I somehow managed to land in an amazing OB/GYN doctors office this pregnancy. Dr. Quinlan has been the best doctor I've had so far. She is pro kids and big family (if that's what you want) which was a nice change from Philly docs and she really listened to what I had to say. AND it was her idea to schedule an induction date for me since Ben's work schedule is so crazy. She planned it for May 10th so that's the day we went in! I started having irregular contractions the night before so when we checked in that morning I was dialated 2 cm already. I thought "Great! this should go quickly then!" Well, it didn't. They put me on pitocin and eight (!!!!) hours later I was at 2.5 cm! A half cm in 8 hours! I started freaking out that I'd be there until sunday. Finally the on call doc (not Dr. Quinlan who wasn't at the hospital that day) broke my water and the contrations picked up quick. Within in a few minutes I was in a lot of pain. I asked for the epidural but it took another 2 hours to get it. I was having really strong and painful contractions every 2 minutes so was doing the whole breathing thru thing. While waiting for the magical epidural they gave me some pain drugs to help lessen the pain. It didn't make the pain any better but it sure made he loopy and high so that between the contractions I literally forgot what I was doing and relaxed a bit. Ben said I was talking about tons of crazy stuff like twirly waterslides and ice cream cones?? Anyway, I finally got the epidural and a spinal tap (not sure why they did both??) and felt much better. Another hour or two later, I lost track, the Doc ran in and said she'd looked at my contraction chart and could tell my body was ready to push...they checked and sure enough the little head was right there! I hadn't felt a thing. They rushed around crazy getting ready and about 5 pushes later our little man was here!! He was a big 8 lbs 4 oz with a big head (doc said his size is probably why I wasn't dialating faster) and despite having pooped inside (the big boys got a kick out of this :) he was very healthy! I got to hold him for a bit and he latched on to eat like a pro and pretty much hasn't left that spot since. He is now 4 weeks old and just love to eat, eat, and eat. He has been kind of fussy, doesn't like to sleep much and just wants me to hold and feed him. Ben can only hold him for a few minutes before he starts screaming. He does do really well with all the noise in our house and seems to be calming down a bit but he is definitely a high strung, very intense, little man and WE LOVE HIM!! Despite being extremely sleep deprived and worn out he just makes me happy, even to hold him all night long (except for maybe two nights where I felt like I couldn't do it anymore...) Just the other day, at 4 weeks old, he finally made eye contact with me and SMiLED! It was such a sweet moment I was filled with such love for these little kiddos.
But I do have to say 4 kids has done me in. I have officially hit the limit to how many kids I can handle on my own. My house is a mess, the laundry is everywhere and the kids have watched a lot of TV. I haven't been able to get the older boys to scouts or baseball practice either. I ran into a store one time with all of them and felt overwhelmed with the feeling that I am seriously outnumbered by my kids. 4 feels like a lot! Ben had the two days off I was at the hospital then went back to work that monday morning and I was on my own with a month left of school for the big boys. The mornings were interesting. I had a lot of help from my neighbor and friend, Melanie Beemster, who walked them to/from school whenever I needed it. Since then Ben has only had 2 days off work but when he does get home he has been a lot of help. Mom had driven out a lot to help as well. A sweet sister from church, Aida Hansen, showed up one day and stayed for a few hours to help. I had no idea she was coming and she swept my floor, ironed clothes, cleaned my bathroom and played with Evrett while I took a nap. She was SO sweet!!
So Cody likes to give "the stare" a lot. He has my furrowed eyebrows a lot of the time. Colin always had that look too. He takes after his brothers and doesnt like getting baths, HATES having his clothes changed, picture taken or getting rubbed with lotion. All make him CRY. His feet are ticklish and he has some nice long black hair growing on his ears :) He has a sweet little "old man" face with the cutest little nose and mouth. He looks a lot like Ben to me. I also get flashes of Colin as a baby as well. He was born with a large triangle shaped birthmark centered on his forehead that should fade in a few years but I have grown to really like it :) Colin calls him our "little Avatar" because of the cartoon avatar hero that has an upside down arrow mark on his forhead.
The boys have been so good with him. Colin and Brannon love to hold him (at least until he starts crying) and Evrett loves talking and singing to him and likes to bring him blankets, pacifiers and toys :) The first time they came to visit in the hospital Colin couldn't wait to hold him, Brannon took his time to want to and was a little nervous and Evrett just kept waving in his face sayind 'Hi baby hi baby hi baby!!!" He talks in this sweet little voice and things Cody is a riot. Evrett has also been my baby alarm system. Anytime he starts crying Evrett comes running to tell me "MOM!! The baby the baby!! He's crying and wants FEEDED!" He has done pretty well with the adjustment. Just a couple meltdowns and a few bathroom accidents has been it. I've tried hard to make sure to spend some one on one time with him each day reading books, playing games or doing puzzles. I always miss my time with the youngest when a new baby comes. A few days after coming home from the hospital Evrett informed me he didn't like the name Cody anymore. I asked what name he liked for the baby and he said "Cody Evrett Jr." He was totally seriously and I just loved it! :)
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