We all have those days where it just feels like nothing is going to go right. It's just one thing after another. Generally you deal with it and move on the next day, but when you're having one of those days with a newborn and toddler in tow, it's a little harder to just move on.
This was Evelyn's first week not being in daycare full time. She went two mornings and was home with me the rest of the time. Generally when she's home with me we find places to go and people to see, but with Vivian it's a little harder to just get up and go right now. As a result, we've been at home most of the week, and Evelyn was getting a little stir crazy by yesterday. I had signed us up for a class at the library meant for toddlers this morning, and was actually really looking forward to it. Then I got an email yesterday saying that the class was cancelled this week. I was really bummed because I had planned for this, and knew Evelyn needed to get out of the house. Plus the weather was supposed to be crummy this morning, and the library would be a good place to go. Now I faced having to find something else to do.
I decided that we would head up to the Exton Mall playground instead. It's an easy place to get to, and Evelyn loves running around there. So I loaded everyone into the car and we headed to the mall. We got there before the stores opened and headed to the playground...which was closed for cleaning. I mean, seriously?? It's a rainy Friday morning and the playground is closed?? I wish I had counted the number of moms I passed with strollers and kids in tow just aimlessly wandering the mall. The look on all of their faces was exactly the same. It said, "What on earth am I going to do now??" It was going to be a solid 20 minutes before the stores opened, so Learning Express wasn't even open with the toys out to pass some time.
We continued to wander the mall for a few minutes until the toy store opened. About 3 minutes after it opened Evelyn pooped and Vivian started crying because she was hungry. I was going to let her play for a few minutes before taking her to be changed, but then I saw another mom checking her kid's diaper, and realized I couldn't wait. The smell was just too offensive to everyone around us. "Don't worry, it's my kid," I said to her. I then realized I seemed like the worst parent ever for not rushing her out the minute she was poopy. "I was just waiting a minute to make sure she was done," I continued.
"I totally get it! Nothing is worse than having to do a second diaper change!" She was either the nicest person ever and was trying to make me feel better, or she was a kindred spirit.
I hustled my kids out of the toy store and decided instead of carting them all the way across the mall to the bathroom with the changing station, I was just going to go into Sears and into a fitting room where I could change Evelyn and feed Vivian without needing to worry about having to use my hooter hider. The whole time Evelyn was talking about the playground opening soon. In my frustration I texted Steve. His brilliant response was to go to the Chick Fil A for lunch and the indoor playground there. BEST IDEA EVER!
Once I managed to get Evelyn away from the toy store and closed playground...AKA carried her out of the mall crying, we got back to the car. I opened the car door and asked her to climb into her seat while I took care of putting Vivian in and the stroller in the trunk. I got everything in and climbed in myself and started backing out. "MOMMY WAIT! Buckle seat!" O. M. G. Thank you God for somehow making my child understand how important it is for her carseat to be buckled.
I managed somehow to get us safely down to the Chick Fil A. And at that moment, our day took an amazing turn. I walked in, and suddenly people were taking care of us. I walked up to the counter and the very patient person waited for me to get my bearings, figure out my order, and find my wallet, chatting with Evelyn the whole time. Someone else insisted that I take the girls and go sit down and they would bring everything to us. Would I like someone to help me carry the carseat? Can I get you a highchair or booster seat? I thought you might like a bendy straw for your daughter's milk. Do you want paper placemats? It was awesome. I want to go back all the time because they were so incredibly nice and helpful, plus Evelyn just had a great time with the other kids on the playground. Forget the Exton Mall, we will be going to Chick Fil A for lunch on a regular basis.
Friday, April 17, 2015
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Vivian's Birth Day
I'm going to be totally honest. I was petrified to give birth the second time. Evelyn was NOT an easy delivery, and I was in pretty rough shape for quite a few weeks after she was born. To the extent that I seriously contemplated one and done after her arrival. And it's really not true what they say about you forgetting all about it after the baby comes. But, about a year after Evelyn was born we started discussing the possibility of another baby. I grew up with three siblings and Steve with one, and we decided we wanted Evelyn to grow up with a sibling. I still remembered everything about Evelyn's delivery, but we were going to go for it anyway.
So for the nine months leading up to Vivian's arrival, I was kind of obsessed with how big I was getting, what my exact due date was, and the possibility of being induced again. I didn't want to get too big because I was sure that was the cause for the rough delivery. I also didn't really want to be induced again. I went for a third trimester ultra sound and everything pointed to another large baby. The doctors I saw agreed that this was looking like a larger baby, but they didn't think it was going to be as big as Evelyn, who weighed in at 9 lbs. 4 oz. They also assured me that all deliveries are different. That a rough first delivery didn't mean anything when it came to the second. I was not convinced.
As my due date approached and passed, I prepared myself to be induced again. And as much as I didn't want to be induced, there is something really great about knowing the end is in sight and exactly when it will happen. I'm not generally the kind of person who needs things super planned out. I like a surprise (we didn't find out what either of our babies were going to be), I like to be spontaneous, but when it comes to giving birth I really needed to know when it was going to happen. Which makes no sense when I say how badly I did not want to have to be induced.
But there we were, on March 25, heading to the hospital for my induction. Surprisingly I slept pretty well the night before, despite being a hot mess about what was about to happen the next day. I was absolutely petrified, even more so than the first time. At that point I think my worries were more about what this meant for Evelyn than what I was about to go through. We made a stop to drop her off at school, and that's when I lost it. I wouldn't even walk in. I gave her a kiss through the window and Steve walked her in.
After a stop for coffee for Steve and Kelly (my personal labor and delivery nurse), and a donut for me, we arrived at the hospital. I was still very anxious, but my favorite doctor was on call, and I knew that between her and Kelly, they would make a plan that was best for me. Things got started, and I was surprised that I didn't start having contractions pretty quickly, as I did with Evelyn. I was convinced nothing was happening and in my head I was now preparing for a C-section since it didn't seem like this baby was going to come at all.
Surprisingly, I was actually dilating and after a few hours things really started moving. My contractions started quick and I got an epidural. Suddenly I was 10 cm dilated. I then prepared myself for hours of pushing, which is what happened with Evelyn. The nurse had me do a push just to see what would happen, and almost immediately told me to stop and called for the doctor. About 4 pushes and less than five minutes later, Vivian Marie had arrived. She was 8 lbs. 10 oz., and just a little bit longer than her big sister at 20 3/4 inches. I was absolutely shocked! The doctors were right...each delivery is completely different.
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So for the nine months leading up to Vivian's arrival, I was kind of obsessed with how big I was getting, what my exact due date was, and the possibility of being induced again. I didn't want to get too big because I was sure that was the cause for the rough delivery. I also didn't really want to be induced again. I went for a third trimester ultra sound and everything pointed to another large baby. The doctors I saw agreed that this was looking like a larger baby, but they didn't think it was going to be as big as Evelyn, who weighed in at 9 lbs. 4 oz. They also assured me that all deliveries are different. That a rough first delivery didn't mean anything when it came to the second. I was not convinced.
As my due date approached and passed, I prepared myself to be induced again. And as much as I didn't want to be induced, there is something really great about knowing the end is in sight and exactly when it will happen. I'm not generally the kind of person who needs things super planned out. I like a surprise (we didn't find out what either of our babies were going to be), I like to be spontaneous, but when it comes to giving birth I really needed to know when it was going to happen. Which makes no sense when I say how badly I did not want to have to be induced.
But there we were, on March 25, heading to the hospital for my induction. Surprisingly I slept pretty well the night before, despite being a hot mess about what was about to happen the next day. I was absolutely petrified, even more so than the first time. At that point I think my worries were more about what this meant for Evelyn than what I was about to go through. We made a stop to drop her off at school, and that's when I lost it. I wouldn't even walk in. I gave her a kiss through the window and Steve walked her in.
After a stop for coffee for Steve and Kelly (my personal labor and delivery nurse), and a donut for me, we arrived at the hospital. I was still very anxious, but my favorite doctor was on call, and I knew that between her and Kelly, they would make a plan that was best for me. Things got started, and I was surprised that I didn't start having contractions pretty quickly, as I did with Evelyn. I was convinced nothing was happening and in my head I was now preparing for a C-section since it didn't seem like this baby was going to come at all.
Surprisingly, I was actually dilating and after a few hours things really started moving. My contractions started quick and I got an epidural. Suddenly I was 10 cm dilated. I then prepared myself for hours of pushing, which is what happened with Evelyn. The nurse had me do a push just to see what would happen, and almost immediately told me to stop and called for the doctor. About 4 pushes and less than five minutes later, Vivian Marie had arrived. She was 8 lbs. 10 oz., and just a little bit longer than her big sister at 20 3/4 inches. I was absolutely shocked! The doctors were right...each delivery is completely different.
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