The Switch

Monday evening things got a little crazy around here. David and I were feeling adventurous so we decided to turn Lincoln's crib into a big boy bed. We were planning on waiting until after he turned two but we figured since his birthday is next month that's close enough, right? We asked Lincoln if he wanted a big boy bed and he fervently nodded his head yes. He seemed so excited about it once David removed the front of the crib. He was crawling in and out of it and seemed to be loving it.

Soon after that bedtime rolled around. David put Lincoln to bed, came out and we just waited to see what was going to happen. We were nervous to say the least. We watched Lincoln on the monitor as he soon realized that he was no longer trapped in a crib. He was free to get in and out of his bed as he wished.

Lincoln only came out of his room once that night and we only had to go in there a couple times. Not too shabby. I was even more nervous for his nap the next day. Which actually ended up going pretty good. He didn't sleep as long as normal but he stayed in his room and played quietly which was nice.

Overall switching Lincoln to a big boy bed has been pretty painless. He has only fallen out of bed once that we know of and slept on the floor for a little while. He does like to get up and bring toys into bed with him, which as long as he is in bed I'm not too worried about it. This boy for the most part likes his sleep. For that, I am grateful.

Introducing Miss Kennedy Anne

Six weeks ago today I was starting the recovery process from having our baby girl. The days leading up to the delivery were exciting and nerve wrecking. My emotions seemed to be all over the place. One minute I was really excited about having another cute little addition to the family and the next I was extremely nervous about how I was going to handle the transition. I also worried about missing all my time with just Lincoln. Now that she is here I can't imagine life without her.

As soon as I found out that I was expecting, I knew that I wanted to be induced. I went into the hospital on my own with Lincoln and while that was fun and all I wanted this one planned. So the date was set for Monday February 3rd. However, since I wasn't dilated, I had to go in Sunday night to get the process started.

My parents came into town on the Saturday which was great. Lincoln loved seeing them (so did we of course). We spent that evening relaxing and going through baby clothes. I even made some supposed labor inducing lemon cupcakes. I can't speak to how well they induce labor since I went into the hospital the next night and got induced but they sure were tasty. On Sunday we went to church, had a great lunch, and went to our friend's house for a super bowl party. That night, after we tucked Lincoln into bed, David and I took off to the hospital.

I was checked in and given a room fairly quick once we arrived. At this point things were starting to get real. Memories of spending three hours pushing Lincoln out and having him whisked away to the NICU due to breathing problems were feeling all too real again. That was my biggest fear at that point. All I wanted was to experience a normal delivery and keep my baby with me.

It took the nurses THREE tries to get the dang IV in. And if you know me, you know I HATE needles! It was almost the worst part of the entire process. Once the IV was in they started me on the Miso pill around 11 to help me dilate. I had to wait three hours before they could check me so I did my best to get some shut eye. After about two hours I woke up from contractions. They were coming fairly close together and getting pretty strong, so I was excited thinking that my body was making progress. Around 2:30am the nurse came in and checked me and unfortunately my body had made zero progress. Not only that, but they couldn't give me another dose because my contractions were too close together so I had to hang out for another two hours. Of course by this point I couldn't sleep because the contractions. Around 4 something I was put on Pitocin and an hour later my water broke. It was so painful. I had no idea that it could hurt. It felt like I literally had just been punched in the gut. So once I started gushing I called my nurse in and I was dilated to a 2 1/2. I asked for an epidural right away because I was already quite uncomfortable.

The anesthesiologist came in and took forever explaining all the things that could go wrong and blah blah blah. It literally felt like she droned on forever about who knows what. I was in so much pain that I wasn't listening to what she was saying and I just kept getting more and more angry because I just needed her to shut up and stick the stupid needle in my back. When she finally got around to it, it went in fairly quick but because my body was progressing so fast the medicine couldn't keep up. So it took almost an hour before I finally started to feel some relief. Longest hour of my life!

At this point I was feeling pretty good and I was hoping to get some sleep because I was already exhausted and I knew I needed my strength up for pushing. Kennedy had other plans for me though. The doctor came in around 730 and was surprised to find me at a ten. So there was going to be no more sleep for me. At 8 the nurses had me start pushing. I literally only pushed a few times before they told me to stop and someone ran to get the doctor. When the doctor came in and got everything all set up I pushed maybe twice before my beautiful little girl was born at 8:27 am. When she came out, she was really dark and not crying. The cord was wrapped around her neck-my heart stopped and all I could think was "Oh my gosh, NO!!" I could not even speak. Luckily I have a great doctor and he got her unwrapped quickly and she turned pink and started crying. And then I started crying. Everything was going to be ok. I was so relieved. As soon as David cut the cord she was put on my chest and I got to see her face to face for the first time. Nothing can describe that moment. The moment when you meet part of yourself-part of your heart. I've always been amazed at how much you can love someone you met only two seconds ago, but you can and it is amazing. I'm so thankful that Kennedy wasn't whisked away from me like her brother. We got to enjoy her and talk to the doctor and just take it easy. It was everything I wanted.

 

We were discharged from the hospital the next day. And let me just say it has been quite the adjustment having two kids. It has been a whole lot harder than I expected. I feel so fortunate that my mom was able to stay with me for two weeks. There is no way I could have done this without her. I needed her here more than I would have ever guessed. And I can't thank her enough for all the help she gave me. I was a mess the day her and my dad left. There was no way I thought I could be a mom of two without her help. But I was wrong. We have all been doing great. Luckily David has a pretty light schedule and helps me out so much. I don't know how I would have made this adjustment without him. He is definitely my rock and keeps me sane. We are still working out a routine and her feedings but I'm happy to say things just keep getting better and better.