Baby bliss

The newest member of the family made his arrival at 37 weeks and 4 days, allowing us to avoid induction.  He came naturally and quickly (born 3.5 hours after arriving at the hospital) at 11:32 a.m. weighing in at 7 lbs, 2 oz and 19 3/4".  He laughed in his sleep within 36 hours of being born and hasn't stopped since.  I managed to capture it on video the other day and I could listen to his laugh over and over again.  Like most babies he smiles lots in his sleep.  He loves being snuggled against my chest and lately has found his voice. He is ridiculously strong for his size.  He rolled onto his back the other day while doing tummy time (2 weeks old).  He has the cutest ear lobes, a back full of fur and a sweet head full of black hair.  His big siblings are excited to have a little brother. My parents arrived the day after he was born and were able to stay the first week.  We are a lucky crew!  Welcome to the family little man!  

The dreaded cholestasis.

With my previous pregnancies I've battled cholestasis so it didn't surprise me when around 34 weeks the dreadful itching had begun.  Since about 16 weeks I've been trying a regimen of warm lemon water every morning and 2 cups of dandelion leaf tea per day to hopefully keep my liver cleansed.  When the itching started it wasn't as intense as it had been with J's birth so I thought it was going to be manageable.  And for the next 10-12 days it was too bad.  But as I neared 36 weeks the itching increased.  They took my blood at 36 weeks and I barely had any itching that day so I assumed they would be slightly elevated.  There is a normal range of bile acids in our blood of 0.0-7.0 and with L's pregnancy they were 42, with J's I was in the 500's (I think I may have set a record with that #) and yesterday I was informed my number, as of 9 days ago was 107 (over 100 is rare).  Judging by the intensity of my itching this past week I'm sure it has only gone up.  With the increase in bile acids in my blood there is a risk of stillbirth because of increased risk of meconium and that then getting into babies lungs.  So they like to induce by 37-38 weeks.  With J we induced at 37 weeks and it was a nightmare which ended up with us back in ER a few days after she was born and her blood oxygen levels were in the 70's due to not all her air sacs being opened in her lungs (to be fair respiratory distress could have been a result of the cholestasis).  So this time around we wanted to make it closer to 38 weeks.  Also, with my second pregnancy (42 bile acid) L came on his own in the 37th week.  I'm hoping that is what will happen with this baby.  Please keep your fingers crossed for some action in the next couple days.  When they suggested a Wednesday or Thursday induction I compromised with a Saturday morning induction (I'll be 37 weeks and 6 days).  Also, my parents arrive Friday night which makes it nice as well.  I think I'll relax a little easier knowing the kids are in one place and I'm not burdening someone else.  In the meantime we have family & neighbors who have volunteered to help with the kids which is greatly appreciated.  With the itching has come some sleepless nights with ice packs on my feet, body, and hands or late night baths to try to relieve some of it.  With J's pregnancy I actually kept buckets of ice water next to my bed and I'd submerge as much of my legs and arms as possible to try to numb away the itching.  Well the other night I got up around 4:30 and cleaned the tub for a good soak.  Around five I heard stomping around the house so I assumed hubs was up.  It turns out it was J walking around looking for me. So her & I sat in the tub together and shared the sweetest little moment.  She couldn't have been more endearing as she chatted away and randomly laid on my stomach.  It is moments like that I do not want to be forgotten.  And her brothers couldn't be sweeter.  B & C have been diligent about rubbing my feet whenever I need it (L wants nothing to do with them).  And the other morning C came in the room and rubbed my head until I fell asleep (this was after a night of sleeping maybe 2 hours).  Anyway, I'm so thankful for considerate sons who have really stepped up to help with everything.  They've been patient & extremely kind.  Soon, all of this will pay off and they are going to be rewarded with another sibling to laugh with and dote on.  I can't wait!  In the mean time hopefully these false contractions will turn into something real and this little guy will make his entrance before our scheduled induction.  Please send some birthing vibes this way!  I'll leave you with some beautiful pics I took from our backyard the other day.  Hubs woke me one morning at six to show me a gorgeous double rainbow over the mountains.  It was worth it!

Pics from last snow of the '13/'14 season (May)

I'm finally going through pictures from the past few months.  Our last snow was in May and no one was disappointed here.  Looking at these pictures gets me excited for this upcoming winter!

And a couple days after that the snow was gone and it was beautiful weather.  

Yet another boring journal entry for myself...

I just spent the past hour looking through old blog posts and I'm so sad I've missed out on documenting the greater part of the last 2-3 years.  I really, really, really want to do better.  So, 10:00 p.m. or not, I'm going to journal.  Mostly, I don't want to forget what an awesome age the boys are at right now.  Conner is quickly approaching 9, Biruk will be 7 in a few short weeks and Landon 6.  The boys have such kindness and love for each other.  Tonight I sat and took video of the three of them playing with legos for 3-4 minutes.  They have this thing where one of them starts singing a song and the other two chime in.  They listen to music occasionally so I'm always shocked by the amount of words they know for each song.  This happens all day long.  They do it (breaking out into song) while playing with legos, sitting at the table coloring, putting together a puzzle, rollerblading, etc.  It is the cutest thing ever and a memory I don't want to forget.  I'm so thankful for the bond the three of them have.  Occasionally they have moments of fighting but overall they are thick as thieves.  It's adorable and admirable.  My siblings and I are close but we had plenty of fighting mixed in with the play.  These three manage to keep that under control and I'm amazed at their patience for each other.  Currently they have a huge "science lab" built from their legos that they've worked on the last couple days.  It is quite impressive.  Today they let me sleep in, read books with J, watch a movie this afternoon, all while playing legos.  So I rewarded them with a trip to get a burger, fries and an upgraded shake.  I don't think I've ever gotten them their own shake.  They were pretty excited.  While bragging about how proud of them I should mention how much they have been doing around the house.  Yesterday the four of us cleaned both of the bathrooms (L - baseboards, B - toilets, C - tubs).  And no complaints.  They've been doing dishes and they are always great at switching out my loads of laundry and putting away everything that is folded.  Again, this is a blog for my memory, sorry for the boring details.  But damn I am so proud to be their mama!

J is J.  The girl has a strong personality.  I'll forever be grateful for her spit fire personality but that doesn't mean it doesn't come without it's challenges.  "I am eating mom.  I'm coming (as she takes the smallest steps ever).  Please watch Gaba Gaba.  One more.  One more.  Ughhh (in her deepest, most disgruntled sigh ever).  You mean to me.  Ba-ba's mean to me.  No my not.  Why mom?"  These are some of her daily sentences that pop in my head at the moment.  But she is soooooo cute when she is arguing and disagreeing.  It takes a lot of discipline to send her to her room or upstairs for a timeout.  And with the sass comes "You love me so, so, so much mom?".  Or after you say "I love you" she follows up with "so, so much?".  And the way she caresses my cheek, or curls up on my lap, or tells asks questions about her baby brother.  She is my everything.  Daily, I think to myself, I'm so thankful I have a daughter.  I do love her SO SO much!  And her dad.  Good grief!  Daddy's girl is an understatement.  He really would go to the moon and back for her.  It's mostly adorable.  I'm only a teeny, tiny bit jealous :).

As for baby on the way.  Well I can tell you he is already loved so much.  His big siblings are getting excited, as are we.  However, if his acrobatic moves are any indication of what kind of infant he will be I'm slightly scared.  He moves ALL THE TIME!  And they are not gentle movements.  Some days I fear how big of a baby he is going to be.  I hope with age and loss of memory I've just forgotten previous pregnancies.

So far, liver cholestasis has not reared it's ugly head.  I'm hopeful with the regimen I'm following I can avoid induction and we can go to term and this little guy can decide his birth date.  So far, so good!  We are not in the clear yet but I'm hopeful we can get through these last five plus weeks without any issues.  We do not want to relive J's birth if possible.
EDITED: As soon as I wrapped up this post last night and went to bed the itching started in my feet.  I finally got up early this morning because I'm feeling it in my palms of my hands and light itching in the stomach.  So much for 'being in the clear'.  I knew it was going to happen but it still sucks.  I'm drinking my lemon water and I have my dandelion leaf tea steeping.  I hope I can at least keep the itching at bay by staying hydrated.

The summer has been beautiful and I'm so glad for the mostly cool days we've had.  The other night I was up going pee and I could smell the chill in the air.  Fall will be here before we know it and I can't wait!  I have such anticipation for this fall and winter with the kids.  Time is ticking before our lives get chaotic and I'm holding on tightly to these relaxed days of ours.  They are precious and such a beautiful time right now.  I'm so thankful for our relaxed home schooling, peaceful and calm days at home.

We didn't get to camp as much as I had hoped this summer.  After our trip back to Ethiopia (hubs, Biruk and I) we had some crazy mystery illness in the house that took about a month of recovery.  However, we did one camping trip to a state park near our home, another up to Nathan's uncles home in the mountains (adjoining National Forest) which was so perfect, and another to Rainbow Lake (where my boys were able to fish with their uncle Sam).  Pregnancy has taken a lot of energy and finally I've become more realistic in what I can handle.  Next summer we can spend more time exploring.  This was the summer of de-cluttering, donating and minimizing our life.  It feels good and has become a bit addictive.

I need to get to bed but I will leave you with at least a few pics of our trip to Rainbow Lake with Uncle Samuel.  It was beautiful!