I know it has been forever since I have blogged about anything, and I have about 500 things to blog about. But as most of you know, and for the two people who still might read this thing, the biggest event of the past month has been the birth of our little Taylor Rae.
She was born on Wed. February 17th. She weighed 8 lbs. and 12 oz. She is the sweetest, most gorgeous baby I have ever seen. (But I am a little biased!) :) We are ALL so in love. It was no secret that when I was pregnant I wanted this second child to be a boy. I think that the thought of a little girl scared me a bit, and I was just a tad disappointed when we found out it was a girl. Which I feel really bad about now. Anyway, it took me a while to get into the girl thing. The point I am trying to make is that since she has been born I couldn't be more happy to have this little lady in our family. I love her more than I ever thought I could love a child. :) But you know how that goes... I was worried with two children that somehow it would be different, but it's a little crazy how you just fall in love instantly and it hasn't taken anything away from Tucker. Speaking of Tucker, he loves her so much. It is really cute, he always calls her his little lady. He has adjusted to the role of big brother very well. He is so sweet with her and wants to help me all the time. He is definitely a stinker, and stubborn and thinks he is always right about everything, but I can't tell if that is because he is three years old, or because of Taylor. And he is really only like that with Ben and I. Lucky us! :) And I think you can tell from the pictures below just how much Ben loves her. :) He is such a good daddy and loves her so much! And he is the only reason I am not a walking zombie these days.
Anyway, enjoy the pictures...
{Here she is right after delivery...I love those big ol' cheeks!}
I am going to share the birth story just so I have it written down for posterity sake. And if anyone wants to know how it was that Taylor came into this world, they can read on. :)
{Taylor and her daddy...notice the big smile!}
So I went in for my weekly appointment at 37 weeks, it was while Ben was in Hawaii, and it was the first of my weekly appointments of when they actually check to see if you are dilated or not. So, he was checking and Dr. Brown says, 'well, I can't find her head... I'm sure it's in there, but I'm just not feeling it anywhere. It's definitely not down where it should be.' He said at that at this point, I still had a month left, so she had time to turn around and get in position to be ready so not to worry about things yet. If she didn't ever turn head down into position, then there was a possibility of a C-Section if I go into labor on my own and she hadn't flipped yet. Or, I would have to go into the hospital to have him turn her manually. And sometimes in that situation, the baby is so disrupted that they just induce labor to get the baby out. But I didn't need to worry...yet. So, I went back the next week, and he checked me again, and this time Ben was with me. And Dr. Brown told us that she had turned, and actually Ben had to help him move her a little bit to get into place but that she was ready to go. I was very relieved that I wouldn't have to go into the hospital to have Dr. Brown turn her. Which I've heard is very painful.
{Our little baby girl}
Well, I went back the next week, at 39 weeks and the stinker had flipped back around! I couldn't believe it! Dr. Brown was a little worried about her moving around so late in the pregnancy. He told me that most of the time the baby doesn't have any room to move, let alone flip from being head up to being head down back to being head up. So, he wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure the umbilical cord wasn't wrapped around her neck. Luckily, it wasn't and he told me that I would have to go to the hospital so he could 'man handle' her into place. Since she wasn't being very cooperative! :) And since I was 39 weeks, that he would just induce me. This was on Tuesday, my actual due date was on Sunday, so I just had to basically decide which day I wanted the little girl to be born. I SO wasn't ready. I had yet to get anything organized in her room. We did have the crib up, but other than that there were just piles of random girly and baby things piled up in her room. He had told me that the earlier we do it the better, so I just said, how about tomorrow. After my appointment I called Ben and told him we were having a baby the next day. I don't think that it had really hit me yet, because after my appointment I went over and had lunch with some friends, and was just enjoying my time with only one child. :) My very best friend from high school was in town and I just wanted to spend as much time with her as I could. I remember after a few hours, I casually said, 'well, I better get home and start doing some laundry...' Little did I know...
Yeah, we were up all night doing laundry and getting things packed and in order for this little lady to come home with us.
{Our first family photo as a family of 4}
We got to the hospital the next morning at 6:30am. My dad came over to watch Tucker, who was still sleeping when we left. I got all settled in and Dr. Brown got there around 7:30am to do the inversion (turn her manually). I was really nervous because I heard it was so painful, and it was him and three nurses all ready to manipulate my belly. But it wasn't really that bad. Well, it only lasted like 10 minutes and she was turned. He did tell me that she flipped really easily. Who knew that she had so much room in there considering that she was 8 lbs. and 12 oz.! :) So, it WAS painful, but since it didn't last very long it wasn't as bad as I was making it out to be in my head. But they did have to wrap the top of my belly in this stretchy fabric to keep her in place, head down. So, 8:00ish they start the pitocin to get my contractions started. And then we just waited, and waited, and waited. The nurse would come in periodically to check on my contractions and I wasn't having any. So they would slowly add more and more pitocin. Finally at 10:30 they were checking how far I was dilated and I don't remember how much I was dilated, but I guess it was enough for him to just go ahead and break my water while he was there. :) So, 10:30 they broke my water, and around 11:30 they gave me my epidural. I was probably the most nervous about the epidural, just after what happened with Tucker. (It ended up falling out and then they put it in again and my face went numb and then they had to take it out and I didn't even end up having one during the hardest and most painful part of the delivery with him.) But this time it was awesome! From noon on I was feeling good, taking a nap, chatting with people as they were coming in and out. My mom had gotten here in the meantime. My dad had brought Tucker and my friend Sharlene and her little guy, Carter came by to visit. And I was having a grand time as my contractions were getting bigger and bigger. Finally at around 4:30 I was at a 10 and Dr. Brown got there and I started pushing and she was born at 4:57pm.
{Tucker loves his little sister}
Thinking back on it, it was a pretty easy and painless delivery. The honest to goodness worst part is that I tend to throw up a lot during pregnancy, and since they wouldn't let me eat, it was just dry heaving all day for me. It is the absolute greatest feeling when she was put on my chest and I just got to hold her and comfort her while she was crying. And I was instantly in love with her. I just want to hold her all day everyday.
{Entertaining his sister again}
So she is now 2 weeks old. I took her in yesterday for her two week appointment and she was back up to 8 lbs. and 15 oz. I did not breast feed Tucker. We tried. I ended up supplementing too soon so as not to starve him and then he just liked the bottle a lot better than he liked me so after a few weeks of being in denial that Tucker was bottle fed, I accepted it and then embraced it and was totally not planning on breast feeding Taylor. Well, I always thought to myself, I'll try, but I kind of secretly hoped it wouldn't because it is really convenient to bottle feed. Anyway, Taylor is a champion eater just like her brother, but she is also a champion latcher, and breast feeding her has been actually very easy to pick up on. It was very very painful the first week, and there are still some days where I question if I REALLY want to breast feed or not, but for the most part I actually really like it a lot more than I thought I would. And it is a lot easier for me than I thought it was going to be. Anyway, before my milk came in we took her to her 3 day appointment, it was that Saturday morning, and she had lost 12 oz. She was down to 8 lbs. I, of course, was freaking out and worried thinking that I was starving my child. Luckily, that night and the next day we got the breast feeding thing down and when we went back in the next Monday morning she was already back up to 8 lbs. and 5 oz. And obviously we're doing something right, because she is back up to 8 lbs. and 15 oz. (things only a mother cares about)
{Taylor in her bassinet at the hospital}
My mom was here for a week after I had her and it was SO nice having her here to help out with Tucker and do our laundry. She was a life saver in that department. I still don't know what I am going to do about the laundry. There are only 4 of us, but I swear, the laundry multiplies daily! I don't know where it all comes from! We joked the whole time that she was here that we had turned into vampires. We didn't really leave the house at all that first week, And I had a lot of great family and friends come and take Tucker for the day or the afternoon so I was actually able to sleep. Taylor has been a great baby. In fact sometimes I have to wake her up to feed her. She sleeps really well and eats really well and is just the sweetest little thing. We are absolutely in love!
{Taylor was not happy about being put in her car seat to go home from the hospital!}
This time around, this whole baby thing has been so much easier. Maybe it's just the knowledge that this phase of having a baby isn't going to last forever! :) I think it was two months before I was able to function like a human being after Tucker was born, and he was a good baby, too! So I think that having a three year old and knowing a little bit more about what having a new born entails, has helped me wrap my head around this two child thing. And having the Olympics on 24/7 helped a lot. When tucker was a newborn I got addicted to 'Americas next top model' because they were having a marathon of all 12 seasons and I watched like every episode during the first week of Tuckers life. I definitely prefer the Olympics to Americas next top model. :) OK, I am tired, and I can't even think anymore. I am sure there are some things I left out that I wanted to document, but really, I'm just glad that I've gotten this much down. (If anyone is still reading this...)
{Our beautiful baby girl!}
{Taylor and her daddy-she looks a little concerned! :)}
{My two little babies--I love them SO much!!!}
She was born on Wed. February 17th. She weighed 8 lbs. and 12 oz. She is the sweetest, most gorgeous baby I have ever seen. (But I am a little biased!) :) We are ALL so in love. It was no secret that when I was pregnant I wanted this second child to be a boy. I think that the thought of a little girl scared me a bit, and I was just a tad disappointed when we found out it was a girl. Which I feel really bad about now. Anyway, it took me a while to get into the girl thing. The point I am trying to make is that since she has been born I couldn't be more happy to have this little lady in our family. I love her more than I ever thought I could love a child. :) But you know how that goes... I was worried with two children that somehow it would be different, but it's a little crazy how you just fall in love instantly and it hasn't taken anything away from Tucker. Speaking of Tucker, he loves her so much. It is really cute, he always calls her his little lady. He has adjusted to the role of big brother very well. He is so sweet with her and wants to help me all the time. He is definitely a stinker, and stubborn and thinks he is always right about everything, but I can't tell if that is because he is three years old, or because of Taylor. And he is really only like that with Ben and I. Lucky us! :) And I think you can tell from the pictures below just how much Ben loves her. :) He is such a good daddy and loves her so much! And he is the only reason I am not a walking zombie these days.
Anyway, enjoy the pictures...
{Here she is right after delivery...I love those big ol' cheeks!}
I am going to share the birth story just so I have it written down for posterity sake. And if anyone wants to know how it was that Taylor came into this world, they can read on. :)
{Taylor and her daddy...notice the big smile!}
So I went in for my weekly appointment at 37 weeks, it was while Ben was in Hawaii, and it was the first of my weekly appointments of when they actually check to see if you are dilated or not. So, he was checking and Dr. Brown says, 'well, I can't find her head... I'm sure it's in there, but I'm just not feeling it anywhere. It's definitely not down where it should be.' He said at that at this point, I still had a month left, so she had time to turn around and get in position to be ready so not to worry about things yet. If she didn't ever turn head down into position, then there was a possibility of a C-Section if I go into labor on my own and she hadn't flipped yet. Or, I would have to go into the hospital to have him turn her manually. And sometimes in that situation, the baby is so disrupted that they just induce labor to get the baby out. But I didn't need to worry...yet. So, I went back the next week, and he checked me again, and this time Ben was with me. And Dr. Brown told us that she had turned, and actually Ben had to help him move her a little bit to get into place but that she was ready to go. I was very relieved that I wouldn't have to go into the hospital to have Dr. Brown turn her. Which I've heard is very painful.
{Our little baby girl}
Well, I went back the next week, at 39 weeks and the stinker had flipped back around! I couldn't believe it! Dr. Brown was a little worried about her moving around so late in the pregnancy. He told me that most of the time the baby doesn't have any room to move, let alone flip from being head up to being head down back to being head up. So, he wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure the umbilical cord wasn't wrapped around her neck. Luckily, it wasn't and he told me that I would have to go to the hospital so he could 'man handle' her into place. Since she wasn't being very cooperative! :) And since I was 39 weeks, that he would just induce me. This was on Tuesday, my actual due date was on Sunday, so I just had to basically decide which day I wanted the little girl to be born. I SO wasn't ready. I had yet to get anything organized in her room. We did have the crib up, but other than that there were just piles of random girly and baby things piled up in her room. He had told me that the earlier we do it the better, so I just said, how about tomorrow. After my appointment I called Ben and told him we were having a baby the next day. I don't think that it had really hit me yet, because after my appointment I went over and had lunch with some friends, and was just enjoying my time with only one child. :) My very best friend from high school was in town and I just wanted to spend as much time with her as I could. I remember after a few hours, I casually said, 'well, I better get home and start doing some laundry...' Little did I know...
Yeah, we were up all night doing laundry and getting things packed and in order for this little lady to come home with us.
{Our first family photo as a family of 4}
We got to the hospital the next morning at 6:30am. My dad came over to watch Tucker, who was still sleeping when we left. I got all settled in and Dr. Brown got there around 7:30am to do the inversion (turn her manually). I was really nervous because I heard it was so painful, and it was him and three nurses all ready to manipulate my belly. But it wasn't really that bad. Well, it only lasted like 10 minutes and she was turned. He did tell me that she flipped really easily. Who knew that she had so much room in there considering that she was 8 lbs. and 12 oz.! :) So, it WAS painful, but since it didn't last very long it wasn't as bad as I was making it out to be in my head. But they did have to wrap the top of my belly in this stretchy fabric to keep her in place, head down. So, 8:00ish they start the pitocin to get my contractions started. And then we just waited, and waited, and waited. The nurse would come in periodically to check on my contractions and I wasn't having any. So they would slowly add more and more pitocin. Finally at 10:30 they were checking how far I was dilated and I don't remember how much I was dilated, but I guess it was enough for him to just go ahead and break my water while he was there. :) So, 10:30 they broke my water, and around 11:30 they gave me my epidural. I was probably the most nervous about the epidural, just after what happened with Tucker. (It ended up falling out and then they put it in again and my face went numb and then they had to take it out and I didn't even end up having one during the hardest and most painful part of the delivery with him.) But this time it was awesome! From noon on I was feeling good, taking a nap, chatting with people as they were coming in and out. My mom had gotten here in the meantime. My dad had brought Tucker and my friend Sharlene and her little guy, Carter came by to visit. And I was having a grand time as my contractions were getting bigger and bigger. Finally at around 4:30 I was at a 10 and Dr. Brown got there and I started pushing and she was born at 4:57pm.
{Tucker loves his little sister}
Thinking back on it, it was a pretty easy and painless delivery. The honest to goodness worst part is that I tend to throw up a lot during pregnancy, and since they wouldn't let me eat, it was just dry heaving all day for me. It is the absolute greatest feeling when she was put on my chest and I just got to hold her and comfort her while she was crying. And I was instantly in love with her. I just want to hold her all day everyday.
{Entertaining his sister again}
So she is now 2 weeks old. I took her in yesterday for her two week appointment and she was back up to 8 lbs. and 15 oz. I did not breast feed Tucker. We tried. I ended up supplementing too soon so as not to starve him and then he just liked the bottle a lot better than he liked me so after a few weeks of being in denial that Tucker was bottle fed, I accepted it and then embraced it and was totally not planning on breast feeding Taylor. Well, I always thought to myself, I'll try, but I kind of secretly hoped it wouldn't because it is really convenient to bottle feed. Anyway, Taylor is a champion eater just like her brother, but she is also a champion latcher, and breast feeding her has been actually very easy to pick up on. It was very very painful the first week, and there are still some days where I question if I REALLY want to breast feed or not, but for the most part I actually really like it a lot more than I thought I would. And it is a lot easier for me than I thought it was going to be. Anyway, before my milk came in we took her to her 3 day appointment, it was that Saturday morning, and she had lost 12 oz. She was down to 8 lbs. I, of course, was freaking out and worried thinking that I was starving my child. Luckily, that night and the next day we got the breast feeding thing down and when we went back in the next Monday morning she was already back up to 8 lbs. and 5 oz. And obviously we're doing something right, because she is back up to 8 lbs. and 15 oz. (things only a mother cares about)
{Taylor in her bassinet at the hospital}
My mom was here for a week after I had her and it was SO nice having her here to help out with Tucker and do our laundry. She was a life saver in that department. I still don't know what I am going to do about the laundry. There are only 4 of us, but I swear, the laundry multiplies daily! I don't know where it all comes from! We joked the whole time that she was here that we had turned into vampires. We didn't really leave the house at all that first week, And I had a lot of great family and friends come and take Tucker for the day or the afternoon so I was actually able to sleep. Taylor has been a great baby. In fact sometimes I have to wake her up to feed her. She sleeps really well and eats really well and is just the sweetest little thing. We are absolutely in love!
{Taylor was not happy about being put in her car seat to go home from the hospital!}
This time around, this whole baby thing has been so much easier. Maybe it's just the knowledge that this phase of having a baby isn't going to last forever! :) I think it was two months before I was able to function like a human being after Tucker was born, and he was a good baby, too! So I think that having a three year old and knowing a little bit more about what having a new born entails, has helped me wrap my head around this two child thing. And having the Olympics on 24/7 helped a lot. When tucker was a newborn I got addicted to 'Americas next top model' because they were having a marathon of all 12 seasons and I watched like every episode during the first week of Tuckers life. I definitely prefer the Olympics to Americas next top model. :) OK, I am tired, and I can't even think anymore. I am sure there are some things I left out that I wanted to document, but really, I'm just glad that I've gotten this much down. (If anyone is still reading this...)
{Our beautiful baby girl!}
{Taylor and her daddy-she looks a little concerned! :)}
{My two little babies--I love them SO much!!!}
