Quickly...

I have a few posts in draft, but here are some funnies while I'm thinking about it.

• Every time Harrison burps, Hadley says, "Scuse you, baby."
• Every time Harrison sneezes, Hadley says, "Bless you, baby."

Alone...Sort of

Well, the last wave of grandparents has departed and I'm on my own. The three kids...and I. Three to one. I don't like those odds. It's not too bad right now, when Hadley is napping and King Rocky is dozing during his tummy time. The nurse in the pediatric unit would have a coronary if she saw him. For those of you who don't know, Harrison was admitted to the pediatric unit of the hospital for his jaundice when I was dismissed from the hospital. The only way I could get him to settle down under the photo therapy lamp was to put him on his side or stomach. Although I was literally next to him, watching him the entire time, the pediatric nurse went nuts when she saw me and lectured me soundly on the dangers of SIDS. Needless to say, that did NOT go over well.


Anyhow, all is peaceful and quiet when two out of three Davis children are dozing. It's the waking hours that can be a bit tricky. It's tough to remember that this is a big adjustment time for everyone. It's especially difficult to remember when Thatcher decides to pee-pee in the mesh trash can or when he breaks every single Christmas ornament he has received this year.

That was written on 30 December 2009, and I obviously never got around to finishing that thought. That is probably the last time I was "alone...sort of" as the title implies. I figured I'd go ahead and hit the "publish" button, though. I had just about forgotten that Thatcher broke all of those ornaments and went through a week-long "pee in the trash can" bender.

This otherwise unfinished draft of a blog post serves as a good reminder that this, too, shall pass; that the moment's crisis will be long forgotten minutes, hours, days, and certainly weeks later. Or, more aptly put, I won't remember the crisis because three children are rapidly depleting my once abundant supply of memory.

All Hail King Rocky

We are overjoyed to officially welcome Harrison (aka King Rocky) to the Davis Family Blog. Now, this mommy will REALLY need a mocha!

Harrison's arrival into the world was amazingly pleasant, especially compared to that of his brother and sister! My dad and Chad drove me to the hospital at 5AM Monday morning while my mom stayed home to keep Thatcher and Hadley. I had made the critical error of telling dad that my doctor is British, so I spent the next few hours fearing he would try to break out his AWFUL impersonation of an English accent. I checked in at 6AM, got loaded up with the IV, listened to the ipod, and joked with the med student who was taking my medical history (Med Student: "Have you used any recreational drugs during your pregnancy?" Danielle: "No, but I'm really looking forward to it once the baby comes."). They wheeled me into the OR at 7:45 with a "cut time" of 8AM. Thanks to the completely painless spinal block, I didn't feel a single tug, pull, or anything at all. Then, at 8:30, I heard him! He cried...loudly...and, unlike Hadley, he didn't stop. It was a beautiful sound, especially to anyone who has ever had a baby who did not come out crying.

It was through this haze of joy that I heard the doctor say, "Wow, he's a big boy;" but I was certain it was the drugs talking when I thought I heard someone say, "Nine pounds, nine ounces." After all, his 37-week ultrasound indicated he was weighing 7 lbs. 2 oz. To put it mildly, they were a little off on that one.

In another first, I was able to hold Harrison in the delivery room. I had barely seen Thatcher and (certainly) Hadley before they were whisked away, but they let Harrison linger. We took pictures, we talked, we discussed health care reform. It was great. I was also able to nurse him in the recovery room about an hour after he was born, which was another huge answer to prayer.

Because of the H1N1 outbreak, the kids were not allowed to come to the hospital at all during my five-day vacation, I mean "stay." Thanks to the spinal block, my recovery was a breeze; and I was ready to get up and get moving. Mom and dad took turns getting lost on the way to and from the hospital to keep me company, while Chad spent the bulk of his time wheeling, dealing, and manning the kids. Bless his heart. Plus, I had news coverage of the Tiger Woods scandal and the Salahi's crashing the State Dinner for India to keep me entertained.

Then, of course, there was Harrison. Thanks to his largess, he was a voracious eater from the start. I had always read that some women need to spend all day in bed, nursing their babies for hours on end to bulk up their milk supply. Never, until Harrison, did I think I would actually be one of them. Nursing him for 40 minutes every hour on the hour made me a convert. Like all previous Chad & Danielle productions, he had jaundice. Thanks to my plethora of milk and his prolific bowel movements, however, he did not require any lengthy interventions to get it under control. Well, sort of...but that's another story for another day.

I like to call this, "Blue Light Special."

Diva Davis

Someone in our house has been hamming it up, trying to ensure her position as Top Diva.

Wanting Winston to Try on the Jeff Gordon Hat

"See, it looks REALLY good on you, Winnie...

...but let's face it, no one looks as good in a hat as I do."

Thatcher, on the other hand, has turned on the charm offensive. Here he is reading to Hadley.

Why "Wadwee" is wearing her raincoat to bed, I don't know.

Sometimes there aren't words to describe this child...

...but the song "Damn, it feels good to be a Gangsta" comes to mind.

Then again, just when you think she's so street, she breaks out the Hello Kitty necklace, Cinderella marshmallows, and hair bun.

Rocky's Blog Debut

Yesterday I went for a 37-week ultrasound. Harrison (aka Rocky) appears to be weighing in at 7 lbs. 2 ounces. By way of comparison, Thatcher measured 8 lbs. 4 oz. at his 37 week ultrasound--and that is actually what he weighed at birth. In typical second child fashion, I can't recall what Hadley measured; but she was 7 lbs. 4 oz. at birth. Other interesting ultrasound findings are that this child has hair. No big surprise given the heartburn I've been enduring, but I was stunned that they could actually see it!

In other news, the doctor noted that there seems to be a dilation in Harrison's renal collection system, which collects urine from the kidney tissue and routes it to the bladder. Harrison's right one measured anywhere from 8mm to 10.5mm, and the high end of what this radiologist likes to see is a 7.5mm measurement. This is interesting for a number of reasons, the first of which is that this has not been detected on any of his previous ultrasounds. The ultrasound showed that Harrison's kidneys and bladder are both "normal," and he has ample amniotic fluid to make it through the next 16 days. Anyhow, from what I understand, the issue often resolves itself before the baby is actually born or during the first year of life, so Chad and I ARE NOT WORRIED. The radiologist just said he would like for the doctors to keep a lookout for any symptoms after he is born. We are thankful for the extraordinary advances in sonography that can detect such tiny things...and for the often-times needless stress they can cause! :) And, again, we would like to reiterate to the great-grandmothers and great-aunts who read this that we are NOT concerned about this possible development.

So, after all that, here are some pictures of our third and final child. Don’t be alarmed by the cauliflower-like growth in front of his face. It’s the umbilical cord. In the first image, you will (if you try) see his eye, cheek, and the corner of his mouth. His head is looking down, and the cord is covering the rest of his face. In the second one, you can see his lips really well underneath the cord. Again, don’t be alarmed by the blurriness of one eye or anything else. It looks rather freaky, I do admit.

Backyard Explorer

Chatty Hadley