Blessing Day

Sunday, November 25, Wade blessed Lucy at church.

We were blessed to have so many family members at Lucy's blessing.  Both our parents were there, as well as my brother Dave and his family, from Wyoming, my sister Kathy and her family from Lehi, all 3 of Wade's siblings and their families from Lehi, his cousin and his uncle. I believe there were close to 40 people all there for little tiny Lucy May!

Wade gave Lucy a sweet blessing.  He blessed her with peace, comfort, good healthy and the ability to stand up for truth and righteousness no matter the consequences.  Just like her older brothers and sister, Wade blessed her to have a respect and love for all of Heavenly Father's creations.

It was a joyous day.  And the perfect way to end the week of Thanksgiving.  After church we had a small luncheon at our house.  When everyone had gone home and we cleaned up the mess, we sat down and felt so blessed to have such amazing family and friends.

{2 Weeks}

My friend Beth  (click for link) came and took some 2 week pictures of Lucy.  These are just a few of my favorite ones.  They were perfect for her baby announcement...that will hopefully go out when I get a Christmas card done.

Catch-up

Lucy May is already 3 weeks old!  

And I need a swift kick in the pants to get going or else before I know it she will be a year old and I will be behind blogging and documenting her life!

Some random pictures from the past 3 weeks:

Lucy spent a lot of time the first week on the bili light.  It was no fun for for anyone but at least she looked cute.

Lucy is the tiniest thing.  I know part of this probably is that we just don't remember how tiny babies are, but  she really is just tiny. Look at that tiny little foot in Wade's hand.

Avery versus Lucy at one week:

Practicing using her pink baby force.

A certain someone has been a little jealous.  He thinks he is pretty funny.

My due date was Monday, November 26.  Lucy spent the day celebrating by turning 3 weeks old and wearing lots of pink.

And Lucy's favorite time of day, you ask?  4:30 am she wakes up wide awake and of course, falls sound asleep when everyone else wakes up around 6:30.

You're a cutie, Lucy May

Snow!

The weekend after Lucy was born we had a pretty good snow storm.  Our kids were SO excited for snow. I was SO not excited because here in Utah you actually still have to go to work and school.  Call me lazy, but I miss the days in Washington when everything shut down if there was even a possibility of snow appearing.  

(FYI: I don't consider it lazy, I consider it COZY, we cuddle, watch movies and don't leave the house for days!)

For the first time in 4 years, we had to buy actual snow gear!

Saturday Wade finally took the kids out and let them play, they had a great time!

Sending Wade to the store to buy a sled is a dangerous thing.  He went to Costco and came home with the biggest sled they were selling.

In the end, snow gear or not, everyone got cold and came in to join me for hot chocolate.

We did manage to build a pretty good fort that lasted about a week and half before melting completely.

And now that it's sunny and in the 60's again, we can play at the park every day.

But that doesn't mean everyone isn't anxiously awaiting more snow.

{Bath}

Wade's mom was here helping on the Wednesday right after Lucy was born. She still has some of that lovely newborn gunk in her hair so when I suggested that maybe we give Lucy a bath, Grandma was all over it!  

It was just a little sponge bath on my bed, but it was still fun 

(for us...not Lucy!)

Hair

Back

Hands

And of course, Feet!

No visit with Grandma Christiansen is complete for our babies without a foot massage.  

When Gage was 2 weeks old Grandma Betty came over to help out and she ended up rubbing Gage's feet.  It's been a tradition ever since.

Maybe she did this to newborn Wade?  

Maybe this is why Wade is a podiatrist?

All Clean!

Sunday Photo .45

Our first family picture with all seven of us!

We blessed Lucy at church today.  (She deserves her own post, coming soon.)

We spent the afternoon with family. 

It was a perfect ending to a week full of giving thanks.

We have full bellies and full hearts.  

We are feeling blessed and loved tonight.  

Sunday Photo .44

Our first Sunday photo with all 5 kids!  

We kinda look like a mess.

Everyone had to have a turn with little Lucy.

In the past 3 weeks we've survived: 

bedrest,

a funeral,

a BABY!

big, busy, busy days at work,

kids walking away from school (when they aren't supposed to!),

more healpricks for Lucy than we can count,

high blood pressure that still won't go away,

and the most horrible flu we've had since 2005.

I think in the end it's okay that we kinda look like a mess.

It's how life rolls around here.

We are still alive and kicking.

We are enjoying a Sunday together.

We are regrouping.

We are reading stories, cuddling and building forts.

We are building legos, coloring, taking naps and pretending to be baby cheetahs.

We are anxiously awaiting Grandma and Grandpa's arrival tomorrow.

Thanksgiving.  Black Friday! A baby blessing.  Christmas activities.  New Years.

All in the next couple weeks.

I am pretty sure things will never really slow down again.

We must have passed that point a long time ago.

But today we are forgetting about all that busy stuff.

And are being together.

Looking like a mess.

And being a family.

Newborn Pictures

Our neighborhood has an awesome swap group on facebook.  I think it's the most resourceful site - I've found a lot of good deals on there. So when I saw a girl who was looking for experience in family and newborn pictures I had to sign up! 

Enter (my soon to be neighbor, her house is almost finished!) Beth.

After talking on the phone to Beth I thought this would be a win-win for both of us!  She is building her portfolio to work as a photographer for NILMDTS (click for link), an organization that takes photography for families who have suffered the loss of a newborn.  She was looking for more hospital experience and I was hoping we could get some decent pictures this time around, better than our normal iphone-point and shoot camera shots.

I think she did an amazing job!  I was so happy with the results and she was great to work with.  She was comfortable coming whenever I wanted her too. I choose to have her come the morning after Lucy was born (so she is about 15 hours old in these shots), but she would have some anytime, sooner or later.

I have so many favorite pictures now.  

I am so happy.  

Here are a few of my favorites.

Of course, I had to have some fun pictures of her feet for Wade's office.

I wasn't too crazy about having me in the pictures, but I am glad that I did now.  Too bad Wade wasn't there, it would have been nice to have some of him too.

Since it was election day we thought this would be a fun picture too.

Beth is busy building her business and does fantastic family photos too.  

I've been eyeing  at all the pictures she's been taking of families around the neighborhood and am anxiously awaiting our turn!

~~

If you are interested in having some newborn, kid  or family pictures taken, and live in the Salt Lake area you should consider contacting her.  

Beth Brown

Studio 2B Photography

480-440-4858

http://www.facebook.com/Studio2BPhotos

{Lucy May}

Introducing little

Lucy May

Born on November 5, 2012

12:43 pm

6 pounds 9 ounces

19 and a half inches long

She has a head full of dark hair, dark eyes and is the tiniest little thing.

It's safe to say, we are all in love with her.

~~

Friday afternoon I went for my weekly OB appointment.  We had previously discussed that I just had to make it to Friday and then we would set an induction date.  Friday my blood pressure was even higher.  Like 160/104.  It wasn't going to get any better.  So we talked about some dates and agreed Monday we would be meeting our little baby girl.

I was supposed to take it easy during the weekend.  I tried to make Noah's birthday as special as possible.  I think he had a good day.  And then Sunday I figured what's the worst that could happen?  I have the baby?  So I went to church.  (Probably a pretty stupid choice looking back.)

Monday morning, bright and early, we dropped the kids off at our (AWESOME) neighbors' house and headed on our way.  

After checking in and getting all ready they took my blood pressure and sure enough.  It was super high.  I don't remember the exact number now, but the diastolic was something in the 1-teens.  My Dr. walked in, saw that, kinda freaked out, and walked out to get magnesium ordered.

When I got to the hospital I was dilated to about a 3.  The pitocin was started around 8.  I got an epidural around 10.  After some really scary blood pressure readings, the epidural did help lower it some.   

I get so frustrated with my blood pressure.  This entire pregnancy I've struggled with it and I haven't ever wanted to admit that I was "high risk"  But after seeing how everyone reacted at the hospital I guess I needed to admit that I was high risk.  Boo.  Everyone in the room is telling me to relax and not stress.  But they are telling me to not stress about something I really should stress about.  Oh yeah, and I'm hooked up to a cord here, an IV here, I'm not happy about getting magnesium, I've never had to have it before.  And sometime in the next couple hours I'm going to have to deliver a baby.  Sure, it's pretty easy to say - relax, don't stress.  But I did.  I wasn't too scared of the actual labor pains.  I've done this a time or two...but I was grateful the epidural helped my body relax.

Around 10:30 my Dr. broke my water.  With my last two babies I've delivered them in 30 minutes or less after this point.  But I was still only dilated to a 4, and it didn't look like we were going anywhere soon.  Maybe this baby would prove us all wrong and take her time.

So we hung out and got to know our nurse.  Turns out that her son and daughter in law live on our street and are Noah's primary teachers at church!  Small world!  She was pretty awesome.  It always makes you feel safe when your nurse is nice ...and she's been working in labor and deliver 30 plus years.

Again, we saw my Dr. around noon.  I was still around a 5.  He told us it would probably be an hour or two more.

Little Lucy had her own plans.

At 12:30 I was getting really uncomfortable and I asked the nurse to check me.  I was at an 8 and she literally ran out of the room saying she was going to get everyone in there.

I guess they had some problems finding my OB.  Poor guy. I would hate to have their schedules.  They texted, called, paged, did everything to find him.  Finally they got a hold of him and he said he would be there in 10 minutes.  It was 12:40.  I was NOT going to be able to wait 10 minutes.

They tried to get an OB to come in from across the hall who was doing a c-section.  According to Wade the guy came in in full surgical gear, but he was too late.  I never saw him.

Two pushes later, our awesome labor and delivery nurse delivered Little Lucy May at 12:43. 

I know Eli weighed less than 6.9, but I think Lucy is the tinest baby I've ever seen.  Wade and I both looked at her and said she would be a 5 pound baby.  She also was totally sucking her thumb the first few hours.  It was just too cute!

Because of my blood pressure and the fun magnesium, I "got" to stay in the delivery room hooked up to all kinds of cords and junk longer than I normally do.  At least I got a cute baby too hold though:)

The nurses and doctors did notice that little Lucy has a small heart murmur.  Wade can hear it too.  Since Gage and Avery have one, this didn't totally surprise or freak us out.  And everyone is pretty confident that the murmur is because the little hole in your heart that closes at birth hasn't closed.  

(how's that for medical terms?!)

Sometimes that takes some time.  I'm sure she will be just fine.

Wade went and got the kids later that night from our sister in law, Chandra.  This picture cracks me up.  Everyone is really interested and quietly amazed by little Lucy.  And Eli is in the background eyeing my Jimmy John's sandwich.

Gage

Noah

Avery

(Excited she finally got her sister!)

Eli

And last but not least, Wade.

Wade and his girls.

Another picture that totally makes me laugh.  

You might think Avery is mad about sharing her Daddy.  

But, NO, she is mad about sharing HER baby!

Grandma

 And Grandpa.

The next day my friend came by the hospital to take some pictures of Lucy.  I have so many pictures that I love.  I think I'll do a whole separate post of them.   I am so glad that I did this.  She took so many good pictures and they turned out so much better than anything I could ever do!

I'm not crazy about staying in the hospital too long.  

So Wednesday afternoon with blood pressure medicine in hand,

(I am so frustrated with my body, can you tell?)

we finally got the okay to go home.

  

Lucy has been home a few days now and everyone loves her so much.

 Wade and I have to keep counting.

1, 2, 3, 4,  and 5.

Yep.

They are finally all here.

And it feels just right.

~~