Splish, Splash...Libby's first bath

 

 

 

 

Libby is officially two weeks old today. I got up to change her diaper early this morning and surpise her cord stump had fallen off! I have been very excited for this to happen so I could give her a REAL bath in the kitchen sink. Just as I thought she loved it. She was calm and soothed by the warm water. I love giving my babies baths, I think its the way they smell when they are all clean and sweet. There's nothing on earth like it.

Welcome Home Libby!

We brought our little girl home from the hospital yesterday and the kids were so excited to see her. Because of H1N1 the kids are not allowed in the hospital at all to visit. Maddie was the most disappointed since I had told her she could come to the birth. (It wouldn't have been good at 4 o'clock in the morning anyway.) I loved getting her all dressed up in her pink going home outfit. I was wheeled down to the car and we buckled her up in her new car seat.







We then headed over to Grandma Faye's house where Sawyer was. He was very excited to see Mommy and very sweet with Libby. He likes to hold her but for only about 10 seconds, then he's done.


After leaving Grandma's house we just couldn't wait for the kids to get home from school so we picked them up early and they were so excited to meet their new Sister. It was just adorable to watch them all crowd around her on the couch and be so filled with joy. Maddie even teared up as she told us how happy she was to finally meet her sister. It was like Christmas morning, but much better.

Maddie saying, "I just can't believe my little sister is here!"

a couple hours after we got home Maddie wanted to play with her sister. She put some soft music on her ipod and got out some baby books and read to her. Luckily Libby cooperated well.

Carter asked to hold Libby and so we let him, after we turned away for a second we noticed he grabbed his DS and started playing with her in his arms. He's a video game freak. (At least he can multi-task)

So we're home now and resting well. Chris is the most amazing husband and father. He is spoiling me rotten. He is taking full reign of the kids: Lunches, getting ready for school, dropping off, picking up, dishes, laundry, breaking up fights and anything else you can imagine. He's home for 2 weeks. We keep saying, how am I going to do this alone when he goes back to work! We'll see. For now I am enjoying having him spoil me and just spending time sleeping and bonding with my new baby. He's also enjoyed bonding with our little princess. He keeps saying, "Are you sure we're done? Don't you want another one?" I reassure him that I am indeed done! He just loves his kids and it brings so much joy to him to have another one.

I feel so blessed, and am just bursting with joy right now!

Introducing Libby Jean Nielsen

Libby Jean Nielsen
Born January 11, 2010
4:10 am
7 lbs 11 oz
19 inches

Our Little Girl finally arrived early Monday morning. I knew that she would come early since the other 3 came at least 2 weeks early. She came at 38 weeks on the dot. I had a ton of things going on and my very last commitment was Sunday night Jan. 10. It was our Great to be 8 night for the kids turning 8 in primary. I was getting so uncomfortable I was dying for her to come before but she didn't. Sunday morning Chris urged me just to stay home and rest since I wasn't feeling well but I thought, "If I go to church and do all that I have to do today, maybe I'll go into labor!" So I got up early went to my early meetings, church, made dinner and even went to Great to be 8. I squeezed in time to sweep and mop the floors, vacuum and make sure every piece of laundry and dishes were done just in case I went into labor that night. That night at Great to be 8 I knew I was having some contractions and on my way home they got even stronger. I called Chris and told him that we were going to the hospital tonight no doubt about it. We called my parents to come over, Chris put the kids to bed and we left for the hospital. I was so excited and a little nervous too. When we arrived I was a little bummed to find out I was only 3.5 cm dilated and that she was still very high. My contractions were very regular and getting stronger so they decided to admit me. Yeah! I was going to have my baby that night!! My labor went pretty smoothly and uneventful. The last 4 cms went very quickly and I swear I felt more pain at the end then I'd ever felt with an epidural before but they kept telling me it was just pressure. My mom was able to drive to our hospital and spend the last few hours of Labor with us. When it came time to push she was out in less than 10 minutes. (I guess when it's your fourth baby that's the way it goes.) I was overcome with sheer joy and even though I'd experienced this 3 times before it still feels amazing. I just couldn't believe that my baby girl was finally here! (I was relieved to find out that she was indeed a girl.)

As soon as her head was out Chris told me that she looked like Carter. As we've been around her more she looks a little like Maddie to us as well. She has my small skinny lips, Chris' crazy feet, and she has the same head shape as Maddie.

I was surprised that she was the biggest of our 4 babies. I actually was worried that she'd be so small because I looked a lot smaller this pregnancy than the others.

Libby with Daddy

Grammy and Libby

Grampy came to visit also


Grandpa Ed and Tanya came to visit that evening

Libby all bundled up in her bassinet

Libby was my 3rd birth at Kaiser in Baldwin Park. I noticed a huge difference this time around. Not that my other hospital stays were negative but it just seemed that they were going above and beyond which I certainly wasn't used to. It seemed at every moment we were being asked how we were being treated, if we were happy with the nurses, the janitorial staff, etc. On our first night there we were given a Celebratory Dinner in honor of our baby. This is what it looked like. They even put down a table cloth and layed a pink rose across our table, and gave us Martinellis and Champagne glasses. The food was mediocre but it was a nice personal touch. Kudos to Kaiser, I'd definitely recommend having a baby at Kaiser Baldwin Park.

Nesting

The boys closet (if you look closely every cube has a label on it!)

Boys room

Having the two boys sleep in the same bed is pretty interesting. We have to put one down at a time which is a pain but they take turns and don't fight it. Eventually we'd like to get a bunk bed.

The Baby's Crib

Changing Table

The Girls Room

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I have been crazy busy trying to get our home ready for our new baby girl. Since probably July or August I have had a huge list of projects up in my kitchen and have literally tackled just about every single one. My kids think I'm crazy! I think the reason I'm so crazy is one: we live in a 3 bedroom 2 bath condo and are very limited on space. two: When I brought Sawyer home from the hospital we had just moved back into our condo and literally were living out of boxes. It was crazy and I had no opportunity to nest. (He was born the first night we slept here) So I just want to make everything perfect to bring this baby home. Here are some of the big things we've done over the past few months:

-We switched the beds around so Maddie has Carters twin, and the boys are now sleeping in Maddie's queen. She was a little sad about this at first. But having the baby's crib in her room is pretty exciting to her.

-We had all our carpets cleaned. A task that was way overdue and way worth the cost after potty training two kids in this home.

-We got rid of as much clutter as possible and made many trips to the DI bin and Goodwill.

-We touched up all the paint on the baseboards and walls in the house.

-With much help from my Mom and Mother-in-law, we made all the baby's bedding for the crib. (Which cost almost as much as purchasing it but at least it turned out exactly how I wanted) The crib skirt is not quite finished yet.

-I've organized every single cupboard and closet in my home and it feels WONDERFUL!

-We cleaned out the garage, and got rid of all our boy clothes :(

Needless to say we've been pretty busy these last few months. With all the anticipation to bring home our baby girl, I've been going crazy! I'm 38 weeks tomorrow and I feel like she's already late. Carter and Maddie were 38 weeks, and Sawyer was 37. I don't know how anyone makes it to 40 without going crazy. I'm driving Chris crazy. Every night I go to bed with the house perfectly clean and the dishes and laundry done, just in case. Then I wake up sad that another night has past without going into labor. (For some reason it always happens at night for me.) Lets hope this baby comes soon! Hopefully the next post will be a baby announcement!

Baby Shower

My Sister-in-law, Kelli threw me an adorable baby shower last Saturday along with help from my Mother-in-law Faye, Sister-in-law Kirsten and my two nieces Halli and Hannah. They went to so much work and it was just beautiful. I was so busy catching up with all my friends and family that came I didn't get very many pictures. They served french dip sandwiches, salads, fruit and veggies. It was a great spread. My mom also made delicious cupcakes (Chris called them scrumptious). Kelli had all kinds of adorable games to play. We teamed up with each other and took turns playing the games. She had a baby food eating contest, cloth diaper pinning contest, pacifiers with peanut butter, and my favorite: a sock matching race. Kelli bought all sorts of adorable socks (over 25 pair!) and had a race to see who could match the most. Of course I got all the socks after :)

I got a ton of adorable clothes that I have had so much fun washing and folding. I also got my car seat that I had registered for! I am so ready for this baby to get here!

Primary Pancake Breakfast

So December and January are very busy months for Primary. Add that to Christmas and New Years and then of course getting our small home ready to fit a fourth child, and you have a very crazy past few months for me! Luckily all has gone well, Christmas went smoothly and the nesting is just about done with every nook and cranny of our home organized. One of our big events for Primary was our annual pancake breakfast. We have several wonderful new teachers and the kids were all very excited to come to church on a Saturday in their PJ's for a yummy breakfast to meet them. Here are some fun pictures of the event which was on January 2nd. Later that day I had my baby shower and then the next day was our first Sunday of the year in Primary. Needless to say I breathed a huge sigh of relief after last weekend was over.

Happy New Year 2010!

New Years Eve was pretty quiet around our house. We usually have a fun get together with family and play games and stay up til midnight but with me being so pregnant and so busy with all the nesting and then of course primary stuff I've had going on, we just stayed home and veged. Chris fell asleep at 7:30 after working a lot the week before, and Maddie and I went to in-n-out after the boys were in bed. We stayed up and watched most of the Times Square stuff but after 11 I got pretty tired so we both went to bed. It was good to not get to bed to late since we had to get up early for the parade.

The next morning we woke up bright and early and headed to Pasadena for the Rose Parade. My family has gone every year since I was about 6. We just go near the end of the parade route and stand on chairs and step ladders and we have a great time. Many of my cousins on the Jones side come too and it is a great way to celebrate the new year and catch up with them and all their children. Then we head over to Uncle Bob and Aunt Sharon's house for some yummy Mexican food. It was so much fun to catch up with family, I look forward to it every year.

Christmas Day

We had a wonderful Christmas day. Maddie woke up early, around 5 am and waited in our bed until around 7. She was kind enough not to wake us up since she realized it was way too early. Once we got up she quickly woke the boys up and we all headed out to the living room to see what Santa had brought for them.

Here's our beautiful Christmas Tree. I took this picture just before we went to bed on Christmas eve.

Carter and Sawyers "Santa" gifts. Carter got a DS and Mario and Sonic Winter Olympic Wii game. Sawyer got a monster truck ramp and a really cool boat he can take in the bath tub.

Maddie's "Santa" gifts. Maddie got a stuffed I-dog, Animal Crossing for her DS, Monopoly, and a Barbie Baby Doctor set.

Sawyer loves his monster truck ramp!


The boys enjoyed playing Sonic and Mario at the Winter Olympics on the Wii.

After playing with their toys for about an hour, I made a delicious breakfast of our traditional Aebleskivers, roasted potatoes, scrambled eggs and bacon. Oh and don't forget the fresh Odwalla O.J.!

After breakfast we cleaned up and opened our gifts under the tree. I thought we did pretty good this year. (After several years of "overdoing" it.) Each child had 5 gifts under the tree.

Maddie was excited about her High School Musical Barbies, now she has almost all the characters!

Carter got Mario and Sonic olympics for his new DS, and Sawyer got a Mickey Mouse Yahtzee game. He loves playing with Daddy!

Carter also got a bakugan set. I didn't see the fascination with it at first but then I realized that the little balls transform when they hit the card because of a magnet. Pretty cool huh? He loved them and had been asking for them for ages.

I can't believe I didn't take a picture but Maddie had been asking for an Ipod for a while and we told her Santa couldn't afford one. Just before Christmas we decided to splurge and get her one. It was the last gift to be opened and since it was a small box I told her it was just a small simple gift. She was so surprised when she opened it! It is bright green. You can see a picture of it in the picture below. It is so cool becuase it shoots video now which she loves!

I didn't take very many pictures, I guess I've gotten out of the habit. After we got dressed and ready we headed over to Chris' mom, Faye's home to have a delicious Ham Christmas dinner. The kids enjoyed opening more presents and more stockings! Thanks Grandma!

Here's the kids with Aunt Kelli and their cousins.

We ended the day just relaxing together and then Chris went to see "Sherlock Holmes" with the rest of the family. I was exhausted and rested for the rest of the evening. We had a great Christmas and enjoyed being with family. Next year will be so exciting to have our new little girl!