Rugby, Lights, and Surprises

The boys now spend Saturday mornings playing rugby with a bunch of other youth and dads. Brother Romero introduced this fun sport to the youth when he and his family moved into our ward. It has been a great motivator for me to get them to do their chores before meeting at the high school football field.

David and I had previously (pre-Loni) talked about keeping the holidays low key. With a newborn in the house we agreed that less stres will make for a happier Christmas season. So, when I looked out the window to find David hanging Christmas lights, I was surprised. Happily surprised. Some traditions are hard to do without. I'm sure the colorful lights will add cheer.

Loni only woke up once last night! After laying her down for the night at 10:30pm, she slept until almost 3:30am. She surprised us yet again this afternoon. Loni gave Dave-o the biggest smile as he was saying hi to her between the slats in the crib. It seems only natural that Dave-o receive the first smile.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love all of the baking that goes in to the feast and the aroma that fills the home. I typically spend two days prepping and baking for this special day. However, with my body still recovering from birthing a child, I relied heavily on David's culinary skills. I think we made a great team; he the head chef and myself as sous chef. Melissa, Parker, and Lily brought over an apple and pumpkin pie, which completed the thanksgiving dinner. (thank you Parker)

After dinner, we all hung out. Some of the boys watched football, while others of us played Mario Cart. We ended the evening watching Miracle on 34th Street. There are many things for which I am thankful for this year. The biggest one is seeing our family grow to eight. Lonetta has already brought so much love into our home in these two short weeks. She has single handily tamed some of my wild beasts.

Dave-o and Lily

Lily chilled out with Justin for a long time.

Two Week Check-up

Lonetta had her two week doctor's visit today. She is still jaundice on the upper part of her body. Other than that, she is a perfect baby.

(Loni 's daily sun treatment)

Weight: 7lb 5oz

Height: 20.5 inches

The Oliver Blanket

 I just finished crocheting this blanket for my niece Megan, who is expecting her first baby in January. Her little boy is going to be named Oliver. Isn't that an adorable name?

Luckily, I was able to get 90% of it done before Loni was born.

I Made Cookies!

(James and Lonetta)

The vitamins I've been taking are working! That and the fact that Loni is sleeping for 4 hour stretches at night has given me the energy I need to be a full-time mom again. The kids have all been so helpful. They are more than willing to hold Loni for me and help out where needed. James is a sweetheart. He's been driving his siblings around to their classes and other activities. 

I even made cookies today! If that isn't proof of my well being than I don't know what is.

Bonding With Dad

David was a life savor last week. He stayed home and played both the role of father and mother. I am grateful David had this special time to bond with his daughter. Even though he is back at work now, he continues to help out by coming home early, getting dinner, holding Loni, doing the laundry, grocery shopping, and much much more. 

I love these two!

Bath Baby

Lonetta lost her umbilical cord. It was snagging at her diaper and clothing. I'm sure it is a relief for her to have it gone. Now she gets to enjoy bath time!

Sleep

For a couple of nights after being home Lonetta would stay asleep as long as she were held. Each time I tried laying her down in the crib, she would wake crying. With an already two day sleep deprivation, I brought Loni to bed with me so we both could get rest. Now, she is happily sleeping in her own bed waking up two times in the night to eat. She's a great baby. I am truly blessed. 

No Place like home

As far as hospital stays go, it was the best I've experienced. My nurses were all wonderful. My night nurse even tried really hard to let me get some sleep. With each new shift in nurses, I was asked what my goals were. They were written on a dry erase board. The goals weren't anything newsworthy; but rather small and attainable. For example, "get some sleep", "visit with family", etc.

The food was good. In fact, the staff brought in a celebratory dinner for David and I. It was chicken stuffed with who-knows-what, salad, rice, cheesecake, and sparkling cider.

Even though my stay was pleasant, I couldn't wait to get home. Once home I hugged each of the kids, and climbed immediately into my bed. Ah! There's no place like home.

Lonetta's Birth

I was right...

Lonetta was indeed wanting out.

Labor pains begun a few minutes shy of midnight. I kept a log of how frequent the contractions came by texting them to David (he always keeps his phone on silent so I knew it wouldn't wake him). I fell asleep at some point, but woke to more intense pains which were closer together (3-5 minutes apart). By 2:30, I woke David up, told him it was time, and called "labor and delivery" to tell them of my arrival.

I was changed and settled in a delivery room by 3:30am. The midwife on duty checked me and gave the okay to officially admit me, as I was 6 centimeters dilated. The anesthesiologist was brought in to administer an epidural. This did not go well. After giving me the test dose, my heart began to race. It kept getting faster (peaking at 153). I felt like passing out. The nurse had me lay down, but all I kept hearing were my heart rate stats being called out. This caused me to feel very anxious, which I'm sure made the situation worse. More nurses came in and hooked me up to an EKG machine. By now I was feeling nauseous, weak, and freaked out. The anesthesiologist wanted to redo the epidural. I told her no. Just take it out. I was really scared and knew that there was no way I could deliver a baby feeling the way I did. Once it was removed, I asked everyone to leave the room so that I could calm down. David gently rubbed my arm while I closed my eyes and relaxed. My heart rate slowed down and eventually settled at its normal speed. The test dose numbed my lower body enough to give me relief for about 3 hours. By 7:30 I was dilated to a 9. The epidural  had almost completely worn off. At 8am, the nurse had me practice and perfect my "pushing" technique. I was feeling everything, by now. At 8:44am, I was holding my little girl in my arms, marveling in her beauty and praising God that the excruciating pain of childbirth was over.

Shortly after, I remember looking over at David and said, "never again. My body is too old to do this again!"

Meet Loni

Lonetta Claira Zinn

Born on November 11, 2013

8:44 am

6lb 15oz

19.5 inches

Get me Outta Here!

It's 11pm right now and I feel like Lonetta is trying to break out of her temporary home. Since 8pm, she has been so active! Right now she is kicking and pushing in what feels like all directions. I guess she's as anxious to meet this crazy family as we are to meet her.

Primary Program

This morning I felt crummy. Pregnant crummy. If it weren't for the fact that Dave-o would be participating in his first ever Primary program, I probably would've stayed home from church. The program was wonderful Dave-o recited his part with his mouth pressed firmly on that microphone. Only those of us (family members only) knew what he said which was, "I can choose the right because I know that I am a child of God." During the music portion of the program, we even got a few cute waves directed at our pew from our little guy. He's such a cutie. 

 Before the start of the Primary Program, I was touched to see James be able to bless the sacrament with his two best friends, Josh and Matthew Sundstrom. The three of them have been 16 for almost a year now, but due to the large number of Priests in our ward, have never been able to perform this sacred priesthood duty together. During the sacrament song, I turned around and whispered to Josh and Matt's mom (Michele) that it was a beautiful sight. We both began to cry knowing how important this bond between the three of them was. They have been like brothers to one another since we moved into this ward over five years ago.

Calm and Energized

I have spent this past week trying to accomplish as much as I could before Lonnie makes her appearance. During this time I have felt great. No real contractions and an unusual amount of energy. David says its the calm before the storm. Anyhow, I feel good about what I set out to do. My hospital bag is complete and ready to go, my sister's birthday present is in the mail, my visiting teaching report is complete for last month, my visiting teaching is done, wrote and sent out all the thank you cards from my baby shower, most of the kids' Christmas shopping done, and much much more. Notice that nowhere on this list is any kind of cleaning. That is one thing I have no desire to do right now. So, my house is a bit messy, but hey, that's life. I just hope i don't have any unexpected visitors any time soon.

Falling Leaves

This week the leaves in the neighborhood are beginning to rain on everything. This has brought a lot of joy for Dave-o. We have all fallen victim to his accurate aim of hands full of leaves. I hate the feeling of these scratchy, dirty, itchy leaves getting all over me. But for Dave-o there is magic in the sight and feeling of leaves pouring on top him. Ah...to be young again.

Sewing Class

 For a month and a half, Kirsten has been taking a weekly sewing class from Steven's violin teacher, Mrs. Rumsby. Let me just say that she is a lady with many talents. She and her husband run a Shakespeare play company and Barbara is the seamstress for all of the costumes. Above are two pillowcases that Kirsten has completed (with a french seam and all). 

 The ruffled case took longer to make. She did a great job. Kirsten is loving this class and can't wait to move on to patterns and clothes making.

This inspired me to make a bunch of holiday ones to be auctioned off at our scouts' upcoming silent auction fundraiser. I have only one set done. We shall see how many more I can do before baby comes. I think Lonetta dropped on Halloween because she's not pushing against my ribs anymore.

I am thankful for all the people in my life who share their talents with myself and family.