Our Hospital Stay

Call me crazy, but I have loved those first couple of days in the hospital with each of our babies.  Time seems to stand still and our world revolves around our sweet, tiny newborn.  And while I'm on the topic of newborns - I absolutely love having a newborn.  I just can't get enough of sweet Ben.  How tiny he is… how snuggly he gets… the way he fits so perfectly on my chest all curled up… his little face and expressions… and his smell… oh his smell… nothing quite like the smell of a newborn!!  I'm trying so hard to soak up everything I love and not waste a day with him, because this stage goes so fast.

But back to our stay at the hospital…

Gran and Papa were quite surprised when they got back from dinner to find out I was already delivering!

Since I delivered on John's shift day, we had a crowd of firemen show up within an hour of delivery (crowd as in 8!).  They don't call them first responders for no reason.  Unfortunately (fortunately?? :)), they got a call for a fire and had to run out, literally, within a few minutes of arriving.  It gave the nurses all something to talk about.  Our nurse came in and said it was quite a sight to see a bunch of firemen running through the hall.  John's captain and his engine came back afterwards and of course Ben had to get a picture with his fire family:    

Uncle Tony and Patrick jumped in the car as soon as they found out I was in labor (well, as soon as they could get ready and all) and made it to the hospital very shortly after Ben was born.  He is one lucky guy to have such loving family come to greet him!

Ben's first bath

Soothing himself back to sleep after that horrific experience.  Ben was born with areas on his hands where blisters had once been.  He definitely likes to chew his fingers! (and now pacey).  It makes sense why we were never able to get a decent view of his face during any of the sonograms we had (and we had several!) because of his hands always being up by his face.  

Tiny footprints :)

Doesn't get much cuter than that!

It felt so odd to have all of this happening in the middle of the night.  Rudy and Avery were both born around noon so it was completely opposite.  I was allowed to eat and drink again around 1 am, had a shower about 1:30 am, we switched to our postpartum room (714) around 2:30 am… but it actually worked out perfectly.  All of the "busy work" was done and we were able to get a few hours of rest before Rudy and Avery came to join us.  And we just couldn't wait to introduce them to their new brother!

John was holding Ben when they arrived and Rudy ran right up to them and ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the baby and gave him the sweetest kiss (as I was wiping tears away!)…he was immediately the most proud Big Brother and all smiles!

Avery, well, Avery wasn't so sure.  She's a pretty smart girl and I think she realizes this little guy just took over the "baby" spot in our family...

So happy to have Uncle Tony around!

Our hands may be full, but so are our hearts

Me and my baby :)

Watching a show, feeding their "own" babies...

Grandpa and Grandma Cicci

Special escort out…

And after all our visitors left on Friday, we took the time to rest.  And Ben learned quickly that Dad is so great to nap with!

My view for the evening hours...

  We were blessed with another "good" baby - Ben mostly slept unless he was eating and had to be woken to eat every 3 hours… but once awake, he'd eat for 20-30 minutes and then fall peacefully back to sleep.  He made life easy for us those first few days and compared to taking care of the other two, it felt like a vacation.  The other kids stayed at home the rest of the night with their grandmas and we ordered dinner from one of our favorite places and spent some time just being. We were anxious to get home and be a family of 5, though.  We had to stay 24 hours and it would have been difficult to get discharged late at night, so we made sure to have everything ready so we could be the first ones out of their on Saturday morning.

But not without a few special moments...

…and a picture with just the 3 of us :)

Getting Ben all packed up and ready to go, an old pro at this!

Heading home!

And then the real fun begins… to be continued… 

Third Times A Charm

And our baby boy is just that, a real charm(er).

Ben's delivery went so quick, I still can't get over it!

John was scheduled to work Thursday, May 15, but decided at the last minute to call in. We were scheduled to be induced Friday morning (the 16th), so we thought one day at home together with the kids would be nice...hang out with the kids, have a nice dinner together and finish getting everything ready for the next day.

We had a nice day - just sort of wasting time, no agenda and no hurry. We took the kids to check out some landscaping options/ideas and met Papa at our house for lunch. We also went to Isabela's spring program at "Rudy's school" - they both did really well sitting and watching. It was a cute little program, lots of activity to watch!

We didn't get home until a bit after 2:30 so we quickly got the kids settled in for naps. I sat down on the couch to rest and work on the blog. John started packing his bag and then took our car to a car wash to get it all cleaned out.

At 5:00 I was wrapping up a post, thinking I'd need to be waking the kids up soon and John should be getting home. I literally typed the sentence, "...so bring on the baby!" when I felt a trickle. I went to the bathroom, thinking I'd probably just unintentionally peed my pants some and how annoyed I was at these pregnancy nuances. But the leaking didn't stop and it became very apparent that my water had broke.

I called john immediately and urged him to get home as soon as possible and to get ahold of his mom while I called mine. This is about when the reality of what was happening started to kick in and I couldn't help but cry tears of panic and excitement.  I started pacing around, gathering the last few things I needed, but just felt very scattered and unorganized (which I hate!).  

There was no way I was leaving without saying bye to the kids. Avery woke up by herself right about 5:15.  Rudy was difficult to wake up, so naturally he was a huge grump when I did get him up. LeeAnn had just walked in and John was back home, but poor Rudy was really sad to see us go. He tried to hang on us and cried, "Me no want Mom go! Me house!" Having to leave Rudy like that was no fun. But I was able to give them big hugs and kisses, tell them I loved them 100 times, and out the door we went!...

I was still leaking fluid, but contractions hadn't started. I was so nervous, excited, scared, etc.  We get to the hospital and here's a quick run down of the chain (quick chain!) of events:

(From the start)

5:00 - Water breaks at home

5:45 - Arrive at the hospital

6:00 - We are made to wait in the holding room (or as John says, "We don't really believe you are in labor" room)

6:30 - Nurse confirms my water broke and takes us to our room (706), Mom and Dad join us about this time

7:00 - Work on getting admitted and IVs started. Contractions are beginning to start, not too painful and able to breath through them just fine.

7:30-8:00 - Epidural put in. I explain to the anestetologists the problems I've had in the past and he seems to have a theory of why that would happen and explains that if it's happened twice already, it's likely to happen again but he'd do his best to avoid that. The test dose wasn't quite right so he re-ran the line and we were hopeful it was going to work!  Contractions had started to kick in, but they still weren't horrible.

8:00 - Feeling good! Nurse checks me and I'm still only dilated 3 cm. Mom and Dad leave to get a quick dinner.

8:15 - Start feeling contractions even with the epidural ...again. Not horrible pain, but uncomfortable. Doctor Chapman comes in at this point. Dilated to 4 cm.

8:30-9 - Contractions are pretty intense. I am in a good amount of pain at this point.  Doctor Chapman never leaves, but keeps a close eye on the monitors.  John does, too and from the looks on their faces I can tell something is going on (John said the monitor was basically nonstop contractions!).

9:00 - I have the strong urge to push. Doctor Chapman checks me and I'm ready to go!  He had had a numbing shot ready, but said it would take 10-15 minutes to kick in and he didn't think I would make it that long (was this really happening?!)  

9:07 - We meet our little baby Ben and instantly fall in love.

Benedetto Anthony Cicci

Born May 15, 2014 at 9:07 pm

7 pounds, 8 ounces

20.5 inches long

Up next:  Our hospital stay and our first week at home

Three is the Magic Number

Listen here!
Three is a magic number
Ya it is, it's a magic number
Somewhere in that ancient mystic trinity
You'll get three
As a magic number
The past, the present, the future,
Faith, and hope, and charity,
The heart, the brain, the body,
Will give you three,
It's a magic number
It takes three legs to make a tripod or to make a table stand,
And it takes three wheels to make a vehicle called a tricycle
And every triangle has three corners,
Every triangle has three sides,
No more, no less,
You don't have to guess
That it's three
Can't you see?
It's a magic number
A man and a woman had a little baby
Yeah they did
And there were three in the family
And that's a magic number
3, 6, 9,
12, 15, 18,
21, 24, 27,
30
Now multiply backwards from 3x10
3x10 is 30
3x9 is 27
3x8 is 24
3x7 is 21
3x6 is 18
3x5 is 15
3x4 is 12
And 3x3 is 9
And 3x2 is 6
And 3x1 is 3 of course
(now dig the pattern once more!)
3, 6, 9,
12, 15, 18
Oh yeah
3x10 is 30
3x9 is 27
3x8 is 24
3x7 is 21
3x6 is 18
3x5 is 15
3x4 is 12
And 3x3 is 9
And 3x2 is 6
And 3x1
What is it?
3
A man and a woman had a little baby
There were three in the family
And that's a magic number

We're Ready for You, Ben!

It still isn't quite done, as I have some more decorating to do, but here is a quick picture of Ben's room:

And a close-up of his crib :)

And here I am at 39 weeks pregnant:

I had a doctor's appointment the day before.  He checked me out and thankfully, I am confirmed for my 5:30 am appointment at the hospital on Friday morning, May 16.  I'm dilated 3 cm and ready to go!! 

Ready, set, go Ben… we're ready for you!!

Fun and Games

We haven't been all work and no play, we have also had our fun!...

Rudy got to take the driver's seat of Josh's squad car.  He even yelled "Hi Mom" over the speaker and thought he was pretty cool...

These kids would play outside all day, every day and be perfectly content.  They really can't get enough of it!

Avery's expression cracks me up… she was looking for Rufus and couldn't seem to find him anywhere!

A little home-made chocolate pudding, anyone??

A quick trip to Scheels to kill time and burn off some energy (on a rainy day!) in the week before Ben arrived… a little bowling, playing in the tunnels, trying on shoes, posing with the bear, and spending some time visiting the fish!

And being silly face timing with Uncle Tony… goofs! 

Sleep Regression

I blame all this house activity, the stress it has caused John and I, the impending arrival of another baby that I think Rudy is more aware of than we realize, my lack of energy and ability due to being 9 months pregnant, and the stubborn genes he got from his dad…but Rudy has seriously regressed in his sleeping habits.  And it is so difficult on all of us!

  

It seems we are always back and forth with Rudy.  He does really well, then slowly we start to drop our strict habits, and before we know it he is at a bad place again.  This is probably the worst place its ever been.  He had gotten to the point where he would not fall asleep or stay asleep unless someone were to sleep with him.  As soon as I would flinch or make a move for the door, he was instantly screaming and crying.  We tried the "cry-it-out" method again, but he put up such a good fight… banging and kicking on the door, shrill screams, and then the heart breaking pleas, "I'm sad, Mom.  Way wif me!!  Wipe me face!"  <-- from all the tears.  It was pitiful.  And he was relentless.  And so stubborn.  With a newborn on the way, this just couldn't keep up!  

Naps were the same way and it became not even worth it to fight.  He would hardly sleep and ended up so grumpy from the fight… not to mention it was starting to wake up Avery and she would be a crab in the evenings.  I started letting him just skip his nap, as long as he "rested" with me in the living room.  In those evening he would be so tired that he would fall asleep easily and actually stay asleep when put in bed.  That was fine until about Day 3 when he was a total crab because he wasn't getting enough sleep…that and the fact that he would wake up around 1 or 2 and freak out because he was in his room alone.  So obviously that couldn't hold up long term, either.  Since then it has been pretty hit and miss… but never really "good."  

Amongst everything else, it has really been wearing on me.  It seems like I never had a chance to get some down-time to myself and I really need that, even just an hour or two a day (especially considering I do a lot of work from home, both for the firm and the shop).  I'm happy to stay up late, but I was stuck spending my evenings in Rudy's room - or I would just be so exhausted from the day that I couldn't keep my eyes open.  I am normally a morning person and actually would prefer to wake up before the rest of the house to work, have a cup of coffee, or pick-up, get ready for the day, etc.  But with his light sleeping and waking at 2 am, I wouldn't be able to get up in the mornings, either - I'd either be stuck in his room, or my movement would wake the sleeping beast.  He was/is so sensitive to resisting sleep!

One morning I found him like this: 

He basically set up his bed on his floor… there was no way he was laying IN his bed, can't make him!

Then one night I heard him wake up at 2 am.  He cried for just a short time.  I was working my way out of bed (it takes a few minutes these days!), and he stopped.  I stood by our door and listened.  I heard him open his door, close it, and heard another door open.  But he was quiet.  Did he go back in his room?  What to do?  What to do?  Then I heard the floor piano we have in the playroom go off.  I laid in bed awake for almost an hour, waiting for him to cry or come and get us…. but he didn't.  So I let him be.  John woke up about 5:30 to check on him and this is where he found him:

So.  Damn.  Stubborn.  

On Mother's Day Papa was over during nap time and fell asleep on our couch.  John and I had to leave (decisions to be made on landscaping rock!), so LeeAnn stayed back to put the kids in bed.  Avery went to sleep fine, of course.  But Rudy would not go back to his room, especially seeing Papa sleeping on the couch.  Somehow, for only the 2nd time ever in his life, he fell asleep on the couch watching his show (he normally would just stay up and never fall asleep).  And since then, he has taken a nap on the couch every day.  And I'm ok with it!  Each day has gotten easier and he needs less assistance.  Today I sit here typing away, and he is sleeping peacefully (except for when he rolled off the couch and I had to do all I could to keep from laughing as I lifted him back onto the couch).  Sure, I can't do as much with him sleeping right there, but once Ben is here, hopefully we will all be resting at this time anyway!

And since he sleeps during the day, he is actually easier at night.  He still puts up a fight, but it barely lasts a few minutes.  Our nighttime routine is pretty ridiculous, though, with all his requests.  He has to have his bat, blanket, a drink, socks, his boots, a toy, 2 books, all the lights on.. he just makes stuff up as he goes along to postpone actual sleeping!  

This challenge of sleep encouraged us to get out the new monitors… a fancy video monitor with three cameras all on one screen for us to keep an eye out on our babies!

One night John and I were cracking up.  I had left Rudy's room and he of course was crying.  We watched him get up, get a toy, get back in bed and sit there whimpering.  Then we lost it.  He fell asleep sitting up and fell over onto his bed… which made him wake up and instantly start crying…only to do the same thing again almost immediately.  The kid was trying soooo hard to protest and not sleep, but he just couldn't do it.  He's incredible.

But we are going on several days now of naps on the couch and sleeping through the night…woo-hoo!! 

And Avery… she doesn't even want rocked at night anymore.  She just wants put in her bed and falls asleep peacefully for the night.