Simon Paul Lockhart: The Birth

Simon Paul Lockhart 10-26-2012

Better late than never, right?  Three years ago I was full term with our third (likely over ten pound) baby.  Simon was due on his sister's birthday.  I was miserable and was hoping to have him early.  But I was relieved when Amelia's birthday was over and Simon hadn't arrived.  I was hoping to go early, but going late to avoid sharing a birthday with is sister was fine with me.

Throughout the month Chris had several assignments that kept him away from the house.  He completed a gunnery, family day (the kids and I were able to attend the family day), NCO stuff, and tending to the arms room.

39 weeks with Simon.

I was warned that Chris had to go to the arms room early in the morning so I wasn't surprised at 5:00am when I woke up and he wasn't there.  The contractions weren't painful but they were steady.  My go to pregnancy remedy is get into the tub.  Around 5:30 Chris was home, and I told him we needed to head to the hospital.

While Chris was getting Owen and Amelia dressed I gave my friend Moriah a call.  Owen and her son were in the same preschool class, and she was willing to drop him off for us.  I called my friend Erin to see if I could drop off Amelia since we would pass by her house on the way to the hospital.  Both friends obliged and we continued to get ourselves into the van.

It was about 7:00 am and we had just dropped off Amelia when I gave the OB a call.  The lady on the phone told us to take our time, a shower would be nice, and to come to the OB office not the ER because labor and delivery was pretty full.  You see, we are in a military town and husbands had returned home about a year ago.  Actually, there was a mom from Owen's class that went into labor the same day as me.  Anyway, maybe I should have called before we left the house, but we were already on our way.  Amelia came so quickly, I didn't think it was a good idea to go back home.  We stopped to fill the car up with gas and went to the OB office, which was at the hospital.

At about 7:30 am I walked in and said my name and I had a contraction.  They rushed me to an exam room, I think mostly not to worry the soon to be moms in their waiting room.  The doctor that checked me determined that I was eight centimeters.  The nurse said, "do not break her water."  I think he was new and if not a student pretty fresh out of school.  I was put into a wheel chair and rushed to the very full L&D.  Not only was it a military season of having babies, but L&D was under construction.

Around 8:00am I was put in shared room with another lady who was having contractions monitored.  I remember I had two nurses trying to have me admitted.  So while I was handling contractions one lady was asking questions, while the other was doing bracelets and IVs.  Mostly what I remember is a sea of faces.  It was a tiny half of a room.  The midwife had a student under her wing and so did the nurses.  My husband was back against the wall, once they realized that he was by my side.  Another midwife remembered me from an appointment and asked if she could watch.  Sure, the more the merrier!

We forgot the camera again.

Fatherhood always looks good on him.

At one point I was told I could move to a delivery room.  I said no, let's just have this baby.  So we did.  After breaking my water Simon was here in three easy pushes.  After three and half hours of labor Simon arrived at 9:01am weighing 10 pounds 10 ounces and 21.5 inches long.  The first thing Chris said when he saw Simon was "where are his cheeks!" The older two had very full faces, and by comparison Simon did not.

Really, he doesn't have cheeks compared to Owen and Amelia.

Simon has brought (and is still bringing) a new dynamic to our home.  Pretty sure mine and Chris's sanctification is largely riding on this guy.  He's trying and affectionate.  Stubborn and caring.  Demanding and imaginative. I'm honored that we have been entrusted with this spirited soul!

#3, priorities.

"Mom pictures" of me are usually so..eh.
But there is something about this one I like.

Hello world!

Owen's birth story.
Amelia's birth story.
Becket's birth story.

Future Simon

I hope you feel loved. I hope you feel valued. I hope that one day you will know I really tried to be the mother that you needed me be.

I rely on my instinct.  Every choice is not the best, but it's the only way I know how to mother. You and your siblings are very different with very different challenges.  For me, your temper and stubbornness is challenging.  I actually thought your older siblings had these traits until you proved me wrong.

The ladies at Target accused me of ignoring you. And maybe my disposition appeared that way, but you were on the forefront of my mind. I was doing what I could to remain calm while you loudly let the entire store know your hatred for the cart. Before we entered the store I knew you would be mad. I knew we would disturb other customers, but this trip to Target was essential not recreational like it often is. I was not engaging because you were safe, and I wanted to be loving once you were okay with sitting in the cart rather than becoming short fused with you, Amelia, and Owen. I didn't know what else to do (and the ladies offered nothing but their disapproval on my choice).  Carrying you or letting you run while trying to get some groceries just weren't an option.  And unfortunately,  your dad isn't here for me have shopped this evening once he was home from work.  Please know I was not ignoring you...I really felt like I had no other choice but to let you cry while I tried to get through the store quickly.

But Dear, I loath that scream.  Sometimes you do it at bedtime. I don't like crying it out as much as you...probably more.  Even with articles and advice from other mothers I have found nothing that works for us.  You know what you want, whether it's not sitting in a cart or not going to bed. It makes me angry and sad simultaneously. I'm angry because you don't seem to understand what I need from you.  And mostly sad because I feel like I am failing you terribly.

Daily, I question my parenting choices.  My questions for you lately are:  Did you stop nursing too soon? Should I have let you co-sleep longer?  Should I have done neither of those things that seemed so natural to me?  Is this tantrum going to taint our relationship in the future?

Your scream...is blood curdling when you are mad.  And the customers at Target got it first hand. You know what you want. That's wonderful! I hope I can foster that, but also teach you that you can't have it all...or at the very least, it things happen on God's time not ours.

Your stubbornness...often coincides with the blood curdling scream and leaves you angry for a long time, because I can't always give in. I hope I can foster this trait so you can easily see what battles need to be fought and you will stand your ground when it matters (standing my ground is not something I do well and many things really do matter).

But for me, it's a guessing game sometimes. I don't know what I'm doing most of the time...and never claimed to know.  I take life as it comes, and that includes parenting. I want you and your siblings to know that I love everything about each of you dearly...including your challenges.  And I will continue to do what I can to make sure you know you are valued and loved.

Dinosaur Roar!

Sorry for the neglected blog, I'm sure most of you just wait for me to post to Facebook which is all good.  Just a little heads up that this is going to be a bit photo heavy of a post :)

Nothing much has been going on since my last post.  We have narrowed down the baby's name to two names.  I'm going to have to figure out how to post a poll to see the popular vote.  I always think that is fun.  So yea to the meat of this post....taking these three chuckle-heads to an over priced (in my opinion) dinosaur exhibit.

I won't bother you with my complaints about the price and whatnot because in the end the kids did have a really great time.  Owen LOVES dinosaurs but refuses to show much excitement for the camera.  Amelia was panicked when we first arrived but quickly got over her melodrama.  And Simon was TRILLED and has been roaring with toy dinosaurs all evening.

We revisited this dinosaur a few times.  When we first walked in Amelia was in the middle of her melodramatic break down so clearly this the picture of her was our second visit after she composed herself.  And that is about the happiest picture I have of Owen.  He really was thrilled to be there, but clammed up whenever I asked for a picture.

Here was the Dino-Dig.  Have been making plans for our drive to Alaska.  One of our planned stops is a Mammoth Site in South Dakota.  After the fun that had at the little sand table I think they will really enjoy the Mammoth fossils.

Okay Owen, contain all of that excitement please.  We can only take so much...Man that kid is like his father...On the other hand, Amelia is just like her mother.  The picture below is her "afraid" of the dinosaur behind her.

There was some mini golf, a dinosaur ride, and some inflatables.  We also did a scavenger hunt where we the kids left we a few trinkets.  Overall we had a great time.  And if you missed it I'm now 24 week along and here's a belly from today.

7QT - #17: Winging it

--- 1 ---

I just realized that it's Friday and it's been a while since I linked up for a 7QT.  I'm completely winging it and unsure what I should discuss in the next six takes, but I guess we'll figure it out together.

--- 2 ---

Four weeks ago I felt completely different than I do now.  The level of exhaustion is really hard to explain.  I manged to get through things I absolutely had to, and that was about it.  My house should have been condemned, I'm sure.  Staying awake took everything I had.  I seem to have my energy back and I have started getting our house in shape.  My last three pregnancies I never experienced "nesting".  I'm not sure if it's nesting or I'm just excited to have some energy, but the front half of our house is getting there.  Admittedly, the last couple of days have had some set backs with Simon screaming all night and the next day being anything but pleasant.

--- 3 ---

Speaking of Simon, I love that babe but I'm not sure what to do with him.  He has been our toughest.  A scream like no other's.  He hits.  He hits his siblings and us when he plays and when he's mad.  Simon is persistent. He likes to repeatedly turn of the television if anyone is watching it.  I don't know.  Maybe it's my hormones.

--- 4 ---

So did you catch our big news?  It's starting to sink in a little bit.  Chris and I were talking yesterday and I mentioned that a year from now Fort Drum will no longer be our home.  Since right now Alaska is going to happen if Alabama doesn't we have been looking into the area a little bit.  Cold and isolated...kinda like Fort Drum, but a little worse.  I'm not sure how I will cope without a Target.  I am thankful that there's a Sam's Club, but I frequent the Target at least once a week.  Oh, geez.  This year's winter here at the Drum gave me a little taste of what cold is.  But, pictures are beautiful.  I'm not sure we would get to experience it without the Army so I'm sure we will enjoy ourselves.  Of course we want Alabama.

--- 5 ---

Our entire relationship Chris as been trying to become a pilot.  Not always in the Army, but flying in some way.  Location only, I think Chris and I would chose Alaska over Alabama.  But since the dream is to fly and Alabama is the only option we want Alabama over Alaska.  Did that make any sense?  Still needs one letter, his medical (it's done he needs the paperwork), and a PT test.  This week all of those things are in the works.  Right now it looks like he will meet the May deadline for the July board.  We hope it stays that way.

--- 6 ---

Owen was signed up for soccer yesterday.  It took us foreva to find the sign up tables. They were in a pretty obvious spot that we completely ignored since that's how we role, apparently.  But he's signed up and ready to go.  Just waiting on the phone call to know what team he's on.

--- 7 ---

Amelia had her dance pictures taken.  I'm not super girly.  I don't gravitate to all the frills.  And winterguard has shape my style preference when it comes to pageantry attire.  But seriously, how cute is this???

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Name Game

I know it's been a while.  Nearly two weeks since my last post.  I know my last few post have been anything but entertaining.  Sorry 'bout that.  Keeping things consistently inconsistent is the name of the game folks.  In short, the first trimester is kicking my butt.  So far I have been blessed with manageable pregnancies.   They all come with their own set of complaints, but manageable.  This one I have been exhausted and nauseated.  Thankfully, no vomiting, but still this crippling nausea that makes me want to do nothing more that lay on the couch and sleep it off.  Chris was on leave and bless him because that is what he let me do!

Anyway, let's talk about my favorite part about being pregnant: picking names.  Hands down.  I've heard other couples sometimes have a hard time agreeing, and though Chris and I don't agree on every suggestion we usually don't have a hard time.  Actually, we usually have several names we have agreed on and then have a hard time making a decision.  We are the most indecisive couple you will ever meet.  We are that degree of annoying.  Trust me.

I mentioned during a Quick Take that I wasn't sure if I wanted to find out the sex this time.  Choosing the name is one of the reasons why I would want to find out again.  It's not the sticking to one gender so much, but once we choose a name we use it.  I like that aspect of finding out the gender of the baby.  I don't think it would work if we switched back and forth.  We're still not sure about finding out the gender, but the name and picking the coming home outfit are the two reasons I would want to find out.

Many people like to keep the name a secret so other people don't ruin it for them.  I know not everyone is going to love the name that we choose, so I try not to let other people's opinions bother me.  So far I have never felt like we needed to scrap a name.  We love it, we go with it.

So, we don't really have a system of any kind.  A friend of mine gave me the book The Baby Name Wizard, Revised 3rd Edition: A Magical Method for Finding the Perfect Name for Your Baby and that is how we stumbled upon our boy names.  Within the book it gives you brother and sister names of a particular name.  I loved the name Amelia before we even had kids, but in the book that is how we found Owen and Simon.


Middle names we try to use a family name.

With Owen we had four other names we were considering. Ian, Sawyer, Aiden, and Liam.   We decided to use the names rather than "the baby" to see what would fit.  Chris kept using Owen so I asked him if that was the name he preferred.  It was and we went with it!  We knew we were going to use the middle name Clarence, after Chris's grandfather, before we had the first name picked out.

Owen Clarence: March 3, 2009

When discussing names for Amelia, we had managed to narrow down our list to two boy names and two girl names before we found out the gender.  Jude and Gabriel if she were a boy.  Amelia Rose and Fiona Olive is she were a girl.  Once we found out she was a girl we opted to do the same thing we did with Owen, use the names.  Chris told me that he just thought she was an Amelia so that is what we chose.  Rose is after my best friend Julie.  I just love the name Rose!  I almost wish I had kept it to use as a first name one day.

Amelia Rose: October 23, 2010

And then there was Simon.  We toyed with the idea of not finding out the gender, but I was only looking at girl names even though I was pretty sure I was having a boy.  So we found out the gender so I could force myself to look at boy names...sad I know.  But nothing was appealing.  We even thought about stick with names that began with a vowel, but nothing came of it so we scratched it.  We reached for the baby name book again where we found Simon and Pierce attached to either Owen's or Amelia's name..I can't remember.  Chris said that he felt like he made the final call on the last two kids that he wanted me to do it this go 'round.  He liked both names and that I should make the final call.  Seriously, I was not trilled with this.  Mainly because when I would go back a forth he would not give me a definitive "ok, that's the name".  I felt like I did that for him, but maybe not.  I was drawn to Simon.  I just loved it. We chose Paul as his middle name after my dad.

Simon Paul: October 26, 2012

Ahhh...can't you just smell that new born smell right through the computer screen!!!  The best.  Chris and I have been throwing some names.  Here is what we have so far....

Boys:  Everett, Oliver, Jude, Augustine, Benedict, Emmett,

Girls:  Ruth, Jocelyn, Gianna, Magdalene, Cecilia, Bernadette

Actually, there is more to this list, but I have completely blanked.  Pregnancy Brain? Maybe? But doubtful. Once we really narrow down our list we will probably do an online poll.  It never sways our decision, but I like to know what everyone else thinks.  For fun, ya know?  So, how did you choose your kids' names?  Do you have any suggestions to add to our list?  We wouldn't mind hearing them since we indecisive and non-committal ;)  For real.  Let us know!

The Boys Got Their Hair Did.

Simon's new 'do

Owen's new 'do too

Amelia's is still a mess. Just wanting some camera time.

We bit the bullet and took the boys to get their hair done.  We should have know before we even took one step out the door that it was going to be a pain...I guess we kinda knew, but we were optimistic that the boys would sit there nicely and as their precious locks hit the floor.  Not even close.  

Simon started crying as soon as they put the gown around his neck.  It ended up falling off.  I said to hell with it let's just get this done.  Owen whined all the way up into the chair with his head scrunched as far into his shoulders as physically possible. Simon proceeded to scream and cry and his golden hair began to stick to his face, hands, and clothing.  It ended up in his mouth.  Owen eventually calmed down when they stopped using the clippers and then said "It's only a hair cut, Simon."  Now you're mister tough man!  Simon did not care one bit about what his brother had to say he wanted out of my lap ASAP.  Amelia chimed in with her word of encouragement also "Mom, Mom....Mom....Moooooooom."--she had nothing to say.  She just wanted to remind me that she can both speak and  knows my name.

Hair was everywhere.  All over Simon, me, the floor.  I put Simon on the floor and he bolted to Chris where he gave me the cold shoulder for at least 30 minutes after the torturous act of a haircut.  How dare I ask someone to remove that mullet.  I actually wanted their hair shorter, but we had to get out of there.  There was a big sigh of relief by all once we finally left the establishment.  I'm sure they would appreciate it if we never return.

So now we are home and everyone is happy as a clam about their new hair.  Oh, the drama of it all.  

Little Bit About Nothing.

Like the last three times we have had a positive pregnancy test, I am in this surreal haze.  You know, I don't really feel any different than I did before I took the test Saturday morning.  But the knowledge of a little human growing inside my body is pretty cool!  I'm carrying two souls, y'all...how awesome is that!?!

I know this is kind of a long clip...but work the watch.  A woman's body is awesome!!!!

I love Jim Gaffifan!  "Ah, four kids.  Well that's one way to live your life."  HAHA.  Cracks me up!  The whole show is on Netflix instant stream.

I will try not to make every post be about joys and woes of pregnancy.  Maybe I will just keep in the 7 Quick Takes each week.  Or maybe I will end up being a completely liar.  The effort will be real; the execution of said efforts will likely fail.  

Well, school was just dismissed.    I wish Chris would get released.  He was released early yesterday, because of the white out conditions...and then it they stopped.  I know they don't want to do the same thing today, but It would be great if he was off by 2 so he could swing in and pick up Amelia so I don't have to leave the house again.

It's still rather cold here, but I feel it's worth it if snow is falling.  My weather app has been all over the place trying to predict snow accumulations this year.  Over estimating and under estimating.  I hope it's under estimating.  I love being snowed in.  Of course I sincerely home that their are pockets surrounding my friends homes with deployed husbands so they don't have to shovel...I sincerely mean that!!!  I really have conflicting emotions when it comes to this snowfall when I know so many people with husbands away.

To add to all of Simon's wonderful and terrible babyhood, he has started to refuse naps.  My other two did the same thing around 20 months.  Simon is only 15.  Come on dude!!!  I could even handle the napless days if he were at least somewhat pleasant.  By 4:00 he's a mess if he's missed his nap.  Once the other two started skipping nap they were able to keep it together most of the time.

Ok, will end this.  If you battled through this boring post, bless you!  Here are some pictures of the kids making a winter craft two nights ago so it wasn't a complete waste of your time.

My kids are trend setters, just like their mom! ;)

Winter hat, plastic crown, dog purse, cowboy boots