Tidepool Toads

Sunday, February 17, 2013

LOVE

All of our little Valentines!

Our littlest one. We're all busy loving him to death.

I *LOVE* them all.

I am the most blessed woman ever.

Here's the story of how Toad #5 entered the world. This kid is a total muncher. He definitely did not get the memo about Glama being in town. Either that or it was a total lack of defiance not to enter the world the day after she got here. Tadpole and Little Chief knew what to do. Actually it is even worse than that. The kid is a little trickster. He woke me up on Monday (Feb. 4th) with some *super real* *super close* contractions and sent me and Pops to the hospital. Being a "Grand Multip" (someone who is delivering their more than 4th child), they rushed me right in, strapped the monitor on my belly and watched the contractions get further and further apart until they just petered out. After the walk of shame out of the hospital, I warned my mom that she better be prepared to deliver her grandson on the kitchen floor because I wasn't going back to the hospital until it got *really* ugly.

So things just drew out for 3 more days without another contraction in sight. I was getting pretty desperate by Thursday when I had my doctor appointment. Glama had a flight scheduled for the following Tuesday morning and I was determined to put her (and not the next door neighbor) to good use while I was in the hospital. The doctor barely acknowledged the legitimacy of my case. She was insistent that she could not break my water until I was 40 weeks and 39 weeks and 5 days was not 40 weeks. However she said she "mixed things up" and hopefully things would start happening on their own. bleh. How discouraging.

But... it actually did work. I immediately started cramping and having contractions. I was determined not to let these ones slip away so I spent the day doing house work and taking brisk *frigid* walks in the neighborhood. Around 6:00 p.m. I called my own bluff and turned myself into the hospital. I was sure this was the real thing and wanted no part of a kitchen floor delivery! When we got to the hospital I found myself to be 1 of 4 other laboring women waiting to get into triage. Although, I have to say I was in the worst shape. While the others were lounging around playing on their phones I was bracing myself on the wall. It was a crazy busy night. The big blizzard of 2013 was descending upon the Boston area and driving out all of the babies.

And here is our little blizzard baby. We considered naming him "Nemo" after the storm, but in the end we stuck to, "Daniel Hyrum". He was born at 10:31 p.m. weighing in at 8 lbs. 10 oz., 21 inches long. But my favorite favorite thing about him is that he has O+ blood! That is a big deal because so do I. And that is a big deal because he is the first Toad to not have jaundice. That is a big deal if you have ever spent the first 2 weeks of your infant's life trying to wake him/her up to eat the abundance of milk waiting for them. I hate to pick favorites, but this kid wins big.

See, there are his beautiful *alert* eyes and *pink* fleshy skin.

Pops spent the night with me and Toad #5 in the hospital. He rushed home at 8:00 a.m. whipped up a double batch of my favorite chocolate chip cookies, scooped up the kiddos and Glama and was back at the hospital by 10:00. He was determined to squeeze in a visit before the storm clobbered us. Here is our first complete family photo. 5 kids!? Oh my.

The family left around noon when the snow started to stick and come fast. After that it was completely dead in the hospital. It just snowed and snowed and snowed. Nobody came and nobody left. The Governor put a driving ban into effect. The hospital staff was all invited to stay the weekend. Nobody was discharged on Saturday. The lights flickered all night long. We were on back-up power and worst of all, there was no Internet for a full day!

It was all good though. Baby Daniel and I just snuggled and snuggled and snuggled. Pops made an heroic expedition to the hospital Saturday night. It was great to see him and share the littlest Toad together.

Because of the storm, the lack of doctors on duty, and the over-abundance of newborns we didn't get discharged until 2:00 p.m. Sunday. We were ready to hit the road by 9:00 a.m. At least Pops and I were. Toad #5 knew that he had a lot more competition at home and threw a major fit about leaving the hospital.

The roads were horrendous. Pops and Superkid spent a good part of the weekend trying to blaze a path in our own driveway to bring our baby brother home.

We're just glad the little fella came when he did. He beat the storm AND he got here early enough that he got to spend a couple of days with Glama before she had to go home. He is grandbaby #18! Glama didn't want to miss out on getting to squeeze him!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Come Out And Play With Us!

We received a fabulous Valentine package from Grandma and Grandpa! Everybody looks smashing in their new threads... that is everybody except for Toad #5 who is still stuffed inside of me. We're hoping to coax him out with his cute Valentine's onesie. How can he resist?

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Curly Top

Abizella's friend, Sara, gave her an American Girl DVD "how-to" guide for hair-dos for Christmas. Ever since Abz has been *obsessed* over curls.

I tried to warn her.

As a child I was lined up with my 3 sisters every Saturday night while my mom tirelessly drenched our hair in hairspray, braided and put our hair up in sponge curlers. Four squiggly heads, all while watching "Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island". My sister Cindy argues it was "St. Elsewhere", and maybe it was by the time it got to her turn. I have to say I REALLY admire my mother's commitment to beauty. But then again, she too was lined up with her sisters on Saturday night while her mother tied her hair up in rags.

Curlers are a right of passage, and Abizella was not about to be skipped over. She demanded her turn for a miserable night in the name of gorgeous tresses. She knew the family expert was coming to town and made her wishes known. Glama expertly rolled her hair and assured her that with time she wouldn't be able to sleep unless she had curlers jabbing into her head.