For Future Reference

Someday, hopefully, my boys will have children of their own and they will be going through the "newborn phase" so I thought I would write down some helpful tips I've learned.  I decided to start with a list of so called, "must have" baby items that have been worthless to me:
-bottle warmer
-crib
-diaper genie: I keep a small garbage basket next to the pack and play.
-changing table:  They're awkward to change on and most pack and plays come with one attached.  To be honest once the baby is a couple months old I kept a basket full of diapers and wipes in the livingroom and changed on the floor.   
-baby shoes (before they walk)
-diaper bag: My purse has always been big enough to put a few diapers, a change of clothes and a bottle in it.  Also we always have a pack of wipes in each vehicle and extra diapers.
-regular high chair: booster seat-sterilizer: dishwasher does the trick!
-rattles: the boys never showed any interest.
-newborn sized shirts that arent onsies: the babies tummy is always exposed b/c they ride up! (such a pain)
-big bulky strollers, we used our Graco stroller maybe 5 times and I could have saved the money on a stroller and just used a sling.  Cheaper, lighter, compact, umbrella strollers work so much better when the baby is a few months old.
-bedding sets: The quilt and the bumper pads are USELESS for infants!  Cute sheets and recieving blankets work just fine for bedding! 
-diaper stackers
-baby lotion: I was told in the hospital to never use lotion on a baby b/c it actually dries their skin out.  Plus it covers up the natural baby smell which I love!
-shopping cart seat covers:  I use a wipe to wipe down the handle, problem solved! :)
-burp clothes:  Flannel blankets do the job, just buy a few extra so you're not doing laundry everyday. 
-car seat head supporter

Items I cant live without:
-Infant gas relief drops
-baby swing
-bottle dryer and bottle brush
-flannel blankets
-pack and play with changing table
-car seat base (I suggest buying one for each car)
-car seat
-light weight stroller
-bouncy seat
-exersaucer
-sling
-baby bathtub
Finally a few things that I wish I had tried but havent:
-Travel swing:  As newborns my boys really relaxed in a swing and it would be nice to bring a swing over to other people's homes.
-My Brestfriend pillow: to help support the baby when he's eating
-Cloth diapers and all the accessories:  Our neighbor and Jed's co-workers have bought us over 350 size 1 diapers so once we've gone through all those we'll start cloth diapering. 
 We went to Zoo Boo today!  The boys had a blast dressing up in their costumes and collecting candy. 

Buzz Lightyear! 

Eeyore!  I was going to buy a new costume for Seth this year but I put him in the Eeyore costume and he was too cute. 

Pumpkin Patch and Week Four

We took the boys to the pumpkin patch today to play and take pictures.  The pumpkins cost way more than the ones that you can get at the grocery store, plus they've been sitting out in the sun cooking for a couple weeks, so we were only going to buy one.  As we were getting ready to pick out our pumpkin fire ants attacked.  I have 10 bites on one foot!  Jed only has a few bites but we were in so much pain that we just rounded up the boys and headed to the van. :(  Oh well, we'll buy our pumpkins from Albertson's and save some money.



Seth wasnt sure what to think about the "bumpy" pumpkin.

Evan, chillin.



My boys!

Kane slept through everything.

Just as this picture was taken the ants started biting.  OUCH!

Kane is four weeks old today!  I cant believe its almost been a month, time is flying.  

Three Weeks

Our little guy is three weeks old today!  And his aunt Becky is 20 years old today!  Happy Birthday Beck, we love you!  Wish you were here to celebrate! 

Jed's work sent Kane this adorable gift. 

I thought this picture was funny.
I love my husband!  I got 5 hours of sleep last night because he got up with Kane.  Thank you babe! 

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Last Night

-I was thrown up on and no not the typical baby spit up but full on puke.  Everything in Kane's little tummy ended up down the front of both him and me. 
-I was peed on 3 times b/c he's getting to big for the newborn diapers so they only hold 1 pee (meaning they last 2 hours at the most).  I meant to put him in the size 1 diapers for the night but I was so tired I would forget and put the newborn diapers instead. 
-Changed his clothes 3 times before giving up on clothes all together and just letting him sleep in a diaper.  Throwing the blanket that he was wrapped in, in the laundry basket, is so much easier than dressing and undressing him.
-Gave him 1 full body "sponge bath" (after the puke) and 3 belly wipe downs (the peeing). 
-By the time Jed was getting up to go to work at 6am I had gotten less than 2 hours of sleep.
-First thing I did this morning was start a load of laundry because he soiled all but 1 of his blankets, not to mention all the onsies and my clothes he doused in bodily fluids. 
The good news is that this is the first time we have had such a hard night where as with the other two boys I'd had nights like this pretty regularly.   I'm hoping that this was a fluke and that we get back to 3 hours of sleep at a time but if not we'll still get through it.  :)  

Poker Champ

We went to a poker tournament fundraiser on Saturday night.  I didnt play because I brought Kane so I cheered Jed on in between eating good food and chatting with the other wives.   This was Jed's first time playing poker so we had no thought of winning the grand prize, a 42" LCD tv.   Towards the end of the night I had to excuse myself to go feed Kane in a private room.  When I came back out it was down to the last three players and I was shocked that Jed was one of them!   Next thing I know Jed has won the tournament and we're loading up a giant tv into our van.   I honestly dont know what we're going to do with it... although I'm sure Jed will come up with something!

Kane and I were Jed's "lucky charms". 

2 Weeks Old

Its crazy that he wasnt due until today!  Katie, I cant remember how to get the ticker off my blog and I havent had time to figure it out!  LOL 

Evan and Seth love to hold Kane, that is until he starts crying.  Right after I took this picture Seth looked at me and said, "Take your baby."  Too cute!

Birth Story, Kane

Saturday morning I woke up around 2:30 with a contraction.  I tried to go back to sleep b/c I had been having contractions in the middle of the night for over a week and nothing ever came of them.  However they started coming ever 5-6 minutes so after a half hour I got out of bed to see if they would stop.  Although they kept coming they werent as strong when I was standing.  I decided to walk around the house for a little bit and by 3:30 they started to get stronger, my back started aching and they were closer together (3 minutes apart) but I still wasnt convinced this was it.
At 4am I finally woke Jed up b/c I thought we might want to get things ready to go, just in case.  I was expecting the pain to get a lot worse before we would have to head to the birthing center but by 4:30 my contractions were only a minute apart so we decided to call my midwife.  She told us to meet her at the birthing center as soon as possible so I woke my mom up to tell her what was going on and we left.  On the drive over I remember telling Jed that I was sure that any second everything would stop and we'd have to go back home. I was watching the clock really closely and if my contractions werent exactly 1 minute apart I would start freaking out until one came.  As we got closer each contraction became more and more painful and I started having to really focus through them, thats when I stopped worrying.  We got to the birthing center at 5am and my midwife checked me, I was dialated to 6cm so she suggested that I get in the tub.  The tub was great!  It really helped me relax in between each contraction.  Jed sat on the side holding my hand through each one and trying to keep me distracted in between.   At 6:30 I went into the "transition stage" of labor.  This is by far the worst part of labor but fortunately it seems to be the shortest.  I couldnt get comfortable during this part so I desperately wanted to move around but I couldnt b/c I was extremely weak and shaky.  I ended up laying in bed for the most part.  I told my midwife at about 7am that I felt a lot of pressure so she checked me again and I was dialated to a 9 but my water wasnt broken.  After trying a couple different positions and pushing to break my water naturally she ended up having to do it.  I immediately felt the urge to push, it gave me great relief during the contractions and after forty minutes Kane was born.  Jed was able to "catch" him and they put him right on my belly.  The cord was so short that they had to cut it immediately so I could pull him up to me.  It took a few minutes for the shakiness to go away but as soon as it did I was able to start breast feeding.  Everything after that is a little foggy.  We chilled out in bed for a while and at some point Jed went out to get breakfast from McDonalds.  At 10:30am my midwife did Kane's newborn exam and we packed up to head home.  I wont lie, I was really sore but I couldnt wait to get home and get in my own bed!  When we got home Evan and Seth were so excited to see Kane.  They would get as close as they could to Kane and yell, "Hi, baby Kane!"  They love to touch him, give him kisses and Evan constantly begs to hold him.  My mom has been doing a great job keeping the boys distracted while I've been recovering and taking care of Kane.   Both Jed and I have noticed a huge difference in spending the first few days recovering at home opposed to a hospital.  We actually got to sleep at night rather than have nurses and other people barging into our room.  I think its also taken a huge emotional stress off of me b/c I can be with my whole family rather than feeling held hostage in the hospital.  So if I had to do it again I would definitely chose the birthing center, just in case you were wondering. :)  Also if you were curious here's the website to the birthing center we went to, http://www.h2hbirthcenter.com/.   They have pictures of the room Kane was born in, the The Midwife Martha Ballard Memorial Birth Room.    

Isnt he precious!  We sure think so. 

Evan loves to hold his little brother. 

We bought a birthday cake for Kane but we didnt get around to eating it until the day after his birthday.  :)

This picture is just too funny!

Cuddle time!

All four of my boys!  Man, I am seriously out numbered! :)

1 Week

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1 Week Ago Today

I was still pregnant and I got this done,

My birthing center has a spa day for the moms once they reach 36 weeks.  I could have a henna tattoo done on my belly, a massage, a pedicure or a belly cast; which is what I chose.  I forgot to schedule my spa day until my last prenatal appointment (I was 37 weeks then) and there were only two available times to do it, last friday or today.   Fortunately I didnt chose to put it off any longer! 
Kane had another dr. appointment yesterday.  At every appointment they weigh him so Jed and I both put in our guesses as to how much he would weigh, I guessed 6lbs 5oz and Jed guessed 6lbs 4oz.  We were shocked when he weighed in at 6lbs 9.5oz!  I was really excited to see that he's already over his birth weight!  By the way, Jed was the closest on guessing Kane's birthday, he guess September 25th.   He was the only one that didnt go over!

Time for Evan to get a hair cut!  As promised Seth got to do the honors this time.  :) 


Seth and Evan cant get enough of their little brother. 

Kane's Birth Day

Saturday morning I woke up around 2:30 with a contraction.  I tried to go back to sleep b/c I had been having contractions in the middle of the night for over a week and nothing ever came of them.  However they started coming ever 5-6 minutes so after a half hour I got out of bed to see if they would stop.  

Although they kept coming they werent as strong when I was standing.  I decided to walk around the house for a little bit and by 3:30 they started to get stronger, my back started aching and they were closer together (3 minutes apart) but I still wasnt convinced this was it.  

At 4am I finally woke Jed up b/c I thought we might want to get things ready to go, just in case.  I was expecting the pain to get a lot worse before we would have to head to the birthing center but by 4:30 my contractions were only a minute apart so we decided to call my midwife.

  She told us to meet her at the birthing center as soon as possible so I woke my mom up to tell her what was going on and we left.  On the drive over I remember telling Jed that I was sure that any second everything would stop and we'd have to go back home. I was watching the clock really closely and if my contractions werent exactly 1 minute apart I would start freaking out until one came.  

As we got closer each contraction became more and more painful and I started having to really focus through them, that's when I finally stopped worrying. 

 We got to the birthing center at 5am and my midwife checked me, I was dilated to 6cm so she suggested that I get in the tub.  The tub was great!  It really helped me relax in between each contraction.  Jed sat on the side holding my hand through each one and trying to keep me distracted in between.   

At 6:30 I went into the "transition stage" of labor.  This is by far the worst part of labor but fortunately it seems to be the shortest.  I couldnt get comfortable during this part so I desperately wanted to move around but I couldnt b/c I was extremely weak and shaky.  I ended up laying in bed for the most part.  I

 told my midwife at about 7am that I felt a lot of pressure so she checked me again and I was dilated to a 9 but my water wasnt broken.  After trying a couple different positions and pushing to break my water naturally she ended up having to do it.  I immediately felt the urge to push, it gave me great relief during the contractions and after forty minutes Kane was born.  

Jed was able to "catch" him and they put him right on my belly.  The cord was so short that they had to cut it just so I could pull him up to me. 

 It took a few minutes for the shakiness to go away but as soon as it did I was able to start breast feeding.  Everything after that is a little foggy.  We chilled out in bed for a while and at some point Jed went out to get breakfast from McDonalds.  

At 10:30am my midwife did Kane's newborn exam and we packed up to head home.  I wont lie, I was really sore but I couldnt wait to get home and get in my own bed!  

When we got home Evan and Seth were so excited to see Kane.  They would get as close as they could to Kane and yell, "Hi, baby Kane!"  They love to touch him, give him kisses and Evan constantly begs to hold him.  My mom has been doing a great job keeping the boys distracted while I've been recovering and taking care of Kane.  

 Both Jed and I have noticed a huge difference in spending the first few days recovering at home opposed to a hospital.  We actually got to sleep at night rather than have nurses and other people barging into our room.  I think its also taken a huge emotional stress off of me b/c I can be with my whole family rather than feeling held hostage in the hospital.  So if I had to do it again I would definitely chose the birthing center, just in case you were wondering. :) 

Isn't he precious?!   

Evan loves to hold his little brother.

 We bought a birthday cake for Kane.

Seth.

 Cuddle time!

All four of my boys!  Man, I am seriously out numbered! :)