Two Big Milestones For Our Big Girl

Milestone #1: Hannah is learning how to ride a bike. Obviously it has training wheels but it's still a real bike (not a trike). She has the pedaling and stopping down pretty well. She can't quite steer yet while pedaling so Daddy still mostly helps, but she can sometimes go straight without help. It's so amazing to see my baby riding an actual bike - she looks so grown up! Pictures to come!

Milestone #2: We are diaper free! Of course, we now have an infant so that's another 3 years or so of diapers but I'm proud to say that our big girl is done with them. She has been daytime potty trained for a while now but we were still using pull-ups at night. Recently though she has been waking up dry and telling us she wants to wear "big girl underwear" to bed, so when we finished the last pack of overnight pull-ups a few days ago, we decided that was it. We told her that she's a big girl now and big girls don't use diapers. She asked to see the empty pack and I showed it to her and that was that. Yay for our big girl!

What's In A Name?

I love hearing stories about how people chose their child's name. Names can have so much meaning, and I have always loved dreaming about what I would name my children some day. What no one tells you is how huge it seems once you actually have children to name. I mean, this is something they will have for the rest of their lives. It's a huge decision and one we have never taken lightly, which is why it has always taken us until the very end to decide. Here are our kid's names and the reason we choose them:


Hannah Michelle
Meanings: Hannah means "grace" and Michelle means "who is like God?"

I have loved the name Hannah since I first heard it when I was about 12 years old. The neighbor across the street from us had a little girl named Hannah and I thought it was a beautiful name. I also really like the meaning. Rob and I thought the middle name Michelle went well with it and it is also my twin sister's middle name. I like that they share a middle name - it makes it more special to me. Hannah's first name was choosen a week before she was born and her middle name was choosen at the hospital before I gave birth. We often call her our little "Hannah Banana".


Hailey Isabella
Meanings: Hailey means "wise one" and Isabella means "my God is a vow"

Rob actually suggested the name Hailey to me when Hannah was about a year old and we started thinking about trying for baby #2. He said he thought it was cute and went well with Hannah's name. I agreed but told him if we did name a girl that and had any more children, the "H" names stop here. I suggested the middle name Isabella after a dream I had about a month ago. In my dream, I was standing at the top of our steps and looking down the stairs. There was a child who was maybe 6 or 7 coming up the stairs that I knew was Hannah. I looked around Hannah down the steps and standing there was another little girl who was about the age Hannah is now. She looked very similar to Hannah but different somehow. I said "Hailey Isabella, you come up here too please" and then I woke up (this was all before we knew we were having another girl). Isabella was actually on our top 3 list for Hannah's name but we didn't even discuss it this time. The meaning is special to me since we had some issues getting and staying pregnant. Hailey's first and middle name were choosen a few hours after she was born. We have started calling her our little "Hailey Belle".

Hailey's First Doctor Visit And Random Pictures From Week 1

Hailey will be one week old tomorrow and today, she had her first check-up. She was 8lbs 6oz when she was discharged from the hospital on Thursday and today she came in at a whooping 9lbs even. The doctor was both shocked and impressed that she managed to gain 10oz in 4 days and as a result, we don't have to do the typical 2 week check-up since she is already past her birth weight. Other than that, the doctor just looked her over, said she was beautiful, and sent us on our merry way. We go back in about 3 weeks for Hailey's 1 month check-up and Hannah's 3 year check-up.

On another note, Hailey is doing great. Nursing great, sleeping 2-4 hour stretches, going right back to sleep at night. She is awake for an hour or two a day and during that time, she just looks around contently and makes faces at you. It's adorable and it's hard to believe that just one week ago, we hadn't met her yet.

Speaking of one week ago, here the final picture of me, last Monday night before the induction. I don't think I necessarily looked like I was carrying a 9lb baby (maybe I did) but I sure felt like it! LOL

Anyways, here is my new favorite picture of Hailey:

Here is my favorite picture of Hannah and Hailey:

Here is our Easter egg hunt at home:

And here is Hailey's first bath at home:

We have had a busy week!

There Are No Words

I had no idea what it would be like to have another child. If I'm honest with myself, I was a little worried. I mean, there are no words to describe how I feel about Hannah and in the back of my mind, I was always a little worried that I may not feel that way about another one. When we first started trying, Hannah was only 15 months old and it's not that I was necessarily thinking "oh I really want another baby", it was more that I was thinking "I've always wanted at least 2 and 2 years seems like a good spacing". Once I lost that baby, trying to get pregnant unfortunately became more like a mission than something to enjoy and I spent a good part of this pregnancy scared that something bad would happen. Even with all that going on, I was still a little concerned, especially because I truly believed she was a girl all along. I thought "if it's a boy, then maybe it's okay to feel different" but I didn't know how I'd feel if it was another girl. Let me say, all that worry was for nothing. It's incredible. From the moment I saw Hailey, there are once again no words to describe how I feel about her. Hannah's birth was overwhelming to me in so many ways: I decided to stay home when I only knew one other SAHM and she lived across town, my role was changing, Rob's role was changing, and basically Hannah and I learned how to get through things together. There were days when I felt like it was me and her against the world and I was okay with that. Hailey's birth has been so overwhelming to me in so many different ways: she has brought back so many positive memories from last time, I know what I'm doing this time so I get to worry less and enjoy her more, and I get to see Hannah in a new role which she has taken on beautifully. It's everything I wanted it to be and more.

I guess if I had to sum up how I'm feeling it would be like this: I love both my girls so much, there are no words.

Hannah and Hailey - Birth Story Comparisons (Warning - May Be Slightly Graphic)

Obviously having your second baby makes you think about what happened with your first. Here is a side-by-side comparison of our baby girls birth stories:

Hannah: was induced the day before her due date
Hailey: was induced four days after her due date

Hannah: in labor for 9.5 hours - had the epidural at 8cm, pushed for an hour and a half
Hailey: in labor for 6.5 hours - had the epidural at 7cm, pushed for a half hour

Hannah: had a bit of a scare during labor when Mommy passed out after they put the IV in
Hailey: had a bit of a scare during delivery when baby got her shoulder got caught on the way out

Hannah: had a little bit of jaundice
Hailey: had a little bit of an issue with blood sugar levels

Hannah: was a great nurser and a good sleeper
Hailey: was a great nurser and a good sleeper

Hannah: kept spitting the pacifier out at the nurses
Hailey: liked her pacifier

Hannah: weighed 8lbs 6oz and was 21.50 inches
Hailey: weighed 8lbs 15oz and was 21.75 inches

Hannah: had reddish brown hair and blue grey eyes
Hailey: had black hair and blue grey eyes

Hannah:





Hailey:

And because I never included Hannah's pregnancy and full birth story on this blog, here it is:

Hannah had always measured about a week behind on all ultrasounds, meaning her due date should have been May 30, 2006. The doctor had her due date at May 24, 2006 based on my last cycle and he doesn't change due dates. I had some spotting at 6 weeks (spotting at 10 weeks with Hailey) and some pretty bad morning sickness until about week 12 but thankfully it stopped (Hailey's stopped at 16 weeks). I ended up having to have emergency hernia surgery at 15 weeks with Hannah, which is when we first found out we were having a girl. Everything went smoothly until 32 weeks. I had started falling behind on my measurements, which they assured me just meant that she would probably be a small baby. They wanted to do an ultrasound just in case. This is also when I found out that I failed my 1 hour test (also failed it with Hailey; passed the 3 hour test with both kids, although I was told I was borderline hypoglycemic and to make sure I was eating every 2 hours). Then I mentioned that I felt like the baby was balling up and stretching so they thought that sounded weird and put me on the monitor. I was sent to the ultrasound where they found the baby was a good size but already 50% effaced and I was sent to triage for preterm labor. This was one of many times that I was sent to triage for this in both pregnancies (preterm labor started at 28 weeks with Hailey). They stopped the contractions and gave me meds. At 37 weeks, I was allowed to stop the meds but no baby. I ended up begging the doctor for an induction because I was in so much pain from the permanent sutures they had to place in my stomach from my surgery (in the end, it took 2 more surgeries, on top of my 2 hernia surgeries I already had, to remove all of them - my stomach looks like a war zone) and he agreed to do it the day before my due date since I had been 4cm and 80% effaced for 2 weeks at that point. I was also having regular contractions. Really, I had been in labor for almost 2 weeks and just not progressing AT ALL. Anyway, they went to hook up the IV and since I didn't eat (I didn't make that mistake with Hailey - I ignored their "rules"), I passed out. They started giving me a ton of saline and I blimped up from it, which is why my face looks so big in pictures. Of course, the nice thing was that I didn't keep setting off the alarm from my naturally low blood pressure like I did with Hailey. Anyway, I was fine and took some IV meds to take the edge off but eventually wanted the epidural around 8cm. They doc was in a surgery so she came a half hour later and didn't bother to check me, which she probably should have. She just gave me the epidural and suddenly I could remember how to breathe again (pitocin is evil). The nurse came back in 20-30 minutes later and said I was ready to push. It took an hour and a half. They kept asking if I wanted the mirror, which I did not. She was born at 5:35pm. The doc said he appreciated that she didn't come until he was done with all his work so now he could just go home. There was a slight tear but no big deal. Hannah scored a 9 on the apgar scale. I was up walking around 15 minutes later and felt great, except for the fact that I was starving and sleepy. All the grandparents and great-grandparents and aunts/uncles were there to visit and so happy to meet the new baby!

Hailey's Birth Story (Warning - May Be A Little Graphic)

We got to the hospital at 8am yesterday morning and I was surprised to find out I was 4cm and 50% effaced at a -1 station (I have been 2cm for like 3 or 4 weeks now). I wasn't really having any contractions on my own, so after talking to my doctor, we agreed that the best course of action was to go ahead and start the pitocin. For those of you who have talked to me recently, it wasn't really what I wanted but I realize that things don't always go how you want when giving birth so oh well. So, we got that started around 8:45am and he broke my water around 9:45am (he called it the water bag of steel - he had a very very hard time rupturing it, LOL). Things were off and running. The contractions were still bearable but getting a little more intense around 1pm so the nurse checked me again and said I was 6cm, 75% or so. Right after she checked me, I had a contraction that was like 2-3 minutes and so intense I thought I was going to throw up. I asked for the epidural and she checked me again to find that I just jumped to 7cm, 90% from that one contraction. The contractions were pretty intense waiting the 10-15 minutes for the epidural (I had to wait because they had to start a special IV since I have low blood pressure) but they finally got the doctor in and about 30-45 minutes later, the epidural was in and I was back to being a happy camper. They checked me again around 2:30 and said I was 8cm, 90% and put me in this special position that should help finish. I laid there for about a half hour and called the nurse because something felt different. I was done! The doc came in at 3pm and said he wanted to see me push to decide if he should stick around or if there was time to go see a patient who was waiting on him. I pushed once and he decided to stay. About 5 pushes later and her head was out. And then things got a little scary as her shoulder had become lodged (shoulder dystocia). Her head was out and I could see it but she didn't come tumbling out with the second push like Hannah did. Her whole head turned purple and the nurse stopped speaking calmly and started yelling to move this way and that way and before I knew it, she was on top of me, pushing from the top and the other nurse was yanking on me trying to get a good angle while the doctor was moving her, trying to get her free. I'm sure in reality it was only like a minute or so but everything seemed so slow and it was very scary. They finally got her out and I started crying when I heard her start to choke a little and then cry. They did let me hold her for a minute but then they took her away because she had swallowed quite a bit of fluid and her birth score obviously wasn't so great (5 of 9). She did have some blood sugar issues at first, as they said a lot of babies who have a more traumatic birth do, but once we got her nursing, she has been doing great. She has been checked out by numerous doctors and nurses for nerve damage and other complications that can arise from shoulder dystocia and all have said they think she will have no issues. Anyways, so that was my uneventful labor followed by an eventful delivery. We feel so blessed to have our little Hailey, safe and sound!

It's A Girl!

Hailey Isabella was born at 3:31pm today, April 7 2009. She was 8lbs 15oz and 21 3/4 inches. She's beautiful and Mommy, Daddy, and big sister Hannah are all in love!

Our Last Weekend As A Family Of 3

I decided this weekend to stop focusing on the normal end-of-pregnancy miseries and instead focus on Hannah's last weekend as our "only" child. We decided we would do all her favorite things so Saturday morning, we got up and went to breakfast at McDonald's. Actually by breakfast I mean that Rob wanted breakfast and Hannah wanted lunch (and I didn't care) so we went right at 11am so we could order Rob's breakfast followed by Hannah's lunch. Mommy opted for breakfast this time. We let Hannah play in the play area for more than an hour and even got her an ice cream cone on the way out since she was a good girl and ate all her apples and most of her cheeseburger. Then we came back, rested for a bit, and headed off to the park. It was a beautiful afternoon and again, we spent at least an hour pushing Hannah on the swing, watching her slide, and playing on the teeter totter. We came home and let her watch too many princess movies, told her the Cinderella and Snow White story more times than I'd like to remember, and I even gave her some extra warm milk and let her snuggle in our bed in the middle of the night when she came in. I would love to snuggle with my little girl every night but I do believe it's important for her to sleep in her own bed so I usually take her back to her room if it's before 7am. She does snuggle with me in the morning but for some reason, snuggling in the middle of the night is a huge special treat for her.

Today we went to church, which we do every Sunday but I figure it counts because she loves seeing her friends at church (and she loves the donuts they serve). We let her have probably one too many donut holes and then headed home where we quickly ate lunch and changed so we could take her to her ultimate favorite - the bounce place. We spent 2.5 hours there and Rob will definitely be sleeping well tonight because he went on all the equipment with her. Mommy helped Hannah win lots of tickets so she could get a ring, a cardboard glider, and a piece of candy. We came home and took a nap and had one of Hannah's favorite meals: salad, pizza, and ice cream with sprinkles of course. We are now on pause from watching more princess movies as Hannah and Daddy are "dancing at the ball" right now but I'm sure we'll be watching another one or two followed by a really long bubble bath and painting our nails with Mommy to complete a weekend of all of Hannah's favorite things.

I think it was a great weekend for everyone. Hannah had our undivided attention and got to do all her favorite things, Mommy got to focus on something besides when this baby is coming out, and Daddy got an excuse to stop doing the million and one things he usually does on the weekend and just enjoy spending time with our family. Now that we are all refreshed, I feel like we can focus on being excited about our family of 3 becoming a family of 4 very soon!

Happy Due Date To Me!

Well here we are, 40 weeks (notice my ticker says "Andrea is 40 weeks pregnant" - I wonder what it will say tomorrow!). I had my 40 week appointment yesterday. Nothing too exciting. I saw a different doctor since mine is on vacation , and she was nice. It was depressing to once again hear that there had been no real change from last time but she was very insistent that the head was "right there" and if I just had 2 or 3 good contractions, it should throw everything into motion. Of course, the problem is that obviously I haven't had 2 or 3 good contractions in weeks, even though my contractions were at 2 minutes apart one night last week (they didn't feel good but they never got stronger so I didn't call). Oh well. They found some protein in their tests so they did a non-stress test on baby and had me drink some water and try again. All that came back fine so they said they would be calling on Monday to confirm everything for our Tuesday induction at 8am. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed that it's most likely going to come to an induction (again) but it's almost over and on Tuesday I will be holding my baby! How exciting!

Oh and I do think it will be funny to answer "today" when I'm out running errands and people ask when I'm due. It will be even funnier on Monday when I answer "last week". Hehe