Change

I’ve never been adverse to change; in fact, I’m pretty accustomed to it. After all, I did attend 10 different schools in less than 12 years growing up as an Army brat and traveling the world with my family. By far, 2009 has been the year of change for our family. You may or may not, and if you didn’t please don’t burst my bubble have noticed that I’ve been out of the blog world for a few months…..many months! I’ll save you all of the details and instead recap our year of Change! We look forward to 2010 and perhaps a little less change.

· We welcomed our newest addition, Ellie Jean aka Lucky, to our family. The best labor experience of the three. It’s hard to believe she is almost 9 months old.
· We put our house on the market and surprisingly had 3 offers in less than 10 days.
· We spent weeks riding around the DC metro area with our realtor, and newborn in tow, looking for a new home. Fifty houses later we found the perfect home and orchestrated a big move.
· Nate battled strep throat, scarlet fever and impetigo too many times to count. Scheduled a T&A in late summer. He was a brave boy!
· We enjoyed our annual beach trip, moved into our new house, had Nate’s T&A, and I went back to work full time (after a great 4 month maternity leave) all within 2 weeks.
· Nate started a new school in our new neighborhood. A structured, Christian based junior kindergarten program. He has flourished in his new environment and revitalized the power of prayer in our home...…kid style!
· Matthew changed schools and has adjusted well. He has mastered walking, and literally RUNS everywhere. His speech has continued to develop nicely. He is also making great strides with potty training.
· We welcomed an Au Pair into our home; less than two months later we said good-bye…I will really spare you the details on this one. We eagerly await for our new Au Pair who will join us in February.
· I continued by commute to DC (1 hour and 10 minutes one way) for two more months before finding a great gig less than 10 minutes from home.

And if that wasn't enough change.....

· Brian and I were co-chairs of the 5th Annual DSANV Buddy Walk for the second year. We had a great committee. The event was washed out with ridiculous downpours all day but nonetheless we are still pleased with the success of the committee and the event. Team Matty’s Mob raised $6000.00!
· Nate turned Five! And Matthew turned Three!
· Hermie passed away on Thanksgiving morning. A prayer service and burial, led by Nate, took place in our back yard. In the words of Nate; he died, he’s sick, he’s dead…but now he is in crabby heaven.
· We had a great photo shoot of the kids by Bethany over at Simple Charm Photography . Remember the gorgeous newborn photos of Ellie? Highly recommend Bethany!
· Matty continues to struggle with GI issues and is scheduled for a repeat endoscopy and biopsy next week. We appreciate the prayers.


And to add to the change, Bethany from Life with Bubba, Chicky and Nika, is giving our blog a makeover. Now that makes for nice change!

Team Matty's Mob

2009 Buddy Walk - Team Matty's Mob

On Saturday, October 17, we will be walking in the Northern Virginia Buddy Walk, for the fourth straight year, to show our support for the more than 350,000 individuals with Down syndrome in the United States including our son, Matthew.

We want to do our part to make sure that each individual is given every opportunity to reach his or her full potential. Every step we take, every dollar we raise, will help ensure that each individual with Down syndrome in the United States will be able to do just that.

We ask you to Buddy Walk with us to make a difference for people with Down syndrome in our community and help the Down Syndrome Association of Northern Virginia.

Click on the Web site link below to visit our Buddy Walk team page and support Matty's Mob!

You can learn more about Matty by watching his video here.


Thanks for your support! See you at the Northern Virginia Buddy Walk!

Team Matty's Mob

Road to Recovery

If you follow me on Facebook (where I spend too much time these days and often forget about my blog), you may have seen that Nate had surgery last Monday. We had his tonsils removed as he was having too many episodes of strep throat and tonsillitis. Matthew had a T&A almost two years ago so we thought we knew what to expect........wrong! Their surgeries and recovery have been night and day. Matthew was a bit younger when he had his procedure (15 months) or maybe we just conveintly erased the experience from our memory, but Nate's experience has been quite an ordeal. The surgery itself went very well. He had to have a stitch or two to stop the bleeding and was only slightly disoriented coming out of anesthesia. Prior to putting on the mask the anesthesiologist told him the gas would smell like bubble gum. As Nate was waking up from the anesthesia he cried several times that "it tasted like bubble gum and he HATED bubble gum". Poor guy!

The first two days, Nate's spirits were great and he was eating and drinking pretty good. We were so not ready for day three, and for that matter, four, five, six, seven, etc. On day three he had very little to drink and eat despite our begging, pleading and basically prying open his mouth, and he laid lethargically around the house. Day four just happened to be my first day back at work from maternity leave. Before I even arrived to work, Brian called to tell me Nate was vomiting. Within two hours he had vomited several times and refused to eat or drink. I paged his ENT who wanted him sent straight to the ER. As it turns out, the zithromycin the ENT prescribed was too harsh on his stomach and caused the vomiting, plus he was already dehydrated from the previous day. He received two bags of IV fluid and a few additional meds before being sent home. Since then, we have pushed fluids as much as possible. Even when Nate cries out "the water is making me die" we still make him drink and munch on popsicles. His appetite has steadily increased and now on day ten he is doing fairly well with eating and drinking.

We were warned that ear pain could set in around the end of the first week which has happened. Nate has had ear pain on and off for the past few days. His energy is increasing day by day, and he is doing much better with fluid/food intake. I'm pretty sure he has stayed in his pj's most, if not all, of the last 10 days and has watched every kid's DVD we own. The ENT told us to expect 10 to 14 days of recovery.......I'm pretty sure it's going to take every bit of 14 days and perhaps a bit more.

Wordless Wednesday - Broccoli, Anyone?

Summer Beach Trip

Last week we had our annual family beach trip. We went to Sandbridge Beach for the second year in a row. We use to vacation in the Outer Banks but have enjoyed going to Sandbridge - same look and feel as the Outer Banks but the drive is not as far.

The kids had a great time. Nate was a fish in the beach and at the pool all week. He wanted to stay in his swimsuit the entire time.

Nate also managed to convince us to add a member to our family. Meet Hermie......

Hermie survived a few episodes of his cage being shook a little too hard by the boys. We also left him in the hot car while making a pit stop in Williamsburg on our way home. Didn't seem to bother him a bit. I'm anxious to see how long Hermie will be with us.

Matty was much more comfortable in the water this year. By the end of the week he was running in the waves and jumping into the pool on his own. I'm thankful that he didn't eat as much sand this year as he did last year.

Ellie also had fun at the beach......I think. It's a little hard on a baby to be in the hot sun and sand but she managed it like a champ.

We also took a few family photos. Are you digging our colorful shirts? We had a great time!

Wordless Wednesday - Moving Day

The Big Yellow Bus

Matthew has had a little big obsession over the last year. It started when we sent him to preschool at the ripe age of 27 months on the big yellow bus. Our two year old who wasn't even walking. We were a little hesitant to send him on the bus, but looking back are so happy we did. He has been infatuated with riding the bus ever since.

Each morning he grabs his backpack and heads out the door.

He waits patiently on the curb and sometimes impatiently by running through the neighborhood dragging his backpack.

The second the bus turns the corner he shouts with excitement.

He quickly boards the bus with a little assistance from his aide.

After taking a seat and fastening his safety belt, he peeps out the window blowing kisses and waving goodbye. All with a huge smile on his face.

It's the little things in life such as this that make me smile too!

Rock On!

Last week was Rock Star theme at Nate's summer camp. Nate loves music - instruments, singing, dancing and being on stage. Our rock star played the part by sporting hip glasses, a killer guitar and true rock star glam - glittered spiked hair and polished fingernails.

A few days later he is still in the rock star mode. I was singing a cool pop song tonight after dinner and Nate gently interrupted me and started singing and strumming his air guitar....nah, nah, nah, nah, nah in his deep rock star voice. Rock on Rock Star!

Oh How They Grow

Miss Ellie is 3 months old today. It's hard to believe that 3 months have already gone by, yet at the same time it's hard to remember life without her. She has adjusted very well to her brothers and our crazy busy life.

Last time we were at the pediatrician's office she had already gained over 4lbs from her birth weight of 6lbs 12oz. That was a few weeks ago so it wouldn't surprise me if she is soon double her birth weight.

I have always heard that you take less pictures the more kids you have. I promised myself I wouldn't be that mother. We still make fun of my mom who has one picture of my younger sister shortly after birth and very few pictures up until grade school. I'm sad to report that I'm following in her footsteps. I just viewed all the pictures we have taken in the last 3 months and we have very few of Ellie.....gulp. I'll try to make up for it and take lots of pictures over the next few months. It will be much easier once we have finally moved and settled into our new home. It's been a bit hectic the last few weeks preparing for our move.

For now here are a few photos of our three month old sweet baby girl.

All Smiles

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

Chilling

Snoozing in the strawberry field

Miss Ellie and her bros

Wordless Wednesday - My Superheros

Ribbit Ribbit

We have had so much rain lately that it only seemed fitting when Matthew received a birthday package last week from his Nana & Goddy with adorable rain gear. He's a cool frog, eh?

Happy Birthday Matthew!

I'm only 12 days behind....but who is counting?

Matty turned 3 on May 30th. It's so hard to believe that three years have gone by since Matthew joined our family - you can read his birth story here. Matthew is a kind hearted boy who fills our lives with joy and love. He has taught us all so much in the last few years. He has grown leaps and bounds over the last year. One of his many big accomplishments this year was walking!! Matty took his first few steps in late October. By early January he was walking and practically running everywhere. He worked very hard over the last few years to build up his strength and skills to walk and we are so proud of him. He has moved on to learning to navigate up and down stairs, ramps and other uneven surfaces independently and maintain his balance when doing so. Matthew also had significant strides in speech and language development this year. He has over 50 signs and many words and word approximations. Three is going to be a great age and we are excited to see what the next year will bring for him.

We celebrated Matty's birthday on Sunday, May 31st with family and friends at Clemyjontri Park. Matthew had a great time playing with his pals and enjoying yummy birthday cake! We spent Saturday at his girlfriend's birthday party. Samantha and Matthew were born on the same day. Remember their party from last year? Check out the picture of Sammi and Matty sharing a big birthday hug this year on the Bates Motel. They are too cute!

Dear Blog

I'm sorry I have neglected you these past few weeks okay months. Life's been busy. I have no excuse besides having a newborn and two active boys to tend to everyday, getting our house ready to put on the market, preparing to buy a new house, shuttling kids from one appointment to the next, working on Buddy Walk duties, and the list goes on and on. How ever will I manage when I return to work in less than two months! Okay, no more excuses. I'll have a new post by tomorrow. Perhaps I'll start with Matthew's Third Birthday Celebration which was almost two weeks ago.......gasp!

Girls Night Out Club

We have been blessed with an amazing support system of family and friends particularly over the last 3 years. The same individuals that embraced Brian and I and our family after Matthew's birth are still a big part of our lives. Everyday I thank God for bringing these individuals into our lives. We have continued to extend our support system primarily with other families that have been blessed with children born with an extra chromosome. I am so thankful for these families too.

The Clark family has been by our side before and throughout this journey. We met Ann, Jim, Colleen and Kat a year before Matthew was born. Ann happened to be one of Matty's first visitors when he was still in the NICU recovering from surgery. Today, as I read the article published yesterday in the Catholic Standard I am again reminded and thankful for our support system and the love and joy Matthew has brought to us and so many around him.

Although it's not mentioned in the article, Kat told us that Matty was her inspiration to be a part of the Girls Night Out Club. Wow! I knew from the beginning Matthew would have a positive impact on others but didn't know how good it would feel when it happened.

Kat, we are proud of you! Thank you for making a difference in the lives of others.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Girls Night Out club offers high schoolers with special needs a chance 'just to hang out'

LAURA JAMISONCatholic Standard




From left, Kat Clark, Lucy Collin and K.C. Koch hang out together at Georgetown Visitation in Washington.

Clark and Koch helped start a group for girls with special needs called "Girls Night Out." Once a month the girls get together and hang out in a relaxed setting. They paint each other's nails, talk about boys and watch movies together. Lucy Collins is a graduating senior at the Academy of the Holy Cross in Kensington.About once every month on a Friday night, about 10 high-school aged girls - eight of whom have special needs - get together for eating, gossiping, dancing and just hanging out. It's a typical "girls night out," said Amanda Herndon, a former special education teacher at Our Lady of Mercy School in Potomac who founded the Girls Night Out club so young women with special needs could socialize in a relaxed setting with other girls their age. Herndon enlisted two Georgetown Visitation graduating seniors - K.C. Koch and Kat Clark - to help lead the group and to bring a youthful perspective to the other girls. Herndon said she recognized the need for a group like this from her younger sister who has Down Syndrome. "There are a lot of teen groups out there, but sometimes they need a relaxed setting just to hang out," she said. "Here they can be themselves outside of a school setting ... and feel what it is like to hang out with friends." Girls Night Out also provides a respite for tired parents, Herndon said. The night begins at 6:30 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m. at Herndon's house. Visitation student Koch said the evenings are typically jam-packed with talk about boys, painting each other's nails, and eating too much food. After participating in many Girls Night Out evenings, Koch said she has learned unique interests of each girl - Lucy likes hot dogs, Maddie loves to talk about boys and Maria enjoys the movie "High School Musical." Maria also likes to pretend she is Troy from the musical, and she has Kat play Gabriella, Koch said.Koch added that for the girls - most of whom have Down Syndrome - this is their night away from their parents. Visitation's Clark recalled one girl who "couldn't stop smiling" at Girls Night Out. Herndon said this has allowed them to "do typical teenage girl things that are not always possible," for them. Clark said Girls Night Out has not only been beneficial for the special needs girls, but for her too. Many teenage girls "have a bit of a closed mind when it comes to people who are different from them," she said. "I've learned from these girls ... they make me happy, they show more love and compassion than anyone I've ever met. They show you how good life is. They value friendships and are open to new experiences." Clark said sometimes when they are in the middle of watching a movie a girl will spontaneously get up and dance. She and Koch said they also get hugs throughout the entire night. "They remind me to be happy. They remind me to be grateful. These girls are the essence of happiness, the essence of beauty in all that God has given us, and the hope is that we people would see what they see," Clark said. Herndon said that Clark and Koch have learned basic kindness and the gift special needs people offer to society and the community. Clark said she believes everything happens for a reason because God has a plan for each person's life. "God blessed me by meeting K.C. and bringing these girls into my life. He knew how much we would love it, and get out of it," she said. Koch and Clark said they are looking for younger students to take their places in the group when they go to college. Next year, Koch will attend St. Joseph's University in Pennsylvania and she might minor in special education. Kat will attend Marquette University in Wisconsin and major in nursing. Herndon said for more information about Girls Night Out, e-mail her at amherndon@mac.com .
Content © 2009
Source: Catholic Standard

Open Wide

I have been procrastinating getting the boys to the dentist. I had every intention of making the appointments well over a year ago - over two years ago for Nate - but just never got around to it. It's not like they don't have a zillion other appointments to go to every month. Plus, I rationalized it with the idea they brush their teeth when we remember daily and they haven't had any dental problems yet.

Matty had his appointment this afternoon. I decided it would be easier if I took the boys to separate appointments since I thought for sure they would be traumatized especially if they are anything like me. I absolutely dread my six month visits to the dentist. The noise of the cleaning brushes and drills along with the smell drive me crazy. I really need to try sedated dentistry one of these days!

It just so happened that Nate stayed home from preschool today and had to accompany Matty, Ellie and I to the appointment. We found a pediatric dentist through a referral from our local down syndrome parents group and they were phenomenal. It was the best experience -from the moment I made the appointments last week to leaving the office this afternoon. The office was decorated in a safari theme and equipped with very kid friendly games and activities. The staff was amazing and greeted this frantic mom of three with a smile and helping hands. As I carried Matty to the cleaning room they let Nate select a DVD to watch and strolled Ellie down the hall for me. They overheard me telling Nate that he would get his turn to sit in the dental chair next week during his appointment. Immediately they offered to move his appointment to this afternoon instead of bringing him back next week. Heck yes! Since I already had them all there why make another trip in a few days.

The hygienists and Dr. Neda were very friendly and did a great job with the boys. I stayed with Matty since he needed me to strap his arms and legs to the chair hold his hand during the cleaning. I could overhear Nate in the next room negotiating with the hygienist - he's very good at that! In the end they both had a thorough cleaning and fluoride treatment, and Nate had x-rays of his top and bottom teeth and a good flossing. Thankfully Ellie slept during their appointment and didn't need to be fed. I was a little worried about her needing to eat or be attended to during the appointment. It only got a little hairy towards the end of the visit when Nate was getting his fluoride treatment. As he spit the fluoride all over the floor, Matty took Ellie's blanket and socks off and ran out of the exam room. Fortunately the receptionist caught him before he escaped out of the front door. Have I ever mentioned how fast Matty can run?

If you live in our area and need a pediatric dentist, I highly recommend Dr. Neda's practice. You won't be disappointed. On the way out, they handed me a comprehensive package about pediatric dental care which included a nice pamphlet on dental care for individuals with Down syndrome. I was very impressed! and even managed to make their follow up appointment in six months.

A Great Mother's Day

Yesterday was a great Mother's Day! We spent the day as a family feasting on pancakes for breakfast and Pei Wei (yummy) for dinner. We made a trip early in the morning to a local nursery and bought a truckload of mulch, soil and plants for spring gardening. It was easier said than done to do yard work, plant flowers and garden with 2 busy boys and a newborn. We eventually waited until Matty went down for a nap and then Brian and I took turns being with Ellie while the other tended to yard work. After all of the hard work and labor I forgot to take pictures of our finished project.

However, I do have pictures of the great Mother's Day gifts the boys made for me at school. I LOVE the handmade gifts that I get every year.

Matty's Gift:

Nate's Gift: Notice he calls me "Michelle" instead of "Mommy". The drawing in the card is of he and I standing in the rain along with a sun and rainbow. I thought it was very creative given we had a conversation a few weeks ago about rainbows. He remembered the details of our conversation and incorporated it into the card. Clever boy!

Front of Card:

Inside of Card:
Handmade Pin for Mommy

I am blessed to have 3 great children and a wonderful husband to celebrate Mother's Day.

My Princess!

My Two Boys!

I hope you had a great Mother's Day too!

Rain Rain Go Away

I am wishing for the rain to go away both figuratively and literally! It has been raining here for over five days. Our lawn is overgrown, the boys are in need of the great outdoors to burn off their energy, and Ellie and I have been spending lots of time indoors. On the bright side, all of the rain has washed away the layers of pollen caked on our vehicles and has given a little seasonal allergy relief.

It has been raining in other ways too. The old saying "when it rains, it pours" has been evident in our house. A few weeks ago I posted here about the boys always catching something. We started another cycle last week with Nate getting strep (again!), Matthew battling two back to back ear infections and Ellie having to go to the ER for projectile vomiting. This was all within 48 hours. We took Ellie to the ER on Saturday after she had projectile vomiting 4 times within 6 feedings. She had been puking at least once a day since she was born. In the first few days we were told it was because she swallowed meconium at birth and the remnants of the mucous were causing her to vomit. After a few more days of puking and the projectile vomiting on Friday night and early Saturday morning, I had the pediatrician paged who told us to go the ER. I was a bit reluctant to sit in the ER especially given Ellie was just barely 2 weeks old and the swine flu outbreak scare. Fortunately, we were in the ER waiting room for a very brief period of time. They took us pretty quickly to her own pediatric ER room and whisked her away to radiology for testing. The doctors were initially concerned about the possibility of a stomach abnormality or blockage. Ellie had an extensive ultrasound done of her GI system. While the radiologist was conducting the ultrasound he made a comment that if anything was found she could possibly need surgery right away. I'm pretty sure he told me this not to scare me but because Ellie was screaming her head off as she hadn't been fed in a few hours. They didn't want her eating until they ruled out anything critical. Flashbacks of Matty having stomach surgery the day he was born ran through my mind. Strangely, I was very calm knowing that we have experience with a fantastic pediatric surgeon. Dr. S performed both Matty's stomach surgery and Nate's lymph node surgery. However, we won't be needing him anytime soon as Ellie's ultrasound came back normal:) Her blood work also came back normal. In the end she was diagnosed with reflux which made sense given some of the other symptoms she was having. Ellie has done much better after starting the reflux meds.

Unfortunately, I wasn't immune to the sick streak this time. I ended up at the doctor on Monday with a horrible sore throat and sinus pain. Quick strep test was negative (thank goodness) and I've been pumping the vitamin C and fluids the last few days to get better. Ellie and I are also nursing a thrush infection....no pun intended!

We have a slew of doctor appointments as we approach Matty's third birthday. He recently visited the Cardiologist who gave him the all clear for another year - similar to our visit last year which you can read about here. Yippee! His VSD and Aortic Insufficiency haven't changed but do not require any intervention at this time. Matthew was also referred to a hematologist for reasons I haven't shared on our blog (may decide to at some point). We have had two visits with the Hematologist and all of the blood work came back normal. Another Yippee! We are waiting for the results of his AAI x-ray that was taken last Friday. Next up is his annual eye appointment, dental visit and trip to the orthotist to check his sure steps. We are off to see Ed at Shoe Train for another shoe fitting once we see the orthotist.

Phew...recapping our last two weeks has tired me out. LOL. Honestly, these adventures are just part of life and parenthood both of which I love!

As I wrap up this post it is POURING outside. Sunny skies are in the forecast starting on Sunday.

Ready for Potty Training?

Matthew brought me a book last night and signed "book please" wanting me to read to him. I asked him to wait a few minutes while I changed Ellie's diaper. I also asked him if he went potty (and needed his pull up changed) and he shook his head "no". While waiting for me to finish, Matthew grabbed a few pull ups out of the basket and took them to the other room. I wasn't quite sure what he had done with them until I went into our bathroom a little while later.

Perhaps he's telling me he is ready to start potty training. LOL! He has been sitting on the potty at school and signing "potty" more often. I suppose I have a task to add to the list for this summer!

Ellie's First Photo Shoot

Image Courtesy of Simple Charm Photography

My friend Bethany at Life with Bubba, Chicky and Nika is a great photographer and did a photo shoot of Ellie last week. Although she mentioned more than once that we should do the photo shoot within the first seven days I didn't get my act together. I waited until Ellie was one day shy of two weeks. She didn't sleep as much as we would have liked during the shoot (hence the reason I should have scheduled within the first week....LOL). As Bethany can attest, Ellie cried, peed and pooped all over me. Despite it all the photos turned out fabulous! You can see some of the pictures on Bethany's photography blog - My Other Identity.

Ellie's Birth Story

Mommy and the boys before departing for the hospital

On the evening of Wednesday, April 15th, Brian and I checked into INOVA Fairfax Hospital for an induction the following morning. It was a bit surreal walking in to the hospital and checking into L&D without any contractions or signs of labor. I was 2cm dilated but had been for over a week with very little change. There were a lot of families in the waiting room with balloons, flower bouquets and "it's a girl/boy!" signs. While we were registering, two women came in both in hard core labor. Meanwhile, Brian and I are chatting it up and strolling casually up to the Labor & Delivery floor.

After getting settled in our room, we tried to watch an episode of LOST (we are dedicated watchers) but found it hard in between the stream of nurses and hospital staff revolving in and out of the room and the tiny 13" television mounted high on the wall. Brian stayed the night at the hospital just in case I happened to go into labor overnight. He had a very uncomfortable pull out chair and didn't sleep well......poor guy. My doctor wrote a script for Ambien so I was able to get some good zzzz's. Likely the last time I will sleep for more than 6 straight hours for a few months.

Relaxing and catching up on gossip

We got a wake up call from our nurse at 6:15am as my OB had ordered the pitocin to start shortly after 7:00am. I took a long peaceful shower - peaceful despite having to navigate with a big IV in my arm - and took a few minutes to relax before the events began. My doctor stopped by after 7:00am and did a quick check (I was almost 3cm) and started the pitocin. He gave me the choice of breaking my water or starting an epidural. I opted to have my water broken and wait until later for the epidural.......big mistake! As soon as the pitocin hit my veins I started having back labor. I had forgotten how horribly painful back labor can be after having the same lovely experience with Nate a few years ago. After a few excruciating back contractions I asked my nurse to page the doctor. By the time he arrived, I had progressed to 6cm. My doctor had the anesthesiologist paged before telling me that he may not arrive in time and I could possibly be too late for the epidural. I think I politely screamed "I need pain medication NOW". When the anesthesiologist arrived he decided to do a spinal block, since I was progressing so fast, in addition to an epidural in case it was needed. I had instant relief with the spinal block. Brian and I spent a few minutes laughing as the contractions on my screen were little hills compared to the mountains and peaks the mom in the room beside me was experiencing!

in labor!

After what seemed like a short period of time, I started feeling a little pressure. My doctor was paged and arrived pretty quickly. I was completely dilated and ready to push. I completed three rounds of pushing and each time my doctor and nurse were trying to tell me I wasn’t pushing properly. It must have been the meds, or the distractions of the casual conversations (like the best sushi restaurants in the area, life with kids, and other random things) between me, Brian and my OB, as I didn’t understand what they were trying to say until the forth round. Perhaps I should have taken a labor refresher course but after two pregnancies I thought I knew what I was doing.

Miss Ellie arrived on the fifth round of pushing. She was born at 10:58am and was 6 pounds 12 ounces. She had her eyes wide open and looking straight at Brian. The NICU team was in the room as meconium was present when the doctor broke my water. After a thorough examination and clearing her lungs with a replogle tube, I was able to hold my baby girl. She looked just like her older brother, Nate, except with small petite features.

Nana brought Nate and Matthew to the hospital on Thursday evening to meet their new sister. Nate was very excited to meet and hold Ellie while Matty was a bit more reserved. Ellie and I stayed the night in the hospital bonding together while Brian went home to spend time with the boys and get some rest. We were given the option of being discharged on Friday afternoon – 29 hours after delivery – which I gladly accepted! I couldn't wait to get home with my baby girl and her two adorable brothers.