If You Find my Mind

From time to time I like to write about the funny things my kids do or say. But today I thought it'd be fun to let you all laugh at me, because I've apparently lost my mind. So, yes, even though the adjustment is going well having four kids, I'm not immune to the effects of sleep deprivation. At least that's what I'm choosing to blame it on, once Max starts sleeping through the night I'll have to find something else to blame.

1. Last week while I was making an appointment for Max they asked me to come in on Friday, and I said, "Isn't today Friday?" to which the person on the other end of the phone had to tell me,"No, ma'am, it's Tuesday."

2. My Bible Study teacher asked if I'd finished a map depicting Paul's missionary journey. Unfortunately the only map I could think of was the map from Dora the Explorer, and I was so confused as to why she was talking about Dora at Bible Study.

3. The other night my mother in law asked me if she could pick up the pictures Erik and I had done at the Church. I just kept staring at her blankly, until finally I told her I had no idea what she was talking about, we didn't take any pictures of the Church. She finally explained that she knew we hadn't taken pictures of the Church, but she wanted to get the professional pictures we'd had done a few months ago at the church. I think she may have wondered for a minute or two what kind of woman her son had married. :)

Yes, I believe I've lost my mind, at least temporarily. I've stared blankly more times than I can count when someone's asked me a question and had to ask them to repeat themselves, put the wrong kids shoes on their feet, lost my keys about a thousand times, and got worried that I hadn't felt the baby move inside me(and of course realized the baby wasn't inside of me anymore.) Oh well after I had Lily I managed to lose three different debit cards, which I (thankfully) haven't done this time around. And sleep deprived or not, the truth is I've always been a little scatter brained. There was once a time when I dropped my cell phone down a sewer drain. I guess when I remember all the other things I've done absentmindedly, this doesn't seem so bad. At least this time I have a good excuse.

Moses on Sesame Street

Yesterday during lunch Erik was reviewing with Jack and Anna their Sunday School lessons. We hadn't been to Sunday School in at least three weeks, so there were several stories to go over. We went over Noah, Elijah, Ezra, and Moses and then asked the kids questions about the stories we'd just read. 

Well the kids weren't acting as if they were retaining any of the information they had been given. You know we'd ask,"Who did God tell to build a boat?" And Jack or Anna would either just look at us blankly or say, "Jesus!" because when in doubt, and your discussing the Bible, Jesus is a always a safe answer, right?

The day continued in its usual fashion, and last night before bed time Anna wanted to read an Elmo book she has. We sat down to read, but when we turned to a page with Oscar the Grouch on it she held her hand over the page and studied him closely. Then she exclaimed, "It's MOSES!"

I guess we know she was at least *sort of* listening during lunch. :)

Life with Four

Max turned two weeks old this past Friday, and I thought I would take a little time and share how things have been going. In all honesty, things have been going extremely well. I've had several people tell me that once you get past the third child, every child after that will seem like a piece of cake. I don't know if I'd go that far, but I will say that bringing Max home has been the easiest adjustment we've had since starting our family.

Since my family left last Saturday, and Erik's been back at work for most of these two weeks, I feel decently confident in saying that I'm recovering quite nicely and that the other children are handling having a new brother very well. There has been very little(if any at all) jealousy, and Lily especially loves little Max to pieces. She's so funny with him, because she'll try and share her toys with him or try to give him high fives, and she looks so sad that Max doesn't play along with her.

Probably the greatest help to me, when I'm here alone, has been having the other three on a good routine. The kids almost never wake up before eight o' clock, and if they do wake up before that time they usually play in their beds until I come get them. They also go down for a couple of hours in the afternoon, so I'm able to take a nap while everyone else is.

Not that it's all been rainbows and butterflies, but I'm sure you figured that! There are still tantrums to deal with, whiny attitudes, defiance, and arguments over toys. Most days I'm worried that I'm not giving everyone enough attention. We also have been watching videos more than usual, and the kids haven't been getting a bath every night, but we're doing the best we can in this crazy season of life.

I'm trying to just sit back and enjoy the newborn snuggles while I can, because I know I'm going to blink and he's going to be a one year old!

Oh, and also it took me two days to write this post. :)

Babies Don't Keep

BABIES DON'T KEEP

Mother, oh Mother,

come shake out your cloth,

empty the dustpan,

poison the moth,

hang out the washing

and butter the bread,

sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house

is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery,

blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little

Boy Blue (lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping's not done

and there's nothing for stew

and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo

but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.

Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?

(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing

will wait till tomorrow,

for Children grow up,

as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs.

Dust go to sleep.

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep......

~Author Unknown ~

Max's Birth Story

As I begin to write out my little guys birth story my heart feels like it might burst with happiness. These past few days have been some of the most precious I have ever experienced. Between an easy delivery, a husband who has bent over backwards trying to make sure I'm not overdoing anything, and three kids who are completely in love with their new brother, I'm not sure I can even put into words the experience of bringing little Max into the world. But I'll at least give it a try!

Last Thursday night Erik and I dropped off the kids at my in laws, and headed over to the hospital. I always have to go in the night before I'm induced in order to get things moving along. We got settled in for the night, and had things explained to us about how the next day was suppose to go and then tried to fall asleep. Erik, who had been working for the last 14 days, went to sleep quickly but I was having some problems getting comfortable and calming down so I was up for several hours trying to relax.

The next morning one of the nurses started the pitocin, and Erik and I prepared ourselves for what we assumed would be a very long day. Anna had taken 13 hours and Lily had taken about 11 hours. Jack was my shortest delivery, but I had been able to basically go into labor on my own with him, and since that didn't happen this time we were prepared for a long day.

After my doctor broke my water, I was offered pain medicine almost immediately. I've always wanted to experience natural childbirth, but with being induced and being confined to the bed I've always taken the pain medication. With my previous deliveries I would wait until I couldn't handle the pain anymore, but with Max I  decided to accept whatever pain medication I was offered. The first medication I was given was put in my IV, my nurse told me it would go straight to my head, and boy was she right! My husband had left the room for a minute, and by the time he got back to my room I was feeling a little loopy. The medication they gave me just made me not care, and as I told my mom later it made me feel annoyed every time I felt a contraction come on!

 After I got my epidural, my nurse, Erik, and I all started getting to know each other better. Erik shared the story of our first date and how we met, and my nurse got a big kick out of hearing that story. Somehow we got to talking about the various trials we've walked through in the last few years, and we discovered our nurse was also a Christian. Her and Erik have similar testimonies, and it was so exciting knowing our baby was going to be born in a room full of believers(my doctor is also a Christian.)

One thing about accepting pain medication, it makes you extremely sleepy. I slept on and off throughout the afternoon. Around 3 o' clock my nurse came in and checked to see how far I was progressing. I was at a 7. She said she was hoping the baby would be here by 5:30, but to let her know if I started feeling any pressure. Almost as soon as she said that I started feeling a lot of pressure. Sure enough, I was almost ready to start pushing. After my first push, we saw that baby's heart rate dropped dramatically. They gave me some oxygen, and later we found out the chord had been wrapped around Max's neck. No one told me that at the time, though!

As soon as my doctor came down to the delivery room I was more than ready to start pushing. Within two pushes I had Max in my arms. Erik was the one to announce we had a little boy, and I was able to hold my little guy while the doctor took care of all the "stuff" that comes with delivering a baby. I was able to hold him for close to ten minutes before they took him to get weighed.

We chose the name Max Daniel because we liked the name Max(always a good reason, huh?) and Daniel because of an awesome Bible study I had done last fall, on the book of Daniel, when I found out I was pregnant with Max.

We decided that my in laws and the other kids shouldn't come to the hospital until Saturday morning. We were afraid Jack and Anna would be scared seeing their mom hooked up to machines, and we wanted to do everything we could to make their first meeting with Max a happy occasion.

The kids have done great with their new brother! Lily and Anna seem to think he's a doll and are always wanting to give him kisses, and Jack asks to hold him a lot. Every morning since we've been home from the hospital the kids wake up asking if Max is still here.

I've been feeling pretty well. I've had my emotional moments, and I'm of course a little sore, but my parents are in town this whole week, so I've been able to get plenty of rest and ease into life with four kids under the age of three. Erik has been amazing, staying on top of laundry and house work and making sure I'm taking it easy.

Max has been nursing really well, and except for having his days and nights messed up he doesn't seem to be a fussy baby. I feel indescribably blessed that the Lord has blessed us with another little boy to raise and train.

It's A...

   

Boy!!

Max Daniel. 7 lb 1 ounce, 19 inches.  Born at 3:45 this afternoon. Mom and baby are doing well! More pictures and details to come!