Three Month Stats

Hazel went to the pediatrician on Wednesday for her two month well baby check up. We were a month overdue  because of the move. She got her DTaP and Rotavirus vaccines and did great. I was so worried about her flipping out but she gave an annoyed little fuss and was great. Whew!

She weighed 13 lbs. 12 oz. (+5 since birth) and was 23 1/4 inches long. She's a perfect growing girl! A perfect growing girl who rolled over for the first time today! And I got it on video!

Tomorrow we head to Tennessee for a week with my huge immediate family. They'll be 22 people at my sister's but luckily she has a huge house! ...and my brother is flying in from Seattle so we get to have all 3 babies together again. I can't wait to see how much they've grown!

Three Months Old

 I know I probably sound like a broken record but I can't believe my baby is already three months old! Time is going too quickly. She is pretty much in all 3-6 months clothes now and has been for a few weeks. She has become so vocal and gives us the most beautiful smiles constantly. She and I have entire conversations in grunt, squeals and screeches. She is so happy first thing in the morning and pretty much only cries if she's wet or tired. I stay on top of  nursing her so she rarely cries because she's hungry but she'll cry when she wants to comfort nurse.

 

I feed her on demand so she doesn't really have a set schedule of any sort but she has kind of put herself on one. She'll go down anytime between 7:30 and 8:30 and will be up between 6 and 7. She still sleeps with me and nurses about every three hours at night. I really can't complain! Although, Daylight Savings Time really messed her up and for a few days we were up way before 6. That wasn't fun.

She has mastered the backwards scoot and will kick herself to the edge of her play mat. She is almost rolling over! She's about 3/4 way there and gets stuck because of her arm and shoulder. I have no idea how much she weighs or how long she is because we haven't been to the doctor yet  We tried going yesterday but Tricare never switched us over to the new region so we couldn't be seen.

 

Her likes:
Her playmat
Reading books
Sucking her fingers. She hasn't quite figured out her thumb yet. 
Her swing for short periods
Baths--she loves to splash!
looking at her bows and room decorations when getting her diaper changed
The bumblebee game and being tickled
Nursing--the kid is always on the boob
Her Ergo--thank GOD for babywearing or I wouldn't get anything done
Mommy but she's warming up to Daddy a little more
Bouncing
Watching ND football. Seriously--she just stares at the screen when it's on!

Her dislikes:
The carseat. Still not a fan but she is slowly getting better. We got a mirror that plays music and that keeps her entertained and happy for short spans.
Wet diapers. After a month in sposies i really think she notices when she's wet now and will let us know. Fine with me--maybe she'll potty train more quickly. :)


That's all I can think of! She really is an easy gooing baby. We are so lucky. We just stare and stare at her and still can't believe she's here.We are soaking up every minute because it's going by way too fast.

I love the BEARS and I love my Daddy

One Month Old!

I can't believe it's already been a month since you this beautiful baby girl came into our lives. It's amazing how quickly they change--Hazel doesn't look like a newborn anymore! I think Mike and I are finally figuring out her quirks, likes and dislikes. She still has does her monkey cry (it makes everyone who hears it laugh!) and she's starting to make a lot more noise, particularly in her sleep. She does this adorable thing when she sneezes--she'll sneeze twice and then give a huge sigh like, "That felt good!" It's the cutest thing ever. She is growing so fast and doesn't fit in any newborn clothes anymore but most 0-3 month clothing is still huge on her. She's starting to make eye contact more often and I can *almost* get smiles on demand when I give her raspberries or kiss her neck. She's happiest in Mommy's arms or in the Ring Sling but Dad's arms are a close second. It's hit or miss if she likes her swing and bouncy.

Breastfeeding is still amazing. I have sustained another life for an entire month already! It's a powerful feeling. She's not nursing quite as often anymore but I know she's getting more than enough based on the rolls that she's starting to form. Well, that and her diapers. Who knew little girls could be so explosive?!

Speaking of diapers, cloth diapering is going great too! We are using mostly prefolds and covers at home. I like the Osocozy prefolds over the Green Mountain Diaper prefolds and I love the Thirsties covers. Those double gussets have saved us from blowouts more times than once! I have one Bummis cover that is still a bit too big for her but I don't think I'll like it as much since it doesn't have those double gussets. We have some Alva newborns and Thirsties Duos and have alrwady had to go to the next biggest snap setting! No, shs can't be growing that much already! At night time we are using pocket diapers just because they're easier to put one when we're half awake and I also think that the micro suede helps to keep her feel dryer longer since she's not getting changed as often at night. So far we've only had leaks when she's gone too long without being changed. Since we bedshare, I often wake up long enough just to get her latched and I often fall back asleep before I change her diaper and sometimes we get leaks. I have enough diapers to wash every other day but I normally end up washing every day just because. We do need more wipes though so I'll be sending the remaining of my flannel stash to my friend Allie who is going to make me more.  We're going to do disposable diapers and wipes on our upcoming move though. I hope we don't have any issues with diaper rash or blow outs!

 

Mike went back to work last week so I've had a few days where it's been just the two of us--I've even gone out with her by myself a few times. One time last week to say farewell to some of the members of my natural moms group and once today to say bye to some ladies from the infertility support group I started who are now pregnant or mommies. 

Look at all the babywearing mamas! 

 Since we moved to Washington, we have spent the last two Labor Day weekends at my sister-in-law's mom's lake house up north. The first year we went Mike had just blown out his MCL and PCL so he wasn't able to do much except sit there and enjoy his vicodin. Last year I was recovering from my laparoscopy and this year we had our new baby girl with us! Shannon's family has become a second family to use over the past two and a half years so the weekend was bittersweet as we said our goodbyes to them.  Hazel and the twins got lots of snuggles from everyone!

Baby Heaven!

Hazel and Shannon's grandma Booma

Arthur, Grandma and Hazel

Uncle Shawny and Hazel

I am going to miss the beautiful Pacific Northwest!

Soaking up the sunshine!

 

 

Three Weeks Old?!

How is it possible that my sweet baby girl is already three weeks old tomorrow?! When I think about how slooooooow the last few weeks of my pregnancy went by I am amazed how quickly time is going now that Hazel is here. Before you know it, we will be on our way to Alabama!

I've had several requests for more pictures of Hazel--as if I need an excuse to show my baby off! Haha. But first--a few bullets to discuss what's on my mind and what life with a newborn is like.

• Hazel has changed SO much already. It makes me a little sad, actually. If you compare the pictures I post you will be able to see it too.
• Breastfeeding is going great. It's everything I expected it to be and more. I love our bonding time and I love how she calms down almost instantly when I get her in my arms.  Hazel was back over her birth weight at her 2 week appointment--go boobs! She's starting to find her voice and making all kinds of funny and adorable noises when she nurses. She also pants when she's getting close to the breast--almost like she's excited.
• We are attempting to introduce a bottle (I pump and use breast milk) so that she'll take one in the car during our move if we're unable to stop to nurse (i.e. rush hour city traffic, no where to pull over, etc.) She hated the Avent bottles but chugged down 2 oz. from a TommeeTippee today. Winning.
• I LOVE babywearing. Seriously. I love having my baby close to me when I'm out and about and it's been great at home to have my hands free when I want to get some things done. Hazel loves it too and I've used my ring sling more than once to calm her down. She cuddles with me and goes right to sleep. <3 I have a feeling it's going to come in very handy once Mike goes back to work next week.
• Hot flashes--ugh! No one told me about these. I'm still getting them almost daily but not as often. When they happen I feel like I'm back on fertility drugs!
• On the subject of hot flashes, they really need to make a postpartum deodorant. I smell all the time thanks to these hormones. 
• I am still spotting but my recovery is going pretty well, I think. I still feel swollen in sore if I do too much walking so I'm still taking it relatively easy. My perineum stitches feel all right but my labial stitches are still sore. Sitting on hard surfaces is still very uncomfortable. 
• I love my mama cloth! SO much more comfortable during postpartum recovery and I just wash them with my diapers. 
• Witch hazel pads didn't work for me but I loved Earth Mama Angel Baby's New Mama Bottom Spray. Definitely pack this in your hospital bag!
• I have more stretch marks now than I did when I was pregnant. How is that possible?
• I've lost about half of my pregnancy weight. Hopefully the rest will come off after I'm cleared to start exercising again!
• We are actually getting quite a bit of sleep thanks to bedsharing. She has slept on my chest most of the nights which means I am able to nurse her without her waking up fully and getting all worked up. She nurses in her sleep most of the time and I love cuddling her all night long. She's only going to be this little once, you know? I do have a co-sleeper on my side of the bed that I lay her in when I get up to go to the bathroom or when I'm overly tired and am afraid to sleep with her next to me.
• She sounds like a monkey when she cries.  No long "waaaaaahs" from my little girl. She stutters and sounds like, "ah ah ah ah ah"--a little monkey. I'll try to post a video some time. 
• I.love.cloth.diapering. Even Mike loves cloth diapering! He's commented more than once on how easy it is and how he can't believe that people literally throw money away on disposables. Right now I'm doing laundry every day but I don't really need to. It's really not a big deal and Mike helps me stuff and fold diapers at night. Right now we're using prefolds and Thirsties X-small and Duo covers during the day and some Alva and Knicker Knappies pockets at night. I know it's saving us a ton of money because we will go through at least 10 diapers a day, sometimes more. 
• The movers are coming on the 18th of September. That's....soon.  I am not as excited about the move as I used to be. Now that Hazel and the twins are here I am really sad that they won't grow up together. I'm going to miss having my brother close by too. At least I can talk about moving without crying now though. Thanks Placenta Pills! 

Our first night home. Nana Zero watching over Hazel

Cousins!
Arthur, Hazel and Sadie

 

 

 

Kickin' it old school in my leg warmers

Baby Flash Dance

First trip in the Ergo!

This newborn dress barely fits anymore! No, she can't grow up yet!

Adorable.

Seriously. My new niece, Sadie, is so cute she makes me afraid I'm going to have an ugly baby. Ha!

If My Infertile Self Could See Me Now....

If my infertile self could see or hear me now I am pretty sure she'd slap me. I've officially become that whiny, miserable pregnant woman. I have absolutely loved being pregnant, even when I threw up the first 18 weeks, but these past few days have been awful. I never understood that, "I'm done." feeling I've read about on my birth month board for the last several weeks but I understand it now.  I feel huge, I ache all over, it's increasingly difficult every single day to even get out of bed or off the couch or put on my shoes. Of course the heat wave we've been having in the Pacific Northwest hasn't helped. Our weather here is generally pretty mild--40s in the winter and high 70s in the summer. If it gets above 80 people start complaining and 90 is just downright awful because most people don't have AC here. It's been 90+ the past two days and it's been kicking my butt. Just walking from the car to the inside of a store took all my energy. I feel like a crippled Stay Puff Marshmallow Man. My swelling has been pretty good for  the past few weeks but has returned with a vengeance. Sleeping at 38 weeks pregnant is hard enough when it's not 75+ degrees in your room at night. Seriously, I should just smack myself, right?

Ultimately, I know she will come when she's ready and I know these last few weeks are very important for her health but I still can't wait to meet my baby!!!

The Twins Are Here!!!

 

For those who don't know, my sister-in-law and I had overlapping IVF cycles last November. Last fall, my brother was diagnosed with azoospermia and after testicular mapping it was determined that conception was possible through IVF and sperm extraction. Her egg retrieval was two days after mine and it has been so nice to go through all everything together and at the same time. She knew how scary IVF was and we could commiserate during our pregnancies. God bless Shannon--she carried these beautiful babies to 37w6d!!! They are healthy and beautiful. Mike and I drove up to Seattle today to meet them--they were about 13 hours old by the time we got there. These are the first children for my brother and #3 and #4 for SIL, who has two teenage boys from a previous marriage.

 Arthur_Cormick was born August 4 at 22:40 weighing 6 lbs 9 oz and 19.5".  Sadie_Eliza came at 22:46, 6 lbs 3 oz and 19.5"! Aren't they the sweetest?!
Arthur was SIL's grandpa's name. McCormick was my mom's maiden name. Sadie is just a name SIL loved and Eliza is a tribute to all the Elizabeths in both our families.

Shannon, my sister-in-law, was able to deliver them vaginally with minimal complications! Her water broke about 0430 yesterday morning and because of the increased risk with twins they headed to the hospital right away. Her contractions weren't picking up at all (the nurses eventually decided she had had a premature rupture of membranes and wasn't actually in labor) so they started her on a low dose of pitocin, gradually increasing it over several hours. By 2230 she was fully dilated and ready to push! She delivered in an OR, just in case they needed to do an emergency c-section and get one or both of the babies out quickly. Arthur was out in two contractions (!!!) but Sadie floated to the top of the uterus, was breach and had to be pulled out by her feet, with some difficulty--the OB was elbow deep in Shannon's uterus trying to pull her out--for this reason Shannon, who had hoped for a natural birth, was grateful she elected for a low dose epidural. She couldn't imagine going through all that and feeling everything and I don't blame her.  Sadie gave them quite a scare due to some difficulty breathing at first but once the NICU got her crying, all was well. Both babies are excellent nursers and they are all going home tomorrow! I share this so all of my readers who are mamas of multiples know that vaginal twin deliveries are totally possible! I am so proud of my sister-in-law.


It was so much fun to watch Mike with the twins. It was his first time around newborns and he was just in total amazement. I'm so excited to see how he's going to be with our little girl and both of us are so anxious to meet her now that we've snuggled these cuties.

 Soaking up that intoxicating baby smell....

 

Uncle Mike and Arthur (that's proud big brother in the background)

Sweet Boy

 Sweet Sadie

We're Having a Baby This Month!

Happy August 1st, everyone. I can not believe I can now say, "We're having a baby this month!!!!!" Where has the time gone? I definitely feel like the first two trimesters just flew by and this third has been draaaaagging on. Probably because we've been pretty much prepared for her arrival since 30 weeks. I finished my baby quilt a couple weeks ago and I've been just twiddling my thumbs since. The days seem to drag on and on but that might also be because it pretty much hurts and exhausts me to do anything. Getting out of bed is the worse! Thanks to pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel, my hands and wrists ache. My feet ache. My belly and back ache. Despite all that, I'm still not ready to be done. I mean I am, but I'm not. I'm going to miss being pregnant. I'm going to miss feeling her move inside me. I'm going to miss having her all to myself.

With that said.....

I can't wait to meet her! I can't wait to smell that intoxicating baby smell on her head. I can't wait to look into her eyes and tell her that I'm her mommy. I can't wait to ignore my messy house because I'm too busy snuggling with my baby girl. I can't wait to see Mike melt into an absolute puddle when he meets his daughter for the first time. I can't wait to nurse her and gaze into her eyes--I think knowing that I'm giving her all the nourishment she needs is going to be one of the most empowering things I'll ever feel. I still can't believe that after 4.5 years of waiting, we are going to meet our daughter this month!

During this pregnancy I have been doing a lot to prepare for her arrival. Besides the obvious shopping for clothes, cloth diapers, baby gear, etc. I have been doing some other things to prepare both physically and mentally. I thought I'd share these things for anyone else who may be interested too.

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth
By far my FAVORITE book that I've read on birth. Birth is not to be feared. Birth is natural. Birth is not a medical condition that needs to be treated. (Unless you're high risk and have medical issues that need to be treated, obviously.) Am I nervous for the pain of childbirth? Yes. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. However, I know my body was designed to do this and I welcome the natural process. Honestly, the pain and recovery from a c-section scares me more. I remember how awful I felt after my laparoscopy last summer and I remember saying to Mike, "I can't even imagine feeling this way and having to care for a newborn." Even if you're the type of person who wants nothing to do with a midwife or wants an epidural as soon as she gets to the hospital, I still highly suggest you read this book. Did you know that the average American spends more time researching cars or a new computer than they spend on researching childbirth? It's crazy! Like infertility and IVF, I couldn't imagine going into this with no knowledge. It just blows my mind how blindly some people can follow their doctors. If I did that I would probably still be in the shitty clinic on post, trying like hell to get pregnant instead of anticipating the birth of my baby girl but I digress.  Some of it is a little hippy-dippy but it has so much great information and some really wonderful birth stories.

 The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding
I loved this book so much I read it twice! This book far exceeded any other book I read about breastfeeding. It was incredibly informative and got me totally pumped to nurse my baby girl!. I wish every woman who says, "I am going to try to breastfeed...." would read this! I have no doubts that I can and will breastfeed my daughter. It may come with some issues but I now know who to see if I need help and Mike knows that his role in supporting me in my endeavors is just as important as my role as a nursing mom. I read other books about breastfeeding too and this was by far my favorite.

Natural Hospital Birth: The Best of Both Worlds
This book was great! While I already knew about things like c-section statistics, interventions, rooming in, etc. It helped me be more prepared to advocate for myself and our wishes in a hospital setting. I'm not too worried about getting pushed around by doctors or nurses, mostly because I've heard nothing but great things about my hospital being very supportive of natural birth moms, but also because I know Mike won't allow it. He is not to to allow others bully him and he will definitely speak up for us when I can't. Also, I'll have my doula there!

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea
I've been trying to drink at least one cup a day since a couple weeks after I hit my second trimester. Contrary to popular belief, this does not induce labor. It is a uterine toner and can help make contractions during labor more efficient and help prevent postpartum hemorrhaging. It also helps with fertility and menstrual cramps. Luckily, I'm a big tea drinker so I don't mind the taste though a lot of people say it's too bland for them. It's very refreshing iced as well!  For more on the benefits of drinking RRL tea check out this article. You can find RRL tea at Super.Supplements or in a Natural Foods section of your grocery store. Am.azon sells it for a good deal too!

Evening Primrose Oil
Again, contrary to popular belief this does not directly induce labor.  Evening Primrose Oil contains an essential fatty acid that is converted into a prostaglandin by our bodies, which is what softens our cervix during pregnancy and labor.  Semen also contains naturally prostaglandins and can help your cervix ripen. However, sex can be quite uncomfortable and difficult at this point in pregnancy so needless to say I figured the EPO wouldn't hurt as well. At my 37 week appointment my midwife gave me the green light to start using EPO to help prepare my cervix for birth. I insert two gel caps into my vagina every night before bed (make sure to use a pad or pantyliner as this can get messy!) Starting next week I will up the dosage to 3. The gel caps are dissolved by morning and hopefully the EPO is doing it's thing overnight! It does not work right away, of course. It takes a few weeks to ripen and soften the cervix. I could have started it at 36 weeks but I didn't have an appointment then and I wanted to talk with my midwife to make sure it was okay to start it. It's always a good idea to talk to your care provider before starting any kind of herbal or medicinal regiment.

Big Bouncy Ball
I wish I would have bought one ages ago! This is the only thing that brings me instant relief for back pain. I bounce on it whenever my back feels tight and try to spend at least an hour a day on it. I sit on while I'm watching the Olympics and pretend I'm a lot more than just a huge pregnant lady bouncing on a ball. Sitting on the ball is *almost* as good as the squatting position but much, much easier. Have you ever tried to squat when you're 40 pounds heavier and your center of gravity is totally off? It's not pretty. This position opens the pelvis and helps baby get in prime position for birth! It also feels really, really good on my back and hips. And your animals look at you like you're crazy:

Bailey wondering what I'm doing.

Zero and the bump out for a walk

Walking
I always said that I wasn't going to be lazy during pregnancy and except for those first few months where I didn't feel like doing ANYTHING--I've been pretty good about staying somewhat active. Plus those first few months were winter in the Pacific NW aka cold and rainy season--so I had an excuse, right? ;) Now that my swelling is gone for the most part, I have been going on walks with Mike when he gets home from work. Thankfully it doesn't take too much pleading on my part to get him to go with me because he knows it's good for me and the baby (and the doggies!) We don't go far, mostly because my back gets really tight and painful, but we try to do at least a mile. Most days we do about 1.25-1.5 miles, which seems amazingly far when you are waddling the entire way. I get a lot of stares from people passing by. Haha.  I normally feel some cervical pressure by the end of the walk so I hope it's doing something to help the progress along.


I know I've already said this but we're having a baby this month! Only 16 days until my due date but I won't be surprised if I go post date. I hope that doesn't happen since we're moving so soon but if it comes to that Mike and I have decided to wait until 40 weeks to talk about eviction. Mike and I both guessed that she'll make her arrival on the 14th so I guess we'll see! Have you put in your guess yet?

Oh and I had to share this funny picture! Mike and I went up to Seattle last weekend to hang out with my brother and sister-in-law one last time before the babies start arriving. My SIL now has over 14 pounds of babies in her! She's due August 19 and so far they've shown no signs of coming any time soon. I know she's as ready to meet her babies as I am!

Mike's magical floating head