The latest stats for the girls are: Ivy is 34.5 inches tall (almost three feet!) and all of 22 lbs!(little chunker(note of sarcasm here)) and Bronwen is 21 inches long and just over 8 lbs and growing, wahoo! Bronwen's umbilical cord was still attached as of this morning, and would be still, except that her pediatrician pulled it off (I hope I never have to go through that again) It was a bit scary, I must admit. Bronwen's belly bled a bit, but not for long. The pediatrician says that she'll still have an outie belly button for a while and it will pop out when she's mad or cold for a good while after that. If it's still outie when she's 4 or 5, they'll operate to close the hole (where the umbilical cord was joined to the intestine). Wow, I learned a lot today. Aside from that, B is doing quite well. she's becoming more and more aware. We took her to church for the first time on Sunday and everything worked out very well. I enjoyed being back in the mothers' room and got to talk to a few of the other mothers in the ward and from our old ward. I have been missing that interaction.
Ivy is also very well. She is on the tall side (75th percentile) and certainly on the small side for weight (10th percentile). The pediatrician watched her walk to me and climb up on the chair and said she looks healthy. We talked about her speech and Cami (our pediatrician) says she's right on track. She talks a lot. Often her tongue is too slow or her vocabulary too small for what she's wanting to say, so she fills in with a lot of deedle-eedle-eedle and other such sounds. She loves to sing, something quite common at her age apparently. Her favorites are: The Imperial March, the Star Wars Theme, the Wise Man and the Foolish Man, I Want to be a Mother, and Happy Family. She doesn't know all the words, but she's getting there.
She moved into Levi's room on her birthday and they have been loving it. We tried having quiet time together, then separated them. After much begging and pleading, however, they are back together even for quiet time. Night time went about the same way, but we smoothed that out as well and the two are very happily permanent roommates. They take a little longer going to sleep at night and for quiet time, and sometimes one or both bet little or no sleep during quiet time (making for a hairy evening, I must say). Those two really do like each other, and they know each other better than anyone else knows them, I think. And that also means that they each know how to push the other's buttons. Yeehaw!
Levi is looking forward to starting Joy School again tomorrow. There will be another child joining the group, so now there will be two girls and the three boys. Should be fun.He is certainly growing up. He is almost three and a half feet tall and managed to sit fairly still for a real haircut (no clippers, just shears) this week. He is very sensitive. Sensitive to others needs, especially Ivy, and very sensitive to discipline or criticism, which I'm sure he recieves too much of. Levi is a very good helper in the kitchen and around the house. He loves responsibility and contests, but is not a very good not-winner (e.g. if he's not first to finish).
Nathan and I are reading and researching to prepare to homeschool Levi starting in the summer or the fall, or now, or... I just need to figure out how to do it. Probably, what I need to do is just something, then continue as long as it works and change when we need to. It's the getting started that is hard for me. Any suggestions? Recommendations? We're reading "A Thomas Jefferson Education" and I'm reading "Beyond the Hole in the Wall" as well as some articles I run across online. I'm trying to get a handle the education I want to give my kids, whether in school at home or elsewhere.
We had lovely holiday season. Bronwen arrived a little earlier than expected (Dec. 5) on Nov. 20th (details in p.s. if you're interested). We ended up in a hospital to deliver, stayed for 24 hours after delivery and came home on Wednesday. Mom made dinner for us that evening and the Hansens joined us. Levi and Ivy spent Monday night and part of Tuesday at Mom's house, then transferred to the Hansens' home in Cottonwood. Nathan and B and I let Mom and Hansens know when we started home and they all arrived about 20 minutes after we did. When the kids met B, Levi proclaimed, "She's the sweetest baby I've ever seen!" The kids took turns holding our newest child. Ivy gave B her first styling session (with a comb) as she held her.
love, Erin, Nathan, Levi, Ivy and Bronwen
P.S. Monday, the 19th, my water broke at about 8 in the morning. Total surprise because I "don't have" early babies, not to mention that I hadn't experienced any contractions. I called Molly (my midwife) and Nathan and Mom. Molly asked me to pay attention and let her know if I was still leaking in a few hours. Yup, I was most certainly leaking. I talked to Molly and she said that if labor didn't start on it's own, she would come over after dinner and we would get it going. So, I worked on putting a gate in my fence with my father-in-law, hosted lunch for Mom, Ray, and the David Hogans, and just did my normal stuff. Nothing. No contractions, just leaking. Nate came home around 4:30, as usual. No contractions. Dinner at 5:30. Nothing. Kids to Mom's house around 7.(I actually don't really remember the sequence of events after lunch. The kids might have gone home with Mom for quiet time. You'll have to ask her) Nada. Done with bed-time ritual at 8. Still nothing. Molly arrived before 8:30 with a lll her stuff and her oldest and youngest daughters (ages 14 and 11 months). We did blue cohosh (not recommendable) and tried some essential oils and I walked the stairs. I had a contraction here and there, but nothing strong and nothing regular, maybe five total contractions. Felt really tired, so Nate and I went to bed. Tried some more cohosh around 1 in the morning and went back to sleep feeling very tired. Molly went home.
Woke up between 6 and 7. Molly came back about 8:30. It had been 24 hours. We decided to try Castor Oil. Nate picked some up at Harmons as well as some 7-up to help it go down. Molly suggested waiting 4 hours and doing it again if nothing happened and then going to the hospital 4 hours after that. Nate and I decided to try castor Oil and if nothing happened in two hours, to head to the hospital. Nothing happened. We left for the hospital around 11:30, got there, checked in, and waited. waited. At 2, I had my first contraction, and it was definite! my goodness! A little later, my OB walked in and told me she was gonna start me on Pitocin. NOOOO! But, she would't listen. However, after one drop of pit, My cervix was dilated to an 8 and the nurse turned the pit drip off. HALLELUJAH!!! Just a little while later, I felt B's head pushing down and two contractions later, she was born. It was 4:30, I think. I experienced just over two hours of contractions and only pushed for two contractions (three according to the OB, but what does she know, really? (totally kidding about what she knows, btw)).
24 hours later, we left the hospital after a lovely stay. Things are generally going really well ever since.
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