tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51982407526083724342024-03-12T19:09:33.948-07:00Sierra's Birth and Beyond BlogA blog to introduce the world to Sierra Judy JohnsonAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-67220543801912437842012-10-30T22:45:00.000-07:002012-10-30T22:45:04.810-07:00Neglectful mamaSo Miss Sierra is 16 months old and I have been neglecting her blog. We've dealt with ear infections and teething during the past 4 months. Finally, right at her 16 month mark, she turned the corner and decided to walk. I thought that she would never walk. She's been able to walk short distances for quite some time, but would not use it as her primary means of locomotion, but as of the last several days, she is. Talking is another area she has decided is not that important. It's blatantly obvious she understands a lot. You tell her something and she either does it or she bursts into tears in opposition. She loves the word look. "Look", "Look" she points at things that catch her interest. She says mama and night night and can say bye if she's in the mood. Mostly she nods. If you ask her a question and she agrees, she'll readily nod yes. She's all about the temper tantrum, arching her back, throwing herself over backwards. She and Peyton are so cute together. I hope it continues, they are constantly kissing each other. That's her other new thing, she puckers up and gives kisses. SO CUTE! They play cars together, color and play with play dough. Peyton is a great big brother, teaching her how to do all kinds of things. For the longest time she would only walk holding his hands. <br />
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She's turned into quite the strong personality, but continues to be a lovey little girl and is so funny. She love to dance. She's studious, loves puzzles, loves art, loves playing with cars, loves building things, and is cautiously outgoing. Love that little girl!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-69579761995374508172012-06-30T22:38:00.002-07:002012-06-30T22:38:58.753-07:00Our Baby's a Year Old!I have done the cardinal sin of mothering, I have not done the same thing for my second child as I have for my first. I have not printed a single picture to put together her photo album, I have not even finished putting pictures in and filling out her pregnancy book, and I skipped her 11 month blog. Well, she's a year old and I've got a lot of work to do. But enough about my shortcomings, I apologize to Miss Sierra, Mommy loves you more than life itself, but I'm tired and overextended. I hope someday you'll understand. <br />
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So the last 2 months have shown so much change. She's the master cruiser now and can crawl at the speed of light. That being said, she is not even interested in walking. Peyton couldn't wait to walk, she knows she can get where she wants to go crawling or cruising so why walk? Plus, she's so chunky and her feet are so small that I can't imagine she'll be able to balance very well. She stands not holding on sometimes and will walk a couple of feet with the push toys but no walking. <br />
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She's also such a talker, but not words. She imitates inflection, posturing, faces, and says a few words. She says hi and Mama quite consistently and she waves like crazy. She LOVES to dance. Turn on music and that girl can't hold still. It's so adorable. Poor darling is getting all her top teeth at the same time and is miserable, but still happy during the day. <br />
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At her one year well baby check she was 29 1/4 inches long and 20 lbs 13 oz. She's moved into the 54th percentile in both height and weight. She's making my arms nice and shapely carrying her around.<br />
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She's sleeping well and sleeps though the night most of the time (except now because of the teeth). We love watching her explore. She plays so well alone, investigating everything, and plays well with her brother, who sometimes is a little overzealous. Speaking of which, on her 1st birthday, her grandma, me and Peyton and Sierra were shopping at the Outlets at Castle Rock when Peyton tried to yank a hanger out of her mouth in the Columbia Outlet. We had to call 911 because she was acting like she couldn't breathe and the hanger had seemed like it had really hurt her. The paramedics came and checked her out and she was fine, but she had no interest in her cake or any food that whole day, so we saved cake for the next day. She was able to open her presents on her birthday, though. <br />
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Sierra is the most amazing little girl. We love her so much and are so entertained by her bubbly personality. She's still has some stranger danger, but she's opened up to anyone that we trust. She loves her brother and she's just a total sweetie. Happy birthday, Sierra, we love you SO much!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-78437280523058258482012-04-26T20:09:00.001-07:002012-04-26T20:09:32.970-07:0010 months old!Wow, time flies. We are only 2 months away from Sierra turning a year old. Amazing. This month she's really blossomed personality wise. She's so giggly and smiley all the time. She cracks herself up, which is even funnier. She is a super crawler now, and quick! Her favorite thing to do? Take off as soon as her diaper is off and hide around the corner in her brother's room, then laugh hysterically as you come around the corner to get her. (Yes, we change her on the floor, not a changing table). Another of her favorite ways to crack herself up? Drop food on the floor, one...piece...at...a...time. <br />
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She's also developed some pretty severe "stranger danger" becoming very clingy to Mommy. She used to not care who comforted her as long as someone did, now it has to be Mama. Speaking of Mama, that's pretty much the only word she using right now. She'll wave hello and goodbye, but isn't saying either yet. Even though she's not speaking much, she's a great mimic and her and Peyton will often get going echoing each other. She's still just got the two teeth on the bottom, but they are all the way in now, giving her grin a new dimension. She loves to be on her feet, standing as much as she can and starting to cruise the furniture. We've had a lot of bangs and bruises because of it. She's testing the waters of letting go, but isn't quite ready yet. <br />
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She's still such a great sleeper compared to Peyton, only waking up once a night usually at the most, but getting back to sleep and getting to sleep at night has been more difficult (and by more difficult I mean, still easy compared to 85% of babies), which I think has to do with a couple of back to back illnesses, a cold followed by a stomach flu. Being in childcare Sierra has had a lot more illnesses at this point than Peyton ever had at this age. <br />
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I can't believe babyhood is nearing an end and toddlerhood is just around the corner. That's why we are getting as much cuddle and squeeze time in now as we can. Love that baby girl.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-77053343930618875892012-04-07T21:17:00.000-07:002012-04-07T22:45:32.535-07:009 months old, let's get moving!So I'm a bit late, but in order to simplify my life I scheduled Peyton's 3 year well child visit and Sierra's 9 month well child at the same time. She has really made a lot of progress this month in the mobility arena. She's crawling all over the place, pulls up to standing like it's nothing, and is starting to try and cruise. She's more verbal than ever and is eating like it's going out of style. All that eating makes for thighs to write home about. No one who sees Sierra's thighs can go without making a comment. They are HUGE! So she weighed in this month at 18 lbs 13 oz. She's 27 1/2 inches long. So she's around the 50th percentile for each. <br />
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It seems she may finally be growing out of her dairy allergy. She's had yogurt puffs and I ate a bite of ice cream on Peyton's birthday and she had no reaction. Tonight I ate some sushi with cream cheese so we'll keep our fingers crossed. She's started waving spontaneously, clapping, and dancing. This is such a fun stage. <br />
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She is such a happy child, but so snotty! I don't know if she has allergies, has sinus issues because of GI issues, is teething or what but I feel so bad for her because she is always either stuffed up or her nose is running. She still HATES anyone touching her nose, so she is one of those kids that constantly has snot or crusties around her nose and there's nothing I can really do about it. She's also been sleeping a lot so I think we may be in the midst of a growth spurt.<br />
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We changed babysitters recently. She's doing great. I hate that they have to go twice a week to a sitter when she is still this young, but things are different than they were when her brother was young. I at least feel comfortable that she's in a safe environment and getting plenty of stimulation. <br />
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That's our baby girl. We love those smiles so much!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-69734674247712048242012-03-08T20:35:00.002-08:002012-03-08T20:35:33.210-08:008 months old and almost mobile<br />
So Sierra turned 8 months on Feb 26th. My computer had crashed so I haven't had a chance to blog. She's just amazing and that's really all I can say. She's the happiest, smiliest baby we could ask for. She thinks everything is hilarious, especially her brother. She's eating solid foods at a much faster pace these days, is still allergic to dairy, and is still a chunky monkey. We are on the verge of having a really mobile baby, right now she's just somewhat mobile. She has mastered this butt roll, stretch out onto belly move that really gets her around the room and can crawl a foot or so before she gives up and resumes the roll. She's also trying to pull up to stand on things, but doesn't realize she has to continue to hold on, which has led to lots of bumped foreheads and tears. <br />
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Sierra got to go to her first Mardi Gras this year and got to meet all her aunts and uncles, cousins and Paw Paw. She was an angel during the travels and was unbelievably good during our trip there when we missed our plane and turned it into a 16 hour travel day. The change in weather was good for her since she had had a cold for almost a month prior to going. The humidity helped with her stuffiness that had been leading to a lot of sleepless, restless nights. The doctor had put her on antibiotics for a sinus infection, but they only seemed to make things worse and give her diarrhea so we took her off. She's still stuffy, but is better than she was, so hopefully with winter winding down she'll clear up with an increase in humidity. <br />
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We are really enjoying her vocalizations this month too. She's not saying words yet, but is trying harder and harder to imitate. She's also a good at mimicking a wave, but hasn't initiated one herself and hasn't started clapping yet. We're working on it though. She dances when there is music on, bouncing up and down on her bottom. So cute! It's hard to believe she'll be crawling, talking and walking in the upcoming months. I can't wait, but hate to see the baby go. I'll add pics at a later date since I can't put any on my computer right now until I get it repaired. <br />
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Addendum: She started crawling on March 6, 2012. We took her to the doctor on March 8 for her cold getting worse again and she weighed in at 17 lbs 5 oz.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-75393285506426772422012-01-26T21:21:00.000-08:002012-01-26T21:21:43.702-08:00Our 7 month cutie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sierra is 7 months old today. I swear I just wrote her 6 month blog. She's our chunky little giggle box. She's still such a happy girl, but has had some issues lately. She's still allergic to dairy, which we found out when I accidentally ate cheese in a sandwich, she cut her first bottom tooth at 6 1/2 months and is on the verge of a second on the bottom which is causing many sleepless, restless nights. She seems to be always going through a growth spurt, nursing nonstop, but totally uninterested in eating more than a couple of tablespoons of solid foods. We had to go back to the drawing board where that was concerned because of a really really bad diaper rash, so we're back to only eating rice cereal and applesauce. She's not really into the avocado and we think it might've been the sweet potato that caused the reaction. We took her to the ophthalmologist because of her droopy right eyelid, but he said there is nothing wrong and probably as her face grows the skin will stretch and it will be hardly noticeable.<br />
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She's sitting quite well these days and has become pretty adept at getting from her butt to her tummy, but hasn't mastered getting back yet. She's also getting closer to getting on all fours. All this practice has made for many face plants. She's pretty good at getting around by rolling and squirming and bouncing on her butt but becomes very frustrated and desperately wants to crawl. She's making all kinds of vocalizations now, mamamamama, squealing, grunting, blowing raspberries. She waves to imitate you but hasn't done it spontaneously yet. She's playing with the shape sorter and the stacking rings now. Mostly she just chews on them, but she loves to hold a shape or ring in each hand and bang them together. She also loves to hit the peg board with the hammer. Trying to get Peyton to let go of these toys and let her play with them has been pretty difficult. He has no interest until she's playing with them and then he steals them. For the most part she takes it pretty well, but every once and a while she screams bloody murder.<br />
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Speaking of screaming bloody murder, she's gotten better at that. She used to be so even keeled, now she screams when she can't do what she wants to do or get what she wants. Boy does she have some lungs on her.<br />
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Sleeping has not been going well. Everything affects her sleep and, in turn, mine. Teething has been awful and on top of that she has her second cold right now. Hoping this one doesn't turn into an ear infection too, but if sleeping doesn't improve by next week, another doctor's visit may be in order.<br />
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7 months flew by. Before we know it we'll be celebrating a birthday. Love that sweet baby. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-32041942884058499772012-01-03T20:58:00.000-08:002012-01-03T20:58:56.652-08:001/2 a year old!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sierra went in for her 6 month well baby visit today. Wow, how she's chunked up in the last month. When she went in for her ear infection just a month ago she hadn't even crossed the 15 pound mark. Now she weighs in at 16 lbs 8 oz! She's also supposedly 27 inches long (putting her in the 85th percentile for height, which I have a hard time believing). I guess adding solid foods packed on the pounds. She's actually not eating a ton of solid food, probably a 1/4 of a cup a day or less, but she definitely was ready. We started at about 5 1/2 months because she was desperate to eat everything we were eating. So far she will eat rice cereal, applesauce, avocado, and sweet potatoes or any combo of them. She likes to sing while she eats, making "nom, nom, nom, mamamamamama" noises. It's so adorable. <br />
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She's sitting well on her own now, can roll from her tummy back to her back so that makes her modestly mobile. This means I can't just lay her down in the living room anymore and leave since she can roll and wiggle her way to things she wants. The jumperoo and sitting her on the floor are my saviors now (or a big brother who yells for Mommy any time anything goes slightly wrong with Sierra). If I sit her down she can't gently let herself down to laying, so she'll just sit there. It's only a matter of time though. We're almost ready to come up with a new sleeping arrangement. The co-sleeper mini is almost too short, but Peyton is still using the crib as a daybed and I'm not ready for them to be roommates just yet since she doesn't sleep through the night and probably won't for a long time. I'm guessing the Pack-n-Play will become her nighttime home here soon (along with our bed because we do still co-sleep once she's woken up at least once at night). <br />
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She's got so much personality now with her constant babbling. You can see the wheels turning in her head as she tries to figure stuff out. She's sweet and cuddly at times and extremely squirmy and independent at other times. I hope that is an indication of her personality down the road. She had her first Christmas. Santa brought her her first baby doll and she got a couple of books and a tea and cook set. Obviously she can't use them yet, but she likes to chew on them. That's all she wanted to do Christmas morning too, eat the packaging.<br />
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We are making an appointment with the ophthalmologist after her well baby visit today, just to check to make sure everything is right with her eyes. Since birth one eyelid had drooped more than the other and it hasn't resolved. Hopefully this is just a visit to put our minds at ease that nothing is wrong. Better to be safe than sorry. Developmentally and weight wise she is doing so well we hope that is indicative of nothing major being wrong. <br />
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Overall we are looking forward to the next 6 months of her growing as a person. I look at her and her brother and can't believe how quickly time flies and how soon we won't have babies anymore, just kids. As I think about that I squeeze her a little tighter, kiss her sweet chubby cheeks some more, play with her tiny baby feet and blow raspberries on her tummy. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-66314514994639556272011-12-03T14:58:00.001-08:002011-12-03T15:35:44.255-08:005 months-Smiles, giggles and ear infections<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our little sweet pea is 5 months old and getting cuter by the day (I didn't think that was possible). She is becoming more fun now that she enjoys playing with toys and is so entertained by her big brother. She giggles at everything, loves being tossed in the air (not too high yet), and is super smiley. In the last month she has started sitting for short periods of time on her own. She still throws herself over backwards or tips over when she tired, but can sit for up to 10 minutes, which is good because she doesn't want to ever be on her back. She still can't figure out rolling back over from her belly to her back, but has now discovered airplaneing and doesn't mind being on her belly for long periods of time now. She's even starting to push up with her arms. <br />
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She weighs in at 14 lbs, 14 oz. How do I know since she doesn't have a well baby visit this month? Because she has her first ear infection and had to go to the doc and be on antibiotics. We can't wait for her to be done because they are really upsetting her stomach, even taking a probiotic. I've never changed so many poopy diapers a day in my life (and poopy clothes, she's a master of getting poop out of her diaper). The good news is that she seems to be doing much better than she was. She's not nearly as stuffed up and can breathe through her nose again. She's also not spitting up from the sinus drainage anymore. The illness began the day before we went to Florida for Thanksgiving and she was miserable on the flight to Florida. She cried for about 3 of the 3 1/2 hours, probably because her ears hurt. We learned and gave her some benadryl to dry her out and tylenol on the way back and she was much better.<br />
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Speaking of Florida, she got to spend some time on the beach and go in the pool. She seemed to enjoy it as best she could being sick. The weather was fantastic so we really got to enjoy the outdoors. She looked so darn cute in her little bathing suit. I can't wait until next year when she'll be able to play with her brother in the sand and ocean. She's also had her first Halloween (no costume this year) and her first Thanksgiving. This year there was one thing that stood out above all others for us to be thankful for...our healthy, beautiful angel, Sierra. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-18436668697033577602011-10-26T21:20:00.000-07:002011-10-26T21:20:24.431-07:00Four months old, all smiles, giggles, and a bit of chunkToday was not only Sierra's 4 month birthday and her first snow, but her 4 month appointment at the doctor's office. She weighed in at 13 lbs, 7 1/2 oz, nearly a pound less than her brother at that age. Her growth curve makes more sense now with her smallish parents. She's now 50th percentile across the board, weight/height/head circumference. We decided to only give her one vaccine today because of her awful reaction at 2 months to having 3. She vomited twice and hardly ate for days after. So this time we decided to spread them out. If she tolerates this one well, we'll go back in a couple of weeks for another, etc. etc. So far so good, but she is fussy today, but was before her doctor's appointment. I don't know what her deal is, the change in barometric pressure with the snow, a cold, or just not wanting to sleep, but I think she's cried more today than she has in weeks. She's generally a very happy baby, very giggly and super smiley. She still can't quite roll from her stomach to her back (but can easily roll from her back to her stomach and gets so mad when she can't get back) but I think it'll happen soon. She now loves sitting in the Bumbo and is so much more interactive with the world. She smiles at her brother every time she sees him and gets upset when left alone. She's so close to sitting propped on her arms and now loves being in the Moby wrap facing out so she can see the world. She's also finally playing with toys, especially soft ones she can gnaw and droll on. Lovin' my baby girl more by the day.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-81596817909001732972011-10-06T22:45:00.000-07:002011-10-06T22:45:29.197-07:0014 weeks-what a changeI just had to blog about the changes I've seen in Sierra in the last week or so. Suddenly she is Miss Personality. She giggles when I tickle or kiss her neck, she watches every move her brother makes. Every time I come into view I get a big smile. She loves batting at her new play gym and sitting in the Bumbo, but still doesn't like to hold onto toys and play with them. She's SO close to being able to roll back from her tummy to her back.<br />
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The biggest reason I'm blogging is she is definitely going through a growth spurt. My God, the child is eating nonstop! She seems to have doubled in size in the last several days and I've cleaned her closet out of size 0-3 month clothes and have pulled out all the 6 month clothing. She's getting so big so fast. Speaking of "so big" she giggles with that and if I play pad-a-cake with her. She's having a relapse with her reflux with this growth spurt, probably due to overeating, spitting up and being overall fussy if laid on her back after eating. She's also on a nap strike. Today I couldn't get her to nap more than 10 minutes at a time to save my life. The last two nights are the first time since giving up dairy that I had to try to get her to sleep at night. Most nights she's such a good baby she goes right to sleep when Peyton does and sleeps through the night. She's also waking up at night making for a very tired Mama. <br />
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Love my big baby girl. Sweeter by the day. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-34103965220141260402011-09-18T19:51:00.000-07:002011-09-18T19:51:25.621-07:0012 weeks old and on a roll<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qUq-a5IkQws/Tnaqdzsu6-I/AAAAAAAAARw/uRtTlbb71ps/s1600/P9030156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qUq-a5IkQws/Tnaqdzsu6-I/AAAAAAAAARw/uRtTlbb71ps/s200/P9030156.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Gator Game at the San Diego Gator Club</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sierra and Braylen</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty Girl</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting good at this Bumbo thing</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love the camera and the camera loves me</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3YCk_ZHPwM8/TnaqjqDm9vI/AAAAAAAAAR0/xjl5illeWpk/s1600/DSC_0131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3YCk_ZHPwM8/TnaqjqDm9vI/AAAAAAAAAR0/xjl5illeWpk/s200/DSC_0131.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First time at the beach-Pacific Beach, San Diego</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tummy time!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sucking her fingers, it's either this or the thumb</td></tr>
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A day before turning 12 weeks old, our sweet baby girl rolled herself right over from her back to her tummy and was not happy about it. She continues to rely on sucking for comfort and has been seemingly going through a growth spurt with nonstop eating and a return of a bad tummy. She has started sucking either on her middle two fingers or her thumb, but either way finds it easier to roll onto her side and bringing her head to her hand instead of bringing her hand to her head. She started sucking so intensely that she got closer and closer to her stomach until, all of the sudden, she was on her belly and shocked. She did this over and over again yesterday, but wouldn't do it again today.<br />
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I swear she is growing and chunking up before our eyes. The last 5 days or so she has been an eating machine, even waking more at night to eat. Part of the night waking was due to getting her first cold. The day after we got back from our trip to San Diego, both Peyton and Sierra came down with stuffy noses. It's only now, a week and a half later, that they both seem to be almost better. We don't have a well baby appointment until 4 months old so we don't have a new weight and length, but I really think she's gaining weight as I look at her now. <br />
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Sierra took her first airplane ride this month. We went to San Diego to visit Linnea and her new family. She was really good on the plane, sleeping the whole way to San Diego and only crying briefly on the way back. She was such a good baby the whole time we were there. She rarely cried and slept really well and seemed to have little issue with her stomach. The same can't be said for now. I haven't eaten any dairy but for the last several days she's been acting like I have.<br />
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She's become such a smily, giggly little baby. She watches her brother intently and often finds him funny. We are in the process of trying to establish a bedtime congruent with her brother since I go back to work next week on Sundays and Mondays and she's going to have to go to childcare with Miss Lisa on Mondays. We went and met with her last week and Sierra was initially fussy, but soon became comfortable in her arms and went to sleep. That should make me feel better, but I have an anxiety attack and start to cry every time I think about leaving my little girl with someone else for a whole day, even if it is only one day a week. I didn't relinquish Peyton to her until he was 13 months old and she'll only be 3. In the long run, it'll probably be easier for her to transition this young, but it's harder for me.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-79577226971885320632011-08-24T09:33:00.000-07:002011-08-24T09:37:02.576-07:008 weeks old, Miss Personality<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nVTKxXD6caU/TlUhoNtiyPI/AAAAAAAAARI/bZ4RregQQuo/s1600/DSC_0221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nVTKxXD6caU/TlUhoNtiyPI/AAAAAAAAARI/bZ4RregQQuo/s320/DSC_0221.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div>Our baby girl is already 8 weeks old. Hard to believe, but she's growing like a weed and becoming more smily and personable by the day. Now that I've stopped eating dairy, she's not miserable with gas pains or spitting up constantly. She still spits up, but not in the copious amounts she was. I'll try to reintroduce dairy at about 3 months old to see if she'll tolerate it, but for right now, it's a small price to pay for a happy, pain free baby. <br />
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</div><div>She is responding with huge smiles to her mommy, daddy, and brother. Her eyes are bright and she's completely interested in everything going on around her. She's able to roll onto her sides and can lift her head to about 45 degrees when laying on her tummy, but she hates it. I try to give her tummy time daily, but it has to be in short spurts because she gets so mad, possibly due to her stomach problems, it may be painful. She's sleeping about 6 hours straight at this time and waking up only once or twice a night to eat, which is nice for me. Maybe she'll sleep through the night before a year and a half, which is when Peyton finally started doing it. She's ahead of the norm in her development, but not nearly as far ahead as her brother was, but I have a feeling she'll be a much earlier talker. She tries to hard to communicate already, imitating sounds you make and vocalizing a lot when she's happy. She also sucks to sooth and the pacifier may soon be a thing of the past now that she's discovered her thumb. It'll be easier once she has more control of her hands and fingers, right now it's kind of luck when she gets it in there and gets really mad when she can't. </div><div><br />
</div><div>We've been camping with her twice now, once at 7500 feet for one night and once at over 10,000 feet for two nights. She does great as long as she's kept warm. She's also getting well travelled. We spent a day in Copper for Daddy's Warrior Dash, and are going to Steamboat this weekend. Next week we will be going to visit Linnea in San Diego so she'll get to go on her first plane ride. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Yesterday she went to her 8 week appointment and weighed in at 10 lbs 9 oz (best guess because she was so wiggly on the scale they were having a hard time getting a reading) and is 23 inches long. That puts her at 80% on the height curve, which I find weird and 35% on the weight. She's a chunky little thing, so I'm not sure that's right. The doctor's office just started using Ipads and I don't think they quite know what they are doing yet. She had her first shots and did well with actually getting the shots, but had a really bad reaction to the dTaP later on in the day, screaming bloody murder and projectile vomiting in the bathroom at Buffalo Wild Wings. I hate that shot, Peyton didn't respond well to his first one either. Once she slept it off she's been absolutely fine today. It was no easier to deal with the second time around. It's so hard to see your baby miserable. She loves the bath, though, so we got in when we got home from dinner and she was happy as a clam. She will definitely be a water lover.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I forgot how fast they grow...can't wait to see what she's doing next month.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-48550383550968538432011-08-13T20:48:00.000-07:002011-08-13T20:48:37.584-07:00First camping trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rXIoVyKz7DI/TkdELFUUnFI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/kQLy9kBTHz4/s1600/P8110105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rXIoVyKz7DI/TkdELFUUnFI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/kQLy9kBTHz4/s320/P8110105.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W_Rbzw_6voU/TkdEZrhFgWI/AAAAAAAAARA/r5RyDXPsKys/s1600/DSC_0274.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W_Rbzw_6voU/TkdEZrhFgWI/AAAAAAAAARA/r5RyDXPsKys/s320/DSC_0274.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kb08qdiVLtU/TkdEc0LB49I/AAAAAAAAARE/ejYjbJ6-1LA/s1600/DSC_0275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kb08qdiVLtU/TkdEc0LB49I/AAAAAAAAARE/ejYjbJ6-1LA/s320/DSC_0275.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Sierra got to go on her first camping trip at 6 weeks old. Peyton had to wait until he was almost 3 months. She did fabulous. Of course it helped that we now have experience with camping with a baby whereas it was trial and error with Peyton. It also helped that Sierra is good at nursing just about anywhere, she's not distracted by every little thing like Peyton was, so having a well fed baby instead of one on a nursing strike was also a plus. It also helped that our tent is like a small house, unlike the backpacking tent we had when we camped with her brother for the first time. Cosleeping, flexibility, and bringing the bouncy seat and white noise sheep were key to the success. Mommy slept in a sleeping bag with her so she wouldn't be cold in the chilly Colorado night. Even though we were only at 7500 feet, it still got pretty cold. Pack and Plays are not for camping in Colorado with an infant, they need your body heat. She only nursed once all night long she was so snug with her mommy. She slept through everything, including Peyton's crying spell in the middle of the night. She didn't get one bite from a black fly, unlike the rest of us. She was completely mesmerized by her crazy brother and Daddy wrestling in the tent. Wide eyes and alert, she just soaked it all in. Overall, we rated the trip an 8, and nothing that went wrong had anything to do with having a little baby with us. We can't wait to do it again. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-47236072163888470072011-07-26T21:41:00.000-07:002011-07-26T21:41:29.804-07:00Our baby is one month old!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kMFzof7N5Hg/Ti-V8s2pvII/AAAAAAAAAQA/aCg-rmD15EI/s1600/DSC_0137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kMFzof7N5Hg/Ti-V8s2pvII/AAAAAAAAAQA/aCg-rmD15EI/s200/DSC_0137.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3E-gBBNPQps/Ti-WAIR1FFI/AAAAAAAAAQE/kWFu4H4lWfI/s1600/DSC_0173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3E-gBBNPQps/Ti-WAIR1FFI/AAAAAAAAAQE/kWFu4H4lWfI/s200/DSC_0173.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
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Today is our sweet baby girl's one month birthday! We had a doctor's appointment today where they said she seems to be doing great developmentally (she's lifting her head like a champ during tummy time) and health wise, but is just not a happy baby due to tummy troubles. We've got her on Zantac for reflux, which helps with her not eating so frantically and wanting to breast feed every 15 minutes, but still hasn't solved the problem completely. But I have to say, today, on her one month birthday, she did finally smile quite a bit and had a much less fussy day. She's also starting to coo, now that she has more wakeful hours where she doesn't seem to be in pain. Here's to hoping by two months old this too shall pass. Right now she lives in the Baby Bjorn, which is the only place she seems content...oh, and the bouncy chair that is where she's started sleeping at night. She still makes tons of noise and wakes herself up frequently, but the vibration lulls her quickly back to sleep. <br />
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So are you ready for this? Sierra weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 3 oz and 22 inches long today! I knew she was a good eater and chunking up, but that's amazing. That's not quite as heavy as her brother was, but it was a huge jump over a couple of weeks ago. It really is crazy to look back at Peyton and see how much they are alike. Now that the spitting up is decreasing, I expect her to continue to chunk up. She also is taking a bottle now of my pumped milk. Her brother got to feed her today (he was SO excited) for the first time and it also gave Zack and I a chance to go out for a nice long dinner for our anniversary without feeling like we needed to rush home to feed her. She has shown no problems switching back and forth, but I should feed her soon too just to make sure she'll take both the bottle and breast from me. I've heard horror stories about babies who won't take a bottle from mom. With the bottle being an option, we've started her on a probiotic, just to try and help with the gas pains. I'm also trying to cut dairy out of my diet and see if that helps. It's easier said than done. I had no idea how many things I ate that have cheese in them. So far today is the only day I didn't slip up. Other things that are new are baby acne and a little cradle cap. Our children go through the gamut of skin issues as babies. Oh well, at least they are healthy and beautiful and we love them to death.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-70565150933888834172011-07-12T13:18:00.000-07:002011-07-12T13:18:10.524-07:002 weeks old-Growth Spurt Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-McFVWIAAOEM/ThyrLnetZnI/AAAAAAAAAPs/vnUpOKTmuDc/s1600/DSC_0075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-McFVWIAAOEM/ThyrLnetZnI/AAAAAAAAAPs/vnUpOKTmuDc/s200/DSC_0075.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bDLAwzdmxQc/ThyrJRdJecI/AAAAAAAAAPo/LeWrR6rPQhk/s1600/DSC_0071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bDLAwzdmxQc/ThyrJRdJecI/AAAAAAAAAPo/LeWrR6rPQhk/s200/DSC_0071.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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Ravenous! That's the best way to describe Sierra's current state of being. I believe this is the first major growth spurt an infant has and all she wants to do is eat, eat, eat. If she's awake, she pretty much wants to be eating and gets very upset if Mommy is not right there to feed her. We went to her two week old well baby visit today and she weighs 7 lbs, 7 oz. I forgot to ask how long she is. She continues to be a very noisy baby (not crying, just weird noises all the time) as well as a very gassy and spity baby. We're going to try and avoid meds for reflux, but if it doesn't get better in the next week with homeopathic colic meds, we'll go for the Zantac and hope this resolves quickly as her stomach sphincters get stronger. It's terrible to see a baby so miserable, know what's wrong, and not be able to fix it. Otherwise, she's a healthy, bouncing baby girl.<br />
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We attempted to have a family photo shoot with Amanda Court Photography yesterday, but neither of the kiddos were cooperating after spending the weekend in Steamboat and the morning on the 3 hour car ride back. If Amanda got any good pics, it's definitely a testament to her talent. Sierra was wide awake and only wanted to eat and pee (she doused me twice and Zack once). Today she has not wanted to nap, but has finally gone to sleep for now, since her noisy brother has gone down for a nap too. She's getting to that "not wanting to miss anything" stage and a nap would interfere. She's cuter everyday!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-17065598055256168872011-07-06T14:25:00.000-07:002011-07-06T14:25:03.245-07:00One week (9 days) well baby visitThis morning we went to Sierra's last appointment with the midwives. Next week she starts at our doctor's office. Everything went fabulously. She is up to 7 lbs 2 1/2 oz already. I thought that was a lot until I looked back at my blog for Peyton at 8 days he was 7 lbs 3 oz, but he started smaller and had lost more of his birth weight. I can't imagine that he was more of an eater than her. She eats constantly. She's a pretty good sleeper too, already sleeping at 3 hour stretches at night. We'll see how things progress from here to 2 1/2 weeks, the next time I blogged for Peyton. He had chunked up over 8 lbs, grown an inch and was becoming a nightmare to deal with because of reflux. He was up at night all the time, inconsolably crying and that's when I became very sleep deprived. It sounds like I was also "nesting" much like I am now, wanting to clean everything in the house from top to bottom, so I wasn't resting like I should have been. <br />
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Her skin and eyes seem to be clearing up some. The hemorrhage in her left eye is definitely breaking up and the one in her right is nearly gone. The "toxic erythema" (not bad like it sounds and apparently perfectly normal in 50% of newborns) that has caused her to have red blotches all over, making her look like she has a case of the chicken pox, is finally starting to lessen. Supposedly it usually clears up completely by about 2 weeks. Her hair looks to be already thinning a bit, so maybe it'll fall out and come back in blond like Peyton's did. Our biggest problem, though, is that she's very gassy, causing her to spit up, and at times strain for hours (unfortunately mostly in the middle of the night) to go to the bathroom. She yelps when she's straining and it's very hard to console her because nothing seems to help. I'm hoping it's not something I'm eating coming out in my breast milk. I think she's just swallowing a lot of air because it's getting a little better as her latch gets better. <br />
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That's pretty much it. I've been home with the two little ones by myself the last 2 days and even took Peyton with us to the appointment today and he was super well behaved-he sat on the floor and played with trucks the whole time, you wouldn't even know he was there. They've been really easy so far and again, looking back at Peyton's blog, it's so much easier with experience. At both appointments we've been to everyone in the midwife office has said I look like a mom coming in at 6 weeks postpartum, not 2 days and 1 week. That makes me feel good that I at least appear to be well put together (it helps I'm already 1/2 way to my prepregnancy weight, gotta love breastfeeding!). We love our little girl more and more each day. Zack has said that it already feels different to have a daughter over a son. I think he's going to love it when she's a little older. I think I am too. We're so lucky to get to experience the love for a son and a daughter.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-87977452296103834632011-07-04T14:18:00.000-07:002011-07-04T14:18:02.729-07:00One week old-time flies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0fY_Rvhl45Y/ThIsNgxmi9I/AAAAAAAAAPI/eVwgJg25p64/s1600/P6270234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0A_cJgNeJa0/ThIq1U0QQWI/AAAAAAAAAO8/41E1q13vJOs/s1600/DSC_0035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0A_cJgNeJa0/ThIq1U0QQWI/AAAAAAAAAO8/41E1q13vJOs/s320/DSC_0035.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_Kg8VKo4_2A/ThIsoe6lQdI/AAAAAAAAAPg/adKRyqYDwxQ/s1600/P7010261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_Kg8VKo4_2A/ThIsoe6lQdI/AAAAAAAAAPg/adKRyqYDwxQ/s320/P7010261.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-biRdqANnSh0/ThIssZuIw_I/AAAAAAAAAPk/kY0KQ3CJb2M/s1600/P7010267.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-biRdqANnSh0/ThIssZuIw_I/AAAAAAAAAPk/kY0KQ3CJb2M/s320/P7010267.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>I can't believe our little Sierra was one week old yesterday. At her 48 hour post birth appointment she had only lost 3 oz. because she was already such a ravenous little eater. Everything seems to be going well. All her vitals and reflexes were good. She is a spitter upper though due to extreme gassiness. Every time she eats it's not a matter of will she spit up, but what volume and out of where (nose or mouth are acceptable answers). It's been more a nuisance than anything except the one day it didn't come out and just went up her nose and she couldn't breathe. She wailed (she's not much of a crier so far so not being able to console her was hard to handle) until we were finally able to suction all the milk out of her poor little nose. <br />
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She had hemorrhages in her eyes from birth trauma that are starting to clear up and she's plumping up nicely so she becomes cuter by the day. She sleeps a lot more than her brother did (which I'm enjoying because I don't really feel sleep deprived) and she's wide eyed when she's awake. Just like her brother she lifts her head already and wants to know what's going on in the world around her. She smiles when you talk to her and look her in the eyes. She still has some skin issues that will hopefully clear up soon. The mild jaundice that she had started to develop quickly cleared once my milk came in and she got some sun. Speaking of sun, she loves being outside. She gets really bad, seemingly painful, hiccups that make her fuss and she calms right down outside. I've been nursing her a lot outside to get her used to it so we don't have the repeat of our first camping trip with Peyton when he wouldn't nurse because he was so distracted by all the things in the great outdoors. We hope to go camping by August. If all goes well at her 1 week appointment on Wednesday we'll be taking a 3 hour car ride to Steamboat Springs for the hot air balloon rodeo next weekend too.<br />
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Peyton adores his little sister, holding and kissing her every chance he gets. So far there really hasn't been any jealousy. He's a big helper with diaper changes and fetching things I need while breastfeeding. He's got a bag of toys reserved for only times when Mommy is breastfeeding Sierra and he understood the concept really quickly and looks forward to those times when he can play with "my toys!" So far there hasn't been any regressing as far as potty training or any worse behaviors than he already had being in the throws of the terrible twos. <br />
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Tomorrow my mom goes to a workshop for five days, Zack goes back to work and Aunt Cathy goes back to Orlando, so I will have my first taste of taking care of the two of them alone. I was extremely anxious about it initially, but feel ready to take on whatever they can throw at me come tomorrow. I may even attempt the midwife appointment on Wednesday by myself with Peyton in tow. I was considering a sitter, but we'll have to see how tomorrow goes. <br />
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I'm in love with my family. We have two amazing, beautiful children that we love more than anything. There really is room in your heart for two. I didn't know how I could love someone as much as I love Peyton, but I do. Life sure is getting interesting.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-39126910650381303202011-06-27T11:52:00.000-07:002011-06-27T11:52:29.804-07:00Sierra's Birth Story-Through Her Mama's Eyes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jYN2L1TUasE/TgjQYQgwLPI/AAAAAAAAAOc/XV9hk5JK7oU/s1600/P6260184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jYN2L1TUasE/TgjQYQgwLPI/AAAAAAAAAOc/XV9hk5JK7oU/s200/P6260184.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Q3yihoDPCQ/TgjQSWOPGoI/AAAAAAAAAOU/WpJx5bRs5R0/s1600/IMG_0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Q3yihoDPCQ/TgjQSWOPGoI/AAAAAAAAAOU/WpJx5bRs5R0/s200/IMG_0192.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A7kjISWAzEk/TgjQw7yochI/AAAAAAAAAO4/uvpRR26sLow/s1600/P6260226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A7kjISWAzEk/TgjQw7yochI/AAAAAAAAAO4/uvpRR26sLow/s200/P6260226.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>My water broke on June 25th at 8:15 am. It started much the same as Peyton's birth in that I wasn't even sure it was my water breaking, but by afternoon it was very obvious that was the case. I was keeping in touch with the midwife on call because I had 24 hours to go into labor or we would need to go in for a stress test for baby to make sure she was still tolerating things ok. Laura, the midwife on call, also asked that we come in at 7:30 pm to be checked to see if my water really broke and to check if any progress had been made even though I wasn't having any contractions. We determined I hadn't really made any progress since the previous week, but she stripped my membranes again with hopes of triggering contractions. Whether that worked or they started naturally I woke up around 1:30 am having "real" contractions finally.<br />
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After determining I wasn't going to be able to sleep in between contractions because I spent the 10 minutes in between each one anticipating the next (and I don't do contractions well laying down), I decided to get up. Around 2:30 Zack woke up to me walking around the room. I labored squatting on a stool for several hours and Zack got me food around 2:30 am because I was ravenous. I was very pleased at how well I was relaxing through my contractions and felt a lot more in control than I ever did during labor with Peyton. Around 3 I was really feeling the fatigue of only about 3 hours of sleep and decided to lay down, even if it did slow things down. It sure did. My contractions went from between 4 and 6 minutes apart (I never had them consistent in duration or spacing) to about 10 minutes apart again. I would just begin to doze off when one would wake me. I got up again sometime during the 4 am hour and Zack and I decided by 6 am we wanted to be at the birth center to be safe. I didn't feel like things were really progressing, mostly because I was handling the contractions so well still. We decided Sierra was going to be a lot slower coming into this world than Peyton was.<br />
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At 5:30 we left for the birth center to meet Tracy at 6 am. That's when they changed midwives on call. I was very excited because I really had wanted Tracy to be at Peyton's birth. I always felt she really could guide me should things get hairy. As it turned out, I was very glad she was there. When I got there I was only between 3 and 4 cm dilated, but 90% effaced. That was the last time we checked. Zack, Peyton and I went for a walk to try to recover the consistency that we'd lost in the contractions from the car ride and change of scenery. It worked, I started having them pretty frequently again. She monitored Sierra's heart beat about every 30 minutes and otherwise marked my progress by changed in the intensity and spacing of my contractions. It was very obvious that she is really good at what she does. It was very casual labor. We'd talk, I'd excuse myself from conversation every once and a while and have a contraction. At one point Tracy had me take cotton root bark tincture to try and increase the contractions. It was amazing how fast it did that. The very next one was much more intense. <br />
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Finally I felt like I was ready to get in the water (I hadn't wanted to get in too soon and slow things down). Tracy was on board so I got in. It felt wonderful for a brief time and then I hit the transition state. I asked Tracy if she thought that I was in a place that I could begin pushing. She said she thought so based on the noises I had made during my previous contraction, it sounded more like I was fighting pushing. I started to gently push, which initially was a relief, but then things got really intense. I started to feel like I was going to throw up with each contraction, they got extremely painful, and I felt a strong need to push all at once. This was my meltdown. I started crying and was having a really hard time getting ahold of myself. Tracy and the nurse, Shawn, were awesome, as well as Zack. They were telling me I was strong and could do it, were giving positioning advice and advice on how to push and noises to make. Tracy physically helped me get Sierra to descend to crowning when I didn't think I could do it myself. Once she crowned it only took about two pushed to get her head mostly out. They tried to hear her heartbeat with the doppler while she was in this position and I was waiting for a contraction and couldn't. I was feeling a sense of panic, wanting to get her out, but not having the strength to push without a contraction to help. Finally I felt the surge and with two big pushes and a loud grunt I pushed her out. I was so much more present in the moment than I had been at Peyton's birth, where everything was a blur. Sierra came out into the water, I turned over at Tracy's instruction and heard her say the cord was wrapped around Sierra's neck, which it had been with Peyton, but not nearly as tightly. She lifted her up into my arms and she was blue with really low tone and not trying to take a breath. Tracy asked the nurse to get the oxygen and took Sierra's pulse, which was down to 80. I held her while they performed the resuscitation which was amazing. I was crying, Zack was frozen by the video camera, and the nurse and midwife did their job to perfection, alternating giving her oxygen and checking for a good breath, and I never had to let go of my little girl. She suddenly started breathing on her own, her tone came back and she immediately turned pink and started screaming at the top of her lungs. It took less than a minute, but it felt like an eternity. It was music to my ears. We were all crying with relief and joy. My mom and Peyton came in the room (smartly staying out of the room during the commotion) and joined the tear-fest.<br />
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We moved to the bed and got to spend time as a family. They don't cut the cord for about 30-45 minutes to give the baby the chance to soak up as much nutrition from it as possible, so we just ate a snack, talked to my sister on Skype, and hung out as a new family. Sierra took to nursing within 20 minutes of being born and hasn't stopped since. She is a nursing fiend. She became very content after that, not crying again except some whimpering last night when she was hungry. We left the birth center 4 hours after she was born. By then my adrenaline/endorphin high was gone and the stress of the day along with the physical exhaustion of giving birth and waking up at 1:30 am were getting to me. As soon as we got home we all napped and I remembered how hard it is to let go of your newborn and trust that everything will be ok while you sleep. I ended up sleeping holding her because I couldn't bring myself to put her in her bassinet. <br />
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So far everything has been great with her. She is eating well, sleeping well, pooping and peeing really well and makes the cutest little noises and faces. She's already lifting her head like her brother did, and although she was more lethargic than he had been after the birth due to the trauma, at 2 am she woke up wide eyed and interested in the world around her. We love her so much already and so does her big brother, who is actually upset that he can't hold her constantly. He proudly professes she is "my baby." So now our family is complete and we couldn't be happier.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-11564990034509152802011-06-26T09:41:00.000-07:002011-06-26T09:46:01.347-07:00Stats:Ok, we have a 6 lb. 12 and 1/2 oz, 19 and 1/4" baby girl! Bigger than her big brother was when he made his appearance. She was born at 9:55 am. Mom and baby are still doing great and looking beautiful!Cathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914291065773088730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-84245697655202843872011-06-26T08:58:00.000-07:002011-06-26T09:01:57.363-07:00She's here!!No sooner did I publish the last post than I got a call. Sierra is here!! She's perfect and beautiful with dark hair! Mommy Connie is doing great. I can hear the crying in the background, this kid has some lungs! I'm crying with Maw Maw, Peyton is confused, and Sierra is screaming bloody murder. Happiness!! More to come!<div><br /></div>Cathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914291065773088730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-36962403231774065362011-06-26T08:50:00.000-07:002011-06-26T08:56:30.872-07:00Getting close now.We're all a bit nervous in watch and wait land, knowing someone we love is in pain and there's nothing we can do. Even Peyton is showing his concern, telling Maw Maw that "mommy crying." Must be hard for the little guy not understanding what's taking place. It's hard for the rest of us KNOWING what's taking place! Poor Maw Maw is even more nervous this birth than the last one. And I get nervous knowing everyone else is nervous so it's one big family ball of nerves! Hopefully it's all over with soon and we can relax and enjoy the miracle of a brand new life wrapped in a mother's arms. But for now....It's Tense!Cathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914291065773088730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-54639919096135379022011-06-26T07:57:00.000-07:002011-06-26T08:08:17.961-07:00Tired, but hanging in there...Good morning again everyone. Since things got started so early this morning I think everyone is feeling a bit tired, especially Mommy Connie. I just got a picture from Zack via the magic of cell phone technology showing Connie has moved into the birthing pool. Peyton is out in the other room playing with Maw Maw and getting a little restless. He had to wake up early and leave the house in his PJs after all! It's a tough life for a 2 year old. <div><br /></div><div>We hope to meet Sierra within the hour I've just been told. Connie is having speedy contractions and is...unhappy in general with the world at the moment. A sure sign of progression! Keep up those positive thoughts and maybe we'll hear the cry of a baby very soon!</div>Cathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914291065773088730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-89106875834775702982011-06-26T05:29:00.000-07:002011-06-26T05:39:12.433-07:00Come on, Baby!Good morning friends and family, Aunt Cathy here again. Looks like it's time for me to take over the blog for a bit because we have some progress! Mom, Dad, and Grandma (or Maw Maw) are at the midwifery and baby Sierra has decided it might be time to make an appearance. Yay! <div><br /></div><div>So far Connie is 4 cm dilated (which, yes, is far from 10, but I'm gonna go with "is better than 2!"). It seems Sierra may decide to progress a bit more slowly than Peyton, but you know it takes girls longer to get ready sometimes so who can blame her. Positive thoughts and prayers are welcome for this special event, so send them this way!</div><div><br /></div><div>I'll keep you posted as the news comes in to me, so stay tuned!</div>Cathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914291065773088730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-29955559029751278202011-06-25T20:10:00.000-07:002011-06-25T20:10:02.528-07:00Update on midwife checkAt 7:30 we went to the midwife to "humor her" as she put it, to make sure my water broke. It has...duh. We listened to baby Sierra's heart beat which was still strong and steady, checked my blood pressure which was 110/80, my temp is normal and I'm still only dilated and effaced exactly the same as I have been for 3 weeks. So, since I was there, we had my membranes stripped again, which already seems to be increasing my Braxton Hicks contractions at least. The plan is tomorrow, if we don't have a baby by then, to go in at 11 am for a stress test on the baby to make sure it's OK to stay pregnant another day. If I'm not in active labor, we'll start some herbs and make a plan. I think Sierra is just too comfortable in there. We drove over every bump on the way home to try and make her less comfortable. So anyway, we'll update again should things change. Oh, and we picked our room for the birth, the tent room. I wanted the log room, where Peyton was born, but they had another mom in there earlier tonight and it may not be cleaned in time.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5198240752608372434.post-17133855836817456902011-06-25T15:39:00.000-07:002011-06-25T15:39:32.909-07:00New PlanWe've got a slightly new plan in place. In order to give me peace of mind and a good night's sleep if contractions don't start here soon, I'm going over to the midwifery at 7 pm to be checked. She gave me a choice of 6 or 7, so I chose 7 to give myself time to eat dinner and to hopefully give myself time to go into labor (it's 4:30 right now). I have no doubt that my water broke after how things have been for the last hour or so, but apparently they do. Leave it to a healthcare provider to plant the seed of doubt that I know what's going on with my body. I'll humor them, but there is no doubt in my mind I'm right.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782799909084839306noreply@blogger.com0