My New Bed

Hubby spent part of the weekend building me a new platform bed. (Or, as my Sister in Law said, an IKEA bed). It is designed and built by the hubby to match the headboard we bought soon after we were married. It needs to be stained and have the panels put on, so we can hide the stuff we are putting under the bed. But, not looking too bad, right?

Loving Armpits?!?!

I told you he is Mr. Mellow... As proof, my wonderful Sister in Law and I are hanging out, playing on our respective computers after putting the girls to bed. Dylan wanted to be held, so I tried to let him get comfortable. It seemed to take a minute or two tonight, but he finally settled into my armpit... I guess I should take that as a compliment, right?!?!

They call me Mr. Mellow

{sung to the tune of Mellow Yellow}


So, I love that he is such a fabulous baby! The girls love to hold him; they fight over whose turn it is. And he is usually pretty accommodating.


He can fall asleep by himself, if I let him. But since he is a cuddler, I like to cuddle with him until he falls asleep (a decision I may live to regret later, but for now, who cares, right?!?). He does this cute (what I call) dinosaur cry sometimes after he has kinda cried out... It sounds to me like a velocaraptor sound. Love it. He hates to be naked... Makes diaper changes a little tough, but he survives :) I love when he really settles in to nurse: he pulls in his arms and legs and gets tiny and comfortable. Here is a cute picture of his feet when he is nursing.

And speaking of nursing, he is a total male. When he is done, he is not just a cute baby burper- he is a total belcher... His Auntie Thompson would be so proud :)

And he was so awake and alert today (I had to actually put him down for a minute) so we broke out the camera. A couple are "deer in the headlights" but at least his eyes are open.


He looks like he is about to talk to you.


This is a total "Well..." picture :)


Yawning... (Dimple)

A trick I learned

I guess I picked it up with Kari. I was working 2nd shift when I was pregnant with Kaitlyn, and I needed my naps. Sometimes, Kari would wake up earlier than I wanted her to. If I brought her into my bed, she would sleep longer. But she is such a squirmer (ask Grandma) that I wouldn't sleep very well. So, I ended up leaving her in my bed with my pillow and I would go on the couch or something. Well, I transplanted the idea one day when I wanted to stay in my bed, and just let her have my pillow. It was like magic. :) I am sure it works with a shirt, or anything else that smells like mommy, but for us, my pillow seems to work best. So, here is a picture of my little-ist one, who fell asleep all by himself. And yes, that is my pillow :)

Kaitlyn's turn

Kaitlyn wanted to hold Dylan when she woke up this afternoon from her nap.

Cheesy smile.


She couldn't decide whether to cuddle with her blanket or Baby Brother... She is kinda cute when she is still sleepy :)

Many thanks to Grandma and Grandpa

Grandpa had to leave last weekend, but my mom was able to stay for one more week and help out. It was much appreciated since it turns out that Hubby had to go back out of town. The girls love her (as do I) and it was nice to have a maid/cook/babysitter/errand runner around.


On the schedule for this week is daddy, taking half days at work to be home for lunches, naps, bed time, etc. Then, I have more family coming in, to which I am looking forward! I guess having a baby pays off sometimes :) Especially one as cute as my little burrito :) (He loves to be swaddled... which is complete different from his other 2 siblings)


And, here is just a cute picture of him cuddling with his daddy... Do they look alike?

How lovely to be a women....

Like me :)

Well, on the whole, this recovery has been much better than the first two. Perhaps it is because I knew what to expect. Maybe it is because I am not recovering from labor as well as major abdominal surgery... Whatever the reason, thank heavens for small miracles!

I can happily announce that I am walking at a snails pace instead of slower now. Amazing how having an incision so low makes for controlling the lower half of my body more difficult. Not difficult, per se, but painful-ish. This makes some normal things interesting. Things such as stepping into the shower, lifting my feet for washing or putting shoes or pants on, and walking. Thankfully, we are at 10 days post surgery and most definitely improved. I feel like I can safely take a shower... my feet may not be the cleanest, but at least I can do it by myself (until this point, Hubby {bless his husbandly soul} has been helping me). And, I put on my shoes all by myself :)

Also, the bruises are fading from the IVs. Lets just say that me and IVs don't get along. The bruise on the left they didn't even get in. The one on the right lasted less than 12 hours. They put it in at 1 am (when I was admitted) and had to take it out before the surgery the next morning at 9... It was red, hot and painful. They got one to last for 24 hours in my hand though. And the bruise at the top near the elbow pit on the right is from where they drew blood before I left.


Another interesting by-product of the surgery was having to have a catheter for a week. As far as I understand (which I admit my understanding is limited) is at some point (possibly traced back to my first c-section) my bladder had attached itself to my uterus. I remember after Kaitlyn they were a little worried about my bladder, but nothing really came of it. This time, they had to cut through a small portion of my bladder to get to my uterus because it had attached itself so high they couldn't just push it down. So, after Dylan was out, they removed it from my uterus, pushed it down to where it was supposed to be, and repaired the incision. I got to keep the catheter and bag for a week to make sure my bladder didn't stretch too far and heal properly. As another interesting by-product, I now have a bladder infection. Joy of Joys...

And, I am just gonna come out and say it... Having the stomach flu (and not the upper kind, the lower kind) while in the last month of pregnancy is the pits. But, the by-products of said stomach flu is another thing: Hemorrhoids (which I have thankfully never had before, and did not get until the week before I delivered). Yes, I said it out loud and admitted to getting them. Apparently pregnant women are susceptible to them anyways, but being sick is not helpful. And then, still being sick on top of having them was one of the most painful things (next to labor) I have ever done. Luckily, now that Dylan is out, things are healing nicely there too.

And the insomnia? Virtually gone! I can fall asleep most nights and early mornings again without much trouble.

And Dylan is the bestest third child in the world! He is so mellow. He sleeps most of the night in his cradle. And he gives me a stretch of 6 hours at night. He only eats every 3-4 hours. And the engorgement and nipple soreness lasted a blessedly short amount of time.

So, all in all, it has been a successful delivery :) Besides having a wonderful child, I also have a relatively decent recovery. And, although I hate to admit it, the whole scheduled thing was quite wonderfully convenient...

A few more pictures of Dylan

These have all been taken since we have been home. And, some of them even have his eyes open!

Chillin on the couch.


Some cool flowers we got (thanks!) from the Smith family, Uncle Donnie and Aunt Catherine, and some wonderful ladies at church.


Cuddling on mommy's chest.


Cuddling with eyes open.




I love that he is just hanging out with his hands crossed across his chest.


Cuddling on Daddy's chest. I have tons of pictures of Kari like this... Kaitlyn wasn't a big cuddler... Note the dog...


Look at how cute he is sleeping on his side with his hands under his chin!


I have a picture of Kari exactly like this... So cute :)


Speaking of... This is Kari...

Kari's turn

Well, if I do a blog on Kaitlyn, I guess I should do one for Kari too...

Kari loves to hold Dylan. Did I mention she loves to hold Dylan? And, I believe I have mentioned before she is a total ham for the camera. So, why not put them together?




And, this is a picture of Kari holding the picture book I made for the girls. It is a book of pictures of just the girls. We gave it to them after Dylan was born. Not as a bribe, but as a check that we will always remember what it was like when it was Just the Girls :)

Still at the hospital

No, thank goodness we are not still at the hospital. But, these pictures are from when we were still there...

First (well, I guess technically second) bath at the hospital. Notice he loves it :)


Grandpa got a great shot of his dimples.


The kids hanging out in the hospital bed.


Me... Looking totally glam and happy at the hospital, right?!?!


Not the best picture, but... another view of him.


And, it looks like no more pictures for today. He has grown tired of them :)