Little Sisterhood

I should start off this post with knocking on some wood.

I do not want to jinx anything.

Emily is an amazingly easy baby... so far.

Maybe it refers back to the starting with bottle feeding and not being a first time mom again...

But from the get go Emily has eaten well, burped almost immediately, making tons of dirty diapers (yeah, it really is something to be excited about sadly) and slept like a champ.

Even the nurses commented on how she was a quiet little girl.

In the hospital she was going 4 hours between feedings of 2 oz and 3 oz on the last night/day..

Once we got home ... She started going 5 hours between feedings at night!!!

At 5 DAYS old!

And that was only because I was waking her up at 5 hours because I thought she was way too little to be sleeping like that!

I asked the doctor at her 1 week check up.  She agreed that we should not let her go longer than 6 hours right now just because she still is so young...

I have such hopes of this child sleeping through the night by the time I head back to work!

I hope hope hope!

Now if only we could get Miss Leah to consistently sleep through the night too...

I am being serious.

The 2.5 year old that does not sleep thru the night is a story for another day...

But first, some pictures of the amazing little one.

Big Sisterhood

Leah is loving being a big sister!

Minutes after the initial meeting Leah came back into the recovery room with her aunts, anxious to see her baby sister again.

I think she had to see the excitement from everyone else before she could be excited.

(We had Leah be the first to come and meet Emily.)

Then she had the chance to hold her for the first time...

And her obsession began. 

Leah constantly wants to hold her, hug her, kiss her, touch her, poke at her, tickle her, and love on her. 

Its awesome to see her excitement and love... 

The first thing she says now when she wakes up in the mornings and comes to the top of the steps is now "Is Emi up!?" 

showing off her blue tongue from her snow cone. 

poking Emily in the eye

But when Emily is trying to sleep, and we are looking for a break, I find myself constantly telling Leah "No. Let her sleep. Leave her alone. Lets have mommy and Leah time instead."

We were also warned that the first few weeks Leah might act out a bit...

And we have seen our fair share of tantrums lately.

They all seem to revolve around Leah's lack of listening.

She is usually taken kicking and screaming to time out, where once she calms down she usually opens the door and says "I am ready to listen now."

Brian has stepped up alot taking care of Leah while I handle Emily.

I have been surprised how easily Leah has gone to him which she is usually a huge momma's girl.

It warms my heart to see them together though.  (I would love to have 100s of pictures of them together but Brian yells at me as soon as I pick up the camera. stinker.)

Yesterday he took her to Six Flags alone... she came home needing a nap and clinging to Brian.  She would not let him put her down and wanted nothing to do with me.

It kind of broke my heart and I may have shed a few post pregnancy emotional tears.

I am trying to make more of an effort to spend time with her.

Having her sit on my lap more.  Help me make dinner. Help me take care of Emily.

She is already an amazing big sister and I want to make sure she knows it!

What a Difference

With Leah I was in the hospital for 5 days and 4 nights.

I remember being an emotional basket case once Leah arrived.

The first day I kept her in my room the nurse came in to check on things.  She asked if Leah had any diaper changes and I had to respond no.  Not because she honestly hadn't gone but because I honestly forgot that babies needed their diapers changed!!

My hormones were all over the place... remember I cried over a football game... with teams I could careless about!

And I struggled with breast feeding.

This time around it was an amazing, relaxing, boring, 4 days and 3 nights of bonding with my baby girl. ... and recovered with awesome pain meds.

I knew a baby needed its diaper changed.

I knew how to calm a crying baby and the signs that showed what Emily wanted.

And the biggest change... we bottle fed from the start.

I cannot say enough how much more of a relaxed feel I had just from not trying to figure out breast feeding.

I honestly cannot even put it into words.

I already feel like we are off to a great start just because I am feeling so much more confident, relaxed, and happy about becoming a mom of 2.

So far... I can totally do this!

And some pictures of course...

The very first meeting.  Leah was a bit unsure. She was more nervous about me in the hospital bed. 

Pretty Girl #2

Immediately tried to feed her ice cream to her sister. 

Beaming with pride

Obsessed with holding her

Grandmas and granddaughters

Daddy and his girls

bottle feeding is perfect for our family. 

me and my girls

big feet like her sissy ... and mommy too I guess.. 

Leah was just calming down from a tantrum and somehow I got Emily too who was screaming... I can do this. 

heading home

The new view in the van. 

11:44... The Birth

My 2nd scheduled c-section was scheduled for 9:30 am, with an arrival time of 7:30am to get prepped.

Of course that morning I woke up at 3 am because really who can sleep when your mind is constantly going "OMG I am having a baby in the morning!!!!"

I had the instructions of nothing to eat 8 hours prior and nothing to drink until 4 hours prior to surgery.

Of course waking up at 3 am I thought "Atleast I can drink!" and drink I did.... which included a iced mocha at 5:30am... 4 hours prior.

We arrived at the hospital right on time and everything seemed to be going smoothly until the anesthesiology came in.

Dr: When was the last time you ate?
Me: 6:30 last night
Dr: What did you eat?
Me: Chicken Ravioli and bread
Dr: When was the last time you drank anything?
Me: 5:30
Dr: What did you drink?
Me: Coffee
Dr: What kind?
Me: Iced....
Dr: With what in it?
Me:... cream....
Dr: ..... that's a big no-no! ... we will have to push this back 2 hours just incase we have to put you fully under and it curdles...

And I burst into tears as soon as he left the room.......

2 more hours to wait!? Our family was all about to arrive at the hospital... and my stupid drink is making us all wait...

I was so frustrated and sad.

My OBGYN came in to check on me and all she said was "You aren't supposed to tell them that!!! You are supposed to keep it a secret!"  She made me feel much less upset. 

The wait was not completely miserable and actually went semi fast... by 1030 everyone returned to the room and I quickly became VERY numb! ... to a point where even my hands had that  sleepy, tinglie feeling...

And it was time to go...

I was constantly nausea thru this surgery... and so sleepy! I seriously had to fight to keep myself awake the whole time.  All I kept thinking was "I CANNOT FALL ASLEEP DURING THE BIRTH OF MY CHILD!!"  The darn coffee didnt even help!!!

Supposedly Emily was not quite ready to come out because all of a sudden my Dr. said "No come back here!"... and a few seconds later, before she was even fully out she was screaming mad!

Immediately we were in love with our little 8 lb 6 oz peanut... 20.5 inches long.  Completely beautiful!

The 2 hour wait now seems like nothing... and even made her birthday a little more special to a number lover like myself... Born at 11:44am on 6/6!  A perfect birthday for a perfect girl!

Miss Emily Robin

8lb 6oz & 20.5 inches

A peanut compared to her big sis!

We are all in love!!

This is Happening SOON

One of soon to be many hospital bracelets

I have officially been admitted to the hospital... although you know, I don't really go until tomorrow morning. 

The time has come. 

Life changes tomorrow.

I can feel it starting...

Nope, not labor...

An anxiety filled panic attack.

Its my typical pre-exam freakout.

Expect I am not preparing for an actuarial exam...

Just about to become a mom of 2.

Maybe its the nervousness beginning to set in.

Or nesting...

Because all I am feeling is "OMG I am not ready! I must clean the house and prepare!"

Except my body is so achy...

I am trying to combat this feeling with ice cream, writing, and soon a hot bath...

Lets hope the bath is followed by bed...

And not sudden energy and frantically cleaning the house at 10pm.

Maybe I need Brian to restrain me and just lock me in the bedroom.

I seriously am fighting a crazy internal battle right now....

Bath vs clean, bath vs clean, bath vs clean, bath vs clean...

I know if I start to clean it will be this horrible domino effect and I will be unable to stop.

Usually it results in Brian forcing me to stop and go to bed.

Right now it is taking everything to not get up and begin...

Why do I handle stress so ... strangely?