A Pic for Daddy

Here's my first shot at getting the kids all together for a group picture. I think it turned out as best as I could get it!! We gave this to Daddy for Father's Day :)

I know I'll look at this picture years from now and just wish I could have bottled up the kid's ages and kept it. Brooke with all her toothlessness, Buddy and his pure goofiness and then there is Sarah and her innocence, totally aloof to what in the world is going on! Good times!

June, 2012

What's for Dinner?

I am shamed to admit that I have not cooked one single meal in five and a half weeks!! It's a feeling that is completely foreign to me, since I usually cook dinner 5-6 times a week.

Ever since Sarah was born, our friends have been making us dinner nearly every weeknight and bringing it over to us. This has been such a Godsend for us, especially after Scott went back to work and I was left to do it all myself without an extra set of hands.

Now, at five and a half weeks, I'm starting to feel a little guilty! Physically I am able to do everything, including some pretty intense workouts! I have been that way since I left the hospital! So the fact that people are bringing over home cooked meals every night is starting to make me feel a little helpless! Is it possible I look more helpless than I actually feel??? LOL!

I'm writing this post because my meal delivery service ends today and I am finding it funny trying to make a grocery list and think about what to cook. I'm lost. Also, because I am once again overwhelmed by the graciousness of the people that surround us. It never ceases to amaze me.

On that note...back to my grocery list. Hopefully I can remember how to turn on the stove...

One Month Stats

Miss Sarah had her one month Dr. appointment last week. She's weighing in at a hefty 9lbs, 8oz (50th percentile) and 22 inches (75th percentile). She's definitely grown a lot in these 5 short weeks! The funny thing is that her head circumference is in the 5th percentile!!! They told me in the hospital she had a tiny head...thus she was the one-push wonder!!! I find that amusing because from the looks of this picture, her head DOES NOT look small!!! :)

Anyhoo, not much else has happened. We've hit a few bumps in road the past week with regard to sleeping and falling asleep on her own. I'm reading a book called "The Wonder Weeks" and it says that each time a baby makes a developmental milestone, issues can occur. The first "big" milestone apparently happens Weeks 4-5, so I guess she's right on track to encounter some bumps! But we're working through them!

Friday was Brookey's last day at school. So today was our first day at home...all four of us! I was nervous how it would go, but despite Sarah having a really rough day, we did great! Brooke and Will (although they have their moments), are good helpers and just adore their sister. They also really understand that there are times I have to be with Sarah and I basically have to ignore them. They are both pretty independent and play on their own very well. I'm sure we'll have our rough days but so far it's been OK!!! We're taking it one day at a time!!

4 Weeks Old!

Miss Sarah turned 4 weeks old this past weekend and she's chugging right along! I can tell she's growing because she no longer fits into newborn diapers!

This week we had our first trip to the pool. I was a little wary taking all three kids by myself but I can't stay home bound forever! Ya gotta do what ya gotta do! It worked out fine--she slept the entire time and we had a nice, shady spot. Gotta love the sleepy newborn stage.

Sleeping has been up and down this week. With every passing week, I keep hoping nighttime sleep with stabilize but it's still kind of all over the place. We're on a schedule/routine during the day and I wake her to eat if needed but she still sleeps a ton during the day which I think affects her nighttime sleep a little, especially this week. She's been lasting anywhere from 3 to 5 hours at night. Random. I'm not worried yet considering she's only 4 weeks! She needs the food right now.

She went through a growth spurt this week which was exhausting--up every 2 hours on the dot at night.  Luckily it only lasted a couple of days.

She's slightly more alert this week, so we tried the bouncy seat a few times. She's pretty content there for about 15 minutes. I also put her on the playmat for a few minutes. She still has yet to go in the swing.

Ready for church

2 Weeks Old

At two weeks old, Little Sarah has beefed up! At her Dr. appt, she had not only gained back all of her birth weight, but added a few ounces, too. She is now 7lbs, 10oz.

I think it's strange when I tell people she's "14 days old." It seems like she's been with us forever! She's fit right into the family and we all just adore her so much...especially Brookey and Will. She's a pretty mellow, calm baby. She can sleep through everything which I guess is a great skill for a third kid...she pretty much has no choice! Aside from a night where she had a little tummy trouble, her sleep patterns have been good. She wakes up around 2am, then again between 5 and 6. She goes back to sleep after the 5/6 feeding until I wake her up to take Brookey to school. She naps most of the day and I wake her to eat every 3 hours. Right now, she just can't handle too much awake time. The swing, bouncy and playmat all overstimulate her, so we haven't used them at all.

A friend of ours came over this weekend and took a few pictures of her, so hopefully they'll turn out cute. I have never done newborn photos before so it was a fun experience. I just snapped these with my camera because I felt like dressing her up :) I have forgotten how fun girls are!!

Welcome Baby Sarah!!!!

She's finally here!! A SHE!! I have to admit, I can't believe "it's a girl!" But couldn't be more thrilled!! Sarah Marie was 7lbs, 6oz and 19 inches long. She was born at 1:35 in the afternoon after less than 3 hours of labor and one push! More on that later :)

Brookey is so excited to have a sister, she may have peed her pants when we announced it was a girl :) Buddy on the other hand, took a bit of time to warm up to the fact. My parents said he refused to look at the pictures we texted from the hospital and was quite angry when he found out the news. Then he screamed at Brookey for "making it a girl." Poor Little Boy.

However, after a day of visiting with her and now that she's home, he is just the best big brother!! Every time he sees her, he uses his little baby voice and says, "Ohh...baby so cute!! Tickle! Tickle!" It's hilarious. And he's being a great helper, without my even asking. He wants to get diapers and wipes and help feed her. I think he's found his nurturing side :) I told him today, "See, having a little sister isn't so bad, is it?" To which he replied, "No, it's not bad. She's so cute!" Preciousness!!!

The birth a joke--we went home when she was barely 24 hours old! I'll post her birth story soon--it's pretty short!!

Ready to go home at 25 hour old!

Big sis is SO proud!

Sleeping Peacefully

Sarah's "Birth Story"

As I write this, Sarah is just now 2 days old and we have been home since yesterday! What just happened?? Did I really just give birth??

As of mid-last week, Sarah was a "planned" delivery. I was contracting and all of my dialation and effacement stats were prime for a scheduled induction. I really wanted to go into labor on my own, was feeling fine and could have definitely been pregnant another week or so. However, I worried about Brooke and Will and where they would be, and how I didn't want to bother anyone in the middle of the night! I was also worried I wouldn't make it to the hospital in time :) So when my Dr told me he was on call at the hospital all weekend, I decided to put my mind at ease at schedule an induction so my parents could be here with the kids.

Induction horror stories are rampant (the "evils" of Pitocin, etc), however, my story is pretty darn rosy. I think mostly because my body was already primed and READY. Goes something like this:

9:00am: Check into the hospital
9:30-10:45: Fill out paperwork, read my celebrity trash magazines, Scott and I wonder if I'll be able to have a margarita by Happy Hour (5pm!). I think it's unlikely.
10:45: Low dose Pitocin started
11:15: Start feeling contractions, pretty painful!
11:45: Dr breaks my water
12:00: Holy crap, contractions every 2 minutes, pain!! Nothing THAT horrible. It sucks though, I'm not smiling anymore. Where's the epidural chick?!
12:30: Got the epidural...ahhhhh......
1:13: Nurse: "Maybe I should check you, your contractions are really close. You're 9cm...no wait....10!! Get the Dr!"
1:25: "Um, I think she's coming out..."
1:30: Dr. arrives, I push once and...
1:35: Sarah Marie is born

Zero "tearing" or stiches and I was/am in virtually no pain afterward--even after the epi wore off. The most pain was probably just the site of the epidural, but that's pretty much gone now.

It's only Day 2, but Sarah is a champ so far. Totally fallen into a 3 hour schedule (I have to wake her to feed her, though). Her first night home was good, too...she ate at 10:30pm, then woke up at 3:00 & 6:00am to eat. She makes all these funny little noises at night, so I think I'll have to move her away from my bed a little but I slept pretty well last night! Probably better than when I was preggo and certainly better than my night at the hospital.

I'm sure she'll "wake up" in the next few weeks and it will be more challenging, but right now, I am enjoying every moment of this newborn stage!! We're all so in love with her!!!