My baby

Here is a picture of my youngest when he was born. Look how teeny tiny he was!! 5 lb 6 oz and 6 weeks early. He has his one year doctor visit this afternoon and I'll find out how much he weighs and how his development is going. He seems to me to be perfectly happy and healthy to me and if I may say so, the cutest little bugger in the whole world!!!

Happy Birthday Jack-Jack!!

My Single Baby

One year ago right now, my water broke. 10:30 PM on Saturday, July 19, 2008, my water broke while I was at my parents' house. I was only 34 weeks pregnant, and my sister's wedding was the following Saturday. Also, my two oldest children were born cesarean, so I had to have a repeat cesarean - not good to have your water break and go into labor.

It's kind of a funny story. My sister had just had her hair cut. She was really upset because she didn't like how the stylist had cut her hair - only one week before her wedding. "And the pictures last forever," she said. "I can't have bad hair!" So we all gathered in the living room to cheer her up. My brother told a joke and I laughed. I thought I had peed my pants, from laughing so hard. But then I stood up and realized that was not pee!

My mother and sister drove me to the hospital, with towels between my legs. At that point I was having pretty painful contractions and was worrying about the baby. But mostly I was worried about me. I wasn't ready for this baby, and my sister's wedding was only a week away!!! Cesareans mean 4 nights in the hospital for me, plus a few weeks of exhaustion and recovery.

My beautiful little boy was born in the wee hours of the morning on July 20, 2008. He weighed just 5 lb 6 oz, but was healthy. He didn't know how to suck, so I worked tirelessly to teach him how to nurse. He left the special care nursery 14 days later, able to nurse and ready to come home.

I call my youngest "My Single Baby" because, really, I have been a single mother to him since before he was born. In case you didn't notice, there is one important figure in this story missing: my baby's father. He moved out 3 months before I went into labor. He had divulged his affair to me just 6 weeks prior to me going into labor, and I had just moved back home alone with my children, after a 2 week recovery period at my parents' house, just 4 weeks before going into labor.

I was very very much a single mother. I had to find family members to watch the kids while I was at the hospital. I had wonderful family and friends drive me to the hospital every day to nurse him for 3 or 4 of his feedings during the day. I was the only advocate for this teeny tiny baby in the special care nursery, trying my best to get him home - to this family consisting of just a mother and siblings.

My Single Baby has never lived with his father. He does not know a two-parent household. He still wakes up in the middle of the night to nurse, because there is no one else to go in and comfort him and help him fall asleep. He probably doesn't get the same patience the other kids got at that age - I just don't have what I used to. But he is loved SO much, by me, his siblings, extended family and wonderful friends. I am so blessed to have him in my life, to care for him every day, and to love him. At night, when I nurse him to sleep, I often think that he is all mine. He is my baby. All mine. And I relish that. My Single Baby.

My Green-ish Thumb

I am soooo sore. I decided last night that this would be the day I would tackle the little patch of earth in my front yard. I think it used to be grass, which died. Then we bought sod, and that died. It is that little circular area between my porch and my walkway to the front door. You know what I'm talking about - awkward area, right?
So today I spent way too much money on perennials at Home Depot. Then came home and realized that somewhere along the line, it had been a rock garden. Great! Then went to True Value to buy manure and topsoil. Put that down and graded the pretty little mound of earth. Then laid out landscaping tarp, and finally, planted 15 or so perennials.
This adventure took me all day! Why do I always underestimate how long it will take me do complete projects? I thought it would take me the morning, then I could organize my garage in the afternoon. No way... now the poor garage is being left until next week sometime.
I will post pictures of my masterpiece once I take some. I was too tired to lift the camera. Taking some Tylenol PM tonight for this sore back.

Things I Learned While Camping With Three Children

1. Campgrounds are like a trial-run for the real world our children are entering. They got quite a few liberties on this camping trip, like going to the bathrooms alone, roaming the area on bikes, and meeting new friends. They also had some lessons. Like don't ditch your little brother. If your little brother is running, and you are biking, slow down so he doesn't get left behind. Also, if Mom has to go to the bathroom and it's not dark enough to pee next to the tent, don't even think about touching that fire when I am gone. And I am taking the little brother with me, because he would do more than think to touch the fire.
2. Invest in a 5-way pack-n-play. They are way cooler than a regular pack-n-play because they not only contain small children, and have wheels for moving it into the tent at night, but they include a sun-protecting mesh canopy thing. It's awesome!
3. Put your cell phone number or camp site number on your children's arms with permanent marker or pen. (I can not take credit for this idea, only the implementation.)
   (gasp!) but that will seep into their skin and isn't good for them!
   Well, neither is being kidnapped or getting lost in the dark in an unfamiliar campground. OK?
4. Candy thrown from 4th of July parade floats and cupcakes do not a meal make. This is why this "meal" will sooner or later (probably sooner) make a repeat appearance. This one's a lesson for ME. Next time I will force feed them real food or not allow the eating of parade candy as it's thrown.
5. Someone should invent child-sized ear plugs. Boy #1 can fall asleep anywhere (and has been crashed on my living room floor for 2 hours as I type this). Boy #2 is an infant, and when tired enough, can also sleep through anything. However, Girl #1 did not like our neighbors singing and talking loudly until midnight. She had me call the main office to tell them about it, but no one answered the call. She was stuck with trying to fall asleep through the noise and I was stuck with her waking me up several times to tell me she couldn't fall asleep.
6. Don't forget your air mattress. I actually left it at home because there is a small leak and I didn't have the time or energy to fix it before we left. Bad idea!!! Dirt is hard! I would have rather started on the mattress and ended up on the ground, than just started off on the ground.
7. Don't forget your toothbrush. In all truthfulness, I wouldn't have cared if one of the kids forgot theirs. When unsupervised, they brush for all of 5 seconds anyway. Yeah, it was me. I had to borrow G's. It was that or nothing, and I do not like that fuzzy sweater feeling on my teeth at night, camping or not.
8. Camp eggs and toast is the absolute best! I look forward to that meal every time I go camping. There is something about that camp toast...I butter both sides of the bread and put it on the griddle right next to the eggs. Then flip. It's a cross between french toast without the french, or grill cheese with no cheese. Yum!
9. Bring a bike for everyone. The kids had fun riding around on the trails and with their friends. The last day of camping I rented a bike, and a bike trailer for the boys. I was thinking we'd ride for a few hours. Yea, the bikes they rent don't have hand-brakes. That was fine. Weird, but fine. They also are one-speed. Have you ever tried towing 40 lb. of small children uphill on a one-speed bike? It wasn't easy.
10. Children will eat a marshmallow that lands anywhere. Even if it lands in the fire and is picked back up onto the pokey-thing. It will get eaten. Don't ask me why.