Julia at 2 Months

So, I just realized I had written this post, never finished it, and thus never published it. Since blogging has been my girls' only "baby book", I wanted to go ahead and publish it, albeit out of chronolgical order, so that it would be easier to find down the road when I'm feeling nostalgic and want to read what life was like when the kids were babies. So, bear with me as I publish Julia's 2 month update while she is 4.5 months old, because that's how I roll.

Julia turned two months old last Sunday. We went for her well child check up this past week and I had my postpartum check up as well. Miss Julia weighs 12 pounds 1 oz and is 22 inches long, putting her in the 80th and 50th percentiles, respectively. She is definitely more filled out than Natalie ever was, lol. Natalie was 11 pounds 12 oz and 23.5 inches tall at 2 months (75th and 90th percentiles).

Our sweet baby "talks" to us quite a lot and has smiles for anyone who will have a conversation of "coos" with her. She loves being held facing outward or on her belly in a Superman hold, just like her big sis did. She enjoys being worn in my ring sling, which is a lifesaver in the grocery store and outside while Natalie is playing. I remember thinking that Natalie got more fun around 3 months old, but I feel like Julia is already more fun right now because of how much she enjoys interacting with me. I think we have a social butterfly on our hands! Julia DESPISES baths and screams her blood-curdling scream the entire time until she is dry and dressed again. She came really close to rolling over from belly to back yesterday, so I am excited to see her accomplish that soon!

Julia still nurses every 2 hours and usually sleeps anywhere for 5 to 8 hours at night before waking up to eat. Hooray for babies that sleep well!!! I think she has a shallow latch, which is causing me quite a bit of discomfort still. My doula suggested trying different feeding positions to see if that helps.

Natalie still loves her little sister, but she has recently entered deeper into the terrible twos with more frequent tantrums and bad behavior. Alex and I are growing wearing from disciplining her for the same things over and over all.day.long.everyday. I have asked more experienced moms for tips on disciplining a toddler and the resounding answer is that you just survive it and one day they will get better. Not exactly what I was hoping or expecting to hear, but I am hopeful that it will ring true for us in the near future before I lose my mind and pull all my hair out! My mom says to speak out that we are going to have the "Terrific Twos" and I try to do that as I discipline Natalie for the 1, 346,782nd time.

Life with a 4 Month Old

Life won't slow down and most days it feels like I am just along for the ride. I blinked and my baby is now 4 months old. I feel like I am on the verge of a breakthrough with figuring out my new normal since Julia was born, prioritizing what needs to be done and what I want to get done around the house, coming to terms with living in "survival mode" and letting go of things that just aren't as important as being present with my girls. I made a chore chart in the hopes of getting more done around the house, but decided it was too much to handle after the first day. As long as we all have clean clothes to wear and clean dishes to eat off of, that is enough for now. It's not worth it to me to go and go and go all day long cleaning and playing, running, running, running, and then not have any energy left after the kids are in bed to enjoy my down time. So that is where I am at right now. Tired and trying to find balance.

Miss Julia turned 4 months old on Friday. She started out her life as an amazing sleeper, but right at 3 months, that all changed and she started waking up 3-5 times a night. My seasonal allergies started bothering me and it seemed that Julia's nose became constantly stuffy at the same time, causing her to not sleep as well. She teased me a bit on Friday because she slept all night for the first time in over a month, but went back to waking up a lot again every night since. Combine that with the fact that Natalie comes into bed with us in the middle of the night and this mama isn't getting great sleep.

On a more positive note, I just love Julia's little personality. She is so social and smiles whenever you talk to her. She gets bashful and turns her face away as she smiles at you, which is so sweet. She giggles when you tickle her, which has to be one of the best sounds in the world. My heart was full tonight watching Natalie talk to Julia and watching Julia smile and laugh in response. Natalie will tell me, "I want to talk to Julia! Hello, Julia! Hello, Julia! Hello, Julia!" It's like she doesn't know how to have a one-sided conversation with her baby sister just yet, but I love her heart and know they will keep growing closer as they get older. It has always been my prayer that they would be best friends.

Julia rolled over during the middle of the night one time, but hasn't rolled over again since. She has started reaching for toys and anything within her reach, including my hair, which she tries to eat. Not fun for Mama. The similarities between her and Natalie as a baby are uncanny. Both girls have tempers and scream when they are mad, both love being outdoors and calm right down when we head outside, both girls have a strong attachment to me and don't like to be held by anyone else for very long, they both love moving around a lot and standing up on their feet if being held on someone's lap. The Jumperoo has started getting some use, as well as the Bumbo chair, but Julia doesn't generally enjoy being put down for very long. I bought a Lillebaby carrier to use on walks and while out shopping instead of carrying the carseat into the store and Julia and I both love it. She sucks on her fingers or thumb and sometimes falls asleep in it and I love being close to her while still having my hands free to do things with Natalie.

Natalie seems to still be doing well having a baby sister around, but she is still really rough at times. The instant she hears Julia crying or cooing after a nap, Natalie tells me, "Julia awake!!! I wanna talk to her!" and she runs in the nursery to tell her "Hi!". It is so sweet and Julia usually smiles at her through the crib slats. She likes to hand me diapers and take toys away from Julia, which we are working on with her. She is growing into a little girl more every day. Now she helps me unload the dishwasher and wants to get undressed by herself. She has been saying nursery rhymes and little songs during the day and asks me to sing with her. Some of her favorite songs are If You're Happy and You Know It, Apples and Bananas, 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, The Wheels on the Bus, and The B-I-B-L-E. She still eats non-stop and right now especially loves candy-lope (cantaloupe) and trail mix. There is never a dull moment in our home. I just wish I had half the energy she has. Alex's nickname as a child was Taz, and Natalie sure has inherited his energetic ways.

Blog Makeover!

Have you seen my blog's new look? I am so excited about it! My friend, Callie, at Through Clouded Glass blog, generously offered to design a new template for my blog since she is starting her own little business on the side. She knows far more about all that stuff than I do and created something that uses all my favorite colors and captures my personality beautifully.

 I found Callie's blog over 3 years ago when she was expecting her first child and we have become good friends in the years since. She writes honestly about faith and family life and is one of the most thoughtful people I know, so go check her out, make a new friend, and hit her up if you'd like to hire her to give your blog a makeover! Thank you so much, Callie!!!

One Month with Julia

Time really flies when your days consist of juggling the needs of a newborn, a toddler and normal household stuff! I went back to re-read some posts about Natalie at 3 weeks and 2 months and I must say, I'm so thankful that Julia has not had her days and nights mixed up like her big sister did! We still get up about 3 times a night, which is rough enough on poor ol' mom, but thank goodness for nap time! (Natalie is asleep on the hardwood floor at my feet as I type...that's a new one.)

My favorite thing about having Julia in our family is seeing how much Natalie enjoys her. She tells me several times a day that she loves her baby sister and it just melts my heart. Natalie loves "reading" books to her baby sister and tries to keep Layla away from her. After Julia wakes up from a nap, Natalie sometimes says, "Eyes open!". I guess she doesn't know the word "awake" yet, haha. She recently starting giving Julia hugs and kisses before going to bed and then I hold Julia up so she can give Natalie a "kiss", too.

Valentines Day was a bit of a disaster for us this year. We had friends over for dinner and both kids were in bad moods. Julia became hysterical, I think because I waited too long to try and feed her and she got too worked up to calm down. Then I finally got her calmed down enough to eat, and Natalie started acting out. After dinner, Julia started crying hysterically AGAIN, this time because she was fighting sleep. And boy, does she have an ear-piercing "mad" cry. Think nails on a chalkboard. I took her to our bedroom and shut the door while I tried to calm her down, but nothing worked. Finally, I remembered something from a video I'd watched earlier in the day and decided to try swaddling her to help calm her. Our friends were getting ready to leave as I walked out of the bedroom, with tears in my eyes. Of course, Julia would stop screaming and fall asleep as soon as they were gone!

I'm really curious to see what kind of personality Julia has as she gets older. She and Natalie seem so much alike, but I'm sure they will have their differences. They have both liked being held facing outward or up on your shoulder so they can see what is going on around them. Both have tempers, although Julia's has only come out more recently, whereas Natalie showed hers immediately after being born. Julia loves being held...maybe a little too much. She usually wakes up as soon as I try to put her down for a nap any time during the morning. Thankfully, for her afternoon naps, she tends to sleep deeper and longer on her own in the pack n play or her cradle. I love cuddling with her, but I don't want to take away from Natalie and sometimes I feel like I'm depriving Natalie of quality attention because Julia is always in my arms. Julia usually loves the swing, which has been a big lifesaver. Another lifesaver has been my homemade Moby wrap. There have been a few times where Julia was upset and she calmed right down when I wrapped her up in that on my chest. My first and only solo trip to Walmart with both kids necessitated the use of the Moby wrap. I do not look forward to going out alone with them again before Julia is old enough to sit up in a shopping cart or the weather is warm enough to wear her from the car into the store and leave the car seat in the car.

Julia weighs 10 pounds according to our home scale. She gained 14 oz during her first week of life alone! She outgrew her newborn clothes around 2 weeks old and has been wearing size 1 diapers for about 2 weeks. If our cloth diapers fit her now, I'll probably start using them soon. Two kids in cloth should be interesting! I can barely keep up with the laundry as it is! Our poor girl suffers from a lot of gas pains and spits up far more than Natalie ever did. I feel so bad for her. I don't know if it's because of what I'm eating or what, but I wish she didn't have to deal with all that. It's definitely something to talk to the doctor about at her next appointment.

Julia,
      You captured my heart from the start, and I can't imagine life without you. I was worried about bonding and falling in love with another daughter, but it happened so quickly and naturally and for that I am so grateful. You give me such cute little smiles even though I don't think you do it on purpose yet. Everyone says you look like your grandma (my mom) and I agree, although I think you look a lot like your big sister, too. Maybe one of these days you'll start sleeping better at night like you did in the beginning, but until then, I'll try to enjoy our frequent mid-night cuddle sessions because all too soon you will grow up on me. I love you so very much, my sweet girl!

 

Julia's Birth Story

I finally finished writing Julia's birth story, but be forewarned, it's a long one (What can I say? I'm a detail person!). Julia was "due" Saturday, January 11. Even though that day came and went with no signs of labor, I wasn't too terribly antsy about still being pregnant. Everyone at church on Sunday commented about what she was going to come and I'd tell them that I hoped the full moon later that week would bring her. To help pass the time, I sewed a valance for the nursery window using the leftover fabric from the baby quilt my mom is making and worked on cleaning out more of my crafting supplies and the desk from the nursery.

On Wednesday the 15th, I started having very mild cramping throughout the day and was hopeful that it meant real labor was imminent. Early Thursday morning, around 4:30, Natalie climbed into bed with us, once again, but I couldn't stay asleep because more painful contractions kept coming every so often. Finally, around 6:30, I got up because I couldn't sleep and began timing the contractions on Alex's phone using a contraction timer app (gotta love technology!). Because the pain wasn't unbearable yet, I figured it was as good a time as any to finally sew a nursing camisole, so I did that while Natalie ate her breakfast. What else do you do during early labor?! Unlike my labor with Natalie, which was just back labor, I was feeling the contractions in the front and the back. It was really hard for me to find a semi-comfortable position during the pain. They kept coming 2-4 minutes apart, but were only lasting 30-45 seconds (or so I thought). I called my doula, M, and let her know what was going on and cancelled my doctor's appointment that was supposed to have been later that morning. Then I went to the bathroom and saw more evidence that things were progressing. My mom came and picked Natalie up around 10:30. Alex and I tidied the house and then I got in the tub to try to help with the pain. After a while in the tub, I felt like things had slowed down, and I was getting bored, so I got out. Many women find water to be helpful for pain management during labor, but it just seems to slow my labors more than anything.

I had made arrangements for my mother-in-law to pick M up and bring her to our house and she arrived around 1:30 p.m. As she watched me having contractions, she felt my stomach and said the contractions were lasting longer than the 30-45 seconds that I thought they were. I had only been timing the painful part, but my stomach was staying hard longer, making them around a minute long. That was encouraging! Now I felt like we were really getting somewhere. By 2:00, I was having back-to-back contractions that were increasingly painful, so M checked me and I was about 3.5 cm dilated and we decided to head to the hospital. My goal was to labor at home longer than I did with Natalie and avoid getting to the hospital so early that they send me home. No woman wants to make a 45-minute car ride to the hospital more than once! We grabbed a plastic tablecloth and some towels, all our bags, and the infant car seat and headed out. Thankfully, I didn't have as many contractions in the car, so the ride wasn't as awful as I thought it might be. We did have to make a pit-stop at a Dollar General on the way because I kept having to empty my bladder. I just didn't want to have any contractions in front of random strangers because, well, that would be awkward!

When we arrived at the hospital, the L&D wing did not have a clean room for me, so I went to triage for monitoring while they prepared a room. Apparently the full moon had sent a lot of women into labor over the past couple of days and the hospital had been really busy! The monitoring confirmed that I was having strong, regular contractions, but the baby's heart rate was on the fast side, indicating that I needed to breathe more during contractions to ensure she was getting enough oxygen. I was dilated to 4 cm.  We got to a room and I decided to get in the tub again to help manage the pain. When that was no longer helping, I decided to give the shower a try. The hospital has awesome two-person showers with 3 shower heads on each side so that water hits you all over and feels really good when you're in labor. Unfortunately, the water temperature wasn't very warm for very long, and I ended up getting out to warm up and try something else.

M applied counter pressure to my hips while I leaned on Alex during contractions. My dad came by after he got off work around 6 pm and brought me Greek yogurt since I hadn't packed enough food to eat during labor and was hungry and needing energy. Several hours had passed since we'd arrived at the hospital and I was curious to know how much progress I had made, so we asked the nurse to check me. I was at 4.5 cm, just half a centimeter more than I had been 3 hours earlier. I was devastated. I began to cry and laid down on the bed and let it all out. My dad tried to encourage me and then decided to head home and I talked things over with M. We concluded that I had been tensing up my lower body during contractions instead of staying relaxed, which was keeping the contractions from being able to do their job, so I needed to try to stay loose in my hips and legs. After our chat, I got up to go to the bathroom for what seemed like the millionth time and I felt a pop and announced that I thought my water had broken. Sure enough, it had! It was 7:12 pm. This was a new experience for me since I had asked my doctor to break my water with Natalie and made it to 9 cm before he broke it. After my water broke, the nurse had to check me to make sure the baby's umbilical cord was not in the way and that the fluid was clear. I was dilated to 5 cm.

I sat on a birthing ball with M behind me providing that blessed counter pressure for the back labor and Alex in front for me to hold on to. I let my legs rest out in front of me with just my heels on the floor in an effort to keep my lower body relaxed. Sometimes, reclining at the waist and leaning into Alex that way felt better during contractions. It hurt so very badly! Having contractions in my belly was a new experience that I never had with Natalie, and there was nothing that helped take the edge off the pain. Strangely, pain medication was not tempting this time around like it had been with Natalie's labor. Maybe it was because I knew what my options were this time and I didn't want to be groggy from Stadol and didn't want a needle in my spine.

I went back to the bathroom, but felt the urge to push during the next contraction. M said that could be a good sign, indicating that I was "complete", but we would need the nurse to check me to make sure. She and the nurse, Misty, told me not to push, just in case I wasn't fully dilated yet because I could tear my cervix. I was dilated to 8 cm, I think. So, I had made quite a bit of progress since my water had broken and I'd starting staying relaxing my lower body. My doctor came by around 7:45 pm to check on me and said he was going to go eat "lunch", but would be back soon if I needed him. Not too long after he left, I was sitting on the edge of the bed with Alex behind me to lean back on and M sitting in front of me holding my legs, which suddenly felt like lead, too heavy for me to move myself. During one contraction, I'd ask her to keep my legs straight and the next, I'd beg for her to bend them and bring them up like they do when you're pushing. The next thing I know, during a contraction, my uterus takes over and starts pushing for me. I told M that I needed to push, but my body was doing it for me, that I couldn't control it. She got excited and got the nurse, who checked me and confirmed that I was complete! I was ready to push and it was only 8:30 p.m., a little over an hour since my dad had left and my water had broken!

It was all so surreal since I was more alert this time than I was with Natalie. With her labor, I was so exhausted from being awake for 32 hours by the time I started pushing that I was really zoned out. This time, I was tired for sure, but I wasn't falling asleep between contractions, and was more in tune with what was going on. I started out pushing while sitting upright (how I delivered Natalie), but after a while, I felt like I needed to change positions. Someone suggested I get on my hands and knees, so the nurses and M helped move me, but a contraction started halfway through, so I ended up pushing while lying on my side. After the contraction passed, they finished moving me to my hands and knees. I wrapped my arms around Alex's neck to help hold myself up. The doctor had given me two shots of numbing medicine just before I started pushing, and my legs and feet felt tingly like they were asleep. Pushing her out was soooo hard. It hurt like crazy despite the numbing medicine. I screamed for them to just get her out and finally, after 50 minutes of pushing, she was born.  It was 9:25 p.m.

I couldn't see her since I was on my knees still, but they told me she was blue and not breathing because her shoulders had gotten stuck for 2 minutes and that had essentially squished her lungs on the way out. They took her to the warming table and pumped air into her lungs. I kept thinking, "Breathe, Julia! Breathe!" Finally, she cried! What a wonderful noise! Her forehead down to her cheekbones was bruised and her eyes had broken blood vessels from the tight squeeze, but she was perfectly beautiful. After she started pinking up, the nurses laid her on my chest and covered her with a warm blanket to help bring her temperature up. Alex and I discussed what to name her, and I told him that I had been thinking of her as Julia as soon as she was on the warming table. The longer we held her and got to know her, the more we agreed that she was our Julia Kate.

After an hour or so of skin-to-skin time and bonding, the nurses took Julia to be weighed and measured. She weighed 8.0 lbs and was 19.25 inches long. The nurse told me that I wasn't allowed to ever have a bigger baby because of how Julia's shoulders got stuck in my small pelvis and how Natalie needed to be delivered using suction. I had semi-jokingly told Alex during labor that IF we decided to have more kids, we were adopting. Labor was so painful! I couldn't imagine going through it again, even if I chose to get an epidural next time. And after going through natural childbirth twice, I can't really imagine not going natural again because I still feel like it's the best choice for me and our babies. (Now that two weeks have gone by, I think I could do it all again if we do decide to have another baby someday, but I'm in NO hurry!) I had discussed the possibility of going home as soon as possible with my doctor, and he agreed that as long as I was feeling up to it, he would discharge us when we were ready. We arrived home when Julia was exactly 24 hours old. My parents and brother brought Natalie back home to meet us, and Natalie was bouncing off the walls, despite the fact that it was an hour past her bedtime. She held Julia for a second and then had had enough of that. It became clear that she was more than ready for bed, but thankfully, after a good night's sleep, she was happy to see her baby sister again in the morning.

We're adjusting about as well as can be expected. Julia started out as a great sleeper, but has been waking up more frequently during her second week of life. Natalie still climbs in bed with us in the middle of the night every night, which doesn't help with our sleep deprivation. Alex was on vacation last week and worked from home this week. Natalie still seems to be enjoying her sister with very few issues with sibling rivalry. I'm hopeful that she'll learn to be gentle in time. I'm so thankful for friends bringing us meals and not having to worry about planning and prepping dinner. Julia is nursing like a champ and gained a whopping 14 ounces in her first week! One of my close friends took newborn pictures for us, so I can't wait to share those when they're ready! My hormones haven't been nearly as crazy this time as they were with Natalie, so I can say that the transition from one kid to two has been much easier than becoming a parent for the first time, but it is definitely a challenge trying to juggle the kids, housework, sleep deprivation, and self-care. I ventured out of the house by myself with both girls yesterday and well, I am in NO hurry to do that again any time soon! Mercy! It is just exhausting to drag the kids, winter coats, the car seat, and the diaper bag in and out of the car. And add to that a baby who wants to eat every hour and a half to two hours so you end up feeding her in the dressing room at Walmart and you get a shopping trip that lasts much longer than you want it to! So there you have it! Congratulations if you managed to hang in there til the end!

Meet the Newest Member of Our Family!

We welcomed Julia Kate into our family on Thursday, January 16 at 9:25 p.m. She weighed 8.0 lbs and was 19.25 inches long.

We came home the following evening and have been settling in quite wonderfully! I am already so in love with her and can't quite get enough cuddles. Natalie is adjusting to her role as big sister with very little problem. I am so proud of her! Full birth story coming soon!

40 Weeks with Baby #2

This is what 40 weeks looks like! I made it! Now I've officially been pregnant 4 days longer than I was with Natalie and to be honest, it feels really good. Well, good emotionally more than physically. I'm in good spirits, staying busy with house cleaning and sewing. I finished a new nursing cover and am finally almost finished re-covering the glider rocker cushions! Maybe by the end of the day we will have my sewing machine and desk moved out of the nursery?!

 Physically, things have been not so great with all three of us having a 24-hour stomach bug this week. A day of lying on the couch left me feeling really achy. My hips were so sore yesterday morning, but thankfully that eased up after being up and moving around for a few hours. And for weeks now, it has been so hard to roll over in bed! I am looking forward to being able to roll over and stand up without much effort and not having all this weight on my bladder. Yes. I am REALLY looking forward to that!

There is a full moon this week, so I'm hopeful that baby girl will make her grand entrance during that time so that we can finally meet and name her! The baby name book is packed in my hospital bag just in case we need some more inspiration... And can I just say that I am so thankful for Pinterest and it's infinite ideas for newborn photography? I found a super cute idea that I plan to recreate in the hospital. I'm so excited! Well, that's it. 40 weeks seems so surreal! Oh, and since we've moved the nursery, we've done some rearranging in Natalie's room, so I'll post some pics when I finally get around to it!

39 Weeks (Baby #2) & A Trip to the Bounce House

On New Year's Eve, we took Natalie to an inflatables games place for some quality family time. Our plan to feed her lunch and then head out so she would nap in the car during the hour car ride there worked like a charm. Alex stopped to get an oil change first, and she was out by the time it was finished and stayed asleep until we arrived at our destination. Groggy from her nap, it took her a little bit to warm up to the whole idea of the games, but once Alex got her going, she was unstoppable!

 

 She amazed us with how she quickly figured out how to climb the stairs of the inflatable slide all by herself.

 She enjoyed "playing" on the arcade games. I'm very thankful she doesn't yet realize you can put tokens in the games to actually play them and make them move! She was content just pretending to ride them.

 

The face of pure happiness:

After she wore us out (seriously, I was EXHAUSTED from chasing her all over), we took Natalie to Steak 'N' Shake for dinner. She ate every single bite of her food and then "helped" Alex pick out which shake to order.

 She doesn't look impressed, but believe you me, the kid loves her ice cream!

Then she proceeded to eat pretzels and water on the way home and an entire apple when we got home. Little piggy had worked up an appetite after all that playing! We had such a great time!

It's hard to believe that our time with one child is coming to a close. It has been easy to steal snuggles lately since Natalie hasn't been feeling well and wants to be held a lot. Between stomach bugs, sinus congestion, and coughs, our family has been fighting illness on and off since October. I do not want to bring the new baby home to a house full of sickness! I've been dealing with sinus issues since the week before Christmas!

On Saturday, when I turned 39 weeks pregnant, I decided I needed to go ahead and take another belly photo. Bathroom selfies are the "in" thing, right? So, I decided, why not join the bathroom selfie club and snap a picture? Not so easy. One look in the grimy mirror and I started cleaning the bathroom. It needed to be done anyway. Never mind that it was 11 pm!

Natalie came 4 days before her estimated due date, which would be today, if this baby had chosen to follow big sister's footsteps. I'm glad that baby #2 has decided to stay warm and cozy right where she is considering that it is currently 9 degrees outside and our street is a sheet of ice. Tomorrow's high is 40 degrees, so she is welcome to come once the ice melts!

My symptoms have stayed the same. Frequent heartburn, energy that comes and goes, my legs often feel like lead and I get tired easily, no more than 3 Braxton Hicks contractions a day, very minimal swelling of my hands and feet. Baby is still moving around like she has all kinds of room in there. I don't quite know how she's managing that, but I'm enjoying feeling her on the inside while I still can.

With the weather being so cold and icy, Alex worked from home yesterday and I got a TON of cleaning done around the house. Maybe that was my "burst of energy" before going into labor? Not sure how soon before labor you usually get that burst, so who knows. We rearranged some of Natalie's bedroom furniture to make room for a play tent, I vacuumed most of the house, did quite a few loads of laundry, scrubbed some floors, dusted the living room, took a nap, and made dinner. I don't think there's much more to be done before we bring our baby girl home, and if it's not done at this point, I really don't care if it gets done. Life will go on! Besides, I'd rather enjoy time with Natalie than be busy cleaning during her every waking moment right now!