Let's take our 3 week old on a family trip to Florida. Because, well, we've lost our minds. Actually, I'd been so very disappointed that I had needed to RSVP that we'd be missing my good friend's wedding back in Tampa. It was just too close to Scarlett's arrival for me to commit. However, she was born healthy and I was doing well myself. Bryon had work to do at MacDill, so it all worked out at the very last minute. A handful of plane tickets later and we were back to the heat & humidity of the SUNSHINE state!
We tested ourselves by taking a late night flight (9pm-12am) and boy did we luck out. Scarlett slept from the moment we arrived at Boston Logan until we checked into our hotel in Tampa (thank goodness for direct flights!). Deklan got sleepy less than an hour into the plane flight, placed his head on Bryon's lap and slept until we landed. Maks somehow managed to stay awake the entire flight and car ride to our hotel. For a kid with a 7pm bedtime, staying awake until 1am is pretty impressive. Everybody was asleep within minutes of checking in. Talk about a success!
Kroger party of 5.
I had my hands FULL with a 3 week old, 3 year old and 5 year old in a hotel room while Bryon was a work for a few days. Luckily, we didn't spend much time at the actual hotel. Scarlett is young enough that she was happy to nap in a baby carrier while we were out and about. I knew the area, so it felt like home to visit our favorite parks & splash pads, explore the beach, meet up with old friends and check out some local attractions. While we lived in Tampa, we took a weekly walk to Dough every weekend to get donuts for breakfast. It was the first place we went on our first morning at our old stomping grounds. I didn't know it was possible to get drunk off of donuts, but I'm pretty sure that's what happened to Deklan!
We spent the majority of the day at Ballast Point Park. It was hot outside, and the splash pad made for the perfect way to cool off after running wild on the adjoining playground equipment. The boys loved watching the horses across the street in one direction and walking the pier out into the bay in the other direction.
Napping the day away.
Pure joy.
Scarlett and I hung out together in the shade wherever we could find it! Check out all of those little foot prints from running back and forth to come and tell me how much they love this place!
Scarlett actually fell asleep in the car and there wasn't enough time for a trip back to the hotel before needing to pick Bryon up from his meeting, so we made a pit stop at Red Box and I let the boys watch a movie in the car before we met up with Bryon and took some time to play at another park on base. With the sleep deprivation from the late night before, it was a good idea to give them some quiet time to relax. Next stop was meeting up with an old co-worker and the boys' babysitter at our favorite ice cream/shave ice/gelato joint - Mr. Penguin. To cap off the night, we grabbed some of our favorite Thai food and headed over to Corona Park for visiting & playtime with Air Force friends who are lucky enough to call Tampa/St. Petersburg their forever home. Who'd have thought that I'd still be meeting up with the very first military spouse I met at an Air Force event - a spouses meeting back at OTS graduation. Over the course of 8 years we've met up in Alabama, Texas, Hawaii and Florida; not too shabby!
I can remember when Maks was barely big enough to play in this car!
These spinning seats scare me; Maksim thinks they're great. Seriously, how many kids have you seen spin around and fall (fly) off? ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ONE.
HYDRATE.
Day 2 called for something out of the ordinary: Dinosaur World. I'd never been before, but Bryon had taken Maksim once. Maks remembered every little detail of his prior adventure and was more than enthusiastic to show Deklan every single thing there was to see. I dropped and shattered my phone while juggling all 3 kids at Dinosaur World, so that put a damper on some of our plans while my phone got repaired. We made a quick stop at West Florida Orthopedic Rehab to see my friend & physical therapist (the BEST!), Nita before spending the late afternoon/early evening swimming at the hotel pool with Daddy.
Friday morning we relaxed at the hotel while Bryon ran into the office to wrap his work week up. He picked up my phone on his way back and before we knew it, it was time to drive to the wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony, awesome reception and all around great time. I'm not sure I've ever seen my kids have so much fun in their entire lives. Deklan hit the dance floor the minute the ceremony ended and didn't stop dancing (and taking people's photos) until the very last song was played. Maksim found a friend to run around outside with and I'm pretty sure he clocked up enough mileage for a marathon.
The boys were big fans of these disposable cameras!
Sam takes time to teach Deklan the Cupid Shuffle:
But any sort of dancing is acceptable at the Keyes wedding!
I'm incredibly thankful that were were able to attend, but I'm even more thrilled to have met 2 people as great as Jamie and Sam. Sometimes your path just crosses with the right people and the exact right time - and that's what happened with Sam and I while we worked at the South Tampa Y. I adore this couple, as do my kids and husband (and Kira!). Honestly, I don't know how anybody couldn't love them. Thanks for letting us be a part of your lives; we are happier because of y'all!
The coolest couple. (This blurry photo does them no justice!)
I'm pretty sure Sam would have held Scarlett in the wedding pictures had Jamie allowed it!
Scarlett meets Sam for the very first time.
Some morning after thoughts from Deklan:
Deklan threw an unexpected fit the next day as we were boarding our flight and finding our seats - crying and screaming that he didn't want to leave. Oh man, I feel ya, buddy! It was a quick trip, but worth every single second. We may even be back again in November! As for now, we're home in Boston soaking up the final days of Fall.
Per usual, Scarlett spent most of her first week sleeping. She was a bit fussier than our other two boys, but maybe we're just more tired because we are busy chasing after two big brothers now?
Case in point - swim lessons for the boys when Scarlett was exactly 1 week old. We watched from the windows outside because the chlorine smell was a bit too strong inside the pool area. She passed out in the car afterwards.
The struggle..
...to stay awake...
...is real!
Bryon is allotted 2 weeks of paternity leave, which is such a perk. It's nice to not need to ask him to take vacation time off of work. However, it's not really paternity leave if he spends all of his time working from home, right?! In all honesty, he's a HUGE help and I'd be drowning if he wasn't around as much as he is. We made it through the 2 weeks with him only leaving to fly out of town on ONE trip (and it only lasted 24 hours). However, during that 24 hour trip, Scarlett became irritable and increasingly fussy. I just knew something wasn't right. Each time I would nurse her, she would fall asleep and I'd rock/bounce her in my arms for a good 15 minutes afterwards to make sure she was sound asleep. I'd put her down and she'd be screaming within 5 minutes. This would go on round the clock. One time it took me 5 hours to get her to sleep! On top of that, she would want to nurse CONSTANTLY. Within 5 minutes of finishing a long nursing session, she'd be thrashing about looking for more milk. For the first time ever, I was cracked and bleeding and in a lot of pain - while nursing & afterwards as well. Nursing is always tough the first few weeks, but this was beyond what I remembered enduring prior.
We took her into the pediatrician for her 1 week checkup a day later and I expressed my concerns. She was back up to her birth weight and doing well in all areas. We did notice thrush in her mouth/tongue/cheeks, so quick prescriptions to clear that out (for her any myself) and the pediatrician thought we'd be set.
But things just continued to get worse. I was unable to nurse and resorted to pumping (which I've never done in a cumulative 3 years of nursing my boys). I called up some of my midwife and doula friends and explained the situation on the phone. Every single one of them would ask me if Scarlett had been evaluated for lip/tongue tie. And, of course, she had. The pediatrician at the hospital cleared her when she was born, as well as our primary care pediatrician who cleared her just a few days later. My friends all suggested that I have someone other than a pediatrician evaluate her mouth, just to be safe (a lactation consultant, for example). Too many of my symptoms suggested that the thrush and pain with nursing - as well as the fussy behavior and wanting to constantly nurse - pointed towards a lip/tongue issue.
I went ahead and pulled up some photos online and then took a peek in Scarlett's mouth myself. I noticed that neither doctor had held Scarlett while sitting knee to knee with me and placing her head in his/her lap. As soon as I looked at her upper lip, I knew she was lip tied.
I called the pediatrician and made an appointment for first thing on Monday morning specifically to evaluate for lip tie. Sure enough, when we went to the appointment the pediatrician agreed that she thought Scarlett was lip tied, and possibly tongue tied. She referred me to an ENT asap. Cue my midwife/doula/lactation consultant friends. They all told me to skip the ENT and take her to a dentist instead. I found a local dentist who specializes in lip/tongue ties and had Scarlett in her office by the end of the week. On Friday, Dr. Rosenberg diagnosed Scarlett with a total of 4 ties!!! Her upper lip was tied, she had 2 upper buckle ties and she had a posterior tongue tie. I had the ties cut (with a laser) on the spot and within minutes we were on our way to recovery. We stretch Scarlett's mouth/lips to keep the frenulum from reattaching every 4 hours, round the clock. This will continue for at least a month. We also discovered that there's a genetic component to these issues and Bryon had an upper lip tie. I checked out both boys and the dentist believes they also have lip and/or tongue ties, so those may be getting fixed in the relatively near future as well.
Deklan's heart shaped tip of tongue. BUT LOOK AT THOSE EYES!!!
Deklan's tongue.
Maksim's upper lip.
Here's to hoping we are on the mend. Call us crazy, but we have our first trip to Florida as a family of 5 in just a few days!
SHE'S HERE! And we're all in love. Scarlett Abrielle Kroger, you've stolen our hearts.
Hello, Baby Scarlett! So glad to see you!
Our family grew by another 2 (tiny) feet on the morning of September 16, 2017. Things were unpredictable and spontaneous, which has kind of become our thing. So, it was perfect in its own unique way! Scarlett Abrielle Kroger 9/16/17 @ 6:31AM 8# 13oz (a full pound less than Deklan...and 2#5oz less than Maks!) 19" long (2.5 full inches shorter than her brothers) 14" head (same as Deklan, 1" smaller than Maksim)
Just a few hours old.
Talk about a waiting game. 40 weeks came and went. I was a bit surprised as I was only pregnant with Deklan for 39 weeks, but I was also glad to have both boys get into the groove of full day school before adding a newborn to the mix. Additionally, Maksim was born at 40 weeks and 5 days, so passing my due date didn't make me blink an eye. But before I knew it, 41 weeks passed by. As did another day. And yet another. And even part of a 3rd...
Self explanatory.
41 weeks and (still) counting...
The struggle is real...
41+ weeks pregnant, 90+ degrees, no A/C.
At 41 weeks and 2 days pregnant, I drove to the hospital associated with my birthing center to have an ultrasound to check baby's growth, amniotic fluid levels and the health of my placenta. All was well, and the ultrasound estimated baby #3 to weigh in at 8#13oz (plus/minus 1.5# - so basically anywhere from 7#5oz - 10#5oz. Anybody could have estimated that range without having even seen me!). I continued on with my day and drove to pick the boys up from school. There were only 2 remaining obstacles for me to get through. The first was to go into labor naturally, prior to 42 weeks. Failure to do so would require me to resort to some kind of induction as well as a hospital birth as opposed to labor/delivery at the birth center. The second hoop for me to jump through was to get from 7pm this evening to 7am tomorrow morning. The birth center midwives were short staffed during this particular evening and the working midwives were all scheduled at the hospital for this 12 hour shift. Well, I successfully jumped through ONE of those hoops. Around 10:45pm that evening spotting let me know that my labor was somewhere in the near future. I wasn't too optimistic that I'd have much time, but also knew that labor could be a day or two away (unlikely due to how far along I already was). However, contractions started relatively soon afterwards and I knew this was it. There was no chance that I'd be making it until 7am before needing to be at the birth center, so hospital birth it was. Fortunately for us, it was the middle of the night and Bryon had a friend who was willing to come over and watch our (sleeping) boys for us through the remainder of the night and next day. Had Nick not been available, I'd have had to labor/deliver at the hospital solo as we had no childcare arrangements for Maksim and Deklan (the birth center is basically a house with full kitchen, living room, toys, beds, etc. so it's family friendly - unlike the hospital at 1am). Nick arrived at our house around 12:15am and after an hour drive to the birth center, I met my midwife in the ER lobby at 1:15am. I was dilated to a 4 and 50% effaced, but needed to be at the hospital early enough time to get 2 full rounds of antibiotics (as I was GBS+) - with 4 hours between doses. I finished the first round at 2:15am, labored for 4 hours and finished the 2nd round at 6:15am. Scarlett's labor wasn't nearly as easy as Deklan's, but the travel/environment/atmosphere for her delivery wasn't nearly as quiet and relaxing as laboring in the comfort of your own home either. A few minutes (and pushes) later, and we had a beautiful baby GIRL in our arms. All 8lbs 13oz of her (hey, that ultrasound was 100% accurate!). We had to put her in the same outfit that both of her brothers took their birthday photos in.
Hello, world!
And just for comparison purposes...
Scarlett
Maksim/Deklan
Scarlett and I were both healthy and doing well, so we made the decision to forego the postpartum stay and checked out of the hospital just hours after she was born. She had 2 very excited big brothers anxiously waiting to meet her back home! Maks had been certain that he's getting a little sister (he's been asking for one since his 4th birthday and due to a miscarriage last summer, baby #3 took a bit longer to arrive than expected), while Deklan's guess was for another little boy. I knew that Maksim would be ecstatic but also SO disappointed that we didn't take his advice and name his little sister Beautiful Cupcake. We'll settle on that for a nickname instead!
Obsessed.
Full house.
Big brother duties. He's not the youngest anymore!
I just LOVE Deklan in this video. "You can hold that side."
And Maksim is so honest about how long he's been waiting to meet her.
Both boys have been battling colds, so we've been cautious to let them too close to Scarlett until those have run their course. They soak up every chance they get to see her when she's awake (and they're not either away at school or sleeping themselves) and cannot wait to teach her everything they know about the world!
And then there were 3.
We've been waiting for you, Scarlett. And we're so glad you're finally here!
