The Birth Story of William Bryan

For reference: Libby's birth story; Cece's birth story

The Birth story of William Bryan

 Sunday, December 2, throughout the day I noticed I was having a little bit of bloody discharge which can either indicate that labor is near or that it is still several days off. My due date was a week from the next day so I put Tim, my mom, and our babysitter on alert just in case. We decided to stay home from church and clean the house and see if anything would happen. We cleaned, did some laundry, and went on a long walk. I had some contractions but nothing too noticeable or traceable. We put the girls to bed that night and watched a little Monday Night Football. I texted with a few friends to plan a girls’ night out that week, but I had a feeling that our plans would not come to fruition.

We went to bed about 10:00 and I fell right to sleep. I thought about sleeping on a towel, just in case, but forgot at the last minute. Since my labor with Cecily started with my water breaking, I didn’t think there was any way it would start that way again. Right at 11:30 my eyes burst open and I felt a slight pop. I jumped out of bed and right then my water broke. I quickly woke Tim and then made my way to the bathroom. The first thing I saw was a large amount of blood. Tim came in and he was also concerned at what we saw. He got my phone for me and started packing up the last of our things. I texted my awesome friend, Amanda, and called my midwives office. My midwife called me back a few minutes later and the contractions already started. I spoke with her and let her know what was going on and since I said that I had been having some “bloody show” that day she thought the blood was from that. I told her that it was a lot more than what I had been seeing and so she said we needed to get to the hospital soon.

I had really wanted to get in the shower before we left but as I looked at my tub I knew that I would not be able to get out once I got in. Then I remembered a dream I had early in my pregnancy of delivering at home, in my tub, surrounded by firemen and I knew we needed to get to the hospital. The hospital was about 30 minutes away and we had picked it because it has a group of midwives who deliver there and it has an amazing NICU ‘just in case’.

Amanda arrived and helped Tim get our stuff in the car and talked me through some pretty intense contractions that started up. I then made the trip to the car and the even longer ride to the hospital. Every turn and bump was miserable but there was nothing Tim could do. He was trying to drive safely but also get there as quickly as possible. The blood had really scared him but he was trying to play it off for my sake, smart man.

We made it to the hospital and walking in I continued to have some pretty intense contractions. Our midwife walked in right after us and we got checked in and then made our way to our room. The nurse hooked me up to the fetal monitor and the baby was doing great. My midwife came in and checked my progress and I was so happy to hear I was already 7 cm dilated! Those intense contractions sure were working! My two previous labors had been very slow and deliberate so I was excited. But my midwife told us she was very concerned with all the blood and was going to carefully monitor the baby and if he wasn’t born shortly they would have to do a C-section. I was pretty sad but still had hope he could be born naturally. I had asked her if I could get in the shower but she said there was no way because she wanted to keep monitoring baby. That’s the first time I heard her say she was afraid it was a placental abruption and she told us she called the doctor on call and he was there monitoring the baby too.

 I was still there lying on the bed trying to breathe through the most intense contractions I had ever felt. The nurse got an iv in my left arm for the antibiotics I had to take due to my positive GBS status. She then went to work on my right arm for a back-up IV in case of the c-section but she kept missing so finally she gave up and all I ended up with was a giant bruise on my arm.

 Baby was still doing well but then they started having trouble picking up his heart beat. I was also in extreme amounts of pain in between the contractions. It felt like a hot iron was pressed up against the inside of my abdomen. William was also moving around a lot and because I had lost so much fluid I could feel his movements even greater. The nurses had me move side to side during all of this to try to get a better read on his heart rate and I could tell they were getting more nervous. The midwife then checked me again and I had progressed to almost an 8 but was not ready to push yet. She told us that he was not doing well and I was not advancing quickly enough. They were very worried about his oxygen supply being cut off if my placenta fully abrupted before he was delivered. She advised us to go ahead with the C-section. I remember being so upset and wanting to cry because I was so close and the last thing in the world I wanted to was a c-section. But it was not worth the risk to William for me to avoid the c-section. She consulted with the doctor and he agreed. The doctor stuck his head in the door and introduced himself. They started getting ready to take me to the OR and threw some scrubs at Tim. He went to change and said that when he got back we had already left and they were racing with me down the hallway. All I remember is still being in extreme pain and looking around for Tim, wondering where he was. All I could see were strange faces and suddenly they had moved me into a room with a lot of lights and transferred me to a cold metal platform (for lack of a better word). I grabbed someones hand and squeezed it and they held it and someone else put an oxygen mask over my face. And that must be when the anesthesia took over because the next thing I remember was slowly waking up to my mom and Tim's voices.

Tim told me later that he had chased after us to the OR but they wouldn't let him in at the last minute and literally two minutes later a nurse said, "congrats, you have a son." That was at 2:00 in the morning, just 2 1/2 hours after my water had broken.

Thankfully, my mom was ready to leave Houston when I called and arrived in record time to the hospital so she was there when I was waking up. I remember hearing her and Tim talking and everything felt very hazy and thick. I heard a baby crying so I thought it was my baby and asked to hold him. My mom got a sad look on her face and said, "oh that isn't your baby, sweetheart, yours is in the NICU". I started crying and they told me that when he was born he wasn't doing very well so they had to take him down to the NICU. They told me later that my placenta had torn off half way and that he only scored a 1 on his APGAR. This meant that he had a heartbeat but was blue and not breathing. Thankfully, they were ready and there were some NICU nurses and a pediatrician in the room. They were able to intubate him and get him oxygen right away and his scores improved drastically. But it was that initial 1 that got everyone scared and got him sent to the NICU.

 They wheeled my bed to the NICU area so that I could see him and he looked so big in the plastic bed. Especially with all the tiny ones around him. It was scary seeing him with wires and tubes sticking out everywhere but I knew he was in good hands. They then took us to our room close to his and my post-partem nurse came in. She told me I needed to go to sleep (I think it was about 5am at this time) and that when I woke up we would talk about our plan. I gratefully pushed the pain medicine button and then drifted off to sleep knowing I needed my rest to recover.

A few hours later Tim and I woke up and the nurse came back with a game plan for the day. She wanted me to get moving right away and try to walk and move around as much as possible. I couldn't imagine being able to sit up much less walk to the bathroom or down the hallway to William's room, but with her and Tim's help thats what I did. It was great to get off the IV and be able to go to the bathroom alone and we went down to William's room several times in the next few hours. I had also asked immediately for a breast pump because I was determined that he start nursing as soon as possible and avoid formula. My biggest fear with the c-section was that I wouldn't be able to nurse William if we weren't allowed to start right away. I got some great advice from a nurse/lactation consultant friend as well as our former birthing coach in New York. It was also great to be able to text and hear encouragement from friends and family on facebook.

Everyone was amazing. My nurses were tough but kind and the NICU nurses went out of their way to make us feel comfortable whenever we visited William. They respectfully listened to our wishes and really understood and wanted to help us reach our goals. We were not able to hold him that first day because he had IV's in his umbilical stump and if those were torn out accidentally he could bleed out in a matter of minutes. They didn't give him any bottles and he only got a little IV fluid through those lines. He was still intubated and they were sucking blood and mucus out of his stomach and there was some in his lungs as well. There was concern that he could develop pneumonia so they kept those tubes in for the first 36 hours after his birth.

 Finally, on Tuesday afternoon we were able to hold our baby! It was so exciting to get to snuggle him and feel his skin on mine, but they still wanted us to wait to nurse him. I kept going to his room and holding him and talking to the nurses and then when the pain got to be too much I would go back and lay down for a quick nap. Then on Tuesday evening when the nurses switched I talked to a veteran nurse who had breastfed two babies in difficult circumstances. She and I really connected and I was able to tell her how much I knew he needed to nurse and she agreed. That night she talked to the head nurse when she made her rounds and that nurse agreed. So about 40 hours after he was born I was finally able to start nursing and William was thrilled. He caught on immediately and acted like he was starving to death! What an answer to prayer! My biggest concern through this whole ordeal was that he and I wouldn't have a good nursing relationship but those fears were shattered immediately.

 I kept trekking down to the NICU to nurse William and they moved us to a nice room even closer to him. We had a great view of Dallas and it was a great place for Tim and I to stay. I didn't mind my walk at all. There were some very tiny babies in the same room as William, one who survived a 25 week abruption! (who has since been able to go home!) I got a healthy dose of perspective every time I went in that room. My mom and sister took care of the girls that whole week and they thought they were on vacation. On Thursday they moved William into our room and started preparing us to be able to leave the following day. On Thursday night they did a billirubin test his count was a little elevated but they said to nurse a lot and hopefully it would be down in the morning. Unfortunately it was a lot higher so our plans were changed. They took him back to the NICU and immediately put him under some lights. I was discharged but they found us a little room in the antepartem area. We left our big, newly updated room and moved into the old outdated one that wasn't much bigger than a closet. We did get to have William back in the room with us though and he had a bili blanket that he laid on and a spot light to shine on his back.

The next two days I kept the lights on him at all times, nursed him constantly, and almost always when I wasn't nursing I pumped to get extra fluid and to really get my supply going. He still had a feeding tube in his nose from when they were pumping fluid out of his stomach so we when he nursed we would give him the extra milk that I had pumped through that. The best way to get rid of the bilirubin in his blood was to keep fluids going through him and to keep the lights on him as much as possible. We stayed in that room all day Friday and Saturday and they tested his blood twice every day to see if he was improving. His levels finally started to go down but it was very gradual and they wanted us to stay Sunday night as well. I remember being so disappointed when they told us that. I was exhausted and ready to go home and be in my own bed and see my girls. We had seen them earlier in the week and they were doing great but I still missed them.

 Then on Sunday morning they ran his blood-work again and it was finally at a good level. The ancient (and awesome!) NICU pediatrician came to see us and he checked William over and cleared us to leave! I cannot remember ever feeling so elated. We couldn't pack our stuff together quickly enough. Baylor had been great, the staff was amazing and it was the best care we could ask for but we were ready to leave! And so 12 hours shy of the one week anniversary of my water breaking, we were on our way home to start life as a family of five!

I am so grateful for everyone who prayed for us through this whole scary time, we felt them and though so much could have gone wrong, it didn't. We were protected and the Lord answered all of my prayers. William never had a bottle through the week at the hospital, he didn't develop any lung issues, and I didn't have to have a blood transfusion. In fact, the doctor commented that he was surprised I didn’t lose more blood. I told Tim later that I should’ve told him it was all the pregnancy tea I drank that strengthened my uterus. :) Nobody knows why my placenta gave out a week before my due date. It just happens sometimes. And because its an isolated incident, if we have any more children, I should be able to have a VBAC without and trouble. A c-section is not an easy thing to go through and I am definitely a proponent for natural labor whenever possible, but I am so grateful for the doctors and the surgery that made William's safe arrival possible.

I am sharing this story for myself to have a record on here, for my friends, and for other people to read and be encouraged. I want to let people know that they have a voice, even in seemingly powerless situations you can still let the professionals around you aware of your desires. I am so grateful that the doctors and nurses listened to me and worked with me but I don't know if they would have avoided feeding him a bottle had I not specifically told every person I saw that I didn't want him to have one. He was perfectly fine with a little IV fluid until I was able to nurse him. Breastfeeding is very awesome and you sometimes have to fight to make it work. But it is worth it in the end. Also, c-sections are not fun, easy, or pain-free. I've had two very long, all natural births and I would rather have another 30 hour labor (Thanks, Cecily) than deal with another c-section. It is major surgery and takes a lot to recover from so don't make that decision lightly. And don't be afraid to challenge your health care provider if they want you to have one, make sure there is a very good and strong argument for it. But if one is necessary and you have a rough start then don't worry! A great recovery is possible and very likely and you can still have a great breastfeeding relationship with your baby. In fact, William loves nursing so much that he won't take a bottle. :) But I am fine with that and cherish the time we have together.

Thanks for reading this! I know its really long and I didn't even publish some details because it could have been even longer. 

Guess baby's birthday!

I have been terrible about updating my blog but I really wanted to post this! Time to guess baby's birthday! EDD: 12/10 Girls' info and guesses Lib: http://smerkin.blogspot.com/2008/11/guess-her-birthday.html Cecily: http://smerkin.blogspot.com/2010/07/time-to-guess.html Date: Time: Weight: Length: I'll update later with my guesses but I don't want to influence anyone. :) Libby was born 10 days after her due date and Cece was 3 days after hers.

Not sure if anyone still reads this but I am so excited to announce we're expecting baby #3 in December!! We had the 20 week ultraound and found out that we are having a BOY! Hurrah! We are all excited and Lib keeps telling everyone she's having a baby brudder. :) Here are some pics of our newest little cutie.

A whole bunch of afters

Tim for another link up with the wonderful Miss Mustard Seed!
Well, I've been completing a lot of projects lately and I wanted to throw them all out there to "show off" as it were. ;) I'm having so much fun with this new hobby of mine that it doesn't seem like work at all! And plus it's fun getting a little bit of money to use however I want (which usually means buying presents for our house).
Enjoy! And please let me know what you think!

This cutie was painted with ASCP Napoleon Blue and then before it completely dried I wiped off some of it to create a different look. It originally had six drawer pulls so I filled in four of them and only kept the necessary two, which I think looks better. I also spray painted the hardware black and I like that better too. This is really a great piece because it's so versatile. It will be listed for sale.






This precious little dresser was a fun and easy project. I gave it two coats of ASCP French Blue and then sanded it with my palm sander to smooth out the finish and really distress it nicely. I finished it out with some new wax (which I love!) and just popped the original hardware back on to finish it out. This has been a really popular piece and is also for sale.





This little desk was a really fun project! I picked it up off of CL for a steal and then realized it was over 50 years old! I sanded and then stained the top with Dark Walnut and painted the base ASCP Antibes Green. It sold in less than a week but I was a little sad to see it go.

Well, my little urchins are awake and needing me so I must dash. Enjoy!

Re-covered chair

Linking up with Miss Mustard Seed!!

Here's another chair that I recently snatched up to recover. I really loved the beautiful dark wood so I decided to leave it alone. No painting?! yes, it is true, I did not paint a piece of wood that came into my house. :)
The pattern gave me a few fits and at one point I definitely just went to bed to face it in the morning. It's a tad crooked but pretty hard to tell, especially if you're not looking too hard. :) I think next time I will definitely do the smart thing and take all the fabric off and cut the new fabric with it as a pattern.

Doesn't it look cozy?




I have another cute cane chair just waiting to be re-covered. Just waiting for inspiration to hit on that one but I'm leaning toward painting it white and covering it with burlap. Don't want too many patterns competing!
Here's the only good picture I could find of my next chair project. Look at those two cuties!!

Large dresser

Another Friday has come so I thought I would share another one of my recent projects over at Miss Mustard Seed's place. I've actually finished quite a few so that has been very fun and rewarding. I'm debating whether or not to sell this beauty, she is rather large which is nice for storing things but she also takes up a lot of room in our bedroom. Tim also has requested a different color paint so I'm leaning toward selling this one and keeping an eye out for a new one.
Either way, here is the before picture:




And a few afters.







Isn't she a beauty?!

The gentleman who sold her to me was very kind and helped me load her into my car, DANG is she heavy!!

The top was sanded down and stained with Dark Walnut (my fav!) and the base was painted in ASCP Paris Gray and lightly distressed. She came with a fitted glass topper so that's why the top looks so shiny although I did do three coats of polycrylic to make sure it was well protected.

I love it! What do you think?

China Cabinet

Linking up with the FABULOUS Miss Mustard Seed!!
Here is a craigs list china cabinet I painted with Annie Sloans Paris Gray and Old white. It really brought out the fun details on the piece and gave it a fresh look. Kept the old hardware because it just really fit it. Looks pretty with my china but I think I'll let someone else have this one so shoot me an email if you're interested and in the DFW area because it's for sale!
Love that chalk paint!!

My first chalk paint/reupholstery project!

Well, I've been bitten by the chalk paint bug! So I decided to link up with Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday party! Here goes nuthin'!

I started out with this $20 estatehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif sale beauty:


I then ripped out all the little metal bracket things that were covering up the staples.

Then I painted it in one coat of Napoleon Blue and then after that dried I dry-brushed on another coat of Old White. This was the fun part. I really played with it to see what would happen. This chair was pretty much a giant experiment that went really well! After painting I let it dry and then did a coat of clear wax and distressed it a bit. I did more in some areas and less in others, I just really played with it. Then I did a bit more waxing and buffed it off the next day.



After I was done painting I was ready for the scary part. I have painted stuff before but I have never done any reupholstering. I was terrified. I didn't rip all of the old fabric off because I was hoping to just cover it with my new stuff. And I was mostly except for the back. That darn back! Well, here are some pics to show you.











This is my first experience with re-covering a chair and it really wasn't too terrifying! I was fully expecting to waste the fabric and have to do something else but with a powerful staple gun, much is possible. ;) I just stapled and then pulled and stretched and stapled a bit more until it looked how I wanted and then I filled that sucker with staples, I did not want the fabric to go anywhere! Then I covered it up with Miss Mustard Seed's favorite trim and it really framed it out well, I think! I'm pretty much in love with it.

My next chair is a bit more of a project so I'm going to do a little more painting and thinking before I tackle it. :)

Woo-hoo

After much begging and cajoling by his friends and siblings my brother finally started a blog! It's funny and random so I hope you enjoy!

Nate's Blog

POTTY-TIME!!!

*Warning, there is some potty-talk in this post, don't read if you're squeamish about that sort of thing* :)


Well, we've been at it for a week now and I would call it hugely successful! I went by the "Potty-Train in a Day" book without actually reading the book. My SIL has done that with two daughters and has seen great results. So she told me all about it, because she actually read the book, and I used the tips and methods given in it. (The ironic thing is that I gave her the book since she had an older child, but I didn't have to read it.)

Anyway, so Saturday morning, March 19th, Libby and I camped out in the bathroom with books, toys, my phone and my computer. Oh and also lots of liquids for her to drink and candies for rewards. After waking up I took off her diaper and dressed her with panties on for the day. And then I put her on the potty for about 15 minutes at a time hoping to catch her going so that she would get a feel for what she was trying to accomplish. No bueno. We did this for a good two hours with nary a sprinkle. Then she was playing on the floor and she looked at me with a desparate look in her eyes and said "MOMMY! I go potty!!" So I jerked off her pants and stuck her on there and she went! She was thrilled, I was thrilled, and then she was even more thrilled with the candy reward. The rest of that day went really well. I asked her a lot and made her sit on it but she still told us a couple of times when she had to go. The next day I was home alone but it wasn't bad at all. I knew she needed to do some #2 and kept rushing to the potty every 15 minutes or so until I was in the kitchen and she was in the bedroom. I heard her scream "MOMMY!! I GO POTTY!!!" so I ran into the bathroom where she was literally hovering over the potty with a freaked out look on her face. I figured she hadn't made it but she had! She went all by herself! She was pretty freaked out so I gave her a huge treat of icecream to reward her and let her know how happy I was.
Since that first weekend she's done a great job!! She pooped once in her pants but the rest of the time has made it to the potty in time. We've gone to Bible study and the gym and she went at Bible study but not at the gym. She's gone a few times in public places but she's also been freaked out by those automatically flushing toilets. I think she felt like pretty big stuff because yesterday she had me take her four times to the bathroom at Pappasitos. I won't ever refuse to take her though because that would potentially be pretty traumatizing if she went in her pants because of my laziness. We also went straight to panties because I wanted a clean break from diapers. I didn't want her to think it was okay to sometimes go in her pants and sometimes not.
At night and at nap-time we still put her in diapers, usually cloth during nap-time. And a lot of the time, even at night, she's woken up dry! We put her in the diaper right before putting her down but a couple of times after she has her diaper on she still tells us when she needs to go.
She's very proud of her big-girl panties and loves the candies she gets. We've also given her ice-cream at times and took her out to eat last night to celebrate. The ladies at Bible Study even commented on how she seemed to have more confidence with panties on. I was so proud. :)
She still has an accident every day at least but that's why I have 18 pairs of panties and plenty of pull-on pants. :) She'll only get better at it and I'm so excited not to have to buy so many diapers!! I really can't believe how big she's gotten! Seems like yesterday she was my baby but now she loves trying on my make-up and is wearing panties! YIKES!

Adoptive family needs help!

Please read this family's story and help them out if you feel led. They're giving away some great prizes to help raise money for the costs of adopting a baby boy with Down Syndrome. I donated!!
http://ourlivesworksinprogress.blogspot.com/2011/02/our-super-big-adoption-fundraising.html#comment-form

Night away!

Two weeks ago Tim and I had a night in Dallas while my mom watched the girls. It was so much fun!
Mom drove in Saturday and we had a very exciting morning which I will hopefully go into more detail about at a later date. Try not to die of curiosity in the next few weeks. ;)
Anyway, that afternoon we drove down to downtown Dallas to this amazing hotel. Unfortunately I didn't take my nice camera so I just have some camera phone photos.

Heading out the door!

We decided to get steak and went to a highly rated restaurant that was a little more expensive then we initially realized. But we decided to stay and enjoy it and we were very glad we did!
After we ordered the waiter brought out mini lobster and shrimp corndogs. They were sooo good!

Next we split a arugula, goat cheese, and pear salad. Again, YUM!!!

Finally I got a filet mignon and Tim got a NY strip steak and they were both excellent! We shared polenta and brussel sprouts.

We decided to forgo dessert but I got a little bag of delicious cookies anyway, courtesy of the chief (all the ladies in the restaurant did).
We had so much fun eating at a gourmet restaurant but we were not as "at home" as many of the other patrons. One of our favorite things to do is people watch and there were some interesting people to watch! If you know anything about Dallas you know that there is a lot of "plastic" around there and it was fun trying to guess who was wearing the nose (and other parts) they were born with. It was quite entertaining. :)

We weren't ready to go to bed yet but we also didn't want to go to a noisy bar so we just went to the hotel bar and each got a drink. Mine was super yummy!

The next day we just laid around most of the morning in the super comfy bed watching an awesome flat-screen tv.

More photos of the hotel.



We ended out or mini-vacay by going to the mall to shop for jeans for Tim. We found him some jeans and I also found these adorable boots way on clearance! What a perfect way to end a fabulous night away!

Thanks so much for watching the girls, mom! We're hoping to make this a bi-annual tradition and might even stay in the same hotel next time.

Update on our little family

Cecily is still doing really well sleeping. Sometimes she wakes up but usually is able to get herself back to sleep. Sometimes she wakes up around 5am so I pump one side and feed her the other in order to keep my supply stocked.
She is still scooting all over the place and easily gets up on all fours but hasn't figured out the crawling motions yet. I know it's just around the corner though!
We've started a few solids and she loves them so far! She's had: banana, apple, sweet potato, avocado and oatmeal. She just has a few bites here and there but it's fun for experimenting!
Libby is doing well in her big girl bed, she loves it and is really looking forward to Cecily moving into her room with her. I'm putting that off because I haven't wanted to disrupt Libby or Cecily's routines. Now I put Cecily down around 7:30 and have Libby go play quietly in her room until I'm done. Then I go in and read or play with Libby for a while then we sing songs, read more books, pray and then finally turn out the light. If we put them together I'll have to do that in our room or something so that would work. I'm just putting it off. :)
Libby is also on the verge of pottytraining. My SIL had great success with "Potty-Training in a Day" so I'm going to read that book and give it a shot if I feel like it will work for us. We're going to try it on a Saturday when Tim is home and can help with Cecily. It'll be nice not to have to wash diapers (we CD some) or buy diapes (I'm a Pampers snob!). I don't want to push her but she has shown a lot of interest so that will probably be soon.
We are also planning on removing Libby's pacifier. It's getting bad even though we've limited it to the bed or car. She is super-duper addicted. Hopefully that won't be too traumatic!
I'm not sure what order to do these three major things. I guess there's always a new, big change going on at this age but it is not easy! Diapers are so easy, giving her a paci is easy, keeping the girls separate is easy. But it will be nice not to have to buy or wash diapers, I don't want to cause horrible dental damage, and I think putting the girls together with give them a stronger bond. I know I need to do all these things but it will be difficult going through them.
Tim has been working a.lot. A LOT. A LOT. It really stinks! I'm so tired of this project he's been working on. I'll just say this: I hope that all you i-stuff people really appreciate how well the track pads work! :)
Tim and I had a little night away last week and it was sooo fun! I'll make a whole post about it! We spent the night in downtown Dallas and rested and ate a lot, it was really fun! Pictures to come. :)

HALLELUJAH!!!!

HALLELUJAH! CECILY IS SLEEPING ALL NIGHT!!!! Praise the Lord and pass the late night movies! Hahaha. Well, not quite but I now feel amazing and well-rested! Except like on nights like tonight when I'm staying up a bit late. :-)

I put her down about 8pm and she sleeps until 7-8. I've heard her wake up a few times, not every night, but she usually just gets herself back to sleep. I'm not a big fan of "crying it out" but I don't mind letting her fuss for a bit to settle herself back down. She doesn't wail for 2 hours or anything like that. And the funny thing is that almost every morning when I go and get her she has squirmed all around but she still has her blankie and paci! It really is wonderful to go all night without having to get up and I'm really enjoying it.

We haven't started many solids yet with our baby girl because I haven't felt like she was ready. But recently I've been giving her tastes of banana and avocado and she LOVES it! It's really cute to see her go to town on a piece of something. She makes a huge mess and probably only eats a small amount but she has fun with it. :) I'll probably start introducing her to some oatmeal or something soon. I just don't want to rush anything right now. Refer to this great site for any questions about delayed solids.

I am waking up at 6 am though to pump because (and here's another great part) I am able to pump about NINE ounces every morning!! Crazy, huh? I guess that's about how much she was eating through the night. I've been chugging water all evening and then I'll usually drink about 32 oz. after waking and before she wakes up. When Cecily wakes up I usually am able to feed her enough to keep her satisfied but sometimes I have to give her some of the pumped milk. I'm really trying hard to train my body to produce more so I can store up the pumped milk. I had a hard time always producing enough for Libby and I don't want to run into that problem again. Also, if we ever have more space maybe I'll be able to store up enough so that if she weans early I can give her breastmilk. For now we're just storing it in our little freezer. Here, I'll show off my little stash. :)

Yes, I know it's not ideal to store it in the door but that's the only option we have at present.
Anyway, there's my breastfeeding update. I'm so happy that things are still going well!!

What to do?

What is a mama to do when her two babies have a rough time getting along?
I tried to take pictures of the girls again today just trying to get one good one of them both looking at the camera. Maybe with a touch of a smile but I wasn't too hopeful.



Ok a smile would be nice, and minus the paci, Cece Jane, sorry my dear!

How sweet! ok, at least she's being nice!


After this it all went to pot. This is the last decent picture I got of them together.


Libby starts out by being sweet and gently strokes Cecily's head but then she gets rough all of a sudden and pushes her over, snatches her toy, or growls at her. Yes, she growls. And it freaks poor Cecily out! She gets the most terrified look on her face and just bursts into tears and starts sobbing. This of course makes Libby gleefully happy, wouldn't it you?
So I'm really at my wits end. I only wanted a sweet, simple picture of two sisters together and I've been trying to get one for MONTHS. Yes, I said months. I bought a groupon last year for a discounted price on a 16x20 canvas thinking I would easily be able to get a good picture of the girls together. Uh, no, think again! So the deadline to order the canvas is in a couple of days and I don't really want one that big of just one of the girls. SO I think I'm going to order a print of Tim and I from our wedding day. Thoughts? Suggestions? Here are a couple contenders:





Thoughts? I have my favorite but I want to see what you think. :)

I guess I'll have to wait a while before I can get a good picture of my girlies. When do they learn to sit still and smile sweetly? Although I can get a few good ones of them individually...





Now I just need to get really, really good at photoshopping...