Loving My Domestic Life

The Last Two (Ahem....) Months

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 08:36:00 +0000

Crazy that it's been nearly two months since I've posted. I mean, aside from our fabulous (why no, I have no shame!) Christmas card I posted a couple of weeks ago. Oh, and a little more on that.....we had this great opportunity to get custom family pictures for a SCREAMIN' deal through my husband's auntie.

And we got to keep the images.

And they turned out great.

What more could this cheap momma ask for??!?!?

Anyhow......I was talking to my mom a few weeks ago about this poor neglected blog of mine. I feel so bad that it's been pretty much put out to pasture. Because I like my blog. I do. But I like my pictures better than my writing (and I am NOT saying I have photography figured out--not by a long shot!), so I feel I always need to include pictures in my posts. However, by the time I get the photos edited and sorted and ready for posting, I have no energy-much less time!!!-to get it all done. And let's face it, the blog requires that I think. And at the end of a L-O-N-G day, I don't want to think. I just want to veg out and watch my mindless TV shows and call it a day. Ya' know? That and then the only time I have for this blog is after both the kiddos are in bed, and that is usually when my hard working husband is getting home and I'd rather spend those few precious minutes with him before we head for bed to get some sleep before it all starts over again.

And I am not complaining.......I'm really not. I guess what I am saying is that my priorities have shifted. I used to blog during Peanut's nap time. And I don't have that anymore......plus I have two littles that occupy my time, along with all my other home-fires-burning-responsibilities. Plus, we are home now, so family occupies my free time too. How blessed am I???

I would love to say I am going to consistently post three times a week, but I know I won't. Hopefully it will be better than every eight weeks, but who knows? I definitely will be around and I'm not throwing in the towel, but for now, please know that if I am not here consistently, that I am enjoying life!

Now that my sparseness in posting has been addressed (for the final time!), here are a few of the highlights from the last few months.

The Sunday before Thanksgiving I finally, finally got over myself (my fear of getting up in front of more than 5 five people) and I got baptized at our church's Thanksgiving service.

It was nerve wracking and wonderful.

At the beginning of December, we got to attend Peanut's preschool Christmas program. It was precious.

I couldn't stop crying. Are we surprised?

I think it was my favorite part of the Christmas season.

Oh, and case in point about getting photos ready to post and then never getting them posted:

Peanut got QUITE the kick out of her little brother and herself having froggy jammies. So I snapped this at bedtime when I realized he was about to retire his pair.

We had a great Christmas celebrating with lots of family. It was fabulous.

Peanut received a pink Princess guitar from my aunt and then proceeded to entertain us for as long as we let her on Christmas Eve. Thinks she's Maria Von Trapp, she does. If only we didn't have to wait until she is five for CYT.

Finally, our little guy is growing up so fast. He was over 21 pounds at his six month appointment. Yes, I know. He is rolling over as his main mode of transportation at this point, but I am sure he will crawling soon just to keep up with his sister. Speaking of Peanut, well, he adores her completely. CANNOT take his eyes off her when she is around. (yes indeed, more I never got around to posting....)

He started solids this week and is enjoying it immensely. He is sitting up really well too. Still sometimes topples backwards, but he'll go 5-10 minutes at a time before he does topple. His little ear tufts are nearly gone and he has graduated from the carrier car seat to the big boy car seat (still rear facing of course). I miss the carrier. Although he was SO heavy in that thing, they are SO convenient. Now I am using my shopping cart cover or stroller all. the. time. to avoid as many germs as possible. But he loves it. Stimulation overload I think. Plus, he is such a smiley baby, he has the other fellow shoppers eating out of his hand.

I kid you not.

He is my sweet boy and she is my spirited girl. I can't wait to see what the new year has in store for us.

Merry Christmas from Our Home to Yours

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Four Year Old Imagination

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 03:22:00 +0000

Took the littles over to my Mom and Dad's today for a visit. While we were there, we went outside for a few minutes. It was a perfect fall day, brisk and cool, but DRY. Peanut wandered off by herself and a short time later came running back to my Mom and I telling us there was "Rild Doughnuts" in the yard.

My mom and I exchanged a look that clearly spoke between the two of us, "Um, okay."

But of course this was never spoken aloud.

Turns out the Rild Doughnuts were some ginormous mushrooms that had started growing in the grass.

Fall Happenings

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 21:50:00 +0000

I love fall. As if you couldn't tell already. Like 75% of my previous posts have been about all things fall related. Today was just another photo op--Daddy and Peanut out raking our leaves. Our "little" tree out front has gotten a LOT bigger since our last fall three years ago.

Enter in lots more raking to do. I even helped start the raking on Monday, when Hubs was at work.

Yes, I did some yard work. If you can call it that.

I pretty much raked the leaves into three big piles. That was as far as I got. Because a) I didn't have anything to put the leaves in (we didn't have any big black bags) and let's face it, I didn't want to get dirty and then b) I was trying to keep track of two littles and c) in keeping track of the two littles, Little Brother lasted about all of twenty minutes in his seat and that was just as far as I got.

But I tried.

So they are out finishing up today.

And just another photo of our little guy. Peanut does a great job of entertaining him while I am making dinner. She sings to him (Peanut originals--our little singer song-writer--Nashville will love her), dances for him, generally keeps him distracted while I make dinner. And he is just absolutely enthralled with all things Big Sister. Pretty precious if you ask me.

Anyhow, while I was busy getting dinner ready the other night, I look up and our sweet little boy is now a sous chef.

But he has to start somewhere, right?

Happy Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 08:00:00 +0000

All the credit goes to my mom. It was all her idea. And I LOVED it, so she got the go ahead from me to make the costumes.

Yes, I am blessed. She made the costumes. So stinkin' cute!

I am not too thrilled with the pictures though--but that is all on me, the amateur.

We didn't have a beautiful back drop to take the pictures at like last year and the year before. Such is living on the wet side of the state now. So inside it is, using a sheet as a backdrop and opening all the curtains as wide as possible--allowing in as much natural light that can be obtained on these gray dreary days. That said though, I can't complain--'cause this is home. And I love home. I really do.

That and then our little guy isn't sitting up just yet either, so it's called draping a sheet over Daddy's arms to hold Little Brother upright. Little Brother is just a bit too wiggly and girthy at this point, so the Peanut can't quite handle him on her own. But we made do.

So here they are in all their glory....

And let's be perfectly honest...most pictures were like this:

The little brother being none too thrilled in his circumstances. We even had a casualty in the process--a piece fringe was dismantled in all the commotion. And Dorothy? Well, we are still working on looking at the camera. Not just facing the camera--but looking at it. I always have way more pictures than not where her eyes are darting somewhere else--anywhere else--besides the camera.

It's a work in progress.

Now onto the church carnival!

4 Months and a Pinterest Success!

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 22:33:00 +0000

I can't believe my sweet little boy is 4 months old today! Where have these last three and half months gone?!?! He is still nursing like a champ. I don't know exactly how much he weighs at this point (his check up is next Tuesday), but I am guessing he is around 20 pounds. He was just over 17 at his last appointment and that was about 5 weeks ago, so that is my best guestimate of where he is at currently. He has started rolling over (front to back) and his index and middle fingers are his favorite to munch on. Both hands. At once. Cutest little chubby fisted boy if I ever did say so myself!

And my girl....she has become quite the writer. When she started school early last month, asking her to write her name brought on melt downs of gargantuan proportions. Now? No big deal--like she's been doing it for years.

I found the artwork idea on Pinterest. Where else, right? With our Peanut in school now, I knew I wanted to get that done as soon as possible. And who am I kidding? Have Hubs do it as soon as possible. And the best part about it?--aside from the fact that I LOVE LOVE LOVE it?

It was free.

Had the frames, had the paint--just took some time to actually get it done. But I am so glad I Hubs did it.

But it was my idea. ;)

A Week {or so} in Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 06:33:00 +0000

Just a few of my favorites from the last few ~~days~~ weeks....

Alternate Title: Why I Don't Do Photo "Sessions" On My Own Anymore

My Two Little Pumpkins

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 08:00:00 +0000

I won't even share how many were taken to get this one. But I'm glad I got it!

Baby Gum Smiles

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Can't we just freeze time?

How Long Will It Take?

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 08:00:00 +0000

My friend's mom (Hub's and my matchmaker) tells a story of my friend and her two little brothers--when they were all much younger My dear sweet friend had her younger ~~playmates~~ brothers at her complete disposal, until of course, when (as her mom jokes) they turned about six years old and they figured out they didn't have to do what their older sister said any longer.

Fast forward twenty five years and my friend has two children--an older girl and younger boy. Our matchmaker further jokes that it only took her grandson about 18 months to figure out that he didn't have to do what his older sister said.

I wonder how long it will take our Little Guy?

My Mom is Awesome

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 08:00:00 +0000

When we announced "we" were pregnant last fall, I asked my mom to be on the lookout for some furniture for the baby's room. She is a thrift shop junkie and has made turning trash into treasure an art form.

I do mean that in the utmost complimentary way. Because I am not that talented. But I trust my mom completely because she has vision like you couldn't believe and she, well, to put it simply....

she ROCKS.

Now, when I made this request to her, knowing we were going to be moving home and living with them for several months, she told me she would definitely be on the look out for some furniture, but she probably wasn't going to get anything just yet, because we had about another 8 months to find some stuff and she didn't want to deal with storing it.

Fair enough.

She called me about two weeks later and said she had found two dressers and a desk for a total of $30 and brought them home.

Now, what was that about not wanting to store them? I totally get it though.....in terms of getting second hand things, you have to strike while the iron is hot. And she did.

We still have to find a replacement handle on this one, but other than that, it looks amazing. And it's a great height for a changing table. At least for Hubs and I. He's definitely tall and I am on the taller side as well, so it's perfect for the both of us.

Well, I saved the best for last. Because you think the changing table turned out good?

Take a look at this transformation:

My aunt, who went shopping with my mom for these treasures, told me just this last weekend, that she simply did not see it. She is a visionary as well, but she thought this piece was hopeless. It was missing it's back and was scratched and dented to heck. Plus, the finish needed to be completely redone. My mom was intending to paint this piece, but after sanding it down and removing all the finish, she realized that the wood was actually really nice {we think it's cherry}.

Knobs refinished courtesy of RustOleum's Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint.

Amazing don't you think?

Don't ya'all wish you had a mom like mine?

Fall is Falling

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 22:40:00 +0000

Fall is finally starting to settle in around these here parts. I absolutely love summer and I am sad to see it go, but I am ready for boots and sweaters, soups, and catching up on fall TV. Speaking of boots, I think my feet grew with my last pregnancy. Because the swelling is all gone now and most of my shoes are a smidge tight now. Kinda stinks.

Anywho.

My mom sent me home the other day with a bag of fall colored card stock and said it was for the Peanut. So in my efforts in trying to be a "fun" mom, we made a fall leaf um, swag, for lack of a better term.

You can find the patterns for the leaves here, in case you want to be a fun mom too.

We still have lots of paper left over, so we just might be doing a Halloween and/or Thanksgiving countdown paper chain too.

I even made her some orange and green play dough. You know, to make pumpkins and stuff.

I KNOW.

I can't hardly believe it myself.

We also took a walk the other day and I brought along the camera to record this fall deliciousness for my sister. She absolutely adores fall and let's face it. You don't really get "fall" living in the high desert.

So here you go, Big Sister. In all it's glory:

Finally, some of the kidlets....do you know how hard it is to get both a 3 month old and a four year old to look AT the camera and smile? Just. doesn't. happen.

I think I statistically have a better chance of being struck by lightning twice {in the same spot!} before that would occur.

Peanut's Birthday Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 05:34:00 +0000

We had a REALLY big weekend last weekend. We had a big family barbecue last Friday night, party preparations and a fantasy football draft on Saturday and a big 'ol carnival birthday on Sunday. SO three fun filled days (long but fast somehow) and nearly 1000 photos later, I am finally getting a chance to sit down and get this post done.

Over a week later. Ahem.

So last Friday. We had some extended family come into town and our little Peanut was so excited to meet their little baby girl. Peanut had webcammed with my aunt more than once with them and Peanut was SO excited to meet her in the flesh.. So excited that those were literally the first words out of her mouth that morning. "Is today the day we get to meet Baby S_____?" Yes, yes it is.

This sweet little girl is about 7 months old and Peanut was enthralled with her and every little thing she did. Now I know that Peanut must secretly think that her little brother is just boring, because she was just beside. herself. with everything this sweet little girl did. Whether it was smile or crawl or stand (assisted of course!), Peanut was SO excited. I can't imagine what she'll do when Baby Brother rolls over!

Saturday was Peanut's actual birthday, but it was the day of the Hubs and my Dad's Fantasy Football Draft as well. I know, like that really should make any difference, right?????? Peanut's birthday should supersede that, but somehow it didn't and I had to make sure we did something extra special that morning since the guys would be otherwise occupied later on that day.

We opted for breakfast with my parents and sister and brother-in-law (who were in from out of town!) bright and early that morning at our house, complete with balloons and streamers and presents after breakfast. I was totally stressed (are you surprised?) about making sure I made it special for our girl and Hubs kept telling me not to worry. He was right.

Imagine that.

Every morning when Peanut gets up the very first thing she does is come and visit us in our room. She has to pass by our dining room to get to our bedroom and we had decorated the dining room with balloons and crepe paper the night before. First thing that she says to me was, "Those are the best decorations ever, Mommy. You did a great job!"

Be still, my heart.

Just some balloons and crepe paper and our girl was thrilled. We hadn't even set out her gifts yet (not that there was a lot from us, because there wasn't)--but she was ecstatic over the simple gesture of birthday decorations.

We are blessed.

So after breakfast and her gift opening, she went with Daddy and Grandpa to Costco to pick up her cake (I opted for a store bought cake the day of the draft, so she wouldn't be without a cake on the day of her actual birthday. Plus, with all the football guys there, they would help eat it up. We certainly didn't need any left over, as I was baking both cupcakes and a birthday cake for her party the day after.)

I decided to do the baking over at my mom and dad's because I didn't want to deal with transporting cupcakes and a cake--plus that also gave me extra sets of hands for Peanut watching and Baby Brother holding.

One of my mom's gifts for Peanut were new aprons--complete with matching aprons for Mommy and Bitty Dolly. Thanks Mom!

So I got the cupcakes and cake both baked and decorated on Saturday and finished up some last minute things for her party while we waited for Hubs draft to be over. Then it was home to bed so we could get up and get ready for the big carnival party the next day.

As I mentioned, I didn't get a lot of those extra details done this year like I have in years past. I wanted to make cupcake toppers and set the tables all festive, but I simply didn't have the time. I am still finding my footing with this two children thing. I consider it a good day when I get a shower before noon and have dinner on the table at a decent hour. Needless to say, cupcake toppers are not my first priority right now. I have to remind myself, Peanut still had a great time--even without cupcake toppers.

My mom helped a ton and gathered up lots of carnival details like peanuts (no pun intended!), caramel corn, and animal cookies for the table and found these really cool vintage-y mason jar lids to use with fun straws and pint size jars for the beverages.

For the "booths" we had face painting, a photo booth, and a balloon artist.

The face painting was done by my husband's sweet and talented cousins:

They did SUCH a wonderful job! I told anybody that would listen that day, I would have been thrilled with the kids getting stars and hearts on their cheeks. That's what I remember getting done with face paint when I was a kid. No, they were so much better. We had three exotic butterflies, a tiger, a kitty, a pink and purple lady bug, a college emblem and even a superhero (on his arm--he didn't want his face painted. But I know they would have if he wanted it!).

And the balloon artist? Well, he was entertaining for both the kids and the adults. We had considered having a clown show up--but clowns are kinda' creepy if you ask me. My mom then suggested a balloon artist and I knew just the guy! We saw this guy several years ago when we went out to dinner one night--and Peanut's carnival themed birthday was a great opportunity to have him come out.

He did not disappoint one bit!

Last, the photo booth. We set the streamer backdrop up in front of my parents garage door. Of course with the garage being in the front of the house and the party being in the back yard (on the opposite side of the house), the photo booth was sort of forgotten about until the end of the party. But I have to say, I think it was the funnest part. At least for the adults.....but I'll let the pictures tell the rest.

It was a fun day. And even though I know better {because cooperativeness is at an all time low post-big-event}, we even squeezed in some family shots when most of the guests had went home after the party.

Why yes, this WAS the best family shot we got.

Is she really four years old already?

She's Getting So Big!

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 14:47:00 +0000

Well, not really, as she went to a little bit of preschool last spring. However with how her birthday falls, she officially starts preschool this year, has a second year of preschool next year and then starts Kindergarten the year after. Crazy, right?

Either way, it goes so fast...

Smiles

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 06:29:00 +0000

Our little guy ain't so little any more.

Um, yeah. Like his sweet little second chin wasn't any indication. Anyhow, at his last doctor's appointment he weighed in at 15 lbs. 1 oz.

I know.

I love this little photo of the two of them.....I just wish it had turned out more clear.

There are no words. Well, except for this:

We grow 'em big, alright?

(For the record, Peanut was the same way--she nearly doubled her birth weight by her two month appointment too. And now she's a rail and her pants are constantly falling off. Not all the way off, but you know what I mean.) Good thing I ~~like~~ love chubby babies. 'Cause this is my second. And he is just so stinkin' cute.

Doesn't this photo just make you smile?

Summertime

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 05:27:00 +0000

We've been suffering through some hot weather as of late. Well, hot weather for our neck of the woods. When we were up in SmallTown, these hot days were the norm, so it was no big deal. And it was really no big deal--because we had central AC in our apartment.

Now that we are back in Hometown, our humble little house doesn't have central AC. (Oh, and for the record, these high ninety degree days really only last for a handful of days each summer, so the central AC isn't really a necessity. However.) Our Little Guy? Not caring for these hot temps.

At all.

Especially since he prefers to be carried/walked/bounced about 85 % of the time. But then with all that body heat, he gets hot. And because he gets hot, he gets fussy. But he wants to be carried/walked/bounced. And so the cycle goes...

Speaking of the Little Guy, he hates his battery operated swing. Hates is a strong word, I know. But I don't think that really does it justice. Our Peanut? She hated the swing too. Which is funny, because they both like(d) constant movement. So we have this brand new 4 year old swing. Hopefully we can recoup some of that investment on craigslist, otherwise it will have been the biggest waste of $100.

But for someone who HATES his battery operated swing, yeah, he absolutely loves the outdoor swing. Both times I put him in it? Crashed within a matter of minutes.

With all our hot weather "we've" been spending a lot of time swimming. At least the Peanut and Hubs have.

Oh, and our little girl must have the strongest little leg muscles this side of the Mississippi. My Mom got her this cool water wings/life jacket thing she found at Costco (where else, right?). It keeps the Peanut nice and afloat and she has learned to kick, kick, kick to maneuver her little self all over my parents pool. I know she is getting quite the workout, because she is essentially "treading water" with her bottom half. And she swims for probably an hour at a time. And that's in between driving her car at Grandma's and Grandpa's and playing with Jet at Grandma's and Grandpa's and whatever other mischief she can find when we are at Grandma's and Grandpa's. And somehow she still has buckets of energy to swim. It's kinda crazy.

As for the pool, I've gotten in once. And the Little Brother? He's been in twice. Both times he wasn't too sure of it when he first got in--but then he relaxed after getting acclimated and thought, "Hey, this might not be so bad." {Or at least that's what I imagined he would have said.}

My Mom and Dad also took our Peanut on her maiden voyage to the county fair. She got to eat greasy hamburgers (at my mother's insistence that they have dinner there), ride rides, see the animals, and have a milkshake (from the dairy women--they are amazing!) at the end of the night.

The verdict? She loved it.

But what's not to love when you have Grandma and Grandpa all to yourself? She could have played in the dirt all evening with them and been just as thrilled.

(Oh, and Mom? That's a compliment to you both, just in case you couldn't tell!)

Never Say Never

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 07:30:00 +0000

Shortly after we were first married, I saw an acquaintance at church with her baby in a sling.

I didn't get it.

They make strollers, I thought. Better yet, God gave us these wonderful things called arms.

Let's just say, now I get it. Especially when you have a little love that pretty much wants to be held all. the. time. Makes those other tasks SO much easier--like folding clothes, fixing lunch, vacuuming--you know, living life.

Plus, it really accentuates those curves, dontcha' think?

First Smiles

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Along with our Little Guy's first denim photo shoot, we've also been starting to get lots and lots of these.....

I think the baby gum smile is about my most favorite thing ever.

Daddy, What Are You Doing?

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 06:52:00 +0000

We have a big ol' denim bean bag. Complete with a big ol' denim "jeans" pocket.

When Peanut was about three weeks old, Hubs decided it would be clever to put our tiny little Peanut in the big ol' jeans pocket and document said cleverness in photos.

I was a little mortified.

'Cause I was a first time mom and I didn't see the humor in being the slightest bit rambunctious with my three week old baby.

Fast forward to number two and I was asking Hubs to take Little Guy's pictures in the same denim pocket.

That playing with knives thing?

So true.

And without further ado......

He's a Month Old Today

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 04:52:00 +0000

When you breastfeed (at least for me), it's always hard to tell if your little one is getting enough. It's not like you have a set amount you give your baby.....you just nurse them until they seem full or satisfied. I was a little worried going into his first check up at two weeks. "What if he's not gaining? What if he's not getting enough? What if I am not enough for him?" were the thoughts swirling around in my head.

Had I paid a little closer attention, I would have noticed that that second chin he now has? Yeah, that wasn't always there.

And yes, I am just getting around to posting this. Nearly two weeks late. Ahem.

His lowest weight was the Friday after he was born at his follow up hospital appointment. He weighed in at 8 pounds 14 oz. His birth weight was 9 pounds 9 oz. His two week appointment with his pediatrician was a week and half after that hospital follow up.

He weighed in at 10 pounds 7 oz.

I'm no expert, but I'd say he's doing just fine.

Our Peanut? Well, she just loves her baby brother. Always wants to hold him, kiss him, and hug him.

Now, that's not to say we haven't had our challenges in the last month.

Because we have.

Boy, have we.

But at least she is only acting out towards me and the Hubs--not her little brother. She's figuring out that she's not the center of attention any longer--which is good. But hard--on all of us. No parent wants to feel like they are disciplining their child 24-7. And I know it's not that often, but it sure feels like it at times!

We are all finding our footing in this new chapter. Her, me and Hubs. And the little guy? Well, he's just along for the ride right now. I am sure he'll have his two cents to add before we know it!

Oh, and finally--here is our first official family picture......from the Fourth of July. Don't judge.

And this is just 'cause is so stinkin' cute......and because this stage goes SO fast.....

Precious

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 06:50:00 +0000

Trying to keep up on my promise to take lots of pictures of our second born...

don't think that should be too hard, considering it took me nearly 270 shots to get this priceless one.

The Day Our Little Guy Was Born: Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 06:36:00 +0000

We left off before and our little guy had just entered the world. The nurses set him on my chest and I got to hold him for the first time.

He was perfect.

Ten fingers, ten toes--they were all accounted for. His arms and legs were a little blue, which of course I was concerned about, but the nurse assured me he was just fine. He was crying really well and the rest of him was as chubby and as pink as could be.

And he had a head full of hair.

Blond hair!!!

That probably was the most shocking part--at least for me. He had blond hair. In all my imaginings of what he would look like, never did he have blond hair. When Peanut was born, she too, had a head full of hair. Dark hair, just like her daddy's. Then as she got older her hair lightened up.

Hubs and I both had very similar dishwater blond hair as young children and our hair has darkened as we have gotten older. Hubs is nearly black and mine is probably a medium brown ~~(with a sprinkling of gray~~.....why no, this blond hair is not natural--it's completely out of a bottle). All that to say, I just assumed that our little guy's hair would be dark too, just like ours and his big sister's.

And speaking of hair--our little man is hairy little guy! He has a thick little layer of peach fuzz all over his body and his sweet little ears? They are little elf ears. He has little tufts of hair on each of his ears. I've never seen that before on a newborn--but this mama thinks it is pretty darn cute!

The nurses weighed him and measured him and we were all a bit shocked at how sturdy our little guy was. He measured in at 9 pounds, 9 ounces and 21 inches tall. Wow! They gave him his bath and once again he got to snuggle with his mama. He nursed like a champ the very first time (and he still continues to!), so that has been a huge blessing!

Everything seemed to be fine for that first day. He was born late Saturday afternoon and despite us not getting much sleep that night, things seemed to be going fine overall. The pediatrician stopped by and he passed his first little check up--the midwife stopped by and things were going well for me too.

Then late Sunday afternoon are when things started to get hard.

But lets back up for a moment. Several weeks before I delivered, I was given the GBS Strep test and found out that I was positive this time around. It's strange (although completely normal!), because I was negative with the Peanut. Anyhow, this means that they had to treat me with intravenous antibiotics during my labor and delivery of our little guy. My labor went really fast this time, so I was only on the antibiotics for about two hours. Ideally, they want you to be on the antibiotics for at least four hours in order to insure that this GBS Strep is not passed onto baby.

They ran a test/culture on our little guy several hours after he was born and they continue to watch the culture for 48 hours after birth to insure he didn't have the GBS Strep. The culture seemed to be doing fine, however he had/has an elevated respiratory rate and they were concerned, as this is often a symptom of the GBS Strep being passed on to the baby.

So they put him on his own round of antibiotics.

Which meant that he had to have an IV. They took him out of the room to have his IV inserted--Daddy went with him. Mommy stayed in the room and cried--postpartum anyone? While they were gone, another nurse came in and told me about the two different rounds of antibiotics they were going to put him on. One was to be administered every 8 hours, the other every 12 hours. She then told me that I needed to be my son's advocate and be aware that the 12 hour antibiotic is known to cause deafness in babies if not administered correctly. This meant that I needed to make sure when the nurses came in to administer the medication, that a pump was used to administer this certain antibiotic, as it shouldn't be administered by hand.

Um, okay. This is not what a stressed out Mama wanted to hear.

In addition, while Hubs and our little guy were gone getting the IV inserted, another nurse came in and told me that his bilirubin levels were a lot higher than they would like to have seen, so he needed to spend all night under the blue lights.

Talk about break your heart because all you want to do is hold your newborn and all your newborn wants is to be held. Not really possible under the blue lights.

He doesn't understand why he can't be held, why this eye shield keeps getting put on him, and why he can't be close to mommy or daddy. Not to mention the fact that he has an IV in his tiny little arm that is taped on so tight and so firmly (with a cardboard piece beneath it, so he can't bend his arm) that his little arm is bright pink and irritated from all the tape.

That and then the nurses keep coming back every eight hours to administer more antibiotics in his arm. And that seems to be painful in and of itself for our little guy.

It was a rough twelve hours to say the least.

As they say though, it is always darkest before the dawn. Which was both figurative and literal in our case, as he was under the lights from about five in the afternoon until about seven the following morning. The nurse came in that morning and tested his bilirubin levels and they had dropped dramatically--Praise the Lord! No more blue lights--meaning, we got to hold our little guy to our hearts content!

I was discharged that Monday morning, however our little guy wasn't. Of course we weren't going anywhere without our son, so we got to stay in the room just like we had been. It basically meant the nurses were no longer monitoring me--they were just monitoring our baby boy.

The initial culture for the GBS Strep in our little guy had been monitored for more than 48 hours as of Tuesday morning. And it was still negative--Praise the Lord once again! Meaning no more rounds of antibiotics and the IV got to come out!!!!! So, so grateful for that!

However, even with his treatment of antibiotics, they were still concerned with his elevated respiratory rate. Most newborns take anywhere from 20-60 breaths per minute and our little guy was consistently at around 70-80 breaths per minute. So they decided to run an echocardiogram on him before we went home. Although a little stressful, it went just fine and the results were good as well. (This is despite the fact that they told us we would have the results later that day and we didn't end up getting them until late Friday morning.) In the end though, his heart was just as it should have been, so no reason to be worried.

It was a lot rougher start than either Hubs or I expected, but we are so grateful that we are all home now settling into our family of four. It was an incredibly stressful 72 hours at the hospital--but that is probably more on me than anyone.

I am a control freak. And all of these circumstances were way beyond my control--and if I can't control things?

I worry.

BIG time.

And we certainly prayed for our little guy......but I still worry. I know I not supposed to. I am supposed to give it all to God and let Him carry our burdens. And I try. I really do. But then I worry some more. And then I give it back to Him and start the process all over again.

Thank goodness He isn't done with me yet. But enough about me.

And our little guy? Hubs and Peanut just love him to pieces.

And me?

He has completely stolen my heart.

The Day Our Little Guy Was Born

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 09:22:00 +0000

Whew....I can't even believe that a whole week has passed since our little guy was born. But here we are, a full week later and I am just getting around to sitting down and posting his story. Hopefully, after reading his little story it will make a little more sense as to why it's taken so long.

So last Saturday morning....Hubs had to work early, so I got up with him to fix his coffee and give him a kiss before he left for work. Why, yes I do this every early morning that he works. And no, I don't look like June Cleaver or Betty Draper when doing so--not by a long shot. I am every bit the fright when I get up with him--and he still loves me!

Our last "progress" photo--40 weeks--and less than 24 hours before he was born!

A friend of mine was having a baby shower that day so I got moving that morning to get showered and dressed before our little Peanut woke up. We had been at my parents fairly late the night before, so she actually slept a little later than usual. She got up and I was still in the process of getting ready, so I made her some breakfast and while she was eating, I went to our room to finish getting ready.

10:00 that morning

As I was getting ready, I thought perhaps my water might have broken--as I had some fluid leak from down there. I apologize if that is TMI, but I'm just sayin'. Plus, right after that, I started to have some pain, just for a minute or so and then it went away. Then sure enough, ten minutes later--same pain again. Hmmm, I thought, I just might be in labor.

During about the next hour or so, I started having regular contractions at about ten minutes apart. I wanted to call Hubs, but then I didn't want him to have him come home and have it turn out to be false labor. Ever the practical one, I was trying to avoid having him waste precious vacation time. But then I also heard him in the back of my head saying, "Jackie, you know it's going to go quicker the second time around." Plus, he was very concerned about getting stuck in traffic on his way home from work and making sure he/we got there in plenty of time, etc, etc. So I ended up only waiting about an hour into the contractions before I called him. Oh, and also note too, that at this point in time, the contractions were very manageable--which was another reason for my hesitation.

11:00 that morning

Anyhow, Hubs got home a little less than an hour after that. I called the hospital where we were planning on delivering. They told us to go ahead and come in so they could determine things from there.

My parents also came over during that time bringing over some groceries they had picked up at Costco for us. I had packed an overnight bag for Peanut that morning so she was ready to go have a fun time spending the night at Grandma and Grandpa's. I took my time saying good-bye to her, knowing it would be my last moment with just my girl. It was bittersweet, at best. Of course she didn't understand why Mommy was crying, but I knew. I knew our world was about to change radically--all for the better of course, but from that moment on, things would be different.

1:30 that afternoon

So Hubs and I finished rounding up the things we knew we would need for our stay and we headed to the hospital. Once we got checked-in, I went through all the details with the nurse and they ran a test to determine if my water had broken. From the way things were sounding, I thought they were going to be sending us home--but Hubs didn't think so. My nurse came back in and sure enough, she told me they were going to send us home. By this time (around 2:00?), my contractions were starting to get way more intense. Still not unbearable, but much more uncomfortable then they were before and that made me very nervous. The nurse went to go finish my discharge paperwork and she told me to go ahead and get dressed and she would be back in a few minutes. So like the good little patient, I went and got dressed and laid back down on my side on the hospital bed. That standing up and moving around moved things right along--I started to have another contraction (while Hubs was messaging my Mom and sister on my iPad--so he wasn't even really paying attention at that point) and I felt this pop right during the middle of the contraction and warm fluid gushing out.

2:30 that afternoon

"OhMyGosh!" were the next words out of my mouth. Hubs head snapped to attention (by the way--I had asked him to keep my Mom and sister posted of my status--just so y'all know he wasn't neglecting me at all) and I told him my water just broke. He walked around the foot of the bed to see for himself and started laughing (because he was excited!) and then immediately headed out to the nurses station to let them know to forget about discharging me. No, he wasn't that rude--in fact, I think his exact words to our nurse were, "Um, I think my wife's water just broke," when of course, he knew without a doubt that it had.

The nurse came back in and was laughing as well, saying our little guy just wanted to make clear that today was his day and they weren't going to change that. Me? I was just thankful that that little episode hadn't happened in our car. Yes, me the ever practical one. But seriously? Cleaning up amniotic fluid from the seat? And knowing that cleaning wouldn't happen until after our baby was born? Um, gross. Very thankful that so didn't happen (and Hubs was thankful too!!).

4:00 that afternoon

From that point on, that was all he needed. Everything seemed to kick into high gear after my water broke. Not long after they checked me and I was at 4 cm and by 4:00 that afternoon, I was at a full 10 cm and was ready to push.

It looked like there was some meconium in the amniotic fluid, so a team of nurses were brought in to help assist immediately after our little guy came out. They were all hanging around in the back of room busying themselves getting things ready for our baby boy. I'd say there were 4 or 5 them? Including a male nurse, which like my mom always promised, when you are in the middle of labor you won't really care who can see down there. And you know what? So true.

So, so true.

While I was laboring through my first round of pushes, the team of nurses finished their tasks and then they proceeded to hang out a while......and then they all left.

So I clearly I wasn't as far along as I thought. I understand that they just can't wait around all day for me to get my act together and push that baby out, but talk about deflating your expectations! It was so disheartening for this mama!

Everyone I know that has had multiple children says that the second one is way faster and the pushing? Way less pushes and and way less time pushing....but me? That SO was not the case. Well, I guess it was in part. With Peanut, I pushed for three hours. Yes, three hours. With our little guy though, I pushed for about an hour and a half. It was faster, but it certainly was not the 20 minutes or three pushes I had been praying for.

This was for several reasons--first, my babies like to be born in the posterior position. Meaning they are face up during the delivery. Apparently that typically makes for a much longer/tougher delivery? I didn't quite understand it, however Hubs gave me a really good analogy. It's like trying to crawl under a fence. You would never think to crawl under a fence face up--you would always do it face down. The fence is like the pelvic bone and it's simply easier to get under it heading face down.

Second, this "little" guy was exactly 2 full pounds bigger than his older sister. Yep, I couldn't believe it either. I mean I could, judging by my size this time around, but a full two pounds? That's 20% bigger, ladies.

Crazy!

Last, because I am stubborn and because I made my stubbornness known to both my midwives and my husband, like last time, I wanted to avoid pain medication if at all possible. And please, don't kid yourselves....it's not like I didn't ask for pain medication this time around. I did. More than once. But because Hubs, the midwives and all the nurses knew of my request before hand--they were all great cheerleaders/coaches. They cheered me on and in some cases got in my face (which I definately needed!).

When my contractions first started to get really intense, one of the nurses (the one who successfully set my IV) cheered me on, telling me what a good job I was doing and that how that contraction was one more I didn't have to do before I met my baby.

Then towards the end during one of my last pushes, the baby nurse (I am SO bad, I don't remember any of their names!) came and got in my face when I was begging the midwife and Hubs for a shot of the Fentinel like I had with Peanut. She told me I was truly almost there and that I didn't need that shot and with one or two more pushes I would be able to hold my baby boy, so I better get serious and put my game face on.

Both of these instances may sound simplistic, but it's those little accomplishments/encouragements that helped me through!

And my dear, sweet husband? There are no words......I simply couldn't do it without him. I know at the end of the day, their job is pretty easy in relative terms to what we go through.

But is it, really?

Our husbands have to watch the one they love and adore go through incredible pain to bring life into our fallen world. And there wasn't anything my sweet husband could do, but hold my hand and tell me a thousand different ways how I was doing such a good job, how I was almost there and how proud he was of me.

I tell you, I can't even begin to describe how much I love this man.

5:32 that afternoon

So finally an hour and a half and tons of pushes later, we finally got to meet our sweet little boy. He was finally here, but little did I know things were about to get even tougher......

Read Part II here.

We Would Like You to Meet..........

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Please welcome our son and Peanut's little brother.....

Born

Saturday, June 30, 2012

at 5:32 pm

weighing in 9 lbs. 9 oz.

and measuring 21" long.

Mommy and baby are doing well. I apologize this is about a week late--however stay tuned for his birth story--it's a great one. I will get it posted soon.

Nesting

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 17:55:00 +0000

Hubs had yesterday as one of his days off this week. Which I just thought was amusing.....maybe his boss doesn't know that most babies aren't actually born on the "due date?" No, I am sure he does, but I just thought it was funny regardless.

Anyhow, Hubs spent the better part of yesterday trying to get our garage organized.

Remember this? This was our garage about a month ago...

Well, he's mighty proud that he's got the mess down to this and we actually fit Manders (What? You don't name your vehicles?!?!??!) in the garage once again!

And oh, yeah......I am just tickled as well!

Is it possible that Daddies can feel the urge to nest too?