Baby Announcement

I've been playing around with the computer/photoshop trying to figure out what I wanted to do for a birth annoucement. This is what I have so far. I might change it...we'll see.

The labor and delivery went pretty well. It was record time for me (less than 5 hours from when I went to be induced to when Katelyn was born) as far as deliveries go. Poor Katelyn suffered some "birth injuries" as a result of the quick labor and delivery though. Her poor face was all black and blue. She also has red rings around her eyes as a result of burst blood vessels. Poor thing also has a squishy lump on her head where blood pooled under the scalp (cephalohematoma). The pediatrician said that she's healthy although some cephalohematomas leave a permanent bump on the top of the head. I guess only time will tell on that one.

I'm doing pretty good as far as recovery. Doss has part of this week off so that is nice. Plus, my friend Tania is coming with her daughter to stay for a few days to help out. It's nice to have some help with the kids so that I can tend to and enjoy bonding with Katelyn.

Ready or Not?

So, I guess baby is coming tomorrow whether we're ready or not. Today I finished getting the kids' Halloween costumes together. Audrey is going to be Minnie Mouse and Joseph wanted to be a pirate. We have a trunk or treat at the church on tuesday and then Doss said he'd take the kids trick-or-treating around the neighborhood on Halloween.

I also bought a hotsling today. I was wanting something to carry the baby in that would free up my hands so that I could still do things for Joseph and Audrey. I like the design of the hotsling better than the other carriers that are available. I do have a Baby Bjorn carrier for when the baby gets older. I loved the Baby Bjorn carrier and used it alot with Audrey. The hotsling is good til toddler age so maybe I'll keep using that...we'll see. It's nice to have options. I heard that the hard thing about having three young children is that you run out of hands. I'm hoping the sling/carrier option helps to alleviate that problem.

So the next problem I've been trying to tackle is to think of baby names. We like Katelyn Ming-Hui Barker if the baby is a girl (according to the ultrasound). I'm starting to be a little doubtful that the baby is a girl because everyone from my parents to the guy who mows the lawn insists that I'm having a boy. Doss and I are having trouble agreeing on a boy's name. We did like Stephen, but we don't like the fact that it could be pronounced like Stefan or Steven. Currently, I like Jace or Matthew and Doss likes Kevin and David. I sure hope the baby is a girl since we really like the name Katelyn and Joseph has been calling the baby "Baby Kate."

I am nervous about being induced, but hopefully things will go well. I really hate pitocin. Hopefully labor and delivery will go smoothly and fairly quickly. I am excited about the new baby, but I also feel guilty whenever I look at Audrey. She's still so little and I don't think she understands that she won't be the baby anymore. Yesterday she put her head on my belly a few times. Maybe she understands more than I think she does. Either way, she'll be a big sister tomorrow. Joseph has been excited about the new baby. He was so good with Audrey and still is. He's a great big brother.

Well, tomorrow is the big day. I'm going to get a few last things together and try and get some rest.

Baby's Coming This Week

So I had a doctor's appointment friday morning and nothing new has happened. I was hoping all those "practice" contractions were doing something because some of them were downright painful and kept coming for hours. Anyway, if I haven't had the baby by this coming wednesday, the doctor will induce on thursday morning.

The kids are back from Arlington too. Dad came back friday afternoon with the babies. I missed them sooo much. The house was just way too quiet without them. I didn't really get any extra rest because I kept waking up when the kids normally wake up plus I seemed to have a harder time sleeping without them around. I was also busy tying up loose ends before the baby comes.

I did get lots of stuff done which was good. All the baby clothes have been washed in Dreft and the house was cleaned top to bottom. I'm just planning on doing some upkeep this week. Hopefully things don't get too out of hand by the time the baby comes.

We are very excited that baby is coming. I am so happy to be having another baby, but I must confess that I dread labor and delivery. They never seem to go too well or very quickly for that matter. I always end up on pitocin and having awful contractions for a very long time. I really hate pitocin. I guess we'll see what happens this time.

Sleep

With the kids gone for a few days, you would think that I would be getting lots of sleep. I thought yesterday was wednesday and Doss reminded me that it was only tuesday. It seems like the kids have been gone forever instead of for just one day. I really miss them alot. I got up early this morning since I can't seem to sleep. I've been thinking about the kids and about how I can be a better mom and be better about teaching them gospel principles. I was looking at the suggestions on the Church website this morning. There are some really good ideas. Dad said he'll bring the kids back on friday. I called the kids yesterday, but they were excited about going to the park and didn't want to talk. Joseph did talk to me when I called monday night to make sure they made it to Arlington okay.

Yesterday morning I went visiting teaching with Jennie. Kasey is one of the sisters that works in the nursery. She said that Audrey and Joseph were really good in nursery. That was nice to hear. Afterwards Jennie and I and a couple of other sisters from chuch had lunch at Subway. That was fun. Last night Doss and I also went to a Halloween party put on by the HOA of Hunter's Ridge. We were able to meet more of our neighbors. We had a good time. The ladies in the neighborhood are so sweet. Laura and Shelley said that they would be happy to drive me to the hospital if I needed it. Lisa said that she is always up all hours of the night and would be happy to help out if we needed help in the middle of the night. Lynne said that she would organize dinners. They are all so kind.

The sisters at church are also so very sweet. So many of them have also offered to help out with whatever we need. I really resisted moving to Oklahoma, but everyone here has been so friendly and kind. The kids and I have already made new friends. It has also been so nice to live on some acreage out in the country. We have been so richly blessed.

While the kids are gone, I really need to clean the house. I'd also like to make some more activity pages/folders for the kids and get together some flannel board scripture stories for the kids. I have been reading to the kids from the Book of Mormon in the mornings during or after breakfast. I didn't really think Joseph was interested, but he has asked and made comments about the reading. We were reading about Captain Moroni recently. Joseph said he saw Moroni on top of the temple. I said that was a different Moroni, but it was really neat to see him think about the connection between what we were reading and something in real life.

Well, I will probably be tired in a little bit since I've been up for awhile. I guess I'll be able to nap whenever I feel like it. I suppose I should enjoy it while I can since sleep will soon be a scarce commodity once the baby comes.

Quiet

Dad came to visit for a few days and decided to take the kids back to Arlington for a few days. He'll be back with the kids sometime this weekend. It's so strange to be in the house alone without the kids. It's so quiet. I miss them already and they just barely took off. Joseph has been asking to go to Arlington to see Nai-Nai and Michael so he was pretty happy about going. Joseph said he would be a little sad and that he would miss me. I said I would be very sad and I would miss them alot. Joseph said I should only be a little sad. Audrey waved bye-bye to me. I think I'm going to have a hard time when they are old enough to go to school. The kids don't seem to suffer from separation anxiety. They never have had a problem with that. I'm the one with the problem. Audrey even went to nursery a few weeks ago without any crying. The kids have been pretty independent even though we rarely leave the kids with anyone. These last few months have been the longest that I've been away from the kids. Mom and Dad watched them for a few days while Doss and I did some house-hunting before the move. Then we left them in Arlington with Mom and Dad while we moved into the house in Edmond and got unpacked.

Even though they can be challenging at times, overall, I really love having the kids with me all the time.

Long Weekend

Doss has been working a new schedule where he gets every other friday off. This last weekend was a 3-day weekend since he had friday off. We took the kids to my ob appointment friday morning so Doss could meet the doctor. Looks like not much has happened since last week. I'm a little more dilated and a little more effaced, but the baby is not in labor position as of yet. Dad is going to drive up on wednesday and help out with the kids until the baby comes. Hopefully baby will come sooner rather than later since I don't want my dad to have to stay indefinitely. I'm sure he's got lots of other things to do.

This weekend was also General Conference weekend. Since we have satellite at the house, we were actually able to watch all the sessions that were broadcast. Doss went to the priesthood session at the church. I really enjoyed conference this weekend. I did get a little spacey towards the end of the sunday afternoon session, but overall, I felt like I got a lot out of the sessions. It's been a really nice weekend.

Organ

So I don't play the organ, but I got a call on tuesday from the Relief Society President at church saying that she desperately needed someone to play the organ for a funeral this morning. I said I would do it if she couldn't find anyone else even though I have never played the organ at church before. My piano teacher had taught me some organ basics back in the day, but I've never had to play before. I went to the church last night to practice. I think things went all right today. The worse thing that happened was that since I haven't attended very many funerals, I wasn't sure when I was supposed to play. I didn't realize they wanted me to play while the family was filing in and then when they left. I just thought I was supposed to play the songs that were being sung during the service. Anyway, I think it was okay. People said they didn't know I played organ. I said I didn't. They said I do now. Hopefully no one will ask me again. I was so nervous I hardly slept the night before. I'm so glad it's over.