Who is this crazy woman the other small ones call Mom?

So, we have a new baby, and life has gone from busy to wild. I forgot how hard it is to get anything done with an infant, and that includes blogging (This paragraph has taken me 30 minutes to write, for example). I am sure there will be more mistakes than correct parts, since I am holding her while I write.

Jane Katherine was born on June 16th. She weighed 7 lbs 14 oz, and was 20 inches long. Here are a few shots before the delivery. Sean had to take one more picture before I was a normal size again. This is one of only two pictures he got of me - the other was of me in the pool two weeks before I had Jane. Rest assured - that picture has been destroyed.

Since this was a new hospital (I had to ask for directions to the maternity wing), I was a little nervous about the way they did things. Take, for example, the call button.


Does that red button look like an evil viking helmet, or is it just me? Whom does that frightening button summon? I half expected my nurses to run in looking like they were ready to pillage and set fire to the room.

I was also a little suspicious about the table they wheeled in with the green cloth over the top. Why would they need to cover a simple table? The answer? Because it was filled with the kinds of torture devices that only vikings really know how to use (They would also come in handy if I needed to do a craft project and was short a pair of scissors, or ten).


They induced me at 2:00 (bless their hearts - I would still be pregnant), and I had Jane at 4:00. Sean was amazing. I didn't get an epidural, and it turns out that intense pain makes me sweaty. . . really, really sweaty. Sean fanned me with a booklet about hospital procedure for an hour straight. (His biceps are now rock solid).


We could tell almost immediately that Jane had a more moderate temperament than our other two, who tend to be a little rambunctious/high strung (cough of understatement). Its a good thing too, because they love to hold her, kiss her, smother her, love her, make her kiss them, smother her, snuggle with her, smother her.


So, here are a few more pictures of us the past two months. We spent four days in D.C. with my parents, and I will tell you that taking three kids and a stroller on the metro during the morning commute is not an experience that many people live to tell about.



At the entrance to the National Zoo. It is the most beautiful zoo I've ever been to, and I really got to appreciate certain sections in detail since I had to stop twice to nurse as we walked through (the entrance to the ape house is really quite lovely). I was so grateful to have Grandma Kirkpatrick, Uncle Matt, and Aunt Annie to help. We also visited the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, the Capitol, the National Archives, the Museum of Natural History, the Air and Space Museum, and the National Gallery of Art. Anna was really excited to get to see her favorite painting, the only Da Vinci in the U.S. She wanted to look through the rest of the museum before she saw it, so she could "have it fresh in her mind."




We also did a lot of walking around the National Mall. The highlight, of course, was the ice cream vendor, who I suspect followed us around, and sold gigantic "spongebob squarepants ice cream cones!!! - and look, Mom, the eyes are bubblegum!!!! And they have tweety bird!!!!!! Can I get a rainbow one too?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"



Jane, of course, spent most of her time trying to remember the sweet peace of the womb. Find a happy place, find a happy place.




Jane's blessing was right after our return. We had a house full of family, which was wonderful. Grandpa and Grandma Kirkpatrick came back from D.C. with Matt and Annie, Grandpa and Grandma Naef were in Tennessee and they flew in to be with us. Uncle John and Aunt Colleen drove in from West Virginia.




Our second trip with infant Jane was to Oregon for a family reunion with Sean's family. We had a blast, and we especially enjoyed having Sean with us for a week. His work schedule is demanding, and we don't get to see him as much as we used to. He and I really enjoyed ourselves, and of course the kids did with all their cousins, Disney channel 24/7, and a seemingly endless supply of snacks (They have experienced kid heaven, and its been hard going back).They loved going down the river with Dad and Uncle Trevor while Jane and I went shopping.




Our THIRD trip of the summer (and we're taking a fourth this upcoming weekend) was to Philadelphia to see Uncle Dan, Aunt Katie, Uncle Stephen, Aunt Kim, and Independence Hall. We had to leave Sean at home, and I made the six hour drive there by myself, which ended up not being too terrible (hah!).

If anyone is interested in going to Philadelphia with small children, I have knowledge vital to your visit - I can mentally map every single bathroom within a square mile of the Liberty Bell. Three girls, three bladders . . . I fear this will be a common theme in our future trips. (sigh of sorrow for lost hours that could be spent staring googly-eyed at historical monuments) Aunt Katie got to visit Independence Hall with us, and thank goodness she did. Its not easy leaving a tour while dragging three children to the nearest bathroom (which is not so near).

Jane has adapted well and the girls still love her to death two months later. Bless that kid's pea-picking heart; She loves them back.

P.S. Please don't report me to social services for this picture. She doesn't really share a bed with her sisters and the gigantic Mickey Mouse. We are careful parents - we would never let Mickey roll over her in the middle of the night. It is partially posed - we stuck Jane in. The other three snuck into my bed sometime before.