Playing around with the camera-part 2

Blakely-1 month old

Blakely is 1 month old today!

I have survived having 2 kiddos for a whole month!

Boston at 1 month

Its hard to believe she is already a month old.  It seems like just yesterday I had her, but then it also seems like she has been a part of our family forever.  She is such a good baby and only cries when she is hungry or her belly hurts. Just this past week she has started having a lot more awake time and sometimes at night it has been hard to get her to go back to sleep after a feeding. The last two nights haven't been bad though.

She usually eats every 3-4 hours and we are exclusively breast feeding, but she has taken a few bottles without problem.  I am trying to get closer to a "schedule" on feedings but it still varies each day.  At nighttime, she usually eats around 9 or 10, then 1 or 2, then 6 or so.  Which isn't bad!

She loves her paci (just like her brother) and I need to invent a device that keeps those suckers in her mouth!  She freaks out sometime when it comes out.  She will only take the exact same kind that Boston did (avent).  I thought that would be a problem, but Boston hasn't thought twice about putting it in his mouth, thank goodness!

We weighed her this week and she is a whopping 7.2lbs on our scale.  She is growing like a weed!

She is still in newborn clothes and diapers and some 0-3 month clothes if they run small.

We have so many cute 3 month summer outfits that she will never get to wear :(  She doesn't have many fall clothes and I'm not sure what size to get yet. I'm thinking 0-3 months for now.  I hate to buy things that she may not get to wear.

I think Boston is adjusting better to having her around.  If he doesn't see her he asks where she is and always makes sure to let us know when she's crying (as if we can't hear her, ha!)  He used to play by himself so well, but since her arrival, he wants me or someone in his room with him at all times. Which makes it super hard to get anything done around the house! It has helped having him in MDO and his Gran C and Papa have helped out a bunch too.

If we don't keep a close eye on him at all times, he is usually doing something he isn't supposed to.  But it is getting better!

Baby girl, you make our family complete and we love you bunches!

Playing around

My friend Amanda came out to see Blake a couple of weeks ago and we played around with the camera. 

I was disappointed that I didn't get any photos of Boston and Blake or me and Blake from Heather.

I thought these turned out good!

 practicing his serious face, ha!

She will be 1 month old tomorrow!  I HAVE to figure out what I want to do for birth announcements!

I plan on doing a monthly photo/post like I did for Boston.  I just hope I can keep up!

Priceless

When I'm at my wits end and I think I can't handle it.  That there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
When I feel like I'm failing at everything I do.

I see this...

 and it's all worth it!

I'm so glad I was able to capture a priceless moment like this.

It makes my heart happy! 

Blakely's nursery-finally finished!

 Better late than never, right?!?

 I finally finished the canvas this week.

 Bookshelf is from Target and it matches the crib perfect!  The rocker is my craigslist score for $30.  It was a stained oak and I painted it and made the cushions for it.

Can you tell I'm currently obsessed with the antique/vintage looking frames?  The wall frames I ordered from etsy.  Its hard to tell in the photo but they are distressed.

 We used the same crib and dresser as we had for Boston, I just changed out the hardware to make it a bit more girly looking.  The small rocking chair was mine when I was little, I just painted and fixed it up a bit.

The lamp is from TJ Maxx and I recovered the shade.  The mirror is from Garden Ridge, originally silver and I spray painted it.

It turned out so bright and cheery!  I love it! It's a lot more girly than I originally planned.  I don't consider myself a "girly" girl at all.  The ultimate look I was going for is a modern vintage look.  I had so much fun creating it even amongst the stress!

Blakes first time at church

We all went to church this past Sunday. Blake slept almost the whole time.

It is so important to me that we raise our kids in church.  Boston loves Sunday school and I hope Blake will too.

This was our sad attempt at getting a picture with both kids...

First Day of School (MDO)

 Mothers Day Out-Day 1 was a success!

He was such a big boy!  No tears from either one of us.

He was so excited about the playground.  That's all he really cared about, ha!

His teachers said he did really good today at playing, going potty and nap time.  

For lunch I sent a lunchable of cheese, turkey and crackers with an apple juice and a sippy cup of milk.  I was surprised when he had some milk left when I picked him up!  That is the first thing he asked for when we got in the car though.   

 I really hope he continues to do so well.

I spent my time this morning going to Walmart and cleaning house/doing laundry.  No fun!

I found this shirt at a kids boutique and couldnt resist!

1 week appointment and 2.5 years old

We made it out of the house to her 1 week appointment on Monday.  It took me 3 hours to get myself and the kids ready and we rushed out the door.  I'm hoping that isnt the case every time we go somewhere!

She did really well at the Dr.  She weighs an even 6lbs and is still 18-3/4" long.  We go back for a 2 month check up next and she will get shots :(

So far she is sleeping and eating great, however she is still spitting up some.  The Dr said to keep an eye on it for now.  She may have reflux.  I had forgotten how a nursing baby dictates your schedule (if you want to call it a schedule).  And I have learned not to ever ever skip a nap for Boston right now.  We had a time with him on Monday afternoon/night.  He is still very whiny and defiant.  I haven't been able to pay as much attention to Blake as I would like because I'm trying to help Boston adjust to this new way of life.  I feel so guilty sometimes for turning his world upside down!

Boston starts MDO on Monday and I have mixed feelings about it.  Guilt is setting in and I hope he doesn't think I am shipping him off because we have Blake now.  He used to love daycare so I'm hoping for the same here.  However it is in another town and not our church so the place will be totally new for him.  He will go Mondays and Thursdays from 8:30-2:30.  We are trying the 3 year old room because that is the only space they had left.  He is supposed to be potty trained (which has totally gone down the drain the past 2 weeks) but I told them we are in the process so they are letting us try it out.  He may get kicked out, ha!

If it all works out, he will get the social and learning time he needs and i will get one on one time with Blake.  Prayers are much appreciated for this transition.

On another note Boston is 2.5 years old today!  Where has the time gone? Having Blakely has made me realize how much I had forgotten about when he was a newborn.  He especially seems and looks so much older to me now because of Blakely. I just want to cherish this time with both of them and I don't want to miss a thing! Right now he loves cars, animals, water and anything to do with art/colors (thats one thing he gets from me).  He still doesnt eat well and drinks a ton of milk!  I have to pack his lunch for MDO and have no idea what to send.  A gallon of milk? ha! His vocabulary has taken off and he repeats a lot of what we say.  He loves Sunday school and playing outside.  He is still in pullups day and night.  Sometimes he wants to wear big boy underwear and i let him, but theres sure to be an accident! I'm not trying to push the issue, especially now.  He is moving in to 3T clothes and still will only wear crocs for shoes.  Bedtime is around 8:30-9:00 and he normally wakes early morning and comes into our room and goes back to sleep until 6 or 7.  He definitley keeps me on my toes and I wanted to document some of these things to remember later.

here is our little sleeping angel with wild hair

Life as a family of 4-Week 1

Life as a family of 4 has been a bit overwhelming but I can't imagine it any other way now.  I don't see how some do it with more than two kids.  Kyle and I have been taking turns with each kid as much as possible.  At least there is one for each!  Boston has been doing ok with everything.  However he has really started acting out this week.  Demanding time and attention from me which I understand, but he has been extra whiny and defiant.  Potty training has digressed as well.  

I've had a bit of a hard time feeling guilty about how much time and attention I give Boston and Blake.  I really wish I had a clone sometimes. 

We have stayed in the house all week because it has been so hot! We've had quite a few visitors though.

  I'm ready to get out and about, but scared at the same time to go anywhere with both of them by myself.  We have Blake's 1 week appointment on tomorrow and I'm anxious to see how much she has grown.  This girl loves to eat (every 3 hours if not less)!  But she also spits up and poops A LOT.

Here are a few pics from this past week.  It has flown by!

ready to go home!

first bath at home

 she always has her hands next to her face

She has been a great baby so far!

 Happy 1 week sweet pea!!!

Blakely's Newborn pics

We had Heather Owens come to the house to do Blakes pictures on Friday.  She did almost all of Bostons pictures his first year and we love them.

I know she got some really good ones! I'm a bit disappointed that we didnt get any of us with her or just of Boston and Blake, but by that time it was Bostons nap time and Blakely was ready to eat.

I love these and can't wait to see the rest!

Blakely's birth story

Blakely arrived very quickly and full of drama to say the least!

I had been having contractions for a couple of weeks but nothing consistent so I figured the same was happening yesterday (Sunday) morning.  At about 7am I woke up feeling the same ole contractions. I think they were about 10-15 min apart.  I finally got up and was going to get myself and Boston ready for church, Kyle had gone to play golf with his dad.  At this point the contractions were about 8 min apart but no more painful than usual so I assumed they would eventually go away.  They weren't letting up so I called Kyle's mom to come get Boston and take him to church.  I continued to get ready and the contractions got stronger and closer together so I called kyle home.  We packed up and headed to L&D. All this time I was thinking "I bet we get sent home" since I was just at 2cm on Thursday and my contractions only started a few hours ago."

We got there at 11:00 and went straight back to a room and waited. and waited. and waited to get hooked up to the monitors, etc.  The nurse finally checked me around noon (mid contraction) and said I was only at 2.5cm!  I thought this can't be!  She proceeded to call my Dr and we continued to wait while my contractions kept getting stronger and closer together.  I guess I have a pretty high tolerance for pain because by the time my Dr got there to check me (30 minutes later) I was at 6cm!  They were in shock!  At this point I still had no meds or IV's.  They immedialtely hooked me up to the IV, broke my water, and gave me stadol.  My Dr left to go put her scrubs on and we had to wait for my labs to get back before I could get the epidural.  During that time the contractions got SO STRONG!  The nurse antethesis(sp?) finally got there and I was sobbing in pain and could barely talk.  He kept asking me questions, telling me to move this way, that way, etc.  I wanted to punch him in the face and say "get on with it!"  He could clearly see I was in pain I was almost screaming at this point and he was taking his precious time.  While he was putting the epidural in, I felt the need to push a couple of times and I literally thought I was going to have her right then.  I could feel everything!  The minute he was finished the nurse checked me and I was at 10cm and ready to go!  My dr was not back yet and the meds were not kicking in at all.  They went to get more meds to calm me down I guess b/c at this point I was screaming/crying and thought I was going to pass out or die.  Seriously.

The nurses were actually preparing to deliver her when my Dr shows up.  I pushed about 6 times and out she came at 2:11pm (remember we got there at 11am and i got checked at noon)!  However, the cord was wrapped so tightly around her neck, Dr had to immediately cut the cord to loosen it.  She was blue and not responsive.  Scared me to death!!!  The nurses took her over and bagged her (oxygen, etc) after what seemed like forever, i heard her cry!  They called in someone from NICU to clear out her lungs and work on her breathing some more. Apparently the cause of all of this was the fact that they had given me so much stadol right before she was born that it affected Blakely, plus the fact she came out so fast the cord tightened around her neck abruptly.

When she was finally in the clear they brought her to me and she immediately started feeding and wanted to do so the rest of the afternoon!  The rest of the family didn't get to come back until about 4:30 b/c of all the chaos.  

Boston was so excited and proud of his little sister!  It was so cute and melted my heart!  Priceless moment for sure!

For the rest of the afternoon/night Blakely seemed to be trying to get used to life on the outside.  She was very fussy and wanted to eat all. the. time.  I got maybe 2 hours of sleep last night.

Today has been a MUCH better day!  I have actually had to wake her up to eat!  The hospital wants her to eat every 3 hours because she is so small and tested positive for Coombs(higher possibility for jaundice).

She did great on all of her tests today and we should be going home tomorrow!

As far as myself is concerned, I must say that my recovery this time has been much better than with Boston.  She came out so quickly and I pushed so much less this time (over an hour with Boston).  I didn't have to get stitches this time and I think it has made a world of difference.  Most of my pain has actually been in my back.

So yesterday was definitely a whirlwind and one to never be forgotten!

We love you so much baby girl and can't imagine our family without you!

Blakely Gray has arrived!

Blakely Gray made her grand appearance VERY QUICKLY on Sunday July 31st at 2:11pm.  She weighed 5lbs 15oz and 18-3/4" long.  She is TINY!  

Boston is a very proud big brother :)

I will do a post later about the overwhelming birth story, ha~

We are all doing great and hope to be home tomorrow!