Five and (Barely) Staying Alive, Man Alive; We're Five!, Jump and Jive; We're Five!

John William

These are just some of my crazy ideas for the new title of the blog now that we are a family of five.  I wanted to somehow incorporate the number, since that's what I've done since the beginning, but decided that two+three=crazy was the most appropriate representation of our typical days now that we, the parents, are outnumbered.  Life is crazy, I'm crazy, but it's a good crazy.

And we're certainly all crazy in love with John John, our "number five".  He is the sweetest little guy ever.  We love snuggling with him and nuzzling into his sweet baby smell.  The girls are absolutely gaga about him.  They call him "baby boy", which is appropriate since John is the first male Patterson born since Jason, 35 years ago.  They take very good care of him, kissing his head and saying, "Look at me, John John!"  Emilie sings "You are my John John.  You make me haaaPEE, skies gray!"  When she says John John is sounds like Chohn Chohn.  Marin loves to hold John, and she's such a great helper- like an honest to goodness, able to really help me, help.  It's amazing.  Marin also loves to dress John and both girls like to help me give him a bath and read to him.  Marin has learned to spell his name, although she tells me that I write the J backwards.  :)

I have said before that I am a rare bread that loves to give birth.  I really do.  I love that day so very much.  This time, my contractions started in the middle of the night, during a blue moon.  After being told that it was "extremely rare" for the third baby to be late, we had been waiting and waiting for weeks.  Every night I went to bed thinking that would be the night.  But then I'd wake up again in the morning still pregnant.  On Tuesday night, August 20th, (which also happened to be the 13 year anniversary of Jason and my first date), I went to dinner down the street with my girlfriends to send our neighbor who was transferred to Indiana off in style.  I was the talk of the table.  How had the baby not come yet?  Kristy, my other neighbor, and I were due 8 days apart.  Her baby was already 3 weeks old.  And I was still pregnant.  There was a bright full moon that night that was shining very brightly right over our house.  What more, it was a blue moon, which only comes every three years.  As in, once in a blue moon.  Marin was born on a full moon, so this showed promise.  The girls were convinced that it was the night.  I got home at 10:30, and just after 1am, woke up with contractions.  Real contractions, the kind that get stronger as they're happening.  Oh yeah... that's what these feel like.  This is the real deal.  We started to time them.  By 2am we decided to call the hospital.  When I told them my contractions were 4-6 minutes apart for an hour, and this was my third baby, she said to come on in. We called my parents, took a shower, and my mom followed Jason and I to the hospital while my dad stayed with the girls before Lindsay could get there.

We got to the hospital at 3am.  The nurse that checked us in never left my room.  Shortly after I got there, my water broke in the bed, and then the contractions came rapid fire.  Crazy painful.  I nearly broke Jason and my mom's hands.  Jason convinced the nurse that I needed the epidural, but she still had to give me an IV and a bag full of fluids before she could even order it.  But the baby wasn't waiting for that nonsense, so she sped up the fluids by putting a pump on them and called to give the anesthesiologist a "heads up" that she had a "multiple" (multiple births) who was progressing quickly.  I had the nicest, kindest, most patient anesthesiologist.  He assured me that he could give me the anesthesia as quickly as safely possible and that I could do it with the advanced contractions I was having.  But after I finally got the anesthesia going, the baby's heart rate dropped dangerously low.  There was a big commotion and the anesthesiologist assured me that worst case scenario I'd have an emergency c-section in a few minutes, but that I was good to go with my anesthesia, so I wouldn't have to do anything else, but lay there and get him out.  He very calmly and confidently assured me that they were going to do what was best for the baby, and that he was going to be perfect.  Luckily, they were able to move me different ways, turn him internally, and give me some oxygen, so his heart rate regulated on its own.  Already a fighter.  Once the commotion was over, they checked my cervix again and I was at a 9.  They never had a chance to catheterize me, or hook up the button that gave me extra anesthesia every 15 minutes if needed.  Jason had already called Lindsay and Molly and they were on their way.  It was almost 6am.  The nurse told me that if I felt a pain, to let her know first, and sure enough right away I did.  She checked and told me I was at 10, and ready to push.  The doctor and nurses came in, (this time my doctor was not there, it was Dr. Bowles, in my doctor's group).  They told me to push right away, and liked the immediate progress, but the baby's heart rate dropped dangerously low again when I did.  There was another commotion and Dr. Bowles was saying, "Call Neo! Call Neo!" The cord was wrapped around the baby's neck.  They decided to use the vacuum to get him out and a few pushes and one suction later, and he was out and cord free very quickly as Dr. Bowles cut his cord right away.  He was born at 6:27am.  I cried when I held him in my arms for the first time.  I don't know if it was the scare of the commotion, or the disbelief that he was born so quickly, or just the sheer joy of holding my precious baby boy in my arms, but I cried holding my sweet wrinkly, blue, slimy beautiful baby boy to my chest. 

Molly made it just in time, probably due largely to the fact that her speedometer was broken.  Lindsay was at our house with the girls, who weren't even up yet, so my mom and dad were both with Molly in the waiting room for the announcement of his safe arrival, and his name.  Lindsay told the girls when they woke up that they had a new brother and that his name was John William.  Only then did Marin tell the secret that we had told her the name a few weeks beforehand.  She wanted him to be named Ethan, but John grew on her quickly.  ;) After they woke up, the girls came to meet John. They also got to have donuts for breakfast.  Emilie was equally if not more excited about her sprinkle donut than she was about her baby brother.  :)

just seconds after he was born

with Dr. Bowles

the baby brought the girls big sister medals and new dollies

yeah, yeah. it's a baby.  Did you see my sprinkle donut?!!

John is a great sleeper and eater.  He mostly gets up only one time a night, two at the most.  Although, he already has his first cold (the hazards of two sisters in school) and that keeps him up a little bit more lately.  He loves to be held and snuggled, and (thank you Jesus) he likes his paci.  

It's already hard to imagine a time when it was just the four of us.   Life is crazy.  We almost always make a scene wherever we go.  Strangers stop me in parking lots and ask, "Do you need help?"  And then there's my favorite observation, "You sure have your hands full!"  Gee, thanks. Yes, my hands are full.  Life is crazy.  We're crazy.  I look crazy most of the time.  But I wouldn't have it any other way. Two plus three equals crazy.  Crazy love.  Crazy good.