Welcome Xander Leo!

It's been a very crazy and hectic week at the Smith household!

Well, for those who don't know...Nick and I welcomed another healthy baby boy, Xander Leo, into the world Sunday, July 11, 2010.

We went to the doctor on Friday, for a regular appointment. She said I was 3 cm...one more than the week before. My contractions didn't change much. Saturday morning I lost my mucuous plug...for those who don't know...GROSS!!!! My contractions started to pick up a little. I called the on-call doctor and he said it was nothing to worry about, so we didn't worry. Sunday morning, about 5:00a, I woke up to some pretty strong contractions. I started timing them and they were about 2-3 minutes apart. I woke Nick and the kids up at 6:00a and started to get things ready to go. Michael got to spend the day with Grandma and Grandpa Smith. The girls got to spend the day with Aunt Beezer. Nick and I got to the hospital around 7:30a. The nurse checked me and I was 5 cm. We decided before we went to the hospital that I would get an epidural, so I got that somewhere between 9:00 and 10:00. The nurse broke my water after I got the epidural. I was about 7 or 8 cm then. At about 12:30 it was time to start pushing. Xander was born at 12:43p. He weighed 8 lbs 2 oz. He was 20 inches long.

While I was in the hospital, I received the news that my uncle lost his battle with cancer. He passed away Tuesday, July 13 at around 5:30a. We decided to give Xander the middle name Leo, after my Uncle Phil.

†RIP Philip Leo Gerardot†

Xander and I came home Tuesday afternoon. The kids immediately fell in love with their baby brother! He definitely does not lack attention! All three of them want to hold him and give him lots of hugs and kisses! Big sister Lillian

Big brother Michael

Big sister Catherine

He is definitely the easiest of the four, so far. I don't know how much of that is him and how much of it is me! He sleeps through the night really well. He'll get up once between 2-4 and won't get up until about 7, so no complaints there! He took real well to breastfeeding! We've given him a few bottles after he breastfeeds to help with his jaundice, which has really helped! I guess after four kids I've finally figured out what I'm doing :)

God Bless †