Heidi's Teepee

When I was pregnant we decided that with a new baby on the way, it was time to get Heidi a big girl bed and get her crib ready for the new baby. Unfortunately, no matter how many cool beds we looked at, Heidi was not buying it. She really didn't want to move out of her crib. She would act really sad whenever we talked about it and would plead with us to maybe let her and the new baby share a crib. This broke our heart. So we decided we needed to get creative. One day I was looking at a restoration hardware catalog and noticed they had the cutest teepees. I showed them to Heidi and she instantly fell in love and started begging for a teepee. So I talked to Austin about it and we both decided that this might be the way to get Heidi out of her crib. So we ordered one. We ended up getting one custom made from a company called Banana J Creations in Australia. We would have gone with the restoration hardware one, but it wasn't big enough for her crib mattress. The one fits her crib mattress easily inside and is even big enough to go over a twin bed later on if we want. It was a little pricey after shipping all the way from Australia, but Heidi adores her teepee and has long since forgotten about her crib. Her room is still a work in progress but we really love this addition and so does she! I especially love the twinkle lights. Makes her room so romantic!

Two Weeks Of Indie Scarlett

Indiana is 2 weeks old. I forgot how quickly time goes when you are severely sleep deprived and drugged up all the time (c-section narcotics!). 

Here is a little Indiana update:

Girl loves to cuddle. She is not a huge fan of being put down. I am starting to put her in her crib for naps and while she is slowly learning to accept the fact that this is where I expect her to sleep, she much prefers my arms and chest. I can't blame her, I am equally a fan of our cuddle sessions, however, I know this is not something I can keep up long term (carrying her 24/7). So I am following the old adage: "Start as you mean to go on" and trying to get her comfortable in her crib, before I start a habit that will be emotionally traumatizing to break later on. We are on a 3 hour cycle so far. This consists of feeding her, trying to play with her, watching and waiting for drowsy signs, and then taking her up to her crib, cuddling with her just a little bit until I see her starting to doze and then putting her in her crib (drowsy, but not all the way asleep). About half the time she will go straight to sleep, but the other half she will start to fuss. I give her about 5-10 minutes of fussing to see if she will settle by herself before I go in and comfort her and most of the time she will, but occasionally she will get hysterical and start screaming. I always laugh to myself when she is hysterical but as soon as I pick her up she takes one deep breath and calms down. All she wants is mama. Its a little sad, but I have to keep reminding myself she will be a much happier baby overall if I give her the gift of learning good sleeping habits. 

She is still very sleepy and I'm pretty sure she has her days and nights mixed up. During the day between naps it is difficult to get her wide awake. Even when she is hungry she rarely has enough energy to throw a proper fit, its always just mild fussing. As soon as I put the nipple in her mouth she is soothed and it isn't long before her eyes are closed and she is breathing deeply. During the night. however, she is much more alert between feedings. I remember in the womb she was most active at night, around 11-2 and this is still true today. Its a little rough in the middle of the night when she is so alert and I'm waiting for her to get drowsy, but I'm hanging in there. When I'm desperate I just bring her back into bed with me or prop her in her stroller bassinet in my room. I'm hoping that this process will reverse as she gets older, the only advice I've been able to find so far is to make sure she stays on her 3 hour schedule during the day, that way her longest stretches can be at night. Its surprisingly hard to mind the clock and not to push a feeding out 15 - 30 minutes when she is happy asleep and I'm busy doing something, but it will be worth it if it fixes this day/night confusion. 

Indiana has had a couple baths now and I'm happy to say she doesn't appear to mind them as much as most newborns do. She is relatively calm throughout which is great because I've been doing them in the sink which is always a little tricky. Can't be bothered to get that giant baby bath tub out of storage in the garage. 

I'm pretty sure Indie has her daddy's mouth/lips. I love it because they look super pouty when she is sleeping and makes for the cutest photos. Austin has a great smile so I'm hoping she gets that too. When I compare photos of Heidi and Indie as newborns I don't see alot of similarities, but one thing I do see in common are their super expressive facial expressions. Many a picture has been ruined by grumpy looking facial expressions, most commonly by a furrowed brow. I've been told that I wear my heart on my sleeve too, so I guess they are getting that from me. 

Well thats it for now. Check back in soon! 

The Birth of my Second Child

I am happy to announce that our second daughter has arrived! I am currently almost two weeks postpartum and finally able to sit down and write about her. 

Indiana Scarlett arrived by scheduled C-section on September 23rd at 2:30 p.m. weighing 7 lbs 1 oz and measuring 19 1/2 inches long. I know every mother thinks their child is adorable, but Indie is seriously the cutest newborn I have ever seen! We are head over heels for her. 

I didn't get to take any quality photos of Indie in the hospital because I was in too much pain to even think about picking up my camera, but I do have a couple of cell phone shots from those first few days. 

Gorgeous, right?

The Drs said my surgery went well, but this c-section was so much harder for me than my first. Their idea of pain management was quite different from my last c-section and didn't give me nearly enough drugs to keep me comfortable. So that was kind of a bummer, but the pain has gotten better now so I'm happy about that. They said I hardly lost any blood which is great because I was really worried about that with my anemia. 

The next day we had Austin's mom bring Heidi to the hospital to meet her baby sister. Heidi didn't know why she was going to the hospital, only that we had a surprise for her. When she got to our room the first thing she noticed was that her grandma Gigi was there. She excitedly assumed this was her surprise and ran across the room to give her a hug. When she turned around she noticed I was holding something. "Is that baby Indie?" she asked excitedly. When I told her yes, the first words out of her mouth were "She is sooo pretty! She is sooo cute!" and then she asked if she could sing Indie a lullaby. After that she lost interest and started asking to play with the Iphones of every single person in the hospital room. 

Even though I was in alot of pain we were in a hurry to get out of the hospital, so we asked if we could leave after the mandatory 2 day stay and our wish was granted and home we went! 

I'm not gonna lie, the weeks following my c-section births have been some of the hardest of my life, but it is so worth it. I don't know why they say that we are the weaker sex because it definitely does not seem that way after all that we endure during childbirth and the weeks thereafter. This phase of parenthood is brutal! But it is also so sweet. Indiana is such a cuddler. She does not like to be far from me! Somehow she can tell even if I am more than a few feet away from her. I try putting her in a bassinet next to my bed and she wont have it! She wants to be either right next to me or on top of me. Now that I know how fast this phase goes I'm finding it much harder to put her down and let her have some space. This girl is practically glued to me! I kind of love it, but also a little worried about creating habits that will be hard to reverse later on. I never thought I could ever co-sleep but I have to admit she has been sleeping in our bed. What am I doing?! Losing my mind over here! Now if you'll excuse me I have a newborn to cuddle with :-)

Indiana's Nursery Reveal!

Just a little while longer and this darling nursery will be home to my little Indiana! 

We are super excited and I am so ready to get this baby out. This pregnancy has been so much different from Heidi's. While I have had way more aches and pains this pregnancy, I think I enjoyed it more overall. Having been pregnant before, I'm much better at reassuring myself that it will be over soon and things will go back to normal. Plus, I know what I have to look forward to.

Some pregnancy ailments I have experienced thus far: morning sickness (stopped at 12 weeks thank goodness), leg falling out of  hip socket leaving me temporarily paralyzed (too much relaxin!), constant heavy pressure/soreness down there, hip/leg/foot/calf/back/shoulder cramps at least once a day, sciatica, anemia followed by 3 day-long hospital iron transfusions, heartburn, and worst of all - frequent painful contractions/cramping throughout third trimester. I think some of these symptoms may be related to dehydration and the baby sucking up all my nutrients. I've heard that dehydration can increase contractions and leg cramps, but it feels like I drink and drink and still get them - which makes me think that I just don't have the minerals I need to properly hydrate. So I've been trying Coconut Water,  taking Magnesium supplements, and Evergreen to try to help. I notice the biggest difference with Evergreen and Magnesium. 

Heidi's pregnancy, on the other hand, was pretty routine. Yes I had morning sickness and heartburn, and a little sciatica, but it was nothing like this one. This one has been way more uncomfortable and I'm not sure why. I haven't gotten pre-eclampsia yet like I did with Heidi though, so I guess I should be grateful. 

My biggest pregnancy craving so far has been sweets - I have made more chocolate chip cookies in this pregnancy than I have in all my previous years of existence combined. I think I have finally perfected my recipe! Chocolate cake has been a favorite as well. Apart from sweets I've craved orange juice, french bread and butter, tomato sandwiches (sliced tomato, fresh ground salt and pepper, mayo on sourdough toast), tangy homemade potato salad, and fish n chips. I'd love to know what all these cravings mean. It feels like nothing tastes the same when you are pregnant and all your favorite foods become non appealing, and then all of the sudden something unusual that you normally wouldn't be interested in tastes amazing. Is it your body's way of trying to get something its lacking? I wonder! 

Indiana is the name we've chosen for her. We will call her "Indie" for short. But I love both.

Other top contenders were: Navy, Scarlett, Calise, and Sloane. We haven't decided on a middle name yet so we may use one these. 

Thats it for now. I will definitely be posting more now that sweet little Indie will be here soon! So stay tuned :)

 P.S. Did you know Jellycat makes security blankets? I love everything Jellycat! That owl hanging on the dresser is a Jellycat musical pull too, but it doesn't quite fit on my crib so I need to extend the belt. Super cute though! 

Botanical Gardens in June

Haven't bothered with my camera for quite some time. 

I think I need to start taking it with me again! I forgot how fun it is! 

Babe Update

thats right.

 we're having a she!

13 Week Ultrasound Photos

My ultrasound tech was so not into guessing gender this early. Anyone else want to take a stab?

Its Official!

Three

Three. She's three now. I think shes officially out of the baby stage, possibly even the toddler stage. She seems a full on child these days - talking, tricycle-riding, questioning every facet of the known world. Her days are filled with much more complicated tasks than her yesteryears. In place of learning to walk, talk, and feed herself are new endeavors - cat taming, mothering a small orphanage of lost stuffed animals, and sword fighting her father.

As much as it is exhausting some days, I know I will miss this when she is grown. There is so much cuteness in this house my little heart could just burst some days.

In other news, we have decided to try for number 2! Hoping it won't take too long to conceive. Heidi happened right away so hopefully we will have the same luck this time. Wish us baby dust ! :)

Little Healer

My daughter - she is so sweet! Even though I'm the parent and technically the one who is supposed to be imparting good values, I am surprised by how often I feel like she is reminding me of whats important. My little girl is full of love and compassion. As her mama I get to enjoy hugs, cuddles, and kisses all day long, but more than that, she appears to genuinely care about others. Of course, she does squabble and fight with other two year olds from time to time, but when it comes to her family she is very in tune with other's feelings and is quick to take up the role of healer when someone is sad.

The other day we made a special trip to specific grocery store to find our favorite brand of jam. When we got to the jam and bread aisle, I discovered that they had stopped carrying it. I wasn't pleased and Heidi could tell.

 "Whats wrong mommy?" she asked, visibly concerned from her baby seat in the grocery cart.

 "They're out of our jam!" I answered with my best frowny face.

"Oh nooooo!!" she exclaimed and put her hand on my arm and slowly started to rub it in a reassuring manner."Its ok mommy... Its ok" and she just kept rubbing. 

Nearby a middle aged hispanic woman's draw dropped. "I raised 6 six kids and none of them ever did that to me." 

It isn't uncommon for her to take one of our sighs or sniffles when we are tired or sick as a clear indicator that we are upset. Sometimes I forget that she is constantly watching and paying attention to us and am genuinely surprised when she says "Mommy are you ok? Mommy are you crying?" And even though I will answer her "No, I'm just tired baby" or "No, I'm just sick" she still responds with "Oh, its ok mommy! when we get home I will go in the kitchen and get you something to make you feel better!" 

Maybe its because nurturing others is not something that comes easily to me, but I find her ability to be so aware of people inspiring. I think she is going to be very special. I think her love for others will make her shine throughout her life. I can't wait to see how she uses it.