Pre-K Fall Party

We just got home from Gracie's Fall Party!  Crafts, snacks, and games!  School parties are always so fun for the kids!  G and Kia had a great time!  Hattie fussed and fell asleep during the festivities. One day she'll be a party animal, but not today. 

  

Crib Success!

Hattie has been in her crib for a whole week now and she's doing so well. Actually, she's transitioned perfectly. She hasn't even ended up in our bedroom once. Even though it makes Momma sad to put the cradle away (I feel like we just got it out) I'm so thankful that she's a good sleeper. She goes to bed around 7:30 and wakes up for the day around 8:30. We nurse once around 4 am and then again when she wakes. She's been taking her naps in her own room, too, usually three times each day. Little Hattie is doing so well and she's as sweet as ever. She's a smiley baby!

Moving to Her Own Room

Hattie has become quite a good little sleeper and seems to be ready to sleep in her own bed. I'm both happy and sad about the transition, but ultimately, it's a good thing. Ryan is in Denver tonight and when we talked before bed, I told him that we may never have a baby sleeping in our room again.  So sad.  He said we might have another someday. I'm not sure about all that just yet. 

For the past couple of days I've laid Hattie down for naps in her crib awake and she's put herself to sleep. It's such a good skill for her to have. I've tried to allow her to do that more than I ever let Gracie. With so many little ones here during the day, she's gonna need to be able to get herself to sleep sometimes. She's also been sleeping about 8 hours at night. Usually 8 pm to 4 am. Then she will stir and I'll nurse her. She goes right back down and will nurse every 3 hours after that for the rest of the day. Most mornings I have to wake her up to get someone to school on time, otherwise I think she'd sleep till 9:30 or so. Like I said, she's a good sleeper!

At least I've got this one to snuggle while I'm sad about Hattie moving out.  This is Gracie's first night sleeping in my bed with me. Since Daddy's out of town, I promised her a slumber party. We will see how it goes. I'll either get great sleep or have a horrendous night. I'll let you know tomorrow!

Hattie's First Camping Trip

A couple of weeks ago we had our annual fall camping trip. This is one of my favorite fall traditions and having our sweet baby girl on this trip made it even more special. It's was rather chilly, but our camper has a furnace and space heater so we made it alright. Daddy and Gracie slept in the back bedroom of the camper and Hattie and I stayed in the front bedroom. Aside from missing my favorite snuggle buddy, the trip was absolutely perfect!  

We carved pumpkins... twice!  And we did some crafts. We took several walks, had several all day campfires, and played at the park. Since Aunt B and her crew were camping nearby, Gracie had tons of fun playing with Annabelle!  

I tried to take some pictures when I was able to. Here we are on our way down. Happy girls!

Carving pumpkins!

Daddy lit the candle with a blowtorch. Figures. 

Painting a stiletto piggy bank. Dollar General, baby!

This was what Hattie did most of the time. So sweet!  She always sleeps with her arms up. 

Where are we?

Snugglin'!

Two pretty girls!  

Three pretty girls!

Hattie's got her glow bracelets.  All ready for fun in the dark, but too sleepy. 

Elsa glow wand for Gracie!  Dollar General gets a small chunk of our paycheck every trip to the lake. 

Happy baby!

Taking over Daddy's bed!

Stealing my sunglasses!

In true Weaver baby fashion, she barely slept on the drive home. 

It was so nice to enjoy the beautiful fall weather and scenery for our little camping trip!  I'm so thankful for both of my little ladies and for their handsome Daddy. It's my biggest dream come true doing life with them!

We love the Royals!

Tonight the Royals have a chance to win the American League Championship!  The ladies in the Weaver house are cheering for the Boys in Blue!  Go get 'em, boys!  

Hattie's One Month Old!

It's absolutely insane how quickly time passes when you have kids!  Today marks exactly one month that we've been able to snuggle Sweet Hatteline Faith. And we've done lots of snuggling. She's such a sweet girl and mostly an easy baby. Lately she sleeps around 8 hours at night, which Momma is so, so thankful for.  Because she's such a good sleeper, some days I've been able to skip my afternoon nap to play with Gracie!  It's worked out really well... some days!  The only real concern I've had with Hattie is that she projectile vomits every now and then. It was happening every other day, but now it's only happened on one random occasion. We went to the doctor and it seems that she over feeds sometimes, which causes a giant milk mess. I've been working to make sure she doesn't overeat, but it's kind of hard to know. She could suck all day long. Pacifiers aren't her thing just yet, nursing is her main comfort. But even with the vomit and becoming a human paci, Hattie is a breeze. We are absolutely in love with her!  God is good. 

She's begun smiling, just a few times. And she also babbles just a little bit, too!  Her favorite things to do, aside from eat, sleep, and fill her diaper are to look at lights and kick on her playmat. My favorite thing to do with Hattie is snuggle her on my chest, day or night. She's super snuggly! 

Pumpkin Patch Time!

One of the best parts of October is visiting the pumpkin patch. Luckily for us, we went twice this year!  Gracie's Pre Kindergarten class went in early October and Hattie and I tagged along for fun!  Hattie rode in the Boba and slept most of the time... except of course when it was time to go into the patch to pick the pumpkin. I can honestly say that I never imagined I'd be nursing one daughter while I tried to pull a pumpkin off the vine. I mean really, there should be an award for things like that!  

We also decided to visit another patch with both sides of our family. It was a warm October day and there were plenty of activities to keep the kids busy!  My only regret of that day was baby-wearing Hattie. I should've brought the stroller so I could've enjoyed more stuff with G. Lesson learned... when there's paved sidewalks, opt for the stroller. 

Hattie's First Bottle!

Tonight we finally got the chance to give Hattie her first bottle. Daddy and Gracie worked together to get her to take the first half ounce or so. Then I got to tuck Gracie into bed while Daddy gave her another 2 ounces. It was the first time I've tucked Gracie into bed in over 2 weeks. It felt good to both of us!  After I finished tucking her in and pumping a few ounces, I fed Hattie her last half ounce from the bottle. I was impressed, she did pretty well!  Once the bottle was gone, my little bug needed to comfort suck and since she doesn't take a paci anymore, we nursed for about 30 more minutes. She should be full now!  Hoping for another 8 hours-straight night! 

Hanging Out

We've been hanging at home quite a bit lately. Since Hattie eats so often during the day, it's hard to be gone for too long. One afternoon Gracie sponge painted while Hattie are and slept.  While she painted, G explored what happens when you mix colors. She knows that red and blue make purple, yellow and blue make green, and red and yellow make PINK!  Almost has it right!  We will work on that. 

Hatteline Faith Weaver

She's finally here!  Sweet Hatteline Faith decided to show her face on Saturday, September 12, 2015 at 11:51 am.  She weighed in at 8 lbs. 5 oz. and was 20.5 inches long.  She is such a gift to our family!  We are completely in love with our newest blessing!  

As for her name, it's pronounced HAT-uh-LINE (as opposed to HAT-uh-LYNN).  She will go by Hattie, which is a name Momma has adored for years.  Her middle name, Faith, was chosen for a multitude of reasons.  The largest of which is the meaning of the word.  After losing two babies between Hattie and Gracie, our faith in God's plan has been strengthened and we pray that Hattie's faith in God is strong throughout her life, as well.  

Here are the highlights of my labor and delivery with Hattie.  If you're not into the nitty gritty of childbirth, you should probably just scroll down to the cute pictures!

Thursday, September 10 was my last day of work.  I had a friend snap a picture of Emily Cesonis and I because I knew I wouldn't be returning to work again until my baby bump was gone.  Emily was due 3 weeks after me!  I'm still anxiously awaiting the arrival of her baby boy!  I knew I wouldn't be returning to work because I had talked to my doctor about a scheduled induction on Tuesday, September 15, if Hattie didn't decide to come earlier.  With Gracie, I had to be induced, but I was really hoping that I would go into labor with this one.  I was pretty sure, however, that I'd be induced again on Tuesday morning.  

After a long work day on Thursday, I put my feet up and relaxed most of the evening Thursday night.  Before heading to bed around 10:00, I realized I was bleeding.  I was losing my mucus plug (ewww!) and was really crampy.  It's a concerning feeling when you haven't had any bleeding for 9 months and then all of the sudden, it looks and feels like you're starting your period.  Hattie was still moving often, so I tried not to worry.  I also Googled it and all of what I was experiencing was completely normal for early labor. 

When I woke up Friday morning, I was only slightly bleeding, but continued to lose more of my mucus plug.  Again... ewwwww!!!!  After dropping off Gracie at Pre-Kindergarten, I headed to my last doctor's appointment.  I was 40 weeks + 3 days on Friday.  The doctor checked my cervix and told me I was thinning and dilated to a 3.  YAY!  I was making progress without medicine... maybe I would go into labor after all!  He also scheduled me for an ultrasound later that afternoon to check on the size of the baby.  He said that because we were post-term, he wanted to make sure Hattie wasn't too big.  He explained that non-diabetic women can deliver babies estimated to be less than 11 lbs (Holy cow!  Please be less than 11 lbs, baby girl!)  And diabetic women should only deliver babies less than 10 lbs.  I was pretty sure that Hattie was less than 11 lbs, and the ultrasound verified my hunch.  The tech guesstimated her weight to be 8 lbs. 8 oz.  They said they're usually accurate within 15% either way.  Dr. Riojas also mentioned that my contractions might intensify throughout the day and he made it clear that if I had any concerns, just go to the hospital.  He also said that he was on call all weekend and he would not send me home if I went to the hospital.  Because I love Dr. Riojas and because he delivered Gracie, I was really hoping I'd go into labor over the weekend.  

So he was right, my contractions intensified throughout the day.  They were more of a nagging pain than anything with intensity, although my belly would get hard and I'd feel uncomfortable for 30-60 seconds every 10-20 minutes throughout the day.  

Stephanie and I took the girls to the Oak Park Homecoming Parade and we stood across the street from Kyle's second grade class!  It was a special day for Kyle because it was his 8th birthday!  In fact, I got to pick him up from school that day and I told him I thought the baby might be coming soon!  He very simply requested that I not have her on his birthday.  I explained that I would do my best, but the contractions were coming closer together.  He didn't really know what that meant, but he just said, "Well, don't let her come out till after midnight.  I don't want to share my birthday!"  I just giggled and said I'd try!

Before heading out to Kyle's birthday dinner at Red Robin, Gracie and Kianna went with me to get pedicures.  The last time I painted my own toes, I told Ryan that he was going to have to paint them the next time, or I was going to get a pedicure.  He quickly decided that we had enough extra money for me to get a pedicure!  Us girls made a date of it and had a great time!  I continued to have contractions through the pedicure and all the ladies at the nail salon were so excited I was having another girl!  

While we ate Kyle's birthday dinner at Red Robin, my contractions got a little more regular, coming at 10-15 minutes intervals.  My sister offered to keep Gracie for the night, just in case I ended up needing to go to the hospital in the middle of the night.  

After talking with Grandma Sandy (my brother-in-law's mom) who also happens to be a retired labor and delivery nurse, I took a warm bath and headed to bed before 9:00 that night.  Grandma Sandy said that relaxing and resting might slow the contractions and allow me to get some rest.  I was super tired after such a busy day.  

I tried to fall asleep, but at 9:46 pm, I could tell that I should begin timing contractions.  They were coming every 6 minutes and lasting about 1 minute.  Grandma Sandy explained that they were probably longer than 1 minute, because you don't feel the entire contraction from beginning to end, you only feel the most intense part.  By 11:55, I woke up Ryan and explained what was happening.  Neither of us was sure that this was it, but neither of us was sure that it wasn't either.  We changed into clothes and put the fresh fruit we usually leave sitting on the counter into the fridge (I didn't want to come home to a house full of fruit flies) and headed out the door.  Tysie seemed super confused... probably because we're almost never awake at midnight, let alone leaving the house at such an hour!

We went in through the Emergency Room and were up in labor and delivery by 12:30 am.  When the nurse checked my cervix, I was still at a 3 and she said in order for them to keep me, I'd have a few hours to make progress.  She recommended that we walk the halls to get labor progressing.  So we did!  At this point, we hadn't even gotten our bags out of the car because I wasn't sure we'd get to stay.  

By 3 am, I was super tired and so was Ryan.  I began to worry that if I did get myself into real labor that I'd be way too tired to push.  When the nurse came to check me for progress, I told her about my fears of being too exhausted with being up nearly 24 hours.  She checked me again and said I hadn't made any progress, although by this point the contractions were killing me every 2-6 minutes.  I told her what Dr. Riojas had said earlier that day about not sending me home and she said she'd ask him.  We continued to walk the halls while we waited for her to get in touch with Riojas.  About 10 minutes later, we walked past the nurse's station and she told me that Riojas said he wasn't going to send me home!  "Thank you, Jesus!" I said out loud!  

Within 10 minutes I had my blood drawn and the IV started.  I wasn't on any drugs, just a bag of fluids.  The nurse also offered me a sleeping drug that starts with a V.  I'm not sure what it was.  I told her I didn't want to feel drunk or crazy and she said it would just knock me out so I could sleep.  She mentioned that she takes one of these and it knocks her out for the whole night.  So when she gave me 3 pills, I was a little worried I'd never wake up!  But I didn't really care at that point because I was so exhausted. 

Well, it turns out she pretty much lied that it would knock me out.  I was able to sleep every 2-6 minutes, but the contractions still woke me up, I just had no idea what planet I was on or what was happening.  By the time the contraction was over, I was back asleep.  I was glad for the 3 hours of sleep I did get, although I'm not sure I'd take that pill again.  Easy to say now that I'm not a zombie having contractions!

They started me on 1 cc of pitocin around 5:30 and just that tiny bit of a labor-inducing drug sent me into real deal labor.  I was hurting for sure.  When the new nurse came in to check me around 7:00 am, she said that I was still a 3.  I told her that I was hurting pretty bad and I was ready for an epidural.  She was a super sweet lady, so don't misread me, but when she replied with, "Oh no.  You don't want your epidural yet.  Then we'll have to rotate you like a rotisserie chicken."  I should have told her that I didn't give a rip what they'd have to do to me, all I wanted was relief from the contractions that had been bothersome since noon the previous day and pretty uncomfortable since 9:46 the night before.  But I didn't say that, I asked her what I'd have to do to get the epidural.  She told me more walking.  Awesome.  Cause who doesn't want to walk when their back and pelvis have a baby's head wedged between them?

Dr. Riojas came in just a half hour later, around 7:45 am and checked me.  He said I was dilated to a 5.  Yes!  A five!  His exact words were, "Let's get her an epidural, increase the pitocin just a bit, and then break her water."  Do you see why I love this man?!  EPIDURAL!

I went to the bathroom while the nurse got everything set up for the anesthesiologist.  By this time it was around 8:15 and I was beyond ready for some pain relief.  She had me sit on the bed and assume the epidural position.  Then she went out to the hallway to get the anesthesiologist.  A few minutes later she came back in and said something about Murphy's Law, explaining that he got called for another procedure.  He'd be back as soon as he could.  Seriously?  

So she lowered my bed and I tried laying down to sleep a little longer, but it was impossible to lay down through the contractions.  My back was hurting so bad.  So we walked.  And as we walked, I stopped to hold onto the rails along the edge of halls every time I had a contraction.  By 8:45, I was hurting so bad, I was about to start crying.  Seriously.  And for those of you who know me well, you know that for me to cry, it must be serious.  Trust me.  It was serious.  But God is gracious and as we rounded the corner, my nurse waved us down and said, "He's here!"  I practically ran back to my room to get that needle in my back!

The sweet anesthesiologist was foreign and I barely understood a word he said.  He'd said something like, "There be burning."  I'm not sure if he was saying, "There's going to be burning."  or "Is there any burning?"  but I didn't really care.  The hardest part of it all was holding still during the contractions while I knew he was putting needles in my back.  I just held still and tried not to cry... or moan too loud.  When I was done, I looked up to Ryan's pale face.  I told him he'd better sit down.  He was okay, but crazy-guy watched the big needles.... eww!

As the epidural took about 10 minutes to take full effect, I was finally able to relax and wrap my head around the fact that my baby girl was on her way!  Dr. Riojas checked me at that point and I was dilated to a 7.  So I guess if I could've made it 3 more cm, I could have gone drug-free.  Darn.  Not really... I don't think that sounds like fun at all!  While he was checking me, he broke my water, which revealed that she had pooped a little in the bag of water.  He said that she needed to cry as soon as she was born and if she did, he'd place her on my chest.  But if she didn't, he'd have them take her to the warmer to suction her before we could snuggle.   

The nurse "rotated me like  rotisserie chicken" every 45 minutes.  But after 2 rotations, it was go time!  With Gracie I really felt like there was a cantaloupe between my legs when it was time to push.  But with Hattie, I felt like I had to go to the bathroom really bad.  Either way, by 11:45 I had labored down until she was ready to meet us and it was time to push!  After 4 pushes, Hatteline Faith made her debut!  She let out one cry.  Just one.  Dr. Riojas kept patting her, trying to get her to cry again, but she wouldn't.  He put her on my chest and the nurses and I tried to get her to cry again.  She just wouldn't.  They took her over to the warmer to suction her she just wouldn't cry.  Even in the picture below, it looks like she's crying, but I don't think she ever made a sound over there.  They gave her the Apgar and she scored a perfect 9.  She was red and her oxygen level was good, she just wasn't a crier, I guess.  So they put her on my chest and we just snuggled for a couple of hours.  She nursed for almost an hour and just gazed into my eyes.  She was super content and so sweet and calm, from the very beginning.  

After some skin-to-skin snuggle time, Hattie met her grandparents and then her big sister!  Introducing Gracie to her new baby sister was something I'd looked forward to since I found out I was pregnant.  And the moment did not disappoint.  We didn't take any video and only a few pictures.  I just wanted to be in the moment and enjoy such a special time in Gracie's life.  She was so, so sweet with Hattie and very gentle.  We got Hattie dressed together, into her Little Sister shirt.  Then we snuggled together and watched a little Pippi Longstocking. 

Later that evening, the Hurt family came down to meet baby Hattie.  All the cousins got to hold her.  And I made sure Kyle knew I did everything I could to make sure they didn't share a birthday!  It was such a wonderful day!  

All day Sunday was pretty quiet in the hospital.  I guess that having a baby over the weekend isn't such a bad thing.  Lactation doesn't bother you, the picture-taking people don't bother you, we were able to nap and relax throughout the day without interruption.  

Monday was discharge day.  Dr. Riojas came in early to release me and Hattie's pediatrician had released her by 9:00, as well.  The nurse still had paperwork to finish up, so we just waited around and snuggled some more.  

Ready of the ride home!

Once we got home, Grandma dropped Gracie off at home and our new normal began.  We started our time with a family movie and we all snuggled on the couch.  Gracie had plenty of time to hold her sister and Momma and Daddy tried to doze.  It was quiet and peaceful.

Our second day home was Hattie's first doctor's appointment.  We met with lactation and did a weighed feeing.  My milk wasn't in yet, so she was only taking in half an ounce off each side.  We had been supplementing with formula for an entire day by this point, and they said that was a good idea.  The lactation consultant encouraged me to begin pumping after each feeding to help my milk come in faster.  Sure enough, by midnight that night, my milk was in full force.  Even though she hadn't lost much since birth, they still wanted me to wake her at least ever 4 hours to feed her.  In fact, at midnight when I woke Hattie to feed her, I ended up having to undress her to get her to latch on.  She was sacked out and not interested in nursing.  Here's a picture of nearly naked Hattie, in an attempt to get her to wake up!

Just two days later, we had our next lactation appointment.  The consultant had told me that they hope for a weight gain of 1 ounce per day.  Since Hattie weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. at her previous appointment, they hoped she was up to 7 lbs. 14 oz. at this appointment.  They also weighed her after nursing to see how much she was taking in and if my milk was enough for her.  I already knew she was nursing enough, but I like to know exactly how much she was taking in.  After nursing on both sides, sweet little Hattie had taken in just shy of 3.5 oz... that's a lot for a 6 day old.  And she weighed 8 lbs. 4.5 oz... almost back to birth weight and a gain of 8 oz. in 2 days.  Apparently she's a good eater!
Here's she is all filled up!

Below are a few pictures from our first 2 weeks home!  We've done as much as we could, although my days are mostly spent nursing.  She eats every 2 hours during the day and then sleeps in two 6-hours stretches at night.  I can't complain for sure, but nursing every 2 hours doesn't leave time for much else!

Thinkin' about a poop!

First walk and bike ride with Gracie!

Snuggling with Grandma!

First vist to Kate's Kitchen!  Yum!

Zoned out... trying to fall asleep!

Sweet sisters!

Snuggling sisters!

Our beautiful girls!

Sleeping in the swing!

Milk drunk and happy!

We're so overjoyed that Hattie is here!  She's such a sweet baby and she has found her place in our little family very quickly.  Gracie is absolutely in love with her little sister and just can't wait for her to be big enough to really play with.  Unfortunately, I know all too well that it won't be long and Hattie will be big like Gracie.  Although I won't lie... Gracie quite enjoys holding her as often as she can until then.  I'm also enjoying all the snuggle time, even in the middle of the night.  I love to rub her soft head and stare at her sweet cheeks.  I can tell that there's so much fun in store for our family as Hattie begins to show us her personality.  I pray that as she grows bigger and bigger, her faith in our Creator grows stronger and stronger.  We are so thankful for this giant gift from God in our tiny baby girl.  We are over-the-moon to get the opportunity to call her ours.  Our sweet, sweet baby.