Brooklyn's Big Day!

The princess is here!

Happy BIRTHday Brooklyn! She's here, and we couldn't be happier! Brooklyn Paige Ronn decided to make her big entrance on January 3, 2013 at 8:11 in the morning. She was 8 pounds, 6 ounces and 20 and 1/2 inches long. Our tiniest baby yet! To most people this would be considered a big baby, but to us she was a teeny tiny little thing. Teeny, tiny and the most beautiful thing ever! We just can't get enough of her. We pretty much knew she was going to be born on either the 2nd or the 3rd, because I started having pretty regular contractions the morning of the 2nd. Truth be told, I tried my very best to do a bunch of nothing on the 2nd to help the contractions subside because we really wanted her to stay put a couple more days(we were trying very hard to wait until Auntie May could get here on the 4th). The little diva showed us who was in charge! Let me make a little side note here to say that the showing us who is in charge part hasn't changed one little bit since she has made her entrance. She's a demanding little spit fire! Back to the January 2nd story... The way the contractions would come so strongly at times but then subside for a couple of hours, I thought we had a shot at keeping her put and was thinking/strongly hoping maybe it was just false labor. My Mom and brother came up early that morning and were such a big help all day long. I'm sure them being here and helping is the reason Brooklyn stayed put as long as she did! The boys had a blast playing with Uncle Troy and Gigi was great at helping us with meals and taking care of the boys. I was able to take it easy and prepare for our hospital stay(yes, I waited until the last day to do this - bad Mom, I know, but really just more like a super duper busy Mom!). In between contractions and all the other daily things I probably shouldn't have done but did anyway, I found the time to make sure I had everything in our bags we were going to need and probably about 1 million things we weren't going to need!;) I also found the time to take a shower and get ready - this was extremely important to me because I knew it might be the last time for say the next 2 years I might be able to do this. Ha! I think it was around 5pm that I knew the contractions weren't going to stop altogether and that we were definitely going to be having us a baby sooner rather than later. As much as I wanted her to stay in there a couple more days, she just wasn't having it! I was sad because I knew Meghan wasn't going to be able to get here in time(I really wanted her here because she was here for both Hayden and Sawyer's birth and was a huge help to me), but super excited knowing it wouldn't be long before we met our newest little family member! Amidst being in labor and having contractions pretty regularly all day on the 2nd, and me asking both my Mom and brother come up for the day as well as Matt take off work, Brooklyn decided to wait until the middle of the night to send us to the hospital. All of our babies have enjoyed doing this to us. Sweet of them isn't it?!? It wasn't such an issue with Hayden, but has become increasingly difficult with both Sawyer and Brooklyn. It's just a lot more planning and stuff to think about when you have to leave little ones at home! Luckily for us, we have had family here to help us each time which makes things so much easier. And, as much as I hated leaving in the middle of the night because I knew I wasn't going to get to be home when the boys woke up in the morning, it is probably best that it happened that way for us again this time. I definitely wouldn't have wanted them to have to see me having any of the contraction pain(I like to stay home as long as I can before going to the hospital), and when they are sleeping they don't have to see it at all!:) They just get to wake up and come see a beautiful little princess at the hospital! It really is the best scenario for them because they are fully rested and at their best when meeting her for the first time. We were a little sleep deprived, but hey what parents aren't?!? Although we have been blessed with some of the best sleepers in the world, we did not get so lucky in the sleep department when it came to giving birth. All three of them kept us up the entire night and for those of you that know me well, you know this was a huge deal. As a matter of fact, giving birth to my babies is the only three times in my entire life I have not slept a wink. And although I normally require my sleep, these three nights I seemed to do OK missing my shut eye!;)  It was around 11pm when I made my first call the the doctor to let them know I was in labor. I told the doc that I had been having contractions all day and they weren't going away, and I wanted to make sure and make it to the hospital in time to get an epidural. I probably called earlier than I needed to, but because I cut it so close with Sawyer I knew better than to make that mistake again! The doctor told me to hang out for a while at home until they were a little more unbearable, and then head on up to labor and delivery when I couldn't take anymore. With that being said, I tried to catch a little shut eye and let Matt know we were definitely going to be heading to the hospital in the next little bit. The shut eye part didn't happen because I was just too anxious, but I did have fun pacing the house and chatting with Gigi until 2 in the morning! Matt got himself ready(let me note here that it took him an eternity... who knew men had to do anything to go have a baby?!?), and then loaded all the stuff in the car. I would like to let all women know that you should definitely follow instructions and have this done prior to going into labor. I swear it felt like it took him 2 hours to load the car. Yes, I had a lot of stuff, but OMG. Forever. By the time we finally left the house around 3:30am or so, I just knew I was going to die before we got there. Obviously I didn't die, but I was 6 centimeters dilated upon arrival. 6 centimeters dilated and ready for a epidural RIGHT.THAT.SECOND. They couldn't get it to me fast enough. I swear I asked for it right away, and it took them over an hour. By that time I was already another centimeter dilated and having nurses ask me if I wanted to just go ahead and do it naturally. Naturally? Ummm, no. No offense to all of you brave women that can do that, but I'm just not one of them. I at least wanted a little relief before little miss was going to grace us with her presence. They did get the epidural to me(and I had the nicest anesthesiologist ever I might add) and I did get some relief, but it sure didn't last long. I think I had exactly 2 hours pain free before it was time to start talking about pushing and getting everything ready. The greatest part about all of my labors has been the pushing stage. It takes them much longer to get everything ready and get the people they need in the room than it does for me to push, and I am so thankful for that. I started pushing a little after 8am and Brooklyn made her appearance at 8:11am. It was one of the best birthing experiences ever for me. Dr. Loehle was the doctor on call that morning and she was incredible. After having three babies you would think you know it all about having a child, but she told me so many things I had never heard and really talked me through each and every step. I would imagine it was more like the birthing experience of someone with a mid-wife, and I'm so happy I got to experience it. When Brooklyn was coming out she told me my umbilical cord was around her neck and she was a going to have to work quickly, but for me to just push and let her worry about everything else. I did just that and Matt said he has never seen hands move as quickly as hers did to remove that cord from around her neck. Brooklyn started crying which we all know is the best sound ever when a baby is being born, but soon after she handed her to me(which was immediately after she was born) I noticed she was a little discolored. She looked a little blue to me and I looked right at Dr. Loehle and told her to take her. I knew she was going to need some help and as much as I wanted to hold her, I wanted her to get the oxygen she needed worse. She told me everything was going to be okay and explained it was because of the situation with the cord, but they did take her over to the other side of the room where they do all the newborn stats and everything and worked with her to "pink" her up. I couldn't have asked for a better team of nurses. Led by none other than Ms. Kendra. Yep, that's right... same nurse for Hayden and Sawyer. Unbelievable huh? I think it was probably the very first thing I asked upon admission. Is Kendra going to be here? The night nurses told me she would be in at 7am and sure enough when she came in she came to see me. She had been promoted to the head of that unit or something, but was still able to be there and help me since she had been there all the other times. Of course I was super excited. If Meghan couldn't be there I at least needed Kendra!:) She claims that Brooklyn was just trying to give us a hard time because she is a girl and girls are just born divas and I'd have to agree! She liked the extra attention!:) They probably worked with her for about 10 minutes or so right there in the room and then everything was okay. I was so happy she didn't have to go to the NICU or anything. The nurses just had to work with her to get all the "gunk" out of her mouth and get her breathing better and then she was good. I knew she was in the best hands ever, but I was still a little nervous. Needless to say, when they brought her back over to me I was as happy as ever. It was going to be a while before I was going to give her back so they could do their stats!;) Other than that one little hiccup, everything else with her was great. She was the teeniest, most beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on. Definitely love at first sight. Most of the family got to come up to see Brooklyn late morning which was awesome. The boys LOVE her. Hayden more than Sawyer, but I know Sawyer will come around. It is pretty awesome getting to see them interact with her. Oh, and Auntie May made it up on the 4th which of course we were excited about. She couldn't be there for the birth, but at least she got her 1 day old hospital snuggles! And, for the first time ever Auntie Tiz made it to the hospital! She lives in FL so she couldn't make it for either of the boys, but she was able to work it out and made it up here for Brooklyn! I was SO excited. I guess you just go the extra mile for a princess!;) She didn't tell me and I usually don't like surprises, but this was just about the best surprise you could ever get. Awesome. We had a few other visitors while in the hospital, but I loved getting to just relax and it be just Matt, Brooklyn and I for a couple of days. I probably would have stayed in there another day had they let me! Crazy right? Most people are chomping at the bit to get out of there and go home, but I was kind of enjoying my stay! Don't get me wrong, I wanted to get back to the boys, but I was also enjoying the pampering and the few more quiet hours at the same time!! We came home from the hospital on the 5th and the homecoming was fantastic. Auntie May and Auntie Tiz had decorated for Brooklyn and gotten us some yummy cupcakes to celebrate with! It couldn't have been better. Everyone got to hold her and of course we took tons of pictures! Right now I'm trying to just sit back and take it all in because I know it is going to be over before I know it. She is perfect and I'm loving having another girl in the family. Won't be long before I have myself a shopping and pedicure buddy!;) I know Daddy's excited about me raising up a shopper! Ha, ha! Speaking of Daddy, I owe him tons of thanks for all of these great pictures...

He captured EVERY.single.detail!

From the *after epidural* "waiting"...



To the pushing...

To the very first time I got to hold her!

Thanks to Grandaddy we even got a picture of Daddy cutting the cord!

This was during her very first bath...

And this was her very first weigh in!

 She came out knowing exactly how to use her BIG set of lungs!

And had mastered this pout by about 3 minutes old!:)

Reaching for Momma after all her stats were done!

Posing with our tiny little sack of potatoes!:)

She has the teeniest, tiniest little feet I have ever seen!

 And the most beautiful teeny fingers!


Brooklyn's Fan Club!

Posing with Nurse Kendra!

Here she is with the boys two years earlier
 when Sawyer was delivered!

Let me just note here that I could have sworn I had this same picture of her with Hayden when he was born, but either I was mistaken or I just can't put my hands on it right now. I'm obviously hoping it's the latter of the two. I guess I'll find out when I have time to look back at 2008's pictures(I'm thinking in about 20 years!). I do however have pictures for you from when the boys came to see her in the hospital...

This was one of their reactions when I asked
 them if they wanted to hold her!

 Nnnnoooooooooooooo!
 It was hilarious!

Although they didn't seem too excited to hold her here, they really were super interested in her. They couldn't stop looking at her and asking questions about her. Hayden was much more inquisitive and interested than Sawyer, which was kind of the opposite of what I expected to tell you the truth. I thought Sawyer would be more into it and Hayden less so, but boy was I wrong. Honestly, Sawyer wasn't really interested at all. I think he just can't quite grasp the "baby" thing yet. He was very excited for her to come, but now that she's here I don't quite think it was what he had thought of in his little brain! All he does is look at her and try to touch her with VERY, I repeat VERY, heavy hands. Gentle is not something he is willing to do just yet. He did decide to touch her and hold her on day two, but it was not gently! Hayden on the other hand wanted to meet her right away on day one, but was a little hesitant to hold her that first day. He decided to hold her on day two and it was the sweetest thing ever. He gave her kisses and talked to her so softly. It was like he knew exactly what to do. I guess that just comes with being older... Along with telling other people how to hold her and talk to her!:) Gotta love getting instructions on how to hold a baby from a 4 year old! I know Sawyer will come around and be more interested in her in the weeks to come. Let's face it, when Hayden was Sawyer's age and got a new baby brother he waited two weeks to even acknowledge his existence! Sawyer will come around! Here they are with their baby sister for the first few days...

Meeting his baby sister for the first time!

Going in for the kill!:)

Lovin' on Brooklyn!

Racing their new cars!

Yes, you read that right... they were racing cars in the hospital room. A little birdy must have told Brooklyn they loved to race cars together. When they came to see her, she had bought them each a present which included these fun Mario and Luigi cars! Sawyer started warming up to her instantly!:) Speaking of Mario, they also enjoyed passing their time in the hospital room playing thier video games...

Bet you didn't know hospitals could be fun!:)

Grandaddy multi-tasking!!!

The boys weren't the only ones that enjoyed meeting Brooklyn. Check out this picture of four generations...

Pretty awesome huh?!?

What can I say?!? We love our little beauty!

Speaking of beauty... Brooklyn had her very first photo shoot at a whopping 1 day old! My good friend Kahlia came up to the hospial to visit us and snapped a couple of pics while she was there. Boy am I glad she did... I love them! Thank you Kahlia!

 So sweet!

Pretty and pink right from the start!:)

Tiny little hands and feet!

Love!

All those pictures and visitors really wore her out. If I took one picture of her sleeping, I must have taken 100. This was one of my favorites in her little hospital "cage" as the boys liked to call it...

 

I could just stare all.day.long.



 When we got up on day two of our stay we slowly got our things together and got ready to head home. I told you before I was not in a huge hurry to dash out of the hospital, so I made sure to tell the nurses they didn't have to rush into our room very first thing in the morning! I enjoyed my leasurly morning of getting ready and relaxing a little before coming home to the craziness!:) We left there a little after lunch time, and by that time everyone was super excited for Brooklyn to be coming home!

Our sweet nurse snapped this picture right before we left!

Bye, bye hospital alarm bracelet...we're free!:)

 Sporting our pink for the trip home!:)

 Locked, loaded and PINK!

I have got to mention our hospital lobby story here. Literally seconds after taking this picture of Brooklyn all loaded up in her seat and ready to go home we hear a loud burst of what we thought was her passing gas accompanied with a giant smile on her part. We watched her for a moment and noticed she wasn't exactly settling right back down so decided we should take her out and just make sure she didn't have a dirty diaper instead of gas. Sure enough... dirty diaper it was. We had to change her right there on the lobby table. Two days old and had to be stripped down in the lobby... poor girl! We really didn't have an option though because the nurse that was with us told us we would have to go back upstairs to our room if we didn't want to do it there and she suggested just changing her there. You do what you've gotta do I suppose! I guess I just would have thought the hospital lobby of a baby factory like Northside might have had a baby changing station. Nah... gotta go to Macy's or Von Maur for that!;) Who knew! Well, little Brooklyn decided to continue to poop after we got the diaper off of her and filled up an entire second diaper as we were holding it under her! I'm pretty certain it is the most poop any two day old child has ever had. CRAZY! Three diapers, a pack of wipes and 10 minutes later we had her back ready to go home. I am super thankful we decided to take her out and check, because that would have been one messy car seat but I sure do wish we would have been out shopping where there is a better changing station rather than at the hospital!:) Thankfully our ride home was pretty peaceful... I hope she always likes to sleep in the car like the boys do!



Our greeting as we arrived home!



The police even came out for her homecoming!:)

Excited for Brooklyn to be home!

I should note here that just about every member of our family wore pink or purple to Brooklyn's homecoming which was pretty much the greatest thing ever. For some reason the flash on my camera didn't want to cooperate and the color version of this pic just isn't working so you'll just have to use your imagination! It did however work perfectly when I was taking pictures of the boys getting their Brooklyn time...

Hayden insisted on holding her first...

 And Sawyer was right there behind him!

It was a fantastic homecoming for Brooklyn and I can't wait to see what these next few weeks hold! I know it will be a challenge getting used to having three, but I can't wait for this new adventure! Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE pink?!?;) I'm pretty sure it will be her least favorite color by 6 months of age! I know you don't think there could possibly be any more pictures of her first 3 days, but there were. I made a little slideshow of everything and decided to upload that instead of any more pictures! I'm sure you don't have time for it now, but just in case you get bored one day and want to watch you can find it here...

 

Brooklyn's Birth Slideshow!!!

 

Welcome to the world sweet Brooklyn! We are so happy to have our newest family member! We can't wait to watch you grow! We love you!

 

Sleeping Beauty!