Clara's blessing day

Yesterday at church we took advantage of the fact that we had 3 family members who hold the priesthood all together at once to give Clara her name and a blessing. I had found the dress, Aunt Dani had made the headband, and I last minute decided to make the shoes. I must say she was one cute little girl! Ryan did a great job with her blessing and it made for a beautiful Sunday!
Just take a look at this gorgeous girl!

Her proud brother and sister
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Grammie and Papa

Uncle Devin

Daddy and his Clara

a New England bowling experience

Have you ever heard of candlepin bowling? I hadn't either until tonight when we decided to go bowling and they were out of the normal ten pin lanes with bumpers and offered us a candlepin lane instead. Here is how Wikipedia describes it...

Candlepin bowling was developed in 1880 in Worcester, Massachusetts by Justin White, a local bowling center owner, some years before both the standardization of the ten-pin sport in 1895. Today the game is enjoyed in many diverse places such as California and Germany in addition to New England. As in other forms of bowling, the players roll balls down a wooden pathway (lane) to knock down as many pins as possible. The main differences between candlepin bowling and the predominant ten-pin bowling style are that each player uses three balls per frame, the balls are much smaller (11.43 cm, or 4.5" diameter) and do not have holes, the downed pins (known as 'wood') are not cleared away between balls during a player's turn, and the pins are thinner, and thus harder to knock down. Because of these differences, scoring points is considerably more difficult than in ten-pin bowling, and the highest officially sanctioned score ever recorded is 245 out of a possible 300 points, by Ralph Semb in 1984, who is currently the head of the International Candlepin Bowling Association.

Crazy, huh? It was a lot of fun, especially for the kids because it was such a light and easy to throw ball. Here are some phone pics from our fun because I forgot my camera!

Grateful

Today I am just so grateful for these 3. They make my life so wonderful and I am so lucky they are mine. I am so lucky.
Today was so great. We have lots of snow on the ground from our storm yesterday and it made for a cozy day of cooking inside. Ryan and Devin headed out for an early morning, snowy Turkey Bowl while the rest of us watched the parade, ate from a yummy veggie tray and cooked the food. Everything turned out yummy. I am grateful to have my parents here. It has been so nice having help with the kids and the house and to enjoy having their company. It has been amazing.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Clara's first week

I have been meaning for days to get my camera out and take some really good pictures of Clara...but I feel like time is going by so fast and I haven't had a chance to do it yet! It doesn't help that it is pitch black dark outside by 4:30 and lots of her first days have been overcast with very little light anyway. Add to that the Dr's visits we've had to check her weight, the 2 hours I spent at the tire store getting a tire repaired and just taking care of the rest of the family in general and I am lucky if I get a shower every day. So, even though I don't have any of the beautiful newborn pictures of Clara yet, I have gotten my camera out a few times! And I have made up for the lack of pictures with kisses all over her sweet little face.

2 days old

4 days old

5 days old

One week old

Sigh....I'm really frustrated with the lack of pictures and I am making a vow to do better! She is too cute not to take pictures of.

but I always have my phone...

this time last week...

This time last week I hung up phone with the hospital after hearing that we were, once again, not headed to the hospital to meet our new baby girl. I wanted to do something so I decided to make cookies. We had dinner and put the kids to bed and then I sat my big belly on the couch and watched the Amazing Race.

Tonight I rocked a baby in a bouncy chair with my foot while eating dinner. Then Kate begged to hold her baby sister and I set them up on the couch. I went to go clean up some dinner things and after a little while I heard Clara crying. I walked back into the family room and Sawyer, without even looking up from the game he was playing on my phone, said, "Mom, Clara wants you." Kate looked up at me with a cute little smile and a crying baby in her lap and I picked up a red faced Clara. After putting the kids to bed I fed Clara and was too tired to watch any TV so I went to bed.

It is amazing how much changed in a week!

Clara Faith Kissell

After watching my due date (October 29) come and go without anything happening I was a little frustrated. Its not unusual for me to be overdue...as a matter of fact, I have always made it to my due date with no signs of labor...so it shouldn't have been a surprise to me, but I really wanted this little baby to be an October baby and share a birthday month with me. The week following my due date I went in to see my midwives twice, both times I was told I was dilated to a 1 and that was it. This was also kind of frustrating to me because with my other 2 I had never been checked and been less than a 3. I stayed a 3 for weeks and was still 10 days late with Kate so I know it doesn't mean anything, but it would have been encouraging to hear better news. They scheduled me to be induced for Saturday 11/5 (1 week passed my due date) and it felt nice to have a deadline. So Friday night I went to bed thinking I was doing everything with this baby in my belly for the last time and I enjoyed feeling her move inside me as I went to sleep. We were scheduled to go in at 1pm so we spent the morning getting ready and waiting. Ryan was outside raking leaves and I had just gotten out of the bath when my midwife called and said there was no room in the hospital for me. She still wanted me to come in to check the baby and fluid levels and things but no baby today. I took the news well but when I got off the phone with her and called Ryan out in the yard to tell him, I started bawling. I knew it was silly but I couldn't help it. A week of waiting to go into labor on my own and then setting an induction date only to have that fall through was too much to take. We went in and had the baby checked and she was perfect and healthy. My midwife said I was dilated to a 3/4 and that it would be easy to get labor going once there was a room for me. She thought maybe she could just break my water for me and I could go into labor without pitocin. Of course if I went into labor on my own they had a room for me...but I had given up hope on that! I asked her if she could sweep my membranes before I left to get things going but she told me she would get in big trouble if she did because the hospital was THAT busy. But they told me they would call me tomorrow (Sunday) and they would hopefully have a room for me. So we headed home, stopping at the grocery store. Totally not how I planned to spend my day. But Ryan was glad we weren't too busy to watch the LSU/Alabama game that night.
Then it was Sunday and we were "on call". So we sat around and waited. I called a few times to check in and they said they might be able to have me come in at 8pm. My midwife had told me that might happen and she thought my labor would go fast enough that it would be better for me to come in, fully rested, on Monday morning. So we decided on that. After waiting all day long, still no baby. sigh.
So then it was Monday morning and we were supposed to head in at 8am. I woke up earlier than my alarm clock because I couldn't sleep any longer. At 7:30, as we were getting ready to leave, I hear my phone ring. I looked at Ryan, sighed, and answered it. It was the hospital and they said it had gotten a little busy so they asked me to come in at 10am instead of 8. I told her okay and she said, "It must be so hard to keep hearing there isn't room for you!" and I smiled and said, "it's okay!"...and then I got off the phone totally annoyed. So we waited a few more hours. Then we left Kate and Sawyer at home with Grandma Kissell and headed in to the hospital.
We arrived and were led back to our room. The nurse introduced herself and had my change into my gown and hooked up the monitors to me. The midwife on call that day was Suzanne, which just so happened to be my favorite and the one I saw most frequently throughout my pregnancy. She is sweet and I really like her so that was the one benefit to being bumped so often! Suzanne came in and checked me and told me I was still only about a 2/3 (not the 3/4 that the other midwife told me on Saturday) but she still thought that if she broke my water things would happen. So she did it and we waited. The hospital had cordless monitors so I wasn't confined to my bed, I could still walk around. They told me I could eat up until I had my epidural so I ordered lunch from room service and Ryan and I hung out, played cards and ate ice cream and popsicles from the fridge down the hall. But nothing was really happening, just some small, very far apart contractions. Finally around 4 we decided nothing was really happening so we started the pitocin. So here comes the epidural story....
Dartmouth is a teaching hospital so the residents are the ones that do the epidurals. And Ryan knows everyone because he works with them in the OR. There were some days he told me I shouldn't go into labor because he wasn't crazy about the residents on call. (although he said he was mostly going off personalities and didn't know how great or not great any of their skills are.) We requested the senior resident and it was a guy Ryan liked. So he came in and placed my epidural. He actually placed it and didn't start putting the medicine through it because we weren't quite ready for it but he had to leave for a meeting and we wanted him to do it. He put a little test anesthesia through it and I felt it a little bit in my left leg, which was surprising to them because they didn't think I would feel much of anything. Then we waited for more to happen.
So eventually, with the pitocin going, I started to feel the contractions and my midwife checked me and said I was progressing enough that we should start the epidural medicine. By this time the resident who had placed my epidural went home and I had a new resident there. She came and gave me the medicine. Again, I felt it really strong in my left leg and felt nothing in my right leg. And the pitocin was kicking in fast and I was feeling those contractions STRONG. They kept saying to give it a little more time but I was not comfortable. I had to really breath through the contractions and they were strong and really close together. So the resident decided to try and pull it out a little bit and see if that would help get the medicine to the right leg. So we sat up and tried but it didn't. So I was going to have a second epidural. I wasn't crazy about the idea of having another one but I was definitely more afraid of having only half an epidural during delivery than having an epidural again. Because we were getting close to time they decided to do a spinal and an epidural, with just a small amount of medicine in the spinal. That way the spinal would kick in real fast and let me be pain free while the epidural kicked in. So I sat up and leaned on Ryan and got that second epidural...and it was heaven. Heaven. I loved it more than words can express. And after I was comfortable things progressed really fast, it was only a half hour later when I was ready to push.
So we started. It wasn't only 2 pushes like with Sawyer, but it was fast. I remember looking at the people around me, the nurse, the midwife and the OB resident, and telling them they all seemed so calm. The lights were very dim and it felt very relaxing. Well, the atmosphere felt like it was relaxing....but I still had work to do. I think that as I was pushing my spinal was a little less than there and my epidural hadn't quite kicked in because I felt quite a bit....especially that "ring of fire" they talk about...was that tmi? Anyway, I had a few moments of crying and really not wanting to do what I was doing when all of a sudden she was there. And she was beautiful and alert. They put her straight on my chest, skin to skin and I sat there holding her and crying and in shock that I had just done that. And telling her that I loved her. She hardly cried and I kept asking if she was okay and she was. She was perfect. And she came out with her lips smacking! Everyone was commenting on how she was ready for nursing and going to be a champ! So that's what they did. They didn't take her from me to weigh her or anything, she went straight to breastfeeding for the next hour. The midwife finished up everything...down there (no stitches, yea!).... while I rested comfortably and nursed my little girl. After about an hour she was done nursing and they took her to get weighed and measured and all those other things. She was born at 8:14 pm, 8 lbs 13 oz and 21"! She's a big girl! And then finally Ryan got to hold her (I think he was feeling a little left out!) We still didn't have a name for her and we spent the rest of the night going back and forth and finding the perfect name for her. I kept getting comments from the nursing staff about what I good baby she was. She was immediately a breastfeeding champ and she hardly ever cried. Like, hardly ever! Even when the nurse took her out for her shots and hearing test she brought her back in raving about what a calm baby I have. Those are such great things for a mom to hear about her baby!
We only spent one night in the hospital because we were ready to get home. When we woke up the next morning Ryan went and got the kids and Grandma Kissell and brought them to the hospital to meet their little sister. I was so excited to see them! I heard them coming down the hall and it made me so happy! They loved her immediately. Kate kept saying, "I can't stop looking at her!" and they were so excited to hold her. We hung out at the hospital a little and then they left for Kate to go to dance while we finished getting me discharged. I was so excited to head home that evening and sleep in my own bed.
The first few days were a little rough in that she was a great nurser...but she wanted to nurse constantly! She has the cutest, longest tongue I have ever seen on a baby and she was constantly rooting, sticking out her tongue and just looking for something to suck on. So the first few days, and especially the second night, were rough. She was content when sucking and sleeping...but that was it. So that is what we did. Then yesterday, on day 3, my milk came in in the evening and last night was amazing. She finally started going 3 hours between feedings and then being content and sleeping for longer periods. It was nice. I took her in to the pediatrician on 11/9 (2 days old) and today (4 days old) and she weighed 8 lbs 1 oz both times. She has lost quite a bit but the Dr isn't worried and she thinks it will come back up now that my milk is in. So hooray for milk!
The kids love having her home. Kate is constantly wanting to stare at her, kiss her, pat her head and hold her. Sawyer likes to get in on the action too, mostly when Kate is having her turn. They are amazing older siblings and I feel like such a lucky mom!
So now we have 3 kids! WHOA! And they are beautiful and healthy and amazing.

Okay, on to the pictures:

Last moments with 2 kids before leaving for the hospital

We finally made it to the hospital!
After epidural #2! Happy me!

And she's here!

8 lbs 13 oz

Proud Daddy


Kate and Sawyer loving their sister

I was sitting in bed and looked over and found Kate like this. She seriously can't get enough of her!

Welcome to the world Clara Faith! We love you so much and are so glad you are part of our family!

My little buddy

For the past couple of months since Kate has been going to Kindergarten it has been just me and Sawyer at home all day. At first I didn't know what we were going to do by ourselves and I was certain he was going to be incredibly bored without his favorite playmate. Looking back now that Clara has arrived and his days of being an only child at home alone are over, I feel so blessed to have had those two months. So I wanted to write down some of my favorite things we did together to remember them.

Every day after we dropped Kate off we would get home and Sawyer would say, "I want to cuddle and watch a show with you." So every morning we would cuddle up with a blanket, lay down on the couch and watch a show, usually Jake and the Neverland Pirates. And when I say we would watch it what I really mean is Sawyer would watch while I fell asleep. (I was one big, pregnant, tired mommy!) I loved wrapping my arms around him and falling asleep. He is the best and most willing cuddler. When I think of Clara in my belly, I think of Sawyer using her as a pillow.

Sometimes when we are driving in the car I will turn on Pandora to a Disney channel and we'll sing. Sawyer knows all the Disney songs. He can name what movie the song comes from almost as soon as he hears it. From The Little Mermaid to Cars to Mary Poppins, he knows them all! Sometimes I will just hum the songs, name that tune style, so he can guess and he's a master at that too. He also sings along if he knows the words, my favorite one he sings to is "See the Light" from Tangled. We sing at the top of our lungs together as we drive down the road.


We spent a lot of days while Kate was at school together cleaning the house. His two favorite things are laundry and cleaning the bathrooms. When we are actually doing the wash his favorite thing is to put the soap in the washing machine and he gets really sad when I forget and put it in on my own. When I do laundry I do it all at once so I have mountains to fold all at once. We would pile them all up on my bed, turn on either music or a movie on the computer, and fold laundry together. Sawyer is actually a really good folder. He loves to find socks and throw them into the sock pile and he loves to fold rags and towels. When we clean the bathrooms he always would ask for his own "rug" (he calls rags "rugs") and first we would put him up on the counter and clean the mirrors all by himself. Then we would spray the counters and he would wipe those off too. But his favorite thing to do is to flush the "blue potty" after I'm done cleaning it. Towards the end of my pregnancy cleaning wasn't my favorite thing to do but I would smile every time I watched Sawyer helping me.


Sawyer loves doughnuts and when we would go on little shopping trips together he would always ask for one. I'm ashamed to admit how often I gave in, but it sure was nice to shop with just one kid instead of two, with him sitting in the cart eating a sprinkle doughnut. It made the shopping trips easy and delicious!


Sawyer is the sweetest and most affectionate boy. I'll tell him, "Sawyer, get over here." and when he asks why I'll say, "I haven't had enough love today." and he'll come over and let me squeeze him and kiss him until I've had enough. When he walked into the hospital room after I had Clara he told me he hadn't had enough love that day and I got to kiss him and squeeze him to my hearts content. I always ask him, "Sawyer, how many boys do I have?" and he'll say, "1" and I'll tell him, "that's right and that makes you so special and I love you!" and then he'll get smothered in kisses. And he lets me.

Here are some other phone pictures of some of our Sawyer and Mom adventures

Swim lessons with Dan

Pretty Pretty Princess

Hair cut before

Hair cut after

Out shopping

Sawyer Lane Kissell, I love you. I know all of these things aren't going away. We will still be able to do all of them together with a baby sister, and have even more fun with her! But I wanted to remember the fun two months we had together with just you and me. You are my boy, you are the best, and I love you!