In Case You Were Wondering Wednesday

So, I realize it's actually THURSDAY, but I have a real excuse for being a day late this time.

Yesterday our internet was down ALL DAY! When Eric called the provider they said that a fiber optic cable had been cut. Apparently that takes a LONG time to fix. Our internet came back up around 11 last night, but I was in bed.

So how do I know it came on around 11? Because I left my computer on and suddenly I got notifications from my Instand Messaging program. But that's beside the point.

Onto this weeks:

MOMMY SURVEY

1. How old were you with your pregnancy?
TANIS - 20
SHAYLYN - 22
ALEX - 24
NATE - 28
AILEY - 30

2. How far along were you when you found out?
This is pretty much the same answer for all 5 kids. I've known at 4 weeks. Sometimes a bit sooner.

3. Any morning sickness?
TANIS - Occasionally, he was the one where I couldn't eat very much with at first. SHAYLYN - I only got sick if I didn't eat
ALEX - I don't remember...
NATE - I couldn't eat for the first few weeks with him
AILEY - I lived on soda crackers on Gingerale the first 3 months with her

4. What did you crave?
TANIS - Donuts and Hamburgers
SHAYLYN - I can't remember
ALEX - I can't remember
NATE - Bottlecap Candy
AILEY - Fruits and Pizza

5. How much weight did you gain?
TANIS - About 60 lbs.
SHAYLYN - 30 lbs.
ALEX - Probably around 50 lbs.
NATE - 40 lbs. or so
AILEY - Again 40 lbs. or so

6. Did you exercise while pregnant?
I only exercised religiously with Shaylyn, and occasionally with Ailey. I never did with the boys.

7. Did you like being pregnant?
TANIS - Yes
SHAYLYN - Yes
LEX - For the most part
NATE - Yes
AILEY - Not at first

8. Were you scared?
TANIS - Yes
SHAYLYN - No
LEX - No
NATE - No
AILEY - Yes

9. Would you do it again?
If I felt like I needed to, but at this point, I don't feel like it'll be necessary

10. How did you know you were in labor?
TANIS - My water broke
SHAYLYN - I had major contractions (probably was only Braxton Hicks though)
ALEX -Woke up to a wet bed
NATE - He was forced to come, so there wasn't a knowing period for him
AILEY - My water broke

11. Did your water break?
With everyone except for Shaylyn and Nate, as you can read above

12. How long did labor last?
TANIS - About 14 hours
SHAYLYN - About 5 hours
ALEX - 3 hours
NATE - 4 - 6 hours...(I can't remember what time they started me exactly)
AILEY - 7 hours

13. Who was in the room with you?
Just Eric and the medical staff, although with Tanis we also had a few people from NICU there, just in case.

14. Would you change that?
Nope, never... okay, maybe the part about the NICU staff with Tanis - that was scary.

15. Who cut the cord?
Eric cut each one

16. How was the baby's name chosen?
TANIS - It was a characters name in a book Eric read and he really like the character and all that he represented.
SHAYLYN - Was a name I heard when I was young and I decided then that I was going to name my daughter that. Luckily Eric agreed.
ALEXANDER - Was one of two names we had finally settled on. We decided after watching Smallville and hearing that Lex Luthor's real name was Alexander, we went with that. Not because we hoped our son would be villianous, but because we liked the nickname of 'Lex' and that it wasn't 'Alex'
NATHANIEL - Quite honestly it was the only name we could both agree upon.
AILEY - A few years after Shaylyn came around, Eric was playing with names for his characters on one of his video games. He came up with Ailey and decided he really liked it and if we EVER had a girl again, that would be her name. Luckily for him, I liked it too.

17. Weight at birth?
TANIS - 6 lbs. 11 oz.
SHAYLYN - 6 lbs. 5 oz.
ALEX - 6 lbs. 5 oz.
NATHANIEL - 6 lbs. 11 oz.
AILEY - 6 lbs. 15 oz.

18. Length at birth?
TANIS - 19 inches
SHAYLYN - 20 inches
ALEX - 19 1/2 inches
NATE - 20 inches
AILEY - 19 inches

19. Age today?
TANIS - 10
SHAYLYN - 8, anxiously going on 30
ALEX - 6
NATE - 2
AILEY - 5 months (sniff, sniff)

20. Who does the child look like?
TANIS - Used to look like my little brother, but now I'm convinced he's just a mix. SHAYLYN - Another mixed up child
ALEX - Definitely looks like my little brother. It's a little scary to me at times.
NATE - A dead ringer for his Dad
AILEY - Still trying to figure it out...but looks like her Dad at times

21. Who is the father?
Eric is the father for all of them, in case any of you were actually wondering...

22. Do you love him?
More than anything in the world

23. Is he a good dad?
It's been difficult for him, but he is great. He sometimes doubts that, but I think he is awesome! Especially as the kids get older.

24. What has been the worst illness so far?
TANIS - He hasn't gotten anything worse than the flu or a cold
SHAYLYN - RSV at 3 months
ALEX - His lips turned blue as well as his extremities. When we took him in they said it was just a cold.
NATE - Hasn't really been that sick. Our biggest concern with him has been his skin issues.
AILEY - Thankfully we haven't had anything happen with her yet.

25. What is the biggest achievement recently?
TANIS - He can ride a bike w/o training wheels (Yes, it's sad....we failed the poor boy)
SHAYLYN - Ah heck...She's become a little entrepeneur
ALEX - Has also learned to ride a bike w/o training wheels
NATE - He sleeps all night! FINALLY!!!
AILEY - Can roll all over the place now

26. What's the child's favorite thing to do?
TANIS - Play video games
SHAYLYN - Come up with ways to earn money
ALEX - Loves to be with friends
NATE - Play with action figures and the like
AILEY - Make sure people pay attention to her

27. Would you change anything?
TANIS - I would work harder at making his self-esteem higher
SHAYLYN - I wouldn't try to ignore her ideas
ALEX - I would be more patient with him
NATE - I would've been more stubborn about where he slept
AILEY - I wouldn't change anything yet, but she's still young!