Wink'n Lincoln: A baby story

     On Friday night I finally decided to pack my hospital bag even though my due date wasn't for another week. My back was hurting pretty badly after my walk around the neighborhood with Zach but I didn't think much of it because I was pregnant- everything is uncomfortable when you are 9 months pregnant. When we were brushing our teeth before bed Zach told our soon-to-be-son to "Poke mommy and break her water." Sure enough, right when he said that I felt a sharp jab at the bottom of my abdomen but no gush of water. We had been praying for some time that if it was ok with the Lord, Saturday November 23 would be a convenient date for us and potential babysitters since Zach has this whole week off for Thanksgiving. We said our prayers and went to bed at 10:oo pm. At 10:45 the flood gates opened and it was my turn to poke Zach to tell him to get me a towel because my water had just broken. The Lord must love us. After a few phone calls my sweet visiting teacher was here with her overnight bag to stay with the kids while we went to the hospital. Being the experienced father that he is, Zach knew there wasn't much of a hurry and made himself a plate of nachos before we hopped in the car. We checked in and got situated but there wasn't a whole lot of action for the next several hours. I had enough contractions to keep me from sleeping but nothing to call in the doctor for. 1 movie and a napping husband later, around 2:oo AM, they started a pitocine drip to move things along. By 6:00 AM contractions were hard enough that I called in the pain squad and had the anesthesiologist put in an epidural. Fast forward a few more hours and it was pushing time. Unfortunately the baby was face up, or star gazing as my OBGYN likes to say, which is the wrong way for sliding right out. I pushed for an hour and a half before she said, "Are you sure you don't want me to use the forceps?" since she knew I was trying to avoid that. I can tell you from baby #1 that it makes recovery that much longer and more painful. I was tired though and he was stuck so I figured it was time to bring out the salad spoons and get it over with. I was doublely grateful for the epidural at that point since I could still partially feel pain and what was happening. A few pushes later he was here and I was holding him on my chest. What a prize after the marathon.He is my biggest baby yet even though he was a week early.

Lincoln Moroni Hutchins

November 23, 2013

12:05 PM

8 lb 2 oz

20.5 inches

We had discussed the name Lincoln Moroni previously but it just seemed to fit with his Captain nick name. Zach would have made Captain his real name but I'm not that brave. Lincoln's birth is also sandwiched between the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg address and Thanksgiving which was officially given the fourth Thursday in November by Abraham Lincoln. You can't tell from these photos but when he opens his eyes one is wider than the other so it looks like he is winking at you, hence "Wink'n Lincoln". We have much to be thankful for this year, not the least of which is this sweet new baby boy. The End or rather The Beginning.

Ruthie really isn't that grumpy. The first time she saw the baby she said, "I love the baby. My turn to hold him"

His sandy colored hair is lighter than the rest of my children at birth and his nose is a little bigger.
Other than that though, he fits right in.

All my boys

David asks to hold him the most but they all ask to hold Lincoln every day at least for a few minutes

Anticipation

I remember when I was younger in North Carolina praying for it to snow. On those rare occasions that the weather actually cooperated it was magical to wake up to a fresh, albeit usually thin, blanket of the powdery white stuff. There was an almost certainty that school would be canceled with anything more than an inch and we would have the day to ourselves. I am thirty years old now and I still love to wake up to a lovely whited out landscape. I've been watching the Canadian geese waddle on top of the frozen pond this week wondering when we would get the next snow fall. Well it happened and they loved it. Having small children is like experiencing things new all over again. Fun to watch, fun to play in and even fun to eat. I'm glad we didn't end up in Texas or Arizona. This is much better. 

Sakes Alive! It's Baby Number Five!

Name: TBD (But all those in favor of "Captain" as a first name should leave encouraging comments. Naysayers will be de-Friended by Zach on Facebook. Can you tell who is in charge of posting these baby photos?)
Weight: 8 lbs 2 oz
Length: 20.5 inches

Poor thing was O.P.- occipital presentation- or face up instead of down so he was stuck for quite a while before making his big entrance. 

His head was a little swollen after the forceps delivery.
 The bump went down within 24 hours 

Last week of Being the Baby

Last week of being the youngest Ruthie, live it up. Don't worry, we'll still adore you after the newest addition arrives. 

Something to be Grateful for

By popular demand, I've taken a picture of myself. I'm hoping for a delivery date some time early next week while Zach is off from school but technically I'm not due till the very end of the week. Babies could always be late too. I've had one child late, two early, and one on time so you never know. Tomorrow I'll pre-make the Thanksgiving pies just in case I'm not here to do the job - hopefully not here in fact. A new little spirit from heaven is definitely something to be grateful for. 

Welcome to our Home

I just put this up on the wall next to our front door. I think our "family tree" turned out nicely. Perhaps I will get additional old photos and add them to the wall as well but I'm running out of motivation for projects as my due date approaches. This will have to do for now.

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to the happy couple,Mom and Barry, married two years ago- November 12, 2011. And they still feel like newly weds.I'm so happy you guys found each other. Congratulations!

Concert Violinist

Okay, so maybe not concert violinist, but adorable recital violinist. This is the first of many more recitals to come I imagine for our family. Gabe's been practicing so hard the past couple of weeks and his 4 lined song, "Long, Long Ago" was sounding pretty good. The actual performance didn't sound quite so polished because his teacher had his wife accompany the students. I think this was a mistake since it was a new and different element added at the last minute, but Gabe still did a good job, especially considering he has only been taking for a month and a half with this new teacher.
Over all I'm very pleased with his teacher and how Gabe is improving.

At Least Once

We had to let them play in the leaves at least once this year before it was all raked up and hauled away for the winter. I think Zach would agree that it was worth raking twice.

Happy Face

Happy Face just turned 4! Isn't he adorable when he smiles? I asked him what he wanted for his birthday and he made it blessedly easy for me.  No party, no friends- just a trip to MacDonald's to eat and play in the play space. I love that my children think that this is a real treat and that we don't just do it all the time. He even wanted an easy cake- chocolate with sprinkles. No race track this year, hooray! The wish list consisted of hungry hippos and a garbage truck- check, check. We can do that. I love this little guy. He's all Legos, vehicles, siblings, and playing but still loves to read and snuggle.  When he starts to nod off during Book of Mormon or even at dinner time I remember how little he is for just a little while longer. 

P.S. A big Happy Birthday to those adult family birthdays out there, we love you too- Jenny, Amy, Kelly and Amber. 

Getting Ready

Setting up the nursery: Check

3 1/2 more weeks and counting. Don't ask me if we have a name yet, that part is still under discussion. But we ARE excited for him to come. 

Halloween

Favorite Halloween moments:
3. Seeing a family dressed up at church Halloween activity dressed like a garden, complete with fake bugs in their hair.
2. Pulling Ruthie in the wagon and hearing her say over and over again, "I love the doggie, I love the doggie."
1. When a lady asked what my kids were supposed to be dressed as and Gabe answered, "Tecumseh," (historical Native American leader who opposed the United States during the Tecumseh war and war of 1812) I thought he was just going to say Indian.

Least Favorite part of Halloween:
Mac feeling sick and not getting to do much trick or treating. He didn't feel too slighted though since all the candy goes into a community bag anyway. What's theirs is his.