4 months!

Eva, you are 4 months old today!!!!



*You are somewhere around 15 lbs. Your appointment is not for a couple of weeks, but this was what our scales at home say. I have no idea on length, but you are long. No doubt about that. You wear 3-6 months in everything but footed sleepers and you are in a 6 months in those for length. You wear a size 2 diaper. I bought you some 3-6 month shoes for Easter and they swallowed your tiny feet, so you won't be wearing those for a few more months. Both of my girls have tiny feet for their age and I have no idea how, because I wear a 10 and my husband wears an 11.5!

*You have lost most of the hair you started out with, but what's left is dark brown. I think your hair will be darker than your sisters, but who knows? Your eyes are still bright gorgeous blue. Your sister's were too until about 6 or 7 months and then they turned into a pretty green color. You have a big toothless smile and I love to see it!

*You have been such a happy little thing all this time, but this week has taken another turn, lol. We went to a birthday party this past weekend and you screamed the entire time. Seriously, for like an hour. I know you were having some gas issues so I'm sure that combined with the noise of 7 kids running around and screaming just flipped you out. And then yesterday your Daddy and I left you and Isabel with your grandparents for a date night and we were late leaving because you would not stop screaming for anyone but me. Goodness. Momma's girl perhaps?

*You still sleep great. Go down about 9 p.m. and *most nights* sleep until about 7 a.m. A couple of nights this week you have woken up around 1:30 a.m., taken a bottle and went right back to sleep. I think we have hit the mark for where you need more than just milk to keep you full. The past few days I have given you some cereal in your night bottle and then today we gave you a few bites of sweet potatoes for the first time. I think you like the taste, but you kept spitting part of it out just because you don't have that eating from a spoon thing figured out yet. :) You'll get there.

Other than that you eat about five, 5-6 oz bottles a day.

*You started rolling from back to belly about 2 weeks ago. I cannot lay you down without you immediately flipping to your belly....and then fussing because you can't get flipped back over. Haha. You haven't mastered belly to back yet. You have started to really like holding on to stuff like your taggie, toys, blankets, my hair!!!!!....etc. You like to cram stuff in your mouth--especially your thumb!!! You're just so-so about a paci, but you will trade one for your thumb any day!

*You have started to "talk" quite a bit. It's more like a shrill squeal and some growling, but you are smiling while doing it. :) So.dang.cute. You also have the funniest little laugh. You have started laughing quite a bit the past few weeks. And you are so ticklish!!!

*You love baths! Love them! So funny to watch you kick your legs and splash.

It's been an amazing 4 months with you in our lives, baby girl. Can't believe I get to keep you forever! :)

Edit: At your appointment you weighed 15.0 lbs and were 25 inches long. 70%tile on both. :)

Making Changes: An Update

This is going to be short and sweet because we've had a rough week at our house with sick kids and such and I am TIRED and ready for bed!

Yesterday was the 8th, aka time for a weigh in. This past month I lost 6 lbs for a total of 16 lbs since Jan 8th. This also put me at 1 lb under my pre-baby weight and leaves me at 24 more lbs to go for my goal. Or 29.....we'll see how the 24 looks and feels. :)

Slowly but surely, folks.

My goal is to post before and "during" pictures for next time (April 8). And MAYBE if I am feeling brave I'll talk pant sizes. I'm talking real real brave.

Happy Weekend!

The PROOF!

I was ready for a change with this blog. I thought about starting a new one and making it more public (i.e. posting the link on facebook) but I decided against it. I don't link up now, because of all of my infertility posts, which ultimately is why I started the blog in the first place. It's not top secret stuff--I mean it's the worldwide web that I've posted it on, but something about begging my high school acquaintances to read about my lady parts just doesn't feel right. Anyway, this blog was great for networking with other women who were struggling with infertility as well, and I am so grateful to know your stories. I still keep up with you all and I still pray for you all. I'm still technically "infertile", as in my husband and I have a 1% chance of actually conceiving children au natural (it takes a lot of science, people!), but I'm not in the same place that I was a few years ago either.  Obviously we've been able to bring a couple of wonderful little miracles into this world. I'd love for all of you to continue reading, but I understand if you do not. Moving on...

King & Country have a song out that I am in love with right now. If you listen to Christian radio, you've probably heard it, but if not here you go--

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-2dKOfbC9c

The lyrics....ahhh, they are just SO good. Anyway, I'm obsessed with the song and the band, and the verse that King & Country built the song around. And here it is:

1 Corinthians 13:1-13: "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

 

I am a perfect example of imperfection. (see what I did there?) I mess up daily. I question God's plan almost as often. I try to rush him. I want things to happen when I want them. I put him on the back burner. I get lazy about reading my Bible. I sin. I have to ask for forgiveness every.single.day. But you know what? I get that forgiveness. I am forgiven. And I hope that when people look at my life they see the PROOF that God is always working on me. And boy am I thankful for that, because there is a LOT of work to be done.

 

So, I've made some changes to by blog. Because....well, it was just time. :)

 

And here are some pictures for you, just in case you need PROOF that God has been good to me.

 

3 months!

Eva Jasmine, you are 3 months old today! Happy Valentines Day!

*You weigh 13 lbs and are around 23.5 inches long. You are wearing some 3 month clothing, but mostly 3-6 months. Size 2 diaper.
*You still eat about every 3 hours in the daytime and you take 4-5 ounces at each bottle. At night you take a bottle around 9pm and then I put you to bed and I don't hear a peep out of you until anywhere from 5-7 a.m. After I feed you that morning bottle, you normally go back to sleep until around 8 a.m. I cannot believe my luck with your sleeping habits! The nurse at your doctor's office was in shock! I know it won't last forever, you will have bad sleeping phases too....but I am still so happy that you sleep so well for now and you have been doing this since you were about a month old.
*You love your bouncer, your playmat and taking baths! You are still SO happy all of the time. The only time we hear you cry is if we are late getting a bottle to you (you love to eat) or if you are having some tummy issues. You are the happiest, sweetest little thing!!!! You are getting to where you want to be held more. There for awhile you were more content to lay out and stretch, but now you prefer to be held more. I can deal with that! ;)
*If I lay you on your back, you will flip up on your side but you haven't flipped all the way to your belly. When we do tummy time, you grunt a lot and move your head from side to side, but you don't seem to have any desire to flip over. In all honesty, I need to lay you on your belly more. Having a wild toddler in the house makes this a little more difficult. You however, have GREAT neck control. You like to sit up in my lap and I can hold you around the waist and you hold your head up and look around for the longest time before you start to get a little wobbly with the neck.
*You smile and laugh all of the time. It is SO cute!!!! You have the biggest toothless grin!
*We're still trying to decide who you look like. If you are sitting in a room with your sister, you two look nothing alike. BUT, some of your facial expressions are dead on to what hers are. In some pictures you two also look alike. Some people think you look like me. No one thinks you look like your Dad....except for those ears. :)
*Your eyes are still bright blue and you still have *some* dark brown hair. You have the good ol' waller line in the back that looks like a little old man, but you still have quite a bit of hair at the top of your neckline and on the back of your crown. It's pretty thin in the front. Not a whole lot there.
*This month you got RSV. :( So sad. You just have this little wheezy cough and a stopped up nose. One of your ears was red like it was on the verge of infection, probably due to the RSV so you have been on antibiotics and albuterol. If it weren't for the coughing I would have had NO idea that you were sick. You still sleep like a champ and haven't even fussed like you feel bad. But oh that coughing....so so sad. :(

I'm sure I'll say this every month, but I cannot believe it's already been 3 months. It makes me want to cry. I feel like we've been home from the hospital for MAYBE a month. We LOVE LOVE LOVE you so much little girl. Thank you God, for bringing this sweet girl into our lives.



Sick kids and making changes.

This post was just going to be called "Making Changes". It was going to be my update about where I am with my non-resolutions and what all I am doing to try and accomplish those goals. But....

My kids have been sick. Isabel (as I already posted) has had ear infections and she is set up to get tubes put in on Feb 28th. I asked around. Should we stay local or should we go to ACH in Little Rock? Our Pediatrician referred us to a local doctor and I spoke to another friend whose baby had tubes put in by him. She had nothing but positive things to say about it. I spoke to another friend who took her kid to LR to have his tubes done--nothing but positive things to say about that as well. Really the only "bad" tube story that I have heard came from my husband who heard it from a guy at work and I don't know what doctor they used, but it was not ours and his story seemed a little far fetched. SO....today as I took Baby #2 to her appointment (more on that in a minute) I decided to ask our Pediatrician why he chose locally vs. LR. His answer: ACH is a "learning hospital", meaning that any sort of minor surgery (tubes, adenoids, tonsils, etc) is done by a resident while the attending observes. First thing that popped into my mind--Grey's Anatomy! The local doctor that he referred us to has literally done hundreds of tubes on babies and HE does them, not someone he is training. That was enough for me to be secure in my decision to stay local. But even beyond that, he said that the drive home from LR (3 hours) is rough on a baby who has just had the surgery AND if there were a complication down the road that we would be 3 hours away from the doctor who would need to fix it. Makes sense to me! I'm not in any way saying that ACH is the wrong decision, I just needed to feel good about the situation that we are in and there you have it. Now I'll just pray a lot. :)

Why was I at the doctor with Baby #2? Starting Tuesday night, Eva started coughing a little. It was sporadic and I didn't think a whole lot about it. Then Wed it picked up a little and I noticed her nose was a little runny. I called our Ped nurse and she said to give her a tiny little dose of Dimetapp every 6 hours and see what that did. It did nothing. So last night she coughed all night long. Sad, tiny little baby coughs. She didn't cry. She still slept through the night other than to cough and go back to sleep. This morning she would cough and then gasp for air and also she went from taking 4-5 ounces each bottle to taking 1-3 ounces. So, I polled facebook as any other good Mom would do, haha, and got 40 different answers (of course) so I just decided to take her in. Better safe than sorry! Turns out I'm not that paranoid and my kid is actually sick. RSV sick! Goodness. Her ear was on the verge of an infection as well, so we were given prescriptions for antibiotics and for albuterol to help her breathe. Sad deal.

February has not been kind to my babies.

In other news, and what I originally wanted to post about. Back in December I made a list of "things" that I wanted to accomplish in the new year. Not resolutions....I don't like resolutions. Sure, I think it's important to set goals for yourself and work to acheive them, but a resolution implies that they need to start Jan 1st and when I decide to start/stop something on Jan 1st, you better believe that I will have failed by Jan 2nd! So....some things I started working on in December. Some things I said I was going to start in December, I did not, but actually started in January. Some things I still need to start, lol. But ONE of those things, of course, was getting my body back in shape.

First, let me just say a few things about this. My body has been put through the ringer in the past 3 years. I started off  like a science experiment trying to get pregnant. Then, I did get pregnant and carried a baby full term, had a natural birth and by natural I mean the V word. And that baby was big. And then I lost the 35 lbs that I gained that pregnancy only to get pregnant again when Isabel was 10 months old. And only after once again being a science experiement. And then I carried THAT baby to full term and birthed her v...naturally and she was also pretty good sized. Nevertheless, I have quite a bit of work to do and I need to cut my poor body some slack--she's been good to me.

After Isabel was born, the pregnancy weight just fell off. I did nothing to help it along--it just went. I think I held on to the last 5 lbs for about 3 months before it came off, but I was literally in my pre-preg jeans when Iz was 3 weeks old. With Eva, nope. Nope, nope, nope. Probably because she is my second. And maybe also because I had her 1 week before Thanksgiving in which I ate a lot. And then came December and I had a birthday and I ate a lot. And then came Christmas and I ate a lot....notice a pattern? So my "goal" to lose all of the baby weight (37 lbs) by my 6 week checkup....well, that did not happen at all.

I've said all of this to say: I actually started dieting/exercising on January 8th and 1 month later (Feb 8th) I have lost 10 lbs. I'm nowhere near ready to post my actual weight but I will break it down like this: I checked into the hospital to have Eva with my extra 37 lbs. When I left the hospital I had lost 12 of it. (25 lbs left) After that, 10 more lbs came off within the next couple of weeks--you know, water weight and such. (15 lbs left) and then since 1/8/13 I have lost another 10 lbs, meaning that I still have 5 lbs of pregnancy weight to go. Eva will be 3 months old on Valentines Day, it would be nice to have it gone by then. And thennnnn......I have another 25 that I want to lose by Mother's Day. It will be tough, but I think that is a realistic goal.

This post is a novel. Soon, I will post about what I am doing to lose it. And also some other changes I am working on. And ideally I want to start posting on the 8th of every month to note my weight loss and keep me accountable by all of you thousands of viewers. :)
Not tonight though. I'm sleepy.

Double Doctor's Appointment!

Friday we finally got in for Eva's 2 month checkup. She weighed 13.0 lbs (95%tile) and was 23.5 inches long (75%tile). I can't remember what her head measurement was, but it was in the 90%tile. She was perfectly healthy and definitely getting enough to eat. ;)
I did ask him about a little rash that she has on her neck, and it turned out to be a yeast rash. Basically she hides a lot of moisture down in those neck rolls and it caused a little rash to grow. We got some cream for it and it already is starting to go away.
She did really well with her shots and only cried for maybe 20 seconds. Her sister got upset because she was crying, so I had both of them crying for a bit...but other than that it was not bad at all.

Isabel had to see the pediatrician too, but not for a checkup. This girl's nose has been POURING for a week. I feared she might have another ear infection and boy was I right--in both ears! So we are set up to meet with the ENT next week for a pre-op for tubes. Ultimately it's my choice on whether to do them or not, but her doc recommends it and I don't want her to keep getting ear infections! So as any other Mom would feel, I'm nervous about her being put under, but I know that the tubes should help keep her from getting ear infections every few months like she has been. :( In the meantime, she is on antibiotics and cold medicine.

This weekend I was supposed to have a girls night on Saturday night and then go to my parents' house for the Super Bowl (JT worked all weekend), and had to cancel both. My sister in law also got baptized at church this morning and we missed that too! Not only is Isabel sick, but my Mom has some sort of a stomach virus. Talk about an unfavorable weekend! Ha!
The weather is nice right now and I need to GET OUT of this house, so I think I am going to take the girls to the park after Isabel wakes up from her nap. Hoping to put that double stroller to use and walk off some of the M&M's that I've been poking down my throat all day.

I'm planning to do a post next week about my post body progress and some other changes I've been working on.

That's all for now!

2 months!

Eva Jasmine, you are 2 months old today!

*You wear size 0-3 months in clothes. We just started you on size 2 diapers today--just because we were waiting to run out of 1's. Your appointment was pushed back 2 weeks because your scatterbrained Mom showed up at the wrong time and we had to reschedule! Ugh! But with all of the flu going around, it might have been a blessing that we didn't hang out at the doc office for very long. Anyway, at home I weighed you fully dressed and got 13.5 lbs! Whoa Nelly! That is just rough estimate, but you are portly for sure. :) It seems like you are growing SO FAST!!! You still have a really long torso and short legs. I can see some leg growth, but you almost need a 3-6 months on top and no bigger than 0-3 on the bottom. Your Dad and I both have long legs, so this one is a brain scratcher. I have been hearing lately that you look like me. I've mentioned this before, but your sister was the spitting image of me for about the first 6 months of her life and now looks like a tiny version of your Daddy...so we'll see if you morph too. Haha.

*You eat 4-5 oz every 3 hours (on average) during the day. You've cut out your midnight feeding (about a week ago), so you are eating at about 9pm and then sleeping until around 3:30-4 a.m. before you wake up to eat again. The craziest thing about you is that you don't wake up and cry to let me know you're hungry. Instead, I can hear you grunting and squirming around in your bassinet and that's my cue! Occasionally I will hear you sucking on your fist...but no crying! Speaking of bassinet, I *think* we will probably move you to your bed in your room this week. You are starting to look big in the bassinet and you have started squirming around a lot before you fall asleep. I just don't think you're that comfortable in there. You sleep like a champ in your bouncer, and sometimes after your 4 a.m. feeding, I will put you in there and turn on the vibration and you will go right back to sleep. Daddy isn't a fan of that, but I don't hear him complaining about all of the sleep he's getting either. ;)

You have been a great sleeper from day 1. PTL!!!

*You are getting stronger with your neck control. You can hold your head up for several minutes by yourself without wobbling, and if I lay you down for tummy time you will pick your head up and move it from side to side. No signs of trying to roll yet, although you do pick both legs up and your head and it sort of looks like you are trying to fly. lol
*You still have quite a bit of dark brown hair in the back, but not a lot on top.
*You love bathtime, but hate to be lotioned up afterward.

*You normally sleep quite a bit in the mornings and then you are awake for most of the afternoon and then drift back off in the early evenings. You are starting to want to be held more and more and will fuss a little if you're awake and I'm not holding you. Hmmm, I think your sister did the same thing. I blame your grandparents for spoiling you!!!! :)

You still rarely cry. Of course, I said this to our friends (Hi Jessica), and then they came over and you fussed all night. But that rarely, happens...I promise!!!

You are such a sweet little butterball baby and such a joy to our lives! I cannot believe that God blessed me with such beautiful, healthy, little girls. And as always, try to stop growing up so fast, would ya!?!?!