My poor unfortunate blog...

I have neglected you so! (And will probably do so again in the future!)

Life has been lovely with two little boys - the adjustment from one to two hasn't been too rough yet. Levi actually sleeps fairly well for being just shy of 3 months. He gets up once - sometimes twice - a night and about half the time will go right back to sleep after nursing. The other half, I "get" to rock him on the recliner in the living room and watch middle-of-the-night TV programming. At least I can watch Discovery Health and the CMT in the 400's that actually shows music videos.

Daisy doesn't seem to be bothered by the new little fella, but he isn't very mobile yet. She didn't mind Tyler, either, until he started getting mobile and would chase her and "pet" her...

I recently went back to work - did all 3 days in a row. Not really what I wanted to do, but due to COBRA coverage having to kick in soon and our sitter being off, I didn't have much choice! It went well - no tears shed and both boys survived getting back into the groove.

I also started cloth diapering with Levi and that is going really well. I have an arsenal of AIO's and pocket diapers to make it as easy as disposables to put on... only I have to wash them. It's not as bad as it seems, and even the sitter is on board with it. SO - I'm pretty glad to not have to buy any more disposables! I just need to get a permanent clothesline installed outside so I can hang them out in the sunshine to "bleach" out any stains.

Well, I need to cut this "short" because the little man woke up and needs changed... ahh the life of a mom. I love it!

Levi Marshall's Birth Story

Levi was born on June 14, 2010 at 8:15pm. He weighed 7 pounds and 14.3 ounces and was 20.25 inches long.

I'd have to say the process got started Wednesday June 9th - I was having some minor contractions all morning from about 4:30-noon. However, they just fizzled out to nothing. Friday morning I had a check-up at the OB-GYN and those contractions must have done something because in 5 days I went from nothing to 1-1.5 cm. That evening, my parents arrived to help us out with getting some projects done and to be here for the baby's arrival. I went all day Saturday with nothing, then I woke up Sunday with some slightly uncomfortable contractions and was hoping that this was "it". Well, once again, they fizzled out to nothing by noon. No matter, because the next morning I was scheduled for an induction....

SO - Monday morning at 5:30, Josh and I head out for the hospital. I was given an IV, was checked (1.5-2cm this time) and started on pitocin. The pitocin was being upped every 20 minutes, and I was doing well managing the contractions, which were coming every minute but weren't painful yet. My water spontaneously broke at 10:00am on the dot and felt like a giant popping kick in my pelvis. Then, it all started gushing out. It was the weirdest feeling ever. When my water broke with Tyler, I only felt a teeny tiny little squirt and that was all. I guess Levi's head was not as low, so the cervical opening wasn't closed off as much as it was with Tyler. I think at this point I was about 4 or 5 cm dilated. Anyway - by 10:30, I had decided that I should get my epidural before things get going too much since I knew I wasn't about to deliver without one. Josh went out to get some coffee and then the pain just intensified 100x - I was glad that I already had the epidural "on order". (It seemed every time Josh left, something would happen.) Anyway - I got the epidural about 11:00 and by 11:30 my blood pressure was dropping low - I think it got to a systolic of 67 at the lowest point. The anesthesiologist gave me some ephedrine (i think) and that helped for a little while. Then, my blood pressure went down again, and this time was effecting Levi. So, they shut off the epi and my pit drip for an hour to let my body get regulated again and give Levi a break.

When they started my epi back up, it was started at a lower dose and unfortunately they had to start back at square one with the pitocin and gradually bring that back up to the level it was. So, it just took some time to get back to where we were with the pit. I can't exactly remember what time I started pushing - I think it was around 7:30pm. Of course, the pushing phase had to be dramatic. Levi's heart rate was dropping with the contractions and I had to get oxygen and breathe really deep between to bring it back up. Low and behold, this little man didn't have the cord wrapped around his neck (or tied in a knot like Tyler's) but he was essentially choking himself with his own arm. He came into this world healthy and screaming at 8:15pm... and pooping on the doctor. He was placed on my stomach and I instantly fell in love with him!

My post-partum experience was wonderful - no problems with me whatsoever. Quite a stark contrast to my experience with Tyler where I had hemorrhaging from what I believe was retained placenta bits. Levi was doing good until the second night when the nurses told me he hadn't peed since midnight (and this was now 8am) He was supposed to be getting his circ done that morning, but it was pushed back to 1pm until after he peed. Well, at 1:00 he still hadn't peed, so we decided to start supplementing him with formula and at 3:00 he peed like a champ. So, at 4:00 he was taken for his circ and then we had to have him pee again before he could go home. So, we waited and waited... and waited and waited... and waited some more. At 11pm, the nurse came in with a pan of water to sprinkle on him to make him go. She thought that he might have gone (we think otherwise) so she took the diaper to some better light to see if it was pee or just some petrolium jelly. Well, she determined that he peed, so we were FINALLY able to be discharged. We got back home about 12:15am completely exhausted... That first night home - he had several wet diapers, so he was perfectly fine - just tired of people messing with him I guess!

5 weeks out and everyone is doing good. Tyler loves his little brother - too much sometimes. He won't leave Levi alone when he's sleeping in his bouncy seat!!! Levi is just now in size 1 diapers and his newborn clothes are starting to get a little tight in length. He doesn't sleep super well at night - does better when he's sleeping more upright on mommy's chest. He's getting better on just staying asleep (around 3 hours between feedings - as opposed to every 1.5-2 hours), but I hope his tummy gets better so he can start laying on his back in his bassinet or even his crib. Last week, Levi rolled over from his belly to his back already. He's such a strong little man! In a couple weeks, I take both Tyler and Levi to the doctor, so updated stats coming soon!

Ultrasound today

Just a quick update...

We had our ultrasound today and everything is going good - fluid levels are normal and Baby is head down. I had a bit of a scare thinking that I was spurting some amniotic fluid this morning, but that turned out to be not true (thank GOD!) According to the ultrasound, the baby is measuring at 5 pounds and 9 ounces, which I'm hoping is not entirely large for this stage in the game. We were trying to get some 3D pics, but Baby had his arm in the way and refused to move it. C'est la vie! I start going to the Dr every week now, so there'll be lots of waiting in the waiting room in my future!

Baby Update: 34 weeks and 3 days

We're creeping up on 35 weeks this Friday... it doesn't really seem possible that we're that close already. Tyler seems to be getting the idea that he'll be getting a baby brother but I'm not sure he quite gets that he's not going to be an instant playmate for him. We have the bassinet all ready to go, and Tyler plays with the mobile on it and rocks it (we're trying to get him to rock it GENTLY). He knows what room is the baby's, but says the baby can have the top bunk to his bed and he'll sleep on the bottom. :-) Could be quite a while before that happens!

Tomorrow, we go for what should be our last ultrasound. From my memories of when I was pregnant with Tyler, this ultrasound is basically to check the amniotic fluid levels to make sure that everything is still okay and on track. I'm dreading the fact that I THINK I'll start having weekly appointments now. I've mentioned this before, it's just that I hate waiting in the waiting room. I have much better things to be doing than sitting there people-watching. Of course, I go on my days off work, so I'm usually thinking of all the things that I could be getting done at home... I guess my appointments are just built-in rest time. It's just a shame they don't have ottomans to kick up your feet - that might make me change my tune about the waiting room!

I've been actually having Braxton Hicks contractions this time around - never had them with Tyler. A couple days will go by without having them, and then I'll have a couple in the same day. As the definition states, they don't hurt, but it just makes me feel a little "blah" while it's going on. The baby's been moving quite a bit, and with the cramped quarters that means that he's really poking me. It's quite funny being able to see all the movement from the outside (again, something I never experienced with Tyler). As I'm pretty sure I've noted in a past post, I'm also not fitting into the same clothes as I did with Tyler... All this makes me a bit nervous that I've got a big baby in there. I'll be sure to ask what my OB thinks tomorrow... hopefully everything is still right on track! I'm just hoping to make it to the evening of the 8th at least.

Just about 7 more weeks to go! WoW!

Just a quick update...

Things are going well with the pregnancy - everything is right on track and I'm looking forward to seeing the little man who is kicking and elbowing me! I'm understandably nervous about how things are going to change not only with a newborn in the house, but also with having 2 children to care for. Tyler seems to be excited, although I'm not sure he really "gets it" just yet.

I'll be going for an ultrasound in two weeks - remembering back from when I was pregnant with Tyler, this ultrasound isn't terribly exciting because the baby is so big and they are focused moreso on the fluid levels in the quadrants of the uterus. However, it is a sneak-peak into looking at the baby one last time before he makes his debut, so that makes it exciting enough for me!

We still have not decided on a name.... arg... Maybe we'll be able to nail it down soon - I don't want to be one of those people who go into the hospital without a name picked out!

One last item... Today, my little nephew, Alex, turns 3 years old... if I remember right the big event was just before midnight - around 11:30ish. Happy Birthday, Big Boy!

Tyler and Baby Bump News

Tyler was all set up with a sandbox on Wednesday and he very much enjoys playing in it. As a matter of fact, it has been one of the first thoughts he has when waking up in the morning. It's a brown "sandcastle" style plastic sandbox. Not exactly what I envisioned when I thought of a sandbox for Tyler, but it has a lid which hopefully will keep the stray cats in the area from using it as a luxurious litter box. It is nice to be able to just sit in my lawn chair and watch him go to town digging in the sand instead of having to chase him around the driveway/yard at this point.

He has gotten a lot of use out of his tricycle lately as well... he has discovered that it's much easier to ride in the barn or the garage on cement than the stone driveway. He keeps saying he needs "four wheel drive" because he's "stuck". It's too funny at times. He really likes it when Daddy rides with him on his bike. We just might have the next Lance Armstrong among us!

I ordered a "cheap" toy box for Tyler earlier this week and I'm hoping it's not too cheap to make me hate it. I just needed something bigger and aesthetically pleasing to the eye to hold all his toys out of sight when he's not playing with them. His large open basket was no longer getting the job done. It'll be passed down the line to hold his little brother's baby toys.

Speaking of which... Tyler appears to be having trouble letting go of his baby things. He saw the baby carrier/car seat that I washed up a couple weeks ago in preparation and he said it was his and then tried to sit in it. I should have taken his picture, because it was funny how BIG he is and how little he used to be in that seat. Then, just the other day, his eye caught sight of his high-chair and he cried because he wanted to sit in it. I told him it was a baby seat and he's not a baby anymore. He didn't like the sound of that. Oh boy, will we have some fun keeping Tyler from taking away "his" baby toys from his little brother...

Today officially marks the 32-week point for this pregnancy. Just this week I advanced into the next size up in scrubs at work. Big bummer, because I never had to wear this size when I was pregnant with Tyler. However, I don't even weigh as much as I did at the end with Tyler. I was 185ish with Tyler (yikes!) and still fit into the medium scrubs. I'm not going to say my current weight, but it is NOT that much and I'm too big for the mediums. I think it's because I seem to be carrying lower this time around, and also because my body is just "letting itself go" since it's done all this before. I've had to buy new shirts for this spring/summer since the ones I had with Tyler do not attempt to cover everything this time around. The silver lining here is that I bought more regular-looking shirts so I can wear them afterwards and not feel like I'm still wearing maternity clothes. I'm trying to enjoy all the last special moments of this pregancy and not focus too much on the uncomfortableness. To tell you the truth, I'd really like to exploit the uncomfortableness more and shove off all my work on others, but I just can't seem to find it in myself to be THAT lazy! Don't get me wrong - if you offer, you bought it... I'm not going to turn down help if I can help it! haha!

Anyway - This next month is going to bring lots of last minute prep. I'm going to start looking for some different freezer food recipes to cook up. A couple of the recipes I made need some tweaking, and some I'm not sure I'm going to make again. I also need to make my super-double batch of freezer strawberry jelly this year. I only have maybe one more in the freezer right now. I need to defrost the freezer before I get all this frozen stuff piled up in there... should only take a couple hours, but it's just another thing on the to-do list!

The crafty end of things haven't been too productive lately. I can't remember what I finished up on last post, but I sewed up a 4T footed fleece PJ for Tyler next winter (or the winter after that) and also sewed up a 1T/12mo footed fleece PJ for a girl... just don't know of any that can use one in that size at that time of year just yet. It turned out really cute, so I hope to find someone that can use it! I started painting the last of the animal shapes for Tyler's big boy room wall decor. They are almost all done, but I still have some leaf shapes (13) to trace and cut out with the scroll saw. I hate using that thing. It's fun as long as the blade doesn't break. It scares/startles the crap out of me whenever it does it. At least I don't have much more to cut out and then I'm DONE with it. I've only been working on this project for a year now... hahaha!

AND speaking of Tyler's big boy room... I re-bunked the beds in there and he seemed to really like having his bed in "the cave" - so much I had hopes of him sleeping in there all the time. That didn't happen like planned. He only sleeps in there when we put him in there asleep and when he wakes up, he's back in our room. Bummer. BUT good news is that he's spent a few nights on his daycare-style cot on the floor in our room. He said he likes it, but last night insisted on being in our bed. Great. It's the one parenting thing that I'm not proud of... but it all started with Josh going to work at early hours in the morning...therefore was really tired at night and ready to go to bed early. I was in the midst of my "morning sickness" that only hit me in the evening/night hours and the only thing that made it go away was just to go to bed and sleep it off, so I was wanting to go to bed early, too. Since Tyler was the only remaining night owl, we took him into bed with us so we could go to sleep and know that he wasn't getting into trouble. He would just lay there and snuggle until he fell asleep... I guess we'll have to start getting a little more serious about kicking him out of our bed. If only I didn't like snuggling the little man so much!

On a side note... I just got a new camera (for my birthday, anniversary, mother's day, christmas, halloween, etc) that should serve us well for many many many years down the road. It's a Nikon D5000 with a 18-55mm lens and a 55-200mm lens. When I get the chance, I'll take some pictures around the house and post them to the photo website. I've retired my Sony camera for the time-being, but it'll still get some use in outdoor photography since it still does a nice job - just too slow for flash photography.

Another long post... zzzz....

Well, it has been quite awhile since I've posted! Not much has changed around here... that's good news! Josh has been working out a lot and has been enjoying the wonderful weather we've been blessed with over the past week or two. He's been able to get outside on his bike and go for some longer rides - Tyler enjoys going out with him in the trailer (which gives Daddy a better workout having to pull him up hills). He said he can tell he's getting in better shape! He's planning on doing some races over the course of the summer/fall, so Tyler will have to brush up on his cheering skills!

Tyler has been coming up with some interesting phrases to say. One that comes to mind is "I'll be right back" while he holds his hand up as if he's saying "stay right there". Just last night he said that and went to see what was going on on the TV. When he came back he said "Okay, I'm back." He's also gotten into a kick saying he's a green dinosaur and roars at you with his "claws" out. On our phanfare website, there's a video of him saying his favorite word - delicious. He won't drink water out of his sippy EVER, but he can't help but get a sip of water at every water fountain he sees and then says "mmm, dewicious".

As always, he's still into his Pixar Cars movie and toys - mostly just the toys now. He really loves his Geotrax train that he got for Christmas - and it came with a DVD that runs about 45 minutes long of 4 Geotrax cartoon episodes. He loves to watch that on his portable DVD player AKA "computer". He incorporates his Geotrax train and tracks with his Cars toys and the result is some really imaginative play. It's especially entertaining when Daddy joins in on the fun.

As for me, the only changes are the size of my girth (understandably). I have officially entered into my third and final trimester with gaining about 17ish pounds (depending on the time of day). Most of that gain happened over the past 2 months - I had a seriously long-lasting case of the munchies as well as eating well over what one person would eat at meal time. I guess I was making up for something.

I have also begun the every-two-week appointments at the OB... which i'm not real sure how I feel about that. I'm excited to be getting near the end and seeing my little baby boy. I'm a little apprehensive to have two boys to watch - and to be going through all the newborn things again, like breastfeeding, cleaning/sterilizing bottles and binkies, all the doctor's appointments/shots, changing diapers constantly (and having them all be poopy and ucky), nighttime feedings... ya know... all that. However, it'll be fun to revisit all the cute little outfits that Tyler wore and see Tyler interact with his little brother (who, by the way, doesn't have a name yet.)

Besides being a little apprehensive, I think I'll manage just fine. I already know to expect the worst with my hormones/emotions, so as long as it's not worse than the "worst" I believe I'll manage okay. Tyler doesn't require much supervision anymore, so I won't have to keep an eye on him constantly - yippee! I don't doubt that I'll still have my hands full, though!

After the baby is born, I plan on going walking nearly every day - hoping to shed some baby pounds and also to kick-start getting back into shape. I'd like to eventually do a triathlon or duathalon, but we'll see how things go. I think last summer I pushed the running thing too hard too fast, so I'm going to start slower this time around. I probably won't get out on my bike much this summer due to having a baby with no means to ride with him, and I refuse to go out on my own for a ride... too scared with all the crazy maniac-drivers out there buzzing you.

On the crafty-front... I've done a lot of sewing in the past couple months - all baby-related of course. I sewed up a crib-sized quilt, a couple "baby snugglers" (one with a zipper that was a disaster to install, but turned out well regardless), a couple baby slings, and a nursing cover. I recently bought fabric to make a one-piece romper for a Baptism outfit. I'm hoping it'll turn out well, because it's been awhile since I've sewn up an article of clothing. I've also been crocheting a blanket for the baby - going very slow...mostly because I haven't been working on it very much. I made it a little on the wide side, so I'll need to make it that much longer so the dimensions make sense. And I'll probably end up ordering some more yarn to be able to make it longer. I'm not entirely sure that this project will be done before the baby comes, but it'll be a size that I won't use right away anyway except to put on the floor, and I'll have other blankets I can use for that. I'm going to push to finish it in time because I probably won't have the time to do it afterwards!

This past weekend, I was busy in the kitchen cooking up creations for the freezer. None of it will be for after the baby comes, but I just wanted to try out some recipes to see if I should make them in larger quantities later. I made 8 different recipes over the course of a couple days, so we should be eating good over the next couple months-many recipes I divided into smaller 9x9-ish sized pans instead of doing one 9x13. I figured that we'd get burned out on the leftovers if we cooked up that much at a time. A couple recipes I doubled and ended up making 5 or 6 meals-worth. Each of the casserole recipes made 2 of the 9x9 pans. If I like how they turned out, I will definitely share the recipes on here.