Growing Up - Miss E., 3 months

Life with Elly at 3 months:

You've giggled at your brother. It was so great to hear that!

You have settled into a pretty good routine all on your own.

We have poop! That's right, you finally poop regularly w/o any intervention. YAY!

You love to "stand" on Mommy's hand and look over my shoulder. You think you're so big.

Right on target, you've moved into the 3-6 month clothing. You look so adorable in your summer outfits!

You are the happiest little girl right after you've nursed.

Your favorite toy is Mr. Turtle on the toy bar of your bouncy seat. I don't think anyone gets as many smiles as that guy ; )

You severely dislike being outside in the heat! This is awful for mommy, as your brother loves to be outside : (

You hate being in your car seat unless we are MOVING. No stopping for us!

You do not sleep well when you are held. You absolutely want to be in your bed to sleep. Someday I will appreciate this, but today I just wish I could cuddle you a little more!

Your eyes are still blue! I'm hopeful there will no changes here ; )

Growing Up - Mighty Max, 2 yrs.

Life with Max at 2 years of age:

• You're finally growing into your skin, looking less like a baby.
  
• You are down to one nap a day. You held on to that morning nap for a long time though!
  
• You STILL do not sleep through the night. If only you could tell me why you wake up!!
  
• You sleep in a big boy bed, and have for almost a year now : )
  
• You love to run and jump. And boy, you are Speedy Gonzalez and, WOW, you excel at the jumping.
  
• Some of your favorite things: balls, stickers, pickles.
  
• You have a great vocabulary and know how to use it. You still sign please instead of saying it though, so we're working on that one.
  
• You love, LOVE to play outside. I believe you really think the world has ended if you are told you can't go o.u.t.
  
• You love your baby sister (and her toys) to pieces.
  
• You do not love how much time Mommy spends nursing her.
  
• You still love to snuggle. Another reason you don't like the time Mommy holds Elly.
  
• You weren't a picky eater, now you are. We go through long periods of Feast or Famine with you at the dinner table.
  
• You want what Mommy and Daddy have to drink. Thus, you drink tea a lot. But not a lot of it, for those worrying about your health : )
  
• You love blankets, and almost always have one within reach, and absolutely will not fall asleep without one. This is strange, as you didn't have one for well over a year. But, it's just a blanket, and any blanket will do (even Elly's in a pinch!).
  

Life with you is an almost constant adventure filled with fun. We love you Mighty Max!
2 yr stats: WT 29lbs HT 35.5in. Both register in the 75th percentile, 60th combined.

Three Word Thursday

Third word: Adorable!

Wordless Wednesday

Growing Up - Miss E., 2 months

Life with Elly at 2 months:

• You love to look around, which translates into you love to be held. If you aren't facing out to see the world you are not a happy camper. Mommy calls you Snoopy for this, Daddy calls it high maintenance!
  
• You are a good eater. During the day you want to eat every 2-3 hours.
  
• You have just started to share some smiles with us. Your dimple is adorable : )


• You are starting to talk back a little bit, usually during your diaper change ; )


• You still aren't fond of baths, but you like showers a little better (like brother like sister!)
  
• You are an excellent sleeper. You will sleep 8-10 hours a night w/o getting up!


• You love to be swaddled to sleep, you'll take up 30 min. into a nap if you aren't swaddled.


• You still do not like pacifiers, but your fingers are sampled a couple times a day!

(I'll update another time with a pic of Elly at 2 mo. I can't seem to remember where I put the spare memory card!)

***Warning - this post may contain TMI***

February 09, 2010 (Happy 29th Mike/Dad!)

We spent the morning doing nothing. Mike had the day off because he was suppose to head to the dentist for a check-up, so we were all enjoying each others company.

Shortly after nine o'clock I headed to the bathroom, again. I think I spent 1/3 of all my days peeing in my third trimester. This would be the last time my bladder was affected by a baby kicking around inside. I was pullin' up the pants when my water broke. (Side note - what's with me, my bladder, and my bag of waters?!) Yes, I know it was my waters and not urine (Mike checked).

I hadn't had any contractions yet, and still none were coming. I figured we wouldn't head to the hospital if I wasn't contracting. Nothing like going in to be sent home and all. So nine turns to ten and I start having small contractions, somewhere around 7-8 minutes apart. I tell Mike that we should start getting ready to leave, since we had to take Max to daycare first. I wasn't feeling rushed, so it was another hour before we were heading out the door. I kid you not, as soon as Mike took our bag down to the car my contractions suddenly got painful. Aren't they suppose to work their way up the pain scale? It was an intense jump. And they were coming nice and close together. Just my luck.

I happen to look at the clock as we were pulling out of the garage, 11:00 exactly. We managed to drop off Max at daycare and were on our way to the hospital in record time. My contractions were coming less than a minute apart by now (less than 20 minutes later), and I was wondering if we were going to make it! Mike was pulling off the freeway as the nausea hit me. I made him pull to the side so I could vomit, but ended up just dry heaving. He had to pull me back into the car my contractions were hurting so bad!

The hospital is just 2 minutes from the freeway exit, so we were there in 1 : ) Mike dropped me off at the sky walk to the maternity ward and went to park the car. I started making my way to the elevators. I got about halfway there before I couldn't walk/communicate through my contractions anymore. I kind soul leaving the hospital helped me the rest of the way to the elevators. We were just getting on when Mike caught up with me. Down two floors to maternity and the few feet to the registration desk. We will later learn that it was 11:28 a.m. I make my way to Triage to be evaluated.

The nurse hands me the gown with instructions to change and lay on the table. I'm in so much pain that I can barely change w/o Mike's assistance, never mind getting up on the table/bed. Mike stuck his head out into the hall and yelled at the nurse to come back, that I was ready to go. She was all like, I'm coming, I'm sure she's fine. She does come back soon, just not as soon as I'd have liked ; ) So, they check me, and she tells us that I'm at an eight. (BTW, that means we're past the point where they can give you drugs.) Now, I don't remember it exactly like this, but Mike swears to it's truth: Mike maintains that the nurse stepped out of our Triage room and calls to the other nurses, "Holy shit, she's an eight!" Nurses storm the little room while the initial nurse gets on the line to call my doctor. This conversation I remember, "You have a patient here, (me), and she's ready to deliver.....Yes, she is definitely feeling pressure."

Feeling pressure? Understatement! I was pushing to relieve the pressure/pain. They are all like, don't push! Then give me something for the pain! Anyone who has been through labor w/o drugs knows that you cannot help but push, it's your body's natural reaction to the process! And, nope, nothing available to help the pain now. It was fun, or not, getting transferred from bed to bed while my body was racked with constant contractions. They set me up, and from what I remember hearing, the doctor on call had the nurses manning the door with a gown and gloves ready for my doctor when he arrived. (He was at another hospital in town, getting ready to do a c-section.) So, Dr. Munro gets there and literally walks into his gear and over to my table. I push once and get an episiotomy. I push twice and we have a baby girl! And, for the record, there was screaming involved in this process; something that was lacking when I delivered Max. Elly was born at 11:48 a.m., exactly 20 minutes from when we walked up to the reception desk, and less than three hours after my water broke. And from here on out, Daddy shares his bday with his little girl.

For the record, I never wanted an un-medicated birth. Now having done it with meds and w/o, I felt much more in control when Max was born. People keep saying to me that it must be nice that it was over so fast; no, it going fast did not make it easier! My body went 0-60 too fast for me to deal/process/adjust to the pain; I felt completely out of control of my body. Precipitous labors are traumatic and dangerous. I wish everyone a safe and easy delivery, but fast? No. (Precipitous labors run risks of hemorrhaging for the mama.) Side note - S.A.: you are a hero for laboring for 30+ hours before delivering, all w/o meds! The bright side was that in addition to no meds, there was also no time for an iv, so no swelling for me this time : )

The nurses/doctors informed me that with the next child I am to go directly to the hospital after my water breaks or risk delivering elsewhere. What next child? I do believe I'm done!