What goes up...

Must come down...

She's FINE! But, Ashley fell on her head today. (Her forehead, actually) We went to Tarjay. I needed to refill my BP RX. We also needed "C" Batteries (for her jumper), diapers (in size 2 AND 6...sigh)and I needed hair color... cause ugh, damn. I also ended up picking up 2 Glade scented oil thingies for $2.50 total with a coupon! Woot! And also some jars of Organic carrots (can't do homemade - nitrates)

Travis was playing his Leapster. Ashley (for once) seemed happy in the "bucket" (car seat) I didn't bring a carrier in... it was going to be a quick trip. Or so I thought.

The Pharm tech was going to lunch... and it was going to be about 30-45 minutes before my RX could be filled. We walked around... I filled the cart with all of the above crap... Travis sat in the actual cart playing his games. Ashley started to cry and make the "milk" sign.

I stopped at the entrance to the changing room area, and sat down to nurse Ashley on one of their red plastic ottoman thingies. I took the "bucket" off of the cart... and unbuckled her. She fussed, nursed, fussed. After about 10 minutes, I finally put her back in the car seat (and this is where I went wrong) I put it on the plastic ottoman thingy while I got up from sitting. Travis was getting restless, and starting to stand up in the cart. I went over to the cart (like 5 step away) and got him to sit back down. Ashley was crying because she didn't want to be in the car seat... and must have pitched herself forward in the seat in the process, causing it and her, to fall about 2 feet - flat onto the carpeted floor.

I immediately righted the seat, and aside from some slight rug burn on her forehead, she was and is fine, just super-pissed-off. The fact that I always make sure the harness is fairly tight was a big contributor to her lack of movement in the seat, even while inverted.
We were immediately surrounded by no less than 10 Target employees (including the "lunching" pharm tech!) after the dressing room attendant called "Code Green!"
All the while I was just trying to get Ashley to nurse and calm down.

Once I evaluated her situation, I shoo'd them off, and declined to fill out an accident report. I mean, really? Document the fact that I totally effed up...and, what? Promise not to sue them?! Like my mistake was somehow their fault? Whatever.

Anyway, I called the Pediatric Group while I sat there... and they told me what to look out for...lethargy, change in demeanor, the usual stuff.

Then, I strapped her into the car seat again, so I could actually push the cart - and went to pick up my prescription.

Sigh. Not my proudest mommy moment, for certain. But I think I handled it with a calm demeanor. As calmly as I could, given the situation... and she is no worse for wear. I wish I could say the same for my frazzled nerves.

Fall Back...

My kids? They will be the death of me. Seriously. 7:00am waking, no nap having little urchins. Daylight savings can kiss my ass!

Besides that, we had a good day today. We went to the member's preview of the opening of the new Children's Museum. We had a nice lunch at the park... Picked some stuff up at Trader Joe's, and stopped by our storage to get the high chair and BOB Jogger for Ashley.

We were planning on giving the baby her first solids tonight... which has previously been delayed due to teething, and excessive crankinessm, and....
Well, she will have those sweet potatoes that are in the freezer another day (hopefully) this week.

Honestly? I don't really care. I am so not stressing on it. She is only a tiny bit over 15 pounds at barely 7 months... and breastmilk is the best thing for her. I did pick up some bulk hulled millet from Whole Paycheck to make into cereal for her...

The thing I am stressing on? Her insistence on standing. Already. Oh, and then letting go of her support... and repeatedly falling on her head. Thank goodness I caught her today as she launched herself backwards towards the tile floor. Yeah, let's try and avoid brain damage, ok, little girl?

Monday Morning Wake-up Call!

The next logical step..., originally uploaded by tjsmommabear.

As most know... The Girl Child has two speeds. Fast and even faster. As evidenced by her rapid entrance into the world... and everything else. She's in a hurry. She rolled over at around 6 weeks. From back to front, which is apparently more difficult than from back to front. She clearly has an agenda: stuff to do... adoring public to meet.

Ashley has only been crawling for 2 weeks. Months ahead of her older brother, who crawled at around 10-11 months.

In that two week's time, she has cut her first tooth, and is working on another. She can go from crawling to a sitting position (briefly) and she is now pulling herself up to standing on anything that's available... I fully expect her to be taking her first steps well before Thanksgiving, when she will be at the ripe old age of 8 months.

As we already knew, this one is certainly a force to be reckoned with!

Hard at work, on her Christmas list...

Hard at work, on her Christmas list..., originally uploaded by tjsmommabear.

We just got our mail key delivered today. All of the mailboxes for our block are together at the end of the street. The previous owners had a bunch of their mail in our mailbox...and Ashley enjoyed perusing and subsequently shredding the American Girl catalog. Good thing, cause I am NOT paying $100 bucks for A DOLL, and $30/ per EACH doll outfit, kiddo. That's what you have Grandparents for...

On the Move!

Holy Sheet!! My little baby girl is crawling!! Well, a combo of commando, and yoga moves which propel her in any direction. It's far from precise... but she has 100% more mobility than just two days ago. At 6 months and 1 week old, it's also a good 5 months before her big brother had similar skills as a babe.

The unfortunate thing... she tries to stand up in a "downward facing dog" position, and inevitably flips herself over in the process, bumping her head on the floor. Although we have area rugs, the underlying floor in the family room is tile... sooo... ouch!! Of course, the only thing that consoles her is her beloved boobie. ahhh... It's gonna be a fun time when she finds the staircase! Yikes!

Second Child Syndrome...

Poor Ashley... she's definitely our second kid. Not only is it never quiet around here...in-utero she was treated to the soothing sounds of me constantly yelling at her brother.

"Travis, be careful" "Travis stop that!" "Travis listen to me!" "TRAVIS! TIME! OUT!!!"

By contrast, Travis luxuriated in the gestational soundtrack of classical music and calming voices since I worked in a medical office the entire time I was pregnant with him.

Beyond that, it occurred to me that gotten very few new toys.

She's got Travis' old "Giggle Ball" aka "Baby Anvil 2000" and various jingly/dangly toys for her play gym (which was also T's) and some stuffed rattle things.

In the last few days we have handed Ashley the following "non-toy" things to play with (while supervised, of course):

A plastic hanger (which she played with for about 15 minutes laying on our bed while we started packing the master bedroom)

A Seal CD (out of the case) (no sharp edges, shiny, lightweight, rainbow-y)

Just now as I was typing this entry, an Altoids gum tin (still wrapped in its packaging) she happily shook it, and whacked it on the desk, making all kinds of joyful noise. Good times! :)

Paper towels & their empty rolls
One of Ashley's favorite things to do when we are eating is to wave a crumpled paper towel around, and smack it everywhere. We let her keep it until she tries to eat it.

As much as all of the above are highly entertaining, when I am next at Target, I'll most likely find something new for her to play with... but pretty much anything there is made-in-China crappy plastic. Ugh.

Animal Style!!

Ashley thinks we should forgo the typical pureed veggie/rice cereal first foods for In-N-Out Burger! She totally tried to jack my Double Double, Animal Style. Ummm, no - Gummy Bear! :)
But I DO think she will be ready to eat solids pretty soon!!

Got Milk?

Minutes ago, Travis emerged from his room, where he had been playing quietly for a few minutes. I figured he'd come out to tell me he went poop, or something.... as that's usually where he prefers to go. However, this time, he cheerfully thrust a lidded-sippycup (Diego take-n-toss) into my hand.

"This milk smells gwoss" he said.
I took one look at the curdled contents, and gagged.

"Travis, did you drink this?" I asked him... realizing that it was from yesterday.

I normally do not allow any liquids outside of the living/dining room... but yesterday he'd requested a refill after lunch... the rest of the milk in the carton. So, I brought it into his room and told him to drink it before we left the house. Then, I changed the baby. And washed my hands, and probably answered the phone, and nursed the baby...and forgot it was in his room.

He made a face, as I poured the clumpy contents into the sink, carefully avoiding our sponges.

"Yeah" He said. And then quickly "No, I can't like that milk"

Oh, crap... I thought. He DID! Or, then again, maybe he didn't. He's usually good about asking about contents before drinking. "Is that clean?" He'll ask.

So, I really have NO clue whether he did. I gave him a glass of ice water... and am hoping for the best.

In other milk-related news... little Miss Ashley has been going through a SERIOUS growth spurt this week. I literally cannot nurse her enough. Yesterday, she nursed for probably 40 minutes out of every hour. My nipples are cracking, and sore. I can't tell if it's comfort-sucking, or nutritional, probably both. I am really hoping she's getting enough. I got a tincture at Pharmaca today, so hopefully, that will help increase my supply. Wish us luck!

3 month girl

Ashley had her 3 month check-up/shots today. She's tall 24 3/4 inches long, and petite... 12 lbs, 5 oz. Some of her 0-3 month pants are still too big in the waist for her to wear yet.

Travis, by contrast was 15 lbs, 9 oz, and 26 inches long at 3 months. But, he also started out almost an entire pound bigger than she was at birth.

Anyway, she's a peanut, despite the fact that she eats ALL the time. She had two shots today, Prevnar (for pneumonia), and HIB. Our new Doc follows Dr. Sears' Alternative Vaccination Schedule. In a nutshell, fewer vaccines at one tome, only 1 "live" vaccine at a time, mercury-free, and as few combo-vaccines as possible.

So, basically, that was the extent of her appointment, since we didn't have a physical this time. Next month she will, though.

We officially cannot put her down on the floor without her flipping over on her stomach, and getting stuck "reverse turtle" style. She still has not figured out how to get from her stomach to her back. Poor thing gets so frustrated... She's also trying to flip herself out of her swing or the bouncer... she's buckled in of course!

One of my friends generously offered us their Exersaucer after I mentioned I was going to go to the resale shop to look for one. So woohoo! It's been through a few kids, and doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the newer ones, but I am more than happy to borrow it, and pass it along after we are through with it. SO, I think next week, I will arrange pick-up of it.

Anyway, my dad is here... so I will check in soon...

Rollin' Over!

Ashley just rolled over from her back to her tummy while playing in her play Gym. Twice in a row. She JUST turned 3 months old, people! I think this is at least a few months before Travis did. She's also kicking her legs and trying to propel herself already. That's our crazy sweet girl!

Round-up

I apologize for my lack of blog-age lately... Jeff's dad & step-mom were in from NH Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning. We had a nice visit... eating great food (I gained 2 pounds!) and playing tourist in our own town. We went to the Aquarium, did 17 Mile Drive, and generally just hung out. They brought so many gifts for the kiddos... Travis is in Diego heaven. They brought clothes for the baby and Travis,(yay, bigger sizes for later!) books, etc.

We were sad to see them leave, wishing they lived closer, like Los Angeles vs. East Coast... one of these days we'll make the trip out there.

Saturday we went grocery shopping, and had dinner at Jeff's Grandma's. On Sunday afternoon, we went to Jeff's business partner's house to help break in their new margarita machine and barbecue. They have a little boy around Travis' age, and they had a great time, laying with the hose, and toys, and generally being hooligans.

Ashley is still being a big old cranky-pants. Her fussing seems to be getting better & worse... it's spread out more throughout the day, and less crazy most nights.

I am still getting nothing done.... occasionally the dishwasher gets emptied, and I am managing dinner most nights, but that is abut the extent on my domestic abilities at the moment.

I can't knit one-handed... but I did manage to post-process and crop a good amount of photos to have printed.

Travis continues to amaze me daily. His vocabulary astounds me at times... as well as his ability to put together 6-8 word sentences. And, he is stringing thoughts together. He has an opinion about everything... just now when I put on a Tivod episode of Little Einsteins he said: "I can't like that show either! I just watched it earlier! I can't watch THAT! I want to watch Super Why!"

Um, ok.

He knows he shapes, colors, numbers, and letters. He sings songs, from Justin Timberlake to The Wiggles. He loves all music. He LOVES the Gypsy Kings.

"The Gypsy Kings are singing in SPANISH!" "Diego speaks SPANISH too!"

He'll say "Hola, Mommy!" and can count to 10 in Spanish. He says "Gracias" to the ladies at Chipotle, and I really am glad he's picking up the language. We just got the Rosetta Stone software (from only slightly less than legal means) - and I really want to learn as well.

My little man is getting so big. He's socially engaging, empathetic toward others, and overall very sweet. Don't get me wrong, he drives me bonkers a lot of the time (daily) but, I know a lot of it is because he's bored here. He wants social interaction, challenges, etc.

Beginning next week, I really plan on focusing a lot more on the potty issue. I really want him to be able to start a pre-school program in the fall... and he has to be using the potty before then.

So, that's about it. Oh, I am taking Ashley to the doctor for a weight check today. Also, I have an appointment tomorrow with a cardiologist to check me out. My blood pressure went back up after I had Ashley, so we need to look into things. I am hoping to change meds, to something even less-likely to enter my breastmilk.

Also, tomorrow, some of the moms from our Parent's Place class are hosting a belated "Baby Sprinkle" Brunch for Ashley & me. That should be nice... thinking back, we never had any sort of shower for Travis. Anyway... I will try and be better about the updates.

One last thing. I baked these Oatmeal-Raisin bars last night and they kick ass. If you like Oatmeal Raisin cookies, these are right up your alley. I may or may not have had one or two for breakfast this morning with a glass of milk.

Toughing it out...

I've been somewhat reluctant to blog lately... but I guess it needs to happen... I look back at the first three months of Travis' life... and it seemed to be an entirely different ballgame. We were sleep-deprived, sure... but everything else was like a complete 180 of what we're going through with Ashley. Travis was a happy, easy baby. Ashley is not. I could nurse Travis, and then put him in the swing, asleep, so I could go pee, or load the dishwasher... and he'd stay that way for a good hour or two. With Ashley, she flips out. She's a very light sleeper, and has to be ON me at ALL times. I spend a good part of each day on the couch, with her in the crook of my arm, one-handed on the laptop.

Travis would snuggle on Jeff's chest every night, asleep, while we watched television. Ashley screams and cries whenever I hand her over to daddy. I have just realized, that there are no pictures of Jeff holding Ashley besides at the hospital, and the ones his mom took over this past weekend. I took a shower Monday at the IL's.... and Ashley screamed the entire time while Jeff held her.

Every night she cries. And cries. And cries. It's getting to the point where I just try and block out the crying, and that is upsetting. I am not a "Cry it Out" kind of mom... and, yet, it seems like that's what we have to do at times with this one. I try and nurse, rock, hold, bounce... and they don't do any good. So, eventually, out of sheer frustration, she gets put in her swing to cry. I don't know what else to do.

I feel bad for even saying this... but I am not enjoying my baby girl very much right now. I told Jeff this last night during dinner. He agreed. "I don't have my girl yet." he said, a bit sadly.

I know this will pass... it will. And this will all be just a chapter in the book of our parenting experiences. We will get through... there is light at the end of the tunnel... right now, it just doesn't feel that way. And, that's the honest truth.

Getting bigger!

Ashley & Mommy, originally uploaded by tjsmommabear.

Ashley turned 6 week old on Sunday! Time feels like it's moving way too fast. She is amazing, and sweet, and she's really beginning to "wake up" to the world.

I am sooo behind on picture editing... and printing. we still have NO pictures of Ashley printed out yet.... even though we bought frames weeks ago. I have been editing them on the laptop the last two evenings... so we can finally print them and get them out to family.

I am digging on Pioneer Woman's Actions for
Photoshop. It's making things as lot easier for me to do post-processing, since I only have 1 hand free most of the time!

The "C" word...

Ashley is doing well. She's really a laid-back, chill, happy baby. All day long, she snuggles, nurses, hangs out in the sling, or in my arms,and generally doesn't complain about anything. Each night, however - right around 8:00pm like clockwork, it's like she turns into a completely different baby. Crying, sobbing, freaking out, lower lip quivering, truly heartbreaking stuff. Like she's in pain. Seriously, I have been in tears myself the last couple of nights.

Nothing reliably helps... not rocking, swinging, swaddling, nursing, shushing, burping, bouncing, driving in the car, nothing. But for nearly 2 weeks, for 2-3 hours a night, I spend them alternating nearly every one of the above for the entire duration of her freak-out. Then, suddenly, as quickly as it started, it's over. By then, I am an emotional wreck. Last night I bounced with her on the yoga ball for almost 2 hours. Her total cry-time clocked in at right around 3 hours. We've tried the Hylands Colic tablets, and they work somtimes. I did buy some Baby Bliss Gripe water at Whole Paycheck today... so i guess we'll try that tonight.

I also talked to a La Leche League leader today... she recommended that I eliminate dairy and see what happens. It's going to be hard, because I've always had a lot of milk and cheese in my diet. Also, dairy takes 3 weeks to work it's way out of your system completely. I bought some digestive tea, at the suggestion of an herbalist/supplement specialist, and she also suggested a digestive enzyme. These things certainly can't hurt... but I sure hope something helps, and soon!

Update...

Baby Girl had her first pediatrician appointment Tuesday. She's 7 lbs, 10 1/2 oz. She was 7 lbs at birth, and only 6 lbs 12 oz when we were discharged from the hospital. So, that's almost a whole pound!! She's also grown 1/2 an inch in length, from 20 inches to 20.5 inches!

We also decided to switch to another doctor in the Pediatric group... even though Dr. B was my childhood doctor... he's nearing 80, and very set in his ways. The doc we're switching to came to the hospital and did Ashley's first exam. Dr. H is funny, and reminds me a bit of Andrew Weil. He mixes holistic remedies with traditional medicine. He told me to take Fish Oils (which I already do), and Acidopholus (which is always in our refrigerator), and Vitamin D3. Also, he's very pro-breastfeeding. He tells all of his patients to breastfeed 'til college! LOL! :) My kind of doctor! Dr. B seemed to think the benefits of breastfeeding wear off after a year, which CLEARLY isn't the case!

Also, Dr. H staggers the vax schedule, so the kids don't get so many at once. All in all, I feel like he's a better match...and nostalgia alone isn't a good enough reason to keep Dr. B as the kids' doctor.

Anyway,little Miss Ashley is thriving. She should be, considering she does almost nothing but nurse all day!

I'm starting to get used to this whole having 2 kids thing... and trying to keep everyone happy without going too crazy in the process.

I think I'm healing pretty well, although I am fairly sure I did something to my stitches the other day. Walking, sneezing, straining while going to the potty... something... I have an appointment Monday with my OB (his office had to reschedule me from yesterday due to a surprise delivery) so I will have him check and be sure everything is looking normal down there.

Travis is doing well with the transition... much better than we expected, actually.
Especially since we've been homebound for almost the last 2 weeks... the kid is holding up pretty well. We've watched a lot of Tivod shows lately, and he loves playing on the computer. Jeff set up this software for him called Peanut Butter which allows him to access his games, and websites without messing with the rest of our computer and settings. It definately rocks!

Well, my mom is coming in soon...which means I will be able to empty and reload the dishwasher. Wohoo! Also, need to go to Target for diapers (for both kiddos), Lansinoh for me), and wipes for Ashley. Oh, and a half-caf iced caramel macchiato with extra caramel sounds really good, too! :)

Like a rocket!

After being sent home Saturday afternoon (again) I went home thoroughly convinced I would remain pregnant and contracting through the weekend.

Every time I would doze off, I got jolted awake by painful contractions. I got up around 1:00am, and headed out to the living room, to see if I could catch some rest in the recliner. I finally slept for 2 hours.
At around 3:00am Sunday morning. I was having contractions still at 5-7 minutes, like for the last week... but everything was focused in my low back and low pelvis. I waited, and waited, but couldn't get back to sleep.

I showered at around 5am, then since I had 3 contractions in 14 minutes in the shower, I called the hospital, and told them I was coming in. I woke Jeff up to tell him we were going to the hospital. I started crying, because I was so tired of being in pain and told him I just wanted it to be over.

We bundled a still-sleeping Travis up in a blanket, and got him in the van.

We drove to the hospital, and it was still dark outside. We arrived at around 5:45am.

I was given an exam, and there was no change from the previous day. 2 cm, 50% effaced... I was soo mad. The nurse said for me to wait and be monitored for an hour, and if there was no change, I had to go home again. I was so frustrated. And really, really tired from lack of sleep.

I was having crazy strong contractions... and they were 3-4 minutes apart... but the monitor was NOT picking them up. The nurse actually had Jeff write down when they were happening, and she would hold my stomach and feel for them.

I kept having to get up to pee... and she checked me at about 6:45 am. I was a 3. Woohoo! I was really happy, because it meant my doctor was going to be able to break my water, and I could stay!

Jeff had taken Travis to change out of his pjs, and into regular clothes, because he was going to take him over to Great-Grandma's house as soon as we got word that I was being admitted.

I kept wanting to get out of bed when a contraction would hit. I got up, and held onto my bed rail - and then wanted to go pee. I had 2 contractions in the bathroom. Then, all of a sudden, I felt the need to bear down.

I was coming back into my room, when another contraction hit.

I told the nurse I felt like I had to go poop. LOL! She flipped out and tried to get me back into bed. But I got hit with another contraction right away. I told Jeff to take Travis out of the room. They were already headed in that direction.... it was right around 7am.

Then, calamity broke loose. I started losing control. The pain was SOOO bad, and I absolutely couldn't stop bearing down. The nurse got on the com and started yelling for hands, a labor cart, gloves... they were not ready for what happened!! I basically went from 3 centimeters to complete, and the baby was OUT in a TOTAL of less than 15 minutes. I had 6 nurses in my room, scrambling around... and I delivered Ashley at 7:14 am yesterday morning, with no drugs, no IV, nothing. Just a flying baby! Luckily, it was right at shift change,so there were plenty of helping hands!

They had to get her breathing well, with some suction and a bit of oxygen because she was so "wet" from being born so fast she swallowed some amniotic fluid. But, she's perfect and healthy!

My OB made it in time to stitch me up (I had a 2nd degree tear) and to deliver the placenta. The first thing he said when he walked through the door, with a smile and a look of utter shock on his face was "Wow, you only have two speeds, don't you?!"

I thought Jeff went out to the waiting room, but he had taken Travis to his Grandma's.... He thought he would make it back in time... and he had already called his mom to come down from the Bay Area. Imagine the surprise when I called his cell only to tell him the baby was already here!

She's a little tiny thing... at least compared to Travis when he was born. She weighed 7 pounds even, and was 20 inches long. He was 7 lbs 14 oz and 23 inches long, So she by comparison is little tiny.

We're home now, and doing well. We had a lot of visitors at the hospital - my mom, Jeff's mom & Bob, his Grandma, James & Michelle... and it was really nice seeing everyone.

There was crappy cell reception, and no wi-fi... so sorry for the late update! :)