4 weeks (1 month old)

So Marin just turned 1 month old! Time is flying by. People say that your second & consecutive children grow up much more quickly than your first, and for now, I have to say it's true.

When Jonas was born, so much attention was on him, and we were uber-concerned about everything. I remember waking up at night to any noise he made. (Of course my monitor was cranked up to maximum. I could have heard a pin drop).  Marin is a considerably more quiet sleeper, which I'm thankful for, and I feel more in tune with her rhythm. Granted, she is not colicky & does allow me to get some sleep occasionally. ;)

Actually, the end of week three, into week four, she has been getting a stretch of sleep between 4.5 hours from about 11am-3:30am.  This is glorious, as it means I can also enjoy this period of rest. She then goes back to sleep around 4:15/4:30am and wakes again around 6:30am.  Sometimes this routine deviates by an hour or so, but that doesn't change how amazing it is! The key is that I get in bed when she goes down to sleep. Otherwise, I miss out on the fantastic slumber opportunity. Unfortunately, I am such a night owl - and it's difficult to go to sleep when she starts the routine at 10:00pm. I have the hardest time waking up in the morning though, and with Jonas up at 7:30am every morning - the day must go on (even if I'd like for it to wait a while first!).

We went to Tulsa this weekend, leaving Clint at home to give him some time to catch up on the 4 papers and take home test he had to turn in this week,  and visited my Nana,  my Dad, Grandmary & Aunt Charla. We were also able to celebrate Dad's birthday with him, which was a nice treat. Jonas, Marin & I shared a room, and Sarah came down a little behind us & occupied the other room - to make a very full house. We were able to visit with Becky & her family as well, and finally meet her littlest one, Adeline. She was born 3 days after Marin, so we're both looking forward to keeping up with them & comparing notes! So far Adeline is leaner than Marin - but they are about the same length. Marin is gaining weight and is WAY ahead of Adeline so far. ;) Adeline has brown hair, but it's lighter than Marin's. They both have blue eyes for now, and of course they are both gorgeous.

Sharing a room with both of my little ones was not easy. Convincing Jonas that he needed to go to sleep was a battle every night & his normal bedtime of 8pm slipped further and further each night to around 11pm - when the battle final subsided. Ugh. He was so defiant - and really pushed me - talking back while I was feeding Marin and could do nothing about it. A few times I felt very defeated by the situation, but I know it's a stage. (Hope!) I am trying to come up with ways to discipline him while I am feeding Marin - so that the consequences are not delayed, and don't lose effect. I'm thinking of a traveling sticker reward chart (maybe on a notepad). We'll see. He was so sweet the majority of the time, but when he knew I could do nothing about it - he definitely took advantage of the situation.

Speaking of feeding, Marin is getting SO BIG. Last week she fit perfectly into her NB outfits, with a little room to spare. She was swimming so much in the 0-3month outfits, that I set them aside for later use. I honestly thought it would be MUCH later. Then, yesterday, while doing laundry, I put her into one of her 0-3month outfits & holy moly! it fit!!??!!  I'm still kind of in shock. There is a little room in the arms/feet,but for the most part - she is filling it out. Today I put her in her in one of her few NB outfits & her legs are too long for it. I still managed to sqeeze her into it for a few pictures, but it will be one of the last times she wears it. Crazy that the NB clothing only lasted us 4 weeks. Wow! It was necessary, but how quickly things change!

Her gassy period is dying down, although last night was rough. I've been avoiding milk & milk products. I will eat dairy, but I'm trying to manage it more. Yesterday I ate 2 granola bars over the course of the day & I think the oats may have caused the gas for her. I can't think of what else may have caused it, but she was in a lot of pain. I'll try to avoid those for a while, and stick with my Luna bars to see if that changes anything.

I am producing a lot of milk. Now that Marin is skipping one feeding during the evening to sleep for 4.5 hours, I feed her, then pump (usually I'm still engorged). After feeding her and pumping, I usually have 10-12oz to freeze. I do this, then return to bed for about an hour or two before her next feeding, and I have plenty for her when she is ready to eat again.

Things that are really helping my nursing experience this time around so far are: Lily Padz silicone shields and my nursing cover. I can take it with me anywhere and nurse in public - totally concealed. One of the best purchases ever. Of course, my Boppy is ALWAYS on the list of must-haves, and my Medela Pump-in-style pump. I also really love using the Lansinoh freezer bags for my pumped milk. They are convenient and take up less room than any other milk storage system. Love it! Breast feeding is NOT easy, but it IS worth it, at least it is for us!

Week 2 -3

I forgot to mention that by day 2 we had already placed baby sister in her crib, but she was sleeping in the Fischer Price Baby Papasan inside of her crib. We also toted it around the house during the day, to have her near us. She preferred to be in the same room we were in.

We were not allowed to clip her nails yet, as newborn skin is too fragile, but I finally gave them their first real clip on 1/28.  That same day we got a large winter storm, so her 2 week appointment was pushed back from 1/29 to 2/1.  She has been increasingly fussy in the evenings. From about 8pm-1am she goes through a very fussy spell. She has been projectile vomiting and her stomach gets distended, hard as a rock, and she has VERY painful gas and bloating. During this time she screams in pain, and there is very little we can do to console her. It is frustrating to see your baby in pain. She also has been cluster feeding, I'm assuming to move the gas through her system. The only problem is that she almost doesn't stop eating, and I think this results in even more discomfort for her. The common wisdom is that you can not overfeed a breastfed baby, so we're going with that mentality, and hoping that's true. Jonas was a pretty hefty baby, and I have a feeling that Marin is heading in the same direction.

The doctor was very pleased with Marin at her 2 week check-up.  At her first appointment,  the Monday after leaving the hospital, Marin had not lost any weight. She was an even 7lbs, which was the same as her discharge weight. Her doctor was very pleased. Despite the problems we were having latching on, she seemed to be doing well with weight gain/maintenance.  At her 2-week appointment she was in the 75-90% in all categories. Her weight was 8lb.10oz. (She's gained 1lb 10oz. in 2 weeks!), Her height was 20.5in (1 inch growth), and her head circumference was 37cm.

We introduced a pacifier yesterday 2/2/10. She had just eaten and was very fussy, and rooting because of discomfort. The pacifier soothed her and she drifted off to sleep. I think this will help us when we're in the car, or some place where feeding is not possible, to stave her off until we are able to get to a better location to feed her. Fortunately, now that I have nursing covers - I can feed nearly anywhere! I have one from Johanna Designs that I keep in my diaper bag, and one that I keep at home by Peanut Shell that Marlene got me. Both are beautiful and have already proven to be extrememly useful.

Yesterday she slept better than previous nights, and I'm wondering if it had something to do with the pacifier? She was less gassy, and after midnight only woke for 2 feedings. One at 2:40 (bed for me at 4:00am), then again at 6:00am, bed for me at 7:50am.

Voila - We're 4!

I want to detail what's been happening post-pregnancy for a while, as when I went into this for the second time, I had almost forgotten about how this part of having a new baby felt. I also wanted to document some of the thoughts and feelings - things that go on when going from a family of 3 to a family of 4. It's a big transition, and we're just beginning.

I will also share the birth story of our newest member, Marin Eisley, and the growth of our first addition Jonas Rush.  Without further adieu, here are our two shining stars.

Voila - We're 4!

I want to detail what's been happening post-pregnancy for a while, as when I went into this for the second time, I had almost forgotten about how this part of having a new baby felt. I also wanted to document some of the thoughts and feelings - things that go on when going from a family of 3 to a family of 4. It's a big transition, and we're just beginning.

I will also share the birth story of our newest member, Marin Eisley, and the growth of our first addition Jonas Rush.  Without further adieu, here are our two shining stars.

Officially Overdue!

Well, my due date for #2 has officially come and gone, and I am still "with child" ;) On a positive note, I have been able to get a lot done over the last few weeks in preparation for my little one, and feel somewhat prepared for her arrival.


I also wanted to take a minute to talk about this pregnancy, and what has gone on during the 40 weeks. This will help me keep track of things for the future, and possibly serve as some help for others going through the pregnancy process. (WARNING - it's not all pretty!)

On April 27th, I got VERY sick - with flu-like symptoms and also realized that I was "late". My last period had started on March 23rd, and I was VERY regular. We had been hoping for another little on, so I was hoping I would get good news. I was in classes, full-time, and working at my son's daycare part-time. When I got the results back from my blood serum test, it was negative. DH and I had been anxious about the results, and our 2 home tests had shown up negative, but we were hoping for a positive from the bst, as it was supposed to be more sensitive and accurate. Because it was negative, we were a little discouraged, but knew it was just the beginning of our journey. We had a small window when having a LO would be the right timing, because I had just applied for Graduate school for Speech Language Pathology, and couldn't delay the strict and rigorous schedule of the program.

I was sick with morning-sickness-like symptoms (or flu) symptoms the first week of May, during Final Exams. Ugh! I knew the results from all of the tests had come back negative so far, but by the end of the week, I still hadn't started. I made an appointment with my OBGYN after discussing the delay, and he scheduled another test on May 6th. This time, the result came back...POSITIVE! My suspicions were confirmed, and I was so excited. I still had a few final exams, so I couldn't get "too" excited, and then of course I had to figure out how to tell DH.

For the time being, I contained my excitement and told DH that the results for the test would take a few days, and that I could expect to get them on Monday. Not telling him was SO difficult for me. The day I got the news, I also went to cafepress.com and ordered a shirt for my LO that said "I'm going to be a BIG Brother!" It came in that Friday. That Sunday, May 10th, was Mother's Day, and DH had planned to take me out to lunch after church, so I planned on surprising him with the news sometime that day. DH was in his Master's program, and also had finals that week, so I wanted to attempt to give him some time to finish his finals. Again, it was exceedingly difficult to concentrate on studying when I had such a BIG surprise inside.

Sunday finally arrived, and it ended up being a fantastic day. DH took me to my favorite restaurant, I had a new haircut, dress and makeup - and DS had on his NEW shirt - underneath a button-up, of course. Just before we entered the restaurant, I told DH that Jonas had a surprise for him. He had already taken him out of his car seat, so I told him to look at his t-shirt. DH saw the first few words on the shirt, and didn't believe it. He turned to me with a HUGE smile and said, "What?" I told him, "Jonas is going to be a Big Brother", and DH just kept asking me, "Are you serious?" followed by "Congratulations!". I laughed and laughed, and reminded him he was due just as much Congratulations as I was. After church, and lunch, we decided to go to the park to take some pictures in the sunshine. We also grabbed our video camera to document our exciting news! What a perfectly beautiful day with my family!
Over the next few weeks I had to enroll in my Master's program, and figure out what they were going to do with the news I had to share with them. On the 28th of May, I had my first Ultrasound. It was thrilling to see our little Jellybean and watch the heart beating. My EDD up until that point had been Dec. 28th, but after my US it got pushed back to Jan.10th, 2010.

Thankfully, my program was VERY understanding of my pregnancy, and graciously worked with me to improvise my schedule. I was able to extend my 2 year program into 3, and take only a portion of the first year classes, around my due date. This was a HUGE answer to prayer, as I was fully prepared for them to just tell me, "Thanks for applying, we'll look forward to your application again next year". Classes began August 31st, and my classmates met me for the first time as the pregnant lady in class. Most of the students in my program are newly-married and only 2 other girls have children. It did make classes challenging, but I ended Finals week on Dec. 18th, just in time to reach 37 weeks.

At 13 weeks, I was still not experiencing much in the way of pregnancy symptoms. While I was thankful, I was also a bit concerned. I was nervous about what that could possibly mean, and I immediately started praying that I would experience something. People kept reminding me to be thankful, and trust me, I was, but I was also slightly concerned. Well, that week, my prayers were answered in the form of excruciating intestinal blockage. Yes...I was severely constipated, for several weeks. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. I felt like I had food wedged up to the top of my esophagus. I was taking stool softeners, and prenatals at the time. My Colace softeners have been a constant for this pregnancy after my experience with my 1st pregnancy. They are a life-saver! I could only eat a few bites of food at a time, before feeling completely full - but I was also still hungry. It was a very strange sensation. This uncomfortable stage, fortunately didn't last too long (although at the time it felt like forever!).

After that stage finally ended, I enjoyed a VERY comfortable pregnancy. I wasn't as large as I was with #1, and didn't experience the pain and constant pressure below. I did experience some pains associated with my pelvic bones stretching, fairly severe round ligament pain, and some acid reflux in my third trimester. Due to round ligament pain, some days walking was excruciating, but with the exception of that, this pregnancy has been very kind to me. My first pregnancy was completely different, I think mainly due to the fact that I was working in a very busy office full-time until 2 days before I had my LO. My body took it a little harder, and I got enormous. This time, people keep commenting that I am small, but I have gained about the same amount of weight 35-40lbs. I am just carrying this baby differently. I feel like in the last couple of weeks, I have really gotten bigger though, the baby must be hitting a BIG growth spurt.

This pregnancy I only had 2 official ultrasounds. One early US and one around 20 weeks. I also got a 3D ultrasound at a local technology center a few weeks later. Unfortunatly, the only news we got was that the technicians "did not see boy parts". The baby's legs were crossed both times, so we're going with the presumption that we're having a girl. We're very excited, and although we've had a hard time determining her name, we think we've made a decision finally. Everything will be revealed very shortly. We are approaching our baby's birthday with great anticipation. Jonas is going to make a fantastic Big Brother, and he is thrilled about welcoming his new baby sister (or brother) into the world. Clint and I could not be more excited, and are anxious to find out how and when everything will unfold.

(Below is an not so gorgeous pic of me at 40 weeks!)
We are so blessed and thankful to be welcoming another little one into our family. We can't wait to meet you - hopefully soon!!! Your due date was yesterday, so we hope you decide to join us this week!

Merry CHRISTmas to all!

Hey everyone! Hope you had a fantastic CHRISTmas full of fun, family and friends. We just wrapped up our final celebration with family and I am feeling overwhelmed with love. ;)

I am planning on posting some of the cool items from my giftbox...I can't resist sharing. The reason for the season is NOT forgotten! Thank you Lord for giving us a reason to celebrate the birth of your son!

I also plan on posting some craft things I've done lately. I just need to organize my life first. I know with the arrival of my little one soon, I'll have a lot of time sitting.....and hopefully some time to organize my pics and thoughts for some tutorials.

I also am looking forward to hopefully starting an Etsy store and Craft group with my family! I have some pretty talented friends and family & can't wait to get together with them to try out some new ideas!

What are you thankful for? What are a few of your favorite things? What are you looking forward to in the New Year?

Blogging Dilemma

Does anyone know.....I have had this blog since before I was married. I actually started it while doing a study abroad program in Sweden. My dilemma is this: I have included a lot of personal information on this blog - intertwined with creative and crafty things. I would like to separate my blogs out. Make one of mine personal & private, and then make the other one open for my creative projects, etc.

Does anyone know how to move postings from one blog to another? This might be too much to tackle, but I really hope not!

HELP!!!!


Thanks a million!
-Mandy