A Night Of Rest

This has been a busy week for our family. This whole week has been VBS prep week at the church building, which means that Jeremy has been gone from sun-up to sun-down. This is also the week that I chose to really concentrate on sleep scheduling. I knew it was going to be difficult, but I wanted me to be the one to do it since it requires "constant vigilance" (a line from Harry Potter) 

I am happy to say that Greta is still only waking one time at night. Last night she went 5.5 hours between her night feeding and her middle of the night feeding. She really does not need to go more than that between feedings at this point because it could possibly lower her blood sugar resulting in a lethargic baby who will not give me hunger cues. Yesterday I applied the "cry-it-out" method at her afternoon naptime. It was so hard to hear her cry, but she eventually stopped and passed into a deep sleep state. She was much easier to get to sleep at every feeding after that and has been a much easier baby to handle today. She is easy in general, but I am trying to train her to sleep and to self-soothe. Anyway, she is still very young and this is, of course, a work in progress. We will continue to work on sleep training until she is sleeping through the night (which will hopefully happen between 6-8 weeks)

As with any parent of a newborn, we have been pretty tired. I will reserve the word "exhausted" because it is not fair to use it in our case. Greta is a good sleeper and eater, so I cannot really use the word "exhausted" in good conscience. Last night, however, one of the girls in our youth group came over to handle the middle of the night feeding and the early morning feeding so that Jeremy and I could get some rest. We are so thankful for Courtney Cooke and her willingness to help us get some shut-eye! I still woke up with Greta and made her bottle, but Courtney handled the feeding and getting her back to sleep. It was so nice to wake up for 5 minutes versus 45 minutes! It is amazing what and extra 80 minutes of sleep can do for a person! (Plus, I had coffee this morning and will likely take some excedrin this afternoon for my hormone headaches...fun!)

I wanted to share this photo of Courtney and Greta:

Thank you, Courtney Cooke!! We appreciate you!!

Graham Cracker

Yesterday morning, Ava wanted some graham crackers for snack. I gave her a few pieces to eat while she drank her milk. Greta was sitting in her vibrating chair next to me in the dining room. I turned my head to pick up my phone and when I turned back around, Ava was putting the finishing touch on Greta's forehead! Apparently Greta looked like she wanted a bite of Ava's graham cracker (even though her eyes were closed and she looked asleep to me) I guess they already have a secret language that I do not know about! Instead of putting the piece of cracker in Greta's mouth, Ava placed it on her forehead :) Too sweet! She was trying to share!

Snuggle Time With Daddy!

Ava's 18 Month Check-Up + 3 More Things

Today I packed up both girls and the Buick so we could make a visit to our good friends at West Alabama Pediatrics. I wanted to schedule Greta's two week check-up and Ava's 18 month visit for the same day, but I could not because they were completely booked. It was a bit of a hassle to get both girls out for both appointments, but this is the life of a mom with two kids. I guess I need to go ahead and learn what it's like! 

Today was a whole lot smoother than last week's outing. I knew this time that Ava needed to sit in the chair next to me rather than roam the waiting area. That got her into a lot of trouble last time (imagine me feeding a newborn while Ava runs to the water fountain and continually pushes the button to make the water come out while I stare her down and tell her, "do not do it again." All the while she looks at me as if to say, "what are you gonna do about it?" Fun times...) Anyway, this time I came armed with "shish" (goldfish) and her sippy cup. Last time I learned that graham crackers would not do the trick! She actually sat next to me the whole time and Greta slept :)

The first thing the nurse did was measure Ava's noggin. 49 cm! 95th percentile! WOW!! What mighty big brains you have! I then stripped her down to a clean diaper and had her weighed and measured. She weighed 24 lbs. and 11 oz. still just 50th percentile. She measured 31.25 in. in length. 50th percentile as well. All good! When the doctor came in, she checked Ava's heartbeat and all the usual stuff. She asked me about Ava's head cold and I told her that every time Ava has teeth coming in, she will get a cough and a runny nose. That was when Dr. Roberts informed me that Ava has an ear infection in her left ear! I had no idea. Other than a little bit of whiny behavior the past few days, Ava has not given me any reason to think that she was sick! I guess she has a really high tolerance for pain! She was prescribed 6mL of Amoxicillin twice a day for 10 days. We will go back to see the doctor in two weeks to make sure that the infection is all gone. Ava then received two shots in her leg and we came back home. The shots were no fun, but after about two minutes of crying, she was completely fine. :)

I forgot to list 3 things in my post about Ava's 18 month milestones:

1.) Ava says "flower" and it sounds like this: "vrowvra" :) Pretty cute!

2.) Sometimes when Ava is really trying to get my attention she will say, "Mommy-ami-ami-ami!" I LOVE this!

3.) Ava helps me burp Greta. She will softly pat her on the back and can even take the burp cloth and gently wipe Greta's mouth. She is so precious!!!

How Am I Doing?

The 2-3 weeks immediately following Ava's birth, I was a mess. I didn't really have the "baby blues." I was just so overwhelmed with love for my child. I thanked God on an hour to hour basis for my wonderful gift from above. I cried several times a day because just looking at her brought on the most powerful emotions that I had ever experienced. I never really had feelings like, "what have I done?" or, "I can't do this." I just realized what an awesome responsibility I had.

With that being said, there were several times that I worried about weird things (unrealistic things) I won't go into details because sharing the weird fears and phobias I had is extremely personal. I may tell my girls one day when they have children of their own, but I would like to keep those to myself. I think a lot of people can probably relate.

I remember one day I was sitting on the couch with Ava. She was about two weeks old and we were just settling in to our new routine. Jeremy had been back at work only a few days. As usual, I was walking around my house in my pajamas. I went into Ava's nursery to change a diaper when the doorbell rang. I froze. I was not expecting anyone and did not feel comfortable answering the door in my pajamas. I thought that I would wait it out. The doorbell continued to ring. I was determined to not answer it. After a few minutes, I got a call on my cell phone. It was Jeremy. Apparently, one of my friends (Cindy Middleton) was making a visit and was sitting in her van because she KNEW I was home. I breathed a sigh of relief! I went to the door and let her in. The first thing I did was hand over Ava. I said, "would you mind watching her while I take a shower? I haven't shaved in two weeks!" I love having friends that really don't mind things like that. Cindy watched her while I took my time and got freshened up. After my shower, we visited for a couple of hours and I spilled my guts on all of my strange emotions. My worst fear was that Cindy would think I was crazy. But, she confirmed that I was not! :) It seemed that everything I was feeling was completely normal. Yay!

When I found out that I was expecting Greta, I knew most of what to expect. I prepared myself for all the strange feelings and emotions that I experienced with Ava. Luckily, after my delivery, I experienced none of those same things (except the overwhelming love for my child) I really do feel like Greta has always been a part of our lives and it seems like our transition into a family of 4 has been pretty seamless. I am going to keep her in for three weeks, but I was back at church the Sunday evening after delivery. My emotions do not feel out of "whack" or anything. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I am not attempting to breastfeed this time. Jeremy and I talked about it for a couple of months and just decided that because of my prior (traumatizing) experience, it would be better for us all if we just started Greta on formula at the beginning. I felt a little guilt when my milk came in, but then I remembered everything I went through with Ava and how I was only getting about 20 minutes of sleep in between her feedings (day and night) because of breastfeeding, supplementing, and pumping. I was not willing to do that again with an infant and an 18 month old. I know the nutritional significance of breastfeeding is great, but I feel like a better mom to my girls because I am well rested and happier.

So...because I am doing so much better this time around, I jumped at the chance to have a pedicure with the girls from my iCare group at church! I really needed to get out of the house and do something for myself. Taking care of babies is physically taxing! I hadn't had a pedicure since I was a senior in high school. That was 10 years ago! Thursday was a difficult day because it was my first time to take both girls out of the house at the same time. By that evening I was ready to sit in a massage chair while a little man (who didn't speak English) massaged my feet and clipped and painted my toenails. I am so glad he did not speak English because I am pretty sure he would have hurt my feelings talking about how horrible my feet were! :) It was also nice to have adult interaction. After we all had our toenails painted, we went out to eat at Los Tarascos (my favorite Mexican restaurant) Going out on that "date" made me feel like a girl again. I know what it feels like to be a mom and wife, but I had almost forgotten what it felt like to be a girl. It is refreshing!

So that's all for now! I am enjoying having two children! Here is a picture of our pretty toes from Thursday evening:

Toes clockwise from top: Carla Taylor, mine, Terri Robertson, & Allison Farmer

Yes, my toes belong in the sad, little, boring, black flip-flops. I guess my next venture needs to be investing in some cuter, more colorful summer shoes! I hope my husband can accommodate me!

The Relatives Came

My post title is actually stolen from a Cynthia Rylant book of the same name :) Last Wednesday morning, my mother-in-law called me and asked if they could make an impromptu visit to see Ava and Greta. They had the other 3 grandkids and thought it might be neat to have all 5 grands under one roof. Since it was my first day home by myself, I jumped at the chance to have visitors! They made the 3.5 hour drive to our house, stayed about 3.5 hours, and made the 3.5 hour drive home :) Hadleigh, Sam, and Chris had a really good time while they were here. Hadleigh played tea time (and anything else that Ava wanted to play) while Sam and Chris went to Target with Jeremy and Roy (Linda Jo and Roy bribed them to come with $10 each!) Too funny!! We all had a great day together! We were sad to see them go home. Maybe we can do this again really soon!

Sweet Sisters

Greta's First Bath At Home

The Swing

We couldn't get Ava to swing in this thing when she was a baby! Now we can't keep her out of it!!! Often times, I will walk past her and notice that she is swinging in it with a book open. :) Too cute!

The Mad Nap...

Even though I thought that Greta immediately resembled Ava, I quickly discovered just how different they look. Ava's complexion is more pink like me and Greta's complexion is more olive like Jeremy. Ava has tons of hair while Greta's is much thinner. One thing is for certain though...both of our girls have the "mad nap" down pat!!

Jeremy and I coined this term when Ava was still a newborn. She had the most angry look on her face when she slept. I guess she must have passed on this trait because Greta looks the same way!!

Ava's Promotion

The night before Greta came into this world, Ava was promoted to the jump class at church. The class bell rang ten minutes earlier than normal so parents could take their little ones to the next class. I walked Ava into her new class and watched her walk straight to the chair and sit down. I am not naive, I know that she probably does not stay there the whole time, but it really eased my mind to see her act so mature :) It made this sappy momma smile!

Greta's 2 Week Visit

This morning was Greta's 2 week well baby visit to Dr. Robert's office. I woke up really early to get myself ready and get both girls fed. It worked out really well. I fed Greta while Ava was still asleep and then woke up Ava and fed her while Greta was asleep. I decided to go ahead and dress both girls in the the matching outfits that were intended for our hospital discharge. They looked so cute!!

We got to the office and signed in. The poor little receptionist did not check the sign in sheet when she came back from wherever she was. She had no idea that we were there for our appointment. I am not gonna lie. I was a little miffed. It was hard work getting two babies dressed and ready for an appointment. AND we were on time. I kept it to myself though. No use crying over spilled milk. We finally got in to see the dr. and were out of there two hours later. Yes, two hours later. 

Enough about that...

When Greta was born, she weighed 7 lbs. and was 18 inches long. When she was discharged from the hospital, her weight was 6 lbs. 10 oz. Do you want to guess what my sweet baby girl measured at her two week appointment? Don't worry about guessing :) I will just tell you! She weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz!!! She is really filling out!! She measured 19.25 inches long!!! I was shocked by both numbers. She is really growing!!

Here are two pictures of my baby girls:

 Notice that Greta's left sock is coming off her foot...

Now notice that Ava's left shoe is not on her foot...genetics perhaps?

Bant B, Chris, and Ava

I posted last month about my fears and worries when it came time to leave Ava with someone while we were in the hospital. As usual, it was really nothing to worry about :) Our good friends, Alan and Cindy Middleton, were on call to take Ava if the need arose. However, Jeremy's parents ended up being in town the week that I was scheduled for my induction. Ava was able to stay in  her own bed and in her own house with Nana and Poppy while we stayed in the hospital. Roy and Linda Jo had to leave on Friday (the day before we were discharged) so Bant B (Aunt Berrie) and Cousin Chris came into town for the night to stay with Ava. We were so grateful to them for making the quick trip into town on our little one's behalf! 

Berrie and Chris took Ava out to eat breakfast at the Waffle House. They are so sweet to her!

Finally Home!!

I wanted so badly to be discharged from the hospital on June 1st. I felt great and knew how to care for myself and Greta. I talked with Dr. Emig that morning before she went home and she said, "no." I also talked with Dr. Edwards (who came on call after Dr. Emig) and he said, "no." :) It was worth a shot! Instead, I was discharged on June 2nd (a Saturday) at about 3 pm. I was ready to go that morning, but we had to wait until the pediatrician checked out Greta one last time.

I had the day all planned out (because I am a planner and that's what planners do) Several weeks ago, I bought these precious orange, hot pink, and yellow, floral matching outfits for Ava and Greta. Ava would come to the hospital before we were discharged and would change into the outfit to match her sister. We would all happily ride home as a family of four. You can probably guess that my little plan did not work out :) 

We were informed that the pediatrician would not be in until noon that day...right  in the middle of Ava's very much needed nap time. I had two choices. I could let Ava skip her nap and be a grouch for the rest of the day so that she could wear her little matching outfit. Or, I could let her sleep and bring Greta home in something else. We chose the latter. I wanted both of my baby girls in that backseat when we left the hospital, but it wasn't worth the hassle. I would rather bring a newborn home to a happy and rested sibling. I will just save the little outfits for something else! :)

Ava's Big Sister Party!!

I am not familiar with other hospitals, but Northport DCH has a small sibling party. Ava arrived at the hospital with Nana and Poppy shortly after Greta's debut. Since she was all dressed up in her pink, we decided to go ahead and have her sibling party. She got a little hat, a little celebration blow toy, some apple juice, an ice cream, and a little chocolate cake!

She did not care for the hat. She took it right off! She loved the blow toy. Jeremy showed her how to blow in it and so she tried it several times. She did not drink the juice, but did eat the ice cream and cake! She had so much sugar that day! Especially because the only way I could get her to come to me in the hospital bed was to feed her some of the key lime cake that I had. :) 

Usually, it is the grandparents who sugar up a child and send them home to Mommy and Daddy. May 31st was a complete role reversal because we sugared Ava up and sent her home with the grandparents!! :) I am sure they enjoyed that!!

Greta's First Days...

 Daddy and both of his girls!

 Mommy and Greta

 Big Sister Ava giving Greta kisses :) Melts my heart!

Carla, Luke, and Sam came to visit their new friend!

 The Jones family: Chad, Angie, and Alex

Austin and Ashton stopped by to meet our new addition. :) Austin looks scared to death!

This girl can put away some food! She drank a whole 2 oz for her very first feeding!

 Feeding time with Mommy

Ava and Greta with Nana and Poppy!

Ava At 18 Months!!

Well today marks a year and a half of Ava's life! Time flies by so quickly. In high school, a year and a half meant a new grade level, some new teachers, and a new back-to-school wardrobe. In "real" life, a year and a half for me has meant watching a newborn grow into a toddler, introducing messy pureed foods to a six month old, and having another baby! Whew!! Life gets faster and faster...

I wouldn't exchange it for anything, though!

Well here are some of the new things I am seeing from Ava this month:

• New words: peas, night-night, and dog.
• She is still in size 5 diapers and size 5 shoe. Her clothes are 18 months. She can wear some 24 month clothes, but they are a tad to big. I can make them work by putting a cardigan over the top.
• Incisors are just under the gums. I could feel swelling last month, but this month I see redness and white ridges just under the gums. Ava also has the runny nose to prove that she is teething. She gets a runny nose every single time she gets a new tooth in.
• Her snack of choice is "shish" (goldfish) :)
• She can tell you that a cat says, "meow," a frog says, "BET" (ribbit), and a dog says, "wuf." The funniest thing is that she used to say that a dog said, "DAWG!" I would laugh really hard when she said that. She is so funny! We are currently working on the cow. Ava's See 'N Say has really come in handy.
• For whatever reason, Ava has started walking on her tipee-toes. :) It is pretty cute!
• I didn't think it was possible for Ava to sleep any better than she already did, but she has started sleeping 13-14 hours on most nights. If I put her to bed at 7:30, she will wake up at 9:30. It has been such a tremendous help to me the past few weeks so that I could get the extra rest I need. Her naps are still 2-3 hours in the afternoon.
• Ava's favorite meal is fish sticks and ketchup! Jeremy and I introduced ketchup a few weeks ago. She loves it!! Since it is so sugary, I try to limit this meal to once a week. It doesn't matter though, because I catch Jeremy feeding her cookies all the time!!
• The only vegetables that Ava will consistently eat is green beans and sweet peas. Sometimes I can get her to eat sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes. Carrots are met with a firm "no." She will not eat them! :)
• Before Greta's birth, Ava carried around two little newborn baby dolls that I nicknamed, "the twins." She was always so proud to show them off to everyone who came for a visit. Since Greta's birth, the twins have not made an appearance. I think it is probably because Ava has the real thing :)
• Ava's answer for almost every question is, "I see." She will hold out her arms and make a confused face. It makes no sense, but it is the funniest thing ever!!!

I know I have forgotten a few things, but I have been pretty busy this month!! If I think of anything new, I will make a new post :)

Glitter & Cinnamon Part II: Greta's Birth Story!

If you read my blog, then you probably know that Ava's birth story was titled "Glitter & Cinnamon." In her birth story, I explained that the epidural made my blood feel like the glitter in a kaleidoscope that oozes through the oil and water mixture. It made me feel warm all over like when I eat cinnamon toast. Well, I am here to tell you that Greta's birth story is not much different!! When I explained this to my nurse and anesthesiologist, they both looked at me like I was nuts! The anesthesiologist said, "Wow! You were really trippin'" :)

I checked into the hospital at about 6:15, Thursday, May 31st. I was shown to room WP 11 (the same room that Ava was delivered in) It took forever to get my IV fluids hooked up. I was pricked with a needle 5 times (and had my veins blown all 5 times) before a nurse anesthetist came in to numb me. She was able to get my IV in my left hand. Getting the IV was the most painful part of my experience. 

Shortly after that, the nurse left the room and Jeremy gave me my push presents. The first gift was a beautiful birth certificate holder with Greta's full name engraved on it. Ava has one identical to it that Jeremy gave me the night before she was born. The second gift was a book by David McPhail, "Sisters." It is a book that I am familiar with because I gave a copy of it to my own sister when she was 16. The book that Jeremy gave me will be Greta's copy. A friend also gave me the same book as a shower gift. That copy will belong to Ava.  My last gift was the most special of all because it was a Willow Tree piece. It is a figurine of two girls, presumably sisters, sitting on a log talking to one another. The thing that is so neat is that one sister has dark hair and the other sister has blonde hair. That was our prediction about Ava and Greta. We guessed that one would be dark haired and one would be blonde haired. So far, we are right on!! This Willow Tree piece now sits on my nightstand along with the Willow Tree piece that Jeremy gave me as a push present for Ava.

When I was hooked up to the Pitocin, it only took about 30 minutes before I could start feeling contractions. I had already contracted on my own a few times that morning before I was hooked up to the medicine. About an hour later, my doctor came in to check me. I was dilated to 4.5 cm!! She went ahead and broke my water (not painful at all) and told me to get my epidural whenever I wanted it. I was not having painful contractions, but decided to go ahead and get it. Dr. Verzino (the same anesthesiologist who did my epidural with Ava) came in and gave me my epidural. It was also not painful at all! My epidural was not as strong this time. I could still feel my legs and move my toes, but I could no longer feel my contractions. I loved every minute of labor and delivery!

To pass the time, Jeremy made a slideshow on his laptop of my delivery with Ava and another one of our Disney World trips. It was so neat to look back at pictures of Ava's delivery and compare the two! Except for just a few minor things, my labor and delivery experience with Greta was nearly identical to that of Ava. When that slideshow was over we watched all of our pictures of our first Disney trip. I took over two thousand pictures, so it was quite lengthy! I do think we may have talked our nurse into going to Disney World :) 

I continued to progress quickly. My nurse left to go on a lunch break while another nurse came in to relieve her. Something happened while my nurse, Joann (LOVED HER!) was on break. Greta's vitals went all over the place. It was so bad that my nurse came off her lunch break after only 20 minutes. She told the other nurse to leave!! Yikes!! I ended up wearing an oxygen mask for the duration of my labor. The doctor came in to monitor me and was silent for several minutes. I was scared for a few minutes, but remembered that this same thing happened during Ava's delivery. Greta finally stabilized and labor continued.

At about 1:30, I felt a tremendous pressure. When the nurse checked me, I was at 8 cm! She had me push a couple of times to see if I would get to 10 quicker. I didn't so we continued to wait. 15 minutes later I felt pressure again. I was at 9 cm! Joann called the doctor in and we prepared for delivery. While we waited for Dr. Emig to show up, I pushed 4 times with Joann and Jeremy. Dr. Emig showed up and got all her scrubs on. She stood at the foot of my bed and told me to push. When I did, Greta's head came out. Dr. Emig suctioned Greta's nose and mouth and told me to push one more time. When I did, the rest of Greta's body came out. It is weird to say, but I actually felt Greta's body leaving mine! I did not feel that sensation when I had Ava. It was really neat!

When we saw Greta, we laughed! She looked just like Ava but with less hair!! I just kept saying, "She's so tiny!" One of the nurses took Greta away to clean her up. Jeremy rushed to her side to take pictures while I got stitched up (I had a 2nd degree tear with a partial 3rd) I turned my head to look at Greta while I was laying in bed. Jeremy took pictures and I quietly cried. I was so grateful to have our 2nd precious gift from God.

Greta's APGAR scores were 8 and then 10. Greta was born at 2:19 pm. She weighed 7 lbs. and was 18 inches long. She immediately looked like Ava, but I noticed right away that she favors Jeremy more in her eyes and forehead. Jeremy was able to give her the first bath while a nurse watched. He was also able to read to Greta a story from the Bible. We wanted the first story our children heard to be the birth of Jesus. We read it to Ava shortly after birth, and so we continued the tradition by reading it to Greta as well. 

She is so beautiful!! We are so happy to have our little angel home!

Here are some photos of our experience: