Mommy of two

After Adriana was born, Ronnie stayed home for two weeks, which was great, and then my mom was with us for week. It was fantastic, but that time quickly came to an end and I was on my own with two for 5 weeks until Ronnie was out for the summer. Those were the fastest yet slowest weeks of my life. Looking back they are all a blur! I only had one or two break downs :) And those were on days when I was sleep deprived. Connor was the best behaved boy during those five weeks. It is almost like he could sense that I was just minutes away from a break down from exhaustion everyday so he took it easy on mama :) He listened great, he wasn't cranky, and more or less was picture perfect. He didn't throw one single fit those entire five weeks!

Now, it's a different story, I think he can sense that I am back to normal and dada is home so he is more of his "spirited" self, we have had a few more tantrums and he is now starting to talk back. Oh to be almost three (THREE!?!)...

It is so different with two. I am constantly tired and hungry, trying to get something to eat anytime I can. And I feel the need to just get out of the house on almost a daily basis, even if it is just to the store or to get coffee. With Connor, we hardly left the house until he was four months old (Partially because that was during the whole swine flu madness). That just isn't possible with a two and a half year old, nor desirable. We all get a little crazy if we are in the house too long!

 Honestly the hardest part of being a mom of two is trying to give them enough attention and keeping the gosh darn house somewhat clean. Yikes! Tornado Connor can make a mess in no time and I feel like I am constantly cleaning the kitchen and making food for someone. Thank goodness Adriana breastfeeds so I don't have to deal with bottles for her! I just love them so much and my heart melts seeing them together. Our family feels very complete.

Two Months

My baby girl is two months already. This is just going by way too fast! So here is an update on my baby girl.

Adriana seems to have mellowed out in the drama department quite a bit, but she can still give some good screams. She has now developed her pitiful cry for when she isn't really upset, just bored or sleepy or hungry. She is starting to coo quite a bit and gives big toothless grins, especially in the morning. She is super smiley in the morning and I love it.

She has no schedule really during the day yet, she sleeps when she wants and some days she will nap for only 30-45 minutes at a time, some days she will sleep 3 hrs at a time. Nighttime is a little more predictable, she usually goes down between 9-10 and will usually give me a 4-5 hour chunk and then after that it is two, two hour chunks. Not too bad for a two month old. Although usually twice a week I only get a three hour chunk and the a few two hour chunks. She sleeps soooo much better than Connor did at this age. The biggest difference between the two of them in terms of their sleeping habits is Connor HAD to be swaddled in order to sleep, and he could only be swaddled after he fell asleep. He was so difficult to put down to sleep, lots of rocking, making sure he was completely passed out before trying to lay him down or else you had to start all over. Adriana HATES to be swaddled, which was really weird for us to get used to! She is so so easy to put down to sleep in the middle of the night, she nurses and then I can pretty much just lay her down in her bassinet and she is fine. She self soothes herself pretty well if she kind of wakes up.

She is giving the biggest smiles now, and when she smiles she open her mouth wide open. So cute! It is hard for me to get the smile on camera because it distracts her! And I think she is starting to try and laugh or giggle, it comes out as a sort of squeal/cough, it cracks me up! 

We do have one problem, this little girl is already so addicted to her binky. She just loves it. She doesn't sleep with it at night, just uses it to help fall asleep for naps and when she is fussy in the evenings. Oh, another big difference between the two of them: Adriana does not like to nurse to sleep, it is super rare for her to nurse to sleep. It is the strangest thing! I HAD to nurse Connor sleep, otherwise I would be rocking him forever. If she is sleepy and I try to nurse her to help her fall asleep, she screams! It is so odd, and again, something I am still getting used to.

Two months baby girl. Can't believe how fast it is going.

Big Brother Connor

I thought it would be good to give an update on Connor since he has a new title: Big Brother :)

Truth be told, I was TERRIFIED of how Connor would react to Adriana. Connor is a routine kind of kid and when his routine it changed, it really throws him off. Example, in the winter I had to take a class on campus at WOU every Tuesday, so I would drive straight from work to Monmouth and get home at around 9pm and most nights he would be in bed. Very sad for both of us. And the next day he would always be in a sour mood with everyone, and be extra clingy to me.

When we would try to talk to Connor about being a big brother and having a little sister, he would most of the time ignore us and start talking about trains or run off. I honestly was not sure if he knew that he was going to be a big brother at all. I just knew in my heart that this was going to be a very difficult transition for him and it made me sad and worried about him.

When I had Adriana, Connor had a bad cold and so we didn't think he should come visit while we were there. That was so hard on me, I have never been away from Connor overnight and it was really hard. It was hard on him too. Ronnie was home with Connor and my mom went over to help out and when she knocked on the door he ran to the door yelling "Mama! Mama!, it made my mom cry and made me cry when she told me. It's getting me teary eyed now! Darn hormones!

So when Adriana and I were ready to come home, I was very nervous, I had a little anxiety. I was so excited to see Connor, but I was worried how he would react because there would be this baby who needed me so much and my little boy who would also need me so much. When I knocked on our door, I heard him yelling "Mama, mama!" and when he opened the door he had the biggest smile. I couldn't help myself, I picked him up, even though I wasn't supposed to be carrying anything! We hugged and hugged and he wouldn't let me go.

We were snuggling on the couch when Ronnie took Adriana out of her carseat and without missing a beat Connor said "Oh there's Adriana!", like we had been looking for her the whole time! It was so so sweet and I will never forget it. And he was a proud big brother, wanted to touch her and hold her, look at her.

And that is pretty much how he has been since. I really expected the novelty of the baby to wear off, but Connor really really loves his sister. He always wants to make sure if we are going anywhere that she is going too. He is constantly talking about her, "Ana hungry? Ana need a baba? Ana is excited! Ana is awake! Don't cry Ana, Connor's here. Ana so pretty. Oh she looking at me!" It is so very sweet and I love it! Whenever she is nursing, he likes to sit next to us and snuggle and pat her head and give her kisses.

                                                               Their first meeting <3
                                                 

                                                                    Daily kisses!

I am loving this phase while it lasts! I know in a blink of an eye, they will be arguing over toys and someone staring at the other... :)

100 Day Challenge

So I am starting a 100 Day Challenge that I read about on Carlia's blog. The challenge can be whatever you want it to be, with the goal being that you do it every day for 100 days. My goal is to get some exercise everyday for 100 days. After having two babies in 2.5 years, my body is unrecognizable to me! I need to get my butt moving because apparently reading blogs and watching the Food Network does not get me in better shape!

I plan on starting the Challenge on June 16th, Ronnie's last day of work is on the 15th. The goal is to get at least 15 minutes of exercise a day, but having most days be more like 30-60 minutes. I hope this will help hold me accountable for the summer and make a conscience effort to move my body! I will be posting my results on this page Wish me luck!

One Month...

How is my baby girl one month old already?! My good friend Kelly mentioned in her blog about how fast time goes with the second one, but OMG, it is lightening speed fast! I have no idea where the days go!

My little Adriana is quite the drama queen! She has this ear piercing cry that is so very very dramatic. It isn't that cute newborn baby cry at.all. Connor had the cute newborn baby cry and I loved it! This one, not so much! Thankfully it is so very easy to calm her down, and usually it nursing. This girl loves her some booby! If she is awake, she usually wants to be nursing, which is fine by me. This is (more than likely) our last baby and nursing is something I enjoy so very much.

Adriana loves her big brother and Connor ADORES her! Just can't get out of her face, when ever Adriana is having tummy time, Connor is right next to her on his tummy too. It is really funny, and then he starts pretending like her is a baby as well, lol. Adriana has been doing pretty well sleeping at night (knocking on the biggest piece of wood I can find). I usually get a three hour stretch and then a couple two hour stretches after that. And she is so easy to settle back down after she nurses. The only thing with her night time sleep is that she is the LOUDEST sleeper ever! She grunts and grunts, whimpers, she even lets out little cries in her sleep. There have been countless times when I have jumped out of bed from a cry only to see her sleeping still in her little bassinet. She may be moving to her room sooner than we thought just so we can get some better sleep!

She is such a strong baby, she hold her head up so well already and has done so for a few weeks. A couple days ago, she rolled over! Twice!! She is just pushed her whole little body up and then fell right over! It was precious.

I love you so much baby girl. Please don't grow up *too* fast!

Adriana's Birth Story

So it has almost been a year since I posted to this blog. Is that a record? Do I get some kind of reward? Anyways, I still keep up on reading my girlfriends blogs and just want to have this time in my life well documented, the good and bad and wonderful! :) So I thought what better way to start than to write a post on Mother's Day and write about the birth of sweet baby Adriana. I refer to Adriana as my sweet little drama queen.

At about 28 weeks pregnant, I was showing signs of pre labor, I was having contractions, my cervix was changing, all very very scary bad things happening way too early. My doctor told me to take it easy, HA! Working full time, finishing my Masters degree and running after a 2.5 year old, sure, I can take it easy. But I had to, I did not want a preemie. So basically as soon as I got home, my feet were up and Ronnie was in charge of cleaning, laundry, everything, and watching Connor. He was amazing and never complained once and often reminded me to lay down and put my feet up. My mom and sister were amazing as well, bringing dinner and playing with Connor to help out.

When I hit 36 weeks, I had my first cervical check and I was 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced. I was ready for her to get here and my doctor didn't think I would make it to my due date. The next week I was 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced, I felt like a ticking time bomb, any moment, labor would begin. The next week I was 3 cm and 80% effaced.... Seriously child, get here already! I despised waking up every morning and still being pregnant, I wanted her here already. And then my due date rolled around, and I was.so.done. I was 4 cm dilated and 100% effaced, it was Wednesday. Ugh! We scheduled an induction for Friday because I was so worried about going in to labor at home when I was by myself with Connor and being as dilated as I was, I didn't think I would make it to the hospital. So at that point, I had resigned myself to being induced again and at that point it was fine by me, I wanted her here! I asked my doctor to strip my membranes in the hope that maybe it would work, but I wasn't counting on it because nothing else worked with her.

 I went home and really didn't feel any contractions, a few random ones here and there, but nothing unlike I had been having for the last four months! Went to bed prepared to wake up pregnant again! At 1:27am in the morning, I had my strongest and longest contraction ever, and I knew this was it. I got up and got a drink of water and then another one came on. Two minutes later, another. I didn't wake up Ronnie because I wanted to be sure this was it. Twenty minutes or so later, I was sure this was it and told Ronnie to wake up. Because I was so dilated, I didn't want to wait a whole hour of contractions, so I called the hospital, called my dad to come over and called my sister to meet us at the hospital. The way to the hospital was so horrible and uncomfortable. Contractions were stronger and longer. Poor Ronnie was trying to rub my hands, and leg, but when I was having a contraction I did not want him touching me! We finally got to the hospital and they went to check me. I was annoyed and just wanted to get in my room and get my epidural. They kept asking me dumb questions and were trying to get me hooked up to the monitors, all in a triage room. I just wanted to be in my room and get my drugs! The midwife came in and asked if I wanted an epidural and I said yes! She then checked me, and said "Well sweetie, you are nine centimeters! You don't need an epidural, you can totally do this!" She was so sweet and nice, but I was not very happy! I really wanted the epidural, I was scared as to how much more painful it would be. They wheeled me into my room and it was the exact same room I had delivered Connor in! I started to cry, it just brought back so many emotions and I now felt ready to do this. I was not in my room for more than an hour before I felt the need to push. Pushing was a such a relief, but it was taking a lot longer than I thought it would. I only pushed with Connor for 15 minutes. This felt like forever and I was getting tired. At one point I said "I don't want to do this anymore" and then when my midwife told me I was close I asked her "Are you lying? Are you just saying that to make me feel better?". What I remember most is how calm it was in the room, when I was pushing nobody was allowed to talk, or touch me. Between contractions, I would talk, catch my breath and drink some water. When Adriana finally came out, it was such a sense of relief and pure joy and happiness that she was here and it was over! I was just so happy, I didn't cry like I did with Connor, which surprised me,. She was born sunny side up which is why it took her a little longer to get out, though I only pushed for about 25 minutes. She was born at 4:26 am on 4/26 and weighed 7lb 8oz, a whole two pounds more than her brother! We love her so much and she is a such a good baby, but she has the most ear piercing cry! :)

Quick run down!

It has been a fantastic summer so far and it has been a little while since I blogged, so I thought I would give a quick run down of what is going on in the White household :)

Last week I got LASIK surgery! My vision is not terrible, but I WAS nearsighted and did have corrective lenses that I RARELY wore, but should have because without them I was squinting a lot! So I finally decided to get the surgery because we had some extra money in our health flex account and this is the last year to use that money for LASIK. I scheduled this surgery months ago and the day of surgery I was fine, until Ronnie and Connor dropped me off. Despite LASIK being very routine and not major, I suddenly felt very anxious and emotional, I couldn't say goodbye for some reason and just had to give my boys quicks kisses goodbye. Connor realized something was not right because when I left, Ronnie said he cried out a very worried "Mama!" :( So glad I didn't hear it! The surgery itself was very bizarre, I felt like I was being probed by aliens. It was not a painless as some people had told me, but manageable. The first three hours after the surgery were rather uncomfortable and I was thinking "Why on earth did I do this!" But literally after the first three hours I was totally fine. The next day my vision was 20/15 and I have been amazed at how crisp everything is, to see trees so clearly. I am going to need good eye sight to keep an eye on my boy!

Two days after my surgery I met some of Ronnie's family on his mom's side. Ronnie's mom passed away several years ago and he lost contact with a lot of his mom's side of the family, but thanks to the magic of facebook, his aunt found him and we had lunch with her and her daughter and her daughter's two kids. It was really nice to meet Ronnie's mom's side of the family because Ronnie's mom means so very much to him and he misses her everyday. He misses her even more now that Connor is here and wishes more than anything that they could know each other. It makes me happy that Connor has now met that side of the family.

In about a week we will be making our yearly summer trip to Eureka, CA to see all of my wonderful extended family. It is always an exhausting trip, but it fills me up with so much joy. My extended family is my world and it is so very important to me that Connor knows them well and loves them as much as I do. Growing up I remember constantly being surrounded my aunts and uncles and cousins and I love and treasure the closeness my family has. I want Connor to have that too with his cousins and so we are very excited to go and see them on a perfect long weekend. On one day we will be celebrating Braelynn's first birthday and the next day we will be going to a baby shower for my cousin Lili! There is always something going on in the family, I love the new generation we are all creating!