Third week blues

Isaiah is 3 1/2 weeks old. There is something about entering that third week that hits me hard. I have been a big fat crying mess. The past week was just hard. Like, oh-my-goodness-I-have-no-idea-how-to-be-a-mom-to-4-kids, I-need-like-4-of-me hard. 

So I've been just a tad bit emotional and it is very unpredictable what will set me off crying. I know I get like this after giving birth so I was expecting it, but it has still been hard. I know it gets better, but the lack of sleep combined with changing hormones just makes me a mess.

And then I had an infection that made me pretty much unable to do anything but lay on the couch (and cry - I know I'm a big baby) for three days. I had a fever and the chills. One afternoon I was just so cold that I turned the heat WAY up in the living room and soon Joel and all the kids were sweating and shedding clothes. So Joel (very nicely) asked me to go to our bedroom and turn the heat on if I wanted to sit in a sauna. And so I went to our room and sat in front of the heater and -wait for it - started crying. Yes. I did. I cry when my very sweet and reasonable husband asks me to leave the room to keep himself and the kids from passing out from heat exhaustion. But you know what? Joel found me blubbering in front of our space heater and said, "Honey, I'm so sorry, come back to the living room, we'll turn the heat back on, I don't want you to be all alone back here." So he brought me out to the living room and all the kids took their shirts off and I sat huddled next to the heater with about 10 layers on. Oh, the things my husband does for me! Now that is true love, my friends.Then in a few days I got better. The end. 

But anyway, all that to say I am feeling in better spirits this week. I'm trying to soak up as much of this newborn stage as possible. With Colson and Vienna I remember being so excited for the next stage (sleeping through the night, smiling, crawling, walking, etc) that I missed out on enjoying the stage they were in. So I'm doing my best to remember that these sleepless nights and lots of crying (from me, that is, not Isaiah) won't last forever and I'm trying to snuggle Isaiah as much as I can. Yes, that means my house hasn't really been cleaned in 3 1/2 weeks, and you know what, that's okay! He will only be little once and I don't want to miss out on it.

The view from here

Getting ready to go on our first outing. And where were we going? Why to the American Consulate, of course, to apply for Isaiah's passport and birth certificate. Isaiah is pretty big stuff, he has important places to go and people to see. And can I just say how much I LOVE the moby wrap? I wear Isaiah in it all the time and he loves it. I actually found instructions on how to make it online and Joel made it for me. My husband is awesome like that - and pretty crafty too, which I am not at all! Sorry ladies, he's taken!

I love this picture of all my boys. They are the best!

Yohanis and Colson just love Vienna so much! She's one lucky girl, she has two amazing big brothers that look out for her and take care of her!

I just love this picture. And I still can't get over Yohanis' smile. He just has the BEST smile. And I love when he smiles so big that his nose crinkles!

Vienna has been an amazing big sister to Isaiah. She is always asking to hold him. And she has been so helpful with throwing away diapers for me or bringing me other things I might need. She's just been super helpful and I'm so proud of how she's handling the change of having a little baby brother that gets lots of attention.

Feeling blessed

Having a baby in a foreign country (and far away from my mom who was such a big help after my other kids were born) was quite a big, scary thing for me. 


But I've experienced God's provision in so many ways through Isaiah's birth. 


First of all, our midwife, Thalia, was ah-mazing! She not only was helpful at Isaiah's birth, but after as well. She got up many mornings and got breakfast for the kids so Joel and I could both get some extra sleep. She made sure I  took it easy the first week and got plenty of rest. I may or may not have even been scolded for trying to do a few dishes :)

She spent a lot of time with Yohanis, Colson and Vienna and made each of them feel so special. They all loved going on walks with her, and she spoiled them with lots of new crayons, coloring books and even candy. Even though my own mom couldn't be here, in so many ways I felt like Thalia filled in that role. She was such a blessing to us and we got to know her a lot better during her three weeks here and we're all missing her. The kids especially miss their "Thalia Abla."

 
We have had lots of visitors and people dropping off meals since Isaiah was born. My sister has been a HUGE help - from making meals to taking some of the other kids to her house to play - she's been awesome! 

And here's some pictures of our friends meeting Isaiah:

We are so thankful for special friends that have made us feel so loved and cared for even when we're so far from home!

I'm so in love . . .

. . . with this little guy!

Isaiah's birth story

I want to write this down before I forget all the details. So here goes. . .

I first started having contractions early in the afternoon on Thursday, November 10th. I just thought they were Braxton Hicks contractions because they didn't hurt and they would come and go. I walked the boys to school like I normally do and then put Vienna down for a nap when I got home. I also climbed in bed and rested for a little. I didn't have any more contractions for a few hours so I thought that was it. 


Joel and the boys got home from school a little after 5 and then our midwife, Thalia, shooed us out the door so we could go on a date. We ordered some pizza for her and the kiddos to be delivered to the apartment and then we hopped on a dolmus (a shared taxi) and went to find some dinner for ourselves. We ended up also eating pizza since a Little Caesar's opened up near us and we wanted to try it. Turks really aren't great at making pizza and we've really missed good pizza. Turns out Little Ceasars wasn't so bad. We ordered our pizza and took it to the park to eat. I was having some contractions during all this, but still not too painful. 

After we had finished eating our pizza, we decided to go home since the contractions were coming closer together and getting more uncomfortable. We got back on a very crowded dolmus and headed for home. Right after we got off the dolmus I had another contraction that was very painful and I had to stop and breathe through it. Then we continued walking back to the apartment. Thalia and the kids were surprised to see us home so soon, and they were actually still finishing up their pizza. They had spread out a picnic blanket on the floor to eat and the boys were having fun putting as much ketchup and mayonnaise on their pizza as they wanted (just like the Turks do). 


The kids watched a movie and I kept track of my contractions, about every 10 minutes lasting around 30 seconds. Around 8:00 we got the kids ready for bed, read to them, sang with them and prayed with them. They all laid hands on my belly and prayed for me and the baby, it was so sweet. Then we tucked them in bed and my contractions started getting more painful and were coming about every 5 minutes.

Smiling between contractions - my last pregnant picture, taken a few hours before Isaiah was born.

After we got the kids to bed, I was pretty uncomfortable so I took a warm shower and it felt good to have the water running on my back. Joel was also amazing and would rub my back and pray for me through every contraction. 


Around 8:45 Thalia checked me and I was 5cm. It felt good to know I was halfway there, but I thought it would be the middle of the night before our baby came. Things kept moving along though and around 10:15 I felt so much pressure and told Thalia I felt like I needed to push soon. She checked me again and I was 9 cm. Soon after that my water broke and then I was ready to push. I pushed through two contractions and then he was here - born at 10:29pm! Right away I heard Joel say, "Honey, it's a BOY!" We were so surprised, but thrilled. I just thought it was so funny because we had absolutely NOTHING ready for a boy (Isaiah's first pictures are with a pink hat on). Thalia handed Isaiah to me right away and what an amazing feeling it was holding my son! I got to nurse him right away and after a little Thalia weighed and measured him - 8 pounds 13 ounces and 21 inches long, my biggest baby!


The whole birth experience was by far my best. It was painful, but it was so quick! I loved being able to labor and deliver in the comfort of my own home (Vienna's birth was also great, but it was at a birthing center rather than at home. And Colson was born in a hospital). It was an incredible experience and little Isaiah couldn't have come at a better time. Over the summer when we were talking everything over with Thalia, we weren't quite sure when to book tickets for her, but everything worked out perfectly and Isaiah arrived right in the middle of her time here. I'm also thankful he came at night and the kids were able to stay at home, they actually slept through the whole thing (just two doors away) and when they woke up the next morning they got to meet their little brother. We have that on video, and it's just so cute! 

We're so thankful for God's provision for this birth and that everything just went so perfectly. We feel so blessed by our sweet little Isaiah!


Now for some more recent pictures of our little man


The proud big brothers and sister . . .

Love love love him!

So cute!

I still can't believe I have four kids!!

He's here!

That's right . . . HE is here! Isaiah Jace Hildebrand arrived on November 10 at 10:29 pm, weighing in at 8 pounds 13 ounces and 21 inches long! He was quite the surprise, since we were expecting a baby girl, but what a fun surprise it was! All we had to dress him in was pink until I got Colson's old baby clothes washed the next day :) Here's some pictures for now. I will try to post more of the birth story soon!

Just perfect!

A few minutes after he was born, rockin' the pink hat :)

Love him!

Our amazing friend and midwife, Thalia. She is the best!

Proud Daddy

The next morning the kids got to meet their little brother for the first time . . .

Aunt Melanie

September and October in Review

- We went to the beach with our good friends in the middle of September for the last time till next summer. It was windy and a little chilly, but that didn't stop our kids from swimming! Especially Yohanis, he LOVES the water!

Yohanis with his good friend Emre

There is never a dull moment with Vienna!

I LOVE the beaches here! Just beautiful!

The little lady with her Daddy

- Yohanis has been home for 9 months now, I can hardly believe it! It has been an amazing, but in some ways hard, 9 months. Yohanis is doing so well, seriously this kid handles everything like a champ! He is the sweetest little boy who has such a big heart. He is constantly doing things to surprise me, like making his bed or cleaning up toys before I even ask him to. He loves to help out and he goes about his day with such a huge smile on his face.  We always get comments on what a big smile he has, you will rarely see him without one. We are beyond blessed that Yohanis is our son. Cute story: the other day I was telling Yohanis how I always check on him and cover him up before I go to bed. He was surprised and looked at me and said, "Mommy, I'm going to wake up when you cover me because I want to see you. I love you so much!" Talk about melting my heart! Love this little boy! And I LOVE seeing the relationships between him and Colson and Vienna deepening. The three of them have so much fun playing together. Sometimes Vienna and Colson actually fight over who gets to play with Yohanis (yes, he's that much fun!). Yohanis loves to play cars, wrestle and run all over the house with Colson, but he will also spend time with his little sister playing babies with her or helping her cook in her play kitchen. He is a very good big brother to both of them!

 

- We enjoyed carving a pumpkin the other night with the kids. Then we roasted the pumpkin seeds with a little salt and butter, so yummy! Then we cooked and pureed all the pumpkin and now we have a bunch in the freezer. This week I've already made pumpkin cookies and pumpkin cheesecake. Anyone want to share some other pumpkin recipes with me?

- My belly keeps growing! I'm just about 39 weeks pregnant now. My midwife arrives on Wednesday and we're so excited for her to come! This pregnancy has been hard physically and emotionally and I'm ready for it to be over and finally get to meet my little baby girl! The kids love to feel her move (she is the most active baby EVER in the womb!) and give my belly lots of kisses.

- We celebrated Yohanis' 6th birthday on October 19. He got to celebrate at school (Vienna was even allowed to come for the afternoon) and eat lots of cake.  Then we celebrated together with a special dinner that Yohanis picked (cheeseburgers and corn on the cob) and homemade cake and few presents at home in the evening. It was a day full of lots of cake!

Yohanis and Colson's kindergarten class

Happy Birthday in Turkish is Iyiki Dogdun, but literally means "it's good that you were born." I like that.

- Okay, I just need to brag on Yohanis for a little here. He is doing amazing at school. He's been going for a month and a half now and when he started he barely knew any Turkish. Now he's saying all sorts of things and he's already made lots of friends. He is very social and enjoys being around other kids. He's already got basic Turkish down. And have I mentioned he's only been speaking English for 9 months and he's practically fluent?! He's such a smart little boy!

- Vienna turned 3 on October 20th (right after Yohanis' birthday). So we had fun celebrating her. Vienna's dinner of choice was homemade pizza and lentil soup.

The birthday girl with her brothers

Her cake topped with bananas and kiwis

The kids had fun helping Daddy tear out the floor in the boys room and put in a new one last weekend.

The finished product! My husband is amazing and has fixed so many things in our apartment.

And now some recent cute pictures of the kiddos . . .

Vienna's all about making faces lately

Love this picture of these two