4 weeks have gone by since I gave birth. It's so hard to believe. Time just rushes by and my babies keep growing up. J will start 2nd grade in a month, I have been looking at cakes for E's 1st Bday party, and Iz is becoming so much more alert and I even think she is really smiling now. Isabel has had a rough bout of crankiness. It came out of no where and I am hoping it goes away just as quickly. Saturday night she screamed for 3 hours straight, nothing I could do would console her. Last night seemed just as bad, but today she seems much happier in general.

The antibiotic I was on said in huge letters on the bottle "DO NOT TAKE WHILE BREASTFEEDING". I called my Dr and they said it was fine, then called the pediatrician who confirmed their answer. However, after doing some research I found that it can cause "undesirable effects" in babies under 1 month of age. These effects include: nausea, diarrhea, gas pains, and general fussiness. Great! I found this out with one pill left. I finished the treatment last week, so I am hoping this phase is caused by the pills and not colic. Oh please God...let it be the Macrobid!

In my sleepless insanity I decided to take the girls out BY MYSELF on Saturday. I had some errands to run and B was at a rehearsal all morning. You would be proud to know that I had both girls and myself up, dressed and fed and out the door by 11AM. Why can't I do that on a Sunday??? Anyway, here's what it takes to get two babies out and about on a Saturday morn:

1. 2 rear-facing car seats


2. 1 double stroller


3. Last but not least. Lots of patience, low expectations, and a good sense of humor!!!

P.s. As I pulled out of the driveway I chickened out and called my mom to come and help, which she gladly did!

I got some sleep!

A whole 3 hours worth, I think.

Last night I put Iz to bed around 10:15 and I must have passed out soon after. I don't remember seeing the end of my show. It seemed like only 5 minutes had passed when I heard her crying again. But it was 1:54 AM. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The rest of the night went steadily downhill, and I am still a zombie, but that is the longest stretch of uninterrupted sleep I have had since her birth.

In other sleep news...I think E has officially given up one of her two naps. The last two days she has taken her morning nap later and has stayed asleep for 2 1/2 - 3 hours. She went down at noon today and is just now waking up. The ironic side of all this is that Iz's only wakeful period during the morning starts within minutes of E going down. So, the whole "sleep when the baby sleeps" does not apply here. Iz finally went back to sleep around 2:30...just enough time for me to squeeze in a shower. Ahhhh...clean. Feels nice.

Speaking of the little things...

Here are some little things that have brightened my days the last couple weeks, while living in zombie land.

Monday afternoon while feeding E and J lunch, J said "Mom you can't handle 3 kids...who is going to watch us?" I said, "No one sweetie, mommy is starting to feel a lot better now and I can watch all of you". His reply, "No way! I am going to have to help you!". He proceeded to pick up a broom and dust pan and sweep the kitchen floor. He also made it his personal job to keep E out of danger areas. He would pick her up and carry her to the living room floor, then plop her down again. It was hilarious. He just kept muttering over and over again that I can't handle 3 kids. Hey...he's a smart one ya know! The minute B walked in the door, he ran upstairs and stopped helping. It was really touching that he wanted so desperately to help. I didn't ruin it by telling him I had to re-sweep the floor....he missed a few spots.

Last week was our 3 year anniversary. As far as the sleep factor and Isabel being fussy all day, it was a horrible day. When B got home late that night he had a present for me from one of his students. She so thoughtfully put together a care package and sent it over....just for me. No baby gift, no family thing, just for me. Nice hunh? She is a mom with a baby girl 5 months older than E, so she knows what new moms need. B also brought flowers and cards. Yes, cards as in two. Why? Because he found two that were perfect and could not choose just one. How sweet is that?

Here are more things that have brightened my day:

Yesterday when E woke up from a nap, I walked in to the room to find this. I am LOVING the bed head! I know the second image is blurry but I wanted to show that she was actually posing for the camera. What a ham!

At one of my baby showers the guests were asked to paint plain white onesies. I have 3 cute little handmade designs in 4 different sizes. Here is one of my favorites from the "just born" group. It was hand-painted by my friend C. She's crafty. She also does jewelry! Check it out here.

After struggling with E for over 45 minutes, this was the best I could do to get a "pretty" in her hair. Can't see it? Look harder. It's there! This picture also made me cry because she just looks so darn big...and grown up. Only 3 weeks until she is 1!

Sleepless in Flower Mound

I really was trying hard not to post for awhile. I realized that when I do, the pics from the hospital will disappear from the front page, and that is very sad to me. It kind of means my baby (my last baby) is growing up. Of course growing up is relative: B can't wait for her to be E's age and run around interacting with the rest of the family. I just can't wait until she reaches that magical 11 pounds when they (supposedly) are able to go 4-6 hours at night without feeding. Yes, sleep. That is what I want. Oh, and a shower with clean clothes would be nice too. Of course for me to have clean clothes, I would have to do laundry and frankly I am too exhausted.
When I went to the Dr last week I mentioned I might have a UTI. I had been running a low grade fever (which is still going on) and was pretty uncomfortable. The fever spiked last Thursday at 102F! It is really draining to have a fever when you are already on no sleep. Dr. G's office called yesterday. I guess I was right. I now have an antibiotic that should help. But my question is...why did it take 8 days for them to figure out what I could have told them last week? Why let someone in pain go on that long? Oh well, not my problem anymore. 48 more hours of drugs and I'll be all fixed up. Still tired, and probably not showered, but no fever.

*sigh*

It's the little things in life that keep us going.

Our Irish Twins

Isabel had her 2 week Dr. appointment yesterday. They weighed and measured her and checked out all her important things. I am happy to say she still "looks perfect". Last night both of the girls had runny noses so sleep was not an option. Here I am at nearly 3pm on a Saturday, and I am sad to say that E and I are still in our jammies. Iz would still probably be in her pjs too, but she spit up on them.

We are always pondering the similarities and differences between the girls and J too. J isn't as easy to remember since he is so much older, so we have to rely on photos (none of which I can share since I don't have a scanner and he was pre-digital technology by a few months). When we weighed Iz yesterday I thought "My goodness she is huge!" She weighs 8 lbs 4 oz, and is 20 inches long. But after they ranked her in the percentiles I realized that she is not too far off from what E was at her first visit.

Here is how the compare:
Emma 2 week appt
(she was actually only 1 week old)
1. 6lbs 10oz 20th%
2. 19 1/2 inches 45th%


Isabel 2 week appt
(she is nearly 3 weeks old)
1. 8lbs 4oz 20th%
2. 20 inches 10th%

Isabel almost 3 weeks

Emma 3 1/2 weeks

Isabel just relaxing

Iz's cord FINALLY fell off and she got her first bath last night!

We love our little sister!

Isabel is 2 weeks!

Can you believe it??? Time flies when you don't ever go to sleep. She is starting to be up more during the day. It's a nice change, but really difficult when you have two babies crying for you at the same time. Who do you choose?
Here are a few recent pics...

Sound asleep...

Mommy check out my bedhead!

Krafty Aunt Katie finished my letters!Don't you think they look great above my crib???

Emma is 11 months old today!

It's hard to believe, but our oldest baby girl is 11 months old today! She is growing up so fast. The time I was at the hospital, she went from walking a few steps and then crawling the rest of the way to walking all of the time. I haven't seen her crawl in almost a week now! She eats three meals a day like the rest of us and has given up all but 2-3 bottles. We think she has 4 teeth, and is working on another, but she won't let us get near her poor tender gums, so who really knows. I guess it's time to start planning her B-day party. Where has the time gone???

Another big thing about today is it is the first time I have been alone with the girls. Both of them...by myself. It hasn't been bad so far. E has been asleep and Iz usually sleeps all day.

Last but not least....today is my original estimated due date. Instead of delivering a baby today, I have a 12 day old beautiful girl! We had her first check up with the Dr. yesterday and she has a clean bill of health. She is back up to her birth weight of 7 pounds 9 ounces. Her cord is still attached and she may have a clogged tear duct, but her breathing sounds normal...which, after blowing a hole in both of her lungs at birth, is good news! In other good news...I have lost 22 pounds so far. YAY me!!! Sleep is getting easier as she slowly gets used to being awake during the day. I am trying not to get upset and to enjoy these late night cuddle sessions. They go away too quickly. Speaking of cuddle sessions, my little alarm clock is telling me it's time to eat lunch. Gotta run!

Survivor-Flower Mound

The one still left standing after 0 hours of sleep wins!!!!

Wait, everyone else here is sleeping...except me. What's wrong with this picture? Didn't I just have major surgery? Explain that to my darling youngest daughter.

Her days and nights are completely reversed. She sleeps nearly all day, waking up only to nurse every 2 1/2-3 hours. At night she is up from 10pm to about 4AM. She wants to nurse non-stop. And by nursing, I mean just being attached....to me. She isn't really eating, but using me as a pacifier. Speaking of pacifiers, she won't take one. My only baby so far that isn't a fan. She also is refusing supplemental bottles. No artificial nipple of any kind.

I finally got her to sleep around 12:25 last night only for her to decide again at 1 that she could not go another minute without me. I don't mind so much, but it makes me a zombie during the day. Today at 2:30pm, I am still in my pjs and it doesn't look like I will get a shower any time soon.

Here are some pics of the last few days.

We're home!!!

We got home around 3pm on Friday afternoon. Things have been a little crazy trying to coordinate E's schedule around I's lack of schedule. The first night home was pretty rough. Izzy nursed every 1 1/2 through the night, then slept all day. Last night was much better, she nursed every 3 hours and then went right back to sleep.

I've noticed since I have been home that E rarely crawls anymore. This is something that happened over night while I was away. She walks everywhere, like such a big girl. It is just another painful reminder of how fast they grow up. We must cherish these moments while we are in the present.

Anyway, enough ramblings, here is what you really want to see...

Don't wake me up mommy, I'm cozy.

The insanity of coordinating 3 children for a picture...

J was good for a few pics and then bolted.

The girls didn't really have a choice.

Isabel in her "going home" outfit

Daddy with his girls

My girls and their paci's...ready to go.

We're going home!!!

TOMORROW! YAY!

Isabel's Dr came by this evening and said she looked perfect. Isabel's nursery nurse tonight is someone we had from when E was here that we liked very much. When I saw her tonight we just had to catch up on things. Apparently there has been talk between the nursery and the NICU nurses about how fast she weaned off the oxygen and moved to an open crib. Normally in a best case scenario (as you recall I asked about) they would expect the baby to be in the NICU for a week at the very least. She was there for just over 48 hours.

If you didn't believe in the power of prayer...do you now???

So, we will be coming home tomorrow. They said not to hope to get out before lunch, so we are hoping to be home just after. I can't to sleep in my own bed. Wait.....sleep....what's that??? :)

How our family spent the holiday

Yesterday Isabel made the transition from the NICU to the regular healthy newborn nursery. YAY! Here are some pics of our 4th of July.

Isabel without all of her wires and tubes, getting ready to join us on the 3rd floor

Daddy with his new little girl

E doin' a little dance

B and J playing Chess

Big brother looking proud

I'm cute!

The two little sisters check each other out.

Izzy just chillin' after her midnight snack.

It was a really great day, despite not getting to see any fireworks. As you can see, we had some of our own!

She has a name!!!

It's official!

Isabel Claire Bennight

is the name of our new baby girl!!!

What you are really waiting for

E about to become a big sis!



Baby girl fresh out of the oven



Baby in the NICU with feeding tube, but off of oxygen hood



Another pretty view..



Mommy getting ready to feed (and hold her) for the first time.




I will post more later, but right now, mommy needs to rest. I forgot how exhausting feeding a newborn every 3 hours can be.

Getting ready for the big move

I've just returned from the NICU for the 12AM feeding. She didn't really want to nurse this time. She had a bath earlier this evening and all the tape from the feeding tube and misc. wires has been removed from her face. She has such sensitive skin that her poor poor face is now covered in a rash. She doesn't seem bothered by it, but I feel sad for her. It has to burn a little bit!

So we did our standard cuddle, nuzzle, latch, fall asleep routine for 20 minutes... then I fed her 25 ccs of formula. While I was nursing/feeding her, they came into her room and moved the isolet out of there. The isolet is a big open crib with a warming unit on top and a warming pad underneath. It helps new babies keep their temps up after birth. Most babies stay in one for a few hours, then are sent away to hang out with their mommies. Babies in the NICU usually need a little more help with temp regulation, so she was in hers until I went in for this feed. She is in her big (newborn baby) girl crib bed now. She will stay in the NICU tonight and through the morning until her antibiotic is finished and then will be transferred to the regular newborn nursery.

I couldn't be happier! When the Dr. from the NICU came and talked to me yesterday, he mentioned it could be 1-2 weeks on oxygen in the NICU before the pneumothorax would resolve completely. Our little girl has pulled this off in just a little over 36 hours. She's a trooper! All the NICU nurses keep telling us how feisty she is. I bet...with all that sushi and crazy food I was craving!

By the way...I didn't have all the stats of her birth until this afternoon, so here ya go:
date- 7/2/07
time- 12:22 pm
weight- 7 lbs 9 oz
length- 19 inches
head- 13 3/4
APGAR1- 8
APGAR2- 8

She's on room air!!!

Last night was particularly rough. I was given so many meds that my head was spinning and I couldn't keep anything down. And I mean ANYTHING. Ice chips led to severe nausea, which led to 8+ hours of non-stop vomitting, which made my Drs decide to keep me on a clear liquid diet today. YUCK! For lunch I think the cafeteria cooks forgot to stir the chicken broth before lunch was served, so I had chicken-flavored water for lunch. MMmmmmmmmmm. Since I was so sick I wasn't allowed to go see my baby girl in the NICU until around noon.

Much to my surprise, they had removed her oxygen tent late this morning and she was breathing room air!!!! Her X-ray showed that the hole in her lung had mostly disappeared and the Dr. said I could even come back at 3 and nurse her for the first time!!!

It was so wonderful to get to hold her. She didn't nurse very well at all, but I was fine to just snuggle with her. She quiets when she hears my voice and relaxes when we are skin to skin. This makes a new mom feel really good.

I took some pictures that I will try to post really soon!

She's here!!!

Our beautiful baby girl was born today!

She is so pretty and looks a lot like big sister E looked when she was born.

We still don't have a name, so don't ask! :) She is my biggest child of the three weighing in at 7 pounds 9 ounces.

Unfortunately, when she took some of her first few breaths she got a tiny hole in her lungs. The technical term is a pneumothorax. She is in the NICU under a tent of oxygen. The Dr. expects her to recover on her own and we are just taking things day by day. Her last X-ray showed much improvement and there is hope that she may be weaned off of oxygen completely by tomorrow! This would be awesome because then I could hold her for the first time.

I don't have any pictures of her for you yet, but hope to get them up tomorrow!

Our little girl is growing up!

Well I went to the hospital today and got my lab work done. We leave for the hospital in just 12 hours!!!

In honor of this being Emma's last day as the baby of the family, I am posting some recent pics to show what a big girl she has become!

Hi Mommy!!!

Just chillin' by the pool with daddy.

Daddy...I can do this on my own....

Cool baby tries out her new sunglasses from Aunt Jane

Look at the big girl! 5 seconds later she was trying to climb into the chair!