We cashed in on my contest winnings the other day and here are the results. I think they turned out really cute. Of course Maggie didn't let us get any "sleepy baby" pictures, but that's okay, she looks cute and alert. She usually is a sleepy baby, so I thought for sure she would be passed out the whole time, but I guess she wanted to be part of the action.
Public service announcement: Don't actually let your baby hang out in an old suitcase.
This is part of her "tiger" series...ROAR!
Molly holding Maggie,making me nervous. Our hands have possibly been photo-shopped out of this one.
Kisses for Maggie. But seriously, why can't she kiss? She can do almost anything, but instead of puckering, she just slams her face into whatever or whoever is lucky enough to receive one.
Such a little ham
So a big thanks to Laurie Brown , they turned out super cute!
I'm sure lots of people have experienced this when adding another kid to their family, but I swear that Molly has gained 10 pounds and grown a foot overnight. She seems SO big now and I'm having a hard time imagining that I was picking her up and lugging her around while pregnant.
So Molly seems to have grown crazy amounts, but Maggie really is growing like crazy. She started out at 7lbs, 3oz. by day 4 she was only down to 7lbs, 1oz. (which is really good for a breastfed kid) then only a week later she was up to 8lbs 3oz. that seemed like so much to me, but I guess I just had forgotten how much they grow in the beginning.
So I know that she's up to 8lbs 3oz because we went to the pediatrician again after the 4 day check up. Jonny and I had our first time parents freak out...we just did it with our second kid. To be fair, my mom helped fuel it too. Most people who have taken care of a newborn probably know that they sometimes breathe like they're drowning. It has something to do with their esophagus's and how they're still cartilage, blah blah blah. Molly used to do it a lot when she was sleeping and it drove us nuts because it's hard to sleep when you have a drowning baby next to you. So the other day, Maggie started doing this while awake and it was at least 10 times worse than Molly ever did it, but then she fell asleep and was fine, so I didn't worry about it. Later when she woke up though, she started at it again and again it sounded terrible. This time my mom was here and she thought it sounded worse than she'd ever remembered any baby sounding and since she's the one who always talks us down from these sort of things, we decided that we should just go and make ourselves feel better. Of course she's fine and it's just that whole normal, abnormal newborn breathing thing and some kids sound really really bad and of course she has never done it again. I'm glad we got that out of the way, I hate freaking out about things.
So I haven't taken many pictures lately but here's a couple cute ones.
Although Molly is still transitioning into the big sister role and has definitely noticed that my attention is now divided, she's completely in love with her little sister. She's desperate to carry her around (not going to happen, but still sweet) and she's extremely concerned with her well being. Yesterday we went to get our pictures taken (there's a sneak peek of them on my Facebook page if you haven't seen them yet) and one of the photo props didn't agree with Maggie. She hardly ever cries and so Molly has almost no experience with a crying baby and when Maggie let loose she was genuinely upset and almost started crying herself. It was the saddest/sweetest thing I've ever seen. I was also super proud of her the other night when I was on my own putting both of them to bed. Maggie was asleep in my room and I was with Molly in her room with the monitor. At one point I heard Maggie starting to stir and Molly told me to go and make sure she was okay and then after I left, she actually went to bed all on her own. I was kind of in awe of that. Of course a two year old can be fickle. There's been a light kick to the head...I'd call it a test kick, no damage was inflicted. There was also the time when my mom asked her if she should go get Maggie and she said "No! Don't get Maggie!". So yeah, there's some rivalry.
Sisters sporting monkeys
"I just want to SQUEEZE you!"
Here's just some pictures of all of the visitors we've had lately
Real or imagined, I can't get enough of the little smiles Maggie makes right after she falls asleep. She's given us a few when she's awake, but apparently she's a big fan of sleeping since this is what she does every time.
Don't want to leave Molly out. Here's an awesome video of the dance she made up to one of her computer's songs. I personally like the ending
Well I suppose in hindsight, a week late isn't too bad, but I was really starting to think she might never make her appearance. Of course that didn't turn out to be the case. Weighing in at a scant 7 lbs 3 oz and 20 1/4" it appears that despite how overdue I felt, she was probably right on time.
On Wednesday I had a doctor appointment and although he scheduled me for an induction he told me he didn't think I would actually make the appointment since it appeared that things were already well on their way. He was right and only a few hours later we made our way to the hospital and were admitted. The doctor who had promised that he would show up for me, told the nurses he was too tired to come in. This came as a particular insult to me since the doctor who was on call at the time was one of the doctors who I had mentioned to him that I had wanted to avoid. So yea, thanks for nothing. I wish I could say that my opinion about this doctor was wrong, but instead I felt like I was at constant odds with her. I won't get into all the gory details here, but I did find it interesting that when shift change came along and a new doctor showed up, all of my "problems" went away and magically I was able to eat and drink again. Again, thanks for nothing.
On a positive note though, as of 8/18/2011 at 12:59 AM we are now the proud owners a perfect baby girl who is ridiculously healthy and ridiculously sweet. Welcome Maggie Mac! We love you!
Here's a little video of Molly visiting her new sister for the first time. She's a big fan.
So here's just a ton of pictures from Maggie's first few days.
We have experienced a small amount of "regression", although I'm not sure if that's what you would call it since Molly wouldn't actually ever take a pacifier. It's funny because she doesn't even really know how to use them, she just sort of bites them and walks around with it in her mouth. Maggie is still on the fence as to whether or not she's interested in them, so we'll see if we even need to have them around at all.
It was kind of a funny story how she even negotiated getting one in the first place. She saw us trying to give one to Maggie and she came up and introduced herself: "Hi Maggie! I'm Molly" then she offered her services as she took the pacifier out of her mouth "Oh here! I can help you chew it!" Lucky for her, Maggie's pretty easy going.
So far nursing hasn't been an issue with Molly. There was one day when she told me she wanted to help her nurse, but that ended up with her giving Maggie instructions. As she pushed her head towards me, she said to her "See! you chew it!" Thanks for that Molly.
So everything is great, and for now, this is pretty much what she does which is a whole lot different than Molly was at this point. Not that Molly wasn't a good baby, she was, she just wasn't as interested in sleeping as Maggie seems to be. We'll see if it lasts.
This is how I have to start all of my communication now. Tomorrow will be one week late...UGHH! It wouldn't be so terrible except I've felt like I'm on the cusp of it for at least a week, if not more. All the signs seem to be pointing in the right direction, we just don't seem to be able to get over the hump.
Today I went and had acupuncture in the hopes of stirring some activity up. I did have 3 contractions during the treatment and I do feel like the sensations have become stronger, although not any more consistent at this point. The things I've read say it can take 24-48 hours before it has any real effect and that it can take 2-3 treatments. If nothing happens I think I would do at least one more before I gave up and let them induce me at the hospital. I really don't want to be induced though, so I'm hoping something picks up soon.
On the Molly front, she's being really ornery lately. My mom says it's because she senses the impending doom in the house (she of course doesn't use that phrase, she opts for "shifts" or "changes"). I've noticed that my mom's molly sympathy level has gone up and whenever that happens, mine goes down so as to adjust for inequalities in the universe. Today she was throwing a Molly pity party and I had to remind her of all of the fantastic changes that have been happening for Molly. For example the past 3 days, she's had REAL dessert. I'm usually a complete hard ass when comes to her diet (also a complete hypocrite) but the past few days she's been treated to likes of ice cream, cookies and pie. Also, she seems to be making out in the gift department as well. That isn't just my mom, it's all of us. My mom has bought her several toys, lots of books, and 3 new pairs of shoes. I went DickBlick crazy last week and bought her some fun new colored paper rolls for her table, fancy new metallic crayons, and something called "cloud clay". Jonny took her to Barnes and Noble this past weekend and bought her an assortment of books. But hey, it isn't all about the material things there's also all of the attention she's been getting from all of us. My mom has been around a ton lately helping me out and spending lots of quality time with her. Jonny's been taking a lot of time off work, so he's always around now. Then there's me: I have no interest in accomplishing anything right now, so I pretty much just hang out with her.
So while I do feel just a little sorry for her loosing some of the attention (Mere always likes to bring up those "perfect" 16 months she had of only childhood), I think things are still going okay for Miss priss.
So I swear, this has GOT to be the last post before Maggie Mac shows up. I was really hoping that I would have had her by now since yesterday was my last day that my midwife was on the job, but I didn't. I'm kind of freaking out at the uncertainty of it right now, but I suppose there isn't a whole lot I can do about it. Tomorrow I have an appointment with a Dr. that I'm going to beg to show up for me...we'll see how it goes. I know I could be really wrong, but I can't imagine that this can go on for much longer. I am SO huge and every move she makes feels like she's trying to get out by brute force alone. The past 2 days have been really uncomfortable so I'm ready to go!
Molly has been going about her business blissfully unaware of the big changes ahead. I admit I feel a little sad for us as a unit. I know that just like when Molly was born it will feel as though our lives never really existed without her, but right now I do think I'm mourning the last few days we have as a family of 3.
So back to the blissfully unaware child. Lately her clothing choices have been questionable. Mostly she prefers to be naked. Panties are still off for the sake of potty training, but lately I can't even keep a dress on her. On the other hand, she's been crazy for her jacket lately. I guess
118 F doesn't mean anything to a 2 year old. On this particular day she also wanted to pair it with her rain boots. She really wanted to go outside like this, but since I've been refusing to go outside under any circumstances she was S.O.L.
