*Our ice maker broke. All other days I probably wouldn't mind too much, but for a pregnant lady who loves ice and has been super hot lately ice is what I want. (Sunday, August 21st)--- It started working again on it's own a week after we welcomed H into our lives. It scared me to hear the water run and the ice fall. When I told Jeremy, he thought I got someone to come out and fix it without him knowing.
*Our lock on the door to the garage/house decided to get stuck so we couldn't close the door. Jeremy had to replace the entire lock. (Wednesday, August 24th and Thursday, August 25th)
*Lincoln had the hand, foot and mouth virus which gave him bumps around his mouth. I was super worried about him giving it to the baby if she came early. He must have picked it up at church on Sunday morning, Sunday evening (small group) or Wednesday evening. (Saturday, August 27th we saw bumps-- no fever)
*Our washer died so we ended up having to purchase a new one and got a dryer to go with it. It would be delivered 2 days before the due date. (Sunday, August 28th it died- purchased a new appliances on Tuesday the 30th and they were delivered September 3rd)
*My uncle passed away so we had the viewing and funeral for him. (Monday, August 29th, Tuesday, August 30th, and Wednesday, August 31st)
*Dr. G was pretty convinced I'd go into labor and have the baby early Friday morning. We packed a bag and prepared to go... but nothing. Jeremy even rented a camera lens. He truly had me convinced, but maybe that was wishful thinking on his part so he wouldn't miss out on his Labor Day weekend plans at the lake. (Thursday, September 1st and Friday, September 2nd)
*Jeremy cooked (instead of defrosted) a biscuit in the microwave that smelled up the house for days. (Monday, September 5th)
*I had contractions for about 3 hours in the middle of the night from 3-6 AM, but they calmed down once I got up for the day. I must have been dehydrated from the busy Labor Day celebration (4 family b-day parties and swimming) from the day before. (Tuesday, September 6th)
*Our front door bolt decided to also get stuck so we couldn't open the door. I had to walk around the house to sign for the camera lenses when the FedEx lady came. Jeff tried to fix it but said it needed to be replaced. (I noticed it doing weird things on Friday, September 2nd but it wouldn't open at all on Monday, September 5th... Jeremy bought a new one and fixed it Saturday, September 10th)
*I tried to call the doc Tuesday, September 6th to make an appointment with Dr. G since I hadn't made one due to thinking I would have a child by now. The mailbox was full or the office was closed when I called, so I gave up. I called again the next day and I got one for 12:30. When I neared Athens, I got a call saying he was delivering a baby that they needed to move my appointment until 1:45. I goofed around Athens and then went to Jana's house. Then I got another call saying that it needed to be moved to 2:45. I got to the office at 2:45 and waited until after 4 and they said he may still be another 30 minutes. In the meantime, Jeremy had a wreck (with the car seats in there), lost his wedding ring (found it when he went back to the car the next day), and possibly totaled the car (yep it was totaled) so I left the doctor. They checked my blood pressure, weight and I went to the bathroom in a cup before I left though and they told me to call back again Friday if I hadn't gone into labor. (Wednesday, September 7th)
*I had contractions Friday morning starting around 6 and I was convinced she was going to come. I called and made an appointment for 11:30 since that was when Dr. G was coming in. I packed the car and prepared everything as if we were going to be admitted to the hospital, just in case. I even got Jeremy to come back from work (borrowing Daddy's truck) so he could go with me, again just in case. Well, the contractions stopped and weren't as painful by the time I got to the appointment. We scheduled to be induced on Monday at 12 if I didn't go into labor before then since Monday would make me a week overdue. Dr. G thought I might go into labor over the weekend (and I found out later that he told the nurses to expect me.) I felt bad for taking Jeremy away from work, but I was glad he was at the appointment with me since we made the induction decision. We even had a nice lunch out together. (Friday, September 9th)
*Saturday, I had some major cramping and the contractions were not fun during the day. (Saturday, September 10th)
The fun begins:
(This is a detailed account of her birth... read if desired.... If not, skip down to the "First Days at Home" section.
(This is a detailed account of her birth... read if desired.... If not, skip down to the "First Days at Home" section.
Monday, September 12- Jeremy went to work in the morning to finish a few more things. He came home around 10:30 or so and we packed up the car then Cindy came over to keep L. We then headed towards Athens (with a quick trip to Chick-fil-a). We got to the hospital right at 12. We got all checked in and got settled in a room around 12:30 or 1. A nurse (Donna) came in to get some info, draw some blood, and hook me up to the baby heart monitors and IVs. I was still only 3 cm, 30% effaced and my cervix was still posterior. Around 2:00 Donna was about to hook me up to the pitocin but got called out for an emergency (a pregnant lady came in who was 23 weeks along but going into labor). I didn't realize it at the time, but that meant I lost my nurse. Dr. G came in about 2:15-2:30 and told me they couldn't do the induction today because I didn't have a nurse. The nurse would have to monitor me once I had the pitocin so because I didn't have a nurse, I couldn't be monitored. He originally said I could come back tomorrow, but then he started thinking and said I could actually stay if I wanted since I was already prepped with the IVs and such. He talked about how I could do something called cervidil at the shift change. I hadn't ever heard of it, but he explained how it would work and that due to the small contractions I was already experiencing there was a good chance I would go into labor from. He also said that if I didn't go into labor then they would start me on pitocin in the morning, which is the normal protocol for someone who is using cervidil. We decided to stay since I was hooked up and because there was a chance if we left we could be bumped in the morning. We then settled in for a very boring afternoon as we were stuck at the hospital. I watched more television that day than I had watched in probably the previous six months while Jeremy played around on his computer. After a while he got a little stir crazy and went out to get some food for dinner and we shared a triple dipper. Ansley, Jeremy's cousin, was working at the hospital and when she got off at 6, she came by to hang out while we were eating.
Shift change happened at 7. I got to meet the new nurses, whom I really enjoyed (Natasha/Tasha, Monica, and Christine). One of them, Christine was supposed to leave at 11, but she ended up sticking around since things got a little crazy around the time she was supposed to leave. Around 8, they prepped me for the cervidil and gave it to me. Around 8:30 the contractions became more regular and intense though bearable. By 9 the contractions were becoming painful to the point where I was having a hard time talking through them. I kept trying to be "strong" but some of the contractions were pretty rough and we decided the pain meds were a good idea when we met with the nurse around 9:15. They gave me the pain meds (demerol) and immediately after it got in my system I felt like I was flying. This was around 9:30 and while the demerol didn't make the pain go away completely they did help me care a little less about it.
Around 9:45 they came in to put me on 1000 mL of fluids in preparation for the epidural I would get. Around 10:15 they came back to a put a blood pressure cuff on the bag in order to increase the flow of the saline due to the fact the anesthesiologist was on the floor and he wanted to go ahead and give me the epidural. During the night shift the hospital has two anesthesiologists on call but they are based in the ER for the night so if an emergency comes up you may not get one of them up to Labor and Delivery for a while. The nurses said he was really good, so I was glad I was going to get to have him do the epidural. Jeremy and I both think it was the same guy who gave me the epidural when I was in labor with Lincoln. The fluids made me super cold so I asked Jeremy to put some socks on my feet. Around 10:45 as the last of the fluids were flowing into me, I felt a rush of liquid around my rump and I said, "Either I just went to the bathroom on myself or my water broke!" I pressed the nurses button on the bed and told them that and they said they would be right there. They came fairly quickly, and also brought the stuff to finish prepping for the epidural. Initially they didn't bother looking at the liquid but were more focused on getting the prep for the epidural done. They asked me to move to the edge of the bed in between contractions, which at this point were wracking my body in pain, and Jeremy asked them to look at the fluid because he said if I moved I would spill liquid all over the bed.
At this point the nurse looked at the liquid, confirmed that it was my water and put towels down to soak up as much as was possible. They put a new mat underneath me and helped me sit up on the edge of the bed. By this time the anesthesiologist had entered the room and was ready to prep my back and insert the needle into my spine. They made Jeremy sit in a chair off to my left facing me so he couldn't see the needle go into my back as many people pass out watching the procedure done since he was up on our wing. While trying to sit as still as possible I started having another contraction and the nurse held me still. They had me stand up again to move and yet another contraction froze me in a standing position clutching the nurse until it passed. The nurses were reminding me to breathe in and out as he was doing the epidural. I remained still and as the doctor finished up, I made a comment about how I felt like I needed to push. They asked me not to. Even though I was probably squirmy (and had to hug a pillow to keep me from focusing on the pain from the contractions), he was able to do his job. Once the epidural line was run the nurse asked me to lay back down. Once I was laying down again the socks came off because by then I was sweating. I asked how long it would take the epidural to take affect and they informed me that full effects would not be felt until about 15-20 minutes after it was administered. The nurse then checked and said I was now anterior and almost at 10. She left to call Dr. G. Unknown to me at the time, the doctors have to live within a certain radius of the hospital and I'm glad he lives that close (around 10 minutes away) because right as he came in the door, they checked again and I was fully at 10 cm ready to push. A part I didn't know (that Jeremy told me later) was that the epidural pump wasn't activated until the anesthesiologist came back later to check on me. Its effects could be felt in left leg but my right side still felt normal. A short time after I delivered the epidural would take full effect.
When Dr. Goggin got there, he asked if I wanted to go ahead and push even though the epidural hadn't fully kicked in. I told him I did. I pushed in sets of 3-4 for about 10 seconds each and she was out after about 4. She arrived at 11:47 PM. Throughout all the pushing I kept making comments about how I sounded like a horse because after I'd breathe and push, I'd blow out which made my lips vibrate like a horse. I kept joking about how that must be better than me biting or cussing at the nurses.
Some of the first comments as she was being born were about her head of hair and about how big she was. Many hospitals have changed some of the way they care for babies in the first few hours. Even though I had Lincoln two years ago, some of the procedures were different. At Athens Regional, the mother has skin to skin time with the baby for the first hour after the baby is born. Then the "stork nurse" comes to do footprints, weigh and take measurements of the baby. They wanted to know her weight so bad they put her on the scale first just so we would know the weight- 9 pounds 5 ounces... Later we found out that she was 20 3/4 inches long.
I was moved to another bed and wheeled to my new room for the duration of my stay. Through the night, nurses came to check on me and I hardly slept at all because I was having some bad cramping/contractions since they put me on pitocin after I delivered. Jeremy slept pretty soundly though.
My hospital stay was short. Since she was born at night, we were there only 1 full day for visiting. Miriam was the first to arrive (with Chick-fil-a biscuits) Tuesday morning. Then the grandparents, great-grandparents and other friends/family started to show up. Right before lunch, a technician came in and gave H her first bath. She kept coughing up stuff and the technician sucked some mucus out of her throat with the nasal aspirator. H then fell asleep during the last part of the bath. We had a few coughing/gagging episodes at the hospital, but she finally got the mucus out and was good. I was even able to experience the hearing test this time since they do many of the things in the room instead of in the nursery like they did with L. It was really neat to watch them put headphones on her and see how her brain reacted to the noises. She passed the test in both ears! Nurses and visitors continued to come in and out through the day. Cindy brought L around lunch time so he could meet his new sister but after a few glances at her he was finished and ready to move on to something else (and he was ready for a nap). He didn't want to get a picture with her so that was sad, but understandable. Jeremy went with my family to lunch (Your Pie) while Cindy and Jeff hung out with us. A person came and took pictures of H during this time too. That evening Jeremy went to Taqueria Tsunami with his dad to get us dinner. During my stay, visitors even included the nurses from labor and delivery which was very kind. We got discharged the next morning. I was glad to be going home because I knew I would sleep better there. It was also good to be back home with L but then it also makes me sad because I'm not able to do everything right now. Rest is vital to healing quickly.
Around 9:45 they came in to put me on 1000 mL of fluids in preparation for the epidural I would get. Around 10:15 they came back to a put a blood pressure cuff on the bag in order to increase the flow of the saline due to the fact the anesthesiologist was on the floor and he wanted to go ahead and give me the epidural. During the night shift the hospital has two anesthesiologists on call but they are based in the ER for the night so if an emergency comes up you may not get one of them up to Labor and Delivery for a while. The nurses said he was really good, so I was glad I was going to get to have him do the epidural. Jeremy and I both think it was the same guy who gave me the epidural when I was in labor with Lincoln. The fluids made me super cold so I asked Jeremy to put some socks on my feet. Around 10:45 as the last of the fluids were flowing into me, I felt a rush of liquid around my rump and I said, "Either I just went to the bathroom on myself or my water broke!" I pressed the nurses button on the bed and told them that and they said they would be right there. They came fairly quickly, and also brought the stuff to finish prepping for the epidural. Initially they didn't bother looking at the liquid but were more focused on getting the prep for the epidural done. They asked me to move to the edge of the bed in between contractions, which at this point were wracking my body in pain, and Jeremy asked them to look at the fluid because he said if I moved I would spill liquid all over the bed.
At this point the nurse looked at the liquid, confirmed that it was my water and put towels down to soak up as much as was possible. They put a new mat underneath me and helped me sit up on the edge of the bed. By this time the anesthesiologist had entered the room and was ready to prep my back and insert the needle into my spine. They made Jeremy sit in a chair off to my left facing me so he couldn't see the needle go into my back as many people pass out watching the procedure done since he was up on our wing. While trying to sit as still as possible I started having another contraction and the nurse held me still. They had me stand up again to move and yet another contraction froze me in a standing position clutching the nurse until it passed. The nurses were reminding me to breathe in and out as he was doing the epidural. I remained still and as the doctor finished up, I made a comment about how I felt like I needed to push. They asked me not to. Even though I was probably squirmy (and had to hug a pillow to keep me from focusing on the pain from the contractions), he was able to do his job. Once the epidural line was run the nurse asked me to lay back down. Once I was laying down again the socks came off because by then I was sweating. I asked how long it would take the epidural to take affect and they informed me that full effects would not be felt until about 15-20 minutes after it was administered. The nurse then checked and said I was now anterior and almost at 10. She left to call Dr. G. Unknown to me at the time, the doctors have to live within a certain radius of the hospital and I'm glad he lives that close (around 10 minutes away) because right as he came in the door, they checked again and I was fully at 10 cm ready to push. A part I didn't know (that Jeremy told me later) was that the epidural pump wasn't activated until the anesthesiologist came back later to check on me. Its effects could be felt in left leg but my right side still felt normal. A short time after I delivered the epidural would take full effect.
When Dr. Goggin got there, he asked if I wanted to go ahead and push even though the epidural hadn't fully kicked in. I told him I did. I pushed in sets of 3-4 for about 10 seconds each and she was out after about 4. She arrived at 11:47 PM. Throughout all the pushing I kept making comments about how I sounded like a horse because after I'd breathe and push, I'd blow out which made my lips vibrate like a horse. I kept joking about how that must be better than me biting or cussing at the nurses.
Some of the first comments as she was being born were about her head of hair and about how big she was. Many hospitals have changed some of the way they care for babies in the first few hours. Even though I had Lincoln two years ago, some of the procedures were different. At Athens Regional, the mother has skin to skin time with the baby for the first hour after the baby is born. Then the "stork nurse" comes to do footprints, weigh and take measurements of the baby. They wanted to know her weight so bad they put her on the scale first just so we would know the weight- 9 pounds 5 ounces... Later we found out that she was 20 3/4 inches long.
I was moved to another bed and wheeled to my new room for the duration of my stay. Through the night, nurses came to check on me and I hardly slept at all because I was having some bad cramping/contractions since they put me on pitocin after I delivered. Jeremy slept pretty soundly though.
My hospital stay was short. Since she was born at night, we were there only 1 full day for visiting. Miriam was the first to arrive (with Chick-fil-a biscuits) Tuesday morning. Then the grandparents, great-grandparents and other friends/family started to show up. Right before lunch, a technician came in and gave H her first bath. She kept coughing up stuff and the technician sucked some mucus out of her throat with the nasal aspirator. H then fell asleep during the last part of the bath. We had a few coughing/gagging episodes at the hospital, but she finally got the mucus out and was good. I was even able to experience the hearing test this time since they do many of the things in the room instead of in the nursery like they did with L. It was really neat to watch them put headphones on her and see how her brain reacted to the noises. She passed the test in both ears! Nurses and visitors continued to come in and out through the day. Cindy brought L around lunch time so he could meet his new sister but after a few glances at her he was finished and ready to move on to something else (and he was ready for a nap). He didn't want to get a picture with her so that was sad, but understandable. Jeremy went with my family to lunch (Your Pie) while Cindy and Jeff hung out with us. A person came and took pictures of H during this time too. That evening Jeremy went to Taqueria Tsunami with his dad to get us dinner. During my stay, visitors even included the nurses from labor and delivery which was very kind. We got discharged the next morning. I was glad to be going home because I knew I would sleep better there. It was also good to be back home with L but then it also makes me sad because I'm not able to do everything right now. Rest is vital to healing quickly.
First Days at Home
Our sweet girl slept a lot of the first few days and nights. I was even a little worried she was sleeping too much because she didn't really wake up during the night to eat. Her third night being home she decided she would enjoy a tasty treat here and there through the night. Her appetite is so much different than L because she takes her time and falls asleep while eating EVERY time. I've tried stripping her down to her diaper, massaging her cheek/near her ear, and quite a few other things but she still wants to sleep after a few sips.
One thing I wondered about was how L would do with her. He loves her already. He is constantly asking to hold her, he brings books and wants to read to her, he brings her toys, he wants to turn on the swing, he wants to carry the Boppy for me, and he's always asking about "Bebe" whenever he doesn't see her. He will even give her the paci when she's crying/when it's out of her mouth, but there are other times he takes her paci and puts it in his mouth then runs away to hide. Due to his recent hand, foot, and mouth virus I've been boiling pacis quite a bit because he puts them in his mouth. One day while Jeremy and L went to the school to print some things for L's party, I started boiling some pacis. I told myself I was just going to sit down for a few minutes and work on a Shutterfly book and then go get the pacis from the pot. Well, I definitely forgot and a while later I smelled something weird. By the time I realized what the smell was, the plastic parts of the paci were already melted to the pan. Woops. I told Jeremy he shouldn't leave me at home again. haha
We went to her first pediatrician appointment and left him at home with Mam-ma but he was so sad when he realized he didn't get to go with us. Her first doctors appointment (Friday, September 16- 3 1/2 days old) went well. She went down to 8 lbs 8.5 oz from her 9 lbs 5 oz birth weight and 9 lb hospital weight after about 12-13 hours of being alive. We went back to the pediatrician Friday, September 23rd as well and she was back up to 9 lbs 2.5 oz. and they say she should be back up to her birth weight by the time she is two weeks old, so she was on track to be there. L got really sad when we left him at home with CiCi when we went to the pediatrician the second time. He has gotten used to Jeremy being home and doing everything as a family because we've done lots together the past few weeks. Jeremy got to be home for two weeks so that allowed me to rest a little. Jeremy got to spend a lot of time with L (playing, shopping...). However, we know it will be a huge adjustment once he's back at work. When Jeremy left that first day back, L cried and cried. It made me tear up because he's loved his time with his daddy.
Jeremy made a comment about how it just seems right having two kids. It feels good. I sometimes miss the ease of having one kid because going places seemed a lot easier (well maybe it's because we are operating on one car right now too). I used to be afraid to go places with L because I didn't want him to cause a scene, but that makes me laugh now because it's inevitable for someone to be sad the more children you have. We are super thankful H is here. It is so exciting to have a little girl around. It is fun to dress her and put headbands on her. L gets concerned if she doesn't have a headband on her head.
We went to her first pediatrician appointment and left him at home with Mam-ma but he was so sad when he realized he didn't get to go with us. Her first doctors appointment (Friday, September 16- 3 1/2 days old) went well. She went down to 8 lbs 8.5 oz from her 9 lbs 5 oz birth weight and 9 lb hospital weight after about 12-13 hours of being alive. We went back to the pediatrician Friday, September 23rd as well and she was back up to 9 lbs 2.5 oz. and they say she should be back up to her birth weight by the time she is two weeks old, so she was on track to be there. L got really sad when we left him at home with CiCi when we went to the pediatrician the second time. He has gotten used to Jeremy being home and doing everything as a family because we've done lots together the past few weeks. Jeremy got to be home for two weeks so that allowed me to rest a little. Jeremy got to spend a lot of time with L (playing, shopping...). However, we know it will be a huge adjustment once he's back at work. When Jeremy left that first day back, L cried and cried. It made me tear up because he's loved his time with his daddy.
Jeremy made a comment about how it just seems right having two kids. It feels good. I sometimes miss the ease of having one kid because going places seemed a lot easier (well maybe it's because we are operating on one car right now too). I used to be afraid to go places with L because I didn't want him to cause a scene, but that makes me laugh now because it's inevitable for someone to be sad the more children you have. We are super thankful H is here. It is so exciting to have a little girl around. It is fun to dress her and put headbands on her. L gets concerned if she doesn't have a headband on her head.
By week two, she's on more of a "normal" eating schedule (every 2-3 hours) during the day and at night. When she is hungry she cries and if she cries long enough the motorboat/engine sound gets going which sounds just like L when he was small. She is also like a little woodpecker and I say it's like she's doing a little mating dance with her face/nose/mouth as she starts to eat. It's hilarious even though that's probably TMI. So far she's a great baby too. I'm thankful she doesn't mind sleeping because I am still super tired.
She was awake almost all of L's birthday party (at almost 2 weeks old) and enjoyed being held and observing everything. Her legs seem pretty strong as she kicks around. She doesn't mind tummy time either, which is a great thing. We started giving her a paci from the beginning and that's definitely different than how we were with L. I wanted to hold off on that with him but finally gave in. She is a lot like him and is soothed by it. She'll stick her thumb in her mouth if she doesn't have her paci near.
We haven't had any really crazy diaper stories like we had at this point with L. We've only had one or two messy diapers get on her clothes and only one instance where she wet and it went up her back (just like L- and it was right before going to the pediatrician just like his instance too). The other story is when she was almost 2 1/2 weeks old, I was changing her diaper on my parent's couch because I knew I could change her fast and didn't want to get out the changing pad. Well, that was a mistake because she started pooping as I was changing her. It ended up squirting out on the couch and on my shorts. GROSS! Then as I was cleaning that up, I smelled L and he had a messy diaper so I got to deal with that nasty diaper too. Jeremy came in about 5 minutes later and I just laughed because he seems to always come in right AFTER crazy instances where I want to pull out my hair.
At almost 3 weeks, she went to our small group with us and was wonderful. She slept most of the time, then ate and then went back to sleep while K. Moody was holding her. The next day, she went to her first restaurant at 3 weeks (Rafferty's- with Pam-pa, Mam-ma, Daphne, Miriam, me, and L) and slept most of the time there and back too.
She's having more control with her eyes as she looks at things. She will stare at things for an extended amount of time too. It's impressive to see the changes that have taken place over the past 3 weeks. She makes all kinds of noises (and snores) when she sleeps which keeps Jeremy up sometimes. H also loves to be held and seems to fall right asleep when she gets picked up (when she's crying). L doesn't know what to do if she's crying in the car. He gets really quiet. She's usually really good in the car (unless she's hungry). She's already pretty strong with her neck too. She can turn her head to the right and to the left even when she's on her stomach.
It's been quite an adjustment from 1-2. A few friends have asked me recently about the adjustment and the difference between 1 and 2. L seems to keep getting into things while I'm feeding H. I've definitely had to figure out that part and it's still a work in progress. I've decided (at the start of week 3) that I will not feed her in our bedroom or in the living room because those are places he seems to get into things. I thought being in the living room would be good because he'd be around his toys, but instead he seems to want to jump on the couch, stand on the hearth, or throw the fall decorations (pumpkins). If we are in the bedroom, he wants to turn on the pump, jump on the bed, and go in the bathroom where there's a whole host of things he can get into. Instead, I decided I would feed her in his room since there aren't many things he "shouldn't do" in there. Other than the feeding part, there have been some other challenging aspects. L is so used to all the attention. He's used to me doing things with him when he wants to so that's been hard. There are times he wants to go outside, but then H is crying or sleeping if it's not time for her to eat. I've taken her outside, wore her in the wrap, taken a monitor outside, cracked the door, and done a variety of things but I don't want to neglect her or him if they aren't in the same place. L is so loving around her, but he is also doesn't understand that she is not big like him. He doesn't understand that she can't play and that he has to be gentle with her. She's gotten toys tossed to her and has even gotten loved on a little too hard (he sometimes tries to lay his head on her). It's crazy to see how much bigger he is. I am constantly on guard to make sure she is safe around him. If I'm in the kitchen, I have to watch him to make sure he doesn't do anything crazy while she's in her swing too. We've taught him how to turn it on and only press certain buttons so it doesn't go super fast, but there are times I see her rocking at super-sonic speeds and have to slow it down. He's always concerned about her when she's crying and he wants her to be part of what we are doing, but then he does want me to play with him without her too. How do you split yourself? There are times when both of them want to eat at the same time and my multi-tasking abilities aren't always the best. Sometimes I also want to eat (and know I NEED to eat or drink some water) or need to go to the bathroom but they are "crying" for my attention at the same time and I'm at a loss. Since I'm not good at holding children on my left side, it's super hard to try to eat and hold her. It's in these times I want to scream, other times I want to give up because I don't have the patience, but then there are other times I just take a deep breath and push forward. I often feel my heart beating faster, my blood pressure rise, and sweat beads form but I know I'm not the first mother that is experiencing these things. I know we will get through this and make the adjustment. I've definitely been thankful for visitors and family that have come by because that helps break up the day and makes it easier for making it through the day (especially long days where Jeremy has a funeral/wedding to work or something else going on at school/church).
October 4th (3 weeks after H was born) I had my first day where I did everything from 7 AM until 8:00 PM and I even warmed up a meal someone prepared for us and gave L a bath before putting him to bed. I also was able to take a nap during the afternoon so that helped me survive too. L only threw a few fits and they were mostly because I made him come in the house from outside. H wanted to be held all day too so that made it even more challenging, but we made it! I look back and think about how easy life was with just a newborn even though I probably thought that was challenging since everything was new.
October 9-12: (about 4 weeks old) I took H on her first beach trip with Lincoln, my mom, and the Robinson family. She did great in the car, at night, on the beach, at the zoo, and at the blue angels practice session. I was super worried about going and kept wanting to back out, but in the end I'm glad we went.
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