Rory- Two Months

You my dear Rory, are just the sweetest best baby ever. Truly, I could just pinch myself. You are starting to coo and smile and our hearts just melt for you. You have really been growing this month and have blessed me with more sleep. You are so kissable and ready to snuggle with anyone who wants to.

Stats: Weight: 11 lbs, 9 oz (75th%), 23.5 in (90th%)

Clothes: You still wear some 3 month clothing but we have jumped to 6 month pants and sleepers. Going through these clothes to donate/toss/save as you grow out of them really hard on this mommy's heart.

Diapers: You are now in Size 2 diapers... how?

Bottles: You are drinking 5 oz bottles every 3.5 to 4 hours during the day. 

Sleep: You have been sleeping really well. We are trying to put you down for bed between 7p-9p depending on when your last bottle falls and you will sleep a 6-8 hour stretch and then sleep again til 7a-8a when we get you up to eat and get our day started (we have to take Caroline to school every other day) 

Likes: You like your swing and it always calms you down, you like to sleep on your belly, you like your new kick gym we were given by a friend, you love to coo and smile at us, you like your paci but might be trying to find your thumb (which I wouldn't mind at all), you also like the twinkle lights on the Christmas tree, and bath time.

Dislikes: Getting out of the tub, gas bubbles, waiting to be fed, being stopped, while eating, to burp, the car seat when she is not moving, sleeping on her back.

Highlights: meeting family and celebrating Christmas with Daddy's side of the family. 

Looking back to compare your stats to your sisters at two months you are pretty comparable babies. It will be interesting to see where you start to differ.

Some Favorite Pics this month:

 Love this sweet face

 Meeting her Godparents

 First walk in the new stroller

 Morning Snuggles and Photos

One Month Difference

Rory- One Month Old

Oh Rory, where has this last month gone? You are such a beautiful blessing and are so sweet and cuddly. I couldn't have picked or wished for a better baby. It's incomprehensible that we thought we could be done having kids, before having you. Your new little life has been so refreshing for my mommy soul. I am savoring each and every moment with you (even the messy ones). Somehow even the long nights, blowout diapers (which are new to this Mama),  and whole bottle spit-ups don't even phase me with you. 

After your first doctors appt you weren't back up to birth weight for your newborn screen, so we came back a week later for a weight check and you had gained a whole pound...in a week.

Stats: Weight: 10lbs 6.5oz (75th%), Height: 21.75 in (60th%) (these were at 5.5 weeks due to the Thanksgiving Holiday)

Clothes: We switched to 3 month clothing the day you turned 3 weeks old. We just couldn't snap the last button all of a sudden. 

Diapers: You have been in Size 1 at one week old. You leaked out of every one of your newborn diapers. 

Bottles: You have been eating 4 oz bottles since 2 weeks old. The hospital nurses were even surprised by how much you were eating and wanted us to hold you back, from eating so much. But you have the right mama, girl, because if you are hungry I am going to let you eat :) This week we are upping at least your night time feedings to be 5 oz. Which is just crazy to me. Before you were born Caroline asked me if I was going to call you "Little Piggy" and I wasn't sure why she would say that or where she got that phrase but sure enough, I think that might be what we have to start calling you. 

Sleep: You really have been a good sleeper, you fall right back to sleep after your night time feedings and during the day you are usually up for an hour after each feeding before sleeping til the next one. You definitely prefer to sleep on your stomach and I have to wake you up from that position during the day because you would sleep that way for hours and hours if I let you. You wake up immediately if I lay you on your back so at night you sleep in the rock n' play. We will probably move you to your room soon but for now you are sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's room. 

Likes: You like your paci when you are tired or your tummy hurts but you spit it out as soon as you are asleep or feel better, you like the baby swing and like to swing front to back over side to side, you love to sleep on your tummy, bath time

Dislike: Having to stop drinking your bottles to burp, gas bubbles, being cold (especially cold baby wipes, getting out of the bath tub, dropping your paci

Highlights: Meeting Family and Friends, lots of snuggles with Mommy, Daddy and Caroline. 

A few favorite snaps from this month.

 

Welcome Rory Jane

Well, I don't know about you but I love a good birth story. Mine have not been as dramatic as those I tend to binge read but I need to recap it nonetheless for my own memory.

I made it to my 39 week doctor's appointment after not progressing at all in previous weeks. I was happy to hear that I was at 2 cm (or 3 really) and we were starting to discuss a birth time frame. I was completely taken aback when my doctor asked if I would like to be induced like I was with Caroline, assuming that he was going to say after my 40 week appointment. Instead he suggested "how about Thursday"... it was Monday. I said as long as he thought I was ready, I was game. And he said he would have his nurse set it up.

I walked out of the doctor's office feeling a little stunned, a little panicked, and VERY thankful. Up until this point I was a little apprehensive as to what we would do with Caroline and which scenario we would use depending on when new baby decided to join us. It was so nice to be able to call my parents and the in-laws and formulate a plan for Caroline while Ben and I would be at the hospital.

I got a call from the nurse a few hours later letting us know we needed to be at the hospital at 5am for induction and that the hospital would call me if something needed to change because we would be considered "voluntary", but we were at the top of the list and it was not likely we would be bumped. Well in true our luck fashion we got a call right before leaving for the hospital saying there were too many laboring women at the moment and they would call us back. We both felt a little defeated but hopeful because we were bumped for a few hours when we were about to be induced with Caroline.

We, thankfully, went back to bed and got a good nap in because later that morning when Ben was getting us some breakfast at Whataburger we got a call saying if we could "come right now" then we could still be induced that day. My mom was already in town and I was so happy that she didn't drive all the way up to watch Caroline, for us, for nothing.

We hardly ate anything Ben had picked up for us because the adrenaline started kicking in as we were driving to the hospital. We listened to a little music on the short drive to get our minds off of our growing nerves. (had to play the same music as with Caroline of course) We arrived at the hospital a little before 11 am and they got us all set up in our room.

Everything at our new hospital was so much more relaxed I felt like. They let me know my doctor would be in around noon, to break my water, so they were going to go ahead and start pitocin and get my epidural started before things got going. Yay for not feeling a single one of those pesky contractions!! The whole time nurses kept commenting that I was going to be a quick labor since my doctor insisted that would be the case. I was really hoping they weren't jinxing me, it was about 5 hours start to finish with Caroline so I was nervous this would be a completely different experience. Ben got to stay in the room with me this time when getting my epidural which was nice, and it was so easy when not having to sit still through contractions too.

I had been having really low blood pressure readings throughout my pregnancy so one of the labor nurses let me know that the epidural might cause my blood pressure to bottom out since it was already so low, but she had some medicine ready for my IV in case she needed to bring it back up.  Well I was glad she was so prepared because mid sentence my mind started going blank, and all I could do was focus on breathing and trying not to puke. I needed a couple of doses of her wonder meds, but thankfully stopped bottoming out after a bit. My doctor came in at noon and broke my water, and said he would be back when I was ready to push.

Everything else went according to plan, epidural worked its magic and I couldn't feel any sensation from the bottom of my ribs down. My legs literally had to be lifted by whoever was around me and just flopped around, gave everyone a good laugh. I laid on my right side using a peanut ball which, I hadn't heard of before, for about an hour, at which point they checked me and I was 5 cm. They then flipped me to my left side and let me go another hour or so and when they checked me that time the nurse said I was way past ready to have a baby. They paged the doctor and while they were waiting on him what seemed like 8 nurses came into the room to get things prepped and ready to go. It was weird having such an audience because we had fewer people the first time around.

I got really anxious as they were setting up because everything was happening so quickly and I didn't think I was ready. I was so numb it was hard for me to breath at times when I would have to lay back so I was grateful when they let me sit up a bit more. Well two or three contractions later with just as many pushes, Rory Jane made her debut! She did indeed come faster than her sister, three and half hours start to finish. Praise the Lord for easy and quick labor and deliveries.

7lbs 8oz, 20.75 inches of pure goodness. She has really been the best baby.

Caroline couldn't stand to wait until we got into our recovery room to meet her baby sister, so my mom brought her up to the hospital soon after we delivered. She was immediately in love. She had been telling me every day for months that she was going to hold her sister at the hospital and I kept assuring her that she could, indeed, do that. She was a little apprehensive when she saw me in the hospital bed and was completely quiet and still while she was in the room but you could tell she was so in love.

Not sure where my head was but I didn't get any pictures of her visitors (the grandparents) holding her or of us as a family of four. Second child syndrome already? Gosh I hope not! More to come :)

Caroline is Four!

Caroline is living her best life right now. She is in school three days a week and is always happy and excited to go, and disappointed if there are holidays when she doesn't get to go. 

She also got the best early birthday gift in her new sister, the real-life baby doll, Rory. Lately, she has been sighing big sighs and I think I even caught an eye roll the other day when asked to do various chores. BUT, if a request is made involving her sister, or helping me with her sister, there are no complaints, and she even skips off to complete the task given. She is truly a great big sister, and she loves to hear it ;-)

• At her yearly doctor's visit we found out she is in the 80th% for height at 41.5 in (I think she is taller but she was slouching) and the 60th% for weight at 36.5 lbs
• She is still very picky with foods. Some of her favorites to eat are cheese quesadillas, chicken nuggets, turkey sandwiches, strawberries and all forms of bread, cereal and granola bars. Rather than try a new food at dinner she will just wait til breakfast the next morning, even if the last thing she ate was at lunch, stubborn girl. 
• She goes to bed around 8 and wakes up about 6:45 or 7. She takes about a 45 min- 1 hour nap each day but those days, I think, will soon be over. 
• Caroline loves to have someone play with her (and by play I mean to watch her play or for her to tell you what your character should do/say) but when she does play by herself she could do so for a long time. 
• She is forever asking if we can make cookies, I think she enjoys the eating more than the baking but loves to help in the kitchen when she can. 
• Maybe because I was pregnant and couldn't hold or carry her for so long but all of a sudden she seems to have grown a foot and gained ten pounds
• The BEST thing we could have done for Caroline this year was to put her in preschool. She has LOVED it. Her confidence has grown so much, especially in social situations these few short months. She will go up to other kids and ask them to play, she is more willing to have conversations with adults, even those she isn't as familiar with. 
• She is still unbelievably silly almost to a fault but she makes up for all of it with her incredible sweetness. She really helped me this year and was beyond understanding throughout my pregnancy with Rory. She is always thinking of ways of surprising us and others whether it be with a handmade card, a hug, a necklace she made, or cookies

Even though we did one of these before she started school I wanted to see if anything had changed:
1. What is your name?  Caroline

2. How old are you? Four

3. What is your favorite color? Dark Blue

4. What is your favorite animal? Cat

5. Who is your best friend? Ava, Miguel and Elisa

6. What is your favorite food? Quesadillas 

7. What is your favorite drink? Water

8. What do you like to do outside? Play with Chalk

9. What is your favorite toy? Baby Dolls

10. What is your favorite movie? The Grinch

11. What is your favorite tv show? Vamperina

12. What is your favorite song? Johnny Song (from Sing)

13. What is your favorite book? Curlie Girlie

14. What are you scared of? I don't know

15.  Where is your favorite place to go? Nan's House

16. What do you want to be when you grow up? Doctor

Halloween 2017- Snow White

This year for her birthday, we told Caroline we weren't going to do a party because we thought things might be a little crazy since we had just added Rory to the mix. We told her we would have a Caroline Day. She wanted to go to the mall to ride the escalators and the carousel. She also wanted to get a cookie from the cookie place and pick out a present at the Disney Store. Done Done and Done. She told us it was the BEST birthday ever. 

First Day of School

Caroline had a great first day of school. She woke up and immediately knew it was school day. She knew exactly what she wanted to wear down to her shoes, and she couldn't wait to take pictures with her first day of school sign. We got to the church a little early and she must have asked me every minute or so if it was time for them to open the doors. We didn't have a formal goodbye, her teacher whisked her off to wash her hands upon arrival so it hurt my mommy heart a little to not get one last hug but her teacher let me know she was all smiles all day and even went down for a nap easily.

Ben had been out of town but was able to come with me to pick her up and she was so excited to see him. He carried her all the way out of the building, because she didn't want to let go of him. Once we got in the truck I asked what the best part of her day was and she said "all of it". And when I asked how her lunch was she told me she had chick-fil-a (which I knew) but apparently they didn't have any ranch to go with her nuggets, but she ate them anyway. The rest of the evening she would bring up little things that happened like learning to sit criss-cross applesauce, and having a bell ding to let them know to switch toys they were playing with. She told me all about naptime and how they turn off the lights and play music with people singing on a blue radio that has a button. I always find it funny what little things are important enough to remember. And though she admitted she was a little sad sometimes during the day because she missed me, she has asked us quite a few times now when she gets to go back, I am so glad she loves it so much already.

Before she left for school I asked her the questions below, her responses are in purple.


1. What is your name?  C-A-R-O-L-I-N-E

2. How old are you? Three

3. What is your favorite color? Blue 

4. What is your favorite animal? Baby Elephants, Mama Elephants and Daddy Elephants

5. Who is your best friend? Mommy

6. What is your favorite food? Cookies

7. What is your favorite drink? Orange Juice

8. What do you like to do outside? Ride my bike

9. What is your favorite toy? Babies

10. What is your favorite movie? Big Hero 6

11. What is your favorite tv show? Little Einsteins

12. What is your favorite song? Johnny and Ashe Songs (From Sing Movie)

13. What is your favorite book? Clifford

14. What are you scared of? The Dark

15.  Where is your favorite place to go? The Farm to pick strawberries

16. What do you want to be when you grow up? Princess and a Baby Doctor

17. What are you most excited about starting school? All of it.

Chatting with Caroline

Me: We need to work on cleaning Daddy's office today.
C: Is it messy? (runs to look)
Me: yeah
C: OH SNAP


C: Mommy, where does the water from the sink come from?
Me: Take it away Daddy
Ben: Well when it rains the water goes into lakes and rivers...
C: (interrupting him) No Daddy, it comes from the pipes!


C: Mommy, your tummy is big
Me: Yep, your sister is growing
C: will your tummy be small again?
Me: Hopefully.
C: But how?!?
Me: ... well the baby won't stay in there forever and it'll go back
C: I don't think so.


So we went to Starbucks and I got Caroline a hot chocolate, like usual, but it was too hot initially so she asked for a sip of my drink (a frappacino). She took a sip and said "Oooo it tastes like coffee, next time I want an 'appacino'"


Guess we know where her loyalties are...
C: Mommy, the boys are moving to California . Is that really far away?
Me: Yeah baby, that's pretty far
C: They are going to have so much fun, I am going to miss them
Me: Me too babe
C: Where are we going to move?
Me: Nowhere right now.
C: Will we move to California someday?
Me:... no babe we will probably stay in Texas.
C: That's okay, Nan and Papaw live in Texas.


C: What is the neighbor doing?
Me: Mowing
C: Giving the grass a haircut?


C: Can we go camping sometime?
Me: Maybe sometime
C: We could bring tents to sleep in the forest but there would be nothing scary there because God would keep us safe. He always keeps us safe.


Caroline was asking where Ben was so I pulled up the "Find my iPhone" app to show her and she sighed and said "still making money"


C: Do I look pretty with my necklace?
Me: Yes, you look very pretty
C: But I would look fantastic-er with all of them on.


Caroline almost crying about her songs not being on the radio...
Me: Did we keep you out too late?
C: Yes... what does that mean?
Me: Is it passed your bedtime?
C: I skipped it.


C: Where are we going next?
Me: The bank.
C: Where after that?
Me: Target...well maybe Walmart...I haven't decided.
C: Let's go to Target, I'll decide for you.

Insomnia Ramblings- 30 weeks

As I am in bed last night enjoying pregnancy insomnia, at 1:30 am, my thoughts can't help but drift to why I am awake. We are only a few short months, weeks really, from welcoming our second baby girl.

That leads me to thoughts of Caroline, and just how old she has seemed lately and is really. She will be four soon. Four. She is a person with big feelings, opinions, funny things to say and dreams. It makes me wonder if I have done enough up to this point. Have I loved my first enough, have I told her how much she means to me, have a cultivated a giving and kind spirit inside of her, have I encouraged her, pushed her, and cuddled with her enough?

Our morning routine lately consists of Ben giving me a kiss goodbye on his way out the door to work as I try to catch a few more minutes of sleep. Caroline comes into my room and asks for breakfast and then lets me know that I can go back to sleep after I turn on a show for her if I want. This is so sweet and sad at the same time. She has been a provider lately, the one who understands, forgives, encourages and loves with her whole being, isn't that supposed to be my job?

This morning, Caroline came into my room and wanted snuggles. She climbed up in bed with me and we traded I love you's, said we loved each other to the moon and back and we just had a sweet moment her me and a kicking baby sister. She is so excited for what is to come in the next few months and I can't help but be excited for her, she will love being and having a sister.

Ben and I were just chuckling the other night about how Caroline isn't anything we expected her to be. We couldn't pin point what it was that we were expecting but she is not it, in the best way possible. Caroline is crazier, sillier, funnier, and more giving of her heart than I could have imagined. So with this pregnancy I haven't really sat and daydreamed about who our new little one will be because, Lord only knows. And that is for the best. Caroline is everything we needed in a first child and I know that our second will be everything we need too and will be the perfect fit, the missing piece. We cannot wait to meet her!

Good Morning my Big Girl!

Snuggling up with Baby Sister