First Bath!

Last week we gave Sara her first bath after her umbilical cord fell off over the weekend. The kids were so excited to participate! Of course, for JD and Jordan "participate" just meant "watch until Mom needs more space to actually bathe the baby". Karianna really did help, and I think she enjoyed that! She is such a good big sister, and really, all three kids want to do anything and everything to help out with baby Sara! Bath time was no exception!



For the most part, Sara loved her first bath at home! She definitely preferred her water on the hotter side of lukewarm; she did not particularly appreciate the temperature of the soap, but not much I could do about that one! My favorite part of Sara's bath personally was putting her on her tummy on the bath bed so I could soap up her back. She ends up looking like a little frog-too cute! Such a sweet little girl!














After wrapping her all up in her towel and drying her hair, it become so apparent to me how much her hair is lightening up already! I gave her a little mohawk curl and that was just plain adoarable as well...Sara must have been all tuckered out by the excitement of warm water, suds, and adoring siblings because she fell asleep immediately in Karianna's arms. What a fun experience for the whole family and another milestone under Sara's belt!















Just in case anyone is currently unsure of how much we love, love, love baby Sara, we took 97 pictures of her first bath alone...in a ten minute time span. Since she was born, we currently total out at 509 pictures. I know I could label this as several different things; for now, I'll just call it love. :)

What a Doll!

When Sara is really alert, she opens her eyes very wide and shapes her lips into a little cupid mouth...very cute, very adorable, and very doll-like! I took a few pics of her last night in this state and truly, both Jared and I thought she looked just like a doll!!! Pretty amazing stuff!

On a side note, I always let the kids hold Sara before they go to bed. Last night, JD was being so loving towards Sara, he did not want to let her go; he always exclaims that she is his beautiful baby sister, and I always end up thinking, "I really hope this attitude stays!" If the kids are acting up, I have found that inviting them to hold Sara is a great way to calm them down. Perhaps somewhere in their brains they feel a little left out now that I have to tend to Sara quite frequently, and being more involved with her is the solution to that problem. Definitely a learning experience for everyone involved!

SMILES!

I love little baby smiles! They have to be one of the most wonderful things in the world! Sara tends to smile every now and then while she's sleeping, and sometimes when she gets into that half-asleep-half-drunk phase before letting herself completely doze off. I was just tickled the other day when I actually caught a smile on camara-and then caught another one today when she was awake! YES! I can't wait until those smiles come about as a reaction to seeing someone she loves!

Stuck!

I could not help but crack up when I rushed to Jordan's bedroom to find out why he was crying. Apparently, Jordan decided to try and scale the changing table (which, as I recall, JD did at the very same age!). Somewhere along the way, his feet took a wrong turn and he ended up...well...stuck! I wonder how long he could have held on before his grip gave out! Lesson learned: changing tables are not equivilant to mountains!

No More Growing!

The last two weeks with Sara Grace have been just wonderful! However, I am experiencing an odd phenomenon that I have never had with the other three kids. Obviously Sara is still a newborn-teeny tiny, with her little stick legs flailing about, sleeping all day, and relying on me for her every need. So is it odd that I am already asking her to stop growing? I almost feel a little panicked at the idea that she is growing a little more every day! Sara broke the 8 pound mark at her 2 week appointment-eek! She now has about 4 or 5 half hour stretches every day where she is wide awake and alert-nooooo! Her hair is rapidly losing its dark shade and lightening up-STOP!

I can just see her lengthening, strengthening, and learning more and more every day, as if I could actually watch a seed sprout into a flower. I am already sad at the idea of my tiny newborn baby girl growing into a full blown baby, toddler, preschooler...adult. As this picture might suggest, I am sure that some part of Sara's brain is totally annoyed at my resultant desire to hang on to her every second...and yet, I insist. And I am glad that Sara snuggles with me in return!

Jared very astutely suggested that I am feeling so nervous about this because I have three other children that I have watched grow from newborn to child, and I more clearly understand how fast it blows by. I think he hit the nail on the head! So I am left with a goal of treasuring ever moment that I get with Sara: letting her fall asleep in my arms, singing her songs so she get to know my voice, rubbing lotion into her tiny fingers and toes, and drinking in the newborn scent that still lingers on her skin. I sure do love Sara and I feel the mothering urge so strongly towards her and towards the other children. It is as if Sara has reminded me how important being a mother actually is and what a crucial calling I have towards all of my children. It is a humbling experience to be a new mother and to be in the presence of a newborn baby.

Honey? Check!

Last year Jared's Grandmother gave us a huge vat of honey for Christmas in the name of food storage. I really had no idea what to do with it, other than knowing at some point I would need to get it into jars.

Today JD and I decided to dive in and jar the honey! Tricky endeavor that is, considering I was enlisting the help of a three year old to transfer a very sticky substance from one container to another using only a ladle.

I ended up being so very impressed with JD; he did a great job listening to the directions and his hand eye coordination was spot-on! He filled up 4 jars all by himself and we ended up with a total of 14 mason jars of honey. I think we might have had enough for a 15th jar if JD hadn't licked so much of it off his fingers...

The proudest moment of the day, however, came once I had cleaned up the kitchen: you couldn't tell at all that we had just jarred a ton of honey. No stickiness to speak of! If that doesn't sound like a very big deal, it is in our family since Jared has a very real phobia of being sticky in any way, shape or form. All in all, JD and I had a great time working together! It was a great way to spend time with him and to simply enjoy his company.

We're all Even

Jared and I ventured out of the house on Monday with Sara and the boys. Our mission? Haircuts for the boys! Dangerous venture, considering neither of them have ever had official haircuts and considering both of them dislike Jared's trimmer. However, I am mature enough to realize that I have little skill when it comes to cutting boys' hair on my own, so the time came to get it all evened out once and for all! I need someone to teach me how to cut boys' hair-any takers?

Once we were at Great Clips and had ensured that the two employees were up to the challenge, I opted to sit with Jordan, since I fully expected him to be the most difficult customer. Jared hung out with JD while Sara snoozed in her carseat. Turns out that Jared had a lot more to deal with than I did-JD cried the ENTIRE time while Jordan didn't utter a peep! JD thankfully wasn't doing anything like a tantrum; he held still, just whimpered big crocodile tears the entire time.

Jordan just sat in my lap and stared at himself in the mirror while the scissores went snip, snip, snip, and the trimmer went buzz, buzz, buzz. I think it helped that I called the trimmer a machine (the humidifier in his bedroom is also a machine, and Jordan thinks that thing is way cool...I think he associated the trimmer with the humidifier. Who'da thought?). Both boys were well rewarded at the end though-suckers all around and big tears were replaced with sticky sucker residue and multicolored tongues. Lovely!

So despite the raw emotions, both boys now have nice, even haircuts and I have a goal to learn how to cut boys' hair by the time they need another trim! Great job brothers-what handsome kiddos I have!

Happy Birthday to Jared!

Yesterday was Jared's 29th birthday! We had a big discussion about aging as a newbie 29 year old. Jared has decided that he is still "young" until he is 30. At 30, he says he won't feel old, but he won't feel young anymore either...kind of that gray area. We both agree (and this opinion could change as we age) that 40 kind of indicates getting old. Does that seem too early to anyone? It will be interesting to see how and if our thoughts change on that topic!

Given that Sara is only a week old, we had a relatively quiet birthday-day for Jared, although I thought it was pretty spectacular because Jared and I actuall got to go out for dinner, which I wasn't expecting to be up for at all! We started off the day with Jared staying home on paternity leave; great start to a birthday-no work! We decided to trek out to the Phoenix Zoo with the kids after picking up Karianna from school. We had a blast hanging out as a family of 6 and enjoying a cool Fall day at the zoo! I love having that zoo pass-no rush, no stress, just free to enjoy the experience! We had Sara in the sling the whole time and she (and I) loved that!

Hanging out at the Zoo together-I love this picture, everyone looks so happy!!!

After getting home, we left pretty quickly to head to dinner. We got to eat Mexican for the first time in ages, as it no longer gives me heartburn. We headed to the mall afterwards to walk around and just hang out together sans 3/4 of the kids (Sara accompanied us in her sling again). We got home and watched Transformers 2 until slipping off to sleep. Just a relaxing day together as a family and as a couple. We will do an actual familiy party tonite for Jared with a few gifts (all of which he has seen/used, yet I will wrap them for the kids' sake) and brownies in lieu of a cake.

Its just so much fun to celebrate my wonderful husband. I couldn't ask for better in a spouse or a best friend. Having him home the last few days with our growing family has just been wonderful and it has made me realize how much I rely on Jared. I love you sweetie-happy birthday!!!

Hi-I'm your Big Brother!

After having something similar to the flu for a week, Jordan is finaly well enough to meet baby Sara! Jordan started developing flu symptoms the day Sara was born. He couldn't come to the hospital to visit her, he couldn't hold her on her homecoming day, and he hasn't been allowed to touch her or come new her since. Thankfully, he is finally fever and cough free, and as such, got to bond with Sara last night as every big brother should!

Watching him hold Sara for the first time was hilarious. When I put her on his lap, he just stared at her with his hands up in the air, like he wanted to touch, but something was holding him back. I think he was working overtime to connect the dots between doll and living human being...tricky busines, that is. After a few moments, he started pointing out various body parts and flashing me huge smiles as Sara became more real to him. Hugs and kissies between the two were just precious. It was a sweet experience to witness and I truly believe Jordan will be a great big brother to Sara!

Feeling Like I Should Be In Mourning

When Jordan was born, my view of JD instantaneously changed. JD was my little baby, even at 20 months old. As soon as we brought Jordan home, JD all of the sudden seemed ginormous! I didn't feel sad about that though because JD has always had a very calming and relaxing spirit. That did not change when his baby status disappeared with Jordan's birth.

Having had that experience with JD, I very much expected the same for Jordan. I knew when Sara got here that Jordan would all of the sudden seem huge to me in comparison to his miniature sister! Sure enough, the first time I picked up Jordan after coming home from the hospital, I was shocked at how darn heavy he was! I remember saying to Jared one night, "did you know that Jordan has HUGE feet???" No longer the baby anymore-just a grown up kid!

It is so weird to think about Jordan that way though-no longer the baby I used to snuggle in my arms. Is he really that old, and really that big? This is the same kiddo that finally got his last two baby teeth about 4 weeks ago. He completely weaned off of his binky about 2 months ago and he stopped nursing about 4 months ago! Out of all my children, Jordan stayed a baby the longest...it is so weird to realize he is more grown up than I realized, especially now that the definition of a baby is sleeping in a bassinet next to my bed.

The strangest part of this conundrum is that I feel as if i am mourning baby Jordan...just a little bit. Part of me wishes I could mentally go back and retain that image of him as baby Jordan just a little bit longer. I wish I had taken more time pre-Sara to really appreciate his "babyhood". I don't just miss having a small baby-obviously, given that I do have that! :) I miss baby Jordan...time just passes much too quickly.

My goal right now in light of this slight sadness is to really work on appreciating Jordan and all the talents and skills that he is developing as a growing toddler. This has been difficult for me in the last month because Jordan is being a terrible two-no to everything, or his favorite subsitution: a screaming whine that drives everyone bananas. I have to wonder if he is equally confused by the newcomer in our home and where he fits in. Having the flu didn't ease the transition at all-Jordan didn't get to hold or remotely touch Sara until just yesterday!

Jared and I think the best strategy right now with grown-up Jordan is to spend more time with him one-on-one, give him activities to do during the day, and keep up with consistent discipline. I think these things will help me as well to transition from missing baby Jordan to enjoying grown-up Jordan. Such odd emotions! I think I will go sneak Jordan out of bed now and have him come lay with me for a while. I sure do love that little guy. He might be growing up, and I might have to accept that, but he'll always be my little guy.

The Sling

I love it! I packed Sara in the sling for the maiden voyage at the zoo, and fell in love with it. I can't believe I never used a sling with the other kids when they were babies. The sling I have is so comfortable with all the padding on it, and Sara seems so content in it. She is strapped in and the sides are mesh so she gets plenty of air. The best part of it is, the sling lays right on my belly, where Sara most recently spent 9 months. Makes me feel as if she is still there with me, in the most protected place possible. I love the feeling, and I love the sling!

Getting to Know You

Things I am Learning About Sara Grace

1. Sara is a twitcher. She does not nap very peacefully, rather she twitches a lot, especially her legs. If that is going to be the case, she is a true daddy's girl.

2. On the topic of her legs, Sara has an uncanny ability to hold her legs up at weird angles for long periods of time. Like, 30 degree angles. It's like she is practicing pilates as a 1 week old infant! Such muscle control...gotta love it!

3. Sara is NOT a proficient spitter-upper. When she does have something come up, she catches it midway and gulps it back down. Not just swallow it-gulps it back down, like you can literally hear each separate gulp. I am not sure yet if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

4. Sara has finger toes. She can grip my thumb with them. Its awesome!

5. Despite her twitching tendancies, Sara is a momma's girl. Such a wonderful perk if you are the mom in question! I love how she unconsciously angles her body towards mine when she's laying in bed with me. I love how she will catch my eye when I lean close for a good morning kiss. I swear I see a glimpse of recognition in her eyes and on her lips when I talk with her! It is wonderful to feel the bonding begin so quickly.

6. Sara likes to be swaddled really good at night; during daytime naps, she prefers to have her limbs free (this is when she practices pilates the most). Sara takes a binky well if she is fussy, but she really doesn't need it and frequently falls asleep without it. Being the stellar mommy that I am, I am forcing it on her more than I probably need to; in my opinion, it will make things easier until I wean her from it in a year.

7. I'm just going to call it now: Sara's hair already appears to be going very light brown just like Karianna's. And I even think I see hints of brown in her eyes; I'm not holding out much luck that they will go blue. That's okay-she's beautiful either way!

8. Sara is not a pooper. I even wish she would poop a little more so I can stop worrying about any possible jaundice that is lingering in her system. Perhaps I should just be grateful?

9. Sara still has a fine layer of hair on her cheeks. No big deal of course, just interesting and something I have never noticed from my other kids (if they had that still when they were born).
10. We have a nickname! Karianna started it, and I picked it up and love it: Saree.

I love my little girl! I said it about 4 times this evening-I already wish she would stop growing! There is just something so special about newborns that is hard to replace. I am grateful that I have had the experience of being a mom three times prior to Sara's birth. It has truly taught me to enjoy and cherish these first few weeks with a new baby-they go by much too quickly.

I am also so very glad for the impact Sara has already made on our family. I love helping Karianna learn the ins and outs of being a great big sister and babysitter. I love the wonder on Jordan's face when he watches Sara fling her arms about and crane her neck at any ray of light. I love hearing JD tell me about Sara as if he is the expert: "Mama, baby Sara is sickie, she needs fever medicine....baby Sara has poo poos! I need to get some desitin for her... oh no mama, baby Sara is sad, I'm serious!" Mostly, I love keeping my kids involved with their new sister. Such a wonderful learning experience for them and a great opportunity to bond as a family.

After going in to work on Thursday and Friday last week, Jared discovered he has some paternity leave he can use this week, which is great from the standpoint that we can all hang out as a new family of six. Now, if JD and Jordan can just fully recover from their coughs and fevers, we might be able to accomplish the "hanging out" more fluidly! But we are a making it work!

I love my family. I feel so very blessed right now to be a mother and a wife!

Announcing Baby Sara Grace!

We are so happy to announce the birth of Sara Grace Lautenschlager! Sara was born on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 8:06 AM. She weighed 7 pounds 13 ounzes and measured in at 21 inches. Everything with labor and delivery went very well and Sara is perfectly healthy! I am doing well too, the delivery was very short and fast; recovery thus far has been easier than I remember with the other three kids, and I have to constantly remind myself not to overdue it in these first few weeks post partum. We have been very, VERY blessed with help and support from family and friends, and it has made a huge difference in stress/anxiety levels! A huge thanks to everyone, especially from me since it can be hard for me to let others come in and help!

I have uploaded about a bazillion pictures below, so have fun looking! I'll post the full birth story under the pictures for those of you who are interested in all the details! The pictures are completely backwards in terms of order so I'll add a quick byline for each one...just in case anyone was wondering what I do during my hospital stay after all the visitors have left-I play newborn photo shoot. :) It's fun. :)

Karianna and JD giving Sara loves! It's all they want to do nowadays!

Getting Sara in PJs for her first night at home.

Our first full family picture after arriving home from the hospital at 7:15 AM Thursday morning.
All bundled up and ready to head home from the hospital!
Sara all dolled up in her take home outfit. Karianna had final say on this outfit, and she picked it because she wants Sara to be a ballerina when she grows up.
Sara the contortionist. She has an uncanny ability to hold her legs up in the air at weird angles for long periods of time. I am already calling her stick lady because her legs are easily comparable to twigs.

One of my favorite up close shots thus far.

Dressed in blue! I loved this color on her!

The exposure on my camara was way off, and then I realized I loved it this way because it makes Sara look like a little angel!

JD is already very protective of Sara-he wants to hold herall the time! Too cute!

I always knew it would happen, but Karianna is proving to me that she is the best little mommy in the whole world!

Almost the whole family visiting at the hospital! Poor Jordan was sick with a fever so he couldn't come.

Another up close shot that I love!

Hanging out in pink!

Having her first bath and I can see a bit of a smile on those lips!

Just after birth and snuggling with my little lady.

Our newest addition!

Making herself known! :)

Holding baby Sara for the first time!

The Birth Story

I was scheduled to be induced on Monday, October 12th. We were expecting the call anytime from midnight on, and I must admit, I was fairly hopeful that the call would come sooner than later. It turned out to be a long, headache-riddled day as the sun rose and set with no calls to come in. I think I bugged the nurses at the hospital by calling every 3 or 4 hours to get an estimate on when they might call me in. I was "next on the list" for about 15 hours before we finally got the call to come in to the hospital at 9:45 Monday evening. Family came over to spend the night with the kiddos and we took off for the hospital shortly thereafter.

Upon arriving at Scottsdale Shea Hospital, we were ushered into L&D triage...which I thought was ridiculous. I got hooked up to the monitors, necessary IVs, and had pitocin started while they monitored fetal heart rate and the beginning of contractions. I was admittedly somewhat annoyed that we were stuck in triage for 2 hours on an uncomfortable bed. What were they going to do, send me home? Irksome.

We finally got to our L&D room around 1:30 AM, which sported a much more comfortable bed. I slept until 5:00 AM when the we decided to move forward with breaking my water. Though the contractions were getting pretty hard, I hadn't dilated past a 4 (I came in at 3/3.5). That hurt :) The doctor apparently had short fingers. Contractions picked up very quickly and I requested my epidural at 5:30 AM. Wonderful thing, that is. They had to adjust the levels a few times, but by 6:00 AM, I was resting peacefully again, blissfully aware of the pressure but oblivious to the pain.

We knew we probably didn't have much longer at this point, so Jared gave me a blessing. I must admit, I was a bit worried about Sara, her heart rate had been on the low end of the normal range, and not having dilated very much was concerning to me. His blessing very much helped me calm down and I was able to relax for an hour and a half or so. Around 7:30 AM, my nurse came to check me and we found I had progressed to a 7, although baby was still somewhat high up. At this point the contractions were hard enough to where I was feeling them fairly good through the epidural, and over the course of the next 20 minutes, I was very aware that the contractions were pushing the baby down. Just like with Jordan, I could tell I was ready to push.

At 7:50, my doctor came in to check me and just as i suspected, I was a full 10 and the baby was crowning. My doctor's way of telling me this was to simply say, "Wow, Sara has a full head of dark hair!" She broke down the bed, changed real quick and I started pushing. Half a push later (I kid you not, they literally had to tell me to stop pushing: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6-STOP!), Sara's head was delivered and one slow, relaxing push later, so was the rest of her body. She was quite purple when she came out, as the cord was wrapped around her upper torso a few times, but she pinked up very quickly and gave a few quick squeals to let us know she was okay.

The nurses immediately put Sara on my chest, and there she stayed while everyone worked around her! I love the hospital's philosophy on this-the mother gets to be the mother, and nurses take a step back to let that happen. Just awesome. They took Sara from me for about 2 minutes to weigh and measure her, but then she was back in my arms, all 7 pounds, 13 ounces, 21 inches of her. She apgared at 9/9 and I only had a 1st/2nd degree tear. I got to nurse Sara right away, and was surprised how quick she latched on and actively nursed for about 45 minutes. Pretty awesome!

As soon as I got some semblence of balance, we headed up to post pardum. Sara got her first bath right next to my bed, and tons more pictures taken of her. From that point on, Sara literally never left my room (and honestly, never left my arms). All of her testing/screening was done right in the room with me, and again, I loved this part of the hospital! The nurses were wonderful in both L&D and post pardum and yes, I loved the hospital food as well. I was surprised how good I was feeling a day after delivery...not as much recovery pain as I remembered with the other three, nor as much bleeding. It gave me a good chance to be very into Sara, honestly. I fell in love with her very quickly as she snuggled in my arms, tried to find my eyes when I talked, and made little cooing noises very early-as if she wanted me to know she was there.

We are, of course, home now after a two day hospital stay. I am doing well, although the pain levels have set in a bit more than they did at the hospital. Sara is an absolute doll, and we are so in love with her. JD and Karianna want to hold her 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I use babysitting time as a reward for Karianna because she loves it that much. We have all learned the ins and outs of jaundice, swine flu, and hand sanitizer. :) Jordan seems just as enthralled with Sara as the rest of the family, however he has had a fever and a bad cough for several days, so he has been quarantined away from Sara until it passes. Jordan just stares at Sara from a distance, as if he is shocked that a doll can move and cry. :) He calls her "Baby Wara" and I am really looking forward to him getting well so I can take some pictures!

Overall, it has been a very busy, and very blessed week. We are so grateful for how smoothly everything went, and for how smoothly everything is still going. I know there will be rough days ahead as the mother of 4 young children, however, I am looking forward to the challenge of having the older kids as involved as possible with their newest sibling. Again, thanks to everyone who has been so helpful! We truly appreciate the kind deeds, words, and prayers on our behalf!

Thus begins a new era: My Babies Four!

October Pumpkins

I think I am nearly all caught up on the blog, which incidently was something on my pre-baby to do list. Isn't it funny that so many things on one's to-do list really don't have to be done at all? I mean, is updating my blog really that necessary before Sara arrives? Eh, oh well-if it makes me feel better about all my baby preparations, than so be it. for now, blogging is more important than mopping the floors.

With only 5 days to go until induction day (and based on my doc appointment this morning, I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't make it all 5 days), I think I will probably start ignoring the blog until Sara is born. So I'll just start my short leave of absence with a picture I like to call October Pumpkins-you have two possible scenarios to believe as the truth. A: I could have stuffed a pumpkin under my dress. B: I could be 9 months pregnant. I personally think both options are extremely viable.

Be ready for the change: My Babies Four barreling forward into reality!