love

The boys (all 3 of them) are in love with the newest girly in their lives. Every 2 seconds Hawken is asking to kiss her or hold her.

Matix is more of the concerned older brother, telling her she is okay when she starts to cry, or running for another blanket if he thinks she is getting cold.

Paul, although still healing, is just smitten with her. He kisses her almost as much as he kisses me. :)

We love this baby so much.

Paul's surgery

Paul had his surgery today. It went perfectly. He made quite a few phone calls while still under anesthesia, and doesn't remember them... :) He thought he would be able to go right back to his rotations, but I think he might need a few days to fully recover. So far this is the best smile he can make...

He is pretty out of it, and can only eat ice cream and soup. Please send him healing thoughts and prayers.

Lately...

Lately there has been a lot of this: (checking on the baby, even while she sleeps)

And this: (holding the baby every chance he gets)

And this: (loving picking out her outfits everyday, even her jammies are girly)

Little Lullaby is so sweet and fun to be around. I need to take more videos to show how calm she is and how easily pacified and how much we just want to eat her up. She is perfect. The boys are doing amazingly well and ask to hold her about once a minute. Paul is doing great too, and making sure to spend extra quality time just him and his boys. I am healing fast and feel like I am almost back to my regular energy level, hooray! The baby is already on a fairly predictable sleep schedule, so I am getting enough rest too. Life is good.

Lullaby's story...

I made a video of the event. Nothing gross I promise. :) Just the quick version of the loooong story below. Enjoy.

So, for weeks I had been having cramps and contractions and lower back pain and was in a general state of discomfort all the time. I was still weeks away from my due date and the boys had come only 1 and 3 days before their due dates, so I thought I would probably have to wait the entire 40 weeks. No thank you. The new doctors said she wasn't measuring big and that I needed to try to wait it out. Great. :) Then a day after my 38 week appointment (9-9-11), and a long walk in the grocery store talking to my mom, I stayed up for a few hours counting contractions. They were about 7 minutes apart, but not consistent. I was sure that by the morning I would be driving to the hospital to have a baby, but alas, no baby. By the morning they had slowed down and were pretty weak. I spent the day driving Paul to rotations, watching the clock, getting Chipotle for lunch because I was feeling sorry for myself, and waiting, waiting, waiting for the contractions to start again. Finally at around 10pm I was really feeling them. We called the Duplessy's to come over so we could go in. Valeria was almost as excited as we were. :)

Paul was super excited, as he always is. He is such the perfect person to have with you when you are in labor. He takes the focus and edge off of the pain. :)

When we checked in, I was nervous that I had jumped the gun and was going to be sent home. This is me hoping I don't have to go home and spend another sleepless and painful night with no baby in my arms to snuggle.

After getting checked, they admitted me. Hooray!! I was already at a 4!! So we called a few family members to let them know what was going on. It was in the middle of the night for most people, so we couldn't call everyone right then, actually we still haven't. Thank goodness people are understanding. :)

Paul set up camp after I got my epidural, and we rested for a few hours until I was dilated enough to start pushing. I had the perfect amount of epidural medicine this time and was able to feel when the baby wanted OUT! :)

After a few sets of pushes with the nurse, she called in Dr. Dunkin. He did a good job catching. :) After I got her head out, he realized the cord was wrapped tightly around her neck and had to cut it before I pushed again. That made me pretty nervous, but her heart monitor was still beeping, so I knew she was fine. A couple more pushes and out she came. She was born at 9:28am on Saturday September 10, 2011.

I got to hold her for a few seconds, but she was pretty slimy, so the nurses took her over to the warming bed and got her cleaned up. They weighed her and measured her and everyone was shocked. She was 8 pounds and 8 ounces, 21 inches long, and got a 9-9 on her apgar test. Big baby, huh?! I knew she was ready to come. Could you imagine how big she would be if she waited in there until her due date?! Yikes!

Proud daddy and mommy with their first baby girl!! How exciting! :) She cried only a little, and was easily calmed right from the get go. How precious are little babies?! We were in love instantly.

After a few hours of talking about names (Paul had quite a few good ones on his list), Paul chose Lullaby. I really love it for her too. She is a calm, sweet, lovable baby girl, and Lullaby is certainly right for her. Good job Paul. :) Her middle name is York. York is Paul's mom's maiden name, and Paul was named William (his real first name) after her dad. Stacy has been such a big part of our kids lives and we are forever grateful to her and her endless compassion and love she has shown to us. Paul's grandpa was someone he truly respected and wants to emulate as he grows older. He was a hard worker and very devoted husband and father. Two people very deserving of having a precious new baby named after them. :)

Paul stayed at the hospital with me until the afternoon, then went to get the boys from the Duplessy's house. The boys had slept through the night just fine, and woke up happy. They were excited to go back over to Bruno(the Duplessy's 3 year old)'s house again. We had gone just the week before for lunch and so the boys would feel comfortable there. Perfect. They played over there and ate breakfast and lunch with their family. Paul picked them up and brought them home for a late nap. That evening they came to meet the baby. The kids (weird, I have kids now, not just the boys) each got a flower to give to me. Thanks really to Paul for thinking of sweet things like that.

The boys had WONDERFUL reactions to meeting their new sister. It was SO SO SO good to see. Paul and I kept grinning at each other because of how sweet it really was. They were so happy and wanted to hold her and kiss her and love on her.

The boys were in love. They right away asked to hold her and it was SUCH a relief to see them happy and not jealous in the least.

Lullaby got the boys some dinosaurs too, just in case it was a disaster, but they were more interested in playing with her and kissing her than they were with the toys. Hooray! :)

I also thought this little momma's boy would have a hard time seeing me holding a NEW baby, since he still refers to himself most of the time as "baby". Aside from a few extra snuggles, he is still the same little guy. He loves to take care of Lullaby and doesn't seem to mind me spending so much of my time and attention on her.

Ready to go home. The hospital experience, the nurses, even the food was wonderful. We stayed for just over 2 days and went home Monday evening. I had all these ideas for cute outfits for her to wear home from the hospital, but she was too squirmy to get her into anything except this onesie and a little skirt that didn't fit right. Boo. The photo shoots will have to wait. :)

The car ride was Lullaby's least favorite experience in life so far. :) She screamed at the top of her lungs the ENTIRE ride home. Thankfully we only live a few minutes from the hospital, but it was still sad. Matix did his best to get her to be quiet and was SO patient and calm. It was so sweet to see.

And yes, Liz, we did get your blanket. :) Thank you for sending it. We love it and even used it for this special occasion. Hooray! The next picture we take of it will have happier babies, I hope. :)

So that's it. Now we are home, and have been for a few days now. Life couldn't be better. We are all very happy and healthy and grateful. Some families from our church ward have been bringing dinners by each evening, a few are taking the boys out to the playground next week too, and one very VERY sweet lady stayed a little while longer and cleaned the kitchen. It was spotless. Thank you all for your love and support and prayers and phone calls and well wishes, we appreciate them. :)

Lullaby

I had the best of intentions to post the million and a half pictures I have taken in the few days since Lullaby came into this world, but I changed my mind. :) I am sleepy and will only be sharing a few things that are happening right now. I will hopefully post more details soon. She was born 13 days early, on Saturday (9-10-11) as per my request, although I didn't think it would happen. She is absolutely perfect. She weighed 8 pounds and 8 ounces and was a whopping 21 inches long, our biggest baby by far. Paul got to name her (since I had vetoed "Rufio" one too many times for the boys), and named her Lullaby (so sweet, right?) York (after his mom's side of the family) Berg (obviously :) Lullaby, although, not a traditional name by far, really fits her. She is so calm and peaceful. She loves to snuggle, but will tolerate being roughed up by the boys head-butt version of "soft kisses". Paul loves his little princess and gets caught picking her up even when she was fast asleep and didn't need to be held. :) She loves her daddy too, and nuzzles into him when he holds her. The boys are adjusting really well. There have been some emotional moments, but all in all they are doing great. I thought maybe Hawken would regress a bit with being potty trained, but he hasn't. Good job Hawken. Both the boys love helping and will race each other to get me the diapers or the wipes or whatever I need. Hawken is obsessed with kissing her and will do so at least once a minute if I let him. Matix is always intructing me on what his baby needs. "She needs more milk mommy." or "Luller-by needs her Matix mommy." or "Turn on the fan for her to nap, she likes that."

Lullaby is such a good baby. She is very predictable and is sleeping really well, which makes for a happy mommy and rest of the family. We are so happy to have her here with us and she already feels so much like a part of our family. So far, three kids isn't much different than two and has been a very easy transition for us, but then again I have only 2 full days of experience (the other 2 days were in the hospital, so that doesn't count). Cheers to a happy healthy beautiful baby girl. :) We love you little Lullaby!

Matix is 3!!!!!

Matix turned 3 today!!!!!! For real. What?!?! I officially have a preschooler (and a toddler and a newborn). How is this possible?! Matix had a day all about him. He even got chicken nuggets for dinner (his choice, not ours :) He opened his gifts and cards from friends and family moments after getting up and spent all day singing "Happy Birthday to MATIX!!" under his breath until he got to the Matix part, then he screamed it. :) I will post pics of all the fun another day.

We are so happy with you Mr. Matix. You are so smart and kind and feisty and energetic and sweet and athletic and snuggly and wonderful in every way imaginable. We love you so much. Here is to you and all the amazing things you can do. Happy birthday Matix!!!

sorting

Well, after washing and sorting and folding a bunch of tiny pink and purple clothes, we are ready (in that respect) for this baby to come. The boys have been loving "helping" with all the fun new things. These winter hats were their cousin Alexandra's and have been a life saver for me. (Thanks again Jolie and Alexandra!) There have been many mornings I have brought them back out for the boys to try on while I get other things done. :) Funny.

I have a doctor's appointment today and am excited to see if there is any new information, or if it is the same as always "baby can come any day now..." which I don't really believe anymore. :) This baby is giving me a lot more grief than the boys ever did, and I don't know if it's because I am busy chasing after 2 very active boys? or because Paul is at his rotation site a lot more now? Or if it's because I still have 2 weeks left and am bigger than I was when I delivered either of the boys? Or a combination... Anyway, I will update tonight hopefully with a belly pic and some more information.

doctor visit

After one of the many doctor's appointments the boys have been having (we are just now catching up from Dominica), the boys needed a treat. They did great waiting the almost 2 hours to be seen, they did great playing in the room waiting for the nurse to come back with their shots, they did okay with the shots themselves, but it was a little traumatic... Matix had to be held down and was screaming bloody murder, Hawken was crying too and pleading with the nurse for her to stop hurting his brother, I was trying to help but not get in the way... It was a mess.

So we went to Wendy's for a treat. I love these little guys. They sure make my life more fun... more tiring and more exhausted but much more full.

Potty Trained!

My little Hawken man, all 21 months, and 23 pounds, and 33 inches of him is POTTY TRAINED! Hooray!

We put him in diapers (and pull-ups as soon as he gets big enough) at night and for naps, but otherwise he is potty trained. Actually, he wakes up dry from his nap most of the time. He can hold it for ridiculous amounts of time too during the day, which is a plus. At church he likes nursery only about half the time and yesterday he cried the entire time (2 hours), until the teachers brought him to me because he wouldn't tell them what was wrong. As soon as he saw me, he said "I go pee pee!" I felt him, and he was still dry, he just needed to go, and didn't want his teachers to take him. :) Ha ha ha! Silly boy. He loves wearing his big boy underpants and will show them off to anyone who wants to see. We are so proud of him. :) Good job Hawken!!

love

I love these sleeping boys. They are so precious.

Belly pics 37 weeks!

Today I am 37 weeks along. With Paul riding his bike it takes him a lot longer to get here, he doesn't have much time with the boys when he gets home and I don't want to take up all his time with belly picture duty, so I took matters into my own hands and did a photo shoot a la camera timer... It was harder than I thought, but we got some cute ones I think. The boys were excited about taking pictures with the baby. How cute, huh? The non-edited ones look horrible, but after a little picnik-ing I think they turned out alright. These are my 2 favorites.

At 37 weeks, I feel HUGE. And tired. And slooooow. I love my big belly and the reactions I get when I say I still have another 3 weeks to go. :) Sadly, with a big belly also comes a lot of aches and pains. I didn't know about that part. I am in pain most of the day and night and it's hard to do much of anything productive. Thankfully, I have 2 helpful little boys and an understanding hubby who pick up my slack. I want this little girl to be good and ready before she comes out, but I wouldn't be too disappointed if that happened before the due date either. :) We shall see. Happy 37 weeks to you baby girl, see you soon!

happy

Some days I love these boys extra. Yesterday, and today are some of those days. Matix had a doctor's appointment and had to get a shot.  While Matix was crying, Hawken told the nurse "Stop hurting Matix! Please! Stop!" It was so sweet. They really love each other.  I hope they always stay this close. Today, I feel pretty crappy. This new baby girl isn't letting me sleep at all.  She kicks and flips and moves all night long, I still love feeling her move and knowing she is healthy in there, but still, I would like to sleep some too. :) The boys have been little angels at night.  They don't make a peep for their 12 hours.  Thankfully, or I would be really tired!  Plus, I have been having contractions on and off and back labor... I never had this with the boys, and it hurts.

Hawken is potty training too and doing amazingly well. We have gone out a few times and although I have little confidence and put him back in diapers or a pull-up when we are out of the house, he has kept them dry every day this week. He is also dry at naps, but not overnight yet, but neither is Matix some of the time too. :)  Although I am excited for this big step, it is hard for me to get up and run to the bathroom every 2 seconds, and sit on the floor to get his underpants back on, and be cheery while I am in pain.  Today, while I was laying on the couch watching the boys play with their cars, Hawken announced that he had to use the toilet... this was the 14th time this morning.  Matix looked at me and said "Mommy, your baby tummy is sick, you take a nap and I go help baby."  What? :) Is he the sweetest thing? Of course I still got up to monitor what would be going on in there, but Matix must have watched me a million times because he knew the whole routine.  It was wonderful. Of course I rewarded them with chocolate milk for being such big helpful boys.

That's what they are doing right now, eating fruit on the couch and drinking their chocolate milk.  These boys are growing up so fast and turning into the nicest little gentlemen, taking care of me and each other.  I love you Matix and I love you Hawken, you are the best sons I could have ever asked for.