Assorted events in Holden's first 6 weeks

Here is a run down of some recent and not so recent events. 

Not so recent:

Early baby baths at about a week and a half old.

First "playdate" at 10 days old.  It mainly involved sleeping for the babies.

His first trip to the zoo:

 Some sisters were more interested in having their picture taken than others...

 (you may note that many of these firsts seem to involve being asleep in his stroller)

And the most recent event: A "Sip and See" Party in Holden's honor, held at our neighbor's house last night.  Lots of sips, delicious food, and generous gifts of lots of diapers and wipes. 

 There were even monogrammed cookies!

 We look good together, don't we?

Mariel also had her first week of summer camp: Princess Camp at a local community center.  Their "coronation" was on Friday, and involved a crowning and recital.  The Princesses lined up for their performance...

There was choreography, although the girls did appear at times to be doing their own dances (or, in the case of one princess, laying on the floor).

Here is Mariel receiving her crown, which she designed herself.

Anne and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day (although it is getting better)

I think that I could rewrite the book today.  It was a long morning.  It started off well enough (depending on when the "day" begins, it could have been at 12:30, 3, or 4:30, when I got up with the baby), coffee and oatmeal before the girls got up.  My potty training Noella went right on the potty, and then 20 minutes later pooped in her underwear.  Into the car we went, to discover a cracked windshield.  We got Mariel to Princess Camp (her summer activity of the week), then stopped at the grocery store, when Noella managed to find Mariel's water bottle and dump it all over herself.  Screaming baby in tow, we stopped at the store bathroom for a try, then did our quick grocery run. On our way home... she peed in her car seat.  Nice big puddle.  We stripped on the porch, got the groceries inside, got Noella new clothes, changed the baby, did a few things before running out to get Mariel.  Of course Noella went on the potty again before leaving the house, and on our way home from camp she still peed in her car seat yet again. More puddling action (glad for leather seats!), another strip act on the front porch, a bathtub quickly piling up with clothes and car seat parts.
(Note that our daily routine involves sitting on the potty about every 30 minutes.  And that she has been totally dry except for when she sleeps for days.  And that Mariel just watched the Potty Training Success DVD yesterday and has been offering lots of helpful pointers today, such as "Potties go WHOOSH when they flush, Noella")
Did I mention that Mariel announced that she had another bloody nose right around this time?  She got one last week- this was the same.  She looks up and the lower half of her face is covered in blood.  It stops immediately (Thank goodness!), but it is both alarming and spectacular to see.
The windshield man arrived and took out my windshield, only  to discover that the replacement windshield he had put in the back of his truck had cracked... so off he went again.  While on the front porch I opened the mail and discovered that my health insurance had rejected the $5000 bill from the hospital because of a failure to precertify the stay (I called twice prior to having the baby to be told that I did not need to precertify for childbirth).  Gasp.
Inside to feed the girls some lunch (with several trips to the potty for Noella) and nurse the baby.  As I ferry their dishes to the table our cranky baby starts grunting and straining.... and Mariel's eyes open wide.  "Mom... your leg...." Noella smiles "Cutie Pie's pooping again!"  as it shoots down his leg, down my leg, and pools on the kitchen floor.  Sigh.  Our Lysol and washing machine are getting a workout today.
Post lunch- much better.  Windshield is fixed, Noella is napping (in a pull up), Holden is napping (after a bath and fresh clothes), laundry is in, car is disinfected.  Health insurance customer service agent agrees with me and has sent my bill back for review, and assures me that it should be cleared up in 7-10 days.  Mariel and I ate two big bowls of popcorn and played a game of Fancy Nancy dress up, so things are looking up.  I hope.
So I don't think that I will need to move to Australia.

One Month Old
Holden weighed in at 11 lbs 4 oz this morning and was 22 1/4 inches.  He is following in the footsteps (and extra chins) of Noella as an infant. Here is the traditional monthly picture, although since Holden was not too interested in posing for me I have included two.

Holden is generally a good baby and (thankfully) takes substantial naps during the day, which frees up my hands to deal with the girls a lot.  He obviously eats well, and he is starting to take more interest in the world around him.  Ceiling fans and being outside are usually good entertainment.  He does OK at night, although both Patrick and I would love a bit more sleep.  The good thing about the third child is that we are relatively resigned to exhaustion, and also have reasonable hope that we will sleep again... someday...

40 weeks

Holden Thomas Flaherty was born on Tuesday, May 10 at 11:46 am.  He was 7 lbs, 3 oz and 20 1/2 inches long.  He was officially at 39 weeks, 2 days and in a dramatic reversal from past pregnancies, I practically begged the doctor to induce my labor.  This time around it was 13 hours of labor after the pitocin drip (compared to 9 for Noella and 26 for Mariel), and the "easiest" of the three.  Not to say that it was in any way pleasant or painless, just that it was easier to manage than the others.  Knowing it is my last time probably helps.
So, for the first time a 40 weeks picture with the baby already in it!  I am much happier with him on the outside!  He is a beautiful baby, perfect and healthy in every way that we can tell.  So far he seems to have a nice disposition, but as he is only 5 days old he might still be waking up.  He really enjoys eating, which seems like a good sign.  His big sisters both adore him, which is wonderful to see. Noella was a bit nervous in the hospital, and on her way out after first meeting him she asked if he could be put back in my belly.  This made me a little bit nervous, but once we came home she has been enthralled with "her baby" and keeps wanting to hold and kiss him.  Mariel, of course, has been in love for months already.
So, with Cutie Pie's arrival blogging may slow down a bit... but it is for a good cause!

Random....
39 weeks pregnant after two and a half weeks of "pre-labor" (most people probably call it false labor, but that just sounds sort of depressing).  I did not do this with the girls- I had plenty of Braxton Hicks contractions over the course of their pregnancies, but did not have these repetitive, 20 minute apart contractions that just go nowhere... for days... It is getting pretty old.  I am feeling quite ready to have this baby, and a little bit guilty that I am probably not appreciating my healthy pregnancy as much as I should be.  I am very, very fortunate for my good health, the health of the baby, and the fact that this is the third time that we have been so blessed.  On some levels I recognize this, but on others I am ready to reclaim my body from this alien, no longer have my legs go numb or my internal organs punched at any moment. 
Thoughts from Noella:
Noella has been talking a lot lately, and many of her baby-isms are disappearing.  She is very interested in the baby in my belly (although I am afraid that the reality of the baby will be quite a shock to her!).  For a while now, she has been very concerned when the baby causes me pain.  If I wince at a kick or punch, she will stop and ask "Baby hurting you?"  and give me a gentle pat, admonishing  "No, no baby."  Somedays she will stop and grab her stomach and tell me "OH!  Baby hurting me!" because of course she is sure that she has a baby in her belly too.  Today while in the bathtub she grabbed her stomach and said in great surprise "Baby is coming out!"  (No worries- no baby came out).  Maybe she is understanding more of this process than I think!  I am a little jealous that her baby is coming out before mine.  And impressed that she had planned a water birth.
Thoughts from Mariel:
Mariel's vocabulary is also expanding greatly, and she is spending a lot of time trying to figure out new words.  We spent a long time the other day discussing the proper use of the word "irritating," for example.  Tonight I read her a story from Beauty and the Beast, in which Belle's father is described as a "genius to Belle" but considered a "crackpot" by the townspeople.  Mariel looked at me in shock and said "Oh, Mom, that is not a nice word."  I shook my head.  "It means crazy," she continued, "and is a really mean thing to say.  But Mom?  You know who is a crackpot?"  I shook my head because I really had no idea of where she was going to go with this. "Bullies.  Bullies are crackpots.  And dragons too, I think."  She is probably right.  I have not met any sane dragons lately.