Friday, March 30, 2012

Little Treasures




Three weeks and one day have passed since I became the lucky mommy of two little girls.


How is that possible? Time moves by so fast and no matter how hard I drag my feet in the dirt, it's not slowing down.


And this one! She says some of the funniest and craziest things and has the biggest personality that will fit in her little body. I frequently tell both my lovies how much I love them and I'm surprised they haven't drowned in all my kisses yet.


Amelia put herself down for a nap on the couch the other day. I just helped cover her with her blanket. I cracked up while watching her fall asleep, then marveled at how lovely she truly is, especially while sleeping. ;-)


And I love snuggling with Alyssa in the new Moby Wrap. She hates her carseat and I bought this the day we ventured to the grocery store for the first time as a foursome. She cried for a few minutes in the store but then fell asleep in it. I'm getting really good at putting her in it and tonight she fell asleep within five minutes.


But my greatest treasures, are these two and Elliott. As long as I had Elliott, Amelia, and Alyssa with me, I know I could face anything.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Please Welcome...

I'm sure a lot of you are wondering the same thing. Did she have that baby yet? Why yes, yes I have. :-)

At my 38 week doctor's appointment we talked about induction dates because though I was progressing roughly a cm a week I still wasn't having regular contractions. Then I told my doc I thought I was leaking fluid which launched a whole other thing and he said at my 36 week scan my fluid was borderline high and was worried about my water breaking randomly. So we set the date for March 8, at 7 in the morning. I was a little disappointed because I really wanted to go on my own because I was also induced a week late with Amelia, but not disappointed because I was going to meet my babe a week early!

Lovely right? We got to labor and delivery at 6:45am and the nurses told us they weren't ready for us yet and to wait in the waiting room. We got up there at 6:50 and waited. Waited. Two couples came in after us and went right in. Good thing I wasn't in labor. Then I called on the phone that gets you to the nurses' station and the night nurses didn't tell the day nurses we were out there. No biggie, this was going to be a great day! They got us set up in bed and got my IV going with pitocin (I was having contractions, but not regular) and my doctor came in and broke my water about 8ish. Joked with me about how he almost wore his leather jacket that I once dreamed he wore to one of my appointments, then everyone left us to our thing. 8 to about 10am was a breeze, then my contractions started getting way stronger and I was feeling them in my back and that's when I told Elliott I'd like my epidural. My nurse came in and ordered it for me.

The anesthesiologist came in and asked me some questions, one question was "how tall are you?" I told him 5'2, and that I married a tall guy so my kids would have a chance. Elliott is well over 6'2. He laughed and said his wife didn't get so lucky since he was on the shorter side. It was all a good time until the actual epidural part. With Amelia my epidural wasn't painful at all, with this one he had to reposition it once, so I had to get it twice. I had the most awful pain shoot down my right hip both times. It was a mix between metallic pain and pressure. It made me shake and I wanted to pull away so bad but sat still. The nurse made Elliott sit in front of me when what I really needed was for him to stand up so I could lean into him. Whatever, the nurse went from strange to batty to rude by the end, and I have no idea why.

After my epidural was finally in everything was numb from my belly down and everything was so itchy! But then I had a band on my lower belly where I could still feel each contraction. After rolling around and getting repositioned I was so tired and took a nap. About 12:30pm my nurse came in and asked how I was, I told her I felt some pressure but was still feeling really good. She said she would just check me real fast and from the impression I got she didn't expect me to be much further than the 3-4 cm I was before my epidural, especially since when she checked me she said, "I'll be damned, you're ready." Elliott then rushed out of the bathroom to be with me and text my mom who was watching Amelia for us that it was about time. The nurse set everything up before she called my doc and got me in the stirrups. I was so nauseous and I hate throwing up but Elliott came to my rescue with a cool wash cloth and ice chips which helped a ton! He was such a steady rock for me through all of this, just as he was with Amelia's birth.

The doc came in and said, "oh, look at all that hair. Looks like another red head." All I could do was laugh. With everything in place, the nurse telling me when to push (because I really could feel nothing) our little baby was out in five pushes.

Alyssa Jane was born at 1:12pm at 8 lbs even and 20 1/2 inches long. Her ears were slicked to the side of her head with a head full of red hair. Amelia was about 5-6 months old before she had that much hair. Who, if you were curious, was 8.5 lbs and 20 inches long at 40 weeks 6 days.

She has Elliott's ears, eyes, nose, chin, fingers, and toes and my legs. I was mostly just the carrier for this babe, but I'm alright with that. :-)

Birth is such an amazing experience, and though I wouldn't want to do it everyday I still enjoyed both of my experiences.

Amelia loves being a big sister and is always kissing Alyssa and asking to hold her. She is also a great binky holder/putter backer.

Daddy (who is Alyssa's twin for sure) is in love with his two little girls and has taken on a lot of the morning chores so mommy can sleep a little longer.

And mommy is in love too. Who knew you could love two just as much as you loved one? A heart knows no boundaries.

We all couldn't be happier. More rested yes, but we're all still smiling.