The Little Prince

Nolan is the little prince of the house. He is sooooo loved! Especially by all the ladies in the house! He is constantly getting kissed by his momma or one of his sisters. Daddy barely gets to hold him or love on him because he is always occupied by the ladies. Nicknames: Momma calls him "Bubby Boy" or "Bubs", Addy calls him "Buddy Boy", Kate calls him "Baby Nolan", Jason calls him "Son" or "JJ" (Jason Junior) Sounds: He really never cries or fusses. He grunts a lot! If you are doing something he doesn't like (diaper change or sponge bath) he grunts. When he wakes up ready to eat, he grunts. Drinking: Nolan drinks a 3 oz bottle every three hours. At night he usually will stretch one feeding to 4 hours, but not consistently yet. Temperament: He is such a sweet baby. He sleeps an awful lot still. I am sure this will change, but for now, we are enjoying it. He loves to be held (especially by momma). He doesn't love laying flat. He likes to be slightly elevated in his chair/seat or swing. He doesn't mind being swaddled at night. He hasn't spit up or shown an aversion to formula...yet (we are crossing our fingers). He loves to pee and poop. He instantly relaxes and is happy when he poops or pees. HA! He smiles at Addy only so far (other than smiling in his dreams)! Overall, we are all in love with this little man! He is the first thing the girls ask about when they get up in the morning. They will both just sit by him and stare at him forever. Addy loves to talk to him and look at him. Kate loves to read to him and hold his hand. Jason and I are a little in shock still about how good of a baby he is. We don't even want to utter the words out loud for fear of jinxing it. Both girls were such difficult babies that we are not used to this. Well, we don't know how long this good behavior will last, but we are going to enjoy it while it lasts!! We love you Nolan Keith!!!!!

Nolan’s Arrival by Dad

The schedule was set, papers were issued with date and timeframe. Thursday, May 17th was the day the doctor wanted him to arrive, joining the two-strong de Wolfe clan of strong willed kids. He would have none of it. Mother Nature versus modern medicine and the former prevailed. Presumably this is the last of labor pains for mommy, he made this one count. Notwithstanding, please allow me to introduce you to Nolan’s first moments. The doctor that scheduled induction worked a long day but not long enough to see his second de Wolfe birth. We now have gone 3 for 3 on baby to doctor delivery ratio. Standing in was the night delivery doctor who spent a lot of time with Jen and I just chatting. We talked about Texas, PA, NYC (his hometown), restaurants, sports, ballparks, Pittsburgh monoculture and baseball. We got down to the reason Nolan is named Nolan. The doc was super impressed, he told stories about growing up in NYC and how he respected Nolan Ryan so much from the ’69 Mets, to his career accomplishments and what he has done recently with the Rangers. He even suggested that his middle name be Ryan. Tempting but Jen would have none of that. The doc stayed with Jen the entire time she pushed which is a first of the three kids (the first two swooped in late to yell and yank). He made references to curveball versus fastball on labor time. He also joked about here comes “the Ryan Express” as Nolan reveled his crown for the first time and as Nolan’s shoulders struggled to make it through, he said about his broad shoulders, “well, everything’s bigger in Texas”. Midnight plus 29 minutes (00:29 EDT, 18 March 2012) Nolan Keith de Wolfe struggled to pull oxygen into his new born lungs for the first time. Many successful breaths later, we have made another strong willed one and the only that will carry on de Wolfe in this house. Why Nolan? Someday he will ask and I will explain like this. Based on my career path in the business I’m in today, I’m not certain the Lone Star State will make his childhood resume. It may, but I’m not certain. Therefore, a Texas legend is his namesake. A calming accent that is all things Texas, he was one of the greatest athletes to play a sport ever. His records will likely stand the test of time in almost all of his milestone accomplishments and his desire for endurance, strength and discipline can be transcribed into any of life’s endeavors. There are many reasons to name kids what you name them. Addyson sounded cool from a baby book, Katelyn was humor meets seriousness in 1K +T (one kidney plus tumor) = Kate, and Nolan is based on something strong sounding, easy to spell, five letters just like daddy and has meaning beyond just the name. Later that Friday Nolan Ryan threw out the first pitch, unbeknownst to him that a little de Wolfe boy was born that same day bearing his name. Nolan would have none of that crappy baseball day on Thursday to be his birthday. He wanted to know the Ryan Express could still take the mound and have the modern-era Nolan Ryan come one hit away from a no-hit bid, broken up by his birthplace hometown team in the ninth; he wanted that to be his birthday. Good for him. Yep, we are going to have plenty to talk about.

One Week Old

Nolan is one week old today! I cannot believe how fast seven days have gone. Nolan has truly stolen my heart. There is something different about having a son over having a daughter. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my girls, but a boy is different for some reason. Even Jason said he felt a little different about the girls versus Nolan. So far Nolan is a good baby. This is a totally foreign concept for us. So I don't want to brag too much for fear it will jinx him. He still has his days and nights a little bit confused. He sleeps better during the day, but he is consistent about waking every 3 hours to eat. Last night he even stretched five hours between feedings. He really doesn't cry too much. He fusses when he has a dirty diaper or a gas bubble, but that's about it. He loves to pee on his momma! And he loves to poop! He is such a handsome cutie! I cannot get enough of him. I haven't even let Jason or my mom feed him, get up with him, or even change his diaper because I just love being with him so much! Well, Jason did do almost all the diaper changes the first two days because I was so afraid of hurting his circumcision, but I am good to go now. His sisters are in LOVE with him. They want to witness every feeding and diaper change and they beg to hold him all the time. He gets showered with kisses all the time and doesn't seem to mind a bit. Addy loves to kiss him and hold him. Kate loves to hold his hand and "read" books to him. He is the prince of the house for sure and we love that he is part of our family now. I cannot imagine life without him. We are loving having Mimi here to help out. She has been a big help by running to the store if we need it, cooking meals, taking total care of the girls, doing chores, and much more! This has really allowed me to just focus on Nolan. We are so appreciative that Mimi changed her flight to be here for the big day and help us out!!!

Nolan's Birthday...

Nolan's birthday was quite the day (well actually the day before was quite the day). We got a call at 4:30 am on Thursday to go into the hospital. We checked in around 5:45 am and the journey began. It was a lot of waiting and not a whole lot happening. I never would dilate. I felt like I was one centimeter forever. Finally when I got to three centimeters I got my epidural. The epidural went well. I did ask for another person to do it because the first woman was still a student. I got a student for my epidural with Katelyn and it went badly. I ended up having to have two epidurals and my right leg was numb for 6 hours after birth. This one went great! After my epidural I really thought labor would speed up, but no such luck. Finally I was a four. I stayed at a four forever!! After hours and hours (about 17 hours) I felt like I had to push and it was time! I pushed for 25 minutes and out came baby Nolan! I was instantly in love. He looked exactly like Jason. Our doctor took some photos for us. Then it was off to recovery and loving all over the new addition to our family!!

First doctor appointment

Nolan had his first doctor appointment yesterday. He did great! He is back up to his exact birth weight (6.14) and got a clean bill of health. He will go back in two weeks for another check up. He was not a fan of the doctor checking in his ears and throat, but other than that he was pretty relaxed. Our little Nolan has been a fabulous baby so far. We are worried about bragging on him for fear of jinxing things, but he pretty much sleeps all the time. He rarely cries unless you are changing his diaper or outfit. He does have a fussy spell around 9 pm where he cries a bit. The last two nights he has liked to stay awake in between two night feedings so it appears he may have his days and nights confused a bit. He wakes up every 3 hours to eat and right now is consistently taking 2 ounces at each feeding. He has NO issues pooping or peeing for sure!! He loves to poop! Momma loves snuggling with him after feedings. The girls LOVE their little brother. There is a step stool next to the changing table and the crib downstairs because they want to peek at him all the time. Kate loves to hold his hand and read books to him. Addy always wants to hold him and kiss his head. They worry when he cries or fusses and they ask about him first thing when they wake up. We have had no jealousy issues yet, but Mimi is here to give the girls lots of attention while Momma is with Nolan. Jason has been a huge help as well. He will go back to work tomorrow and we will miss him! We sure love our little man and can't imagine our family without him!!

Little brother

We sure do love our new little brother! Isn't he so cute?

I'm home!

I have only been home one hour, but my sisters showered me with so much attention, that I'm exhausted!

Circumcision

Nolan just left for his circumcision. Momma shed a few tears :(

Shower

It's amazing how good a shower can make you feel. I'm feeling tired but good. I'm in love with both my men...and of course my sweet girls!

Nolan

He has done nothing but sleep! Fighting so hard to stay in must have worn him out!

He's here....

Nolan Kehth has arrived. 12:29 am, 6 lbs 14 oz, 21.5 inches long. He is adorable. He looks exactly like Jason! He is nursing well and makes cute grunting sounds a lot. He is so tiny, but long. I never thought I would love another man, but I sure love this little man!

Update

The new doctor is very nice. He is a new yorker and likes our Texas accents. He and Jason just talked baseball for an hour. I'm still a 4 :( He put an internal monitor in to better measure the contractions and they are going to up the dosageof Pitocin. Uggggghh

???

Just in case you were wondering....we are still here with no baby!

Small change

My doctor just checked me before he left and I'm only 4 cm.  He says he does not think I will need a c-section unless the baby starts to not tolerate it. So, we are just hanging tight for now. Jason is taking a walk and getting some food. I have seen him eat 3 meals today and I'm super jealous. Momma is starving!

Rest

Well, the epidural has kicked in. I'm feeling pressure on contractions but almost no pain. Think I will try and get some rest and just hope that I'm dilating.

Getting happier...

Epidural is starting to work its magic. Wooohoo.

Epidural and progress

I'm now dilated to a 3 and was in a lot of pain so I just got an epidural. The epidural seemed to go well. I'm not numb yet, but am hopeful it will work soon.

Sucks!

Contractions every two minutes with no epidural SUCKS!

Rangers

Jason is watching the Ranger game on the computer! Hehe!

Painful!

After the most painful exam yet, the doctor broke my water. I'm a little worried because I'm still only 1 cm, but he said I am progressing with the station and effacing. I'm holding off on the epidural until the pain gets more unbearable and I get more dilated.

Trying....

I am trying sitting on the exercise ball. We shall see if it is any more comfortable.

Check

The doctor just came in and checked me again. He's not ready to break my water and I got a slap on the wrist for laying flat on my back. I'm progressing and contracting, but sadly still at 1 cm.

Upping the dosage

They just upped (is that a word?) the dosage of Pitocin. Hopefully it will move things along.

Contractions

The contractions are coming regularly every 2-3 minutes and baby is doing well.

Doctor

My doctor came by and verified that he is head down. He also checked me and told the nurses to start the Pitocin. I'm only 1 cm dilated, and 50% effaced. So I have a ways to go.

Asleep

Jason has been asleep since we got in the room. Ha! Good thing this is my 3rd go round or I might be upset.

IV

The IV is in, monitors on, medical history taken, and we are about to have ultrasound done to make sure Nolan is still head down.

Checked in

We are officially checked in to the hospital but we do not have a room yet.

Headed to the hospital....

We got the call at 4:30 am that there was a bed available. We are getting dressed and headed to the hospital. Let's get this show on the road!

So close....

Just had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a hard boiled egg since I'm not allowed anything after midnight. Getting excited about the whole process!

We are ready....

We are so ready for our baby brother to arrive! We made some big sister shirts! We are so glad that Mimi has arrived to stay with us while Mommy and Daddy are in the hospital!

Last doctor vist...for a while

Today was my last doctor visit before I go in to have the baby. It was pretty uneventful, which I guess is good. My blood pressure was a little elevated again, but nothing alarming. He said I was barely 1 cm dilated. I have gained a total of 27 pounds. I really packed on the pounds in this last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago I had only gained 17 pounds I think. Oh well...that is right in between what I gained with the girls (25 with Addy and 30 with Kate) so I think that is alright. My mom arrives tomorrow and my list of things to get done is growing. I better get started. Jason is going to take Thursday and Friday off work to be at the hospital with me. Hopefully by mid-day Thursday Nolan will have arrived!!! Stay tuned...

Stay Tuned...

So I set up the app for my phone so that I could post from my phone onto my blog. I will keep everyone updated on the birth via the blog!!! We are getting super excited about baby Nolan's arrival. My mom arrives tomorrow! We are just getting last minute chores done around the house, but are very ready for Nolan. The girls are super excited. Hopefully everything goes smoothly and we have a healthy baby boy by Thursday!

Test

This is a test for blogging from my phone for the birth updates.....

Update...

Just got back from the doctor. I am not dilated at all. My blood pressure was a little higher than usual, but nothing alarming. I gained one pound from last week. They scheduled my induction for May 17th from 3am-7am! Wow- that is early. That is the time frame they are supposed to call the house and let us know when a bed is available at the hospital, then we go up there. Uggghhh! Oh well, at least we have a day scheduled with the doctor we wanted (same doctor that delivered Katelyn). Six days and counting people. It just got real! Now....what to do with my other two children at 3 in the morning??? Fingers crossed the airline lets my mom switch her flight!!!

Ultrasound

Today was our ultrasound to find out if baby Nolan was head down and to see if there was adequate amniotic fluid. Needless to say, I was quite nervous about it. I think it went as well as it could possibly go. We were able to see how big Nolan has gotten (we have only had one ultrasound the entire pregnancy and he was 17 weeks). He is weighing in at 6 lbs 15 oz right now. He is only 2 days smaller than normal, not 2 weeks like they thought. He is head down, which I am so happy about. I did not want to have a c-section. He is also definitely a boy!! We were able to see his boy parts!! We were able to see two kidneys...thank goodness! And the amniotic fluid level was in the normal range. We also got to see his adorable profile. He kept putting both of his little hands in front of his face as if to hide from us. It was so cute and made me even more anxious to meet him. He looked to have the same big pouty lips that both of his sisters have. Really he looked just like they did on ultrasounds. So all seems to be going well at this point. I have my weekly doctor visit on Friday. I have another doctor appointment on Tuesday and that should be my last visit before they induce me either the 17th or 18th. Yay for baby Nolan!!!! Thank you Lord for many prayers answered.

Sisters

Sisters! Right now, they are loving being together...I will take it!!!

Car is ready...

Well, we got the car seat in the car for Nolan and the girls seats re-arranged. Now, the car is ready for whenever Nolan makes his debut. We had a great family fun day at the park. We had beautiful weather and we took advantage of it!!

Sisters

Last night I had some friends over for mah jongg (game night) so Jason was 'on call' for the girls. He is a sucker for letting them sleep together in either Addy's room or Kate's room, where I tend to discourage it more often (because they end up not getting a very good night's sleep). Anyway, the girls convinced Daddy to let them sleep together in Addy's big bed. Well, Kate fell out of the bed backwards, on her head. She was pretty shaken up. After checking her out and calming her down, she finally fell asleep in her own bed a little while later. Addy was crying and so upset because her sister got hurt. It broke my heart. Jason explained it wasn't her fault and that Kate was okay. Addy woke up this morning and asked about Kate first thing. She said she prayed for Kate before she went to bed so that God would help her be okay. I nearly teared up. It is small moments like that that make me feel, even if only for a split second, that Jason and I are doing something right as parents!! If nothing else, our girls love each other and care for each other's well being. That makes me proud. Now, they may be fighting with each other and yelling a minute later, but hey, nobody's perfect!!!

Nolan Update

Well, I went to the doctor today and I would say the results were a little worrisome. Nothing major, but it's much better to have NO news I think! He is measuring barely 35 weeks, so a little on the small side. They are not sure (since they don't do ultrasounds right there in the office) if my fluid is low or if he is really low in the pelvis. She also did an internal exam and was not able to feel his head. She thought he might have moved, which means he may not be head down anymore. Because of these two things, she ordered an ultrasound. The ultrasound place could not get me in until Tuesday, and that was an 'emergency appointment'. I have gained a total of 22 pounds and am not dilated yet. They are scheduling induction for the 17th or the 18th. Now the tricky part of figuring out childcare for the THREE doctor appointments I have next week (I have the ultrasound, my weekly appointment, and then one other appointment with my doctor who is on call the 17th and 18th, but I haven't seen in 8 months, so he wants to see me before delivery). I have always taken the girls with me, but now that they do the internal exams, I think it is best I don't bring them unless absolutely necessary! Where is family when you need them??? Oh yeah...they are all in Texas!! Oh Nolan Keith- I sure hope you are healthy and happy in there because you are making your Momma worry a little!!

Eating outside...

Addy and Kate have wanted to eat outside the last two nights, so we let them. Addy was watching Barefoot Contessa with me on Monday and she saw that she would go out in her garden and pick fresh flowers for a centerpiece for the table. Well, Addy decided to do this for their dinner table outside...too funny! Kate helped Addy set the table and Addy picked flowers, or weeds, for a centerpiece. The best part of this new obsession....Jason and I get to eat in peace inside (and not pick up any fallen food off the floor)!!