Micah - 1 month!

Weight: 8lb 10oz ish (17th percentile) 1 lb heavier than big sis at this age!

Height: Not measured at the doctors until 2 months

Size Clothing: About to outgrow NB clothes!! So much faster than Evie girl!

Milestones: We've seen a few smiles but pretty sure they are not on purpose. Still sleeping most of the day so not too much is happening!

Schedule: He eats 3-4 oz every 3 hours during the day. At night he does about a 5-6 hour stretch, feed, then another 3 hour stretch. Then goes to bed while I get Evie ready for school!

Sleep: He sleeps most of the day still. Most naps and nighttime he goes down well. He'll usually fall asleep or just look around til he falls asleep. He's starting to be more awake these days tho and sometimes has trouble falling asleep for a nap. So I'll give him a couple min to try to fall asleep by himself, if he's still crying I'll pick him up and try again. The 12 o clock nap is the golden nap tho. He sleeps the best this nap and mama sleeps and if Evie is home she's napping too. It's the best!

Her favorite things: His dino paci!! The swing with music. His sister! (okay, he doesn't know her yet, but he will love her!)

Imitating mama's stressed face..

First time doing tummy time! Not a fan..

"Hope my muscles are as big as my dads someday.."

"Love you dino... you're my best friend"

"Eessh"

First selfie w mama!

Dad's the best!

Tummy time sucks :-p

Micah Tyler

Micah Tyler was born August 3, 2014 at 4:21am 6lb 6oz 19inches!

On August 1, I had a weekly appointment and bi-weekly non stress test. During the appointment I asked the nurse practitioner to check my dilation, more just out of curiosity since I started at 4cm with Evelyn after my water broke, and this time around I had a bunch of short cervix issues. So I wanted to see if that meant I was dilated any more. The nurse practitioner was surprised that I was already at 4-5cm and I wasn't having any contractions. However, it didn't mean much by itself so I was encouraged but not anticipating labor without the contractions. The nurse practitioner did say that if I felt any labor signs or symptoms to go straight to the hospital since this was my second labor and I was already dilated so much.

On August 2, we went out to dinner with my family to celebrate my dad's birthday. My sister, brother in law, and brother were in town to celebrate. I knew that my ideal plan was for my sister and brother in law to watch Evelyn while we were at the hospital, but they live an hour away so I wasn't sure how it would pan out. But fortunately, they were here that weekend! During the dinner, I started feeling some contractions. They were very mild and I only felt 3 within a 2 hour period. I told Albert on the way home from the restaurant and we decided to wait until I started feeling 5-6 an hour to go to the hospital. After dinner we decided to play some board games with my sister/brother in law. I was starting to feel contractions about every 10 min but only 30s long and still very mild. After that game I decided to tell everyone about the contractions. We were still contemplating whether we should go to the hospital so we decided to play one more board game while deciding. Since the contractions didn't let up, we decided to just go and get checked, hoping this was the real deal. My sister/brother in law stayed with Evelyn as she was sleeping anyway so we are very thankful they were here! My parents were our backup plan and they didn't even have their cell phones with them that night!

At around 11PM, we got to the hospital and they monitored the baby and found I was having contractions 2-3 min apart but they were still very mild.  They checked my dilation and I was at 5cm, 90% maybe about 70% effaced. They couldn't do anything to progress my labor (like break my water or induce me) since I was only 38 weeks. So I had to progress by myself for any intervention. So they said I could be admitted temporarily and have IV's put in place and then try to have me walk around the halls to either dilate more or get my contractions going, or I could leave and walk around the hospital before getting admitted. If I didn't progress on my own or if contractions stopped I'd have to go home. We decided getting admitted was probably best and decide in a couple hours if things were rolling.

Albert while I was 7cm dilated and in PAIN waiting for the epi. Problem is that I'm really quiet during the contractions so no one knows when I'm having them and I just close my eyes. :-p

So after we did all the paperwork and got the IV put in place, I got checked one more time. Around 1230am I was at 6cm, 90% effaced. So it seemed like things were moving. We walked around the halls for 40 min. By the end of the 40 min the contractions were definitely starting to hurt more, but bearable. At 120am, the contractions were started to hurt alot more. I was at 6-7cm at this point. This is when I asked for an epidural although I could still manage through the pain and the nurses said I could probably handle doing this naturally based on my demeanor, i didn't want to feel the ring of fire!! So they started my IV. At 215am I got my epidural, sweet relief! I was still 6-7cm at this point. At 315am and 7cm, they decided to break my water. That seemed to get labor rolling! From then, it was 45 min before I was fully dilated and the babys head was in my vagina. They said I would probably only need to push a couple times since the baby was almost out. Turns out I needed to only push for 15 min (compared to 2 hours with Evelyn) and the baby was out!

The baby took a couple seconds (felt like minutes!) to cry, but he was okay and Albert finally got to find out what gender he was! There were a couple potential problems during the delivery that the midwife told me about after. Micah's cord was wrapped around his head. It was wrapped very loosely so it wasn't an issue. Another problem was that my placenta started to detach during labor and came out with the baby so I bled out more than normal after the delivery. She said this could've been life threatening to the baby if the baby didn't come out so fast as this was the babies source of oxygen. But thankfully, the baby came out fast at the end and it wasn't an issue.

So Micah's birth was about 3 hours from the time I felt intense contractions to the end, 5 hours from the time we were admitted to the hospital as compared to Evelyns which was 10 hours from the time my water broke to the end. Love how each story is unique. We are all doing great though and life is pretty much the same right now, just one more diaper to change and mouth to feed :-) We are loving it though!

20 months!

Can't believe my girl is so close to being 2!! Should I be starting to plan her 2 year old birthday party?! :-o

its been a couple months since her last update, and we are in full whine mode! :-/ Some days she's fine, some days its all whine. It seems like its pretty normal for her age as shes still starting to figure out how to communicate what she wants. but it does get stressful having to hear it all day! good thing it doesn't affect albert at all. for me, i just feel really stressed out on the inside although i don't show it on the outside towards her.  but at least one of us isn't stressed out by it! for now we're just trying to get her to say please when she wants something. or help. and just encouraging her to use her words. but when its the worst its usually when shes tired. so it can be a hopeless battle!

daycare pic! she loves being there!

love her smile

As far as sleeping, shes still doing good. she sleeps from about 730-7, but shes only really asleep from 8-630 ish probably. she is really good in her twin bed tho. she doesn't try to get up and when she can't sleep she just rolls around and talks to herself. we are finally on one nap! around the 19 month mark we officially switched to 1 nap. it was getting hard with 2 naps because even though she would sleep 1+ hour each, it would start pushing her bedtime later and later. and even for naps she was having trouble falling asleep. so now we're on 1, she's adjusting okay. she falls asleep easily for the nap (around 12-2/3ish). but if she wakes up early or takes a short nap (like every day at daycare) she gets tired and cranky fast! :-/ hopefully she adjusts more over time.

park with dad!

at the wade pool. this girl is definitely a water baby!

eating wise she is doing great. well veggies are alittle obsolete.. but she loves eating everything else! esp mom and dads favorites, mexican food and sweets of all kinds. she is a great eater tho. she's starting to drink less milk tho and more water, which is okay with me. she eats enough variety of food that i think she gets the nutrition she needs. 

at the san diego county fair! she loves seeing the sheeps and cows!

so silly

she's still a really sweet girl who loves to help out around the house. she loves when we say she did a good job and she likes to clean up (probably cause our house can be crazy sometimes..). she loves making people laugh and overall is a happy and sweet girl still! i am scared for the transition when we become a family of 4 (any day now!!) but i  know she will be a great older sister after she adjusts!!

my favorite face she makes.. bc its the same one i make all the time when i'm stressed! hah

starting young.. flipping dad's screen upside down

i lost count of the # of words she says now. for sure over 30, probably closer to 50? she's getting good at recognizing people and their names. and likes to make sure they know she knows their name by yelling it out over and over and pointing! hah she loves waving to other babies and sometimes adults too (she even likes waving to prince george on the magazine cover! hehe) shes starting to say a couple two word phrases, mostly things like "more please", "read please", she also says "hi baby", "hallie cry" (her friend at daycare). 

water baby!

crazy hair day at daycare

we got her a hellokitty life vest because this girl would jump in the pool without us if she could!

having fun with daddy!

starting to dress herself. this is her latest. neon sneakers with a shirt as shorts/skirt! i definitely think we have a little fashionista !

*sorry this post is all over the place! thats basically the inside of my head right now... 

36 weeks - wonton!

How far along? 36 weeks 4 days (my hair is a hot mess. bleh)
Total weight gain/loss: about 29lbs! hehe surpassed my weight gain from last pregnancy. oops. hopefully i can stay around here for the rest? i can only wish!
Maternity clothes? dresses and alberts clothes.. haha starting to wear his gym shirts and shorts. nothing else fits! 
Stretch marks? YES ugh. they are crazy mad this time. hopefully they fade like last time!

Symptoms: insomnia, heavy, bleh
Sleep: keep waking up at about 6am, sometimes in the middle of the night. hard to fall asleep (need to watch tv to fall asleep)
Best moment this week:  almost to full term! a couple more days!
Movement: yep! i think this one will be a tall one! i can feel the stretches 

Cravings: noodle soup!

Anything making you queasy or sick: nothing
Labor Signs: i think mild contractions/bh's? cramping. but obviously not meaning much since i'm still here!
Belly Button in or out? slight innie, flat belly button! 
What I miss: alcohol, more coffee, moving more freely, not carrying an extra 30lbs of weight.. 
What I am looking forward to: the baby!! not being pregnant!!!!!!!!!!

33 weeks - wonton!

How far along? 33 weeks 3 days
Total weight gain/loss: about 25lbs
Maternity clothes? dresses, yoga pants, etc. getting lazy working from home!
Stretch marks? i'm pretty sure i have them. they look like veins but aren't on the outside of my skin, so hopefully they disappear after i have the baby like last time!

Symptoms: just feeling heavy and tired!
Sleep: okay, i wake up easily, esp when i hear a certain toddler kicking the wall in the morn! 
Best moment this week:  home stretch! 1 more month ish!
Movement: lots of movement, i can't tell the position of the baby but hopefully not breech/transverse anymore... i find out on monday!

Cravings: shaved ice/shaved snow! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: nothing
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? slight innie, flat belly button! 
What I miss: not worrying about overexerting myself, not limiting coffee, i miss alcohol too! and i don't even drink much when not pregnant! :-/
What I am looking forward to: the baby! finishing up the nursery. we have most of the things done for the baby, just have to re-sterilize all the bottles/pacis/pump parts. 

30 weeks - wonton!

How far along? 30 weeks 1 day (excuse the hair..)
Total weight gain/loss: 20-21 lbs. Not sure what exactly happened but the last 2 days i lost 2 lbs. normally that'd be awesome, but i usually can tell which way my weight is going and how much it'll drop, so since it dropped alot more than i had thought, now i'm actually worried!! :-/ about low amniotic fluid levels or iugr.. i did have an ultrasound about a week ago and everything looked good with the baby so i'm trying not to worry... 
Maternity clothes? getting lazy, dresses and gym type clothes
Stretch marks? i'm starting to get those weird vein/bruise looking marks on my sides. last time they disappeared after a couple months post partum so hopefully these will do the same!

Symptoms: hungry but feeling full faster at the same time
Sleep: alright, i'm waking up more to pee tho! :-p
Best moment this week:  im excited to be in the 30 weeks finally!! 
Movement: lots of squirming at night time or after a good meal! i don't think this one is super active because i dont feel as many kicks as just movement

Cravings: sugary food!! chinese food!

Anything making you queasy or sick: nothing
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? Innie but getting flat
What I miss: not worrying! caffeine and food all the time whenever i want! 
What I am looking forward to: being full term! finishing up the nursery!

last time versus this time... it actually looks pretty similar at this point!

18 months!!

ETA her stats:

Height: 2ft 7 in (22%)

Weight: 24lb 3oz (69%)

Head Circumference: 48.3 cm (92%)

Oh my goodness, is this girl really 1.5 years old?? The days move slow but I feel like she just turned one!! Time is just moving too fast. I love this girl and her personality! She's a very sweet, cuddly, happy girl. She loves making people laugh and loves laughing at herself too. She's a great helper and has started helping around the house. Throwing away trash, "sweeping", helping mommy clean, etc. She's always so proud of herself when I tell her she did a good job. Apparently at school she also likes to help people. One time I dropped her off and she saw that her friends cup was on the other side of the room. So she got up to give it to her. And frantically waving it in her friends face (her friend was busy playing with a toy), she gave up and just threw it on the ground. That gave me a good chuckle. She does that at home too and makes sure everyone has their stuff. When she sees dada's stuff (nerf guns, clothes, etc) she gives it to him. She tries to give the dogs their leashes too altho the dogs just kind of stare at her...She also gives babies at school toys when they are crying! Hopefully she does the same to her little sibling!

Cousins birthday party!

She's still a pretty good eater. We're working on veggies but everything else she will eat. She does not like squishy textured food tho (same goes for finger paints!). But most days she'll eat whatever we give her. Proteins and sweets are her favorite! 

Loves bubbles!

She's still sleeping like a champ. She's still on 2 naps when she's at home (4 days a week), 1 nap at daycare (3 days a week). A normal day at home is:

7AM - Wakeup

730AM - Eat breakfast (turkey sausage, eggs, pancakes/french toast/waffles)

8-930AM - Play and snack towards 930AM (Fruit or yogurt)

930AM-1130AM - nap (usually will nap for about 1.5 hours but somewhere in this time frame)

12PM - Lunch (grain and protein with veggies somewhere mixed in there!)

1230PM-230PM - Play and snack towards 2PM (crackers or cheese)

230PM-5PM - Nap (usually will nap about 1.5 to 2 hours within this time frame)

530PM - Dinner (grain and protein with veggies)

6-7PM - Play with dada

7PM - Get ready for bed

745PM - Down for the night

At school she apparently only naps about 1.5 hours and is always the last one asleep and first one awake.. I think thats why she sleeps so well at home :-p 

We've had a couple tantrums, usually about 1 a week. A little more whining these days but I try to tell her no whining and make her tell me (or sign) what she wants. I can usually tell what she wants which helps and if she can't have it then i use the art of distraction :-) Tantrums don't happen very often but I think it usually happens when I don't transition her very well. Like when shes playing in the toy section at Target and I take her away really fast ( happened yesterday...) Usually I can distract her enough so she stops though. 

Watching frozen. She could watch all day!

I lost count of the number of words she knows. I think its getting to about 30. Some new words are baby (apparently she knows theres a baby in my stomach?? she points to it  and will even lift my shirt to show me), Joy (one of her teachers), Hallie (one of her friends), shoes, Alice (auntie), book, up (sounds like bup heh), Oli (one of her dogs)... I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting. I still love the way she says mommy! Sounds like she has a british accent!

Baby flip flops are the cutest!

Last years mothers day gift versus this year!! I don't remember that baby!

Gift from her (and dada)

Mothers day lunch (she never looks at the camera in her pics with me!!)

ChuckE Cheese with dada

Likes looking at chucke but won't touch him :-)

Disneyland monorail (never look at the camera!!)

#selfie

Biggest bookworm! Her teachers say she's always going to the reading corner and asking for more books!