Welcome to the newest Fosburg family member!

Okay, so no, we didn't disappear! The day after the last post I was induced at the hospital. I know you're all anxious for the "report", but honestly, today is the first I've felt good enough to stay awake during "rest time."

So, our beautiful new baby girl, Alexandra Hope, was born on Tuesday, 15 February 2011, at 3:45pm ET. She was a whopping 8lbs. 14oz. and 22 in long. Yes, I'm sure and no, I have no idea where she was hiding. I do have some explanations now though as to why I was so uncomfortable the last month! Pregnancy and I usually have an unhappy relationship, but this was incredible.

It was also the first pain-free labor and delivery I had experienced. I was so relieved! Afterwards I was even more relieved! Can't believe Heavenly Father seriously thought that large a baby was coming from this small a body without help! Good thing the epidural worked this time. I've actually had it all four times, but something always happened before to make the epidural pointless. Thank goodness things worked out this time. It was a slightly strange experience though - to go from serious hatred of having babies to sleeping through the contractions to get to the pushing part. It was so odd, but I can totally see how other women end up in church the first Sunday after delivering their children. I could too, it was easy!

The hospital stay was fine, but I have to confess, I missed my little ones at home by the second day. We had so many wonderful friends stay with our kids during those few days and even more brought dinners that week. It was such a relief to know my kids were taken care of and later, that I didn't have to worry about what my family was going to eat for dinner.

It's amazing how stressful meal time can be when all you want to do is crawl into bed and stay there forever. (Eventually the epidural had to wear off!) Having a baby is still pretty hard on a body, though my back pain probably had more to do with trying to correct itself after hauling a 9lbs child for the last while. (Still working on that too).

Coming home

For those of you interested, no I never did gain any major weight, but I was super proud to have gained all that I originally lost! I got all the way to 136lbs before I delivered. That means that I gained about 25lbs during the pregnancy. That's a decent and healthy gain. Now if I could just not lose so much at the beginning, women of the world might start to like me again. At this point, I only weigh about 118lbs, which does not look fantastic on me. Everyone is so envious of the little body, but all I see is all the bones that I shouldn't be able to see. I also easily notice all the muscle mass I've lost. I can hardly lift Joseph now and he only weighs 25lbs. Seriously, how sad is that? So, as soon as I get the go ahead, I'm headed to the gym to get my muscles back. I like the flat stomach, but I'll take a little shaplier body if it means I can play with my kids more.

Anyway, enough about me, onto the KIDS!

Evelynn: loves having another baby doll in the house. Lizzy is getting too big for Evie to pretend she's a baby so Ally came at the right time for her. She's such a great help for me. I'm just learning how to do things with four and she's been so good at offering to hold Ally or to feed her. She loves it and can't get enough of her. This little one has been showered with blown hugs and kisses since Evie first laid eyes on her.

Joseph: didn't really seem to care all that much. He's interested, but in a disinterested kind of way. He notices her and gives her kisses whenever Evie does and at night after family prayer, but that's about as far as it goes. He likes to look at her, but doesn't really care one way or the other.

Elizabeth: unlike her brother, definately notices there's another child at home. She's not as thrilled as Evie either. Lizzy has gotten really clingy and in general, is not totally happy to not have all mom and dad's attention. She loves to look at Ally and has even tried to touch her, playing with the little feet. It makes her giggle when Ally pulls them away. She gets the little grin with the dimple whenever she's sitting next to a parent holding the baby. We feel that eventually she'll be really close to her sister and as long as we spend a little extra time with the two of them together, Lizzy will see that we love and adore all our children. We'll keep you posted on that one.

Alexandra: holy cow! What a different little girl. She's a total mix of the other kids and brand new at the same time. She sleeps up to 4hrs at a time and eats like a champ. (We tried breastfeeding, but it was a total failure.) With others being able to help feed her, we all get the chance to be close to the baby. She is growing really well too. My first child to start on the growth charts!!! She lost about a pound in the first couple of days (normal) and has been steadily climbing back to her birthwieght. Unlike the other Fosburg kids, she might actually make her birthweight by the end of her first month. She is so content most of the time and in the opposite vein of Lizzy's banshee wail, Ally's cry is much deeper and quieter. I don't mind getting up at 3am to feed her because I don't have a headache already from hearing her cry. It's a fantastic improvement for a mom of four little ones. Ally seems to fit so well into the mix.

So many asked me about having a fourth child. Quite a few were surprised at my willingness to have another so quickly and a number were shocked into silence at the very thought of my wanting a fifth while still carrying the fourth. But I found to my great delight and according to my expectations (that rarely happens does it?) that I have never and still don't ever regret having another. Ally is a wonderful addition to our family already. She balances out Elizabeth so well and makes Evelynn the happiest of big sisters. I think, in time, even Joseph will really like her. She seems to be that calm child, the easy going one, the relaxed one. Thank goodness! I'm so glad that Chris and I as a couple planned on a large family. They make me so happy.

Daddy's third little girl!

Hearing others comment on how good my kids are or how beautiful my family is or hearing others tell Chris how lucky he is just make me want to burst with happiness. I've never felt that way about any other undertaking in my whole life. I hate being so tired or having to sacrifice other things in life to be a mom, but I know there's nothing else to compare with the fulfillment I feel at the end of a long day when all my kids are sleeping soundly, my home is picked up (notice I didn't say clean - I'm not super woman!), my husband is relaxing on the couch after dinner and I'm just enjoying the free time. I'm so glad I didn't listen to the voices of the world that told me motherhood wasn't as amazing at it is. They were right though, it's so much better and harder and more exciting and more difficult. There's no way anyone who has not been a parent should get to voice an opinion on being one. It's so much more of everything than you can imagine.

Well, that's my plug for parenthood. It takes a lot of work, but it's so worth more than anything else you can do. I'm just really blessed to have a good husband, great family support, and the gospel of Jesus Christ to lead me and guide me in this endeavor. It's way too hard to do alone.

Hope you all are well and thank you so much for all your well-wishes and happy prayers. We have felt so loved by you all.