2 weeks and counting

To say that the last 2 weeks have been eventful is an understatement. In a nutshell the Thomas family of now six.... have:

-moved out of their home
-welcomed a newbie darling bundle of tiny pinkness
-moved into their grandparent's home for the summer
-forgotten all items that were "pre packed" for the move to use at grandma's ie: blow up pool, light sabers, plastic blue bin full of summer reading books etc. etc. etc.
-tried unsuccessfully to locate said items in storage barn...
-tried in vain to get newest member of the family to sleep longer than 2 hours at a time once the sun goes down
-not entered a grocery store(a beautiful benefit of having wonderful friends provide meals pre move and then a fantastic mother-in-law who has kept us fed every night.) It still feels weird to be out of my routine.
-become accustomed to the sights and sounds of "liquid gold" otherwise known as breast milk. Let it be known that I am not a breast feeder, it just never worked for me. The bottle on the other hand made me as the mother.....how shall I say it......much more pleasant. Since newbie little Kate is still so newbie I re-focused from day one and decided to try it one more time. In the meantime- modesty has become a little lacking around these parts. As the mother of 3 boys I tactfully explained that no, mom is not feeding Kate from her stomach..mom's use their CHEST and by golly boys have chests too, just not for feeding. Animals also have chests ..yadda yadda yadda. They all were slightly intrigued and now it's just commonplace. I'm proud of myself for sticking with it. An automatic pump is a beautiful invention!
-managed to stay somewhat sane in a new "closer" environment.


All in all I know I'm getting a little help from above to get through these next few months. The fact that I am still awake and alert enough to function all day is amazing. I truly hate the night time at this stage....it stinks to high heaven. The fact that I am still feeding her myself and not dying of pain is a miracle in itself. I CANNOT wait for my new house and space and all that excitement. In the meantime, I have the best situation possible. My in-laws are so thoughtful and kind and have welcomed all SIX of us loudy loud louds for the entire summer. Now if we could just find those light sabers.

Introducing........

Kate Linnea Thomas:

Born: June 30

5 lbs. 8 oz.

16 inches

totally adorable

OH so much to say and so little energy.

Long story short...she arrived 4 weeks early. I went in for my usual Monday appt. after having a semi stressful weekend. She hadn't been moving enough for my liking all weekend and by Sunday night I thought I should go in. I decided that because I already had my ultrasound scheduled for the next day I waited it out. Ultrasound showed 2 week lack of growth and lower than liked fluid level. Combining that with her slow kick count my dr. decided that I needed an amnio to make sure her lungs were developed so that she could induce me. All this was unexpected and a little scary. The amnio thankfully showed her lungs were ready enough and I started the glorious inducing process around midnight on the 29th. I won't bore you with gory details other than she arrived safely Tuesday morning. NICU nurses were there to check her out and found nothing of concern. She didn't even need oxygen...amazing. She's so incredibly small and dolllike - it's a little scary doing the basics like diaper changing. The whole girl thing is totally throwing me off....I'm loving it though...as are the fellas! We are all so thrilled ( Brody...ah, not so much, he's coming around) and still in amazement that she is finally here.

So on to moving...that's TOMORROW...can't wait. I don't know what my computer life will be like in the next 8 weeks so I have to get my fix in now. I'll hopefully figure out guest blogging on my mother-in-law's computer. Life is so crazy and busy and exhausting right now I can hardly see straight (literally...the sweet newborn schedule has begun). But how can I complain, I'm gushing over this little gal, finally my Kate is here!