Lydia's birth story

After Henry's birth I thought I had the c-section thing down but Lydia's arrival didn't turn out as uneventful as I had hoped.  Rich and I arrived at the hospital super early (about 5:30!) Thursday morning to get all prepped for delivery.  When I finally got into the OR it was so cold and they had no warm blankets in the blanket warmer.  I remember them saying that there wasn't any on the entire floor!  Really?!  Then we waited around for the anesthesiologist--and I could tell everyone in the room was getting a little annoyed.  In the past I've met them in my room, we chat and discuss what will happen, and then I see them again in the operating room.  That didn't happen.  When he finally came in (smelling like cigarrette smoke) and I told him that I wanted an epidural instead of a spinal he didn't seem too happy.  Neither did the nurse.  They all wanted to know why I would choose that.  It was frustrating because I had told my doctor months ago that I like epidurals but no one else seemed to care.  (I'm sure that part of the annoyance was because epidurals take longer to set in and it would now put us even further behind schedule). 

Just minutes after the epidural was in place my lips started to feel tingly and I felt light-headed.  I'm glad I said something to the nurse because I passed out soon after they helped me to lay down.  Everything after that is a little blurry or I have no recollection of it at all.  The next thing I remember is that everything was set up and ready to go for the c-section and I'm sure they had started.  Usually they do a "pinch test" to make sure the epidural has take effect.  They didn't do that this time (that I can remember).  My mind was fuzzy but I did let them know I was in pain.  Dr. Harter asked if they had done a pinch test and they hadn't... but they started doing it then.  I remember the nurse pinching my arm.  Ummm..  little too late for that!  With Henry when I felt pain they gave me a little bit more medicine with the epidural and I was fine.  This time they gave me some other pain med that really left me tired and loopy.  Honestly, I don't remember Rich being there.  I couldn't keep my eyes open to see him.  I do remember him holding my hand and talking to me though.  I didn't even get to see Lydia right after she was born (which makes me a little sad).  I kept asking Rich "What happened?" because I knew this wasn't "normal."  He just kept telling me we had a baby.  I could barely form words but in my head I kept thinking, "I know we had a baby!  But what happened!?"

The next thing I can remember is being in my hospital room and hearing Lydia screaming.  She has quite a pair of lungs! 

 Eventually the haze wore off and I was able to hold her.  She is just so so sweet.

I ended up with some great nurses (which make a huge difference!) for myself... although I didn't really care for the baby nurses.

 By Saturday I was ready to come home.  It was nice to recover in my own bed and eat good food again (the best meal was the "celebratory meal for 2" that they brought to us--I got filet minon and Rich got mahi mahi--along with little bottles of sparkling cider).   

We are so glad that this little girl is a part of our family!

Introducing...

Lydia Marie Crane

October 23, 2014; 7:47 am

6 lbs 8 oz

19 1/2 inches

more details to follow...

It's a....

GIRL!!

All those "pink" wishes finally came through for me.  When I polled everyone with Alex and Henry the girl vote was the majority.  This time was no different.  Before the poll broke on my blog there were 29 votes... 24 of which were for a girl.

We found out a little differently this time.  Rich got lost and ended up at the wrong office (my doctor has 2).  He got to the correct office just as we were leaving.  We really tried to stall... but we just were too quick!  The ultrasound tech was really nice and offered to put it in an envelope for us to open later... she had me close my eyes while she searched.  This little girl was sleeping though--right with her foot tucked up underneath her!  Alex and Henry kept telling her, "Wake up, baby!" and "Move your foot!"  It eventually worked.

James was pretty upset when he came home and found out that I didn't know if he was getting a brother or sister.  Really mad.  He wanted to just open up the envelope and call Rich to tell him! 

At dinner we had everyone go around and tell their votes one last time: Rich, James, Alex, and Henry all voted for girl.  William and I voted boy--William actually wanted boy, and I was just trying not to get my hopes up!  I had Rich open the envelope... and he started laughing.  I thought for sure that meant another boy.  Really I think he was laughing because what we thought might be impossible became a reality.  The boys all cheered when he told us the news!  Except William.  But I'm pretty sure he was trying to suppress a smile.  He acts like he really wanted another boy--but I think he's secretly happy.

So come October there will be a lot more pink in this house of ours.  Hooray!

For months the boys have been asking us when we'll be having another baby.  Not if but when.  They talk about how we need another baby because Henry is getting so big (and he is!) James and Alex keep talking about the need for a little sister.

Needless to say, when Rich and I told them that we were expecting again they were beyond excited!  We all are!  Baby #5 is due to make his/her appearance sometime at the start of October.

And since it's always fun to see what everyone thinks I've put a little poll on the sidebar to see what we'll be having.

Baby Henry

My mom and brother went home yesterday.  They was supposed to leave Tuesday but due to some flight delays they got to stay with us for another day.  So now we get to adjust to our new "normal."

Henry's birth was fairly uneventful--which is what we were hoping for.  No emergency c-sections, no trips to the NICU.  The only thing different was on my part.  I chose to have an epidural this time because I get a nasty headache from spinals.  When they say that epidurals aren't as deep they aren't kidding!  I was actually in pain this time... until I got a little more medicine.  But the pain was totally worth not having a headache for a day or two!

Later in the evening my mom brought the boys to meet their new brother.  William and James loved him... Alex didn't even want to look at Henry!

He preferred to stay on the other side of the room and eat potato chips.

And all of the boys enjoyed eating some enormous chocolate chip cookies.

Since we had such an 'uneventful' birth this time we even got the opportunity to go home early!  Hooray.  It was nice being able to leave when we were ready instead of waiting for our baby to be released!

We came home to some great signs made by the boys.

Henry is such a good baby.  He sleeps most of the day

and when he is awake he just lays there and takes everything in.

He is so content and happy.  (As a side note... we thought that James was the same way but he was on some serious drugs!  Henry is just naturally this way.)  He is always getting the hiccups--which are just too cute.

His brothers can't get enough of him.  William is always wanting to hold Henry or lay down by him.

James loves to talk to him and kiss him on the head.

And even Alexander is coming around.  He'll even occasionally give him a kiss.

My brother, Jacob, was great with Henry (as well as the rest of the boys!)  I asked Jacob one night to watch Henry while I did some other stuff.  I caught a glance every once in a while and saw him telling Henry all his body parts ("Here are your hands" etc) and singing songs to him.  It was very sweet.

I am so glad that my mom and Jacob were able to come out and help.  I don't know what I would have done without them!  We miss them already!

Stay tuned for several catch-up posts!!!

Introducing...

Henry Jacob Crane

12:39 pm

6 lbs 5 oz

19 inches

more details to come...

Baby Names

Rich and I have the hardest time coming up with boy names.  And a fourth boy name?  Forget it.  Unfortunately our boys haven't helped too much.  Here is a short list of names that William and (mostly) James have come up with.  Some were them just being silly but others they were completely serious about.

George (not Curious George... a George we don't know)
Casper (as in the friendly ghost)
Thomas (as in the tank engine)
Van Duzor (our Home Teacher's last name)
The Man in the Yellow Hat (from Curious George)
The Man in Black (not sure if this was referring to MIB or Princess Bride)
Master Yoda (Star Wars... of course)

Can anyone help us with a name?

This week at the Cranes...

 Three cute boys playing with legos on the top bunk.

Well, this week has just been crazy.  We've been trying to get the house ready to show and really had to step it up in the middle of the week when we found that we had a showing for Saturday morning (which turned into two showings).  In fact, I'm exhausted.  I don't think we've cleaned our house like this since we've lived here.  It is crazy awesome clean.  Hopefully the people who saw it today fell in love with it like we did 6 years ago.

After our cleaning spree we took the boys to Target, the bookstore and--since the weather was perfectly spring-like--Mitch Park (our favorite).  We really wore them (and ourselves!) out. (Seriously though... I can't believe how wonderful the weather has been this week!  60s and 70s in January?  I told Rich, "This is the winter I'm used to!  I loved it!  Too bad it is freezing today... oh well, it was great while it lasted!)


In other news... we had our ultrasound appointment on Wednesday and I just haven't had time to sit down and tell you what we found out!  First, I'd like to thank the 75% of you who chose "girl."  I appreciate all your girl thoughts coming my way. A month ago I went to my doc and he did an ultrasound in his office.  He is always telling me "three girls now, right?"  Right before the ultrasound he made a similar comment of "it's a girl this time?"  However, as he was checking everything out he let out an "Oh crap.  I think I saw something!"  but then tried reassuring me that one day I would have a bunch of cute daughters-in-law and that it still could be a girl since it was still too early to tell. But once again the minority was right.  We are adding yet another BOY to our clan.  The boys are super excited.  On the way to school William almost changed his guess to "girl" because he "didn't want to be wrong again" like he was with Alexander... but he decided to stick with boy "because I really want it to be a boy."  They just think it's so funny that I'm the only girl.

My mom always told me that I'd be a good mom of boys.  I guess I'm meant to stay part of the "all boys club"... doesn't look like I'm leaving anytime soon!  I just love my little boys!

And then there were FOUR...

... children, that is.  Yes, that's right, we are expecting! We are so excited to be adding another member to our family in July. I thought I should let  you in our little secret since we're having the ultrasound this week and it was so much fun to see your guesses when I was expecting Alexander.  So go ahead look on my sidebar and make a little guess as to the gender of this baby.




ps. We've also put our home on the market in order to buy a bigger one for our growing family.  Any advice for first time home sellers?

Introducing...

Alexander Robert Crane

6 lbs. 9 oz.

20 inches

pictures and details to come...

I'm so drugged up that I can barely keep my eyes open...

the verdict is in

A whopping 81% of you who voted in the poll thought that baby Crane #3 is going to be a girl. So I'd like to take the opportunity to congratulate all 6 of the people who voted for a boy--cause you are right! We will be adding the third boy to our clan at the end of May! We took the boys with us, thinking it would be a quick trip. Boy were we wrong! We waited an hour to get in and then, once they did the ultrasound, we waited another hour for the doctor to come chat with us! Ridiculous!!!! William was pretty good though and could even point out the baby's hands and feet. James was another story... in part because he didn't take the nap that he should have beforehand. William was disappointed that he was wrong--but we decided that the next one has to be a girl! I totally agree.

guess what?

So I figured it was about time we shared our news.... That's right, baby Crane #3 will make his/her debut sometime at the end of May. We're excited to have another baby in the house. The boys came with us to the doctors and William thought it was pretty cool to see the ultrasound. He's convinced that we are having a girl.

Several months ago we were shopping when William explained to me that we needed another baby. You see, James is a big boy and we need a baby brother for him. I asked, "what if it's a girl?" No... it had to be a brother. On several different occasions he told me similar things. Then one day, just for arguments sake, I explained that we already have 3 boys in our family and that I'm the only girl... so we need another girl. Well, that logic struck a chord with him because ever since then we can't convince him otherwise. Hopefully he's not too disappointed if we find out it's another boy! What do you think we'll have? (Take the poll on the side.)