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A Birth Story, Part III

We welcomed the newest addition to our family, Torion Kenneth Woodruff, on March 2, 2013. He was born at 12:08 pm, weighing 7 lbs 7 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. He had lots of thick hair and was pretty mellow about the whole thing. Here's the full story:

The new baby boy was not due to arrive until March 19, when Mommy was scheduled for a C-section at PeaceHealth Southwest Family Birth Center with Dr. Chang. With about 3 weeks to go, Mommy was feeling the size of baby when she walked around at home and at work, but we figured this would go like the last couple births ... no action until the C-section. Well, we were wrong.

On Saturday morning at 5:00 am, Mommy felt a sudden urge to use the bathroom. When she did, it was an atypical gush of water. Mommy wasn't exactly sure what was going on, suspecting that perhaps her water had broken, so she laid back in bed and waited a bit. Pretty soon, she started having contractions. After these continued, she woke Daddy up at 8:00 am and told him that we needed to make a trip to the hospital to get checked out.

We scrambled to get everything ready, since we hadn't planned or packed ahead of time. Mommy called Auntie Greta and asked if she could watch Jillian and Bridget. After getting the girls ready and loaded up, we went over to Greta's house and dropped the girls off with Meagan, Zach and Adam while Greta joined us for the trip.

When we arrived at the Family Birth Center, they took Mommy to triage to check her out. The nurses took a swab to check if her water really had broken, and the results came back immediately "positive". Dr. Chang wasn't in for the day, but Dr. Fox was, and we were glad of that. Dr. Fox was originally the OBGYN for Bridget, but she was unable to deliver her when the time came. Dr. Fox was pretty much available for the C-section right away, so the preparations began and before we knew it, Mommy was in the surgery room waiting for the operation.

Mommy and Daddy chilled out listening to Coldplay in the room while the anesthesiologist Brian (same as the previous C-section) took care of Mommy. It wasn't long before we heard the baby crying and saw the NICU nurses cleaning him up. He got his color pretty quickly (his Apgar score was a 9!), and settled down just as fast. All swaddled up, Torion got to snuggle with Mommy while the doctors finished the operation.

After about an hour in the post-op observation room, Mommy and Torion headed to Room 151 to rest and recover for awhile. In short order, our first visitors came in: Auntie Greta, Aunt Julie and Cousin Cale. Not long after, Meagan and Zach arrived with Adam and the sisters. We hadn't told Jillian and Bridget that their baby brother was being born, because we weren't so sure ourselves. So, they were very excited that the big day had finally arrived. Both of them couldn't wait to hold Baby Torion.

Jillian got to hold Torion first, and was very careful with him, hardly moving and telling people to be quiet so he wouldn't wake up. Meanwhile, Bridget was melting down, wanting to hold him right now. When Bridget held Torion, she wanted to hug and kiss him the whole time. Later in the evening, Dany, Mckenna and Lindsey visited as well. After receiving lots of love, Torion and Mommy tried to get some sleep that night. It was a long night, because Torion was a restless and noisy sleeper.

The next day was full of work, with Torion learning to eat, doctors checking in and out, and Mommy trying to get some sleep. Torion and Mommy spent some time together alone while Daddy ran home to pick up some things and also do some lesson planning for the next 2 weeks. During that time, Scott and Cindy had paid a visit for a while. The girls had spent the night with Grannie and Papa Woodruff, so they all came down later that evening for some more snuggles and kisses.

On Monday, we were hoping to start wrapping things up and head home that night if Torion and Mommy looked like they were recovering well enough. Unfortunately, the circumcision schedule was pretty busy and the doctors couldn't get free for the procedure until the following day. So, we all relaxed for another day and night in the Family Birth Center.

On Tuesday, there were lots of nurses and doctors coming in and doing their checks. Dr. Sweitniki and a nurse came at noon and took Torion to another room for his circumcision. When they returned, they said he didn't even cry. We waited for another few hours while the nurse checked Torion to make sure the procedure went OK. It took quite awhile for this, and we didn't end up getting discharged until about 7 pm. We got Torion loaded into the carseat and eventually got everyone home at about 9:00 pm (after having to wait awhile for the pharmacy to fill a prescription). Torion was a good traveler, sleeping the entire time he was in the carseat.

That first night at home, we all had a pretty good night's sleep (despite waking every 2-3 hours for feeding), and the following afternoon, we welcomed Jillian and Bridget home. It was great to have our "Family of 5" together for the first time, and it was obvious Torion was fitting right in as the girls continued to want to hold him, and he continued sleeping throughout.

Easter is Coming

It was a beautiful day out and I had just brought in the Easter bins, so Jillian decided it was time to practice hunting eggs.  Brock was hanging out after school so she hid a bunch for him to find and then he hid them for her to find.  Brock was a good sport about it all.  When Brock was hunting she kept telling him where they were before he had a chance to look.  Then she said that Baby Brother would have to have a little basket and she could help him find eggs.  She still calls Torion "Baby Brother" whenever anyone asks, "What's the baby's name?"  Bridget was napping at this time. 

Baby Brother

Torion Kenneth arrived early on Saturday, March 2nd to surprise everyone.  He is 7 pounds 7 ounces and is 20 inches long.  Jillian and Bridget were so excited to see and hold baby brother.  Jillian is showing his long fingers and has so many plans on what to do when he gets home.  Even now she is practicing saying, "Shhhhhh" to Bridget because baby is sleeping.  Bridget doesn't want to give up Tor when she is holding him and she wants to hold him all the time because sharing is so difficult.  Jillian was  so excited this morning when she got to take a picture of her holding baby brother to pre-school to show the teachers.  Also everyone at the volleyball tournament yesterday got to hear the exciting news from Jillian and Bridget.

Fun at Lunch

I gave the girls a small bowl of olives with their soup.  Jillian said Daddy taught her how to eat olives.  Silly girl.  Of course Bridget was paying attention and attempted to eat them the same way but she only had a couple left.

Jillian's Early Birthday Party

Jillian had her family party Saturday as that was when everyone could come.  She will have her party at pre-school on Wednesday.  She was so excited about this cake even though her theme was Hello Kitty because of the toys on the cake. 

Jillian was so excited that Adam was there.  She had a lot of fun opening presents and thanking everyone politely.  Then there was a lot of a cake high as the kids ran around having a great time. 

I had to add this picture of Bridget who couldn't scoop the ice cream on a plate with a spoon so she did the next best thing.  Good ice cream!

"Owie"

This is when Ava and Harper came to play and they were all absorbed in their own set of dolls.  This is right after baths before Bridget got a hair cut.  They played at the table for a very long time.  I get to dress dolls and whoever invented the clothes that goes on these dolls did not have a little child. I have a hard time dressing them.

Bridget has an "owie" on her chin where she tripped over Mommy's foot and crashed.  This shows her new haircut.  It was a little shorter than I wanted but with her curls it looks cute.

Finally-Outside

It was a beautiful day Friday and the girls couldn't wait to get outside.  While they were playing with the jeep Rielee saw them outside and came to play.  They went full speed for two hours doing everything fun.  They did hula hoops, cars, scooters, pogo-stick, bikes, trikes, and even the teeter-totter that was still stored in the shed.

Then they all headed up to the play fort and Rielee and Jillian rode the zip lines for a long time, pretending to be Pirates.  Sometimes their ship was sinking too and they had to stay above the water.  Other times they would drop into the net.  They had a great time.  Bridget can't do the zip line yet so she stays up in the fort being a Pirate.  Rielee climbed the rock wall and Jillian tried and got about half-way.  There was no problem getting them down for naps after lunch.

Valentine's Day

It was a busy day.  First Bridget got to visit the twins who were frosting cookies.  It was the first try at leaving her there by herself.  Papa took her up and said she ran in when she got there and didn't look back.  About an hour later when I went to pick her up she didn't look at all ready to come back.  She got to bring home a plate of yummy cookies.  While she was gone Jillian got to make a lot of cards for everyone.  All the cards had to have a lot of glitter!  When Bridget got back she made a card for Mommy and Daddy and she would grab containers of glitter faster than I could keep up with her and start sprinkling everything.  Once she got the top off and threw out the whole container of glitter.  They LOVE glitter.

After lunch and naps the girls got to deliver their Valentines.  Since it was the first Thursday night in a long time without a basketball game we had a fun game night.  First they could do any Play-Doh set they wanted.  Jillian chose Cinderella first and worked a long time to make her beautiful.  Jillian chose a crazy animal one.  They did several sets.

Jillian hadn't played Candyland for a long time and was thrilled when we played.  She wanted to play that all evening.  I don't know how she was so lucky and got all the good cards to win most of the time.

Baby Brother

March 19th is the date for the arrival of a new baby brother for Jillian and Bridget.  Bridget is getting a little confused as she talks about it.  She says, "I am the little sister but when brother comes I will be the big sister".  Then she says something about it and now it's backward as how can I be a big sister and a little sister too.  Jillian is pretty calm about the whole thing so far.

Heather's Belated Birthday Party

Heather's birthday was almost two weeks ago but this was the first opportunity to get everyone together with Heather's schedule and all the basketball games and volleyball tournaments.  This was when everyone was singing "Happy Birthday" and Bridget thinks they were singing to her.  She was really excited.  Then when it was over and time to blow out the candles, Bridget almost threw herself over the cake and Rick had to grab her in time before she set her clothes on fire.  You can count the candles to see how old Heather is?  Jillian missed Adam being there so she turned all her attention on Ty, Meagan, and Tierney.  That involved jumping off the ottoman onto whoever was there on the sofa, usually Ty.  It was a very nice party.

Little Visitors

Ava and Harper got to come visit Bridget all by themselves.  They had two different toys at the counter that they played with while Harper was playing at the kitchen.  After awhile Ava got down to play at the kitchen.  Then Harper came to the counter to play.  Meanwhile Bridget had tired of the one set of toys and moved to the other side. 

They played great the whole time they were here and Bridget was very good about sharing her toys.

Valentine Cooking

Bridget took this rolling and cutting out sugar cookies for Valentines very seriously.  She didn't want any help after I showed her how to do one. 

Jillian was very serious too about getting her cookies perfect.  She made each one different.

Bridget was very proud of her cookies when she was done!

Last Home Game

It was the last home basketball game for Tierney and Macee so there were a lot of relatives there.  Jillian had a good time playing with Rielee, Ava, and Harper.  Auna was trying to keep some order which she is good at.  There were several other girls there that Jillian and Rielee played with also. 

This is my try at a picture of Jillian and Bridget with Tierney after the game.  Bridget has her tongue out and Jillian is smiling a big cheesy smile.  By the time I took some more with Bridget with her tongue still out and Jillian hiding behind her arm and both of them wiggling, Tierney fell over and that turned out to be the best and most natural picture.  Go figure.

Under the Weather

Poor Bridget has been running a low grade fever the past couple days.  When she woke up from her nap she was a little warm and Papa was sitting on the couch with the heating pad on his back, so they watched Dora together for awhile. 

School

Every time Jillian is here she asks to do school.  We read for awhile, then we write the letters she has learned.  Of course, rewards are a great incentive but always on the condition that she has to work hard.  She listens real well and always tries to do it right.  But writing is her favorite thing to do.  We practice some letters, then she has to spell some words she has learned to read, and then the last few sessions she has had to write a sentence.  When writing I will put a small star for effort and then a big smiling face if she does great.  For some reason she outlines the words and sentences when she's done.  This is two days work.

Cupcakes

Jillian helped make the brownie cupcakes and she put a Hershey kiss in the center of each one.  They could hardly wait for them to bake and cool.  They had a great time frosting the cupcakes and eating the frosting.  I guess that made it their own.  They had a variety of Valentine icings to use which they did liberally.  Then they got to eat one of their cupcakes.  Jillian remarked that it was the best cupcake she had ever had.

Maturity

I was so pleased with the Jillian this afternoon.  Rielee had early dismissal and got to come play before naps.  Jillian loves this game on the computer, but she gladly shared with Rielee which in the past was harder for Jillian to do.  When I checked on them, Jillian told me that they were each taking turns with the mouse.  They played this game peacefully for an hour. 

Computer Crazy

Jillian is on her way to becoming a computer expert.  She puts in the CD herself and does everything to start the game.  She loves the Barbie CD about the Enchanted Forest.  It can be quite challenging and she needed some help at first but now she doesn't want much help at all since she has it figured out.  There is one colorful part that you can print out and one day when Papa started the printer there were 6 pages that came out before he even looked at the printer.  Now we check the printer when she's done.

I found out that I needed to set time limits on the computer  or she would do it all day.


While Jillian was on the computer Bridget decided to get all dressed up in a tutu dress, crown, and heels.  I said to stand still for a picture and I tried to get one but she wouldn't look, until she ran behind the sofa and looked back impishly at me.  Funny, funny girl.

Guests

Ava and Harper got to come visit Jillian and Bridget this morning.  First they all got to choose a play-doh set.  Then they wanted a different one that someone else had.  They played with that for awhile and then Jillian and Harper went to the easel and drew together while Bridget and Harper stuck with the play-doh.  Next was the Polly Pocket dolls and play houses.  While they were playing Ava told Dianne to leave.  This was a first. But when she left all the girls played so well together, no fighting or even arguing.  Jillian paired up with Ava(I think it was Ava.) and Bridget paired up with Harper.  It was great!

 

Potty Time

It was time for Bridget to get potty trained before the new baby arrived and she is doing great!  She went all day yesterday with just big girl panties and no accidents.  Her new princess potty says, "Hurray" when she does something and then sings a song.  So lately I have been telling her to make the potty sing and it will work sometimes.  She is pretty proud of herself.

Big Kids

Jillian loves it when we go to basketball games and Rielee is there to play with her.  Sometimes another girl will join them and then Jillian is all ears to absorb what the big girls are saying and doing.  Meanwhile Bridget is content to play by Grannie and Papa with the little dolls.

Birthday and Football

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Rick had his birthday party Sunday during the Seahawks playoff game so there was lots of entertainment and good food.  Bridget got all dressed up for the party and here she is twirling around in front of everyone to show them her pretty dress.  Rick had lots of help opening packages with Bridget, Jillian, and Adam.  Bridget would open a card, read it, and say it was from Grannie and Papa, even though it wasn't.  Sometimes Rick wouldn't be looking and the card and present would be opened.  Then he would have to look for it on the floor.  It was a fun day as the Seahawks won and everyone was together.

 



Painting with Tierney

 The girls were thrilled when they arrived yesterday and Tierney was just finishing breakfast.  Jillian asked Tierney if she wanted to paint with her.  Tierney painted a snowman and then Jillian painted a snowman on her paper.  Then Tierney painted a Christmas tree and Jillian painted a tree.  (Guess they want Christmas to last longer.)  Bridget wanted the dolls out and she was happy dressing Polly Pocket while they painted.  Jillian smiled in this picture because Tierney was smiling.