Sagebabies

We spent a week in North Dakota during Thanksgiving break to visit Blayne’s family.  We also had to get out of the house as they were laying carpet and sanding the wood floors.  We had water damage due to a broken waterline to the refrigerator and it’s been a mess of contractors and noise and repairs for the last month and a half.

Let me tell you, riding in the car for 10 hours with four kids, three under the age of three, is definitely chaotic.  It’s an exercise in patience and long lasting ability to be on top of a lot of things for a long time.  Did I mention the trip was long?

My favorite part of the trip was our jaunt to Theodore Roosevelt National Park to visit the Badlands.  We drove one of the loops in the park out of Medore, North Dakota.  It was beautiful to watch the sunset in the stark, windy hills.  The wildlife we saw was amazing.  We saw buffalo, wild horses, prairie dogs, mule deer and white tail deer, elk, owls, what else?  I know I’m missing something.  I thought it was magnificent to see all the animals in their wild nature, especially the horses.

So, here are some pictures from our trip.  I’m getting behind in my blogging again.  We got new iphones and I’ve been an iphone lunatic for the last week.  Time to get back to my regular computer and my blogging again.

We watched the sunset over the Badlands at a beautiful lookout point.

It was windy and cold.  Daddy is trying to keep baby Finn warm.

cute chubby wubby prairie dogs

the faraway butts of wild horses as viewed from our car window

children running into the sunset.  what could be better?

plenty of wildlife in the car, too.

We had a great Halloween at the Puklich household.  It is arguably one of my favorite holidays.  It’s so fun for the kids.  Iris made her costume this year…she was some kind of snow princess.  Tavie was a witch and Kira was a purple fairy.  Purple, the color of the gods.  At least to her; the kid is obsessed with purple.  Finn was a baby, that was his costume.  And it was a perfect costume for him.  He’s a good baby.

It was a gorgeous fall day, perfect for Halloween.  We got pumpkins that morning to carve.  While I was handing out candy I roasted pumpkin seeds in the oven.  Delicious.  I wrote on facebook that I love my neighborhood because all the dads take the kids and the beers out trick-or-treating and all the moms stay home to pass out candy.  When B got home with the twins (Iris stayed out a little longer with her friends) he started a fire and we had hot chocolate and ate candy and pumpkin seeds.  Yes, a sugar overload, but fun nonetheless.  We don’t keep candy in the house so once a year is fine, right?

Finnegan had his four month appointment with our awesome pediatrician.  He is in the 85th percentile for height and weight.  He’s my little chunky monkey.  He is still up nursing several times a night so the Dr. said we could start feeding him some cereal.  His first try was the normal puckering funny face spitting out experience.  But he’s getting the hang of it and can really gobble it down.  I make all my own baby food so I have to get out the old baby food grinder and get busy making veggies.

I have more to write but I need to get moving.  The household is getting up for the day and I have yet to get dressed.

My smiley little boy.

Kira makes this silly face every time I take a picture of her.

yes, it’s a pink bib, but all his manly bibs were up in his room and I was lazy.

It’s that time of year again, MEA.  Iris had yesterday and today off.  It was rainy/snowy and cold yesterday and I didn’t want to do any running around so we stuck close to the house.  We made vegan carrot cake cupcakes and they were awesome.  Dez got up on the table and ate 5 of them before we managed to stop him.  Naughty doggy.  It’s pretty crazy having all four kids to juggle.  I enjoy being home with my children and would not want life to be any other way, but there is at least one time in my day when I’m asking myself what the heck I’ve gotten myself into and what was I thinking having four kids and why can’t I just be single and young again with no responsibilities.  Then a little person smiles at me, or gives me a hug, or tells me I’m loved and it is all good again.

I gave Tavie a lemon piece to suck on yesterday and she said, “I don’t want it, it makes my lips fall off.”  That cracked me up.  I took Tavie and Kira for a dark and misty walk with the dog last night.  I had them bundled up in the jogger stroller.  We walked to the elementary school and back.  It was only 7:00pm but completely dark out.  Sigh.  We took the back way on the path around Kerber pond.  So nice.

Finnegan it a little snuggly wuggly and I love him so.  He is very laid back which I suppose will serve him well growing up with three older sisters.  Here are some pictures from our day yesterday.

This is the view from my front door this morning. And it is still coming down heavily. Actually, we had our first snow fall on the 10th. 6 long months of winter to come.

Finnegan is laughing big belly laughs. And he is rolling over. And holding toys. And growing like a little boy weed. He’s such a great baby. The girls are still potty training. We have good days and we have bad days. Iris won’t wear dresses anymore because her friends at school tell her it’s not cool to wear dresses to school everyday. Makes me so, so sad.

I am in the midst of my yoga teacher training program and LOVING it. I am really glad I took a break during my pregnancy and started again after Finn was born. I am in such a better place physically and emotinally. It’s going really well. I am in the 9 month program and my class is a lot smaller this time around, too. Another bonus! Well, time to get going as the morning in the Puklich household is in full swing.

Before I forget, Finnegan started smiling and doubled his birth weight at 7 weeks.  I kept meaning to write that in my blog, but I never got around to it.  OK, now that I accomplished that, I’m going to do yoga because for the first time in a LONG time all my kids are napping at the same time (and Iris is in school).

to be a good blogger.  I started this blog so I could document all those moments in life w/ my children that pass through my mommy brain out of existence.  I feel like those moments are slipping by way too fast these days.  Already Finn is three months old (as of two days ago).  He is the king of the 10 minute nap and I never get anything done.  My toddlers are becoming preschoolers and Iris is becoming a teenager (not really, but she needs to slow down a little).  I sat down to post a blog entry but already my son is up, the spaghetti is boiling away to overcooked, Iris has her radio blaring way too loud, and the twins are kicking a ball in the living room….which is not allowed.  So, here are a few pictures and I’ll leave it at that.  Iris’ first day of 3rd grade, and Finn on his 3 month birthday.

Our little darling boy Finnegan is one month old today.  His first few weeks of sleepiness have worn off and he is more and more alert and aware every day.  He’s developed a case of the evening fussies much to mom and dads chagrin, but mostly he is mellow and wonderful.  His record fuss has been from 5pm to 11pm.  The twins had the same thing, and Iris to some extent.  I guess I was hoping I’d get one baby w/out the evening fuss, but no such luck.  He sleeps great at night, only waking 2 or 3 times to eat.  Since he’s sleeping with us right now it’s easy.  I just nurse him and we both fall back to sleep easily.

Nursing is going great.  At his one week appointment he had gained two pounds and grown almost two inches.  He’s a little chunky monkey!  Already he’s growing out of his NB clothes and into three month stuff.  It took the twins a LONG time to grow that much.  He’s a noisy little baby, just like his daddy.  He makes all kinds of funny noises when he’s sleeping and when he’s nursing.

The family seems to have adjusted for the most part to the new baby.  The twins were curious but stand-offish at first.  Especially with me.  I was sad for a while there because I thought they were rejecting me.  But they’ve warmed up to the baby and things with mom are back to normal now.  Occasionally they get a little miffed because they don’t want to share mom’s lap.  They are so laid back the feeling doesn’t last long.  The transition has effected Iris more than anyone in the family…..but she is still adjusting to the twins, so we knew it would be difficult for her.  She would do well in a family as an only child because she really needs constant attention, but I’m sure things will get easier for her as time passes.  I hope!

It’s been a strange sort of summer so far.  I’m so used to being active with the kids and getting out and having a lot of fun summer adventures.  We’ve been more housebound this summer.  It makes me feel a little guilty, but Iris is the only one who seems to mind.  The twins are happy playing at home and in the yard.  Iris has had her summer gardening class at the Arboretum so that has been fun for her.  And in August she has Lake Ann Adventure Camp for two weeks and sailing class for a week.  I think August will be much more fun for her.

I’ve started walking and doing Ashtanga yoga again.  It feels good to be getting back into shape.  I will start running and biking again in a few weeks, after my six week check-up.  I’ve been frustrated because I can’t get much done around the house.  It’s all I can do to keep up with laundry and dishes and cooking.  I don’t know how some moms are able to keep a spotless house with a lot of little ones running around.  I certainly don’t have those super mom capabilities!

Oh, life is tough!

Iris made puppy cupcakes to celebrate Finnegan’s one month birthday.  I didn’t eat one but I hear they were delicious!

My little Julia Childs.  Iris loves to cook and helps out a lot in the kitchen.

The girls messing around with daddy.

Finnegan’s belly button cord fell off on the 3rd so on the 4th he got his first real bath.  He did great – there was the initial squeal but then he relaxed and seemed to just go with the flow.  It always seems like a big step to me when infants get big baby belly buttons.  A last remnant of time in the womb gone from their bodies.  It is a step to baby-hood and getting older and bigger.

We also went to the Chanhassen parade yesterday with Wenda and her daughter.  We found a nice shady open spot right near the beginning of the parade.  The girls had tons of fun and tuns of candy.  And we missed the rain by minutes when the parade was finished.  Blayne took the girls to see fireworks that night but I stayed home w/ the babe.

The gang at the parade

Tavie with her mouth full of candy.  Lots of candy.

Finn slept through the entire parade.

Kira with not just one lollipop but two!

BALLOONS!  The balloons say “HU, A Love Song to God” from the Eckankar people.  For some reason this amuses me to no end every time I see the girls playing with them or see them floating around my house.

Monday, June 22nd, my official due date.  I had an appointment with my Dr. in the morning which left me feeling like I was never going to have my baby.  I was 2cm dilated, but had been at a 2 for a few weeks.  She swept my membranes for the 2nd time and we made an appointment for the following week for an ultrasound and appointment in case I was really overdue.  I went home and hung out with the girls.  My half-assed attempt at nesting consisted of cleaning out the bottom two shelves in the refrigerator, but that’s about all I got done that morning.  It was an incredibly hot day, over 90 degrees, so the girls played on the slip-n-slide and in the kiddy pool for a while in the afternoon.

When Blayne got home from work we had dinner and brought the girls to the park to play for a while.  It was so hot I just sat on the bench and drank ice water and watched the girls play with Blayne.

That night B and I went to bed around midnight.  I noticed some mild, regular contractions….but this was pretty normal and par for the course.  I’d been having regular contractions on and off for several weeks, over a month probably.

At around 1:30 I noticed the contractions getting more crampy and moving from my back to my front.  They felt different from the regular braxton-hix contractions I’d been having.  They were also coming very regularly, from 6 to 9 minutes apart.  I turned on the light and spent the next hour timing contractions and relaxing.  At 2:30 I woke Blayne up and told him what was going on.  We decided to call the birth center at our hospital, Ridgeview in Waconia.  After I explained what was going on they said we had better call the babysitter and come on in, especially since I was going to try to have a VBAC.  I called Lisa and Andrew and told them it was time and that we were going to head into the hospital.

The contractions were getting more intense by this time but we had packing to do so I tried to work through them and pack at the same time.  Blayne helped me go over our lists and when my bag was packed I went downstairs to wait for Lisa and Andrew and to wait for B to finish packing & loading the car.  I sat in the rocking chair and breathed through the contractions.  Dez, our dog, had been acting funny and clingy from the start of the contractions and he was laying at my feet while I rocked and waited to go to the hospital.  Lisa and Andrew arrived a little after 3 am so we headed out.  It was so quiet and still outside; so much cooler than the day.  Blayne kept reminding me to breathe through my contractions because I was holding my breath with them.

At 3:45 we got checked in and headed for our room.  Because I was going to have a regular birth after my cesarean with the girls, certain protocol had to be followed.  For one, there had to be an emergency staff available at the hospital in case I had to have an emergency c-section.  Also, I had to have constant monitoring of the baby.  This was hard for me because with my first birth (un-medicated and completely natural) I had to move a lot during labor.  I also really responded to being in the shower and tub.  But because of the monitoring I had to stay close to the bed and was only able to rock in the rocking chair. I also had to have an IV put in my arm.

After 4 some time the Dr. came in and checked me and I was at a 4, almost a 5.  He broke my water because they had to do internal monitoring of the baby.  This was probably the most painful part of the whole experience.  It did not feel good.  Blayne had to go sit by the window and look outside because he got a little light headed during the procedure.

After my water was broke the contractions got a LOT more intense.  Blayne was an awesome coach/birthing partner and really helped me breathe and relax as I was having contractions.  We decided it was time for an epidural.  We thought it would be best for me (we had been talking about it for a few weeks) since I could not move around like I really wanted to.  At about 6:15 or so I got my epidural.  It was difficult to sit still through the contractions during the procedure, but I was really looking forward to some pain relief!  I think I probably broke a few of Blayne’s knuckles while the Dr. was putting the needle in my back, but he was a trooper and it felt good to have him there to keep me grounded and somewhat relaxed.

After the epidural took hold I was able to really relax and enjoy the process.  My regular Dr. came in at this time and I was at a 7.  I was really glad she was able to be there…..perfect timing as she was on call that day.  Blayne got to eat some breakfast at this time.  We both relaxed and chatted and just hung out.  It was surreal, being in active labor but being able to enjoy the process and being able to relax.  It felt amazing.

At about 8:15 my Dr. checked me and I was at a 10.  Time to start pushing.  I could really feel the urge to start pushing and I was so excited that it was time!  Pushing is my favorite part.  And I was excited that my Dr. would be able to deliver the baby.  I only had to do about 6 good pushes and Finnegan was born.  It was of course an amazing experience.  When you meet your baby for the first time it’s the happiest, best time of your life and I was crying tears of joy.  Blayne and I met our little baby boy and he was perfect and wonderful.  The Dr. said there was a knot in his umbilical cord and that it was wrapped around his arm and leg.  She said he must have been a very active little baby in my belly.  And he was!

The stats:  Born at 8:42 – weight 7lbs, 14 oz, 18 inches long.  9 on the apgars.

I’m so glad Blayne and I had such a great experience with Finnegan’s birth.  B said that everyone should experience birth once in their lifetime.  It is just one of those passages of life that make you human and plugged in to life.  We had two such different experiences.  A c-section with the twins and a regular birth with Finn (and I had an un-medicated birth with no interventions with my first child Iris).  Each of my births have been so unique and different, but they have all been so joyous and amazing.

We had a wonderful 2 days in the hospital.  Finn took right off to nursing and pretty much has not let go since he was born.  He’s been a sleepy little boy so far and an absolute joy to have.  He is handsome and looks like his daddy.  Welcome to the world.  Your three sisters and mom and dad are so happy you have joined our family.  We feel complete now.