Musings of a Mommy

Last week was a big week for Lexie Leigh. She started school. Matt went with her since it was an orientation day and he said she did well but would, of course, do better when her parents weren’t there and she was forced to follow the teacher’s rules.  Today was the first day that she went by herself and I’m assuming she did well. She told me she painted and played with toys. The ending circle is just not her cup of tea. She would much rather be done with school if play time is over. Hopefully as the year progresses that will change.

Her first day of school:

Lexie also started dance class last week with one of her best friends, Leslie. It was insane. This little bratty boy was there and I swear his name was Mai Tai (Kara says something different but personally I like Mai Tai). He smacked Lexie across the face. Lovely. It apparently didn’t bother Lexie too much because she’s been bugging me all week to go back.

Dance Class Ballerina:

Hanging with Leslie:

In other news – last night sucked. I got about 3 hours of sleep. Here’s how it went down:

7:15 – Audrey gets a bath. Lexie is at a meeting with Matt.

8:00 – Audrey is asleep in her bed. Score! Mommy pours a much needed glass of wine.

8:45 – Lexie comes home, Audrey wakes up. Chaos begins.

9:00 – I leave Lexie’s room after telling her its bedtime.

9:00 – 9:30 – Lexie obviously disagrees and screams bloody murder.

9:30 – 10:30 – Audrey sleeps in bouncy seat.

10:30 – I take Audrey and go to bed.

10:30 – 1:30 – I attempt to get Audrey to go back to sleep.

1:30 – 2:30 – I move to the living room and try to get her to sleep. Finally, she sleeps and I lay down.

2:30 – Lexie wakes up from a nightmare. Matt is oblivious so Audrey and I go to comfort her.

2:30 – 3:30 – So tired, I fall asleep in Lexie’s bed, holding Audrey.

3:30 – Move back to my own bed. Audrey sleeps in my arms.

5:30 – Audrey nurses.

Somewhere between 5:30 and 7 – Lexie wakes again. Matt gets in bed with her.

7:00 – The day begins.

Thankfully, I cancelled my eye appointment at about 1:30 in the morning, realizing that sleep was a joke. So Audrey and I slept from 8:15 to 10:15 this morning. I needed it. Still, though, my eyes are burning and it’s going to be a looonnng day since Lexie didn’t nap. AGAIN. Bedtime for everyone is 8 o’clock tonight. Maybe.

Lexie celebrated her third birthday (oh my gosh – she was only born yesterday, I swear!) at the end of July.  We had a great party at our house with swimming, pizza, cake and ice cream. It was a perfectly laid back day, which was great, since Audrey was only 3 weeks old. Lexie loved her party with all of her friends and family and didn’t want to ever get out of the pool. Of course, the cake and ice cream were disgusting in her opinion, so Mommy made a special “cake” for Lexie with Oreos (her fave). It was a great day and a wonderful way to celebrate Lexie’s big birthday.

Some pics from the day:

Swimming with Nate and Grace

Opening presents with some interest from Grace G. and Nate.

SUGAR! Nate and Leslie are pumped for cake and ice cream.

“Uhh..”

The awesome blue (Lexie’s favorite color) Mickey Mouse cake everyone else ate.

Happy Birthday Lexie Leigh!

Okay, update for Lexie.

Everyone keeps asking how Lexie is doing with the new addition to our family and I can honestly answer she’s doing great. The only time she gets really mad is when I’m nursing Audrey and can’t help her or get something for her right that very second. (Preschoolers, especially mine, are not known for their patience.) Other than that, her life hasn’t really changed. She still gets to go to “parties” all the time. (See, Lexie is under the assumption that any place that has inflatables are “parties,” such as fairs, Legends games, kids events, etc. Actually, any place that has kid stuff, even playgrounds. Every day we hear, “Go to a party? I tell Daddy I want to go to a party.” And, in all honesty, since Audrey has been born, she’s been to 3 or 4 “parties.”  She went to the Bluegrass Lions Club Fair (LOVED it), the Woodland Arts Fair (ehhh) and 2 Legends games (best place on Earth, apparently). Life has not slowed down for Lexie Leigh.

The biggest change in Lexie’s life is the potty training. I just decided a couple of weeks ago that I was done changing poopy diapers on my 3 year old. It just felt ridiculous. So, I gave her tons of Sprite, took off the diaper, and set her on her little potty and told her she had to sit there until she went. Now see, this seems extreme, I’m sure but she had never, ever peed on the potty. She would sit but nothing would happen. So the first day I think she spent most of the day on the potty. Of course, once she realized the reward (Oreos) for sitting on the potty, all of a sudden, it became more fun. And then, we made up a potty dance and she really enjoyed that. Within a couple of days, she was taking herself to the potty without accidents. Now, when we’re home, we’re golden with peeing in the potty (sorry, no pun was intended). BMs..ehhh…not so much. We’re still working on that. And, when we’re out in public, she’s still in pull-ups but most of the time she stays dry. Today she even used the public potty at the mall (SCORE!). We’re well on our way to only having one in diapers. Sweet.

I have to say that my dearest Lexie Leigh pulls at my heartstrings when she plays with other kids. She loves to play with other children and will follow them around and try to talk to them. Unfortunately, none of them can understand what she’s saying and sometimes the older kids push her away. That breaks my heart. And, when she plays, she just follows their orders. And sometimes they hurt her feelings. I think that is the most difficult lesson I’m having to learn right now. That sometimes, even though I want to protect her from everything, I can’t. Sometimes her feelings are going to get hurt and that hurts me a million times more.

And some pictures showing Lexie’s latest adventures:

Our first day of potty training. Looking pitiful.

No more diapers! WOO!

Watch her head, Lexie!! (A common phrase used in our house.)

Oh and I forgot to mention that Lexie begins school next week and also begins dance lessons next week. It’s a big week for her!

All ready for dance class! (minus the tights)

I desperately have needed to update so I thought I would do two separate posts, one for each girl.

So Audrey.

Audrey is doing well…well, she’s doing okay.  She weighs 11 pounds, 5 ounces, which is less than her big sister weighed at 5 1/2 weeks. She absolutely loves her big sister, even though Lexie sometimes loves Audrey a little too much, if you know what I mean. (Picture lots of squeezing and hugging.) Lexie can usually get a big smile out of Audrey, even as she’s patting the living daylights out of her.

Audrey has followed in her big sister’s footsteps by having reflux. If you’re lucky enough to never have experienced an infant with reflux, let me tell you. It sucks. Painful burps, spit ups, cries when laying down, no nighttime sleeping…it sucks. It’s one of the most helpless feelings in the world for your infant to be in pain and there isn’t anything you can do about it. With Lexie, we stumbled upon some gripe water, which is a homeopathic remedy for colic and reflux. It helped A LOT. So as soon as the symptoms started, we ran to Good Foods and loaded up. It’s helped somewhat. Then, I made an appointment with her doctor and got the prescription for Zantac. Things have improved but they’re not perfect. So…since we were at the doctor anyway yesterday (more on that in a minute), we went on a got a prescription for Prevacid, which is stronger and I filled that today. I think we’re going to start that tomorrow, so hopefully things will improve more.

So another issue we’ve noticed was that Audrey’s cute little innie belly button had all of a sudden become an outie. Umbilical hernia. Great. So we were at the doctor yesterday to get that checked out. The good news is that 90% of umbilical hernias go away on their own by the age of 5. So we wait and keep an eye on it.

I have to say I am madly in love with my little girl. She can always bring a smile to my face, even at the middle of the night feedings. (And to answer your question, no, I’m not getting any sleep and yes, it’s difficult with a preschooler running around and yes, diet coke and coffee are my best friends right now. Poor Audrey is going to be a caffeine addict before her 1st birthday.) She’s really cute and funny and just precious. I can’t imagine what life was like before her. I think that with Lexie, as a first time parent, I was so concerned to “do it right.” This time around, it’s all about survival and if that means letting Audrey sleep in my arms at night (guilty), letting the television be a babysitter so I can do laundry (guilty again), or nursing wherever I can (thank goodness for my nursing wrap), then so be it. This time it’s more enjoyable just because I’m more relaxed.

And some pictures from my phone to show you what Audrey has been up to lately:

“Oh, life is so hard!”

Ah, sleep! Until Lexie comes over and says, “SHE’S AWAKE!” Well, yeah, now she is!

More sleeping! (Notice Mommy’s best friend in the background – Diet Coke!)

Well, we’re surviving having 2 little ones under 3.  I’m not sleeping a whole lot. In fact, until last night, Audrey slept in my arms. She absolutely refused to sleep in her cradle. I would lay her down, stop breathing, slowly lay down myself and exhale and then….waah! waah! She’s very much a cuddler, which I love but I really missed sleeping on my stomach. It’s been too long! So finally last night, I got a new sleep positioner, laid her on her side, swaddled her (leaving her arms out – she really gets upset if she can’t move her arms) and she slept from 12:30 to 3:30, and then slept 4:00 to 6:30 in her own bed. Hooray! Small steps, people, small steps.

Lexie is doing well with a new baby in the house. We are seeing more tantrums, especially when the attention is focused on Audrey. We definitely expected that. She also does not want me to breastfeed Audrey. It’s not so much like the act bothers her but that she hates that I’m occupied and can’t take care of her every need. We also expected that.

Before Audrey was born, I had lots of anxious nights and days of worrying about adding another baby to our family. How would I ever feel the same way about our new addition as I felt about Lexie? I mean, Lexie and I were best friends. We did just about everything together and were each other’s favorite people. She was my firstborn, my “big girl” (even though she will always be my baby, regardless if she’s 3 or 33).  I knew what she was thinking without her saying a word. How many hours had I spent worrying about Lexie, thinking about Lexie, showering Lexie with attention? How on earth would I ever recreate that with another child?  I was so worried.  I had heard other moms have this concern and before I had children, I always scoffed at them behind their back. I could not fathom how a mother could ever be concerned about not loving one of their children or loving one of their children more than the other(s). Well, karma is a bitch because those worries I laughed at….I had them.

I am relieved to say that those worries were ridiculous. I love Audrey more than words can express and Lexie is still and will always be my girl. Audrey seemed to fill a hole that we never even knew we had. I can’t imagine being a family of 3 again, even though we’ve only been a family of 4 for less than two weeks. Having Audrey has helped me remember so many things about Lexie as a newborn.

And, there’s nothing better than cuddling with a newborn, especially when she’s as cute and sweet as this one:

Audrey Jane Elliott arrived yesterday at 12:29 pm, weighing 7 lbs. 14 oz, and was 21 inches long. She’s beautiful and perfect!

We decided to go on and induce since I wasn’t progressing at all. Dr. James broke my water at 7:30, I got my epidural at 9:30, went from 4 cm dilated to 10 cm dilated in 2 1/2 hours, started pushing at 12:15 and she was born at 12:29! Fast!!  And, I feel great! Seriously! No stitches (sorry, if that’s TMI) and able to walk around and sit easily. It’s totally different than it was with Lexie. 

Matt is doing a much better job putting up pictures and video of her (I seem to be busy breastfeeding a child that never wants to stop) so I’m going to link to his blog so everyone can stay updated.

http://matt.aprilandmatt.com/blog

We’re still waiting for Baby Girl Elliott to make her stunning appearance. I’m slowly losing my mind as I wait. It’s not even as though I’m horribly uncomfortable…I’m just impatient. I am uncomfortable, don’t get me wrong. Try lifting this belly everywhere and turning over at night. It’s annoying and sometimes painful. Honestly, I can’t wait until my body is no longer inhabited by someone tickling and pushing on my hip bone.  That’s getting a little old. However, I am getting about 7 hours of sleep a night, which will be a distant dream soon.

I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow and we’ll see if there’s any progress. My OB and I are going to be talking induction most likely, which sucks. I really wanted to experience going into labor, instead of having doses of Pitocin and really hard contractions. I guess few birth “plans” go according to an actual plan. I’ll update with what is decided.

Our 4th of July was okay. The weather here was lousy, rainy and about high 70’s.  Lexie has been having serious attitude issues and the 4th was no exception. She acted awful and we ended up putting her to bed at 10:45 for a nap. She slept an hour and a half until I woke her up so we could go downtown. We ventured downtown and as soon as we got out of the car, the sprinkles started. Lovely. We hightailed it to an overhang and set up camp for the parade. Perfect spots and it was wonderful. I hung out while Matt took Lexie walking and then we waited for the parade. She really enjoyed it, especially since Ronald McDonald and the Chick Fil A cows made an appearance. No, our child isn’t obsessed with fast food!

We didn’t do fireworks that night because it was raining and Lexie was fading fast. The next night Ashland Baptist Church (a church near us) had a huge 4th of July festival thing – free inflatables, free food, free music, and free fireworks. Can’t beat that! Lexie enjoyed herself immensely and liked watching the fireworks, although they kind of freaked her out.

Of course the Monday after the 4th was beautiful.

Pictures to follow, as soon as I get them off the camera.

This is another picture I meant to post yesterday. Lexie thinks my belly is hilarious and even told me one day, “Mommy, your belly is big!” Thanks hon.

Tomorrow is the 4th of July and we’re going to take Lexie downtown to enjoy some of the festivities. Her preschool is going to have a booth full of kids’ activities so we’ll head down there and then the parade is at 2. Hopefully she’ll take a late nap and then we’ll go to fireworks tomorrow evening. We’ve never taken her to fireworks so this should be an experience.

Lately, to combat the heat (this week has been an anomaly and in the 70’s. Last week it was in the high 80’s/low 90’s and I was dying….), Lexie and I have been inside as much as possible. We usually go somewhere in the mornings and then swim in the afternoons in our pool. This year Lexie has a life jacket that she wears and she can swim all over the pool by herself. It’s fantastic!! We totally have a water baby!

I read a lot of “mommy blogs.” I love to hear how other mommies deal with being a parent and everything that goes along with it. One blog I read, Suburban Turmoil: Wiping Ass and Taking Names is hilarious, as you can gather from her blog title. She has written a series of posts about parenting and how people (especially other mommies) are so judgmental to her style of parenting. In one of her latest post she talks about how she doesn’t apologize for the amount of television her children watch, not bathing her kids everyday, or letting her son have a bottle of warm milk occasionally. As I read that, I thought about freeing it would be to let go of apologizing or feeling the need to explain to others about your parenting habits. To be able to say “Yeah, she watches a lot of TV but that’s okay. She still plays outside, socializes and is a normal kid.”  Or to say, “Yeah, she’s almost 3 and not potty trained. So what?” Or, “Her diet isn’t varied but she’s healthy and happy.”  Wow. I mean, it would reduce the amount of stress I put on myself so much. The author of the blog goes on to say that she doesn’t’ feel the need to worry about those things because she knows she’s a good mom. At the end of the day, she loves her children fiercely and always will.

Now I’m not saying that no boundaries or discipline is the way I want to go but sometimes I just think that if I had the attitude of my child is happy, healthy and loved and how we keep her that way is our business and no concern of yours, my life would be much happier and less stressful.

Anyway, that’s something that’s been on my mind lately.

I’ll leave you with a favorite picture of mine:

A very pitiful pouty face.

So I am almost 39 weeks pregnant (I will be on Sunday).  And, I am 1 cm dilated and 80% effaced. This baby isn’t coming soon.  My doctor was willing to schedule an induction for Sunday night but I said no. I do think that I will be willing to induce at 40 weeks, if I’m still not progressing at all.

This is me a couple of weeks ago:

I believe I’m bigger now. My belly truly enters the room before I do.  I’m feeling okay – kind of uncomfortable but not horribly so.  Grrr….I shall be pregnant forever.
Well, I’m craving Mexican food and since Mimi was kind enough to take Lexie for the evening, we’re going out to eat. Isn’t spicy Mexican food supposed to induce labor?

I’ve decided I don’t like the theme that’s up right now. As soon as Matt gets a chance, I’m going to have him change it to something else…

We’ve been really busy lately around here. I’ve hit the point in my pregnancy where I have lots of energy (until late evening, then I crash) so Lexie and I are out and about most days. One day we went to the Newport Aquarium with Mimi and Papaw. Lexie loved it. Did she understand exactly what she was looking at? No. But, she thought the tunnels were the coolest things ever.

And, of course we saw Mumble, which Lexie always enjoys. 

Another day Mimi and I took Lexie to the Lexington Cemetery to take some pictures of Lexie “tiptoeing through the tulips.”  Some of my favorite pictures I’ve taken in a long time. My personal favorite is this one:

Or these:

I loved a lot of pictures from the batch. Of course, it always helps when you have such an adorable subject.

Matt has been out of town this past weekend. He went to NYC to see The Grateful Dead in Madison Square Garden. From what he’s been texting and Twittering me, he’s having a blast. Lexie and I have been having a girls weekend. Yesterday we ran some errands in Hamburg, played outside, went to dinner with Mimi and Papaw, played on a playground and Lexie got to sleep with Mommy last night. Sadly enough, it’s Mommy that likes the reassurance of her little body next to mine. I hate to stay by myself. I have a vivid imagination and get freaked out really easily…Anyway, today Lexie spent some time with Mimi at her house so I could have a few hours to myself. Then, (after skipping her nap) Lexie played outside all afternoon. We grilled out with Mimi and Papaw. Lexie was asleep by 8, which NEVER happens. Poor thing was just exhausted. Tomorrow I’m volunteering at her school so we both have a big day. Plus, we have to pick Matt up from the airport tomorrow afternoon.

Our kitchen renovation begins on the 4th of May and I’m rapidly getting rid of stuff. So, watch out, if you stop by my house, you’ll likely be leaving with something in your arms!

Oh, and I forgot to show Lexie’s favorite part of the aquarium….

The gift shop.