Weight

I know as a woman weight is such a personal and touchy subject. For most of my life I have maintained an active lifestyle that keeps me pretty fit and happy with my weight. After having Elise I gained about 10 extra lbs and carried that over to my pregnancy with Ava. After her birth I began working out and eating very healthy. I sustained a size 10 until I got pregnant with Kellan. I was so terribly sick with him that I lost weight in the beginning of the pregnancy and ultimately only gained a total of 7lbs. YES, I ate, I actually ate a lot! Wes kept saying, " next appt I bet you've gained 10 lbs...". This lasted the entiiire pregnancy. Once Kell was out I began breastfeeding, the weight just melted off like butter, and NO, I am in no way complaining. Since I only gained 7 lbs while pregnant I have proceeded to lose an extra 22lbs. I am so happy with my new body and have even ventured out and replaced most of my clothes. This is where it gets tricky...Since i am breastfeeding I eat like a horse. I get these crazy insatiable hunger pangs that don't leave unless I literally stuff my face like it's my last meal. We are going on 8months and I know once a year hits weaning him will be on the agenda. Im not only sad about that bond ending but also about the fear of the weight returning. I know everyone says "eat healthy" and "work out", and I will, but it's not easy with 3 kids. I also don't want to have to live my life constantly monitoring my caloric intake and exercise routines. This just kinda sucks. Wow Im whiny. I've had to battle baby weight after my other pregnancies and lost the weight the good ole fashioned way, but even with a 5 day gym work out routine I never got down to where I am at. Im just nervous that the moment I quit it will all come back.

Halloween

We only made it to a few houses this year due to sickness that struck the kids. They still made out like bandits and did so looking adorable!!

7 month update

Kellan is growing so fast, too fast. He cut his two bottom teeth this past week and also is starting to scoot. He has also realized (to my dismay) that he has boy parts... I guess it really doesn't matter the age of a man, they are all the same. ha. We have been enjoying some Indian summer days and also got to try out our new coat and hat when we got hit with 30 degree temps. He has been introduced now to sweet potatoes and green peas. Loves the potatoes, hates the peas. I blame my preparation, or lack there of, with the peas. I just couldn't get them smooth and silky. If anyone has a tip on how to do this, please tell me. We are also beginning to the first stages of separation anxiety. This is rough, I can't leave the room without him getting all worked up, I did find that if I continue to speak to him while roaming he is ok. I just can't believe we are now in the upward climb to turning 1. Unreal.

Fall 2011

This is by far my favorite season. I love crisp days and brightly colored leaves. We have been unseasonably warm so far but this week is supposed to bring that to an end! Hopefully the UGGs will be able to be thrown back into my everyday fashion routine!! Kellan is doing great. Still by far the most jubilant and pleasant baby to be around. He is changing every single day. He just cut his first tooth and unfortunately I found this out while nursing:( Little vampire drew blood. It took two days for me to feel relaxed while feeding him and then the little booger did it again. He is starting to scoot around and just learned how to scream. It's awesome (that was sarcasm)!
The girls are both doing great in school. We have our first Big school conference next week for Elise. I'm excited but nervous over it. Hoping she is right on par but hesitant to hear things that she needs to work on. No parent likes to hear about your child not doing well and for some reason I'm so concerned about this.
We all had a rough week of sickness last week and I think (fingers crossed) we are out of the woods. I had strep throat, Ava had a raging ear infection and Kellan ending up getting Impetigo which is a strain of my strep. Needless to say it was a long long week.
We are all excited for Halloween and the upcoming holiday's. We will once again be headed to the East coast to be with my family!! I CAN'T WAIT!!! I just hate waiting and waiting for it to get here and then it's over in a flash. Oh, well. Ill still count down!

Some pic's of Fall thus far...

Right place at the Right time.

I am a true believer in fate. Today just reconfirmed my beliefs. I was in line at Starbucks this morning and I overheard this lady googling over Kellan. I turned around and made small talk and she turned to her friend and said, "You have got to come and look at this little boy." The other woman looked at him and immediately burst into tears. She looked up at me with her tear stained cheeks and said, "this is just what I needed today, thank you, thank you!!" I was a little baffled and I said, "Oh my God, are you ok?" She looked down at Kellan as he was smiling and said... "I buried my granddaughter today...!" OMG! My heart dropped to my knees, and I just ran over and hugged her as she sobbed in my arms. I of course began crying and she kept appologizing. She proceeded to explain that her Granddaughter died this week in a huge duplex fire, she was just 8. I looked at her as she was trying to catch her breathe and just told her I will be praying for her and family and to never appologize for showing this kind of emotion. She thanked me and said, "thank you for being here today, I needed to see that baby's smiling face, it's the first time I have smiled since Saturday!" I walked away shaken but felt an amazing sense of love. Kellan and I were brought here today for this woman.
My coffee maker was acting up this morning and as I was driving to the grocery store I last mintue turned into starbucks. I have'nt had starbucks in over a year!! Split second decision. God brought me there for that woman today. Amazing

Elise

Elise is my first born. She graced us with her presence during a huge snowstorm on December 7th, 2005. My lil peanut weighed in at a whopping 5 lbs8oz, so tiny. She was beautiful,a true gerber baby. The first few months were hard, she had awful colic and really gave us a run for our money. Once she hit about 4-5 months, i knew she was a keeper. haha. She is always so eager to help, constantly following I or Wes around and lending us her small little hand. I see myself in her each and everyday. From the way she bites her nails, to the fact that she hasn't taken a nap since age 2. So it was no surprise today that she would do fine as she walked through the doors of her new school. Wes, Ava, Kellan and I all walked her into her class, took some pictures, said our goodbye's. She sat right down and started drawing. Not even an ounce of sadness across her face. It took every fiber in my body to hold back the tears and swallow that lump in my throat. My baby girl is starting her school life. For the next 8+ years she will be attending school. It's amazing how these things can creep up on you. Happy first school day Elise. I know you will do great and make me so very proud, you always do!!

Happenings

I can't believe the summer is almost over! At this point I am more than happy it's coming to an end. The heat has been extreme, and the kids are restless. The house still has not sold and day by day I am getting more and more discouraged. We went ahead and reduced by 5k and still have yet to have any bites. We have had a few 2nd showings which is a good sign, but they all have fizzled. I am just ready for a fresh start. I have been feeling overwhelmed with all this and just want to know that it is worth it.

Kellan is doing awesome. We had his 4mo appt this past week and to my utter surprise he only weighed 14lbs13oz. 50%!! I was thinking he was much much more. ha! He was also 50% in height and head. My baby boy is 100% average and absolutely perfect!!! He also rolled. He flipped from his back to stomach, it took him a few days to muster up the strength to do it again, but now he can't be laid on his back because he automatically flips to his tummy. This is a problem since the child can't stand tummy time. He is constantly screeching and whimpering, and I know exactly why. Silly boy.

My iPhone broke. I literally feel like my right arm has been chopped off at the elbow. It went to charge one night and never came back on. I had the old 3Gs and am now waiting for the 5G which is rumoured to be out in September. Luckily my dear friend John sold me his old 3G to tied me over until I can get the new one. I bought a $20 "GO" phone and that lasted all of 18 hours before i called John. I couldn't handle not having Internet, touch screen, FACEBOOK!! Wow, I am a spoiled brat. So this post will have no pic's since I am unable to upload pic's still.

Elise starts Kindergarten in just 2 weeks!! This is so bittersweet. I can't believe she is old enough for school. I feel like these past 5.5 years are all a blur. At the same time I am ready for her to go. She is quite the handful and with her constant energy she wears us all out. We are taking advantage of Missouri's tax free weekend and purchasing all her school supplies and clothing during it. Why does Kansas not have this???

Anyways, these are the happenings going on right now. Hopefully the house will move, we will move, and I can relax. Who am I kidding...

Love this boy!

Here are some of my favorite recent pic's of little nugget! i just can't get enough of him.

Stress, showings, and more stress.

Whom ever suggested selling our house while raising 3 kids needs to be shot...Oh, wait, that was me. doooh. I am completely overwhelmed. We listed last Thursday and have already had our open house, brokers open, and 7 showings. That is quite a bit of activity for one week and it has paid it's toll. Keeping this house spotless with kids is nearly impossible, but yet I somehow find a way to do it. We are going to have quite a game of hide and seek once we start packing. Mail is shoved in drawers, laundry(every ones) thrown in various drawers, diapers and wipes hidden behind couches. It's crazy!! I have a 30 minute notice to vacate with 3 kids and dogs once i get a phone call for a showing. It usually takes 30+ minutes just to make it out of the house with the kids let alone, 2 dogs and a tornado clean-up. I am trying to stay optimistic in this horrible market, but it's so hard. Last year was an utter FAIL and that's all I keep envisioning. All this hard work and stress for nothing. I want to get out of here and move onto bigger better things, but until that right buyer comes, we're stuck. The kids can feel the strain, i am constantly reminding them to pick up, not make a mess, don't play with that...! Hopefully by next post we will have at least a nibble to report. until then, I will dream of my soaker tub and huge walk in closet...

Selling the house, take 2.

We are listing again. Last year was a complete failure. Although I am not looking forward to all the stress that goes along with buying/selling I am so ready to get out of here. We have met with 3 relator's from 3 different companies, they all presented their information and we finally came to an agreed conclusion on who to use. I am very excited about our choice and am confident that we will get this house moved in a timely manner. If not, I may go insane. I have been "practicing" keeping a spotless house,FYI:IMPOSSIBLE with 3 children. I know it is going to be a huge struggle getting out of here when we have a showing and leaving the house in show quality, but I have to do it. We are going to price the house very aggressively so that it will hopefully sell fast. We already know where we want to move to and basically exactly the style houses we like. The buying part won't be an issue, well, maybe...I'm quite picky and refuse to settle. These next 2 weeks are going o be filled with deep cleaning, caulking, painting, moving furniture, deck staining...the fun stuff! Please pray for my sanity and patience as we go down this path, yet once again!

Well, it's here! Summer has begun, the temps at least say so! So what do we do in the summer...we swim!! Last summer the girls and I must have spent 90% of our time at the community pool down the street. They are little fishes and you literally would have to drag them away. This year we have baby Kellan so things are a bit different. I debated over getting a pool pass for a number of reasons...1. The pool down the street closed(construction), and 2. The baby can't be out in the sun or heat for too long. My solution was to enroll the girls in early morning swim lessons. These began this week and start at 10:30 and end at 11:30. Elise is in the beginner 1 class and Ava in the Intro to swim class. Ava however is by far a better swimmer than Elise but due to age restrictions she had to go in the class under. After our first very successful swim lesson I realized how much they would miss out if we didn't swim this summer. Off to the Community Center we went. Armed now with our pool passes we have been enjoying an hour or two every other day at the pool. Kellan hangs out in the shade and basically sleeps the entire time we are there. Have I told you how amazing he is:-)??? Along with the hot weather comes the hair cut. Every Summer when the heat turns up, off comes my hair. I decided to chop it all off and go super blonde. I LOVE it, and it is a total "pick me up"! The girls are both already the tannest kids at the pool and Elise's hair is turning white! I just love summer!!!



After a long day at the pool

My new Do

Ahhhhhhhhhh

The pool rats

Hot!

Brusha - Brusha

El and the xray

Ava waiting her turn

Well we went for our very first dental visit yesterday! I have to admit, I really thought it would be a nightmare. I know i always hated going to the dentist,still do. I decided on a "kid friendly" dental office. The website showed the awesome waiting room with video games, fish tanks, movies, how could I pass that up. We arrived about 15 min early and I was pleasantly impressed with the waiting room. There were so many different things to choose from to keep them occupied. they even had a coffee bar for the parents!! We quickly got called back and Elise was asked to go first. She is normally a great patient and she didn't disappoint. they started with x-rays, which she breezed through. Ava was next in line for hers and did equally as well. The hygienist was very impressed. We then went into an open area with 3 dental chairs all of which had flat screen TVs overhead. Tangled was the movie of the day. Ava decided to go first for her cleaning and she was so excited to get cherry flavored toothpaste. She laid there motionless until every tooth was sparkly clean. El then hopped up and sailed through it. We then waited for the Dentist to come and check their teeth. They were both deemed perfect. The xrays showed El's adult teeth starting to creep up, so she said by her next apt we should have some wiggles!!! When we were finished, they gave them each a care bag, ice cream, a toy and a report card. Yes, I said ice cream! so proud of my girls and I just love how places now cater to the little ones and make what can be an unpleasent experience fun.

Have to show Elise's crazy curly hair! It's beautiful!

Mr Kellan is 2 months

Kellan had his 2 month check up today. I was betting he weighed about 12 pounds and I was right! We have a chunk-a-roni on our hands. He handle the shots ok, the oral vaccine however made him choke and he couldn't catch his breath. It was very scary, his whole mouth and chin turned blue. We had to stay and do an oxygen test after that. Thankfully his numbers were perfect. We are home now, and he has basically slept all day, he only wakes to nurse. Poor baby, I hate seeing him like this. Here are his stats:

Weight 12.2 (65%)
Height 22.0 (12%)
Head 15 3/4(50%)

We have a shorty on our hands. I cursed him with that, hopefully Wes's heighth will play a part soon and he will grow big and tall.

Somethings we are doing now:
He is very vocal. Ooooh's and ahhhh's all the time.
Loves to bat at his toys on his playmat.
Absoloutly HATES tummy time.
Peed on daddy's foot, and hosed down our couch.
LOVE'S TO SMILE

I can't wait to see what month 3 will bring!!

I Will Always Remember

Today marks tthe one year anniversary of our loss. I went back and read my post from that day and cried. What a sad day that was for us. I will always remember the rain that day, I will always remember the feeling of absoloute hopelessness and sorrow. I will always rememebr feeling guilty for I was the Mom, how could I let this happen? I will always remember the physical pain I felt in my heart, it ached so badly. I will always remember that you were a part of me and always will be.

6 weeks

Had my 6 week post partum appointment today. Everything went great, actually better than expected! I weigh 10 whopping pounds less than before I got pregnant! Thank you Mr. Kellan for eating non-stop and literally sucking the life out of mommy! Best diet plan ever! Now I just need to come up with a plan for once he stops nursing. Here are some recent pic's of little or not so little Kellan!

Heaven is for Real

If you are looking for an inspirational easy read book, this is it! I was given this book to read by a coworker of my husbands. Little did i know how much of an impact it would actually have on me. the book sat on my shelf for a few weeks, I would glance at it every now and then and tell myself when I found the time i would read it. Last night I was surfing for something to watch on TV and out of nowhere got the greatest urge to pick up the book. I opened to the first chapter and 4 hours later finished the entire thing. The book is about a 4 year old boy that has a near brush with death due to a ruptured appendix. This little boy later tells his father and mother of his experiences in Heaven and his meeting with Jesus. He described his journey with such detail and matter of factness that I literally had goosebumps throughout the entire book. His accounts of what Jesus looked like and was wearing was amazing. He also met his Great-Grandfather whom had died decades before his own birth. This was all so amazing to read and I was in such awe of this little boys story. I was about halfway through the book when I turned to the chapter that sent chills up my spine "two sisters". One night the little boy asked his mother about his sister. his mother assumed he meant his older sister, he quickly said " no, my sister in heaven". Little did he know that his mother had lost a baby at 8 weeks gestation, years before he was born. My heart dropped to the floor. With tears streaming down my face I read on. He continued to describe this little girl and that she told him she had died in his mommies tummy. When his mother asked what this little girls name was he said "she had no name, you guys never named her." I lost it. I laid in bed for a few hours just reliving my miscarriage and wondering what he/she would have been. I did find great comfort in the belief that our child is in heaven and surrounded by nothing but angels and our loved one's passed on. Our 1 year anniversary of our baby's passing is next week and I truly believe that God guided my hand to read this book to offer me peace. it of course still hurts my heart that we said goodbye before we said hello, but now we will have someone waiting for us when we make our journey there. Please, read this book. I already sent my mother out today to get it!

1 Month

Can someone please tell me why time goes so fast?? I knew it would, but really? 1 month already? My little chicken legged 6lb baby is growing up. He is now a rolly thighed 9 pounder. Kellan has been such a joy to us. He is by far my easiest baby, I'm not sure if it's due to him being a boy or that he is baby #3 and I'm just more relaxed. Either way I am happy to say that he is a breeze. We only cry when poopy, or hungry, and we are sleeping 4 hour stretches at night. The girls are so helpful, Ava is sometime TOO helpful but they love him so much. We get to celebrate Kellan's first holiday tomorrow, Easter! We had bought him an adorable outfit from Old Navy but looking at it now I think it will be huge on him. I have some back up ideas, so i will post a pic of the final product later this week. I can't wait for the girls to wear their dresses, too die for!!

What a boy

I swear, this boy is his father's twin. Loves the boob, loves to poop and LOVES to sleep. i still haven't quite mastered the changing of the diaper. I am so afraid of his little member. the moment air hit it, watch out!! He has also become a pro at projectile pooping!! Yup!! It has hit the back of his bassinet multiple times. I either need to gain some speed or learn a new technique. Breastfeeding is going great. I swear he came out of the womb knowing just what to do. It also helps that i produce enough milk to put a dairy farmer out of business. I weighed him today and he is around 8 lbs! I am so glad he is growing, but I already miss his little chicken legs and teeny tiny head. We are waking about every 3-4 hours to nurse at night, and during the day a little longer. The girls are such good helpers, they get me diapers and wipes. They try to distract him while I change him. they of course run when he pees! It's so funny how he can be sleeping just feet from me but I start to miss him. I want to hold him constantly. I am just so in love!

One week old

This baby (knock on wood) has got to be the best baby in the world. He sleeps, eats, poops, repeats. He has cried 2 or 3 times since coming home and one was due to a bath, his belly button rubbing his diaper, and the other strapping him in the carseat. He wakes up and just makes little noises to alert me he is ready for a diaper change and a boobie. I think God gave me a laid back child to help ease us all into this life of 3 kids. it has been more of a struggle with the girls than i anticipated. although my mom is here and pays them so much attention they still have been very demanding. i have had some feelings of guilt since I am basically at the baby's beckoning call, but am trying so hard to be paitent and show equal attention. I love that everyday he changes but at the same time, i just want him to stay exactly the same. He is so sweet and did I mention ADORABLE!! It's so amazing how the heart can continue to accomidate room for extra love to shared.

A baby story...

I am finally able to sit down and take a moment to write this out.

Kellan Wesley Sikes
3/23/2011
2:19pm
6.5lbs 18 in

We are down to 5.12lbs but thankfully my milk just came in today and we will fatten him up.


As you all know we had a scheduled induction on Wednesday the 23rd at 7am. Leading up to that I had been contracting on and off for the past 3 weeks with multiple false labor contractions and many sleepless nights.
The night before my induction we were all basically running around like crazy doing stupid things that didn't even need to be done. DH insisted he re-caulked the kitchen counter. I mean was that really necessary?? Anyways, I took an hour long shower, shaved my legs and tried my best to "tidy" up the lady parts. I actually did a pretty good job. We headed to bed around midnight, and as soon as I laid down I knew I was in trouble. Tick Tock... 2 am and I was still awake, thank God for Tylenol Pm.
We woke at about 5:45 and headed to the hospital at 7. We were greeted by my nurse, and I was a little weary of how we would work out together. You sometimes have that instant connection and other times ya don't. Well this one had to grow on me, but of course in the end she was my best friend. We got situated in our room, I explained my desire for my natural birth, blah blah, blah. She seemed supportive but not overly enthused. She started my IV which was horrible, I blew a vein and my hand is still sore. Basically we hung out until 8:40 when my Dr came in. She checked me and guess what?? yup, 4 cm and 90%. Imagine that. So we broke my water and everything was clear and flowing nicely. I assumed since I was already dilated so much and having all these crazy contractions that I would just boom, go into hard core labor. Nope, I basically had 3 contractions from 9 am till 11. My Dr told me after she broke my water that if I didn't progress by noon I would have to go on Pitocin. So I walked and walked and walked. I must have walked for 2 hours straight. I got back to the room after not much excitement. The nurse checked me and I was a 5!! wazoo!! At least I didn't have to go with Pitocin. I hung out in the room and sporadically would have a good strong contraction. I never once had time-able hardcore contractions. I had to be on the monitor 20 minutes every hour. Around 1pm I decided to get in the tub and relax. Still I was feeling great, talking, joking. I hung out in the tub and had 2-3 really hard contractions. I all the sudden got very hot. I started feeling lightheaded and sweaty. I asked everyone to help me out of the tub. The moment I stood up I instantly knew. My poor husband thought I was still joking around when I yelled at him to call the nurse. I felt him continue to drop as I tried to walk over to the bed. By the time I made it from the tub to the bed I was in pure agony. I threw my upper body across the end of the bed and started yelling for pain meds. No way was I going to be able to survive hours of this without medication. My nurse was still not in the room and I kept yelling to call her again. In she came. The minute she looked at my face she knew. She got me into the bed and checked me. She kindly said 7/8 cm. ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME??????????? That right there I when I wanted to die. Just as I was about to have a hysterical breakdown something happened... My body began to involuntarily push. I freaked out. i told her to check me again, granted it hadn't even been a full minute. She was entering something into the computer and I looked at her and yelled " HE IS COMING, CHECK ME AGAIN!" She ran over and quickly checked. This is where i kinda go fuzzy. She never once told me I was complete. All I remember was her with one hand inside me and the other on the emergency phone asking for backup. I began having the uncontrollable urges to push, and I was yelling and holding onto the the bed bars with both hands. it was a scene out of the exorcist. My poor mother never knew I was complete either so she had me fighting this urge to push and every time I began to push they would all tell me to stop and blow it away. I finally gave up and let my body take over. The room quickly filled up and there I was screaming and twisting my legs back and forth trying to not push this baby out. I looked at my nurse and told her to put something in my Iv, I told her to hit me, I told her I hated this. She responded "this is what you wanted..." I was in the middle of a contraction and yelled "I fucking lied!" My husband was so freaked out he stood on the opposite side of the room while my Mom was at my side. At this point my mom said I was so out of control she thought i was going to have a stroke. She grabbed my face and told me to focus. I yelled at her too. It is so hard to describe that pain, it felt as if I had a gigantic poop that wanted to come out so bad but wouldn't. I kept yelling I had to poop, I literally felt as if every time my body would involuntarily push that I was going to rupture a spleen or poop out my kidneys. I had 2 more pushing contractions that had me cussing and screaming and in the midst of the second one, in ran my Dr. I told her I was done and didn't want to do this anymore. I guess I asked if I could go home. lol She looked at me and said "Christina, it's time to meet your son." I will never forget those words. So right after that pep talk I had the crazy urge again, she didn't even have her gown on and i said, "he's coming, he's coming!" I looked down and she had what I thought at the time was the attachment to a vacuum, but it was really a syringe, as he began to crown I kept yelling " Pull him out Cooper, pull him out!" I honestly thought she was helping me to suction him out, lol. they give lidocaine during crowning to help with stitches after. So in just once contraction his little head crowned and popped right out followed by the rest of him. I think i would have died if someone told me to stop pushing after his head came out. I had had enough of that. my whole body started shaking, she suctioned him, he cried, I cried, and then I was handed my boy. He was so tiny. Full head of hair, and the most precious cry. My husband had made it to my other side just as I pushed him out. He later admitted that he was so freaked out by my pain that he froze. Bless his heart. I think it worked out best this way. I probably would have said thing to him I would have regretted. My mom had 2 natural births so she fully understood. they took my lil man over to get all his stuff worked on and out came my placenta. the Dr started to give me more numbing injections since she didn't have enough time before. that was so painful i asked for the epi. haha. she did hook me up with some stadol during my repairs. I only had a 1st degree tear. She said it was due to the one contraction crown and delivery. So I got cleaned up and so did baby boy and we were reunited. I was later told that my nurse knew my Dr wanted me to hold off on pushing as long as I could so she could be there. My mom and I both thought I was still at a 7/8 when she paged everyone in. I tried so hard not to push because i have heard of women tearing their cervix when the push too early. had I know I was complete after the second ck, I would have had the baby 10 minutes prior to my Dr even getting there. I'm kind of upset about that because that's why my recovery is tough. I basically had to fight my own body. In the end I got exactly what I wanted. I never envisioned it to happen so fast or be so painful. I always thought you have the 2 min apart Contrax, they get closer, stronger, you feel the urge... Mine was, relax in tub have a few big contrax and boom start pushing. The time line was this:
9 am ~ water broken
12:21~ onset of labor (I changed from a 4 to a 5)
2:05 ~ out of tub 7/8 cm
2:19~ holding baby boy.

I was asked if i would do it again, and honestly I'm not ready to answer. It is still so fresh and raw in my head. plus the fact that I feel like I blew out my entire ass doesn't help. It was the most intense and empowering moment of my life. I say why pull a tooth without being numb? My Dr also said had I not been induced I would have had the baby at home or in the car. I had planned on waiting for my contrax to be really intense and close together...well I'm just glad I was already in the hospital. DH could barely handle that.

We are home and all happy. Trying to adjust to a family of 5.