Ginger and my other babies.

It's the end of another week. Paul had the day off so we made an exursion to the Children's Musuem at the mall...and all that fun stuff. Now Paul has a better idea of what the kids and I are up to on some days. I think he had a good time but not sure he's ready to be Mr. Mom any time soon.

Baby Ginger is 5 weeks old today and still all over the place with her sleep She's not getting enough of it, I'm sure. I keep reading about other babies the same age that sleep 5,6,7,8 hours in a row at night...and take a few 3-4 hour naps during the day. Do these babies really exist? If I have had 3 babies now, shouldn't I have at least gotten one baby like that??? I still haven't figured out how you're supposed to get a newborn to sleep with two constantly-shreiking 2 year olds. I'm open to suggestions :)

The twins are doing OK with Ginger. Most of the time they are indifferent to her, although I'm starting to see a little reaction from Lilly. For instance, Lilly now calls herself a baby, asks to be fed and rocked quite frequently, and is constantly wanting her binky - something she hasn't used in two years. I'm trying to indulge her a little bit, but I have to say it's getting old. One funny thing is that Ginger is exclusively breastfed, yet both kids now drink from baby bottles on a regular basis. Note bottles and binky in picture below. Ginger has 4 binkies and I'm lucky to find one most days - not because I am losing them, but because I have two pint-sized binky theives, ugh!

I don't beleive it has rained since before Ginger was born..so for over a month now. So Mommy made rain!

I can already tell Ginger is going to be another Daddy's girl. She smiles and "giggles" for him already! She just started smiling this week, and it's adorable!

So I got brave and let the kids do some "cooking" last week. I got that Monkey Munch recipe from the Jon & Kate show to make (which incidentally, the recipe is also on the side of the Chex box -who knew?). I waited until Daddy got home for backup. We let the kids stir the melted peanut butter and chocolate into the chex, and even shake the powdered sugar bag. They were quite proud of themselves. They were not so happy when I did not let them eat ALL of it in one sitting.

This is what we wish Ginger did more of. But this week was definitely better than last!

My happy girl!

I hope everyone has a happy 4th! We don't have any grand plans but hope to take a trip to our neighbors pool again. And sleep.

Future Firefighters

We had a fun day today! Our "twins club" hosted a playgroup at the firestation today, and it was quite the hit - who needs Disneyworld!? The firemen were great guys and good sports, being swarmed with about 2 dozen or more toddlers.

Anyone who knows Owen knows he is a quite the fan of any big truck, he calls out "big trucks", cement trucks, fire trucks, dump trucks, tractors, and I'm sure a few others, every time we hit the road. Out WONDERFUL Aunt Lala was gracious enough to accompany us - thanks Lala!

The firemen loved Ginger! I can't see policemen cooing over a baby but these guys did.

Lilly's favorite part....sitting in the AC, on the fireman's recliner, eating "wackers", and they turned on Nickelodean for her. She's still feeling a little under the weather...

Two days left in the week. I'm attempting a solo (well except for two year old twins and a newborn) trip to the library tomorrow, and we have a playdate set for Friday. It's good to have something planned and get back in the swing of things!

Why we love Daddy!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Who'd of thought three years ago on this day, Paul would now be the proud Daddy of three kids?!?! In three years we went from wondering if we'd ever have kids, to having a houseful! Luckily, Paul is a natural when it comes to being a great daddy, and we are all so lucky that he is ours! So without further ado....



REASONS WE LOVE DADDY!

He's the best tickle monster there is!

He gets up EVERY morning with Lilly and Owen and get's them O's and milk, and lets mommy sleep a little longer...

He doesn't mind it when we call him at work 20 times a day :)

He's a great chef - especially when he makes us a big breakfast on the weekends.

He makes the best bubbles at bath time!

He's a great provider.

He is so very patient!

He checks on all his babies every night before he goes to bed, just to make sure they're OK.

He'll read the same book over, and over, and over, and over, because we ask him to.

He throws us up in the air and pushes us really high on the swings!

He loves us so very much, and shows us and tells us this.

We love you Daddy!

Here are a few other pics from the last week or two...

Sprinklers!

Baby Ginger is now 3 weeks old! We've been dealing with some reflux lately so she's not been a happy camper. We're doing some things to help and hopefully we'll see a change soon. She slept 4 hours straight last night....longest stretch yet.

"Baby Lilly"

What else can you do when the heat index is 108F? Eat ice!

Grandma Webb came down to help this week. She was a good sport and threw a pool party while mommy & Ginger stayed in the AC. Thanks Grandma!


"Aunty" Michelle came to meet Ginger, and came bearing gifts....strawberry tarts from Cafe Eccell in College Station - can you say yum!?

First week home.

It has been exactly one week since Ginger has been home, and I have to say, Paul and I are enjoying our babymoon (is that what you call it?). One newborn is SO different than TWO, and we are really enjoying just getting to snuggle with her as much as we want. As I sit here writing, Ginger is taking a snooze on the swing (it's not moving but she really likes it), and the twinks are taking a nap. Aunt Laura has been helping the past few days but is gone now, and Paul will be home to get the twins up from their naps since I can't lift them out of their cribs. So, the house is nice and QUIET!

Ginger and I met Daddy for her first checkup appointment this morning. This girl has gained almost a pound since birth, which is pretty impressive I think. She was 7lb 2 oz at birth and is now exactly 8 lb. Hmmm...maybe I should be bottling and marketing my high calorie breast milk?? Needless to say she is a good nurser. She is not sleeping more than three hours at a time, especially at night, but we are doing OK with our sleep and not too tuckered out.

Ginger snoozing with Aunt LaLa




Our new family!




Paul and I both truly love our new family of five, and really feel completed. In fact, I love having this baby so much I almost wish I hadn't got my tubes tied...but I'm sure that's just the hormones talking :) We did lots of errands together on Saturday and it was fun to be out and about together. Needless to say it will be awhile before I attempt to take the trio out by myself, but I'm up for the challenge just as soon as I feel comfortable lifting Lilly & Owen again. I know the twins are getting a little cabin fever right now, but we do have a big Target/Lunch outing planned for Thursday when Laura is helping us again - it's the little things right???

.

Everyone asks how Lilly and Owen are adjusting, and I have to say pretty good. I know they are a little bored being at home so much, and Owen especially misses momma putting him to bed, but we are really trying to give lots of hugs and snuggles, and they really love baby Ginger. They get very concerned every time she cries, and are always asking where she is. Lilly is going through quite a princess phase right now, but that started before Ginger is here. Every little time she doesn't get her way, she is on the floor faster than you can count to three, face down on her tummy, pouting. She doesn't cry or scream, and she doesn't get any attention from us when she does this, so hopefully it will be shortlived. A highschool friend on Facebook, posted an identical picture of her daughter doing the exact same thing, and I have to say it made me feel really good, is that bad?

Baby Brown is here!

And it's a.....................


















GIRL!!!!!!!!


Ginger Aileen Brown made her way into the world:

Friday, May 29th at 1:08 am
7 lb, 2 oz
41 weeks
perfect!

Ginger decided to take matters into her own hands and not wait around for a scheduled c-section- that's my girl! I started having contractions around 2 am Thursday morning. I was cautiously getting excited about really being labor, since it's what I wanted after all (going for a VBAC) and I was down to the wire with my section scheduled the next day (41 weeks) .The contractions increased throughout the day so we finally went to the OB around 4:30, to confirm that, yes, I was in labor! I was still not dilated and doing fine, so she suggested we walk the mall and eat dinner for a few hours, then proceed to the hospital around 7:00. We did just that and arrived at the hospital to find I was ONE cm dilated woohoo! Not much but more progress than I'd ever made before! Again, it was suggested to keep walking, this time around the hospital. I'm in pain at this point but not awful. Well we walked the halls about 20 minutes and everything became suddenly unbearable. We went back to triage and told the nurse I needed to be admitted and get an epidural. At this point, she checks and I'm 2cm..and in pain! Suddenly Paul sees his wife turn into a crazy, animalistic, screaming person as the contractions start piling on top of each and I am in pain like have never experienced. Seriosuly, it's kind of funny now, but I was SCREAMING and holding on to dear life to the side of the bed, uncontrollable. Finally, about 20 minutes later, a nurse comes gets me, takes me to my room, checks me, and I'm at 7cm in that short of time, contracting every minute. She was a godsend, and got me a little under control with managing the pain and helping me focus. At the same time, she is barking out orders to get everything ready, calling my OB to get here ASAP, setting up a warmer, etc ,etc. Oh, and the best part is she got the anesthisiologist there ASAP and lied to him about how far along I was so he would still give me the epidural! I love nurses :) My OB comes, breaks my water...tons and tons and we wait. Now all of a sudden the contractions are not on top of each other, but still coming, but everything calms down a little. Next, she adds a very small amount of pitocin, but it doesn't change what my body is doing already.

By now it's about 9:00 I think, and we are all just chilling out a little, realizing baby isn't coming quite as fast as we thought. Although it seems like it was only 20 minutes, it was more like three hours that we wait. I can't get dilated past 8, and every contraction I have, baby's heart rate starts to dip, but always comes back up. My OB offers a c-section at this point, but I'm still hopefull for my VBAC so refuse unless she thinks baby or me is in danger. She is very cautious with her VBAC deliveries. She gives me another half hour or so, and then it's not my choice any more. Baby's heartrate is not good and it's on to emergency c-section. Ginger came into the world at 1:08 kicking and screaming, and is perfect, that's the only thing that matters at this point. Come to find out, she was "brow-faced" in the birth canal. Meaning that instead of the top of her head facing the top of the birth canal, it was more like her eyebrow and nose area. If you look at the pictures of her forhead, you can see a bruise where the internal fetal monitoring was done. That monitor is supposed to hit the top of their scalp, so it kind of tells you how she was positioned. I didn't get my VBAC, but my little girl still got to choose her own birthday, I definitely got a taste of what labor was like, and we are here and healthy! Or at least for awhile...

We are back in my room and I get to nurse Ginger for the first time, she takes to it perfectly and everything is great. We are snoozing a little and around 4:00 my nurse notices my blood pressure dipping I guess. She starts to check it every 5-10 minutes and it continues to dip. Apparently I have lost all color at this point, and am spacy. Next thing she is ordering labs to check my blood oxygen (I think) and calling my OB, and waiting for the results. I guess the first results weren't too bad but she is still monitoring my BP like crazy, and by this time Dr. Johnson is here...not a good sign at 5:00 in the morning. All I know is that my BP is dipping down to 60/30 and they are talking about internal bleeding. I'm really scared at this point because I don't really understand just how big of a deal this is, or how concerned I should be. Next thing I know I'm being rushed down the hall yet again to the OR. This time I'm put under general anesthesia, leaving Paul our new baby alone and scared as well.

I awake to that awful coughing of getting the tube pulled out of your throat. I'm just happy to be awake, I was really scared. Dr. Johnson opened me up again where the section was, and found lots of internal bleeding. It was all removed, but they still couldn't find where it came from. She double stitched all the work from the section/tubal just to be safe, and watched for a good 20 minutes to make sure there was no more bleeding - there wasn't. I received two blood transfusions. She said my uterous looked good and that me previous section scar was fine, so in the end we have no idea why I bled. I ask and she says this has NEVER happened to a patient before.

Friday was a big fog for me, but I was feeling much better Saturday afternoon and today is even better. We should be home on Tuesday. Ginger got all bottles on Friday, so we've been struggling getting her to nurse since yesterday, but I'm grateful she seems to have turned the corner and is doing great!

So, we are all here and happy and healthy, and grateful we can say that! Lilly and Owen have visited baby Ginger twice and seem to like her so far. I'm sure Tuesday will be interesting to say the least. They have been having tons of fun with both sets of grandparents but we miss them and I know they miss us too. I can't wait for our new family to all be together on Tuesday!

Thanks for reading if you made it this far. I love reading everyone's birth stories so was compelled to post mine as well.

Check back often for photos!

Jennifer :)

Yes!

I am still pregnant, but hopefully not for long. I have an appointment in the morning, and I'm thinking it will be decision time! My due date is actually Friday.

39 weeks...hoping this baby isn't as big as it looks in my tummy!

I love this picture of Lilly, it says a lot about her attitude and personality. This girl is definitely into style, which if it wasn't so cute, would also be a little scary. She is constantly wearing my shoes around the house and will be quite verbal on wearing a pretty dress versus a not so pretty one - seriously you can't fool her. I tried to put on a little knit polo dress on her yesterday, and apparently it wasn't cute enough. She saw another dress I hadn't put away yet ( that really was much cuter), and insisted on wearing it instead, because it was a "pincess dess." What can I say, I choose my battles.

This morning we went to a fun playgroup at an indoor gym type place for todders. They had a lot of fun with all the differnt activities, toys, and BUBBLES! And I have to say, they played some good music for the moms, not toddler stuff, so it was enjoyable. Lilly was dancing to the music and it was so funny....anytime music comes on, she is getting her groove on.

We are having a lot of fun with our swimming pool. I don't get it out unless I have help, but it's amazing how long two tots can be entertained in about 3 inches of water. Now if only there was a bubble machine attached to the pool...

These are all the pictures I've taken in the past 10 days or so, pretty bad I know. Here's hoping I have a reason to take a ton of pictures in a few days or so. Until then, we're going to make sure and enjoy the pleasant weather we've been granted this week. Highs in the low 80's and low humidity - it feels great!

Fun week!

We've been having lots of fun lately! Trying to sneak it all in before we are at home with a new baby for awhile. I will be 38 weeks pregnant tomorrow, and again, this kiddo is in no hurry to come out. We might proceed with a c-section at 39 weeks, but are still on the fence. This hot weather is making me very thankful that this pregnancy is almost over. I don't know how all the August mommies do it!

The twinks are napping now. I usually let them unwind to their favorite, Max & Ruby, for a few minutes before naptime. This is them in "the zone."

We went to the mall yesterday with Grandma Brown and Aunt Lala and had a great time with the playground, musuem, lunch, and of course the carousel. I definitely could not have done it without them, thanks guys! We were lucky to keep them awake on the way home, they were pooped! One perk of the swine flu scare is that we were the ONLY people at the playground when we got there - that never happens! The musuem also had a nice clorox smell and no field trip kids either, so it was nice.

Lilly and Aund LaLa

We went to the antique show in Montgomery Saturday. Owen found his buddies once again and they were gracious enough to let him practice the fiddle again. He looks scared and shy in the picture, but he loves it and could seriously listen to the music all day. He stands there and taps his foot to the music, it's adorable!

The outing was not complete without some kettlecorn!

AND peach cobbler!

So if anyone has tips for inducing labor that don't involve sex, castor oil, or pineapple, send 'em my way! Hope everyone has is well and has a great weekend. Jennifer :)