And Then There Were 3

Abigail is two weeks old today and part of me is like how can it be two weeks already and the other part can't imagine life without her here now. The first few nights home with her were a bit rough and this mommy about had a breakdown as all 3 children wanted mommy all night long it felt like and I was not getting the much needed sleep! But come day 3 being home Abigail started sleeping for long chunks of time at night. Hooray! Sleep is so important! It makes for a much nicer mommy!

 

Abigail Christine Lutz was born on November 4th at 11:45pm. It was like she almost was going to make me wait one more day because waiting the 5 days past my due date wasn't hard enough. I could hardly breathe anymore which was one of the first things I noticed after not being pregnant anymore was I could finally breathe again (it wasn't all Utah's fault that I was lacking oxygen). She is my smallest baby so far at 9lbs 15oz (I know ha! Small! but for me that is small and she seems very small to me, which I think might be because I still see Elizabeth as a baby sometimes and she weighs about 24lbs. now) and measuring in at 20.5 inches long.

Abigail getting weighed on the top. Uncle Jason with Benjamin on the left. Abigail in the middle with her fauxhawk. Elizabeth cuddling with mommy on the right.

 

Once she decided to come she came quickly...only 3 pushes on one contraction. I was surprised when they said I was done. I almost didn't believe them but then I saw my beautiful Abigail. I had actually asked to be induced on day 3 of her being late as I was hurting and in pain. If I had made it to 41 weeks they were going to induce me anyways due to risks for both me and the baby. I prayed about it a lot and finally felt being induced was the right thing for me.

 

We had Jared's brother Jason and his wife Deirdre there with us and Madison (one of my young women from WA who is here in Utah too). They were helping to wrangle Benjamin and Elizabeth. They actually got them to sleep which was great. Benjamin and Elizabeth fell asleep and were left in the room when Abigail was born. My amazing Dr. (Sarah Andrews...that is a fun story of finding her about two weeks before my due date and I am so glad that I did!) thought it was so cute how they were asleep through the whole thing. It didn't last though. With Abigail's crying they did wake up.

 

After Abigail was born I was finally able to hold Elizabeth again which is all she wanted but holding her with the IV in my arm made me nervous. I cuddled with her for a bit though which helped to calm her back down. I tried to hold her during labor but I could only do it for so long and not the way she wanted to be held.

 

I am so grateful to be a mother of 3 beautiful and amazing children. Elizabeth and Abigail are barely 17 months apart but I know it will all work out. Benjamin and Elizabeth are still adjusting and I know it will take some time for them but I am excited to see their relationships blossom.

Quick Recap and Arches National Park

It's been 3 in a half months since I last wrote a blog! I've thought of writing many times but it has fallen to the back burner with so many things going on. Quick summary my husband was accepted to BYU in Provo, Utah and so with that we moved to Provo. We moved this summer at the beginning of August. Moving is a lot of work and when you have kids it is even more work. We are still working to unpack but the basics are pretty much out and so we are able to function.

Being 35 weeks pregnant I only have so much energy to do anything each day. I've been blessed to have my job at Microsoft (through Accenture) continue on with me while living here in Utah. So not too much has changed for me in that I work my day, while raising our two kids and trying to keep the house maintained. I have my good days and I have my bad days. Thankfully the kids have adjusted to our new home very quickly and are having fun.

 

See what I mean! A ball of energy!
No problem running up the stairs!

About two to three weeks of living in Utah we went over to the Arches National Park for a day trip and had a great time. We left in the early early morning hours to be sure to get there early enough to beat the heat. It was a good thing as I couldn't do too much once I got hot and even the kids became a little sluggish. The park was beautiful and even just driving through parts was amazing. We saw license plates from all over the country (we so could have played the license plate game and got most of them).

Daddy kept a tight grip on Benjamin
here. Behind them is a straight drop
off. One of the few times I really do
worry about my son getting hurt.

Benjamin had a blast! He is just one great ball of energy that is hard to keep up with at times. With going so early in the morning we hope the kids would sleep. Ha! Benjamin stayed awake for most of the drive over kicking Daddy in the back of the seat, flapping his arms in excitement and babbling non-stop. He knew we were going somewhere and anytime we leave at odd hours or pack up a bunch of stuff he knows we are going to have an adventure.


We found our favorite arch with the kids was in this canyon where it was shaded, breezy, and had lots of beautiful red sand for the kids to play with. I was reminded again that Benjamin gets his adventurous spirit from no less than his Father. Daddy decided to climb up on top of one of the arches just for the heck of it. He almost made it to the top when some people showed up so he got down so he wouldn't ruin their pictures. He climbed a few other places and Benjamin was bound and determined to not be left behind. Elizabeth and I were content to be left behind and just chill and play with the sand.

FYI...this park is not meant for strollers. We ditched it.

Mommy, Elizabeth and Benjamin under Sand Dune Arch.

Daddy getting up to climb on top of Sand Dune Arch. Getting up there was easier than getting down.

Daddy climbing other areas just because he can!

Benjamin just wanting to keep up with Daddy!

Elizabeth so happy and content to play with sand and rocks!

Double Arch

It was a long day but one that was definitely worth it! Everyone had a great time and it was wonderful to witness the beauty of the earth that we live on that God created for our enjoyment.

Craving's at 10pm

So yesterday my back was hurting so when I got home I crawled in bed and laid there for about 5 hours. I rested on and off once Jared laid down with me. Something about having him there makes me relax yet I don't always like sharing the bed with him. Anyways so that's about 5 hours of no eating also. Jared asked me while I was still waking up what I wanted to eat for dinner and I just was too out of it to even tell if I was hungry.

I finally realized I was hungry at about 9:35pm and so I grabbed a yogurt. I was still hungry so I looked through the fridge for quick easy food and found nothing. I was so frustrated. I didn't want to spend 30 minutes or even 15 cooking something when it was time to go to bed. So I asked Jared if we could go pick something up. And of course living where we live at 10pm means your options are only one place or driving 15 minutes to the next town. So McDonald's it was.

On our way back to the house Jared tells me that this counts as running out for a craving which I disagreed with but I will give it to him. I finally had a craving for something and made us leave the house at a very late hour (at least for us).