Spring is around the corner...

I'm a little worried about my fruit trees this year because they're already starting to blossom! My apricot tree always blooms first and I was very surprised to see the buds opening yesterday. It's been such a mild Winter, the blooms are even earlier than usual.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the mild weather continues and we don't get bombarded with freezing temperatures in March. I also looked at my garden today. Oi. All the dead plants from last year are still in there. Later this week I think I'll get ambitious and pull all the dead junk out and ready it for Spring planting. I didn't think I'd have any motivation to do anything with my garden this Spring but something about budding plants gets me excited to grow some veggies.

So sleepy...

So Mikayla's super sleeping streak came to an end. She's showing a lot of the same acid reflux signs as Juliet. So 2 days ago, I gave up milk and all milk-based foods, in an effort to help her feel better. She doesn't sleep very well, waking up often and squirming like she's in pain. :( She has another doctor appointment on Tuesday so I'm going to bring up getting her on some medication. The effect it's having on me is sleep deprivation. Mikayla is up every couple of hours day or night and I'm not dealing as well as I used to. When I had Juliet, I was 27. Now I'm 32 and I really feel like my body is not keeping up. Postpartum recovery is great, I'm just really tired. Luckily Merril has been around in the mornings to get the kids off to school so I can sleep in. Otherwise, I might be pretty grumpy. I usually sneak in a nap in the afternoons as well. So I'm just getting older.

Merril also made the comment that he forgot how much time I have to spend nursing at first. He calculated it out to 3 1/2 hours a day. That's a lot of time to be sitting on the couch. I've caught up on some tv. My Name is Earl comes on at 3 a.m. and I've enjoyed the reruns.

More pictures of Mikayla...

My Dad, who loves teeny infants, asked if there was any way I'd take some pictures of Mikayla so he could have one printed. I got a bounce flash for Christmas and decided to try it out. Here are my favorite three:

If anyone has any bounce flash tips, I'd love to hear them. I should probably just read the little book that came with it but I haven't had time yet. I still can't believe all that hair!

Oh, someone asked about Mikayla's middle name, Ai. Sorry that I didn't explain. Ai is the Japanese word for "love." It's pronounced I.

It's a girl!

After feeling that I was going to have a boy, we ended up with a girl in the oven! Mikayla Ai was born at 9:57 p.m., was 20.5 inches long and weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz.

We got started with the induction around 4 p.m. Everything went pretty smoothly. I got an epidural at 7 p.m. (i think) and told the doctor it usually takes on the left side really well and not on the right. So he aimed to the right and instead my right side went totally numb but I could still feel it on my left. It's not an exact science. He also said I had some scoliosis from the pregnancy. I've always felt like my babies like to sit on my right side and he says that pulls my spine to the side as well. It's supposed to go back to normal with recovery. Fingers crossed. :)

So around 9 p.m., it was still hurting and the anesthesiologist came back and gave me an extra dose of something. After that, I was super numb and happy. Around 9:35 p.m., they called the doctor, she arrived, I pushed 3 times and we had a baby girl.

She has a ton of brown hair!

By the time we got moved to the new room and ready to sleep, it was midnight. Merril went home to sleep and help with the kids. The nurses kept coming in and waking me up so I didn't sleep super awesome at the hospital.

This is the next day as we're getting ready to leave the hospital.

We left the hospital around 2 p.m. and my Mom kept the kids during the afternoon. Merril, the baby and I all had a long nap. Around 5 p.m. the kids showed up and met their new baby sister. Since then, Mikayla has barely touched the bassinet or couch. The kids love to hold her!

Last night we put her to bed around 10:30 p.m. and she woke up at 3:30 a.m. I fed her and Merril got her back to bed and she slept until 7:45 a.m. Pretty good for the first night.

I'm feeling pretty good too. Not hardly sore at all, just where the epidural was. I'm slow and sleepy today but feel like I'll be back to normal soon!

Thanks to everyone who has brought presents and helped out!!

Baby Shower Gifts...

I received some baby gifts a few days ago. Since no one knew the gender of the baby, I got lots of essentials! Things like diapers, lotions, a baby bag, wipes, baby thermometers and such. When I came home with the gifts, Juliet immediately loaded up the bag with wipes and diapers and played with her baby doll, Suzie.

Juliet and I were playing because we were so bored waiting for the hospital to call. There was no laundry to do, no messes on the floor, no dishes in the sink, just waiting.

The hospital finally called at 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon and we loaded up the kids and headed over. Grandma C. met us at the hospital and we checked in. They had to finish cleaning up the room for me and so we waited in a triage room. This is the last pregnant picture of me.

No baby yet...

I'm scheduled to be induced tomorrow so I don't have the baby so close to my birthday. I'd had Juliet by now so I've thought that maybe I'd go early. I've never been induced before and I'm a little nervous. I'm not sure why, I'm always given pitocin eventually because I take a while a dilate. I tested negative for Group Beta Strep, a first for me, so I don't have to have the antibiotics!! I've finished with almost everything I wanted to. I have 2 goals for today: running to Walmart and washing sheets because I've washed everything else in the house.

The thing that's wigging me out the most is the fact that by tomorrow for sure, I'll be holding my baby. With the induction, they can call as soon as midnight and tell me to get in there. That's only 16 hours away! Next post will include baby pictures! Promise.