Spring

Lots of stuff going on, as usual.  Kate followed in her big sister's footsteps and got ear tubes.  She did great and was actually a whole new baby until the teething hit!  She's been super fussy and when she's not cranky she is getting into everything.  The only time she's content for a moment is when she's stuffing rice crackers or a puff into her mouth.  She's refusing pureed baby food & I'm started giving her tiny pieces of table food which she loves.  She's so cute and silly.  When I tell her to clap she gets really excited and furiously claps her chubby little hands.  I love this stage but it's also frustrating.  I am looking forward to getting her into her own bed.  It will happen one day.  I hope! 

Sydney is definitely going through lots of developmental changes.  Her communication skills grow stronger everyday.  Along with all the exciting changes comes lots of extremes.  She will be so happy & giddy and then something will set off a crying spell.  Today she cried because her balloon flew away, and because her shoe fell off, and because Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ended, and because she couldn't find a ball, oh and there were several meltdowns at the park.  Tomorrow will be much of the same, I am sure.  I've heard that 3 is more challenging then 2, and here we are.  Despite the ups & downs, I really do love this stage best.  She is so much fun.  Tonight, I laid down with her at bedtime and we were chatting about different things.  She's so excited for her upcoming birthday party.  We've been working on lots of decorations and she even helped put the invitations together.  The afternoons spent gardening or sitting on the new stone wall in our backyard are the best. 

Here are some photos of my favorite place in the whole world.  Our Garden of Weedin'.  It's always a work in progress...

Sydney's garden is in bloom.  I harvested the nasturtium seeds last year and I have them growing all over the yard.

 Sydney helped plant these pots...and a sneak preview of some decor for her strawberry party.

 Strawberries galore!

 I made this little fairy garden. :)

 My veggie garden

 Geraniums and sunflowers

 Hummingbird house

 The very 1st bloom of my Eden climbing rose. 

Nasturtium


I planted a watermelon, pumpkin and sunflower patch for the girls.  I'll take some photos once things start growing.

Hello Fall!

I finally have a few minutes to sit down and write. The big girl is in bed and the baby girl is sleeping in her swing. Life is good. My days are busy. We've somewhat got into a routine. I confess I'm not all that great about cooking home cooked meals every night and getting the kids bathed every single day. The house is usually cluttered with toys and clothes. Somehow despite a little bit of chaos I feel like I have things under control. Kate is 2 months old and is a dream baby. She only fusses when she's hungry or gassy. She is so happy and she smiles and giggles all the time. She's not as much of a snuggler like Sydney was & she'd much rather be squirming around on her play mat then in my arms. She is such a little wiggle worm but I still force cuddles and kisses on her. ha ha. When Sydney sees her wiggling she says she is dancing. Sydney and Kate are so cute together. Sydney adores Kate. She's always hugging and kissing her. I feel so much love. I love my beautiful girls. Sydney is getting so big and talking so much. She's fun, silly, smart and creative. She is the most loving, sweet and affectionate little girl. She does have her fair share of tantrums but I suppose it's par for the course.

Fall is here. I brought out all the Halloween stuff and Sydney was so excited. I am really looking forward to trick-or-treating this year. I keep asking Sydney what she wants to be but she is not much help. I'm just going to have to pick something and hope she'll wear it. She is such a fashionista and if it isn't pink, doesn't have flowers, stars or animals on it then she doesn't want to wear it. Tonight she wanted to wear a dress to bed. I'm going to take her shopping for a costume tomorrow so we'll see how that goes...haha. Well, the little one is stirring so I better go and get this girl bathed and fed. I will leave you with some sweet photos.

My Sweet Kate

My girlies


Sydney making a Picasso-eque pumpkin at school

Katie stealing Syd's Roo

Sisters

My sweet sleeping angel

My Halloween stuff is up!

It's a...

GIRL!


Kate Reese
8-2-11 @ 6:31PM
7lb 30z 19 1/2 inches long

Birth Story

I was hoping I'd go into labor on my own before my scheduled c-section on August 10th. Since I had a previous c-section and I had gestational diabetes I was on a bit of a time crunch. I tried everything to induce labor. I ate pineapple (tons of it), Taco Bell, spicy Mexican chile and spicy Thai food. I walked, did squats, went swinging at the park and even visualized going into labor. I took Evening Primrose Oil, had a pedicure and had my membranes stripped. I tried just about every technique I read about online. I was induced with Syd and so I began to doubt my bodies ability to go into labor on it's own. I made peace with the possibility of another c-section and told myself I needed to be patient and let things happen. Stephen kept joking that I had to wait until he finished working his last overtime shift before going into labor. His last day of overtime was on Monday the 1st. I woke up that morning to mild contractions that were coming about every 5- 10 minutes apart. I really didn't think this was any different from the previous days because I had been having contractions for weeks. Shortly after posting my 39 week post (see below) I started to notice the contractions getting stronger and moving into my back and upper abdomen. I felt that there was a very strong possibility this might be the real thing. I started frantically running around the house and packing last minute items. Stephen got home from work at 10:45pm and as soon as he walked in the door I told him we needed to head over to Labor & Delivery. The plan was to have my father in law watch Sydney and then have my sister in law come and take over in the morning. We called them both and finished getting ready to go. We got checked into triage by midnight and were only there for about 20 minutes when they determined I was 4 cm dilated and in active labor. I couldn't believe I had a chance at having a VBAC! They got us checked into our room and we tried to get some sleep. I didn't sleep a wink. The contractions were painful enough to keep me from sleeping and besides I was way too anxious and excited to sleep. By morning my contractions were spacing out and I hadn't progressed much. I was becoming really bummed out because my Dr. had told me that since I was trying for a VBAC I wouldn't be allowed to have pitocin. One of the midwifes came in and said that since I had gone into labor on my own and was already dilated to a 4 that they had decided they would give me a little pitocin to keep things moving along. Yay! They started the pitocin somewhere around 7am. Soon after the pitocin was started my contractions picked up & I started progressing again. I tried to hold off on the epidural as long as possible since I was worried it might slow things down. Soon enough the pain was getting intense so I asked for them to call anesthesia. The midwife was super supportive of me wanting to VBAC and she took things very slow. She was very patient about breaking my water and waited until the baby had dropped a bit and I was dilated to 6.5. Once my water was broken things got super intense. The pain was back with a vengeance. The midwife called anesthesia and they shot some more meds into my epidural. It didn't seem to do much because the pain was almost becoming unbearable. At first I was able to breathe through the contractions and I focused on the second hand on the clock as a distraction from the pain. It seemed to help for a bit. Then all of a sudden the pain went from slightly bearable to completely unbearable. The best way to describe the pain was it felt like a knife was being stabbed up my butt with every contraction. At this point I totally lost control. First there we tears, then uncontrolable sobbing, then moaning, then I began to make these animalistic sounds that were completely involuntary. Between contractions I recall (and Stephen has reminded me) saying the following things.

Help! I'm having butt labor!

I know there is back labor but is there even such a thing as butt labor? Help!

Please don't judge me if I poop!

Help me! I'm going to poop!

This is unnatural!

It's bullshit when people say kidney stones are worse then labor!

This is going to kill me!!!

I'm about to die!!!!!!!!!!

Why am I doing this?

I want a c-section!

and Help me! Help me! Help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #$%^!!!

Yeah, it wasn't my finest moment but now I can look back and laugh about it. I kept apologizing to Stephen and my mom and begged them to apologize to the people who (may or may not) heard me from the hall and the other rooms. They assured me that no one could hear me & that there was no need to apologize. The nurse and midwife came to the conclusion that the baby was posterior (sunny side up) and that is why I was having so much pain. They had me get on all fours and rock back and fourth. They instructed Stephen to put pressure on my back during the contractions which helped for maybe a few minutes at the most. Nothing seemed to work to ease the pain and I was begging for more meds. The nurse checked me & I was still at an 8 so she asked if I wanted something else for the pain. Of course I did! They gave me some nubain and it made me black out for a few minutes but it didn't ease the pain in the slightest. Then all of a sudden I felt the baby drop & it felt like I had to push. The nurse checked me & it was baby time! I started pushing and it seemed to relieve the pain slightly. It didn't take long before they prepared for delivery & called the Dr. It so happened my Dr. had started her shift & she would be the one to deliver the baby. It was amazing luck to have my Dr. be the one to deliver since she was the one to be supportive of me having a VBAC in the first place. She never doubted me, sent me for growth scans or discouraged me even with the GD diagnosis. I think I pushed about 6 times before my little angel was born. They immediately put her on my chest & I felt her warm little body. It was amazing. I heard the Dr. say "It's a Girl" & I couldn't believe it! My sweet baby Kate. Another precious little girl to love & adore. I thought the whole time I was having a 9lb boy & "surprise! " it's a spunky 7lb baby girl. There goes my mother's intuition! Although I always dreamt the baby was a girl. I just didn't put much stock into my pregnancy dreams. Anyway, recovery has been great. It's been night and day from my c-section recovery. I was released from the hospital 24 hours after having Kate and have been back to my old routine. I'm so proud of my body and that I was able to do this. I'm thankful that I had a supportive Dr. and an awesome midwife who guided me through the birth. I feel like if I could get through pain of labor then I can get through anything. All I wanted to do was try for another birth experience and I was able to achieve that and more. It sure wasn't what I expected and it was way more painful then I thought it would be. I made it through and I have gained a new respect for my body and my ability to endure. Having a VBAC also gave me a different perspective on Sydney's birth. I can love and appreciate both births in their own way. I think they were equally as difficult and just as amazing and special.

Anyway, life is wonderful. I am so in love with my girls and my hubby. Although life with a new baby & a toddler has also been hectic. Kate is a little sweetheart. I'm trying to get to know her & still give Sydney the attention she needs. I feel so torn. Syd's been acting out and it's put some added stress on me. I'm also having difficulties nursing and today the hormones got the best of me and I've had two crying episodes. I go from thinking I am the luckiest women alive to I am failing at motherhood and breastfeeding. My poor husband was doing his best to console me. He's been so awesome and supportive through everything. I'm trying to take things one day at a time and I keep telling myself things will get easier. It will get easier, right?

I still can't get over the fact I have two girls. Sisters! It's going to be a wild ride! I'm giddy about shopping for Kate and dressing my girls in matching outfits. Fun times ahead!

Here are some photos of the loves of my life.


Daddy's girls!

Love!!!