Catching Up: Easter

I'm determined to catch up on the blog posts that I've had floating around in my head for the past few weeks! My Easter pictures are limited and really random...Duncan had just turned 3 weeks old at that point and the whole weekend is kind of a blur! Thursday we went to the zoo with friends...Friday we cooked out & hunted eggs with friends...Saturday we had our church egg hunt at the beautiful Saluda River Club outdoor center...and Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of our Savior with a beautiful church service followed by visiting family at the farm. Easter baskets were sort of an afterthought for us this year. The week before Easter I took M&R to get Easter shoes and Mason begged to try on these: Me: "We aren't here for tennis shoes, we are only getting Easter shoes." Mason (on the way out of the store): "That's okay, Mama. You don't have to buy those orange shoes for me. The Easter Bunny knows I want them and he'll bring them to me." Yeah. There could be worse things that a little boy wants from the Easter Bunny, right? At least shoes will be worn and they are definitely better for him than a bunch of candy! So, the Easter Bunny obliged Mason's #1 request and also brought some for Roper. (For some reason my iPhone photos turn out blurry when the flash is on) Please note the shoes and ignore the fact that my child brought a huge stick in the house. We made these "resurrection rolls" on Easter morning. They turned out just right and were really tasty!

Source: eatatallies.com via Brantley on Pinterest

All of the ingredients have a meaning...the dough represents the cloth that Christ was wrapped in; the marshmallow represents Jesus, all white and pure because he was without sin, etc. Hopefully we can make this a tradition! Here are Mason and Roper right before leaving for church: While we were at the farm Duncan got to meet Gigi. Here is Gi with her eighth great-granchild!

First Bath

Rest assured that we didn't wait until now to give Duncan his first bath! This is an old picture, taken during his first week at home, but I couldn't resist posting it...he has already outgrown the sink and now gets bathed in the infant tub. And here is what the big boys were doing while Duncan got his first bath...

One Month Old

I can already feel it...my resistance to my baby getting any older! I know he is only one month old, but it has flown by! The past month has been a complete whirlwind!

I didn't do this with Mason or Roper, but with Duncan I'm planning to do a picture on the 17th of each month so I'll have a nice collage (or two) for his first birthday. So...if the adage about having fewer pictures of the younger children proves true at least I'll have one picture of him each month! :)

My talented friend Tara let me borrow the onesies that she made for Tripp to wear each month...



It was a challenge to get a shot of him looking so peaceful...Roper was trying to help...



...which didn't always suit Duncan...




I also saw this cute collage that I will try to {kind of} re-create:

Source: theletterbphotography.com via Brantley on Pinterest

M.I.A.

I can hardly believe it has been three weeks since I've posted anything on my blog! I love blogging, but I love reading other blogs even more...and I'm just now catching up on reading the blogs that I follow!

The past four weeks have been a whirlwind...I feel like I am going 90 mph most days, particularly last week when I had all three boys...all week...all to myself. M&R's pre-school had spring break. A break for the teachers and the children, certainly not for the mama's! :) More on spring break later...I have lots of catching up to do...for now, here's Roper getting rid of his whiskers...





Mason got this kid's shaving kit for Christmas. The boys have LOVED playing with it! If you are in need of a gift idea for a little boy I highly recommend this!

Duncan's Birth Day

The idea of me detailing my labor might bore you to tears...if you don't want to read this it won't offend me because I will never know! :)

I had resigned myself to the idea of an induction on 3/19...well it was more than resignation...I was beginning to see all the perks of a scheduled delivery. As we all know by now, Little D had other plans!

Thurs night, 3/15: Graem & the boys & I went to Sam's Club. As I was walking around Sam's I was having more frequent Braxton Hicks contractions (ie not painful but contractions nonetheless) and was feeling more pressure from the baby. Kept thinking about it being the 15th of the month...I went into labor with both M&R on the 15th of their birth months. Didn't go into labor but didn't sleep but a few hours that night!

Fri morning: Met Tara, Ruth Ann & Tripp at the zoo...beautiful day...I felt good! Tara made sure she knew how to get to first aid...just in case!



Fri pm: Dinner at El Chico...spicy food. Came home, put boys to bed. Graem started up the BGE and put on a boston butt to smoke overnight for his dad's birthday dinner on Saturday. I was getting ready to go to bed early since I didn't sleep the night before...water broke at about 8:45 pm! Sydney rushed over to STN with Mason & Roper. Grandparents headed to Lexington. They were in for a long night...



10:00-10:30 PM Admitted to hospital (had to first go through triage to confirm that my water broke...there was no doubt in my mind, this was the third time after all!) Moved us back to the labor & delivery room.

1:00 AM Requested epidural.

1:30 AM Nurse - "I'm sorry but we can't find your blood work in the lab. We'll have to re-do your blood work before we can give you the epidural." For real?

2:30 AM Finally get the epidural (1.5 hours and many contractions later). ahhhh...

2:40 AM The nurses call in my doctor because the baby's heartbeat is irregular.

3:00 AM They decide to put a scalp electrode on D's head to monitor heart. They discover he is ready to be born. Why did I get the epidural??

3:15 AM The delivery room is in a frenzy as extra nurses and doctors come in. Everyone is concerned about the heart rate. I just want to see my baby!

3:25 AM Baby Duncan is born!!

When Mason and Roper were born, I immediately got to hold them. When Duncan was born, Graem cut the cord, I got a good look at him, then the doctors whisked him off to listen to his heart. First they were listening to him with stethoscopes and I could see plainly on their faces that what they were hearing was not what they wanted to hear. It was really very scary.

They decided to take him down to special care to put him on a heart monitor, on the way out the door they let me hold him for about 5 seconds and they let Graem hold him for about 2.5 seconds! I felt so helpless. If it weren't for that blasted epidural I would have been right there with them in special care!

No one wants to see their baby hooked up to all these cords!



6:00 AM The nurses move us to our room.

6:30 AM Finally get to see D again, feed him. He can't come back to our room because they are still monitoring his heart.

7:30-9:00 AM Cat nap. Duncan has EKG that confirms irregular heart rhythms, aka arrhythmia. Pediatric cardiologist explained that there is a flap in his heart that is immature/not fully developed that is causing the arrhythmia. He expects that as he grows it will fix itself, possibly even by Duncan's 2-week check-up (scheduled for 4/3)!!

9:30 AM Doctors take Duncan off monitor and let him come to our room. He gets to meet his brothers and many other family members and friends! What a lucky little fella!!

At Duncan's 4-day check-up last Wednesday, our pediatrician could still hear the arrhythmia but said it is much improved. Although it was scary because it was so unexpected, I really have a peace about it and know that he is going to be just fine!

Third Time's a {Lucky} Charm

Our third sweet baby boy is now over a week old and I'm just now making time to put pictures on the blog!

I'm sleep deprived and really don't think I can put together more than a few sentences that make much sense, so I'll stick to the basics & then I'll just give yall what you want: pictures!



Let me introduce you to the sweetest baby on earth, Duncan McKendree Clark. Born in the wee hours of the morning on St. Patrick's Day, 3:25 AM. 7 pounds, 8 ounces. 20.5 inches long. A head full of hair (surprise, surprise!). Sometimes he looks like Mason, sometimes he looks like Roper, mostly he just looks like Duncan!



Graem gets him dressed in his St. Patrick's Day shirt...


His big brothers were so excited to meet him!










As were his grandparents...they saw him right after he was born but didn't get to hold him until the next day! More on that later...











Uncle Rob & Aunt Kelli...




Cousins Sydney and Kate...




Along with lots of friends!!

I went in to labor on Friday night so by Monday morning we were itching to get home! Thankfully Roper was on hand to assist with paci duty and safety patrol...






More details to come...

The Waiting Game

Could this pregnancy possibly be any different than my first 2??

As of Sunday, I'm 38 weeks...I've never made it this far before!

With my first two, there were no signs indicating I would be going into labor, it just happened!

This time, my doctors have been telling me for weeks that the baby could be here any day now! Way back in week 35 they had me all worked up by saying, "He could be here in a matter of days." Really?? Which explains why yesterday during my appointment my doctor said, "I cannot believe you are here at 38 weeks and still haven't had that baby!" Ummm...me either!

I can't complain, I still feel really good...I'm just ready to meet my baby boy! Obviously my prediction of 3/11 did not happen...Graem's prediction (based on his hunting calendar) of baby D coming on the night of the full moon did not happen...so maybe he will follow in both of his big brother's footsteps and make his appearance on the 16th (M&R were both born on the 16th of their birth months). Or maybe he will be like my cousin David and come on St. Patty's Day...which would be quite appropriate for a boy with a very Irish name like Duncan McKendree!

If he continues to show his stubborn side, at the latest he will be born next Monday. Yesterday my doctor scheduled me to be induced on Monday morning.

Since M&R came early, an induction was never something that needed to be considered...but now with my third it will be so convenient. Convenience is an odd word choice for having a baby, but I can't think of any other way to describe it. I can make sure to have childcare for my older two...I won't have to worry about who to call/what to do with M&R if my water breaks at 3:00 AM...I won't have anxiety about not making it to the hospital in time for the baby to be born...and best of all I won't have to deliver a baby in the wee hours of the morning like I did the first 2 times. Mason was born shortly after 3:00 AM and Roper was born shortly after 2:00 AM...which means we didn't get moved out of the delivery room and into a hospital room until the sun was coming up. As everyone knows, life with a newborn doesn't allow for much sleep, but when you start off with a deficit after being up for well over 24 hours straight, it makes for a hard adjustment!

I have heard horror stories about inductions...but I am not the least bit concerned. I'm confident that as soon as the doctor breaks my water things will get moving and the baby will be here shortly thereafter! And in less than a week from now at the most!!