Welcome to the world, Brooklynn Grace

Brooklynn Grace

October 1, 2015

3:44 AM

7 pounds, 7 ounces

19 inches

My estimated due date was October 3. Once again, I assumed I would go “late” since my first two pregnancies went past their dates.  I didn’t mind though.  We just wanted to make it to October. How blessed we are that we got our wish.  On Monday evening I started losing some of my mucous plug. I knew from past experience that would mean I still might have a few days.  I was right. I went to work on Tuesday and wrapped up a few things.  I brought what was left on my desk that I would want at home with me when I left. I already had Wednesday off from work, and while I expected to be at work on Thursday, I didn’t want to chance it and leave stuff behind.

Wednesday morning, I went to my midwife’s office for my regular, weekly visit.  I did not have an internal since she knew I absolutely did not want that baby coming that day (the 30^th) and didn’t want to chance it.  She said she did not want to be blamed for labor, even though she didn’t think an internal would make me go into labor.  I went to the labor and delivery floor to get a non stress test and to check my amniotic fluid since I had felt much less movement and was worried.  It really eased my fears. I went about the rest of the day as normal and made dinner.  While I was putting the boys to bed, I noticed some contractions that were about 15 minutes apart and kind of painful.  I wasn’t too worried and didn’t expect them to progress though.  That was around 8:30.  By 10 they were more like 10 minutes apart.  I let Rich know. He was busy cleaning the baby’s room and decided to pack his stuff in the suitcase.  I finished up my packing.  I couldn’t sleep because the contractions kept bothering me. 

They progressed to 5 ½ minutes apart probably around 1am.  I decided a little after that to get in the shower to make the pain a bit more manageable.  While in there they jumped to 2 minutes apart.  Rich called his mom to come down but we still thought there was lots of time.  I called my midwife at 2:23 am to see what she thought. They were hovering around 3ish minutes after the shower.  I had 2 contractions on the phone with her and she wanted me to come in to Yale as soon as I could. I said, “I just don’t want to get to triage and you tell me I’m only 2 centimeters.” I still didn’t think it would happen quickly.  I stood up from the bathtub and told Rich what she said.  He took a shower and started packing the van up. He realized they were getting more intense and closer and that there wouldn’t be time for either of our moms to get there. It was now around 3am and they were 1 ½ minutes apart and even though they didn’t last as long, they were intense.  He tried to find the van keys. They were in his pocket.

He woke up the boys and put them in the car. Hudson was really excited and kept asking questions.  I tried to answer him but then told him no more talking.  Camden stayed asleep.  Rich was going around 90 to get to Yale.  We were calling his mom to let her know to meet us at Yale and then my mom. Noone answered the phone.  For some reason, I pointed out the parking garage to park in and Rich looked at me like I had 3 heads and that we would valet.  Smart man. I wasn’t thinking. I would have had my baby in a parking garage had he listened to me.  We pulled into the emergency entrance around 3:25 am. I was admitted. She asked if I wanted to wait for Rich and the kids but he told me to go. I got ahold of my mother at 3:27 and told her to get to the hospital to watch the boys and hung up the phone.

I was wheeled to labor and delivery and went right to the room. Eliza, the midwife on call was not in the room when I got there and I panicked a little.  I stood up and started crying hysterically that Rich was downstairs with the boys.  One of the nurses calmed me down and said “Your husband will not miss the birth of the baby. I will go watch the boys.” Eliza came in. The nurse went out to find them.  Rich came in right after that. My water broke with the next contraction. I climbed onto the bed on all 4s. They had me lean/hold on to the top of the bed and I started pushing.  I think it was only a few minutes and she was born at 3:44.  They said to mark that the water broke at 3:41, but none of us really know since they hadn’t looked at the clock, and it was so quick.  

They handed her to me through my legs so I could see her. Then they helped me flip over to stitch the first degree tare.  I breastfed her, and she latched right on. The nurse that had been out with the boys had come back because family showed up. Courtney, the nurse, thought the boys were great and Hudson amused her talking all grown up.

We were wheeled out to go to the maternity ward and passed by the family waiting for us. We covered her pink hat and asked the boys what they thought they had – a baby brother or a baby sister.  They both thought sister and were very happy to see they were correct. It was close to 6am when we finally got settled into our room. The boys were very sad that they had to leave us behind.  Camden wanted me to come home with him.

This delivery was similar to Camden’s. It was very painful and intense. I was terrified Rich wouldn’t make it to see the birth since the boys came with us. This birth was definitely the more emotional for me since I plan on it being my last.

We are all doing well and adjusting to being a family of 5.  The boys are crazy in love with their little sister.

Happy 2.5 Birthday

March 15, 2015

You just keep getting bigger and more energetic! You talk so much. You play by yourself so sweetly.  You like to build with the mega blocks. You still LOVE all things Thomas the Train.  You love Frozen and The Little Mermaid and ask to watch them a bunch.

This year for Halloween, you were a lobster.  You were NOT thrilled with it.  You cried, until we started Trick-or-Treating.  Then you realized you would get candy if you walked to the houses and got really happy.  Thanksgiving and Christmas went well.  You really enjoyed opening presents this year. You kept saying WOW as you were opening every present.  It was really cute.  You do not sit still to take pictures though, so getting pictures of our family at the holidays was difficult. 

We found out our family was expecting an addition. Mommy has been very sick and you walk around the house saying, “Mommy goes ‘bleh’” and make your attempt at a vomit sound.  It is really funny.  You don’t grasp the concept of a new baby though, just yet. If things don’t change in your personality, it will be a big adjustment since you still nurse, and you don’t want Hudson cuddling with Mommy.  You think Mommy’s lap is only for you. 

Our next big thing is for you to potty train.  As of right now, you have no desire and say, “Tomorrow” or “Next week” when we talk to you about sitting on the potty.  It is kind of funny.

In November, you did something that melted my heart.  When it was bedtime, you and Hudson were hugging good night and you said “I love you” to him.  It was so cute and I had never seen/heard you say that to him before. It made me so happy.

You are loved immensely.

Happy 24 Month Birthday

September 15, 2014

Happy 2 year birthday to you! It is amazing how quickly these past two years went.  You came into this world quickly, and you haven’t stopped moving quickly since.  You have so much energy and personality. You light up the room.  You make the most adorable faces. They crack me up.  You roll your eyes in such a cute way, I can barely stand it. You sing; you dance (OH MY WORD IT IS SO CUTE!)

You still love “What Does the Fox Say” and sing and dance to it.  You love playing with your trains (“eee-eee”), and you love you brother. You guys play together, although sometimes it is a little too rough for my liking.  You like pretending you are having a swordfight. You try to do things yourself. You are independent. You love helping me in the kitchen. You say in your cute little voice “I help” and pull up a chair. Adorable. You push your babies (stuffed animals of all kinds) in a baby stroller and a shopping cart. You make them tip over and then pick them up and pretend to shush them. CUTE.

This summer we had a great time. We went to Sesame Place twice.  You didn’t like getting too close to any of the characters, but you did enjoy playing and going on the different rides.  We went to the Crayola Factory and the Philadelphia Zoo too. You liked the monkeys. We went to the beach and Cape Cod. You LOVED Cape Cod. We mostly stayed on the bay side. You had a great time looking at the different sea creatures like snails, hermit crabs, and crabs. You loved playing in the sand.  While the water wasn’t your favorite part of the beach, you didn’t mind the water on the bay side.  You did not like the water on the ocean side.  It was colder and the waves were big. We would go to the bay during the day and again in the evening during low tide. You had a great time walking out on the Brewster Flats looking at all the different sea creatures. You would pick up the shells and the seaweed. You enjoyed playing miniature golf while on vacation too, but only the first couple of holes. Then you got bored with it and hung out in the stroller and watched and relaxed.

We saw fireworks, played in some pools, played outside, went your cousin’s birthday party, and got a swingset.  You LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the swingset. You ask to go outside all the time and just love being pushed. You will walk up the ladder to the slide and come down.  You love when your friend Liam comes over and you guys sort of play together.

You had a great time at your birthday party. It was a Thomas the Train theme. You said “Wow” when you opened your presents. It was great.  We went apple picking the next day and had a wonderful time. Apple picking is my favorite part because we did that the day you were born when you were in my belly, and we went apple picking on your first birthday too. It is a sweet tradition.

Happy Birthday. I love you.

Happy 21 Month Birthday

June 15, 2014

You are at such a fun age.  You make me laugh all the time.  You love to talk and you love to sing.  Many times in the car, you will just start entertaining yourself by “singing” rather loudly.  It is cute (most of the time). You started putting words together. You say “I want one” and “I don’t want that” but when you say it, it sounds almost like one word. 

You say “E-E” for train (I don’t know why).  You call bears “baby.” You have this one brown bear stuffed animal that you love and at first I thought that you only would call that one ‘baby’ but you do it to all pictures of bears that you see.  You love playing pretend with “baby” and Elmo and every stuffed animal.  You cuddle with them and change their diapers all the time because you say they “poop.”

You like playing outside. You love having races.  You still love balloons and always talk about them, even when we don’t have any in the house.  You point to the ceiling and I think are remembering the balloons.  It’s cute. You have decided that you also love Winnie the Pooh.  You like watching that movie with your brother. 

Easter was lots of fun.  After church, we went to Vavo and Vovo’s house and had an egg hunt.  You didn’t understand the concept of getting a bunch of eggs to put in your basket and would pick one up and open it and eat the crackers inside. 

We went to Essex to see Thomas the Train.  YOU LOVED IT. You are obsessed with trains.  They had a great set up there.  You and your brother got your picture taken in front of the train, you played with some train tables, and went on a train ride. You had such a great time.  You did NOT like Sir Topham Hat.  You were terrified and wouldn’t take a picture with him.  After we left the room where he was, you were happy again.  It was a wonderful day and I am so glad we did it.

We love you.

PS. You say “E-E” for train (I don’t know why.) You call bears “baby.” You have this one brown bear stuffed animal that you love. At first, I thought you would only call that one “baby,” but you do it to all pictures of bears that you see.  You love playing pretend with “baby,” Elmo, and every stuffed animal. You cuddle with them and change their diapers all the time because you say they poop.

Happy 18 Months, Camden

Happy 18 Month Birthday

March 15, 2014

You are a year and a half old! In the past 3 months, you have had an explosion in your vocabulary.  You can say quite a few words, but people really have to pay attention to understand.  Some of your words are ball, book, baby, balloon, water (this one is quite hard to understand since you say “wawa” and often gets confused with Vavo), aaaannnnd GO, Mama, Dad (often sounds like DAT), no, mine, uh-oh, more, milk, Pop, Vavo, Vovo, and sometime Gramma.  You can answer Yes and No and point to things.  You generally make your needs and wants known so you communicate really well.

You only have 5 teeth.  In the past 3 months, only one more tooth on the top erupted, and it isn’t out fully yet.  You are so active. You run around, climb the stairs (but haven’t figured out going back down yet), climb on all your toys, and have races all the time by yelling “AAAAAANNND GO.”  You can drive your little train and truck. Sometimes Hudson will drive the truck and you will sit in the back.  It is really cute.

The last three months were fun and trying all at the same time.  Christmas was fantastic.  We went to Grandma and Poppy’s house for a Christmas party the week before Christmas and you were really well behaved.  Mommy broke her toe the day before that when you and Hudson were running around her in the kitchen and she was trying to make cookies.  Christmas Eve you were good at Auntie Lynette’s house and then at Titi Fatima’s house.  It was a late night, but you handled it well.  Your poor brother didn’t feel well though.  Christmas Day was spent at home and Grandma, Poppy, Vavo, Vovo, Anthony, and Ingrid came over.  Hudson made it difficult for Mommy to cook because he wanted to be held but you were pretty good.  You received lots of presents at Christmas. You had fun opening them up and playing with some of them.  Auntie Kimmy, Uncle Jeff, Dillon, Logan, Connor, Grandpa, and Anita came over after Christmas and we celebrated with them.  You had a fun time playing with your cousins. 

We went back to Sesame Place on December 30.  You and your brother had fun on the rides that were open and the shows that were on.  We went swimming in the hotel pool and you loved it.  The next day, we went back to the park. You LOVED the carousel and yelled and pointed to it every time you saw it.  We watched the New Years Eve fireworks display and then went back to the hotel. Your poor brother woke up in the middle of the night sick to his stomach.  You got sick the next day at home.  Mommy and Daddy got sick that night. We all had the Norovirus.  You and Mommy had it the worst and you were sick a few days.  You had both upper and lower GI issues and so did Mommy.  It was not fun.  You cried a lot.  So did Mommy.

You and Hudson shared a couple colds back and forth this winter.  Fortunately, you did not catch the horrible flu that Daddy had. You were coughing and wheezy so the doctor put you on a nebulizer.  The cold and cough lasted a while.  We missed a bunch of church because of it.

You had fun at Hudson’s birthday party at Monkey Joes. You like bouncing and playing in the toddler area.  We also went to Bounce U one day with one of Mommy’s friends and her children.  Her daughter is your age.  We went to a birthday party at Whippersnappers play gym and you love it. You enjoy going to these places, but you get nervous and overwhelmed in the beginning with all the people there.  You like Mommy holding you and do not want people to talk to you or touch you until you get comfortable. Oh, you went to a party (your cousin Alexander) at Home Depot.  Even though you were too little to put together the race car kit, you still liked eating the treats and playing with the car when it was finished.

This was a very snowy winter.  You liked playing out in the snow a little bit, but it was hard for you to walk around.  You would take your mittens off and touch the snow, not realizing how cold it was.  You like the warmer weather better.

Mommy, Daddy, and Hudson love you always.

Happy 4th Birthday, Hudson

Happy 4^th Birthday

January 6, 2014

My, oh my, how fast the years fly. Hudson, you are FOUR.  It is amazing how I can remember back like it was YESTERDAY being pregnant, in labor, and giving birth to you. While the day of your birth may feel like one of the longest days of my life, these past 4 years passed too quickly.

This year, you grew to love and be a friend to your little brother.  I think you have enjoyed him getting a little bit older so he can play with you too, although at times, you get upset when he plays with your toys.

I was home from work full time until the beginning of April and I think you really enjoyed having me home with you to play when Camden was napping.  This year, you really were lucky because you went to amusement parks several times. We went to Lake Compounce two times.  One time was for Mommy’s work picnic.  You loved getting to play there and go on the rides. The second time we went, we spent a bunch of time at the water park area in it and you were thrilled.  That time, Grandma, Vavo, and Vovo came too.  We went to Quassy and you helped watch Camden as he went on rides for the first time.  You also went to Six Flags for the first time and keep asking to go back. 

Your favorite amusement park was Sesame Place. In August, we took a trip there with Auntie Kimmy, Uncle Jeff, Dillon, Logan, and Connor.  You LOVED the roller coaster and all the water rides there.  We also went to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia one day and you loved that too.  They had a construction area that you thought was wonderful. 

You loved the trip to Sesame Place so much that we decided to go back the end of the year for the Christmas Party and New Years Eve fireworks show.  You were sad that the water rides were closed, but you had a fun time.  You did end up getting sick so you didn’t have as much fun as we had hoped.  You brought 2014 in with a stomach bug. While you didn’t have it that badly, you shared it with the rest of your family and it was INTENSE.

You started preschool this year at Good Shepherd Christian Preschool.  You go two days a week for 2 and ½ hrs each. While you do get weepy and worried when you get dropped off (and even more so if I am home and drop you off that day), we think you really do like it. You are learning how to play and interact with other children your age. You do a bunch of crafts and seem to have a good time and teach me the new songs that you learned when you come home. 

You love pointing out what games/toys are for your age group.  You always say that you are 3 and up and that a certain toy is for kids age 3 and up.  You tell me that I cannot play with certain things because I am not 3 and up. It is cute. You still love everything tools and construction vehicles related. You also have taken a huge interest in a show called Rescue Bots.  It is Transformers for the 2-4 age range.  You got all of them for Christmas and your birthday.  You also still love Spiderman and will dress up as him often and I have to be JellyMan (the bad guy that you made up).  One day, out of the blue, you said, “Spiderman is the greatest guy ever.”  You said it in front of Daddy, and he said, “You mean, after me.” You didn’t really understand what he was saying.

You were a firefighter for Halloween and you dress up as that sometimes too.  On Halloween, we went trick-or-treating on Center Street. You yelled at Vovo because he kept pressing the button for your microphone.  You told him to stop because he was going to waste your battery.  It was really cute. We all got a chuckle out of it.

This year, we went to Monkey Joes for your birthday (a week after it). We invited a few of your friends from school (Mikayala, Levi, and Aiden came from school) along with the regular family friends/cousins.  You liked the place and want to go back.  Unfortunately, we got into our first accident on the way there (on Center Street).  Some woman rear ended us.  You were a little upset, but not too bad.  Nobody was hurt and the car was fine.

Sadly, you didn’t love going to church this year, reading your Bible storybook or praying.  We are going to have to work on that and pray that you develop a love for Jesus soon.

Another change that occurred is with your sleep.  You FINALLY started sleeping through the night consistently this past year.  Some nights when you were sick, you would still wake up, some nights you would still climb into my bed, but most nights, you were okay with your bed.  Toward the end of this year, you were also better about going to bed by yourself after being read to, sung to (sometimes), and prayed over (sometimes). At the beginning of the year, you would cry if we left before you fell asleep.  Now you are okay as long as you have your shark next to you. I knew eventually it would happen and it was in your own time. J

I love you, Hudson.

Mommy

Happy 15 Months, Camden

Happy 15 Month Birthday
December 15, 2013

Hey Buddy. You have MORE teeth. You only have 4 now – two on the top and two on the bottom. You don’t really act like they bother you that much. It is one of the perks of letting you sleep in my bed – I never got used to you sleeping through the night. Sometimes, you do cry out and nurse a bunch more than normal (for you).

 In the beginning of October, we went to your cousins’ (Dillon and Connor) birthday parties. Connor’s party was at a little gym and you had so much fun chasing balls and playing on the soft mats and climbing. I think you would like the gymnastics class at the Park and Rec in a few months. After that party, we went back to Auntie Kimmy’s house and had Dillon’s party, which was a mobile arcade. You were too little for that but you had a great time playing with toys and napping.

For Halloween this year you were a garden gnome. YOU WERE SOOOOOOO CUTE. Everyone that has seen the pictures loved this costume. I was surprised that you actually kept the hat on for most of trick-or-treating. Mommy did a great job picking out this costume. As payment, I took all your candy.

Thanksgiving was fun. We went to Vavo and Vovo’s house. Grandma and Poppy were there too. You looked nice in your dressy clothes. You and your brother do not like to sit still for pictures though, so we don’t ever get nice photos of you boys anymore. We cut down our Christmas tree with Grandma at Jones Farm in Shelton the day after Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun. You liked walking around in the trees and watching Daddy and your brother Hudson cut one down. You did seem kind of confused about the tree in the living room though, when it was all up and decorated. You LOVED the Christmas village under the tree though. You were a little bit difficult and always wanted to touch it and play with the little pond and fountain in the village. You would sneak away to do it and pretend we couldn’t see you. CUTIE!