Slew of Updates

Well it is hard for me to believe but here I am with Abby a month old and it feels like it was just yesterday... but then I realize how much has happened since she has been born! It is definitely overwhelming to have two kids. I knew it would be hard, but man, it's nuts!!! The hardest thing is just not being able to get anything done. One is cake. You can take care of their needs then get some stuff done around that. But throw another kid in the mix and as soon as you take care of one kid the other one needs something else. This makes it impossible to get anything done, including showering, eating, etc. Getting out of the house takes an act of God, since you have to get thee kids stuff ready, plus yourself and somehow keep them tended to until you do all that and get out the door. I've already locked myself out of the car once (with Abby in it). Taking half the $300 a month we are saving on not having an extra car and putting it towards having our housekeeper come every other week is the best decision we have made! I have come to terms with the fact that things are just going to be nutzoid for the next year or so, and I have to take it one step at a time and just breathe. Thank God for Ryan, who I miss every second of every day that I am not with him. He's my partner in all this, and the only one who can really share all the intricacies of our family dynamic. I would be lost without him for sure. PS no way in hell we are having more. lol. I couldn't hang with being outnumbered. At least with two you can tag team; one for each of you. That works out well.

Things are going well though. Abby LOVES the boob. We have tried a bottle a few times and she's not really a fan. Might have a tough time when I go back to work if she doesn't grow accustomed to it, at least once in a while. She's a gourmet nurser too; if I'm too full she gets upset. She likes to savor her meals and really take her time. Which is great for my production. The more she nurses the more my production will keep up. As it is I'm pumping about 15 oz extra milk a day. Pumping right before bed after last feeding. Then she is getting up for a 1 am feeding and then again at about 5 am. I feed out of the same breast for those two, because if I alternated the 5 am boob would be too full for her. So then I pump in the morning after I get up at the 7 am feeding. Sometimes other pumpings in between if I get too full. Going to start freezing soon. I think I'm going to stick with freezing in 1 oz ice cubes then foodsaver a few trays at a time. I honestly don't think I'll make it past 6 months pumping (which will be 3 months back at work) so the more I can stock up on the better. I tried to give my extra milk to Aurora, so we could stop buying organic whole milk at $6 a gallon but she wasn't having it. I don't blame her. While it's sweet, it is not as creamy as whole cow's milk and it has a sort of soapy, irony flavor... besides all the other flavors that vary based on what I eat.

As mentioned above Abby is pretty much sleeping through mos of the night. From week one she pretty much had the 9pm, 1am, 5am night time feeding schedule. She is a little fussy sometimes to try to get back to sleep after the 1am one, but since I stopped changing her diaper at that one, which gets her really pissed off, she's going much easier. And after the 5am one I just bring her to bed with me and let her sleep on my chest cause I just can't resist the cuddling! I was waking her up every two hours during the day to eat in the beginning, but now I've moved to every 3 hours since she wasn't getting hungry enough to have a really good feeding anymore at 2 hours. She was back up to birth weight at a week old but I have no idea what she is now. Hopefully I can make it to the breastfeeding group one of these days to see how she is doing since she doesn't have another apt with the doctor for another month.

In addition to the angel kisses on her eyelids, I noticed some really big stork bites on the back of her neck and her head. Her dark ass hair was totally hiding them! We will see if her eyes turn brown - they have not done so yet! Although in some light they look brownish by the pupils to me. Her skin is for sure the dark skin though. She's not a big spit up baby which is nice. Or is that still coming? I admit it is really hard to remember all the stages from last time and I just don't have the time or effort to look everything up and be on top of it like with Rory. (I have no idea what the next milestone is and have no care about whether Abby is hitting it or not. lol. Is that wrong???)

Of other general updates in our lives. Blake and Alyssa's wedding in Vegas at Treasure Island was this weekend. It was so much fun and really nice. It was a small group - mostly close friends and family, about 65 people, which I think was perfect! We left Rory at home with my mom, which was perfect. There were for sure times when I missed her and would have liked to have her there, but so many others where I just would have been so overwhelmed. (Both Ryan and I were in the wedding ourselves so it was enough just to have an infant.) I got to have enough of my own fun, and only in Vegas can you party and take your kid with you most places. lol. And bonus cookies, I actually fit in my bridesmaid's dress. The main casualty was Ryan breaking out in full body hives (this is the second time this has happened to him) and having to pop 3 benedryl to stop the reaction. Guess we need to start carrying the epi-pen with us on travel too! Alyssa made a beautiful bride and is finally and officially a Cross woman!

On sad news, my mom has to get surgery on her shoulder. After months of physical therapy for an injury she sustained while playing with a horse, and plateauing with any further recovery, they finally referred her to ortho. He took one look at her and told her she had a ruptured rotator cuff, and needed an MRI and surgery to repair. Her MRI is today and the surgery is scheduled for later this month. This coupled with the crap her and Wayne are having to deal with in Oceanside is no bueno for them! (There was a fire a while back at one of the rental units in Oceanside and since the structures were built so long ago they are not up to date with permits and such, so its going to be a lot of time, work and money to get everything up to code and fixed). I feel terrible since she has helped us out SOOOOOO much with everything since Rory has been born, and I'm not really at a place right now were I can give back, although I would love to. (It would be so great to be able to have her stay with us during her surgery and nurse her back to health, and offer my time and labor with Oceanside - obviously not possible with me barely keeping my own household together and going back to work in less than 2 months.) So all I can do is offer her moral support and love and send happy thoughts her way for a positive outcome on everything. I do take comfort in knowing how much she loves the girls and the time she spends with us.

Well I have spent enough time on this post and I know there is more but my brain is fried and I have to go do the dishes and get something else accomplished for the day besides one blog post!