Life

As much as I love being mommy to two babies, I miss my time with Macie.

It makes me sad when I can't just jump up and go outside to play with her like we used to. It makes her sad too.

I'm going to have to plan a day of just mommy and Macie time...or at least set aside a few hours.

The downside to nursing is that I can't just take off. Macklyn has been pretty high maintenance in the nursing dept., so I don't have much time to pump much. I swear, she sucks me dry!

Speaking of the piglet, as of 3 weeks she was 9lbs 8oz! Gained two pounds in just 3 weeks and I'm pretty sure she's nearing 10 pounds by now, if she's not already there or over! All the kid does is eat!!! I'm really glad that I'm not working or going to school because I have no time for anything else - even bathing is rare (well, a full on shower at least).

My house is a mess and it's driving me crazy. I will get something cleaned just in time for it to get dirty all over again. Laundry just keeps piling up no matter how much I get done in a day. I NEED a maid....or a babysitter....preferably a maid. :)

So, that's all. I know it's jumping all over the place, but it's out there. Anyone wanting to donate to the maid fund or provide babysitting services can contact me....text, calls, email a I'm available through all. ;)

I love those sweet faces!

This morning....

 We had our first successful grocery shopping trip!

I had questioned whether or not to go because I literally rolled out of bed (the couch), got Macie presentable, and dropped her off at school.  NO makeup with sweats on!

I'm so glad I just went through with the trip because it was one of the best grocery trips I've had in a while.  Macklyn slept the whole time!  She even slept long enough for me to put everything away.  

I am pleasantly surprised AND well rested because she let me get in about 6 hours last night.

Keep this up, Miss Macklyn, and Mommy will stay happy!

My days....

Consist of a million to-dos, especially now with one added to the mix.

Right now I'm feeding Miss Macklyn while thoughts of what I need to do run through my head (the living room is a mess, laundry needs to be moved from washer to dryer, and I'm starving). I swear, all this stinker does is eat (and pee and poop) and sleeps on her own schedule - something different every day. We still don't have a routine.

She was doing great sleeping, then I drank a couple of Dr. Peppers and I swear every since then everything has been off. So, no more DP until I figure out if that was it. :(

I need my sleep and it's killing me not having any caffeine to make up for the lack of!

Today I gave Macklyn her first bath without any assistance from Chris. That was a little difficult, but we made it through. She screamed the majority of the time and was happy for about 5 seconds. I surprisingly got a picture of the happy (I really don't think it was a happy face, it was a hurry the heck up face). Macie can only do so much to help me, but she tries and I am so thankful to have her here (even if she does frustrate me sometimes).

I thought Macklyn was going to take her long afternoon nap for me so that I can clean, but no such luck so far. I think Macie's noises don't help much. Oh well, she'll have to get used to them sometime.

~Macklyn's Birthday~

Thursday evening should have been all about rest, but no such luck. We met Chris's parents to drop Macie off and when we finally made it home, I had to finish my online homework that was due on Friday ( yes, I knew about it - yes, I had been putting it off). So, knowing I had a crap ton of reading and hw to do, I just set my alarm for 5 am and got to work. I finished in record times and by 2:30 am I was in bed.

I slept decent. Of course Chris slept well, he was out by 10 pm I'm sure.

5:00 was too early for me, so after pressing snooze a few times I was finally up and at 'em by 5:25.

I was supposed to check in at 6:30, but we all know hospitals are usually running behind - Lake Granbury Medical Center is no different. ;) We pulled in, a million bags in tow, Chris dropped me off at registration by 6:40, and he went to park.

I had pre-registered, so it took next to no time and we were off to L&D for our "big adventure" #2.

Chris hadn't brought in our bags and The nurse that placed me in my room noticed there wasn't a gown for me. I told her I had brought my own (made out of a beautiful Amy Butler fabric!).

(my experience with hospital gowns is that they smell funny and are always about 3 sizes too big for me - heck yes I took the opportunity to bring my own)

The nurse wasn't impressed - she gave me this rotten look then asked if it had snaps and tied up the back. I told her it did, but she still told me it was a bad idea because it was going to get all bloody (still with the rotten look). Seriously, you would have thought I had asked her if my dog could come for the birth. It's a gown, I know there's a chance it could get bloody (this ain't my first rodeo, lady).

After that, I was so scared I was about to have a terrible experience. I sat and waited and waited. Finally my nurse walked in - sweet relief in Nettie, RN. What an angel she was! She got me all set up with my IV, worked through a few kinks without getting the least bit rotten, and we were on our way to baby land!

I met Jalyn, our baby nurse. What a sweetheart too. She and Nettie had nothing but compliments for me AND my beautiful personal hospital gown. From then on out, everything went smoothly.

My momma was our first guest to arrive, followed by my dad and grandparents. I was just trying to relax and having all of them there was a huge comfort.  I felt a little bad, though, because the nurses and dr were in and out checking my progress, so my family was up and down and in and out of the room.  

Everything moved pretty quickly after they started my pitocin (at a little after 8 am).  I got my epidural soon after I hit 5cm, but I can't remember what time (I want to say around 9:30)  By about 2:00, the contractions were coming full force and were pretty painful (even with my epidural).  As soon as the pain started, it was about 2:15 and I told my family that they might want to get out because it was about to get ugly and I was pretty sure the baby would be here by 3:00.  

I never felt like I did this time around with Macie, so it was a bit of a surprise.  With Macie, I had asked for something for the pain so I was really groggy during the delivery.  This time, I didn't ask for anything and I am so glad that I didn't.  I remember so much more and the recovery was so much easier.  

So anyway, I was in tears desperate to get this little girl out of me.  The nurse checked and I was at an 8.  20 min later, I was at a 10 and ready to go!  They got everything set up, meanwhile we were just having a conversation about the girl in the next room about to give birth....they said we were in a race for the first to deliver. 

I won!  

3:03pm, Macklyn Veronica Pike was born: 7lbs 9oz, 20 1/4 inches long.  Her cry was so loud and sweet at the same time and as soon as she was in my arms, the crying stopped.  She looked so much like Macie and was just beautiful.  I couldn't believe she was finally here and in my arms.  **TEARS**

Macie was the first in to meet her new baby sister.  The look on her face was priceless when she saw Macklyn was priceless.  Her excitement was so sweet.  She has been the best big sister - she truly loves Macklyn (although, now she says she's ready for a brother - silly girl).

Macie had the chance to help with her first bathing and she jumped right on that.  Jalyn, the baby nurse, was so sweet to let Macie help out!

The last week and a half has flown, but has been such an enjoyable time!

Our first few days at home were a little rocky, but we're getting into a groove and Macklyn is getting her days and nights straight finally.  She's such a good baby and very sweet.  I don't think I could have been blessed with a better baby.

We have already taken two road trips and she slept through both of them!  Macie NEVER did that - she was always cranky in the car.  I hope she continues to surprise me! :) 

The second time around is definitely easier!  Chris and I both have so much more patience - I think it's because we're older and wiser.

Macie has had no problems adjusting - thank the good Lord for that!

We learn something new about each other every day and it just gets smoother and easier with time. 

Macie is 4!!!!

If you're like me, you look at Pinterest for months planning your child's birthday party.... look at millions of {great} pictures of the party.... and dream up the party.... eventually creating said party.

The difference between my planning and those parties is they have a photographer.

I had all sorts of plans for taking perfect pictures, capturing every moment, and just all together having a perfect day.  Well, between my 36 weeks pregnant belly/exhaustion and the exhaustion from cooking and preparing....the whole picture thing didn't work out that great. 

The party?  Was great!  Macie had such a fun time.  She had lots of family and friends that came out to see her on her big day and all of the little kiddos just played their little hearts out!

I had a lot of help from my mom and my MIL.  The party wouldn't have been a success {in my eyes} without them.  My mom has some more pictures, but the memory card won't upload onto my computer {dang Apple products and not being compatible.... or my laptop just being testy}.

I know this was short and sweet, but I had to put something up before I forget!  Whenever I upload the other pictures, I will post about the party again.

bittersweet.

I am 39 weeks today and I'm going in for a scheduled induction in two days.

Please excuse my dirty dirty mirror - the "organic" glass cleaner I used is something terrible...eek!  Not using that again!!!

This will probably be my final belly picture for the blog and it's starting to make me a a little sad.  I'm sure I will take some in the hospital, but whether or not I post them is pending - depends on how bad I look.

I have really LOVED being pregnant this time around.  I wouldn't mind staying pregnant for a little longer - even with all of the new pains popping up each day at this bitter end.

I know a lot of people are against inducing, but for me and my family this is just the right thing to do.  I had a great experience with Macie doing this and this time around everything is actually more favorable than they were with her.  I'm confident that everything is going to go very smoothly.

I honestly thought I was going into labor on my own last Friday.  It was a crazy experience and I am not a fan of surprises, especially when I have other plans for a whole week to prepare for delivery.  So, here's the scoop on my false labor:

Macie and I had just pulled up to play group at a local park when I started getting a crampy and tightening feeling in my back and belly.  I didn't really think anything of it right then because I hadn't eaten and I figured it was just hunger pains.  So, I had a little snack and talked with the other mommies for a while, drank a lot of water....meanwhile, the pains never went away.  

We left the park and headed over to another momma's house to play a little longer.....the pains got worse and more strong and frequent.  I needed to use the restroom and I figured I had just waited too long, so I took a bathroom break.  After I was finished it was even worse!  I was calm this whole time, but at this time I went into freak out mode.  

I went back into the living room and asked another mother that had recently had a baby {all natural, by the way....WOW} what real contractions felt like {I don't remember them with Macie and all I've been having are BH}.  She told me and then proceeded to tell me that I was could possibly be in active labor from the sound of how things were happening.  

That moment, I started tearing up.  I was overcome by so many emotions and all I could think was {{CRAP}}.  I was so not ready yet.  I asked everyone what I was supposed to do because my plan was to have everything PLANNED.  They told me to call my husband {but all I was thinking was there's nothing he can do, he's in STEPHENVILLE working}.  I called him and, of course, he acts like I'm just over reacting.

I called my mom and she sent me an email with signs and symptoms of labor from the Mayo Clinic - all my symptoms.  I texted my friend, Mandy, to see what her experience was and she told me that my symptoms were what she had in early labor and that I should call my OB to see what they say.  I was freaking out even more.

So, I went home, called my OB's office to leave a voicemail, and while I was waiting for a call back I cleaned the house.  I finally got a call back and the nurse told me that it sounded like it could be the real deal and to get my bags packed that she was calling L&D to let them know I was coming in.  I packed up and headed out, dropped Macie off with Mandy, and headed to L&D.  

Still having regular contractions, a nervous wreck, and all alone.

I got checked in and hooked up.  The nurse was so nice!  She checked me {I hadn't changed much from my last OB appt}.  They monitored me for a a good 3 1/2 hours and even with regular contractions, I was sent home due to no change.

~~~~~~~~~~

Here I am today, 5 days later, still with baby in tow.  Back to having only BH during the day, but now I have "real" ones during my sleep.

I think she just wanted to scare me into finishing everything that I needed to get done.  All of the products and gear are now purchased - EVERYTHING I needed is ready and waiting on baby.

My mom and I picked out and bought material to re-cover my glider and ottoman and my MIL and I went the next day to get the material for the bedding and curtains.  The room is going to take a little longer, but I'm not worried about that - she will have a perfect room when it's finally finished for her.

I didn't get a picture of the material for the glider, but this is the fabric for everything else.  

So cute - I can't wait to see the finished product!!!