Comparisons

I thought it would be fun to post pictures of all three girls and see how alike they look. It was tricky to find pictures where they all had hats, or no hats. I feel like the hair gives them away. Can you tell who is who?

I can’t believe Tessa is already 10 days old. She is still the sweetest girl. Rarely fusses or cries…just when she gets her diaper changed really. She’s a decent sleeper, and will sleep for hours on end if she’s being held. She goes about 2.5-3 hours at night between feedings, which I can totally handle. The other night she went almost 5 hours, which would have been bliss except my two older girls BOTH woke up before Tessa did for stupid reasons so I didn’t even get to enjoy that 5 hour stretch.

I’ve been feeling sickly since the hospital, so I finally went in to Urgent Care today. Diagnosis: bronchitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis. I can barely handle three kids when I’m healthy, let alone sick! Thankfully I got a rx for some antibiotics so hopefully I start to get better ASAP. 10 days before I had a postpartum meltdown…I think that’s a record! My good friend came over, let me cry on her, watched all 3 girls while I went to Urgent Care, cleaned my whole house while I was gone, took both girls home with her so I could sleep, then brought them back WITH dinner and groceries. A true blessing, and a true friend. She pretty much bossed me around and told me to go to the doctor and took charge, which I totally needed. I don’t know why I feel like I should be able to do it all alone, why it’s so hard to accept help sometimes. I think it’s a woman/mother thing. Nobody wants to admit they can’t do it. We all want to be Superwoman. Well, Superwoman I’m not, that’s for sure, and I’m especially grateful for the amazing people around me who don’t take no for an answer and know when to step in.

Derrick has been amazing, too. So helpful with the older girls, who need so much more attention right now. And stepping up in so many other areas, too. He’s been sick, and I’ve been sick, and we’ve just been so much busier with an extra kid I feel like I haven’t even seen him in 2 weeks. I was a believer in date nights before, and even more so now! Can’t wait to go out once we’re all feeling better, even if we have a car seat in tow!

Overall, life is great. I’m loving my sweet baby, and loving how my older girls love her too. I can’t wait until I’m feeling 100% so I can give 100% to all 3 of them. Right now I feel like I am just scraping by, and I hate that.

Tessa Noelle Callister

I escaped a scheduled induction once again! She just couldn’t wait!

I’d been having contractions all week, but nothing very strong or very regular. And at my last appointment I was only dilated to a 1 and still very thick, so I was totally planning on making it to Monday night to be induced. Sunday night I watched the season premier of Downton Abbey with my mom (and had to endure the peanut gallery comments from the menfolk in the room) and went to bed totally planning on going to Costco the next day and running other last minute errands. That night around 2 am I woke up to a painful contraction, but went right back to sleep. I woke up every half hour or so with contractions the rest of the night, but still nothing was very regular or strong. Around 5:30 they started getting stronger so I started timing them, but they were all over the place. Derrick woke up at 6:30 and started getting ready for work. He asked me if he should go in or not. I had no idea. At this point I was having to breathe through my contractions and could make no decision whatsoever. He decided to stay home. At 8 am I called my doctor’s office and told them what was going on and they told me to head over to the hospital. What a relief. I was scared I was going to have irregular painful contractions all day long until they were 3-5 minutes apart like they always tell you.

So we pack up the rest of our stuff and say a quick goodbye to the girls and my parents and we’re on our way to the hospital. We get there around 8:45 am, I get checked in and I’m dilated to a 5 already. Sweet. Since I’d been having some painful contractions for a few days, I’m feeling pretty anxious about the whole deal and wondering whether or not I’m prepared for the pain coming my way. I seriously start considering an epidural. But at this point my contractions are pretty close together and I’m not even sure I could get one anymore so I just suck it up and labor on my own. I’m not even on a running IV, so this is all me and no Pitocin. First time with no pit. Every time my nurse checks me I’m another cm dilated, and the baby’s head is super low. I start to feel a little pushy, but not overly. The next thing I know they’re taking my bed apart and I’m in stirrups and the doctor (whom I never met) comes in. Apparently I’m not complete yet (but I never ever get to a 10 anyway) and he kind of yells to the nurses about this. Since my cervix has torn both times before, he starts to stretch everything out down there. A lot. This hurts. A lot. So much so that I can barely feel my contractions, but instead only feel my crotch being pulled open with what feels like the jaws of life. I yell at the doctor a little, “What are you doooinng????” And he replies, “That’s what you get for not getting any pain meds.” ARE YOU KIDDING ME? What a jackass. At this point we’re now just waiting for a contraction so that I can finally push. Except no contraction comes for what feels like forever. When one finally does come I start to push. And push. And they keep having me push even after the contraction is over. Trying to push without a contraction is pretty much just like trying to take a giant poop. So I try to poop out my sweet baby for like another 5 or 6 pushes. I can’t do it. I keep losing my breath. I have no contraction helping me, no urge to push. It’s hard. Things get a little tense and the doctor calls for the vacuum and tells me we need to get the baby OUT. All sorts of things start going through my mind. I’m gonna have to have a c-section. My baby is stuck in the birth canal. She can’t breathe. I’m going to die. Then a nurse gets right in my face and helps me focus and push and another one gets on top of me and pushes on the top of my stomach to help push her out. And then she’s out. Finally. Just over an hour later at 10:03 am. And apparently I pee all over the doctor during delivery. Take that! (Although he did keep my cervix from tearing so I can’t hate him too much. Just a little.)

The cord was wrapped around her neck once I found out later, and she was a little cold so they kept her under the warmer for a bit so I didn’t get to hold her right away like I did with my other girls. But then I got to snuggle with her and she is just the sweetest thing. She was 6 lb 6 oz and 18.5” long. So far my biggest baby by an ounce. That one ounce made all the difference though…she was tough to push out! Oh, and in your face gestational diabetes…I still had a small baby!

Summer is enamored by Tessa, and will repeatedly say “she’s so cute!”, “she’s so tiny!”, “she’s so perfect!” She loves to hold her and is just the best big sister. Hannah likes her too, and will often say so. “I like Tessa,” but doesn’t really want to have to much to do with her. They both have to give her kisses before nap and bedtime though. But so far I haven’t really feared for Tessa’s safety—they are pretty good around her.

Of course, I’m in love with her hair. She’s got pretty fuzzy shoulders, too. She’s an open mouthed sleeper, just like her dad. She really is just the sweetest thing, I love this stage, where they just sleep and snuggle and eat.

It was so nice having my parents here through the whole thing. Knowing my big girls were taken care of. I came home to a clean house, all my laundry done, dinners made for me, dishes washed for me, diapers changed for me. I got to just relax and love on Tessa. They left this morning and we are definitely going to miss them! Crazy to think we are now a family of 5. 3 girls. What did we get ourselves into? Who knows, but we sure love this little babe.

Summer is 4!!

This little firecracker turned 4 even though I willed her to stay 3 and small and little and sweet. Now she is 4, and she thinks she can do anything and everything. 3 sounds little and toddlerish, and 4 just sounds old. I can’t have a 4-year-old!

Since I knew I was going to be super pregnant or even with a newborn, I took the easy way out this year and had her birthday party at McDonald’s on the 29th. Best. Decision. Ever. Cheap, no clean up, food and cake provided, and plenty of entertainment for the kids. All 11 of them. She had a great time with all her little friends.

On her actual birthday, we took her to The Big Backyard, an indoor playground with a big playset and lots of riding toys. Both girls had a blast going down slides and running around. For lunch she wanted “something special” and decided on Chili’s. No complaints here! Derrick was sickly and slept all day but did meet us for lunch. She was treated like a birthday queen and even got her own little brownie sundae and all the servers sang to her. She loved it.

She requested eggs for dinner (random!) and then we had a little family party and opened presents and had cake and ice cream with Ann & Katie. She wanted a rainbow star cake, which thankfully she loved, since I made it up as I went along. (In case you need to make a star shaped cake with no star shaped pan, check out this tutorial. Very handy!)

Admittedly, I had a hard time that day. A combination of pregnancy hormones, my baby turning 4, and a house full of sick people (EVERYONE except ME, thankfully) finally took their toll on me and I had a complete meltdown. And then another one day when my little girl started Primary! She is growing up too quickly for my liking!

I interviewed her with the same questions I asked her last year:

1. What is your favorite color? purple & pink

2. What is your favorite toy? nail polish

3. What is your favorite fruit? grapes & apples & oranges

4. What is your favorite tv show? Mickey Mouse Clubhouse & Doc McStuffins

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? turkey sandwich

6. What is your favorite outfit? new one from Aunt Linda

7. What is your favorite game? Hi Ho Cherry-O

8. What is your favorite snack? fishy crackers

9. What is your favorite animal? zebras

10. What is your favorite song? ABC’s

11. What is your favorite book? Wizard of Oz

12. Who is your best friend? Jocelyn

13. What is your favorite cereal? Lucky Charms

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play in the snow

15. What is your favorite drink? juice

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Rainbow Dash

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? mini-wheats

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Mac n Cheese

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? sled puller

We sure do love you, Summer!

Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year. The girls were super into all things Christmas-y. They knew all the songs and who sings them. Within like 2 notes of a song starting they would know what it was. Sign these girls up for Name That Tune!! We went on lots of drives to look at Christmas lights, including a couple drive through light displays, drank lots of hot chocolate, made Christmas cookies, Christmas crafts, and fully enjoyed all the Christmas season had to offer. When we finally took all the decorations down they were devastated. Hannah would mope around saying, “Christmastime is overrrrr.” So sad! I almost started crying too when on Christmas Eve Summer said, “I’m so sad Jessie (our Elf on the Shelf) has to go back to the North Pole tonight.” They loved looking for her each morning, and I loved being able to use her bribe them to be good.

Summer asked Santa for a Hello Kitty camera and a Play-doh castle that makes Rapunzel’s hair. She got both and has spent hours making Play-doh creations. I’ve been trying to let my anxiety about the mess go and just let her enjoy it. She also got some Disney Princess dress up clothes, which both girls have loved.

Hannah asked for a bunny (stuffed) and got it, but loves the little stuffed Minnie Mouse she got even more. I got her all the Disney Little People Princesses, but she refuses to play with Beast. “He’s scary!” They both got sleeping bags and have fun pretending to have “sleepover parties”.

They were at such fun ages this year, and it made Christmas so much fun for all of us.