Our life with 4 kids

I'm so sorry to all of you who have been waiting for pictures. Life with 4 kids is a bit hectic and I haven't had much time to sit at the computer. In fact it took me over an hour to go through my email inbox! Anyway, here are pictures of what has happened over the past week. Enjoy!

Sunday (8th) & Monday (9th)- I went into labor that night, I had actually been feeling the early stages of labor through out the day and kept wondering if this was it. Around 11pm I decided it was time to get to the hospital. When I got there I was already at 6cm and fully effaced. I was admitted around midnight, they started my IV & my epidural (thank goodness for the epidural!). Around 1:15 my water broke and the nurse was kind of nonchalant saying okay, well, we'll go ahead and start your catheter and then I'll check you, and then we'll call your doctor. I looked at her and said you need to call my doctor now. She was taken back by that and decided to check me first and sure enough it was getting a little too close for comfort. She called my doctor and he showed up 20 minutes later by that time I was fully dilated and the head was there. He got everything ready and I pushed through 2 contractions and our little peanut entered the world at 1:48 Monday morning. She was super cheesy and looked like Karsen & Maeley did when they were born. She weighed in at 7lbs 5oz - I was shocked. She weighed a full pound over what I thought she would. Here are some pictures after the birth.

We didn't get much sleep that night - too many nurses doing too many things, and my epidural did not wear off as quickly as I or the nurses would have liked. In fact I had to be taken to my recovery room in the bed I delivered in - how sad is that. The baby also had trouble with gagging on whatever was left in her lungs so I was too worried to sleep. Monday was spent catching little cat naps and dealing with nurses coming in to do their charts. Karsen & Maeley came in the afternoon after Karsen got home from school. Kensington was at moms house and she came later that night with them. The kids had lots of questions like where is her food, and why does she cry so much, and why does her belly look like that. Here are pictures from their visits.

We came home Tuesday around noon - I was tired of being in that room and not being able to get any sleep. Karsen stayed home from school that day with a fever so both kids got to come to the hospital to pick us up. In the rooms the door to the bathroom is like a white board so they had fun drawing on it.

Wednesday is a blur to me. Karsen stayed home one more day from school as he went to bed with the same fever. I slept off & on most of the day.

Thursday Karsen went back to school and Grandma Laurie & Aunt Andrea came and took the girls to Red Mtn. Park to feed the ducks. They had a blast. Kensi wasn't very interested in sharing her bread with the ducks though.

Friday morning Steve & Laurie (Steve's mom) took Kensington to get tubes put in her ears. She has had soooooo many ear infections and hasn't consistently slept through the night EVER. They left our house around 7am called me shortly after 8am saying she was done and they'd be home soon. Here is a picture of her holding the baby soon after she got home. She seems to be doing okay with the tubes. She complained about her ears most of the day. But ever since Friday she's slept through the night! It's heavenly!!!!!!! Her speech is picking up as well - she's trying to say words instead of just moaning/grunting them. She loves the baby too much and I'm constantly trying to keep her away from her. She also has been a little mischievous as well. I've caught her several times up on the sink covered in soap. And we've had to clean up poop several times off of different surfaces. And she finally has cut the last 3 of her eye teeth.

An hour after Kensington got home from her tubes we took Chloe to her first doctors appointment. She got a clean bill of health and has started to gain back the weight she lost in the hospital.

Here is a picture of Karsen & his loose tooth. He's been wiggling it for a few days now and it's getting close to coming out. The first few days were really hard for him because it was so tender and hurt alot - I'm hoping by the end of this week it will come out. (click on the picture to make it bigger to get a better look)

And last but not least - here is a picture of Chloe after her bath today. I have to admit that I am a terrible mom and it has taken me a week to give her a bath. I just kept putting it off. So today I finally just did it. I can't believe she's already a week old. She is a good baby and does better each night. She's doing well with eating and puts up with her sisters poking and kissing on her.

So there you have it - our first week as a family of 6!!!!

A special thanks goes to our moms for watching the kids while we were in the hospital and taking them off of our hands through out the week!