Week without Grandma

Well, Grandma and Granddad are gone, as I mentioned previously, but we've gotten along pretty well. Kathleen got here on Tuesday and is staying until tomorrow, so I've had some help the middle part of this week. I had my postpartum visit with my OB and my followup with my internist on Tuesday and Wednesday, and those appointments went pretty well. Caroline and I also got a chance to follow up with my lactation consultant, and I got to see that she is gaining weight and getting a much better intake of milk, since her frenectomy. In fact, Christina, the LC, is thinking about using Caroline as a case study for a conference in May that she is presenting out about the difference before and after her frenulum was clipped. So, she may be a celebrity yet. Now that she's starting to fill out a little, I've gotten to dip into some of the different adorable outfits that I've had waiting for her. Here are a couple of my favorites from the week:

We're really looking forward to Mark and Hanna's visit this weekend! The boys are especially. It's always a good time!

We Love Grandma!

Grandma (my mom) has stayed with us for 2 1/2 weeks - and she has been a god-send (and she leaves tomorrow :( ). She has kept me sane, cared for the baby when I was unable, loved on and spoiled the boys, supported Scott, helped the house and laundry stay under control, chauffered me to various places when I was not allowed to drive, bought the kids some spring clothes, took some night feedings so that we could get some desperately needed sleep, filed Caroline's talons and helped bathe her, planned a "Mud Day" with the boys, and NEVER complained once. She is a saint. And Granddad (my dad) is a saint for sharing her so long with us. He never complained to me about it, even though it was unexpectedly longer than it was supposed to be, and he went a long time without his wife. We will certainly have an adjustment to make when they leave tomorrow, but we're much better prepared for the future than we were a week ago - what a difference a week makes! We can't wait to see them again soon.

Dress Up Time!

We got Caroline dolled up in her first dress today - and she stayed awake the whole time and even smiled at me twice (although she was on the way to dreamland, so it was more of a fluke!). Here are some pictures of her in pretty bows and dresses.

Weekend at Home

Well, our weekend is almost over, and Caroline is 1 1/2 weeks old already! She's still a great night time sleeper, and pretty sweet all the way around. My blood pressure is still bad, and the anxiety isn't great either, but I'm hoping this week will bring relief for both. Here are some pictures from our weekend, including the much-anticipated visit from Kelley and Matt. Tomorrow is her first pediatrician visit, so we'll be praying for a rave review from Dr. Mac!

At Home and Prayers

Well, we are two days into being home, and Caroline herself is doing great. She is eating well, sleeping well, pooping well, all of the things that a baby is supposed to do. The boys are loving having her here. Last night was the first night that she had a little bit of fussiness, but we are SURE it's because she's been taking in a little bit of my blood when nursing, as she doesn't quite have her latch down, but we're working on that. Her tummy was pretty upset last night and she wanted all of us to know that. Other than that little bump in the road, she is a pretty easy baby....so far. We feel so blessed to have her in our family and in our lives.

I have been struggling though, with my "normal" post partum issues. Normal as in, I've had some degree of post partum blood pressure struggles and severe anxiety with all three babies. As far as the blood pressure, this one has been the worst. The numbers that I got on my monitor at home yesterday are higher than the ones that got me readmitted to the hospital last time. I called my internist, and he told me to take another round of my medication and he would see me today - I don't think that he was as alarmed as I was, and he's the professional, so I trust him. The numbers are down a bit today, which is encouraging, so we'll see what the dr. says. I'm SO hoping to avoid rehospitalization. UPDATE: Just got back from the doctor, and he wants to give the upped dosage of medication another day, so he sent me home with a monitor that stays on my arm and takes my pressure at different times, and then I'll go back tomorrow and re-evaluate. If that doesn't work, he wants to put me on a diuretic, but then I would have to stop breastfeeding, and I DON'T want that. So please pray for me that the medicine will kick in, and that my anxiety would stay at bay for the sake of my whole family. Mom just felt like she couldn't leave me yesterday, as planned, and so now she's here for the long haul (this week and all of next week). I love her for so many reasons, but she's so sacrificial with her time and energy, and that is something I admire so much.

We did decide to get out a bit yesterday, hoping to improve my mood and maybe my blood pressure (didn't work, but it was fun). We took them all to the park, and the boys flew a kite and rode bikes, while Caroline and I hung out and watched. Here are a couple of pictures from this first part of the week:

She's Here!

Caroline Laura Cummings was born today on Thursday, March 5th, at 1:11 pm. She was 7 lbs, 10 oz, and 19 inches long. She has dark brown wavy hair and blue eyes. She is doing great, and I am too. Thanks for all of your prayers! We'll post more pictures later.

Last Pregnant Pose - 40 weeks!

Being my last pregnancy (right?), I did feel an itch to preserve the memory of my largesse for my children to see, and for Scott and I to reminisce about, because after all, I have always loved being pregnant, and I'm going to miss it! But, this belly is one for the books - not necessarily because of its size, but its weird pointy shape.....kind of gives me the creeps - but nevertheless, I needed to freeze the picture for posterity. I did do everyone the kindness of keeping it under wraps, but here it is, in all of its blue and white toile glory.......