One Month!

Miss Olivia Grace, you are ONE month old already! Here's what you are up to:

*You had a hard time gaining weight at first (born at 9lb 10oz, discharged at 9lb 1oz, still 9lb 1oz at 2week check up (75% for weight & height (21.25in)), 9lb 4oz at weight check at 3 weeks old) but you finally started gaining and  you weighed 10lb 1oz on your one month birthday.

*You wear 0-3 month and 3 month clothing and a size 1 diaper. You weren't in newborns for very long at all!

*You sleep a lot and poop a lot. =)

*You nurse about every 4 hours during the day and every 3 at night. We're working on switching that around.

*You nurse like a champ! You latched on great from the beginning and you eat pretty quickly. Your full nursing session is usually only 20-25 minutes long.

*You are an easy going baby. I'm not going to lie, we were pretty worried because you were so active in the womb! I guess you just didn't have much room in there so you moved around a lot to get comfy. Here in the outside world you are so laid back and easy going. You will lay there and let your sister get in your face, kiss all over you, hug you, shove the pacifier into your mouth, cover you up from head to toe, and lay on you while you are on the mat. You are easy to get to sleep and you only fuss when you are hungry or need changed. Such a sweet baby!

*You started out looking just like mommy but you are quickly beginning to look like Sophia and daddy. It was nice hearing people say you looked like me, but they are quickly changing their minds to say you look like daddy and Sophia now. I'll tell you what I told your sister: you can look like your daddy as long as you act like me. ; )

*You still have a full head of thick, dark hair. It appears to be auburn with a very red tint to it. Sophia started out this way, too, so I'm anxious to see how your hair is going to end up looking.

*You have pretty decent head control and are beginning to track people's faces.

*You have begun smiling and it is so stinkin cute! It makes my heart and face beam!

*Your umbilical cord didn't heal properly and fell off before it was ready. It was pretty gross and stinky, but Dr. W assured me it didn't hurt you. It just took a bit longer to heal and you didn't get to take a "real" bath until the day before you turned 1 month. Don't worry, you weren't the smelly kid in class...we just have to give you sponge baths & wash your hair in the sink for awhile.

*Speaking of; it appears you might have an outy belly button like your sister. We'll see!

Olivia, I can't even begin to express how blessed I am to be your mom. I look at you & your sister and my heart feels like it will just burst at any moment. I am so proud to be your mommy and I'm loving every minute of being with you. I have been on maternity leave and I really feel an ache to be a stay at home mommy for you & Sophia, but that's just not in the cards for us. Thankfully I have an awesome job that I love being at and I get LOTS of time home with you girls, so that will do for now. I'm looking forward to spending the whole summer with my precious girls. This time is flying by and I want to cherish every second of you being my squishy baby. =)

My little Easter bunny <3

SO Blessed!

Mommy's favorite pastime

Shopping with mommy...you are snug as a bug and sleep so peacefully whenever I wear you

"Get off my mat, Sophia!"

Just lookin' around

First bath. You LOVED it...would have stayed in there all night if we would have let you

Time is FLYING by!

What's Sophia up to?

Sophia Faith, you are 22 months old! Here's what you're up to:

*Wear a size 18 month in most of your clothes, but are starting to get into a 24 month. Your shorts/skirts/etc are still 12 or 18 months for the most part.

*STILL in a size 3 diaper

*Wearing a size 5 shoe

*Still only have the 10 teeth. =)

*Are still a picky eater, but I've heard/read that that's normal. You love fish sticks, "chicken fries" (chicken with fries :), chicken nuggets, applesauce, corn, "chocolate crackers" (choc teddy grahams), mandarin oranges, pineapples, apples, and chocolate milk (even though it's usually just regular milk..mom & dad are sneaky like that)

*You talk, talk, talk! I have no clue an exact amount, but you have well over 200 words and are speaking in pretty good sentences. Just about any stranger who hears you comments on how well you talk for your age. We're definitely in trouble as you get older! Just this morning we were driving and I had to slam on the brakes due to the car in front of me and you said "Oh no, be careful mommy! Gotta drive careful"

*You are beginning to be shy in front of crowds. You usually warm up eventually, but it's beginning to take you a little bit before you talk to people when there is a crowd.

*You sleep from 8:00-7:45 usually. We pushed back your bedtime a tad so that you'd sleep a little later while I'm taking care of Olivia. It has worked pretty well so far!

*You are an AMAZING big sister. You just adore Olivia, take care of her, and show everyone you can that she's here. You love to cover her up, rock her, give her the pacifier, turn on her swing & music, help me burp her, give her a bottle, hold her, and give her lots of lovin's. I'm so proud of you!

*You are gaining a lot of independence. It's a tad frustrating at times, but daddy and I try our hardest to sit back and let you explore and figure things out for yourself. It may take an extra 15 minutes to get out the door so that you can try to dress yourself or brush your teeth or put on your shoes, but that's okay! Some things you are doing: asking for certain things to eat instead of just eating what we give you, trying to put on your shoes/clothes, taking off your shoes/clothes/diaper (we had to duct tape the diaper at bedtime for awhile. ha!), getting in the car yourself & climbing into your carseat, walking up/down stairs without holding a hand, brushing your teeth and hair, and so many other things.

I can't believe you are almost 2! We love you so much and are SO proud of you, little piggle. ;)

Looking intently at the animals at the Gentry Zoo

Your "cheese" face...silly girl!

Gotta keep your diaper on! (duct taped)

Giving Livy her first bottle

Such a good mommy taking care of your own baby

You really do love her!

(The pictures are in no particular order apparently...not used to this new set up...oh~well!)

She's here!

I'm horrible at this blogging thing...not that I have a ton of readers, but I use this as the girls' baby books so I'd like to do a bit better. Anywho, since my last post at 37 weeks, I have had a baby!

Miss Olivia Grace was born on Monday, April 2 at 8:12 am. She weighed a whopping 9lbs 10oz and was 21.25in. We were shocked that she was such a big baby! Since I was a scheduled c-section (due to having an emergency c/s with Sophia) we didn't really monitor Olivia's growth too much. I had only gained 21 pounds throughout my pregnancy (versus like 37 w/Sophia) so I was anticipating another petite little girl.

The (long) birth story:

The c/s was much different this time than last time. I remember saying that out loud and the anesthesiologist said "scheduled c/s are usually a bit different since you are more aware of what's going on and it isn't such a whirlwind" Boy was he right! I walked into the operating room & sat on the side of the operating table while he stuck a huge needle into my back for my spinal block. He accidentally went in at a bit of an angle so I was feeling the pressure mostly on my lower right half so he had to adjust it (never took it out, just moved it around...talk about uncomfortable) about 4 times until I was feeling it in the middle. While he was placing my spinal block, the nurse was holding my shoulders and making small talk. At one point she asked "So, why are you having a c/s?" To be honest, I was taken back a bit. I thought "Well, because I'm too lazy to push and I don't want to get all sweaty so I opted for major surgery." Instead I said "I had to have an emergency c/s with my first so it's just safer to do a repeat c/s" Idiot. So, after my spinal is placed my lower half immediately began going numb. Before I could even lay back on the table, my body was all warm and my legs were feeling very heavy & tingly. So weird. I had to lay spread-eagle on the table while the nurses prepped and moved my legs around to get me into operating position. All modesty went out the window and I felt so exposed....the only thing covering me was my gown from about my chest to my neck. I tried to talk to Jeff to distract me, but I felt so weird and I couldn't move anything from my toes to my chest so I started to freak out. I knew it was supposed to happen like that but it is still trippy. I concentrated on taking deep breaths so that I wouldn't have a panic attack, which I felt was coming on. Once Dr. L finally showed up (we were scheduled for 7:15, he arrived around 7:50) they began getting the show on the road. The curtain went up and the surgery began. During surgery I began feeling like an elephant was sitting on my chest. It was so hard to breathe and it was extremely uncomfortable. I tried to concentrate on my breathing again to avoid a panic attack and I suddenly felt extremely nauseous. I said something to Jeff and he said he would tell someone, but I told him not to. Not sure why I told him that?! They could have given me meds.

I remember feeling pressure in places I'm assuming were the incision, them moving around my insides, and I felt the weirdest pull from my chest when they pulled Olivia out. It was so unreal. I don't remember most of this from Sophia's c/s but I think that's because hers was unexpected, I already had an epidural so I didn't start from the beginning of the process, and they worked 10x faster getting Sophia out than they did Olivia.

During the c/s when Dr. L was pulling Olivia out, he said "Oh Jess, she's got shoulders on her shoulders!" I said "What does that mean?" and he said "Well, Jeff, stand up and have a look" & the anesthesiologist said "Dad, you can stand up and look, he's about to get the baby all the way out." In the meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out if my daughter is deformed or something. So, Jeff stood up and said "My gosh, she's huge! She has like rolls on top of her rolls!" For a second I thought they were kidding, but shortly thereafter Dr. L held her up over the curtain for me to see and all I saw were two little slits for eyes and these huge, squishy cheeks. I swear those suckers weighed about 2 pounds a piece! ha!

We were so glad that she was a healthy baby and she didn't look as breakable as her big sis did when she was born. Jeff took Olivia to the NICU (c/s protocol) while Dr. L finished stapling me up and then I was sent to recovery. I remember from last time that once the baby is born, nobody cares about you anymore! ha! My only visitor while I was in recovery was my big sister, Sarah, but I didn't expect many visitors since it is recovery and all...I'm supposed to be resting. While I was in recovery I got very nauseous and began dry heaving, so they put some medicine in my IV. I dozed off & on and tried not to get sick. After about 30 or so minutes, they took my to my room where my mom met me and I continued to doze off & on until Jeff came in with Olivia. I was so out of it for about 5 or 6 hours that I don't remember specifics, but I'm pretty sure they came in about 2 hours after I had her. I got to hold my sweet baby for the first time and it was perfect! She had all 10 fingers & all 10 toes, a full head of thick hair, and she actually looked more like me than Jeff!

Olivia took to nursing like a champ and we don't have to deal with being tongue-tied like we did with Sophia. She ate, slept, and pooped the whole time we were in the hospital. She did have to get her blood sugar levels checked before every feeding. Due to being a big baby, her sugar levels were low and so we were having to test the levels then feed her every 2 hours. We finally got them stable during the middle of the night on our first night so we were relieved...I hated seeing them poke her tiny heel so much! Sophia didn't really care for it much, either...she gave the nurses the stink eye whenever they would come to test Olivia's levels. Ha! She also had to spend about 5 hours being monitored in the NICU during the second night due to heavy/rapid breathing. They warned me that she might be admitted to the NICU for a 10 day stay and antibiotic, but thankfully that didn't happen because her lungs sounded fine and she never ran fever. She also wasn't jaundiced like Sophia was. We were released to go home when she was 2 days old and she left the hospital weighing 9lb 1oz.

Just born! Warming up in the NICU

Sophia meeting her sister for the first time

My entire world <3

2 days old, waiting to be discharged and go home

2 days old

 I still catch myself smiling ear to ear all throughout the day...I am so incredibly blessed! My 2 precious daughters and wonderful husband mean the world to me. Welcome to the world, Miss Olivia!

37 Weeks!!

<~~At my work "sprinkle" just shy of 37 weeks
<~~shower Sarah & Kacie threw for us...whoah belly!


How far along: 37 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Up 19 pounds total

Maternity clothes: yep! However, I've been living in Jeff's t-shirts and stretchy pants all Spring Break & it's been lovely

Stretch marks: same ones, but they are red at times so I guess they are stretching even more

Sleep: I wish! I have been awake by 5 am this entire Spring Break with so much on my mind and I can't get comfortable

Best moment this week: Having our "sprinkles" and getting the nursery done. Well, for the most part. It still needs some "pretties" for the wall, but it's ready for a baby!

Movement: It never ends! I mentioned last week that Dr. L made a comment about how active she was.....weeeellll, I had to see a different doctor for my appt this week and he even made a comment about her movement. "She's very active, isn't she?" were his exact words. This was never said about Sophia, lol, guess we're in for a laid back kiddo and a hyper one! She still loves to roll across my tummy and jam herself up into my right ribs.

Food cravings: milk, milk, milk Food actually hasn't sounded good lately. I'm having food aversions again and am having to force myself to eat...mainly apples, milk & brownies =)

Gender: GIRL!!

Labor signs: None so far really

Belly button in or out: Still in, but not near as deep as it once was

What I miss: being able to enjoy being pregnant like I did with Sophia. Things are so different when you are chasing a toddler around!

What I am looking forward to: Getting all of the finishing touches put on the nursery and getting the house cleaned to my liking for company that may want to stop by after Miss Olivia makes her arrival

Weekly wisdom: Don't wait until the last 2 weeks to get everything done! Oops!

Milestone: I have 1 more dr. visit before my scheduled c/s!

36 Weeks

Holy cow, I'm having another baby in 3 short weeks! We have a c/s scheduled for April 2, so Olivia will be here in no later than 3 weeks! We are so excited!


<~~32 weeks on our "babymoon" in Tulsa...when the weight gain began! ;)

<~~34 weeks...making progress in the nursery!

<~~36 weeks 2 days...don't mind the nastiness that is myself...I was already in my "comfies" and realized we haven't done a picture in awhile. =)


How far along: 36 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Interesting story: At my last appointment I had gained 5 pounds between 32-34 weeks which brought my total to 20 pounds. Yes, that's right, 1/4 of my weight was gained in a 2 week time period. Dr. wasn't very concerned since I'm only up 20 pounds, but I promised to do better. SO, this week I was expecting the normal 2 pounds for the 2 weeks, BUT I had actually LOST 2 pounds! What the what?! So, I'm up a total of 18 pounds. We'll see what next week brings!

Maternity clothes: most definitely

Stretch marks: Thankfully they are beginning to fade again and I haven't noticed any new or red ones. Please please please let this be the case the remainder of the pregnancy!

Sleep: Oh how I miss sleep! I wake up anywhere from 4-6 times a night to use the restroom then take at least 20 minutes to fall back asleep. So, do the math: that's about 1.5-2 hours I'm not sleeping each night. Plus I'm super sore when I wake up.

Best moment this week: Sophia came up to me the other day, lifted up my shirt, waved at my belly and said "Hi Libby!" then gave her fives, knuckles, kisses, and hugs. I don't think she really gets what's going on, but it's sweet none the less!

Movement: As Dr. L said today "she's quite an active baby!" Uhm, yeah! She's always rockin' 'n rollin'

Food cravings: peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, snickers, COLD milk by the gallons

Gender: GIRL!!

Labor signs: She's beginning to drop down...a lot. My ribs are no longer on fire, but my lower abdomen is now feeling the pain!

Belly button in or out: I'll never be an outie, but my belly button is actually getting a little "flatter" this time around

What I miss: restful sleep and an adult beverage every now and then...but I don't miss them that badly! I LOVE being pregnant

What I am looking forward to: My showers this week. My work friends are throwing me a "sprinkle" Thursday and my sis & sis-n-law are doing one Saturday. Then we will be going on a shopping spree this weekend to get the nursery finished up. Can't wait!

Weekly wisdom: Nap when you can because I highly doubt I'll get to nap much with 2 under 2!

Milestone: I'm now into the weekly doctor visits. Two more visits then it's check in at the hospital to meet miss Livvy!