Welcome Merritt

Whew!  The end of summer was a whirlwind!  We had lots of fun adventures in August and September despite the fact that I was carrying baby # 3 in my tummy.  More on that later...

I decided that instead of starting where I left off I really needed to start with the most important event first!  Merritt's birth!  We welcomed Merritt Wynn on October 13th.  My parents were here for almost a week before she arrived- which made the waiting/preparing much easier!  I was induced on that Saturday a.m. and Merritt came into the world at 2:50pm.  I opted to have an epidural so (thankfully) it was the most boring labor ever!  Landon and I relaxed and talked and finalized our little girl's name in the hours before she arrived.  When the time came I pushed twice and she was out!  It was really fun to have my parents be able to come to the hospital to see her on her first day of life- something that they weren't able to do with our other babies.  Landon's parents were around and helping too, of course, and Landon's sister and brother-in-law did a quick round-trip that evening to meet Merritt which was really fun!

She has definitely been higher maintenance than my first two babies.  My mom and I ran on very little sleep the first two weeks of her life.  But despite the fact that she loves to be awake and talks to us (cries) a lot the transition to mother of three has been fairly smooth.  The other kids have been great so the biggest burden is just the frequent feedings!

Hale and Merritt at the hospital

Brother Hale adores her.  For the first two weeks all he ever wanted to do was stay home with her and hold her.  He loves to talk to her and show her things and is distressed when she won't make eye contact with him (which is most of the time).  He is truly a help with her and knows how to soothe her if she is fussy.

The kids and Daddy at the hospital

Zetta and Merritt (Yes, Zetta's wearing her brother's old jammies.
What can I say?  The "ball gammies" are her favorites.)

I was really worried about Zetta's transition to being a big sister but she has been great!  She is so gentle and rarely invades the baby's personal space.  I explained that she couldn't kiss Merritt when she had a runny nose- and she's taken this rule VERY seriously.  She shouts "No Hale!  Nose!  Nose!" whenever Hale tries to kiss Merritt. She always asks "I see? I see?" because she wants to keep an eye on everything that the baby is doing.  Then she usually squeals "Oh baby!  Cute!  Cute!"



I can't believe Merritt's only been in our lives for a month- she's already changed so much!  She seems "big" to me already!


More pics from the hospital...

Merritt meets great grandma Hilda

...while Zetta plows through a bag of Cheetos

Grandma Susan

Merritt's first days at home.  I could not get over how much hair she had!

Landon's parents took care of the kids on Sunday, the day after Merritt was born.  My mom and dad cleaned my house and had it set up beautifully (with these flowers and gifts) to welcome us home.  It was such a special gift to us!  We had some family over for dinner that night and it was fun to celebrate Merritt's arrival with them all!

 Here are some more pictures of our girl.