be just me alone in the delivery room while Shon dealt with our other 3 but now that she is here I feel much better about things.

We are just trying to get the house more organized and cleaned and get everything in its place. I hope everyone stays cool and I will post more when I know more:-)