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???