2014 - Week 21

On Monday, we were up and at ‘em pretty early. We showered, got the girls some breakfast and we were off. The big girls were off to spend the day at my in-laws’, while Christian, Eliza and I were off to her photo shoot. Earlier this year we won a facebook contest with a local photographer for a newborn session. Even though Dawn took some pictures for us last year, we figured we’d still use this session. I ADORE this photographer’s style, so I was really excited. Unfortunately, Eliza was not quite as excited. We could not get her to stay asleep for ANYTHING. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, she would just cry and cry if I wasn’t holding/feeding her, so we couldn’t even get any awake pictures to compensate. We were there for THREE hours trying to get her to calm down and stay asleep, but it just wasn’t happening. I was SO bummed (but also incredibly grateful that we got our pictures last week!). At one point she did get her into one position and snapped a few quick pictures, otherwise it was a complete bust. We grabbed some punch, picked the girls up and made our way home. It was pouring rain all day, so baseball was canceled. I wasn’t feeling too hot, so that worked out alright. Eliza's cord finally fell off, so tonight we gave her her first real bath...she loves the running water, but not so much being in the water. The big girls were anxious to help bathe her...making things very interesting.

Overall, Tuesday was pretty quiet and we just hung out around the house. Christian did have to take the van into the shop. Yes, you heard that right…our month old van is already in the shop. It’s been leaking oil…they scanned it and determined a sensor needed replacing. Thankfully it’s covered under the warranty, but what a pain…and I can’t help but feel like it’s a bad omen. I’ve had the worst luck with cars, I’m really hoping this one doesn’t follow suit. Eliza has another rough, crabby, fussy day, which means I had a rough, crabby, fussy day. Christian has been such a HUGE, amazing help with the kids and around the house, but I’m in the stage where I just NEVER get a break from the baby, and that’s getting exhausting. I look forward to being able to get some things done around the house again…and, shower daily!

Finally got her to take a little snooze!

Snuggling with Daddy...I don't get to do this much anymore because she's instantly starving as soon as I hold her...

On Wednesday, Christian worked in the gardens and on the yard for much the day. The big girls spent a lot of time outside, giving me a little bit of quiet inside. While I did manage to get all three girls down for a nice nap at the same time, the rest of the day was another long  one with Eliza. Trust me, I’ve never forgotten how difficult the newborn stage is…but she sure likes to remind me. She’s been sleeping OK at night, but otherwise pretty much just catnapping during the day and it gets so frustrating. But, that’s about the extent of what I do these days…hang out with baby Eliza!

Some sprinkler fun for the big girls

Well, first off, Christian ended up taking little Eliza from me last night while I was an exhausted emotional wreck, giving her one of the bottles I’ve managed to pump so far, and kept her out in the living room with him for much of the night. Giving me some actual, GOOD sleep for the first time in a LONG time. Oh man, I’ve never been so grateful. I think sometimes just being with me makes her go crazy sometimes. It felt good to wake up feeling a little refreshed today. Other than the usual breakfast, play, lunch, naps, play, dinner….we were all off for Eliza’s two week check-up today. She has a few rashes that are all pretty typical, but everything looked and sounded great. She’s up to 8lbs 3ozs (from 7lbs 10ozs at her lowest), so it’s such a relief to know she’s gaining! He said she’s gained exactly what he’d want to see at this point, so YAY! The one thing I hate most about breastfeeding is never knowing for sure how much they are getting. Knowing she’s gaining gives me some comfort. While she has been nursing well, I’m still in quite a bit of pain...mostly when she latches on. From what I can recall with Amelia, she is latched on right, and I don’t seem to have symptoms of a clogged duct or mastitis, so hopefully my body just adjusts, soon! It’s making me really hate nursing, and it’s hard enough without the added mind games!

One of Christian's yard projects this year, tilling and planting along the side of the garage...

On Friday I woke up with the first massive migraine I’ve had in quite a while I pushed through for a while, but I was in tears by mid-morning. Christian was finishing up in the gardens all morning/afternoon, and the girls played outside most of the day, which helped keep things quiet. Olivia eventually came in to give me an ice pack, I chugged some Gatorade and ibuprofen and rested as much as I could (basically, between feedings), and it finally went away in the late afternoon. No fun!

She actually let me put her in her swing today...and didn't immediately cry. YES!

Similar to last week, I’m so behind that I have no idea what we did on Saturday. Oops! You can guess I probably spent most of the day with Eliza, that’s pretty much a given. It’s Memorial Day weekend, so the big girls didn’t have swim class today…must’ve been a pretty boring day!

Snoozing away in her swing. So sweet!

Sunday was, again, a nothing but cat naps kind of day for Eliza. AY! She’s lucky she’s so dang cute! I did manage to escape the house for a nice long grocery shopping trip to Target. Boy do I cherish my freedom these days! Other than that, it was a pretty quiet day.

These two are gonna be twins!

Until Next Week XOXO

2014 - Week 20

Monday kicked off our first full week home with baby Eliza. The day was pretty quiet. As I mentioned last week, our friend Dawn from Indiana and her daughter are staying with us this week, so we spent the day hanging out, the girls playing (and equal amounts fighting). I escaped the house for a quick run to Target…Eliza needed some pajamas, and I needed some nursing bras. You forget all that fun stuff…engorgement, pain…OUCH! It was actually really nice to get out of the house; it was exhausting, but nice. Once home and settled in, Dawn took Eliza’s newborn pictures for us. Another wonderful benefit of her visit, and they turned out SUPER cute! The rest of the evening was pretty low key – just relaxing, nursing, nursing some more. The new norm…

Tuesday was a nice quiet day at home. After breakfast and some playtime around the house, Dawn took all of the big girls to the Mall of America for the day. They went on rides, had some lunch, and wore her out. Meanwhile, Christian and I hung out at home with baby. Later, Christian was off to have a couple beers with his friend, while Dawn made us dinner and we girls hung out until bedtime.

Amelia, rocking her "baby" to sleep

How I spend my days...

Wednesday was our first busy day since we’ve been home. After breakfast, Eliza, Amelia and I hung out around the house for the day. I actually got some cleaning and picking up done around the house (which was a DISASTER), so that was pretty awesome. Again, I was pretty exhausted and uncomfortable when I finished, but it had to be done. Meanwhile, the rest of the house off to IKEA for the day. Dawn doesn’t have one close by, so she always makes a stop there when she visits. Christian picked up a few odds and ends while he was there…I think he likes going there more than I do! They made a quick stop at the Disney Store at the Mall afterwards, and made their way home. Once home, we got ready, had a bite to east, and Christian, Olivia and I were off to her first baseball game. With the weather, and the baby coming, she only ended up having one practice prior to this game, which didn’t go well, so I was a little anxious for her. She was definitely nervous at first, but as the game went on she started warming up, running and going for every ball by the end of the game. And she is FAST! She ended up hitting the ball both  times she batted, without the tee, which was super awesome. She assistant coach is a woman and LOVES Olivia, so I think her extra attention and help really made helped Olivia feel comfortable. So fun! After the game, we made our way home, had some baths and called it a night.

Spent the day with these two!

A little playtime outside

First Baseball Game

With everything going on, I got quite behind on blogging. I have no idea what we did on Thursday. Must not have been much…I don’t have any pictures from that day either!

My throwback Thursday photo this week...8 weeks pregnant to 39 weeks. Can't believe baby is already a week old!

Friday was another pretty quiet day. Our houseguests are leaving for home tomorrow morning, so we spent most of the day hanging out, chatting and spending our last day together. We’ve kind of had a tradition of going to Wisconsin Dells with them in the spring, and their family coming out to stay with us for a week in the summer. With the baby, we weren’t able to do either of those things, so I’m so grateful she came out for this week with us. Not to mention all of her help cooking, picking up, taking care of the girls and keeping my spirits up. She and I did escape the house in the afternoon for a trip to The Cheesecake Factory. It was nice to get out, and YUM!!! The rest of the night was pretty low key.

Baby Cuddles

Saturday morning, Dawn and Brooklyn started on their way home, while we were all off to swim class. After class, we grabbed some lunch and we were off to Gerten’s to pick up this years’ flowers and veggies for planting. While it’s nice to get out and be a little active, it’s also exhausting and wears me out. But, I know it’s good for me get out though. The trip went pretty well…I did have to take a break halfway through to head back to the van and feed baby, but we survived. The place was a complete madhouse though…it was the first really nice day of the spring, so that brought everybody out of hiding. Once home, Christian took the big girls outside to play and run off some steam, and he pulled the giant bush we had in the back of the yard, and tilled the land to expand the garden this year. It’s all ready for planting, hopefully the weather stays nice so he can get that done soon.

So Tired!

Sleeping through swim class

Saying goodbye to our friends

Working on the new garden

On Sunday we had some breakfast, the girls played for a while, and after feeding Eliza all morning, I ran to Target, ALL BY MYSELF, for a quick grocery run. It felt so nice to get out and have a little quiet alone time for a while. We made a stop across the street to our friend Sara’s “diaper party”…she’s due in July with a little boy. We had some food, chatted, the big girls played for a while, Sara got some baby cuddles in, and when Eliza started getting hungry we made our way back home. Later this evening, we planted our flower pots and Christian planted most of the vegetables. Everything is starting to come along.

Until Next Week XOXO