This beautiful life...

Life adjusting to two little ones has been going far better then I could have expected. Brielle is an absolute dream of a baby! I'm not sure if it's because of all the challenges we faced with Ian when he was a newborn and this is somewhat normal for a full term baby or if she really is just an extremely laid back happy baby. I tend to think it's a combination of the two. 

She rarely fusses at all, is only waking a couple of times a night and is nursing well. At her one month check up last Friday she was up to 8 lbs 11 oz & is in the 50% for height and weight so she's growing incredibly well. She loves being carried in the baby K'tan carrier and I love it as well since it allows her to be close to me and keep up with Ian at the same time. I would highly recommend that carrier to anyone with a baby; it's been so helpful and we use it on a daily basis! She's started smiling this past week, making more cooing noises and loves laying under her baby gym mat. She absolutely loves bath time.

Ian has adjusted to a sibling far better then I could have expected as well. He asks to hold her occasionally and now rushes to help by giving her a pacifier if she starts to cry. He likes to rub her head and if she's not nearby asks where baby sissy is. He'll be starting preschool through the school district in a month and will be going four mornings a week for 3 hours, so that will be a big change for all of us, but I think will be a positive. He'll be able to receive speech therapy every day and I think he'll love all of the activities and friends he'll make along the way. He was starting to really enjoy it when he went for the two week assessment process a few months back so hopefully the same will be the case when he starts this next month. I'm thankful we've had time to help him adjust to a sibling though before starting another big game changer. Of course there are still the frustrations of life with a 3 year old which can be challenging but as I'm told very normal at this stage.

We really couldn't ask for life to be much sweeter right now. I am so in awe of how much joy these two bring into our family and don't take for granted at all how incredibly lucky we are to get to call these two amazing little people our children. I'm relishing it all with the uncertainty of whether this will be our last time with a baby. I've thought frequently over the past month, it was all so worth it...all the injections, side affects, worry, disappointments and loss. Every step, all those difficult, painful moments brought her to us and for that every single thing was worth it.


A few pictures to share of the past month...

We're home...

We got to come home from the hospital on Thursday and so far things couldn't be going smoother as we transition home. Ian's been such a sweet helpful brother and the past two days in a row has asked unprompted to hold baby sissy which of course completely melts my heart.

I'm not sure if she's like a typical full term newborn or just a really easy baby but after all we went through with Ian those first few months this has been an incredible experience! She's continuing to nurse well and has been sleeping great so far. My recovery also is continuing to go really smooth.

Here are just a few snapshots from our first few days at home....

She's here and amazing....

Brielle Grace arrived via c-section on Monday morning June 9th weighing 6lbs 5 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. We are so in love with her, she's absolutely amazing!! She's been nursing like a champ although has been having a little difficulty keeping her temperature up so that's keeping us in the hospital for now and we'll hopefully head home tomorrow. She looks so much like her big brother except for her dark hair.

The entire experience has been so much easier and more positive then Ian's birth. I'm so blissed out happy! Seem to be recovering much smoother from this csection as well.

Big brother Ian has come to visit us in the hospital every day. He's mainly ignored her and is more interested by all the distractions in the room like the buttons on my hospital bed but overall seems to be doing well. Helps a lot I'm sure that grandma is here to give him lots of attention.

Here are just a few pics from our first couple days....

Almost here....

It's official baby girl will be arriving via c-section tomorrow morning!!!! Had my last OB appointment on Friday and everything was looking great. Still hadn't progressed at all though in terms of dilating & nothings happened yet this weekend so looks like tomorrow's the day! They did one last growth ultrasound and she was measuring around 6lbs 10oz. The ultrasound tech again commented on how much hair she appears to have. We're so excited to meet here & honestly am having a hard time wrapping our heads around the fact that she'll be in our arms tomorrow. It's all so surreal!

I'll update the blog when I'm able, probably later in the week. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts throughout this pregnancy, they have meant so much!

One last belly shot from today...

Arrival...

So it appears Brielle's arrival is anyone's guess at this stage in the game. I saw my OB today, I'll be 38 weeks tomorrow, eek!!! I'm still dilated at one but she said I'm really close to being at a two. The good news was that I'm effaced at 50-60% so it really is a toss up at this point what will happen. She said I could go into labor this weekend or we could be still looking at a c-section on June 9th. If I don't go into labor by next Friday the 6th I'll be going back to the OB for one last check up and growth ultrasound. Those of you who know me know that I'm a planner so quite honestly the unpredictability and uncertainty of when and how she's going to arrive is driving me a bit crazy!

Belly pic at 37 weeks...

Any guesses? I'll be sure to post after next week's appointment if we make it that far and if not after she arrives! Thanks for all the support & encouragement. I still am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that we made it to full term and we'll be meeting our baby girl in less then two weeks!!!

Full term....

I've officially reached the point in this pregnancy that is more then I could have hoped for! As of today I'm 36 1/2 weeks pregnant, on Saturday I'll hit the 37wk milestone. I had my last progesterone injection this weekend and got to turn in my sharps container at my OB appointment yesterday. I had my first weekly appointment with the OB yesterday...eek so excited to be at weekly appointments! The mind blowing thing is that everything is continuing to look great, my blood pressure is remaining low, I've had no swelling, baby girl's heart rate is great and she's as active as ever! On the down side I'm definitely sleeping a lot less this past week and feeling a whole lot more uncomfortable so thankfully I'm experiencing some of the symptoms of full term pregnancy essentially:) My OB checked my cervix during yesterdays appointment and I'm dilated to 1 cm, not a lot but hey it's something so I'll take it! Because of the Holiday weekend  I won't see her again until the 30th unless something happens before then. I had some very brief contractions last week but once I laid down they stopped after about thirty minutes so no reasons for hospital trips yet. We went ahead and scheduled a repeat c-section for Monday June 9th but are still planning to attempt a vbac if I go into labor on my own before the 9th. Otherwise we've got our hospital bags packed and ready, and are anxiously waiting to meet our little girl!!!!

34 week ultrasound....

I met with my OB yesterday for my 34 week appointment and monthly growth ultrasound. Baby girl is looking fabulous and weighing in at 5lbs even already, which we're thrilled about! Also we were surprised to hear the tech say that she has a lot of hair since this was not at all the case for her big brother. My blood pressure is remaining very low and I've experienced no swelling so things are looking great. All of us are thrilled I've made it to this milestone!

We talked a lot about VBAC vs repeat c-section and as any of you know facing this decision there are multiple variables that play into which route we'll end up going. For now we've decided that if I go into labor naturally we'll attempt a VBAC, baby will be monitored the entire time and if everything goes smoothly hopefully this can happen. It will make recovery and taking care of two little ones a lot easier. If though I make it to 39 weeks and have not gone into labor on my own both us and the OB agreed we don't want to induce and then try for VBAC so in that situation we'd schedule a c-section. So time will tell. It was a bit overwhelming to me discussing the risks with the OB. I'm hopeful when the time comes it will be more obvious which route we should go and thankfully I have an OB in my corner that I trust fully.

I'll be going back to the OB in two weeks for a regular check and then will have weekly appointments from there on...crazy to think I'm almost to that point!! My mind is still having a hard time grasping that we've made it this far and that she'll be here possibly in the next month! We've officially decided on her name, Brielle Grace and have started putting the nursery together.