End of April 2014

I'd love to say that we are starting to get into a routine now that she is 2 weeks old but HA! not even close.  Still making it through moment by moment and not venturing out very much at all.  Poor Max must be bored.  He certainly is getting more iPad and TV time than I would like.  I thought he got a lot at the end of my pregnancy because I didn't have any energy.  Sheesh - he beats that amount now.  I try not to think about it because it makes me feel like a bad parent and I remind myself it won't be like this forever.  If I need to let him have more screen time for a few weeks (or months) in the long run it won't hurt him and it will help me make it through this phase...

Cuddling with dad in the morning while on the iPad (and while Mom and Dad try to get just a little more sleep).

She joined us in bed too that morning so I could hold the binky in until she went to sleep.  I was too tired to keep getting up and putting it back in when she was in the crib.

Naked tummy time (trying to give her bum some air and let her work her neck muscles at the same time) 

She's not a fan

I'm holding up the cloth diaper in case she decides to poop - that stuff SHOOTS out like nothing I've seen before.

Momma and Maxwell

He loves doing the silly faces

We went to the hospital to get her PKU screening done.  It was so nice to walk back in there.  I looked longingly at the babies being cared for in the nursery and the long hall way that led to heaven (its got cloud on the ceiling coincidentally) AKA the maternity ward.  

Then I stopped by my OBGYN's office for a follow up visit.  She commented on how much weight I've lost so far and said I was melting away - yeah, that felt good.  Then she asked if I was eating...I said sometimes.  It's hard to find time to eat let alone brush my teeth or shower.  She said no wonder I was losing so much and then chastised me for not eating more - yeah, that didn't feel as good.  She cleared me to drive and also to lift Max a little - like just onto the big toilet but not into bed or the high chair etc.  It's a good thing Max is big enough to climb into his high chair, the car, etc.  I walked the furthest yet today!  I  feel all proud and then an hour or so later the pain hits and I am reminded that I am still healing.

Lots of sleeping pics since that's what she does 98% of the time unless she's screaming to be fed.

He got close enough, for a second, for a picture!

Took Emmalyn in for her 2 week checkup on 4/30/14.  This was her first time at the pediatrician's.  Typically babies go in for a checkup 2 days after they leave the hospital but because she was already gaining back weight before we left the hospital, her doctor said we didn't need to come in.  (I was happy to being able to avoid going out two days after going home however when the time came I thought I would have preferred going in just to have the reassurance that she was doing okay because I worried about everything with her being a newborn.)

It was my first time driving so I was super cautious.  It was also the first time I had carried the baby in her car seat.  I hate those carriers.  They are so awkward for me to carry since I'm so short!

I had a ton of questions for the doctor about things like her baby acne, diaper rash,etc.  You would think that she was my first baby.

The doctor saw that I had mascara on and commented that things must be going okay with the new baby because I had makeup on (apparently he uses this as a sort of gauge).  I didn't correct him and tell him that I had a brutal night the last night and I was up with Emmalyn until 4:30 in the morning and then just a little over an hour later, Max was up.  And I didn't clarify that I just had mascara on, nothing else and that was only on because it was a new type of mascara I just got and I wanted to try it out.  I just let him go ahead and think that we were doing okay...and truthfully we ARE probably doing okay but it just is tough!!

She puts her hand up to her binky like this.  You'd think that she was keeping it in - - nope, it doesn't help keep it in at all. :(

Here's her stats from her 2 week visit:

Weight: 7 lbs 8.5 oz, 31st Percentile

Height: 19 1/2 Inches, 11th Percentile (he was slightly concerned about this but I wasn't...this is exactly where Max was at this point)

Head: 14 inches, 52nd Percentile

Here are Max's stats from his 2nd week visit...
Weight - 7 lbs 10.5 oz (20th Percentile)
Height - 19.5 inches (12th Percentile - yikes, I hope he doesn't have my height genes!)
Head - 35.75 (24th Percentile)

Cute outfit but she swims in it.  Right now only the newborn clothes fit.  The clothes that are 0-3 months are too big! (and forget even putting on pants or bloomers!)

Giving daddy kisses or trying to eat his face?

Emmalyn at 2 weeks old:

• We have to watch out for her poops.  She commonly goes when we are changing her diaper and if you aren't careful, you will be pooped on.
• I give her the binky more than I would like but now that I have two kids to keep happy, there are times that I just need her to be satisfied so I can help Maxwell
• She is SO QUICK to get mad when she's hungry
• I don't feel like she has much of the newborn cry which is so sweet, her cries are piercing and dreadful to hear...they make my blood pulse instantly
• She still has a little bit of newborn rash and today, baby acne showed up on her face
• She hates it when her arms are being swaddled but calms down when it's over
• She loves to have her hands up by her face when she is being held
• She has pretty fingers that are so long and dainty
• Max thought her umbilical cord was a penis.  :) He still calls her "he" or "him".
• She is able to sleep through the noise of our house no problem.  We haven't used the white noise machine or humidifier with her yet and we had by this point with Max.
• She is starting to get a little diaper rash.  I had no idea babies could get it this soon!  :(  I haven't done anything differently with her compared to Max and he didn't get it for months.

Max

• He wants to sleep with everything, all at once.  He wants to sleep with each blanket, each stuffed animal, and now it's extended to other objects.  For example if he's been playing with a certain toy airplane, he will ask if the airplane can sleep with him.  Most of the time we are able to get away with the object just "watching him" from his dresser.  He wants his chapstick, sunglasses, headbands, hat, balls,etc to sleep with him.  If we let him sleep with everything, it would be pretty crowded in his bed.  :)  As it is, he takes his pillow, blankets, and stuffed animals and piles them all up under his head or sleeps on top of them.

Time to go home!

(I'm blogging late at night while watching TV...Peter is working on some contract programming work...Maxwell is sleeping in his bed...Emmalyn is laying on the couch next to me, sleeping.  Life is GOOD!  I am grateful for my family.  I am also grateful for moments to myself!)

4/17/14
Great big sigh - the day had come to leave the hospital. I will miss the great snacks...especially the ice cream and Popsicles.  I will miss having people get me water 24-7.  I will miss being able to have help with the baby at the push of a button (or get a break from her too).  I will miss the alone time I have been able to enjoy with Peter.  I will miss the fantastic nurses who have been so compassionate, warm, friendly, helpful, and loving to me and my family.  It's so weird because they have played such important roles in this important life event and when I leave the hospital, or when their shift ended, the relationship ends.  There have been a few that we have really connected with and had great conversations with.  I know they probably do that every day with many of their patients so maybe for them it isn't quite as special as it is for me.  I would have liked to have found a way to offer them to continue to be in our lives (maybe via facebook?) without it being weird or them feeling obligated if they didn't feel the connection that I did.  But alas, I am too shy or self conscious to even bring up the subject.  There WAS one of Emmalyn's nurses, Jennifer, that absolutely loved her and I could tell she always hoped that we would ask her to take Emmalyn to the nursery so she could take care of her.  I called her one morning before her shift ended and awkwardly (at least it felt awkward to me) said that we had really enjoyed meeting her and appreciated the way she took care of Emmalyn and if she wanted, would love to stay connected on Facebook.  I told her she could find look up my name and then sort of left it in her hands.  (She sent me a friend request later that day!  I wish I would have had the balls to do that with a couple of the other nurses.)

Things I won't miss... the "public" style toilet in the bathroom, my tailbone hurting from the way I was sitting in the hospital bed, certain bossy nurses with an awesome accent telling me what to do, having to state my name and birth date each time I take a pain pill, running out of space on the little table thingy, feeling wasteful because they brought us iced tea with every meal that we never touched, being away from Max and not being able to cuddle with him in the morning and put him to bed at night.

We took a couple pictures with Emmalyn that were like pictures we took with Max so that we could compare them later.  Here's the post with those pics - click here.

Picture like one we took with Max

Trying to buckle this little baby into that big car seat.

All ready to go in her "going home outfit" - thanks Tida for the cute dress!

That's the toy Maxwell gave her 

Another picture like one we took with Max

All packed up and leaving!

We made it home!  (I sat in the front seat on the way home - I knew she'd be okay back there without me)

I was pretty emotional today, about everything.  We got my pain med prescription filled a little later in the day so that didn't help because I was in more pain than I needed to be.  I was having to over-articulate my words because I could hear myself slurring my words (didn't realize until later that it was a result of the meds).

Such a little bum.  

Look at how different her skin tone is compared to mine.

My new home was basically stuck on the couch surrounded by pillows and nursing pillows and my water.

First time sleeping in her crib.  She is a great sleeper.  She wakes up only to eat and then falls asleep towards the end of nursing and pretty much stays asleep - she sleeps hard and nothing disturbs her.

I went in to check on Maxwell when he was napping and teared up because he looked so sweet and I had missed him so much.

...Then the breakdown happened...

Getting my carpets cleaned had been on my "to-do" list forever but I never got around to it.  I had finally called a company while we were in the hospital and because it was the week before Easter they were basically booked.  He said that they could fit me in on Thursday afternoon.  I figured that would be okay because it was the day we were coming home from the hospital and we should be around in the afternoon.  I did NOT think this through thoroughly.  So the guys came over late that afternoon and cleaned the carpets.  I took the baby to the guest bedroom since we weren't getting the carpets cleaned in there.  The carpets looked great after they left but unfortunately everything was wet and smelled like the cleaner they used - which wasn't a bad smell but it still smelled a little chemically.  

After they left it quickly hit me what a bad idea it was to have them come today.  I couldn't really be anywhere else in our part of the house because it was all wet and I didn't think it was good for the baby to be breathing the chemicals.  I escaped, with Max, over to Chris and Mary Ann's next door.  I just showed up on their doorstep, with my 2 kids, and asked to hang out over there (while crying of course).  They welcomed us in and immediately started taking care of me.  I rested on the couch while they got Max some dinner and held the baby.  Then after Max ate, he went upstairs and played with the "boys" (Chris and their son Jared).  They were so sweet.  While Max was playing upstairs, he had an accident and wet his pants.  I was MORTIFIED!  My son had NEVER had an accident like that.  Of course, they were so nice about it and didn't seemed phased by it but I felt so bad.  Here I crash their house and hijack their evening and then my son wets his pants and they have to take care of it?  Ugh.  And I couldn't do anything about it.  Peter came and picked up Max when it was time to go to bed.  I stayed for a little bit longer and ate dinner with them.  I will forever be grateful for their friendship toward me on this day.  I felt completely broken and overwhelmed with being home and having to take care of everything topped with the inability to be in my home due to my stupid decision to have the carpets cleaned - and they opened their arms and just took care of me.

Chris loved holding her

That night, Emmalyn and I slept in the guest bedroom (Peter slept in our room).  She slept in the pack-n-play and I called Peter on his phone in the middle of the night when I needed him to bring her to me to eat.  I felt that it would not be healthy for her to spend a night sleeping in our master bedroom above the wet floor breathing in the chemicals.  It certainly wasn't how I visioned our first night at home.  Sometimes in my focused drive to get things done I lose sight of the bigger picture.  I need to work on this flaw!

Maxwell was happy to have us home but he wasn't completely un-phased by the new "normal".  He had a total of accidents today.  Not just little leaked-in-his-underwear accidents...real full-on accidents.  I don't think he had 3 accidents in the last 2 months let alone in one day!!!  This is what many people warned me about... bring home a new baby and your potty-trained toddler will revert.

4th day in the hospital

4/16/14

Last full day in the hospital.  Boy was I glad I stayed this extra day.  I feel like being in the hospital today really made a big difference in my healing as well as getting past the engorgement stage in nursing.

My friend and co-worker Sarah came up and visited us.  She was so sweet and brought me some flowers.

Max was having a great time at home - he didn't even miss us during this time.  Britt did a great job of keeping him happy and his life was pretty "normal" because Peter went home and put him in bed every night.

That night, Max came back up again for a visit.

Emmalyn with the toy Max gave her (I realized it's a cow, not a giraffe)

Look at all that hair!

My flowers.  These sat basically at the foot of my bed and brought me joy all day at night.  I LOVE fresh flowers.  Kimberly's arrangement was replaced by the florist with the arrangement with the red bow because most of the flowers were wilting already and I called to find out if that was normal (they said it wasn't). 

Video - Sometimes she can't decide what mood she's in.  :)

Girl time while Daddy was at home putting Max to bed.

Peter's "spot" for the last few days

Peter was pretty happy to use the gloves when he put the meds on my skin that was irritated by the adhesive.

We checked in on our baby during our late night walk in the halls - she's the bassinet on the left.  We sent her to the nursery every night and it was great!  We knew she was well taken care of.  

My recovery has really gone so much better than last time.  I am getting up and moving around much better.  I only walked like a complete hunchback for a short time.  I'm moving much faster and able to get in and out of bed better, with less help and less pain.  I am so glad we stayed this extra day.  The extra day for my body to heal before we go back to "real" life with toys to pick up, PB & J sandwiches to make, laundry to fold, etc...  really made a difference in my recovery.