Meeting Her Siblings

Stella and Cille stopped by on their way to school Thursday morning to meet their new sister...

Cille got to hold Corinne first because Stella got to hold Cille and Watts first,  We thought this was fair and Stella was okay with it...

Cille does have the attention span of a four year old, though, so her turn was over quickly.  Stella was ready...

They were so excited!

I still had my IV at that point and Cille was very interested in it as well as her sister...

Stella came back after school that afternoon and was able to help the nurse with Corinne's bath time.  She was so sweet calming her sister down with gentle words and holding her little hands...

Now that it is her third little sibling, Stella is pretty much a professional quality big sister...

Love...

I didn't feel half bad following our big night, which was a bit different than my normal childbirth experience...

Another tradition of ours is for the new baby to give gifts to the older kids.  Corinne chose rings for her big sisters.  Stella got to open hers first and she loved it...

More gifts are on the way!

Welcome, Corinne!

Corinne's due date was November 12, 2014, but all of our children have been at least 6 days late, so when the day rolled around I really didn't thing anything much would happen.  I could not have been more wrong!  After I got back home from dropping the kids off, I felt like I had a couple of contractions in the late morning hours.  By afternoon pickup, I was pretty sure that I was in the early stages of labor and when I picked Stella up and we started doing her homework, I used my cell phone to time contractions.  They were about 8 minutes apart and only lasted about 30 seconds each at that point, so I figured we had time.  Since it was Wednesday night, I called Damon and told him I would need help with the kids at church.  Our weekly tradition is to eat dinner at church with our friends on Wednesday night, let the kids play in the gym for a while, and then send the big girls to children's activities while Watts and I hang out with his friends in the nursery.   The contractions continued throughout our routine, and Damon and his mom switched places so that Damon could go work out.  Ms. Clara babysat me and Watts and Damon went to run.  When church was over, I was still feeling okay, but thought it would be better for Ms. Clara to drive my truck home with the kids.  I drove her truck back to the house and planned to just pull over if I had a debilitating contraction.  I did not, so it was an uneventful ride home.  When we got home Mr. Ray was there to help out and Ms. Clara started bathing kids while I made Stella some brownies (I usually bake for her on Wednesday nights because none of the desserts at church are peanut free) and laid out the kids' clothes for school the next morning.  Contractions continued and got a little stronger and closer together.  By the time Damon called to tell me he was bringing home gumbo and had enjoyed a fabulous trip to the hot tub post run, the contractions were rocking and rolling and I was a little resentful of his hot tubbing, to say the least.  When Damon arrived, Stella helped him load up the truck, we kissed everyone goodbye, and headed to the hospital.  

When we arrived at Woman's, the assessment center was a little full, to say the least.  Apparently the change in temperature had caused lots of people to go into labor, so as the nurse checked me in at triage she informed me that they were actually out of beds.  When I informed her that this was my fourth baby and I was having contractions about 5 minutes apart, they miraculously found a bed for me.  The nurse who checked me claimed that I was only 2-3 centimeters dilated, which I found slightly unbelievable due to the fact that I was in quite a bit of pain at that point.  I am pretty sure she was trying to set low expectations when she told me they might decide to send me home.  When she came back from talking to the doctor, she told me they were getting a room ready for us upstairs in labor and delivery.  "That's more like it," I thought.  When we got upstairs we met the best nurse ever.  Her name was Macy and she rocked because she got the people with the epidural on the way ASAP.  I started to get a little nauseous right before the epidural, which made me feel like I had probably progressed well beyond where the nurse downstairs thought I had.  I was told with Stella that the baby transitioning will make you nauseous.  When she checked me after the epidural and discovered that I was 8-9 centimeters, I felt like that was probably pretty accurate.  May I just once again take this opportunity to say how much epidurals rock?  Sure, there is a risk of paralysis, but the fact that it took me from the brink of misery to feeling no pain (and the fact that I can, in fact, still move my legs) made it well worth the risk.  They called my doctor, which I felt bad about because I didn't want him to have to get up in the middle of the night, and then we were basically sitting on go waiting for him to arrive.  I could feel that Corinne was ready to debut, but the nurses instructed me to stay flat on my back until the doctor got there.  I think they were starting to get nervous that the baby might beat him, but he walked through the door at 2:10 a.m.  Corinne made her grand entrance following three (rather mediocre, in my opinion) pushes at 2:16 a.m., a number that stuck out in my mind because 2/16 is my sister's birthday.  Corinne was super excited to be on the outside...   

Okay, maybe not that excited...

Weighing in at 7 pounds and 13 ounces, Corinne takes the prize for the smallest Pourciau baby, and I thank her for it.  She beat Cille by one ounce.  Stella takes the prize for largest, at a whopping 8 pounds, 12 ounces, and Watts wasn't far behind at 8 pounds, 10 ounces.  Corinne looks big in these pictures, but she's actually teeny tiny...

The first person to hold Corinne other than Daddy, Mommy, and the hospital staff was Mawmaw...

Two thumbs up for small babies!

Pawpaw looks a little confused by Corinne in this picture, but he was actually very excited to meet her...

More hospital fun to come!

Halloween: The Entourage and Trick or Treating

We have always joined up with friends and family for Halloween fun, but I think this might have been our biggest group yet!  Several people who joined us that night are missing from this picture, including Grandma Tonie, Tucker, Reid, Aunt Lacie, and several of our favorite neighborhood friends who joined us later...

Having only little kids around our house, we miss out on a lot of the fun that comes along with big kids.  We are so happy our friend Brandon is bringing big kid fun into our lives...

Cille was a trailblazing trick-or-treater.  She would often alert me "I've already been there!" when we approached a house...

Checking her loot...

Tucker and Reid joined us and boy, did they look super...

It was a little chilly, so Stella had to wear a sweatshirt.  It hurt the overall look of her costume, but at least she was comfortable...

Lots of our neighbors just left the candy on the porch so they could trick or treat with their own kids...

Trick or treating is serious business...

Several of our neighbors go all out for Halloween.  Our kids love it AND them!

Well, maybe not all our kids.  Watts much prefers this neighbor when she is walking her dog in normal clothing...

These tough guys were unfazed...they kept their eyes on the prize...

I think the highlight of the night for everyone was the neighborhood hayride.  Our kids ended up taking several hayrides that night...

Our sweet Caroline...we love her!

Buzz and Mawmaw taking a break at the neighborhood social...

Another hayride...

Cheese!

Watts somehow ended up with Brandon's tommy gun and proceeded to use it for a hold-up.  "Give me all your candy, or else!"

Halloween in Highland Greens!

Check out that freaky zombie baby in the background!

By the time we made it home, Grandma Tonie was ready to retreat to the warmth of the house, so Pawpaw took over candy duty for our last trick or treaters of the night...

The boys were ready to dig right in...

Thanks to everyone who joined us for Halloween!  We had a great time and we hope you did, too!  Can't wait to do it all again next year.  Now we just have to find a theme with at least 8 costumes...