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Party of Five

Well, I think I’ve kept y’all waiting long enough. Who wants to hear about the new addition?

(insert drumroll)

It’s a….

Judah

BOY!

Allow me to introduce my newest little man, Judah.

judah2

He arrived on Wednesday, March 18th at 11:27 am. Not by choice though, he had to be forced out.

42 weeks 2

Truth be told, if it was up to me I would have just waited it out. I mean, I was 42 weeks (two weeks overdue), he had to come soon on his own, right? I just feel like babies will come when they are ready, and being induced kinda felt like running a marathon and then quitting right before the finish line. Plus I was terrified of pitocen after a horrid experience with it while in labor with my first child. But no OB will let you go past 42 weeks, and I was too uncomfortable to fight it. So on Wednesday morning Adam and I woke up early to be at the hospital by 6am. We moseyed on in, signed some paperwork, got situated and hooked up to all the things that go along with an induction.

labor selfie

(labor selfie)

At about 7:30 they started the pitocen. Contractions started slowly, and at about 8:30 or so the doctor broke my water. At about 9am I asked for an epidural. Contractions weren’t horrible at that point, but I knew I was going to get one eventually and there was no point in waiting. So I got the epidural, and then we just kinda hung out. Adam fell asleep on the couch…he was obviously exhausted from his full nights sleep the night before. A little after 11am things started to hurt…I couldn’t feel my legs or butt, but suddenly I could feel the contractions and they were intense. I woke Adam up and told him, and he says “you can feel them through the epidural? It’s time to push.” I told him no way was it already time to push, I was only at a four and surly had at least six hours left of labor. Adam said, “no, I know your body in labor, its pushing time.” So he called the nurse, and sure enough, he was right.

Two pushes later (literally about 20 seconds) I had a screaming baby in my arms.

fresh2

According to the nurses it’s pretty rare for people to not find out the gender of their babies these days, so everyone was excited and had their bets in. When he came out the whole room yelled “it’s a boy!” So fun.

As many of you may remember, we have had a girl named picked out for forever but were having trouble with a boy name. In the last month or so of pregnancy we had tentatively decided to name him Jesse. I liked it because it’s a biblical name, and it’s very normal but not overused. It had a great meaning (“gift”) and a casual feel. I dug it.

Then I met my new son, and Jesse just didn’t feel right. He screamed for an hour to fully alert the entire floor that he had arrived. He had little worry lines on his forehead, and looked at you through furrowed brows like he couldn’t decide if he should trust you or not. He wasn’t a casual sort of baby, and a laid back name like Jesse (nor our backup of Jude) wasn’t going to work. We talked and debated baby names for two days while we were in the hospital, polling nurses and family members, spending lots of time on google, and generally being indecisive. We didn’t decide on Judah until the day we left and the birth register lady had just about had it with us.

Judah fits him though, it feels powerful and assertive, yet compassionate and fair. It means “praise” or “I will praise the Lord”.

three2

The older boys love their brother, and it’s a very different dynamic then when Levi was born and Elijah was only 19 months. Elijah didn’t really care about the fact that there was a baby…this time they are five and three and very much aware and excited about the baby. They want to hold, feed, pet, and poke him 24/7. Levi is especially a fan, which surprised me (I was expecting the opposite).

meeting brother

my boys 2

levi approves

Adam’s a fan too.

father and son

ready to go

And so who does he look like? Well, here are all three of them, you tell me.

my three sons

They are each their own baby, but I think Judah and Elijah favor each other…he’s kinda like a chunky Elijah. Sorta.

I also think it’s interesting how different they have been in terms of labors and size…

  • baby 1 – born at 42 weeks, 33 hour labor, 6 lbs 5 oz
  • baby 2 – born at 39 w 5 days, 12 hour labor, 7 lbs 11 oz
  • baby 3 – born at 42 weeks, 4 hour labor, 8 lbs 6 oz

At this rate baby 4 (if that happens) is going to come in about an hour and be a nine pound monster.

With each of the boys I’ve always been excited about whats next. I looked forward to the day when they would start to laugh and giggle, sit up, play with toys, crawl, walk, talk…all the things that come along with getting older. And while I’m excited to experience those things with Judah, right now I don’t want them to come. I want to fully enjoy this floppy newborn stage, where he seems to have no control over his hands or the faces he makes when he sleeps. I love that right now a nap, boob, diaper change, or snuggle will fix any problem. I’m going to soak up the time when I hold him up against my chest he tucks in legs up and sleeps in a tiny little ball. And the fact that he doesn’t say “mom” fourteen thousand times day makes him my current favorite…even though he sleeps all day and keeps me up all night.

sleepy

In conclusion…I think we’ll keep him.

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73 Comments

  1. Congratulations. He is very cute and will be handsome someday. With 2 big brothers to follow he will be into trouble before you turn around. I love the name. Now, try to rest and best wishes to the whole family.

  2. OMG….Thank You God !!! I have been checking every day and have begun to get worried and even a bit scared about you and your family. It has just been so long. And I have been praying every day for you and your family. So a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to you and Adam. wow….. 3 boys. You are a better person than me…teehee. But you seem like a awesome mom…now worries there at all. You don’t know me…(I have only sent you one other email and that was just a couple of weeks ago ). I only recently became a “blog reader” and you were my 1st one. I went back and read every single post of yours from the start of your blog on February 11, 2011. AND I can not stop thinking about your DIY’s and I can not stop talking about you. YOU ARE amazing. I won’t keep you much longer…. (I will just email you again once things settle down in your house a bit). BUT I have a burning question….lol…. WHY do you not decorate in ‘red and black’? My house….almost every room has some sort of red in it…even my CAR is red….I LOVE RED. BTW..no other bloggers have a nice blog like you do either. I can get around yours easy peasy……not anyone elses…you so much dang crap on them….blah…blah….blah… OH….one more thing…I HAVE a cool solution to your chair covers for your dining room. ( I know you bought your chairs, but you have to see what I came up with ) Once I can figure out how to get my sewing machine to work and the figure out how to post pictures on here and on your sight.) But I MUST say…it is super cool and YOU are going to love it. Anyhow…I said I would not keep you and look at me go…..chatty chatty…yup..that is ME. Hope you are feeling ‘OK’. Thinking of you and keeping you in my prayers

    1. Hey Laura, thank you for the prayers! We are good…three kids is just no joke. I have no idea how I am ever going to finish a project ever again! Anyway, I got your e-mail and responded a few days ago….I’m guessing you didn’t get it?

  3. OH……….Could I have been any ruder !!!!!!!?????? He is adorable… YOU have a absolutely BEAUTIFUL family. But I think you are a amazingly beautiful lady yourself…. No wonder you produce such PERFECT children.

  4. Congratulations! I just had my 3rd in February, similar dynamics to yours, but mine is a girl. :^) Judah is adorable, and I agree with you about this stage, they are SO precious with their squishy little faces and the way they stretch and bunch up again like a little inch-worm! Glad your labor was so quick and things went well. God bless your sweet family!

  5. Congratulations! Hei s adorable and you look absolutely glowing. I laughed at your comment about the next one being born in an hour an weighing 9 lbs. All 4 of my kids were almost a pound a part so 6lb 2 oz, 7 lb 2 oz, 8 lb 1oz and 9lb 14 oz (not in that order though- except the biggest was the last!). Every delivery was so different but my kids came late too. One was induced at 39 weeks and the others were two at 10 days over due and one at 12 days over due. Just how my body works!

  6. Awwww!!!! He is completely gorgeous!!!! What a sweetie. I’m so glad your labour was so short and relatively sweet. Adam is amazing. Imagine him knowing that! I love how you chose his name. He does look like a Judah! My oldest’s name is Jesse, so I know what a Jesse looks like ;)
    The two “big” boys look just smitten. I can’t believe how old Levi looks, it’s quite stunning.
    Yeah, the difference between two and three children is a big one. You are now officially outnumbered!
    Enjoy the precious days; SO glad everything went well.

    1. Thanks so much Jan! And yes, Levi looks absolutely huge these days. Overnight he went from being my baby to being one of the “older boys”. Even crazier than that is right now I have another tab on my computer open where I am registering Elijah for kindergarden. I can’t believe my five years at home with him is nearly over! It went so fast.

  7. Congratulations! He is beautiful, just like his big brothers.
    I’ve read your blog for a few years now and kept checking back to look for baby updates. So happy it went well for you and such a lovely addition to your family. Enjoy the squishy stage where you could just cuddle them every minute because they are so cute.
    all my love xxx

  8. Congratulations Ashley and Adam and big brothers Elijah and Levi!!! I too have been waiting and wondering. Even commented to my husband over morning coffee one day, “Ashley must have had her baby by now”. But your forgiven (lol), you have very full hands! The second I saw the picture on fb I knew it was a boy because he looks just like Elijah! Perfect babe! All your boys’ names are biblical and you can always shorten Judah to Jude and that way you have all the names you love :)
    P.S. I was inwardly hoping for a girl for you–even out all that testosterone in your house ;)

    1. You’re not the only one that was hoping for a girl, most of our family and friends (including Adam) were right there with you! And we’ve really sealed our fate with three biblical names haven’t we? Now it will be super easy for people to judge us before they meet us. Oh well!

  9. Awwwww!!!! Congratulations! What a gorgeous little baby! They all look alike to me, and all so gorgeous! Well done Mum! Make sure you get lots of rest, and tell Dad he has to step up and care for you. New Mums are very special and need lots of TLC. :)

    (On a personal note, this is my first blog baby! So lovely to have a tiny bit of inclusion into a complete stranger’s joy! Happy days!).

    Thank you for sharing this happy time.
    Cheers, Liz in Australia.

    1. Your first blog baby, haha…I love it :) Thanks for the well wishes! You will be happy to know that Adam got up with all three kids this morning, made breakfast, and let me sleep for a few extra hours.

  10. Awwwww, such a sweet baby. I loved seeing all the pictures. Congrats to you and your family. I love his name.

  11. Congratulations! I also have three “boys” but mine are now 40 – 37 and 32. I always wished we had gone for 4 and maybe I would have gotten my girl but we didn’t. Enjoy them because it goes too fast!

    1. I thought about it, but I don’t actually think I’m going to make it to Haven this year. Kind of bummed about it..maybe next year. And it can’t be a coincidence that you have three daughters and I have three sons, right? I see three DIY power couples :)

  12. Congratulations to you and your lovely family and I’m so happy that everything went well for you. Your boys are all so handsome. Enjoy every second (I know you will) as time flies so fast. Take care, have fun and get some rest when you can. Thanks for posting all those beautiful pictures!

  13. Congrats. I just read a bunch of the comments and think it is cool/funny/not weird that other’s were worrying about you too. Not my daughter though she (with a 4 month old) assured me you had your hands full and would tell us when you had your baby. I love that you are just appreciating this time. You know how fast it goes. Get some sleep, all of you.

  14. Oh my gosh! Congratulations!! The picture of the boys holding him at the end of your hospital bed with you smiling in the background is precious and brought tears to my eyes! I’m so happy for you and your family.

  15. OH – and no fair that you still looked so pretty and put together after the delivery! I looked like….well words could not describe how I looked.

    1. Don’t worry, after the delivery of my first I looked like that too. Epidurals really help you to not look like you’ve been hit by a train!

  16. Aw! Congratulations!!
    I do think it’s pretty rare for people to not find out the sex of their baby nowadays. I didn’t want to find out with my first, but my husband did, so we did. I think IF we have a second baby, we will leave it a surprise.
    I’ve always heard that babies just get bigger and that makes me scared to have another because my son was 8 lbs. 5 oz. and I’m pretty petite… I wasn’t expecting my son to be so big! :]

  17. Congratulations! I am so happy for your family!

    Same naming thing happened when my daughter was born – the name we had picked just didn’t fit.

  18. Congratulations! Thanks for sharing all those wonderful pictures with us. Your family is absolutely beautiful! May God continue to bless you all in these weeks and months to come.

  19. Congratulations! He’s beautiful. You look awesome 9 months pregnant! People always think I’m due any day with twins when I’m about 5 months along.

    Trust me, it’s not quitting a marathon at 42 weeks to get induced. I had a previous stillborn son (most likely a placenta issue). I still had a few weeks to go but another mom in my grief group was 11 days overdue and had a stillborn daughter that they attributed to a “old placenta”. So, with my baggage, I get anxious about babies getting out safely and it seems like great risk for little gain to keep on waiting. There is good reason not to go over 42 weeks. I won’t go a day over 40 weeks anymore.

    1. Oh Jane, I’m so sorry to hear about your loss. I definitely have that risk in mind the whole time I’m overdue, it’s a terrifying thought and the reason I didn’t push it. I think I just cook babies slowly though, my mom says she cooked me till 44 weeks. When Judah was born the first thing the doctor said (after declaring the gender) was “this baby doesn’t look a day overdue.” You never know though.

  20. Big congrats to you and your nice little family! So great he came fairly quickly. I was induced also and the afterpains were horrid. So great that his brothers are excited about him and want to be around him. Definitely babies are fun to watch! Take good care of yourself and enjoy!

    1. Oh my gosh…yes! The afterpains with him were horrible. We had a bunch of family visiting in the hospital room afterward and I’m still in bed, breathing through contractions…for days. The nurses say it gets worse with each child, and by number three it’s pretty bad. So glamorous being a woman!

  21. Congratulations to you and your precious family. You have 3 beautiful, handsome boys! Enjoy this season of life and don’t blink, it goes so quickly! Mine are 35, 32 and 22!

  22. Congratulations Ashley and Adam!!! He’s a Beauty!! love the name, and I have 3 GROWN boys, and it has been a blast and a half, and I wouldn’t trade them for the world!! (although I AM holding out hope for ONE girl grandbaby someday??!!?!) and DO hold on to those precious baby days, they fly by way too fast, and then suddenly you are left with a yucky clean quiet empty nest. relish the days of a loud dirty home, you won’t believe how much you will miss it!!

    1. Thank you for this! I certainly do have a loud dirty home right now, and I don’t always appreciate or enjoy it. This is a great reminder that to enjoy these days, because they don’t last forever.

  23. He is absolutely GORGEOUS… WHAT A BLESSING! And yes… we are STILL AWAITING our baby boy… Dr. changed due dates on us all several time and now who knows?! 3+ cm dilated daughter and still waiting… will this be an April Fools Day boy?!

    Again, so very happy for you! I have checked daily to see if you posted. Gives me hope… at some point, grandbaby boy must come out! Ha-ha! Blessings on your entire lovely family – Mary Carolyn

    1. Postscript! Yes, my grandbaby boy finally made his appearance too — 3/31/15 (whew — no April Fool’s Baby this year!) and all is well! 6 lb 8 oz. of perfection and the entire family is madly in love! Whew… at last it is time to breath and relax a bit!

        1. He just could not have been a month overdue given 20 inches and only 6 lbs 8 oz…. not sure if it was the Dr. who could not count or the parents…. ! Regardless, he is perfect and doing wonderfully well. Hooray for babies who come when they are supposed to come — regardless of the rest of us on pins and needles!

  24. I think another boy is awesome! I have four sons, and a grandson now, and I love it. (I am sure I would have loved girls, too, as I AM a girl!) I am truly blessed with all my guys. And I am a bit envious you have this new little one.

  25. Congratulations!!! He totally looks like a Judah! And also like both Elijah & Levi. He mostly looks like Elijah but with Levi’s nose and brow line. At least what I can see from the photos.

    1. I think I agree. I look at him and see Elijah, but I think thats just because he don’t have an insane amount of black hair. I see some Levi in him if I look past that.

  26. They got bigger–OH MY!! My dad was the last of 6 kids and he was 16 pounds and his mom was a tiny 4 ft 8 inches!!! OUCH! And he was born 84 years ago on the kitchen table at their farm!

  27. He is so so adorable! (In fact, all your babes are!) I love the name Judah. Great name choice! Congrat, Ashley!!! So happy for you guys :D

  28. Congratulations! Welcome to the 3-boys club…it’s interesting and smells like bootie most of the time, but we have a great time!

    He’s gorgeous and snuggly – I’m jealous. I obviously need a baby fix, stat!

    1. Ha, yes it does smell like bootie! The other day my MIL was over, and after using the bathroom she came out and said “did you know there is poop on your shower curtain?” No, no I didn’t…but I’m not surprised.

  29. Congratulations to you and your family! Glad that everything went well. The photo of Elijah en Levi holding their little brother with you in de background is so adorable. Enjoy your family of 5!

  30. Congratulations! He is adorable & oh so precious! I love reading your blog. Your posts are inspiration for the home as well as family. God bless you and your family!

  31. Congrats to my favorite blogger, on your new addition. He’s beautiful, the name rocks, and I love the family Picts.

  32. So happy for you and Adam! John and I have been praying for y’all often! I saw Adam the other day at church and told him we missed seeing y’all. I work with Jamie often and I enjoy talking about your projects. I can’t wait to meet Judah and for yall to meet our latest addition Amelia! Take care!

    John and Taylor Hall

  33. Congrats! So glad to know everyone is healthy and happy. That 7th picture with Levi smiling at Judah is adorable. So so cute. Take care of yourself Mama.

  34. CONGRATULATIONS DEAR MAMA/PAPA!
    You have a beautiful baby!
    Baby #1 looks like Mama
    Baby #2 looks like Papa
    Baby #3 looks like Mama.
    Lord bless!

  35. Gorgeous baby. All of them are gorgeous. Glad it all went well. I just wanted to say, my baby was due on Nov 17th and I had him New Years Eve. Egads!!! 6 weeks over due. He started out at 9lbs11oz. My second baby was a month over due. Due 7/4 and delivered on 8/9. So I stopped after 2 kids cause I could not take another long pregnancy and have it be another boy! lol. :)

  36. Congrats!! Judah is beautiful! I think it’s awesome that you all didn’t find out the gender ahead of time. We have 6 kids and only found out once(with our third). It was neat to know and prepare but I prefer not knowing hands down. It was so exciting! Our first 5 were boys and we fully expected number 6 to be a boy as well. We figured we made boys and we were excited to have another. We prepared the nursery for a boy and picked out a boy name. Imagine our surprise when after a short 2 hour labor, the nurses announced “It’s a GIRL!”. We were pretty shocked. Like you, we had to take some time to decide on a name :) We finally decided on Amaris which means promised by God :) Again, congrats to your family! Enjoy your sweet boys!

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