3 Weeks Old

One of these days I'll update with more than just weekly posts, but... survival mode man.

Paige -- or Punky as I call her -- is 3 weeks old today! My how time is flying. We had a Pediatrician appointment last Wednesday and she was 9 pounds 2 ounces, which means she has gained almost a pound and a half since her appointment at 3 days old. Miss. Piggy!

Paige does best when she is moving. So say we are running errands, she is blissfully asleep... until the carseat stops moving. :) She mainly likes to be held. The other day I had her in the carrier and she slept for hours, snuggled against my chest. Yesterday Dustin held her while we painted pottery and she just stared around the room while he walked, for over an hour. She startles really easily so if I put her in her rock and play sleeper to nap she doesn't last too long. At nice I put her in a swaddle pod, and that helps.

At night she goes about 4-5 hours for her first stretch, and then 2-3 for the others. The main problem is that I tend to fall asleep with her while she eats, so my recollection of her schedule is pretty fuzzy in the morning. During the day I try to feed her every 2 hours, no more than 3 hours.

She likes to look around the room if she is laying on her back. The ceiling fan is still her best friend, but she'll give the windows, decorations, and maybe the fake plant a second look. :)

She is very aware of people, well faces, and will stare and stare and stare while you speak to her.

We went for our first walk on Friday. It was super nice out [finally!] and I picture many more walks to come!

The girls are still enamored with her. They still fight over her. And they still ask me one million questions a night about her.

Happy 3 weeks Paige!

Home

Paige is now one week old! Well, she will be in a little under 3 hours. Isn't she cute?

Being home has gone well so far. The girls are still in school all day so it's just Paige and I until about 5:30. Today is the last day that Dustin will be picking them up from school for me [their school closes at 5:15 and he generally works until 6:30] so I'll have to manage going there, dragging Paige inside, and bringing them all out. We made the decision to keep the girls home this summer to save some money, and I have already concluded that outings with out Daddy will be few and far between!

Speaking of sisters... they sure do love baby Paige! A little too much. Since they've been in school all day they haven't really had too much time to spend with her. Brooke had dance on Thursday night and then on Friday night Dustin took them both to a baseball game. When they are around her they both kind of "fight" for her attention. They have yet to find a way to look at her that they both find equal. Even in the picture above you can see Molly pouting because Brooke was singing a lullaby and she wanted to sing hers.

Paige can be very alert. Just ask her newborn photographer, who has the patience of a saint and spent 5 hours with us yesterday trying to capture pictures. I am pretty positive that Paige slept for less than an hour of that, and it was all in spurts.

I've spent most of the first week just holding her and cuddling her. Since she is my last, and I already know just how quickly babies grow up, I've been trying to enjoy every moment. I did have to leave the house on Friday to take her to a Pediatrician appointment on my own, and it made me realize I still have some healing to do, so I've been taking it easy. One week olds don't really have a schedule but she does okay at night. Last night she went in 3-3.5 hour spurts before needing to eat, and I actually woke up feeling rested. The first few nights were pretty rough.

I can tell that the "hormonal slump" is starting to set in. The adrenaline from birth has worn off, and now the emotional roller coaster begins. I have been on anxiety medication since the beginning of my pregnancy, so I've been curious to see how everything goes. The nurse told me that I might need a higher dose for awhile since my body has adjusted to what I am on now. It is worse at night so I always look forward to going to be and waking up to a new day.

Happy One Week, Paige! You are the perfect addition to our family. 

38 Weeks!

Pregnancy: 38 weeks

Weight Gain: I still don't know EXCEPT when I went in yesterday she said I hadn't gained anything since the week before, so that is pretty good considering how much babies gain toward the end.

Sleep: The worst part of pregnancy at this point. With my SPD I generally wake up in pain and it is excruciating to get out of bed to use the bathroom. I also end up on my back every hour or so and that wakes me up.... on top of false labor contractions. I honestly think sleep deprivation with a newborn around is easier, haha

Gender: Girl

Name: Paige Taylor

Feeling: Pretty good except for at night.  My face is getting really puffy and my eyes are basically slits for parts of the day. It is getting harder to get around so I spent more time than usual sitting or laying down. My belly also gets in the way all the time now. I've lost all depth perception where it is concerned.

Health: I've had several blood draws recently due to low platelets. IF they choose to not return to a normal number by delivery, I cannot have an epidural. EEK! I need to start mentally preparing for that now.

Belly: Growing. :)

What I am looking forward to: Sleeping on my belly.

What I miss: Being able to bend forward with ease. Even using the restroom can be an issue.

Overall I feel pretty good and if she decides to stay in until her due date, I think the next two weeks will still FLY BY. The days sure have been recently. Brooke and Molly have been home this week which has been fun but, man, they keep me busy. My house is consistently a complete mess, my stress level is raised, and we are cooped up! They will be staying home with me this summer. HELP!

36 Weeks

Putting this out there a little late! I wanted to wait until I had my maternity pictures to share AND I've been working on my health. When I got to the doctor on Friday my blood pressure was up and they had me lay down before taking it again. Thankfully it went back down. They did some blood work anyway and I go back tomorrow for another check up. If my blood pressure is still up I'll go twice a week, otherwise I can stick to once a week.

We also had an ultrasound sound. Check out those cheeks!

In other news, I'm 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. Whoa! I think maybe Miss. P wants to greet the world before her due date, just like her big sisters did. ;)

Pregnancy: 36 weeks

Weight Gain: I've started getting on the scale backwards so who knows.

Sleep: Broken up as usual. I generally wake up 2-4 times to use the bathroom, and each time I switch which side I am laying on. My hips get so sore if I lay on one for too long. That makes me feel old.

Gender: Girl

Name: Paige Taylor

Feeling: Tired. Sore. Done.

Health: Blood pressure has been up and down and up and down so that has been quite the mind game.

Belly: Getting bigger! And more in the way. Sometimes I forget just where it is an get it caught or end up places too small for me, haha. I've learned that getting around the laundry room has quite the complication involved.

What I am looking forward to: Labor and delivery. I don't know why, but I love being up there!

What I miss: Sleep. Not that I'll be getting more of that any time soon.

Now for some more maternity pictures, taken by the ever amazing House of Harkless.

Nursery

These are going to be cell phone pictures.

1. Getting out my professional camera, taking the pictures, uploading the the computer, etc etc etc will take too much effort.

2. I'd have some straightening up to do if I retook them. I have some outfits laid out and the hospital bags in the crib.

SO these are pictures I took with my phone a few weeks ago.

When I first got pregnant Dustin and I decided we would do a safari/jungle theme. We were at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago and the girls picked out a stuffed giraffe for the baby. Dustin picked out a rhino. Before finding out the gender I had a trip to IKEA and bought a green decorative leaf and a green light. As the theme began to evolve in my head, it solely became giraffe. I don't know how or why, but it did. We knew we wanted it to be neutral, for some reason. I have a few friends not finding out the gender of their babies before the birth and they were jealous I was working on a nursery. Well... really this would work for either gender!

The room was light blue before so I found the PERFECT cream color and Dustin painted the room for me. I fell in love with the idea of a pendant type light for the ceiling and thankfully Dustin was supportive and installed that as well. Everything else kind of fell together randomly. I feel like I have decorations and accents from ten different stores!

We bought a new crib and dresser this time around. I got AMAZING deals on them at Target. Our first set was falling apart so we decided to get something sturdier and different. I affectionately call the giraffe in the corner our "peeping giraffe". He has this tilt to his head that cracks me up. You walk in and he is all like, "Hey there!" I can tell you it took less than a week of having him in there for Dustin to sneak attack me while I was in the bathtub and pop the giraffe around the corner. ;)

It is hard to see in the picture but the frame almost looks like it has giraffe spots on it. Nothing special, just a frame from Hobby Lobby. Crazy!

I bought the letters at Michaels and painted them myself. The giraffe crib sheets and changing pad cover are Carters brand. I have a second set for when necessary. 

The decoration above the changing table was an odd creation of mine. At first I was going to wrap canvas squares in fabric of some sort and hang the name above the crib from the bamboo. Then I found this set of mirrors on clearance at Target and this idea started to form. Dustin trimmed the bamboo for me and screwed it into the wall. We used twine to tie and hang the mirrors and this is what we came up with! I kind of love it. :)

The curtains and curtain rod are new. The old one was a cheapie from Walmart and Molly had pulled on the curtains and bent the rod down. The curtains were sheer for pictures in my old studio, and I needed black out ones for the baby.

So there it is! Our neutral giraffe nursery. I may have been more creative with paint color or patterns if we had smooth walls, but ours are textured. I can't even put wall vinyl up on them!

I am going to be 36 weeks on Thursday. WHOA! The pregnancy mind games have begun. I have cramp like contractions several times through out the day, sometimes more than 5 in an hour, but I've been-there-done-that and know they aren't the REAL thing yet. Just annoying. ;)

33 Weeks

I was 33 weeks on Thursday.... Friday.... ???

Who keeps track of these things the third time around? ;)

The above picture was taken Saturday at my baby "sprinkle". My sister-in-law and two of my good friends threw me a diaper shower and it was wonderful and so much fun! There were fun activities and a headband making station. My friends and family sure spoiled me with diapers and some extra goodies.

The loot. Dustin and I counted 1,286 diapers and about 2000 wipes. 

Obligatory shower picture.

I'm suddenly in "panic" mode*. But panicking for me doesn't really look any different than my laid back self except my calendar gets fuller. The hospital bag[s] are packed, and I am making a list of things that won't go in until it's time in case someone else needs to get the bag for me. The last two times we were fortunate enough to be home. Although with Brooke I was 36 weeks and had no idea what was going on so my sister-in-law ended up needing to bring everything I forgot.

*I know a lot of you are like "Um, you are 33.5 weeks" but if you haven't been here before, Brooke came at 36 weeks and Molly came at 37 weeks... so we have to be prepared!

I'm super uncomfortable. I know I shouldn't complain, but things are getting rough physically. My SPD has really prohibited me from moving about easily. This is probably the first pregnancy I've actually been waddling. Most days, I limp. So if you seen me in Target limping, I didn't injure my leg, my hip and pubic bones just don't want to cooperate. When I get out of bed my hip pops in and out of place, which is generally painful. I also have "omgsomuchpressure" down there. Some days I feel like I'm being ripped in half... which is more of a reason to spend extra time in bed. 

I have lots of braxton hicks contractions through out the day. I can be sitting, walking, driving, standing, showering.... and they happen. Another new pregnancy ailment. Mostly they are just annoying. I've experienced real contractions twice and know the real pain will happen soon enough.

That sounds like a lot of complaints, but things have been wonderful too. The girls are getting really excited about their baby sister. Every time I leave the house with out them they ask, "Are you going to get the baby out now?" Which, by the way, we've been able to avoid the HOW the baby comes out explanation. Right now saying "The doctor will take her out" seems to hold them over. 

I have a short list of things to get done before she comes. 

1. Get a prenatal massage

2. Get a pedicure [after full-term for hopefully moving labor along]

3. Get the house professionally cleaned

4. Finish my book

5. Have some girls nights out with my friends. Convincing Dustin to stay home two nights a month with a newborn will be impossible. 

Rough, huh?

My next post I need to do nursery pictures. And maybe some of her adorable outfits.