Mother's Day 2015

I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year and felt so much gratitude to be the Mother of TWO babies this time!

 My special day started when Josh came home from work on Friday with a dozen red roses and chocolate. He also told me I could get myself whatever I wanted for the rest of my gift, so I did a little online shopping for some new summer clothes! Love him! On Sunday morning Josh got up with Austin so I could "sleep in" which didn't really work out because the baby woke up anyway, but it was a nice thought! For breakfast Josh ran over to Starbucks and got me my favorite drink and then we hung out as a family for a while before church.

I know this sounds terrible, but what I wanted most for Mother's Day was to go to Relief Society and not have to deal with a crazy busy toddler so Josh agreed to stay home with Austin and I went to church alone! Well, not exactly alone.... I brought the baby along with me. But she is the perfect angel so it was like she wasn't even there! Plus, I really wanted to show her off to all my friends ;). It was such a nice, peaceful escape! The spirit was so strong and it felt like I was in heaven as I cuddled my sweet angel and listened to God's word. We got so much attention with all of our friends wanting to see the baby and there was a yummy treat waiting for me after church from the bishop and his counselors. SCORE!

I went home happy and spiritually uplifted to two handsome boys waiting to BBQ for my special lunch! Josh did a great job BBQ'ing salmon, corn, and sweet potatoes! And then there was key lime pie for dessert! Again, SCORE!

I also received all sorts of sweet text messages and phone calls from friends and loved ones. I really felt the love!

My sweet baby sister sent me this text which of course made me cry! It was so sweet of her!

......The second half of the text.

After Austin woke up from his nap, we all went for a walk to the park to throw the football around and enjoy the beautiful weather. It was the perfect end to a great day!

No, I take that back. The perfect end to my special day was singing songs with Josh and Austin before we put Austin down for bed and listening to my sweet little boy giggle and try tickling us as we tried to get through each verse of 5 little monkeys. Then, as we tucked him into bed and said goodnight, my sweet boy said, "I yuv you buddy," mimicking his Dad, and my heart melted. Then I went into our bedroom where my beautiful baby girl was waiting for her turn to be cuddled and tucked into bed. It was as I was stroking her beautiful black hair and admiring her sweet baby face, that I felt it had truly been the perfect Mother's Day :).

Giving sister kisses after Momma got hers...

BIG HUG!!

I love my babies!

Happy Mother's Day everyone!!!

Oh and by the way, by the end of my day of semi-relaxation, Josh told me he could never be a stay at home Dad and going back to work would be a vacation after how hard his day was! I laughed (mostly because he didn't even do half of what I normally do throughout the day) and welcomed him to my world! Being a Mom is the hardest job I've ever had, and I've had a few doozies.... But it is also rewarding and makes my life whole. 

The Weekly 10

1) Josh got a new job! He will be starting a week from today so he quit his previous job on Friday and is taking the whole week off to spend with us! The new job is with Wells Fargo as a Loan Underwriter. Things were going south at his last job so we were pretty grateful this one came along before he joined the others on the list of layoffs!

2) Austin is either the sweetest kid in the world, or the worst. It has been a struggle lately and he seems to have most of these power struggles with me.

Josh says it's because you fight the most with the child who is most like you. That might be the case, or maybe it's just because I am the more strict parent and I spend more time with him....?

3) Because of our recent struggles, I decided to take Austin on a Mommy and me date on Friday. It was just the two of us and amazingly it helped things a lot! My sweet little boy came back to me! We went to his Messy Days class and made fun Mother's Day pictures out of glue and colored sand for me and Grandma Porter who was babysitting Evelyne. Then we hit up a farmers market close by, sampled yummy food, and bought Grandma P. some fresh bread and fruit spread. Next we went to Trader Joes because that is our thing. Austin gets so excited when I tell him we are going there to get cookies! We topped off our Mother's Day gift for Grandma by buying some sunflowers. By the end of all that fun, we were hungry and made a stop at McDonalds! Talk about a fun filled day! Once we got home, Austin was so adorable as he carefully carried the flowers to Grandma and said, "I yuv you."

4) I went to a seminar with my Mom Wednesday evening put on by this LDS Therapist who had some very interesting insight into happiness and not allowing negativity into your mind. I have been trying to put what I learned into action and I have to say, things have been good! I brought Evelyne along with me and left Josh to put Austin to bed. Of course that was the night when Evelyne decided to not sleep constantly but she was too adorable to get annoyed over it and she made sure she got all sorts of attention from all the women while we were there! They all claimed she is the most beautiful baby they have ever seen. Yes, I was proud.

5) Speaking of Evelyne, she is the perfect baby! She sleeps most of the day and wakes about every 3 hours at night, unless she has gas pains. Then she moans and grunts most of the night and keeps us up with all her noises. I bought gripe water and it seems to work but she hates the taste and gags whenever she drinks it.

6) I had my 2 week OB appointment and everything is healing nicely! I still can't exercise but the pain is getting better and the swelling is going down! I've lost 21lbs since her birth which sounds great but is actually kinda depressing since I had lost 33lbs at this point with Austin.... But I also gained about 10lbs more with the second pregnancy since I was put on bed rest and couldn't be as active. So I have to remind myself that I am doing good.

7) Austin had a play date with his friend Emmett and had a great time! Those two little boys are so funny together! We love watching them! It helped me out so much so I could get some things done!

8) We struggled the first few days of being on our own with two kids but we are adjusting well now and have a little routine down! I'm so grateful to have a partner to help me. I don't know how single moms do it! Basically Josh takes Austin and I take Evelyne and we make it work. Austin's new phrase is "Daddy's buddy" and it's so cute when he says it! Every day gets better, although I have to admit that poor Evelyne has to cry more often to get attention than Austin ever did. We just don't have enough hands sometimes!

9) Josh has been going to the gym daily and claims it helps a lot with the stress of life. Sure wish I had that luxury! As soon as I get permission from my doctor I will be joining him in the ranks!

10) Evelyne had a doctors appointment today (20 days old) and now weighs 8lbs 4oz and is 19.5 inches long. She is getting some chub on her and we have all been having fun squeezing her! Austin especially. Her cheeks are his favorite. The doctor says she is doing perfectly and won't need to come back until her 2 month vaccinations visit.

Introducing Evelyne Grace LaFeber!

Our beautiful baby girl was born on April 21, 2015 at 9:53am. 

She was 6lbs 6oz, and 18 inches long.

Evelyne's birth couldn't have gone any smoother! Compared to my experience with Austin, this was heaven! It was a scheduled C-Section so we had everything planned out as far as babysitting and post-baby meals went. All that was left to do was go in and have that baby!

We were supposed to be at the hospital two hours early (and fasting since midnight) so they could prep me for surgery. I don't know how I slept the night before. I was so excited! Papa Art was in the guest room, ready to take care of Austin when we left. We had all gone out out for a big buffet meal that night, and soaked in our last hours with Austin before I was going to be hospitalized for three days. Josh and I laid in bed awake for most of the night, excitedly talking about what was about to happen in just a few short hours.....

That morning I woke up with nervous jitters. I was still excited, but the realization that I was about to be cut open in two hours was nothing less than frightening. Austin was still asleep when we left so we didn't get to say goodbye. That was probably for the best though. I don't think I could have handled seeing him cry.

Last pregnancy picture! Outside of the St. Rose Siena Hospital.

Meanwhile, Austin was with Grandpa having a good ol' time!

Once we got to the hospital we were told that a woman had gone into premature labor with a 28 week old breech baby and I was supposed to sit in the waiting room until further notice. This didn't help with the anxiety. After an hour and a half of waiting, Josh finally went to the nurses station and asked if they had forgotten about us. They assured him that they had not, and it was just a really crazy morning. So crazy in fact that instead of getting ready and waiting in what would be my post-op room, I was given a gown to wear and then walked straight down to the Operating Room where they did all the prep-work there! Josh was told to wait outside the door while they gave me the spinal block, inserted the catheter, placed the drape in front of me so I couldn't see, and gave me a large dose of Morphine and Zofran just in case I became nauseous or had any shoulder strap pain like I did with Austin. That spinal block hurt! With Austin I was too busy having contractions to even feel what the anesthesiologist was doing back there, but this time I was very much aware.... I jumped when a shooting pain went down my left leg and suddenly my whole leg went warm. I was so scared that I had messed everything up when I jumped because I wasn't feeling that warmth anywhere else but that leg! I started panicking inside that they were going to cut me open, not knowing that I wasn't numb because all the medicine had gone to my leg! The panic died down once I started noticing I couldn't move either of my toes and soon both legs felt too heavy to lift on my own. Before I knew it they had called Josh in to be by my side and they commenced cutting me open. At least that's what I assumed was happening. I couldn't see OR feel anything. I just tried to focus on squeezing Josh's hand because, just like with Austin, I felt the tears welling up in my eyes, and the fear of "what if something goes wrong" was lingering in the back of my mind. My mind kept getting foggy and there were moments when I knew I was going to pass out. I closed my eyes and focused on breathing, assuming that my blood pressure must be dropping, as always.

Gowned up and ready to get my spinal block.

All prepped and ready to go!

One excited Daddy!

The gang hanging out in the waiting room!

Grandma Helm waited for a couple hours to see the baby, but had a physical therapy appointment she had to go to and couldn't wait any longer :(. So she had to leave before we got a chance to see her. She stopped by the house after we were discharged though so it all worked out!

Then, I heard the doctor say to Josh, "Okay Dad, get out your camera!" and in seconds I could hear our baby girl crying!!! I couldn't hold back the tears this time and I wished so badly that I could see her! That is the main downfall to having a C-Section..... you are the very last person to hold your baby :(. I watched the nurses carry her over to the corner where a warm bed was waiting, cleaning her off and saying, "oh wow, look at all that hair!" and "She's definitely got the pouty lip down!" From my angle I could see her thick black hair, but not much else. Then they brought her over to me and put her up to my face. She really did have the sad pouty look down! Her face was swollen, her forehead was all squished, and her little button nose was all wrinkled..... and then there was that bottom lip! I wish I could say that it was love at first sight, but honestly, the first thought that came to mind was, "Wow, this is not a very attractive baby!" Don't worry Evelyne, I changed my mind later once I got to actually hold you and you decided to relax your face and stop frowning so much. Then they took her away from me so Josh could cut the cord and the doctors could finish sewing me up. I laid there on the table, totally drugged up and numb, listening to Bohemian Rhapsody by QUEEN play in the background, in complete bliss. It was a good moment :).

She was in the breech position so they had to pull her out by her feet! Doctor Sauter told me I probably would have had to have a C-Section whether I wanted one or not because of this.

I am in awe of modern medicine and what we are capable of!

An amazing shot of them pulling her out! It's so crazy!!

Over with the nurses getting cleaned off.

Our beautiful, healthy baby girl!

Daddy cutting the umbilical cord.

Meeting Daddy for the first time.

The moment when they brought her over to me! It was so hard being an afterthought in the process. I just wanted to see my baby!

The nurse pulled off her hat to show me all her beautiful black hair!

Loving on my little pouty lipped beauty :). Such a happy moment!

Next, they wheeled me out of the Operating Room and into my temporary room. There was no available rooms on the Maternal/Newborn floor so they had to bring me back down to the Labor and Delivery Unit for most of the day. There they got me all situated and then handed the baby over to me to hold for the first time! I laid there, skin to skin with her soft naked body, while Josh sat next to the bed watching, both of us were totally in heaven. We had decided to wait on naming her until we actually got to meet her and see what she looked like. Evelyne Grace was our favorite name and she looked just like an Evelyne to us as we sat there looking at her tiny perfection! So Evelyne Grace it was! Evelyne after one of my Maternal Grandmothers about 8 generations back, and Grace because it was by the grace of God that we even became pregnant with her in the first place! She is truly a miracle baby and we know that it was all God's doing.

Getting weighed and measured.

Being wheeled out of the O.R. and into our room while Mom was getting all sewn up.

Hanging out under the warmer while waiting for Mom to show up.

The moment when I finally got to hold my baby girl skin to skin!

Holding your baby for the first time is such a beautiful, unforgettable moment!

Our first family photo (minus Austin). I was so swollen!

She soon fell asleep after nursing for the first time. I was so content to just stare at her beauty and couldn't wait for them to give her a bath so I could see and play with all that black hair!

Beautiful Evelyne.

Her dark black hair was to die for and her little body was so tiny! Austin was small, but he was much bigger than this tiny princess! Everything about her was delicate and dainty, from her ity bity finger tips to her tiny little feet. After about 10 minutes of cuddling skin to skin, she started searching for food and took to nursing like a champ! This girl might have been small, but she knew right where the food was! The lactation consultant came in later and basically had nothing to do because no help was needed with this hungry child! The nurse told us that hospital policy stated no visitors for the first hour after birth, which was just fine with us. We knew our family was impatiently waiting in the foyer but it was so nice to have this quiet time as just the three of us, getting to know each other and talk. The nurse told us that it is common for fathers to do the skin to skin technique as well, to help stimulate bonding as well as keep the baby warm during that first hour of life. So after the baby was done eating, Josh took his shirt off and sat in the rocking chair next to me, holding his new little girl and talking to her sweetly. I felt so groggy from the anesthesia and itchy from the Morphine, but nothing could take away from the sweet feeling inside of me as I watched Josh bond with the baby. After more than an hour Josh finally went out to to tell all the visitors that we were open for business. We had three vases full of beautiful flowers given to us from my parents, Josh, and his parents. Pictures were being taken from every angle as the baby was being passed around. I was pretty swollen (and not attractive in any picture) from the Oxytocin they had given me to cause uterine contractions post-surgery so I wouldn't bleed to death. Normally your body releases this hormone on its own after delivering a baby, but I didn't have a normal vaginal delivery.

Skin to skin with Daddy!

And then the entourage came..... meeting Aunt Briana!

Meeting Papa Art! He claimed she definitely is a LaFeber!

Daddy was so proud :).

Austin coming onto my bed and getting a close up of his new sister.

He kept trying to touch her eyes.... poor girl!

Life couldn't get better than this!

I am so in love with my two babies!

Dad having a good time!

Meeting Grandma Porter.

Lots and LOTS of kisses!

Meeting Grandpa Porter.

Meeting Great Grandma Wiegel! She kept telling me how I did such a good job and how beautiful she is.

Evelyne slept through the entire meet and greet. Being born is hard work!

First family picture of all four of us!

Love my growing family!

Getting a four generations picture!

Back to Briana.... she was so in love she couldn't put Evelyne down!

It was fun chatting, taking pictures, and ooh'ing and 'awe'ing  over the baby. Papa Art had brought Austin to meet his new baby sister and that was a beautiful experience I will never forget. Austin came and sat next to me on the bed and together we met little Eve. He kept saying, "baby!" And poking her eyes. He has this infatuation with eyes and loves pointing them out.... Then all of his fascination with his sister disappeared when he realized there were buttons on the side of my bed to push. After about 15 minutes of him pushing the "call the nurse" button and moving my bed up and down, we decided it was time for him to go. He didn't want to go though and began crying and making a big scene. Dad and Papa Art took him out together and Dad ended up staying over at the house with him for a while. While they were gone, the rest of us hung out for a couple hours until I started getting so sleepy and needed some down time. I kissed all of our visitors goodbye and had to pry the baby away from Aunt Briana who started crying when she finally had to leave. Then Evelyne and I took a little nap and waited for Daddy to come back. 

That was about all the sleep we got for the rest of the night. Once the spinal block wore off enough for me to stand, and Josh had come back, they moved us to our official postpartum room. That meant I had to stand up, get into a wheelchair, and be wheeled up to another floor. It didn't go so well. I was so dizzy and nauseous. Every bump of the wheelchair made my incision hurt and my stomach churn. I knew my blood pressure must have dropped really low because I was not feeling well at all. They fussed over me in my new bed until I started feeling better and then they told me there was no way I was getting any food until the next morning since I was not tolerating the morphine well and it wasn't due to wear off until around 10:00pm. That meant about 36 hours of no food. Luckily Jura was coming that night to visit and she offered to bring me a smoothie! Liquids were approved so I at least got something besides jello. It was fun getting to introduce my new baby to my oldest, closest friend! Adrien and Juliette came by as well but only stayed a short time because it was Juliette's bed time. Plus, Josh was back at home putting Austin to bed so Adrien didn't have him to talk to while us girls had fun doing what we do best!

Meeting Aunt Jura!

Juliette was pretty happy to have a new playmate!

Evelyne wasn't quite sure what to think.

Having a little chat with Aunt Jura who even got a little smile out of her!

After they left, and Josh came back, my nurse came in and told me that she would be back at 10:00pm to get me up and walking, pull my catheter, give me more pain medicine, and some Benadryl per my request. I was still so itchy! It was driving me insane! I will never EVER use Morphine again! We were soooo exhausted and 10:00 was still hours away.... We tried to sleep but failed. We were constantly being woken up by nurses, lab techs, etc. I was so happy to finally get up and walking once it was time and even happier to get that catheter out! Then, the nurse told me I had until 4am to urinate 3 times or they would have to put the catheter back in and suddenly my bladder got stage fright! I had forgotten how to pee! The IV Benadryl she gave me made me incredibly sleepy but I couldn't sleep because I kept looking at the clock and worrying that time was running out and I hadn't urinated yet! They gave me a 2 hour extension to my deadline after I explained to the nurse that I knew I could do it, I just needed more time! How weird is that?! I sat there for a half hour and although it felt like my bladder was bursting, I for the life of me could not pee! Then, a miracle happened right before my deadline and I finally, painfully, got myself to go. I'm guessing my bladder was traumatized? Who knows, I was just glad I didn't have to go through the pain of another catheterization! Then the nurse gave the baby a second bath because she had so much hair and the previous nurse didn't do the greatest job at shampooing. And of course we both got our blood drawn, I got another TDAP vaccination, there were vital checks every two hours.... And the next thing I knew I was being brought a breakfast tray and hadn't gotten any sleep!

Aunt Sadie came that second morning (she had been working when the baby was born) along with my Mom, Austin, and Papa Art. We did a second day of chatting with visitors, and attempting unsuccessfully to rest. It was also this day that the lactation consultant discovered that Evelyne, like her Dad, was born tongue tied! She couldn't stick her tongue out past her gums so they were going to have to cut the skin under her tongue. It was a minor procedure that was done at my bedside and didn't even bleed, but the view of them prying her mouth open and the sound of her screaming was awful.... She got over it quickly though, and for the next few days was completely fascinated by her new ability to stick her tongue out!

Meeting Aunt Sadie the next day!

For some reason the hospital air conditioner was broken that second day and was blowing full blast, making the rooms soooo cold! So we had Evelyne all bundled up, trying to keep her warm and healthy.

Little snuggle bug.

We spent the rest of the day snuggling.

One tired but very happy Momma!

Papa Art and Austin came to visit and give the baby some smooches!

After visiting us in the hospital, Austin found his baby doll and began feeding it and taking care of it! He's going to be such a great big brother!

And he of course took a few swigs himself....

Our third day in the hospital was spent waiting around for them to discharge us. The nurse had told us that morning that everything was completed and now we just had to wait for my doctor to come sign off on everything! He didn't come until around 5:30pm...... My Mom sat and hung out with me most of the day while Josh picked up his Mom and Steve from the airport and spent some time with them and Austin. I don't know what we would have done without our wonderful babysitters! All of our parents took a turn helping out and it was much appreciated. Finally, Doctor Sauter showed up, looked at my incision, and said we were free to go! Josh came back with the car and carried all of our stuff out while I got Evelyne dressed in an adorable pajama outfit and got her situated in her carseat. She looked so tiny in there! The  buckles were bigger than half of her body!

Austin and Grandma Porter came to visit again that morning and then Daddy took Austin home and Grandma stayed with Mom.

Austin came running into our room excitedly, asking to hold baby!

"Baby!" -Austin

He wanted to see her toes ;).

She was so tiny in that big car seat! Even the newborn outfit was way too big on her!

Ready to bring our sleepy baby home!

We arrived home to a happy little boy and two excited grandparents. It turned out to be a stressful night as we attempted to get both kids ready for bed and I found myself bursting into tears at one moment when the pain really began to set in, but we survived it! Grandma and Grandpa Ronnenkamp stayed for 5 days and helped us out as we made the big adjustment and I did my best to rest and recuperate. My Mom stayed with us the following week and we got a lot of help from the lovely ladies in our ward with meals. It all worked out so well! Evelyne and I spent those two weeks lounging around, and hanging out with everyone. Josh had only gotten the week of the birth off from work so sadly he had to go back to the grind :(. Evelyne has been the perfect sleeper, waking up about every 3 hours or so for about 10 minutes and then drifting back to sleep. She had gotten so used to sleeping with me all night in the hospital bed because I wanted to snuggle with her every second while I could give her 100% of my love and attention, so she didn't like her bassinet at home. It took us a couple of nights, but eventually she slept in it. She sleeps all day long and is just barely starting to stay awake and watch things going on around her. I love this sleepy newborn stage and all the cuddles!!!

Grandma Ronnenkamp was dying to hold her and quickly whisked her away as soon as we got home!

See how tiny she was in that newborn outfit!

The first night we brought her home, Austin dumped her out of this swing (she face planted onto the floor) so he could take a turn.... My first reaction was to freak out which left him in tears and me feeling awful.

Grandma couldn't get enough cuddles in!

Having some floor time. She's just so tiny!

Hanging out with Grandpa Steve while Mom took a shower.

Cuddling in bed with Daddy.

Every time we would try taking a picture with Austin in it, he would suddenly try to escape. This transition has been interesting and somewhat difficult for him.

This was the closest Austin would get to the baby. Like I said, he has been acting so funny!

All that hair! I'm dying!

Finally getting to meet Great Grandma Helm!

She brought Uncle Ken and Aunt Diana along with her!

Having a little chat with Great Grandma :).

I have been having so much fun dressing her up!

Austin doesn't want to be in pictures with the baby, but he asks to hold her a lot. He does so good and then he will suddenly say, "Off!" and try pushing her away.

Wanting to hold her one more time before he went to bed.

Aunt Briana came to visit a lot :).

This was taken on Evelyne's 1 week birthday!

We got lots of special time with Grandma Porter as well.

Austin has been adjusting well, mostly thanks to all the attention he has been getting from his Grandparents. Every morning he wakes up and is instantly asking for his baby. He loves helping me change her diapers and watching me dress her. However, his love for her changes once he feels like he is getting the short end of the stick and lets us know about it! I have never seen him throw so many tantrums and make such a big deal over the smallest things! It is so hard because I can't lift anything over 10 pounds so I have had to get creative in how I deal with him.

Getting creative at Messy Days with Grandma!

I had signed Austin up for classes at the Recreation Center for most of the summer to keep Austin busy when it gets hot. This was the first class and it went really well! We don't do many messy activities at home because I hate the clean up! So at first he didn't know what to think, but by the end of the class he was pretty excited about it!

Anyway, that's her birth and first two weeks of life summed up! It has been wonderful and she is everything we dreamed of. She is just as sweet as she could possibly be and has such a beautiful little spirit! She is everything I imagined her to be and previously wrote about in my last pregnancy post. She looks just like Josh, and is so fun to dress up! She is too tiny for most of the newborn clothes we purchased so she has been in onesies most of the time, but is now getting a little double chin and a little more chub on her.... just a little. She reminds me of a baby doll I had when I was a little girl, and I have had multiple friends tell me she reminds them of a baby doll as well because she is so perfect! We have been so happy and are all very much in love with our sweet baby Eve :).