I have so many little matters to tell you of, that I cannot wait any longer before I begin to put them down.
May 20th, 2009 by ECM
Elizabeth was pronounced “perfect” at her one-week check-up this morning.
She’s back up to 7 lbs 11 oz (she left the hospital at 7 lbs 5 oz), so she’s growing well. This nurse measured her at 20 1/4 inches, which either means she’s grown 1/4 inch in a week or that the nurses who are measuring her weren’t consistent. We’ll go in for a routine weight check next Wed to make sure she’s back to her birth weight!
May 19th, 2009 by ECM
Well, I spoke too soon on the nursing question–last night and today were pretty rough, but hopefully things are improving. Tommy’s also been acting up more for us, but he’s still pretty sweet with his sister…
May 18th, 2009 by ECM
I am so, so grateful that Elizabeth’s nursing has been easier than Tommy’s first few months! She has a good latch and an iron suck…she actually had me bleeding yesterday, but it is SO much better than my struggles with Tommy’s lazy latch. She also has a good set of lungs–when she’s wet or dirty, she lets you know right away! I love her wide open little mouth and eyes. Here’s a rare glimpse of both!
We’ll get some more Elizabeth pictures up soon (I just put up the rest of our hospital pics on facebook), but here are a couple of Tommy with his grandpas…having grandparents here has definitely helped him with the adjustment, though I spent about an hour with him in the middle of the night (while his sister was sleeping soundly….) because he was just crying out for Mommy. I was nursing Elizabeth while Grandma and Grandpa put Tommy to bed, and that was a mistake we won’t make again. I think I definitely need to be there to pray with him before bed. I’m trying to figure out how to juggle Mommy time with both kiddos, and that’s hard to do when my brain is foggy from sleep deprivation! Tommy is doing pretty well at adjusting, but it will be harder when he doesn’t have other people around to play with him next week…
May 14th, 2009 by ECM
Things are going pretty well here in the hospital. Besides the fact that our room doesn’t get good cell reception (so I can’t really call anyone), we’re feeling pretty connected to the world as Derek has been using the wi-fi here in the room! So far Elizabeth has been a very good sleeper and a middling eater, kindof like Tommy was the first few days. We’ve gotten in several good naps, and we’ve pretty much had to wake her up every 3 hours during the day and 4 hours at night to feed her. She seems to have a better latch than Tommy did, but she’s so sleepy that she doesn’t stay awake to eat for very long at any given time.
Tommy and Grandma Willett came again today, and Tommy was much more excited to see his little sister this morning. (Yesterday he was more excited about the train set that she gave him than the new baby.) He kissed her repeatedly and finally posed for some pictures (which Derek will post on facebook later…)! When Elizabeth is awake, she’s more alert than she was yesterday–we’ve gotten to see more of her pretty eyes! The kids haven’t spent that much time looking directly at each other, though…they were mainly bouncing back and forth between Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma’s laps. Grandpa Willett is coming tomorrow, then Grandpa and Grandma Muller are coming this weekend after the Willetts leave. There should be plenty of attention to share around for the next couple of weeks! =) Thanks for your prayers for our adjustment to a family of four. We’re heading home tomorrow, and the real adventure will start then!
May 13th, 2009 by DTM
May 13, 2009, 10:14 am
7 lbs., 14 oz.
20 inches
May 13th, 2009 by DTM
We left @ 4 am and Em felt contractions on the way to the hospital. She’s @ 7 cm and will likely have this baby by 11 am.
My induction is scheduled for 4:30 am, which is actually totally fine with me. I’ve been up that early for the past several weeks! After doing the whole laboring overnight thing with Tommy, I’m actually excited about getting some sleep and then doing this during the day. My OB will be getting there by 7 am, so we’re hopeful for a morning baby. Off to do some more laundry (!) before taking a nap with Tommy…
May 11th, 2009 by ECM
Today was my one-week-past-duedate checkup, and I am 5 cm dilated. Yes, you read that right. Halfway there and not in labor…which apparently is not too unusual with repeat pregnancies (though it seems unusual from my anecdotal experience). I also had a fun hour-long stress test that majorly stressed me out (I was only supposed to have it for 20 minutes, but the doctor was running so far behind that they left me there for an hour, at which point heartburn from reclining with an empty stomach and faintness from being stuck in a small, stuffy room nearly induced vomiting and fainting…but the baby was fine!) and an ultrasound that showed everything healthy and normal with the baby’s organ function and position. So I am an “excellent candidate” for an induction, which I am going to have sometime on Wednesday if the baby hasn’t come by then. My OB thinks that I will probably go really fast considering how far dilated I am, so I am comforting myself with the thought that I simply can’t be pregnant for more than 40ish more hours!
As Tommy says, “Baby due in May. It’s May. Baby overdue.” Let’s get this show on the road!
May 10th, 2009 by DTM
I make no secret about my quiet obsession with the dollar coin. (It’s the 21st century; the dollar bill was first introduced in 1862. Really, inflation makes the dollar appropriate for a coin.)
I wasn’t around when silver dollars were circulated (the last iteration being in the 70s, although my grandpa saved a few of these Eisenhower lunar dollars for me), or the Carter Quarter (when the Mint locked away millions of Susan B. Anthony dollars). I was never a huge fan of the Squawbuck, either, which debuted in 2000 and never made a big splash.
But the Presidential $1 Coin Program has brought renewed interest in dollar coins, just as vending machines are beginning to accept them. Slip a large bill into a post office stamp vending machine, or at the St. Louis Metro ticket vendor, and you’ll receive a bevy of dollar coins in return.
And why not? I keep rolls of dollar coins in many convenient locations. Our church distributes $2 ticket validation coupons, so I grab a couple of coins from our VUE on the way to church rather than break a $20 or hope I have two singles. I keep a roll in my desk at work, because the vending machine accepts dollar coins, and using those beats feeding the machine quarter after quarter. Another roll is in the car in case I visit a drive thru and order off the dollar menu. The parking meters in Chicago now accept dollar coins (and they better, as parking now costs about $3/hour). The practical uses are endless.
I really only jumped aboard through the direct order program at the Mint (because I’ve had difficulty getting them at the bank). There, you can order $250 in your favorite President’s image, and it arrives on your doorstep. Given that Coolidge won’t be minted until 2014, and Reagan until 2016, I settled on Madison.
Plus, handing them out can freak people out. Or sometimes incite them to wax nostalgic about Euros or Loonies.
This is my attempt to indoctrinate. Use dollar coins!