TexiCali Girls Weekend 2011

I've been blessed to have many amazing friends in my life. When we moved to Bakersfield, I made some wonderful friends that I know will forever be apart of my life. A few months ago, these lovely ladies asked if they could visit after Peyton was born. Marissa has made several trips to Texas, but it would be a first for the rest of the ladies. I've been counting down the days until they arrived a few weeks ago.

Since this was the first time for three of the girls to visit Texas, I wanted to make sure they left with a lasting impression. Besides, I've been bragging about the great state of Texas for a very long time, so their expectations were high.

The weather couldn't have been better. The sun was shining and fall has settled into North Texas. Is it bad that most of our weekend revolved around food and shopping?

 

 Marissa, Me with Peyton, Sarah, & Jayme after we devoured 12 cupcakes from my favorite cupcake spot. Don't worry, we shared all the different flavors, but I didn't get a chance to take a picture because we were hungry. I'm assuming Rachel was in a food coma and that is why she didn't make it in this picture.

 The California girls outside of Billy Bob's. I haven't been since college, but they wanted to go out and experience everything Texas. What is better than visiting the Fort Worth Stockyards.

 For lunch one day, we ate at Cooper's BBQ. The girls were able to experience Brisket at it's finest. We also had Pappasito's that weekend. BBQ and TexMex are a must when visiting Texas.

 Obviously I didn't get the memo to wear black. 

 One afternoon we all had spa pedicures. It relaxed Jayme so much that she fell asleep waiting for her nails to dry.

 Aunt Rissa holding Peyton for the first time.

Sarah working it. 

It was a much needed weekend and I'm so thankful that Adam didn't mind having all of this estrogen in the house. We had two babies that were 4 months old and younger, two toddlers, 5 women and Adam under one roof. I love these girls and can't wait to visit Bakersfield next.

Sharing

My little man isn't so little anymore. Just having conversations with him blow my mind. He is like a sponge and has absorbed so much information. It amazes me how much he knows about life, trains, construction, cars, and the solar system. I attribute this mostly to books. Once he hears something, he retains that information, asks questions and then explains it back to you.

The other day I was watching Quints by Surprise on TLC. The family lives in Central Texas and were evacuated late this summer due to the Texas Wildfires. Their neighborhood lost several homes. As a family, they drove around the neighborhood to show teach their kids about fires.

Mason started asking a lot of questions. I explained that one of the families had a little girl that no longer had a home to go to each day when she got home from school. That she lost all of her toys, clothes and food. Mason took it all in and was on the verge of tears when he said how sad it was. Then he proceeded to tell me that we should give them some food and share what we have with them. It warmed my heart to hear the compassion in his voice.

I've been trying to teach the kids about sharing and giving to others, especially those who don't have much. Our kids have been blessed with a ton of toys. I like to go through them regularly and clean out the toys that they no longer play with. During this process, I've tried to explain that there are boys and girls that don't have any toy and that maybe we should share with them some of their toys. He gave it some thought and said maybe we should keep the toys and invite the kids over to play with his toys because they probably needed a friend more than they needed new toys. Amazing how a child's mind works.

2 going on 16

 

I found this dress and knew immediately that it was perfect for Taylor. She's already a huge fan of football and has such an encouraging personality. Can we say future cheerleader?

I was a little worried that in the midst of bring Peyton home and the changes that having a new baby bring, that she might feel left out or just have problems adjusting. I'm so thrilled to say that I shouldn't have been concerned.

Taylor is such a wonderful big sister to Peyton. Her heart is so full of love for Peyton and she loves to help me. The other day I was feeding Peyton and Taylor crawled up on the couch next to me to cuddle as she held her baby doll. She is constantly introducing Peyton to everyone as her best friend and little sister. I pray that their relationship grows and flourishes into a wonderful friendship and admiration for each other.

Secretly, I've been watching Taylor in her classroom at Preschool, as I wait to pick her up. I'm usually about 5 minutes early and I enjoy watching her interact with the other kids and her teachers. She is such a little helper and has a vibrant personality. Before she leaves, she tells everyone hi and hugs her friends.

Taylor looks up to Mason and adores her older brother. Usually they play very well together, but if he even looks at her wrong, she will break down in tears. Should I be worried that she is already dramatic and emotional at the age of two? We are going to have our hands full during her teenage years.

Her favorite activities include anything to do with her brother, playing dress up or beauty shop, helping me cook, coloring, dancing, and talking. The other day Adam got home shortly after I tucked the kids into bed. He went into Taylor's room to give her kisses and tell her goodnight and all I could hear was high pitched chatter. She was telling Adam all about her day. He said he barely got a word in. I was the same way as a little girl. I love watching her grow and change before our very eyes. I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

Peyton - 1 Month

Stats:
Birth Weight: 8lbs 6oz (down to 7lbs 9oz when we left the hospital)
1 Week: 8lbs 13oz
2 Weeks: 10lbs 5oz
1 Month: 11lbs 13oz

Obviously our little girl likes to eat. She isn't so little anymore. I joke that all of my babies only stay little for about a week, because each of them have gained about 3.5lbs in the first month of their lives. I'm very thankful that nursing is going so well and she is getting enough to eat. I love her chipmunk cheeks and her round belly. It makes me so proud.

Sleep:
She still sleeps a ton, but we are getting more awake time with her during the day. Usually is wide awake around 11am, 4pm and 7pm. She usually only lasts for about an hour to an hour and a half before she is back out again. At night, I usually cluster feed at 6pm, 8pm and then again at 10pm. This has definitely helped and she will sleep for 4 to 5 hours in the first stretch at night and then for 3 to 4 hours the next stretch. I usually only wake up twice at night to feed her. I still have her sleeping in our room next to my side of the bed. I don't plan to move her to her room until she is sleeping through the night.

She loves:
Taking a nap on her Daddy's chest while he watches the Texan's on Sunday. (I like this too, because I can take a nap on Sunday's)
Watching her brother and sister. Every time Mason & Taylor come over to talk to her, she smiles.
Riding in the car. She sleeps great and doesn't mind being in her carseat.
Cuddle time and rocking with Mommy in the glider. I treasure those moments, because all too soon she won't want to sit still and I will long for these days again.
Bath time - this wasn't a hit to start off with, but she really enjoys it now.

 Aunt Emily holding Peyton for the first time.

 Hanging out with Grandpa.

 Sleeping on Daddy.

 Already looking up to her Daddy.

 Zoolander.

Halloween Pictures - Better Late Than Never

I realize I'm almost two weeks behind in posting these, but it's better late than never. We let the kids pick out their costumes this year. Mason has wanted to be Spiderman since earlier this summer. Taylor originally wanted to be Tinker Bell, but switched when we went to buy the costumes. She decided to be Strawberry Shortcake and I picked out Peyton's. With not knowing how big she would be and realizing she would sleep all through trick-or-treating, I decided she would make the perfect Ladybug. It helped that I found a cute sleeper for her to wear.

Adam was able to get off of work early and I made an early dinner for Mason & Taylor. As soon as Adam arrived, we took pictures and then headed down the street. We decided to stick to only our street this year, and then let the kids hand out candy. They loved walking door to door and had so much fun showing off their costumes.

The highlight of the evening for everyone was handing out candy. Our neighborhood must be the place to go trick-or-treating because we had more kids walking the streets with their parents than I have ever seen in my life. Last year we made the smart choice to sit out on the driveway and hand out candy, so we did the same thing this year. It saves getting up constantly to answer the door. We let Mason & Taylor give the kids candy. Taylor was exceptionally kind and gave extra candy to the kids who had costumes that she liked.

By the end of the evening, they were wiped and so were we. It was a very fun evening and they are already talking about what costume they want to be next year.

 Sleeping Ladybug

 Before the wigs and mask.

 The only picture we were able to get of all three kids together.

 Taylor with her pink wig and hat.

 Going door to door.

 The kids eating their candy while waiting on the other trick-or-treaters.

By the end of the night, she was wiped.

First couple of weeks

First, I would like to say that there is no way that I could have gotten through the first week without my amazing husband and my mother-in-law, Nancy. Adam was able to stay home for a couple of days at the beginning of the week to help everyone get adjusted. Nancy made plans to stay the entire first week with us.

I don't care how many times you have been pregnant and delivered a baby, the first week is always the hardest. The hormonal changes you are going through mixed with the sleepless nights makes it difficult. When you have older kids who need attention as well, it can make it even harder. I am so thankful that I have a great support system, because I wouldn't have been able to do it without them.

The key for us was making sure things went smoothly with Mason & Taylor and tried to keep their schedule the same. They were so excited about their baby sister, that they couldn't wait to go to school and tell everyone about Peyton. I loved seeing their excitement in their faces. It was precious to watch them announce to their classes and tell their friends all about Peyton.

Peyton has been a good eater from day one. The late night feedings were the hardest for me at first. I made sure to take advantage of the extra help at the house and take a nap during the day, when she was sleeping. I had to get my sleep, otherwise I would have been a mess. Thankfully, my body has gotten used to the late night feedings and it isn't as hard to wake up.

She loves to snuggle and to curl up in a ball on my chest. There is nothing sweeter than a tiny baby sleeping in your arms. For the first week, she ate every 2 hours during the day and every 3 hours at night. The rest of the time she is sleeping. We've been using the miracle blanket every night and she loves it. Right now she is sleeping in our room. Until she is sleeping through the night, she will stay in there with us.

We've learned that she doesn't like her swing that much. She would rather lay on a blanket on the floor. Anytime we are in the car, she is out cold. The paci helps us out during diaper changes or if she can't get settled, but otherwise she doesn't use it too much. We haven't seen her suck her thumb or fingers since her 20 week ultrasound. I try to limit the paci use to a minimum because I don't want to get up constantly at night to put it in her mouth. The only time she really cries is during diaper changes or if she is really hungry and I'm not moving fast enough. 

At her one week checkup, she had gained all of her birth weight back and then some weighing 8lbs 13oz. Obviously she loves to eat. Her 2 week checkup is today, even though tomorrow she will be 3 weeks. Overall, the transition to a family of five has gone extremely well.

Peyton's Birth Story

(I realize that I haven't updated or written anything for awhile, so I figured I would start with Peyton's birth story. I promise to eventually get back in to blogging, as I really miss it. However, my attention is needed elsewhere and I wouldn't have it any other way.)

At my 38 week appointment, my doctor and I discussed possibly scheduling an elective induction. As much as I wanted to go into labor naturally, I was ready to be done. After discussing dates, we both agreed that Oct. 14th would be ideal in that it was only 3 days away from my due date. It was also a special day for my family because that would mean that Peyton would share a birthday with my dad. Having a scheduled induction also helped in planning out and organizing things for Mason & Taylor. Adam's mom would be watching them and since she lives in Houston, it made things easier knowing when she would need to be here.

The night before, Adam's mom arrived just in time for dinner. Given that we had to be at the hospital so early, I wanted to make sure that I had a good meal the night before. We dined outside and enjoyed the beautiful sunset of one of our new favorite restaurants and then went for frozen yogurt. Mason & Taylor love frozen yogurt and loved all of the attention on them. It was a wonderful end to the evening.

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to sleep that night with the anticipation of the next day, but I drifted off to sleep right away. We were up by 4am and loaded all of our things in the car and then I made my rounds to the kids room. It is always hard saying bye to them, even when they can't hear me and are completely out of it.


We arrived at the hospital at 5am. Since I had a false alarm a few weeks prior, I had already answered the list of questions they ask. It ended up saving time, and by 5:30am, the IV was in and they had started the pitocin. I must note that this was the first time in history that a nurse has been able to get the IV in on the first try. I have ghost veins and have always had issues with IV's.


When they hooked me up to the monitors, they realized I was already having contractions every 8 to 9 minutes. I was still only at 3cm, but thinning out a little more.My first nurse was very nice, but she isn't very good at checking dilation on patients. I have never been more uncomfortable or in pain during a check before, but I was gripping the bed because that is how bad it was.  The contractions weren't too bad, but I was starting to feel them with the pitocin.


Around 8am, they checked me again and I was 4cm. Fortunately, they had a nurse change and I had a new nurse. This time, it wasn't painful at all. I decided to go ahead and get my epidural because I knew that they would be breaking my water and usually once that happens, I go pretty quickly. Once I got the epidural, I felt so relaxed and a little tired. My doctor came in around 9am and checked me again and I was at 5cm, so he went ahead and broke my water.

For the next couple of hours, I napped. I was tired from getting up so early and I needed the rest. Adam rested as well. It was rather peaceful and quiet. Occasionally, they had me switch from side to side because Peyton was having a little fetal distress with each contraction. I had an oxygen mask on for awhile. I was very calm and had a peace the entire time. In my mind, I was pretty certain that she had the cord wrapped around her neck, but I knew my doctor and nurses would know what to do if that was the case.

Around 11:40am the nurse came in and checked me and I was at 7cm. I started to feel a little pressure and paged the nurse. Sure enough in 10 minutes I went from 7cm to 10cm. She paged my doctor and by noon, they had the room set up and were ready to go. I started pushing and only had to push twice and she was born at 12:07pm.

The minute we saw her, we realized how much she resembled Mason at his birth. Her hair was dark, same shaped mouths and nose and she was a good size. She didn't make much noise so they took her over to clean her up. She had a little fluid in her lungs, so they took it out and then she let us know she had arrived with her crying. My doctor confirmed the the cord was wrapped around her neck, which was causing the distress during my contractions.

The nurses weighed her and she was 8lbs 6oz and 20.25 inches long. I was then able to hold my baby girl for the first time. She was absolutely perfect! Everything happened so quickly, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. I was ready to meet my baby girl and we were blessed to have a smooth and normal delivery.

I nursed her right away and she had no problems latching on. After about 30 minutes of cuddle time, they whisked her off to the nursery and Adam made the calls to our family. They took out my epidural and I had to wait for that to wear off before I could go to my room. I knew it would take awhile, so Adam & I decided to take a good nap. It ended up being about 3 hours long and much needed. I could move my legs again, so they moved me to my room.

I sent Adam home once I got settled in, so that he could get the kids and his mom and bring them to the hospital. I was anxious to see them and I couldn't wait for them to meet their little sister. When they walked into the room, Taylor ran straight up to my bed and climbed up with a huge smile. She was so excited to see Peyton. Mason was just as excited, but he wanted to cuddle with me first. I ate it up. Having all three of my kids together for the first time was absolutely delightful.

That night I had them take her to the nursery in between feedings so that I could get some rest. I woke up the next morning refreshed and ready to go home. My parents came in town the night before and were staying with my aunt. They came up to the hospital with my aunt & uncle and my gram that day. Thankfully, my doctor and the pediatrician were willing to let me go home on Saturday. One day in the hospital was enough for me. I wanted the comfort of my own bed and to be at home with my family.That afternoon I was discharged and reunited with the rest of my family.