Christmas Is Almost Here

We are really getting excited for a Christmas around here! Last week we had some family pictures taken, and made into Christmas cards, and they turned out so cute! I also ordered Kendall an ornament, since Avery has one too, and I was able to use some of the pictures we took in the ornaments. We ordered a CD with all the pictures...I'll post a few soon!

Avery and I made Christmas cookies on Saturday morning, and she had a great time putting sprinkles on them! The dough was a little sticky, so we didn't use the cookie cutters...we made drop cookies instead, but they tasted good. We listened to Christmas music, and got ready for Travis's family Christmas at his great-grandmother's home. We debated on not bringing Kendall, and me staying home with her, but we decided at the last minute to go, and keep her close to me and Travis. It went well, and everyone loved meeting her.

Also last week I took Kendall for her first walk outside! I walked about 2.5 miles, and Kendall napped most of the time. I am getting excited to start running soon...maybe a slow run this week since it's actually going to be in the 50's tomorrow and Wednesday.

We have really enjoyed spending time together as a family since Travis was off all last week, and it has made life with a new baby a lot easier. He is working today and tomorrow, and then he's off until January 5th! We have been doing some shopping here and there, and are looking forward to a great holiday!

Adding Kendall to the Mix

It's been twelve days since Kendall was born and became part of our family, and I have to say I was prepared for pretty much anything...except for her to be such an easy baby so far! The transition has been remarkably smooth, and she is really a dream baby.

 

My first goals with Kendall were to establish full and regular feeding sessions and to have her
sleeping in the crib. According to Babywise, establishing full feedings is the first step in getting into a solid routine and sleeping schedule. I'm also consistently following the 'eat, activity, sleep' routine, even though her activities are mostly just staying awake to look at faces, taking a bath, or laying on
the floor with her big sister. Following this routine has made it pretty easy to anticipate her needs.

The first week was slightly challenging regarding breastfeeding...only because I was having a hard time keeping her awake long enough to get a full feeding. I don't want to create a "snacker" which is pretty common for breastfeeding moms. I have been working hard to keep her awake, and it seems to be paying off. She eats about every 2 1/2 - 3 hours during the day, and has gone as long as 5 hours at night...but more typically will have a 4 hour stretch and another 3 hour stretch.

Starting from the time we were in the hospital, Travis and I knew that we wanted to create good sleeping habits for Kendall, and we have both made a conscience effort to make sure that she is swaddled and sleeping in a crib or pack and play, and not in our arms. We have plenty of times that we are holding her while she is awake, and of course when I am nursing her. We are also trying to put her down while she is very drowsy but slightly awake. So far it's going pretty well. She'll occasionally fuss for a few minutes, and fall asleep. Sometimes I have to pick her back up if she starts really crying, and hold her until she is drowsy again. Most of the time she calms down really quickly and easily, and I think it's somewhat because Travis and I are so much calmer than we were with Avery. She slept in the pack and play for the first 3 nights at home - in our family room, but since then she's been sleeping in the crib at night, and the pack and play for naps, and because I have a good monitor, I have been sleeping in my bed at night (I thought I might be sleeping in her room for a few weeks.) She's also a pretty sound sleeper so far, and noises from people, the TV, and Ranger barking don't seem to bother her too much. The first few weeks with a newborn can be really stressful, but I've honestly enjoyed this time more than I could imagine.

Avery is doing ok with everything...considering what a big change this is for her. She loves her new baby sister, but she misses having our full attention. My mom called her "contrary" and I would say that describes how she is right now. She is being slightly difficult when it comes to wanting to express her independence, and her ability to say "NO!" However, she loves playing with her baby doll that we got her, and she loves helping me with Kendall...such as getting me diapers and checking on her during naptime. In a few weeks she probably won't remember a time without Kendall, which is somewhat bittersweet for me. I love watching her be so sweet with her baby sister though, and I'm excited about watching their sister bond grow!

Kendall's Birth Story

Kendall Noelle DeSavigny was born on Sunday, November 30th, 2014 at 8:06 am. She weighed 8 pounds 10 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long.

Her active labor started on Saturday evening (which was my actual due date) but I had early labor symptoms beginning the week before. I had cramping which became progressively stronger until Saturday night when I realized I was having real contractions. The cramps I had felt like menstrual cramps on and off all week - something I never had with Avery. They also didn't feel like the same contractions I had with Avery, so it was a little difficult to know I was in labor right away. 

On Saturday, we had Travis's parents over in the afternoon, and also were hosting Travis's former boss and his wife, from when he worked on the tree nursery. We had cheese and crackers, tea, and pumpkin pie, and I must have been pretty distracted because I don't remember feeling any cramping for those few hours between 4-8 pm. Everyone left our house around 8, and I had just tucked Avery into bed. 

I came downstairs to spend time with Travis and I joked with Travis that I guess the baby wasn't coming on my due date. Minutes later, my cramping began again, and after it was on and off a little, I mentioned to Travis that it felt stronger, and it could possibly be early contractions. I decided it might be a good idea to time them in order to determine if they were getting closer together, or if they were just Braxton Hicks contractions.  They were about 15-20 minutes apart when I was sitting or laying down, and about 3-5 minutes apart when I was standing or walking around. I figured since there was such a difference that I would try to go to bed, and the doctor let me know that if they were real labor pains, she was sure they would wake me up. We did have my mother-in-law come back over just in case to spend the night, so that we wouldn't have to wake her and have her come in the middle of the night. 

I was able to doze for a little while on and off until about 12:30 I realized they were becoming much more intense and closer together. I panicked and started shaking, and told Travis we needed to go to the hospital soon. We left around 1:00 am, and were checked into a room by 2 am. At that point the pain was manageable and I decided I didn't need the epidural at that point. I labored in and out of the tub, and by taking walks with Travis in the hall. We were the only patients in the maternity ward that night, so it was very quiet! 

As the night when on, the pain became more intense, but I was doing really well relaxing between contractions. However, I was becoming exhausted just from being up in the middle of the night.  The nurse offered to give me a pain medicin IV - Stadol,  and I took her up on it around 5 am or so. I was able to get some rest, and Travis was also able to sleep in the recliner for a few hours. I still felt the pain of the contractions, but the drug allowed me to really rest and almost sleep in between each contraction.

Around 7 am the drug started wearing off, and the doctor came in to see how I was doing. I told her the pain was still intense but manageable, and I still didn't feel like I needed the epidural. My doctor suggested that we should break my water and that would move things along. She told me I could re-evaluate if I wanted the epi afterward, and then I would potentially get Pitocin as well...because often the epidural can slow things down. I opted to have her break my water, and she did it very quickly and surprisingly painlessly around 7:30 am. Almost immediately my contractions became much worse and closer together, and I decided the epidural sounded like a good idea. 

As I waited for the nurse anesthetist, the pain just became worse and worse and I was crying and yelling and wondering how long until the epidural. I was able to get out of bed and stand for my contractions and Travis did a great job of just holding and supporting me. Finally about 20 minutes or so later I was ready to have the epidural, but my nurse had been observing me and guessed that I might be ready to push. They checked me and I was complete (10 centimeters) and therefore it was time to push.

I was totally scared and in the most pain I've ever had in my life, but my doctor and the nurse assured me it wouldn't be long, and she would be here within minutes. I pushed from 7:55 until 8:06 am, and then she was suddenly in my arms! The last 30 minutes of my labor had been extremely intense and painful, but my little Kendall arrived and was perfect in every way. 

Thanksgiving weekend

Well, we had our second baby girl over the weekend! However, before that, we had a great time hosting Thanksgiving for our families!

My sisters and their families arrived on Wednesday night. Avery remembered her 10-month old cousin Cooper right away and was happy to play with him. We ordered pizza for dinner and relaxed.

On Thursday morning, I woke up early and prepared the turkey, before heading out to the Kent City Turkey Trot. Travis's family came over early and came with us. Avery ran in the kids race and loved it! Travis ran with her and they may have been at the back of the pack, but Avery was the cutest! She wore a Turkey hat from her aunt Kelsey, and she received many compliments.

After the kid's run, we had a 5K. Travis, Kyle, Lindsey, and Kelsey ran the race, and Travis's stepfather walked with me. It was a very slow go, and we finished at the end, but we finished! I didn't realize how much "pressure" I would feel in my body, but I was 39 weeks and 5 days pregnant.

After the run we came home to some French toast casserole and parade watching. We spent the rest of the day cooking, eating, and spending time with family. It was very relaxing and nice to have that time (relaxing for everyone except maybe my sister who chased her son Cooper and her dog Olga the whole time...but that's life with a crawling baby haha.)

On Friday morning we made pancakes and spent the morning with my sisters until they left in the afternoon. Avery loved spending time with them and has really matured in the last several months. I loved watching her play with everyone and be completely social and relaxed, and have real conversations with everyone too. I could see that she was ready to become a big sister, and she's really not my baby anymore.

On Saturday I wanted to get out of the house a little bit, so we went to Lowe's to see what Black Friday deals were still going on. We walked around a little and I had to tell Travis to slow down for me several times...which should have been a clue. Since the Turkey Trot I had begun having a lot of cramping, but wasn't sure that it was contractions. We came home and watched the Ohio State-Michigan game and I made a pumpkin pie. We had Travis's parents over for a few hours, along with Travis's old boss from when he worked at the tree nursery and his wife. Everyone left by about 8 pm, and I started having real timetable contractions around 8:15 pm on Saturday night.

More on Kendall's birth story to come!