Happy Baby

Seven weeks old already!! I love that she is starting to smile more and more. Such fun to see her little personality starting to emerge!!  

So...we were out running errands yesterday and, wonder of wonders, BOTH kids fell asleep in the car. It was a warm, sunny day, perfect for an ice cream cone (and no munchkin to share it with since Jake was passed out in the back seat!). We pulled into Culver's (great frozen custard) and wouldn't you know it, Jacob wakes up and says, "What's for dinner?" Sad that my soon-to-be three-year-old already recognizes a restaurant by nothing more than the outside of the building. We purchased a couple of sundaes and told him that we'd share them when we got home. I had to feed the baby as soon as we got in the house, so I stuck my ice cream in the freezer and Jacob and Brian sat down at the table to share the other one. Jake can keep up with the best of 'em when it comes to ice cream, and all too quickly the boys were scraping  the bottom of the sundae cup. Jake's response to the ice cream predicament? "Where's Mommy's ice cream?" I'm still laughing. :)

One Month

The final five weeks of my pregnancy lasted forever (and I say five weeks because Makenna decided to stay inside an extra week!). The last five weeks with baby have absolutely flown. It's hard to believe that my sweet Makenna has already been with us for five weeks. How much I remember of the last month or so is another story, however. I swear my brain is made of swiss cheese. Its amazing how a person can function with such broken sleep, night after night, at least as far as doing what is absolutely necessary. Feed, clothe, and diaper my children; that I can handle. It might be that Jake eats cereal for dinner and stays in his pajamas all day long (which he would prefer everyday if I let him!) but it gets the job done. My house is a disaster and my husband would surely prefer a savory chicken tikka masala to whatever I can find in the freezer that hasn't been around for a year, but again, hot dogs are better than cold cereal.
I surely look forward to longer stretches of sleep at night (she's doing better in that department), and having two children who are happy and content with their position as a beloved child in the Miller family (Jake's having a hard time right now). Its a matter of striving to find the definition of new normal in our home and daily routine (to which there is no routine right now) and taking it one day at a time.

**There are more pictures of the first week than the entire first month combined (thanks mostly to Nana's camera) but here are some of the lasts four.**

Sound asleep--so sweet!



Hold me too!

Tummy time--Jake likes it, Makenna does not.

The Week in Pictures

  

  

 

Sweet Baby Girl

Makenna Brooklyn Miller

May 6, 2011 7:43 am

8lbs 5 oz

It was the middle of the summer in 2008, hot and humid, and I was overdue with my son Jacob. I was done being pregnant and rather than wait for my body to do its job on its own, we opted to induce labor. I went into the hospital on a Wednesday evening and anticipated having a baby sometime within the next 24 hours. Afterall, I knew of no one who experienced a problem with an induction; it was just supposed to speed up the process. Forty hours later, I had dilated to a two. Even worse, my baby was not reacting well to the pitocin and, ultimately, he was born via cesarean section that afternoon. It was Friday, July 11, 2008.
For me, recovering from surgery was a long and difficult process. I started out with many hours of painful labor and no sleep working against me; and I'm sure having a demanding, nursing newborn was a big factor, too. But it still took me a long time to feel like myself again. When we found out I was pregnant last summer, I made sure that my OB/GYN was onboard with the idea of a vbac (vaginal birth after cesarean). Not only did I not want to be cut open again, I really wanted the opportunity to experience the birthing process, pain and all.
Though I've definitely been more fatigued with this pregnancy (I'm sure Jake has a lot to do with that one), it's been relatively normal and uneventful. I have had no reason to believe that anything would prevent me from going into labor on my own. As my due date neared, my doctor began talking more and more about the statistics involved with a vbac, making sure that I understood that the longer labor progressed, the higher likelihood there would be for uterine rupture, and ultimately another c-section. And because the baby's environment begins to deteriorate the longer she's in there, he wouldn't let me go past 41 weeks. If I was at all dilated, he could induce me (strip membranes or break my water); if not, it would need to be a scheduled c-section.
Today is Thursday, May 5th. I am 40 weeks and 5 days. Five days overdue. Every Monday for the last month when I've gone in for my scheduled appointment, the response has been the same: no dilation, no effacement. Essentially, no progress. And since 41 weeks is this Saturday, I am scheduled to have another cesarean section tomorrow morning. On the one hand, I'm glad to know when the end date to this pregnancy is. I'll no longer have to wonder if today might be the day, if I'll have to call my neighbor in the middle of the night to come over and be with Jacob while we go to the hospital. My baby will be here tomorrow morning, and then life can move on. On the other hand, I have to recover from major surgery, all the while taking care of a newborn and an almost 3 year old (which is a daunting thought, no matter how she gets here!). And, again, I miss out on the experience of giving birth.
Am I disappointed? Yes A little saddened? That too. In the end, though, I know what is most important--that Makenna arrives safely, that she's healthy. Tomorrow morning I begin what may be another long road to recovery; but tomorrow morning I also meet my daughter. And for that I am very grateful.

Easter

It didn't take Jacob very long to understand the concept of an Easter egg hunt (albeit indoors---it was snowing outside!)