Lukey Lukey Puddin' and Pie

Luke was telling me about his time on the playground at school today.

Luke's Suggestion

We are heading to Camilla this weekend so my daddy can meet Judah and Mama can see him for the first time since two days after he was born. Luke and I were discussing this earlier, and he said, "Mama, I have a GREAT idea!! Let's take Judah with us to Georgia so Grandma and Grandaddy can see him, too!"

I simply replied, "Great idea, Luke. I think we should definitely do that." Grandma and Grandaddy, as well as the Department of Family and Children's Services, would approve.

My Husband Is a Genius and My Baby Is Houdini

I think Judah hates Blogger. Every time I sit down to put something on my blog he starts wailing. Anyhow...

When it comes to our children, Kris has a knack/gift/divine talent, call it what you like, for observing and solving problems. While I keep doing the same thing over and over again, wondering why nothings changing, he'll watch and then make some passing remark about "Maybe you should try such and such." And nine times out of ten, he gets it right on the mark.

Judah has been doing fine at night, but sometimes he grunts and wiggles like he's uncomfortable, even though he's not really awake. It's loud enough that it keeps me awake, and it seems like he's not really sleeping well either. So, Kris says, "Maybe you should try feeding him just on one side. I think he seems satisfied after that and you're just waking him up when you try to feed him on the other side." I've learned that his suggestions are always worth trying, and as usual, he was right. Judah is much more restful at night now that I've started feeding him less. Imagine.

Judah has a talent, too. He does a disappearing act. I made a pallet for him at Kris' parents' house the other night and laid him down. I kept checking on him, and he was passed out with his mouth wide open. We ate dinner, cleaned up and played with the other boys a bit, and then I went to check on him again. He was not where I had left him, which surprised me a little bit, but being that Kris is well known for practical jokes, I wasn't concerned. Until I saw Judah laying on the carpet in Mrs. Bonnie's closet. I marched out to the room where Kris was, trying to laugh at the "funny joke" while I was really furious and said, "So you just laid him on the bare carpet?" He looked at me a little stunned and said, "What are you talking about? What happened?" I said, "You didn't move the baby?" At this point, he jumped up and we both went back into his parents' room where Judah was snuggled up next to Mrs. Bonnie's tennis shoe. He had scooted himself a foot to the left and three feet forward. Poor fella had carpet lint and some other, unidentifiable lints matted to his face and was breathing like he had just run a marathon. Needless to say, I felt like mom of the year. I learned an important lesson, though. I won't be laying Judah down on any beds unattended. Ever.

Fishing

One of the many things Kris and the boys have done together recently...

Four Weeks

It's hard to believe Judah is already four weeks old. He's so alert and awake more than I remember the other boys being at this stage. Nights aren't too bad, but I have learned that coffee is not enough and have started forcing myself to lay down every afternoon for a real nap. My attitude is much better for it. Eli has started asking me to put Judah down and hold him, but other than that, everyone is adjusting well and glad to have him in our family.

I know it's still early, but I promise you, Judah smiled at me today. A real smile. He was completely awake, looked up, locked eyes with me and smiled. It was precious.

I gave him his first bath in the big sink today. He's already outgrown the bathroom sink. He enjoyed stretching out and checking out the new tub.

"Are you REALLY going to take a picture of me like this?"

"What's a guy got to do for a little privacy around here?"

Eli and Judah chillin' together.

Kris holding him makes him look so tiny!

Luke wanted Judah to sleep in his bed.

Addicted To Coffee?

Until the past two weeks I would have declared, "Never!" with absolute certainty. Now, I'm not so sure. I mean, I love my Starbucks Frappucinos as much as the next gal, but hot coffee has never appealed. And then, I found out that Dunkin' Donuts gives out free coffee on Wednesdays. That never would have even mattered to me before. But given the fact that it has been FREEZING lately and the fact that I'm running on very little sleep these days I thought I would give it a try.

I'm hooked.

On Wednesdays mornings you will now find me going through the Dunkin' Donuts drive-thru (because being a mom, I can truly appreciate a drive-thru and think it should be a code requirement right along with the handicap ramp and wheelchair accessible doors). And if you should do the same, when they ask, "Do you want cream and sugar with that?", answer "Yes" because they get it just right.

Geeze, why do I suddenly feel so old?

Judah's Birth and First Three Weeks - The Details

I can't believe I'm starting off with this picture, but you want the full story, right? And I'm sure I'll be glad to have this picture on here years down the road. Anyway, this is me shortly before Judah's birthday.

I went to my 38 week appointment on Tuesday, the 22nd, with hopes that my midwife would send me on to the hospital. When I got to the office, I found out she was stuck in traffic and I might have to see another doctor. I asked to wait on her, and after about an hour, a different midwife came in. When I mentioned about the other midwife's promise to induce, she looked at me like, "Yeah, right." Until she checked me, and I was already completely effaced and 5 cm. dilated. Finally, my midwife got there, the two of them conferred and then checked with the hospital. I could hear them outside my door saying, "There's only one bed left? Hmm..." I was trying not to be too disappointed when they came in and said, "Go straight to the hospital before the last bed gets taken." Hallelujah!

So, here I am, IV in, pitocin at work, awaiting an epidural. My friend from church, Heidi, was my nurse, which was wonderful and fun. She took great care of me and made sure everything went perfectly. After the epidural was in, I passed out (not literally) because I was so relaxed. It was lovely.

Three hours after my midwife broke my water, I pushed three times, and Judah was born. Grandma Clair, Grandma Bonnie and Daddy were there for the excitement.

Kris was grateful it was over.

After a night and a day in the hospital (all by myself - ahhhh, wonderful solitude), I came home to two happy little boys with bronchitis. Kris had a rotten cold as well. The first day home had me a little stressed, but they all got well quickly, and Judah and I were spared sickness.

Luke and Eli were eager to share right away.

Sweet brother love.

The boys always want to hold Judah...

And feel a little disappointed when they have to wait their turn.

And now, Judah is doing his job well.

Entertaining us.

Eating.

Sleeping.

And, well, you know. No pictures of the other.

More Laundry, More Love

Those are two of the things that came with Judah. It's amazing how much laundry I'm doing these days. I used to wash every two or three days, and now it seems like I wash two or three loads a day. I feel so much better now that I'm not pregnant that I've kept up with it just fine, but it still amazes me.

What else amazes me is how much I love this little boy. He just fits. He is such a sweet baby. He eats, looks around for a while, says "Wahh" once and then goes to sleep. Oh, and he poops. A lot. But that's what he's supposed to do, so even that is great. So much of my pregnancy with him reminded me of my pregnancy with Luke. He is the same kind of baby Luke was too except that I am relaxed enough to actually enjoy it.

Kris has been a SUPER STAR with the big boys. I have had more alone time (with Judah, of course) in the past three weeks than I've had in a couple of years. He has kept them occupied, done the grocery shopping, let me sleep in on the weekends, taken care of odds and ends. I have a good man.

Luke is glad to be back in school. It has been a huge help for all of us. He's happy there and happy to be home in the afternoon so that "rest time" feels like fun rather than a sentencing. Eli loves having me to himself in the morning, and I'm grateful to be able to get things done while it's calm. It's amazing how calm Luke is without Eli and how calm Eli is without Luke. They totally love each other and drive each other crazy all at the same time.

The big boys are excited about Judah and want to hold and kiss him all the time. It's unfortunate that their excitement comes in the form of jumping all around and throwing themselves into the furniture right next to their baby brother's head, but at least he's loved, right? I'm trying to be cool about it. Not only because I want them to always love him, but because they know when I'm losing my cool and think it's a fun game to see if they can make Mama's head spin. Are all boys born this way?

I think Kris and I are going on a date tonight. We'll see if that happens. Also, I will eventually put more pictures of Judah on here as well as the details of his birth.

Judah's Welcome Home Committee

The boys were so excited when we brought Judah home from the hospital. They are still loving him so much. I am trying not to growl at them when they get right in his face or get a little too excited about him (and nearly jump on top of his head). They just really think he's totally great. His daddy and I do too!

Please excuse the lack of camera skills...