12 days old!

Ivy is 12 days old today! Here's a run down on how everyone is doing around these parts starting with youngest to oldest:) (btw....this post started with the title 10 days old...things are a little busy around here if you can imagine!

Ivy: She is an awesome baby so far. I know this sound cliche, but she seriously just eats, sleeps and poops! She was a little jaundice leaving the hospital so we had to take her back to the doctor a couple of times for re-checks, but everything appears to be fixing itself! She eats every 3-4 hours and does a good job of both nursing and drinking a bottle. She loves her car seat and like all of my babies...prefers to be held rather than not:) Her closet is filling up quickly and we are not lacking for much because of our wonderful family and friends.



Mya: still very interested. I was hoping it would have decreased slightly, but I figure I still have help for one more week before I go at this solo. She is not content with just holding her on her lap anymore. Now she wants to burp her and hold her on her shoulder. She is awesome at washing her hands before holding or touching Ivy, but unfortunately thinks that just because she washes her hands means she can hold her no matter what! I often find some of Max and Mya's toys sitting by Ivy. It's pretty cute that they want to share with her. She can now pronounce Ivy correctly instead of saying Hy-Vee:)





Max: still not too interested in baby Ivy. He loves to tell people about her, but at home doesn't really notice that she is here. He keeps wanting to make faces at her so she will smile. I know he will get more interested once she is doing something other than...you know, eating, sleeping and pooping! Max has lots of questions about breastfeeding. He keeps asking why he can't feed the baby and why doesn't he have milk coming out of his tummy:) So far I have not seen either Max or Mya nursing one of the baby dolls, but I'm sure it will happen sooner or later. Just hope I have my camera ready when it does!

Chloe: She hasn't even noticed Ivy yet which is fine by me! She has found other ways to use the boppy pillow and has taken to chewing up anything that has the tiniest bit of milk spilled on it, but other than that, she's the same old Chloe:)




Beth: I am very thankful for friends and family who have helped us out so much. We have meals set up twice a week until the middle of January which is just an awesome blessing. I am starting to feel much better. The first day home from the hospital I could not even push down on the apple slicer, but last night I chopped two without feeling any pain! I'm also now able to sleep on my side and am down to just taking Advil a couple of times a day. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be my normal self on Black Friday this year:( Maybe I'll hit up one or two stores, but it will not be the same! I was sad to see Chris go back to work Monday, but my mom replaced him and we've been getting lots done and I've gotten a nap every day too! Oh...and my closets and cupboards have never looked so good!

Chris: has basically taken over parenting duties of Max and Mya. Since we switched to zone defense he has been awesome with the older two. He seems more comfortable this time around too. He never gave our other babies baths because they got so mad and were really slippery, but he gives Ivy her baths and does just fine...if the space heater is on full blast:)

All in all...we are doing really well! Having an easy baby makes all the difference in the world. I didn't know what I was missing!!:) Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! I know we have so much to be thankful for this year:)

Thankful Thursday

Ivy Anne

We have a new member of the Hoden family! Ivy Anne was born Friday morning 11-11-11 at 8:58 a.m. She weighed 7 lb 14 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. The C-section went off without a hitch and we were so surprised to find it was a girl! I just had a feeling it was a boy because I had been having some pretty strong boy dreams leading up to last Friday. The early signs all pointed to girl though, so I should have followed those signs!

Max and Mya got to meet Ivy shortly after she was born. My parents and Chris's parents were in the waiting room with them so Chris was able to walk out with her while I was being stitched up. One of the first things I said to Chris after the doctor said it was a girl was..."Mya is going to be so happy" She did not disappoint. She was thrilled beyond belief. Max was happy to see her, but seemed a little overwhelmed by the whole event. The kids were able to come in and see me around an hour and a half after surgery. Mya was so excited about Ivy that she hardly noticed me and Max was pretty scared about me being hooked up to machines, IV's, etc.

I am so thankful that my friend Marie was able to be in the waiting room and take some pictures of the kids' reactions. One thing about having C-sections is that I always missed that announcement part, but now I feel like I got to see it through her pictures. You can see them on her blog: mariefry.com

We left the hospital a day early because I was feeling fine and was ready to get home. Ivy is doing great. Her bilirubin is a little high so we have to go in tomorrow for a blood draw and a weight check, but I think it will all be okay now that she's eating really well. Her profile looks just like Max and she has long, skinny fingers with unbelievably long finger nails. We think she's pretty cute too:) Here are some pictures of her first few days. Look for a more detailed post on Miss Ivy to come. I'm a little short on sleep so it will have to wait! Enjoy some pictures in the mean time!

Holy cow...

Tomorrow is the big day. I'm feeling lots of different emotions right now. Excited, nervous, scared, and anxious are the top 4. I'm ready to be done being pregnant, but I know there are parts of it I will miss also. I'm excited to find out if it's a boy or a girl, how big he/she is, do they have hair, etc. I'm nervous about having a 3rd C-section, but I have to put my trust in the doctors and pray that everything goes well for both the baby and myself.

It feels like I've been pregnant forever. Recently I remembered a drawing Max drew last March when I was hoping that I was pregnant. He drew a picture of me and there were some squiggle marks in my belly. I asked him what it was and he said it was a baby! I was shocked. We had never mentioned having another baby to him so it totally came out of left field. Right then I knew I was pregnant and sure enough, 2 weeks later we found out for sure. I kept the drawing and wrote the date on so I would always remember it. A child's intuition is truly amazing!



Chris or I will update the blog just as soon as we can with some details of this little one's arrival. If you are on facebook, you will probably see it there first! Maybe someone could be kind and write Julie Wigle an e-mail since she's about the only person on this planet who is not on facebook:) J/K Jules:)

Random sleeping positions and Halloween 2011

When we got Max and Mya their new bunk beds, we debated for awhile on whether or not to put a rail up for Mya. She ended up on the floor a lot when she was sleeping in her toddler bed, but we weren't always sure if she did that on purpose or if she fell out of bed. That bed was less than a foot off the ground so we weren't too worried. This bed was a little farther off the ground and there was a wooden side rail that she could potentially hit so we decided to put one up. The only problem was that her mattress was sunk into the bed so our regular one that we used with Max wouldn't work. Good thing the engineer Uncle Jeff happened to be here that weekend because he jimmy-rigged something up for her to have a rail. Check out this picture Chris took a couple nights ago when he went to check on them before bed. I'd say she needs the bed rail, don't you agree??



The kids had a really nice Halloween this year. We attended a playdate Halloween Party Friday night, went to a Halloween parade and got more candy than we know what to do with trick-or-treating! I stayed home this year to hand out candy and Chris took the kids around with the neighbors. The report was that Max and Mya didn't stop running. When your little legs have to keep up with 5-8 year old legs, you don't have a choice! We had a spiderman and a Cinderella who were pretty darn cute if you ask me:)

Grandma Bev

The world lost a really fine lady today. Chris's Grandma lost her battle this morning. She fought really hard a few weeks ago to overcome some pretty serious complications, but then went back downhill a couple of days ago. She was going to turn 85 on November 13th.

I have some great memories of Bev. I lived just a few miles away from Chris's grandparents the year I lived in the Twin Cities. Bev was so worried about me student teaching in Minnesota (you know...Iowa winters just don't compare:) She brought me to Kohls on a Wednesday so we could get the senior citizen discount and bought me a winter coat that she approved of:) One of the things I loved most about her was her ability to be straight forward. One afternoon I was at their house for lunch while Chris and I were still dating and she sat me down and said, "So..are you going to marry Chris or what?" I just shook my head and said that I hoped so:) She made me laugh every time I saw her..usually over an inappropriate comment that only an 80+ year old could get away with:)

I've told a few people today about her death and more than once I've gotten the response "did your kids know her?" I can answer that question with a very confident Yes. They knew her well and I'm so happy and thankful for that today. Bev always had something special for Max and Mya at her house when we were there for holidays and if she didn't buy them something new, she let them take home a stuffed animal or some other toy they thought was the best thing ever. She always took care of Chloe too...giving her endless treats and sending home bones each time we went to Bloomington. Bev took great pride in Christmas shopping and making sure we got just what we wanted. The tower of presents at their house will never be outdone.

I'm really going to miss her. She lived to take care of other people and I know she'll continue to take care of us from heaven.