William Kenneth Has Arrived!

We had some luck on St. Patrick's Day (March 17^th) as William Kenneth was born at 7:35 am weighing in at 6 lbs 12 oz. and 20 inches long.  He was 36 weeks and 5 days gestation so came a little early, however my doctor had mentioned him being big and that she thought he was coming soon so it was not a total shock.  We had spent the weekend at the land and had just returned to the cabin from church when I thought my water had broke around noon.  I was not 100% sure at first however over the next couple hours I knew it likely was the real thing. Brian and I packed up and left our kids with my parents and headed home to grab our already packed hospital bags then off to the hospital we went.  I was admitted at around 5 pm already having steady contractions without even knowing and 5 cm dilated.  My mom and sister Elise came shortly after and we all settled in.  Upon arrival because I was in active labor and so dilated (usually they place the epidural around 4 cm) and having steady contractions they wanted to start the epidural however I was not in any pain and did not want to be stuck in the hospital bed so they placed the epidural catheter but did not start the medication so I could remain mobile. 

I did not progress much and since my water had broke earlier in the day at 9:30 pm they started Pitocin.  The Pitocin started contractions almost immediately and once 1 am hit I was ready for the epidural and having very consistent and long contractions.  Since I had the epidural catheter already placed, the anesthesiologist came right in and injected the medication and within 5-10 minutes I was good to go.  Looking back it was the best decision to already have the epidural catheter placed before I felt the contractions as I did not have to sit through the half hour process with intense contractions, the anesthesiologist was in and out and I stopped feeling the contractions almost immediately.  It was just a waiting game from there to wait until I felt the urge to push.  Around 6:30 am the urge hit and the pushing began and at 7:35 am William Kenneth entered the world! 

Wills had an APGAR of 9.9 and was healthy and normal….well as normal as a child of ours can possibly be!  We spent two days in the hospital having family and friends visit and bonding with one another.  We were released Wednesday afternoon and went home.  My mother-in-law came in town Wednesday and helped with the kids and around the house which immensely helped.  We are beyond blessed with such amazing family and friends!  N and Baby E have done so well with Wills.  Baby E is somewhat oblivious to our new addition however N is eating him up one minute and the next acting like he does not even exist. 

Friday we had Wills first appointment and due to slightly yellow coloring we went for a bilirubin blood test which came back with elevated levels showing he was jaundice.  We got the call once we got home that he had to be admitted so we packed our bags and off to the hospital we went.  We ended up spending the whole weekend in the pediatric ward with Wills under the blue lights tanning and getting rid of his jaundice.  He had to remain in the incubator tanning the whole time beyond feedings and diaper changes every 2 hours.  It was so hard not being able to hold him for long but we knew the longer he spent under the lights the faster we could all go home.  We were lucky that he was happy as a clam hanging out in the warm incubator just in his diaper with his little eye shades on which made it easier on all of us that he was not distressed or upset.  His levels came down and we arrived home today for round 2 of being home and intend on staying home this time!  He has a follow up appointment on Tuesday and will likely repeat bloodwork so hopefully his levels continue on a downward trend!  Now for what everyone has really been waiting for and want to see, meet William Kenneth:


Last pregnant picture the night before going into labor!
































































































































Had a 90's throwback today when we arrived home!

Dying Cloth "Lovies", Building Wills Cosleeper Platform, & Bunny Purchase Mishap!

We have tons of "lovies" that are really premium prefold cloth diapers.  We use them as they make perfect burp rags and like Baby E, I'm sure Wills will also form an attachment to his. 


Well here's the problemo with them, Baby E's formula spit up has stained hers like crazy! We have Clorox 2 and bleached the heck out of her stash, hung them outside in the sun to dry, tried vinegar and baking soda concoctions, tried the power of Oxyclean, squirted Spray and Wash on them until our fingers gave out, tried throwing them in a soak bin the minute they get spit up on them yet we have been left with these super nasty stains!  I had already wanted to dye them pink or purple for her when we originally bought them but never got around to it.  Finally after noticing not a single one looks presentable, I decide to finally do it!  It worked out perfectly as from our shower we received several more packets of prefolds for Wills so I decided to do a big dying extravaganza for the two! 


At first I was going to do Baby E's pink or purple and then Wills blue or green however once I hit up the store and saw the array of colors I may have become color happy!


The first few batches I did with my mom at their house. 


Then a few nights later Brian and I did the rest of the batches at our place.


It was super simple of a process.  The biggest pain is having to continuously stir them for 15 minutes at the start but that's where doing them with a partner to chat with makes the time move faster!

 
After each being washed 2 times with their own color and then dried in the dryer here are the end results!


We are happy to say thus far we have washed many from Baby E with our normal clothes and have had not a single run of color from them.  I also found it cool that for some reason whatever they stitch the edges with remains white after the whole dying process which gives it a nice finished look.  I am so happy with how they all came out beyond the light blue.  The light blue came out super light and we will see how they work out hiding stains but may end up dying them again a different color.  The store was out of it's hot pink but once they restock I intend on doing a few for Baby E :)


Our other project we spent time on was making a platform for Wills co-sleeper bassinet.  The co-sleeper hugs up to our bed to allow a little one to sleep close to the parents but give them the safe space of their own (and us not having to give up bed space hurray!).  Only problem is with our bedroom set it was too low and wasn't level with our bed on its own.  The company sells plastic feet extensions that are ridiculously priced and reviewers complained they make the co-sleeper too wobbly so Brian got to work on making a raised platform.  Since it's a raised platform it will second as a storage area underneath for no other than our "lovie" stash!


Of course he had a very ready helper!




There she is in all her glory!  We intend on painting it black to match the co-sleeper or staining it the same color of our bedroom set when the weather is nicer.  We don't have it attached to my side of the bed yet seeing that I get up 100 times a night these days for bathroom runs and it takes practically all my might to lift this big belly off the bed to begin with so I don't need yet another obstacle for now.  Once it is setup when Wills is evicted from this belly then I will snap a picture and share the full setup :)


For Easter I knew we had to get all three kids Easter baskets.  I can officially say I have all three kids baskets put together, outfits purchased and ready to be worn, and eggs ready for the Easter bunny to place throughout the house.  I figured whatever I can get done ahead of time before Wills arrival the better and having everything for Easter in place has taken away a lot of looming stress.  Growing up, my sister Elise and I had these adorable wicker bunny baskets.  In a search I ended up finding many used online for sale.  I found three I liked all for less than $10 each from different sellers so decided to buy the three I liked.  Note to self and everyone else....be sure read the descriptions fully before purchasing!  (Notice Baby E modeling not only a bunny basket but also a purple lovie!)


Well when all three arrived there was one that was not like the other.....oddly the smallest one was the most expensive of the three!


No worries, I was able to find another one online and purchased it after fully reading the description so we now have three normal size bunny baskets and one micro sized.  The basket I bought after had pink accents for Baby E which I like better anyways for her so it worked out perfectly! 

Dr. Seuss Baby Shower!

This post is way overdue seeing that my sisters and sister-in-law threw a baby shower for me on February 23rd, again always playing catch up!  The day was just perfect and it was great to see all the family and friends who joined us as we prepare for Williams arrival.  We are beyond blessed with so many supportive and loving individuals, Wills surely is one lucky guy to already be so loved!  We had of course local but also many out of town family and friends come to share in the special day with us.  We even felt all the love from those out of town that were unable to make the occasion.  It is amazing and blows us away every time to know how loved we truly are.  It means the world to us to have so much support!


Ready for the shower!


Baby E came dressed in her theme appropriate Dr. Seuss dress!


























Brian made an appearance at the very end as I was finishing opening up all the wonderful gifts!


Super dada!






Grandma brought N a special treat!