Our First Week

Little Mr. Elijah is now a week and two days old! We have officially been home for a whole week! So, how has our first week gone as parents of two children under the age of two? Well, it's hard to say!

Ready to go home!

My mom, dad, and sister came on Friday, November 27. Dad left on Thursday. Mom and Emily just left this morning, and I am already missing them! I should also mention that Em brought her funny little boy, Weston, to see his new cousin. He's 8 months old, so he doesn't really know or care what's going on...unless it has to do with Bandit's food. Then he's all over it!

Em and Mom took great care of me! Healing has not exactly gone as I planned. I wasn't as beat up as I was with Hailey, but I think I overdid it in those first few days and I am paying for it now. Tony suggested that Hailey go back to daycare for the rest of the week, to which I quickly agreed. She loves it there, and I am still unable (and not allowed) to lift her. That is very difficult with a 19 month old. Unfortunately, she only understands that Mommy won't pick her up and not that Mommy can't pick her up. With Mom and Emily around for the week and Dad around for almost a week. she was very well taken care of. Aunt Emmy gave Westin and Hailey baths every other night and she was such a great babysitter! I can tell that Hailey loves her Aunt Emmy. She also loves her Grandma, because she willingly and gladly let Grandma brush her teeth and she ate just about anything for Grandma. Yah...so not fair. Now that they're gone, the laundry may go undone for a little while and Hailey won't have the amount of attention she is used to receiving. So, it is hard to say how it is with two kids, because my older child was so well taken care of by everybody else!

Hailey meets Elijah

There are a few things that I have noticed. First I'll describe the sweet side. Hailey is absolutely enamored with her baby brother. I'm not sure she completely understands that he's here to stay, but I think she's getting the idea. Whenever Elijah cries, eats, or sleeps, Hailey says "Baby cry. Baby eat. Baby sleep." Hailey likes to help Mommy take care of the baby (sometimes) and will get me a diaper and wipes. She will also get his binky and a couple of times has shoved it in his mouth! She has also done very well sharing her toys with Little Elijah. She has given him her bear and blocks for very short periods of time -- and when she realizes he's not playing with them, she takes them back. She also shows very cautious interest and occasionally pets his head and gives him kisses.

Reading to my babies. (Our nighttime routine)

Now for the not so sweet side. Hailey obviously resents me right now. She pretty much wants nothing to do with me. My once sweet Mama's girl has completely turned into a Daddy's girl. If Daddy is around, Mommy is not desirable -- at all. I would be lying if I said that this has not caused me to shed quite a few tears. For example, I read to her every single night for bedtime. Tony began to put her in my lap in our glider, and she completely wigged out and put the death grip on Tony. She bawled through the whole story and prayer -- until Daddy picked her back up. I was devastated, but I honestly think that Daddy might be eating this up a little bit! I hate not being able to pick her up. Helping her up next to me on the couch just doesn't cut it when she's used to me walking down the hall and scooping her up or dancing around the living room with her. Also, she has become a completely different child. Temper tantrums occur all day long. This started a day or two after bringing Elijah home. It is irritating and frustrating. It's almost like we have a hormonal teenager living with us. One minute happy and the next minute completely melting down over who knows what! Daddy does not eat this up. Now that her other two caregivers have gone home, this will be a very interesting transition (well, when she's done with daycare).

First bath at home. He loves to have his hair washed.

He hates the rest of the bath.

My clean and handsome little man!

So, this is how we're doing. I am caught between elation over this beautiful little boy currently sleeping on my chest and guilt because I don't have the ability to care for my Hailey-Bear like I want to. I know that we'll pick up our stride soon and we'll fall into being a family of four!

Elijah's Grand Entrance

This labor and delivery could NOT have been ANY different from my first experience with Hailey, which I wrote about here.

I had been having Braxton Hicks for about three weeks. Sometimes they could be pretty intense, but nothing like the labor pains I remembered when I went into labor with Hailey. Saturday night, Tony and I went and saw "A Christmas Carol" and all through the movie, I had some more severe Braxton Hicks, but still nothing like the real deal. We went to bed that night, and a couple of times, I woke up -- more because I had to go to the bathroom than from any real pain.

Around 5:50, I had a contraction that started to feel a little more like the real thing. Then at 6:00, it felt a little more like the real thing. At 6:10, I was starting to become a little more convinced that I was in labor, but I still wasn't in any immense amount of pain. However, since I was GBS positive, I decided that I probably was in labor and needed to get a shower and get ready to go. While I was in the shower, these contractions became a little stronger and went to five minutes apart. I could still walk and talk through them, so I was still in doubt that I was actually in labor. I figured I would just ask my mom. After I got out of the shower, I told Tony to go ahead and get his shower. By the time he got out, the contractions were 3 minutes apart and I was now in a lot more pain. We were out the door by 7:10, and at this point, the contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and I was in TERRIBLE pain.

Tony's parting words to my mom and sister as we left were, "I don't even know how to get to the hospital from here!" No worries, we found it. Also, unlike last time, Tony wasted no time. No making the bed, no picking ANYTHING up. He also drove 90 miles an hour to the hospital. By the time we got there, there was no break between the contractions.

I honestly believe that the staff thought I was just being a big baby until the first nurse checked me. When she checked me, the words out of her mouth made me cry, "Yep. I think you're 8-9 centimeters." I don't remember this, but Tony said the next words out of my mouth were, "Are you freaking kidding me?! That means I can't get an epidural!!" I was so looking forward to pain medications, and I knew that I was too far gone for an epidural at that point. The room completely filled with people at that point, because my labor had progressed so extremely quickly. None of the nurses really wanted to tell me that I wasn't going to get an epidural, because quite frankly I was begging for it. Finally, the nurse that ended up being my labor and delivery nurse admitted that it probably wasn't going to happen and that's when I really cried. So, after three or four tries, they got my IV and then gave me some Stadol and Phenergin (sp?). Let me just tell you that Stadol and Phenergin will give you diarrhea of the mouth. What do I mean? If you're thinking it...you're saying it...even if you don't realize that you're saying it. There were some things that I thought I was just thinking...um no. I was still in tons of pain, but it made me so mellow and everything anybody said became a conversation.

Pretty much as soon as I got there, I had the urge to push. However, I refused to tell anybody, because I refused to believe that I was going to have this baby without an epidural!! So, I struggled through a few of those contractions and finally was called out by my nurse. Surprisingly, it felt a LOT better to push through the contractions than to hold it in. She didn't have me push through every contraction, because there weren't any available doctors, but she did have me push at random intervals to relieve some of the pain and to bring the little guy down.

Thankfully, they did get the anesthesiologist into the room. He said that he didn't have time for an epidural, but that he could try a spinal. I was told to roll over to my side and he had a great deal of trouble getting it into the right column. I told him that I could sit up if he wanted me to. The reply? "Honey, if you sit up, that baby will come out." Yah. My thoughts exactly -- okay -- I will just lay here then.

After the spinal, I still wasn't allowed to push consistently, because there still weren't any available doctors or midwives. So, I pushed every few contractions -- and with the spinal, I knew when I needed to push, so that was difficult. My nurse told us that the only thing holding the baby in was my bag of water. No sooner did she say that, sploosh! (Nice word, eh?) A few more pushes, in came the doctor, and out came Baby Elijah!! After an hour of inconsistent pushing, I had a little baby boy.

I was really worried about the GBS, because I was supposed to get to the hospital 4 hours before he was born to get treated with antibiotics. The four hours is to allow the antibiotics to reach the little one. I did get the antibiotic, but it was only in my system for a couple of hours, so it didn't reach Elijah. I know I asked a million times about it, and everybody reassured me that he would be okay. The midwife from my practice talked to me about it later, and she explained that they really only worry with those who labor for a really long time, because the baby is exposed to GBS longer. My labor was so fast that there was no concern. They did do blood draws to check him out. He's a perfectly healthy little man!!

So, in total, I think was in labor for about 4 1/2 hours. If I had pushed when I was ready and been allowed to continue, my guess is that I would have had this baby about an 30 min. to an hour of getting to the hospital.

I told Tony that for our next child, if I even remotely think I'm in labor...we're going to the hospital. I will never willingly try a drug-free labor. Kudos to all women who have done it, loved it, and can do it...kudos to you! I'm a big wimp. I like my epidurals. But, if I had to do it again, I would choose the way things went this time as opposed to how they went last time!!

Our Son

Welcome to the world, Elijah Rex Parker!

7 lbs. 4 oz.

20 in. long

Birth story to come!

Quick Update -- Another Pictureless Post

I know that I have been absolutely awful about updating my blog. Unfortunately, this will be another quick update. I am in my last week of student teaching and am trying to finish up with student work. Student work needs to be graded by Friday and homework needs to be done by Sunday (in case I have this baby).

Hailey is growing like a weed. She had a doctor's appointment today and weighed in at a healthy 27 lbs. 2.6 ounces. That's my girl! She's just a little over 31 inches tall. She is now at an age where she equates the doctor's office with shots, so things can get quite pitiful.

She is more verbal everyday! She is even saying short sentences. Usually something along these lines, "I want Mommy, I want milk, My milk, My juice". She has a few new favorite words, and they go like this, "No, mine, move." However, we are learning manners and she does say, "please, thank you, and you're welcome." My little girl knows her colors, Sesame Street characters (especially Elmo and the Cookie Monster), and Dora the Explorer characters (thank you, Alicia). I attribute a lot of this to daycare provider. Alicia has done an amazing job with Hailey and I know that Hailey will miss Alicia (who she sometimes calls Mommy...yep, that's right) as much as Alicia will hopefully miss Hailey. Alicia's daughter, Andi, and Hailey are best buddies. We'll have to make play dates.

As for me, I am finishing up student teaching this week. I already have all of the hours I need, but I'm in the middle of teaching a unit on the Mass Media and Public Opinion. The students are taking a test tomorrow, and then I have all day Friday to get caught up on grading. I know that I will definitely miss teaching. I have completely enjoyed it and the kids have been awesome. But, I am also ready to 1.) sleep past 6 -- hopefully, and 2.) not have to worry about lesson plans and homework!!

Now, if I can just get this little man to stay on the inside until next Sunday. Even though I finish up teaching this week, I still have homework to complete for the actual class that accompanies my student teaching. I would also love to be able to decorate for Christmas and spend some sweet quality one-on-one time with my sweet Hailey. I know it sounds really bad, but I want to soak up as much time with her when it's just Hailey and Mommy during the day.

However, I'm not sure it will work out. As of Monday, I was almost 3 cm (that means I dilated 2 cm. in five days!). I am 50% effaced as well. And, my body is letting me know that things are happening. He is very, very, very low and I am having very consistent and measurable Braxton Hicks contractions. I know they aren't realy contractions. I only had to have those once to remember what they felt like, and these don't even compare. However, these are frequent enough that I am just praying I make it through the weekend. I will be thrilled if I make it another week!! My next appointment is Tuesday, and I fully expect to make it there. In all honesty, no matter when he comes, we will be extremely thrilled. However, if he comes before the weekend, I'll be packing my hospital bag while in labor, because I am completely unprepared.

Tony is also not ready. Little guy's room has yet to be painted, and Tony has been diligently working on finishing the bathroom. He has come home every night this week and worked on it. It is looking AMAZING!! I told him that once he's done, I'm moving into the nice bathroom to get ready in the morning. I hate our master bathroom!! I know he's feeling the pressure and a little stressed out!

So, there you have it! The pictureless post. Hopefully, I will be able to get a picture of me up here soon!!

Baby Update

So, I totally took this idea from Deb Lauer. One post devoted to all things baby.

How far along? 37+ weeks (Full term!!)

Weight Gain: 33 lbs!!!!!!! Considering I gained almost 60 at this point with Hailey, I'll take 33!!

Movement? All the time. I think he dropped, so I'm not feeling him so much in my ribs anymore. I feel him on my bladder and lower. But, he likes to punch, kick, role, and stick his butt out as far as it will go.

Name? I think we've settled on Elijah Rex Parker.

Nicknames? Junior...that's just because it feels wierd to call him Elijah without seeing him first.

Labor Signs? I think he's dropped. I have also been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions. Some of them have stopped me in my tracks, but I remember real contractions...no comparison.

Latest from the doc? No changes (had my Group B Strep and she checked). This is great news, seeing as how I have two more weeks for student teaching. Not sure if I'll have her check me this week. Also measuring spot on. Unfortunately, I have that rash that some women get in late pregnancy -- all over my tummy. :-( But....NO SWELLING!!!

Prayer Requests?

Um...interestingly enough...I would like for him to come a little late. He can come any time and we will be thrilled. However, I need him to stay put for at least another week....and if he came the weekend after Thanksgiving that would be FANTASTIC.

Hailey. Having to share Mommy and Daddy with some new little monster...I'm worried about how that will go.

We get the bathroom, doors, and his room finished before he comes. I'm starting to get a little stressed about that.

I promised it would be all about baby! So, now you know where I'm at and how we're doing. This pregnancy has been, by far, so much easier than it was when I was pregnant with Hailey. We are completely thrilled (and nervous) to have another little addition to the family.

Because My Mom Said I Had To

I HATE pictures of myself. However, this is the first belly picture we've taken in this pregnancy. I know...that's bad. Forgive the hair -- I've been home with a sick kid for the last couple of days! Oh yah...almost 35 weeks.

I swear it's not a basketball. Usually, my belly button sticks out.

I couldn't resist these pictures! After bathtime and I let her run around the house with just her towel. I was laughing so hard!

Ghost Baby!!

Chillin'


So silly. And, yes, that's chocolate on her face. I promise that I did not let her eat chocolate chips as a dessert. She only eats healthy fruits and vegetables.

Aren't these supposed to be on a bed?

Too Sweet