Airport & Playground

While my mom was here to help, we were able to go to the Sugar Land Regional Airport.  They have a little patio with chairs where you can come watch the small airplanes and sometimes helicopters take off and land.  Peter loved watching the planes, Rigby just mostly enjoyed running around the porch, and I enjoyed the non-escaping feature of the porch:).

We were also able to go to the park a few times.  The boys loved getting out of the house because we have been shut up more than usual.  Finding the energy to drag 3 kids outside the house is hard at this point.

 

First Bath, Adeline Update & An Impossible Photo Shoot

Like most newborns, Adeline hated her 1st bath:

 

          When Adeline was first born, she was a very sleepy and easy going baby (minus the crazy ER experience:).  However, as soon as the 3 week mark came, she woke up.  She can be content one minute and then within a few seconds she is crying so hard that she has a hard time breathing.  I think she will be a little more intense like Peter.  Although being intense can be difficult at this stage, I know it will make elements of her personality fun as she gets older; I just have to endure until then!  

          I LOVE that she hardly ever spits up.  On the other hand, she has A LOT of smelly gas.  She rivals many adults with the smell!  I was thinking we would call her "Angry Bird" because of her crying, but now we have decided it would be more appropriate to call her something like "Stinky Pete."  I am anxiously awaiting for her gas issues to get better though, so she is not so fussy and I can get more sleep at night!  

          I love watching the boys with her.  Rigby will sometimes acknowledge her existence now.  He was looking at picture of her the other day and said, "my baby."  He will also give her a kiss goodnight.  Peter adores her-almost too much sometimes.  He will often smother her in kisses and come up and say, "Are you my cute baby?" or "Hey baby girl," or anything he has heard Scott and I say to her.  He is always telling me, "I love my baby sister," and, "do you think my baby sister loves me?"  I think that Adeline enjoys Peter's attention because she will usually stop fussing and stare very intently at him while he talks to her.

My mom and I attempted to get some good pictures of all 3 kids and some of just Adeline.  I think we took over 100 pictures between the two of us and only got a few good ones.  I do not know how photographers get good pictures of kids because I found it to be almost impossible!

We get after Peter for picking his nose all the time.
He will eat the boogers too; he says, "eating boogers make your tongue strong."  YUCK!

Rigby refused to cooperate, even for treats!

Finally, a decent picture of all three!

Adeline - 1 month old

She is still a little cross-eyed sometimes.

 

I love the little O-shape she makes with her mouth.

Our Little Drama Queen

This post is extremely long and more serious.  I really want to write down this experience, so I can remember how blessed we are and how thankful I am for my children:          

          When Adeline was one week old, she decided to be a little dramatic by having a reflux episode that resulted in a trip to the emergency room and a little stay at a children's hospital.  I had just finished feeding her and handed her off to Scott so I could get ready to go to bed early.  Before I had a chance to lie down, Scott yelled from downstairs that Adeline had just spit up A LOT.  I was not too concerned because when Peter was a baby, he could usually soak the entire front of two people's shirts after each meal; I called him "King Spit-Up" (side note:  Rigby, on the other hand or end, was "Sir Poops A LOT":).  She had been laying on her back next to Scott when he heard her start to choke; so, he propped her up and started patting her on the back.  The spit-up and acid had come up so forcefully that it not only came up through her mouth but also through her airway and out her nose.  By the time my mom and I made it downstairs, she was struggling to breath and had started to turn red.  We kept patting her on the back, but she still could not breath well enough and she continued to turn red, then gray, and then her hands, ears, and lips began turning blue.  My mom said, "I think you need to call an ambulance."  I was in shock and kept thinking that she would pull out of it any second and start breathing normally, but she just got worse.
          Scott decided that we could drive faster to the hospital since it was just down the road.  We did not even take time to grab her car seat or a blanket; we just ran to the van, and I held her in the passenger's seat while Scott drove as quickly and safely as he could to the hospital.  I kept yelling at the traffic lights and cars in front of us to go faster (I am sure that did a lot of good), and both Scott and I kept saying, "please keep breathing baby girl."  I remember looking down at her limp little body that was draped over my hand and wishing she would start crying or screaming.
          We ran into the hospital and I frantically told the people at the desk that she could not breath well and was turning blue.  They called a nurse out who lea us to a room where they suctioned out her mouth and started her on oxygen.  They also hooked her up for pulse and blood pressure.

Me holding the oxygen mask over Adeline's mouth.

          After about 20 minutes at the ER, she had pinked up again.  They did a urine test, an x-ray, and some blood tests. All of the tests came back normal, but the pediatrician recommended observation at a children's hospital in Houston just to make sure she was alright.  Before transferring to the other hospital, the nurses had to put in an IV line just in case it was needed to give medication during another emergency.  The ER nurses tried twice in her left hand, once in her right hand, and once in each foot before getting a vein.  Adeline was so exhausted that she only whined while they were fishing around for her veins.  I later learned that in such young babies, they put the IV in their heads because it is nearly impossible anywhere else.  My poor baby!

The ER nurses trying to place an IV line.

          While we were waiting for the ambulance to transfer her to the children's hospital, a member of our church came by and offered to help with a blessing.  We did not know him, but I guess Scott wrote LDS on some paper work and he (a doctor) had been told by the desk people that there was another Mormon in the ER.  He also inquired about Adeline's incident and let us know that he trusted the doctor working with us, she would probably be okay, and that this incident was most likely a random occurrence.  It is amazing how the Lord watches over you!  Shortly after this, the special children's ambulance came and drove Adeline and I to the medical center in Houston while Scott followed in the car.

A special 5-point harness stretcher for the children's ambulance.

 

          When we got to the children's hospital, some more doctors looked over her again.  This time she had gotten some rest, so she was crying fairly hard.  I have never been so happy to hear a baby cry!  We spent about 12 hours at the children's hospital before they released her.  In the end, the doctors did not find anything wrong.  They just recommended burping her often, keeping her upright after feedings, and keeping an eye out for other reflux symptoms.  She has since thrown up once each week, but has had no breathing problems like the first time.  I believe she has mild reflux, but they do not recommend medication unless it is a severe case.

Adeline hooked up to a lot of monitors at the children's hospital.

             It is amazing to look back and see all the little miracles that happened:  1) Scott was near Adeline when it happened; 2) my mom was here (which she originally did not plan) to be with the boys so Scott and I could rush to the ER.  We also did not have to worry about finding anybody to watch them while we were at the hospital.  Thank you mom!; 3) there was a member of our church at the ER that helped us out; 4) and most of all, our baby girl came home with us and without any problem--just a crazy ER story!
          I set my alarm to check on her at night now, and her bed is RIGHT NEXT to my side of the bed.  I have always said that I could never have one of our kids in our room because all of the newborn sounds drive me crazy, but this experience most certainly changed my mind!  Now whenever she drives me crazy, I try to remember what it felt like to come so close to losing her.  In the end, I learned that there are circumstances beyond our control, and we must make peace with the Lord's will.  I can put her bed really close to me and set a million alarms at night, but if the Lord wants her to return to Him, no amount of prevention or worry can change that.  I am sure it would be harder to feel this way if she had been taken though.  I am just thankful that we get to continue raising her and watching her progress.  We love you baby girl!  And we love you too Peter and Rigby!

Easter 2012

All I have to say about this picture is Rigby is 2 and Peter sees candy.

Peter is so fast and furious that he gathered all of his eggs in less than 5 minutes.

 However, Rigby plodded along and took frequent pit stops.

Here is one happy 2-year old!  I wish a bucket of candy fixed my problems this easily.

This talented little girl slept through all of her brothers' chaos and her daddy's photo shoot.

We did egg dying another day because we ran out of time.  I tried having the boys decorate their egg with stickers, but water kept condensing on the outside of the egg because they had been in the fridge.

We abandoned decorating and began peeling.  Peter did well . . . .

 . . . but Rigby did not quite have the coordination and fell apart in 2 year old fashion.

 I cut, warmed, and salted the eggs.  Peter said it was like the book "Green Eggs and Ham."

Peter decided he did not like it, so . . . .

 . . . he decided to feed it to Rigby.

Well, it did not end like "Green Eggs and Ham"!

We had a FHE on Monday after Easter.  Using the nursery manual, we talked about how Easter is a celebration of the Atonement and Resurrection.  I cut out a paper tomb with a large rock that covered the entrance and a Jesus figure.  We showed them how Jesus' body went into the tomb (into the paper hole) and the rock was placed in front (paper rock covers the hole).  Then, He was resurrected, left the tomb (paper rock comes off and Jesus comes out of the hole), and goes up to heaven.  Peter played along, but Rigby cried the entire time.  I sarcastically thought, "Great!  He got A LOT out of that."  The next morning I caught Rigby playing by himself with the paper props doing EXACTLY what we had talked about.  It was really cute and sweet!  You never know what they pick up!

Our Three Musketeers

Out of 20 pictures taken, this is the best I could get of our three musketeers together!

Sweet big brother, Peter, with his "baby sister." He refuses to call her by her name. I do not have any pictures of Rigby with her yet because he is still in the ignoring stage.

Here are some pictures for comparison:

Adeline - 2 days old
Rigby - 1 day old

Peter - 1 week old

Introducing Adeline Afton Flamm

Adeline was born Monday, March 26th at 5:16 p.m. CST weighing in at 7 lbs. 7 oz. and measuring 20 1/2 inches long.

She is a little swollen in these pictures, so she is actually not this chubby now.

I thought this warming table was interesting. Right after the nurses cleaned her up, they placed her on this table. The little heart on her tummy senses her temperature and keeps the air around her at a certain temperature.

Birth Story

Monday morning I started to feel some contractions that were a little more regular and stronger than usual, but I was not sure if they were just braxton hicks or the real thing. I called Scott and let him know that he should probably come home just in case. Since Rigby's birth was a little fast (I started feeling contractions a mere 2.5 hours before he was born), I was a little paranoid about making it to the hospital. As he was heading home, I decided that my water had officially broken and I was not just sweating a lot or wetting my pants. My water has broken with all 3 kids, but every time has been so different that I am never sure: 1) with Peter I never clued into the slow leaking of fluid over a few days; so by the time contractions began, Peter had very little fluid left--not good; 2) with Rigby I think it broke while I was sleeping and gushed out during the quick shower I took before we took off for the hospital; 3) with Adeline it was little gushes of liquid every few minutes.

Anyway, I called my friend from the ward, and she came to pick up the boys. A few minutes later, Scott arrived home and when we reached the hospital I was mostly effaced and dilated to a 4. Unfortunately, it took another 1.5 hours to dilate to a 6, so no super fast delivery this time. I opted for an epidural, but started to freak out when the anesthesiologist was ready to stick me. I associated epidurals with Peter's delivery which was very traumatic and hard for me, and I associated a natural delivery with Rigby's birth which was extremely painful, but also amazing and easy (if you can call labor easy;). After 10 minutes of thinking it over, I pulled myself together and got the epidural. During the next hour pain was at a minimal and life was good; I was glad I had gotten the epidural. However, within less than one minute I went from feeling great to feeling very nauseated, dizzy, and almost ready to loose consciousness. Several nurses came into the room and started to give me medication and help me get on my hands and knees to boost my blood pressure and Addy's heart rate. Scott said my BP got down to 60/30 and Addy's HR got down to 70 bpm. The medication quickly fixed the problem, but I am now permanently terrified to get an epidural ever again. Although I know it is not my fault, I still cried and felt so horrible about my desire to not feel pain at the expense of my baby's health. On the other hand, I am terrified to feel the pain of natural labor again! About two hours after that drama (7 hours of labor), I pushed for 5 minutes and our sweet little girl was born!

My Mom was planning to come one week after my due date, but since Addy decided to come 10 days early, she bought a last minute ticket for the next day. Scott and the boys picked her up at the airport and began heading to the hospital when one of our tires decided to fall apart on the freeway.

They spent one hour along the small left shoulder of the freeway. Every time a large vehicle passed by the car would shake, so they were unable to safely put on the spare. Thankfully, they were safe until the tow truck came and dropped them off at a gas station where Scott could put on the spare tire.

Scott and my mom were frazzled by the time they reached the hospital, but the boys were still extremely excited and wound up about riding in the big truck. A 4 and 2 year old in a hospital room is a little stressful, so they only stayed for 30 minutes before heading home.

Sorry there are no more pictures at the hospital. Things were so crazy that we did not have the time or presence of mind to remember. In the end, I am just thankful that the tire incident did not cause an accident and that everybody arrived home safely. We have decided it was also a blessing that my mom was there to help out rather than it being Scott or I alone with the kids.

I am also so thankful that our baby girl made it here safely as well. We all love her so much already, and I am excited to see her with her Daddy and brothers. We love you "Sweet Adeline!"

Boys and Their Toys

Scottie, Rigby, and Peter with their toys.

Scott ordered some custom saws for his Christmas present this last year and they finally arrived! I think Peter and Rigby were just as excited to open and look at them as Scott was. Peter was so excited that he grabbed his plastic play saws and insisted I take a picture of them as well.

Then, very sweetly Peter decided to share a toy saw with Rigby for the pictures. I guess Rigby was insulted because he angrily tossed it aside and grabbed a real one. As you can tell from the picture below, Rigby's eyes were riveted and hands were glued to the "real thing." It is so funny to see such stubbornness come out of our usually laid back little boy.