We had a Baby GIRL!

Well if you follow me on IG or are my friend on FB, then this is old news....but we had a baby GIRL.  Twelve days ago, to be exact.

 She weighed 6 pounds, 4 ounces and was 19 inches long.  Pure, sweet perfection.

Daddy's crazy hairline and cowlick, just like her brother & sister too.

 We named her Claire Pamela.  Claire, because we both just liked the name and felt it would suit her throughout her life and Pamela after my mom, who passed away nine years ago.  She looks identical to both her big brother and big sister when they were newborns!

About to be wheeled in to the OR for the big show

She came 10 days ahead of her planned c-section because I started getting sick with Pre-Ecclampsia again.  OF COURSE, my doctor was on vacation, so I was in the hands of someone I'd never even met before.  He turned out to be fantastic, thank God.  As soon as Claire was born, she had a little trouble clearing the extra fluid from her lungs (common with c-section babies) and they took her to Special Care Nursery to be evaluated.  They decided to keep her after seeing her oxygen saturation levels were a bit low.  I didn't even get to hold her until the next day and that was SO HARD.

In her little oxygen hood and getting some extra IV fluids

But I was dealing with my own post-op issues.  15 minutes after they closed me up and I was in the recovery area, I had just said goodbye to Joe, the kids, and my MIL.  They went to go visit their new baby sister.  Suddenly, I heard a big gush of fluid.  I look down to see a pool of blood EVERY.WHERE.  My nurse heard the sound and quickly called for help.  She no sooner got it cleaned up, when it happened again.  Another big gush of blood.  At this point I knew I was  hemorrhaging.  I was so grateful for my nurse, Mindy, who stayed calm and collected when I was beginning to freak out.  I sent Joe a frantic text telling him to get back to recovery because I was bleeding pretty bad.

The nurses got the doctor out of his c-section that he had just begun and he came to help.  They hit me with every clotting medication they could give me and the doctor explained he didn't know why this was happening, but that he might have to take me back into the OR, open me up and find the source of the bleeding.  He also warned me of the possibility of having to perform a hysterectomy on me.  This also freaked me out.  Early menopause?  No thanks.  During the c-section, he already told me that this would have to be my last baby because there was "nothing left" of my baby oven and I was lucky I didn't rupture.  We had already decided this would be our last, (OK well, we were 99.9% sure) simply because I don't do pregnancy well and oh yeah....we're getting OLD.  But to hear it come from your doctor and have it no longer be your own choice?  That was hard to accept.  I know it's for the best and I have 3 perfectly healthy little children whom I couldn't love more.

I spent that night getting blood transfusions and therefore, couldn't go visit Claire in the SCN.  The next day we were both feeling better and she got to come stay in my room for the remainder of our hospital stay.

Discharge Day and ready to head home!

We've been adjusting to life at home as a family of 5 (whoah!) and my amazing husband is still off work.  He's been a saint -- handling anything and everything else so I can focus on the baby and rest and heal.  I am definitely soaking up this sweet time of life.

Touches of Fall

Just so I don't feel guilty that I totally dropped the ball in the decorating & homemaking department because I'm thisclose to having a baby, I wanted to share my VERY minimal efforts for decorating this year.  Maybe it's just the innate Momguilt speaking to me, forcing me to provide photographic evidence to MoJo that See?  Mommy didn't totally forget about you guys or Fall or Halloween!

I really wanted to have some decorating done, have the kids' Halloween costumes decided & purchased, and their little PB treat buckets dug out of storage before the baby arrives.  Check, check, and check.  It's all about low expectations my friends.

Up first:  The foyer.  I still think the bottom shelf needs a little something(s)...

The front entrance:  I can barely keep these mums alive, I think they're getting way too much sunlight here.  But what do I know...I kill every.thing.

And the mantle:  I found this little package with a cute banner at Micheal's for 50% off.  So I snapped it up, not realizing all 168 pieces had to be assembled.  So that's how I spent my Friday night -- hating Martha Stewart.

I love seeing everyone's fall decorations and really hope to step up my game next year.  It was fun this year trying to decorate the new house with all my old decor -- I'll definitely have a better idea of what I need to be hunting for when the clearance sales hit post-season.

Counting Down

I am eagerly counting down the hours days til Baby #3 arrives.  15 days, or 2 short weeks from tomorrow.  It's hard to believe we're going to have a newborn baby in the house again, but then again, we have 12 straight days of call to survive between now and then.  And I'm not getting any smaller or faster.

This weekend was the last weekend I'd have my sweet husband around, free & clear, so I had big thoughts of getting stuff done, but not much of it got accomplished.  Oh well.

It was a lay-low-and-snuggle-in kind of weekend.  Full of flannel and punkin jams and doughnuts.  I can't seem to eat enough sugar and it's really grossing me out.  We also visited my MIL around dinner time (conveniently, lol) Saturday afternoon & evening so Joe could help her with some technology-related issues she was having.

He's been very snuggly lately, even when not sick.  I think he knows the baby is coming...

It was downright chilly most of the weekend  -- definite scarf weather, which me and my extra bun are L-O-V-I-N-G btw.  My feet and ankles are so swollen that NONE of my shoes or boots fit me, except one pair of ratty old TOMS.  I refuse to buy bigger shoes for the next two weeks.

By Sunday afternoon, the sun was shining and we had to get out of the house.  We decided to check out a stop or two on the Herbst Tour and ended up at Little Rock Farm, where the kids got to run around, go through a hay bale maze and we got to buy a 1/4 of a cow.  All my dreams are coming true.  But seriously, we have been looking for a local source of hormone/antibiotic free beef and we found it.  Just need to get my freezer space readied before Bessie gets butchered.

I don't even question her outfit choices any more.  

He insisted we buy just ONE MORE PUMPKIN.

37 Weeks - Large and In Charge.

At this moment, I'm avoiding cleaning Joey's car seat -- his almost brand-new Britax.  He vomited all over it last week as I was on my way to my OB appointment.  I had to reschedule my appointment, get him home & cleaned up.  Anyone have any tips on cleaning those things?  I hosed it  off really well, but it still smells and there is still...um....debris.  Ugggh. GAG.

He got a little stomach bug, which we think was something he ate because nobody else got it.  Long story short, he vomited and vomited all night long.  I went through every spare piece of bedding/blankets we had PLUS several towels.  So. Much. Laundry.  It took me 5 bed changes to realize I should've been laying towels down all along.  Live and learn.  Anyway, poor little guy was so sick and I ended up staying awake for 40 hours straight.  Can't say I've ever done that before, nor do I ever want to again.  So happy he's feeling better and thankful nobody else got sick.  Now....about that car seat....

Always with a ball in his hand, that boy.  We love him so.

Having Fun While Waiting

Another collage to remind me of the fun we're having while waiting for Baby:

We hosted visitors for a few days.  Brian & Jen from Florida (the newlyweds!) came to town.  I'm pretty sure after witnessing the craziness that is a house full of toddler shenanigans, they've changed their minds about wanting children.  We went out for Mexican food for my birthday and took the kids.  We sat outside so they could run around and that worked great - they could be loud, wander around a bit, etc.

We got a date night to go listen to my husband's uncle play jazz guitar on a gorgeous night.  (For any locals, you have to go to the Dilly Cafe over in Mariemont.  It's the CUTEST little place and the food was fantastic.  They also have a huge wine selection!)

We took the kids to the Northern Kentucky Children's Advocacy Center annual train ride fundraiser.  The day was gorgeous and the kids had a blast.  They each got balloon animals, a pinwheel, jump time in the bouncy house and suckers.  They thought it was pretty much the best day ever.  I wasn't feeling the greatest that week, my blood pressure was going crazy again and I had a lot of swelling, so I tried to take it easy.  But it's hard to do when there are so many fun things happening, the weather is perfect, and the husband is off work ;-)

The last two pictures at the bottom of the collage are my favorite.  The one of Morgan I snapped in the late afternoon; we have blinding sunlight that comes in our front windows.  Her eyes have mysteriously gone from blue (well after she was a year old!) to a honey amber brown.  She is so beautiful.

And that picture of Joey makes me laugh - he stared at his balloon animal like "Umm....what the heck IS this????"  FTR, it was a teddy bear on a heart.