Edie...

She is 4 weeks old today, and is weighing in at 11 lbs. 2 oz. She has never looked like a newborn, but she is really looking grown up-babyish now!

Tantrums...

Does it make me a bad parent because I have absolutely NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER listening to my son cry while he is having a temper tantrum? That I can listen to him scream, watch him fling himself down stairs, bang his head against the wall repeatedly, without even flinching? Actually finding it funny? That I can do this for 45 minutes and still find it amusing and have no desire to pick him up and cuddle him until he calms down?

Not that it would make a difference, anyway.

Edith is crying now, and that is another story. She's too young to know better and I'm going to pick her up and snuggle her until she stops crying. But Dylan, well, maybe I am just a mean mommy deep down!

My gorgeous husband...

Everybody needs to vote for their favorite picture of Martin. I can't decide which one should go on our living room wall. He looks so cute in all of them!!!

I have the best husband in the whole world!

Playing in Jen's front garden. We had a couple of days with the BEST weather ever, and we all really enjoyed being out in the sunshine!



My beautiful red-headed daughter, chilling in her Moses basket.



Dylan LOVES his new bed. Except when it comes time to take a nap in it. He looks so grown up now that he is out of his crib.

Longing for the good old days...

Martin was at work last night, and once Dylan was in bed I just wanted to go back to being a family of three. Even if it was just for one night.

I am starting to miss my child-free nights with a guaranteed amount of sleep. Last night I really wanted to deep clean the house and highlight my hair. Instead I sat and fed Edith for two hours and didn't get anything done. I adore her, but I'm looking forward to the time when she is asleep by 7:30 like her big brother and I can have some time to myself again!

My friend Charlotte came over this morning and we had a little play date/breastfeeding support group for Beth and Dylan and the babies. We were talking about the jump from 1 to 2 kids, and how frustrating it is to breastfeed and not be able to go ANYWHERE without the baby for the first few months. I still vividly remember the first time after Dylan was born that I went somewhere without him. I walked down to the Spar shop (kind of like 7-11) and bought some OXO cubes. I felt so free. He was about 3 months old.

We've got Dylan sorted with the big bed. He's napping in it now, sleeping like a little angel. Unfortunately, I have to go change Edie's diaper. Can't wait for Martin to get home from work tonight. It was a very short night. Dylan didn't sleep very long at all. He woke up at 4:30 am and would NOT go back to sleep. It's only 1 pm and it's been the longest day of the week so far. Wish me luck!

Dylan's pediatrician appointment...

Trip to the hospital for Dylan's appointment today. It went really well, all things considered. Martin was at work and I still can't drive, so Jen came over and drove us in my car. Edith and Dylan were both really good, and the appointments both ran on time. We had blood drawn on the Disney ward, then went up to the pediatrics outpatient clinic.

The appointment was initially a follow-up on the seizures he had at Christmas, but we were also being seen because of the heart murmur that the doctor on Disney ward heard last time we were there as well as his funny little red spots. And I asked a nagging question about his "man-bits" while we were there.

So here's the rundown:

Seizures--no recurrances, no need to be concerned.

Heart murmur--still there, but believed to be "innocent." We'll be having an ECG in about 3 months' time. They're not concerned since he is so obviously healthy, but are going to check for structural abnormalities just to be on the safe side.

Red spots--still believed to be viral. They're caused by blood pooling in his skin. They appear because his blood doesn't clot properly (they think). More blood work may be necessary and the condition may be genetic (Martin has similar spots) so they will be testing me and Martin first in order to narrow down their search and reduce the amount of blood needed from Dylan.

"man bits"--One of Dylan's testicles is seriously bigger than the other, and I asked about it while we were seeing the pediatrician anyway. He checked it out, and Dylan has a testicular hydrocele. It's basically just excess fluid around one of his testicles, and is quite common in baby boys. But if it hasn't gone away by the tinme he's 2 he may need to have surgery to get rid of it. It's just a simple procedure, but we're obviously hoping it isn't necessary. Explaining that to your two year old doesn't sound like a great deal of fun!

So yeah, Dylan seems perfectly healthy but we may have another Martin on our hands. Martin isn't often sick, but when he is it's always weird stuff that he gets. Like the kind of weird where the specialist says "Yeah, I'm just going to call my senior colleague in here to have a look at this." Here's hoping that Edie takes after me in this regard!

Martin did some work out in the garden this afternoon. It's looking really good, though our grass is struggling right now and we may have to re-seed it. Dylan is sleeping in his toddler bed at night, but we haven't managed to get him to nap in it yet. We're working on it. He does love to sleep in it at night though. Edie had her first "bad" night last night--up for two + hours from around 2:15 am--but we got through it. I am doing well, though I am regaining sensation in my stomach now and the incision from my surgery is starting to hurt. Generally, we are all doing really well. Dylan is even starting to warm to Edith, though he tends to forget she's there and squishes her when he tries to get cuddles from me.

Still waiting to take more pictures before putting them on the computer. I'll be putting some on soon though. I can hardly wait, because my daughter is getting seriously cute now!!!

The big bed...

Dylan's big boy bed arrived today, and it is very popular. He's actually sleeping in it now--went down without a problem. He's slept in a regular bed before, but we were still wondering if he would have issues with it. Especially since he has been crying and resisting going to bed lately. But he's tucked away under his new duvet with the awesome ikea animal cover, and we're looking forward to seeing how he does in the morning.

It is Laurence's birthday today. We went to Rapi, the Indian restaurant just up the road from us, for dinner. It was a late one, but both kids were totally good for it. The food was good, the company was even better. Nobody fought and we were all in good spirits. So pretty much it was a great night.

Edith smiled at me tonight while we were having our evening cuddles. I know it's probably just gas, but it was sweet all the same. She is incredibly beautiful when she smiles. I know I said some unkind things about her looks earlier, but she is getting gorgeous now! She's also getting really strong and is starting to hold her head up to look around. She is awake more often, but still sleeps most of the time. Nights are usually pretty good. She goes back to sleep right after her night feeds most of the time.

Martin is still waiting to hear about some job stuff, but he's been getting extra hours and is managing to stay busy. He's going to his first baseball practice tomorrow, and is really looking forward to it. He'll be playing games soon, and we will have to figure out how to manage the double headers with both kids around. Could be interesting! But he loves baseball so much, and has been so good with the kiddies and taking care of me, so I want him to go.

Anyway, things are good here. We've got a busy week ahead of us. Dylan is at the hospital on Thursday to have his heart checked and I am going to register Edith's birth on Friday (last chance to change our minds about her name). I'll be venturing out with both kids on my own--scary business. We'll let you know how it goes. Plus, I have some good pictures to post as soon as I take a few more and it makes it worth while to put them on the computer.

photo shoot...

This is going to be OK...

Well, the kids and I have spent our first day without Martin. It was manageable. It was actually better than I thought it would be. One of the advantages of being an eternal pessimist, really. You are never caught out, and when things go well it is a pleasant surprise.

Christine is still having to come over to help me get Dylan into bed. I can't lift him up into his crib or carry him down the stairs. She came over yesterday for nap time since Martin was at work, and she came over for bed time tonight since Martin is at work again. Other than having her lift him up and carry him for me though, I've done it on my own. I feel like superwoman. And man, am I ever tired!

But the house is reasonable clean (so much easier to keep it clean when Martin isn't home), Dylan is tucked up in bed, Edith is curled up on my chest napping, and I am about to get some sleep myself.

We are having a new bed for Dylan delivered on Tuesday, and then I won't have to lift him into his crib for sleeping. It'll just be the stairs to contend with, and I can manage that.

This is so do-able. I can handle two kids. I've been so worried about this for months, but today it all seems like it'll be OK. I'm sure I'll have days when my two little ones seem like to much to handle, but for now I feel capable and competent. And I have my beautiful daughter cuddled up with me and my lovely son has been SO good today, my gorgeous husband will be coming home to me tonight with hugs and kisses and a curry, and I know that life doesn't get any better than this.

I am content!

The girl wonder...

Edie and I have been discharged from midwife care since we are both doing so well. The midwives were amazed at her progress when we went for our 2 week check today. Edith has re-gained her birth weight plus added an ounce--very unusual for a 100% breastfed baby, apparently. My body just seems to know what it's doing this time around.

She is also getting cuter every day. Pictures don't do her justice because she has a tendency to pull funny faces, but she's nearly reached Dylan newborn cuteness now (he was the most beautiful baby ever, but she's starting to catch up).

Dylan had a better day today. Temper tantrums were averted for the most part. I made an extra effort to be the one who walked him out to the car and played with him one on one, and it seems to have helped. We'll see. Plus, we let him sit in a normal chair instead of his highchair for his meals. That seems to have helped as well. Keep the good advice coming, everybody!

How DOES she do it?

Is anyone wondering how I manage to post to the blog so frequently when I have a newborn baby and a toddler? Well, Edie sleeps all the time! I am so not exaggerating. So this is what newborn babies are supposed to be like, huh? Its a good thing we had Dylan first, or a non-sleeping baby would be such a shock to the system.

Unfortunately, Dylan has hit the terrible twos with a vengence. He is throwing tantrums and just generally being a nuisance. Advice would be nice from parents who know how to deal with this. We are currently just ignoring his tantrums and trying to distract him when we can see one coming on. We are both wondering what happened to our cute little boy. Was he kidnapped by aliens? He has been replaced with a screaming, head banging monster!

Edith and me...

Losing some of that pregnancy bloat--especially in my face. Hooray! I wore regular jeans yesterday instead of maternity trousers!



Edith's second bath was much better than her first--she just had the cutest expression on her face the whole time, and didn't even cry that much when she got out.



Sleepy baby!



Snuggles with my kiddies. Dylan was brushing his teeth, and got water and toothpaste all over me. Being a mother means never having a clean shirt on!



More sleeping baby pictures. This girl loves her beauty sleep!!!

Dylan

Dylan and Madison (Martin's cousin's daughter) hanging out at Nanna Priestley's house.



Dylan loves bikes! Wearing Grandad's helmet.



Favorite place to hang out at the minute--in the baby's bed. He crawled into the Moses basket at Nanna's house today as well. Luckily, he hasn't tried to crawl in with Edith yet.

Edith Alyssa Gilbert...

I have to say, the newest addition to our family is amazing!

My water broke at 4 am on Tuesday the 31st of March. This was the day that I was supposed to go into hospital anyway, so Dylan was already at his nanna's house. We called the hospital, and they told us to come in. I took a nice long shower while Martin went back to sleep for a bit, then we drove in to Scunthorpe.

We spent most of Tuesday walking around the hospital. I would walk until the contractions got so painful that I couldn't walk any more. Then I would lie down, but the contractions kept stopping when I stopped walking. At around 4:30 that afternoon I sent Martin home. I had to stay at the hospital for observation, but there was no point in him being there any more. He had dinner at his mum's house and was there for Dylan's bath and putting him to bed. I stayed at the hospital on my own.

My contractions got steadily worse throughout the night. I was having them every 4 minutes or so, and they were really strong. Finally, at about 2 am, I asked to be checked to see if I was dilating at all. The answer to that was a big fat NO! I had a bath and tried to sleep, but it just didn't happen. I was in horrible pain and completely exhausted by the time Martin came back at 8;30 am. I had been awake and in labor for 28 hours.

After discovering that I still wasn't progressing at all, it was time to make a decision. I knew that when the doctors made their rounds at 9 am they would offer to start me on syntocin to strengthen my contractions and move things along. I also knew that they gave me syntocin with Dylan and I went another 12 hours without dilating at all. After 4 days of the flu and 28 hours of labor with no sleep, I knew that I wouldn't be able to do another 12 hours. I cried like a baby on Martin's shoulder and told him that I couldn't do it. He held me and told me it was ok--he understood. And when the doctor came around, I told her I just wanted the c-section. They scheduled it for 2:30pm.

At 1:00pm on April 1st, the midwife on duty came to tell me that they had moved me up to 1:15. After a mad dash to get me up to the operating theater (I paused to put on concealer and mascara--no way was I going to look as bad as I did in the pictures just after Dylan's birth), I had the most beautiful spinal block in the whole world. The atmosphere was nice and relaxed--not like my emergency c-section at all. The team that did my surgery were wonderful. Martin sat by my side the entire time, hunched over so he couldn't see anything the doctors were doing. It took a little longer than last time to actually cut me open as they had my scar tissue to work around. But we heard a gurgling little cry, and then they lifted out our new baby. I started to cry.

They brought the baby to us to show the sex. Martin and I both went "is that a girl?" ( seriously swollen genitals--very strange looking). They took her away to do all the checks and clean her up. They cut the cord before Martin could get over to do it, which we weren't happy about, but I guess it's ok. They wrapped her up and brought her to Martin to hold, and I got to stroke her little face and marvel in the miracle of a newborn baby--MY newborn baby.

It took longer to stitch me back up than it did last time, too. They actually cut off the old scar tissue and then sewed me up. So there is only one lot of scar tissue even though Ive had two c-sections now, which is good. Martin held Edith next to me the entire time, and she was hungry right from the start. She was sucking her fist, and she was NOISY! We could hear her sucking over the sounds of the doctors finishing up the surgery. I guess she was still feeling the shock of my 4 days with no food!

Martin got changed out of his scrubs while I was in recovery. With Dylan I didn't get to hold him until he was two hours old. With Edith, I got to hold her and feed her in the recovery room. It didn't take her long to figure out the breastfeeding thing. She is a champion at it!

Deciding to have the c-section was hard. It really does make me sad that Martin and I will not be having another child. I know that we were pretty sure we'd stop at 2 already, but knowing for sure that we are is so, well, final. I will never be pregnant again. I will never create another life. Even now, 10 days later, it makes my eyes fill with tears. But I made the decision that I needed to make, and my beautiful daughter got here safely.

5 day check...

Edie had her 5 day check on Monday, and she is doing really well! She's only lost 5 oz. of her birth weight, and is sleeping and feeding like a champ (obviously). The midwife was very pleased with her progress. She had her heel prick test (do they do it in the US?) to test for sickle cell anemia and other inherited stuff, so we'll hear back on that soon. But she's healthy and happy and adjusting well.

I'm adjusting well, too. Seriously, so much better than with Dylan. Yesterday I was sitting on the sofa feeding her and all of a sudden got this rush of love for her that was completely overpowering and intense. I didn't get that feeling for Dylan until he was several months old.

I give all the credit for this easy adjustment to my wonderful husband. Having Martin home with me is making all the difference. He is taking such good care of me and Dylan, and is the reason that Dylan is happy and not resentful of the baby, and that I am able to relax and take care of myself and Edith. He is shouldering so much of the burden, and I realize more every day how blessed I am to be married to such a wonderful man.

I need to take Edith back from him now, because he's in the middle of doing the ironing and wants to get back to it.

Seriously, I am so happy right now. It's not fair to other people, how happy I am right now. I hope it lasts forever!

The latest and greatest...

Edie had her first bath tonight. They don't bathe the babies in the hospital any more, and she was pretty dirty. As you can see, she wasn't too keen about the whole experience. But it wore her out pretty good, and she smells nice and her hair is all cute and fluffy and redder than ever!



I got snuggles with my babies today--it really is bliss!



Dylan holding Edith at the hospital. He hasn't really held her since, but he gave her big kisses at bed time and he alternates between being intrigued by her and completely indifferent.

We had a bit of drama this afternoon. Dylan went down for his afternoon nap and Laurie and Christine to visit. When Dylan woke up, Martin brought him downstairs and he absolutely freaked out. He was crying and screaming and absolutely inconsolable. He wouldn't come to me for cuddles. He was hitting and scratching me. Many tears ensued, and I finally asked the in-laws just to leave. About 5 minutes later, Dylan was fine. Martin thinks that Dylan thought we were going to send him back to nanna and grandad's house, and he panicked. I was quite relieved about that--I thought he didn't want to be in our house with me and Edith.

So that's the end of our first full day at home together. Dylan is tucked safely and sweetly in bed and Edie is having a snooze in the moses basket on the coffee table.

I feel like we can do this!

I fully intended to stay...

Edie and I are home now, and are thrilled to be here!

I fully intended to stay the maximum number of days they'd let me at the hospital, but I couldn't stand being there for one more second. I was tired of listening to other peoples' babies crying and waking me up in the night. I was tired of the midwives and nurses making their rounds. I was tired of listening to the buzzer on the door whenever anybody wanted to come to the maternity ward. But mostly, I was tired of being away from my wonderful boys!

We actually came home last night. Martin picked us up from the hospital and then we went to Christine's house to pick up Dylan. Bless her, Christine is absolutely exhausted from having Dylan for most of the week. He's not a difficult child, but he IS full of energy and pretty much runs non-stop from the time he wakes up until he crashes into bed 16 hours later. He's happy to be at home, as well.

It wasn't nearly as strange this time, bringing a baby home from the hospital. And little Edith made our first night as a family of 4 pretty easy on us. She was asleep at around 10 pm and slept until just after three. She fed, watched a little football with daddy, and then went back to sleep at around 4 until 6:30 this morning. Dylan was up at just after 7. So even with an interrupted night of sleep, we are all reasonably well rested. Edie went back to sleep at around 8 am, and here it is nearly 10 and she's still sleeping like an angel. I hope this continues--Dylan never slept very much for a newborn!

Martin went back to sleep for about an hour after both kids got up, and I had the most beautiful moment with my children. I had just finished feeding Edie and she was on my lap. Then Dylan came up for snuggles. He perched on the arm of the chair and cuddled with me. There I was with both of my babies cuddled up in my arms, and I thought for just a second that I had a peice of heaven on earth. I love them both so much.

And with no further ado, I give you.....

Well everybody, I am sure you are all dying for me to tell you the big news! Today, at 13.44 GMT, in Scunthorpe General Hospital, Theatre D our new addition put in their first appearance. And what a corker. They weighed 9 pounds 10 and a half ounces (yes I have typed that correctly) and measured a rather grand 21 and 1/2". And it was a .... good delivery, with the doctor's doing and excellent job with Jamie. They removed the old scar on her tummy, so she did kind of get the little tummy tuck that she wanted and she is doing great. Jamie is planning on staying in the hospital until Sunday so that she can get plenty of rest, which I think is a great idea, as it would be really difficult for her at home.

Dylan was great at my Mum and Dad's, especially for so long. It is the first time he has been away from both of us for that long, but if I am honest, we could have left him for a week and he would have been just fine. He was very happy to see his Mom again though, and did take rather well to the new addition as well.

Ok, I suppose I should tell you what the new addition to the family is going to be called. We have decided, after much deliberation, and we did discuss it a lot, mostly whilst we are at the cinema, watching the credits to name the new member of the Gilbert family, who will be lovely to have around......Edith Alyssa. Hope everyone likes it. Kind of tough if you don't!

Just so you can see how lovely she is I have some pictures as well. Catch you all soon.