3 weeks old!

We had a pretty hard week. I had laryngitis and a super nasty cough and Max seemed extra emotional. Not a good combination. It didn't help that the weather wasn't great, so we couldn't use outside as our escape. We are hoping for a better week next week. We are settling into having a family of 4 and I'm super excited to see what the coming months bring. Lauren gets cuter every day and we are loving having her in our family. She is starting to be more alert and interested in what's going on. She rarely cries, not even during bathtime (her umbilical cord hasn't fallen out yet so we are stuck with sponge baths! what's up with that?). Max is very sweet to his sister and always tells her he loves her when it's time for bed. I'm excited to see what their relationship is like.

Already 3 weeks old!

 Sadly, I usually only get my camera out when I want to take pictures of Lauren when she's a week older. That's why they are wearing the same clothes in every picture. We also had a family pizza picnic on Friday night. It was lots of fun!

St. Patty's Day

Green pancakes for St. Patrick's Day breakfast

I'm not super creative when it comes to holidays, but we did have a festive breakfast. This post is mostly to show off my stinkin cute my little boy and his handsome dad.

Thanks for the bowtie aunt Maurine!

I just love them!

2 weeks old

Here are a few things about Lauren at 2 weeks:
*7 lbs 5 oz and 21 inches long at 2 week appointment. Back to birth weight. She isn't gaining great, but she lost a lot of weight at the hospital.
*She is definitely long and skinny. Most newborn outfits don't fit her in the arms or legs, but perfectly around the middle.
*She sleeps really good at night, with 4 hour stretches between feedings I don't feel so tired all the time.
*I love watching her spontaneous smiles and occasional chuckles.
*Nursing has been a struggle but we are getting the hang of it.
*Her neck is getting stronger and she actually does pretty well on her stomach. She turns her head both ways.

1st week

2nd week

I didn't think Max and Lauren looked like each other until I looked at these pictures. Max is 1 month old, but probably the same size as Lauren. Do they look alike?

I love snuggling with Lauren, it's my favorite thing of the day. I especially love when I can snuggle with her while Max sits next to me and we read books. Snuggling with 2 kids is the best! Sadly, George has been sick the day Lauren was born and now I've got the same illness. It stinks! I hope it doesn't last long and that the kids don't get sick too.
The transition from 1 to 2 kids has been rough! Last week, emotions were all over the place. I kept feeling like Max hated me for having another child. He loves his little sister, but he was acting so defiant to George and I. I was so bad at choosing my battles which made everything a battle. Luckily, the weather was so nice that we were able to get out of the house and walk to the park almost everyday. By the end of the week I felt like we were adjusting to life. Max still acts like a 2 year old and his emotions go haywire for no apparent reason, but I feel like we have an understanding. I'm not so uptight and he gets to be my extra special helper. I've tried to make him more involved with Lauren and make time to do things with him. It's amazing what just 5 minutes will do! There is still room for improvement but we are on the upswing.

Much needed dad/son date to Provo Beach Resort

We've had our fair share of tears, but also so much happiness and laughter. I didn't realize how grown up Max is and I'm starting to appreciate the little things he does. He communicates really well and comes up with the silliest things. His imagination is really starting to come out and I love to see what he comes up with. His memory is amazing and he can recall things that he doesn't know much about.

Max loves to make sculptures

I feel like I'm starting to get my body back. I'm so glad I didn't have a c-section, especially with this nasty cough. Now if only I could just stop eating junk and start exercising again.
I really am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be the mother of these 2 kids. I am also grateful for an amazing and loving husband. He takes such good care of us and is willing to come home and play with the kids and excuse the lack of dinner on the table. He is awesome!

Lauren's birth story

I know everyone says this, but this is seriously a long post...
So I had a c-section with Max, but I was really hoping to do a VBAC this time around. The doctors told me I was a great candidate to try for a vaginal birth, but that meant waiting it out. I couldn't be induced. I had false labor so much that it was hard to imagine it all really happening. I was so anxious and excited that it drove me crazy to wait.

Arriving at the hospital the first time.

On February 28th (2 days before my due date) I had an appointment to see if I was dilated to a 3 and was disappointed to find out I was a 2 1/2. I had my membranes stripped and sent on my way. I was pretty sad. I really didn't want to end up having a c-section, but it's what would happen if I didn't start progressing. I knew she would come eventually. I mean there's really only one way to stop being pregnant... On the morning of March 1st I woke up around 5 am with stronger contractions (only to find later that they were nothing compared to real contractions). I definitely felt different than when I had braxton hicks, but I didn't want to get too excited. They progressively got closer together and we headed to the hospital around 10 am. Cami came to watch Max. We got there and they checked me. I was at a 3 but not in active labor. For some reason, my contractions that had been 4 minutes apart were now like 6 minutes or more apart. George and I passed the time by playing some games. I was monitored until 2ish and then given the option to be "induced" (Dr. Wolsey could break my water). There was a chance that breaking my water wouldn't put me into labor and I would have to have a c-section. The doctor and nurse thought it would be more likely for VBAC if I went home and labored there, but I had the choice. It was a hard decision because we had already planned on coming to have a baby, but we went home. We didn't want any increased risks.

Feeling much better after having an epidural

Once home, I immediately started having worse contractions. It was very difficult to relax through them and it was miserable. I threw up 3 times, which was not pleasant. Around 5:45 pm George convinced me to go back to the hospital. I was in a lot of pain and I wish I had taken them up on giving me a morphine shot. I have honestly never been in more pain in my life! George asked me if he should stop the car and I just said that it wouldn't make a difference and to just get us to the hospital. George was so great during all of this. He rubbed my back and stayed by my side the entire time! We got to the hospital at 6 pm and I was contracting pretty bad. I was so amazed how quickly everyone was working. My nurse, Stephanie, was awesome. She checked me and I was at a 5. Dr. Wolsey came and broke my water, which was way awkward feeling, and the anesthesiologist got me some heavenly epidural! That was so great! I tip my hat to women that do it naturally, but I'm pretty sure I could never do it. After about 45 minutes I told Stephanie that I was feeling a lot of pressure near my bottom. She checked me and I was 9! I was shocked. Not too much longer I was a 10 and ready to start pushing. It was definitely not as dramatic as movies make it seem, mostly because of the epidural and completely floppy legs. When a contraction would come, Stephanie and George would hold my legs and I would push so hard. They were great coaches and very encouraging. George would count to 10 and I tried my hardest to push on one breath. I started pushing around 7:20 pm and I could see the babies head after not too many pushes. Stephanie called the doctor in and in one more push she was out. She was crying before she even came all the way out.

All clean!

Look at all that hair

George was really excited about this orange bow he picked out

 Lauren Elyse was born at 8:14 pm and weighed 7 lbs 5 oz and was 19 inches long. It's hard to tell who she looks like, but I see some Max in her. We got to do skin to skin, but I was shaking so bad that she probably wondered what was wrong with me. We weren't able to breastfeed at first because of the shaking. George went with her to get bathed and she sure cleans up nice. She is adorable and has a ton of brown hair. I had no idea she had so much hair! Apparently she pooped a ton while getting bathed, George thought it was pretty funny. I spent the night without George because we thought he needed to be with Max. Max was so excited to meet Lauren and was very sweet to start out, but progressively he got more rough with her. We will have to watch him closely.

Snacking on hospital crackers. Waiting to meet his little sister.

Opening his gift from Lauren

Max gave Lauren a little cat

Lots of kisses

Max was starting to get a little fiesty

First family picture. Kind of blurry.

Napping on the chair bed

Coming home!

It was all a completely different experience than with Max. It all turned out how it needed to with Max. I was terrified to have a baby so having one 5 weeks early was made much better by having a c-section. But this time I'm so glad I got to have my baby right away and not have her stuck in the NICU. We are so happy to have her here!