Moving On

...and it's a good thing because it's a mere ten days away!

We are going to D's Christmas party for work on Saturday night. With our two kiddos. Should be an interesting time. It's our one and only Christmas party this year because D was working during the other two to which we were invited.

I'm all done shopping, but I have a few handmade gifts I'm leaving until next week. I'm doing Advent envelopes with M this year. He loves opening our junk mail, so I'm sticking a few chocolate coins or (organic) lollipop in an envelope along with part of the Christmas story and letting him open it up each day. I have a few crafts planned, but he's so not into crafting right now. Well, my idea of crafting at least. He uses the crafting supplies...in his own way. It's always a fun time.

Also on the agenda for this weekend (besides another good sale at Once Upon A Child!) is making gifts for the kids' Sunday School teachers, our neighbors, and our local librarians. I found this cute idea of making pies/apple crisp/gingerbread in little mason jars. I wanted something yummy but not too detailed since I'm making fourteen (or more) of them. Might take a while with M "helping" but he loves sliding his stool over to where I'm working and jumping right into whatever I'm doing. We have a few more Christmas-y things planned before celebrating Jesus' birth with our families. Promises to be a fun time!

He's actually using these crafting supplies as they should be used...at this point in the project, at least! I love watching him work :)
Mom found this tabletop tree for him because he was way too interested in our tree. We took some Micah-friendly ornaments from our tree to hang on his. We use it as his nightlight and he just thinks it's the coolest thing ever. Merry Christmas to him!
Grams bought us this festive poinsettia plant. Love them this time of year. The candles around it spell NOEL.
Found Christmas in My Heart during one of our library adventures and found out that it's number nine in a series of fifteen or more. I'm enjoying the short stories and will probably be making this a December tradition. The other book has a daily reading about Jesus' coming, also a great read for this time of year!
My (slight) obsession with children's book continues into this season. I dug out all the Christmas books I've been accumulating and stuck them in a (clementine) box under the tree. We read a few of them each day and M is starting to piece together the Christmas story.
This year's (very adorable) present. Happy, healthy, chunky little girl, couldn't have asked for a more perfect blessing!

I dislike two piece outfits on babies for two reasons: they don't seem very warm and socks always go missing. Like here, for example!

11 pounds, 10 ounces, 22 1/2 inches

Lylah will be eight weeks this week, almost two months! Hard to believe. She's doing great and seems to enjoy life outside the womb. She was thoroughly enjoying life INSIDE the womb, so it's good that she's enjoying her new surroundings, too. I really have to finish up her hospital post, but this'll have to do for now!

* At her one month mark, she gained exactly three pounds and grew two and a half inches. She really likes her mealtimes and will eat every two hours during the day and a bit more right before she sleeps for 5 to 6 hours at night. With M, I fed on both sides, but just do the one for her right from the start and that seems to be all she needs. I know my milk came in really fast and really furious this time around, so that's probably why. She doesn't feed nearly as long as her big brother, which I appreciate :) She'll still pull herself off when she's done, but won't if she has fallen asleep. In which case, I have to time her and make sure she doesn't overeat. When she does overeat, she's really gassy and uncomfortable, poor girl, and one of the only times she's fussy.

* Her "fussy" times are when she wants to eat, when she's been up too long and can't put herself to sleep, when she's gassy, and hmmm, that's about it! These periods don't last for long and she's easily soothed most of the time. She really is a perfect second child!

* She is very smiley, especially after she has eaten. It melts my heart each time: when I get her up to feed her at night, you know she is very hungry, but she'll patiently wait for me to change her diaper and she'll throw me these huge, gummy smiles while she's waiting. She is just so sweet!

* She adores her daddy and is already wrapping him around and around and around his fingers. She responds instantly to him and he is loving every minute of it, especially since M was more difficult (probably due to the lack of bonding in the beginning since D was working so.many.hours as an intern). I'm already telling her to tell him what "she" wants so maybe he'll get it for "her"/me :). It's very cute to see and I'm so happy for him to experience this unconditional love!

* She coos and talks when you talk to her and she looks you straight in the eye when you talk or when she's talking.

* She H.A.T.E.S. the carseat. It's the only time she'll hysterically cry. I thought she might have a back problem at first, but she loves the swing and she's on her back to nurse sometimes, so D assures me it's not that. Someone suggested carsickness, which might be a possibility. Or she just doesn't like being strapped in (the straps touch her cheeks because they are so huge). Whatever it is, I think it's the Lord's way of keeping me from going shopping :)

* She is definitely a gift from God and we are enjoying our little girl and how M interacts with her. She is such a good baby that transitioning to having two children hasn't been difficult at all. It's rather nice, actually! I told D that if I was guaranteed another one like her, I'd have another one right now!

One of the gifts from D's co-residents:

Well, we are back home now and enjoying the new routine we've established. D had four days off for Thanksgiving and then worked the 5pm-11pm shift all last week, so we had A LOT of quality family time that we weren't used to, but thoroughly enjoyed. This week he's working late four out of five nights, so when family time ended, it really ended!

Lylah is an amazing little girl and continues to amaze us with her gentle personality and her many grunts, groans, and stretches. This little one is sleeping through the night already (for a few weeks now), but has creeped up to sleeping NINE hours at a time! Enjoying it while it lasts :)

Micah is such a great big brother. He has a special place in his heart for her and enjoys kissing her and hugging her. He's always asking where she is if she's not in sight. She loves watching him play and move about, so all is good in sibling world. Micah's vocabulary has exploded and I'm always asking him to repeat what he said not because I didn't hear him, but because I didn't know he knew those words and how to use them in that context! His newest thing is to put the stool that Dad built him under any and every lightswitch so he can flip it on. I'm constantly shutting off lights in rooms that aren't in use!

We're all enjoying this time of year and had a lot of fun setting up our Christmas tree Friday morning. Micah was beside himself with excitement and really couldn't contain himself throughout the entire process! I'm in the market for a little tree for him so he'll stop touching all the stuff on our tree! I've put Christmas books and his Fisher Price Nativity Set under the tree, so he's having a good time with those...when he's not touching the ornaments!

Thanksgiving was a bit different this year in that we went up to David's sister's home about a half an hour away for dinner and then went to Mom and Dad's for dessert later in the day. Micah LOVED playing with Ari and all of her toys. He's constantly asking to go see Ari's house. We had all slept in that morning, until after 9 I think, so M didn't get his usual nap and did quite well. In the car on the way to Mom and Dad's, I was telling David that I guess M didn't need a nap after all and turned around to point out how wide awake he was...except that he was sound asleep in his carseat! And Lylah was asleep in her carseat, too! So we had a nice, quite, adult-conversation-filled ride. I almost wished the ride was longer! Of course when we got to Mom and Dad's, there was no more sleep to be had for either of them. Here are so pictures from the day:

I refuse to show this picture of M in an all pink room to my father. He'd have my head.
Really enjoying all the new toys!
He and Ari were at a kid's table and he didn't do too well eating because he wanted to go play. "All done now, Mommy. Micah go play."
Place cards M and I made when we learned about the Mayflower together
Four Generations Pictures. Only missing one with my Dad's mom which I hope to get when she's up this summer!


Our New Family Picture :)
Our Sweet Lylah-girl who is turning into quite the chunky-chunk!

Lylah was 17 days old the first time she attended church (on Halloween!). She slept on Grammy the entire time :).

The "Happy Birthday" texts started arriving at 6:57am and came at regular intervals throughout the day. Fortunately, though, my phone was on silent mode because I was able to sleep until 9:15am! Lylah is a wonderful sleeper and Mom has been getting up with M, so I woke feeling very rested! I came downstairs to a BIG hug from M and a rousing rendition of "Happy to yooooou!!!" which was sung to me every time Mom reminded him it was my bday throughout the day! He's enjoying the whole concept of birthdays, even if they're not his own!

Then, Mom and Yana took M and Brea to storytime at a local library, so that left me with even more free time... I almost didn't know what to do with myself...but I quickly found a thing or five million to do which kept me occupied until Little Man came home around 11:45am. Little aside: I had signed up to get a ton of free things, mainly food!, on your birthday, so my Inbox has been flooded with some good deals. One such deal was a free sandwich or salad from Au Bon Pan, and since ABP is at a nearby mall, I asked Mom if she minded watching Lylah so M and I could go there together for lunch. Of course Mom didn't mind, so M and I enjoyed some Mommy-Son time. I've missed spending one-on-one time with him, so it was a great bday gift!

After M went down for his nap, Lylah and I got to spend some quality time together before she dozed off too. It was a cold, rainy day... Perfect for wrapping yourself in a blanket and reading... Or catching up on stuff with your iPhone.

All the while Mom was busy making a delicious lasagna dinner with homemade rolls and an Italian Love Cake for dessert, which made the house smell soooo good. I'm not into store-bought or boxed cakes at all, so I appreciated the extra effort Mom took in making this wonderfully yummy cake!! Everyone, as in G&G, Rita, Ry & Yana, came over for dinner and we all had a good time watching the kids play and catching up on life.

D, who has been a great help in keeping Lylah awake and/or entertained in the evenings while I nap, surprised me with a new laptop. I love mine and don't really want a new one, but he's been bugging me about getting a newer one to replace my "dinosaur." apparently he found a good deal because when I got up to feed Lylah a few early-mornings ago, I saw an email confirming the purchase of a new laptop. Slightly confused and convinced I was dreaming, I didn't ask him about it until I saw the email again the following afternoon. I wasn't dreaming and our newest purchase should be here in a few weeks! Even better? He got my some Milano cookies :)

I know God didn’t design us to have babies via C-section, but I’m sure glad he gave someone the idea and even more glad that today’s medical technology has become so advanced that I could have one and be home and functioning one week later. Without any pain medication!

Mom, David, and I trekked into hospital at 7am on the (Thursday) morning of October 14th all prepared to see our new baby by 10am the latest. My section was scheduled for 9am, but some poor woman had to have an emergency one, so I was bumped until noon, on the dot, actually. So we all hung out in my little triage room passing the time that went by quickly. Mom snapped a few last pictures of my hugeness (uh, thanks, Mom!?!). I hadn’t been able to eat or drink since midnight, but did sneak a few sips of water with David’s permission, which is probably the most discomfort I suffered. Finally the time came when my operating room was available and D and I walked (yes, walked!) there. D had to get his scrubs on while they gave me a spinal and prepped me. I think they actually made the first cut before getting him, but he was there for the rest. Everything went very smoothly, praise the Lord, and forty-three minutes later, we heard our daughter cry for the first (and almost the last, this girl is an angel baby!!) time. Everyone in the OR was excited to find out Baby’s gender with us; they said they hardly ever get surprises anymore and enjoy being part of them. It was cute to see everyone peeking over to see what, in fact, came out! The nurse anesthetist told us later that Lylah had a girly face, but didn’t want to say anything in case she wasn’t a she! After checking over the baby and putting her under the heat, everyone kind of ignored her and went about whatever they do to put me back together. D was able to go over to her and snap some pictures and talk with her. After a bit, they wheeled the scale over to where I could see and weighed her 8 pound, 10 ounce self. Then they wrapped her up and gave her to David who brought her over to me. I couldn’t believe how much she looked like Micah at birth. They literally had the same face, it was so surreal. I kept saying to David, “Of all the combinations we could possibly make, they’re the same!” After a bit, though, her puffiness went down and she definitely got her own look about her. I was expecting her to be completely opposite of M, but you can certainly tell they’re siblings. The doctors who were pulling her out commented on her abundance of hair, and she does have a good tuft on the top of her head, but it dissipates as you move closer to her neck and forehead. It’s dark, though, so you can definitely see all that she has. Another thing I remember thinking right away is how peachy and perfect she looked right from birth. She didn’t have to go through labor, so she basically came out looking like an hours-old baby. Her little nose was all formed and pointy, too. I’m sure the nurses say it about all the babies, but they kept going over to look at her, saying how beautiful she was. They kept her with us the entire time in the OR and in Recovery, which was different from my first experience. I really, really enjoyed this bonding time with the three of us. D was on cloud nine.

The entire surgery from the time I set foot in the OR until they wheeled me out in my bed/home for the next few days, took on hour. The doctors (my OB and a resident) said I had very minimal scarring from last time, so that didn’t hold them up at all. And I guess my uterus was in fine shape because they ended up having to vacuum her little head out. I’m dramatic and was thinking about uterine rupture because I heard a story once… Anyway, all went well and they wheeled me into Recovery for about an hour where they kept pushing on my belly to get as many of the clots out as possible before the spinal wore off and they couldn’t push so hard without it being painful. Again, all went well there and I was even able to breastfeed Lylah, which went very well. She was born making the sucking noise and trying to stuff her fingers in her mouth (literally) and she hasn’t backed off since. She has a powerful little suck, unlike her brother, and she gets the job done in a quarter of the time. She even pulls off when she’s done, which, again, her brother never did. It’s interesting to see their different personalities, even in something like feeding.

Dad, Mom, Yana, and Brea were all waiting in my room when I got there (I guess Ry was there, but had to leave for work). We had met Rita in the hallway as I was being wheeled to Maternity, so she joined in the party, too. Of course, that’s when the nurse came and took Lylah to the nursery to check her out and clean her up, but so it goes. They did bring her back with enough time for everyone to see and visit with her.

This hospital stay was even better than my experience the first time, if you can imagine. I thoroughly enjoyed the nursing staff and the care I received. It was cozy, too, being cooped up in the room for a few days with David and the baby. Kinda weird, I know, but it’s better than having an awful experience! Still more to come…

"Go ahead, David, you can stand up and tell her," said the nurse anesthetist. David was able to pop his head over the curtain they put up while doing my c-section and end our nine months of speculation: boy or girl? "She's a girl!". Neither of us was very surprised, but we were very happy. I remember saying to D right when we found out we were expecting, "Well, here is our girl!". It was just the first thing that popped into my head. I didn't want one over the other. I hadn't even given it any thought. Anyway, it turns out she is a girl and she has D's laidback personality and we are thoroughly enjoying our newest little blessing. A bit about the names we chose:

Lylah: many groups claim origin for this name, but I like the Persian meaning best - "dark-haired beauty" - because it describes her perfectly :)

Kathren: is a combination of my mom's and my aunt's names (the twins). "Kath" is the beginning of Kathy and "ren" is the ending of Karen to make Kathren.

More to come...

This the THE week. Baby will be here by Thursday whether s/he likes it or not! We're excited to meet this new little person(ality) and only have to wait four short days :) In light of that fact, Mom surprised me with a Day Out Before Baby last Wednesday. Yana and Dad tag teamed Little Man while we had a fun-filled few hours!!!

Mom came with me to my last OB appointment before Baby comes and, after finding out that of course I wasn't in labor and didn't need to go to the hospital immediately (one could hope...), we were on our way to...Whole Foods! It was across the street and one of the stops I usually made after my appointments. After getting some necessities, Mom told me that we would be getting our nails and toes done and to pick out a nail polish color. They sell the natural kind there and had quite the selection, so I picked out a dark red since I knew Mom would like it too. Mom also said to pick out dessert (which I did right away: a raspberry almond bar) to have after lunch. We could have stopped there and I would have been a happy girl.

But no. We went on to Panera Bread (YUM!) where we each got our favorite lunch choice and chatted about whatever we constantly chat about. When we were finished eating, Mom said we had enough time to make one more stop before our nail appointment and she pulled back in to the same parking lot my OB is in because it happens to share space with Marshalls. Mom said she remembered me saying I needed a winter robe and wanted to see their selection. The first aisle we went to, we happened upon a really nice, warm, fuzzy, red robe with a zipper! I was searching all summer for one, which was my problem. Nice, warm, fuzzy, red robes aren't sold during the summer months! And we also found long-sleeved cotton pajamas that will be perfect for nursing and for lounging around in. I really appreciated Dad and Mom getting them for me/us :)!

After Marshalls, (kind of interesting to note that these four stops where all within viewing distance of each other!) we made our way out to a different part of town where a much-needed and greatly appreciated manicure and pedicure were awaiting us. I was thoroughly enjoying everything that they entailed until Mom comes up to inspect my eyebrows. She declared they needed waxing and from then on, I imagined hot wax dripping in my eye or sticking to my eyelashes and gluing them shut. Well, maybe I wasn't that dramatic, but I never get my eyebrows waxed and didn't feel the need to then. But Mom said I should, so I went with it and they do look nice.

On our way home, we stopped at Mom's favorite coffee place where she got a coffee and I got a hot chocolate. And Mom also got donut holes for M because one time she said she had a surprise for him, it happened to be a donut, so now every time she says she has a surprise for him, he says, "Nonut?!" Which of course meant she had to get donuts... M was still sleeping when we got back, so I had even more relaxation time coming my way! It was so nice spending that time with Mom and I am very thankful to both Mom and Dad for again blessing me (because the shower wasn't enough?!) and making me feel loved and special before a very fun, but very tiring time of life. And of course it wouldn't have been the same if M had to tag along, so a BIG thank you to Dad and Yana for their part in a fun and enjoyable day!

To wrap up the day, Dad gave me a much-needed haircut while Mom made all of us dinner before we headed out to church. There couldn't have been a better Day Out Before Baby day!!

And now, while we wait, I'm drinking my cups and cups of Red Raspberry Leaf Tea and mixing it with a little Nettle (I ordered about ten pounds of dried herbs last week and have been mixing and match them to make different teas) to prepare for Baby's entrance. I've also been on a cooking and baking and cleaning spree which definitely has me puzzled and D, too, but he won't say anything because he's like the results. I've made a few freezer meals, cleaned house top to bottom, organized the house top to bottom, started packing for our six-week stay at Mom's, packed for the hospital, and lots of other things I'm too tired to remember, but am pleased to have all done.

This week is turning out to be a busy one with a luncheon with friends tomorrow, breakfast with Grams and Gramps the next day as well as dinner out (last one for a long while!), and then there's Wednesday with all the craziness I'm sure it'll bring preparing for the big day. So I'm sure Thursday will get here before we know it and then we'll finally get to see what this baby looks like!! I'm just excited to get to hold him/her in my arms and not in my belly anymore :)

We went to a local pumpkin patch on Saturday to pick out a pumpkin for tonight's Pumpkin Carving Party at Ryan and Yana's. And I was secretly hoping the hayride would do something to spur on labor. It didn't. But M did pick out a very nice carving pumpkin, along with two little pumpkins and he also really enjoyed the hayride. We checked out a few books about pumpkins and how they grow from the library earlier in the week, so we had fun learning about what goes on in a pumpkin patch. His big joke was to point to some of the green ones there and said, "Pick?" with a mischievous grin because we talked about how we can't pick the green ones since they weren't ripe yet. Little stinker. At least he was paying attention!

The hayride was the least bumpy hayride I've ever been on and the weather was absolutely beautiful, which made our time at the pumpkin patch all the more enjoyable. The highlight of the whole trip for David was when a woman told me that it looked like I was smuggling a pumpkin out of the patch and that she'd cover it with no problem. During the summer, I swallowed a watermelon and now that it's fall, I guess it makes sense that I've now swallowed a pumpkin. She meant well and we all had a good laugh. After the pumpkin patch, we went down the road and got some apple cider donuts. Yum!

Serious business