Cora & Laityn

One of my best friends, Lacey, had her third child yesterday morning...  a little girl, Laityn Marie.  She's a doll!  Cora and I went to meet Laityn today.  10 days apart, and I sure hope they grow up to be good friends.

Few Pictures

Here are a few pictures from the last couple days...  

Played dress-up.  Ha.

Rough Evening

Last night was a true test of how things will be when Ryan's traveling this fall for work.  It was me on my own with a newborn and Kayson.  Cora was good...  she ate when she needed to, and slept pretty well.  Kayson, on the other hand, was pretty terrible for me.  I talked with him on how things were going to be (tonight) - explaining that Daddy was gone for the night, so I would need Kayson's help... and that we could do a couple cartoons before bed time (for something special).  He seemed fine with that... and knew which cartoons he wanted.  

Supper was had, we walked to the mailbox (for our outing - pathetic I know!), a bath was taken, and he played for a little bit... then two cartoons were had.  In between all of these things, meltdowns happened and lots of throwing his softie at me and telling me he's not my friend.  Then all of the sudden, he was calm...  books were read in his room (like always), and then the 'shit hit the fan'.  More meltdowns, kicking, lots and lots of crying - wanting his Daddy, etc.  I didn't do anything right - he didn't want to be patted, didn't wanted to sing songs, nothing.  What's Cora up to at this point?  Well, of course, she was crying pretty hard by now - it was feeding time.  I'm trying to keep a paci in her mouth to keep her happy for (what I was hoping, just another few minutes), but after 1 hour of Kayson's meltdowns and coming out of his room and throwing things, etc...  I had to feed her.  Oh boy, Kayson was pissed then.  After getting Cora down, I told Kayson he could come to the couch and sit with me for a bit...  in which he did, then 15 minutes later, I put him in bed and he slept.  LORD. 

I feel bad...  I know all of this is normal, but it's such a struggle and such a test of my (our) patience.  I just want him to be happy.  

I love you Kayson.

And here's Miss Cora on her changing pad.  This seems to be a 'calming' place for her... she really likes it.  I can do random things in her room and she just lays there and kicks and looks around.  So sweet.

First Day on our Own

Mondays...  still stink!  ha. Even when I get to stay home with my beautiful girl.  

Ryan's busy season is in full gear... and this morning, he had to be up and at 'em at 5 am.  I feel terrible for him...  he's going to be exhausted.  Anyway, so that meant this Momma was on her own today - getting Cora fed and Kayson off to daycare.  And we did it.  It was a success.  Kayson was a big helper (hope that continues)... and Cora did great for me too.  

After Kayson was dropped off... it was back home and we ate, slept, pooped, peed, ate, slept, etc... (all Cora of course!)  Lacey came for a visit this morning... nice to catch up with her...  Her little girl will be here Thursday morning.  Oh how all of our lives are changing!!

Cora and I ventured out to the grocery store too...  we were at the point where we had no bread, short on milk, short on real food!  We are all stocked up now... and that makes me happy.  

A nice nap was taken by both Cora and me this afternoon...  Naps are nice, but right now, I feel worse AFTER the nap for awhile.  I think I'm just overly tired that an hour nap just doesn't really cut it right now, but that's what I'm taking right now too.  We'll get through it. 

I'm realizing that the second baby is a little more relaxing for this Momma and Daddy.  (at least so far).  Sure we have struggles with Kayson, but as for the baby, I feel much more relaxed.  I feel like I do actually know what I'm doing (where as 3 months ago, I felt like we were going to be LOST), but so far so good.  I'm pretty proud of ourselves thus far.  But it could all come down to Cora just being a good baby!

Sleepy... but

... look at this face.  (The sleepy part is ME!)  :)

This was Cora this morning...  we had about 20 minutes of wide awake time and she was happy.  Such a sweet little face.  

I'm hoping for a nice weekend.  We have a lot of visitors planned to come...  and I hope Kayson does well.  (He's been doing well...  just bed time is pretty awful).  I hope we can keep him busy enough and happy all weekend!

Worth the Wait

Cora May Taylor made her grand appearance Monday, August 20 at 10:07 am... she weighed in at 7 lbs 11 oz (same as her big brother Kayson!), and was 19 1/2 inches long.  She's beautiful and perfect.  :)

As you all know, I was scheduled to be induced Monday morning at 7:30...  everything was planned, we were all at ease and were ready.  Late Sunday night (around 11:30 or so), I woke up to go to the bathroom and my water starting leaking.  At first, I didn't know what it was...  just thought I really had to pee A LOT.  Soon enough it happened again, and again...  I knew it was my water.  

Our friend, Colleen, was called to come stay with Kayson until Grandma & Papa Taylor could get here.  Ryan and I headed out the door to the hospital around 12:20 am.  I was experiencing some contractions by then... and the closer we got to the hospital, they became more and more frequent and stronger.  This baby obviously couldn't wait 6 more hours.  ha.

We were checked in...  I was at a 4 and contractions were 3 minutes apart, lasting a good 45 seconds to a minute.  By 1:45 am, I got the epidural and was at a 7.  FAST.  Then...  like with Kayson, I stayed at a 7 for about 4 hours.  BIG BUMMER, but apparently this is just what the epidural does to me.  Pitocin was started around 7:00 am to get the contractions started again...  from there, everything went kind of fast.  Dr. Kemp showed up around 8:45 am - Pitocin was turned off and the epidural was turned off too.  I began to push around 9:10 am or so... and Cora was born at 10:07 am... with a beautiful cry. 

With all the waiting over the past couple weeks, having Cora here is a miracle and blessing.  She was definitely worth the wait.  We love her so much.

We are home and settled... and things are going well.  

Kayson is doing well with Cora...  he helps (so far), he talks to her, he doesn't mind giving her a kiss and worries when she cries.  Kayson's going to daycare, which is good for him...  we have only been home one evening, and bedtime was a tad of a struggle for him, but we will get through it.  He knows things are different, but he'll be fine.  We all will be.  

Here are some recent pictures of our beautiful family.   More to come.

Proud brother!

All snug, ready to go home!

Family of 3

Still no baby, so as of tomorrow (sometime), Baby Girl will be arriving.  Here's one of the nicest pictures (in a long time) of the three of us.  I know this will be a rude awakening for Kayson, but in the long run, it will be great for all of us.  

I love my family!

Monday & More of Kayson

My 41 week baby appointment was Friday afternoon.  Since I'm overdue, the 'rules' are to do a non-stress test to check out the baby and see how she's doing.  After the doc checked me, and we set up the induction for Monday morning at 7:30, I went to a room to recline.  Ryan left - we didn't feel like we needed him there to just watch me sit for 20 minutes.  I was hooked up to watch the movement of Baby Girl... she was napping.  Seriously.  For 20 minutes, she made one movement and the nurses and doctor did not like that at all.  I got nervous, but knew (and told them), that she was just moving like crazy when I had ate lunch and afterwards...  but they didn't really care.  

I went sent to the hospital...  with words in my mind from the doctor - "you may be induced yet today."  I'm not going to lie, I was a little overwhelmed...  like, holy crap!  Even though we have an induction time set, I was mentally prepared for THAT, not going to the hospital right then!  Ryan met me at the hospital - brought a couple necessities, just in case...  

An ultrasound was done - measurements and all that stuff was done and of course Baby Girl was moving just fine.  She's so stubborn.  My amniotic fluid was measured too and is at a 11.7 (apparently at the stage I'm at, that's ok - they want it to be between 10 and 20).  The doctor was called and I was told to go home.  

Again, overwhelming!  I'm having some lower back pressure and some tightness in my abs, but nothing that's consistent enough to be worried/ready to have a baby!  At this point, I'm just really hoping we can get through the weekend and go in Monday morning to get Baby Girl here.  Since it's scheduled, we are a little more at 'ease' knowing that Kayson will just go to daycare like a normal day, and we'll have grandparents pick him up and it won't be such a 'shock' (at least we are hoping).  Anyway, I'm just trying to enjoy this last weekend as a family of 3.  With that being said...  Kayson definitely knows and understands that Mommy is going to the hospital soon and Baby Sister will be here.  

He's pushing my buttons.  Bedtime is terrible...  he plain doesn't listen to me anymore.  I finally said to him last night - "I know you are scared, but Mommy and Daddy love you SO much and just because Baby Sister will be here soon doesn't mean we need to be sad or not listen."  I honestly think it clicked (even though he still is having troubles listening and such, I think he kind of understood it.) - or at least I'm hoping.  He's just got to know how much we love him and hope he never forgets that.  I know this is going to be hard on him and I know we are really going to have to be patient and talk things out...  Lots of praying going on in my head right now.  

We've also realized that he's a much better/happier kid when only one parent is around.  When my nieces were growing up, I remember thinking that they were so good when either my sisters and their hubbys were gone or just one parent was around...  I thought that was crazy, but it's so true.  He did great for me this morning while Ryan worked, but over lunch and prepping for nap-time, he didn't listen, talked back, wouldn't do what we asked him to do, etc.  I walked away and went into the basement for 5 minutes.  He let Ryan read to him and put him down for nap, with no fuss.  STINKER.  

Anyway, I'm completely babbling right now. 

I'll update when Baby Girl arrives, whether it's tonight, tomorrow... or scheduled on Monday. 

This & That

• Kayson's moved into a new room at daycare - Room 101.  It basically just means he's getting bigger and bigger right in front of our eyes.  This room does even more Pre-School type stuff and I really think he's liking it.  The room is also FULL of kids - I think there are 16 or 18 now...  I mean, crazy!!!  Listening is really important.  :)  Three days in and it seems to be going well.  Today he was one of the kids that got to do "Show & Share"... he took his new back-hoe.  He didn't really tell us much about it, but either way, I think he was excited to take something to show.
• Still no baby.  :)  I'm feeling a little different today/tonight...  but it's probably nothing!!!
• My dogs stink.  ha.  They need a bath... and it's just going to have to wait!!  Once Baby Girl is here, I'll get them into the kennel and they can be spoiled for a day (or two).  
• I'm looking forward to the cooler weather!!  It'll be nice to maybe have the windows open a little bit.  
• Work is officially 'boring' to me right now.  Everything has been handled because we all thought I would already be on maternity leave...  so I'm just doing some random (very random) things to pass the time.  I can say that I'm very much organized now!  ha. 
• Our next baby appointment is Friday over lunch time.  I'd love to get back on this blog tomorrow and tell you that Baby Girl has arrived, but just not sure!  Either way, an end is near...  if she doesn't arrive by next Monday, I believe I will be induced.  We'll see how Friday's appointment goes.

Kayson

"My favorite little boy"...  is what I call him.  Cuz he is.  

I got my camera out the last couple days...  since we've been home.  Here is what my favorite little boy has been up to.

I think they were watching some Olympics.

Cleaned up the sandbox and got some new sand.

Daddy bought him a new Back-Hoe.  He played and played with it.

Getting the 'monsters'.

In his room, on the floor, in the corner... hiding.  ha.

Me/Baby & Belly Photo

How far along: 40 weeks
Total Weight Gain: 25 lbs 
Size and Growth of Baby: Not sure to say how big Baby Girl is...  I'm still guessing at about 8 pounds.  But at this point, I've been wrong with all my guesses and assumptions, so who knows!  I'm just ready for her to be here!
Movement: Still moving a lot...  hoping she's moving DOWN!  
Food Cravings:  Baked potato sounds really good today.  ha.  Otherwise, I'm still needing to snack quite a bit, cuz I get kind of light-headed after 2 or 3 hours. 

What do I miss:  A lot of things.  But the end is near!

OTHER:  More waiting!

Me/Baby and More Waiting

How far along: 39 weeks & 5 days
Total Weight Gain: 25 lbs 

I had my 40 week check this morning...  status is: Still at about 1 cm, and my cervix is still pretty thick.  I'm unable to be induced due to my cervix being thick and just not ready.  Both Ryan and I are/were pretty disappointed to hear that news...  as we've just been so anxious and thought that Baby Girl would have been here by now.  Boy we have been wrong!  :)  She's definitely throwing us for a loop!

So with that, we wait some more.

I do have to say I don't feel as antsy as I have lately, so that's kind of a nice feeling.  I'm still exhausted, but somewhere inside me, I've got a little more energy to do more.  Laundry is caught up, things are dusted, I'll clean bathrooms one more time tomorrow and a few other random things.  Baby Girl can come anytime... really.  :)

Oh Baby!

I'm still with child.  :)

I'm now 5 days away from the 'due date'...  with every expectation of having Baby Girl already.  Not happening!  ha.  

It's hard to concentrate...  at work, at home even, just in general.  Kayson's reverting on some things a little already, so we are really trying to take all that in and get that 'fixed' if we can!  

I'm not having any true signs of labor or contractions yet...  just the Braxton Hicks are really strong and her movement is still consistent.  I don't remember how I really felt before I had Kayson, besides not feeling well and antsy...  but if we really think about it - I pretty much haven't felt well for weeks and I've been antsy for about that long too!  So...  really, I should be in labor right?!?!

One thing I thought was funny today.  I got 'permission' from a couple consultants today - saying I could have the baby.  Nice.  Apparently I have done my job for them!

Might as well feed her some more ice cream and strawberries!  Maybe that's why she's staying in there - I'm giving her some good snacks lately!  :)

Me/Baby

How far along: 39 weeks
Total Weight Gain: 23 lbs 
Size and Growth of Baby: Baby continues to build fat in order to control her temperature.  She is more than likely 20 inches long... and over 7 pounds.  My personal guess is that she's nearly 8 pounds.
Movement: She's still pretty busy...  definite times when she's resting, and she'll perk up more in the afternoon and early evening times.  She's always moving when I'm reading to Kayson for his bedtime.   
Food Cravings:  No real cravings...  I just know I need to eat something about every 3 hours. 

What do I miss:  My patience.  I've lost it.  I guess it's ok when I admit it?!?!  I feel bad for my family, for Ryan and Kayson.  I'm a crab, and am just plain ready.  I love them so much. 

OTHER:  No real big changes from last week.  I think the doctor said "a loose 1 cm".  I continue to feel pressure and have a lot of back aches.  I can only hope that's Baby Girl doing something important! 

Vanilla Ice Cream & Strawberries

This is my addiction.  Period.  ha.  It tastes SO GOOD to me right now.  :)  

It's funny - we have the Schwan's man come (every two weeks - which goes by SO fast), but we used to get just a small container of the vanilla ice cream...  and now (that is so flippin hot and it tastes better than anything else), we get the BIG tub of the ice cream.   Even Kayson said to the Schwan's man tonight - "Mommy and Daddy need the big ice cream!"  Nice.  :)

Other random thoughts:

• I'm ready to have this baby.  :)  10 days away from my due date and I'm so ready to have her here and have her home to add more chaos to our house!
• I'm still over the heat around here...  so annoying!  I sweat SO badly in my car...  like my legs and butt just sweat like crazy.  So gross.  :)
• As I've said before, I am pretty sure that Kayson is ready for Baby Sister to be here too (well, he may not be), but we've talked about Baby Girl for SO long now, I'm sure he's wondering 'when the hell is this baby coming?!?'  
• I need to take more pictures...  I just haven't gotten my camera out lately.  I should get one last picture of Ryan, K and I before Baby arrives.  I need to take more pictures of Kayson, but we just haven't done anything 'fun' or different lately.  
• I'm anxious for my baby appointment tomorrow morning.  I'll post about it!