A few funny things

Carter has been SO funny lately. Sometimes, we really shouldn't be laughing (you know how that is -- when your kid does something hilarious but semi-inappropriate). I fear that if I don't write these down anyway, I will regret it someday. haha.

- Carter knows...um, a lot...about breastfeeding. He's very curious, and let's be frank--it happens like 436 times a day, so he was bound to start being curious. ONE TIME he asked me "what's that?" and I answered honestly with "nipples." Well, he's now developed this unique voice (evil sounding) and he says that word at the WORST TIMES. At one of Seth's softball games, he took off, ran into the middle of the huddle, yelled "nipples!" in his evil voice and took off. Seriously??? HILARIOUS though.

- He mixes up letters in the cutest (and again, some not-so-appropriate) ways. He says "hos-i-pal" instead of hospital, "apple-loss" instead of applesauce, and, when Addison is fussy, accidentally mixes up the first letters of her nickname: fuss bucket. You do the math. :) Praying he never says that in public.

- He shakes his booty all the time, and has found a new activity in standing on our coffee table and jumping onto the couch. He also does this from his bed to the floor. Boys will be boys, right?? Well, two times this week, I told him to stop jumping or he's going to -- BAM! BOTH TIMES he face planted. I felt bad for him but was trying so hard not to laugh. Those life lessons sure are tough, huh? :)

Some "sanity time" out of the house...

Some stress relief (i.e.: time out of the house) has been in the cards for a few days, so on Tuesday, we headed to a nearby farmers market with a little farm full of different animals. Too bad we chose a day that is was like 95 degrees with 150% humidity. PHEW!

Carter made his way (reluctantly, at first) to the goats, pigs, cows, chickens, and rabbits. We bought a few 25 cent potatoes and apples to feed the pigs (and then vowed we'd never eat bacon again after smelling them. EW!!!).

By the end of the short time we were there, he was smitten with the goats and kept wanting to feed them more and more.

If I'm being honest...

* The past few days have been incredibly hard. Both of my children have been slightly miserable and it has been tough.

* I miss sleeping for more than 2 hours at a time.

* I've got spit up in my hair and I'm still not washing it today. :)

* I don't like breastfeeding. It's not convenient and it's not easier than formula (in my opinion). Every outing is a major event. At this point, I'm doing it to save money (and lose weight) and trying my hardest to make it through my maternity leave. It is especially hard because she is SO slow and squirmy and I end up being up for nearly 3 [total] hours during most nights and out-of-commission for a lot of each day. Plus, I'm hardly pumping anything (which I'll need when I go back to work), so I'm taking supplements and pumping all the live long day. HARD.

* My husband has been a GOD-SEND, helping me with the kids and around the house, giving me time to nap, supporting me, and being an awesome dad.

* I miss my husband. Sure, I see him everyday, but I miss him...like need a date night and time alone. We spend pretty much every waking second tending to the kids.

* I still get anxiety when I'm home with both of the kids alone -- I just feel like they always need me at the same time! I know this will pass when Addison is doing more than just eating and sleeping.

* I sometimes crave McCafe Frappes, and can almost block out the screaming baby in the carseat if I'm drinking one. Ha!

* We've been to Target more times than I care to admit in the past 5 weeks.

* I have NO desire to potty train though it's a necessity.

* I sometimes feel like an inadequate mother and wife.

* My house looks like a war-zone more times than not, but it's hard to keep up with a 2-year-old emptying the toy boxes every 20 minutes and nursing the aforementioned slow eater.

* I'm thankful for my iPhone, which has given me something to do during nighttime nursing! There really IS an app for everything -- nothing like doing your devotions at 2 a.m.!

Addison: One Month

Addison,

At one month old, you:

- Are roughly 8.5 pounds (we don't have another appointment until you are 6-weeks-old).
- Have the cutest stick-up (think mohawk) brown hair you could possibly imagine.
- Have deep blue eyes.
- Wear size newborn diapers and size newborn clothing.
- Have the tiniest little feet (and a big long toe) that NO socks fit on.
- Are starting to be alert more often and make eye contact more.
- HATE your carseat. You mostly cry from the second you go in until the second you come out, no matter how far we drive. The only chance of silence in the car is a full belly and mommy sitting beside you shushing you and literally holding your paci in your mouth.
- Use the soothie paci (those huge green ones they give at the hospital) but I hope to transition you from that at some point since that one can't hook onto a "leash" to keep it from getting lost.
- Eat about every 2-3 hours during the day and approximately every 2.5-3.5 hours at night.
- Slept through the night (to a doctor's standards of a 5-hour stretch) the night of July 10. (Edited: she slept a 6-hour stretch on 7/12!!!)
- Are the sloooowest eater ever. It takes you 45-50 minutes most times, but sometimes you are more efficient at 25 or so, which mommy appreciates. :)
- Don't love tummy time, but are getting more used to it.
- Like your swing!! (your big brother was a stinker about this at first)
- Still love to be swaddled and most of the time, stop fussing when we swaddle you.
- Hardly ever cry except when you're hungry, have a burp, or we put you in the carseat.
- Currently have your first cold. You get so congested so we have to do saline drops and the aspirator, which you aren't a huge fan of either.
- Had lots of visitors including grandparents, aunts/uncles, great-grandparents (even Gram and Popi from FL!).
- Are the sweetest little thing - such a petite little girl, very snuggly, and the 2nd love of our lives.
- Have a few nicknames already like Peanut, pretty girl, sweet pea.

We can't wait to see how you change each day and we are absolutely smitten with you, beautiful girl. :)

We're still alive...

I know, I know. We've been non-existent lately. Life is hectic to say the least, and we're spending our free time (HAHAHA) getting to know our little peanut and help her big brother make the transition as best he can.

She is already over two weeks old, which is super hard to believe. She would have been due in just a few days and we're already well into this parent-of-two thing. :)

She is a pretty good baby, spending nearly all of her day eating and sleeping. And then eating some more. She nurses about every 2-2.5 hours and is super slow at it (think 45-50 minutes each time!). She eats on average three times a night, but had a few four-times-a-night, too, which makes for one sleepy mama when you consider that, at 45 minutes a pop, I am down three hours of sleep from Seth each night. Yowzer.

BUT, last night, the little peanut only got up two times, which was nice. However, Carter woke up twice, the dog peed the bed, and we had a severe thunderstorm thrown into the mix. Lovely, huh? :)

She is still rocking the newborn diapers (and will be for a bit), newborn clothes, and just seems so tiny. We weighed her on our scale and she weighed 7 lbs, 12 oz., so she was up a whole pound since birth!

She has the cutest little cry, isn't a fan of baths, loves to be swaddled, and isn't quite as good in the car as Carter was.

Seth has been a huge help with her/Carter, which may be due to the fact that we got smart and he just tries to get a full night of sleep, when possible, so that I can sleep in a bit while he gets up with the kids, and so I can usually take a nap. Carter is in daycare Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to keep him in his routine as much as possible, but it's SO nice to have two sets of hands on Tuesdays and Thursdays when he is home.

All in all, things are going really well--we are definitely tired, but not as tired as we were when we had Carter. Going from one to two kids has been easier on one hand (we aren't fazed by the crying, we knew what to expect, I knew breastfeeding would be hard, etc.) but is soooo much harder on the other hand (sibling jealousy, someone constantly needs something, an adorable toddler saying "mama" 6,281 times day).

She looks like Carter more and more everyday (as a baby) and we can't wait to see how she changes in the next few weeks!

One Week Old

It's hard to believe, but Addison is already a week old! She has been doing really well, though is a very sleepy (sleeping probably about twenty hours a day, which they said is normal for a baby born three weeks early) and very hungry (albeit tiny) little girl. She has jaundice which seems to just not want to quit, so we've been making many trips back to the doctor for weight checks and bloodwork.

We thought we were in the homestretch for the jaundice but yesterday, on day seven of life, it was still in the mid teens so we go back again tomorrow for another round of bloodwork. :( We've been treating her with home phototherapy and are praying the sweet thing is almost done with that.

Other than jaundice, she's a content happy baby, unless she's hungry. :) She's a little peanut but has the most kissable little cheeks you ever did see. She's swimming in her newborn clothes, but we expect that won't last too long either with how much she's been eating.

Carter is starting to adjust better - he has very good days and some rough ones, too. He gets distraught when we go somewhere in the house without her--I think he thinks we forgot her. It's adorable. Tonight Seth has a softball game and tomorrow night he works, so I'll be initiated into the mom-of-two-by-myself club full force. Prayers please! :)

(And yes, family, I do have more photos, but need to find some time to get them all uploaded.)

Addison's Birth Story

I figure while it is all fresh in my mind, I should write Addison's birth story. I surely never thought we'd be writing it this early, but little girl had other plans in mind.

During the night of June 12, I got up to go to the bathroom for the thousandth time that night. On the way to the bathroom, I left a small trail and thought "um, did I really just pee?!?" But when I changed, and started walking back to the bedroom, I got wet again. My first thought was there's no way that is my water breaking and that clearly it was just another weird pregnancy thing. But after the third time of this happening, I casually tapped Seth on the shoulder to wake him up and said "Hey, I think my water might have broken." He sat up and was like 'Huh!?!?" I did some google searching and we chatted, but decided not to call the hospital since I had NO contractions at all and we knew that if we just waited a few hours, we could send Carter to daycare and it would make the whole thing much easier.

When 6 a.m. rolled around, I called in and they walked me through the standard questions. At the end she said "I think you're going to have a baby today!" (sidenote: it was now June 13, which is my birthday! I was also 37 weeks, 1 day pregnant -- one day inside the "full term" range.) She suggested that we head into the hospital. With Carter, we got sent home the first time we went in, so I asked that she please call up to Labor and Delivery and make SURE they wanted us to come in. She called back a few minutes later and said yes. Since I was still having no contractions, we got Carter to school, showered, straightened my hair, applied make-up...you know, the mandatories. :)

We finally headed in around 7:45 a.m. (still no contractions) and made our way to L and D. It makes me laugh how different it was with Carter and Addison because with Carter, I was MISERABLE on that walk to L and D and with her, we were laughing and joking the whole way up.

When we got up to L and D, they were expecting us and took us right into the exam room where they would do some tests to make sure it was amniotic fluid and check contractions/baby's heartbeat, etc. The nurses were fabulous but it seemed like everything was in slow motion until they finally did the cervical check (I was 3 cm.) and the amniotic fluid tests. The tests INSTANTLY showed that my water had broken and they told us to make ourselves comfortable because we'd be having a baby today! At 9:30 a.m., I was still having no contractions, but they moved us to our delivery room, got me all set up, and began pitocin around 10:15 a.m. I've heard horror stories about the contractions pitocin causes and those stories were true! haha.

It took awhile for anything to really happen but by 11:45 a.m., my contractions were uncomfortable and noticeable for sure, and by 12:15 p.m., they were consistent. I was STARVING and felt so weak from not eating, so I had two popsicles which were like heaven on earth at this point.

At 2 p.m., the nurse said they were having a hard time keeping Addison's heart rate on the monitor so they opted to put one of those tiny little monitors into her scalp. It totally freaked me out but they said it was 'superficial' and we wouldn't see the mark when she was born and it would allow them to monitor her no matter how she or I moved. When the doctor placed this monitor, he [accidentally?] finished breaking my water (before, it was only a tear). He said, at this point, that I was 4 cm. dilated and 90% effaced. I figured now was as good a time to get the epidural, so they paged anesthesiology for me. They arrived within a few minutes--and this is where things started to take a downhill spiral. :)

The first person who began my epidural got paged into a brain surgery within 3 minutes of being in my room, so we waited for someone else to come take over. The next person who came was Doogie Houser, and clearly learning how to do epidurals. Awesome. While we waited for his attending physician, I was becoming increasingly more miserable. They attempted to place the epidural once with no luck, and tried again. It seemed to take FOREVER, but finally I heard those sweet words that they were getting ready to start the medicine. I  knew something wasn't quite right within about 15 minutes. Originally, both legs were getting tingly and numb, but within a few minutes, the numbing effect only continued on my right side, with nothing at all taking effect on my left. We kept telling them this, and they kept making small adjustments, moving me around, etc. When the epidural dosage was upped, my blood pressure continued to drop pretty far, so it was a continuous back and forth of "up the epidural, give her blood pressure meds, and on and on." I thought I was going to throw up, but managed to keep it together.

When 3:35 p.m. rolled around and I STILL had no relief on the left (and in fact, felt worse because I had progressed in my labor). They spent the next 45 minutes continuing to tweak the epidural. During this time, I was in so much pain and may have told them how mad I was at them and that I was really grumpy. The nurse was so sweet and helped keep me as calm as possible despite me wanting to strangle an anesthesiologist or two. :) At one point, they decided to pull the epidural out a centimeter and see if that made a difference. I had honestly lost all hope at this point because I could also hear them saying that I was progressing really, really fast and so that a decision better be made soon. Well--as you can imagine--that stupid centimeter made NO difference whatsoever. And JUST as they discussed the possibility of removing it entirely and re-placing it, the anesthesiologists got paged into an emergency c-section. I seriously almost started bawling right then and there. It was never in my plan to have a baby without the drugs, trust me! :)

At 4:20 p.m., the nurse told me that she would have advised me against re-placing it anyway because she was certain that if I sat up to get another epidural, I'd have the baby anyway. At 4:29 p.m., the nurse did a cervical check and promptly said "um, I'm going to go grab the doctor and the baby nurse." Within seconds, the doctor was in the room and did a cervical check of his own. He looked up and said "She's right there - let's have a baby!" They asked if I was having any pressure to push, which, surprisingly, I wasn't. I still don't understand that, but who knows?!? He told me to give it a try anyway, so at the next contraction I gave a good push. The next thing I heard was the doctor saying "Here's her head!" WHAT???? I pushed two more times in that contraction and at the next, contraction/push he said "There's her shoulder - you can stop pushing!" and seconds later, at 4:37 p.m., our little angel had arrived!!

I could not BELIEVE how fast that delivery part went, but can't say I minded AT ALL since I had a bum epidural anyway (I'm not bitter at all). :)

She immediately started screaming and Seth quickly confirmed that she was, in fact, a GIRL. WOOO HOO! For those who didn't know, this was one of my biggest fears ever--that we would be told it was a girl, but that after buying all girl things, it would be a boy!

She was brought to my chest and I remember thinking how GORGEOUS she was. Seth cut her cord and they did her Apgars (9 and 9 - a healthy little peanut). It seemed like an eternity til they weighed and measured her, but when they did we found out she was much tinier than we thought at 6 pounds, 12 ounces and 20 inches long.

I'm still in shock at the fact that when we arrived at the hospital around 8 a.m., I was having NO visible signs of labor other than a small amniotic tear, and by 4:37 p.m., our baby girl was there. It was just so fast -- the doctor was in and out of our room within 15 minutes!

All in all, it was a good experience and you always forget that pain as soon as the baby is born. We were able to get lots of snuggles in and within a few hours, Addison had lots of visitors to love on her. 

We are blessed and so in love with our pretty, pretty princess!  

By about 5:30/6:00ish, my mom, dad, brother, Ashley, and Carter had arrived--I was actually still in the delivery room, waiting to be assigned a real room. A bit later, Michelle, Jason, and the twins came. I was so excited for Carter to meet his baby sister. He liked her but was certainly not in love. He was more into the mini birthday cake the hospital brought to my room.

His sister gave him her gift (a toy truck) and he played with that. Mostly, he wanted me to hold him and snuggle him. He freaked a bit when they left, which we expected, but did okay once he got to the car. He stayed with my parents for a few days, and did great. 

Addison is here!

Just a quick update while our peanut is in the nursery getting bathed...

Addison Elizabeth arrived today (mommy's birthday!) at 4:37 p.m., weighing 6 lbs., 12 oz., 20 inches long.

Pregnancy Highlights: 37 Weeks

How far along: 37 weeks and technically full term now!! She is over 19 inches and nearly 6.5 pounds.

Total weight gain/loss: 25ish pounds - I have an appointment tomorrow, so I'll get an updated number then.

Maternity clothes: Yes, the same few shirts every week because it is hot as the dickens right now and I only have a few short-sleeved maternity shirts. I'm making them work, though!

Best moment this week: I went shopping and bought her a few new things; I also finished packing her hospital bag and have our's well under way!

Gender: We all know this by now. Girl -- Addison Elizabeth.

Movement: Still so much. My stomach is consistently distorted...the little girl favors the left side (hence the INSANE swelling on my left side) and often curls into the tightest little ball in my ribs and then stretches out. OUCH.

Food cravings: Mostly just cereal. And berries.

What I miss: Walking without waddling and/or being out of breath, sleeping, not going to the bathroom 1281389 times a day.

Sleep: Oh...bad. So bad. The amount of bathroom trips has increased exponentially and my mind just races as I lay there. I think it's preparation for what's to come in terms of less sleep (than normal).

What I am looking forward to: Meeting the little peanut! On one hand, this pregnancy seems to be dragging but on the other we're like holy cow, she's going to be here in like THREE WEEKS. It's insane!

Symptoms: Swelling, indigestion, frequest urination, breathlessness, lack of sleep, numb fingers.

Less than 3 weeks - woooo hoooo!

Oh, and don't forget to go here and guess Addison's arrival date and stats. :) It'll be cheating if you wait too much longer. Ha!

Carter's First Camping Trip

I'm a bit behind on this but better late than never, right? :) We took Carter camping near the beginning of May for a little last hurrah as a single child (and a little crazy for the 8-month-pregnant lady). I do love to camp, though, so it wasn't a huge stretch for me!!

On Mother's Day, we went out and bought this beast of a tent--that was my one criteria actually...that if we were going to go as a family, we would "upgrade" for our small North Face tent that Seth and I usually use. We bought this HUMUNGOUS thing...two rooms and it sleeps nine. Not that we'll ever need that much room, of course, but it was PERFECT for my cot (which conveniently broke before the first night, stupid thing), Carter's pack and play, Seth's thermarest, and allllll our stuff, including many, many toys and a few luxuries like a CD player, cell chargers, a laptop (for Carter to watch a movie if he got up too early). It was so awesome and such a good purchase!

On Friday night, we had hot dogs on the fire and some other goodies. Carter got super dirty right away, but we sort of expected that. Doesn't he look like such a little troublemaker here? :)

We went with our friends Mike and Sarah and their one-year-old, Ethan. It was certainly an adventure with two kids, but I think it went better than I expected! In fact, Carter slept all night on the first night, but did wake up at about 5:30 a.m., which is standard. The hardest part was keeping him happy in the tent until it was appropriate for us to make any noise at the campground!

On Saturday, we mostly relaxed (my other criteria for this trip--NO HIKES!), took a few easy walks, collected firewood, played with the kids toys, blew a lot of bubbles, and checked out the "beach" which was just down the hill from us. Carter LOVED it and had so much fun playing in the water and sand. He even took a nap on Saturday which was so awesome!! :)

On Saturday afternoon, we hit our first snafu when Carter would go to the car door and say "Home Carter's house" over and over...seems as though he had his fill of camping. We promised him that after dinner, we'd go find a special treat (ice cream) to get a change of scenery. After a yummy dinner of chicken, steak, ranch potatoes, and corn on the cob, we did just that. We didn't have to go far and the kids had a great time! Just the break we needed...

When we got back from ice cream, we ventured down to the sunset again for some last minute photos before Carter's bedtime (which was getting VERY late). Seth gave him a bath, we took some photos, and tucked him into bed. He actually slept til after 6 a.m. on Sunday, so that was very nice!!

We had so much fun on Carter's first camping trip and will definitely be doing it again--it'll be more fun when I'm not pregnant and we can do more! But all in all, I think it went well and it was a good way to spend special time with our littlest love before an even littler one arrives. :)