returning to normal.

yes life is slowly returning to a new normal. The baby isn't sleeping like the first week. She has opened her eyes and has started staying awake and wanting to look around alot. She also lost her umbilical cord " leftovers" last night. So she is officially a real girl. lol.. Emma is ovr here for a few days and her and lilly are playing alot. They need to get out of the house a bit because we have been cooped up. I'm thinkin a trip over to my mom's for an hour might help. Emma would like to go swimming but lilly is burned out on swimming and i still can't take a hot bath or go in a pool. Maybe next week?? hopefully. In the meantime we have been finishing little projects around the house. Getting things nice and neat around here for our company on sunday. I'm really excited to have my grandparents come stay with us. We love having visitors and family come. I'm so glad that they get to meet olivia even if she is tiny. Sometimes we go for a couple years without seeing my granparents so it's really awesome that they planned a trip out here right now. We don't travel when we have tiny babies so i'm glad they are coming here. They have never came and stayed with me before. Not in an apt or house or anywhere since i have been a grown adult. My grandfather did go on a tiger cruise with me when i was in the navy. IT was a very special time and a fun trip but since then we have always went and visited them. So now they will finally get to see a good glimpse into our household/lives.
Anyway, other than that we have been watching movies. Did anyone else watch the hatfields and mccoys on the history channel? it was a very good miniseries. Reminded me of watching lonesome dove when i was younger. We are going to watch the last episode of it tonight. I think it's a total of 6 hours and they broke it down to 2 hours for 3 nights.
I had my follow up apt with my doctor. I guess i do one at two weeks and then one last one at 6 weeks. She was suprised how well i'm looking and getting along. The scales say i'm only 4 lbs over what i originally started at " prebaby weight". so I've lost a total of 21 lbs in 13 days. Wish i could keep that rate going haha.. She said my incision looked good but she did ask me again how many more babies we were planning on having.. she said that i had alot of scar tissue from the first c section and that my uterine wall ws very thin when she was delivering olivia ( which is expected but she said it was a good thing we went ahead and had her when we did). I told her i ws ready to swim and take a hot bath and she told me " not yet" but was glad that i was feeling up to it. She asked about the breast feeding and I told her I wsn't making quite enough but she assured me that we were fine even though it seems like we are going bottle for bottle right now with olivia. I don't ever have enough to save and she keeps getting hungier and hungier but i guess as long as we are keeping up enough that is fine. We have had to supplement with formula like 3 times so far. OH well.. Anyway we are headed over to my moms now to get these girls out of the house. Hope everyone is having a good day.

Few more pics

 I love my new sweet baby olivia.

 Lilly wants to kiss her little sister alot. She is really liking being a BIG sister

 The girls have been doing so well with their new sister. They like helping out with her.

 I thought i would add this one.. I was soooo swollen at the hospital that i didn't even have ankles. I had cankles. My foot was huge actually mywhole leg was swolen all the way down but it was amazing to me that i couldn't even see veins in my foot or anything. The swelling has gone down now and i have ankles once again thank goodness!

 These are my friends karen and briana that came to see the baby at the hospital. Briana wasn't so sure about holding a newborn. She was afraid she would break it and i would have to make a new one.. lol. Her mom karen helped out. Karen loves babies that is probably why god gave her 6 kids. Briana is her eldest.

ignore lilly's hair in this picture we hadn't quite gotten to the hairbrush this morning. But i thought it was cute that she wanted to feed her sister so i let her try it for a second.

We are making it..

We are home and adjusting to life with another kid in it. It's strange to throw another kid in the mix. Lilly got sick the day after we got home from the hospital i think. She has been running a temp of 101 or so for the last day or two which stinks cause all she wants to do is love on the baby and i hate having to tell her to stay away cause she just doesn't understand germs. She still has a fever today but it has went down to 99.4 or so i'm hoping she is on the mend. She has a cough too and she keeps running out of the room to cough cause i told her not to cough near the baby. My poor sweet girl.

Olivia is doing great. She is an eater. Lilly never breastfed very well. This baby eats. We are pumping and breastfeeding and so far she takes both the bottle and boob but she does seem a little confused about which is which and what she needs to do but once she is on she is on. So that's good. We took her to the doctor already and he said she looks healthy. We have a two week check up coming up and she will get some labs drawn at that time. She passed her hearing screen. She has a bloodshot eye on the right side by her pupil. I asked the doctor and he didn't even look at it but told me it was normal. So if it isn't gone by her 2 week apt i'm going to bring it up again and make him look at it. She also sleeps thru everything. I seriously can yell down to lilly downstairs with the baby right by me and she doesn't even move. However watch out if you make her cold. She hates diaper changes and being uncovered. i loved this kid instantly and she makes me laugh just looking at all the tiny funn faces she makes. It's an adjustment taking care of two kids and i'm hoping i can do it when allan leaves. I mean i will do it cause i have to do it but i'm hoping it doesn't kill me. lol.. right now i have been taking the first half of the night (or first 2/3rds haha) from like midnight to 5 or 6 and then allan covers the morning shift so I can sleep in and boy have we been sleeping in till like 11 o clock. Even lilly has been sleeping in. It's so weird because we are totally morning people usually. I never sleep in past 8 usually. But she sleeps pretty good. The other night she went down at 1045 and woke up at 3 am for an hour and a half and then she woke up at 6 for an hour and a half too. So only twice a night isn't too bad. She is sleeping alot during the day too. She wakes up to eat and then sometimes hangs out looking around for a while.

pictures from the hospital

Still in hospital

Yes Olivia and I are still at the hospital. Mom stayed with us last night so Allan could take Lilly home and have a good night sleep. So we had girl night at the hospital and watched movies and watched Olivia. I just forgot how little and cute babies are. Ok so details for Olivia. She was born on the 17th at 1213am. She weighed 7 lbs and 5 oz and was 21 inches long. It was an arrival all her own. We had planned the c section for the 23rd so that Allan would be home for it, well she had other plans. At 1030 that morning I was visiting mom and I told her I think I might be having some contractions. She got all nervous and excited and watched me the rest of the day. At like 230 I Valle the doctor office because I was pretty sure it was just Braxton hicks but since I was a a scheduled section I wanted to know when they did want me to come in if I was to start having real ones. The nurse asked me some questions and when I told her that they were a little painful and that they started in my back se told me that I had better just go in to the hospital cause they didn't wante to go into labor at home. Well the contractions were so far apart and not really hurting so bad that I just waited till about 7 pm before I decided to go in cause I knew they were gonna send me home. Mom went with me to the OB triage area and they hooked me up tithe monitor and said they could see some contractions but they were like 6-11 minutes apart and so after a while they decided to send me home but she said to come back if they got closer together or if my water broke etc. I went home at like 10 and I walked back in to the Er at around 1030pm I tried to take some Tylenol and a bath nothing helped and I was in severe pain by that point. When they got me hooked back up they saw that I was having contractions every 2 minutes and I was dilated to a 3 already within the 30 mins I was at home. So they called my doctor and I felt blessed because it was the only day this weeks actual doctor was on call. They gave me tributaline to try to at least slow down the contractions. They slowed but were still miserable so as soon as the anasteiologist was there we headed down to the or and I got a spinal block. Mom came in the Or with me and Lilly and uncle Aaron stayed in the waiting room also our friend Karen came by too. It all worked out and my mom was so touched to be so up close and involved in it all. She felt horrible that Allan was missing it but I could tell it made a deep impression and memory for her. She was stunned tht they handed Olivia to her to take to a recovery room. Lol. So that is how Olivia got here. She is doing well and eating well. Sleeping for hours at a time right now. I'm hoping that continues when we get home too. Lilly and Emma are happy to see their sister but I think they are ready for her to come home. Anyway I got to try to get a little more sleep while I can.

She is here!

Olivia grace Keyes is here! I'll write more details about it all later after some sleep but yes she is here. Allan is not here. Poor dad. She came the day before he gets home.

ONE MORE WEEK!

Last night I picked up emma from school and we went to waste a little time. Her aunt autumn had a baby yesterday. She was very close to having it when i picked up emma from school so that is why we wasted time. Emma's mom jenn had been with her sister at the hospital nearly all day i think. So lilly emma and I went to good will and poked around for treasures then we went and had dinner at on the border. We got news that the baby was born so we waited a little while and headed over. The girls were so excited to see a baby. i watched the family's stuff while they all went back and then eventually when it cleared out autumn said to come on back again so lilly ran up to me and asked" mom i see the baby? you come with me?" She wanted to see that little baby so bad as was really trying to be patient but she just didn't understand that we weren't exactly family and I was trying to give the new mom room and space. lol.. Autumn was a very patient new mom thank goodness and let everyone see her new baby boy. HE weighed in at 7lbs and 8oz and was 21 inches long i think.

While i was in the waiting room watching the familys stuff a nurse came up and asked me if i needed help. She had been back in the back doing stuff and apparently thought i might be checking myself in because well I am due next week and i was sitting in the womens services dept.. I don't blame her for asking but it was slightly funny. I told her " no i'm fine this week but ask me next week." 

So this is the last week before olivia gets here. She has been very still again. Makes me nervous but i really think she is just  squished in there . So our plans for this last week.. House cleaners are coming today to help me get this house back in shape. it's not really bad but i haven't been able to vaccumm in a while and the trash has a huge watermelon in it so i can't take it out caus ei can't lift it.  Just random stuff needs to be cleaned like bathtubs scrubbed cause i can't bend down there for example.  Tomorrow allan is suppose to make it home. He is suppose to get in tomorrow night but he is having to take a boat instead of a helicoptor on his first leg of the trip so it's a toss up wether or not he will make his flight now so he could be delayed a day. Which stinks because well i want my husband home but also because i scheduled carpet cleaners to come in on friday morning. We haven't had our carpets cleaned since we lived here now for 2 years. We have done it but never had it done and well there are some spots i would like to see if they can get out. the stairs are showing alot of high traffic area spots too So i figure right before the baby gets here is a good time to get those carpets cleaned for little hands and legs to be crawling on soon. There is a company that doesn't use any harsh chemicals and people swear by it so we are trying them out. So i really kinda need allan to move some furniture but y friend karen has 3 boys that will come do it for me if allan doesn't get home. So we do have a back up plan, thank goodness for friends and family.  I scheduled saturday to be a relaxing day. I got massages scheduled for me and allan. His back is always so messed up when he gets home and well i'm pretty much just a twisted ball of nerves right now so that will be nice. I think mom will watch lilly and give us a date night that night too. We may see a movie or go out to eat. Something fun before we are stuck in the house with a new baby lol.. I haven't planned anything for the 20th-22nd yet.Well i do have scheduled doctor apts on thursday and monday. They are so part of my routine now i just seem to forget about them. The baby was measured monday and measured in at 7lbs and 15 oz and they measured the leg bone and said " oh you have a tall one in there"  I guess the leg was measuring over 40 or 41 weeks.  I may have already wrote about that but i don't think so. They said lilly would be 8 or 9 lbs but she was 6lbs 11 oz but this baby feels much bigger than lilly ever did in my belly so she may very well come out 8 or 9 lbs. Who knows.

   So we are heading down the homestretch. ONE MORE WEEK!

happy mothers day to all you bloggers out there!

(okay i just thought that one was so funny who hasn't had to help their parents with new electronics???)

Still trucking along

I'm home with the kido's tonight. Let me tell you the last few days have been long. I checked mom and her friend karen into the hotel on Wed. night and I think they had a lot of fun. It rained like crazy a few minutes after i got to the hotel  and it was a dust storm right before that so i decided to hang out with them for super  to let the weather clear out a bit.  After dinner me and lilly headed home and left the ladies to have some girls nights out. I picked them up yesterday to go play bingo and we did but not a one of us won a thing. lol. It was the first time i had been in a long while though so it was fun to be out. Today I picked up mom from the hotel after lilly went swimming in the big hotel pool for an hour. We headed to downtown gilbert and at e at joes barbeque. It was delicious as always. I had a big baked potatoe and one little bbq slider. I could not finish the potatoe. That thing was huge. I think it weighed at least a lb. seriously. After that i went and picked up emma from school. (jenn.. i must confess.. i picked her up about an hour early. I didn't want to drive all the way back to aj and i wanted her to feel special a little) So I took the kids swimming again. Swimming is the only thing they love to do and I can do. They swam for hours and i floated around. We were at my mom's neighborhood pool so there were plenty of kids to play with. Lilly kept her floaty on this time and didn't try to give me any heart attacks. I'm not sure if i wrote about that or not but she jumped in the pool the other day without her floaty. Emma probably saved her life because she brought attention to her and ended up pulling her back up on the step too. I ran over there  but much to my suprise Lilly was actually treading water and didn't even get her hair wet. I think she may be ready for some real swim lessons. She didn't scream for help she jsut kicked and paddled with all her might trying to get back where she could touch but she did manage to keep her head above water. lol.. ( and still almost give me a heart attack). So after swimmming for hours i bought their favorite little ceaser pizza and we came home to eat. The kids were excited to make a fort in their bunkbeds and watch movies. They got to talk to allan on facetime tonight and so he got to see their faces  and hear about their fort. They watched one movie and then emma asked to sleep in her regular bed not in the fort and lilly came in my bed crying of hurting legs. She has been complaining of this from time to time. I think that she is having growing pains. So right now she is still awake and laying on my bed watching cartoons and with a towell over her legs and ice packs on them. Not really sure that is going to help growing pains at all but that's what she wanted and she is picky about her " treatments" .. lol.
so i'm off to go cuddle the princess and get some sleep. Good night

 me mom and lilly at wild horse pass resort.

week 38 starts..

Oh boy week 38 is here. I"m going in this morning for a non stress test again. I have some questions for the doctor today. I'm not going to go into to many details here because lets face it details about upcoming labor can be kinda gross. So i feel ready and now i'm a little worried that we will make it till when allan is home. I am experiencing different things with this baby. With Lilly,  i never really had any signs of labor because she was so happy to stay in there.  So some of this stuff is new and i'm over it already. lol
So speaking of lilly, she is fine and happy and such a beautiful little girl. She has a new song that she picked up from sid the science kid cartoon. It goes like this " I love my mom, my mom is cool, and now it's time to go to school." I"m not sure how long she will think i'm cool but i love that she sings it to me. HAHA She is just loving to sing. She sings miss mary mack mack mack, twinkle twinkle little star, and her favorite saying is " bubble bubble making trouble" . She is ready for a little sister too.
Last night we took my mom and her friend karen to Wild horse pass casino/hotel. I had two free nights and wasn't going to use them so we loaded them up and took them for mothers day. They are great moms and deserve some fun girl time which they neither one ever really get too much. So i'm hoping they are pampering themselves with room service this morning. I plan on picking them up tonight and taking them both to bingo then returning them to their room for one more night.
We also nailed down dates for my grandparents visit. That's exciting. They aren't staying very long sun thru thursday because they don't want to put us out or be any kind of extra work. It's nice that they are thoughtful right now i wish they would stay longer but i guess when the baby is here and i have a c section incision i may not feel up to too much company. We will see.
Allan comes home a week from today! yeah!! That's a good thing because lilly cried hard for him the other night and it just breaks my heart when she misses him. So we called him in africa and talked to him on facetime so that she could see his face. I think it's hard on allan to see her so sad over him but she needed to see his face and hear him say he would be home soon.
okay i need to go get ready for my apt. have a great day !




WEEK 38 info

Your baby's internal organs and systems are now fully developed. She's ready to enter the world. Her once spacious home inside your uterus has become cramped, and she has little room to stretch out her arms and legs.
These last few weeks of pregnancy can be so hard; you're deep in the waiting game! Braxton Hicks contractions are more frequent and intense. You may feel large and ungainly but, unless your water has broken, it's fine to have sex. As a matter of fact, intercourse and nipple stimulation are some methods people use to induce labor naturally.
You're at a milestone: 38 weeks marks full-term pregnancy status! The pain of backaches and leg cramps are swallowed up by excitement about your baby's impending arrival. You may experience false contractions off and on throughout the day. Inside your body, your cervix is readying for delivery. You may notice clear to white vaginal discharge, sometimes streaked with blood, as your cervix thins (or effaces).
With a Cesarean delivery your recovery time will be longer than with a vaginal birth. As with any major surgery, your incision will need time to heal. You should not place any weight on the abdominal area, including your baby. So, you may need to nurse lying down instead of sitting up to keep pressure off your incision for a while after birth.

17 more days!!! yikes

Yes there is only 17 more days till our scheduled c section. Olivia is down low and i'm hoping to make it the 17 more days or at least till the 17th of may because that is when her daddy gets home from africa. Last night was a  supermoon which is supposedly (old wives tale) suppose to bring on labor in pregnant women. I felt her moving and kicking a ton the lsat two days which was strange because she had been being very still to the point of me worrying a little bit so when she started moving and the fact that she is so low to begin with made me wonder if there was some truth to the story and if i would go into labor but she is still snuggled up in there and not moving as much again. Tomorrow we have another ultrasound scheduled at 10 am to check fluid levels and what not. Then another NST test on Thursday like every week for weeks now. I'm very over going to these apts can you tell? She is always perfect in there. She weighed in last week at 6 1/2 lbs, they said that is in the 54% for that week so that was perfectly great not too big. I have been way hungier lately. Before it didn't seem like i was eating that much and id often get people asking me if i was eating enough and for a few weeks i didn't gain any weight at all.. but i think i'm making up for it in these last weeks. yikes. I think i have gained like 23 lbs total which is okay. But my stomach is completely huge. Like i don't remember lilly being nearly this big of a tummy and i thought i was a huge house back then. I'm very uncomfortable and i threw up yet again the other morning. i think olivia just wanted to tell me that once again i will have morning sickness the entire time i'm pregnant. LOL. so besides finishing up odds and ends for olivias arrival there isn't much going on. My grandparents are coming for a visit. They don't generally travel too much by car these days but they decided to come out for olivia's birth. Acutally they are waiting till the first week or so in june and then coming so we will have a little time at home to get comfy. I'm very excited for the company. They have never came to visit out here or when we were in wyoming so it's fun and exciting to look forward to. I think they are staying 4 or 5 days.
Emma is coming over today with her mother for some swimming. Lilly misses her alot when allan is gone so i try to get her over from time to time just for quick visits. So we plan on swimming in the pool today and i have to try to make a run to the grocery store but it has started being pretty hard to do that. the walking and lifting of anything about do me in so i may wait till i recruit some help but our cabinets are looking a little bare... lol.
anyway, all is ok for the most part here. Sorry i haven't blogged in a while. it will probably be on and off from time to time.
S