Handsome Sugar Man

Happy Birthday to this Handsome Sugar Man! He has proven over the last week, month and year that I made an excellent decision to choose him to be my lifelong partner, father to my children, leader of my family, and friend. We love you Da-da!

Happy 1 month Sweet Baby Luke

Whoa mama this has been a busy month. It has also been a fairly unusual month in that I have hardly gotten out of the house. What makes it all worth wild though is my sweet snuggly baby boy of mine.

Last week I got the stomach virus early Tuesday morning (yep, for a girl that never leaves the house what are the odds!?!). It was pure misery. All I could think about Tuesday morning as I lay lifeless in the bed was if the stomach virus would ruin my chances of nursing Luke until he was 12 months old like I did his older sister. Yep, that was my main concern. Unfortunately Kate got the stomach virus 2 days later, then D late Thursday night/early Friday morning. We are still not sure if Luke got it or not. I am thinking so but he has been spitting up/throwing up alot after feedings and lots of poop diapers are fairly normal. I sure hope he didn't get it sure was a crazy contagious variety. Anyway, so that was my baby's first Christmas. All of us, recovering from a ruthless stomach virus and no extended family visitation. Yes sad but in times like those, I think you realize how much the people around love you (just the way you are..."for better/for worse...in sickness and in health").

So anyway, Luke's first 2 weeks were fairly easy. Then he hit a downward turn where he would want to nurse all the time, scream all the time and just flat wear me out. It has been better in the last week but I occasionally still see those marathon feedings before bed that flat wear me out. Luke still has not been back to the doctor for his 2 week checkup. Yep, you read that right. He is 4 weeks old and hasn't been to his 2 week checkup. That is because I thought I scheduled his checkup the week before Christmas on a Wednesday but after calling to cancel because of bad weather I was informed I had actually scheduled for the week before Christmas. Okay, so last week we were heading to appointment when Kate starting throwing up. Had to cancel, which brings me to this Friday at 8:30a.m. Lets hope we make this one.

Luke is a good baby but we are noticing he is a little harder right now then his sister was. We think he is just a gassy baby. I am going to talk to doc about that and hopefully straighten it out. Kate would eat and fall back to sleep. EASY! Luke will have a bad diaper, change it, nurse a little, fall asleep, throw-up on me, change his clothes, change another diaper, nurse a little more, scream, wear himself out, maybe fall asleep. Ahhh, I am exhausted thinking about it. :) Still love him! We are a blessed family. I look forward to the coming months and all the precious memories. By the way, the "BIG" sister loves him to death and wants to help mama change his diaper, get his passie, help with baths, and lots of loving. She really loves him. Thank goodness! :)

Hush Little Baby

Hush, little baby, don't say a word,

Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird.

If that mockingbird don't sing,

Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring.

If that diamond ring turns brass,

Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass.

If that looking glass gets broke,

Mama's gonna buy you a billy goat.

If that billy goat won't pull,

Mama's gonna buy you a cart and bull.

If that cart and bull turn over,

Mama's gonna buy you a dog named Rover.

If that dog named Rover won't bark.

Mama's gonna buy you a horse and cart.

If that horse and cart fall down,

You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

So hush little baby don't you cry,

'Cause Daddy loves you and so do I.

Merry Christmas!

It's About Survival

So now, I have officially been home a week by myself. It's been crazy busy. Before my feet even hit the floor in the morning, I have a little munchkin with a fro bossing me from the floor. Yep, Kate wakes up around 7 every morning and makes her way into our room where she pulls everything out of the pack-n-play then makes her way onto our bed. Saturday morning the whole gang was on the bed...Petey included. Thankfully we have a King bed!

Can I just say that my little Kate is so entertaining these days. It's like she grew up in the few days she was at my parents. She now is having conversations with us. This is generally how they go...Me: "Kate, lets get ready to go?" Kate: "Mommy go?" Me: "Yes, mommy is going" Kate: "Daddy go?" Me: "Yes, daddy is going" Kate: "Baby go?" Me: "Yes, Baby is going" Kate: "Me go?" Me: "Yes you are going" Kate: "Petey go?" Me: "No, Petey can't go". Mostly these conversations revolve around going to church so then I explain to her that dogs are not allowed in church. :) She says other things like "Mommy, I want Milk." Yeah, she is kinda a late talker but I figure she is going to be a BIG talker SO she is saving up. And for those that have the volume up on their computer, this Justin Beiber tribute or "Beeper" (like I like to call him) is for Kate. She loves this song and likes to run around the house and dance to it. Don was impressed with one of her dance moves the other day and asked me if I taught it to her. I couldn't take credit for it. It was kinda a "roll em' up" move from Patty Cake Patty Cake but done while dancing and to the beat. :) Kate is all about daddy these days. Those two make my heart melt. She just runs into his arms ALL.THE.TIME for ABSOLUTE.NO.REASON. Love it! Then you hear lots of giggling from both parties. As I type this, Kate just put her hand around my back as she sips her milk and watches Shrek 2. Love that girl! (Update she did it again and proceeded to push me back against the couch on her hand and then lay her hand on my side and say "My Mommy", :))

Lets talk about Luke. I am in absolute LOVE with him! He is so funny to me even as a newborn. Seriously, he gets so frustrated while eating and pushes off and slings his head around and just gives out a loud bellow of a scream. I know that is so mean of me to think that is funny but I just like his little attitude...for now. :) He is starting to look a whole lot like his sister. Yep, Don appears to have won out, AGAIN! I was changing his diaper yesterday and I was perusing the Pampers size 1, turquoise green bag with the baby laid against his mother's chest on it. I studied each of the baby's features and NO LIE, that baby looked just like Luke. I told Don I will have to get a picture of him asleep on me and then do a side by side comparison for you. See what you think! I remember with Kate we thought she looked just like the Gerber baby around 9 months, now we think Luke looks like the Pampers baby. ha!

Okay, that is all I have for now. But I will leave you with a picture of my sweet ums...

I do realize this picture is HORRIBLE of me but this is very typical of my life...wherever I am, the rest are (no matter how small of space!).

I Should be Sleeping

Well, we survived the week after the birth week with 2 kiddos. I want to jot down a brief summary of Luke's birth story.

I scheduled a C-section with my doctor at my 39 week appointment. We knew that my doctor would be out of town the whole week of Thanksgiving and that my due date was Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. I had decided around 32 weeks or so that I would try to have the baby the normal way and not C-section. I had a C-section with Kate but my doctor told me I was an ideal candidate to "V-back" due to how quickly I dilated with Kate and this being my second child. Well long story short, I didn't dilate past 2 (that I know of) with Luke so I scheduled a c-section for the Monday that my doctor would return to work, November 29th, 2010. My doctor had told me that he would not induce me unless I was 3 centimeters. The day before Thanksgiving I was at 2.

So I was scheduled to go in by 10a.m. on the 29th and the my c-section was to be performed at 12pm. I stayed up until midnight the night before so that I could eat and drink up to the last minute. You are not allowed to eat or drink with a C-section within 12 hours of surgery.

That morning, we hustled around and made it to the hospital by 10am. Mom met us up there at 10:30 to get Kate. I was given the robe, hooked up to an I.V., and informed of all that would take place. By 11:45 I was wheeled back to the operating room. Don had to wait outside while they gave me the spinal block and catheter. My doctor arrived close to 12pm and by 12:16pm my sweet baby boy was screaming. Nothing like that sound. They showed him to me and I immediately thought he looked different than Kate which equals more like me. As you can tell, this mama was excited about that. Don't get me wrong, my little girl is adorable but as a mama, you want at least one child to look like you. Time will tell if I was right on my early assessment. So thankful for everything being EXTREMELY normal. Yay for normal!

I was wheeled back to my room where Kate, my parents and Don's parents were waiting. They all were able to see Luke for a few minutes then they were asked to leave while they got me settled. Thirty minutes later they were all back to see baby again. Noone was allowed to hold him though because they had to wait until his temperature had reached a certain degree. Around 3pm, Don's mom got to hold him for a minute before they left to head back home. My mom had already left with Kate and dad had gone back to work. Mamey and big sister came back everyday to see him and hold him.

I am still amazed at how easy the whole C-section process was for me this time. I attribute that to me staying ahead of the pain and knowing what to expect. The only downside is not being allowed to pick Kate up for 6 weeks. That is rough! We are counting down the days until January 10th. :)

Oh BOY! Head over Hills...

Lots of pictures...

Only had to supplement with formula for a day...
My OB Doctor, Dr. John Foster, a great doctor...
Dr. Patrick Farr, Kate and Luke's Pediatrician, also very good...