Headed Home

We're bringing Dawson Grey home today!  We had one last all together visit and then Papa took Brady to basketball practice.  Sylvie and Brett hung out with Dawson and I for a little bit while we waited to be discharged and we were homeward bound with our newest precious cargo!

 Daddy and the Bigs decorated the house for baby's homecoming!

 Our five-fam with the signs the kids made last week 

welcoming their little brother home.

 Luhring boys

Luhring Party of 5

The kids came to the hospital to meet their baby brother today.  Oh, my heart!  How fabulous it was to see them and squeeze them!  They are much like Brett and I are...already SO very much in love with Dawson.  (Truth be told- they were also pretty in to the tv and the hospital remote and bed too. Ha!)

brothers

 3!

She squealed at the thought of getting to hold him.

Sylvie Rae and Dawson Grey

 Reading her baby brother the "chapter book" she wrote for him

(2 year old Brady did just this with baby Sylvie...

read her his picture dictionary) ;p

Third Time's a CHARM!

Happy Birth Day Dawson!
It was actually pretty cool; sort of like checking in to a hotel.  We dropped the kids off at elementary school and headed to The Birthing Inn @ 7:45 AM.  We calmly checked in (no contractions or anything...so pleasant!).
We have a picture of me in labor outside The Birthing Inn with Brady and Sylvie too.  The entrance was under construction this time, but here we are!

We were the only family in the "Delivery" side of the Inn, so the staff was very attentive.  We had an awesome L&D nurse, Sue and also had a student nurse, Allison, observing.  This was kind of cool b/c Sue gave us all sorts of information anyway, but she thoroughly explained things for Allison's benefit.  We started pitocin @ 8:45 AM.  Things were moving pretty slowly though.  (Sue kept saying, "You are Way too happy.  Not feeling hard contractions yet, huh?")  Dr. Stokes checked on us @ 11 AM, and planned to break my water @ 1 PM.  My water was broken @ 2:50 PM.  (This was the first time my water was broken when I did not already have the epidural.  So I felt it, and it was not very pleasant.)  That got things moving and I started feeling the contractions and asked for the epidural.  Epidural administered around 3:20 PM.  At 4:30 I was still only 5 cm, so they rolled me over and used the "peanut pillow" to try to get the baby to roll over and get in position.  This worked well and we were 8 cm by 5:30.  Sue was very funny- she said, "My shift ends @ 7:30 PM.  You're having this baby before then b/c we didn't do all this work to not be able to see the reward!  I'm meeting your baby!"  She spoke to him and told him, "Here's the plan baby- we're going to start pushing within the next hour and we'll see you before 7 PM, got it?"  And guess what?!  He did get it!  :)

I didn't pay as much attention to the time as I could have.  But I think we only did about 4 or 5 pushes (for about 15 minutes).  Dawson Grey Luhring was born @ 6:56 PM.  Right on time according to Sue's plan.  :)  The Inn changed their policies since we were last here six years ago; they are more "pro-baby" now.  So they did not use the warmer at all; did not take measurements right away (b/c the thought is, they aren't going to change).  They took brand new baby Dawson and put him right on my chest, skin to skin.  We laid like that meeting each other for almost two hours.  Oh sweet miracle!  We love you So very much!

Here he is...about 30 seconds old in this pict!

Baby's first selfie...it's the thing to do Dawson! 

Moving to our post-partum room

We're Having a Baby Tomorrow!

We scheduled our third child's induction.  I am a little weirded out by the idea of determining a child's birth day.  However, both Brady and Sylvie came a week early, so I was thinking #3 would too.  I mentioned to Dr. Stokes at my last appointment that the uncertainty was a little unsettling and he noted that the doctors would schedule an induction any time after 39 weeks.  We're 39 weeks tomorrow, so we scheduled it.  Tonight is our last night as a family of four!  As we did with Sylvie (even though we didn't know she would be born the next day), we took fam fotos in the nursery.

Happy 40th Chris

I really was hoping we'd be able to make this party tonight...and yay for Charm for staying put so we Were able to!  Our neighbor Chris was thrown a surprise 40th birthday party @ Bobby McKey's Dueling Piano Bar tonight.  I have been wanting to go to this place since I saw it was in National Harbor two years ago (I haven't been to a dueling piano bar since the one I went to in Pittsburgh almost 20 years ago!).  It was SO.MUCH.FUN!!!

"You have a Baby in a Bar!!!"
I was the only sober one in the entire crew of 40 or so people and I only have one picture?? But maybe That is Why I only have one picture.  ;p

Yes, that must be it...b/c Brett snuck in to selfies and has a bunch of picts from friends' phones.  :)

Sylllll-vvvviiiiieeeee and the Chipmunks Party

We celebrated Sylvie's 6th birthday early today...before her little brother has his own birth day. We took a "Road Chip" to the movies for Allllllll-vviiiiiiin!!!! Happy Birthday Party soon-to-be Big Sis!

Brett is Dave (I wanted him to scream "Sylllll-viiiieeeeee!"). 

I'm Theodore (of course...might have had too many cheese balls Theo!). 

Brady's Simon and Soon-to-be Six year old Sylvie is Alvin!