4 months - an Eden update

My baby girl is 4 months old.

This sweet heart is 14 pounds (55th%)

25 inches long (40th%)

Head circumference is 70th%

She is a rolling maniac.  She scoots all around if she's laid on her back.

She still loves baths.

She plays with toys, and is starting to try to grasp things she's focusing on.

Has slept through the night a handful of times, but mostly is still waking once, usually around 2:30-3:00.  She's also been moved out of our room, which has helped her sleeping big time!  So she's in the crib in the playroom for now.

Biggest recent change... she's a thumbsucker!

I will even try pulling out her thumb and putting in a passy, but it just upsets her, and she wants her thumb.  It's darling, and I love her self soothing.

6 week update

My baby is 6 weeks old.

I don't know how it happened, but she's not a new born anymore.

We're still trying to adjust to life and figure out our new normal.

• 10.4 pounds (75th percentile)
• starting to like the passy - but struggles to keep it in
• eats every 2-3 hours 
• spits up a lot
• likes blankets/hands/a body up against her face
• starting to smile!
• starting to talk - her cooing melts my heart!
• tracks us with her eyes
• likes looking at lights

Gwen and Edie getting some rays.

I love, love, love these little furry shoulders.

 The kids have been fantastically helpful.

They just adore their little sister.

fuzzy head

And let me tell you how much I love Ryan loving his little girl!

He's been such a sweet heart to me, and is such a helper.  But he is just head over heels for this baby.  

 Ryan's always been a softie for babies.  When he sees babies, he likes to go up to them and admire their sweetness.  I think I took it for granted.  But when I was volunteering at Ironman, and was wearing Edie, a man came up and was cooing at her, and when he left, the ladies around me started talking about how cute that was.  They were saying how rare it is to find a guy that really likes babies.  Really?  Ryan LOVES babies, and especially our little ones.  I love it.  I'm so lucky.

In other Edie news, she hasn't pooped in 5 days!  Since this...

I looked it up online before making a Dr. appointment.  But apparently it's normal for exclusively breastfed babies.  I don't remember if Gwen or Drake did this.  But since babies bodies digest breast milk so efficiently, they don't have to poop a ton/often.  This is a change from her newborn weeks when she was pooping several times a day.  But it warns that when she does poop, it'll be a lot.  That picture above was after not pooping for two and a half days.  I'm scared for her next poo...

We're working on getting her on a schedule, and sleeping in her crib.  She takes at least one nap a day in her crib, and sleeps most of the night in her crib.  And last night she had her longest stretch between feedings - 6 HOURS!!  But I didn't sleep that long.  I woke up automatically for our 2 am feeding, but she was still asleep.  I think I woke up every twenty minutes after that making sure she was in fact still sleeping.  She didn't wake up until 3:40!  Crossing my fingers this happens again tonight!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream cheese Frosting

I will get around to posting about life in our family of FIVE soon, but for now, here is a Pinterest recipe I tried out and modified just a bit.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream cheese Frosting!

Cupcakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (ground)
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 large eggs

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
12 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 8oz package cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Mixing the cupcakes is easy, put your wets in a mixer and mix 'em up.  Then sift your dry stuff together.  Then slowly stir the dry stuff in until well incorporated.  Bake in cupcake cups at 350º for 15 minutes.

For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese first!  Then add the sugar before the wets.  Uh-mazing!!!

Use the extra frosting to eat by the spoonful or spread on graham crackers.  In secret of course.  Because you don't want to have to share your frosting with anyone!

Eden McPhie

It's hard to believe it was over a week ago that I had Eden.  Time is just going too fast while I'm trying to soak up every single new-born moment with her.  She is just so precious, I can't stand it!
But I know I've got to get this written down before I forget more of the little details.

There was a lot of uncertainty going into this labor.  All of it revolving around Drake being shoulder dystocia (he got stuck coming out), and my chances of having another baby get stuck were much higher.  I figured that as long as I don't go 2 weeks over my due date (like Drake) then my baby wouldn't get too big and would come out just fine.  So I didn't schedule a planned c-section, and didn't want to schedule an induction either.  I wanted it to happen naturally, when my baby was ready, and my body was ripe.  But this isn't to say that I wasn't doing things to help it happen.  Like the miles and miles that Ryan and I would walk together every night.  I loved these walks!  The weather was finally cooling off at night, and I loved the time we got to spend together and the talks we had.

40 weeks - 4 days before she was born

I had had plenty of contractions.  The Friday and Saturday before I had her, I woke up very early in the morning with contractions that I'd time, but after a few hours, they'd die off.  So when I woke up at two in the morning on Tuesday with contractions, I ignored them at first and tried to sleep.  But it didn't take long for me to realize that they were strong and consistent.  So I got up and started timing them with my sweet contraction timing app.

 I hopped in the tub, turned on my relaxing music, and breathed my way through my contractions.  I thought this could be it, but if it was, labor would be hours long, so I might as well let Ryan sleep while I was progressing through the early stages of labor.  Ryan's mom was in town and would be able to stay with the kids, and I was thinking we could wait for the kids to wake up, kiss them good bye and then head to the hospital.

At 3:45 Ryan woke up (I guess because he could hear me), and came and asked me if I was okay.  I was in the middle of a contraction, and when I realized I couldn't answer him because I was focusing on my visualization/breathing, I first realized that things might be serious.  He then suggested we go to the hospital, and my initial thought was not yet, we'll have hours, but then I started shaking.  I got the shakes when I was in transition with Gwen and Drake, so I changed my mind, and agreed we should go.  That's when I tried getting out of the tub during a contraction and dropped my phone (that I took the insurance off of!) in the bathtub!!!  Crud!  I wasn't going to be able to text people, or take pictures.  Argh!!

So Ryan began running around the house getting everything together we would need, putting my phone in rice, and letting his mom know we'd be heading to the hospital.  I was trying to go to the bathroom and get dressed in between contractions.  When we finally headed to the car, contractions had gotten so strong that I would have to put my arms around Ryan's neck and almost hang on him while I was trying to let my body surrender to the shuddering.

Once we were in the car, things were even more intense.  Ryan drove like a mad man, and we made it to the hospital (in Phoenix) in only 22 minutes.  I was trying to find a comfortable position to sit in, which was impossible since I didn't want to sit.  There was just so much pressure in my bum.  I had my eyes closed and was trying desperately to keep my body under control and to relax.

We got to the hospital at about 4:35, and it took longer than we planned to get to the front door, get a wheel chair and passed security and up to labor and delivery.  When we finally got there, we went to check in, and again, I found that I couldn't really talk through my contraction when they began asking me questions.  They realized that things were intense and got me into a triage room.  They asked for a urine sample, and I just dropped trou and went into the bathroom, where it wouldn't happen.  But on my second contraction in there, I felt my body starting to contract/push down.  I abandoned the urine efforts, and went and climbed onto the bed so the midwife could check me.  Again, I couldn't imagine getting on my bum, so I laid on my side, and was just gripping the railing on the bed, and was apparently chanting "relax, relax" over and over.  The midwife checked me and said, "oh, she's at a ten, and there's a bulging bag of water, we may have this baby right here!"  I asked then if I could get in the tub, and she chuckled and said that we were probably too late for that.  And poor Ryan was there trying to rub/tickle my back or do anything to try to help.

On the next contraction, again my body pushed down hard, and just like a huge water balloon popping, my water broke with such force that it made kind of a popping sound.  That's when they decided to wheel the bed into a delivery room, and I was still just gripping the rails of the bed, eyes closed, trying to surrender to the convulsions happening to me.

By the time we got into the delivery room, it was about 5:05, and they asked me to crawl over to the delivery bed.  I opened my eyes for the first time in what felt like forever, and tried to crawl over.  But it hurt so bad.  I labored with Drake mostly on my hands and knees, and imagined that's how I would this time too, but the pain in my pelvis wouldn't allow that.  I just couldn't figure out how to get comfortable.  The pressure in my bum wouldn't allow me to sit or lay back, and I was desperate to find a way that I could just try to relax.  So the midwife got out the birthing bar and attached it to the bed, and finally I could just hang on the bar, and the midwife held up my thighs for me to squat down, fully supported, and I could handle it.

Again, my contractions were so strong, I could feel my body squeezing down, without me having to actually push.  I was just trying to breathe my way through them (when I say breathe, it means moo/moan through the contractions), and let my body just do what it needed to do.  Ryan was there putting wet washcloths on my neck and forehead since I was soo hot!  I kept reaching down to feel how close the baby was, and on the next contraction, I felt the burning of her crowning.  The next contraction, her head was out, and shortly after was the next contraction that pushed out her body, and I was able to catch her and pull her warm little body up onto my chest.  This moment was pure joy as I cradled this sweet little baby up on me, and I was still in only my tank top I had worn to the hospital, no time to even put on a hospital  gown.  It was a few seconds later that I realized we hadn't even checked to see what the baby was, and we moved the cord out of the way to find out that we had a baby girl.  After the cord had stopped pulsing, Ryan was able to cut it.  She was born at 5:22, 50 minutes after arriving at the hospital.  It was fast,

The next couple hours were some of the best in my life.  Ryan and I just sat in the room alone with our new baby girl, and cuddled her, stared at her, took pictures of her, and breathed in all her new born baby smells.  (Besides the midwife coming in an hour after she was born to fill out the admittance paperwork!)  It was heavenly having these quiet moments, just the three of us, with this squishy, warm, naked little baby girl.  We were in love!

Excuse all the blurry cell phone pics

Daddy is so in love with this little girl!

Ryan eventually took her to be bathed and weighed, etc.  She was 7 pounds, 11 ounces; and 20.5 inches long.  Practically perfect.

The rest of the day was nice and relaxing.  Family came to see our baby girl, and we debated over what to name her.  Gwen and Drake were smitten with their little sister.

first sibling picture

Early the next morning, we started packing up, getting ready for discharge, and just before leaving, we filled out the paperwork for her name.  After narrowing it down to two good choices, we felt good about naming our sweet baby girl Eden McPhie.  

Eden McPhie

sewing room

The third car garage of our house had been converted into a work room of sorts by the previous owners.  We thought it was a meth lab.  It had special ventilation, all sorts of pipes and computer-monitored mixing systems, and water filter systems, plus it smelled really weird.  I'm sure it was all the Breaking Bad watching we had been doing, but we worried it was a meth lab.  Turns out it was a dark room.  The previous owner was a photographer.  Oh.

Anyway, the "meth lab" became our dumping room.  It held all the boxes and things we didn't want to deal with when we moved in.  It was nasty.  

Fast forward to school being over, me being 8.5 months pregnant, and I wanted to start sewing.  I love to sew!  My poor sewing machine had been packed away forever, and I was ready to get it out.  Babies were coming, and I needed to get creating!  The only problem was, was I needed a space to do it.  Enter nasty meth lab.  

I wish I got a true before with all the boxes and junk still in this little room. 

 But let me tell you, this room was DIRTY!  The matte black walls were just covered in dust of some sort.  

 So these pictures are after I've already cleared out the room and started painting those lower cabinets.  I promise, it already looks 58x better.  

And after:

 I still need to get a real table to sew on since this card table shakes every time I start up my machine, but hey, it's a surface!  

Bernina love!

 And I want to paint the floor...

 and still need to take care of the lower wall area, but I can sew!!

I made these shoes and onesies for Tara's baby.

 And these gender neutralish wannabe Vans for our baby.  

I love my meth lab-turned sewing room!

men love power tools

This is a sad story.

We have a huge tree in the front yard, and I LOVE it!

It is one of the reasons I really loved this house when we were looking for houses.

But the HOA apparently doesn't love it.

Because it hangs over the road.

Give me a break!

So we got some tree trimming quotes.

$500.

Seriously!?  To trim a tree?!!?

So Ryan set out to do it himself.  He shimmied up the tree, tied him and the chainsaw to a branch, and tried to cut off some branches.  

But it was hot, and he was really high, and next thing I know, he almost passes out.

willow before

 So instead of passing out and falling out of a tree, Ryan got a bucket truck.

Exhibit A: Ryan in bucket truck

 This handy bucket truck Ryan could control from the bucket and raise himself to wherever he needed to be to cut the poor tree limbs.  

Exhibit B: Ryan about to cut tree limb

 Ryan was out there for 5 hours cutting this thing!

Because once he got the limbs down, he needed to cut and pile those so the city pick-up would come and get the branches.

 Oh, and I was in the house, doing my Saturday chores, and Ryan kept having me come outside to see what I thought about what branch to cut, bring him water, etc.  The funny thing is, is I was wearing this:

for your viewing pleasure

 You see, I have some pretty funny girlfriends who gave me a birthing baby gift.  It included  things like stool softeners, hemorrhoid cream, nipple cream, etc.; and this lovely little number.  They may have thought this gorgeous pink cherry nightgown was a joke, but once I tried it on, it was no joke!  I was wearing it all day on the tree trimming day.  So each time I went outside to observe/help Ryan, at least one neighbor would catch  me in this.  

Fortunately my neighbors are awesome, and they'd say it was cute (lie), or say "you're 9 months pregnant, wear whatever you want!" (truth).  

I love this nightgown.

And that's the story about how Ryan appeased the HOA, and saved us $500, and I gave my neighbors something to laugh about.  

Willow after.

Ryan rules.

babies are coming... 37 weeks

My sister, Tara, and I had our boys on the same day 7 years ago.  Since then, she had two more, and we thought our baby years were behind us.  So it was a super surprise when we found out that we were pregnant together again, our estimated due dates only three days apart!

She's having a girl, we're having a surprise!  I wanted to be surprised with Gwen and Drake, but Ryan wanted to know, so I agreed.  This time, I'm taking the reigns.  This might be our last baby, so why not do it the way I want to?  Luckily, Ryan eventually got on board and is down for a surprise.

Anyhow, Tara needed a last trip before the baby comes.  We try to have a mom/sisters trip every summer, but that stupid bar got in the way.  So we planned a last minute one, right before these bellies burst.

While it was not well documented with pictures, we had a ton of fun.  Pool, pedis, eating, talking, laughing... all things a girls weekend should be.

Tara's baby is going to be like 10 pounds!!

Now, because her baby is gigantic, she's scheduled to be induced on Friday.  I don't think I'll be going that early, so our babies won't share a birthday again.  :(

But let me tell you about my Drakey boy.  He is the sweetest thing.  He loves this baby so much, and he insists on taking care of me.  If I need to pick up anything, he says, "no mom, let me get that, you're pregnant".  If I need something from upstairs, he says, "I'll get it for you mom, you're pregnant".  He's my water boy, always refilling my water cup, and he's always wanting to touch and kiss my belly, and talks to the baby.  I love it.  

36 weeks

 A week ago, it was raining really hard here.  (it was awesome!!)  Well I was on my way to go get a facial my girlfriends gave me for graduation, and was going down the stairs to the girl's studio, when I slipped and fell down a few stairs.  It was scary, but more embarrassing since she heard me.  Anyway, since then, Drake reminds me before he goes to school each day to "wear your belly band, and hold on to the hand rails when you're going down stairs."  What a sweet heart.

Also... nesting.  This baby doesn't have any clothes yet.  I have three onesies, that need to be washed, no blankets, burp cloths, bottles, stroller, etc.  I started to panic the other day, and decided that maybe we should do a shower before the baby comes.  We were going to wait until after the birth so we know if it's a boy or girl, but we'll go ahead anyway.
But I do have a cute crib my friend Jen gave me, and I did buy and wash the crib sheet!  See, I'm getting ready.  ;)

 And here I am.  37 weeks pregnant.  Full term.  And I promise, I do put on clothes and make up most days.  But apparently I don't take pictures on those days to prove it.  

You can see that the baby's dropped.  Which means I have more room to eat more!  But I do pee about every 14 minutes.

37 weeks

I have a good friend who's been doing a weekly update on her blog about her pregnancy.  It's so cute, and now I wish I had been more diligent about documenting this.  I was fine doing without taking belly pictures, until I was looking for pictures of me pregnant with Gwen and Drake, and only found one picture of my belly with Gwen, and none with Drake!  So even though I feel extremely unattractive, I will take some pictures anyway so when I look for pregnant pictures in 7 or 17 years, I will have some.  

And still, just about everyday, Ryan and I will look at each other and say, "I can't believe we're having a baby!"  Still shocking.  Still exciting.  Can't wait to meet this baby!