I'm back! But I don't have to like it!

After 12 weeks on maternity leave, I have to say just how easy it was to leave the electronic world behind. At first, my guilty conscience ate at me when I wasn't checking email but I quickly got over that. And now that I'm back to work...well I can only imagine that I will have more time to check my email, update the blog, do some laundry, take a shower....oh sorry...I got a little carried away there. But in all honesty, one can accomplish more working a full-time job than you can when spending all day at home with 3 kids.

So what have we done all summer long? Take a look...

Of course, first came the introduction of Robert into our family...

Then Megan "graduated" from pre-k. The ceremony was held the day after Robert and I came home from the hospital. So I apologize for not taking more pictures of the event but let's just say that stitches and metal chairs do not make for a comfortable combination. It was all that I could do to shoot this one picture and unfortunately it's a bit blurry. Here she is accepting her "diploma"...

Along with a visit from his Aunt Chris from Tennessee, Aunt Tam and the girls also came up from PA for a visit. The kids and I also made 2 trips back to PA as well with one of those trips occuring when Robert was only 2 weeks old. He is now a seasoned traveler just like his older brother and sister. (Here are the kids playing at a playground back in PA.)

We also made a trip to Sea Isle City, NJ with some of the family. Here's Robert's first trip to the beach...

Here's Matt, learning how to boogey board. First he started on solid ground...

Then he went into the water with some help from Dad...

From there he was on his own... (and no, I was not quick enough to snap the picture of him getting slammed by another wave and coming up choking and sputtering which resulted in the end of the boogey board lessons. Why? Because I was too busy yapping at Bill for letting him go when the kid doesn't know how to swim. Let's prioritize Bill!! Eliminate the oldest child first and then move on to the younger ones!)

Walking to the lake...

The boys, playing in the ocean...

Matt was often found just staring at the water and giggling...

Exhibit AExhibit BExhibit CExhibit DPosing for Sports Illustrated, Swimsuit Edition...

Megan and Matt, sitting along the water and having fun as the waves pushed them around...

Taylor and Bill...

Zach, the funny kid...

Some good natured rivalry...

Seth...

Goofy Megan...

Mommy Taylor... best babysitter EVER!

Uncle Bill taught Matt how to pop a wheelie - here he is practicing...

Peeking out from the tent...

Uncle Dan, taking Megan on one of many bike rides...

Crazy kid...

Jocelyn...

Taylor...

Dad and Megan...

Matt in a hole...

So now the summer has come to an unofficial end with Mommy going back to work, the boys are at day care and Megan is starting Kindergarten. She's doing well (although her first morning going off to the extended day program was a little teary) and enjoys going to school. She loves to wear a uniform and thinks of herself as one of the big kids now. She also proceeded to tell me last evening while I was tucking her into bed that this year she might get a boyfriend. "Lord, help us!"

Introducing...

...Robert Paul Baker... born 6/12/07 at 4:28pm
...8lbs 8oz - 20 1/4" long

Last Tuesday I woke up around 4am with some "cramping". Nothing more and since I had experienced this two weeks earlier I managed to to not get overly excited about this. Around 5am I began keeping track of them and found that they were coming on every 10-15 minutes.

At 6am, when it was time for Bill to get up for work I told him what I had been experiencing for the past 2 hours but also noted that it had been over 20 minutes since the last one had hit. He got up and showered and when he was done I still had not had any further "cramping". My initial thought was, "here we go again...false labor!" So off to work he went and back to sleep for me.

At 8am I was woken up by a nice little contraction and the sound of the kids running around downstairs. So I got up and decided to start the day. And this time the contractions, although still only slightly more painful than cramping, were coming at an even 10 minutes. Bill had already decided that he would work for a while at the office and would be home before noon unless I notified him otherwise so I gave him a call to give him the latest update. He decided to finish up what he was doing and head back home.

When Bill arrived sometime after 10am the contractions had dwindled once again. So off we all went for a few laps around the block with the hopes that it might trigger labor to begin again. Unfortunately it seemed that our attempts were futile at this point.

Around 1pm we put the kids down for naps and I snoozed off and on downstairs in the living room while whining the entire time about how this child was never going to come out and that I had no idea what I could do to alter things. And then somewhere in the midst of my complaining they began again. This time they were worth noting and so we began to keep track of them...12 minutes...10 minutes and so on.

Finally, around 2:45pm we decided to get the kids up and drop them off at our friends' in Hamden where we would also wait things out. This would put us 10 minutes from the hospital as opposed to the 30 minutes from our home.

By 3pm we were packing up the car when I noted to Bill that they were suddenly becoming much stronger and were now coming every 5 minutes. So we placed the call to the Doctor's office and we were told to come in to their office for a quick exam.

We were less than 2 miles down the road when the contractions were coming every 3 minutes and the rush began. We made alternate plans for Bill's Mom to meet us at the doctor's office and take the kids to our friends'.

When we arrived at the doctor's office and informed them the contractions were coming every 3 minutes, I was rushed in for the fastest exam ever. I was told that I was 8 centimeters dilated and fully efaced and if I left the office that minute we would still be able to make it to the hospital and that they would be calling in my arrival ahead of time.

We must have hit every red light and school bus on the way to the hospital. We arrived at 4pm, wheelchair waiting for me at the curb and off we went. But even the elevators would not cooperate...so off we went to faster elevators. (Why we didn't head that direction in the first place is beyond me.)

From that point I had just enough time to change into a hospital gown and for them to break my water before we began pushing. And I thank God it went fast because honestly, no matter how many kids you have, no matter what size they end up being...they all hurt like hell coming out with no pain relief! But the end result is so worth every last minute of pain. Just look at the beautiful family we've created!

You're still here?

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard that, well I wouldn't be rich, but it sure as hell feels like I would be.

But yes, I'm still here...sitting at work...willing my cervix to dilate...wishing for painful contractions... Anything at this point would be better than where I am now. The worst part of it all is not that I'm uncomfortable and miserable physically. I'm just emotionally "pissed off" and impatient. I'm only 1 day past my due date and yet it feels like an eternity. Most likely because Mom and Dad made it up here early this time and now they are sitting and waiting......and waiting..........and waiting........and I can't do anything to control this or speed things up.

So with every little twinge, cramp and braxton hicks contraction that comes across my body, a little part of me gets excited that perhaps "this is it"! And then as it passes and fails to return within that nice little 10-15 minute time frame that contractions begin to fall into, I grow a bit more insane.

What could'a been an eventful weekend turned into...yawn...

The kids were gone Friday AND Saturday night. Let me repeat the AND portion of that sentence. Bill and I took advantage of the quiet evening on Friday and headed out to dinner together. There was a lot of baby talk of course and I don't mean the sickening sweet baby talk of new lovers. We talked about the kids, about the 3rd/4th on the way, about how I'm apprehensive once again and how it could happen "any time now". That seems to be my standard response when asked when I'm due..."any time now"...

After dinner we headed home and my comfy bed along with my need for sleep called for me. Bill, on the other hand, heard the Red Sox calling his name that evening. And with the rain delay that he patiently waited out, he fell asleep on the couch, coming up to bed around 3:30AM. (And might I add what a blissful sleep I had during those 5 hours of non-snoring, no bed sharing required hours.

Shortly after he came up stairs, I became a bit "crampy" and I remember falling back to sleep thinking about how I haven't experienced that feeling in 9 months now. A little after 4AM I awoke to my first contraction. No, nothing painful, just a nice tightening of the stomach, but along with that same crampy feeling from earlier that had not yet disappeared. I drifted in/out of sleep while the contractions came about 15 minute intervals. Never increasing in intensity but certainly enough to make me feel excited about what was surely somewhere on the horizon.

Sometime after 6AM, I noticed that Bill had woken up and I explained to him what I had been going through for the past 2 hours. As we were both still more interested in sleeping, we let it go at that and drifted back to sleep.

The alarm went off at 8AM and although the crampiness had not subsided, I had not had any further contractions since around that 6:30AM time period. So we debated whether or not Bill should go to Bryan's baseball games that day and concluded with the stand-by of "don't leave the cell phone behind for anything." I assured him I would call at the first sign of any commotion but that if things remained the same, I was heading out to my hair appointment at 10:30AM anyhow...so why sit around the house and wait for what may or may not come.

As it turns out...what may never came. I napped for at least 3 hours in the afternoon and the day passed by with only minor discomfort on my part as those cramps never went away until the evening hours.

By the time I crawled into bed that evening, I felt as good as new. And have continued to feel that way ever since. The only irritation being the heat which Bill alleviated by turning on the A/C in the TV room for me.

So no further signs of a baby and at this rate, this will be the kid that 18 years from now refuses to leave home...just like it's refusing to leave my womb!

I'm still here

Need I say more? Ok - I will, because I feel the need to elaborate.

I feel great - pregnancy wise. As for the cold that has come upon me and has instilled it's death grip on my head this past week? Well it's simply kicking my fat ass right now! I crawled into bed at 8:30pm last night and would have been much happier had it been 6:30pm instead. And for those of you who know me (night owl) know that I must be feeling pretty darn crappy to have gone to bed that early.

I got up at 10:30pm (yes - I had to pee already) and was feeling all exhausted, crampy and just nasty overall and I remember thinking that if I was going into labor that God must really hate me. There was no way that I would have had enough energy at that point to push a baby out of my cooch feeling the way that I did then.

Today is a little better. And now the kids are off with Aunt Alicia for 2 WHOLE NIGHTS!!! So I figure I've got a few options. I can:

• Catch up on my sleep
• Get romantic with my husband and hopefully kick start labor
• Catch up on my sleep
• Put the crib together
• Catch up on my sleep
• Clean the house (maybe strenuous vacuuming will bring on labor!!)
• Catch up on my sleep

Oh well - no matter what I choose to do, this kid is coming out whenever it's ready and there's really not much I can do about it. But as another expectant mother said to her unborn child the other day, "This due date thing...it's just a suggestion really. You can come out at any time. Really. Any time. NOW!"

Baby #3 update...

As of 1pm - Wednesday, May 23rd - 1 centimeter dilated and 70% efaced...

WOO-HOO! Got some movement going on down there. Granted, it could be another week before the kid makes it's grand debut, but I'm holding out hope for some time during the long Memorial Day weekend.

Stay tuned!

Mother's Day

This Mother's Day was by far the best one ever! The kids are at the perfect age where we no longer need to prompt them to say or do things and in my eyes, that's the best. Megan convinced her Aunt Alicia to buy a gift for me the week before at the dollar store and she had been patiently waiting all week long to give it to me. She also reminded me on a daily basis leading up to it that I was "not allowed to look inside". I didn't have the heart to tell her that Matt told me what it was the day that they brought it home. (So much for keeping secrets when he's involved!)

Sunday rolled around beautiful and sunny. Megan and Matt woke up, came into our room and the first thing that they said was "Happy Mother's Day". Then they both dragged Daddy out of bed so they could get my presents. After opening up their gift of a teddy bear tucked into a rose coffee mug, a handmade gift that Megan had made at school, and a beautiful eternity diamond necklace from Daddy (combo Mother's Day/anniversary gift), the kids went off to play in Megan's room while we lounged in bed. A little later, Bill got up with the kids and fed them breakfast while I took my time showering, shaving and general grooming in peace!!! No interruptions!!

The afternoon was spent at Nanie's and with the Cole side of the family where Matt practiced skate boarding with his cousin...

Father/Daughter Dance

Where do I begin? I've definitely fallen behind this past week and at this point I need to catch up on a couple of events. The first one is the Father/Daughter dance which took place on 5/11 (told you I'm behind) and was pretty much the event of the school year for Megan. She had been looking forward to it for some time and knew exactly where it fell on the calendar she marks off.

A few days prior, we decided to try on some dresses that she had in her closet. Of course the one that she loved the most was the one that both Bill and I liked the least. So the very next day we headed out to Marshalls to find a bargain dress. And what a bargain it turned out to be! $12.99 later we headed home with the pink dress that she fell in love with.

The next day...Bill calls to tell me that it is torn, which probably explains why the bow was tied around the front of the dress and not the back (I'm brilliant about noticing those smaller details - ha). So off I go to another Marshalls close to work. And what do I find? The same dress for $11.00!!! (Do you think we'll be able to get away with paying $11.00 for a prom dress in another 10 years?)

So it turned out to be a successful 'mini-prom' night and Megan was ecstatic to have a date with her Daddy. Here are the pics from that evening...

It looks like Grandpa's lips...

Funny and unusual things that the kids say or have said in the past:

Gubble-gum (Matt, referring to bubblegum)

Nuse - pronounced n'yuse (Megan and Matt both said this instead of 'use'. Still trying to break Matt of the habit.)

"I love my Pap-Pap. I pull his pants down." (Matt, after spending a week with Pap-Pap and Grammie here in CT during which time he de-pantsed my Dad whose was wearing his PJ's at the time.)

"Grandpa lives in Kevin with Jesus." (Matt, referring to heaven, not Uncle Kevin)

"Hi Uncle Fat Kid. You swimming like Free Willy?" (Matt's opening line when calling to wish Uncle Kevin a happy birthday who was vacationing in FL.)

"The baby will come out of your mouth." (Megan, after catching an accidental glimpse of a c-section on TV and thinking that the incision she saw was someone's mouth.)

"It looks like Grandpa's lips when he was in that bed." (Megan, after looking at my belly button which appears to have a protruding "upper lip". She was referring to Grandpa's lips when she saw him in the casket. And yes, the kids all said it looked like he was getting ready to spit.)

Caterputter and hepicopter (A very young Bryan, referring to caterpillars and helicopters - according to Daddy)

Updates

Let's start with the oldest...Megan...where do I begin with this one. The melodrama + Mommy's raging hormones = a very bad combination. The crying just never ends and I'm right on the verge of joining her for lack of a better solution at this point. I mean, seriously. Just this morning she asked me if the Father/Daughter dance was this evening, to which I responded that no, it was next Friday. And she proceeded to burst into tears. Give me a break already kid! I've never been into the whole "medicating kids" thing, but if her hormones are this bad at the age of 5 - one of us is going to need to be medicated SOON!!!

Then there's Matt. Matt is testing his limits in the talking back department. Just the other night, after a few hours of putting up with his sass, I warned him that any more of it would warrant a slap on the mouth. Ok, so that was like the equivalent of talking to a brick wall...and yes, I popped him on the mouth and the darn kid wasn't phased. Probably because I didn't do it hard at all. Just enough to get his attention. But it must have worked because the talking back stopped. (Well, it was either the pop on the mouth that fixed it or the fact that he was in bed 15 minutes after that.)

He's also getting beat up by a 2 year old at daycare. A girl, I might add. HA! My babysitter tells me that Catherine is feeling her oats too and has been scratching and pinching Matt. She believes it's because they are the same size so of course he's the most logical target for her. Oh well - he'll survive. But in turn, he's also biting and punching 2 of the older kids. I have to be honest and say that I don't really care about this because, well, they are both 5 years old and if they are letting a 3 year old get the best of them, then they deserve it. But also because these are two of the kids that used to beat up on him all the time about a year ago. Back when he didn't know any better to fight back or walk away. Back when Megan told me that these two kids had ganged up on him, beating him with pillows one day. And when I asked what Matthew did in return, she said nothing. That he just laid on the floor while they hit him. And now I want to cry again...because really - he was just a baby for goodness sake!! And yes, I know he's 3 years old now, but c'mon - the kid is still wearing size 18-24 months!!!

And let's not forget baby #3... With a little over 4 weeks to go, they are pretty sure that the baby is in a head down position (thank God!) and I'm up to 27lbs in total weight gain. Yeah for me!!! But you would never know it by looking at me. This stomach sticks out farther than it did the first two times around...clothes are getting tight...and I'm struggling to avoid the waddle. Yep, don't want to succumb to the pregnant duck waddle!!! So 4 of those pounds were added on in just the past two weeks alone but I've been eating healthy. Lots of fruit (pineapples and strawberries this time around) and plenty of ice. Gotta chew on ice...

*Back off Bill - I may have eaten a quart of strawberries in one sitting - on two separate occassions - but they are STRAWBERRIES!! How much damage could they have done?

**Ok, so the first round had sugar added to them. So what!

***And well, last night's round, I ate with the left-over cool-whip.

****And by left-over, I mean left-over from the strawberry shortcake that I had been eating earlier in the week with another quart of strawberries.

*****It's worth mentioning that the shortcake was prepared with Angel Food cake - and we all know that that's low in fat. Right?

Fishing

Megan has been begging to go fishing ever since she watched some fishing show on ESPN one day way back in December. So Daddy promised her that he would take her during the opening weekend of fishing season. About a week prior, we went to Dick's and bought her her very own pink fishing pole and of course Matt jumped on the band wagon too. Although it was probably just so he could get his own pole as well.

The weekend came upon us and it was perfect weather, so after Daddy finished his annual opening morning routine, he took both of the kids out to Wharton Brook State Park for their very first experience. No fish...not that the kids cared. According to Dad, they were more interested in playing with a little boy that they had befriended while there.

Sunday rolled around and since we had Bryan that day too we decided to head down to the river for another round of fishing. Again...no fish...but possibly because each kid lasted for about 5 minutes before they grew bored with it all. But not before I was able to snap some pictures of their first (ok second) experience...

Patiently waiting for Daddy to finish baiting the hooks...

...Matt's idea of waiting patiently...

Future Angler pin-up girl

The Devil at his best

Bored after just a few minutes and aggravated by the sand between his toes...

BEAUTIFUL weekend!!

This past weekend was absolutely gorgeous and we took advantage of every last minute of it. Saturday was opening day of fishing season, so when the alarm went off at 4AM, Bill was out the door for his annual ritual with Uncle Fat Kid.

I, on the other hand, rolled back over and slept until Matt joined me at 7:15AM, followed by Megan 30 minutes later when I finally pried myself off of the mattress. Once I saw (and felt) how warm and beautiful it was, I instantly felt rejuvenated and felt the need to do some spring cleaning...or nesting...haven't quite figured out yet what it was that struck me. So I set the kids loose in the back yard, keeping an eye on them as I began doing laundry, etc.

They started out playing on the deck and from there headed out to the swing set where I watched them running from the middle of the yard and landing on the swings on their tummies, laughing hysterically. All was good...and then I went upstairs to grab some more dirty laundry...and when I looked out the upstairs bathroom window, I saw Matthew...hanging from the middle of the monkey bars...with Megan hollering, "jump down Matthew".

It was like I was frozen on the spot. I knew I couldn't make it down the stairs, through the house and across the back yard fast enough to help him down (and no - not just because I'm weighed down with this gigantic stomach) but because I was afraid to take my eyes off of him for fear that if I left that window, he would fall and I wouldn't have been "watching". Crazy I know - but that was the thought process I went through in those few short moments. My saving grace, or rather Matthew's saving grace, was our old next door neighbor who came running across the back yard in his robe and p.j.'s, all the while yelling, "Hang on Matthew! Don't let go!"

Well he made it there in time and everyone was fine. I, however, went through another crazy thought process before ungluing myself from my post at the window. How do I go down and face my neighbor? An old man, with at least 40 years on me, who managed to make it out of his house (or at least off of his deck) and through the back yard fast enough to save my son, when all I could do was watch. God - I'm a horrible mother. What other mothers allow their 5 and 3 years olds play in the back yard without hovering over them? Was my need to get the cleaning done that great that I couldn't think logically? Can I get away with blaming my pregnancy brain on this one?

Nah - I went with the classic - "Thank you sooooo much John! I heard what was going on but I was going to the bathroom and couldn't get back out here fast enough." Surely implying that I was taking a dump was a good enough excuse. I mean, would he honestly think that I would round up the kids and bring them back inside, just so I could do my business? Yeah - this excuse would have to do...but I guess I'd better come up with something better for the next time when I allow my bad parenting skills to shine through for all to see!!

Baby #3 Update

I've been quietly holding my breath and saying little prayers that all early indications for the wee-one still in utero will wind up being healthy and it appears that I can finally exhale a bit. After numerous visits to Yale for follow-up ultra-sounds, I was given the ok yesterday that this baby should be as normal as possible. Well, at least as normal as a baby with one kidney can be. Ok...at least as normal as a Baker baby with one kidney can be. Because even with both of it's kidneys, it still would have a tough time being "normal" in this family!!

At last months check-up, the remaining kidney was normal in size, but as of yesterday, it had grown a bit more and is now slightly larger than the average sized kidney. And that's a good thing. This will help compensate for the missing one.

Also during my last check-up, the doctor "scanned" me rather quickly to see if I had both of my kidneys, which I do. They wanted to rule out heredity as a cause for this. But because Daddy was not readily available for a quick scan as well, this months check-up included extensive coverage of the heart. Evidently if this was NOT a hereditary issue, the heart could indicate a much larger problem at hand. After viewing the heart from every angle, listening and recording every little beat and watching the blood flow in/out of every ventricle and aorta, baby was given a clean bill of health.

And because the doctor informed me that the diagnosis was "medically conclusive", yesterday was the last chance I got to see my little one before the big day. (Barring anything freaky between now and then of course.) "It" is slightly over 4 lbs. (give or take a 15% margin of error), has a fuzzy head of hair which I have a picture of and since last month has decided to flip flop into a breech position - butt down in a "V". So c'mon baby - do some more flip floppin' into the right position over the next few weeks, because Mommy won't have a kid who won't cooperative before they even exit the womb!!

Easter

Easter is always a fun time for the kids. For Megan, she loves to get dressed up in her new Easter dress. For Matt, he loves that the Easter bunny will be bringing more candy!! And for those inquiring minds that really want to know - yes - I did recycle our left over candy and used it for Easter!! Thank you Karen for the plastic egg reminder. How could I have ever forgotten. And no, the kids were none the wiser about this.

I normally end up with some pretty good pictures of the kids, but I have to say, they must be hitting that akward, dorky, Rag-a-muffin look, must pose with a cheesy smile on my face, stage in their lives because I just couldn't seem to get a good one this year. It didn't help that Matt wanted to stand in a Karate Kid like pose and when I told him to put his leg down, he began to cry because he suddenly had to pee and couldn't stand still. Hmph...so this is what you are stuck with this year!!