First few days

So far, Zeke has been a great baby. He leads quite the life of eating, sleeping and pooping. He is a very content baby. Zeke is nursing like a champ and is eating about every 3-4 hours. The first two nights at home have gone great....last night he ate at 8:30, 12:30, 3:30, and 5:30. I actually woke up feeling quite rested! We go back today for his newborn assessment. They will weigh him and check his billirubin levels...he has beautiful coloring right now due to a slight case of jaudice!

So far, so good. I think he has officially outgrown newborn diapers....we are on the 6th outift for the day! Time to jump up to size 1!

Welcome Baby Zeke

This is what a 10 pound baby looks like 8 hours before he is born!

Fully dilated and getting ready to push.....

Love at first sight!

10 lbs. 3.6 oz.

22 inches long

If you look real close, you can see him peeing all over the scale!

Meeting his family for the first time.

Baby Zeke

Here is Zeke's birth announcement:

http://www.waverlyhealthcenter.com/baby/index.asp?baby=913&bid=1

Zeke Rian Kalainoff

Zeke Rian made his BIG arrival yesterday at 1:22 p.m. We knew he was going to be a big baby....but were a bit surprised that he weighed in at a WHOOPING 10 lbs 3.6 oz. and 22 inches long. He is sweet as can be. We aren't sure who he looks like. He reminds me of what Eli looked like, also looks a bit like Evan did too. All is going great...actually the labor and birth went very well, even with him being as big as he is. 

The boys came and met their new baby brother last night. Evan and Isaac fell in love instantly. Evan kept saying that it "felt like a dream"and he couldn't believe Zeke was really here. Eli would have NOTHING to do with him. He was scared to get too close to him and refused to even touch him.  

Rhonda brought Eli up this morning and he did much better with his new baby brother. He held him for a long time, and didn't want to give him up. He is warming up to the idea of being a big brother and it seems like each time he sees him, it will be better. He was very attentive to Zeke this morning. 

All is going well so far. Zeke seems very content and calm. That always seems to change when they get home. He is nursing great....and he will be a much happier camper when the milk comes. 

It would be a lot easier to enjoy the last day of this pregnancy if I weren't in so much pain!

The Race is over

The race is over between the bathtub and the baby. The whirlpool bathtub won! Ben got it finished this afternoon and I just got to take my first whirlpool bath in it. It was AWESOME! It was just what my oversized, sore body needed :)

Toes

Eli had his socks on and I was barefoot.

He looked at his feet and said "I have socks on, Mom."

Then he looked at my feet and said "You got your toes on, Mom?"

April 26th

If Baby doesn't make his appearance by Monday, we check in at 6:00 a.m. for an induction! We are excited to finally meet him. This is weekend is filled with laundry and last minute preparations....

Still......

....pregnant

I have an appointment today. I may refuse to leave the office without a baby.

Looking Back

As we prepare for Baby, I can't help but wonder where the last two years has gone. It seems like we just brought Eli home from the hospital. I was looking at old pictures, and found this one. They are so little here....where does the time go? How did my little boys get so big?

Puppy Excitement

We are trying to get everything in order to bring Tucker home in a few weeks. We decided it would be easier to get things done before baby arrives than after. This weekend, while Evan and I were shopping, we went ahead and bought a dog kennel. I was a bit worried that it would be too small for a full sized lab. But after bringing it home and seeing that it fits three small children, we are no longer worried. Evan is very comfortable in it by himself and fits even with two little brothers. Before DHS gets called....please know that this was their idea! They thought it was funny and they asked that we lock the door! However, it did give me an idea as to what I could do with some naughty boys if need be! I told them they better be careful! (kidding of course!)

38 Weeks and Counting.....

No baby yet. I am beyond ready! 

I have been feeling great this whole pregnancy....until this week. All of the sudden, I am so uncomfortable! I actually went into labor and delivery last night because my back hurt so bad all day, I was afraid I was having contractions and just not noticing. Nothing I would have gone in for had this not been the 4th baby and already being dilated to 4 cm. I am just afraid that once labor actually starts, it isn't going to stop. My body knows what to do and it may not give us much time. 

I had contractions off and on all day. I had contractions on the way down to the hospital. When I got there and got all hooked up, nothing....everything stopped. We were SOOOO hoping that I had dilated more and they would just keep me. No such luck. I am not dilated anymore and my cervix hasn't changed since Thursday. I guess that is a good thing so I don't have to worry so much....but we were really hoping to meet our baby boy! 

There is an end in sight.....if he does not make his arrival before Monday, I will be induced that day. 

Even with an end in sight, I am in so much PAIN! My back hurts so bad....I just want to cry when I walk it hurts so bad. I have never experienced pain like this before with the other pregnancies. I think maybe he is laying on something just right and reminding me he is there. I guess that is what I get for having such a healthy, carefree pregnancy! Thanks for the reminder, Buddy!

Grandpa Ron teaching Eli how to blow bubbles...




Finally........He got it!

Evan's Special Day

We celebrated Evan's first communion today. It was a very special day for Evan. The church service was really nice and Evan got to be a part of the service at many different times.



Here are all the boys and girls coming into church



Here is Evan bringing up the gifts. He is carrying the bread that we made at one of the classes. He is just so grown up all of the sudden!

Evan and Father Mike

Evan telling Great Grandpa about his Bible