Mother of 4

So as all mothers know, it is hard to keep the right names with the right kid. My sister told me that I mixed them up in my blog about the hospital calling Lawrence "Theodore" on accident. I can't believe I missed that, esp. with how many times I proofread my posts. However this mix up is quite frequent because we are just in the habit of calling the baby of the family Theodore. The kids are better than me and John are about keeping them strait but I have heard Michael slip up a few times.

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Lawrence developed jaundice Saturday morning. Vivian had it too the first couple days so instead of trying to get him to see a doctor (on the weekend) I decided to just keep feeding him and let him bathe in the sun. The yellow didn't go away as fast as it did with Vivian but around day 7 he got a good color back. Vivian loves Lawrence but once again she gets so close that sometimes it scares us. It seems like it's another doll to her... a very special doll... an alive doll... but still. I will be grateful when he is at least a month old and can hold his head up better.

This was me on day 5. Not very flattering that's for sure... But Lawrence is adorable. I have been having so much fun nursing and cuddling and napping with him but at the cost of my other children. I need to snap out of this 'babymoon' and try to enjoy some time with ALL my kids.
Lawrence has 3 or 4 cowlicks (sp?) on the back of his head. My mom thinks they will go away when he looses all his hair, but I don't think it works that way. We might have to resolve with always doing his hair in a mohawk.

you know how babies loose a layer of their skin pretty quick? With the other 2 I don't remember it being all at once but here is a picture of Lawrence's belly, it's kind of hard to tell, but the day before this was taken it was definitely obvious. Vivian happened to be in our room when John finished bathing him and when she saw his tummy she's like, "Why is Lawrence all messy?" It was adorable and now John and I have a new inside joke every time we see dead skin.

Michael is again an adorable big brother. He ALWAYS wants to hold Lawrence and gets mad if it has been too long in between holds. Of course he only wants to hold him for a minute or two b/c he's not that exciting yet but it's still adorable.

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Nana took me shopping on Presidents Day because my sister told me I couldn't pass up the Sale at Michael's. While we were gone a little too long Lawrence got pretty hungry and we have this adorable video of Michael singing to Lawrence while swaying him around the living room. I haven't had the best experience of uploading video's but I thought I would tell you about it and type the lyrics to Michael's made up lullaby. "It's alright! I know it's going to take a long time. Just wait until mommy comes home... today!" John said that Michael singing was the only thing that would calm him down. In the video he tried giving him back to John and he sure enough started crying again so Michael said to put the video on for Lawrence to listen too.

Theodore is also pretty cute with him. The first few days he would look at him and smile pretty big behind his binky but then he would look at me (keep the smile on) but have this look in his eyes saying, "He's in my way." He still has his jealous moments but usually he just looks at him and smiles. He is pretty good about keeping his distance and not touching him but there have been a couple times that I have had to protect Lawrence. Mostly because Theodore is in that curious stage of, "what will happen if I do this." He is learning that some things get Mommy mad, and whenever he makes me mad he goes strait to the time out corner without being asked. I've only actually sent him there once. It's amazing how much he's learned just from watching the other kids.

Every time we see him looking at Lawrence we say, "Baby." over and over again. He is starting to say a few words so we are doing our best at teaching him the basics.

For me personally, my babies just look like babies. They all look the same to me until they get a little older. But from what I can tell, I think Lawrence will be a lot more like Vivian than Theodore. He came with the strawberry on the forehead, long fingers, long feet and toes like Vivian had. I'm also pretty positive he will have blue eyes but John is in denial and is really hoping for another child with hazel eyes. However Lawrence's head shape looks more like John's, Michael's and Theodore's so only time will tell what he will really be like.

Lawrence is a great nurser. The first 16 hours he wanted to be on me constantly and I was hoping he wouldn't be like that all the time because I wouldn't be able to handle it. However the next 16 hours he slept so deep that we barely got 2 or 3 feedings in him (hence the jaundice the next morning). Since then he has tapered off to a more regular eating schedule and at 2 weeks was almost up to 9 pounds.

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This may be graphic for some but before babies smile consciously they smile in their sleep and I think it is the most adorable thing when an infant smiles with their mouth full of boob.

Here I am with my 2 babies. I thought this was such a candid moment that I (super stingy with what I let my kids play with or touch) actually asked Michael to go get the camera and take a picture of us. He was so proud saying, "This is my first picture ever." (yeah right, he's snuck the camera a few times and has had the privilege of playing with Grandparents phones and camera's frequently.)

Here is my 2 babies again, This is the look Theodore always has on his face when he looks at Lawrence.

He wasn't quite sure what to do with him in his lap though.

I've been trying to give Lawrence some time to work out his neck. I will feel so much more comfortable once he builds those muscles. It happened pretty quick with the other 2 but Lawrence still seems so fragile.

This is Michael's adorable big brother face.

And here is Vivian holding him however she pleases like it was her own doll.

And here are my 4 beautiful children. I am slowly getting used to the fact that I have 4 kids and I'm only 25. I almost have my house fully together. The past few weeks we've been organizing cupboards and closet's and if I can only get my office/craft room and front/school room organized then I will feel a whole lot more prepared for the busy months ahead.

While we were still in the hospital killing time until we could come home I called each of my sisters to make sure they heard the news. Melanie asked me a question I wasn't prepared for. She asked if my family felt more complete now. I wasn't sure how to answer her because even though John and I knew we wanted more children this one did come as a surprise to us and it's been hard to get used to the idea. However the more I thought about her question I could only think of little Adelaide that is still waiting in heaven to join our family. The more time I have spent with Lawrence there is no doubt in my mind that he belongs here as well and I'm sure there is an important reason why he came now instead of later.

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I'm not sure how the conversation happened but Michael was telling John that he didn't want another little sister because if they both took a toy away from him he wouldn't know which one to chase after first. We had to burst his bubble and let him know it wasn't just little sisters that took toys away from him and that he will have to deal with it from Theodore and Lawrence when they get older too.

In a few weeks we will have to get the 6 of us in one picture. Usually we get one at the hospital but the kids didn't come to the hospital this time and it just hasn't worked out at home yet.

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Well I hope you've enjoyed learning more about our ever changing family. I will try to post more often (it's one of my new years resolutions).

Help

So I had a lot of help the first week of Lawrence's life. Nana would come over to babysit the bigger kids or cook meals while John had other obligations. Here she is playing computer games with ALL the kids. I had been pretty stuck to the couch but when I saw Theodore climb up there, I had to walk faster than was comfortable to go get the camera for this shot. It was just too cute.

While John took Lawrence for his Circ. I decided to surprise him by doing the dishes. He has been so awesome and I new doing EVERYTHING was starting to ware him out. So I set the kids up with Play dough and got to work. Michael decided to surprise me and make a bunch of hearts. He was proud of his "fence" (made of the play dough cups) to prevent me from seeing the surprise before it was ready.
Theodore decided to "Help" me eat my cookies.

He also helped Papa measure the hole for the new Pair Tree in our backyard.

While me and Nana went shopping with Vivian and Lawrence the rest of the guys were working on planting in the back yard. They planted a new orange and pair tree, 2 grapevines, 9 asparagus plants and a bunch of onions. Thanks John and Papa!

I am so grateful for all the help I received and I'm sure that had a play in my quick recovery. I am feeling almost back to normal and it's only been 2 weeks. With the other 2 I was down for 5-8 weeks so I am very grateful for all of my blessings.

Michael's Birthday Acknowledged

So Michael's actual birthday was the 12th. We got home from the hospital the night before so that morning Nana came over to babysit Vivian and Theodore while I took care of myself and Lawrence so that John could take Michael shopping. He got to spend the gift card he received at his birthday party. John took him all around Target and they made a list of all the things Michael wanted to go back to. He finally decided on 2 dart guns. John bought him some extra darts so that the fun can go on forever. Here is one of their first gun fights.

Such an animated Character, some day he will be in acting classes.

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Nana bought him a color magna doodle and he drew a pretty good version of a clock on it for this picture. All 3 kids fight over this toy big time. Theodore thinks it is a great toy to sit on but we are trying to change his mind.

Nana also made him a cake for his birthday. It was just John, Vivian and I that were awake to sing to him but he enjoyed making another wish before blowing out his candles and plunging the room into complete darkness.

John also took him to buy new tennis shoes and new church shoes for his birthday. We made sure to get ones with laces to force us into teaching him how to tie his shoes. Unfortunately we haven't left the house very much to work on it but one of these days we will get it going.

Lawrence James Bowman

Here is Vivian Rose Bowman after 18 hours of labor (measured from insertion of first induction pill to time of birth) including 2 intense hours of pushing. Here is Theodore Scott Bowman after 22 hours of labor including several pushing attempts before pushing for half hour. (I forgot how clear his skin was)

Here is Lawrence James Bowman after 6 hours of labor and only 2 minutes of pushing.
I was just so amazed at the different experience. John and I were really hoping this one would go a lot faster because we didn't want my body to go through what it did before, and we really wanted it born on the 10th so that there would be at least one day in between his and Michael's Birthday's. So for those of you who care, here is the whole story. For those of you who don't want a whole lot of detail... you might want to skip or skim the following text.
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I felt like I was further along than I have before and mentally I had prepared myself to work instead of just dilly dally around all day. I had also decided on the epidural to ease the pain and hopefully make the experience a little more pleasant for us all. So my mental outlook going into the hospital was different than before.

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We got to the hospital at 7am but waited for quite awhile before OB was ready for us (so much for pre-registering to speed the process). It was after 9am before she checked me to put the first pill in. But I was already at a 4 so she had to talk to my doctor before putting it in. Dee (my CNM) told her to go ahead and put the first pill in and then she would come around noon to break my water. So it was probably around 9:30 that I got that first pill. 40 minutes later I went on my first walk. (usually I saunter) but I was on a mission. I really wanted my water to break on it's own this time. It did with Vivian but Dee had to break it with Theodore and I think that is one reason why the labor took longer, because my body wasn't quite ready yet.

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So there I was walking briskly down the hallway pushing my IV stand, with John trying to keep up complaining about his hips hurting. We didn't head back until my IV battery was running low and I was glad to lay back down. Of course Dee didn't show up at noon (I didn't really expect her to) but my mom and John's mom were both there by 1pm. Debra (John's mom) kept saying we would have a baby before dark. I didn't believe her but hoped it wouldn't be too long after that. We went for another short walk (this time it was hurting more but I was still trying to move faster than normal). Dee was there when we got back.

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Sometime between 2 and 2:30 is when she went to go break my water. She had everything ready and checked me, I was at a 6 almost 7 and while she was in there my water broke on it's own. YAY, I was glad about that. Then they said, "OK, what kind of pain medicine do you want." I said, "Dee suggested the epidural so I'm gonna go with that." Well, they came back a few minutes later to tell me that the anesthesiologist was busy and wouldn't be available for 2 hours and by that time I would be way past that so I went with the same pain meds I've used before. They totally knocked me out but didn't really take too much pain off of the contractions. Of course John waited until then to snap a couple pictures of me. And he had to turn on the video camera and ask me how I was feeling which had the same response as last time... "GO AWAY!"

So at one point I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom but I really didn't want to get up because I was so relaxed. I got up anyways and sat on the toilet for about 10 minutes as Debra suggested. I was leaning on John the whole time dozing in and out though. Then went back to the bed to doze some more. John was such a trooper in there. He kept trying to come up and kiss me or just squeeze my hand to let me know he was there for me and I didn't say, "You did this to me!" like all the movies think we do... but I did shoo him away from me because I was trying to focus on my pain. Poor guy. I love you John.

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Not too long after that I started pushing, my body told me it was time. Debra jumped up and went to the hallway... "She's pushing in here!" So they called Dee and told her to come back and they got the table set up pretty quickly.

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Dee put my feet up on that horribly uncomfortable bar and continued getting things set up. I tried dropping my feet once and she yelled at me for ruining her sterile area so I put them back up. (This is something that happened several times with each of the other two but I only made the mistake once this time). I started pushing and tried to get the epidural again. They said, "Honey, you are totally past that. This baby is coming now." I still didn't believe them. But I had to push again, my body said push. So I pushed... it felt like the head was right there. Dee performed the unfavorable but necessary episiotomy, and I pushed again. They told me to grunt push, so I did a few of those and then the head was out. I pushed again and the body came out.

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"Wow"

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That was the only word I could say for the next 5 minutes. I really hadn't believed them, but they were right. So at 4:20pm on February 10th, 2011... Lawrence James entered this world, measuring the exact same as Theodore.... 8 pounds, 1 ounce and 20.5 inches long.

There were more pictures from right after but all of them are flashing his privates so I will have to see if Debra was a little more careful than John was about concealing Lawrence's manhood.
The doctor that has performed our other two boys circumcisions is currently out of the country for awhile and the other surgeon doesn't do circumcisions in the hospital. So with that, we decided we wanted to get the heck out of there as soon as possible. The nurses made sure to get all the paperwork done during the day and as soon as they were done with Theodore's 24 hour PKU test, we headed out the door. This is what we dressed him in to go home.

Here he is in the bassinet today.

And here he is with the kids. Theodore was unfortunately asleep when we took these so we will have to do it again in a couple days. Michael is so excited about having another baby brother. He was adorable the morning we left for the hospital. He kept saying, "I'm soooo excited for baby Lawrence to come."

Vivian didn't seem as excited. Granted she was tired that morning but overall she hasn't seemed too excited about another baby invading her space. However she has proved to enjoy the little one and always wants to hold him. We have to frequently tell her she's too close and remind her of the rules but otherwise she seems to be alright with him.

When we came in the door they were all waiting on the other side of the gate for us. Nana had the camera ready, Theodore was screaming his head off and the other two were anxious to catch a glimpse of Lawrence. All I wanted to do was run to Theodore and give him a hug... which I did, but I couldn't pick him up and I think he was a little confused.

We are pretty sure his eyes are going to be blue. Usually you can't tell this early but they definitely have a distinct blue ring around them.

He is a great eater and has a tiny cry (for now) so we will enjoy that while it lasts.

My recovery is better and worse than before. But overall... way better. I think it will be a faster recovery because I didn't put my body through as much strain as before. But man the after contractions are pretty killer this time. We are all doing better than expected. John is off for the beginning of next week and Nana (Debra) is making sure we are all taken care of.

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Thank-you for your thoughts and prayers.

Pregnancy

So here I am at 38 weeks today. (Sorry it's the same shirt as the last belly shot) I pre-registered at Doctors Hospital of Manteca today and I am scheduled to induce next Thursday, February 10th, 2011. One week... and counting...

This pregnancy has been different from the last two. Similar in some ways to each but then it's been better and worse at the same time. I was able to manage the nausea pretty well. I take a zophran pill every morning and try to eat a couple bites of something before I get up. Heartburn has been worse. I get these attacks that I actually have to use labor breathing to get through them. If anyone is near me when that happens they start looking really concerned until I'm able to say, "It's just heartburn."

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My pain level down below is also way worse than last time. I will get this random pinch that feels like my water is breaking except it's not quite that extreme of a pain (and no gushing fluids). Sometimes it hurts to walk and sitting in certain chairs or on the floor is a killer as well. On top of that, it seems like he has dropped (something the other 2 did not do) and I feel him turning his head in between my pelvic bones, or he'll randomly head butt my bladder or something down there and it is never pleasant.

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However the symptoms have been a big part of my life the last 2 years so my body has gotten used to it. I am so used to being pregnant that sometimes (if he's not moving) I will forget that I am with child. But then I will look down at my belly and realize the big change laying ahead.... 4 kids...

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I am 25 years old and I will have 4 kids....

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In Young Womens we always joked that I would get married really young and have a huge family but after High School it didn't seem likely for me to go that route. I guess adopting our first kid caught me up to that prediction. The thought of being responsible for 4 lives other than my own scares me more than I care to admit but I know Heavenly Father will help me through this. We are not opposed to having more kids after this but it really just depends on how life goes with 4 first. When people ask how many kids I want I usually just say, "One at a time."

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Despite how hard it's been and how scary the future sounds at the moment, I do have great helpers around. Michael has been such a good big brother to Theodore. The past couple weeks it has been his job to get Theodore out of his crib after naps. And the past couple days he has started putting him IN his crib for naps and into his chair for meals. This will be a big help after the baby comes because my pain down below will be 20 times worse.

Vivian is a big helper when I drop something on the floor. If I don't have to bend over I won't and the kids are so patient with coming all the way across the room to pick up something right next to me. They are also both really good at going to get something for me, or themselves, so I don't have to get up.

Theodore also helps by crawling under his crib to get his own Binky.
I'm not quite sure how Vivian and Theodore are going to react to ANOTHER baby in the house. Vivian still has issues towards Theodore. She loves him, but she can get too close in a bad way and still (at 3 and a half) really wants to be a baby herself in a lot of ways; Refusing to Potty Train completely, Refusing to eat by herself or with a fork most of the time and this last week we caught her sucking on a Binky a couple times. It's hard for me to choose which one to fight her on and when so my lack of consistency just makes it worse.
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Theodore can get pretty jealous at times too. Sometimes when Vivian is on my lap, he will start screaming bloody murder. But for the most part he keeps busy and I can tell he will be a lot like Michael. The more tired he gets, the harder he plays. And he's developed Michael's old habit of playing in his crib for an extended time period before falling asleep. He is getting to be such a big boy that other than the fact that he can't talk yet it will be easy to not think of him as the baby anymore. I just hope he will understand that he will have to share mommy a lot of the time.
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I also have a spectacularly wonderful husband. He's been awesome about washing the dishes so that I don't have to lean over my belly and hurt my back to do them. He is also a great sport about all the little things; putting my socks on, cleaning up messes the kids make, vacuuming, wiping the table, switching laundry, etc. The list could go on and on with all the little things he does to make my life easier and I should tell him how much I appreciate it more often.
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So other than the long to-do list that we are trying to finish before life gets crazier, I think we are pretty much ready for next week. At least with all the things we can control. My mom is going to come up and watch the kids while I am in labor and then between my parents, John and his parents, the kids will be taken care of while I am in the hospital. I have the baby clothes washed and the bassinet never got put away (just filled with junk). So there are a few more mandatory things we need to set out and rearrange but everything else we will just handle it when we need to.
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We will definitely get some pictures from the hospital on here as soon as we can and keep everyone updated through here or facebook.
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Wish us Luck... Here we go...

January

Just thought I would share a few pictures and stories from the last month.

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This one below is what happens when I sleep in. The kids end up feeding Theodore breakfast. They had peeled at least 5 cutie oranges for him and themselves and he was just happy as could be sitting up there like a king stuffing his mouth.

This is me at 35 weeks. I will have to get another photo and give you a full pregnancy update later this week.
This is the Christmas Tree that me and Michael made in Woodshop. We had forgotten all about it until we needed his backpack for school again. While Michael was at school, Vivian decided to decorate it with Silly Putty ornaments.

Here is Big Papa blowing out his candles on his birthday. I didn't ask how old he was turning and therefore didn't have the correct amount of candles but I figured 18 was enough to celebrate.

Here is one of Michael's favorite things to do. Theodore is learning fast as well.

Here is another Favorite thing to do, Climb on Daddy. These next few pictures were just too fun not to share.

Theodore is 14 months old today. He is getting to be such a smart boy (I can't say big, because I don't think he has grown much. I'll find out at his 15 month check up next month.) But he's on track to be just like his dad, short... but full of brains.