Happy 4th of July (and Fiona is one month!)

Here are some recent pictures.  I thought it was hard to get pictures with 2 kids, 3 is such a challenge!

 

Sleeping babies in milk comas are so sweet.

This is how Fiona prefers to sleep when I do not swaddle her.  Swaddling helps her stay asleep better, but makes her very angry.

Sometimes she just does not want to do the whole picture thing.

And sometimes she is fine.

 

Here she is on July 2nd, her one month panda shot.  Hard to believe it has already been a month.  These first 8 weeks are such a paradoxical time.  They are amazing and awful at the same time.  I love the snuggly baby time and all the firsts for Fiona, but I hate the feeling of being overwhelmed.  I think Fiona may be our neediest baby.  It is hard to walk by the sink full of dishes, trying to do laundry one handed, and trying to balance baby needs and big kids needs.  And Nick stays pretty busy with his two condensed classes and meetings, so I have to do a lot one handed when Fiona insists on being held.  She also loves to cluster feed.  The other day I had to cook dinner while nursing, the things we do when we have to :)  These weeks seem so slow and so fast at the same time.  The nights in which I get only 3 hours of sleep sure seem long, but it feels like I just blinked and she was a month old.  I want to savor them, but I also want them to be over so life can be more normal. But I really try to enjoy what I can since I know this time is the last, and just push through everything else.

 

 

Here is a comparison of our three girls.  I think Fiona is between Sam and Zoey in face shape. Sam was very rounded and Zoey was more oval. 

The big girls are doing better, but they were really testing the limits, which is really tough when sleep is in such short supply.  They do love their sister and mostly are very helpful.   We were all getting a bit stir crazy since we have been mostly staying home.  We have had a lot of family time watching world cup, America's Got Talent, playing board games, and playing Wii. We have also been venturing out a little more recently, not any crowds yet, but playdates at parks or homes with small groups.   

Our first was a water wall one, the girls had a blast.

And a sharpie tie dye one.

We also went to a friend's sailing club for a celebration of the 4th.  The big girls and Nick built boats.  There was a lunch and a water slide.

 After lunch, they raced the boats.  Zoey's ended up sinking, which lead to many tears. But overall, the girls had a great day.  Nick even took them back for fireworks, which was a late night, but well worth it.

 

I hope everyone had a great 4th.  Here are our 3 firecrackers.  

 

Happy Father's Day!

I hope everyone had a great Father's Day.  Since Fiona is still so young, we had Nick and my dad pick up take out bar-b-que and ate at my parents.  It was a nice, relaxing day.

Here is Nick and his three girls :)

 

My dad and his granddaughters, Fiona was not in the mood :)

 

 

Fiona is now 3 weeks old.  It feels so short and so long at the same time.  The newborn time is so intense, and she does not like to be put down, which makes it hard to get much done.  And the nights were really rough for a bit, but she is mostly better, although she can still refuse to sleep in the bassinet.  But the days also fly by.  Hard to believe she is already 3 weeks old.  I went today to a lactation group.  She was weighed before and after a feed.  She  is up to 8 lbs 13.8 ounces and she took 3 ounces on her feed.  She is a champion feeder, often cluster feeding and feeding to fall asleep.  But I let her since she is so young.  She gets really mad if she wakes up ready to eat and I change her diaper first.  She also lost her umbilical stump and has had a few baths.  Here is her first.  

 

She is hit or miss on tummy time, sometimes she cries, the other day she fell asleep.

 

Here are some other pictures I took recently.

Fashionable Fiona.

 They finally pored our foundation and are supposed to start framing the addition tomorrow!  We were so excited to see the cement truck.

 

The girls enjoyed watching the pouring.  

Sam did my hair in pigtails recently. 

 The big girls have their moments for sure, but they are mostly really sweet and helpful and love holding their sister.

And this week, they are at space camp at Space Center Houston.  It is a blast (pun intended).   Sam came home full of facts and is now planning to be a rocket designer.

 Zoey was so proud of her space suit.

End of school year

 Sam finished school on June 4th.  She had submitted a book to a school contest.  She won most likely to grow up to be an author and most original.  Most original came with a prize, and she picked the body pillow.  What a unique prize.   

I was able to make her book character parade.  They could dress like a book character, make a float, or make a poster. 

Sam made this poster.  

 I also made her piano recital, but Nick had to miss that one for a work event.  She did so well!

Here  is Sam and her teacher.  I missed award ceremony as it was on June 3rd.  Sam won a lot of awards.  We are so proud of her.  She got ones for character, for music, for reading, for writing.  What a well rounded student!

Here she is on the last day of school.

The side by side of first and last day.  She changed so much!  She does not seem much taller, but her legs are not as together as on the first day of school.

 We are so proud of our super student.  She is so sweet, kind and works so hard.  Her teacher had nothing but praise for her.  What a blessing she is. 

Hello Cruel World Take 3

 First the birth story...

 I hit 40 weeks on May 29th and Fiona had no signs of coming.  I had Braxton Hicks, but no real contractions.  Sleep was not great so I was not well rested to start with.  I had my appointment at 8:30 am on Monday June 1st (4 days overdue) and my blood pressure was elevated.  Fiona also had a nuchal cord, which is not a huge concern but would have been rough as reduced movement would have had to be checked out, so I would have been more stressed.  My doctor wanted to induce, she said she would have wanted to induce if I were 38 weeks so being overdue, she really wanted it.  But I wanted to avoid pitocin to aid in my natural delivery.  She sent me for observation.  My labs came back fine, but my bp was bouncing a bit, so we compromised to use cervidil.  I actually started contractions before it was inserted at 2 pm.  The last bit of the 2 hours of forced lying down was rough with a full bladder and contractions every 5 minutes.  I was then allowed to walk and Nick and I did laps around Labor and Delivery, but after 12 hours I was still only 2 cm dilated and so pitocin was started at 2 am.  I was borderline on the pitocin protocol since my contractions were coming close together, every 3 minutes and lasting long enough to not allow the required breaks.  So I had to mostly stay in bed to be monitored and the pitocin turned down if needed.  When my doctor came by at 7:30ish, I was 4 cm.  She broke my water and they upped the pitocin.  The pain became a lot more intense.  My doula, Cole, came a bit later and was able to help me get through the extreme pain.  Pitocin contractions are no joke, it basically makes the earlier ones like the normal later ones.  And mine were close together and long lasting.  The pain was radiating from my hips to my back in addition to my belly.  Cole would provide counter pressure and massage which allowed me to get through them.  I tried a lot of positions to labor in, but mostly I labored on a yoga ball.  At about 9:30, I was exhausted and in such pain, that I was not sure I could go much longer.  My OB had guessed noon and I did not have 3 more hours in me, so my doula suggested we get a check and see how far I was and then decide.  If I was still below 7, I could get an IV pain killer that would wear off or if I was closer, I could rally.  When the nurse came in I was 9 cm, 5 centimeters in 2 hours.  I went to the bathroom and when I was washing my hands I was hit with the strong urge to push.  I kind of panicked being in the bathroom and Cole helped support me as Nick ran in and she and Nick got me to the bed.  I actually pushed a little in the bathroom, even though the nurse said to not push yet.  She called to the nurses station and sounded a bit panicked herself as she said, "I need Dr. Taylor, now!"  They kept telling me to not push and I tried but it was impossible and Cole told me if the baby came they would catch her, so push if I wanted.  The nurse closed my legs at point and Cole said I shot her the funniest look and flapped them opened them again.  On my third contraction after the urge to push, my doctor ran in, but her gloves were not ready.  I pushed again and Fiona's head came out.  The doctor had her gloves by then and unwrapped the cord.  I was then told to push, and in two pushes her shoulders came out and she plopped into the word at 9:57 am.  It took her a bit to cry and she had a lot of fluid that they sucked out, but she cried a hearty cry and they gave her right to me for chest to chest.  The doctor waited to cut her cord until past when it stopped pulsing.  The entire pushing was only about two minutes, which is a huge contrast to the exhausting 21 hour long labor.  My placenta would not deattach.  My doctor gave me an hour until she was going to send me to the OR, and Cole suggested a pitocin shot in my leg and accupressure.  I also breastfed right away.  I was finally able to push it out right at the end of my hour.  I was able to breastfed and bond for at least an hour.  Cole examined the placenta and said it was fragile and likely would have started having issues soon, so induction although extremely hard was definitely the right call.  My body knew I needed to get her out, she was just too content. 

It was definitely not the labor I had planned in my birth plan, but in the end I got a healthy, amazing baby.  She was exactly 8 pounds and 21 inches long.  She is my latest (Sam was one day early, Zoey 3 days late and Fiona a forced 4 days late), lightest Sam was 8 lbs 4.3 oz, Zoey was 8 lbs 6 oz), and longest labor (Sam and Zoey were both 13 hours).  So much for third babies being earlier, heavier, and shorter labors. She is also our first to not have jaundice and require lights. 


And now pictures....

Some right after birth.  Peaceful and upset.

She showed off her good lungs during her entire bath.

 

Nick had to hold her after her bath while I was occupied.

 

 

Nick brought me roses.  Such a sweet one.

 

With her cute bow hat.

 I was so exhausted after the long labor, so the girls came the next day after Samantha's award ceremony.  They were so excited to meet their new sister.  

 

Me and my three girls!

 And of course Nana and Papa got turns to hold her. 

  

We left the hospital Thursday and she was down to 7 pounds 5 ounces, but on Friday (with a diaper) she was just one ounce shy of birth weight at 7 lbs 15 ounces.  She is a champion feeder.  She loves to cluster feed, especially at night.  I am struggling with getting her to sleep in the bassinet.  Sleep is a rare commodity.  Nick and my Mom did cover the first night during non feed times to help me catch up after the lack of sleep at the hospital, that was amazing.  And Nick tries to help now, but she often just wants to feed so much that he cannot even take her.  Hopefully she will adjust soon.

 

  

We are excited that she was not born in the middle of a horrible flu season, but we are still mostly staying at home.  We have taken a few stroller rides down to Nana and Papa's.

 

 

And here are a couple from today, her one week birthday.  She has grayish blue eyes, so they will probably change.  She also has dark hair, so maybe she will have more of Nick's features.

 

Her full name is Fiona Dillon.  Fiona because we like it and I covered that some in a previous post.  We chose middle names that are more meaningful.  We knew this would be our last and I really wanted to honor my brother.  We had a plan for a middle name for a boy, but not a girl.  We went through a lot of options, but as his name was Reezin Napoleon Swilley, Jr.; we were somewhat limited.  So we had to think outside the box.  I tried Napoleon's family tree, variations on meanings, etc.  Napoleon means Lion of Naples.  Dillon means faithful, but it also means loyal and like a lion.  And it is Irish like Fiona.  So the meaning fit well to honor Chip and we liked it.  We debated spelling for a bit.  Nick did not really like Dylan as much, but we were not sure about Dillan/Dillon.  In the end, we decided Dillon was more like lion.