Photo Shoot!

So last week I had the pleasure of my sister-in-law's friend coming and doing a photo shoot with the kids. It only took about 30 minutes and Tatum was awake the entire time. It was really cool. She doesn't some awesome work! Her website is at Cardas Photography. You should check it out! Anyway, so far, she hasn't shown me all the photos yet, these are what we've got...
Anyway, I'm so glad they turned out. She does amazing fabulous work. Not that hard when my babies are so darn cute though! ;)

At least it's a good picture of Tatum...

I survived!

Well that wasn't so bad! Yesterday was my very first day on my own with 2 kids and no help. Tatum sleeps all the time, and only gets upset when she's hungry so I was able to focus most of my attention on Spencer. We only had one melt down that resulted in a time out & massive screaming (on Spencer's part, not mine). :)

We also went to Tatum's 2 week check up appointment. I know they say they want your baby to get back up to birth weight at 2 weeks, but my Tatum did that & then some. She was 9.4 at birth and yesterday she was 10.5! And she'd grown an inch! This is going by far too fast! And I feel like I'm missing out on it a little since she doesn't demand too much from me and I'm not sitting on the couch staring at her noticing every little change like I did when Spencer was born. :(

By the end of the day I was exhausted! But mostly because Tatum & Spencer didn't nap at the same time during the day and therefore I didn't get a nap. Not to mention my grunter of a baby is pretty loud all night and I don't get adequate sleep at night either. I'm working on it though. At least I don't feel like a total zombie like I did with Spencer. 2 is not so bad. In fact, I'm already thinking of adding another one... but not until Tatum is through the terrible two's phase!

What am I going to do?

So Tony has taken the week off to help me adjust to mommyhood and I cannot be more grateful. Spencer has gotten tons of Daddy time that he deserved & needed. And I've gotten a chance to really bond with my new baby girl. I am getting a little nervous for next week though. Going from having an extra set of hands to just me is nerve-wracking. I love my kiddos to death, but Spencer has been demanding a ton of attention and I'm really afraid I won't be able to give him all the attention he needs. Any ideas would be fantastic!


In true random fashion, here's a pic of us after a very long Mother's Day...

What was I thinking?

So it's funny how you wonder how you're going to do it with 2 kids... I was so worried how I'd be able to juggle having 2 kids. But now that Tatum is here, I wonder how I'm going to juggle Spencer! Tatum is so mellow, so quiet, so relaxed. But Spencer has taken Tatum's arrival as his free pass to get away with anything & everything. He loves his baby sister. He is constantly wanting to kiss her and hold her. But then he thinks that means he doesn't have to take a nap anymore. Or that he doesn't have to listen to what we say. He keeps trying to tell us what to do and when to do it. Now that I have baby number 2, how am I going to deal with baby number one? On a more positive note... check out how beautiful my baby is!

The Details...

I promised the details... so here they are...

I came into the hospital yesterday morning at 7am. I was hooked up and ready and received my dose of the devil around 8:30am. Contractions remained steady and strong all day. However, my body did not progress as much as I was hoping. By 1:15pm I was only to 3 cm. But my doctor gave the okay to get my epidural so she could break my water. Finally, at 3:30pm the doc broke my water. She checked me again at 6pm before heading home for dinner and I was only at 5 cm. I was so disappointed! It seemed like the process was taking forever!

But by 7pm I was starting to feel a ton of pressure and despite the epidural I was in pain! So my lovely nurse, Paula, decided to check & I had progressed to 7 cm. Not what I was hoping, but close. Within 20 minutes I found myself in tears from the pain of trying to hold the baby in. She checked & sure enough I was 9 1/2 cm. Paula called the doc, who lives only 7 minutes away... But the pain was absolutely terrible.

The nurses started talking about bringing the ER doc up in case mine didn't make it. But my amazing doctor knew that I was ready to push, so she hurried over here, and instead of waiting for the elevator, she ran up the stairs. Out of breathe she sat down & I was finally allowed to push. Four minutes later, yes you read that right, 4 minutes later, out came Tatum.

She seemed so much smaller than Spencer! But after cleaning her up, measuring & weighing her... She was 21 inches long (same as Spence) and 9 pounds 4 ounces! Smaller, but only by a pound. Not bad for being a week early! Good thing I got induced, or I would have given birth to another kindergartener! I don't know what my deal is. I guess I just like big babies. ;)

Tatum is beautiful though. She looks just like her big brother did when he was born, but she's my delicate flower. So far she is a very mellow baby. She nursed for over an hour and just sat & stared at me afterwards without crying. Last night she slept from 10-3 am and woke up without a peep. I didn't even realize she was awake until I turned the light on to find her eyes were open. She nursed another hour & a half and went back to sleep without fuss. The only reason I'm blogging right now is because she's still asleep but snoring! Not to mention I'm starving & the food service doesn't open until 7am! I can't wait for Spencer to wake up & get her to meet his brand new baby sister! I'll add more pictures of her later when she wakes up...

She's here!

Baby Tatum is here... But seeing as it's 11:47pm and I've been up since 5am... I'll be going to sleep now & you'll all just have to wait for pictures & details til tomorrow!

Epidurals are awesome.

I can't believe I went through natural childbirth when I could have done this. No but seriously everyone should go through childbirth naturally at least once... after that consider the epidural because it is lovely.

Anyway, just hanging out waiting for my waters to be broken.

I'm in labor.

This is weird. Pitocin is running through my veins, I'm having contractions, and hanging out in a hospital bed. It's not so bad thusfar. Not much happening. Thinking about taking a walk to maybe try & speed things along... Pain is not unbearable. But I'll check back in a few hours, since that is going to change!

Is this really happening?

Wow, it's been quite a while hasn't it? I've been on sort of a blogging hiatus. Lots has happened since last I posted... I suppose that is why a friend of mine suggested I start blogging again. I've got a lot on my mind right now and no outlet!

Tomorrow I will be going into the hospital to be induced. That's right, I'll be giving birth within the next 24 hours... And I'm freaking out!

A. This will be the very first time I will be away from my little man all day. Spencer has been my baby for 2 years, 6 months, 2 weeks & 2 days. I have never even left him over night! I know, sort of pathetic, but I've had no reason to leave him. And when I spend the night in the hospital, even though I KNOW he'll be fine, I won't be.

B. Have you ever given birth? If so, you know what awaits me. The pain, the agony, the head ripping through your you know what! It's lovely, really. And seeing as this time my doctor ahs chosen to induce (to avoid another 10+ pounder) there will be the devil there with me... His name, Pitocin! But alas, this time, hopefullly, there will be someone there to help... a nice guy named Epidural. Had I know I was going to have a crazy big baby, I would have invited him to my first birthing experience. But I've learned and he received an invitation months ago.

So anyway, please be praying & thinking of me tomorrow, as I bring another being into this world. And to all my friends & family, thank you for your support & love... Next time I see you, you'll be able to see little Tatum Eliza as well. Unless she comes out with a penis. Then you'll be meeting someone else entirely. ;)