1,2,3 little months are we

So Eli is actually almost 4 months old, but I figured I should get caught up with the first three months first.  Eli is growing in leaps and bounds and looks like a fairly chunky 3 month old, however in a milestone sense you can tell he's a preemie. He has good head control when you hold him, but tummy time is a completely different story! He hates it still! He scruffles his face and will barely pull his head up let alone push up on his arms and he's no where near to rolling. He did finally unclench his hands and has begun swatting at his toys and grabbing them. But he doesn't have good grips when you place your fingers in his and try to pull him up, and he won't hold a toy that you put in his hand.  Sometimes I worry he's to far behind, my husband says not to worry he's perfect the way he is.  So I'm going to try not to worry and leave it in Gods hands.  Things Eli does do is giggle sometimes and smile socially. He's really starting to recognize his people and I love it when he's nursing and then just looks at me with this huge grin on his face. He's also becoming very nosey making nursing a fun adventure. He loves baths and watches his brother all the time. It's going to be so fun watching them grow up. Eli's current stats are 13 pounds 12.4 ounces pretty impressive for a kid who started at 5 pounds 13 ounces! And he's about 20 inches long. We go back for his four month check up soon, so I'll have exact measurements then. 

Half baked

So I'm officially 21 weeks pregnant! Over half way there.  Baby bump number two is officially a boy!!! And he has spent his past two weeks at the beach.  His kicks are getting stronger and more frequent every day and he wiggles whenever he hears big brothers voice say his name.  Big brother while he doesn't truly grasp the whole big brother concept loves asking how little brother is doing and where he's at.  We've shown him my belly and encouraged him to talk to his baby brother and give him kisses.  We've also told him since baby brother is in mommas tummy growing he has to be careful of mommas belly.  If I say ouch he immediately asks what's wrong with baby Eli.  It's so cute and I hope it carries through to when Eli really arrives.  Pregnancy so far has been good to me.  The nausea for the most part is gone, I feel great in the mornings and have worked really hard to keep up some sort of workout routine.  It helps that Noah loves going to the gym and asks when are we going to go which is an awesome motivator for me.  I feel like I'm bigger this time around but the scale says I've only gained approximately seven pounds,which I'm feeling good about.  Picking up Noah is getting harder as is hauling him around when he decides he's tired of walking.  But like I've heard from most moms what's a gal to do?? We leave the beach tomorrow and Friday is the anatomy scan!!

Happy birthday!!!

BSo this post is over a month late, but being a mom of two is hard!!! Even with Casey around I feel like I'm always being pulled by one boy or another, but that's a story for another day.  September 12 I was officially 34 weeks and all day long I waited for someone to come and tell me it was finally my turn in L&D. Around nine pm my nurse put me on the monitor to see how Eli was doing and that's when Casey and I started to notice a trend in my contractions, they had started coming at regular intervals of every ten minutes.  The nurse was unimpressed however Casey and I were very excited because that meant my body was progressing on its own!!! Finally at around 1030ish I got a bed!! It was time to get the show started.  We moved over to L&D and I was put on the monitor and given my first dose of cytotech.  I rested as much as I could through the night, but it was somewhat difficult as the cytotech worked its magic and put my body into more active labor.  By morning I was starving, but since no one had known when I would get a bed there was no food. Luckily my nurse was amazing and found me a breakfast tray along with dose number two of cytotech. After that is when labor got sort of rough for me.  I would never recommend to anyone to be induced labor is rough enough as it is.  With my first it was all back labor and major hip pain as my son dropped and my hips widened.  With Eli I felt the contractions everywhere!! I had back labor, front labor, and as I call it vaginal labor.  I told my body it needed to pick one , and ultimately chose to have an epidural.  However since I hadn't been on fluids they had to super hydrate me before they could give me an epidural. Once that was in place life was much better. Noah came to visit along with my mom and dad and towards the end of their visit is when I started to feel a lot of pressure in the nether regions, but not wanting to frighten my son waited until they left. However, my nurse came in rather quickly and was like umm honey you feeling any pressure?? And I said yes that I was about to call her, so she checked me and was like yep we're having a baby!!! And made the quickest stream of phone calls ever! All of a sudden a flurry of people rushed in ready to take care of Eli should he need it.  And with very little pushing Eli arrived!! All five pounds thirteen ounces and eighteen inches of him! Soon after we brought Noah in to see him and my favorite part of the whole day happened when Noah said "momma he came out!" Why yes son yes he did. 

Eviction day

So D day is officially here!!! We made it 34 weeks and all that's left to do is be induced and have a baby!!! Here comes the fun part though L&D has been full all week long!! They have no idea when I will get to go over but I'm first on the list.  Little scary little exciting.  I've done the whole being induced into labor before and while not fun I feel I'm slightly prepared for that.  The scary and unknown portion of this day revolves around my son.  He's already pretty amazing for a 34 weeker he's passed his stress tests with flying colors all week long sometimes he even enjoys showing off for the nurses and really showing them what his little heart can do.  The perinatologist gave him on 8/10 on his BPP which I discovered stands for biophysical profile.  Basically they look at five different categories to see how well he's going to do in the outside world.  The only category he missed was of course the fluid, which they knew would be against him of course.  But he moves well makes breathing motions passes the stress test, and has a nice chunky umbilical cord with great blood flow.  He's estimated at five and a half pounds and they said most NICU babies that are over five do very well.  So now we wait and see will he be a NICU baby or will we go home with a 34 weeker in our arms?? That's another source of stress and scare the thought of taking a 34 weeker home knowing the possible potential problems.  However the Lord has brought us this far and to stop trusting now would be stupid, but I'm going to have to work harder at it. Other worries are of course feeding and pumping.  I don't pump well and I really want to be able to breastfeed whether he goes home or stays in NICU. I'm hoping lactation can help me figure out what to do.  In other news here's what I've learned staying in a hospital on bed rest for a week.  A good view goes a long way towards keeping spirits up, bring some sort of project, they need to make a truly waterproof bandage for IVs.  My IV is probably the thing I'm most ready to get rid of, I'm tired of bumping it on the toilet when I wipe, trying to keep it dry while washing my face or showering, and the in general soreness that has come with having an IV In your dominant hand for six days.  I've also been on more antibiotics this week than I have in my entire life!!! But if it means healthy baby I'll take all of it.  I'm also ready to be a mom again to my toddler.  I can see his change in demeanor and attitude over the past week and it makes me so sad.  My mom and dad are complete lifesavers, but even my mom looks like she could use time for self.  I did however get all the balloons and clouds finished for the mobile and my amazing hubby captured some pretty awesome maternity photos for me!!

33 and 4

So today I'm 33 weeks and 4 days and by the grace of God and some amazing prayers warriors I'm still pregnant!!! The goal is to make it to Saturday at which time I will be induced and sometime after that my little 34 weeker Elijah james will make his presence known to the world.  In the meantime I'm learning how to pass the time in a hospital bed.  My electronics are my lifeline to the outside world and more often then not a source of entertainment. I have watched sooo much hgtv and food network I could probably run both networks!! Mom brought me crafty stuff so I'm also working on balloons and clouds for a mobile for the baby's room. My main source of motion is getting up to pee or sneaking looks out my window when I hear sirens.  Otherwise my bed and I are quite close now.  

Early

So it's 542 am on Sunday September sixth and I'm laying in a bed in labor and delivery.  I'm officially 33 weeks and my son may be coming to say hello soon.  My membranes spontaneously ruptured again, but this time he's to little and needs to stay inside and grow. I'm praying he stays inside and breaking down a little bit because if he does stay inside I don't go home.  My toddler doesn't get to see his mom when he wakes up if I stay, there won't be any morning cuddles in mommy's and daddy's bed if I stay.  But if I don't stay my newest baby will be to little and possibly have complications or even a NICU stay.  His room isn't ready, his clothes aren't clean or organized, so many, many things we had planned to do in the coming weeks. I'm scared and feel like crying, but instead I'm watching the clock listening to his heartbeat and praying that God keeps him in my body a little longer.  I want to go home and see my son, but I want to see this little life inside me grow strong as well. It's quite the feeling, part of me also feels guilty that for whatever reason I can't seem to keep babies inside until they are full term.  Makes me ask the eternal question what's wrong with me?? I'm 33 weeks today and could possibly be a mom of two soon. 

6*4=24

So, fun little fact I turned 24 weeks on July 4th!!! Which means I'm officially in my second trimester and we are closer to the finish line than the starting line!! It's getting real y'all, and I gotta say a little overwhelming too!! I'm starting to realize in a few short month I'll be a mom of two boys!! The honey do list is growing not shrinking and to top it off we are about to start finishing our basement!!! One nice thing though is the fact that Noah's big boy room is basically done and he's been sleeping in there for about a week and a half. In other news Noah also no longer takes milk to bed and has started falling asleep on his own for nap time as well!  This is such a big step for him and us and one that'll hopefully help when baby Eli gets here.  Noah loves asking about baby Eli, if I make any sort of odd noise nah has to check and make sure baby Eli is ok.  We've also entered terrible twos with a vengeance my son is the king of meltdowns over what I think is nothing.  He's also gotten very whiny about leaving the house so I'm working on getting into a routine of leaving the house everyday and going somewhere.  Pregnancy is easier and harder at the same time.  I love that I can go to the gym, but hate that my nap time is pretty nonexistent right now.  Also picking up my son is getting harder and TMI here but I have some crazy vagina pain going on this time.  Some days it's not so bad others it feels like I've pulled my vagina muscles for lack of better terminology.  Hoping that with my start back of prenatal yoga this'll help.  Here's to three more months!