Making friends!

We have had lots of visitors since Lexi was born.  I have been a slacker and not posted about them and decided to do them all in 1 post.  

Our very first visitors (besides my mom who stayed with us the week of Lexi's birth) were Papa and Nana- Marshall's dad and step-mom.  They got a lot of snuggle time and Lexi slept on them quite a bit. She was enjoying all the attention she was getting! 

In February we had Marshall's sister Katie come to visit and I took pictures on her camera so I don't have pictures on my computer.  We also had the Ferrells and precious Grayson come to meet Lexi.  The kept commenting on how small she was compared to G who is 2 months older than she is.  He was born in November.  

Our next visitors were my mom, George, my aunt Bobetta, and grandpa.  They came down for the day and Lexi had some sweet snuggle time with my aunt (and gave her a reason to wash her shirt when she got home! haha)

Here's my mom with sleeping Lexi

My grandpa also brought down a blanket that a sweet lady made for us that had all of Lexi's stats monogrammed from the day she was born, weight, and time.  

This picture just makes me laugh because of Papa's face!  

4 generations:

Then we headed to Durham for a "Sip and See" shower where people from that area could come and meet Lexi.  She was sleeping for a lot of the time but when she did wake up for a little while I took her out of the carseat and people could really see her!  What a fun time!

Here is our group.  We sure have changed a lot in the last year!  Hopefully we will add one more soon for the Moores and continue growing! :)

2 Months!

We go to the doctor next week, so I will update with all of her 2 month stats then.  

She's still eating really good.  She still eats about 20 minutes on 1 side then around 8 on the other.  I'm so thankful it's been relatively easy and I haven't had to deal with any mastitis or blocked ducts (fingers crossed!).  However, she is starting to use her little gums and "biting" down while she's eating...which is REALLY fun for me :) haha.  She's still eating around every 3 hours.  I think she went through a little growth spurt this week where she was a little more hungry.  

Still pooping around the clock.  She really likes to pee or poop right when her diaper is off on the changing table!  She has actually hit Daddy twice with squirts of poop! It's always an entertaining time for us.  There was one time we were both in there with her and we were on the third diaper because she'd messed up two already and we were both laughing with our hands on our faces because that's all you can do sometimes!  Ahh parenthood! She has moved on to size 1 diapers and has been in them for about 2 weeks now.  She's still in either 0-3 size clothes or 3 month.  

She's still a really good sleeper at night.  She is now only waking up once around 4:30 or 5 to eat and then goes back to sleep until about 8:30.  We usually do her last feeding around 9:45 or 10 and then put her straight to bed and she goes down really well.  We really haven't had any problems with her not going to bed at night!  Thankful for that! We are still swaddling her because she still flails her arms a ton and wakes herself up.  We starting using the sleep sheep with the ocean sound turned up loud for her at night so she will be able to sleep with noise.  I think several things signal "bedtime" for her so she knows this is her long period of time to sleep.  

She is still napping with a morning and 2 afternoon naps and occasionally a late evening short nap.  She really has set her own schedule/routine which is pretty predictable each day which is nice for me.  I am still working on putting her down for naps instead of keeping her in my arms or beside me.  

There was one day that Marshall asked me when babies are supposed to roll over.  I told him not until about 3 months and usually they roll from belly to back first because they can push themselves up.  This was when Marshall was home for lunch.  He said he was going to see what she would do if he put her on her belly on her play mat.  Since he was watching her I took a break to go to the bathroom and I heard Marshall yell that she had rolled over from her belly to her back!  I was so mad!  I'm with her all day long and she chooses the time that Marshall was home for lunch to roll over and I missed it!  Little stinker.

She is starting to like bath time more and doesn't cry and just sort of sits and looks around. She's starting to like the swing more and more and sits for longer periods of time to just look around and take everything in.  She really likes music too.  If she is being fussy or is tired music puts her to sleep... but not the type of music you would think.  Anything with a fast beat- we have used everything from rap to chris tomlin to 90's playlists to put her to sleep and it works! Still loves to wiggle and kick her feet!   She is smiling more and more and I love putting her in my lap facing me and talking to her and making her smile!  She is definitely "talking" and cooing a lot!  I took a video of it this past week (it's probably boring to most of you- haha).  

I might try to add some of my instagram pictures to the blog later but these are the most recent March pictures I have taken.   

These were taken for Lexi's first Sunday at church (3-17-13).  Someone was not happy to be taking pictures... haha

Most days she loves being on her changing table.  Please don't judge me but her cover was washing and the pads are so slippery so I had just put down a towel.  Thanks to Charlotte, she now has something fun to look at while her diaper is being changed.  She sure does love her butterfly!

Some classic shots when I was trying to take her 2 month picture.  

Daddy was trying to make her smile.  She obviously thinks he's funny just like her mommy! 

I did a side by side comparison of her 1 and 2 months.  I definitely think she's filled out! Starting to see some rolls...

More of her cute faces.  I can't get enough! 

One Month!!

I can't believe our little girl is 1 month old!!!

 This will be another detailed post, so if you don't want to read, we understand :)

UPDATE:
At Lexi's 1 month appt (a week late Jan 26) she weighed 9 lbs 6 oz, she was 20 3/4 inches long and her head was 14.5 inches around 

When Lexi was born (Jan 21), she weighed 6 lbs 12 oz.  Then, at her first doctor's appointment on January 25, she weighed 6 lbs 2 oz. We found that it was completely normal for her to have dropped weight since her birth but we were very intent on making sure she was back up in weight and we had another quick doctor's appointment on Monday, Jan 28 for a weight check.  She had gained 7 oz over the weekend (2 days!) and had gone up to 6 lbs 9 oz.  The doctor told me that she wanted to see us again on Feb 4 to make sure she was back up to her birth weight.  On her weight check on the 4th she was up to 7 lbs 4 oz.  Overachiever.  :)  With that being said, the girl is a good eater.  In my last post I commented on how she latched right away in the hospital and has eaten like a champ ever since.  She does like to be a little sleepy so I have to try to keep her awake sometimes, but most of the time there is no problem getting her to eat good.  It's very comforting for me to know she's gaining weight since I've heard that can be a worry for breast feeding moms.  She eats about every 3 hours, although if it is anytime between 2-4 hours and she is looking hungry I feed her...no really strict schedule.  

Homegirl did have a lotttt of gas in her first few weeks.  We were a little concerned about it at first but she's really seemed to get used to her bodily functions and had her digestive system mature so it hasn't been nearly as bad recently- whew! She still has gas and we will enjoy us telling stories in her future ;) but it doesn't seem to bother her to where she cries as much now.  Yay!  

She is still in newborn diapers and we have had to start buying them now since she is small and has gone through more than we (and our gifters) had thought.  I don't see her moving to size 1 for a couple more weeks.  She is starting to outgrow her newborn outfits (length wise) and we have started moving to some of her 0-3 month clothes.  The 3 month is still a bit big- she's kind of in an inbetween size right now.

Sleeping is another story.  She does pretty good at sleeping and I was excited once the doctor said that we could not wake her up at night when she was back to her birth weight...however, she still wakes up if it's been about 4-5 hours and she hasn't eaten.  It's not bad waking up 2x per night feeding her usually around 2 or 3 a.m. and again at 6 or 7 a.m. and then she usually goes back to sleep until around 9:30.  She does like to fight sleep though.  She wants to stay awake not to miss anything and she gets a little whiny and then eventually forgets and falls asleep.  Right now we are swaddling her at night because she is a wiggler and flails her arms and wakes herself up.  Her arms are always up in the air.  I never thought I would be one of those rock your baby to sleep moms, but until she's a little older I don't want to let her cry it out yet.  I've also heard this young it doesn't benefit the child to do that anyway.  Right now, we are picking her up and holding her when she cries and that's ok with us.  She might get to one day she doesn't like for us to hold her so I'm cherishing her snuggly demeanor.  I told Marshall I was happy she was a cuddler and hopefully she'll be the little girl that wants to crawl into your lap and cuddle.  :) But for now she realllllyyyy likes to be held.  She is also able to sleep through noise which we wanted to start from the beginning not being quiet and letting her develop that skill.  We also love the faces she makes when she is sleeping.  She moves her mouth all around and smiles... I know, I know, it's a baby reflex at this age- but it's still cute.   

I felt like she has had strong neck muscles since the beginning to be such a little thing.  She bobbles a lot but she moves her head from side to side lifting it up.  We have also started this week putting noisy toys in front of her face and having her follow them.  I've read that babies this age still don't have good vision so we are getting really close to her when we talk so she can see us.  We also saw our first real smile this week!  She turned 1 month Thursday and we saw smiles on Friday.  

She is still not enjoying bath time very much and cries throughout and when we take her out, but we're hoping she will learn to love it once she understands what is going on.  We bathe her every 2-3 days right now.  We have had some adventures with bath time with her pooping in the water and peeing on mommy twice once she's out and in her towel... so back in the bath she went!  She's a little stinker that way!  

She is really liking sucking on things these days.  She loves her paci and it calms her down most of the time she's fussy- that is if she doesn't knock it out with her hands.  And she has recently liked putting her hands in her mouth- which really makes her hands stink. Haha.  She also loves to stretch.  She will arch her back and stretch out her arms and legs all day long.  It's like her favorite thing to do.  

We feel like her looks have pretty much stayed the same- just filled out a little.  Her hair looks like it has gotten a little lighter and her eyebrows are definitely blonde.  So we wonder if her hair will continue to get even lighter.  Although, I have blonde streaks in my hair and the front of my hair is light.  From the beginning I said she looked like Marshall and some pictures still do but I think she has started to look a little more like me recently.  

We had newborn pictures taken of her and she did not want to cooperate for most of the pictures but we did get some good ones.  I found out first hand how hard it is to take a good picture of a newborn baby who likes to wiggle... these are some out takes of her wiggling on Valentine's Day where I was trying to get a good shot.  P.S. I think she looks like me in the last one ;)

 These were some of my attempts for her 1 month shot... she's not too sure what I'm doing.  

 A shot I got of her sleeping this week.  Precious. 

This is when she decided she had had enough.  Not happy.

 I also managed to catch a yawn :)

She thinks she's a model.

A lot of the pictures that I took look like this. Tongue out. That is a popular thing for her these days.

Evidence of her not loving bath time.  This was before her stump fell off and we are now putting her in the bath without the newborn mesh.  Needless to say this was the only picture I took until she likes the bath :)

I'll leave you with another happy shot I got of her.  

Sidenote: The quilt underneath her was a quilt my aunt Nancy made for her.  I told her I loved chevron pattern and yellow and gray and this is what she made.  The other side is a pink and gray pattern.  I am so in love with this quilt I can't even tell you.  She did a fabulous job and I can't get over how beautiful it is.  Lexi seems to like it too :)

Lexi's Birth Story

WARNING! Very long and detailed post!

Lexi Kate Harper
Born January 21, 2013
7:54 a.m.
6 lbs 12 oz

As those of you know who read my last blog, I ended up having a scheduled C-Section because Lexi was breech.  I was super nervous because I've never had anything that I had to be hospitalized for.  The biggest medical events that have happened was having my wisdom teeth out and breaking my middle finger.  I had sought out some wisdom from other people who had been through C-Sections on what to expect since it was such a last minute surprise to have the procedure done.

We were scheduled to have the C-Section at Carolinas Hospital at 7:30 Monday, January 21, 2013.  Dr. Rainwater was going to be performing the procedure and since it was in Florence we had to be at the hospital 2 hours early to get everything ready.  That meant we had to leave our house at 4:30 and I wanted to get up and shower before we left so that meant getting up at 3:30.  Wow.  I knew I wasn't going to be sleeping well anyway so that was actually ok with me to be getting up that early.  I knew I had a lot of people praying for peace and a good night sleep on Sunday night and as we went to bed I thought I would have a hard time going to sleep.  The next thing I knew my alarm was going off and it was 3:30!  I couldn't believe that I had fallen asleep so quickly and been able to sleep until 3:30.  I took a long shower and checked my bag that I had packed and made sure I had everything I wanted to take. Again.  It's funny because I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight and that morning I think because I knew I couldn't eat or drink I was incredibly thirsty.  Marshall grabbed a vanilla Starbucks Frappuccino in a glass bottle and an apple and I was so jealous.  I wanted a big glass of water, a coffee and a nice big breakfast.  None for me.  I told Marshall that morning I actually felt pretty calm.  My mom had also come to spend the night and go with us that morning and stay through Saturday.  I can't tell you how amazing it is to have your mom with you when you are worried, hurting, nervous, etc.  There is just something so calming about having Mom with you when you need something.  I am so thankful she had planned to be there with us that week and help us through the recovery time because goodness I don't know how we would have done it without her.  It had been really warm the few days before but it had cooled off that day and that early in the morning it was in the 30's.  

When we got to the hospital all the nurses were waiting and asked if I was the one they were waiting for- and I said hopefully yes!  They were very cheerful and friendly and took me to a room where they were going to ask me a billion questions and then start the IV and give the epidural.  They told me to strip down and put the gown on and go ahead and lay in the bed.  They hooked me up to the monitor to hear Lexi's heartbeat and the nurse who first looked at my belly said oh yeah, she's breech alright- that's definitely the head up at the top.  The IV hurt like crazy going in my hand and was very uncomfortable.  The nurse said I was actually having some small contractions as well- who knew!  The anesthesiologist came into the room and asked me some questions and talked to me about the epidural.  This was the first part that I was dreading.  I told him when he shook my hand that I was sorry I was super nervous and so my hands felt sweaty.  The nurse that was in the room for the epidural was so helpful I can't even tell you.  She put her hands on my shoulders and told me to relax them and was face to face with me the entire time and just talked me through everything.  I don't know why but I couldn't stop shaking.  After the epidural went in it was a really strange feeling.  They unfortunately told me I was only allowed 1 person in the operating room with me so my mom had to wait outside.  They wheeled me off and I was moved onto the table and the sheet was put up in front of me.  They had me lay both of my hands out to the side and I felt so ridiculous because I still could not stop shaking.  They assured me that this was normal and I tried to take deep breaths to calm down and Marshall held my hand and told me everything was going to be ok.  

Then they started the procedure.  Marshall told me afterward that Dr. Rainwater told him she wouldn't call for any of her instruments because it made the patient nervous.  She said that they would be talking about normal, everyday things during the procedure.  In all honesty, the procedure is kind of a blur to me now.  Marshall said that during the procedure my face looked crazy.  In total shock.  He continued to reassure me that everything would be fine.  I could feel the pressure of them pulling and tugging on my stomach but it didn't hurt at all.  It was just a weird feeling.  When they were getting ready to pull Lexi out they told Marshall he could stand up to look over the curtain.  He said that Lexi was stuck in my stomach and Dr. Rainwater had to reach inside my stomach to get her out.  Crazy.  Lexi also started crying before she was fully out and Dr. Rainwater told her she couldn't cry yet.  Once she was out and they showed her to me we took a few pictures and Marshall went with her to the nursery.  It was then that I really started feeling nauseous.  I told the anesthesiologist that I wasn't feeling good and he said he would put something in my IV and I knew that wasn't going to work fast enough.  I told him I was going to throw up and he brought a bag to the side of my face and I turned and threw up a couple times.  He thought I was done so he pulled it away and then I started throwing up again and he just brought a towel beside me to throw up on.  It was miserable.  My hands were by my side and I couldn't do anything.  I felt helpless and gross because I'd thrown up on the side of my face.  I was exhausted from the meds.  I asked if Marshall was going to come back in and they told me he wasn't allowed to come back in.  I sure wish I would have known that before he left to go with Lexi to the nursery!  To get Lexi out it took probably less than 15 minutes.  The rest of the time was just closing me up.  

Marshall and my mom joined me in the recovery room and I was in there for about 30 minutes.  As soon as they wheeled me out of the recovery room they brought Lexi in and we took some pictures and then I fed her for the first time.  Everyone was amazed that the very first time I tried to feed her she latched right away.  The nurses said that rarely happens and that I was very fortunate that she seemed to know what she was doing!  I had been told that whenever I was allowed meds (percocet and motrin) to take them.  I was sure poppin those pills and watching the clock to see when I could take the next dose!  I was in a lot of pain and by far the worst pain was on Monday night's sleep (or early Tuesday morning) after they had stopped the epidural where I could push the button for an extra dose I was coming down off of everything and in the middle of the night I got the shakes and was in a lot of pain.  Marshall came over and held my hand and tried to comfort me but I was so exhausted.  Tuesday was a pretty rough day as well.  They didn't want me standing up for 24 hours so Tuesday was the first time I stood up.  The nurse warned me that when I stood up it would feel like my stomach was on fire.  Oh.my.goodness.  Ouch. Boy did she describe it exactly right.  They wanted me to stand up as straight as possible and make it to the bathroom.  I knew I had a long way to go to feel normal. 

We had several visitors throughout my stay.  Each morning Mom would come in with Starbucks coffee and breakfast for us.  It was such a nice treat each morning to have that to look forward to!  Wednesday was my first shower since early Monday morning and it felt really good- I felt more normal and tried to be up and sit in the chair beside the bed some.  I was starting to feel extremely sore from laying in the bed.  My butt and back were so painful!  I tried some different positions but they tell you not to use your abs at all... try pulling your legs onto the bed not using your abs- not so easy my friends!  I would have Marshall and my mom lift my legs to get me back in the bed so I wouldn't use those muscles.  I don't think before Thursday I would have been ready to go home!  Luckily I had been prepared to go home and took it slow and had a cute new maxi dress to wear as to not touch my incision.  Mom had gone to the grocery store and was ready for us when we got home and stayed through Sunday to help us out.  Our first week with our little girl was sleep deprived- haha- but amazing.  We love her so much and are so thankful to have her in our lives now!   Here are some pictures to document our time at the hospital.  

Me in the O.R. on the table.  

We think this picture is hilarious because this is so typical for her- hands up like that- she's such a wiggle worm! Side note- whenever we put her on the changing table she puts her hands up like that- fingers all spread out!  It's so cute! 

 In my hospital room:

 Lexi meeting Papa (Marshall's dad) for the first time:

 Lexi meeting Papa Ty (my dad) for the first time:

 Lexi meeting Aunt Ashley and Uncle Adam:

 Her first picture with Grandma (my mom):

 About to leave the hospital on Thursday:

Baby Lexi Update

As some of you know, we had a doctor's appointment Thursday for my 39 week check.  I was kind of excited to see if I had dilated at all and what she would say and secretly hoping they would tell me I was already in labor and to walk down the hall to the hospital- haha.  She said everything looked great and I was dilated 1 cm and 70% effaced and that a lot of first time moms went past their due date.  When she checked me she was trying to see her position (I figured she was trying to see if she was face up or face back) and she said she wanted to send me to have an ultrasound to verify that she was head down.  Both doctors I had seen had told me separately they thought that she was head down weeks ago since I was persistant in asking around 35 weeks.  So, on we went to the ultrasound to see our little girl- which I was pretty excited about again because I didn't think we'd get another ultrasound.  The first thing she said when she pulled up the image on the screen is that she was "hiney down".  I was devastated.  All along I had thought she was head down and then at 39 weeks and 2 days I find out that's not the case.  Of course if the doctors think she's head down I'm going to trust them and not push the issue.  I knew I was already a hormonal emotional wreck as soon as we stepped out of the office to go back to the doctor to talk about what we'd learned.  As soon as we stepped out of the office I burst into tears.  This is not what I had imagined!  I had read somewhere that only 3% of babies are breech by full term.  What is it with the small percentages happening to me and Marshall!?  Only 1% of the population has an AVM in the brain and now only 3% of babies are breech and yet here we are.  Brooke told me we needed to play the lottery with our crazy odds.  So, I felt like a crazy pregnant lady with tears all down my face sitting in the office waiting for the doctor to come back in to talk to us.  The first thing I asked is if I could still deliver vaginally and she said they do not recommend that because there can be serious risks to the baby.  When you deliver since the head is the biggest part when the head is down and that comes out the rest slides out but when baby body parts start coming out the cervix can close and then leave the head (the biggest part) to get stuck and not able to come out.  She said we needed to schedule a C-Section.  Since the beginning of this pregnancy I have been one of those people who wants to do everything but have a C-Section. Last resort. When she said that I was just so shocked.  I think that could have been a reason I was so emotional also because it was just like a bomb was dropped.  Such a surprise.  She did remind me that she could be sitting there giving me bad news about the baby or myself.  But she wasn't.  Lexi is perfectly healthy- estimated at 7 lbs 1 oz.  I am perfectly healthy and young.  There is nothing wrong with us... she just wasn't facing the right way.  She told me she could walk us down the hall to schedule the day to come in for a C-Section.  She asked us what day next week would be good for us and I thought what?! How can we pick the day our baby will be born??? This is insane!  Then she said well, we can do it tomorrow, Friday.  TOMORROW?? I said I needed a little more time to process things and mentally prepare so we scheduled the C-Section for Monday at 7:30.  I'm still a little worried about the recovery after a C-Section and it's definitely not my first choice to have done, but if it's safer for Lexi and has less risk of something happening to her- that's what matters.  I have to focus on the positive and good that we do have a healthy baby girl and everything is fine and we will have her on Monday!  That's so crazy! And I think the good thing about this kind of C-Section is that there was no complication that led to this at the last minute so I could probably deliver normally next time assuming I wouldn't have another breech baby.  I know someone who had a C-Section breech baby with her first and then delivered vaginally with her second with no problem.  Marshall and I were talking in the car on the way home about how his lesson at church on Wednesday was on the command "do not be anxious".  How fitting is that?  The Lord has a way of preparing us and filling our hearts with what we need to hear.  We are so excited to meet our baby girl so soon and hoping that the recovery goes well.  So just be praying that everything goes smoothly and that Lexi would be healthy and that I would recover quickly and that we could soak up every minute with this sweet baby girl.

Our Humble Abode

WARNING!  Lots of pictures!  I am finally getting around to posting house and nursery pictures... so without further delay, here they are! (Oh, I did not take any pictures of our mudroom, so that's the only room that's missing from our pictures)

Dining room

Kitchen

Entry way from the front door...

View from the kitchen into the den

French doors into the den

These were taken at Christmas time... I promise we don't still have Christmas decorations up :)

Guest bathroom/Lexi's bathroom 

Master bedroom 

Master bathroom

And.... the nursery! 

Guest room

Hope you enjoyed the house tour!