More Pictures

Well, I have to post some more pictures of our handsome little boy. Especially because he already seems to be changing and growing. In fact, I took him in for his 2 week check up yesterday and he was 7 lb 8 oz already. He had gained 10 oz in a week! I'm trying my best to really enjoy this time while he's so tiny, even with the recovery and sleep deprivation.

Here's some my sister-in-law took for me when he was only a few days old

Here's some that are a little more recent. I love the different faces he makes. He also still has a good amount of the newborn hair (lanugo? something like that...) and it really makes it look like he has sideburns in some of these pictures.

Accentuating his lips
With Daddy
Saying "Ohhh"

With Mommy and Daddy

I think the consensus seems to be so far that he looks a lot like Natalie. He definitely has her up-turned nose. I still have no idea where that comes from.

I've been having some issues with bleeding from my incision this time around. It still hasn't resolved but the doctors aren't worried about it and I think it's at least almost done (hopefully).

Other than that things have been going pretty well. Little Nate hasn't been quite as easy-going the last few days. He's been having more fussy periods where he acts like he's starving but won't eat. The pacifier seems to really help at these times but for some reason I am hesitant to start giving it to him. I don't know why. I just have a gut feeling that he's going to become REALLY attached to it. The girls would take it but never seemed to care all that much and he seems different. Anyway, mostly for my sanity I have been caving and giving it to him so I'm sure that will probably happen. He is the third after all.

We've had so much help that this has really been very manageable. I think the girls must think that having a baby is the best thing ever with all of the fun they've had with grandparents, cousins, friends and not to mention the endless supply of cookies and treats we've been given :). Really, thank you to everyone who has helped. It has been a humbling experience for me and makes me want to always do my best to serve others. Thank you!

Birth Story

I'm going to try and at least get started on this post. It may take me a few days to finish it but I wanted to get some more pictures up.

We're all home together now. I had a pretty short hospital stay and came home Thursday morning. It has been wonderful sleeping in my bed again and feeling so comfortable at night. Now, of course, I just can't get enough sleep but such is life with a newborn. Nathaniel has really been a good baby so far so I can't complain. Plus, Marsha came here late Thursday night and has been such a huge help so I've really been taken care of.

Now for the birth story. Joe ended up getting work off Monday morning so we were all just kind of putting around trying to get stuff ready until it was time to go. My parents came close to 11am to watch the girls and then it was time to be off. Before we left, my dad and Joe gave me a blessing which really helped to calm my nerves.

I figured once we got to the hospital we'd just be sitting around waiting for the c-section to happen but we really didn't have much down time between blood tests, getting the IV in, signing paperwork, and whatever else we did. Anyway, 1:30 rolled around and Joe and I couldn't believe the time went that fast.

Here's us waiting for the surgery

I think this is during the surgery

It was a little different this time since they took me back to the operating room by myself while they did the spinal and got everything ready. It was kind of frightening sitting up there on the table by myself with everyone working on various parts of my body but it was pretty painless luckily and was over fast. It helped when Joe came in to be with me. It sure seemed like they were tugging on me a lot this time, especially right at the end. They were talking about his hair and it seemed like it took forever to get him out. I guess it was a little harder with a bigger baby. They said my scarring wasn't bad at all and the doctor even pronounced that I could have "4 or 5 more". He was kidding, of course, as Joe is always quick to remind me :).

Joe got a little woozy at the end this time, which I noticed only because he sat down for a little bit. I am amazed that he can watch as much as he does. Just from the tugging I felt I knew it couldn't be pretty.

Here's my first view of our beautiful boy
The first features everyone noticed were his big lips and reddish hair
(I don't see much red in it now but it did look a little red for awhile in the hospital)

So big and healthy

Getting some cuddle time while they sewed me up
Here's some from the recovery room with his eyes open
(and me bawling like a baby of course)
Back in my room enjoying some jello
Our little burrito
Getting some love from his big sisters

This experience has been vastly different from the other two. It was so wonderful to have Nathaniel with us the whole time. It was kind of strange, though. Joe and I both kept wondering when they were going to take him away or hook him up to monitors. In fact it kind of made us anxious not to know for sure what his heart rate, pulse-ox, and respirations levels were. He is healthy, though, and eats like a pro. It's amazing to me that he has the whole suck/swallow/breathe concept down since it took the girls so long to master that. I have to admit, though, that it hasn't been quite as easy of a recovery for me with a newborn to take care of. The initial recovery went well and I was up and moving in the hospital pretty quickly but it's the further recovery now that I'm home that is taking longer than I expected. I guess a lot of that is just having 3 kids. It will be hard when Marsha goes home since I have been relying on her a lot.

I really don't want to jinx myself but little Nate is really a good baby and has only been waking me up two times a night, although sometimes he has a hard time going back to sleep. At least he's not up every two hours. He is rarely fussy. He is so alert, too, and loves to just take everything in. He is so sweet and we love having him in our family.

The challenge since we've come home is that both Elizabeth and Natalie have been sick with colds. As always, Elizabeth has it worse and has had a hacking cough. It has been hard to keep her away from the baby, especially since she wants to hold him so badly. Hopefully she will be over it soon.

OK, I think I'd better finish this and post it before I miss the opportunity. Thank you everyone for the comments and congratulations.

Nathaniel Allen Atkin

That's his name. All is still well.

2 Pictures

We have lots of photos, but I just can't upload them til I get to my desktop. These two shots were taken by Ashley's dad.

Chubby cheeks, lips and light brown hair.




















First photo of newly expanded family:

We have a healthy baby boy!

Well, baby boy arrived today at 2:09 pm in great shape. We don't have a name yet, but we'll be sure to let everyone know when we do.

He weighs 6 lbs 11 oz (just more than a pound less than both our girls' birth weight put together), and is 19.5 inches. He's got a good bit of hair; Ashley says the color is light auburn.

Ashley is doing very well after the c-section. She's been quite tired and has had some nausea as a result of the pain medication (this is the main reason we haven't nailed down the name yet), but other than that things have gone wonderfully well. I got to watch the surgery again, and I just can't believe how violent the doctors have to be to get that baby out. It's no wonder women are so sore and need so much time to recover after a c-section.

We feel very blessed that everything has gone so well throughout this labor and delivery. Please know that your thoughts and prayers have been felt by us. Thank you all for your love and support.

Much love,

The Atkin Family . . . all 5 of us :o)

No Baby Yet

It's Friday night and I am still pregnant. I don't want to jinx it but I think we will make it to our scheduled time on Monday afternoon.

We thought it might be earlier when the results of a blood test I had on Wednesday came back showing a low platelet count. I went in for another test today and if it hadn't stabilized they might have delivered him today. Luckily, it had so no worries. I also went in for the last non stress test today and the baby is still doing fine.

I have been cleaning and doing lots of random things to get ready. I'm making pretty good progress on my to-do list.

I have been having a hard time sleeping the last couple days but it seems to be mostly mental. I just can't get my mind to quiet down. I was pretty tired by this afternoon and took a good nap while Elizabeth played too many computer games during quiet time. I figure that I should get in as much sleep as I can before the baby is here.

Well, so that is our update. The next time we post will probably be with the announcement of our little boy!

I wanted to end with the lyrics to some songs the girls made up at bed time tonight. I wish I could have recorded them so I could remember the words exactly but I'll do my best to recreate them:

"Stars are Shining Brightly" by Elizabeth Atkin

Stars are shining brightly
And the moon is shining down.
There is someone watching you
He's always watching you
He never sleeps
He just sits and watches you
Heavenly Father hears you when you pray
And He's very far away
Nothing is that far away
And you can't get that far
Until when you die.

"Birds are Flying Around" by Natalie Atkin

Stars are shining down
Birds are flying in the sky
Birds are making their nests
Children are going to school
Everything is alright.

Overheard Conversation

We had Natalie's little friend Cedar over to play yesterday. He's a little blondie like her, they are the exact same height and they almost look like twins. It's funny because sometimes she insists that she only plays with girls but whenever she and Cedar get together they have a grand time, even if he is a boy. :)

Yesterday, Natalie must have been feeling extra girly. She put on one of her princess dress-up dresses and then this happened:

Natalie: Want to play princesses?
Cedar: No. Let's play catch! (has a little football in his hand)
N: No. I want to play princesses.
C: Want to play princess catch?
N: OK!

They come out of the bedroom. Natalie is twirling around and singing "So This is Love" softly to herself. Cedar is trying to get in position so he can throw her the ball.

C: OK, now catch!

She catches the ball but is still in princess mode using her soft voice and saying things like "Isn't my crown the beautifullest?" The great "princess catch" compromise soon ends unsuccessfully and each goes their separate way.

I guess sometimes the gender divide is too big to bridge across.

The Countdown Begins

Well, we have a date set for this little baby boy to come, and it is less than 2 weeks away! Yikes! September 14th is the day. That will be at exactly 38 weeks. I really think I'm going to make it. Everything is still going great for the baby and I. The non-stress tests are going well, my blood pressure is fine, etc, etc...

I have also experienced my first contractions. I doubt you could even call them real contractions but it was a big deal for me so I'm counting them.

I have always wanted more of a normal pregnancy experience and now that I'm getting it I'm realizing it's not all it's cracked up to be. No, just kidding. I really am glad I'm still pregnant. It's just becoming difficult to do much of anything. It doesn't help that I haven't learned to adjust my behavior enough. I took the stairs up to my doctor's office today and barely made it. Tonight I made my favorite meal for myself (roast chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy) and ate way too much and paid for it afterwards. I went grocery shopping yesterday and discovered that trying to maneuver a broken cart full of food with two kids hanging off of it is not a good idea at 36 weeks. I seriously almost broke down crying right there in the street when I couldn't get the dumb cart over the speed bump to get back to the car. But I didn't, luckily :). Other than little things like this, I really do feel good, though.

It is strange to actually be preparing for this baby to come. I am going to pack a hospital bag for the first time. I've got the baby clothes all washed and ready and the crib set up. I may even try making some meals ahead of time and putting them in the freezer. Who knows how far my nesting instincts will take me.

I have decided to post a picture Joe took of me a week or two ago. I am really not a fan of it but I can recognize that someday I will look back at this picture and miss being pregnant. So, here it is:

13 days to go! We can't wait to meet you, little boy.