I'm trying to get a few more thoughts down of the last few day's happenings while they are still fresh. As I suspect is the case with most blog posts, this one is really more for jounalistic purposes than anything else.
Ireland was on the high-end of what's acceptable for jaundice when we left the hospital. Unfortunately our pediatrician didn't communicate well to us what that meant in the days following so we went in to see him a week after the birth just to get some piece of mind. The jaundice was fine, the big news was that Ireland had gained a half pound from her birth weight. Our pediatrician said it was unprecedented. At any rate, everything seems to be working properly and our girl is growing and healthy.
Ally caught a cold the day we went in for surgery. Couldn't believe it. So she's been wearing one of those medical masks this whole week when holding Ireland. She has found the whole thing very annoying (Ally, not Ireland). The more negative offshoot has been the bad cough Ally's had to deal with while trying to recover from having her abdomen sliced open. Needless to say that's not a winning combination.
Ireland is wonderful. We couldn't ask for a better baby. She eats well, sleeps well, and does the one other thing that's expected of her well. She is just beautiful and lovely. I'm excited for her and Bliare to get to know each other and become friends. They both make me very happy.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Oh How I Love The Sight Of Ireland
Regrettably it's been a week since the birth of our baby girl and I'm just now finding (taking) time to put some thoughts down about the process and person.
Ireland was born August 8, 2012 at 2.51pm. She weighed in at 6lbs 10oz, and measured a respectable 20.5 inches. She came with a full head of brunette hair which after having cleaned has streaks of a lighter almost blond color, so it's hard to say if she will end up with light or dark hair. She has dark grey eyes that seem to me to have a very slight blue tinge to them, so again I don't know how they will play out.
She came via c-section which went well, but took much longer than we would have thought, but no complications or problems for either mother or child. While we were in the PACU, the nurse felt like she heard a slight breathing problem, so they worked to get some additional fluid out of her lungs. In addition she apparently has a slight heart murmur which they tell us is common and should go away in days. As of this writing Ireland is doing great and getting bigger and stronger each day. In fact she's gained a half pound since birth, something her pediatrician says is pretty unprecedented.
I've made it no secret that I have felt somewhat overwhelmed at the thought of caring for two children, and so far I don't feel my fears are unfounded. Blaire, while taking in stride so far the introduction of baby number two, has been aggressively trying to love/touch/maul her baby sister. She is in her twos, so instruction as to why she can't do this or that has not been received well. One lovely offshoot so far has been her unwillingness to go to bed at her regular hour, and so far waking up much earlier than usual. This morning she woke up at 5.30 wanting mom who was of course nursing Ireland, and would not be comforted with any alternative, so I ended up at the park with her by a quarter to 6am. Wouldn't have been a problem if I had gotten any sleep the night before. The following night she woke up at 10:30pm screaming and wouldn't be comforted until about 1am. I tried taking her outside, I took her for a drive, you name it, no dice.
She's acting out in other ways as well trying to get our attention. Slamming doors, pulling hair, and throwing tantrums at a moments notice. None of which she did pre-Ireland. Who is this girl and what has she done with Blaire?
Changing gears, I was reading in Luke today where Jesus talks about how the father gives good gifts. To paraphrase, if we being evil know how to give our children good gifts, how much more does our perfect Heavenly Father know how to give us what we need. It's really something that should give each of us a great deal of hope and courage in this life. I love my girls so much, and would do anything to have them happy and healthy...and I'm evil. Which means they have a Father in Heaven willing and able to give them infinitely more than me, and I want to give them the world. So if I'm following the line of reasoning correctly, my girls are set. Between me and God, they are good to go should they live worthy lives. And since we are all in that same wonderful boat, there isn't a single one of us that should be approaching any part of our lives with even one sliver of fear. I hope to instill this sort of faith and confidence in my girls.
Ireland was born August 8, 2012 at 2.51pm. She weighed in at 6lbs 10oz, and measured a respectable 20.5 inches. She came with a full head of brunette hair which after having cleaned has streaks of a lighter almost blond color, so it's hard to say if she will end up with light or dark hair. She has dark grey eyes that seem to me to have a very slight blue tinge to them, so again I don't know how they will play out.
She came via c-section which went well, but took much longer than we would have thought, but no complications or problems for either mother or child. While we were in the PACU, the nurse felt like she heard a slight breathing problem, so they worked to get some additional fluid out of her lungs. In addition she apparently has a slight heart murmur which they tell us is common and should go away in days. As of this writing Ireland is doing great and getting bigger and stronger each day. In fact she's gained a half pound since birth, something her pediatrician says is pretty unprecedented.
I've made it no secret that I have felt somewhat overwhelmed at the thought of caring for two children, and so far I don't feel my fears are unfounded. Blaire, while taking in stride so far the introduction of baby number two, has been aggressively trying to love/touch/maul her baby sister. She is in her twos, so instruction as to why she can't do this or that has not been received well. One lovely offshoot so far has been her unwillingness to go to bed at her regular hour, and so far waking up much earlier than usual. This morning she woke up at 5.30 wanting mom who was of course nursing Ireland, and would not be comforted with any alternative, so I ended up at the park with her by a quarter to 6am. Wouldn't have been a problem if I had gotten any sleep the night before. The following night she woke up at 10:30pm screaming and wouldn't be comforted until about 1am. I tried taking her outside, I took her for a drive, you name it, no dice.
She's acting out in other ways as well trying to get our attention. Slamming doors, pulling hair, and throwing tantrums at a moments notice. None of which she did pre-Ireland. Who is this girl and what has she done with Blaire?
Changing gears, I was reading in Luke today where Jesus talks about how the father gives good gifts. To paraphrase, if we being evil know how to give our children good gifts, how much more does our perfect Heavenly Father know how to give us what we need. It's really something that should give each of us a great deal of hope and courage in this life. I love my girls so much, and would do anything to have them happy and healthy...and I'm evil. Which means they have a Father in Heaven willing and able to give them infinitely more than me, and I want to give them the world. So if I'm following the line of reasoning correctly, my girls are set. Between me and God, they are good to go should they live worthy lives. And since we are all in that same wonderful boat, there isn't a single one of us that should be approaching any part of our lives with even one sliver of fear. I hope to instill this sort of faith and confidence in my girls.
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| The family less one. |
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| Blaire meeting her sister for the first time. |
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| Blaire needs a little extra attention these days. Manicure it is. |
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| Ally gives good baby. |
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
Pregnancy's Final Days
I'm sure no one is more acutely aware of this pregnancy winding down than Ally. Let me just take a moment and thank her for her patience and strength during this gestation, particularly the last several weeks where she has barely been able to walk due to sore back and hips. She has been a trooper and somehow has managed a two-year old as well.
As it did during Blaire's pregnancy, this pregnancy has felt somewhat abstract to me. It's as though I'm more adjacent to the process than part of it. Obviously there have been the expected preparations, and I've watched Ally grow, but it seems very arms length. But as they did with Blaire, the final weeks seem to bring with them a sense of reality and I find myself thinking about baby number two more often.
I'm somehow more intimidated about #2 than I was for Blaire. Different fears though. Before I worried about how to care for a new born, what to do if they cried, what if they got sick, how to change a diaper. Having now been through it I'm confident I can care for this new baby, but not with a two-year old in the mix. It seems as though Blaire takes all the effort of both Ally and me. The thought of now adding a newborn to the mix seems very daunting.
I just keep telling myself that many before us have raised multiple children with success, so it's obviously possible. I'm hoping this means the scales of success are tipped in our favor.
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| modeling at the beach |
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