Happy 5th, Tall!

(Title explanation: Brennan can't pronounce his C's, so he calls Coll "tall." It's his family nickname now.)

 

Today was Collin's birthday.

We started the day with snowman pancakes, which is quickly becoming a tradition around here with all these winter birthdays. Then we headed to Monkey Joe's for some jumping and sliding time. After playing, Collin chose Culver's for lunch. Just as the rain switched over to freezing rain (ice storm tonight just like the night he was born), we headed home.

While Mom, Brennan and Ethan napped, Dad and Collin finished decorating his Christmas tree cake (by request). When we all woke up, we had cake and ice cream and opened presents.

He got a new notebook for church, some Thomas books that read themselves, some puzzles, and a keyboard (we are starting some pre-piano practice).

 

He had a wonderful day and couldn't have been happier.

Now on to some things about our Collin at age 5...

Preschool

Collin LOVES school this year. He loves his teachers, the activities and the other kids. He just loves going. He's never cried or whined or asked not to go, even when Nana was here visiting or Ryan has been home from work. He begs to go every day and is sad when it isn't a school day; this year he is attending three afternoons per week. I couldn't be happier with our well-spent money. I love the curriculum, the teachers and the facility.

Thursday night was Advent Night (kinda like their Christmas program). He was so adorable. He loves to sing, and he did all the motions while smiling at Ryan and me. Watching your kid in his school program is pretty much my favorite thing ever. I had no idea when I was teaching how much parents loved it. I should have hosted more evening performances for sure.

 

Wild Kratts

Collin loves the PBS show called Wild Kratts. I plan on hosting a joint half-birthday party for Brennan and him at the end of June with a Wild-Kratts theme. I have to admit that I haven't actually ever seen an entire episode of the show, but it seems harmless (and adorable) enough.

He actually loves all tv. Between having a sick, tired, pregnant mommy and then a sick, tired mother-of-a-colicky-baby mommy, he's gotten a lot of tv time this year.

So one of their favorites games right now is to dress up like animal rescuers. He has a few different versions. Sometimes it's his bike helmet, head lamp, snow boots and flashlight.

Other times it's a second pair of pants, a construction helmet, goggles and the head lamp.

No matter the get-up, they run around the house rescuing animals (or Mommies, I don't really get that) and getting them to safety. Sometimes they transport them in the laundry basket to an animal shelter. These boys can do some elaborate pretending.

Mr. Helper

Collin is world's best helper. He loves to vacuum the stairs and sweep the kitchen floor, and he even gets mad if I clean the bathrooms and he misses it. He gets me binkies and diapers for the baby, and he's always more than willing to do Brennan's buckles in the car or get B's shoes and socks. The problem is Brennan almost never lets him help. Luckily, Ethan can't pitch a fit about Biggest Brother's assistance.

This mommy definitely appreciates all the help she can get. Thank you, Collin!

Goodbye Scaredy-Cat

Remember when Collin wouldn't try anything new or do anything fun? Well those days are long past. He loves bouncy houses, sitting on the Easter Bunny's and Santa's laps, high-fiving Chuck E Cheese, studying bugs with a magnifying glass, pretend-driving Cat equipment, jumping in leaves, and being blind-folded for games.

 

 

I can't think of much that scares him anymore at all. Oh, maybe riding in the car without his buckles.

Rule Follower

Collin is a rule-follower. Here's a classic Collin story - One day he saw the picture on the back of the baby wipes with a picture of a toilet inside a circle with the cross-out slash. He pointed it out to me - and then has never flushed another wipe. He does not break rules... though he does have a good deal of problems with sharing, taking turns and allowing others to be the boss sometimes. Sound like anyone you know? :-)

Testimony
Collin is developing his testimony of Jesus Christ. Each night before bed we read a verse of scripture. He almost always understands what it means and teaches Brennan. He knows just about every accompanying story to the pictures in the Gospel Art kit. One night we were singing Primary songs and he leaned over to me and reverently whispered, "Mom, I love when I feel like this. I am so happy. I know it's the Holy Ghost." He loves Primary and is usually eager to tell me what he learned in his classes.

Nature Explorer

Collin loves to be outdoors. He camped a whole bunch of times this past summer.

His summer was filled with jumping on the trampoline, riding with his training wheels, and digging in the mulch and sand box. In the fall, he raked leaves and played in them for hours.

One of his favorite activities is to go on hikes with Dad. He took his own camera (just like Dad) and insisted on taking pictures of "all the different kinds of mold."

 

Here's a classic Collin story - So the other night I was reading the older boys a story called "The Fish Who Cried Wolf." Throughout the story, the fish encounters many different kinds of ocean animals. At one point there was a picture of one of those deep-sea fish with the antennae hanging over the front of his head with a light on it. So I said, "This fish is really cool. It lives so deep in the ocean that it makes its own light so it can see." Then Collin says, "Well, Mom, it is actually works because of a special bacteria that makes it glow like that." Yeah, how the heck did he know that? Apparently they talked about it on The Cat in the Hat. Maybe this tv babysitter hasn't been so bad this year...

He loves plants and animals. He loves facts, and he loves learning. He is a sponge for information, and his mind is like a steel trap. He's my little brainiac.

Camera Lover

Collin has perfected the goofy smile and now loves to get his picture taken. He can really ham it up. What a cutie!

Happy birthday to my oldest son. I can't believe you'll be in kindergarten in a few short months. Ahh!

Health

Ethan's first week home from the hospital is the only week we were all healthy.

First, Brennan got croup.
Then Collin got a cold.
Next Ryan got a cold (chest cough)
And I got a cold too (head congestion one).
Then Brennan got the cold too.
Then I got ANOTHER cold (chest cough this time).
Newborn Ethan got the cold (chest congestion).

and last but not least,
Brennan threw up four times last night.

Who will puke tonight? I'm betting on more than one of us. And tomorrow is the biggest eating holiday of the year. Awesome.

Ethan - Two Weeks

 

 

Halloween 2013

Happy Halloween from Peoria, IL!

 

 Love, Our Mini-Ryans

Ethan at One Week

I actually took all these pictures on Sunday while the rest of the family was at church (at 4 days old), but they'll have to suffice for his one-week pictures.

He loves to have something in his mouth. He'll take his finger, his blanket corner, his sleeve or his pacifier. He never turns down a chance to nurse either!

He has the cutest little round mouth. I've even seen him smile a few times too. On Sunday I was singing him "I am a Child of God," and he smiled really big at me. It may have been a gas bubble, but this momma will take what she can get!

I don't know how well you can see it, but our little guy was born with a little skin tag next to his ear. The doctors say it is nothing healthy-wise to worry about, but cosmetically, it's pretty hideous. The pediatrician said he'd refer us to a (cha-ching) plastic surgeon to have it removed when he's older. :-(

 



Most of the time he looks really serious and contemplative. It makes me wonder if he glaring at me for all my inadequacies or just thinking about how much better it was in heaven.

Of course, he is still sleeping an awful lot. (Thank goodness.) Unfortunately, his favorite awake time is 9pm-12midnight. We're still working on changing that. Happy one week, Kiddo!

Ethan's Birth Story

To my brothers and father, you probably should just skip through and look at the pictures.

To my sister and girl-friends, enjoy!

* * *

As I've mentioned on this blog before, my children like to be in charge of things even from the womb. And as usual, I predicted my baby's birth's timing horribly wrong. I really thought he'd come early, and we waited and waited and waited. Nana had been here a full week!

40 weeks

Three days after my due date I had an appointment for a non-stress test. They also checked my progress. I had been having contractions on and off for about three weeks at this point. When they checked me, I was dilated to a 4 and 85% effaced. Since my labor with Brennan was psychotically fast, I was terrified I would have Ethan at home or in the car. I shared these fears with the doctor. Knowing that Brennan was born 45 minutes after I was pronounced a 5, I started crying in the office. The doctor and I decided that I should go ahead and be induced.

Waiting for a doctor

The next morning (Wednesday), we got to the hospital with an "appointment" to have our baby. Not my plan. They told us to arrive at 10am, but no one from my doctor's office arrived on the scene until 12:30pm. Not my plan. It was a horrible wait. While waiting, the nurse spoke with a midwife from my doctor's office and then led me to believe that I could choose to skip Pitocin and just have my water broken. Yes, my plan!

While waiting, I had several irregular, non-painful contractions on their monitors just like at home for the previous three weeks and on the non-stress test the previous day. I believed (and I still believe) that all my body needed was some mild encouragement (aka breaking my water) to go into full-blown labor.

When the midwife finally arrived (2 1/2 hours late), she told me she would start Pitocin or I could go home. Those were my choices; she would not just break my water. I was devastated. This was not at all what I had planned. Pitocin, I thought, would destroy my chances of having Ethan without an epidural.

My belief is that anyone can endure pain for 3-4 hours, but the horror stories of Pitocin-contractions made me think that wouldn't be possible. Under pressure, Ryan and I opted for a slow Pitocin drip and to continue with my plan to skip the epidural. They started the Pitocin-drip at 12:40 and increased its amount each half hour.

With the artificial hormone, my contractions picked up in regularity, but they were still weak. I wasn't really in pain at all. At 3pm, the midwife marched in authoritatively and checked me. I was still a 4. I was disappointed but not really surprised.

Then she announced she was breaking my water. I was furious and happy all at once - furious because nothing had changed but for some reason now my idea was valid, and happy because now she was going to do what I wanted! Sigh. I hate the medical community.

Anyway, let me tell you - This is when labor started! The moment my water was broken, I started having painful contractions right on top of each other.

Because I was going without an epidural, I was able to try different laboring positions. I was most comfortable on the birthing ball, leaning on the bed with Ryan applying pressure to my lower back. I liked to be in command of my legs through the whole process. I also liked feeling in control, albeit in some pretty excruciating pain.

At 4:15pm, the midwife returned to check me. She declared me "complete" (that's right - from a 4 to a 10 in an hour!) and told me I could start pushing. I asked her if I could wait until my body wanted to push on its own, like had happened with Brennan. This was one of the reasons I wanted to go without an epidural; I wanted to feel the urge to push for myself. She said that was the difference between two more contractions or 20 more contractions. In pain, I opted for two more contractions. Hindsight - I wish I'd waited to "want" to push.

Because - oh my goodness - pushing was horrendous. The first two pushes were beyond painful. The midwife was rude and obnoxious, and I wanted to slap/kick her in the face. Fortunately, my nurse was great. Right before Push #3, the nurse let me know what Ethan's heart rate was dropping dangerously low. Now that's the kind of motivation a mother needs! He was born at 4:33pm on that third push.

Anyway, once Ethan was out, we discovered the umbilical cord was wrapped about his neck, shoulder and leg, hence the heart tone problems.

I think the worst part of skipping the epidural was the "afterwards." I tore, so I had to get a local anesthetic for the stitches. They also had to press on my tummy a few times, and that was rough. My after-birth came quickly enough, but those stitches were something else. I think it is particularly rough at this point because Daddy and Baby are so happy way-the-heck on the other side of the room, and you are so isolated and alone and stuck in the bed. Luckily, my nurse held my hand and talked me through this part.

The best part of skipping the epidural was getting up and going to the bathroom shortly after delivering him. I didn't have the uncontrollable shaking for hours and hours like I did with my first two labors either. I was also able to hold and nurse Ethan almost immediately. Usually I am too weak. I was able to go almost immediately to a recovery room too. Despite the stitches, I feel like I am healing very quickly "down there" too. I'm not as sore, and I can walk just fine.

And now I can say I've had another rapid labor - 4 hours after the first drip of Pitocin. To me, my labor really started with the breaking of my water, which really means he was born after only 90 minutes. See why I was worried he'd come at home? 

 

I also can declare I had a natural, unnatural birth -  natural because I didn't have an epidural, and unnatural because I had Pitocin. My labor was certainly not the way I had wanted things to happen (being induced and having Pitocin), but he is here and we are healthy. I can't complain.

 

And there you have it: Ethan's birth story.

For Inquiring Eyes

Not much text for this post.

I just wanted to get some pictures on here before my extra set of arms leaves (aka Nana).

This little monkey likes to be held, so typing may prove difficult in the coming weeks.

Enjoy!

 

 

And the wait is over

Meet Ethan Ryan Williams! 

October 23, 4:33pm, 8 lbs 2 oz, 20.5 in

Everyone is healthy. More details to come...

Due Date Fortune Cookie

 

Still Waiting

Monday night I didn't get much rest. After not being able to get comfortable and fall asleep, I had consistent non-painful - but still totally annoying - contractions for more than an hour. I got up and walked around the dark house for another half hour, and even got all dressed to go to the hospital. Anyway, in the end, I fell asleep and rested only about 2 hours before the boys were up and about. We didn't have a busy schedule for the morning, so I stayed in bed, even after Ryan left for work. I guess he asked them to please play quietly so Mom could get some extra rest, because they were great.

At 8:30, Collin came in to check on me. I told him I was feeling sore and tired, but that I would get up soon. I explained that we didn't have anything scheduled for the morning, but that I would get up and play with them before taking him to school in the afternoon. He burst into tears.

"I'm not going to school today! I am scared about the baby coming while I am gone."
"I don't want him to hurt you."
"What if he comes before you get to the right place?"

He was totally freaking out. Poor little guy.

I always forget how much your children really are in tune with the conversations they hear. He's heard our worries about not making it to the hospital in time, and he's heard many moms (including myself) talk about the pain associated with labor. I also had been preparing him for the possibility that the baby came during school one day and that his car-pool would be dropping him at a friend's home. I believe kids adjust better with more information instead of less. This time I think I accidentally turned him into a nervous wreck... kinda like his mom.

So I forced my old, fat, tired body out of bed and down to the toy room, where we played pretend trick-or-treat and had a picnic lunch. And he gladly went to school, knowing his mom was just fine.

Anyway, Nana is here now, and all the shuffling I had prepared him for is no longer needed. Thanks for coming, Nana! Now we just need to get the little one here. Here's to a smooth adjustment for everyone, especially our compassionate oldest child.

The Waiting Game

I have been really curious lately about what our new little boy is going to look like. When Collin was born, he had electric blue eyes and near-to-white blond hair. When Brennan was born, he had almost black eyes and hair.

One morning I asked Brennan what color eyes he thought the baby would have. "Purple!" he replied.(Purple is his favorite color, so I wasn't that surprised by the response, I guess.)

Then I asked him what color hair he thought he'd have - "Blue hair!" (This one took me more by surprised, and I laughed and laughed.)

Next, I jokingly asked him what Mom would have to eat in order to get such a colorful baby. Without hesitation he replied, "Fruit Loops!" (his favorite cereal)

Oh, Brennan. You can light up whatever room you are in. You love to make others smile or laugh. You are my funny boy.

He's going to make a great big brother!

Early October

Ry's bday

Linds' bday

 Cutie #1

Cutie #2

38 weeks with Cutie #3