I few pictures to tide you over

I know I am his mother but he is seriously the cutest thing around.

After leaving the house at 10:30 and not getting home till around 6 the dr's were still unsure as to what is the matter with Jacob. After seeing my Dr who was perplexed, as well as the other dr in the office, we were set to a dermatologist. All the dr's in the office thought it strange and were unsure of what to do. After much discussion they decided to lance it and culture it. They also sent us to the lab for bloods work. Then they sent me home with antibiotics just in case. Another little blister popped up late last night then broke on it's own today. I called the on call dermatologist and he looked up Jacobs lab work and it appears that he has a staph infection. So the antibiotics really is all he will need and we should be better soon.

Here is a better picture of what it looked like. Now he looks sad cause he has two big bandages on his face.
His little cheeks are starting to fill out a little bit. You can see the little bump on his head here also. I love when he stretches like this.Jared is such a good big brother. So proud. He walked into the room today and said, "He is just so cute" Yeah we all think so. (and please excuse the messy bed, My energy is focused elsewhere)
Jacob finally got to get dressed in something other then jammies when we went to the Dr's for his first check up. He weighed 8 lbs which is good to only have lost three oz.

His first bath. He didn't get to upset till near the end. He is so long and skinny. I wonder how soon it will be til he fills out.

This is how Jacob is happy to spend most of his time. Bundled up sound asleep.

I do love this sweet little pea.

My baby Unicorn

Last night when we were getting Jacob ready for bed we noticed this little zit looking bump on his forehead.  No big deal but it does seem kinda weird.  By the time we go to bed it is a little bigger and I am starting to feel concerned.  Each time he wakes up in the night I can see the outline of it and it is getting bigger.  By the time I wake up in the morning it looks like this.  Now I am concerned.  The picture is from my phone as my computer will not upload my pictures right now.

I am on my way to the Dr's where I am hoping to find that this is no big deal and I am overreacting.  I really think it is just Jacobs way of reminding me that each child is unique and different and each comes with their own set of learning curves.  Wish me luck.

Life with baby Jacob

My sister went home today and I cried.  She has been helping out so much with my kids that  I have been able to rest and heal and just enjoy this sweet little baby.  I feel so appreciative of the wonderful people in my life who have been so helpful to my and my family.  It is like words just don't say thank you the way I feel it in my heart.  People have brought us dinner every night, my kids are being carpooled, helped with school work, and genuinely loved, my SIL's have helped by making things for the baby, helping pack and get organized, taking and picking up my sister to the airport, and just being a support while life is in a blissful state of change.  How do you adequately express thank you to some one who makes your heart full with gratitude?  If someone figures this out please pass the info along.  I feel like I have said thank you so much lately that I don't want the words to be lost on the hearer.  My heart is full with the love that surrounds me!

Jacob is such a sweet little baby and every day I see something in him that reminds me of a different child.  He is the perfect mix of everyone.  Joseph and Joshua love to come in and just "look" at him.  Holding him is fun but they seem more content to watch me change his diaper or to watch me hold him.    Since I have been hanging out in my room so much I really miss the daily interaction with the kids.  Even though I don't feel fully ready to be the mom of 6 I am ready to try.  I love them all so much and can't imagine who I would be if I didn't have them.  

I have been staring at this precious baby and wondering what it is he will teach me while in this life.  Each child has taught me more then I could have imagined.  With their own individual personalities comes different life lessons I wouldn't trade for anything.  

How to love more freely and fully 

That perfection doesn't come in an instance

To be patient even when you don't want to be

That when you make a mistake you say sorry and move forward

To forgive freely

To listen to what people say

To laugh, even and especially, at yourself

That you can accomplish more then you thought possible

That its OK to set aside the things you have to do and simple play

I could go on and on.  Heavenly Father must have seen that I am stubborn and had a lot to learn. He must have known that these beautiful children were the only way I would humble myself and be open to learn all that he has in store for me.  My life is good, rich, and so very full.

I feel like 2008 was a year of testing and trials and 2009 is my season to enjoy the harvest. This is a beautiful year brought on by the gift of meeting my son.  Jacob I love you dearly already.  I recognize your sweet spirit and feel like we have been reunited instead of meeting for the first time.

Jacob Hyrum

He's HERE! He was born Jan 15th, weighed 8lbs 3 ounces, and was 20 3/4 inches long.

I have posted a bunch of pictures from yesterday for those interested in just pictures. What follows is my birth story so if you want to you can either read it or simply skip down to the cuteness of Jacob.

I was scheduled to be induced originally on the 15th. My Dr thought that the baby would be big since I measured big the whole pregnancy. Planning the induction date also made it so that my sister could get her plan ticket ahead of time and be here to help out.

At my 38 week appointment I was in a lot of hip pain and general discomfort so the doc told me she would induce on the 13th at 8 in the morning. I didn't tell anyone cause I wanted to have this little surprise, my way of pretending I wasn't being induced. Our dear friend "auntie" Delma offered to come over while we were at the hospital. She arrived at 7 in the morning and we were on our way. I was starting to feel a little nervous about labor as we walked into labor and delivery.
My anticipation was quickly turned to disappointment when the head nurse had no record of me on the schedule. I insisted I should be there but she flatly denied my presumption. So I asked her how I should proceed and she rudely said she didn't know and I should just talk to my doctor as though I had made some mistake by showing up!
As we walked to the car I wasn't sure if I should be angry or cry! I sent Ryan into my doctor's office to 'handle' it. The doctor's nurse said that the hospital had called her the day before to say they didn't have room and she had called my old cell number and left a message but didn't hear back so assumed everything was fine. She said she'd get me on the schedule for the next day at 8am again. By the time Ryan got back I was good with it. I had accepted it and decided to enjoy the day. I realized I had one more day before the after pains of birth would be here, so I played with the kids, went out to lunch with my family and just had a great time.
So, Wednesday morning at 6am my cell phone rang. It was L&D and they were letting me know that there was no room in the inn. I laughed. They said to call back at 10am and they'd have more information for me, but that I would be coming in, but they just were not sure when.
At 10 I called and they said they were still full, don't call us, we'll call you... So, I took their advice and called at 2:11! But before then I decided that I wouldn't just sit around. I grabbed my computer and headed over to my SIL Hope's house and hung out with her and worked on some scrap book pages. On my way home I called (2pm-ish).
The nurse at L&D told me that there were two ladies that were 'possibly' in labor and she'd call me back between 3 and 4 to let me know the status. So, at 4, since I hadn't heard from them, I called in again and she let me know they had room but couldn't get a hold of my doctor to find out how they should move forward. So I patiently went to work and called my doctor and she wasn't available. So a few minutes later the hospital called me back and told me it was time to come in. I was shocked. I had accepted that it was probably going to be the next day.
So, we picked up some food and went to the hospital. As we walked up to the hospital Ryan said he had thought that Jacob wouldn't be born on the 13th yesterday when we went in the first time. I had thought that he would be born on the 15th. Even when I had scheduled with the doctor for the 13th I wondered if we shouldn't have kept it at the 15th. Funny how that works!
So, we got to the hospital about 5:45, filled out paper work and got settled into our room. Room number 511. How funny. I just realized that our room number backwards is 115 or 1/15...Jacob's birthday! Anyway, the nurse checked me at 6:30 and I was dilated to 1 1/2 and 20% effaced. As this did not seem like very much I wondered if it would be a long night.

The pitocin was started at 7 and contractions became regular quickly. By 7:30 they were 3-4 minutes apart and gaining in intensity. They never got horribly bad though. This hospital believes that you should get the epidural when you feel like you need it unless your dr states otherwise. So about 9 I let her know I couldn't laugh through them any more and so it seemed like a good time. In the past I am in a lot more pain before they will let me have the epidural and it seems like I am waiting for a long time for the anesthesiologist to get there. He walked in the room within 5 minutes, had me fill out paper work, set things up, and by 9:15 the needle was in.

Again I thought how surreal things felt because it was all going so easily. Here I am in labor just relaxing cause things really went so smooth and easy.

My Dr came in just as the anesthesiologist was leaving. She is single and it was funny to me to watch her act flirtatious with him. I laughed inside. She checked me and at 9:30 I was 2-3 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Yeah. Things were progressing. She decided to brake my water. Ryan and I relaxed and watched some tv. I was excited to get to watch American Idol. I love that show. I was so tired and was drifting in and out of sleep.
At 11 they checked me again and I was told not much had changed. I decided to go to sleep since I had no idea how long of a night it would be. At 12:30 I woke up to pressure. I debated if I should call the nurse. It seemed to soon to be anything real. I was glad I decided to because when she checked me she laughed and said, "oh baby's right there" I woke up Ryan and my Dr was called. They preped the room and me. After a few pushes out came this beautiful little guy. He let out one little cry instantly and they placed him right on my chest.
What a wonderful sound his cry was! At this hospital they let him stay with me for over an hour before they weighed and measured him. They cleaned him while I held him. It really was the best! He nursed right away and he is just such a sweet content baby. He didn't cry when they changed his diaper, bathed him, or when they gave him a poke with the needle. He doesn't even cry when he wants to nurse. He just roots until I feed him.

Weighing in at 8lbs 3 ounces
Sweet Jacob fingers.
Being born takes a lot out of a little guy.
Proud Papa
"1,2,3,4...My Turn!"
Joshua is so excited to be a big brother. He gets so excited every time he sees Jacob. He calls him 'baby' and loves to hold him. In fact, he cries when he doesn't get a second turn!

Check out that hair!Imagine the fun these three will have together!

Joseph is so loving. He says, "I'm going to wash my hands so I can pet the baby!"
Grandma Chapman & Sarah enjoying Jacob. I don't have a picture of Emma & Jared holding the baby yet. They were so excited to hold Jacob they beat the camera getting out.

The nurses and doctor seemed to respect our 'expertise' in the birth since this was our sixth. They seemed to be less pushy than past doctors and nurses. In fact they were so confident in us that we were in and out in less than 24 hours. Jacob was just 13 hours old when we came home!

We just feel so blessed to have this little boy in our home! After five children it's still a wonder and miracle. He has a unique little look and personality at day one!

Yes...

...I am still here and still pregnant. I was pleasantly surprised at church today when very few people asked the dreaded question. I did hurry to class as to avoid the hall room banter. I was laying down the other day trying to take a much needed nap when I could hear the kids playing. I just felt such excitement for Jacob to become part of our family and part of the play. The kids are all so anxious. Sarah and Jared heard Ryan and I talking about the full moon last night and tonight. I have always wondered what that has to do with women supposedly going into labor so I looked it up. What I found was that the pull of the moon has a similar affect to the water in our bodies as it does to the ocean. Thus cause women who are close to labor their water to brake. I was fascinated and looked up when the full moon was when Joshua was born and it was the night my water broke. Kinda funny. Back to the kids. They wanted to know what it meant to have your water brake and I explained it to them. They thought it was interesting to know the baby surrounded by a bag of water. Then Sarah, being my analytical thinker asked how I knew when my water broke. I didn't anticipate that question so I simply told her you get wet. She was confused I could tell. How much detail do you give children? I never know.

We were talking to Joshua about Baby Jacob today and Ryan asked him where Jacob came from and with a confident mile he said, "Santa Cause and princesses." Who knew? Wouldn't a visit from Santa be much easier then labor and pregnancy? Funny kid.

Emma was holding her baby nephew Easton the other day and on the way home she said, "I can't wit for Jacob to be born cause all I want is to hold my own baby." She is so loving I can just imagine the fights we are going to have oer who gets to hold him and how often. I am usually so protective of my babies. I want to hold them all the time and I worry when kids hold them. What if their arm slips and they drop them? I realized though that my older kids really are old enough to get to hold baby. What a strange thought. On that note Jared asked me the other day how old he will be when he is a freshmen and when I told him he said,"only 4 more year" Yeah that was a weird thought for me. It took me back to think I will have a high schooler? I remember high school all to well and that kinda scares me.

My thoughtful SIL Allie threw me a baby shower on Thursday. It was so much fun. Yes this is baby #6 and I don't "need" anything. But it was great to get together and celebrate baby Jacob and his soon to be arrival into our family. I did in fact get things I forgot I needed like a nose sucker, diapers, nursing cover, shampoos and lotions, baby mittens, bottles for when he is older, sippy cups and more. I guess after doing this so many times I don't worry so much about if I have what I need. I have not even packed my hospital bag cause I know the only thing I really need is the camera. Anything else Ryan can come back for. I also got so much fun clothes! I let Sarah and Emma come to the party and they got to open the presents for Jacob. They were a little faster then I would have been and sometimes I would have to tell them to slow down so I could see what it was before they moved on.

We are having way to much fun!

At one point Emma said with a very flat tone, "oh yeah more clothes." Not sure what she was hoping for?

A few people even thought to get presents for the children. I thought this was so awesome. They got two games and a puzzle. As soon as I got home I put them in the closet up high and when I am in the hospital or when I get home I will get them out for them so that they will have something new to entertain them while I am healing. I am going to do this from now on. Love it!

Allie played some very creative games. The first one you had to fill in the missing word in the nursery rhythm. I was surprised at how few I knew. Sarah got a ton right. She was almost the winner. The next game was a ton of fun and I was horrible at it. It was baby prices right. She had this huge basket full of baby supplies.

It is the basket on the right Whoever guessed the closest price with out going over got a point. I was so off on everything. I was really impressed with some of these girls. When the game was over Allie gave me all the stuff plus the cutest basket. Allie your the best to throw me this party. I really had a great time!

Here are all the wonderful people who came to give me and baby love and support. As well as some good laughs.

And seriously... Look at all this stuff people showered Jacob and I with. This will be one stylin little boy!

How adorable is this carseat cover my SIL Hope made. I knew she was making it and I was so excited to actually see it. I woke up in the morning feeling excited!

She also made a nursing cover. Here I am trying it out. I look so tired
this blanket (The picture does not do it justice. It has soft green material on the back and as binding and I am so excited to have him use it! She is still is also going to make him a hoodie towel, his blanket for his room, and the baby moses cover. Everything for baby has gotten much more stylish.

My next post will be all about the arrival of Baby Jacob. Wish me luck that all goes well! And any prayers you want to send my way would be appreciated as well! Labor dust to me!

Yes it's offical...

...I have lost my mind. I am totally excited about it but I think I am crazy for it. What you ask? We are moving 2 weeks after the baby is due. It was an unexpected opportunity I could not see passing up. We will get to live in the house Ryan grew up in. Our cost will go down tremendously each month. We will have an enclosed back yard. The layout of the house makes sense. (where we are now is very strange to me.) We will live up the street from my in-laws. It is smaller then we are used to but I am kinda excited to be close to my children and be able to hear them play. Plus that means less to clean. The kids bedrooms are downstairs which is a plus cause then I can put a gate on the stairs and not have to worry to much about where the crawling baby is. We will live at the end of a culd-a-sac so the kids can ride bikes and scooters again. All in all I am totally excited.

The down side? Moving! And I will miss my young women from church so much. I have loved working with the youth and that is so sad for me to leave them! Oh I thought of another plus, being occuppied with the move helps me not feel so anxious for the baby to come. I am so busy trying to dejnk and begin to pack there just isn't time for that.