Brotherly Love (can sometimes be smothering...)

Just enjoying my three boys these days. I've still had lots of help from Jon and my MIL but have had a few chunks of time parenting on my own. Its definitely doable. Challenging, but doable. Obviously the hardest part is when I'm stuck in one spot nursing the babe but I'll continue to get the hang of this (as much as anyone ever possibly can!). My mom gets into town late tomorrow night and will be here all week. I'm thrilled to have full-time support for a week :)

The last few days, Dawson has started showing us that he's not so sure he's happy that his position in the family has been usurped by the little bundle. He's definitely throwing more fits than normal but that's all to be expected. He's so funny when Channing cries--he doesn't like it. (Apparently he thinks he's the only one allowed to do that in this family!) The other day in the car he said, "Channing, stop crying! I'm trying to read!"

The first shot I got with all three boys (only took me a week!). Channing, you really need to work on your posing for pictures. But I guess I'll give you a break since you're kinda new at all this.

I left Bennett on "Channing Duty" a couple days ago because Dawson was having a meltdown somewhere in the house. My instructions were to not pick him up. I came back to find this:

"Mom, I made him warm and cozy!". I couldn't help myself. I was cracking up. But after I regained my strict mommy face, Bennett learned a new word: smother. I made it clear why that wasn't such a good idea.

The funniest part was under the six pillows (with a couple burp cloths in between) there were about five blankets, one pair of my sweatpants, my sweatshirt and a tank top. He had put every soft item he could find in the whole room on top of him.

And my last story of the Colyer boy antics: I ran to the grocery store tonight (ALONE! :) when Jon got home. Jon informed me when I got back home that Dawson escaped and he made it all the way down to the corner of our street (we're two houses in) holding his basketball and only wearing a shirt. And it was already dark out! I always keep the front door locked for this very reason but I hadn't shut the garage behind me so he got out that way. This would be bad enough on its own but its just one of many. I have to hold some kind of record for runaway children. About a month ago, Dawson and Bennett were in the backyard together and Dawson climbed up the big hill, walked to where there was a break in the fence, went around it and started walking up NW 70th (a four lane divided road!!) towards Merle Hay (sorry, if you're not familiar with our house, that'll all sound confusing. Trust me when I say he was a long way from home!). By the time Bennett ran back home and told us and Jon caught up to him, two people had already pulled over and called the cops. (In my defense, I asked Jon if he thought Dawson was ok up by the fence since I saw him walking up there alone and Jon said, "Oh yeah, that fence keeps going all the way around." So....not my fault :) I've also had to call security to help me find my missing child three times and my mother-in-law has once. Other than the time at the zoo, the other three times we found them before mall security even got there but STILL! I'd really like to completely blame this on all the fact that my boys are completely fearless and very adventuresome and not on my parenting skills but I have to take some responsibility in all this :) Admittedly, I am a laid back parent. I'm not a hoverer. So maybe the bottom line here is, with three boys under my care, I probably need to be a lot more vigilant!

Since we've been home...

But first let's compare and contrast.
Bennett:

Dawson:

Channing:

So far Channing is reminding me so much of Bennett, even down to the little sighs he makes while he's eating. Channing has the most hair at birth by far, which I love! I always wanted a fluffy-haired baby :) And unlike his brothers, doesn't really have the Colyer Cowlick. His hair line swoops to one side but doesn't go straight up in one spot like B&D's (which I'm also thrilled about. Cowlick's are hard to tame!)

Leaving the hospital (we didn't forget to put his foot in. They had to check his ankle bracelet before we left :) :

Even though you can't see it very well, Bennett made a "Welcome Home Channing" sign with Nana while we were gone :)

I love how newborns will sleep anywhere, as long as they're snug. And honestly, I have a feeling there will be a lot more photos of this babe thanks to the Smartphone. I wouldn't have been able to grab my camera but my phone is usually within reach! (those are my legs if you can't tell. I thought it was obvious but just in case...):

He's a good eater and sleeper but very laid back, just like Bennett was. He takes his time to latch on and then will suck, suck, suck. Pause. Breathe. Suck, suck, suck. Breathe. Contemplate life. Suck, suck, suck. Where was I again? Oh yeah. Suck, suck, suck.

We're getting on a pretty good schedule and the last two nights he's done a 5 hour stretch between feedings already. When my milk supply slows down, I'll actually be able to sleep that whole time!

Jon has been home most of the time so far. He's been going to work for a couple of hours in the middle of the day but doing the dropoff/pickup for preschool. He asked me last night how I'll do when he's back at work full time and I said, "don't talk about that yet. Its way to scary". And then I immediately felt all depressed for a couple hours (until we got to watch the Bachelor together ;) So yeah, I'm very nervous about taking care of all 3 by myself--feeding Channing every 3 hours, dealing with Dawson's tantrums and cupboard raids, and making sure Bennett gets to school on time. But as I've been reminded, I'm learning the art of taking one day at a time. Because that's all my brain can wrap around at this point. And I'm focusing on the verse (wherever it's found) on not worrying about tomorrow, because worrying about it does no good for my current state of mind! I'm so blessed by my husband right now, who's completely taking care of me, making me breakfast and constantly bringing me water and asking me what I need. He is making all of this so much easier.

A certain reflex is letting me know it's feeding time...gotta go before I burst ;)

A Baby Story

Feel free to just look at the pictures if you're not a mom and don't want to hear all the gory details :)

Well, the story starts at my 40 week appointment. The one I didn't ever think I would even get to. I had been having so many contractions throughout this pregnancy (I literally started having Braxton Hicks around week 8 and they just increased in frequency and strength as the weeks went on) I thought for sure I'd go at least a few days early. A couple of my midwives both said having a lot of Braxton Hicks doesn't mean you'll go early but I just had a hard time believing them. Lesson learned. The professionals know what they're talking about. So at 40 weeks when they finally checked my cervix, I was only dilated to 1cm. Second surprise. With my first pregnancy, I was dilated to 3cm three weeks before Bennett was even born so I thought for sure I'd be at 2 or 3cm. Wrong again. They stripped my membranes at that appointment but it didn't kick start labor. Seriously folks, I was shocked. I literally thought I should bring my hospital bag to my appointment because as soon as they strip my membranes, I'll go into labor. Didn't happen.

Finally, 5 days later on February 28th, around 4am I started having contractions that I thought were the real deal. I started timing them and they were about 7min apart. At about 4:45 I got out of bed. When I started labor with Dawson, they were 15 min. apart but as soon as I got out of bed, they immediately turned into 5 min. apart and very quickly down to 3 and were drop-me-to-the-floor painful. Well, this time walking around the house didn't increase their frequency and although they were painful, it was still very bearable. I could still walk and talk through them (signs you don't need to go to the hospital yet). So around 6am and after making some tea and toast, I woke Jon up and told him that I was pretty sure they were real and he should probably get up. Again, I wasn't in immense pain yet at all and they still weren't any closer together. I called the midwife around 6:30 to tell her what was going on and she said I could either come to the hospital or wait until 8am and go to the office to get checked first. I told her I didn't want to miss my window for an epidural and would probably go straight to the hospital. Judie came to our house to watch the boys around 7ish. She walked in the front door to find all 4 of us on the living room couch, all relaxed, watching Despicable Me. I was totally unsure as to what to do. I know the rules. You don't go to the hospital until they're 5 minutes apart and you can't walk or talk through them. Well, after 3 hours of what I was pretty sure was labor, I still didn't qualify. I really didn't want to show up at the hospital and get sent back home. We left the house anyway, around 7:30, stopped at Sonic for a little breakfast and since it was getting close to 8am I told Jon to just go to the Midwife Office instead and I would have them check me there. I was about 95% sure they were going to tell us to go back home and wait.

So the midwife there came in, checked me, and lo and behold, I was at 5cm and about 75% effaced! Half way there! I can't even explain to you how surprised I was. And overjoyed! Half way there and I was barely having any pain. I would have started jumping up and down if I wasn't carrying a 20lb bowling ball in my belly. We headed next door to the hospital and it was the most surreal experience. I casually walked in, went up to the 6th floor and calmly said, "I need to check in. I'm in labor". It felt like I was in a dream. When it comes to babies and deliveries, its so hard to imagine anything but what you've been through before and last time, I was in a wheel chair, feeling like I was going to die from the pain and wanted to punch the nurse at the desk who asked me why I was there. Um...do I seriously need to answer that question?? So to be standing there in zero pain was just utterly baffling. Jon and I were just joking around and laughing with each other. So. Weird.

Once the midwife got there and checked me, she said I had two choices: get an epidural right away and then she'd break my water or vice versa. I told her it seemed way too weird to ask for an epidural when my pain was at about a 2 on the pain scale so I said, go ahead and break my water. That was 9:15am. Well, needless to say, things picked up very quickly after that. My pain shot up from a 2 to a 10 and by the time the anesthesiologist came in, I was more than ready for that epidural. I'm generally a no-meds, kinda girl. I think in 4 years of parenting, I've filled a prescription for my kids about 4 times. My theory is chiropractor first, then google "homeopathic remedy for..." then doctor. But when it comes to pushing a baby out, I say bring on the drugs! Some may call me a wimp. But anyone who's had an epidural (that worked in time) would call me smart. They don't call it the "ring of fire" for nothing.

The epidural kicked in right away. Aaaahhhh. Huge sigh of relief. I literally had about an hour of labor pain. That's it! I felt like the luckiest girl alive. When I had Dawson, the epidural took away all my contraction pain but I felt almost everything when I had to push him out, so I didn't know what to expect this time. When I had to start pushing, I felt zero. Nada. Zilch. It was glorious. I wasn't sure if I was pushing so great, but 20 minutes later he popped right out, so obviously I did ok :) We were going to delay the cord cutting but when his head emerged, it was wrapped really tightly around his neck so they snipped it immediately. But I got to hold him on my chest immediately and just soak in the newest member of the human race. It was amazing, watching him slowly pink up and just to fall in love with my third son in that moment. I didn't get that experience with my other two. Bennett didn't breathe for a minute and a half when he came out so they whisked him away to resuscitate him. Dawson was fine but I was in so much pain at that point, I just wasn't ready to hold him for more than a second. So that was it! 9:15 to 11:36am. My sister Claire got there right when he came out and Judie got there about 10 minutes later. Here she is when we told her his name, Channing Jude:

My last surprise of the day--7lb 7oz. Bennett and Dawson were both 8lb 4oz so I couldn't believe he was so much smaller! (Sure didn't feel like it those last several weeks!)

With Nana for the first time:

And Auntie Claire:

The boys came after Bennett finished preschool that day. They were both soooo excited and were exclaiming over his tiny toes and fingers.

The biggest brother:

Seth and Bethany came with Quinn, along with all the other Colyer Aunts & Uncles and cousins. My parents made a very last minute decision to drive up right away for a very quick visit. They got here super late the night he was born, hung out the whole next day, stayed one more night and left after another quick visit to the hospital the next morning. Some people might call them crazy for driving 20 hours total for a one day visit, but do you think they regretted it for a second? Nope. My mom will be back up in a few more days to stay for a whole week.

And that was the story of the day that Channing Jude Colyer decided to finally grace this world with his adorableness.

The last pregnancy update...hopefully

Well, I'm in the home stretch. All we can do now is wait. I'm over 39 weeks and I feel like this baby will be born in the next few days. I am having constant Braxton Hicks these days, I will be surprised if I make it to my due date of the 25th, but we will see!! I really wanted to get some nice maternity pictures taken since this will be my last pregnancy (unless God has other plans :). We met my sister, Claire, downtown yesterday (I know...nothing like the last minute) and she was able to borrow a really nice camera from one of her friends and got some great shots. She's always had a good eye for photography and I'm so happy with what she was able to capture. Here are my favorites (we tried to get some good family photos but Dawson was not having it):

Stay tuned....a bundle of love coming soon.

On Wednesday afgternoon, we went to the Radisson waterpark hotel in Johnston to break up the winter blues. We totally surprised Bennett and I loved seeing his face as we pulled into the parking lot and he figured out where we were going. It was priceless :)

We only had one near drowning incident when Dawson jumped right into the deep end after Jon who was still a few steps away. And my 9 month pregnant self just couldn't grab him quick enough!

They swam for about 2 hours straight and then we took a dinner break. The livingsocial.com deal we got included a pizza and drinks and even breakfast. Here they are completely wiped out pre-pizza.

A little pick-me-up:

They got back in the pool after dinner for another hour and a half or so and by then we were all so wiped out we were more than ready to head home to our own beds. (Just sitting up and walking around all evening gave me some pretty intense contractions for a couple hours when we got home).

So as we were getting ready to leave, the boys were playing in the hotel room shower which was open at one end and just had a shallow lip. Suddenly Bennett yelled something and we went into the bathroom to find the shower wasn't draining at all and there was standing water in the entire bathroom! So as Jon was trying to mop some of it up while we waited for the maintenance guy, Dawson managed to poop on the floor. I know...totally disgusting. I seriously felt like we were some group of college kids trashing a hotel room in a matter of 20 minutes! It was crazy stressful and there was poop everywhere. A lovely way to end a lovely afternoon!! It was worth it though :)

I Surrender

I give up on trying to keep up on mothering and housekeeping and everything in between. Today I declared, "I give up". So Dawson is currently watching Tangled for the third time, Bennett has been playing his Leapster and computer games since he got home from preschool and I'm ignoring my "pacifier stays in the bed" rule. And I refuse to feel guilty. I have two weeks to go and I have completely exhausted my energy and patience reserves. I can seriously barely make it up the stairs anymore, let alone try to handle a screaming and thrashing tantrum-throwing-two-year-old.

Two weeks is very short in the span of their childhood and a whole bunch of movies and pacifiers and snacks on demand probably won't affect them too much in the long run :)

And now for Dawson's ABC's: The Extended Cut.

(Remember Bennett's version??)

Baby Shower for the OTHER Colyer baby

Judie and I threw a small baby shower for Bria a couple weeks ago and I forgot to post some pictures. As you know, Judie is a wonder with decorating, especially for parties. We used a Beatrix Potter theme for the baby-boy-to-be and of course it was adorable.

The Momma-to-be:

Bria is 5 weeks behind me. I just love that all of my boys have cousins so close in age. They're all just best friends. And we can't wait to see what this brand new Colyer cousin is going to be like!