I was going to do a post about "random things" and decided against it. I've done so many of those and as much stuff as there is going through my head these days, I might ramble on for days about it. Quite frankly, I'm pretty sleepy--so I will say one thing that has been on my mind and you can judge my craziness on a scale of 1-10 if you'd like:
Does anyone else have like MAJOR issues with their babies getting bigger/older? I don't know if it's leftover pregnancy hormones or if I am just a crazy lunatic (maybe both), but it's something that I am struggling with. I think maybe the finality of having Eva and her being our last "planned" baby has really messed with me. Every milestone is the LAST one I'll get to witness. Every outfit that she grows out of is the LAST time I'll have a baby that size. I could dwell on it, but I try not to. Having children and watching them grow and become big people that you are proud of is part of the "journey" (I really do hate that word), and I am so excited to do just that, but my goodness the time really seems to fly by! And I am home with them 7 days a week--I cannot imagine what it must feel like to those of you who have to spend 40+ hours a week away from your kids. Ugh. With that being said, my girls are doing great and growing and thriving and I am keeping them quarantined away from people with their dirty flu germs in hopes that I can keep them from getting it. More about them in posts coming up this month. I'm about to have a 2 month old and a 21 month old. :)
This post is called "Routines", right? Okay--I will write about that then.
Let me just start off by saying that I am not real strict about routines with my girls. We have a routine and things that we do at certain times every day, but if things come up or our routine gets messed with, I don't get all freaked out. Isabel has always been so good about adjusting to anything and everything and Eva is too little to know the difference just yet. If we need to get stricter, we will. But, I wanted to write what an average day-to-day routine is like for us so that I can look back and see whenever the urge may strike me. Or so that I can explain to my girls why Momma is off her rocker. :)
-This is of course a day when JT is at work.
*I usually get up around 5 a.m. or so and feed & change Eva and then we are back to bed by 5:30.
*Isabel usually wakes up anywhere from 7:30-8:30 and I get her up, change her diaper and get her breakfast made. (usually oatmeal or microwaveable pancakes with some sort of fruit and milk, nothing too difficult to make) She normally watches either PBS or Disney while she eats and I can get myself a cup of coffee and start a load of laundry or the dishwasher or whatever. I normally don't eat breakfast.
*Eva is usually hungry and awake by 8:30 or 9:00. If both girls wake up at the same time, things are a little crazier, but if I have that first initial 30 minutes to get Isabel set up, I'm golden.
*Eva wakes up, I get her diaper changed and feed her a bottle.
*From 9-10, I usually just sit and hold Eva while Isabel watches Sesame Street or plays with her toys. I spend entirely too much time on the internet during this time and that is about to stop. I have lost all control. Anyway....
*Between 10-12 I usually try to pick up a little or console a crying kiddo, sometimes 2 crying kiddos, just depending on how our morning is going. I try to stay on top of laundry and dishes, any other type of cleaning is usually done around JT's schedule or if my Mom is watching one or both of the girls. Needless to say, my "neat freak" status has gone out the window.
*Isabel usually goes down for a nap between 12-1 and I give Eva another bottle and change her diaper. If Eva goes to sleep during that time, I usually take that time to shower/brush teeth. (Yes, that's right, my teeth have not been brushed at this point, lol) Honestly, somedays I take that time to nap as well. And I pretty much always kick myself for not using that time to clean. If Eva does not sleep during that time, then I hold her and smooch on her little baby head, and that is quite a bit of fun too. :)
*Isabel gets up between 1:30-2:30 and I get her diaper changed and get her some lunch. If I haven't eaten yet, I usually do so around this time.
*Normally Eva sleeps an hour or so in the afternoon and I can play with Isabel for a couple of hours. Sometimes she wants nothing to do with me and just wants to watch "Elmo gan" (Elmo again) or "Elmo dat" (Elmo on that (tv)). Or "Frogs" which is the LeapFrog Letter Factory video that is teaching my child to be a genius, seriously. More on that later...
*Several more diapers are changed. Bottles are fed. Snacks are given.
*Daddy comes home at 7 and I start dinner.
*We eat dinner between 7:30-8:00.
*8:00 is bathtime for Isabel every night and Eva follows (every other night). Girls are lotioned up and jammies put on.
*8:30 is Isabel's bedtime.
*9:00 Eva takes a bottle and then goes to bed. Daddy goes to bed at this time too. I work out (okay this just started this week) and then shower and go to bed by 10:00 if I'm not blogging like I am right this second. :)
If I have to get the girls out to run errands, then well this is a whole different story. I generally need a good 2 hours in advance to get myself ready, both girls ready, diaper bag packed, and everyone and everything loaded in the car.
If anyone is reading this you are now bored to tears, but it's just one of those things that I want to remember and update every so often because I know it will change as they get bigger. BIGGER. (tear)
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Friday, December 14, 2012
1 month!
Eva Jasmine, you are 1 month old today!
Oh you sweet little girl, how can you already be a month old? I feel like we came home from the hospital yesterday!
*If I was guessing your weight, I would guess about 10 lbs. You were 9 lbs at your 2 week checkup, and you look like you have grown quite a bit to me since then. You wear newborn and 0-3 months, just depending on what it is. We just started you in size 1 diapers yesterday. You have been in newborns for the majority of your first month. You have such a long torso but your legs are short! You have chubby cheeks and your belly is pretty round, but your arms and legs are pretty thin. This is literally the EXACT OPPOSITE of how your sister was. (except for the cheeks) It's crazy how different you two are built--for now!
*You eat 4 oz every 3-4 hours. You have a very good appetite. You don't spit up hardly at all, but you have the hiccups ALL of the time-seriously, after every meal and sometimes in between. And you are gassy! We changed up your formula and I think it made a little bit of difference, but you are definitely still having gas issues. It doesn't make you cry or anything, but I can tell you are uncomfortable because you draw up your little legs and grunt. I have been giving you gripe water too, and that almost instantly kills the hiccups. I still feel so lucky that you do so well on your formula.
*You still sleep a lot. You are starting to be awake more and more, but still sleep several hours out of the day. You sleep great at night for a newborn, only waking up to eat around midnight and between 3 and 4 a.m. and then you usually go right back to sleep. You have started to sleep in a little later so you get up around 7 a.m. or so. For now you are in the bassinet in our room, but when you drop that midnight feeding, we will move you to your room which is right across the hall. You have taken a few naps in your bed and seem to sleep pretty well in there. You being in our room is simply a convenience for me and also to keep you from waking up your sister!
*You have started to follow voices with your eyes a little and I am seeing more neck control just here the past few days. If we lay you on your belly, you can turn your head from side to side, but you aren't really a fan of being on your belly unless you are laying on Daddy's or my chest. We'll start enforcing this more in the next month or so. Tummy time is tricky anyway, because I have to be on full watch for your wild and crazy sister! She wants to be right on top of you 24/7! :)
*You still have lots of dark brown hair and your eyes are dark blue for now. Everyone keeps telling me that you'll lose that hair and you just might--but maybe not? I can't tell what your eye color will be. Your sister had dark blue eyes at first and now they are a bluish green & gorgeous! I may end up with two blue eyed girls even though your Daddy has brown eyes and I have hazel.
*You still grunt. All.of.the.time. For a baby who rarely cries, you sure are a noisy little thing!
Today there was a shooting at an elementary school in Connecticuit. I have been so sad all day just thinking about it. It doesn't take a tragedy for me to realize how blessed I am to have my two healthy, beautiful girls--but it sure makes me want to cling to them even more.
Everyone talks about after you have your first child you think you could never love another child as much, and then of course when the second one is born, you do. I will be the first to admit that I have been obsessed with Isabel for her whole 19 months of life and I was afraid that there might be some sort of favoritism toward her and that is just not the case at all.
We are so in love with you Eva and thankful that God chose us to be your parents!!!! You have completed our family (we think...)perfectly! :)
Thursday, December 6, 2012
The traumatizing of Isabel Jade...
Sounds like a horror film. It's not--not when two sweet babies are involved. I want to update about my 19 month old because she is doing SO many things that I want to write down and remember, but I also want to talk about her reaction to us bringing home a new baby. And here is that little tidbit:
As I mentioned in my birth story post, due to the NICU thing and our quick release from the hospital, Isabel didn't get to meet her sister until we were home with her. She had come to the hospital with my sister just moments after Eva was born, but it was too late--they had already taken Eva back. So I was excited to let Isabel see her. I was even a little cranky about my Dad running all over the state of Arkansas with Isabel instead of bringing her home on my timeline, but I got over that pretty quick. Haha. Anyway, Isabel came home and when we got her to focus long enough to see that there was a baby in the room, she came and looked at her, said "baby" a few times and then went on about her business. It wasn't quite the ordeal I had anticipated. Lol. So, here I am thinking that Isabel is just too young and sort of indifferent about it all. Wrong. As the days went on, Isabel would literally say the word "baby" at LEAST 20 times a day. That is probably an understatement. She got obsessed with the fact that there was a baby in the house and she also wanted to kiss her head over and over again, several times a day. It was all nice reactions, there didn't seem to be any jealousy or anything negative, but at the same time I was worried that she was so fixated on the baby that it was affecting her little mind. She would wake up in the morning and first word out of her mouth would be "baby". Her naptime was cut in half and I swear it's because she was dreaming about the baby and waking up. She spent the night with my parents one night and had a big, huge, meltdown which was the first time they had experienced that, and I just know it was because she was away from the baby. I started to worry that we had really messed with her head. Slowly but surely she is adjusting. Like I said, there is no jealousy or negativity, she just cannot get it out of her head that there is a baby. Every kid we see anywhere is a baby. She carries a baby doll with her 24/7 and gives it bottles and pacifiers. She still wants to kiss her multiple times a day and try to poke her head, but she is getting better each day. I hope that she will always love her baby sister and want to be around her, but MAYBE take it down a notch or two. :)
Isabel stats:
I really won't know exact height and weight again until her 2 year checkup unless we have to go to the doctor for another reason. I will try to weigh her at home before I update again, but my estimate is about 23 lbs. She was 22.9 at her 18 month checkup.
She takes one nap a day for about 1.5-2 hours and goes to bed around 8-8:30 pm. She normally wakes up around 7:30 am. I'm thankful for this. We have had phases where the sleeping was not so great.
Favorite foods: applesauce, string cheese, crackers, raisins, yogurt covered raisins, MILK, oatmeal, bananas, spaghetti, chicken penne pasta, hot dogs, cereal, green beans, mac-n-cheese, fruit snacks, etc. Honestly, she likes just about everything.
Favorite toys: ELMO anything. Seriously on a big Elmo kick right now. Baby dolls, shopping cart, books, stickers, anything that sings or makes noise (we seem to have a lot of this), her baby doll's pack n play, buckets of any kind. We have like 12 Halloween buckets and she loves to carry them around and put stuff in them. Same goes for Easter baskets. WHY do we have so many of these? lol
She says a lot of words. She basically repeats anything that is easy enough for her to say. I know there is no way I can list them all and not forget something, but here are several new phrases & words "Oh no!", "Uh oh", "I want dat", "ELMO!!!" "Elmo on dat" (meaning turn Elmo videos on my Kindle Fire which she has recently taken over), "boots", "shoes", "pee pee", "stinky", "eyes", "nose", "arm", "purple", "blue", "green", "goose", "boobies" (sigh), "baby bath" and so many more!
She still loves baths and being outside. She is still throwing the occasional temper tantrum and they are INTENSE! She is learning about timeouts and being swatted on the rear end. She loves to give kisses and hugs, but has recently stopped letting her daddy hold her before bedtime. She'd rather just be put in bed and that makes her daddy sad!!!
She still has such a funny personality! Such a joy to our lives!
We are so excited about Christmas this year with our feisty little toddler (and baby too).
As I mentioned in my birth story post, due to the NICU thing and our quick release from the hospital, Isabel didn't get to meet her sister until we were home with her. She had come to the hospital with my sister just moments after Eva was born, but it was too late--they had already taken Eva back. So I was excited to let Isabel see her. I was even a little cranky about my Dad running all over the state of Arkansas with Isabel instead of bringing her home on my timeline, but I got over that pretty quick. Haha. Anyway, Isabel came home and when we got her to focus long enough to see that there was a baby in the room, she came and looked at her, said "baby" a few times and then went on about her business. It wasn't quite the ordeal I had anticipated. Lol. So, here I am thinking that Isabel is just too young and sort of indifferent about it all. Wrong. As the days went on, Isabel would literally say the word "baby" at LEAST 20 times a day. That is probably an understatement. She got obsessed with the fact that there was a baby in the house and she also wanted to kiss her head over and over again, several times a day. It was all nice reactions, there didn't seem to be any jealousy or anything negative, but at the same time I was worried that she was so fixated on the baby that it was affecting her little mind. She would wake up in the morning and first word out of her mouth would be "baby". Her naptime was cut in half and I swear it's because she was dreaming about the baby and waking up. She spent the night with my parents one night and had a big, huge, meltdown which was the first time they had experienced that, and I just know it was because she was away from the baby. I started to worry that we had really messed with her head. Slowly but surely she is adjusting. Like I said, there is no jealousy or negativity, she just cannot get it out of her head that there is a baby. Every kid we see anywhere is a baby. She carries a baby doll with her 24/7 and gives it bottles and pacifiers. She still wants to kiss her multiple times a day and try to poke her head, but she is getting better each day. I hope that she will always love her baby sister and want to be around her, but MAYBE take it down a notch or two. :)
Isabel stats:
I really won't know exact height and weight again until her 2 year checkup unless we have to go to the doctor for another reason. I will try to weigh her at home before I update again, but my estimate is about 23 lbs. She was 22.9 at her 18 month checkup.
She takes one nap a day for about 1.5-2 hours and goes to bed around 8-8:30 pm. She normally wakes up around 7:30 am. I'm thankful for this. We have had phases where the sleeping was not so great.
Favorite foods: applesauce, string cheese, crackers, raisins, yogurt covered raisins, MILK, oatmeal, bananas, spaghetti, chicken penne pasta, hot dogs, cereal, green beans, mac-n-cheese, fruit snacks, etc. Honestly, she likes just about everything.
Favorite toys: ELMO anything. Seriously on a big Elmo kick right now. Baby dolls, shopping cart, books, stickers, anything that sings or makes noise (we seem to have a lot of this), her baby doll's pack n play, buckets of any kind. We have like 12 Halloween buckets and she loves to carry them around and put stuff in them. Same goes for Easter baskets. WHY do we have so many of these? lol
She says a lot of words. She basically repeats anything that is easy enough for her to say. I know there is no way I can list them all and not forget something, but here are several new phrases & words "Oh no!", "Uh oh", "I want dat", "ELMO!!!" "Elmo on dat" (meaning turn Elmo videos on my Kindle Fire which she has recently taken over), "boots", "shoes", "pee pee", "stinky", "eyes", "nose", "arm", "purple", "blue", "green", "goose", "boobies" (sigh), "baby bath" and so many more!
She still loves baths and being outside. She is still throwing the occasional temper tantrum and they are INTENSE! She is learning about timeouts and being swatted on the rear end. She loves to give kisses and hugs, but has recently stopped letting her daddy hold her before bedtime. She'd rather just be put in bed and that makes her daddy sad!!!
She still has such a funny personality! Such a joy to our lives!
We are so excited about Christmas this year with our feisty little toddler (and baby too).
Saturday, December 1, 2012
2 week checkup, Randoms, & Resolutions
I have re-read my birth story post a few times and I keep laughing at a few things. 1) I think I said "super" 42 times. 2) Half of the time I seperated the names of medicines with a period in between letters in order to keep my blog from popping up when people search those terms on the internet. HALF of the time. I totally forgot to do it the other half which made the whole thing pointless. 3) Lately I have been basically just making fragmented sentences into my own langauge. I could go back and edit all of this and maybe I will someday, but meanwhile just try to remember that I am too tired to proofread or care too much right now. The fact that I am even making time to blog astounds me.
Another thing: I mostly surf the web, blog, facebook, etc. from my Kindle Fire. For whatever reason, I cannot leave comments on blogs from that device. I am still following your blogs. Specifically, SHANNY--I wanted to comment so badly on your interview with your husband and could not make it happen. That post was hilarious.
This next thing is about to make me sound 120 years old, but I just want to say that I cannot understand men in brightly colored skinny jeans--or skinny jeans at all really. It could be that I am from the South and when we see it here, it's rare. I just cannot imagine my husband wearing that stuff OR having gauged ears. That's another trend that I cannot figure out. Why would you want to stretch out your earlobes? That goes for the ladies too. It's just something I cannot wrap my head around.
I think there is something else that I wanted to address, but it has left me. Moving on...
Yesterday was Eva's 2 week checkup with her Pediatrician. I will absolutely be doing monthly updates on her and doing the cute little monthly pictures, but because this was just a 2 weeker, I am just giving the stats. She weighed 9 lbs even (up 10 oz from birth) and was 21 1/4 inches long (up 1/2 inch from birth). Basically, she is growing like a weed. It was 69% for weight and 79% for height. The height thing cracks me up. She isn't short by any means, but she has a long torso and shorter legs so she can still wear NB sized clothes and does still wear NB sized diapers, even at 9 lbs. Her sister never wore NB anything. Ha!
We had a few things that we asked the doctor about. She has a tiny bump on the outside of her ear and I was worried it might be a cyst or something. It's just the way the cartilage grew and her doctor says it will barely be noticeable as she grows, but if it's something she hates, it can be removed. (eventually)
I also was concerned that her belly button hadn't healed properly. It's sort of half innie and half outie right now. Her cord fell off right at a week old while Isabel's had fallen off at like 15 days old....so Isabel's was completely healed at that time and Eva's is still healing. Everything checked out perfect. The doctor told us not to change a thing. That always makes you feel good as a parent. She is a healthy little girl, thank you Lord!
And now I am going to go ahead and jinx myself real good. This baby is SO mellow. Isabel was such a good baby and I thought there would be no way that I'd be 2 for 2 with easy babies but as of now (it's still early) Eva is just as easy if not more so than Isabel was. She eats great, she sleeps FANTASTIC, and I can seriously count on one hand how many times I have heard her cry since she was born. She just never gets upset and when she does it's a little grunting here and there and that is all. Besides eating, she sleeps through the night and will sleep anywhere: bassinet, swing, car seat, in my arms...anywhere. Now....next month I may be singing a different tune, but for now we have just been so blessed with easy babies. Don't get me wrong--I'm exhausted. Living on 3 hour intervals will do that to you, not to mention my first "easy baby" is now a wild and crazy toddler that I chase around all the livelong day, but I know it could be so so so much harder.
My last topic on the world's longest post: Resolutions.
I don't normally do the whole new year resolution thing. It seems like a surefire way to set myself up for failure, but this year I have a few that I'd like to mention and start early. I'm thinking if I start now, then I will already be in the swing of things by Jan 1st...so maybe it's not really a resolution?
1) My walk with God.
-This will always need improvement. Always. Why not make it a goal to try to end next year in a better spiritual place? I have a LOT to thank God for and I need to make way way way more time for him than I currently do. I'm hoping to work on that first and foremost.
2) My body.
-Eeeek. 2 babies in 2 years. I'm ready to find my body under all of this mess. When I checked into the hospital to have Eva, I had gained 37 lbs of pregnancy weight. I have lost 25 lbs in 2 weeks while not dieting or exercising at all, but that last 12 will be killer and it's not technically the "last 12". I had about 15 lbs of fertility drug weight on me before my pregnancies and probably another 10-15 that I wanted to lose before that. That adds up. I have 40 lbs I still want to get rid of. It seems like an overwhelming amount, but it's my goal. In a couple of weeks I will turn 29 years old, meaning I have one year until I hit 30 and I am NOT doing it fat. It's just not happening. So....my plan is to *try* to update on my weight loss about every 6 weeks. I am hoping this blog will keep me accountable. My first goal: I want every single pound of pregnancy weight gone by my 6 week checkup, which is 12/26. 12 more lbs in the next few weeks. I can do this!!!
3) Running.
-I don't love running--my husband does. My husband's best friend does. My husband's best friend's wife who is a good friend of mine, does. My neighbor friend does. My Mom's co-workers/friends do. I AM SURROUNDED by runners. What I do like? How I feel when I am done running. How I feel when I accomplish new goals. How I feel when I finish a 5k. How it feels to lose weight. All of this makes it worth it. I have a goal to run four 5k's this year. That's VERY realistic if I can just work my schedule around my babies. I am out of shape though. I haven't ran a 5-k in 13 months, and I was pregnant for nearly 10 of those. I have work to do.
4) Healthy eating/cooking.
-This may be the very hardest for me. I don't even know how to go about it, because my husband and I HATE just about every type of veggie out there except potatoes. Haha. But I am going to figure it out and I am going to teach my children to eat healthy and I am going to stop putting trash into my body. (except for diet coke....can't commit to that yet) :)
I typed them. I put them on the internet for all of my followers (3 of you?) to see. Now, I want to be able to post that I have accomplished them. Wish me luck!!!!
Another thing: I mostly surf the web, blog, facebook, etc. from my Kindle Fire. For whatever reason, I cannot leave comments on blogs from that device. I am still following your blogs. Specifically, SHANNY--I wanted to comment so badly on your interview with your husband and could not make it happen. That post was hilarious.
This next thing is about to make me sound 120 years old, but I just want to say that I cannot understand men in brightly colored skinny jeans--or skinny jeans at all really. It could be that I am from the South and when we see it here, it's rare. I just cannot imagine my husband wearing that stuff OR having gauged ears. That's another trend that I cannot figure out. Why would you want to stretch out your earlobes? That goes for the ladies too. It's just something I cannot wrap my head around.
I think there is something else that I wanted to address, but it has left me. Moving on...
Yesterday was Eva's 2 week checkup with her Pediatrician. I will absolutely be doing monthly updates on her and doing the cute little monthly pictures, but because this was just a 2 weeker, I am just giving the stats. She weighed 9 lbs even (up 10 oz from birth) and was 21 1/4 inches long (up 1/2 inch from birth). Basically, she is growing like a weed. It was 69% for weight and 79% for height. The height thing cracks me up. She isn't short by any means, but she has a long torso and shorter legs so she can still wear NB sized clothes and does still wear NB sized diapers, even at 9 lbs. Her sister never wore NB anything. Ha!
We had a few things that we asked the doctor about. She has a tiny bump on the outside of her ear and I was worried it might be a cyst or something. It's just the way the cartilage grew and her doctor says it will barely be noticeable as she grows, but if it's something she hates, it can be removed. (eventually)
I also was concerned that her belly button hadn't healed properly. It's sort of half innie and half outie right now. Her cord fell off right at a week old while Isabel's had fallen off at like 15 days old....so Isabel's was completely healed at that time and Eva's is still healing. Everything checked out perfect. The doctor told us not to change a thing. That always makes you feel good as a parent. She is a healthy little girl, thank you Lord!
And now I am going to go ahead and jinx myself real good. This baby is SO mellow. Isabel was such a good baby and I thought there would be no way that I'd be 2 for 2 with easy babies but as of now (it's still early) Eva is just as easy if not more so than Isabel was. She eats great, she sleeps FANTASTIC, and I can seriously count on one hand how many times I have heard her cry since she was born. She just never gets upset and when she does it's a little grunting here and there and that is all. Besides eating, she sleeps through the night and will sleep anywhere: bassinet, swing, car seat, in my arms...anywhere. Now....next month I may be singing a different tune, but for now we have just been so blessed with easy babies. Don't get me wrong--I'm exhausted. Living on 3 hour intervals will do that to you, not to mention my first "easy baby" is now a wild and crazy toddler that I chase around all the livelong day, but I know it could be so so so much harder.
My last topic on the world's longest post: Resolutions.
I don't normally do the whole new year resolution thing. It seems like a surefire way to set myself up for failure, but this year I have a few that I'd like to mention and start early. I'm thinking if I start now, then I will already be in the swing of things by Jan 1st...so maybe it's not really a resolution?
1) My walk with God.
-This will always need improvement. Always. Why not make it a goal to try to end next year in a better spiritual place? I have a LOT to thank God for and I need to make way way way more time for him than I currently do. I'm hoping to work on that first and foremost.
2) My body.
-Eeeek. 2 babies in 2 years. I'm ready to find my body under all of this mess. When I checked into the hospital to have Eva, I had gained 37 lbs of pregnancy weight. I have lost 25 lbs in 2 weeks while not dieting or exercising at all, but that last 12 will be killer and it's not technically the "last 12". I had about 15 lbs of fertility drug weight on me before my pregnancies and probably another 10-15 that I wanted to lose before that. That adds up. I have 40 lbs I still want to get rid of. It seems like an overwhelming amount, but it's my goal. In a couple of weeks I will turn 29 years old, meaning I have one year until I hit 30 and I am NOT doing it fat. It's just not happening. So....my plan is to *try* to update on my weight loss about every 6 weeks. I am hoping this blog will keep me accountable. My first goal: I want every single pound of pregnancy weight gone by my 6 week checkup, which is 12/26. 12 more lbs in the next few weeks. I can do this!!!
3) Running.
-I don't love running--my husband does. My husband's best friend does. My husband's best friend's wife who is a good friend of mine, does. My neighbor friend does. My Mom's co-workers/friends do. I AM SURROUNDED by runners. What I do like? How I feel when I am done running. How I feel when I accomplish new goals. How I feel when I finish a 5k. How it feels to lose weight. All of this makes it worth it. I have a goal to run four 5k's this year. That's VERY realistic if I can just work my schedule around my babies. I am out of shape though. I haven't ran a 5-k in 13 months, and I was pregnant for nearly 10 of those. I have work to do.
4) Healthy eating/cooking.
-This may be the very hardest for me. I don't even know how to go about it, because my husband and I HATE just about every type of veggie out there except potatoes. Haha. But I am going to figure it out and I am going to teach my children to eat healthy and I am going to stop putting trash into my body. (except for diet coke....can't commit to that yet) :)
I typed them. I put them on the internet for all of my followers (3 of you?) to see. Now, I want to be able to post that I have accomplished them. Wish me luck!!!!
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Eva's Birth Story
I keep thinking that I need to write this before any of the details get fuzzy, but I am still in shock about how it all went down. If I didn't have a sweet little baby here next to me, I might wonder if I dreamt it all. When you read this, you'll probably think...sounds pretty normal to me. That's just it! After how dramatic I was about delivering my first baby, I fully expected to be dramatic about this one. I was geared up for it! And to my pleasent surprise....it wasn't that bad. ;)
I went in for my final doctor's appointment on Nov 7th and my doctor told me that I still wasn't dilated at all. He asked me if I wanted to go ahead and have a baby the next week (at 39 weeks) and I very much said yes. So, I checked into the hospital on 11/13 to start the Cytotek process and begin my induction. I was able to check into the hospital, fully prepared. Bags packed, camera in tow, clean house, & freshly painted finger and toe nails. Ridiculous in the scheme of things, but hey--it was nice. So anyway, I got to the hospital at 8 pm, and was due for my first Cy.totek dose at 10 pm. Prior to that I changed into the lovely buttcrack gown, had my blood taken, peed in a cup and had 234 hospital bracelets attached to my arms. Oh and then there was the IV. I got that too. All of it was pretty uneventful. BUT, when it came time for my cervix pill, the nurse checked me and said I was dilated to a 3! WHOA! I was pretty certain that I don't dilate without drugs. That had proved to be my thing and I was just surprised that one week made that much difference. Nevertheless, I was supposed to have 2-3 doses of cervix pill and she immediately knocked it down to 1 dose because the others weren't necessary if I was dilating on my own plus it could cause the baby distress.
So, 10:00 pm was my first dose. She came back and checked me at 1:30 am and I was at a 4. So no MAJOR change, but a change nonetheless. They had tried to give me an Am.bien like they did with my first birth and I turned it down this time. Sleeping doesn't happen anyway when someone is running in and out the door checking you for dilation and checking your vitals and I just wanted to do the least amount of drugs possible, EXCLUDING my epi.dural. :)
Nurse comes back in at around 4 a.m. and starts my Pitocin. I am still dilated to a 4 and just barely feeling contractions. She tells me that my doc said I could have my epi whenever I was ready. I decided to hold off for awhile. (with my first baby I got it when I was at a 3) By 5 a.m., I was requesting it. My nurse suggested that I take another form of pain meds until the epi guy could get there, and I refused. Less is more. By the time he got there...close to 6 a.m., I was uncomfortable. Not writhing in pain, but ready for some relief. So he gives me the epi, all goes smoothly with that except that it hurt worse this time than I remember last time, but whatever. They put in my catheter. (eww) My doctor arrives at 6:30 a.m. By this time the pitocin was cranked up high and my contractions were about 2 minutes apart, but my legs were numb so I was alright. Haha. At 6:30 he broke my water. I was still dilated between 4-5 and my Mom and MIL had started to text JT around 7 a.m. to check out the situation. He just told them to take their time. I was between 4-5 and had been for awhile. We were geared up for a long day ahead.
So, around 8 a.m. or so, I start feeling major pressure. It was taking my breath away, but once again NOTHING like what I felt with Isabel. When the nurse comes in, I tell her I am feeling a ton of pressure and she checks me. I am at a 9!!!!! A 9, I said!!!! In one hour I had gone from a 4/5 to a 9 and she tells me just to let her know when I am ready to push. My parents and in-laws had JUST arrived and about peed themselves when I told them what was up.
They stayed in the room for like MAYBE 30 minutes and I kept feeling the pressure but it didn't seem to be getting worse. Finally, I was like...hmm, maybe I can push now?? So my family leaves the room at about 9 a.m. The nurse comes in to check me and I am fully dilated and probably had been for a little bit. I get the go ahead to push and after about 3 sets of pushing, they are calling for the doctor and telling me to hold off on pushing. (will never understand why they tell you this, as if you have any control) Dr. M comes in the room I do 1 1/2 more sets of pushing and then I have a baby on my chest. 9:21 a.m!!! It was INSANE how quickly I was able to push her out. 15 minutes of pushing versus the 1 hour and 45 minutes I pushed with Isabel.
So, like I said our family leaves the room at 9 and by 9:40 or so they are standing right back in the room with me.
But of course I have to bring SOME drama to the table. When Eva arrived she was making a little bit of a grunting noise. I would have thought nothing of it, because it sounded exactly like every other newborn I have ever heard, but the nurse heard something I didn't. So they ran a tube down her throat :( and sucked out some bloody fluid that they said she had swallowed. We wait a few minutes, she is still grunting, and so they whisk her off to the NICU to "check things out". My family comes into the room and the nurses have told me that within a couple of hours they will bring her back to me after they make sure everything is okay. I get a shower, get moved to another room and still haven't heard anything. My new nurse who I called "Jessica Simpson" behind her back, because I still to this day have no idea how she is an RN or obtained a job, had no idea at all what I was talking about. She kept asking dumb questions like, "So you had a baby this morning?".....seriously. I was not that nice to her I don't think. Eventually I felt bad because she was super nice....but she was super dumb and they weren't bringing back my baby and she had no idea what was going on. So, about 2.5 hours after birthing an 8lb 6 oz baby, having an episiotomy, and being stitched right back up, I am marching full speed down the hallway to demand answers from the NICU people. I was just super irritated about the lack of communication. If my child needs observation, FINE, but you need to keep me informed. I had literally seen her for like 10 minutes before they took her away. And now I had visitors showing up and no baby to show for my efforts. And nothing to tell anyone. I stomp right into the NICU, get rude with the secretary, and then stand with my arms crossed next to my baby waiting for a nurse to come fill me in. Finally, I get her NICU nurse to agree to call me as soon as they know something and to give me a time frame on when she would see the Pedia.trician.
Long story short, they did x-rays and took blood and everything was perfect. After ALLLLL of that they determined that I have a "noisy baby". SIGH. They finally brought her back to my room at 4:30 p.m., 7 hours after I gave birth to her!!! And we got to go home the very next morning. SUPER short hospital stay, especially considering I didn't even see her much the first day of her life.
Disclaimer: I know I am so blessed that there was nothing wrong with her and that her stay was one day. We did the 10 day NICU stay with Isabel and it was horrible and I still knew I was blessed that her issues were so minor when there were babies fighting for their lives in there. I don't want to sound like a total butt. I KNOW that we were lucky. My problem was with the communication of the staff. Just wanted to clear that up.
My Mom and I keep discussing how weird it all was. Super short labor and super short stay with a long day in the NICU in between. We had all of these people wanting to visit on Thurs night and Friday day, and we were home well before then. It was just weird. Good weird, because I didn't want to be in the hospital, but still....weird.
I have had people ask me why I think this time was so different than the last. Well, it was my 2nd baby and I am sure that had something to do with it, but also I had WAY less drugs in my system. Last time I had gotten sick and threw up while I was in labor...not this time. Not even queasy. This baby was still a big baby, but quite a bit smaller than my first and her head was over an inch smaller than Isabel's. I would imagine that made a difference too!
My healing process has been about the same both times. It's been 10 days and I still have pain, but it gets better every day. My stitches should come out soon if they haven't already. The difference has been that I have to care for a toddler while trying to heal. Goodness. Underestimated that part for sure.
All in all, I ended up with a beautiful, healthy baby girl. A short and "easier" delivery. And a very short hospital stay. So thankful.
Introducing to you....
I went in for my final doctor's appointment on Nov 7th and my doctor told me that I still wasn't dilated at all. He asked me if I wanted to go ahead and have a baby the next week (at 39 weeks) and I very much said yes. So, I checked into the hospital on 11/13 to start the Cytotek process and begin my induction. I was able to check into the hospital, fully prepared. Bags packed, camera in tow, clean house, & freshly painted finger and toe nails. Ridiculous in the scheme of things, but hey--it was nice. So anyway, I got to the hospital at 8 pm, and was due for my first Cy.totek dose at 10 pm. Prior to that I changed into the lovely buttcrack gown, had my blood taken, peed in a cup and had 234 hospital bracelets attached to my arms. Oh and then there was the IV. I got that too. All of it was pretty uneventful. BUT, when it came time for my cervix pill, the nurse checked me and said I was dilated to a 3! WHOA! I was pretty certain that I don't dilate without drugs. That had proved to be my thing and I was just surprised that one week made that much difference. Nevertheless, I was supposed to have 2-3 doses of cervix pill and she immediately knocked it down to 1 dose because the others weren't necessary if I was dilating on my own plus it could cause the baby distress.
So, 10:00 pm was my first dose. She came back and checked me at 1:30 am and I was at a 4. So no MAJOR change, but a change nonetheless. They had tried to give me an Am.bien like they did with my first birth and I turned it down this time. Sleeping doesn't happen anyway when someone is running in and out the door checking you for dilation and checking your vitals and I just wanted to do the least amount of drugs possible, EXCLUDING my epi.dural. :)
Nurse comes back in at around 4 a.m. and starts my Pitocin. I am still dilated to a 4 and just barely feeling contractions. She tells me that my doc said I could have my epi whenever I was ready. I decided to hold off for awhile. (with my first baby I got it when I was at a 3) By 5 a.m., I was requesting it. My nurse suggested that I take another form of pain meds until the epi guy could get there, and I refused. Less is more. By the time he got there...close to 6 a.m., I was uncomfortable. Not writhing in pain, but ready for some relief. So he gives me the epi, all goes smoothly with that except that it hurt worse this time than I remember last time, but whatever. They put in my catheter. (eww) My doctor arrives at 6:30 a.m. By this time the pitocin was cranked up high and my contractions were about 2 minutes apart, but my legs were numb so I was alright. Haha. At 6:30 he broke my water. I was still dilated between 4-5 and my Mom and MIL had started to text JT around 7 a.m. to check out the situation. He just told them to take their time. I was between 4-5 and had been for awhile. We were geared up for a long day ahead.
So, around 8 a.m. or so, I start feeling major pressure. It was taking my breath away, but once again NOTHING like what I felt with Isabel. When the nurse comes in, I tell her I am feeling a ton of pressure and she checks me. I am at a 9!!!!! A 9, I said!!!! In one hour I had gone from a 4/5 to a 9 and she tells me just to let her know when I am ready to push. My parents and in-laws had JUST arrived and about peed themselves when I told them what was up.
They stayed in the room for like MAYBE 30 minutes and I kept feeling the pressure but it didn't seem to be getting worse. Finally, I was like...hmm, maybe I can push now?? So my family leaves the room at about 9 a.m. The nurse comes in to check me and I am fully dilated and probably had been for a little bit. I get the go ahead to push and after about 3 sets of pushing, they are calling for the doctor and telling me to hold off on pushing. (will never understand why they tell you this, as if you have any control) Dr. M comes in the room I do 1 1/2 more sets of pushing and then I have a baby on my chest. 9:21 a.m!!! It was INSANE how quickly I was able to push her out. 15 minutes of pushing versus the 1 hour and 45 minutes I pushed with Isabel.
So, like I said our family leaves the room at 9 and by 9:40 or so they are standing right back in the room with me.
But of course I have to bring SOME drama to the table. When Eva arrived she was making a little bit of a grunting noise. I would have thought nothing of it, because it sounded exactly like every other newborn I have ever heard, but the nurse heard something I didn't. So they ran a tube down her throat :( and sucked out some bloody fluid that they said she had swallowed. We wait a few minutes, she is still grunting, and so they whisk her off to the NICU to "check things out". My family comes into the room and the nurses have told me that within a couple of hours they will bring her back to me after they make sure everything is okay. I get a shower, get moved to another room and still haven't heard anything. My new nurse who I called "Jessica Simpson" behind her back, because I still to this day have no idea how she is an RN or obtained a job, had no idea at all what I was talking about. She kept asking dumb questions like, "So you had a baby this morning?".....seriously. I was not that nice to her I don't think. Eventually I felt bad because she was super nice....but she was super dumb and they weren't bringing back my baby and she had no idea what was going on. So, about 2.5 hours after birthing an 8lb 6 oz baby, having an episiotomy, and being stitched right back up, I am marching full speed down the hallway to demand answers from the NICU people. I was just super irritated about the lack of communication. If my child needs observation, FINE, but you need to keep me informed. I had literally seen her for like 10 minutes before they took her away. And now I had visitors showing up and no baby to show for my efforts. And nothing to tell anyone. I stomp right into the NICU, get rude with the secretary, and then stand with my arms crossed next to my baby waiting for a nurse to come fill me in. Finally, I get her NICU nurse to agree to call me as soon as they know something and to give me a time frame on when she would see the Pedia.trician.
Long story short, they did x-rays and took blood and everything was perfect. After ALLLLL of that they determined that I have a "noisy baby". SIGH. They finally brought her back to my room at 4:30 p.m., 7 hours after I gave birth to her!!! And we got to go home the very next morning. SUPER short hospital stay, especially considering I didn't even see her much the first day of her life.
Disclaimer: I know I am so blessed that there was nothing wrong with her and that her stay was one day. We did the 10 day NICU stay with Isabel and it was horrible and I still knew I was blessed that her issues were so minor when there were babies fighting for their lives in there. I don't want to sound like a total butt. I KNOW that we were lucky. My problem was with the communication of the staff. Just wanted to clear that up.
My Mom and I keep discussing how weird it all was. Super short labor and super short stay with a long day in the NICU in between. We had all of these people wanting to visit on Thurs night and Friday day, and we were home well before then. It was just weird. Good weird, because I didn't want to be in the hospital, but still....weird.
I have had people ask me why I think this time was so different than the last. Well, it was my 2nd baby and I am sure that had something to do with it, but also I had WAY less drugs in my system. Last time I had gotten sick and threw up while I was in labor...not this time. Not even queasy. This baby was still a big baby, but quite a bit smaller than my first and her head was over an inch smaller than Isabel's. I would imagine that made a difference too!
My healing process has been about the same both times. It's been 10 days and I still have pain, but it gets better every day. My stitches should come out soon if they haven't already. The difference has been that I have to care for a toddler while trying to heal. Goodness. Underestimated that part for sure.
All in all, I ended up with a beautiful, healthy baby girl. A short and "easier" delivery. And a very short hospital stay. So thankful.
Introducing to you....
Eva Jasmine
11/14/12 9:21 a.m.
8lb 6 oz, 20 3/4 inches
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Last pregnancy post! 39 weeks, 2 days!
Being induced in the morning! Here are my final stats:
Maternity clothes?
Yes, definitely.
Stretch marks? Yes. Basically the same ones as last time, I think...just reappeared. Can't wait for my Dermatologist to hook me up with the fadey medicine like he did last time!
Best moment this week: Well, I've just been low key, hanging out with Isabel & trying to stay on top of housework so there is nothing to stress about at home. It's all been good.
Miss Anything? I'm just ready to not have heartburn. That is all.
Movement: Oh yes. I thought it was supposed to slow down in the end, but it hasn't. Not with either of my babies.
Food cravings: I guess chocolate. Maybe. Food is just food right now and I know I'm going to have to chase whatever it is, with Tums.
Anything making you queasy or sick?: Thinking about labor! Haha. Not really, I feel good right now. Just huge.
Have you started to show yet: You better believe it. ;-)
Gender: It's a GIRL! Eva Jasmine
Labor Signs: I should be able to say yes here, but not really. A few contractions here and there I *think*, but I'm not even sure about those. I've never had BH contractions so I don't even know what those feel like. Or maybe I have and didn't know it...
Belly Button in or out? Flat. Partly in, but mostly flat. And ugly.
Wedding rings on or off? I haven't worn that bad boy in a while. It still fits, it's just uncomfortable and I am looking forward to putting it back on in a few weeks hopefully.
Mood: Anxious. A little (whole lot) emotional. Excited, too.
Next post will hopefully be about how easy my labor was and how healthy my baby is. Fingers crossed!
Maternity clothes?
Yes, definitely.
Stretch marks? Yes. Basically the same ones as last time, I think...just reappeared. Can't wait for my Dermatologist to hook me up with the fadey medicine like he did last time!
Best moment this week: Well, I've just been low key, hanging out with Isabel & trying to stay on top of housework so there is nothing to stress about at home. It's all been good.
Miss Anything? I'm just ready to not have heartburn. That is all.
Movement: Oh yes. I thought it was supposed to slow down in the end, but it hasn't. Not with either of my babies.
Food cravings: I guess chocolate. Maybe. Food is just food right now and I know I'm going to have to chase whatever it is, with Tums.
Anything making you queasy or sick?: Thinking about labor! Haha. Not really, I feel good right now. Just huge.
Have you started to show yet: You better believe it. ;-)
Gender: It's a GIRL! Eva Jasmine
Labor Signs: I should be able to say yes here, but not really. A few contractions here and there I *think*, but I'm not even sure about those. I've never had BH contractions so I don't even know what those feel like. Or maybe I have and didn't know it...
Belly Button in or out? Flat. Partly in, but mostly flat. And ugly.
Wedding rings on or off? I haven't worn that bad boy in a while. It still fits, it's just uncomfortable and I am looking forward to putting it back on in a few weeks hopefully.
Mood: Anxious. A little (whole lot) emotional. Excited, too.
Next post will hopefully be about how easy my labor was and how healthy my baby is. Fingers crossed!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Anxiety!
I am 37 weeks & 4 days pregnant. Yesterday, I had an appointment with my OB and we did an ultrasound to estimate the size of Eva. At 36 weeks with Isabel, she was estimated at 8.5 and ended up weighing 9.11 at birth. People always want to say to me, "oh those ultrasounds are off most of the time, mine said this and the baby weighed that" and while I know that's true--they pretty much nailed it with my first baby, so I have no reason to believe that they aren't at least close with this one. At 37 weeks and 3 days they estimated E at 7.11. So, what that means is that she's smaller, but not small. She could still gain 1.5 lbs if I deliver at 40 weeks. My doc was hoping to keep her under 8 if possible. Anyway--I'm not dilated at all and the ultrasound tech says that with the size of this baby's head, she doesn't think I will dilate on my own. Same as with Isabel. Eva measured chunky and short which cracks me up because I'm not short, my husband is not short and we have very few short family members. My sister is over 6 feet tall, for Pete's sake. But we'll see how it goes. I can tell you that I'm not looking forward to birthing that biggo head. ;)
Nevertheless, she looked good and healthy and seems to be thriving in my uterus and that's all I could really pray for anyway. The rest of it we'll get through. I go back to my OB on Wednesday of next week (if I don't go into labor before then) and he says we'll schedule an induction date at that time.
I said this in the last post, but I really actually want to be induced. I have a fear of going into labor on my own and rushing around and forgetting something. Or having my "plan" for what to do with Isabel while I'm in the hospital be messed up. Ridiculous stuff in the big scheme of things, but that's me being honest. That is where my anxiety stems from right now--worrying about my Baby #1. I've had a good pregnancy up to now, with the exception of the craziness that went on in the 1st trimester. I feel good, mostly. Uncomfortable bending, sitting or sleeping, but good. Haha. I'm just down to the last couple of weeks and it feels like the first 36 flew by and now the last 4 are dragging. I guess it's like that for most people. I'm just trying to suck up these last few days with Isabel as an only child. And me getting to sleep at night. ;)
Here is a pic of my sweet family on Halloween night. And if you look in the dictionary beside "pregnant face", you will see my picture.
Nevertheless, she looked good and healthy and seems to be thriving in my uterus and that's all I could really pray for anyway. The rest of it we'll get through. I go back to my OB on Wednesday of next week (if I don't go into labor before then) and he says we'll schedule an induction date at that time.
I said this in the last post, but I really actually want to be induced. I have a fear of going into labor on my own and rushing around and forgetting something. Or having my "plan" for what to do with Isabel while I'm in the hospital be messed up. Ridiculous stuff in the big scheme of things, but that's me being honest. That is where my anxiety stems from right now--worrying about my Baby #1. I've had a good pregnancy up to now, with the exception of the craziness that went on in the 1st trimester. I feel good, mostly. Uncomfortable bending, sitting or sleeping, but good. Haha. I'm just down to the last couple of weeks and it feels like the first 36 flew by and now the last 4 are dragging. I guess it's like that for most people. I'm just trying to suck up these last few days with Isabel as an only child. And me getting to sleep at night. ;)
Here is a pic of my sweet family on Halloween night. And if you look in the dictionary beside "pregnant face", you will see my picture.
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