My little Dragon

Wow. Am I the meanest blogger ever? I tell you a week ago that I will be having my baby the next day and then nothing....

Well, sorry to make you wait, but meet my newest little guy, Dragon. His "code name" for the blog is the English translation of his Chinese middle name, just like the other kids.

Look at all that hair!! All of my kids have come out with hair, but his is by far the thickest.

This little guy came into the world fast! The time line went something like this:

11:30 am: check into the hospital for induction.

12:00 pm: IV placed after 3 tries, resulting in some of the prettiest bruising I've ever had.

12:30 pm: Doctor tells me he will check my progress and break my water. I ask for an epidural before he breaks the water, because I know I go fast once that happens (Hero was just under 3 hours, Pretty was just under 2). He doesn't think I'll progress fast enough to miss getting one, and before I know it, he's broken the water and started a slow drip of Pitocin. (see where this is going?)

12:45 pm: Intense contractions with major pain in my lower back making me scream. Beg for the epidural. All anesthesiologists are occupied in surgeries.

12:55 pm: Nurse says, "You're a 9" and runs to get a doctor, since mine was currently involved in a surgery next door. I look at Jake and tell him in a panic, "He's coming! He's coming without an epidural! I can do this. I can do this." (I was totally trying to convince myself of this...)

1:07 pm: Amid the deepest, throatiest, manliest screams I've ever made, my baby is here in two pushes. BAM. and OUCH!

Good thing he's cute, eh?

To Do List Update!

 Ok everyone. I have been busy growing and growing. These pictures were taken one week ago by my good friend. Since I am scheduled for an induction tomorrow, I figured I should hurry up and post about all the stuff I've been making for this little guy.

I'll do the list in the same number order, and check them off as we go!

1. Make new baby bedding: CHECK!

2. Finish crochet blanket and hat: CHECK! (but no pictures yet because they are packed away in my hospital bag in the back of my van in the garage, and I'm too lazy to go get them. This means the first time you will get to see them is wrapped around my sweet new baby!)

3. Unpack and rewash baby clothes: CHECK! Pinterest comes through again! This washing trick (pin here) got out quite a bit and I will be using it with every size he moves in to.

4. Make a Straight Jacket Swaddler, and maybe a few burp cloths: CHECK! and CHECK! I love these monsters I found for the straight jacket.

And a "few" burp cloths turned into 20! I decided to make a whole new set, so I raided my stash of flannel from when I stocked up last Black Friday. My loving sister did all the cutting out for me, since she felt bad for the amount of groaning I did cutting out other stuff!

5. Make a sock monkey: um, not yet. I'll get it done before the 1 month picture, I promise.
6. Sew Pretty's curtains: CHECK!
7. Sew a new quilt for Hero: HA! I knew that one wasn't going to happen. Christmas? :)

That was the end of my official list. 5 out of 7 isn't too bad! Especially because I added two more to the list without telling you.

First, I decided that I really wanted to make a faux chenille blanket from Dana's tutorial. It was a lot of tedious work, but turned out so great! I love it with crazy amounts of love! I used a 100% cotton that was in the wrong place at JoAnns, so I didn't realize it was supposed to be next to the outdoor canvas stuff... It's heavy and perfect. I'm glad I ran across it accidentally! The colors of flannel are yellow, grey and green. I also spent the extra time to bind the blanket the right way, with hand stitching. LOVE!!

And finally, I needed to make a new changing pad. I used the tutorial from Homemade by Jill to make one just after Pretty came along. It was girly with flowers, but I planned to use it for my boy anyway. Then I thought I would wash it, and the stuff I laminated on pulled of and ripped apart! I learned later that you only hand wash or delicate wash that stuff. Oops.

So a new one was needed. Yes, that is a Cheese patch. And yes, I love him.


The "laminated" side is the PUL stuff that you would buy if you were making cloth diapers. I was pointed to it when I asked where laminated fabric was at JoAnn's and told the woman what I was planning for it. I don't do cloth diapers, but I figured that would keep it protected enough! The only thing I worry about is whether it will wipe clean easily or stain, especially with it being white. But at very least, it should be able to go into the washing machine. (Oh, and hey, it looks like it's on sale right now at joann.com.) And if you plan on using this stuff, know that it stretches... a lot! I used my walking foot to keep it from going everywhere!

 Well, that's it! I have packed the bags for these two cuties to go to their grandparents for the night (Hero is thrilled about his sleep-over!) I can't wait to see if the new baby has the darker or lighter coloring... or if he will come up with his own unique combo!

I'm about to have 3 kids! They will outnumber us!! Wish me luck. :)