Evie- 1 month

So tomorrow Evie will be 2 months old, so I figured I had better get her 1 month post done!  Now, can I remember what was going on at 1 month?  Evie is eating every 2 to 3 hours with an occasional 4 hour stretch at night.  She has had growth spurts at 2 weeks and 4 weeks rather than the typical 3, 6, 9.  I had forgotten how hard those times are as she wants to eat constantly!  First two weeks of breastfeeding was just about as challenging as with Sullivan.  Evie latched better from the start and is a fast eater, but MAN, I had forgotten that initial pain and adjustment. Much better now, thankfully.  All in all, she's very laid back and only occasionally has a fussy day where she wants to be held or fed most of the day. Sullivan absolutely LOVES her!  Kisses and hugs her constantly, and has been so helpful.  It's great having an extra pair of hands to give her a pacifier or bring me a burp cloth or even listen for her crying while I'm in the shower!  It really hasn't been an issue with him not being the center of attention any more.

Evie's first real bath on January 9, 2014.

 

We've had lots of visitors during Evie's first month!

Fred Daddy's first visit!

Sherri, Avery and Madeline!

Nanna's first visit!

A few more photos of her first month!

Evelyn "Evie" Chennault Martin

Evie was born December 27, 2013 at 7:56 pm. She weighed 7 lb 13 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.

I am 4 weeks late writing this post, but better late than never.  The sleep deprivation has already blurred some of my memories of the big day, but I'm going to try and get down what I remember.   I had my regularly scheduled OB appointment that Friday, and knew that induction was going to be on the discussion table since I was one day shy of 41 weeks.  Expecting that the doctor would probably want to induce me that day, Daniel and I got up early to take Sullivan out for breakfast at BBB.  Unfortunately, the kitchen lost our order, so we ended up waiting for an hour and then having to get our breakfast to go.

tired of waiting for breakfast!

last belly pic! 40 weeks 6 days

My appointment went well and the doctor said I could try to start labor on my own over the weekend and we'd induce Monday if it didn't happen or we could go ahead and go to the hospital and break my water.  I had already tried every thing we could think of to trigger labor, so after much debate and some tears, I decided to go ahead and have my water broken that day.  My doctor sent us to go eat lunch before meeting her at the hospital to get things going.  We met our friends Chris and Audrey at Steele's diner for lunch. I had a very healthy lunch of fried catfish! :) I was a nervous wreck all during lunch and on the verge of tears the whole time.  Not sure I tasted any of my food.  It's very different to choose to start labor versus having it start on its own.  It was very hard to choose what I knew was going to be painful natural labor, but the waiting was stressing me out as well. Too many horror stories close to home of babies fine one day and then when the parents show up for scheduled induction, things are no longer fine.  I knew Evie was good, had good fluid, and I wanted to go ahead before we were in a situation of her not doing good and delivery becoming an emergency.

at the doctor

When we got to the hospital, it was PACKED! They actually used the phrase, "there is no room at the inn". All the L & D rooms were full, so they had us in triage? section for several hours.  I had been having steady, but light contractions since my OB appointment. I was at 4 cm at this point.  My doctor came at about 2:30 pm and broke my water.  It took her three tries with the hook thing before she was able to break my water.  She said there was no way my water would have ever broken on its own, which made me feel even better about our decision to go ahead.  I later learned from Corinne that lots of citrus during pregnancy can cause a really think bag, and OJ was one of the only things I craved this pregnancy.  I drank it like crazy! I did not feel the breaking process at all; just the gush of water when she finally got through.  My doctor said she would be back at about 5:30 pm to see if labor had started and was intensifying.  If it wasn't, then she would start a slow pitocin drip.  I was so determined to avoid pitocin, and I started watching the clock from that point on!

finally in a room

We didn't get a L & D room until about 4pm, I believe.  As soon as we got in that room, I was ready to do whatever to encourage contractions!  I did squats, stair steps, sat and bounced on yoga ball.  My contractions did become more regular and were starting to hurt.  My doctor came to check my progress at about 6pm and I was at 7 cm (I think), but I thought my pain was at about an 8 at that point.  Contractions this time around were much more painful than with Sullivan.  I don't know if it was due to her size or what, but I had tons of rectal pressure and it was so much more painful than anything I remember with Sullivan.  The nurses checked on me every hour, so I got in the bed in preparation of that at 7 pm, but they didn't make it in the room until 7:20 or so.  My doctor was busy delivering babies up and down the hall that night!  When they checked me then, they said the lip of cervix was still in the way, so they worked to push that back a bit.  I got out of bed to labor more and almost immediately felt like it was time to push.  Corinne went to get the nurses since I felt like it was time.  They came in and let me push a couple of time and I guess realized it really was time.  I recall them calling the doctor, who was in the lounge next door, and telling her I was about 2 pushes away. People rushed in to the room and were setting up and doing all there stuff while I was already pushing.  I had to push a few more times to get Evie out than I did Sullivan, but still just a handful of times.  Before pushing with Sullivan, I said "I'm insane". Before pushing with Evie, I said, "Please come out baby".  It was so much more painful, I just wanted her out!  It was such a relief when she was finally out!  I didn't have any tearing, but did have a scratch that had to have a stitch.  Evie came out big and beautiful and vocall!  I was so happy to have her in my arms and on my chest.  Love at first sight.

Had to get a picture of Daniel holding her as soon as we got back to the room.

Evie has been a great eater from the start! She lost less t han 5% of her body weight before we left the hospital, had no issues with bilirubin levels, and had gained almost a pound and grown almost 2 inches by her two week appointment. (8lb 10 oz). She's had one growth spurt that wore me out with hourly feedings, but has since averaged about 2 hours during the day and usually 3 hours between feedings at night.  She's finally sleeping great in the cradle in our room, so I'm actually getting good sleep between feeding her. Daniel still will typically give her a bottle of pumped milk after I feed her at 8 or 9 pm to give me a longer stretch to sleep.  It's definitely more challenging having two kids.  No lounging in bed all day!  I get up after my 6 am feeding with Evie to help Sullivan get ready for school and fed.  I'm ready for some sunshine to be able to get out and walk during the day. I can't believe 4 weeks have already passed! I am so blessed!

Something random I just remembered...they didn't give me the nice grippy bottom socks this time.  So, I delivered wearing my lovely santa claus socks.  We watched the tree house show most of my labor, but Enchanted was on the tv during the worst part and delivery.  Just a few random things I don't want to forget. Daniel went to Wendy's at about 10 pm after delivery to get us some food since we hadn't eaten since lunch. Also, the Tupelo Women's hospital has gotten even more progressive since Sullivan's birth. I didn't even have to have an IV port this time around or pitocin to delivery placenta.  They let me drink actual water while in labor instead of dumb ice chips!  Yay for progress!

39 weeks and counting!

Sunday marked 39 weeks, and I can't believe baby girl hasn't arrived yet.  I know, I know, her due date isn't until the 22nd, but it's hard not to compare pregnancies and expect SOME similarities.  Since Sullivan came 3 weeks early and I started 'progressing' so early with this one, we all (even my doctor) thought she would have arrived by now.  Because I am of "advanced maternal age", they do a sonogram with a biophysical each week, and baby girl is doing great.  Plenty of fluid, great movement, placenta looks good, etc.  She's just not ready to make an appearance I guess.  I, of course, am really hoping to have her and be home BEFORE Christmas.  To that end, I've been trying some "homeopathic" things to bring on labor. Last night I finally resorted to making eggplant parmesan, and I did actually start having some contractions, but they teetered off again during the night.  Supposedly the eggplant parmesan can take up to 48 hours to work, so maybe that with tonight's full moon will be the magic combination. I really put no stock into these things, but worth a shot. I still feel great, so I'm very thankful for that.  I haven't been uncomfortable or swollen or anything.  Just impatient. :)

Happy as a lark!

Does this sweet thing look ready go meet the world? I love seeing her sweet smiles, but she may be entirely too happy in there!  Slight changes from last weeks appointment, but nothing major.  She's LOW, so just waiting for her to decide it's time!  Freezing rain expected this weekend, so I anticipate she'll decide to arrive during that loveliness.  They believe her weight is about 6 lb 12 oz which is what they guessed for Sullivan just before he was born. He ended up 6 lb 8 oz, so she's comparable as far as size and time. Doctor says changes in barometric pressure are causing waters to break all over the place, so I'll continue to keep you posted! 

Waiting game

I've reached 37 weeks, and so begins the waiting for baby girl to arrive!  Today marks the point Sullivan arrived, but Lord knows this girl will do what she wants!  My appointment last week had me at 50% effaced and 2 cm.  I go back on Wednesday, so we'll see how things have changed.  I had steady contractions most of Friday and through the weekend, but much less today.  My sleep has been good about every other night.  All it takes is one outstanding question or to-do item to keep me restless all night.  I think we have everything done and ready.  We got the tree and all the decorations for Christmas done this weekend, so I don't even have that hanging over my head!  Just hanging out, twiddling my thumbs!

4 years old

Somehow, this tiny baby...

is now 4 years old!

I know I say it every year, and I'm sure every parent says the same thing, but wow! How does the time go so quickly? I feel like we rush through our mornings to get to school, rush through our evenings to get dinner eaten, baths done, and in bed on time, and when I look up, a year has passed!  I am very thankful for all the photos and videos and blog posts to help me remember all the stages along the way.  Sullivan was so shocked and amazed that today was his birthday and he was no longer 3!  He kept saying, "I'm not 3 anymore? I'm really 4 now?!" I suppose it is a crazy concept to go to bed one age and wake up another!  We are trying to go easy (and cheap) this birthday by having 2 friends come spend the night for a backyard "camp out". We have an evening of hotdogs, smores, cupcakes, scavenger hunts, campfires, and maybe tent sleeping ahead of us. Well, the boys at least.  This mama will be in my bed, not a tent. :) Sullivan has been acting out a little lately with all the transition in his life, so I'm hopeful a day devoted to him and full of fun stuff will make him happy. He is so smart and so sweet (most of the time). I am really blessed. Happy birthday sweet Pooh Bear!

New Bookshelves

Daniel finished the bookshelves in Sullivan's new room this weekend!  I'm so happy with how they turned out.  Even with all these new shelves, we filled them up to the brim! I'm going to have to start weeding out some of the books that aren't our favorites and donating them.  I love that this one dead space behind the door is now so functional, and Sullivan has loved being able to easily see his books and pick each night.  My hubby is the bomb.

In other news, I figured it was time for another belly shot.  I feel bad I haven't documented this pregnancy like I did the first go round.  This photo also confirms that at the end of the day, I look as tired as I feel. Also, I need a haircut.

We (mainly Daniel) knocked a few other projects out this weekend:

• painted chest of drawers and moved it in new room
• hung curtains (with blackout, thermal liners) in new room- I'm not crazy about these, but they are doing the job for now and were cheap!
• got pillows for new bed- makes me much happier with bedding now

Still to do:

• finish the cradle (either milk paint it, or stain it, or paint it)
• hang pictures in new room
• move all Sullivan's stuff to new room
• set up changing table
• set up crib
• move rocker back to baby room
• Have and NAME baby girl

Baby girl updates

I had a sonogram and doctor's appointment on Monday, so Daniel and I got what will probably be our last peek at baby girl before she arrives in December.  She is measuring in the 51% percentile, so perfectly average.  They estimate she weighs 2lb 15 oz, has a good bit of hair on her head, and is in the head down position. She has never cooperated and given us a good profile or facial shot, so it will be a real surprise when she is born!  The office was running WAY behind, so we were there for about 4 hours.  Seeing our baby girl and getting a good update is worth it, of course.

I'm knocking on 30 weeks, so if she comes when Sullivan did, only 7 weeks to go! 7 weeks is NOTHING! My list of things to accomplish before she arrives is long, but I know a lot of this is just nesting, so I'm trying to just do one thing at a time and not freak out.  Daniel has stripped the 40?+ years of paint from the family cradle, painted Sullivan's new room (he's moving into the guest room), built book shelves for new room, and pulled out tons of baby stuff from the attic for me to go through.  Once I can get him settled in his new room, I'll be able to get the nursery set back up and organized.  Hopefully that will calm my anxiety a bit.

Sullivan showing off his new room that Daddy painted!

Sullivan had his first violin lesson yesterday afternoon.  It did not go as smoothly as I had hoped, but I probably need to lower my expectations considering he's 3.  He learned proper standing position and the parts of the bow and violin.  He and I will continue to work on this stuff this week, and maybe next week the class will go a little smoother.  (fingers crossed) He wasn't bad, but had trouble focusing and would come hide on me or pout sometimes, so I spent a lot of the class just trying to encourage him to come listen or pay attention to the teacher.  Oh well.

Anna and I took the kiddos to visit my grandparents last weekend.  We had a great time going out for lunch, playing in the yard, and visiting.

End of Summer

The first weekend of Fall, we took a quick trip down to Florida for one last beach trip.  We drove to Spanish Fort after work on a Thursday, so that Friday we would have almost a full day at the beach.  I'm thankful we did, since this ended up being the only sunny day besides the day we left. :) We tried to make the best out of the weather and ran down to the beach between rain showers.  This trip was a package that Daniel had won in an auction at a beer tasting and came with gift certificates to several restaurants, golf, The Track, etc.  Because of this we tried out some new places and pretty much didn't pay for food our entire trip!  Unfortunately, on our last day Sullivan started complaining of a sore throat and went quickly down hill from there.  It was a LONG drive home with a sick child, and he ended up with a viral infection in his lungs and throat that kept him home from school the whole next week.  All in all, not our best beach trip, but at least it was some time away from the usual stresses.

Lunch out upon arriving. Sullivan got to touch an alligator, but it was so fast I didn't get a picture.

Dinner out our first night. The last of our blue skies. 

One advantage of late season and poor weather; we had the beach almost to ourselves!

The waves and tide were too rough to really play in, so we did LOTS of sand castle building.

We had promised donuts all week, so we made a stop on our way out of town even though he was feeling so bad he didn't even eat his chocolate sprinkle doughnut. You know a kid is sick when that happens. :(

Our life the following week. Thankfully, he's feeling much better and back at school now. 

Sullivanisms

"You are cutting off your face to spite your nose."
"Actually," - he may be a bit of a know it all (no clue where he gets that ;))
"That's a good plan." - Think, Martha Stewart's "It's a good thing" for context. Although, one time he said, "I should stab her, that's a good plan." Don't worry, we emphasized to him that stabbing someone is never a good plan.
"__ is so cutie."- can be used in reference to bugs, animals, kids, clothes, whatever.
"Does this have cavity bugs in it?" - Sullivan has a cavity that he wouldn't let the dentist fill, so we are working very hard to prevent more cavities.  It's a hard concept to explain cavities and how they form to a 3 year old.
"When I'm a big brother..."- He will eat vegetables, be able to swim, ride a bike, etc. I think he's going to be a little disappointed in 2 1/2 months when the baby comes and he's not instantly all grown up.

Some of his favorite songs:
"Lexicon Lucky"- actual name: "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk
"Shake, Rattle and Roll"
"Sweater Weather" by The Neighbourhood
"Possibility" by Lyke Li
"So Good at Being in Trouble" by Unknown Mortal Orchestra

The pictures below are a bit random, but I thought I would share anyway.  The first is Sullivan and Sophie.  Sullivan loves to play with our pets and Sophie and Bailey (the dog) are both so patient with him.
 The second picture is for prosperity.  I never thought I would see the day that my child ate a baked chicken wing.  He usually won't touch meat in any sort of natural, un-nuggeted state, so this was huge!  I guess it is a sign of him growing up since in the past few days he's eaten scrambled eggs, beef jerky, and now baked chicken.  He's been trying new foods at school as well, so they must be a good influence on him.  Can't believe he'll be 4 soon!
The third photo is from his first ride on the double decker bus. Ole Eagle Eyes found a quarter as soon as we sat down!
The last is a picture from our beach trip back in June! Not many pics that I actually make it in, so I want to savor the ones I have!

I had my second glucose tolerance test today.  The lab tech didn't seem as confident in my results, so I'm mentally preparing myself for a failure.  At least i've had the last 3 weeks to eat without too much concern.  We are going to the beach this weekend, so I plan to enjoy what could be one of my last weekends of no diet and no finger pricking. Forecast calls for rain just about the entire time we are there, so we may be doing a good bit of swimming in the indoor pool and shopping at the outlet malls! Hopefully we'll get to squeeze some beach time in there somewhere.

I have photos from some of our home projects, but I'll have to do another post on those later. Maybe from the balcony at the beach!

Glucose Tolerance Test

So, I passed my 3 hour glucose tolerance test. Yay, right?  Except I have to take it AGAIN in 3 WEEKS! I plan to ask at my appointment on Thursday just how many times they expect me to take that damn thing.  I know since I had it last time, they are just trying to catch it as early as possible, but geez. I really didn't think I was going to make it through the first hour yesterday.  I got so faint and nauseous I went back and forth between laying out on the couch and standing directly under an air vent.  The nausea got better as the time went by, but I had a horrendous headache until I went to sleep last night.  I wasn't kidding when I said it would almost be better to be on the diet than to go through that test again. I'm supposed to be trying to enjoy and appreciate all the things that come with pregnancy since I plan for this to be the last time I'm pregnant, but some things just don't have a silver lining. Trust me.

Pregnancy Projects... the second time around

Some of you may remember, when I was pregnant with Sullivan, I decided I should make a needlepoint stocking for him.  I did finally complete that stocking before his 3rd Christmas....
So, this time around, I'm picking up my knitting again.  I finally completed this. And I made the booties below for my sister in law.  They are far from perfect, but a decent outcome for my first shot.  I have plans to attempt another pair in pink and then I HAVE to start on a hat for Sullivan that I've been promising him for years.  It feels good to have two completed knitting projects, and does inspire me to do more, so we'll see how long it lasts. I also have plans to make him a duvet cover for his new room...crazy, do-it-yourself, nesting pregnancy hormones.

*Going for my 3 hour glucose tolerance test tomorrow, so any prayers are welcome.  I'm mentally prepared to fail it, and have already started trying to follow the gestational diabetes diet guidelines. Sure would be nice to not be on a diet for half my pregnancy though.

Growing girls

Baby number two is no joke!  I've always heard your belly gets big faster the second time around, and "they" weren't kidding!  Below is a shot take on June 8 and then photos taken on August 10th.  What a difference 2 months makes!

12 Weeks

21 Weeks

I'm definitely feeling good now that I'm in the second trimester.  The first was pretty brutal this go round as far as feeling nauseous and exhausted.  My only complaint these days is some sciatic pain.  I failed my first glucose test, so I'll be having the 3 hour glucose tolerance test next week.  I've resigned myself to the fact that I probably have gestational diabetes again, so I'm preparing myself for the coming diet and finger pricking.  I haven't had any major cravings this go round, but no major aversions currently either.  We'll see how that changes when my carbs are limited!  Baby girl movements are no longer little flutters, but instead major acrobatics!  Sullivan and Daniel are both able to feel her now, which is always fun.  

By the way, Sullivan had a great first day at Willie Price.  He was so excited when he found out he got to go back the next day.  He's been dressing himself and  brushing his own teeth each morning and night!  We've had no separation issues when dropping him off! The second day he walked in all by himself! I'm so thankful that he's in such a good place and having such a wonderful time!

1st Day at Willie Price Lab School!

Today was Sullivan's first day at Willie Price Lab School.  He did so great when I dropped him off!  Actually, he did a little too great!  He walked into his classroom, and went and sat down next to his friend Jackson and never looked back.  I actually had to go to him and get a kiss goodbye! I'm so glad he's excited for this new chapter in his life!  I can't wait to hear how his first day went!  Where does the time go?