Britton is 9 Months Old!

Our baby boy turned 9 months old today. He was supposed to have a well-check but his momma got the time of the appointment mixed up, so he got his first hair cut instead!

Here's our big guy pre-hair cut when he was still excited to be sitting in a helicopter. The stylist commented on how cool his hair color was, like a natural ombre.

Britton did not enjoy getting his hair cut and screamed and wiggled the entire time. But the ladies at Shear Madness were amazing. One wrestled him down while the other blew bubbles which calmed him down for a little while.

After his hair cut, I was anxious to get him home to take his nine month photos. I mean, look at how handsome he is! But taking his picture has become more and more challenging as he has gotten more mobile and his brother and sister have become more wild. 

He's very loved, if you couldn't tell.

People usually say he looks like his cousin Everett, but I think he his new do makes him look more like his older cousin Carter.

Oh, hello handsome. Why did it take us so long to cut your hair?

Besides wooing us all with his new look, Britton is crawling (you can tell by how red the top of his feet are in the photo above) and pushing out his first tooth. He also loves to clap and watch TV (all concerns about the TV killing brain cells are gone by the third kid) and has conquered his fear of the bathtub and the pool.

Britton is 8 Months Old!

Our littlest one turned 8 months old yesterday and in an effort to pause time, I'm finally doing a blog update on him.

I just love this curious, almost crawling, scooting everywhere stage and I find myself often wishing that he didn't have to grow up anymore. We're planning on him being the last baby and I don't have the hopes of another little to snuggle to get me through this first year where everything changes so quickly. The only thing I can do is try to soak up as much of his littleness as I can.

Britton is 8 months old and finally (FINALLY!!) sleeping better at night. We've been doing the dream feed and it seems to be working. 

Everyone asks me if he is always happy and for the most part he is. As a third child though, he has gotten used to always having someone around and he has begun crying when we leave the room. But other than that, he's a pretty content lil' guy who loves to play and wrestle with his big brother and sister.

Addy enjoys playing the big sister role, looking after and "taking care" of her baby brother, but Britton really likes her obnoxious 5 year old behavior which can always make him laugh out loud.

Britton is also very loved by his big brother Remi even though Britton has a tendency to look past him (as pictured above). Every once in awhile though, Remi will do something that makes Britton chuckle.

At 8 months, Britton isn't crawling yet but he gets around pretty well by rolling or scooting. His scoot is pretty funny as it's not really a scoot, but more like and army crawl where he gets up on one elbow/forearm and throws his body forward, pushing off with his feet. His brother and sister are starting to get more protective of their toys as he gets more mobile. 

 Another notable milestone is that Britton has become quite the eater! After a stint of throwing up any purees I made him, we gave the Baby Led Weaning method a try and he's loving it! He will usually join us for every meal now, munching or gnawing on bell peppers, pork chops and chicken. This afternoon he even had some cheese slices with the big kids.

He's just a sweet, happy little guy who probably needs a hair cut soon.

Floppy hair, don't care.

He loves the feel of the tile and can somehow scoot himself all the way across the living room to it.

I usually find him sleeping on his tummy and when he is working on falling asleep he puts a blanket over his head.

Bringing Home Baby Britton

I set down to write this post when our little guy was only a week old. Two weeks later, Im finally getting around to finishing. I guess that's a good example of what life is like with 3 and you're running on little sleep. I usually opt for a nap when I do get some free time. Posting photos isn't on the top of my priority list these days. But, since this blog has always served as way of preserving memories for me, I'll pour another cup of coffee and skip the nap today. 

Britton has been home for a week   almost 3 weeks and we are so thankful we got to spend his first week at home. It was a precious time for all of us and the weeks since then seem to have flown by. Here's a little glimpse of what these early weeks as a family of 5 have been like:

Welcome home baby brudder! 

They both asked to hold him as soon as we got home from the hospital.

Always the little momma, Addy is adjusting well and finding ways to be helpful. When she's not holding Britton or helping her Mom, she's imitating me with her own baby.

Bringing a baby home to a 4 year old is a lot different than coming home to a 2 year old. There are a lot more questions! Most of them I am happy answer and for some I'm thankful when her Dad answers: "isn't it cool that God made it that way? And that's all you need to know for now."

Remi is equally excited about Britton, who he sometimes refers to as "that baby" or "my baby sister." He asks to hold him frequently but needs to be under constant supervision when he does.

He will be thrilled someday when they can finally rough house together. Until then, he's learning how to give the baby gentle love pats.

Being the third kid, Britton has no problem letting us know when he's upset.

Meeting sweet cousin Carter.

This was a typical scene that first week. Britton was usually being held or read to, or both.

Man talks with Dad

I found these while cleaning out my phone. The kids love to take pictures of the baby and other things.

Sweet Gran spent two weeks with us which was such a blessing! But between momma always having to feed him and his siblings fighting over him, she would often have to wait till late in the evening to get to hold Britton. 

Goodness, when did Remi get so big??

Oh my heart.

I can't wait to see how Britton continues to change and grow and how our family adapts along with him.

Britton Knox Danner

He's here! Our baby BOY is finally here. 

Britton Knox was born on a beautiful fall day, September 20th, 2015 at 12:34 pm. He weighed 9 lbs, 4 oz and was 21 inches long.

The night before Britton was born, Matt, the kids and I had dinner with my parents who were in town for a pickle ball tournament. I was two days over due. We talked about how we didn't think this baby would ever come and how praying for patience is never a good idea. My parents headed back up to Colorado that night not knowing that they would be headed back down the next morning. 

Feeling a little bit discouraged that I still didn't have a baby in my arms and not wanting to face another round of "no baby yet?" and "praying we don't see you next Sunday"s, (all from very loving people who were just as anxious for me to have a baby as I was), we opted to skip church the next morning. We planned on having a relaxing Sunday where we would gear up for another week. 

Around 6 O'Clock Sunday morning, I woke up to go to the bathroom. When I laid back down my back started to hurt. And then it stopped. And then it started again. And then it stopped. And then it started again….You get the idea, labor had begun! 

I started timing the contractions, woke Matt up and got dressed. The contractions were starting to get more painful and a little more consistent. We woke up the kids, dropped them off at their aunt's house and headed down town to the hospital. Strangely, the freeway was closed at 6:30 on a Sunday morning. We managed to get there anyway and when we arrived at Triage the nurse said: "What brings you in today?"

I was 3 cm when they checked me. The nurse and the midwife kept saying things like: "If this is labor…." I was pretty sure it was but I guess the baby wasn't responding to the contractions like they wanted him too, something about an old placenta. (?) The plan was to get the baby to respond and then send me for a walk. Well by the time they wanted me to walk, I could barely move and the contractions were killing me. I guess I was screaming pretty loud because every nurse in triage found their way to my room to see what was going on. When they checked me again, I was 6 cm. Things were moving fast and I was beginning to panic because it hurt and I wanted the drugs. 

The nurses (there were like 5 in the room at this point) began poking me for an IV so I could get the epidural as soon as they moved me into labor and delivery. Apparently, I have bad veins because they tried in 4 different places before calling the anesthesiologist, in to get the job done. (I'm pretty sure I was freaking out at this point). When that was finally over with, they raced me into another room at Labor and Delivery. I had my eyes closed the whole time but it seemed like we were flying down the hall. 

Once we got to our room, everyone got hats and masks for the epidural and Matt got a special chair directly in front of me. (Have I mentioned how great Matt was? He deserved that special chair) I was 8 cm at this point and they didn't think it would work. Thankfully it did. In fact, it worked so well that at one point I couldn't feel my chest and had a hard time breathing. And then I started to freak out again. They put me on oxygen and lowered the dosage. 

At this point, things slowed down. I couldn't feel the contractions anymore, I was still on oxygen but able to relax. Matt and I both closed our eyes for a little while and some where in there my parents finally checked their phone and started to head back down to Albuquerque. 

Somewhere around 11 O'Clock or so, as they began to lower the dosage of the epidural, I felt the need to push, like really felt it. I didn't remember this feeling with my other two deliveries and I started to panic. Again. Thankfully, Matt was a great coach and talked me out of panic mode for what must have been the third time that day. 

I didn't have to push for very long before we had a baby. According to Matt, he came out "spread eagle" so announcing the sex was much easier this time. It was a boy! We were thrilled and so so surprised. Another little boy.

They placed him on my chest right away without even cutting the cord. I held him for an hour after he was born. A whole hour before they even touched him! I'm tearing up as I type this. I had never gotten to do that with my other babies and I was so thankful. The midwife said right away that he wouldn't have to go the NICU and Matt and I were both praising the Lord for answering our prayers. He had given us a healthy baby boy. 

When they did finally take him from me to measure and weigh him, Matt looked out the window and said "Its a beautiful fall day to have a baby." And it was. 

Turns out, Britton was another big boy, like his brother. He weighed in at 9 lbs and 4 oz, after having just pooped and peed.

My sweet parents arrived probably about 5 minutes after Britton was born and they were so patient, hanging out in the waiting room until they could come in and see him. 

Addy and Remi got to meet Britton that night. We were a little worried about Addy since she wanted a sister so bad but she was in love at first sight. 

Sweet Remi might have been a little confused but he was excited to sit in my lap and hold the baby. He also learned his name right away. 

Holy cow, we have 3 kids!

All my babies together at last.

Matt and I spent the night in the hospital with Britton, our first time having a baby in the room with us and it felt so much more normal. The next day, a little over 24 hours later we were able to go home. It felt a little surreal but we were so thankful. 

What a blessing it has been to be recovering at home with all of our kids under one roof. 

We give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.