September

Catch up time again! September seems so long ago. A month of big changes! We were getting settled in with our new baby after all our help had left, and at the same time, getting ready to move. 

A few weeks after Bennett was born, Rob received an opportunity for a new job in University Place with our good friend Nathan Otto. We spent a few weeks trying to decide whether to accept it or not. We were nervous about a lot of things, and wary of making such a big change right after having a baby. But, the timing was good; our lease was ending at the end of September and the owner of our house was selling, so we were going to have to move either way. We ultimately decided to take the risk and move to University Place! (The move was only about 40 minutes away from our old house, but we wanted to live close to his new job since he has long lunch breaks to come home for).

So, September was an awkward "transition" month, with Rob commuting and being gone long hours and me slowly packing and cleaning our house. We managed to do some fun things in the midst of it all, though! Here are some pictures.

We finally went to Northwest Trek in Eatonville. The boys loved the tram ride and seeing all the bears and bison and other Northwest animals!

Checking out the owl in the window of that little barn

Tiny Bennett liked this little outing

Tram ride

One night while I was talking on the phone, Collin came into our room and made our bed for us, and was SO excited to see our surprised reactions! He did this a few nights in a row and was so proud.

Elliott and Bennett

This was my favorite little church outfit for him! Two people gave him this same outfit at his baby shower (Kari and Sam) and he was perfect in it!

Hanging out

Snuggle time with Truman and Elliott. I think I took this picture to show Diana how much we love this quilt she made for us! It's our favorite.

Swaddled newborn

Collin turned 5! We filled his room with balloons, and then I woke up in the morning to the sound of him popping them with a thumb tack. He was really excited to pop all those balloons, so I guess they served their purpose!

Last balloon popped!

He insisted that he wouldn't be 5 until he blew out five candles. So, we added candles to his chocolate chip waffles with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and sprinkles. Birthday breakfast of champions. After he blew out the candles and I told him he was 5 now, he looked down and said, "Oh, I'm too big for this shirt now."

Elliott was very distraught when I then gave him his waffle without a candle and "Happy Birthday" song. So, he got one too. Collin didn't mind sharing his spotlight.

Even though Rob was at work, he left clues for a birthday treasure hunt for the boys to do! 

Treasure found!

He chose Lego brownies for his birthday treat that evening! This boy loves Legos!

Legos, puzzles, and art stuff. . . all this kids needs.

Sweet Bennett smiles

Just a little snapshot memory of my daily life. 

Getting out of this bed of snuggly children in the morning is the hardest thing ever!

Our boys' first trip to Krispy Kreme in Tacoma one day when we went searching for a house. Little did we know this would be the first of many Krispy Kreme trips!

Bennett and Aurora

Moving adventures to follow!

August

 (But first a few July pre-Bennett pictures I forgot to post!)

Rob took the boys on a Father/Son campout at the field behind our Stake Center. He said they all had lots of fun sleeping in the tent and eating breakfast in the morning!

Morning pajama snuggles are the best.

Grandma and Grandpa came with Lindsey and her kids the week before Bennett was born. We went to the zoo together, went to a movie, and went swimming at their motel. I took no pictures except these ones of the silly string fight they had in the backyard. 

And now on to August after Bennett came home from the hospital!

We were so spoiled to have family visiting the first three weeks home from the hospital. We still can't believe that my sisters and parents were willing to travel to help take care of us all. They made us food (better than anything I usually make!), let me get out of the house, let me sleep, and helped with the big boys who were a little extra crazy with everything going on. It really made our first few weeks home a lot easier, and helped me to focus on Bennett. 

If I can end up getting Lindsey's pictures of her family while they were here, I'll add them. I didn't take many when Danielle or my parents were here either. I don't know what I would have done without help those first weeks. Bennett had a couple of appointments, I was recovering and spending a lot of time nursing, and Lindsey, then Danielle, then my parents pretty much took care of everything else. I was also really glad the boys got a chance to spend time with their aunts, grandparents, and some cousins. It was also nice that the boys got to get out a few times. Danielle took them to a movie one day, my parents took them to a beach and the Children's Museum, along with some park trips. Another highlight from when my parents were here was the chance for Rob and I to go on dates almost every night! We brought Bennett of course, but he pretty much slept the whole time. We went to Red Robin one night, walked around the mall and got a Cinnabon one night, and went to Yeti Yogurt another night. At Yeti, when we went to pay, the cashier told us that the woman who had just left had bought us a $10 gift card, for being "new parents." :) So nice!

Matching stripes

We got to see Meagan and Spencer before they flew out! 

Danielle was the baby whisperer.

Collin asked to hold Bennett whenever he got the chance.

Tummy time for everyone

Truman and Bennett

I don't remember what it was that I put on top of the fridge that Elliott wanted, but I was amused by his determination in trying to get it. 

Dogpile! (I think that's Elliott on the bottom)

This baby is just the sweetest! He has been an amazing nighttime sleeper since day one, and hardly cries.

Bennett was blessed by Rob on August 23rd. It was a special day and a wonderful blessing. We were glad so many family members and friends were able to come for it! In the circle were Bennett's dad, Grandpa Grothaus, Grandpa Grimmer, Uncle Reuben, Great Uncle Ron Berg, Nathan Otto, and Matt McMullin, and Trevor Dyer from the bishopric.

Our family with G&G Grimmer

Grimmers and Ottos

With Reuben, Dana, and baby cousin Sam

Beautiful baby boy

First family picture

G&G Grothaus

After blessing day, eveyone left and we started our first week without help. We kept things simple, didn't really make plans to go anywhere, and enjoyed getting back into real life with our new baby.

Collin is such a great helper. I took this picture one day when I asked him to sit by Bennett while I took a quick shower. He pulled up a chair and watched him the whole time. He takes his protective big brother role seriously and just adores Bennett!

Rob turned the big 30 on August 27th! He worked all day, but we celebrated in the evening with homemade biscuits and gravy for dinner and a key lime coconut cake that the boys helped me decorate. 

C,E,T

Truman and Bennett

Had to use up Rob's birthday coupon to Cold Stone! These three sure love ice cream.

Bennett

We have four kids! That number just sounds crazy, but adding Bennett to our family has, so far, been a smooth transition. I need to write about his birth while it's still fresh in my mind!

Bennett's due date was Sunday, August 2nd. We kept hoping it would be July, though. He had measured a little big at all his ultrasounds, and I thought he may have actually been due a few days earlier. 

39 weeks. My pregnancy was great. I got a little uncomfortable near the end, with my feet swelling pretty bad, but that was about it. I did have low blood sugar, which I usually do during pregnancy, and felt like I needed to eat all day long. But no morning sickness, no heartburn, and any hip or back pain was quickly taken care of by my husband :) I felt big, but I'd also been much bigger before. So, no complaints here.

At my 38 week appointment, my doctor mentioned that he was still measuring big (she estimated 8lbs already), so I was starting to get nervous that he would be huge. At my last appointment, at 39.5 weeks, I was dilated 3cm and my doctor stripped my membranes. I'd had this done before, but this time was much more painful. I came home, and a couple hours later, I started to feel sick to my stomach. I went to lie down (Lindsey was here to take care of the boys) and started to feel crampy. I knew that this was something that could happen after having membranes stripped, and assumed it was just that. I also started to feel tired and feverish. I stayed in bed for hours and the stomach pain and crampy feeling came and went.

I continued to feel pain that came and went all evening, and had just a mild fever of about 100. I just felt horrible and too nauseous to eat dinner, so I took some Tylenol and went to bed. 

I woke up at around 1:00 am to strong cramping pain. It felt different from the braxton hicks contractions I'd been having forever, and hardly felt like a contraction at all. My belly didn't really get hard and the pain didn't last very long. With both of my previous pregnancies, I was induced, so I didn't really know what to expect labor to feel like when it started on its own. I checked the clock every time the pain came, which was around every 20 minutes, and tried to rest in between. I did this all through the night, and by around 5:00, they were coming every 10 minutes. They were painful enough that I'd ask Rob to put pressure on my back during some of them, but we still stayed in bed and slept in between contractions until about 7:00. Then we got up and showered and grabbed all the last minute hospital bag items. And I don't know why, but we were still questioning whether it was time to go to the hospital or not. The contractions were still around 10 minutes apart, and only lasted around 30 seconds, but the crampy feeling was more constant so I'd sometimes question if the contractions were actually contractions or just pain from having membranes stripped. Because they still didn't seem to make my belly rock hard! I really didn't want to go to the hospital and be sent home. 

Then, the contractions suddenly started coming every 4 minutes. The pain was strong so we got ready to leave. I said goodbye to Collin, then was saying goodbye to the twins on the stairs when a strong contraction came and I thought I was going to throw up and/or pass out. I suddenly felt rushed, so we got out the door. 

I had 3 or 4 big contractions on the car ride, and each time felt that lightheaded nauseous feeling. I also started to really feel the pain in my back that I recognized from previous labors. I was a little worried that we'd wasted too much time at home and that I'd be too late for an epidural! Rob dropped me off at the emergency entrance at about 9:00, and I was wheeled to Labor and Delivery with Rob running to catch up. They took me straight to L&D triage, and I was just trying to walk around or find any possible position to relieve the pain.

Taking a quick final pregnancy picture between contractions

The nurse quickly checked and told me I was dilated to almost a 6. I asked right away about that epidural! It seemed like we waited around forever to sign all the paperwork and get to my labor room. I held my barf bag close and every contraction made me feel like passing out. Rob rubbed my back and put pressure when I asked. The nurse told me my blood pressure was dropping pretty low during contractions, and that I'd need to have a bag and a half of IV fluids in me before I could get the epidural. She checked again and I was dilated to 7cm. I asked if there was anything I could take for the pain in the meantime, and they gave me a medicine that they said "wouldn't take the pain away, but would take away the edge." I had no idea what that meant, but as soon as it came through my IV, my body felt warm and relaxed and wonderful. My blood pressure went back to normal and I just rested. Finally, around 11:30, I was able to get the epidural, and rest a little more. 

I was in no rush after that, and I felt comfortable and calm. I was dilated to 8cm right after the epidural and knew it would be soon. The next couple of hours passed, and soon enough someone was breaking my water and my doctor was there and it was time to push. It hit me that it was really happening, and I was so excited. It took only about 5 minutes of pushing before our baby was here! We couldn't believe how quickly he came and how perfect he was.

Daddy and Bennett

Sweet new baby

Bennett Alexander Grimmer

July 31st, 2015, 2:43 PM

8lb 4oz, 21.5 inches

He was our first baby whose name we had decided on before going to the hospital. In my first trimester, I spent one day looking at boy names. I just knew that we'd been looking at boy names for years and didn't have any favorites left, and I wanted to find one. I came across Bennett, and it became my instant favorite. It had never been on my "boy name" lists before, but I felt like it just fit. It means "blessed." As soon as we found out our baby was a boy, that was the name that always came to mind when I would think about him. And Alexander is after my middle name (Alexandra), which was Rob's idea.

The morning after Bennett was born, Rob picked up the boys to bring them to the hospital. They were so excited! They were all smiles when I opened the door for them to come in, and the twins kept saying "Baby Bennett!"

Collin is such a sweet big brother, and asks to hold Bennett every day. The first thing he said when meeting him was, "He doesn't have hair like ours."

Elliott loves looking at the baby and helping take care of him.

Truman wasn't so interested in holding him at first, but he loves his baby brother.

Then the twins were more interested in playing in the curtain.

We planned to go home Sunday morning, but late Saturday night, the nurse told us that Bennett had a Coombs positive result on his blood test, which makes him more susceptible to jaundice. He had to spend the night in the nursery under phototherapy lights. His levels were better by Sunday afternoon, so we were able to take him home Sunday evening. He had two more blood tests at his pediatrician's office last week, and his bilirubin levels have fortunately stayed safe.

Ready to go home!

Lindsey and her kids were visiting the weeks before and after he was born, so she was alone with all 7 boys while we were in the hospital! Kyle came on Monday and spent most of the days out and about with his kids, and it was really helpful to have Lindsey here!

Sign made by all the boys

First night home- It felt so good to be back with our boys, watching them all snuggle up to a book like normal while I held our new baby.

Caught a little smile

I am loving this little baby so much! He is just so perfect and tiny and sweet.

First bath

Truman, Bennett, Elliott

"Give him a kiss!"

Elliott and Bennett

Our days at home have been great. The twins are doing surprisingly well with the change, and Collin loves being a helper. It's been so nice having help too! Lindsey was here our first week home, Danielle is here now for week two, and my parents will be here next week. I'm so thankful for all the help with the older boys during this transition, and even feel like I've been getting enough rest! I really have been able to just snuggle my baby and enjoy the newborn stage. We're so happy to be a family of 6 now!