Sibling Love

There must be some physiological bond between siblings somewhat like what happens between parent and child. Lacey and Benjamin, but especially Lacey, are very drawn to Heidi. Benjamin is often asking where the baby is and wanting to play with her as soon as she opens her eyes. Lacey wants to hold the baby any chance she can, cries when she isn't able to, and is constantly trying to give Heidi hugs and kisses. I just always thought that siblings learned to love each other simply because they are stuck with each other, but the way the kids are so into Heidi makes me think there is a little something more to it than that. Below are just a few of the cuddles that occurred this last week.

Coming Home

We ended up having to stay in the hospital for an extra day for observation because I wasn't able to get enough antibiotics before Heidi was born. Brian and I were anxious to get home, and thankfully our discharge went fairly quickly. We were able to leave at noon. Heidi wore her new panda outfit and the white hat that both Benjamin and Lacey wore home from the hospital.

Heidi did great in the car. She slept the whole time and we were even able to make a quick stop to Babies R Us on the way. Hopefully she will continue to enjoy riding in the car.

Lacey and Benjamin were very excited to see the baby when we got home. We had to keep a close eye on Lacey because she hasn't quite figured out how to be gentle with Heidi yet. She kept trying to rock the carseat, hug the baby by laying on her, and give kisses and pats. I don't know how, but Heidi sleeps through most of it.

My mom was able to spend some time with the baby and help us with the other two before heading back to California the next day.

Benjamin also was able to get his cuddles in too. He is a bit more experienced in the baby holding department, so it wasn't as nerve racking to have him hold her. He did really well, but unlike Lacey, he was done after a few seconds.

Meeting the new addition

We couldn't tell who she looked like at first. She definitely has Brian's mouth and my furrowed brow, but it's still hard to tell. After looking at baby pictures of Benjamin and Lacey, she looks much more like her big brother. So for now we're thinking she might look more like Daddy.

The kids were a little crazy but very excited about the baby. Both of them wanted to hold her right away and Lacey even cried when Heidi was taken away. They did a good job sitting through lots of picture taking and Heidi was alert and calm during the whole frenzy.


Brian and his girls
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Lacey displayed her first bout of jealousy when Daddy was holding Heidi. She insisted on being held too, so Brian had to do some juggling.






Jessica and the 3 crazy kids



I had thought about how crazy it was going to be when Heidi arrived, but it really started to become apparent as I was trying to gently hold Heidi while Benjamin and Lacey climbed all over me. With two highly active kids and a newborn, life is definitely going to be interesting.

The Delivery

The contractions started early Sunday morning. I knew it wasn't time to go in, but just in case I took the kids to my mom's. When I got home, Brian and I went for a walk to see if we could get things moving and they jumped to 6 min apart and pretty strong. I was worried about my water breaking at home again, so I decided it was time to head to the hospital around noon. We were checked in and examined around 12:30. I was 7cm dialated, fully effaced, with the water ready to break at any second. By this time I had decided I wanted it to be a peaceful experience, so I decided to get an epidural. The nurses went into a flurry to get me all set up and by 2pm I was all set and comfortable.

The kids, my mom, and Brian's parents showed up about this time and Benjamin's first question was "where's the baby?" The nurse came in a bit later to check on me and found that the baby was already on her way down. With everyone out, we got set up to deliver. I started pushing at 3, and Heidi was born at 3:26. I had just the right amount of medicine where I could still feel all my contractions, but I wasn't in desperation mode so I was able to be a much better pusher than I had been in the past. Brian and I were able to chat and joke around with the doctor and nurse throughout the whole process. It was an awesome, joyous, and overall pleasant experience.

Tulip Festival

We went to the tulip festival this weekend with our friends Kris and Sarah and their son Aaden. Traffic was brutal, but the tulips were pretty as always and we tried our best to get some good pictures. The kids did fairly well except for Lacey near the end. The only incident was when Aaden fell into the mud, but he handled it like a champ.

Saturday Mornings with Benjamin

My boy and I have a lot in common, but one thing for sure is that we don't sleep in on the weekends. This allows for us to get away for an hour most Saturday mornings and go to Starbucks for some hot chocolate. We get to catch up on things and plan out our weekend adventures -- all while "the grils are sleeping in".

Awaiting Heidi

Here I am at 38 weeks. Heidi will join us any day now. We're anxious to get the delivery over with, eager to meet our baby girl, and nervous about handling 3 crazy kids.

Benjamin sings...sorta

Benjamin's Sunday school class sang during the service on Palm Sunday. Benjamin mostly looked nervous and swayed back and forth, but we did manage to catch him singing a little bit of the song. You'll have to forgive my shaky camera work...I was really far away using the super zoom.

Sock Hands!

Lacey has developed an obsession with having socks on her hands. We're not quite sure how or when it started. Sometimes it is one sock, sometimes multiple socks, and no one's socks are safe from being used as Lacey's sock hands!