www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk2Rs4yXyfU

Disneyland was pure craziness and pure joy. Four is still more than three – especially while travelling. Lots of stories to tell about all that – from celebrity sightings to Ride Math. A special thanks to Jenn and Grandma and Grandpa Barsness and Aunt Rachel, without whom our sanity and our photos would be sorely lacking. More later this week!

Here’s a few more not in the feed…

For example: today I had to be reminded that some toddlers need their diapers duct-taped at nap time.

Most parents reading that sentence will chuckle. Most of us have been there. I have been there. So really I have no excuses and deserve no sympathy. I should have seen the tell-tale signs: Maya was increasingly more undressed every time we got her out of bed. Yesterday morning, she greeted me in only a diaper, holding her onesie aloft triumphantly, flashing a big cheesy grin as if to say “Mission Accomplished!” Cute, right? Maybe that’s why I didn’t hear the 50s sci-fi robot in my subconscious trying to warn me: “Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!” But I was to distracted by her adorableness to see the logical conclusion of this pattern of behavior. Only too late did I recall that Arnold Girls love a challenge, and  for Maya there was only one more disrobing mountain to climb.

Only the diaper was left.

You already know what happened. I will spare you the gory details. Let’s just say that she succeeded in getting the diaper off before she went to sleep. Sometime during that nap nature took it’s course. And apparently nature was angry. And Maya awoke. She is an artist at heart, it would seem, and something deep within led her to express her creativity with a display of finger-painting that has led me to nickname her “Poopcaso.”

A shower, and couple loads of laundry, a lot of disinfectant, one toy taken apart, and several rounds of Mom’s special stuffed animal cleansing method later, and we are almost back to normal. As I scrubbed and disassembled, a wave of deja vu swept over me, followed immediately by chagrin: I suddenly remembered I have done this dance before. With the twins. Both of them. We tried a lot of things to solve it. We finally had to go all “Red Green” on ‘em: they could not defeat duct tape.

So Maya now has improvised industrial strength diaper closures. If memory serves, the next step is climbing out of the crib. That should be a hoot with this one…

For now, I am thankful for small problems and a big family. And I’m taking some Ginko, cause I’ve really got to try to remember this stuff…

When Stacey was in college, one of her assignments was to go to Bellevue Square, watch children playing in the play area and write down observations. This is, of course, an assignment destined for disaster, especially if the student is a male and they happen to record some of their observations on a camera phone. “It’s for a school project” is an explanation likely to get you tackled by burly mall security guards.

But why risk the indignity of being taken down by rent-a-cops? Come on over to Arnold-ville, where you can observe four siblings in their native habitat! You can see a living example of just about every stage in your text book, all with in the space of an hour or two. For extra credit, you can take ‘em to a playground or feed them a meal and get even more learnin’ on.

Case in point: Middle Child Syndrome / New Baby Anxiety. Maya is no longer the baby. She’s coping fairly well, but yesterday she was trying out all the baby items in the house -- swing, car seat, pacifier. I got it on video (sort of -- see below), but seeing it live is oh so much more informative.

Or we could hire a film crew. If the recent documentary “Babies” is any indication, people love to sit in theaters and watch babies for two hours at eleven bucks a pop. Sure babies are cute, but they don’t really do that much. Add two preschoolers and a toddler -- now that’s entertainment! Of course, this sort of veers into the whole “Jon & Kate” / “Balloon Boy” opportunism, so maybe we should pull it back a bit, even though in the American psyche nothing says ‘I love my kids” more than a little exploitation (That was sarcasm, people. Cutting edge social commentary smothered in tasty ironic nougat).

Until the UW calls to set up their extension campus here, I will continue to document the developments for science and posterity. Think of me as your Dev. Psych. Jane Goodall, and this blog as “Toddlers in the Mist.” The mist, in this case, is the spray from the kitchen sink faucet one of them has gotten a hold of. Yipe! Gotta go!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKr8TlWew_A

I was thinking about the road Ella took into the world. It was by no means easy on Stacey (being pregnant while having three girls four and under already is no picnic). It was by no means simple -- having a baby never is. But the pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum hospital stay were, by all accounts, routine, unremarkable, and entirely normal.

This means something to us. Our first two pregnancies were far from normal. They began with medical assistance and were considered high risk the whole way through. Compared to Janae, Corinne, and Maya, Ella had:

• The longest gestation. The twins were born at 36 weeks, Maya at barely 37, Ella at 39.
• No jaundice, bili blankets, bili beds, or home photo therapy.
• Just over 48 hours in the hospital.
• No long term stay in Special Care Nursery.

Ella was conceived against all odds. No one thought it medically possible. Having her here is a one in a billion shot. Everyone who hears the story says “she is a miracle baby.” So true. Even more than you know. It is a miracle she was conceived. Her time in the womb was miraculous. Her birth and first few days have been astonishing.

All because they’ve been so ridiculously normal.

It makes me marvel and the goodness of God. The Bible always talks about “signs and wonders.” We know signs are to point to a specific truth, fact, or action item. But wonders? They are intended to leave us breathless and speechless at the beauty, power, and grace of our Father. And I am. We asked for a baby for a long time before the twins. I think God sent along this little wonder to remind us that He answered then, but is also able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine.

I am thankful for the miracle of normal.

Now a video of our “Wide-Eyed Wonder Girl.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYJmQiTbsQU

…or maybe this afternoon. Ella was up all night again, and has finally gone to sleep. Gotta work on that whole night / day routine…

Good news – we are cleared to head home today! This will be our shortest hospital stay of all the pregnancies. Special thanks to Team Barsness for taking on the other three through today and to Team Barker for taking the home stretch – not sure what we would have done without you!

Ella is a great eater, which is a mixed blessing. All good for sure, but a bit exhausting for Mom. We never really experienced the full-blown “marathon feeding” with the others – pretty crazy. She wanted to eat every 30 minutes or so. Her bilirubin levels are normal so far, which means no home phototherapy for jaundice – also a first for an Arnold Girl! Now Mom and baby are sleeping and I am packing up. Should get some final tests going and final paperwork, then home sweet home! I figured out how to get at least one good picture in low light with Stacey’s fancy-dancy camera. Here it is:

Talk to you when we get home…

5:30 am. Alarm goes off. I shoot alarm with .44 Magnum. In my head. In real life, I drag my sorry carcass out of bed. Ugh.

6:30 am. Stacey’s Mom arrives to take over twins and Maya duties for a few days. Thanks Grandma!

7:30 am. We arrive at the hospital and get checked in. We learn that despite my assurances to the contrary, the c-section is scheduled for 9:15, not 9am. I still think I was right. Its the rest of the world that got it wrong.

9:10 am. We head to the OR. When we arrive, we are told there is an emergent case before us and we will be delayed. We head back to our room for another hour.

10:10 am. Back to the OR. For reals this time. Stacey gets a spinal anesthetic. It doesn’t take. It has to be redone a second time.

10:47 am. Ella is born! There was much rejoicing. Yaaaaay. She is 7 lbs 8 oz (our biggest baby yet). She is 20″ long. Apgar is 8/9. She is having a bit of trouble breathing. After seeing that her sats drop into the 80s on room air, the special care nurse is recalled. She decides to take her up to the Special Care Nursery.

I must stop here to elaborate. The twins were both in SCN, which is one step below the NICU, but comes with a lot of the same restrictions. They were there four days. The SCN is way at the other end of the building from the normal patient rooms. Mom doesn’t get to see baby until she can get up and walking. And once you are in SCN, there is a long checklist to get out. We were very much praying she would be able to breathe better soon and avoid all that.

The first phase in SCN is a four hour observation period. After that, she is admitted. I kept running back and forth between Stacey’s room and Ella’s room to keep up with it (deja vu all over again). She was getting better and better. On my final trip over, I found the nurse giving her a bath and preparing to feed her -- a very good sign! She was able to eat (suck, swallow, breathe -- the first thing you learn in life) and pinked up after the bath. I should rephrase -- the bath made her angry, so she screamed and turned red all over. Just like Corinne. And Maya.

So somewhere in the 3:30 range Ella got to come over to Mom’s room. We’re all together now! Ella is starting to nurse, and Mom is stoked to have her close. All is well in babyland.

Just after we got Ella moved in Stacey’s brother and sister-in-law and their three kids came by, followed immediately by Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Rachel, and Ella’s sisters Janae, Corinne, and Maya. At one point we had 6 children running around the waiting room, and got a stern, well-deserved talking to from the nurse on duty. It was great seeing everyone, and perfect timing for everyone to come by and welcome Ella. Janae and Corinne got to hold their new baby sister and give her presents. Quotes of the day from the twins:

Janae: Mommy, why are you just laying there so much?

Corinne: Mommy, now that Ella is out of your tummy can you go to Disneyland and ride roller coasters with us?

Things are mellow now at 6:30 pm. Ella is getting some Mom time and had a great first feeding. Dad is getting some blogging time. All is right with the world . Here is the only video I’ve gotten uploaded as yet. The rest and a slew of photos coming soon. Maybe after I get a nap. Or some coffee. Decisions, decisions.

Thanks to everyone who called, stopped by, texted, and Facebooked -- your prayers and well wishes are a great support to us.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2FBSAb-Xh8

The amniocentesis showed the lungs were not quite ready for prime time, so a few more days of waiting til we get to see her. Stay tuned…