Hugh Halvorson Pierse

was born on November 17th at 8:47pm.

hugh weighed in at 8lbs, 13oz and measured 22in tall.

contrary to 'our plan' (He laughed), sweet baby hugh made his own path into this world and did indeed come out through a hole in mama's belly. on his way out he took a big gulp of amniotic fluid or blood, and came out a frightening dusky blue. the x-rays of his lungs were very white, which apparently is bad as they are supposed to be black. that said, the nicu pedi told us he was one in a million because despite those lungs being full of fluid he was doing an amazing job of using them & quickly transitioned to room only air. after two nights in the nicu he was declared a 'well baby' despite the continued presence of fluid because he was doing so well breathing & eating.

sweet amanda took these photos on friday night (11.18). i was still pretty out of it, and by the looks of it, so was baby hugh. that's a feeding tube he has in his nose - he wasn't allowed to eat until they were certain his lungs were working. never fear, they were good to go by saturday morning. we came home around noon on monday to a very eager big sister & brother!

a family of four...

we are no more!!

lusi

lu: dad, i don't think there is supposed to be a 'c' in my name. cause there isn't a 'k' sound, there is a 'sss, s' sound.

clay: well sometimes letters make different sounds. the letter c can make the 'k' sound, or the 's' sound. like nice, and mice.

lu: no, i don't think that is right.

so the lu has declared her name improperly spelled. and she wants to change the spelling. like now.

the swagger wagon

and just to document our journey - cause that is what this blog is really all about - we have joined the legions of suburbanites and are now owners of the ubiquitous silver honda odyssey. our friends moved to australia & we took the opportunity to snatch up their mini-van. i now have no angst about hauling around 3 kids + grandparents + luggage!

thanks turns family...although we miss you & would much rather have you than your minivan!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-N3F1FhW4&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=SP30DA2DAB5702C7D1

halloween

was a bit of a let down for me this year. i missed our old 'hood. not that our new 'hood isn't great; it is. just missing my old neighbors who became friends. new neighbors are still just that...very, very nice neighbors.

that said, luci had a blast trick or treating with her lil friend from next door. we started off in a group but it became quite clear that said lil friend & lu were going to be much, much faster than gus. so clay went off with the girls and g & i took our time. i missed the lu. again, part of the let down. next year we'll be trick-or-treating as a family. yep...i'm going to be one of those annoying moms.

here is how happy g was to be in his adorable spider costume.

don't worry, we took it off & he transformed into a skeleton for the second year in a row.
and this is the only photo i got of the lu, and the two of them. after dressing up as belle for her school festival she changed her mind for the actual night of trick or treating & decided to be a 'purple butterfly'. which really meant that she put on some purple fairy wings with a purple skirt on over top of what she was already wearing that day.

as i write this i have to remind myself that the day is about them. and they had a good time (once the spider costume was off). and that is what really matters.

and here are a few photos from their little fall festival at school. the photos are terrible, but we all had a great time.

and here is g...hugging ms. l. as soon as he saw me he lost it & ms. l had to bring him over to me. i held him & we watched each class do the parade so we wouldn't miss the lu's class.

after the parade each class was on a rotating schedule of trick or treating, craft & snacking & playing games. both kiddos had a great time playing games.

have i mentioned how much i love their preschool? cause i do.

in a week or less

we'll get to meet our baby hugh. i was wrong. sweet boy has decided maybe he does want to come play after all. as of this afternoon i was 1.5 cm dilated and 60% effaced. as far as fetal descent goes he's moved down to the -1 station.

i don't think i've ever been at anything other than a -3 or at a 'not yet numbered' when i've gone to be induced before. in fact my ob described luci as having been in my throat when i started pushing. pretty excited about the progress baby hugh is making all.by.himself.

of course this information is all just that - information. i could theoretically walk around for weeks like this without labor starting. but i won't. cause given that i'm already dilated, we can induce as early as 39w...which means monday since they don't induce on sunday. i suggested tuesday or wednesday but the hospital is booked until thursday. so thursday it is. or before if he's ready to come on his own :) which would be kind of super awesome. most awesome if he waited until sunday night when my ob is back in town and clay is home (he flies most of the day sunday, but is back home that night).

but if he doesn't, the 17th will be just fine. thursday works well with clay's schedule, and since his presence is incredibly important for the actual labor & delivery part, i'll take the induction rather than risk not having my ducks in a row (and did i mention hugh is probably well on his way to 10lbs by now? piece of cake, right?!?! ;). then after hugh arrives safely dad will be able to get home & help grandma with luci & gus. i think having dad & grandma will make the days mom is in the hospital as easy as possible for them. and grammy will be here to stay overnight in the hospital with hugh & me. and God willing we'll all be home together with a 1 week old by Thanksgiving.

to quote my gusgus, "happy!!!!"

luci quote re: the birth of baby hugh

where is he going to land when he comes out?

mood swings

are for real my friends. the hormones? they are a-changing in this very pregnant body. combine them with the end of pregnancy sleep deprivation (no thanks to you time change...lu has been waking up at 5:20aish) and the last few days have brought familiar mood swings...my very least favorite...rage. i vividly remember the rage i felt when pregnant & post partum with gus. i really haven't had any rage to speak of this go-round...till this weekend. i had chalked it up to my healthy state of mind ;)...my constant prayers & focus on grateful peace...but i'm tellin ya, the swings are SO irrational & unpredictable that i now know i've just been lucky. cause there was no amount of healthy, rational emotional coaching in my head that i could do to calm that rage.

gus threw the remote. not cool, but certainly not deserving of the horned mama response that came out of my mouth. no 22 month old should be spoken to in such a way. as soon as the tone & words were out of my mouth i recognized how irrationally i was behaving. the great thing about this being my 5th pregnancy is that i now recognize the mood swings for what they are. luckily clay was just upstairs. i sent him a text..."pregnancy rage. need backup." he came right down, took the kids up to his sacred man cave, and let me be. i got in the car, cried, turned on the radio, heard lmfao i'm sexy & i know it, decided i needed some endorphins, made a mental note of how important post partum working out is going to be regarding my mental health, went & got a disgusting yet just what i needed filet-o-fish (cause working out in this body is not an option), and by the time i was back home i was fine.

so...future post partum self: when you feel that rage, cause i know you will, put your running shoes on, turn on your ipod and get movin. make that rage work for you. you know you'll feel better, and be a better (albeit still sleep deprived) mama for it.

halloween sneak peak

i had high hopes that'd he tolerate the spider costume i got for him. my plan was for him to wear his skeleton pjs inside out to provide the black arms & legs for the spider costume. but of course being the prepared mama i am, turning said skeleton pjs right side out was my back up plan.

so did he wear the spider costume?

not.a.chance.

skeleton pjs to the rescue, for the second year in a row.

however i hadn't turned them inside out (aka right side out) yet at this point...

but he's still awfully cute...at least according to his mama.

ps. happy birthday aunt brookie. love ya.

november 28th

so i'm putting it out there. my money is on november 28th for sweet baby hugh's birthday. that is 41w1d...doctor ordered eviction day. went to the ob this am & he's actually crawled back up higher than he was last week and there is absolutely no indication that he's ready to come play. apparently my sweetpeas know it's better inside than out. which works up to a point, then it's time to evict. i often wonder what would have happened 'back in the day' before inductions. staying in for too long can be just as dangerous as coming out too early. that said, i'm pretty proud of my body & feel nothing but love for it. it's a nice feeling after years of insecurity in my teens & twenties. it's done what i've asked of it, and done it well.

this pregnancy has been very different. with the other two i used to daydream about snuggling & holding that sweet newborn. this go-round i haven't thought much at all about lovin on sweet hugh. no visualizing holding him, sitting in the rocker thinking about him...i'm just too preoccupied trying to balance the physical needs of pregnancy with lovin on the two babies that are already here & need me pretty much every waking minute.

this morning i had coffee with some friends. one of them has a sweet newborn boy. i saw him in his car seat & seriously had heart palpitations. 'i'm not ready, i'm not ready' was all that went through my head. then his mama scooped him & handed him over to me. he snuggled right in & just like that i was ready. i can TOTALLY do this again. in fact i was overcome with an almost immediate GRATITUDE that i GET to do this again.

so whenever you're ready baby hugh. mama's waiting.

but how exactly is he going to get out?

as you can imagine, there has been much talk in the pierse house about baby hugh coming out to play. last night during prayers, i asked luci to pray that baby hugh makes his way out to play safely. we prayed that he had a 'safe journey'.

to which she responded, "but how, exactly, is he going to get out? will you have a hole in your belly?"

luckily dad was there was well. we exchanged one of those, 'oh man' glances. and i'm not going to repeat the answer i gave because it was received with confusion & a bit of revulsion. but then dad jumped in & saved the day by talking about how babies come down a special path, or road. and that luci was a great big sister because she made the path. that Jesus picked her to come first because He knew she'd do a good job making the path & finding her way out. and that because she worked so hard to make that path, that it was easier for gus when he took that same path. so in the end we prayed that hugh finds the same path, and that his trip is the easiest yet. luckily, armed with the knowledge that she made the path, she forgot all about how, exactly, he's going to get out.

nest, available for immediate occupancy...

the lu worked for days & days raking up pine needles to make a nest for the birds in our yard. she was quite disappointed when we didn't have any takers...but, we decided maybe no birdie moved in because birds like to nest in trees. so then she really wanted to somehow mount the wheelbarrow in a tree, but we convinced her that the wheelbarrow was too heavy. she was pretty bummed until she decided tallulah (our cat) should nest there. alas, tallulah has yet to move in. that said, we are preserving the nest nonetheless, should an animal find itself in need.

gus is less than thrilled that said nest is off limits. he'd really, really like to dump all of those needles out.

the pumpkin patch

g was...and still is...in love with the goats. he woke up from nap today saying, "see baby goat. see baby goat!"

not sure if you can see the joy on his face, but it's there!

my girl...posing in the hay!

g was enthralled with this jack-o-lantern

riding the horsey swings

not sure why all of the pumpkins were teeny tiny this year, but the kiddos didn't seem to mind. that said, yes, this is the best photo i managed of the two of them in the actual pumpkins.

last weekend we hit the oil ranch for the 2011 version of the pumpkin patch. we went to church & then came home to put gus down for an early nap - deciding we'd wake him at 1:30p to go. easier said than done. he was not at ALL into waking up...the words 'pumpkin patch' did nothing for him. i thought for sure the prospect of riding a train would rouse him. nope. then i told him how we'd see lots of animals there...like goats, & cows. suddenly the kid was up & at em, ready to go right.that.minute. " go newcar.* see animals. goat. see goat!!"
i was concerned about my ability to participate & facilitate a good time for all given the 87 degree weather, my hacking cough & being 35 weeks pregnant, but i must say i'm quite proud of myself as i was more capable physically than i anticipated. maybe it had something to do with the giant mc donalds iced coffee clay & i split on the way there, but hey, whatever works, right?

*the opportunity presented itself & we bought a minivan...yet another post to come. if anyone needs a bargain priced 2003 honda pilot in EXCELLENT condition lemme know...

our lil giant at 35w2d

say hello to our little giant. a week ago today hugh was estimated to weigh 7lbs, 14oz. at 35w2d. you can actually see the white line of fat on his little leg photo. i'm grateful we make chubby little babies for me to grow. they must think we live up north still where they need all of that fat to keep them warm.

i'm still not thinking much about the actual labor & delivery part. fat squishes, so hopefully i won't notice much of a difference when it comes to his actual entry into the world. i trust my ob & i know she'll do everything she can to make sure a healthy hugh & healthy mama emerge. i'm actually thinking much more about how laborious it is to carry 8lbs+ of baby around in my body while attempting to take care of the rest of my family for the next month or so. luckily i am ever aware of how blessed i am to have such a task in front of me...hopefully i'll keep smiling through the temporary aches & pains. that's my plan anyway.

oh, and this mama's body is showing no signs of letting hugh come out to play early. apparently my cervix could also be described as a steel trap. another blessing, i know. he is head down though, so thanks for that sweet boy - come sunday (37 weeks - aka full term) feel free to use your nails to poke a hole in that bag of water you are floating in...we're all ready to meet you.

pardon me

while i hack up a lung.

we're fighting a pretty serious bug here at the pierse house. lu caught it about 3 weeks ago, got mostly better, and then clay got it. and he never gets anything so i knew we were in for it. then i got it. clay & i are not really getting better, and luci seems to be experiencing a resurgence. it isn't so much a head cold or sinus congestion as a chest cough with chest congestion. as in no voice with hacking wheezing cough. fun times.

and coughing fits are especially fun when you are 36 weeks pregnant and have a nearly 8lb baby + fluid sitting on your organs. (news of our little giant is a whole other post...that i haven't gotten to posting...cause i'm too busy trying to be a good mom & wife while hacking up a lung.) walking up stairs with some sort of normal breathing? not a chance. if it was possible to induce labor by coughing hugh would already be out here playing. but he's not even close. so in case you ever wondered if coughing could cause labor...it can't. but it can cause lots of other unmentionables...that i won't mention...except to mention them as unmentionable.

m'baby.

crib? check. thanks lawrence family.

mattress? check.

sheets? check.

changing table? check. thanks turns family.

dresser? check. thanks turns family.

car seat? on its way.

clothes? check. thanks asher, wally, and gusgus.

burp cloths? check.

infant bathtub? check. thanks grado family.

pacifiers? on the way. green & orange will be his colors...as to not confuse gusgus, whose color is...you guessed it - blue.

bouncy seat? check.

swing? check. thanks grado family.

rocker? currently in g's room.

bottles? check.

swaddle blankets? check.

diaper genie? check.

window treatments? half checked. dad just needs to do some installation :)

still needed...

diapers.

noise machine.

a lamp.

maybe a wall decoration or two.

maybe a little diaper holder thingy.

adapter for jogging stroller...cause this mama can't wait to move.

maybe a monitor? can't decide if i'm ready to be totally unaware of what is going on in the lu's room (she's on the other side of the house...i wouldn't hear if she started throwing up or something like that). i'm probably not. so i probably need yet another monitor.

am i missing anything?!?!?!? i'm sure i am. please feel free to let me know what it is. ;)

pour-ray!

luci: no mom, it's pour-ray! say pour-ray!
mom: lu, i'm pretty sure it's hooray. like hip, hip hooray.

insert pause...mama's brain works slowly these days.

mom: ohhhhh. that is confusing. see, it's actually hip, hip...new word, hooray.
lu: i'm pretty sure it's pour-ray, mom.

she's only 4...i thought i had a few more years before i was always wrong. *sigh*



and...an unrelated photo. just cause they are cute.

g @ 21 months...

so i had my months goofed up before. gotta love the pregnancy brain.

i have SO much fun going back & looking at my luci notes that i'm so sad that i haven't kept gus' up. although far from complete, lately i'm living by the motto finished is better than perfect... so, without further delay...

-he will repeat any word you ask him too. really. even anniversary. i'm certain it is this willingness to repeat that has earned him the title of 'the gt spanish student' in his toddler's day out class per one of his spanish teachers. if he sees one of them when we leave school he says "adios!"

-his vocabulary is so diverse i couldn't even begin to document all of his words.

-he often asks...itiz....as in, "it is?"...or what is this called? what is the name of this? last month pretty much every other word out of his mouth was "itizzzzz...." followed by a pause waiting for my response. then he'd say, "oh.yeah." in a strikingly northern accent that suprised me. till i heard myself say it. frequently. in that same northern iowa accent. he also says "oofta". :)

-frequently heard words/phrases include oh.yeah., ummm, yes, no, nope, peeeaze, tank you, hiya, truck, plane, memememe (as in, who wants monkey yogurt...memememememe), sissy, dad, mama, cat, mine, hey (he replied after dad lightly tossed an acorn at his tummy), owside (outside), booboo, see see (when he wants to see something), iunknow, yaaaci (paci), ankie (blankie), ippo (hippo), holdyou (usually going up or down the stairs), no tank you, snack, more, cup, & up high.

-he's a snuggle bug. i'd like to claim it's really just mama, but he's an equal opportunity snuggler. he snuggles with his teachers in the am when i drop him off, and is usually in ms. j's lap when i pick him up at noon.

-if you ask him what color something is the answer is always blue.

-if you ask him how old he is he says two.

-if you ask him how many of something there are the answer is two. and most of the day he carries two of something around...one in each hand. two.cars. two.planes. two.balls. two.duckies. he first recognized two about 2 months ago when he found a spare blanket in the car. two.blankies was his first recognition of two-ness. then it was two.duckies. later that day in the bathtub.

-he says up when he wants down.

-he loves to go 'byebye'. if we haven't left the house much on any given day usually by 6p he's crying while holding his shoes at the garage door saying byebye, byebye.

-he LOVES cheese. he LOVES juice. he likes all bread products. he doesn't like any vegetables. bless his little heart he'll try them over & over...like he tastes the same piece of broccoli about 6x in a meal, but spits it out each time. lately he'll put crunchy veggies in his mouth, but then spit them out once they are all chewed up.

-he knows what a treat is, and he wants one whenever one is mentioned or spotted.

-he knows i keep lollipops in a little red bag in my purse. and if he sees it, he wants one.

-as of 10/5, he only gets his paci at nap time & bed time. we've been casually trying to limit it & i think it was harder on him than a hard & fast rule will be. at least i hope.

-his lovies are a blue fuzzy plane blankie that aunt brookie got him and his flat blue hippo that miss amanda gave him (both received before he was even born!). he has to have them to sleep.

-he likes to sing and often gets songs stuck in his head. "babies" from yo gabba gabba is a big one lately. he also likes a song called "subway" by david weinstone. the chorus is "bing bong" and he says that phrase about 30x a day. he also sings a mean happy birthday.

-he still drinks soy.

-size 4 diapers. huggies lil movers. and we had to move to the overnight diapers cause he was leaking every night.

-pants are 18 months, shorts are 18-24 months, shirts are nearing the 2T range.

-his shoes are size 6.5. he loves shoes...and will put on & walk around in any one's shoes, proclaiming whose they are. "daddy's.shoes. mama's.shoes. sissy's.shoes."

-for the first time he picked out his own book at the library. came walking over to us with it. it was a book called i'm dirty about a backhoe. he's a big fan of heavy machinery and knows most of them by name (or at least what i've attemptede named it ;).

-he love, love, loves airplanes. and thanks to grandma pierse can identify its various parts by name, including the fuselage.

-he also likes tools. he likes to use his little (yet quite loud) drill from grammy rosonke & 'fix,fix' things all over the house...usually to the annoyance of his sister. she's not a big fan of noise.

-he is a big fan of noise. opposite of his sister, he comes running when he hears the vacuum, hairdryer, or any other loud/exciting noise.

-his favorite thing in the world is to just be outside. usually barefoot, with a backpack of some sort on. pretty sure he gets this from his dad.

m'girl.

she's complicated.

i suspect she's going to be our biggest challenge in terms of parenting...

i hope we don't mess it up.

i love ya sweet girl.

the love of my life

look at that belly. i mean really. holy cow. it's a wonder i can stand up, isn't it?!?!

as excited and grateful as we are to be adding to our family, i'm already lamenting how much i'm going to miss this handsome fella after hugh arrives. not that he's going anywhere (other than the usual job requirements)...but newborns, at least our newborns to date, have required huge amounts of attention. the every 3 hour feedings, the reflux, the sometimes inconsolable crying...all compounded by the lack of sleep...all of it has been very hard on our relationship each time. and this time we will have two other lil blessings demanding our attention on top of the newborn. that said, maybe the third time will be a charm?

regardless - what i do know - is that each time after we have emerged from the newborn phase we are a stronger, more united couple. we share a most meaningful goal in life...that of raising our children to become capable, loving, happy & healthy adults. and so while it might feel like two steps back, one step forward, we both know in the long run the few difficult months will fade away into years of reward.

love you, handsome. please remember me as the loving wife i am when the sleepless nights cause me grow horns (i don't do well without sleep...just ask the girls i grew up with how fun i was at slumber parties). and know that i'll be missing you until we emerge on the other side. horns, hormones & all. ;)