Adventures in La La Land

Well, folks, believe it or not Miss Lena is one week old today! It does not seem like 7 days since I was in that hospital bed giving birth! Crazy. So I'm going to break this down into 4 parts: Lena, My Recovery, Breastfeeding, and Anxiety. A lot of it is just for my records, so feel free to skim. :-) Lena (and a little bit of Lucy :-)) She is amazing. I'm pretty sure I could just watch her sleep all day. She has been such an easy baby. *knock on wood!* I still can't believe how easily she caught onto breastfeeding, and she has been an incredible sleeper since day one! The first night home, she was up every hour and a half wanting to eat, and wouldn't sleep anywhere but on my chest. The next day, I put her in the Rock N' Play during the day and she slept for a solid 4 hours, so I decided to try that at night. Wow. Now I get why that thing gets such rave reviews! (Yes, I know it's been recalled, but it was just because moisture can get stuck in the folds and ...

Part one - the actual birth story - is below. Here are some more details. While the nurses were working on Lena, the doctor was finishing up with me. I felt the placenta come out - something I didn't experience with Lucy. But I purposely did not look at it. Haha. Gross. Then I waited anxiously to hear if I tore. Having just delivered a baby 3 oz. short of 9 lbs who came out totally sideways, I was pretty nervous. You can imagine my surprise (and immense relief!) when the doctor said I didn't tear at all !! Praise the Lord! After we were both checked out, Lena and I got to do skin to skin and attempt nursing for the first time. My breastfeeding experience with Lucy was not ideal - especially those first few days/weeks. She could not  figure out the latch so it was frustrating and exhausting for both of us. So I was amazed  when Lena rooted around for a minute, then latched right on and sucked like a pro!! More on that later. Finally, they gave her a bath and let Justin h...

I go back and read Lucy's birth story so often and have been looking forward to writing Lena's for months! So excited to finally have the opportunity!! If you know me at all, this next line is a no-brainer, but you know . . . it's going to be long! Haha. And consider yourself forewarned that it's semi-graphic. Wednesday was my due date. I stayed up late Tuesday night re-reading my blog entries about Lucy's first 6 months of life and getting so excited to meet the little one who'd been using me as a punching bag for months! That night I dreamed about giving birth all night. I woke up Wednesday morning at 8:05 to Lucy an inch away from my face saying, "I want to watch a movie on your computer." I got her settled in bed next to me with my laptop and fell back to sleep. At 8:21, I was woken up by the worst contraction I'd had to date. I thought to myself, "Wow! That one really hurt," checked the time on my phone and went back to sleep...

Now that she's here and you all know her name, I can share the details. We really didn't set out to find another 4 letter L name. I actually kind of wanted to avoid it. Now that I have Lucy and Lena, I feel like the next baby will be getting the shaft if we don't stick with that theme. But Lena was the only name Justin and I both really liked. So there you have it. Here are the weekly clues explained: 1. Combination of 2 family member's names. This one was tricky because one of them is a family member most of you don't know. Haha. Justin's Grandma's name is Le ora and his mom's name is Don na . Combined: Lena! Also, she shares a middle name with Justin's mom (Kay). 2. In the book Deeply Devoted, the main character had a baby named Lina. We changed the spelling to honor Justin's grandma. 3. The actress from a show that I used to love but isn't on anymore is Lena Olin from Alias. :-) (She played Irina - Sydney's mom.) 4. The social ...

10. I'm starting to itch. She needs to pop out before I get PUPPS again. 9. I'm getting dangerously close to 180 lbs. Actually that was as of my appointment last Wednesday. I might have hit it by now. 8. My fingers are swelling so much, I'm going to have to have my rings cut off soon or they're going to cut off my circulation! 7. If she stays in there much longer, she's going to be so big she's not going to fit in all the adorable newborn outfits I have for her. (Not to mention the box of newborn diapers!) 6. I'm not going to be able to keep her name a secret much longer. (Especially since Lucy knows it now . . .) 5. We are spending way too much money on fast food because I never cook anymore. 4. Justin's dad is leaving for a month-long work trip/vacation to the Gulf Coast/Florida on Saturday! 3. I have to do laundry way too often because half of Lucy's underwear is packed in her "go bag." 2. I don't think my skin can st...

1. I'm pretty sure I could eat restaurant food every day of my life and not get sick of it. Last night I really wanted Trini's and this morning the Big Boy breakfast buffet is sounding amazing. Too bad we're not made of money. 2. I'm sure you've seen this on facebook, but I want to record it here too. Lucy and I had a much needed play-date with Kelly and Presley yesterday. Kelly and I sat on the couch stuffing our faces with cinnamon rolls while the girls ran in and out of Lucy's bedroom playing. Eventually Kelly said, "They're being very quiet in there . . ." Never a good sign. We went in to find this: Haha. Fishy is well-fed! I'm not complaining if that's the worst of their antics. 3. This is going to be a TMI point. Feel free to skip it. These are the things I did to induce labor this week: Ate steak, ate pizza, bounced on a yoga ball, had a dance party with Lucy, did the hot washcloth trick, had sex, and used my breast pump - tha...

Still just 3 cm, made it up to 90% effaced, -2 station. Only gained 2 lbs! Whew! Although that officially puts me up 40 lbs total. I gained 42 with Lucy. Better hurry up and pop this baby out before I exceed that! My blood pressure was a tiny bit high for me - it's still in the normal range for most people, but higher than my usual. When I mentioned I've been having headaches, she sent me to the lab for bloodwork, and said I'd have the results by "this afternoon" - whatever that means. She said if there's any concern at all in the bloodwork, they'll get me in for an induction, but I'm not counting on it. I begged and pleaded for her to induce me, but she said we have to wait 'til my due date. And of course she didn't have any appointments available on my actual due date (Wednesday), so my next appointment ins't until Thursday. Really hoping I don't make it that far, but I'm starting to think I'm going to. We'll do an u...

I was really hoping I wouldn't make it to this post. I shouldn't even say that, though, because I'm going to be even more depressed when I have to write a 40 week post! Haha. Baby is the size of a watermelon this week. Oy. How far along?  39 weeks Total weight loss/gain : + 2 lbs, +40 lbs total! Maternity clothes?  Only a few left that actually fit. Sleep :Hit or miss. I usually sleep pretty well. One night this week I was up for 2 hours in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. Last night, I took a sleeping pill because I wanted to avoid that. Slept like a rock for almost 10 hours!  Best moment this week : Finding out my step-grandma thinks I dress too immodestly for a pregnant woman and should be sewing my own clothes if I can't find appropriate ones in the store. Lol!  Movement : I don't understand how she moves as much as she does. I'm pretty sure her head is engaged in my pelvis, but her body is still twisting around like crazy.  ...

1. Lucy spelled "mom" this week. I told her how to spell it weeks ago, but we seriously haven't talked about it since then. The other day, we were playing with her V-Tech letter game and talking about how M is for Mommy. Out of the blue she said, "M-O-M. Mommy." I teared up. Lol. She can do "Dad" too. And she counted to 13 this week. I didn't know she knew any numbers past 10! Haha. 2. The sticker chart has been working wonders for getting her to go potty and brush her teeth every morning and evening. Although I'm realizing why I didn't enforce tooth brushing. It's really annoying. It takes forever. Those teeth are all going to fall out anyway, right? Haha. 3. This is a Lucy heavy update, but she's just been so cute lately! A couple weeks ago she started pointing out all my freckles, calling them "owies." I explained that they're freckles and she'll probably have some someday. One day this week I noticed she ha...

You thought my belly looked gross at 35 weeks? Check it out now at 38: That thing in front of my belly is the doorknob, not my belly button. Haha.  Bam! Hello! I give you my permission to show these pictures to your teenage daughters as a precaution against unsafe sex! Lol.

Baby is the size of a pumpkin week. That cracks me up.   Had my 38 week appointment today: 3 centimeters, 80% effaced. Up from almost 3 cm and 70% effaced at my appt. 5 days ago. The doctor stripped my membranes today, so hopefully that'll move things along. Although that was 2 hours ago and I'm still not feeling much. Blurg. How far along?  38 weeks - are we done yet? Total weight loss/gain : +3 lbs since last Friday. Ha! +38 lbs total. I hit 175 - which is what I was the day I delivered Lucy. Time to have this baby!! Maternity clothes? Obviously. Sleep :Ok. Sweating like a hog again. It really hurts to roll over (RLP). She likes to move a lot when I'm trying to sleep.  Best moment this week : Finding out I'm making progress.  Movement : I actually think she's slowed down in the past few days. I know that's normal in this stage of the game since she's getting so low, but it makes me kind of nervous. Food cravings : Sweets sweets sweets Food a...

Is today Saturday? I've been so confused about my days this week. Haha. 1. We had a splendid New Year's Eve. We were supposed to spend it with our small group, but the hosts ended up in the hospital with their one year old who had RSV and Broncholitis (or something like that - I don't remember the exact spelling)! We went to Niki's party instead and had a blast stuffing our faces and playing some awesome games - well, I did. Justin mostly just watched football. :-) 2. Since then, I feel like my life has been consumed by this pregnancy and wondering if every little twinge means labor. I hit 37 weeks on Wednesday, and despite the fact that I went overdue with Lucy and know with every practical bone in my body that it's very unlikely I'll deliver early, I still think I'm going to. Haha. 3. Last night after my internal, I was feeling pretty uncomfortable, having a few minor contractions, and bleeding. I was sure I'd be up all night with painful contrac...

I had my much awaited 37 week appointment today. Got my lovely Group B Strep test, and then she checked me: almost 3 cm and 70% effaced!! Woohoo! I know, I know - that could mean nothing. I could walk around like this for 3 more weeks. But I'm so encouraged that my body is doing something  and all the cervix pain and Braxton Hicks are worth it. Speaking of BH, I decided to time them last night. They came every 2 minutes like clockwork for over an hour. My doctor said that doesn't really mean anything unless they become so painful I can't talk through them, but again, my body is doing something. Come on, Baby!!! Let's do this!!!!!! *Edi t* Forgot to mention: I gained 5 lbs in 2 weeks. Yay, Christmas and New Year's! Haha. I have 3 lbs to go before I reach my 40 week weight with Lucy. Here's hoping I don't pass that! +35 lbs total this pregnancy.

Baby is the size of a winter melon this week, whatever that is. They're having a hard time coming up with produce big enough! Haha.  How far along?  37 weeks - full term! Total weight loss/gain : + 5 lbs in the past 2 weeks. +35 lbs total. Maternity clothes?  Yep - growing out of them. Sleep : Better than last week. I don't know what that was about. Still in a lot of pain. I have to sleep on my side, but then my opposite side hurts from the weight of my belly pulling forward. So I sleep with a pillow between my knees and wedged under my belly. I really take up a lot of room in our bed. Haha. Best moment this week : Making it to full term!! Movement : Alll the time. She's getting restless and flipping from side to side.  Food cravings : Reese's PB cups. Mmmmmm.  Food aversions : Vegetables. ;-)  Gender : GIRL!!! Labor Signs : Still lots of Bra xton Hicks and cervi x pain. The latter really takes my breath away and leaves me doubled over in pain....

2012 was a pretty exciting year for us. We had some big changes, some traumatic experiences, many opportunities to see God provide for us, and many blessings. Here's a quick recap. - I lost our 3rd baby on Justin's birthday - January 24.  - My boss got a new job and the hours at my nanny job changed drastically. - Justin took up running: he did a 15K in March and the 5/3rd Riverbank Run in May.  - Lucy turned 2 and learned and grew sooooo much in one year! - She also did a fair amount of puking. Haha. - I found out I was pregnant with baby #4 on May 16 - 5 days after Lucy's birthday. - I planted a garden for the first time (with my dad's help). - We had an uncharacteristically hot summer and didn't harvest much.  - My van died and my mom gave us hers for free! - Justin's car had all kinds of trouble. We put a lot of money into it! - I discovered www.plainchicken.com and tried all kinds of new, wonderful recipes. - Justin and I both had j...