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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Addy Jo {2 weeks old}

Dear Sweet Addy Jo,

As I write this, you are napping away in your swing.  It's been two weeks and two days since you were born and you have already made our world a better place.  I love to just sit and stare at your precious little face as I try to take a snapshot in my mind of your tiny little ears and nose, chubby cheeks, and those big, dark blue eyes that fight to stay awake.  I want to remember every single dimple and roll.

You are truly the definition of a "good baby" as they say...so calm, laid back, and content.  For the first two weeks of your life, sleep and eat can define pretty much all you did.  If you weren't nursing, then you were asleep. If you weren't asleep, then you were nursing.  But the past two days you have become more alert and actually staying awake a little bit.  I'm not forcing a schedule or routine on you, just kind of going with the flow.  And for the past two days, you have mostly followed a pattern of eat, awake for a little bit, nap, repeat.  And you sleep great at night too! You wake up 1-2 times and always go right back to sleep while nursing.

I was having a problem with producing too much milk and you were getting really choked up at the beginning of each feeding, but I found that pumping a couple of ounces before each feeding remedied this and everything is great now.  Your first doctor appointment is tomorrow so I'm anxious to see how much you have grown in two weeks.

Oh, sweet girl, if there ever was a baby that was overly-loved, it is you.  Being the only girl with two older brothers, this was bound to happen.  Not only does mommy and daddy love you to pieces, but your brothers can't seem to get enough of you either.  They ask to hold you throughout the day and in the middle of being in full on play-mode, they run up to you and pat your little head gently or kiss your feet.  This heart of mine melts every time.

We love you so much Addy Jo and can't imagine life without you now!

Love,

Mommy



















Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Birth Story {Addison Jordan}

Our sweet, baby girl came into this world on Tuesday, September 3, 2013 at 12:49 pm.  9 lbs 12 oz and 21 inches long

I want to start off by saying that I have been blessed with some amazing parents.  They both took a whole week off from work to come to Lawton to help us out.  They arrived Sunday evening, checked into a hotel and took the boys off of our hands for two days before Addy Jo's arrival and three days after her arrival.  Not only did this allow us time to get some last minute things done before the induction, but it greatly helped us make that transition from the hospital back home.  Jordan and I are so thankful for them!

We were scheduled to be at the hospital at 5:30 on Tuesday morning for one final NST and to start my IV, Pitocin and antibiotics since I tested positive for Group B Strep.  The original plan was to not break my water until noon because there were two c-sections scheduled ahead of me.  However, I was very thankful when my doctor showed up at 7:30 ready to break it.  One hour after breaking my water, my contractions were already getting pretty strong and by 9:30, I was 4 cm dilated.  At 10:20, I received an epidural.  By 11:15, I was 5 cm dilated.  At this point, I told Jordan to go get himself some lunch because I figured we still had a few hours to go.  Thankfully, his parents were on the way and stopped and got him something to eat.  At about 12:30 the nurses came in to check me and I was VERY surprised to find out that I was 9 cm already.  At that point, I called Jordan and told him that he better finish eating fast!  So he rushed back up, and at 12:45 I was 10 cm and ready to push.  I couldn't believe that I had gone from 5 cm to 10 cm in as little as 1.5 hours! And with only two rounds of pushing, Addison Jordan entered our world four minutes later at 12:49 pm.

When they placed her on my chest, my heart filled with so much joy! A daughter! The sonogram tech was right!

I'll never forget the look on Jordan's face as he watched the nurses perform the Apgar test.  I knew exactly what he was thinking and feeling because I was thinking and feeling the same things...a sweet baby girl..Our world would never be the same...God has truly blessed us!

Then for the next hour, we had her all to ourselves.  She nursed and we just sat there and stared and talked to her.  After we had our alone time with her, we invited our parents and the boys in to meet her.  Everyone fell in love with her immediately. Even the boys! Especially Eli!

Then a nurse came to get her cleaned up, weigh her and all those routine things.  Jordan went with them because he couldn't wait to see how much she weighed.  I was floored when the nurse came in to tell me that she was 9 lbs 12 oz. and 21 inches long.  I had only gained half the weight with this pregnancy compared to the boys and I just knew that she was going to be smaller than they were.  But she beat them both by a few ounces!  And I love every bit of her chunky cheeks!

Now, 8 days later, I can say that if there was a such thing as a "perfect" baby, that would be how I would describe our Addy Jo. She is a doll! She sleeps and sleeps and sleeps! And when she is awake, she hardly makes a peep...she just stares at you while you talk to her.  I'm finding it hard to get things done because I just want to hold her all day! And nursing is such a breeze with her.  She latches on perfectly and gets her fill.  Not that the boys were bad, they just wanted to camp out for a good hour per feeding...and because of her shorter nursing sessions, I am able to get more sleep at night.  Did I mention that she only wakes up 1-2 times during the night? And there were two nights that I had to wake her up to feed her! Anyone who has ever breastfed a baby understands why I HAD to do this.  Anyway, Jordan and I are so very very very thankful for how calm and laid back our sweet girl is.  She truly is a wonderful blessing and we love her to pieces!

Did I mention how beautiful she is? Okay, I'll stop bragging now and let you see for yourself: