I got a CD full of pics from Tiffany (my good friend who took Ruby's newborn pics). I wanted Grandmas to be able to see them all so they could pick a few out they'd like to have printed. Here they are:
(you can click on the slideshow to view any of the pics up close)
So things are going good. I'm still on a postpartum high. I really missed my energy, my appetite, my ability to bend over, my ability to chase Sol, to hold him normally, to read him stories with him on my lap. I missed feeling like myself. I really missed being able to sleep under the covers with my hubby instead of sprawled out on top of the sheets with the ac blaring and a fan blowing on me while I still sweat. I missed my girly figure. There are lots of other things too.
But she was definitely worth it. I'd do it all again to get her here. To get to meet her, get to know her (we're still working on that). To look in her intense alert little blue eyes. To hear her purr while she sleeps. To kiss her delicious little chubby cheeks. And she's such a good baby. Really. She's amazing.
Poor little Sol really struggled as an infant. He had pretty severe acid reflux. His medication made it so he didn't scream 24/7 but he still was in a lot of pain. He had to be held a certain way, he had to be bounced almost constantly. As soon as he got a little older, around 6-8 months, he turned into a different child. He's been the easiest, most delightful kid since. But those first 6 months were really hard. I did not enjoy his infant stage. I was ready for a repeat with this baby as reflux runs in families. But Ruby is a totally different baby. She's been sleeping 6 hours a night for the last 2 weeks. She only gets up once, eats, and then goes back to bed. Its awesome! She does have a touch a reflux which I spotted right away (once you've suffered through it with one baby you can spot it easily) and got a pX for her. With the prevacid she is seriously the easiest baby ever. Thanks for that one Heavenly Father. I appreciate it so much.
Sol is struggling with the changes. He's having a hard time sharing the attention. He's been naughty, on purpose, to get attention. It makes me so sad cause he's such a good kid normally. He's showing some signs of frustration, not toward Ruby but toward me. In the past I've told so many of my friends in the same situation "Don't worry, every first child goes through this. In a few months he'll be back to his normal self." But right now I'd really like someone else to tell me the same thing. I just don't want it to change him forever, for the worse. I'd love to hear some words of encouragement, or advice.
So that's where things are today. Day 2 with 2 kids by myself. Its not so bad.
Actually today started out pretty rough. I woke up with a pounding headache. I have hypoglycemia and sometimes nursing totally depletes me. I got up twice to eat a snack last night and still woke up ravenously hungry. So this morning I loaded up the kids and went to McDonalds where I ate 1.5 McGrilddles and a large glass of ice water. I know, thats a lot of calories, but whatever. After letting Sol play for about 45 min we left for the grocery store for my first solo trip with Sol and Ruby. On my way out of the parking lot I backed into a white dodge stratus that tried to squeeze between me and another car right as I looked over my opposite shoulder. I didn't even feel the car hit because I was going so slow. None the less there was white paint on my bumper. Dang it.
My head was still pounding. By the time we got home from the store Ruby was starving so once I got her fed, and Sol fed and down for a nap I felt wasted. I took one of those giant motrins left over from the hospital and laid down with Ruby. After a little nap we're all much better.
Okay, now for the real reason I sat down to write this post...Family! We had lots of family around for the 2 weeks after Ruby was born. Dave's family had a sort of reunion planned during that time and so we decided to bless Ruby then so everyone could be there. Here are some pics of Dave's fam (minus Lisa :() one night that we hung out at uncle Mikes farm. It was so much fun! The weather was awesome and the chickens provided awesome entertainment for the kidos. And then some pics from Ruby's blessing day.
So life with 2 kids is not so bad. Not as hard as I thought it might be, but I know I'm just at the beginning.
Ruby was born right on time- on her due date. She's a punctual gal. The day before she was born I was dilated to a 4. I woke up at 3:45 on Wednesday, the 4th, with contractions occuring every 3-4 minutes. It was time to go! As we got ready to go a storm was building outside. We could see flashes and hear thunder. As we went outside we were surprised to see crazy lightening all over the sky. We sat out side and watched it for about 15 minutes, until I was feeling to impatient to enjoy it. It was incredible. As we were driving to the hospital we could see big bolts of lightening hitting Mount Timpanogos. We could see the actual point of contact as it would flash bright red. Very cool.
When we got to the hospital I was dilated to a 7. I opted out of an epidural as I'd been planing a natural birth. The contractions were strong but manageable. They came in and broke my water which caused the contractions to get stronger (aka more painful). The next hour I had very intense contractions. Dave did a great job of coaching me. He was so encouraging.
The last 20 mintues were the hardest. It hurt bad and the contractions were so close that I hardly had a break between them. I was going through transition (the last stage of contractions before you get to push). I then started wanting to push. However the doctor was not available, he was doing a c-section. So they had to call in another doctor. It took her about 10 mintues to get there. Okay, that really sucked. It hurts to not be able to push when your body is basically doing it anyway. She finally showed up and I was able to push. Whew! She was out in about 10 minutes. She was big and beautiful.
They laid her on my tummy for just a minute as there was merconium in my fluid so they had to make sure she hadn't inhaled any of it. Then she was so pale from the cord being wrapped around her neck so I got to see her for another minute before they took her away again for about 2 hours. I hated not being able to see her for so long.
Finally they brought her in. She looked so good.
She's an incredible baby. So good. In fact she slept 6 hours last night - woohoo! She rarely cries. We actually didn't hear her cry till she was 5 days old. We love her so much. Here are so more pics...
My very talented friend Tiffany took some pics of our Ruby girl yesterday. Here's a sample. We took some in her nursery that are so colorful. Ruby was such the little model. She just chilled the whole time. Thanks so much Tiff!
