Our Little-Big Feast

With a new baby we knew we wanted to stay home for Thanksgiving and it so happened that my siblings had plans to be with the in-laws, so my parents came down and we had a simple sweet Thanksgiving.

Andrew had a rough night Wednesday so Steve & I were pretty tired. I let Steve sleep in while I fed Andrew and got breakfast going. My Mom got the turkey and stuffing in the oven and then I made roll dough so it could be rising. I saw this cute idea how to make the rolls look like turkeys and I knew my girls would love it. I gave them a quick demonstration and some instructions and decided they could use food coloring markers to decorate them with and they loved it. I think this will have to be a new tradition for us.

We also had mashed potatoes & gravy (Steve's favorite), candied yams (so delicious), and there was supposed to be a salad, but I was feeding Andrew when dinner was being set and didn't get the salad made nor did I make the fresh cranberry sauce like I had planned (I'll have to use them with the leftovers somehow). Anyway, the girls tried everything and we had a simple, but delicious meal and the company was GREAT!

Sorry, Mimi I didn't mean to cut your head out of the picture and Grandpa is blinking, but it is the only picture we took--memories. ;)

The girls were in charge of coloring the place-mats for everyone. We were going to write why we were grateful for that person on the back, but we ran out of time so we went around the table and said one thing we were grateful for and then said why we were grateful for each person. The girls loved it and kept us going and kept coming up with new things they loved about everyone.

On Tuesday the girls both came home from school with festive headbands so for a bit we had a turkey and an Indian running around our house. ;)

 

It was really nice to be able to chill in our home and enjoy each other. We let the girls watch a movie upstairs while the adults watched a movie downstairs and then we had apple pie and pumpkin streusel for dessert. Then we played Just Dance. The girls are getting so good at that game and it is fun as adults to get a workout and laugh at our good moves. ;)

We finally got a picture of Grandpa and Grandson. Aren't they handsome!

Lila's Ultrasound

Since Lila has had 3 UTIs in the last 6 months the doctor wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure the kidneys weren't affected and that there is nothing physically wrong with the bladder. So we told Lila last night she couldn't eat or drink anything after going to bed. She asked why and we told her the doctor wanted to do an ultrasound and she said, "Oh to see the baby." Steve explained that it was the same tool used to see the baby inside me, but that the doctor wanted pictures of her belly and stuff. She was a trooper this morning only complaining a little of being hungry. She talked the admitting nurses ear off and asked the ultrasound technician questions like, "why is there red and blue in that picture?" The tech explained that it showed movement. Then as we were leaving she asked me what they are doing with the pictures. I told her the doctor would look at them and then call us to let us know what he finds. "Oh, then we can go pick up my pictures?" she asked. "I really want to see the pictures. That was fun. We should do that again." I'm glad it wasn't traumatizing now hopefully the results are normal and we can put UTIs behind us.

She's turned in to quite the little helper. Always willing to give Andrew his binky, sing to him, and just be patient while Mommy feeds him. :)

CRAZY!

It's crazy to think that Andrew is 2 weeks old. Our first week home was a bit crazy--remember how we thought we had avoided spreading the stomach flu . . . well Steve and I got hit hard last Monday night (Nov 11) and barely muddle through the day on Tuesday (Nov 12). Steve had to cancel a meeting he had down in Draper and we weakly made it through the day. Andrew was pretty fussy on Monday, like screaming in between feedings and Steve worked late and my Mom had left on Sunday and I was on my own and thinking, oh dear. When Steve got home and saw what was going on he felt bad and thought maybe Andrew might have some colic, but then when we got sick he was a perfect angel--eating and then happily cooing to himself until he fell asleep. We realized he probably wasn't feeling too well the day before which is what caused the screaming. To top off Tuesday we came to realize Lila probably had another urinary tract infection and her doctor isn't in on Wednesdays so I made her an appointment for after school and was grateful I was feeling well enough to take her. The next morning I went to get her antibiotic and they wanted $800 so I had to call the doctor's office and talk to the Physician's Assistance who called the pharmacy to change the prescription so what should have been a 20 minute outing turned into 65 minutes and Andrew's patience were wearing thin.

To be honest through it all I was still just so happy to be home with our new baby that I truly didn't mind surviving all that was happening. I found it nice to have time with Lila while I nursed in the mornings, we read books together, did puzzles and I think she enjoyed the time together too. We played a card game with the girls before bed on Thursday and I was feeling pretty good. Then on Friday I felt really tired and thought life was just catching up with me, then a fever and aches and pains came on and I realized that I had mastitis. So I called the doctor and he called in a prescription for me that I had Steve pick-up on his way home from work. 

We spent the weekend relaxing and playing as a family and catching-up on sleep. Late Saturday we went to Shopko so I could buy a couple of shirts with a coupon we had (my birthday present) and took the girls to get Krispy Kreme donuts with Ellie's report card--yay for Ellie! Yesterday was my birthday and Steve really wanted to do something for me, but all I really wanted to do was relax at home, so I did! I told him he could pick-up dinner one night this week when I wasn't up to cooking. 

Life is really good--can't complain that I get to spend most of my day nursing a cute little baby, even though it makes the days seem kind of short: nurse, get Ellie off to school, nurse, feed Lila lunch and get her off to school, nurse, then get ready to pick-up both the girls from school, nurse, dinner, nurse, bedtime. You get it, but really the weather is turning cold and I love staying bundled up inside with my new bundle! :)

Just realized I don't have any new pictures to post from last week so here are some mental pictures I want to remember:
*The Monday Andrew was so fussy Lila was not happy about all of the crying. I was trying to get her ready for preschool and she would just stand there with her fingers in her ears crying. I think there were still tears in her eyes when I dropped her off and at pick-up she was a little hesitant to get in the van afraid Andrew would still be screaming.  In contrast to yesterday's drop-off where she happily skips down the sidewalk and turns to wave good-bye and blow us kisses. She's adjusted to the crying that happens now and is very helpful.

*Ellie holding Andrew while Lila rubs his head so I can cook.  And how the girls always say, "Baby Andrew is so cute" with a sing songy voice or "baby Andrew we want to see your eyes, wake-up."

*Steve rocking Andrew so I can get a few extra zzzzzz's so nice!

*Andrew snuggled on my chest after eating. Love snuggling him like that! And how he holds his legs up and out like a frog--no wonder the doctor could tell he was a boy at 17 weeks, not afraid to let it all hangout. ;)

One picture since the title of this post was inspired by Lila's crazy hair day (they're working on the letter 'H' this week).

Picture doesn't do it justice she had 8 wild ponytails--she said it was a spider or alien look. :)

 

What a Weekend

You know how it is in a hospital, you can't really ever rest. So Steve & I are always ready to leave at the 24 hour mark after having a baby, but were not granted that privilege this time around. The on-call pediatrician wanted to keep Andrew around until 4pm on Thursday to monitor him so we waited . . .

When we arrived home the girls were ecstatic to have us home and kept saying, "oh he so cute and we get to keep him." Yes it's true it can be a little surreal, but he is a part of our family.

Friday morning there was a little knock on our bedroom door and when I opened it there stood Lila (which I found odd because she never knocks) and then she says, "Where's the baby?" The day continued pretty normal until Lila started throwing-up. Yep, she got a stomach bug that got her quarantined for 24 hours.  Poor critter. She watched movies upstairs and we all washed our hands a million times, did loads of laundry, opened windows for fresh air circulation and managed to not spread the bug although it did make for an extra sleepless night juggling a newborn and a sick little girl. Mimi was so nice to spend some extra time loving on her when I was busy feeding Andrew.

I also had to take Andrew to the pediatrician on Friday because his bilirubin levels were a bit high when we left the hospital on Thursday. Then got a call from the pediatrician that night that his levels rose again and he wanted me to take him to the hospital on Saturday to get his levels tested again and they rose again so we had to go to the hospital again today for another blood draw--poor kid has been poked so many times in his 4 days of life. The doctor just called to tell me that the test showed he only went up one point so he thinks he has peaked and will start to level out, but to call his office if we notice any changes in the next couple of days.

With this news my Mom decided to head home this afternoon, so now Steve and I are out numbered. ;) We are so grateful to Mimi for helping us out during this transition period and really making the weekend not seem as crazy. Life is wonderful and I am really just taking time to enjoy my newborn and family!

Left: the girls love playing the piano and singing for Andrew which he has loved since utero.  Right: Steve & Lila catching up on sleep.

My family was able to visit us in the hospital and meet Andrew. I'm sad I didn't get a picture of my Dad with the baby. He was so generous to spend the day with us on Saturday and take some family pictures that we used for our announcement above--thanks Dad/Grandpa!

Andrew Stephen Moore

Our little man arrived this morning at 10:27 am, weighing 7lbs 5oz with lots of black hair. I have to admit that I was nervous and a bit emotional about being induced, but with the doctor's guidance felt it was the best for us. At my appointment last week, I told the doctor I was nervous and he stepped me through the process and said it would be the easiest baby I've ever had, and he was. The labor and delivery almost erased the 9 months of pregnancy. 

Andrew spent his first 30 minutes screaming at the top of is lungs and still has this cute, high pitched pterodactyl like squeal when he gets hungry, but is mostly content and happy. He is adorable and we are enjoying every minute with him!

Lila is In

Steve went to tuck Lila in tonight and as he was tucking her in she said, "wait I have to move my arrows." She hopped out of bed and turned these stickers so they were pointing in towards her room. She then explained that she turns them out when she leaves the room so people know where she can be found. :)