Sleep is for the Weak

At least, that's what I keep trying to tell myself. Both girls have decided that sleep is not a necessity and by default, we as a family are suffering. At first I thought it was just me who was struggling, then yesterday Jay had his first day back to work and was beyond exhausted when he got home.

Then I realized I let Addi dress like this and decided it might be time to work out a better bedtime routine.

Don't be jealous...

...but my life pretty much rocks. Even though I am super moody and cry at the drop of a hat, I have two amazing daughters and couldn't be happier.

First real picture with her eyes open...
I know they have to be blue but they almost look brown!

Addi trying out the boppy too...
and yes, those are snowman PJs. Jay dressed her.

A Pretty Darn Good Weekend (so far!)

First of all, in case you haven't noticed (for the three people who actually read our blog), I'm working on updating the look and feel of this fine place on the net. BUT since I have to feed Samantha every 2 hours during the day, this leaves little time for artsy goodness on my part. I'll try harder next week.

Secondly, I hope you also notice our awesome new picture! We went to get Addi's two year pictures and Samantha's 10 day old pictures taken yesterday and ended up with two decent family shots. Also, some great ones of Addi (amazing what 6 months can do for an attention span) and two of Sam where she didn't resemble a gremlin. The rest... not the best pictures of the kid, but the photographer was rushing us and she was not too happy about it. I am pretty disappointed because we got some awesome pictures when Addi was here age. Guess I need to get over it. Look for pictures in a mailbox near you... in a few weeks. I'm making my own baby announcements, and as I previously mentioned, these days I moonlite as a milk machine.

One of the decent ones... aren't my girls cute????

So far, this weekend has been pretty great. Yesterday was busy with housecleaning, pictures, and dinner with friends... Then Addi had a major meltdown at 3 a.m. which is as fun as it sounds. Today we hung out as a family, napped together too... Then we walked to the park and went fishing, saw a mother goose and her babies, and picked up a piece of trash off the ground (Addi's favorite part I think)!

The master fishermen

I am off to bed, crossing my fingers for a decent night of sleep for all. I am a tad bit sore from the park trip and would love to not make 14 trips downstairs in the dark tonight for various snacks. Happy Memorial Day!

All About Number Two

Yeah... I don't mean Samantha. I mean Poo. If you don't like to hear about it, skip this post. If you are morbidly curious, read on.

So, with a newborn in the house (8 days old today! Hooray!), there is a lot of talk about poo. When was the last time she went? How much? What color? The hospital even gives you a "Poop Chart" that shows the size, color, etc. to watch for - very appetizing! It's amazing to me how many times a day you talk about it... And Samantha is what I like to call a "Sneaky Pooper"... she generally fills her pants 30 seconds after you change her. Someone needs to have a talk with her about the cost of diapers.

And now, the rest of the family is getting into the act. Bandit (the cat) has decided to only poo on the floor directly outside the litter box. So, I get to have a discussion about poo with the vet.

Addi is borderline potty training, so every hour we are asking her if she needs to go, has already went, etc. We read books on poo... she blames her smelly pants on Elmo and her stuffed animals... And she has been struggling with the change to a new sitter (our regular is on vacation) so she won't go at daycare and constantly has an upset tummy. Last night she again woke up at 2 a.m., puking in her bed, so Jay got to hand wash several stuffed animals and we got to sleep with Addi again.

And - interesting fact for those who have yet to have a baby - when a newborn goes poo, it sounds similar to a nuclear attack. VERY loud... very distinct.

This morning, Addi and Jay were sleeping, and I was feeding Sam in our bed. She chose that opportunity to poo her pants, and Jay (who was sound asleep) jumped straight up out of bed! Apparently the sound was loud enough to wake him up. That's some powerful poo.

In non-poo related news, Sam had her third check up yesterday to check her bili levels (she was borderline jaundice) and they are finally going down. She is gaining weight like a champ and is up to 7 pounds, 11 ounces, only 2 oz away from her birth weight! To help continue to fight the jaundice, she is supposed to eat a lot and sit in the sun whenever possible. The kid has a better tan than anyone else in the house!

Addi holding Samantha - she loves to do this!

Tanning in the window

Sisters

After wondering what Samantha would look like for 9 months, she is here and looks a lot like her big sister! There are definitely some similarities....

Here is a picture of Addi, two days old....



And here is Samantha, two days old.


What do you think?

As far as adjusting, I don't think Addi could be doing any better. She LOVES her new "sisser" and wants to know where Sammi (Yammi) is at all times. She also loves to hug and kiss her and wants to hold her all the time. The first day at home was a bit hectic... she didn't really understand that Sammi would only be eating/drinking milk, so when I said she was hungry she brought her some Cheese Its, and she also has tried to feed her one of her fake baby bottles. She took the news pretty well and I thought it was really sweet that she did that. As far as nursing goes, the first time she saw Sammi nursing she starting yelling "stop eating mommy baby! No, baby stop!" but after a few feedings she figured it out.

I'm sure the jealousy is around the corner, but for right now I am loving watching Addi adore her new sister.

We are officially a family of FOUR!

Welcome to the world (and blog life) Samantha Jane!

Well, she's here and she is incredible. The short story: She was born at 8:06 a.m., May 14, and weighted 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was 19 inches long. She has blond hair, blue eyes, and is so darling. Jay, Addi and I couldn't be happier to have her in our lives.

For those who want to know, here's the long story of her birth: Wednesday morning Jay and I headed to the hospital for our scheduled c-section to meet our new daughter, who at that point was still nameless. Fast forward a few hours and I was on the operating table, getting my spinal and expecting to hear our little girl in a few minutes. They checked me to make sure I was totally numb (very important when they are cutting you open!) and I could still feel a strip down the middle of my tummy. The anistesiologist moved me around to try to move the meds and it didn't work, so they said I had to get put totally under. That really upset me b/c I didn't want to miss her first cry, seeing her for the first time, picking a name, etc. but I really didn't have much choice. I asked if I could see Jay and he was apparently standing right behind me, so he reassured me that everything would be OK and then they kicked him out. I woke up a few hours later and Jay told me everything was fine, she was great, looked like Addi, and eventually they moved me to my room and brought the baby in so I could meet her.

Jay and I hung out for a bit with her and decided to name her Samantha Jane. She has my initials and we later found out Jane is a family name so that works out too! I nursed her somehow laying flat on my back (a side effect of a spinal is that you have to lay flat until you have all feeling back, which generally takes 2-5 hours) and didn't feel all that great.

More on the spinal... it also had morphine in it, which I had a reaction to. My face itched like crazy and drove me nuts, and I was super dizzy and very sick to my stomach. After a few hours (Jay had left to get Addi) they finally decided I should be better by now so the anestisiologist came back in and decided I was having another reaction to the spinal, so they had to give me more meds to combat the dizzies, itchies and pukey feeling and I had to keep laying flat. Fast forward to 2 a.m. and I was still sick, flat on my back, which totally sucked. I was finally allowed to start sitting up and by 10 a.m. was even allowed to get out of bed, lose the catheter, and hold Samantha for the first real time. Overall, the spinal experience sucked but I'm just glad it's over!

Back to the good stuff.... Jay came back to the hospital and brought Addi and she got to meet her little sister. She was very excited to see me and the baby, liked playing with the hospital bed, and laid down with me for a bit. She held the baby for a few minutes and only had one minute of jealousy, basically was just really happy to meet her!



The rest of the hospital stay was as good as could be... Addi came to visit every night and loved on her sister more and more. My parents were in town so they visited a lot and Jay, Samantha and I started to bond too. We came home yesterday (Saturday) and although it was slightly hectic with some unexpected difficulties (Addi woke up last night at 2 a.m. throwing up, yippee) overall life is great! Addi wants to hold the baby nonstop and help out and really seems to be adjusting well. She tried to feed the baby crackers but took the news pretty well that she couldn't, and the jealousy factory hasn't been too bad.

Samantha is doing great! She is nursing well and sleeping as well as we could hope, got up every three hours last night but slept in between feedings. She looks so much like Addi and then so much like her own person too. She has only cried a few times (when she was hungry) so we are taking every advantage of that, since we know it won't last.

Overall, Jay and I are so happy... we feel very blessed to have Samantha in our lives!

Two Days To Go!

Well, in less than 48 hours I will be a mommy again... very exciting but also very scary! Today I've been pretty busy (have lots of random things to get done, blood work, talk to surgeons, get Addi set up with her backup daycare, etc.) so resting hasn't been a high priority yet. Also, Addi dropped our laptop yesterday and broke the hinge and I am in a mild panic about it... to get it fixed will take 3-4 weeks of it being gone, so now I'm trying to save addresses, pictures, etc. so that we can limp along over the next four weeks. Jay isn't the least bit concerned but I'm freaking out... Not sure how to save and send baby pictures, update my blog, send baby announcements, etc. without a computer....... deep breath.......... Basically I want to cry b/c I'm stressed enough without having to worry about being disconnected from the world as well. Definitely not a major concern but the last thing I wanted to worry about today was making sure our identities won't get stolen by the creepy repair people.

Anyway, for those wondering, here is the final installment of the torpedo belly, at 38 weeks. It doesn't seem that huge in this picture but my dad keeps telling me it looks "pitiful" so I'm assuming that means I look bad. Gee, thanks.
On a happier note, we had a fantastic Mother's Day! We went to lunch and she did something funny... she switched my soup with her mac n' cheese, then said "I'm mommy, you're Addi," and insisted I call her mommy. She is really into pretend play!
Next we went to Build a Bear, where the PLAN was for her to make a new friend for her little sister as a present. YEAH RIGHT! She wanted to make herself a dog, so we found a miniature version she can give to the baby. Thus, Floppy the dog was born.
All in all I know the next week will be very hectic... no computer access at the hospital so my blog won't get updated for a few days, and if the laptop goes away for 4 weeks, it might be longer! Really, we are just hoping for a healthy baby and a speedy recovery for me from surgery... anything else isn't important! Or so I am trying to convince myself.

Things That Totally Rock About Being a Mom

Hugs of any kind.
Sticky kisses.
The endless things that are now funny, all regarding poop (read here for a good one!)
When your kid does something really sweet and it’s b/c YOU raised her that way.
When your kid does something totally awful and it’s b/c YOU raised her that way.
The newfound admiration you have for your own mom.
When you are at WalMart and you can say “At least that’s not ME this time!”
Holding a newborn baby and imagining the possibilities.
Watching your husband with your daughter and being overwhelmed with happiness.
Holding your kids’ hand.
How every day is now an adventure.
Saying things you NEVER thought you would say (and not minding so much that you sound just like your parents.)
Feeling a baby kick inside you… freaky to others but so incredibly cool to me.
How much more you now enjoy pure silence.
How looking at the world has totally shifted since having kids… the moon fascinates you once again.
Watching your kid master something for the first time and you both sharing the same pride in accomplishment.
When your kid cries for YOU and you know only you can make it better.
The amazing feeling I have right now, writing this, knowing how lucky I really am.

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Mother's Day Weekend Update

So, it's official... I am done with work until late summer! I went into the office today to finish up some projects, take my laptop in, etc. and now I am DONE. I also had my last doctor's appointment yesterday and unless my water breaks, the doctor will see me at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday for my 7:30 a.m. c-section. It seems pretty anti-climatic considering the last month has been such a roller coaster but the end result of a healthy, happy baby is all we can ask for.

This weekend we are going to try to spend some quality family time together, maybe take Addi to her first movie and try to relax and rest before next week!

Tick, tick, tick... 5 days left!

Outsmarted Again!

As I have described before, we are constantly working to make Addi a well-behaved, law-abiding citizen. Most days the job is harder than it looks, and today was no exception.

Recently I found out that taking stuff away from Addi works as better punishment than time out (since she thinks time out is hysterical). Not really a novel idea to most but when you have a kid who rarely likes the same toy two days in a row, it makes it difficult for her to see the consequences (click here for more info). You take away a doll, a spoon is her new best friend.

This morning I was trying to get her dressed and she kept running away, hiding, etc. So, I told her if I had to come upstairs to get her, then Cocoa (her newest bear obsession) would have to stay home with me today while she went to Kim's house. Well, I had to go upstairs after all and found her hiding under the baby bassinet with Cocoa. I said, "I told you to come downstairs or I would take Cocoa away. You didn't listen, so give him to me," and pointed to Cocoa. She looked at him and said, "No, this not Cocoa, this Bob."

My kid... the genius.

Updated Yard... Clothing Optional?

This weekend, Jay and my dad were really busy. The swingset has been finished since Monday, and as the finishing touch to the backyard, Jay bought us two new trees that will someday provide shade for us (and possibly birds and squirrels for Smokey to torture). They spent all day yesterday digging holes for said trees, moving existing landscaping to make way for our new tomato and pepper plants, and taking down the old hammack.
Addi of course helped out by insisting they take a break every few minutes to push her on the swings. After a few minutes of training, they taught her how to make herself go on the glider.
She also mastered the rock wall and ladder rather quickly and figured out that the slide is much faster when you don't have on any shoes or pants.

However, THIS way is a MUCH faster way of getting to the top. Again, pants optional.
Overall it was a pretty good weekend. I got some rest, Jay got a sunburn, and Addi proved once again how valuable that privacy fence really is.

Bad Blogger, Bad Blogger

So, I found out today from Jay that Lisa, my awesome sister-in-law, thought I might have had the baby since I haven't updated my blog. NOPE. I'm just lazy and not at all feeling creative this week! So, for her, I'll update. But don't expect great things... This could be the world's most boring blog!

First of all, here is what my dad had for dinner last night. Yes that's a tenderloin! And it was wider than tall.. this picture doesn't do it justice. Jay told him it was big but as usual he had to see for himself (because Jay doesn't know his food???? Not sure about that one...). And NO he did not finish it. Not even close.


And an update on me and Baby Ralph... Went to the doc on Thursday for my 37 week check up, and they decided to take me off the Terb and see what happens. Basically it stopped working a few days ago anyway so that was fine with me. Now, as long as I don't have contractions that won't stop or my water breaks, we'll still have her as scheduled on May 14th. Only 11 more days!