This little girl

...I think looks like her Daddy (others tell me differently).

...is a girl of many names, Lydia, Lyddie, little Lyds, Baby Girl, Bids...

...is not much of talker...yet, anyway. She just gives a couple of coos and sighs here and there.

...has been sleeping consistenly for the past week and a half 9 hrs to 11 1/2 (Whoa baby! Except last night, of course, was less than that average.)

...is going through a growth spurt!

...still has some unhappy days with some happy ones mixed in.

...spits out the spit up stuck in her mouth. I would do the same, little girl.

...takes a pacifier but not always.

...has some smile! Sometimes, it's quite the cheeser!

...thinks her brother is quite entertaining.

...is quite patient with her brother's "help" with her. (The swing does quite well on it's own. Thank you, Stevie.)

...should have been born with a crash helmet and pads for her brother's "help" and "love."



...has me smiling whenever I say, "little girl"

...will be 3 months old on Saturday!

...is dearly loved!!!

Sleep and Stumpers

I wish I had more time to write (because I don't...here's a long post of thoughts smushed togeher). My days are just busy and filled to the max with my 2 kiddos. I have so many memories I want to record and remember of these days with a 2 year old and 2 month old. And, I will admit, there are times I'm hoping some days go quicker. Some things are evening out or getting better.

Lydia had been sleeping about 6 or 7 hours at night when we switched her to her big brother's room at exactly 2 months. Boy, did we backtrack a little bit, haha. We had a few long nights, and after one, I looked at Matt and said, "Let's place bets. How long do you think it will take for her to get back to her old sleeping habits she had while in our room?" I figured we may as well have fun with it, and whoever won would receive their prize and we'd be getting more sleep! What a win, win! Well, don't you know, it only took a couple (a few?) more nights, and she was back to sleeping like she had been. So, all in all, maybe a week. That's not so bad. I guessed 3 weeks (really hoping for shorter...but didn't want to be too disappointed or something if it took that long, haha) and Matt had guessed 2 weeks. He was closest, so he wants TGIFriday's takeout. It's definitely a win, win all around!! I know I wanted tips before we started the transition, so in case you're wondering, here's pretty much what we did:
Most of the advice given me was to put one down before the other. It sounded good, but just didn't really fit our routine, but if it works for you, wonderful! I'm sure when they are older, they will need different bedtimes anyway. We give Lydia her bath first, pj's, and then I begin nursing her (my babies are long nursers) in the rocker in their room. Stevie and Daddy are meanwhile wrestling or playing and getting all that extra energy out (while I jokingly remind Daddy we're trying to wind him down before bed!...But really, he does fine.) Then Matt gets Stevie in the tub/shower, pj's, milk and story or 2, prayers, kisses from me, and he gets put in bed with lights out. At this point I'm hopefully wrapping up on side 2 with Lyds. Stevie usually watches or plays with his stuffed cow or hams it up or...if we're lucky he'll snuggle in (but he never falls asleep till I leave). I will share more about his bedtime antics another time hopefully. Then, I put Lydia down when she's done. If she's awake, I turn the aquarium on (that no longer bubbles from rough big brother). They both ooh and ahh over it...and then when it's over, we begin our routine of settling them with her pacifier, etc. a couple times...sometimes only once...sometimes not at all! If she's asleep when put down, well, they do just fine. At first I tried to really zoom in when Lydia would wake up at night to eat. I realized Stevie wakes up no matter what, haha, so I try to get up and go in a little more safely ...aka, more awake, haha. I change her quickly, feed her, and put her back down...if it's still dark. Stevie tends to think that if it's light out, it's time to be up for the day. In those times, I just take Lydia right out of the room to feed her and hope Stevie will go back to sleep. Sometimes, he does. I'm hoping in time, he will get used to those noises and just sleep through it. For nap, Stevie has the room all to himself for now. Because his night sleep is interrupted, I want to be sure he's getting good naps...when he's able to with a quiet sister.

The 2nd night of our transition, I really began to love the idea of the kids being together in the same room. Our house pretty much requires it for now, and we knew this would be coming...and I also fiured that in time, the kids would come to love it. I just didn't realize how much I would love it. We have our family time in their room right before bed! We're all there, winding down, reading/hearing stories, and doing bed time prayers and kisses. I think this will be the perfect time for our family devotions too! It is just such a special time, and our kids are totally used to it already.

Now, Lydia has been sleeping 8 hours on average, gone a couple 9'ers, 1 10, and get this, 10 1/2 last night!! She even slept longer than her brother (who used to be a solid 11-12 hr sleeper, but since his sister has arrived, has been woken much earlier, haha.) This Mama is thankful! I'm a better mom with decent rest, so I'm thankful this is going much better!

Now the stumper: My sweet little girl often has miserable days. I am quite convinced it's some sort of tummy trouble and often gassiness, some colic? She is starting to have some better days mixed in, but we are stumped on the rough days...and we've tried a lot. Stevie didn't have these issues, so it's new for us. And, I'm being honest here, it is so tiring. Add on top of that how Stevie doesn't like his sister crying, and he cries right along with her while she screams...our house has some loud days. (And he thinks the pacifier will cure her...so when she doesn't take it or spits it out, well...) I just keep in mind that it won't last forever, and I hear 3 months is a magical time for fussy babies...and that's just around the corner! And she's calling "my name"...gotta go!

Mama's Milk Mart

Open 24/7.

That's the way I felt around here...and still do to a certain extent, since a little girl came home to our house!

Lydia had jaundice and it got worse after we came home from the hospital, so we I was feeding and pumping and feeding and pumping to try to wash it out of her and avoid another stay at the hospital. I have to say, there were a couple of days I was so worried about her. She just was so lethargic, moreso than just the newborn sleepiness. I was terrified. When we went to get her blood level tested again, she slept through the entire heel prick. The lady said she'd never seen that before. I was worried, and praying all night long for her because she just barely ate, she had no energy. Thankfully, within a couple of days of extra feedings through bottles, she turned around and became a different baby girl.

While I was recovering from delivery, we took down our baby gate to the kitchen. (It's not a swing gate...just a cheapo wooden one, and I didn't really want to have to hop over it.) Stevie was thrilled with the opportunity to get his own cup from the fridge...and peruse whatever else looked good in there too. However, he was also carrying the gallon jug of milk out to me (because of course I was probably nursing) when his cup was empty. That turned into trying to open the jug himself....and trying to pour the jug himself. And well, I had some gallons of milk to clean up off of the floor, off of him, and off of his trucks he tried to play with in it. After a few rounds of this, I decided I made a quick recovery, and we needed the gate back up! Stevie is generally even more interested in milk these days, and I wonder if it's because he sees his sister with bottles of milk sometimes. He's gone through a half gallon of milk just on the weekends.

Like with Stevie, I had a dip in my supply again around 6 weeks, just in time for a growth spurt. I was back to pumping around the clock and visited a natural foods store for some herbs to boost me back up. (They are really helping too! I wish I had done this when I was nursing Stevie.) It was a family affair, so Matt and I loaded up the kids and went to the store. That was an experience! I'd never been there before, but I knew what I was looking for. We pulled into the parking lot and the walls were painted these bright colors to look like farm fields and sunflower fields. I thought it looked a little cheesey, and I turned to Matt, "Are there really going to be walking vegetables in there?" (referring to their commercials)Well, there were aisles and aisles of supplements in what seemed to me no particular order, and thankfully, no walking vegetables. Stevie enjoyed pointing to several containers (thankfully, he wasn't plucking all the bottles off the shelves) and jabbering about them. As I was looking, a guy came over and asked what I was looking for. I turned to him, and he was this young (young as in, around my and Matt's age) muscle man guy. I told him what I was looking for, and I guess judging the book by the cover, totally expected him to need assistance finding it. (No offense to the guy at all, but I figured his expertise would be in the "body building" supplements. My husband who has a nursing wife isn't familiar with what I was looking for.) Boy was I wrong! He acted completely familiar with it! He brought me right to it and told me it was in this form and this form...but you might not want this one because it contains alcohol, and this is another section for "lactation support." I almost laughed out loud at his knowledge, and when we rounded the corner, I did! Matt did too! So, if you need a good natural foods store, I know one where the employees really know their stuff!

Lydia's Birth Day

This is the super long version of Lydia's birth story. I guess I'm making up for lost time on here! I just don't want to forget anything!

On Friday the 22nd, I noticed my braxton hicks becoming more uncomfortable, but I pretty much just brushed them off. I ignored them because I tend to cramp and have them quite frequently near the end of my pregnancy. Looking back though, I'm sure things were kicking into gear. I had an appointment that afternoon and being Good Friday, Matt was off from work, so he was able to come and we brought Stevie along to see the Dr. again. My Dr. gave Stevie a little crocheted bunny magnet (I'm guessing for Easter) and did the usual checks on me. She called the baby a "she" again this visit, "She's a little wiggle worm"...and I was still left wondering if it was a "slip" or was that just what she was calling the baby this visit? Anyway, during my "check" she asked if I had any dilation prior to this 38 week visit. I was immediately disappointed by this question thinking I must have backtracked somehow and closed up. At 36 weeks, I had been a centimeter and 75%. I declined a check at 37 weeks. My disappointment quickly turned around when she said I was an easy 3 and 95%! I was so excited and said, "I don't even care if this baby takes another 3 weeks! It's just so nice knowing I've got some work out of the way before it's really begun!" Then my Dr. said something about seeing if I make it through the night or that week. Well, been there done that. Last time she said that with Stevie, and he didn't come for another month!

Even though I dismissed the Dr.'s comment about possibly not making it through the night, it really made the possibility real to Matt and I that the baby could come at any time. With baby #2, I was much more distracted...afterall, baby #1 and other life responsibilities were taking up a lot of time and attention. As we got to my final month, however, I just had this feeling this baby was going to come early...and I wouldn't be ready! With Stevie, we tried everything to try to put me into labor. With Lydia, we tried everything NOT to, haha. So, ask Matt, the final month was spent with me in a stressed panic mode. It drove him nuts...but it probably drove me nuts even more. I had so much to do to get ready for the baby...and I knew I wasn't going to get it all done. Once her name hat (and the hat we ordered had she been a boy) arrived when I was 37 weeks, I relaxed a bit. We decided that was going to be how we announced her gender and name at the hospital...so the baby couldn't come before the hats did! Anyway, after that final appointment, I called my mom, and we went out for dinner at good old Micky D's. My mom told me to eat something good because it might be awhile before I ate again...joking about me going into labor that night. But, excitement about the coming baby and those uncomfortable, frequent braxton hicks kept me from really enjoying my meal.

I don't remember anything else that happened after the meal that night until...

I must've been contracting during the night but trying to sleep through them...again not thinking much of them. At 4:45am however, I realized I was pretty regular and feeling a bit in my bottom, so maybe I better pay more attention and time them. At that point, they were 5 minutes apart. By 5am, I was pretty certain they were doing something...umm, didn't take me very long to figure it out, haha, so I turned the light on to finish tossing some things in the hospital bag. Matt woke up, but immune to my weird ways, didn't think anything of me doing that at 5am. So, I snapped him out of that state by telling him he may not be playing his long awaited 1st paintball game of the season that afternoon! He says he still didn't really believe it till he saw me stopping during some contractions. I didn't really believe it myself. I kept saying, "It's so early!" (because Stevie was 1-2 weeks late). I really hoped for delivery day to be May 1st (my Dr. was on call then, it was a few days early), so April 23rd just felt ridiculous....and while I packed, I repeated over and over, "so if this is real, she's a girl! She's going to be one prompt little girl!" I was hoping my water would break, so I would be sure...but it never did. We got some more things ready, I took a shower...and noticed a little pink (helping me feel like it really was time), and I called the Dr. by 5:45am...contractions were still about 5 minutes apart like clock work and I was told to come in. Yup, I was going to anyway! My mom and dad came to our house to take care of Stevie (who of course slept in like a champ till 8:30am...on an exciting day we weren't home for!) and we were off. Both Matt and I were so excited. I walked quickly to the van through the dark rain, completely convinced in those steps that we were about to have a baby girl. On our way to the hospital, I called my aunt who's a midwife out of state. She asked how long my contractions were...and I wasn't timing that, so again, I was nervous it wasn't real...but then they'd hit again, and I KNEW it was! I also had a feeling she was coming quickly. The half hour drive to the hospital was feeling like forever, and the whole morning I was telling our baby..."You have to wait till the shift change! You cannot come before 8am!!" (The Dr. on call that evening was large with large hands. So, I wanted to avoid a delivery and "checks" with "Big Man Hands")

We arrived at the hospital around 6:45 I think. I was checked at 4cm and 100%. The nurse looked at me, and asked, "What do you want to do?"
"Umm, huh?"
"What do you want to do? Do you want to leave and go home?"
I was more than confused and had to wait to wrap my mind around the question till a contraction was over. For real? Go home? I was having some good contractions at this point...no way! And my labor with Stevie wasn't all that long. I guess they couldn't read me well to know the intensity of my contractions? They kept acting like it wasn't real labor since my water hadn't broken. It was very weird and very frustrating. So, we were stuck in triage. Matt and I walked around to try to get things moving along even more, and I needed to stop and hold onto him for the good ones. They started coming on top of each other while I walked. I decided to head back to the bed in triage to relax a bit. Poor Matt. I kept asking him (more like drilling him), "When am I going to a room? What are they doing? What's that noise, it's driving me nuts! Tell them I want to go to a room!!" The nurse was busy on the computer and on the phone...I heard her talking about how I delivered a 9 lber. That was the talk of triage, but apparently they weren't as focused on THIS delivery, haha. I was very irritated....afterall, I was in labor. Finally, at 7:45ish (it seemed like a lot longer) the resident came by to check me again. I just wanted to go up to a room to deal with these contractions how I wanted...and relax a little about being "settled in." As she checked me, a look of complete shock swept over her face. "Do you have a high tolerance for pain?"
"Why?"....Well, because I was a 6 but could be stretched to an 8 with bulging bags (a term that sounds so lovely)! I was finally able to get the wheel chair (you know, after we waited awhile for that) and head up to a room!

By the time they got me up there, monitored me and baby for awhile and got my iv in (again more blow-outs...but Matt did superbly! hehe), I didn't have time to use the tub, which is where I wanted to be. The Dr. on call came by at 9, called me "calm as a cucumber" (ha!). (I guess I need to kick and scream to be taken seriously, haha.) I was a 9.5, they broke my water and left...leaving me to wait for the irresistable urge to push. During this time, I had back labor...so Matt was able to rub my back while I sat on the exercise ball. Man, that doesn't give you a break between contractions! (I didn't have this with Stevie, and Matt didn't get to "do" anything for me that labor.) I started thinking an epidural would really sound good at this point. After an hour, I still didn't feel like my uterus was going to push on it's own (and it didn't with Stevie either) but I wanted to get it going, so the resident came in. I gave a few pushes. She and the on call Dr. already started getting the gowns on...I couldn't believe it...I actually asked, "So, you really don't think this will take me 2 1/2 hours?" haha I started pushing sometime after 10, I don't know the exact time. I pushed for less than a half an hour this time (soo much better), but boy, that is where the pain meds would be totally worth it. Lydia Faith was born at 10:29am!!

Honestly, I don't know how this is, but she hurt more than Stevie as she entered the world! Her little self! I think it was because the Dr really tried to protect me from major tearing (thank you Dr!!)....and she had me breathe when she was crowning and do some half pushes. That's when I got SUPER vocal, cool as a cucumber flew out the window....grunting, blowing like a horse, and generally making awful loud noises. I remember wondering what the people in the hallway thought. That hurt so bad. They also mentioned her head came out transverse. The resident had guessed her to be about 7 1/2 lbs, but when she saw her "huge" head coming (which wasn't so huge), she thought she was way off...until she noticed her head was coming sideways.

And then.....she was here! SHE was here! For most of the pregnancy I was convinced she was a boy until that morning I went into labor. Matt leaned into my face with a soft but elated whisper voice and confirmed what we both already knew, "It's a girl!" I looked down at her, overjoyed, and the first thing I noticed was the white creamy vernix (which my mom has said I was the only one of the 4 to have) and, "She's soo tiny! She's so tiny!" She was such a skinny thing! The Dr. (who was a riot...her English wasn't always very clear) looked at me and said, "Tiny?"
"Uh huh!"...Ok, so maybe she's average size but compared to Stevie, what a peanut! Then she peed, haha, and I immediately felt badly as I looked down at her tiny little self as she cried thinking, "Ohh, one day you will have to do this." I don't ever want her to feel such pain, but oh the joy! I held her for a long while as she sucked her middle fingers, and then they asked us to guess her weight as they put her on the scale, and I had no idea. 7lbs 9oz! She was born so quickly she had the perfect little head and face...no cone head or marks! :)



I called my mom who was busy with Stevie and getting the Easter meal together (sorry about that, Mom) and told her the baby was here. She was shocked she was born so quickly, and said she couldn't wait to know the details till she came. So, I told her she had a granddaughter! She cried and was so excited...she had been wanting her girl to have a girl I know.

Then my aunt called to give me last minute advice for the labor and delivery, haha. Welp, didn't need that!

Then my cousin, Chrissy, called to see if I had been sent home or not! Definitely not! haha

We were so thrilled! The Dr. kept telling me how weird I was...her word...I think because of how quickly and smoothly it went...and apparently how "calm" I was, surprising them all. The nurse told me I should go into business birthing babies. Ha. She was cute. And at that moment, the last thing in the world I wanted to do was experience that ring of fire again. As I held our little girl, I leaned over to Matt, "So, your little girl already has you missing paintball games!" He told me over and over again how much she was worth it! What a man! What a Daddy! It was quite hilarious as people called him asking about paintball that afternoon and him saying, "Well, my wife and I just had a baby this morning so..." I could've listened to that all day...and I did! She even came with plenty of time for him to make it though if he had really wanted to.

We had the most wonderful time together, Matt and I, with Lydia. It was like a weekend away, haha. We joked that having a baby is what it takes to get a weekend away. Stevie had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa, and we were so thankful he did well away from us (and that I did too...we had never spent a night away from each other...or that much time apart during the day either). He was always ready to leave with them (gladly, haha) when they left the hospital. My recovery has gone amazingly well this time around...a true answer to prayer. I can't even believe it, after such a rough go the first time. I am all for another smaller baby again the next time! Though, we calculated, had Lydia been born a week late, she easily could've been just as big as Stevie too!

Lydia was originally due (by the old fashioned method of calculating) April 23rd! So, see she was a prompt girl! Though her changed due date was May 5th, so she came almost 2 weeks early! We love you so much, Lyddie!!

It's a Girl!!

Yes, I've been a bit busy around here with our little girl coming almost 2 weeks early! It's been so long since I've been on here, blogger didn't want to let me in.

We'd like to introduce you to our daughter, Lydia Faith.



She arrived April 23 (the day before Easter...my parents guessed she'd be an Easter baby) at 10:29 am. She was 7 lbs 9 oz and 21 1/2 inches long. I will be posting her birth story as soon as I can...including how they almost sent me home, and she was born a mere 3 hours later!



I am still so surprised (but at the same time not) that she's here already! And, I'm still surprised she's a she! More on that later! For now, I need to get back to my 2 kids! :)

"Ceese"

Stevie is starting to gain a bigger vocabulary much to our delight. The word building has been a bit of a slow go and frustrations (and temper tantrums, ugh) resulted from him not being able to communicate.

We finally got the word "please" down a few weeks ago. "Ceese." (Which sounds very similiar, umm almost identical, to his version of "keys.") I need to get that on camera because it's so sweet. The boy loves 3-2-1 Penguins, and he'll grab a video tape (yes, I said a video tape) and carry it over to me indicating he'd like to watch it. (Is any other mom ready for summer weather? He would watch these videos all day if he could.) If he hasn't said "Ceese" I remind him..."You would like to watch this, please?" He reached a stubborn stage quickly and would refuse to say please. So, no video, which resulted in an unhappy boy. I would try and try to get him to say it...I know he knows! Well, then he started saying it again, and we'd get all excited and yell, "Yay! You said 'please'!" give him high 5's, and just live it up, and pop the video in with great enthusiasm. He loved it.

And so the other day, Stevie brought over his beloved video tape wanting to watch. I waited for the magic word. Silence. So, I said, "Please?" Stevie's response: "Yay!!" and clapping and joyful dances, congratulating his mother on a job well done.

Sigh. One day, he'll get it.

Post Overload?

You may or may not have noticed a lot of posts have been published all of the sudden recently. I have this habit of starting posts, and then they sit as drafts unpublished. Sometimes, they are waiting to be finished, and often, they are just waiting for me to hit that publish button. I don't know what it is. I guess I just wonder why anyone would want to read most of them. And some of my posts are just pretty personal, and I'm hesitant to let that out. But, then I need to remember this blog is more for me than anyone else. I need to record these moments. I want to remember these times...the good and the bad and how far we've come. I could just keep a journal, but I think I'd be even worse at finishing entries. So, I keep this public...and if others are encouraged or get a chuckle out of my life, well, that's some good icing on the cake I guess. So, I'm a real girl, a real wife, and a real mom...learning as I go. If you're still sharing the journey with me, thank you! Oh, and if you're wondering, I'm now 35 weeks pregnant with #2! I'm in nesting mode and a little frazzled. I'll try to be back soon!