My baby girl is (soon) 8 months!

I cannot believe my little girl is soon 8 months old.  The time has gone by so quickly!  She is definitely not a baby anymore.  She crawls around the floor really quick.  If she wants to get to her brothers' toys even faster, she skips putting her knees up and just pulls herself across the floor.

Two weeks ago she started pulling herself up on our coffee table, but usually fell half way up and bumped her poor chin on the table.  She has learned how to pass that challenge by going for softer items, like the couch or chairs instead, but today, she discovered the excitement of standing by toys!  Her eyes lit up as she crawled around the room and to a new toy!

As far as other updates so I can look back at this and remember the small moments, Olivia is the sweetest baby girl I've ever met.  She is very quiet and never fusses.  If she cries, she wants to eat or sleep.  She's as simple as that!  She spends most of the day just playing and smiling.  She doesn't like to be held to much, especially when people try to pass her around at parties - she'd rather sit on the floor and play with her toys.  She does like people, however, but at her level and with her toys!

This little girl LOVES her big brothers!  She looks up to them so much.  When either of the boys walk into the room, she starres at them and smiles, waiting for a reaction from them.  Elliot can make her laugh by the smallest noise or movement, while Aiden can comfort her with the nicest hugs and kisses!  They are quite the amazing trio who absolutely loves each other!  I can't wait to see how this will continue as they grow up.

Ut på tur, aldri sur!

We brought Olivia on our little hike today and she LOVED it! She slept most of the time, but was really happy during the little time that she was awake. She was so comfortable and absolutely loving the fresh air!!!

Olivia at 5 weeks

Olivia is growing up so fast! She kept smiling and trying to make sounds today.

I was a little late with getting my camera in video mode so I missed her big smiles and trying to talk a lot, but I thought I'd post it anyway so you guys could see how cute she is and how big she's gotten.

Girls Day Out

Olivia and I were having a girls day out with a couple friends and their babies today. I don't dress Olivia up in dresses very often, but decided to today. We met a few friends for lunch, then went shopping for new clothes for her big brothers. I can't wait until she gets older and we can do more shopping together!
P.S. I've tried taking both Elliot and Aiden shopping with me, but they are such typical boys - they only enjoy it if they're bribed with buying a toy! haha

My smiley sunshine!

Olivia is such a little smiler these days! She smiles every time we make silly faces or sounds. It's so cute!!! They are REAL smiles too! :)

I attempted to take a picture while she was laying in my arms. The picture didn't quite turn out but at least you can see one of her little smiles!

Not bad for only 4 weeks

Three weeks old

Olivia is now three weeks old. She's becoming so aware of her surroundings! Her eyes focus really well when she looks at you. If someone walks into the room, her head and eyes move quickly. She seems to follow sounds really well and looks back and forth between people talking around her.

She's an alert little girl. That's for sure!

My three favorite people!

This picture was in the newspaper of my kids. Although the quality isn't that great since it was scanned, I think the picture turned out great! All three of them look amazing!!!

Sleeping baby

Siblings :)

I can't believe it - we now have three kids! I was expecting chaos, noice, and craziness... but so far things are going absolutely wonderful. Elliot and Aiden are proud big brothers who want to hold and cuddle with Olivia anytime they get the chance.

If she cries, they try their best to talk softly to her, sing a song, or kiss her on her cheeks and forehead, while they tell me to hurry up because she wants food or a diaper change. Olivia is so lucky to have such great big brothers. I'm so proud of them!!!

Our princess!

Olivia is only two days, yet so alert! When we talk to her, she looks right into our eyes. When the boys are running around playing, her eyes move quickly around the room to try to figure out where the sound is coming from. It's so adorable! Aww, I love this little girl!!!

Going home to the boys!

Three hours after Olivia was born, I was walking around my hospital room when the Midwife came into my room. She told me that both Olivia and I were doing so well that we would shortly be brought to the "Hotel" part of the hospital (it's part of the hotel so you're on your own but have nurses and dr.'s available nearby if there is anything).

She followed by saying that I will have a room for three nights and can ask to stay longer if I need to after that, but if things continue to go this well, we could also choose to go home as early as the following day! I had always thought we were 'suppose to' stay there for at least two days so I was extremely excited to hear that Olivia and I could go home the next morning!!!

"Did you hear that Olivia? We're going HOME to the boys!!!"

Look at that proud daddy! He was so happy to hear that he could bring home his girls! :)

Olivia slept the whole car ride home without a problem. Isn't she cute??? :)

Our new family member has arrived

Elliot and Aiden now have a baby sister. Olivia arrived Sunday, August 29th at 8:22pm. She was 6.6lbs, 18in. long, and absolutely beautiful!

My due date was that very day. Throughout the past couple of weeks, I had predicted that she would be born either Sunday or Monday. Elliot started first grade last week and Aiden started a new daycare group for the bigger kids so I was hoping our baby girl would wait to arrive so that I could be a part of their first few days at least. She was quite cooperative and did just that! :)

Saturday evening, Aiden and Elliot went to my mom and dad's house to spend the night there. Mike and I had planned a date with good food and a movie to enjoy some time together before our house was filled with three little ones. Sunday afternoon, we headed over to my parents' house to join them for dinner and pick up the boys. During dinner (around 5:30pm) I started to feel a little bit of pain and commented that I had a feeling she'd be coming out that night or next morning. As we were getting Aiden and Elliot ready to head home, we decided my mom should come with us since I'd probably have to head down to the hospital in a few hours. The boys drove with my mom since she had the carseats to drive them to school/daycare the following morning. A few minutes after leaving my mom's house, I started getting stronger contractions. Since Aiden and Elliot were born within just a few hours, Mike and I decided to drive straight to the hospital to check things out instead of wasting time driving the opposite direction to our house only to return in a few hours.

We arrived at the hospital at 7:30pm. I went with Mike to park the car because I wanted to walk and save time from laying on the hospital bed once I checked in. After checking in, the midwife made me comfortable and asked the normal questions to prepare the birth. Our baby was extremely active in my belly and her heart beat was fairly high so our midwife asked how I felt about trying waterbirth to calm the baby and as a pain relief for me (since I didn't want any other sort of pain relief). At 7:50pm, I have on my phone that I sent a text message to my parents to let them know I had arrived, was going to give waterbirth a try, and that I was 5cm dilated already! The bathtub wasn't even filled up halfway when the midwife told me this was going to happen so fast, I wouldn't make it into the tub. I had a few painful contractions, but with Mike standing next to me so I could squish his hand while he put a cold washcloth on my face, I felt very safe and comfortable. The midwife told me it would go really fast so to relax and breathe slow - and don't start pushing quite yet! On the next contraction, I pointed at the midwife to let her know that plan wouldn't work - my baby was on her way out! At 8:22pm, a beautiful baby girl entered our world with one arm over her head!

The midwife put my daughter on my chest. It was as if this was my first child - the feeling of holding my daughter was amazing! She was beautiful. Tiny. Mine! I was so extremely proud! Her skin color was gorgeous. The midwife even commented that usually the skincolor is darker and more bluish when you've had a couple kids previously, so she was amazed at how gorgeous our daughter's skincolor was, being that it was my 3rd pregnancy. Her eyes were big and blue! She was by far the prettiest girl we had ever seen!

I still can't believe it! Less than an hour after we parked our car, our daughter was born. The birth was a dream! It was absolutely perfect and I couldn't have asked for anything better. The midwife was amazing and so positive, and last but not least, Mike's support is what got me through it all without a moment of hesitation! He knew exactly when to comfort me, what to say, and what I needed to feel safe! He was amazing!

I am so content right now. I'm in love with the best guy and I have three beautiful kids who I couldn't be more proud of! I couldn't be any happier than I am right now, at this very moment!

It's my original due date TODAY!

Yup, that's right... When I first found out I was pregnant, I was given TODAY as my due date! After the ultrasound, the date was changed to the 29th, which is still another 5 days away. Either way, the past 9 months have gone by incredibly fast and we're ready to meet our new family member whenever she decides to come out.

Aiden and Elliot are especially anxious. They keep hugging my belly, singing songs and talking to their sister, and asking A LOT of questions. It will be so great when she finally decides to join us. I can't wait to see the 3 siblings interact and get to know each other.

I feel so blessed today. Anyday now, we will meet our little princess!

Update after my hospital appt.

I forgot to write an update blog yesterday after my hospital appointment, so here it is...

Apparently, our baby girl is an active gymnast and is not planning on stay in one position until she's ready to come out. Wednesday night, after my doctor's appointment, she moved more than ever and it looked like I had a rollercoaster inside my belly. I couldn't keep track of what was her head, her butt, or her feet kicking at me. I just felt movement everywhere and in every direction! It turned out she had moved around enough so that her head is now facing downward again, so things are good and there is no need to worry! :)

Phew! I wasn't sure whether to worry or not up until this point, but now I'm just glad I can continue with my pregnancy as I had hoped. Giving birth to Elliot and Aiden went fairly well and I managed without using any sort of pain relief, so lets just hope this will be a decent one as well! :)

Transverse lie... huh?

I had a normal doctor check up this morning, but came home with news that I wasn't so sure about. My doctor told me that our baby was in a "transverse lying position" so I have to go into the hospital tomorrow morning to do an ultrasound and see how things are with our baby. I'm not really sure what to think about this one. I'm not nervous or stressed, but maybe I should be? I mean, if she is lying the wrong direction, they'll just turn her or I'll have a C-section, right? That can't be so bad, can it? Or can it?!?

In some ways I think I'd like having a C-section. I would have complete control ahead of time. I would know the date I'd give birth. I could plan babysitters for Aiden and Elliot. I could be so much more prepared ahead of time.

But wait, I'd also have to stay at the hospital longer, which I'm definitely not a fan of. I want to get home to my family as soon as I can! I also don't want a scar that I have to worry about for a longer period of time. I don't want to miss out on having my baby girl with me after she's born because they have to 'clean up' after the surgery.

I'm not so sure about this... I don't know what I should think... And I don't really know who to ask for advice or an opinion. I guess I'll just wait and see what tomorrow has in store for me...

Preparing for a little sister

A friend of mine visited us at our camper this weekend. She brought along her hubby, her 2-year-old daughter, and her itty bitty little baby who was only a few weeks old.

Elliot was in heaven! He couldn't stop starring at the baby, checking out his tiny fingers and toys, holding up toys in front of him, and asking question and question about him. When my friend asked if he wanted to try holding him, his face lit up! He had the biggest smile on his face and started giggling. He jumped into one of the chairs and had the cutest - both excited and nervous - expression on his face.

It took a minute to get the baby settled comfortably into his arms, but after that, both Elliot and little Nicky seemed very content!

Elliot got to hold him a couple more times throughout the day and couldn't stop talking about babies after they left. He's extremely excited for his little sister to arrive now, and will do an excellent job as a big brother!!!

Today's facebook status

This morning I posted the following status on facebook:

"... just realized I've officially started my maternity leave! :) This means I'm home for about a year (with pay!) starting today! Aww, I ♥ living in Norway!!!"

I got a lot of comments on it, but the ones from friends in the States really caught my attention. Here are a couple of them:

- That's it I'm moving! Enjoy and let us know when little miss arrives!

- U r SO lucky! I don't get any paid time off :(

- Holy moly!!! I want to move there!!

- MAN! I think i may need to immigrate!

- Jealous! Wish that I could have done that!!

- you are so lucky, and your family is so lucky to have you around for the next year to be a great mommy!!!

- I can't believe that. I got eight weeks of my own saved up vacation time...

It may sound pathetic, but this facebook status made my day. It made me realize how lucky I am and how much I appreciate living in Norway. I obviously knew I was starting my maternity leave, but I forgot what a privilege it is that I get to stay home so long... with pay, that is!

I had planned to enjoy my year, but now I will appreciate it just that much more!!!

Maternity leave has begun!!!

It just hit me - I've officially begun my maternity leave now!

That means about a year to:

- spend quality time with our soon-to-be-born daughter

- be home to greet Elliot and Aiden after school/daycare

- watch Mike enter the door with our kids jumping into his arms

- stop by my parents' jobs so they can show off their first granddaughter

- have time to do chorus around the house and still have time for R&R

- go on walks with our little one in the stroller

- get together with friends and their little ones

- participate in fun baby/mommy classes

- bring our newborn to work to visit my coworkers

- visit my grandparents so they can 'oooo' and 'aaaa' over their great-granddaughter

- take a nap next to my itty bitty little one whenever we feel like it

The list goes on and on, but simply, I'm just excited to have a year off to be a mom!!!

Eight months pregnant

I am now 35 weeks and a few days pregnant. We went picnicing today and I finally got a picture of myself (which I never do since I'm always the one with the camera). I can't believe how big my belly has gotten, and it will only get bigger the next 4 weeks. Our baby girl is pushing a lot and kicking my ribs quite a bit so it's definitely getting tight in there for her. I can't wait to finally meet her! Only a few more weeks!!! :)