September 23, 2013

I can't believe Robert will be 2 weeks old tomorrow! Time has gone by in a blink! It was quite a week, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Yes, I am tired and my back still hurts (it still seizes up occasionally) and I wish I felt like "me" again, but I have been loving every day of being a mom of 2.

Last Monday (after Francis reluctantly headed back to work), William had his two year check up (finally). We had to wait so he could get his flu shot, but they ended up still not having it. He's 30 lbs, and growing so tall! Everything looked great to the doctor and she was super impressed with his development. Yay for a healthy William! Also, Mom and I made our first grocery shopping trip with two kids. We each took a cart and divided and conquered. It took a little longer than usual, but I am proud to say, we made it! William was an awesome trooper and Robert slept through the whole thing. I was pretty pooped for the rest of the day, and I am thankful my mom was there to pick up the slack. She's awesome, in case anyone was wondering!

Tuesday, I went with William to The Little Gym for his regular class. Mom and Robert came too. I lasted just long enough for everyone to tell me congratulations before I had to tag my mom in so I could sit down. Robert again slept through the whole thing, so I had it pretty easy sitting and watching William run around the gym like there's no tomorrow. I wish I had his energy! After nap on Tuesday, we tried to get Robert's newborn portraits done. William was great for the many hours we were there, but Robert wanted nothing of it. We got a few cute pictures of the two boys together (and one of the three of us), but none of Robert individually. He was too fussy and mad about the lights. The studio was great and saved our photos and let me and scheduled me and Robert to come back the following day. It was emotionally draining because I wanted to just be done, but in the end, it worked out for the best.

Wednesday morning William woke up with a fever, so my mom stayed home and watched him while William and I went to a MOPS (mother's of preschoolers) group at church. It was the first meeting and Robert decided this would be a perfect time to poop and pee all over himself, his blanket, me, the floor and all the general surroundings. All this happened while the speaker was giving a "life's messy" speech. I think Robert did it on purpose to prove her point. After MOPS and lunch, Robert and I went back to the portrait studio and got some awesome shots! We waited forever for them to print and the manager felt so bad, she gave us a second set of prints for FREE! Robert was so good and I could not have asked for more. By then, William was feeling better so we went home. I missed William after being away all day. I don't know how working moms do it.

Thursday, William, Robert and I went to a Beth Moore Bible Study at a nearby church. It was great. William's class has a McDonald's type play place in it. He had a great time and I was able to meet a lot of wonderful ladies (and my mom got a little break!). I look forward to learning a lot this year!

Friday, we took it pretty easy and tried to get the house in order before my mother left that evening. It was raining all day so the desire to stay in was easy to give into. It was nice to spend a day with my boys and mother. We needed some refreshing. My mom left after dinner and my mother-in-law arrived a short time later. These two women are amazing to take time out of their busy schedule and I am so glad for their help!!!

Saturday, all our plans were derailed as a rash on Robert landed us at the After Hours Clinic. The doctor said it was likely due to my detergent or soap (since it was only where he touched me), so we had to go get new stuff to see it that would fix the problem. The rash looked like blazing fire ant bites and was very hot to the touch, so we are glad it is nothing more serious.

Sunday, Robert made his first appearance at church. Everyone was so glad to see him (and me) and the love of the church body for our family was warmly felt. I thank God for this healthy and vibrant group of believers. They certainly ministered to me on Sunday. After church, my mother-in-law, Robert and I went shopping and got a bunch of cute stuff. I was actually feeling pretty good until the very end when I hit a bit of a wall and my back started to really hurt. I over did it. Today I am reaping the consequences of that choice. But...I would probably still have done it if I had to do it over again. I don't like being an invalid!

Today I went grocery shopping with my mother-in-law. Robert slept through it again. I am beginning to notice a pattern. We will see what the coming weeks and months will bring! 

William has been talking SO much more! He is using 3, 4, and 5 or more words sentences to communicate. He is absorbing so much syntax and vocabulary. It is simply amazing to look at Robert and try to picture William like that. He's so big now. As soon as Robert was born, William became infinitely bigger in my eyes. It is hard to see how much he has grown until you have something to compare it to. My little William is now my big toddler!!! Thankfully he still likes to snuggle and his physical growth is paired with emotional and intellectual maturity. He LOVES Robert still and always wants to hold him, talk to him and make him happy. It is amazing to see him turn into a little man before my very eyes. It's enough to make you cry with joy!

Robert, too has grown in just the week. He has pretty much outgrown all his newborn clothing (though, to be fair, it was pretty snug when he was born). He's now wearing 3 month clothing and has a little room to grow. It he is like his brother, he will fill it out in no time. His face has gotten rounder, and that adorable baby fat and muscle are just beginning to emerge.Robert is SO alert. He watches everything! He is so interested in William too. It's so fun to see them interact. Robert is finally starting to get his nights and days fixed, and thanks to my mother and mother-in-law, everyone is getting a fair amount of sleep.

All in all, I can't complain. I have an awesome family (both nuclear and extended), and a great support system. I am so thankful!

My Baby and Me!

Robert was due to arrive today. Thank goodness though; he's already been out and about for 5 days! We are so so so pleased to welcome him into our family. All of us could not be more thrilled.

          

 I was in labor for 12 hours and 15 minutes: a new record for me in a good way. It was hard, and there was a moment when I thought I would not be able to do it, but Robert was worth all of the pain and exhaustion. Robert Christian Phillips weighed 8lbs. 6oz. and were 21 inches long with a 15 in head circumference. My mom cut the umbilical cord when he came out at 11:37 on September 10, 2013. The umbilical cord was wrapped around tightly around Robert's neck, but Dr. Brown popped it off with no issue. His vitals always looked good (except for once when I laid on my side) and so Dr. Brown was never worried. That first cry of his brought tears to my eyes as they placed Robert on my chest. Francis just repeated over and over, “I’m so proud of you” as he held back tears and went for the camera. He watched Robert get cleaned up and be weighed and measured. There was no way he was going to leave our baby's side. My mom left to get me food, and we had an hour to nurse, cuddle and love on our new bundle. I will not forget the pride, joy and love on Francis’s face when he held Robert for the first time. It was a precious moment.

          

 We were moved to a new room and got settled in well after 1 am. None of us slept much, but it didn’t matter. We had Robert.

          

 The next morning, my mom and mother-in-law brought William to meet Robert. William gave Robert a monkey stuffed animal and cow rattle. Robert "got" him a toy train engine. William loved Robert already.

William begged to hold him right away. We set him in William's lap with a pillow and asked him who he was holding. He answered, “Rob!” Already he had a nickname for Robert. It was adorable. William stroked his brother, loved on him and kissed him. It was so adorable and made me so proud! William has wanted to hold Robert pretty consistently ever since. My father-in-law came to meet Robert later that day as did my Aunt Camille, Angel Davis, and Seth and Arlene Jennings. It was a great first day.

           

Robert's first full night was rough on me. He didn’t sleep and Francis went home to be with William. As I was her only patient, the nurse took Robert twice so I could rest. I think he may still have your days and nights confused (My mom has been watching him at night in between feedings and she is exhausted!). After Robert's circumcision the next morning and the doctor checked me out, we were cleared to leave around 4pm. We got home, had a burrito dinner with my mom, Francis and William and then settled in for the night. Around 8:30pm, I checked Robert's diaper and found he was still bleeding from his circumcision site, and I panicked. Francis, Robert and I headed to the emergency room where they put on more medicated gauze (they had put some on before at the hospital when we left to stop a bleed) and sent us home. The next morning Robert was still bleeding, so we met Dr. Brown at the hospital and she put some glue stitches to make the bleeding halt. It worked! From the hospital we went straight to the pediatrician and got a clean bill of health (no jaundice!!). I could not have been more relieved. We were then finally able to spend more than 8 hours out of the hospital with with our boys. Robert is one awesome kid. He barely cried through any of it.

           

Saturday, the whole family came to visit. Papa, Sweetie, Nana, Grandad, Mom Noble (my grandmother), Aunt Camille, Aunt Christian, Aunt Danielle, Uncle Chad, Aunt Cyndy, Uncle Chris and Cousin Abby. The house was full! Papa (My Dad) was completely thrilled to hold the other Robert, and Christian and Danielle were sweet baby hogs (with Christian being much worse!). It just shows how well Robert is loved that everyone wanted to be here with him. William got a new train set with tracks, and the men spent a great deal of time assembling it. William enjoyed playing swords with Chad, Danielle and Christian, and especially loved playing with Abby in his motorized truck. William loved showing Robert off to everyone and relished the big brother title he so richly deserves.

           

Now here Robert and I sit on a Sunday afternoon. William and Dad went to church while Mom and I stayed to care for Robert and recuperate from another sleepless night. I love his little faces and gentle snoring. Just looking at him brings tears to my eyes. We are so blessed!

       

William is adjusting pretty well to being a brother, but there are times I can tell he wants to be a baby too. We keep accentuating the positive things about being a big boy and that really seems to help. My back is killing me. It seizes constantly, but I try to push through. I really don't want to have to ask my doctor for stronger medication. Even laying down, though, I get no relief. Please be in prayer for me as I continue to try to adjust to our growing family. Pretty soon I will be on my own and I really need to be in tip top shape! 

So, in conclusion, welcome to the world, Robert Christian Phillips!!!!

September 10, 2013

So, I'm at the hospital...

At my appointment last week, Dr. Brown measured me at 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. She said Robert was still really high and that she did not expect him in the next week (which she was right about). She was concerned about my pain, but we collectively decided to try and make it one more week before we induced (with the understanding if the pain got too much worse, we would act more quickly). So we scheduled the induction, and I headed home.

This past week has been somewhat a blur as we've been preparing for today. I followed my routine as normally as I could, but my preoccupation with both preparing for Robert and trying to enjoy William as much as possible made things just a little off.

Friday night my mom came in town to watch me as Francis and William left to attend his cousin's wedding in North Carolina the following day. The four of us attended a Back to School Bash at The Little Gym before having burgers at Five Guys and heading home. Early the next morning, my in-laws picked up Francis and William and they headed to the airport, leaving me to have a fun weekend with my mom.

Mom and I got pedicures, went shopping for Robert, William and me, and saw two movies. We also went to church Sunday where I was prayed over and got sweet encouragement from many friends. It was a great weekend and I really appreciate my mom taking time out of her schedule to watch me just in case I did go into labor. I am told William did great on the planes and at the wedding. He was flexible with his schedule, sweet to his cousin Abby, and a delight to the extended family. I am so glad he was on his best behavior while out of my sight. Well, William, Francis and his mother got in late Monday night. It was so great to have them back, but even greater because I knew that a huge adventure awaited us today.

After cooking breakfast and loving on William a little, Francis and I bade my mother, mother-in-law and William goodbye and headed to the hospital. The admissions process was much shorter this time, thank goodness, and I am currently on and IV with pitocin and awaiting the doctor to break my water sometime after noon. I love my nurse; she had done an awesome job so far. Her goal (and mine!) is to do what we can to have this baby today (not tomorrow) and have him be healthy.

So begins the great waiting game...

September 3, 2013

September kind of crept up on me a little bit. What with parties, and planning for Robert, September was a far off thought. But it's here now and Robert soon will be too!

I'll try to keep this short. William's dr. appointment last week ended with him getting some x-rays. He has no broken bones, but he did pull the ligament on the inside of his left ankle. The dr. said he should keep off of it, but that he knew that was unlikely. It should heal on its own though, which is good. Thanks for all your concerns!

Friday William and I ran a bunch of errands and I learned that it is a lot easier to keep William in the cart when he has a hurt foot. He usually wants to walk next to me after a very short time, but not Friday! He stayed put and it made for a very quick trip. I suppose that's the positive in all the negatives.

Saturday, Francis, William and I ran more errands, getting the last couple of things on our list for Robert. We got a new camera! We got a Canon T3i DSLR camera. Francis has been playing with it ever since and has gotten some really good shots. I think we will be pretty satisfied with it. Best part is, now we'll be able to take non-blurry photos of William when he comes! Yay!!!!

Sunday after church we had Angel, Austin and their son Ranger come over for the evening to hang out. It is possible that Angel will be taking William when we go to the hospital until my mom arrives, so we wanted to make sure William remembers her and is comfortable with her. Ranger is almost 2 and cute as can be. He and William had a GREAT time playing together and both got a good lesson in sharing and cooperative play. It was so fun to see their little minds plan and scheme as they ran around the house with different toys. I do believe fun was had by all. Such fun friends!

Yesterday was Labor Day (obviously I didn't go into Labor though, haha) and Francis had the day off. We grocery shopped in the morning and went to Target and Home Depot in the afternoon (super exciting I know). William always loves when Francis is home so it was a great holiday for him! Francis did make Garlic Chicken though and it was delicious!!! I always love it when he cooks. After William went to sleep, Francis and I watched The Avengers in 3D. I had forgotten how awesome our TV is at doing 3D. It was very enjoyable. Like a night out, only at home!

And not for the bad news. My joint pain has finally hit. I woke up this morning unable to make a fist (due to swelling and pain) and walking at the Little Gym this morning was a bit of a challenge. I knew it was coming, but that doesn't make me feel any better. I'll be curious to see what Dr. Brown has to say at my appointment this afternoon. She may make me wait another week or she may want to induce. I honestly don't know. Francis and William are planning to attend a family wedding in North Carolina on Sunday, so this appointment may make or break that trip. I hope they can go, but I also don't want to hurt as much as I know I will in a couple of days. So, we'll see!

That's all for now!