January Happenings {January 2017}

Bryce had about one or two weeks left of paternity leave in January and during that time I did some more substitute teaching. Aid jobs were easier to come by and since I’m a certified teacher I got paid almost the same as a regular teaching job and it was WAY easier, However, I froze my buns off doing recess duty! I literally would put on several layers and try and stand in the sun and still froze. Meanwhile kids would be running around in a t-shirt and shorts and be totally fine! I was grateful for this opportunity to be back in the schools. It was a fun chance to do some teaching but I also felt reassurance that being at home with my kids is where I need to be.

Bryce jumped right into busy season which meant getting home around 10:00pm every night and working Saturdays. I don’t mind the late nights because then I can watch whatever show I want ;) but I hate that he had to work Saturdays too.

In the pics below, Syd’s hair is getting a little crazy, Avery just enjoying a show while laying on her sister, and Avery and Dallin making their own lunch!

I would say going to the lego store is within the top ten favorite things these two like to do. And looking cute with their little backpacks. This was on an outing with Bryce and he makes them carry their own water bottles and snacks. Smart man.

When Bryce was doing all the cooking and grocery shopping,he only ever went while I was home and could take care of Sydney. I told him he wasn’t a true stay at home parent until he could go grocery shopping with all kids. He did it. But then he never did it again :)

Love Syd’s face in our selfie, the 3 littles helping Bryce with dinner and a favorite game of these two.

Watching a show, Avery working in her letter book while I work and a selfie with my favorite little bubs.

Playing kid sequence, bugging Sydney while I went to Staples, and holding hands in the car!

Trip to the mall! Play place, lego store, and sleeping Sydney. Sydney does SO well in the ergo. She hardly every cries and goes right to sleep. She just loves her mom.

Sydney is not a fan of her bed and has been sleeping so much better in our bed. I know it’s not safe, but really, where’s she going to go all swaddled up? the two littles playing with their baby and having a living room picnic.

Avery has discovered that she can take pictures on my phone without having to  know the code to unlock it. I find hundreds of pictures on my phone of things like string, a toy, the couch etc. These three were my favorite from the month.

Little D laying on Avery is just about the cutest thing ever. Crazy boy with spiky hair and crazy girl wearing mom’s boots.

One evening while Bryce was working I took the kids to McDonald’s play place. Dallin was terrified to go in and Avery cried the whole time because she wanted Dallin to play with her in the tubes so it wasn’t exactly a success. This picture of Avery trying to get the treats on top of the fridge reminds me of Pinkalicious when the girl is trying to get the pink cupcakes-one of Avery’s favorite books. And the aftermath of fort making.

Dallin and Avery are actually pretty great at playing together. They fight too, but there are a lot of these moments too. I’d say more than the fighting moments which is a good thing.

Chinese New Year! We celebrated Chines New Year with Chinese takeout, some decorations, eating dinner on the floor and watching Mulan! Any excuse for Chinese takeout is a good excuse.

Dallin scratched Avery’s eye and it was watering and red all day so I finally took her to the dr. only to discover that her cornea was no scratched which is a good thing but annoying when you go to the dr for nothing. Avery made this person in perschool and I thought it was pretty funny. And Avery laid on the ground with her chair singing I think.

Riding bikes and vacumming! Avery and Dallin both LOVE riding their bikes. Probably because they hardly ever get to ride them since it’s been cold and rainy and I have to haul them down 3 flights of stairs.

Syd has started solids! She isn’t quite gaining what she’s supposed to they’ve put her on solids. She’s not really a fan though. Avery and Dallin were using Sydney’s bouncy chair as a car. And library time!

Bryce and Sydney just hanging out. Dallin and Avery climb on the table several times a day, it is what it is. And a cold trip to the park, but hey, it wasn’t raining!

The playplace at the mall is great. But then need about 10 more in Bellevue because this one is always crowded. I took the kids there and spent all morning and had lunch. I even brought my book club book and got a little reading in.

Happy 4 Months Baby Sydney! {Jan 11, 2017}

This baby girl is 4 months old. She rolls right on to her tummy anytime you set her on the floor. She loves to eat her hands she is starting to reach for and play with toys more. She prefers to sleep on mom and dad’s bed. She laughs and smiles and loves to be held. She was about 14lbs at her 4 month check up. We sure love our little girls!

Sydney Newborn Pictures {September 24, 2016}

I am no professional but I like to try and get at least one newborn picture that I can use to send as an announcement that she was born. The first attempt was a complete failure but then Becky gave me some tips that worked great. Turn the heat up in the room and make sure she is fed! I was able to get a few cute ones that way. It wasn’t great lighting and my white balance was off but oh well!! At least you can kind of see how adorable this little one is!

I had to get one of her wearing my Rock ‘N Roll half marathon medal since she ran with me when I was just over 6 months pregnant :)

I know the next few pictures are blurry, they’re just so cute with Avery and Dallin that I couldn’t delete them.

The next series of Avery and Dallin and Sydney just cracks me up. Still not the greatest pictures because of lighting and everything else but still captures their personality.

My favorite!

Sydney’s Birth Story {September 11, 2016}

Sweet little Sydney decided to hang out in the womb a little longer than her siblings. She was due September 10, 2016 and in the week prior to her due date I was getting anxious for her to arrive. My mom arrived on Tuesday (her due date was Saturday) so I wanted to make sure I had this baby before my mom left! I was also getting increasingly more uncomfortable although I feel like I can’t complain too much because I felt much better throughout this whole pregnancy compared to most women.

Saturday we went into Seattle. We went on the Seattle Ferris Wheel and walked through Pike’s Place Market stopping at the French bakery to get some delicious almond croissants and macaroons, then had some fish and chips on the pier. Despite all the walking around I really felt fine and wasn’t having any contractions or anything. It wasn’t feeling like baby girl was going to come any time soon.

That night I woke up a couple times with a contraction and thought I could be in labor but then again I had thought that  few nights before and the contractions always went away. Sure enough, when I woke up the next morning, they were gone.

Church was at 11:00am and during the second hour of church I started to feel a contraction here and there that felt a little more painful than braxton hicks but they weren’t consistent and I didn’t want to get my hopes up. After church around 3:00pm I decided to lay down just in case I did go into labor, I wanted to make sure I was well rested. However, when I laid down I couldn’t sleep because the contractions started being regular and painful. I decided to start keeping track and they were 8 minutes apart. I figured since they were consistent that I probably was in labor. I finished packing my hospital bag and tried to get in natural labor mode and practiced relaxing through contractions.

At about 4:15pm I told Bryce that I was going to call the midwives. I had decided that I wanted to go natural for this baby and if I was going to go natural I wanted to do it in an environment more conducive to natural births so I had decided to deliver at a birthing center. This is the birth center I chose: http://www.eastsidebirthcenter.com/ (Warning! There is a mostly naked pregnant woman when you click on the link : ) It was close to home and I just had a good feeling about it. I honestly thought I would never in a million years deliver a baby outside of the hospital but with Avery’s and Dallin’s births going so smoothly it just seemed like a safe and good choice for this baby. Bryce was also on board as he doesn’t love sleeping in the hospital. Another appeal was that you can go home just hours after having the baby and the prenatal appointments are heavenly—quick and comfortable with only one appointment at a time instead of a waiting room full of pregnant women like what I was used to. I wouldn’t say I’ve had negative experiences with OBs, I just really loved this experience with midwives in a small quiet birth center. Okay back to the birth story.

So I called my midwife and told her that I was in labor. My contractions were 5 minutes apart and becoming more painful. While I was on the phone I had  a contraction and I was able to talk through it just fine so she said once I got to the point where I was really having to work through the contraction to call her back. Less than a half hour later I told Bryce to call her back. My contractions were 2 minutes apart and VERY painful. I was now moaning through the contractions and needed Bryce to offer some counter pressure and help me relax. Bryce said “Are you sure you want to go in now? The more you can do here the better” and I said “YES! CALL THEM BACK! I want to get in the tub!” I had heard the the tub can really help as a sort of natural epidural when the contractions get painful during transition. He called my midwife Chris back and she asked that Bryce put me on the phone. I had a contraction while I was talking to her so I had to pause and she could hear me attempting to breath through the contraction which was more of a moan. I got back on the phone and she asked a couple more questions then said “Okay let’s meet at the birth center in 20 minutes”. When I hung up the phone it was 4:51pm. We only live about 10 minutes from the birth center so I asked Bryce to give me a priesthood blessing before we left. He wanted to put his church clothes on and I said “Is that really necessary?!” He was trying to stall a bit too I think. He gave me a blessing and changed back into his clothes. At this point my contractions were coming quickly and I said “I feel like I need to push”

We started heading to the car and I had to kneel down next to the car because I was having another contraction. People saw me going to the car laboring—I was being very vocal too. The drive over there was intense. Having contractions in the car is no fun. We arrived at the birth center at about 5:15pm. The main door was locked and Chris called Bryce and told us to come to the side door. Chris was filling up the tub with nice warm water, thank goodness. I told her I felt like I needed to push and she told me to pant through the contractions kind of like a dog. This really helped me resist the urge to push. She didn’t want me to push until I was in the tub and she could check the baby’s heart rate. I got right in the tub, she checked the baby’s heart rate. I said “ I really feel like I need to push” and she said “Go for it, Go ahead and push!” So I did. Then she said, put your hands down here and I felt baby girl’s head! Next contraction and she was out. I literally pushed for like 5 minutes and she was born about 9 minutes from the time we arrived at the birthing center. It was crazy. She never even checked me to see if I was fully dilated. Obviously I was but I kept thinking—doesn’t she need to check me?! So baby girl was born in the tub. I hadn’t planned on a water birth but I definitely wasn’t opposed to it and it worked out great. I got to snuggle my baby girl in the warm water for a bit. Then I realized that I couldn’t remember my water every breaking. My midwife said it broke just after I got into the tub and started pushing. 

Afterwards I showered, got stitched up, nursed baby girl then my mom, Avery and Dallin came to visit. They were so excited to see their new baby sister. The midwife gave us some information then we headed home at just before 9:00pm. We were almost laughing on the way home because we just couldn’t believe how fast it all happened.

We named her Sydney Gaile Pinder. Gaile was Bryce’s grandmother’s name who passed away while he was on his mission. We sure love this cute girl!

      

I guess Bryce thought I didn’t look very good because he cut my face out of this picture. This was just moments after she was born and we were still in the tub. Sorry for the scandalous photo.

 

Getting measured and weighed: 8lbs 11 oz 19 1/2 inches long.

Meeting their new sibling.

 

Headed home!