Lucy and Annie

The girls had appointments with their pediatrician today. Remind me not to make any appointment so close to nap time ever again. Thanks. Lucy was wild because she was trying to stay awake and it was just a little crazy trying to talk with Dr. Kimmel while she was going nuts. Thankfully, Annie was a little angel. I wouldn't have wanted to add a screaming baby to the mix.

The girls look great! Lucy is right around 50th percentile in both height and weight. She is super advanced in speech and fine motor skills. She does these at 3-4 yr. old level.  She's still at a normal 2 yr. old level for things like running, climbing and jumping though. Kinda clumsy this one. :) She had to get an MMR shot today. Poor baby. Yes, we are on a delayed vaccine schedule. I'm pretty picky about the whole process. She was not a fan of the shot but does like her blue Scooby band-aid. Lucy is also potty training! She's doing a great job at home. I am very proud of her. Gotta work up the courage to start taking her out in just panties! =O

Annie is a little peanut. 12.7 lbs. So tiny! It's no wonder she still wakes up every few hours to eat at night. I've started giving her a full bottle of formula before bed and it seems to be helping. Hopefully she'll start getting better about sleep!! She's 86th percentile in height though. And she's advanced in other areas. She's great at tracking and rolling. She loves to be standing up and jumping. She is such a little mover! Her legs just kick constantly. Not so cuddly these days. Life is too exciting! She is a very happy baby during the days.....as long as she's getting attention. Haha! She is getting better about playing on her own though. She loves to be sung to and played with. She will sing and giggle during "Pat-a-Cake" and other rhyme songs. She is such a smiley baby. I love it!

Side note-- Favorite Parenting Item.
We got out some of Lucy's baby toys for Annie to play with recently. My all time favorite baby "toy" are these flash cards. Lucy LOVED them as a baby. I liked flash cards because Lucy would roll/crawl around and pick one up at a time. I could tell her which animal (or thing) was on it and make the animal noise. They are touch and feel and super colorful. Lucy was doing animal noises at 8 months old because of these! We were looking through them with Annie today. It's fun to watch Lucy "teach" Annie this time around.  HIGHLY recommend. You can get them at Barnes and Noble. DK brand. I use an educator's discount (early homeschooling!) and they are pretty affordable. Here's a video of Lucy doing the tiger noise at 9 months. Ahh! So cute! She has grown up too fast!

Conspiracy Theory

Some days I'm pretty sure I'll never sleep again. Just sayin'. 

I love my Annie girl to pieces--- but I think she's plotting against me. I read this blog post from some fellow mommy out there in blogger land this week. Oh my, Annie definitely got the memo! (Or maybe she authored it?) Thanks to a mommy friend for posting this on FB! Totally hilarious. 

*DEAR FELLOW BABIES*

3 Months

Annie is 3 months old!

 I just can't imagine life without her. Yes, my nights have been sleepless and my house less than perfect. But this smile keeps me goin! :)

Annie is:

Growing-- Her cheeks are getting chubbier. And her thighs and arms are getting some extra rolls. I love baby chubbiness!!! Keep it coming. Not sure on her exact weight. She was 10.2 lbs. at 2 months. I'm guessing she's about 12 lbs. now.

Eating-- Every 3 hours. Day and night. Yep.

Sleeping-- Much better these days thanks to what I call "The Straitjacket." It's really just one of those swaddle blankets that you can Velcro shut so there's no possible way for tiny arms to escape. It's my LIFE SAVER. It only took me about 2 months to figure out that Annie will sleep blissfully as long as she is wrapped up tight like a little baby burrito. And not just any blanket will do. It must be the special swaddle blanket--with Velcro. She now naps wonderfully during the day which makes us all much happier people. She is still waking up every 3-4 hours at night. I am trying to be thankful for those times. She won't be this tiny long!

Playing-- Annie loves attention. Full attention. She loves to smile and talk and giggle! She is so expressive and CUTE as can be! Her favorite activities are watching her crib mobile, looking at colorful pictures, grabbing things and trying to fit her entire fist in her mouth.

I am so thankful for Annie! A friend sent me this article and it was much needed. Being a mommy isn't always glamorous but it is a wonderful blessing! Hope this encourages your day!

Sisters, Sisters

Lucy and Annie definitely look like sisters! There are slight differences between them--Annie has bigger eyes. Lucy was bald and is now blonde--which I still have a hard time believing I had a child with blonde hair. But anyway... Annie has dark hair that will likely stay in and remain dark. Annie has a little tip on her nose and Lucy doesn't. They have different fingers and toes. And completely opposite personalities. But despite their differences, there's no doubt these girlies are sisters!

See for yourself!

Lucy

Annie

Lucy

Annie

Lucy

Annie

Lucy

Annie

 

 

 

So in love with these girls!

Little Miss Annie

There is a little poem. It goes like this....

There was a little girl,

Who had a little curl,

Right in the middle of her forehead.

 When she was good,

She was very good indeed,

But when she was bad she was horrid.

 -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

And this poem, my friends, describes my little Annie Joy.  

Read on... 

8 weeks old! Yes, these past 8 weeks have been somewhat of a blur. I have been in serious survival mode. 

Lucy Noelle--you spoiled me kid. Never cried. When I say never, I mean never. Slept all of the time. All of the time. Easiest child ever. 

Lucy

Annie Joy--good thing I didn't have you first. I might not have any more children. =) Ok, maybe it's not that bad. Maybe. You cry. A lot. For no apparent reason sometimes. You don't sleep well. I am tired. 

The end.

Annie

Annie Belle, as I so lovingly call her. 

What has she been up to? 

When she was good, she was very good indeed...
  
*Being CUTE AS CAN BE! This kiddo is adorable! She can give the biggest smiles and sweetest coos. I just love her! She is way more expressive than Lucy was. And since Lucy is quite the little ham.... you do the math.

*Baby Acne. Poor thing! She has good and bad days. I think we're nearing the end of it....hope so!

Still cute though. :)

 *Playing. Annie loves "playing" with her big sis. She will laugh and smile at Lucy. Lucy loves to bring Annie lots of toys, read her books, and color next to (or occasionally ON) her. Annie also LOVES her crib mobile. She reserves her biggest smiles for it. I just can't compete with a twirling blue giraffe. 

*Rolling over. Yes, rolling. She got so mad during tummy time last night that she rolled herself right over! She's pretty strong--always loves to stand up. So rolling wasn't a surprise to me. She can roll on to her side from her back too. Lucy didn't roll until she was 4 1/2 months. Annie, please don't walk early too. Thanks. 

*Snuggling. Annie loves to snuggle! Sometimes I think she's sound asleep on my shoulder because she's still and quiet as can be. THEN I'll pass by a mirror and see that she's wide awake. She likes to trick me into holding her. Snuggle bug. 

*Growing. Annie lost a little weight when she was sick with RSV. But she's been eating like crazy and getting multiple chins. We go to the pediatrician Monday, but my guess is that she weighs a little over 10 lbs. She is wearing 3 month clothes and size 1 diapers.

Another great shot of that baby acne. And thrush on her tongue. But she doesn't seem to mind. :)

And when she was bad, she was horrid...


 *Eating, eating, eating, eating. Every 2 hours! I am not a fan of this. BUT, go a minute over 2 hours and she thinks she's starving to death. Also, go over 2 hours and she will spiral into a fit of rage that may last for the next 2 hours, in which she refuses to eat and just gets madder and madder and madder and madder.... But wasn't eating the problem in the first place? Child of mine. Actually, the last day or so we've had a few 3 hour chunks between feedings. I am beginning to see the light. I hope it's the light. Haha! :)

Little Miss Fussy

*Not sleeping. Ok, she sleeps a little. For the first few weeks she wouldn't nap at all. Just little catnaps. Ridiculous! Babies are supposed to sleep all of the time. She didn't get the memo. She has been napping a little better the past few weeks and we are all much happier people. Nighttime is a challenge. She still has yet to go over 4 hours between feedings. Yes, I am a tired mommy.

 

 *Being sick. :( Poor, poor baby! I think this has been detrimental to her eating and sleeping habits. I really do. At just 5 weeks we were in the hospital with RSV. Praise the Lord she did so well! We only had to stay 1 night. Big sisters are great for getting you sick. Annie is on round 2 of runny nose/cough junk now. I think she's almost better. Fingers crossed! Maybe she will eat and sleep better when she can breathe. 

That's what we're up to! Even though being a mommy of 2 has it's ups and downs, I wouldn't have it any other way. I am so blessed to have my girls! 

 

Welcome Anna Joy!

Warning: This is a birth story. So if you're not into that sort of thing ...

We have a new little princess around here. This is the story of her arrival into the world!

Let's start out by saying, around week 37 I was officially as big as I was with Lucy. So I kinda had my hopes up that Annie might come a little early. Not too early. But a week or so would have been nice. :) Well my due date came and went. Since I was induced a week late with Lucy, I figured I would probably just be pregnant forever. I stopped wondering "maybe today is the day" and just went on with life as usual.

The night before Annie was born we went to the gym. I walked as fast as I could on the treadmill for 45 min. After that we went to Target and Lucy was being fussy. This stressed me out a little and I started having pretty consistent Braxton Hicks contractions. I didn't think anything of it since I had BH my whole pregnancy. Plus I was going to be pregnant forever....remember? I went to bed and the contractions went away. Around 4:30am I woke up stiff and sore. I rolled over and--whoa!--a warm gush of liquid. I gasped and jumped out of bed (I had just washed the sheets! Saved them, by the way.) Immediately I began to get shaky and had serious cramping. "This is it! I don't know if I'm ready for this!" Then I realized it was Tuesday. No, not Tuesday! I've been praying for 2 things: a natural delivery and not on a Tuesday! Tuesday is my midwife's DAY OFF. I knew a natural delivery would be much harder without her. Well, she was on call till 8am so I figured a little bit of her was better than nothing. I called Jeane (my midwife) and she told me to head straight to the hospital. Once we got Lucy taken care of and to the hospital it was about 5:30. (Side note: we walked outside and it was snowing!! The first snow of the year. Lucy was born on the first snow of the year too! Dec. 7th--2 years earlier. I think it's God's way of welcoming my babies into the world.) =) Anyway, at the hospital they took me into triage and did the usual--checked vitals and asked me questions I had already answered in pre-registration (what's the point of that!). By now my contractions we pretty close together and I needed to be on my hands and knees to tolerate them. Finally the nurse decided to check my progress since she could tell I was in pain. "Oh wow, you're at a 6. Let's move you to a delivery room." Yeah, thanks. :) 6:30am--My contractions were beginning to seem unbearable. Then Jeane arrived! Praise the Lord! She immediately took over. She was so calm and was just amazing. She rubbed my back and suggested alternate positions. Not gonna lie, "I don't think I can do this without an epidural" crossed my mind a few times. Ha! I had wanted to try the tub so around 7:30 Jeane checked me and I was at 8-9cm! Hello. I got in the tub (which felt great) but within 5 min.  had to start pushing. I couldn't stop it! I said, "Jeane, tell me the truth. How much worse it this going to get?" She told me I was past the worst part. Pushing would be a relief. What? Ok. Since we didn't want a water birth we headed back to the bed. It all happened so fast! Jeane immediately told me to push. (Thankfully, pushing was a relief!) And it was amazing to be able to feel how to push since I was un-medicated. 3 pushes and Annie was born at 7:48. She cried immediately and handed her to me. Beautiful! 12 min. before Jeane was off call. Praise the Lord for answering prayer!!

Anna Joy 

December 6, 2011

7 lbs., 11 oz., 19 inches

This delivery was so different from Lucy's. With Lucy I was induced, Pitocin, had an epidural, the works. She was born happy and healthy but I was unsatisfied with the whole experience. For one, it took me a long time to recover. I knew the whole experience could be better. So this time around I decided to do things differently. I found an amazing midwife and made it a priority to exercise regularly. I tried to eat better....but ice cream always gets the best of me. :) I read some great childbirth books and talked with friends who had given birth naturally. By week 30 I was actually excited about natural childbirth! I knew that God created my body to have children. It was a natural experience and I wasn't going to die from the pain. :)

Let me say, having done it both ways....I will definitely have the rest of my children naturally! Yes, I realize a 3 hour labor is pretty much every woman's dream. But I am prepared to do this again even if labor lasts much longer. :) It was a wonderful experience. Believe it or not, it didn't hurt as badly as I thought it would. Immediately after Annie was born I felt fine and was able to walk around. I didn't have to have an IV! It was great. Recovery was a million times better. The list goes on! Even my at first skeptical hubby says we will never have another baby without Jeane! :)

We love our little Annie Joy! I plan on giving you all an update on her cute little self within the next few days. For now, here are some pics from her first few days!

 

Proud big sister!

Annie has lots of dark hair!

Scheming against me already.

Baby love.

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