Today Alexis is 3 weeks old. It feels like she has been here forever, so when I stop and think that it has really only been 3 weeks, I can hardly believe it. In the last 3 weeks she has been a busy girl. She's gotten over her jaundice and grown alot. She seems so big compared to when she was born! She is a very demanding eater and wants to eat all the time. I think part of it may very well be her using me as a pacifier, but we have tried giving her the soother and she doesn't seem to like it. I think she has her days and nights mixed up too, as during the day she will sleep 5-6 hour stretches and is barely awake long enough to finish a feeding, but at night she wants to be fed every 3 hours and I have a very difficult time getting her back to sleep. So we need to work on that.
The 3 of us have been taking walks in the afternoons this week. Lexi usually sleeps the whole time, and Addy just sits up front in the stroller and looks all over the place and babbles away to herself. We don't go far (only about a 20-minute long walk) and I keep the pace pretty leisurely because I'm still healing, but it's so nice to get out of the house and enjoy the nice weather. And Addy seems to be sleeping better at night after having gotten some fresh air during the day. Today we're going over to Mom's for supper, and I am planning on heading over there early so there probably won't be a walk today. The girls are sleeping now, but when naptime is over and Addy has had her snack (and Lexi will probably want to eat again too), I will have the enjoyable task of trying to get 2 babies ready to go and remember everything we'll need. So we'll see how I do. lol
Anyways, being that it's almost 2pm, I should probably go get myself dressed. I remember 5 or so years ago when it was a big deal when I was out of bed, dressed, teeth brushed and hair done by 10am. Now it's a big deal if I have both kids up, clean diapers, dressed and fed by that time, and I'm lucky if I get to be ready for the day by lunchtime.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Another long day.
Today I had both girls all day, and no help at all and I am exhausted. I don't think it was my first day with both of them alone, but I certainly haven't had enough of them to be used to it. I felt like all day either one of them was crying or I was feeding Lexi. I did manage to get in about an hour long nap this afternoon, which was really nice. I can't imagine how tired I would be by now if I hadn't gotten that little snooze.
This afternoon I also managed to get the 3 of us dressed and out the door for a walk. It took about a half an hour to get the girls happy, clean, diapers changed, warm clothes on and myself dressed and all of us out the door just for a 20 minute walk, but I so needed to get out of the house and enjoy the nice weather. I haven't had a chance to take advantage of the warm temperatures yet and Addy needed some fresh air too. So hopefully it will help us all to get a good night's sleep tonight.
Today Jamie found out that rather than working close to home for a couple of months before going back to Camrose, they will be starting six week's worth of work there sometime this week. So being home without him at all during the week will be tough, but I have people to ask for help so hopefully we'll do okay. I am feeling a little sad, though, that he will miss alot of Lexi's first couple of months. By the time he is back here and working close to home, she will be alot bigger. Oh well, such is life, I guess.
Anyways, my bed is calling me so I am going to go try to get some sleep. Here's hoping for a good night with both girls. Lexi gave me a rough time from 1am-3am last night, and Addy was up twice in hysterics, so hopefully tonight will be better.
This afternoon I also managed to get the 3 of us dressed and out the door for a walk. It took about a half an hour to get the girls happy, clean, diapers changed, warm clothes on and myself dressed and all of us out the door just for a 20 minute walk, but I so needed to get out of the house and enjoy the nice weather. I haven't had a chance to take advantage of the warm temperatures yet and Addy needed some fresh air too. So hopefully it will help us all to get a good night's sleep tonight.
Today Jamie found out that rather than working close to home for a couple of months before going back to Camrose, they will be starting six week's worth of work there sometime this week. So being home without him at all during the week will be tough, but I have people to ask for help so hopefully we'll do okay. I am feeling a little sad, though, that he will miss alot of Lexi's first couple of months. By the time he is back here and working close to home, she will be alot bigger. Oh well, such is life, I guess.
Anyways, my bed is calling me so I am going to go try to get some sleep. Here's hoping for a good night with both girls. Lexi gave me a rough time from 1am-3am last night, and Addy was up twice in hysterics, so hopefully tonight will be better.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Boy am I a slacker, almost a week since my last post.
Really, this last week has not been very eventful. We did some visiting over the weekend, but that's about it for excitement. Yesterday Jamie went back to work, so I have been on my own. Addy spent Monday night at my mom's and she didn't bring her home until almost suppertime yesterday, so today has been my first full day with both girls without any help, and it has been going surprisingly well. Addy had a long nap and now she is back in her crib because she is kind of crabby this afternoon and seemed like she could use more sleep, although she has yet to fall asleep. And Lexi is in the swing snoozing away.
Addy is so close to walking it scares me. She will stand on her own, and she has taken a few steps (the first time being on Feb. 10th), but she is still a little scared. It won't be long, though. She doesn't even seem like a baby to me anymore.
I feel lately like all I do is nurse the baby. She is so hungry. During the day she's fine, and she's usually fine after I've gotten her down for the night, but in the late evening before bed and in the early morning (like 5-6am) she is ravenous. This morning I brought her to bed at 6am because she was hungry and I was tired, and I slept while she nursed off and on for 2 entire hours. And then she was still fussing to eat, so I gave her a bottle and she took about an ounce and a half of that before she was finally content.
I really can't complain, though. She is so good, even if she does seem to think she's starving to death lately. And Addy has continued to like her and lavish her with attention and hugs and kisses, which is a big relief. I was kind of worried that the novelty of her might wear off and she would start to feel jealous (I would certainly feel jealous if I were her stuck in the playpen while Mommy held and nursed the baby), but she has been so awesome. Here's hoping that things stay this way.
I saw the doctor yesterday and he said my incision looks good. He cut off that little piece where the stitch had poked through and come undone. It's a little sore there now because he pulled it to cut it, but it's not bad. My blood pressure was still on the high side (140/100). He said that at this point he isn't going to worry about it, but if it's still high at my 6-week check-up then he may put me on something. I won't have that appointment until April because he's gone on holidays all next month, so perhaps I will be able to get my iud by the time he is back and I go in. No more babies for me, or at least not for a very long time.
Actually, the crazy thing is I have really been missing being pregnant. I guess because I have spent the better part of 2 years prego, it feels strange to not be now. Although I'm sure if I felt with Lexi like I did with Addy I would certainly not be missing it, but even when I had the pre-eclampsia with Lexi I didn't feel sick.
Oh well, miss it all I want, I won't be that way again for a very long, long time.
Really, this last week has not been very eventful. We did some visiting over the weekend, but that's about it for excitement. Yesterday Jamie went back to work, so I have been on my own. Addy spent Monday night at my mom's and she didn't bring her home until almost suppertime yesterday, so today has been my first full day with both girls without any help, and it has been going surprisingly well. Addy had a long nap and now she is back in her crib because she is kind of crabby this afternoon and seemed like she could use more sleep, although she has yet to fall asleep. And Lexi is in the swing snoozing away.
Addy is so close to walking it scares me. She will stand on her own, and she has taken a few steps (the first time being on Feb. 10th), but she is still a little scared. It won't be long, though. She doesn't even seem like a baby to me anymore.
I feel lately like all I do is nurse the baby. She is so hungry. During the day she's fine, and she's usually fine after I've gotten her down for the night, but in the late evening before bed and in the early morning (like 5-6am) she is ravenous. This morning I brought her to bed at 6am because she was hungry and I was tired, and I slept while she nursed off and on for 2 entire hours. And then she was still fussing to eat, so I gave her a bottle and she took about an ounce and a half of that before she was finally content.
I really can't complain, though. She is so good, even if she does seem to think she's starving to death lately. And Addy has continued to like her and lavish her with attention and hugs and kisses, which is a big relief. I was kind of worried that the novelty of her might wear off and she would start to feel jealous (I would certainly feel jealous if I were her stuck in the playpen while Mommy held and nursed the baby), but she has been so awesome. Here's hoping that things stay this way.
I saw the doctor yesterday and he said my incision looks good. He cut off that little piece where the stitch had poked through and come undone. It's a little sore there now because he pulled it to cut it, but it's not bad. My blood pressure was still on the high side (140/100). He said that at this point he isn't going to worry about it, but if it's still high at my 6-week check-up then he may put me on something. I won't have that appointment until April because he's gone on holidays all next month, so perhaps I will be able to get my iud by the time he is back and I go in. No more babies for me, or at least not for a very long time.
Actually, the crazy thing is I have really been missing being pregnant. I guess because I have spent the better part of 2 years prego, it feels strange to not be now. Although I'm sure if I felt with Lexi like I did with Addy I would certainly not be missing it, but even when I had the pre-eclampsia with Lexi I didn't feel sick.
Oh well, miss it all I want, I won't be that way again for a very long, long time.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy Valentine's Day
Although today is Valentine's Day, it really wasn't different from any other day around here. We opt not to do anything for v-day because we both feel that it's important to show each other our love and do nice things for one another every day, not just one day, so all we did was exchange cards. We also got cards for the girls and a little box of chocolates for Addy. My mom also got them the cutest little matching slippers, and more chocolate for my tiny choco-holic. So, again, like every other day, it was more about them than us, but that's the way it should be.
Today was also our first outing since bringing Alexis home. We went to Vegreville to do some shopping. The diaper situation here was not looking good and we didn't figure we'd make it to the weekend. Anyways, it went really well. Alexis slept from the time we put her in the carseat to leave until we got home and took her out of the carseat. Poor Addy had a little breakdown when we got to the check-out because I wouldn't let her have the diaper coupons, but we made it out of there alive. Then we got home and I was exhausted, so when Addy and Alexis went to sleep, so did I.
Tonight I finally gave up on waiting until day 10, and I had a bath. I figured it's day 8, my incision is closed up and I hadn't had a bath in at least 9 or 10 days (the shower just doesn't cut it...lol), so I got in the tub. I also wanted to take my steri-strips off and there was no way I was doing that without soaking them first. My incision looks good, though, except for at one end of it there was a stitch out (they only stitched inside with the dissolved stitches). Anyways, this stitch was out and in the tub I notice it had come undone so now there is a piece of "thread" about 1cm long coming out of my incision and just sitting there. So we'll see what the doctor says about that. I'm to go see him on Tuesday.
Anyways, I'm sleepy and Jamie should be done giving Alexis her bedtime supplement, so I think we're all going to head off to bed.
Today was also our first outing since bringing Alexis home. We went to Vegreville to do some shopping. The diaper situation here was not looking good and we didn't figure we'd make it to the weekend. Anyways, it went really well. Alexis slept from the time we put her in the carseat to leave until we got home and took her out of the carseat. Poor Addy had a little breakdown when we got to the check-out because I wouldn't let her have the diaper coupons, but we made it out of there alive. Then we got home and I was exhausted, so when Addy and Alexis went to sleep, so did I.
Tonight I finally gave up on waiting until day 10, and I had a bath. I figured it's day 8, my incision is closed up and I hadn't had a bath in at least 9 or 10 days (the shower just doesn't cut it...lol), so I got in the tub. I also wanted to take my steri-strips off and there was no way I was doing that without soaking them first. My incision looks good, though, except for at one end of it there was a stitch out (they only stitched inside with the dissolved stitches). Anyways, this stitch was out and in the tub I notice it had come undone so now there is a piece of "thread" about 1cm long coming out of my incision and just sitting there. So we'll see what the doctor says about that. I'm to go see him on Tuesday.
Anyways, I'm sleepy and Jamie should be done giving Alexis her bedtime supplement, so I think we're all going to head off to bed.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Back once again!
Jamie, Alexis and I arrived home on Saturday, which happened to be Addy's birthday. Had it not been her birthday, I probably would have opted to spend another day in the hospital, but I really wanted to be home for Addy's birthday so when the doctor gave me the option, I didn't hesitate when I told him I wanted to come home.
Our adjustment has been good. I was pretty nervous about what it would be like to go from one kid to 2 (or in our case, babies) but so far it has been a really easy transition. Now, that being said, I have yet to have to look after both girls by myself, so we will see how it goes when Jamie is back to work and I'm past the point of having someone else come every day.
Alexis is a really good baby. She is so similar to Addy, both in looks and personality, but she is much more demanding. She wants what she wants and she wants it 5 minutes ago. We're dealing with a mild case of jaundice right now, but it seems to be improving. She spends most of her time sleeping, and when she isn't asleep she's eating. Since she was born, she has consistently had a good night and a bad night. On the good nights she will go 3-4 hours between the start of one feeding to the beginning of the next. The bad nights are another story. She will be up every 1/2 hour to every hour wanting to eat and she just doesn't seem to be satisfied with what she's getting, so we have started supplementing her at night. On those bad nights, she also doesn't like to be put down, so as soon as you lay her in her bed (or if you're really "lucky" she'll wait until you've just dozed off), she will scream her little head off. I will spend an insane amount of time trying to get her to sleep and then laying her down (and then starting over when she wakes up screaming) because I am not a fan of co-sleeping, but lucky for Alexis her daddy is the opposite and there have been quite a few times where I wake up and he has his back to me and is all snuggled up with the baby.
Addy has made such an awesome adjustment to having the baby here and losing a significant amount of my attention (although alot of that is because of the c-section and the fact that I can't pick her up). She adores Alexis and is always pointing at her saying "pretty" and trying to hold her little hands and give her kisses. It is so sweet to watch.
She has also taken her first steps. She has no problem standing on her own, it's taking those steps but on Sunday night she took 2 and last night she took another 2. My baby is on the road to toddlerhood.
I'm also doing pretty good. The baby blues are definitely not as bad as they were with Addy, but I do still have my moments. My pain hasn't been too bad at all, except for some left-sided abdominal pain and some incredibly painful tape burns from my dressings. But the tape burns are alot better now and I don't have much pain at all. I go see the doctor next Tuesday to see how I am doing and to get my incision checked out, but it has been healing really well. The health nurse came yesterday and that went well too, and she even told us that Alexis is gaining weight alot quicker than most babies do and she is almost back up to her birthweight.
Anyways, I'm off to have a rest, but I'll share some pictures first.
Our adjustment has been good. I was pretty nervous about what it would be like to go from one kid to 2 (or in our case, babies) but so far it has been a really easy transition. Now, that being said, I have yet to have to look after both girls by myself, so we will see how it goes when Jamie is back to work and I'm past the point of having someone else come every day.
Alexis is a really good baby. She is so similar to Addy, both in looks and personality, but she is much more demanding. She wants what she wants and she wants it 5 minutes ago. We're dealing with a mild case of jaundice right now, but it seems to be improving. She spends most of her time sleeping, and when she isn't asleep she's eating. Since she was born, she has consistently had a good night and a bad night. On the good nights she will go 3-4 hours between the start of one feeding to the beginning of the next. The bad nights are another story. She will be up every 1/2 hour to every hour wanting to eat and she just doesn't seem to be satisfied with what she's getting, so we have started supplementing her at night. On those bad nights, she also doesn't like to be put down, so as soon as you lay her in her bed (or if you're really "lucky" she'll wait until you've just dozed off), she will scream her little head off. I will spend an insane amount of time trying to get her to sleep and then laying her down (and then starting over when she wakes up screaming) because I am not a fan of co-sleeping, but lucky for Alexis her daddy is the opposite and there have been quite a few times where I wake up and he has his back to me and is all snuggled up with the baby.
Addy has made such an awesome adjustment to having the baby here and losing a significant amount of my attention (although alot of that is because of the c-section and the fact that I can't pick her up). She adores Alexis and is always pointing at her saying "pretty" and trying to hold her little hands and give her kisses. It is so sweet to watch.
She has also taken her first steps. She has no problem standing on her own, it's taking those steps but on Sunday night she took 2 and last night she took another 2. My baby is on the road to toddlerhood.
I'm also doing pretty good. The baby blues are definitely not as bad as they were with Addy, but I do still have my moments. My pain hasn't been too bad at all, except for some left-sided abdominal pain and some incredibly painful tape burns from my dressings. But the tape burns are alot better now and I don't have much pain at all. I go see the doctor next Tuesday to see how I am doing and to get my incision checked out, but it has been healing really well. The health nurse came yesterday and that went well too, and she even told us that Alexis is gaining weight alot quicker than most babies do and she is almost back up to her birthweight.
Anyways, I'm off to have a rest, but I'll share some pictures first.
Introducing...
Alexis Avery MacDonald
Alexis arrived via c-section on Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 at 8:37am. She weighed in at 7 pounds and 15 ounces and was 20 inches long.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
My last entry for awhile.
Well, it is almost 10:00pm the night before the surgery and I am still not ready. The diaper bag is packed, but that's about it. My bag isn't packed, Jamie's isn't, the carseat isn't installed. Lots to get done, but eventually it will be done.
I'm still not convinced that we are having a baby tomorrow. My sister-in-law was here tonight and we were talking about how this is my last night with the baby belly (tomorrow night it will just be a flabby belly...*sigh*) and I just couldn't believe it. I can't believe this pregnancy is almost over. It seems like I only just found out. It seems like I only just had Addy (yes, okay, I kind of only did just have Addy, but you know what I mean). But I'm glad that for the most part (and what I had the time to pay attention to) that I did get to enjoy this pregnancy and experience all the positives, because I really felt last time that I didn't get to do that.
Anyways, enough of that, I just wanted to come on and say good-bye to everyone. I'll be back home probably Sunday, and hopefully I will get a chance, not to mention have the energy, to come on and say hello and share some pictures.
Think of me in 10 hours...I will be in (or on my way into) surgery...Yikes!!
I'm still not convinced that we are having a baby tomorrow. My sister-in-law was here tonight and we were talking about how this is my last night with the baby belly (tomorrow night it will just be a flabby belly...*sigh*) and I just couldn't believe it. I can't believe this pregnancy is almost over. It seems like I only just found out. It seems like I only just had Addy (yes, okay, I kind of only did just have Addy, but you know what I mean). But I'm glad that for the most part (and what I had the time to pay attention to) that I did get to enjoy this pregnancy and experience all the positives, because I really felt last time that I didn't get to do that.
Anyways, enough of that, I just wanted to come on and say good-bye to everyone. I'll be back home probably Sunday, and hopefully I will get a chance, not to mention have the energy, to come on and say hello and share some pictures.
Think of me in 10 hours...I will be in (or on my way into) surgery...Yikes!!
Monday, February 4, 2008
"The" Week
It's Monday, the start of another week. And this is going to be one heck of a week. The day after tomorrow is c-section day.
Today I had to get up early and be in Viking for 8:30am to get my bloodwork for the crossmatch done. Jamie's mom came and watched Addy while I was gone. I also had to see the doctor to get my blood pressure checked, but the walk-in clinic was at the hospital this morning, so that worked out good for me. I also figured I had better see him because I fell going out to the vehicle this morning.
It was last Monday that we got the loads and loads of snow, and the town still has not come around to clear our street. I would say about 90% of all the streets are done, and even some of them have had the snow removed, not just piled out of the way, but our street always sits and sits and sits. It's packed down where you actually drive, but along the sides where you park it's a mess and we only have street parking.
Anyways, enough of me being long-winded. I fell because the street is a mess, but I ended up on my hands and knees, not my belly. The doctor said you're usually pretty safe unless you land on your belly, but he had a listen to the baby just to be safe and said it sounds good. He also said that while taking a fall like that is very unlikely to hurt the baby, at this stage it could theoretically put me into labor. I promptly told him to not say anything about labor, because I am not going into labor. If I have to have a c-section anyways, no way am I going to endure the pain of labor again first.
For the rest of the day I plan to just take things easy. I need to un-decorate from the party, but that shouldn't take long. I may even just leave it for Jamie to do tonight. There's a bit of laundry to be done, but that's it.
Tomorrow all I intend on doing is finishing up whatever laundry doesn't get done today, or accumulates between tonight and tomorrow. The dogs are going to the groomer for 3pm and it sounds like all 3 of us are going to make that trip, but other than that I am going to enjoy the calm before the storm and spend as much 1 on 1 time with Addy as I can.
Today I had to get up early and be in Viking for 8:30am to get my bloodwork for the crossmatch done. Jamie's mom came and watched Addy while I was gone. I also had to see the doctor to get my blood pressure checked, but the walk-in clinic was at the hospital this morning, so that worked out good for me. I also figured I had better see him because I fell going out to the vehicle this morning.
It was last Monday that we got the loads and loads of snow, and the town still has not come around to clear our street. I would say about 90% of all the streets are done, and even some of them have had the snow removed, not just piled out of the way, but our street always sits and sits and sits. It's packed down where you actually drive, but along the sides where you park it's a mess and we only have street parking.
Anyways, enough of me being long-winded. I fell because the street is a mess, but I ended up on my hands and knees, not my belly. The doctor said you're usually pretty safe unless you land on your belly, but he had a listen to the baby just to be safe and said it sounds good. He also said that while taking a fall like that is very unlikely to hurt the baby, at this stage it could theoretically put me into labor. I promptly told him to not say anything about labor, because I am not going into labor. If I have to have a c-section anyways, no way am I going to endure the pain of labor again first.
For the rest of the day I plan to just take things easy. I need to un-decorate from the party, but that shouldn't take long. I may even just leave it for Jamie to do tonight. There's a bit of laundry to be done, but that's it.
Tomorrow all I intend on doing is finishing up whatever laundry doesn't get done today, or accumulates between tonight and tomorrow. The dogs are going to the groomer for 3pm and it sounds like all 3 of us are going to make that trip, but other than that I am going to enjoy the calm before the storm and spend as much 1 on 1 time with Addy as I can.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
The Birthday Party
There is a good reason why you should not have more than one child born per month...It could very well kill you. I barely survived Addy's party and I can't stop thinking "Next year I have to do this twice in about a week!" Oh boy.
Actually, the party itself wasn't what almost killed me, it was all the prep work. I felt like I spent the entire week doing chores to get everything ready, and I was still up early on Saturday to finish the cleaning, do the decorating and get all the last minute things ready.
I'm sure I complained at some point this week about the lack of RSVP's and how annoyed I was. But then to make matters worse, people who we had tracked down and who said they were coming didn't show (and only 1 person out of those called to say she wouldn't be able to make it), and then more people yet showed up over an hour late. How could you possibly show up an hour late to a 2-hour party? Whatever.
Anyways, the party was good and Addy seemed to be happy and have alot of fun despite the fact that she didn't get to nap. Towards the end of cake time she was getting fussy and was making everyone aware she wanted to go to bed, but I really could not ask for her to have been better behaved.
She got spoiled in the presents department, which was no surprise. She is one loved little girlie.
She was quite confused by her cake at first too, which I thought was cute, but once she had it figured out that cake was a goner.
There's lots of pictures on facebook to check out, and I'll have some on motherhood too.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Tomorrow is party day!
Today I managed to get alot done and to get Jamie to help out with his fair share too (miracle of miracles!), so I think that come tomorrow at 2pm we have a good chance of being ready for the party!
I'm actually really annoyed because other than our parents, we have had no one rsvp without having to get ahold of them ourselves and ask. That is one of my biggest pet peeves. It says right on the invitation to rsvp and it has our phone number and my email address right there, and not one person (other than our parents who we knew would be here anyways) could find the time to let one of us know. How hard is it to pick up a phone for 30 seconds, or send a quick email? Not very. But it is hard to plan a party and food and drinks and all that when you don't even have a ballpark idea of how many people are coming.
Okay, rant over.
Other than for a couple of minutes before lunch, I have been feeling pretty good today. But I cannot even begin to describe how sick I am of this constant pain in my ribs. I cannot wait until this baby is out and his/her foot is not constantly pressed up into my ribcage.
Anyways, I have a few more things I want to get done before my motivation and energy completely leave me, so I'm off to finish my work so I can relax a bit before I have to make supper.
I'm actually really annoyed because other than our parents, we have had no one rsvp without having to get ahold of them ourselves and ask. That is one of my biggest pet peeves. It says right on the invitation to rsvp and it has our phone number and my email address right there, and not one person (other than our parents who we knew would be here anyways) could find the time to let one of us know. How hard is it to pick up a phone for 30 seconds, or send a quick email? Not very. But it is hard to plan a party and food and drinks and all that when you don't even have a ballpark idea of how many people are coming.
Okay, rant over.
Other than for a couple of minutes before lunch, I have been feeling pretty good today. But I cannot even begin to describe how sick I am of this constant pain in my ribs. I cannot wait until this baby is out and his/her foot is not constantly pressed up into my ribcage.
Anyways, I have a few more things I want to get done before my motivation and energy completely leave me, so I'm off to finish my work so I can relax a bit before I have to make supper.
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