Gone crunchy.

We are coming to the end of the diapers that were gifted to us by many wonderful people. We haven't bought any.

I said I wasn't going to cloth diaper because of my family and such, but I changed my mind. My first shipment is on its way. I'm tracking them like a crazy woman. I'm so excited. I'm also switching to cloth wipes. We are jumping in next weekend and learning the ropes.

I have become this semi crunchy mom, and I never thought I'd be one of "those moms"

We don't even own a stroller. I wear her everywhere. The thought of formula never crosses my mind. 

But anyway, cloth diapers come in so many adorable colors and patterns. I Think I might end up in trouble buying a bunch. I've already got my eye on a few. 

Now they just need to get here.

Three months.

Our sweet Addie turned three months this week.

We are still breastfeeding! Which I absolutely love. One of my favorite things is when she's nursing and gives me a big grin. I wish others would nurse that long to experience it. Pumping is also going great.

We took her on her first long car ride to Houston and she did amazing. Not a peep from her the whole trip. And she did great in the hospital. She just slept while I wore her or she was her happy self.

She has found her feet and loves to sit up and play with them. If you lay her on her back she gets mad and cries. She's starting to take an interest in our food, but we aren't giving her anything until at least six months. I want her exclusively breastfed until then. She loves her play mat and interacting with her big sister.

We think she may be starting to teeth a bit. She's just one big drool monkey.

Audrey turned 5

 My tiny first born isn't so tiny anymore.

She turned the big five. I have a five year old. Excuse me while I ugly cry.

We just spent her birthday at home this year. Just family. And we were all perfectly happy. We made birthday pancakes and she woke up to balloons and streamers in her room. And she was attacked by silly string.

She said it was the best birthday ever. Oh to be young again.

She'll start kindergarten this fall. My baby will be in school. I'm old enough to have a munchkin in school. I feel like I should be in my 30s, not 24.

She is so smart and spunky. Last night she wore hillbilly teeth in the grocery store. She loves all things girly and HAS to check out the clothes when we go shopping. She loves riding her bike and blowing bubbles. She just started taking showers because they are just so cool.

She's a great big sister and loves to help change diapers.

I just can't believe she's five. Seriously. Five.

But I'm excited for this year because so many new things will be happening. Probably her first loose tooth, school functions, and new friends.

Me as a parent.

Sometimes I think about the kind of parent I am. And I think, this isn't how I pictured it would be. Even though I don't know what kind of picture I had in my head about parenting. 

I didn't think I'd baby wear. But I love it, and so does Addie. And it makes things easier. I guess I always wanted to breastfeed and the longer we go, the more I love it. And I wish I had stuck it out the first go around with big sister. I love that it's readily available. There's no prep involved, which is great in public. I have completely gotten over my fear of nursing in public. It's second nature to me now. And I haven't had a single negative experience.

I love cosleeping. I said I wasn't going to this time, but it's easier with breastfeeding and I love her snuggles. 

I guess I'm a semi crunchy mom. And I didn't think I would be. But I'm proud of the mom I've become. 

Random post, I know. ;)

Two months old.

Our sweet Addie is two months old.

She is still breastfed and we are going strong! I was afraid that I would be able to pump or I would dry up.
That has been far from the case. I have a ton of milk in my freezer and I normally bring home more than gets used while I'm at work.

Oh yeah, I went back to work. It's been okay. I miss my girls like crazy, but they love being with Grandma and daddy. Everyone is super supportive of me needing time to pump. So that's made it easier. I look forward to coming home every day.

Addie is doing great. She is the happiest baby. And pretty much one of the prettiest babies I've ever seen. And I'm not just saying that because I'm her mom. I get more smiles than anyone. She's happiest snuggled up with me. She loves to play in her little floor gym, but doesn't really like to be on her belly.

One month old.

Our sweet Addie turned a month old on the 17th of January.

She is a champ at breastfeeding and I love our bond from it. Pumping is more of a love/hate relationship. It's not the most fun part of breastfeeding, but I know it needs to be done and I've got a pretty good stash so far.

She hates diaper changes and being in her car seat unless it's moving. And loves bath time and snuggles.

She's a happy baby and gives lot of smiles.

Audrey loves being a big sister and always wants to be near Addie. If I need a diaper she's always happy to get one. She'll even try to change it. She always wants to feed her and doesn't understand that we don't use a bottle often. If she hears Addie crying she runs into which ever room we are in , all while saying, "it's ok Addie, I'm coming!" I love seeing my girls together and can't wait to see what their relationship is going to be like.

Adelei is here

We are now a family of four!

But I want to summarize the rest of my pregnancy first. It was an amazing pregnancy with absolutely no issues. My blood pressure was perfect and I only gained twenty pounds. I worked up until the day I went to into labor(at 40 weeks), which amazed people. There were some aches and pains, but that's to be expected right? I honestly didn't think I'd go to the full 40, and when I started creeping up on my due date I got nervous. What if I didn't go into labor and needed another c section?

Well, I went in for my 40 week appointment and I was 90% effaced and still less than 2 cm dilated. My midwife said it was possible to go anytime that week, but asked what I wanted to do at 41 weeks. C section or induction. I chose an induction date of what would have been the 22nd. She was going to break my water and see if I progressed. Before my appointment was over she stripped my membranes and I did a lot of walking. 

I started contracting that day around four and by midnight they were five minutes apart and pretty painful so we headed to the hospital. I thought, "this is it". It wasn't. I hadn't progressed so we went home. I slept pretty much the entire day. My contractions had slowed way down to at least twenty minutes apart so I figured I'd be getting induced the next week. Around seven pm they picked back up. And we're stronger than the day before. I was in tears. And at the peak of two of them, I threw up. I figured we'd better go. 

We got to the hospital around 9:30 pm and I was checked. I was at 4 cm and I can't remember if I had completely thinned out. I was admitted and in my room around 10:00. I was a little scared when I was told my midwife was not on call. I was terrified this doctor that I had never met wouldn't let me have my vbac. I was relieved when I met him and was ok with letting me try. He broke my water around 10:30 and things went fast. I ended up getting an epidural. Which was a waste. I progressed so fast it didn't have time to kick in before it was time to push. 

I began pushing at 11:50. It was a little after midnight when my nurse told me to stop pushing so she could get my doctor. It felt like he took forever and I remember saying he needed to hurry the hell up.    Once he arrived I only pushed a few times and our sweet girl was born after 30 minutes of pushing. I had done it. I went into labor on my own and got my vbac. And I did it drug free. I still can't believe it.  She was born December 17th at 12:20am weighing 8 pounds 3 ounces and 21 inches long. A whole two pounds heavier than her big sister.

She was laid on my chest right after she was born. She immediately got quiet. I just stared at her in awe. We had gone through this amazing journey together.

I did end up tearing and I felt every single stitch. I swear they hurt worse than pushing her out.

I couldn't have asked for anything more from my husband, he was absolutely amazing the entire time.  He was an awesome coach. I really thought he was going to pass out, or stay by my head. But he watched the whole time. I think I fell in love with him even more that night.

Back to baby. She latched right away and was a pro at breastfeeding.

Later that day after some sleep and real food since I hadn't eaten the day before, my family came to visit us. Audrey fell in love immediately. She's been a proud big sister ever since. We were only in the hospital a day and we got to go home.

Every time someone found out I had a vbac, they congratulated me. My midwife showed up a few hours after I delivered to check on me and she was so glad I got the delivery I wanted. I had the most amazing care throughout my whole pregnancy and my delivery.

I feel so blessed to have my girls and things are perfect.