My Little Angels

Where Has the Time Gone?

 It seems like just yesterday that this picture was taken.  It’s the night Khaila was born, over four years ago.  You hear parents say to cherish every moment because it’ll be gone before you know it, but somehow, I think we all brush that off a bit, especially when daily life is taking its toll and it feels like they’ll never move on to the next phase of life.

I’m realizing now how right “they” are.  My “baby” has actual conversations with me, sometimes conveying her feelings in ways that make me laugh because of her little sophistication.  Just this week, she corrected herself after saying she had to tell her Nana something, she said, “I mean, I need to ask her….”  She knows how to use the computer better than many adults. 

Recently, I realized that she no longer looks like a toddler, she looks like a girl!  I remember the punch to my gut when she lost the baby look for the toddler look, and this time was even worse.  She’s tall for her age, she’s lost her baby fat, she’s growing up on me!

Yesterday, I was talking with a mom friend of mine about the first day of school and I realized this is the last year I have to spend with her before she’s off to “the big school” as she puts it.  I’m already dreading that day next year when we pack up and take her to the first day of Kindegarten.  How can this day be just over a year away?

Without a doubt, I’m cherishing every single moment with RJ.  I’m wiser this time around, I don’t get frustrated when he wants to sleep all the time, I’m not going to rush him to do anything.  Every day that passes is one less day of having a baby in the house, and as content as I am with our family the size it is, it’s sad to think we won’t have these days again.

I am Superwoman!

We’ve all heard that breastfeeding is best for babies.  Although I agreed with this, I allowed myself to cave when my daughter was an infant and first “supplement” and eventually wean completely when her system didn’t like foods that I couldn’t see living without.  Now, four years later, I feel like that was a crappy-mom move.  I cheated her out of all those benefits.  At the same time, she’s a happy, healthy almost four year old, so I’m not going to beat myself up over it.

Today, I received a bit of reassurance and an unexpected ego-boost, RJ had his two week appointment.  When we were discharged from the hospital, he weighed six pounds two ounces.  Today, exactly two weeks after he was born, he’s up to seven pounds even and he’s grown half an inch.  I DID THAT!!!  As corny as it sounds, I’m damned proud of myself for getting him off formula completely as soon as the jaundice cleared up.  We could have easily “supplemented” again so he’d stay full longer and sleep longer stretches at night, but we didn’t.  I could have thrown in the towel when it seemed like he wasn’t getting enough, I didn’t.  I could have mistakenly thought I wasn’t producing enough when I could only pump an ounce or two, but I assured myself that what you pump isn’t the same as what baby eats.

Because I didn’t give up this time, my little man is growing like a weed!  Now, I’ll have to re-visit this post when he wants to cluster feed in the middle of the night and I have to get up early for work or something!

Fluffy Buns

The Little Man is Here!

Richard James Joseph Heinzer
Born May 14, 2009 at 10:54am
Weight: 6lb 11oz
Length: 17.5 inches

RJ decided to be like his sister and come early.  In fact, both of my children were born at 36 weeks and 2 days gestation due to pre-eclampsia.  Unlike his Khaila, this pregnancy didn’t have me on bedrest for 8 weeks.  I went in Tuesday for my regular appointment, had high blood pressure and trace protein in my urine so they sent me home after some bloodwork to do the 24 hour test.  

The next day, I had a wicked headache, which is something you have to be careful of when you have pre-eclampsia, so I called the doctor.  He wanted me to come in, so we took Khaila to her grandparents and headed up to the hospital.  After sitting around for a few hours waiting for bloodwork results to come back, my OB came in and said it was time to deliver.  He doesn’t like to induce, but he also doesn’t like to take chances when it comes to the lives of everyone involved.

At 10:22pm, they started the pitocin and we were hopeful that everything would be over in a few hours.  With Khaila, my induction went better than could be expected, and everything I had been told led me to believe that this time would be even quicker.  WRONG!!  She was a 7 hour labor start to finish, he wound up being 13 hours.  The good news is that only 7 minutes of that was pushing!  Apparently, I’m made for delivering babies, just not being pregnant!

A week later, life is going as well as you could expect.  I feel better physically than I have in months, but now the mental drain is setting in.  It’s been a rough transition for the three year old who is used to being our one and only, I’m told that’s completely normal.  Today has been a good day with fewer tantrums than we’ve had in quite a while, so I’m hoping she’s getting used to the idea of being the big sister.