1 week postpartum

I feel very good. I can touch my toes I can sit down and get up. I can twist or curl up on the couch. I am not at the I miss being pregnant stage yet. Maybe because I still look pregnant. About in my 4th month.





With the first baby I had I brought my normal clothes to the hospital to wear home. Bahaahaa. Well it wasn't funny then I cried when they would not fit. I really thought that you can fit right back into your old stuff as soon after you have a baby.

This time I brought my jogging pants and a bigger Lilly shirt. There is still no sense in not having style. I am not in the dark on the weight you still carry around or the fact that I will look early pregnant for a little while. I look at it in two ways
1. I am healthy and feel good with a new baby and that is what is important not my size
2. It can be fun to lose the weight. I do love getting back to the gym, back to running. None of which I have done yet or will for another month or so. I have a lot of stitches and just can't. But I enjoy the weight falling off and being able to get rid of the bigger clothes.

My drawl back is I have not told the sweets part of my mind we are not eating for an army anymore.

Time to dust off my wii fit, find my workout dvd's, and treat my self to a pair of those shape up sneakers. I can't wait for the weather to get warm to throw the babies in the stroller and walk. Believe it or not it SNOWED yesterday! The end of March and it was so cold and snowing.

Does anyone else out there have great weight loss tips?

The pictures I was taking of my 1 week postpartum were self timer pictures. Smiley was so happy to keep saying cheese and would run to push the timer button over and over. I had a great time with taking them with him. This kid has my heart.

mixing them all together

How has it been since we got home? Crowded but not to bad. Life was paused while we were in the hospital. It certainly was different for everyone. Thursday night we all came home. My parents, my boys, my husband, my DAUGHTER and I all arrived back at our [still] under construction cape cod at the same time. What a wreck.

As I was feeling good, feeling secure and ready to go the nurse gave me some more medicine to help with the pain of moving a lot and 3 bouncy boys about to jump on me. I appreciated the thought. What I did not appreciate was she gave me the wrong medicine. She gave me much to strong medicine. I was tired, then high, then dizzy, then so so sick. Upon my arrival to see my boys I had not seen in 4 days there first glimpse of mom was her looking really bad running from them to throw up. Nice. Not at all how I had wanted it. I did not want to feel like that I did not want to scare my kids it was all so wrong.



My parrents did not want to stay long. They were happy to drop off the boys and meet Faith but they wanted to go and Jay left to the grocery store.



So I had to push through this. I did know it would end it just had to wear off and get out of my system. That gave me peace to look foward to.

I went to see all my kids. Introduce them to each other and it went so well. They all smiled over her and loved her instantly.



Smiley really took to her. He just held her in his arms, you could not get her away.










I want that, mine. He would say about her. Although now he does say her name.






He loves having a baby around, we all do. And she sleeps through the night. She sleeps a lot. But I am not complaining.





Life has not stopped. Our only way to adjust to life plus baby is to jump back into life pre baby. So that is what we have done.





We have continued work on the the house. The walls have now been primed.



We are deciding on a paint color.



The kids have returned to school and there activities. I have resumed my taxi service and volunteering. Some people ask how can we do it? How can we just bounce back a week later. Well we have no choice. But we are having, for lack of a better word, fun. It is hard, my body does ache, the boys have watched more tv and played more wii this week than any other time, but life goes on and we are all enjoying Faith. I should add we enjoy showing her off around town too.


okay they have had to dress themselves lately too

An extended stay

We both thought we would be in and out of the hospital in no time, under 24 hours like we were for the last two births. But that was not the case. We stayed 3 days. No that is still not a long time but that also means we were away from our boys for four days now. That is hard to do and we have never been away from Smiley before.

Things were not going bad at the hospital. I was fine in some pain but that's to be expected. Faith was not eating much and dropping weight. This was a little worrying but if you have ever tasted baby food you could understand. Every baby drops a little weight after birth and Faith dropped to 8lb 1oz. So we keep trying to feed her.



She never really got it at the hospital but is a little eater now and up to 8lb 3 oz.

Since we were there the hospital not only fed Faith but us as well. Aside from all the "wonderful" hospital meals and all the fast food runs I had Jay going on to make up for them, they did make us both one special meal.



It was about the same as the rest honestly but it had some wonderful cheesecake!



I ate his and mine. Oh well I don't have to lose the baby weight yet.

Throughout the days visitors stopped by. They brought flowers and balloons all in pink.



But mostly we just got to know our little girl.





We looked in her eyes we smiled when she was comforted by our voice. We held her constantly. I worried. We were gave the green light to go earlier. The morning of the second day. But something in me did not want to go. I wanted to stay and for more than there delicious food. Something in me was feeling a sense of not right and a need to stay. So we stayed. It turned out to be nothing. Like I said Faith was doing good. I got stronger and felt better. I still don't know why I had such a hesitant feeling but I listened to it. No harm done that I did and you never know what we avoided by doing so.

It's a girl!

It really is! I wanted them to double check first thing when I had her. I wanted to be sure. After 3 boys and a family history of boys on Jay's side, how could I not have that underlining disbelief. But Yes sure enough IT IS A GIRL! I have a daughter! My daughter, it still does not roll off the tongue with ease but is so great to say.

Announcing our sweet perfect gift from above:

FAITH HUSE CLIFTON



She did not come early she did not come on her own but she is here and she is healthy. She did come on March 22, a little over 39 weeks.

She was a scheduled induction. I have had 3 of my 4 kids induced, 2 by choice and the first by necessity. It is not the route I like to go. I wish they would all come on there own early. Even though it has been done 3 times I do have my reservation about it. Talk about a sleepless night before. We woke up early and arrived to the hospital by 7 we even parked my to small car in the right parking spot.



Do you see that sign? In front of my 5 passenger 500 that tightly holds 3 kids in car seats and now I have 4 in car seats.



The sign however was proved to be a lier. It was not a 10 minute delivery. It was my longest. I was in labor for over 6 hours. The beginning was bad. Contractions were coming and were becoming painful.



Those were not the big ones but as long as I could hold out to get an epidural. Anyone induced knows it has to be one of the most painful things in life. I wanted to have this baby I wanted it over so I tried to delay the epidural which delays the baby, sometimes. But it was painful and I chose comfort. Unlike my last birth with two failed epidural attempts resulting in a spinal this one worked the first time and was not that bad. I was hooked up to every monitor like something out of a science fiction story.



Jay spent the entire time on his phone.



He tweeted away the entire day. Normally I would not appreciate this but it made him happy, it kept him busy, it kept him from driving me nuts. He posted constantly notes and pictures about how the labor was coming along. I am surprised how many people were following it. It was great for our far away friends and family.

At one point we thought she never was gonna come. My contractions, according to the moniter, got smaller and further apart. Looks like they will have to turn that poticion up again. Jay figured this would be a good time to go get lunch. Shortly after he left the doctor came in to check. She looked down and said where is he? I told her he left and his number is by the phone. Yes I do not know my husbands cell number. We have new phones new numbers and have not learned them yet. So he wrote it down for me. She called and said get back baby is coming.

Yeah! I said I am at 10? She said you are at 10+ the head is coming out. So much for the monitor. He raced back he ran in grabbed my leg and 1 push baby was here.



I am not so sure she is happy about this.

She was perfect, purple but perfect. 10 finger 10 toes and a vagina. Yes it is a girl! A big girl. She weighed in at 8 pounds 6 ounces. Not the 7.5 they thought she would be.



Either way I will gladly take her. But after they clean her up.





I think part of them taking the baby to almost out of sight then is to distract you from all the clean up and pushing on your belly the rest of the L&D team is doing. Ouch.



Whew. Glad its over. But I still look like they left a baby in me.

Oh my goodness she is here.



She is so tiny. Even at 21 and a half inches.



We spend so much time just looking at her. Falling in love.



it is just so easy when she is so cute.





She has the prettiest eyes deep blue. I am entranced when I stare in to them. They are little latches on to your heart.



She has a chubby body that is so kissable!





And these little tiny hands. Smaller than a silver dollar.





She is just amazing. There is such an overwhelming joy that she brings to us. Such a sense of protection. I want to hold her always and keep her happy, safe. I understand the fear of guys coming to her now of her heart being broken. I want to shield this perfect angel and that all is so far off.



I want to play with her and teach her. Dress her and make things for her. I have a daughter now and everything that comes with it.



I am happy. I am praying thanks for her, she is such a blessing. Undeniably a gift from above and forever ours.