another update- already!

i know i just posted an update, but i have new information already so you lucked out.
today was a busy and eventful day.
first, we went to Lincoln's yearly dr. appt. i didn't think he was going to have to get any shots, but when the dr. told me that he would, i figured "hey- he'll have to get one. no big deal." then i asked what he was getting. uh, how about FIVE SHOTS!? yes. five separate needles. five different sticks. awesome. if you didn't know it already, Lincoln is freakishly strong. when he was 2 1/2, three people had to hold him down for shots. so i told the dr. that we would need an extra person to come help hold him down. "no," said the doc, "the nurse is really good and fast." i insisted on having another person in the room- and i'm glad i did! the nurse giving the shots was at Lincoln's feet, holding his legs down. i was in the middle, holding up the legs of his shorts (so we didn't have to take them all the way off) and holding down his middle so he couldn't hunch his back. the male physician's assistant was at Link's head, holding his arms against his chest with one hand and holding his head down with the other hand. it definitely took all of our strength to keep him still enough for all 5 shots. it was absolutely AWFUL. he criiied and criiied. we even had to stay in the exam room for an extra 5 minutes or so. he just leaned his head on my shoulder and cried and i continuously told him how brave he was. wah! not fun!
it was also the day of my post-partum checkup. nothing exciting going on there. i did weigh Lexi while i was there, and she's right at 9 lbs.
it was "meet the teacher" night at Lincoln's school this evening. he's in the pre-K class and he's pretty excited about it. he'll be learning some math, science, etc. awesome. his girlfriend from last schoolyear is in the 4-yr-olds class instead of the pre-k class. he wasn't very excited about that. but at least they will be able to see each other during recess.
i am SO ready for him to go back to school. it will be good for him to have something to do during the day and kids to play with. it will also be good for me to get a little time to clean my house or just rest. my house has been a distaster since Lexi's arrival, simply because one of my children always needs me. so it will be nice to have a cleaner, more peaceful home... at least twice a week.
almost bedtime. more soon.

Lots going on...

Lexi is 6 weeks old today. Lincoln turned 4 this past sunday. time is going by entirely too quickly.
Link's party was really fun. we had it at The Jump Around (an indoor air castle place) and i think all the kids left exhausted. he got away with some pretty great gifts and he was pretty happy about the whole day.
Lexi had her first bottle a couple of days ago- so that means that Scott and i are going on a date this weekend! the last time we went on a real date was about 2 months ago, so i'm pumped! the kids will be going out to Pops and Nana's house for the evening.
Lincoln is still sooo helful with Lexi. he loves her so much. one evening, i was making dinner in the kitchen and the kids were in the living room. i peeked through the door and Lincoln was sitting beside Lexi's bouncer. then he said "oh, Lexi. i love you sooo much! but you don't talk to me." he is so ready for her to be able to socialize more with him. he is, however, loving the smiles and coos that she gives him.
Lexi actually slept through the night for the first time last night. she slept 6 consecutive hours and probably would've slept longer if i hadn't touched her chest to make sure she was still breathing! when i realized she had been asleep 6 hours, first i was excited, and then of course there was the moment of freakout when i thought, "is she breathing!? she's never slept this long before!" anyway, i'm sure it won't be an every night thing, but it's nice to know that she'll be doing it every once in a while!
so this is longer than what i originally planned and i have lots of more important things to be doing. ttfn!

going for the gold

ok, anyone else ridiculously addicted to the olympics and getting less sleep than usual because of this sad addiction? ...thought so. as sad as i will be when they are over next week, i will be glad to be able to go to sleep earlier at night!
so apparently Lexi was trying to break the world record for longest stay of an umbilical stump. she is 4 weeks and 2 days old and just lost her stump TODAY! how ridiculous is that?! ...i thought she would be going to high school with that thing still attached. we are so glad it's gone, but that doesn't mean we can stop cleaning her belly button or give her a normal bath yet. the actual belly button underneath the stump still hasn't completely closed up, so it looks like we'll be waiting another week or so before she can have a real bath. i will be glad to get some soap on her stinky neck! -wipes just don't keep the stink off the neck for very long!
she HAS had 2 real baths, actually. during both, we were super careful not to get her belly button wet, but it did end up getting wet during the second bath (which is the reason she hasn't had another one since then). that's probably a major contributing factor to the fact that her stump took so long to fall off and that it's still not normal, so i'd rather deal with a stinky necked baby than one that's going to have a deformed belly button forever.
so i can't believe that she's going to be a month old tomorrow. she's still too small for her 0-3 month clothes and only fitting into some of her newborn stuff. i can't believe that i've been semi- sleep deprived for a whole month now. although, she does sleep pretty well and actually slept 5 1/2 consecutive hours last night! i'd say that's pretty dang impressive for a 1-month-old!
lincoln's 4th birthday is rapidly approaching. his party is a week from tomorrow and his actual bday is the day after his party. we've ordered a pretty awesome spiderman cake and have everything all ready to go. we're all pretty excited about it. i just can't believe that he's going to be 4. where has the time gone!?
lincoln is so ready for school to start (i am too!). he starts back in just a couple of weeks. i am looking forward to him getting to spend some time playing with other kids. i'm also looking foward to having a little more time for myself to think, among other things. we've been driving each other a bit crazy the past week or two. he's going through some crazy stage and actually told me 2 days ago that i've "ruined his life". ha, that sure didn't take me long!
link is sooooo helpful with lexi. he's my official gopher. it seems like every time i sit down to nurse lexi, i think of something i need. he is more than happy to run and grab things for me.
the other day, i was trying to cook dinner, but was having a bit of trouble getting things done thanks to a sleepy/fussy baby. so i just put lexi down on her baby gym, on her belly, for a bit of tummy time so i could get stuff done. usually she enjoys being on her tummy- but not that day. any time she would start crying, lincoln would run from the kitchen into the living room, pat lexi on the back, and say "SHH SHH SHH SHH" like he always hears me do. ...about half an hour later, i had moved lexi into the kitchen and put her in her bouncer, and lincoln was making sure it kept bouncing and that lexi's pacifier wouldn't fall out of her mouth; all the time saying, "SHH SHH SHH". he is such a great big brother. i knew he would be, but he has by far exceeded my expectations.
ok, this is plenty long and i am going to go use my little bit of peace and quiet to go get something more productive done.

the latest

Lexi is now 3 weeks and 2 days old. we had to go to the dr. today because i thought she might have thrush (turns out it's just milk on her tongue- thank goodness!). she is now 7lbs 13oz. that's what i weighed when i was born! it's LESS than what Lincoln weighed when he was born! tiny tiny girl. ...no wonder she's just now barely fitting into some of her "newborn" sized clothes. the "preemie" clothes still fit her quite well, though.
Lincoln will be 4 in less than 2 weeks. i can't believe it. we're planning a really fun party at one of his favorite play places. and he wants a Spiderman cake. apparently next year he has to have a Batman cake. guess we're going through all the superheroes?
i'm still not used to being home all day! it's weird not having things to do, aside from grocery shopping and other various errand-running...
well, i must go be on milk truck duty now. it seems like that's all i do these days! that, and diaper changes...
ah, motherhood.

2 weeks old already!

it's hard to believe that Lexi is already 2 weeks old! it certainly doesn't seem like that long since we were in the hospital... it CERTAINLY doesn't seem like that long since i was lying on the operating table, being cut open... crazy.
i think she's about 7 lbs now- maybe a little over... i only get a rough estimate since i just weigh myself before holding her and then again while i'm holding her. it only shows that i'm 7 lbs heavier when she's in my arms, so we'll stick with that.
Lincoln continues to be a huge help with Lexi. he simply cannot kiss her enough- i think he would probably kiss her every minute of every day if i would let him. the rules for kissing are: do not kiss Lexi when she has just fallen asleep... and, do not kiss Lexi when she is unhappy. pretty simple- but Lincoln struggles with the rules :) -he just loves her.
she is still sleeping really well and being pretty dang easy when she's awake. she gives us smiles when she's sleeping, but we are sooo ready to start getting real smiles. it's about to drive scott crazy.
Lincoln's 4th birthday is rapidly approaching. we're planning a super fun birthday party. i can't believe i don't have all the details worked out and most of the stuff purchased yet... every other year i was set by this point. of course, every other year didn't include a newborn baby. plus i still have plenty of time to get everything done for the big day, so i'm not stressing out yet.
just a short update today, since i had a free moment.

catching up

hey there. i know i haven't updated since right after lexi was born, but hey- i have a newborn- so i have a very legitimate excuse.

so, miss lexi suzanne was born on july 16... i had to have a c-section after attempts to turn her into a head-down position were unsuccessful. when my dr. pulled her out, he discovered that the reason he was unable to turn her was because her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and had kind of a leash effect on her, not allowing her to move very far... she came out perfect and healthy and TINY. (she was 6 lbs 6.8 oz at birth and only 6 lbs even when we left the hospital! she is now up to almost 7 lbs.) we both made it through surgery very well and are both doing great.

i tell you what- having a c-section is no walk in the park- the first few days afterward are NOT fun (but hey- neither are the first few days after giving birth naturally, although they're a bit more tolerable- minus the need for a hemorrhoid pillow) but it sure was a piece of cake not having to have even one contraction, not having to push, heck- not having to put forth any effort at all... i'd say the overall recovery period (pain wise, at least) is only about 3 or 4 days longer than having a baby the other way- but it's a pretty even trade-off when you consider all that i DIDN'T have to go through. i DID have to be careful about using my arms more (getting up from sitting, lying down, using scott as support to step into the shower, etc) so i wouldn't be using my ab muscles.

i am doing really well. stopped having to take my pain meds about 4 days ago (which was right at a week after giving birth), but today have started taking them again because of some soreness in my belly... my incision doesn't hurt at all, but my lower abs are just sooore. my incision looks awesome- you can hardly tell it's there unless you know what you're looking for.

lexi is doing awesome. she eats well, she sleeps well, she doesn't cry unless she's hungry, uncomfortable, or reeeally reeeally sleepy... she only wakes up once a night to eat. i'm serious. she's great. when she's awake (which is a rareity), she just stares and soaks everything in.

i can't believe she's almost 2 weeks old. it seems like so much less time than that. at the same time, it's hard to believe that our lives have been changed so much by someone in so little time. she has a daddy who is completely wrapped around each of her fingers. she has a brother who adores her and kisses her each and every time the thought pops into his head (which is quite often, btw). she has a mommy who can't believe how something so tiny could be such a huge blessing to everyone's lives. she has extended family who can't get enough of her.

i am so blessed to have such amazing children. my boy is going through quite an interesting stage where sometimes he's barely even tolerable... but there are moments that shine through in which he is the most amazing boy on the planet. he is loving and gentle and funny and smart. he is also difficult and stubborn and rough and whiney, but i'd go through every bad part just for the little moments of greatness. my girl is beautiful and snuggly and perfect. i do miss getting to sleep through the night- and i certainly hadn't missed changing so many diapers, but it is all worth it.

God has blessed out family so much. i feel blessed to have a husband and kids who love me the way they do- and for me to love.

thanks to all of you who have kept us in your thoughts and prayers. i will post pictures on kodakgallery eventually- i promise! for now, continue to check http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=48305&l=4f88e&id=500533383 for lots of pics. they're not all of them, but they're my favorites. i hate to spend time uploading pics to kodakgallery when i know i'll be taking so many more in the days to come.

well, my free time is up. i will blog the next time i have a peaceful moment- so don't hold your breath! :)

Lexi is here!

Lexi Suzanne arrived at 8:37am on Wednesday, July 16 via c-section. she was 6 lbs 7 oz and 19.5 inches long.
will have more details soon. don't have many pics uploaded (been kind of busy, y'know) but here is the link to the few that have made their way online:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=48305&l=4f88e&id=500533383
thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers! Lexi and i both made it through surgery perfectly and we're both doing great.
<3