sunny-side up

Apparently, sunny-side up refers to more than just a way to prepare eggs.

It is also a not-so-fun way to deliver a baby.

***Warning:  This is a birth story***

My doctor was willing to induce me any time after April 1st.  Anytime we wanted.  Or we could just wait.  I wasn't actually due until the 9th and really didn't want to have a baby over Easter...although I thought an April 4th baby would be fun-that would be my brother, John's birthday, of which is what we planned on naming the baby (it's a family name on both sides).  So it was ironic when late in the afternoon on April 1st I started to have severe back pain.  And it just wouldn't go away.  Now, this has been the first baby I've carried that I could actually tell where he was, for all his little extremities would pop out of just one side of my belly, for he was head down to the side.  And he was also facing more upward.  So the next day, Good Friday, Joey had off and I was getting a little worried.  The pain was awful, but on just that one side his head was pressing against.  I have also carried him really high, and could tell he was dropping.  In fact, I woke up one morning the week before panicking because he had dropped so much, and according to the *books*, this is a sign he's coming soon...  So I made a visit to the doctor's office only to find out that I was still only 2 centimeters dilated and about 50% effaced.  Well, I returned home and suffered through the rest of the day and night.  All the while thinking, how in the world am I going to keep this up?  Then I woke up the next day feeling nothing.  Ah, sweet relief.  And for many reasons.  We apparently don't *plan* our babies very well and Joey HAD to be at work the first part of the week.  It was either have the baby yesterday, or not until next Thursday... That and we weren't really sure what we'd do with the rest of our kids if he came early...  So we went on with our normal activities, I thinking that the baby had turned over, ready for a smooth trip into the world. 

Set up our induction date for Friday, April 9th.  My parents would be here Thursday night to watch the other kiddos and then we'd have all weekend.  (Joey again HAD to be at work the first part of the week-but then would have 2 weeks paid paternity leave.)  Now, a part of me wanted to just wait for him to come, but the whole, 'what do I do with 3 other little kids' made me a little nervous, although so many people in our ward had offered to help...

April 9th, 2010

1 am:  Finally get back into bed after giving Marryn another breathing treatment.  Why would my kids have to get sick now...first Reganne all week with her croupy cough she gets and now Marryn...

3 am:  Hear Marryn crying again.  Joey gets up this time.

5:30 am:  Time to get up.  Eat breakfast.  Take showers.

6:45 am:  Arrive 15 minutes late to our *appointment*. 

7:30-8:30ish am:  Get set up and started on the petocin.  Dilated to a 3.

10ish am:  Get epidural.  Not for the pain of the contractions (still pretty light), but for the pain in my pelvic area and thinking, he's probably getting closer to coming.  For some odd reason, I expected this delivery to be just like Christian's...

3 pm:  Have watched almost all of Season 9 of Friends, starving, tired and yet, only dilated to a 4 and still not effaced much.  Actually, I was effaced on one side, like a cresent shape...never heard of that before...  Even after spending an hour reclined on my sides with a leg up on an exercise ball to get the baby to move off my cervix so it could efface and dilate...  He wasn't ready to come out yet...  He's going to be tiny, I just know it...

4 pm:  Starting to feel some pressure...

4:32 pm:  Kellen is placed on my chest.  After about 15 minutes of hard pushing and burning and tearing (and what felt on the top, not bottom...).  This kid never actually turned (?) and made his way into this world face up.  Yeah, that did not feel good.  And boy, was he ugly...  His head was totally misshapen with a big red line going down the middle of his face and head.  His nose was huge and puffy and his hands.  So this had nothing to do with his delivery, but he's got the biggest hands.  They're huge.

They finally took him to check him out.  He wasn't breathing great.  And he wasn't tiny either;).  We had a respiratory therapist at the delivery checking him out and he was a little concerned.  Which brought panic to us.  But after he brought him back over to me all swaddled up, his breathing almost instantly cleared up.  And he's been great ever since.  I had told Joey from the beginning that I'm fine with this being our last baby, but not if he's sick.  I can't end on that.  But here Kellen is.   

1 day old. 

And already looking better;).

Healthy.  Fine.  

For now.  We'll be watching him carefully the next couple months, but we feel good that he's good. 

We stayed the extra day.  The kids were doing great with my parents (apparently better than with us;), oh, and Marryn was much better the next day, luckily) and I needed a little more rest.  The afterpains, terrible.  They say they get worse with each pregnancy.  They do.  I'm feeling alright now, a week later.  Although, I have just not bounced back like usual.  Still pretty sore down there.  My parents had to leave on Monday, so Joey worked from home all week.  He wasn't as productive as he would have liked to be, but it was SO nice to just have him here if I needed him.  Our good friend took Marryn to and from school almost everyday and another friend had Reganne over to play one afternoon.  So I've been able to take it really easy.  Went to Target with Reganne yesterday (needed size 1 diapers-although Kellen fits in the newborn ones, they just won't hold anything).  Was wiped by the time I got home.  The next 2 weeks will be great though.  Joey will be home and not working (for the most part).  Hopefully we'll get into a routine...

Christian has been really good with the baby.  Just wants to hold him, which we don't let him because now he's sick with a cough and runny nose.  And when he gets a runny nose, it lasts for about 2 months.  It really sucks.  But he has been acting out.  Probably a combination of bringing home a new baby and not feeling well.  The girls too adore Kellen.  Reganne constantly calls him "the new baby."  We're working on calling him his name.  Or K.J.  Our families aren't too fond of his name, so they've already  nicknamed him that.  They like the John, not the Kellen.  

And Kellen himself.  Perfect.  Has only cried a handful of times, mostly when getting changed.  Sleeps a little too much during the day and tends to get up more often at night...we're working on that:).  Nurses really really well.  I tend to be a *late bloomer* with my milk not coming in for about a week.  Not this time.  3 days.  And alot of it.  We've even gotten a few contentment smiles out of him.  He looks so different than all our other newborns.  Well, they've all looked different, but similar.  He just looks alot different, but still a little similar.  My family thinks he might actually look like my side.  We'll see though.  They change so much.  We're hoping he's going to have blonde hair.  And Marryn's hoping for blue eyes.  I think she feels left out;). 

Home at last.

Almost too long for his cute outfit.

Check out those huge hands.

  

It's funny looking back.  Although my pregnancies are similar and pretty plain, every delivery has been just so different.  Not sure there will be a 6th, so no telling what the next one would be like;).  For now we're just so grateful to have our 4 healthy children.  Don't know if we can handle the stress of what if again....

 

introducing

Kellen John Poll

4.9.10

8 lbs 12 oz

21.5 inches

ward hunt

   

So Tuesday, on the most beautiful day, we had our little ward Easter Egg Hunt. 

And it was not without a little drama. 

Can you guess from who?

First thing, we were late.  You should NEVER be late to an egg hunt.  The girls couldn't find their other easter basket.  (I found it, right where I told them to look.)  So we get there about 10 minutes late, but as we walk up, sure everything is found, a few other moms greet me.  These ladies are pros.  Every child was only suppose to get only 12 eggs (the 12 *donated* for each kid by the parents).  So they were pointing left and right where eggs still were, one mom even giving me her son's bag of eggs (Thanks Lindsay!)  So as I plopped those on the ground for Christian, who LOVED it, the girls took off towards the playset with empty baskets in tow.  Not long later I hear a thump and a scream as a mom runs towards the playset.

Yes.  It was Marryn.

She fell right off the little 3 foot slide. 

And was pretty tramatized by it.

But to be fair, (I didn't see it-so glad I didn't), the moms who did said she fell pretty hard. 

So there I am, 9 months pregnant holding my 5 year old trying to calm her down. 

I finally set her down to look her over when she sees it. 

A drop of blood.

Oh man.

Seriously, it was only a tiny scrape from the woodchips. 

So then starts the next round of screams.

Then I realize, where are my other kids?

I frantically look around to see that I was in good hands.  One mom had taken Reganne and was helping her find some eggs while Miranda, one of our Young Women had Christian, helping him with his eggs.  And well, the same mom who ran to Marryn's aid was running to her car (with her own little kids in tow) for a band-aid. 

Well, it took Marryn awhile, (and that band-aid, some alone time hunting for eggs, and some chocolate) and then she was back to playing.

Although neither girl wanted to stop for a picture.  Can you tell?

And now, as promised, some pictures of Christian's haircut.

(Just a little side note, Joey cut it with his beard trimmer, and no, Christian was not too thrilled about it and well, wouldn't exactly hold still.  But we love it!  He totally looks like a little boy now.)

He was really into finding the eggs. 

But then he discovered the candy in them.

And that was that.

These last pictures makes me cringe...eating jelly beans off a dirty park table...but by that point, I was in a "whatever" mood;).

miss reganne

This girl is so hard to photograph.
And doesn't like to be photographed much either. 

Maybe it's her age, I don't know...

But while taking pics of our little Christian boy getting his hair wacked off (yes, I promise I'll get an after shot up soon), I turned and snapped a few of her watching. 

Couldn't believe I came away with this one.  (And even a couple others too.)

It's her. 
This is what we see everyday.

No weird smiles.
No tucked in lips.
No odd head tilts.
No hiding, refusing to look.

Just her.

And the beauty that she is.

it had to go

But I'm sure it'll grow back before we know it.

(I'll post an after shot soon...)

food revolution

You can't miss this.

tooth fairy

Yep, that's right.  We had our first ever visit from the Tooth Fairy.

She brought Marryn 2 half dollars.

And left the tiny tooth.

She'll probably be back in a couple of days.

some house projects

Well, as I mentioned awhile ago, I've been working a few little projects around the house.  I'm finding though that I am not so good at finishing what I start... 

Project 1: Hardware on our cabinets.

 

I started this in July, when Christian began to find interest in opening up our bottom cabinets and I needed to lock a few.  Instead of screwing locks onto the inside, I decided that I'd rather have some nice hardware with outside locks where needed.  {Only 2 are actually locked: under the sink (safety reasons) and our flour/sugar/oil one (mess reasons).}  I finished all the bottom ones that month and then the handles for the top cabinets sat in our garage until what, Febuary, when I finally pulled them out and finished.  I only had one major mess up-drilling into the wrong side of the cabinet...but I fixed it and you can barely tell.  (Thought Joey was going to shoot me though...)  And one is slightly crooked (dang it!)...but again, unless I point it out, nobody notices;).  And I kind of wish I would have gone with the longer handles.  They look really nice on the shorter bottom doors, but with our tall and skinny top cabinets, they're lookin' a little small...  Oh well.  They would have cost alot more and the ones I did go with were the largest that would fit in the little hardware-guide-thing I bought.

Project 2: Painting the Powder Bath and Laundry Room

Finally, some color in our house!  And then after I painted, I found some perfectly matching handtowels, with grey (my new favorite color;) and black at Marshalls.  I found the HIS and HERS prints at Michaels, but really struggled to find reasonable plain black and white frames that would fit them.  So I finally settled on these clearance ones.  Still have some work to do with the laundry part, but that's another day.  And another dollar (that we don't have;).  I even managed to get it all painted the day before our new washer and dryer arrived (of which I am lovin'!).  Of course Joe had a fit when he walked in on me standing on top of our old dryer trying to get parts of the ceiling painted.  What?  I was only, like, 8 months pregnant then;). 

Was hoping to post a few more projects, but am not finished yet.  Surprise, suprise. So close to being done with the girls' room.  And am finally adding some colorful touches to the living room.  Hopefully I'll finish up before the baby comes....  I really REALLY want to paint.  Everything.  Am just so tired of staring at our yellowish walls and ceilings (everything is painted an antique white).  I just don't know how to change the wall color to something cooler (like a light grey;) without painting the entire ceiling too.  And our banister.  Looking a little rough.  Want to paint (or stain) it black.  And refinish and add to our hardwood floors.  And knock out our little half wall dividing the dining and living room.  And put in some nicer light fixtures.  And put up some craftsman style moldings and built ins.  And...yeah, my list goes on and on and on.  I've got big dreams for our little house.  Big dreams with no money and no skill;). 

But for now, I guess I'll settle for the little projects I can do.       

actually dressed

As I was looking over our blog, I realized something.  Just about every photo of Christian (even the ones on the scrapbook pages) has him in jammies (and mostly our favs, the monster ones from Grandma;). 

I guess it is a good representation of our everyday lives. 

We don't get out too much.

So this morning as I was getting ready, to go out, believe it or not, Christian came up to join me (and make a mess with every move...a whole other post...) and I saw that for once, he was actually dressed.  So I did my best to snap a few photos to document that yes, in fact, I do dress my son, in real clothes, every once in awhile. :)

awesome blog music

I am the primary blogger.  The posts, the layout, the header, the pictures.  All me. 

But lately Joe has taken on a keen interest. 

Yes, this and the past 2 playlists have been created by him. 

So you might say this truly [one of Marryn's spelling words for the week] is a family affair;).

Vampire Weekend

The first song on this and the last playlist.

I think they're a favorite;).

"but mulan did"

Any guesses as to what exactly Reganne was referring to?

Yep, she did it. 

She chopped off (some of) her hair. 

But *lucky* for her, she's got her mom's hair. 

Doesn't really show...except for those short little bangs she gave herself, partially pulled back in the barrette...

And way to blame it on her favorite princess.

That dang Mulan.

spelling words

Since Marryn started Kindergarten, I have come to a conclusion (and one that I highly suspected).

Kindergarten is not what it use to be.

Her spelling words for last week:

good

paper

want

end

silent

cost

At least she still gets snack time:)

oh happy day

I love tax season.  We usually get a pretty nice return. 

Which really means that we need to be claiming a little more...but it's just so nice to get a big sum at one time;). 

So what did we do with it this year? 

(Apperently it was burning a hole in our my pocket...;)

A.  The Napa Table from World Market (with 2 chairs and 2 benches)

B. An All-Natural Latex and Organic Mattress by Savvy Rest at The Natural Sleep Store

or

C.  A Samsung Washer and Dryer

Well, here's a hint;).

Oh happy day!!!

***Just to clarify, we ONLY got the washer and dryer;)***

Breath of Life Project

Here is a new website with info about Alveolar Capillary Dysplasia, Landen's disorder. 

On it is a little slideshow that shows different babies that have passed from it, along with our sweet little guy.

Breath of Life Project

gettin' my craft on

I love to scrapbook.

I just never actually do it.

But after getting this incredible book, I was ready to go!

And this is what I have created.

  [Sorry, but these are not the best pictures...]

Soon to come, some projects I've been working on around the house...I just have to finish them...;)

food for thought

A video clip well worth watching.

snow shoot

Some more assignment pics-all unedited.

It had been snowing all day and then for just a while, the sky peeked out.

Reganne is not my most willing subject, but Marryn was at school and Christian was napping....  Probably didn't help that she was *cold* either. 

It wasn't THAT cold though;)

I really like the last photo.  I think it represents a good part of who she is. 

daily milk

Yes, once again, I have a child who refuses to drink milk.

Except when it's coming out of his cereal bowl.

But for the record, he does like cheese.  Unlike his sisters-one who loves both and one who hates both. 

I guess he gets it from me;).