1st and 20

We had a few big milestones to celebrate over the weekend... Miss Olive turned one month old and she celebrated (and hasn't stopped) by having a cold. It's one of the most pitiful things I've ever seen. We finally went through all the boxes in her room to make room for her little self and the crib. Which brings me to our other milestone of moving Miss M into a big girl bed just in time for her 20 month birthday. Both nights so far, M3 loves it and climbs right in, pulls the covers up to her chin and blows kisses goodnight. Sunday morning we didn't get off so easy however. I had just put Olive back down to sleep when I heard Maddie crying. I sent Cony in so I could get some sleep and the next thing I know he's yelling for me. Poor girl decided to use her new bed as a jungle gym and somehow tore the piece of skin in her upper lip so it just hangs between her two front teeth. Clearly I don't know the technical term for that piece of skin, but blood was everywhere and she couldn't be consoled. Which is not like her in the least. Thankfully my sister works in people's mouths all day long and came over and said she'd be fine! She was hesitant to eat anything except drink a smoothie until late afternoon. Other than that she was back to herself pretty quickly. It seems like she's ready to attend college already because she also started talking in full sentences out of the blue on Saturday. Some sentences are more clear than others but she's trying. Anyone have any pointers for potty training? She is showing signs and has told me a few times when she needs to go. I just don't have the energy I feel I need to be in full potty training mode. There truly is never a dull moment but one of our family motto's is: 'go big or go home'. 

 

Eyes, Ears, Mouth & Toes

The best advice I've received in the last few weeks is to just enjoy my babies and ignore the dishes. So that's what I'm trying to do, enjoy the little moments I know I'll miss. This is just a taste of what our dinner experience consist of each night....

 

 

Adjusting

Three weeks have come and gone quicker than I thought possible. Most days I have no clue what day of the week it is and I'm lucky if I get dressed. How do mothers with young ones have time to brush their hair much less put make-up on? I'm honestly curious. I'd be lying if I said adjusting to having a newborn and a 19-month old firecracker has been easy. I can't tell you how many times I've seen 'Tangled' and 'Toy Story 2' in the last few weeks all while trying to suppress the quilt! We knew we'd have our work cut out for this go round, we do after all have my own hormonal en balance in the equation (poor, poor Cony). Each day, Olive and I are figuring each other out and my life got a little bit sweeter when I let my guard down and put her on her stomach. The girl loves her tummy and sleeps so much better this way. I know, I know what the doctors say but considering she holds her head and has already rolled over without any assistance, I say my motherly instinct is smarter than any doctor out there.

There are moments in the day that I feel so content and blessed my heart could burst and then there are moments I'm so overwhelmed my head could burst. This experience thus far couldn't be more different than Maddie's adoption. Cony was in school and was home a lot and was very much involved with taking care of M3. Now, he's working for the man and hardly home and even if he was he can't feed Olive. I love breastfeeding but the only drawback is Cony not being involved in the bonding more and we know what conveniences the bottle brings-mostly letting the father bond with feeding too. 

Although for the last 6 weeks, we've all been fighting off different illnesses, Maddie just keeps getting more and more fun. While Olive keeps becoming more alert and chunkier. 

My favorite things at the moment:

*Maddie*
-requesting to wear her jelly sandals in the house everyday
-carrying around her stuffed monkey
-folding her arms to pray the second she sits in her booster seat
-waving to anyone peeking during prayer while keeping one arm folded
-her new wave that involves a little twist at the wrist
-while playing with outside chalk, she'll immediately lay down for me to trace her
-new animal sounds that consist of an Elephant, Owl, Monkey and a Horse 
-eating breakfast at her little table like a grown up 
-her new squinting of the eyes and teeth together when asked to smile 
-when in trouble she'll walk into her little play tent and pout (ohh can't wait for her to be a teenager!)
-she's becoming more cuddly and "talkative"

*Olive*
-her chubby cheeks
-rubbing my cheeks against her cheeks... I could do it all day long
-her skies for feet 
-her long torso and short legs (was really hoping she wouldn't get the stumps but....) 
-while sleeping her bottom lip caves in because of her big cheeks 
-fuzzy little ears 
-my absolute favorite is her beautiful pink skin
-loves to be held (probably too much)
-her little purr when she eats 

*Cony*
-laying in bed at night folding piles of clothes watching the West Wing with me
-doing the dishes every night without complaint
-the way he loves on the girls with tenderness but also some roughness
-waking up and catching a 6:15 bus for work (I don't actually like this but I'm grateful he does it!)
-doing the grocery shopping and estimating the total within $1- saving us a ton of money!

*Gracie*
-I'm honestly ready to get rid of her at the moment but she is really patient with the girls!(?)

Our 3 Month Old Newborn

We couldn't be more elated that Olive made her appearance almost one week ago. She is perfect in every way and has brought warm fuzzy feelings into our home. I won't share too much of our birth story just because some things should be kept sacred and birth is a very sacred experience (at least to us).

Last Wednesday after visiting my midwife and finding out I was already 3 cm dilated and 50% effaced, I knew the time for her to make her arrival was now! We bought into the old wives tale of eating eggplant parmesan for dinner and thankfully my sister is a massage therapist and worked on some reflexology pressure points too. I swear the second I stood from the dinner table my contractions were different and within an hour my contractions were consistently 8 minutes apart. We asked our good friend "the Other Megan" to be our doula and I'm so thankful we did. If it weren't for her I wouldn't have believed I was actually in labor. Although I know what the movies portray is very unrealistic, I still expected it to be more dramatic. Having both Megan and Cony with me the entire time helped keep my head in the game. Because let me tell you something... giving birth is all mental. Oh sure, there are some physical efforts involved, but it's definitely a mind over matter experience. Which is why I did not put any expectations on birth. I had my birth plan typed up and knew exactly what I wanted, but put it in the Lord's hands because I knew anything could go against it. I actually called it my "birth hope". 

After arriving at the hospital around 6:00 in the morning, I had to work on getting her engaged because she was still 'blabbable' ((?) which means when her head was touched she would bounce back up). My exercise ball was my other best friend during labor and helped get things going and ease the pain. By almost noon, my midwife suggested we break my water and she informed me baby was sunny side up. Up to this point, labor was not easy but easy compared to the second my water broke. The other best friend during labor was the water. I'm convinced it was my time in the shower that allowed little baby to twist her body because she came out the correct way. By 2:00, I was ready to push and be in the birthing tub. Yes! I had a water-birth. The reactions people gave us when we would tell them the plan was just as entertaining when we told them her name would be Olive. I knew a long time ago a water-birth was for me. It's not for everyone, but it was exactly what my body needed to birth a 10 pound baby with my big round head. After 40 minutes of pushing, Olive was in my arms. Everyone's reaction was "Oh my word that's a huge baby!!". I was too out of it to give it much thought until they told us how much she weighed. Now we know why I was so uncomfortable the last few weeks! 

Words come up empty to describe how thankful we are that we got our dream birth but more importantly this little human to call our own. Miracles happen and they happen after a lot of sweat and tears. If you're reading this and are struggling with infertility or something else, please don't give up! There is a plan and it's going to be beautifully perfect for you!