Welcome Baby Haddie!

Well, after a week of making us wait past our due date, Haddie finally made her grand entrance!

Hadley Orella Lastick

Born December 8, 2011

@ 7:15pm

5 lbs 12 oz and 18 1/2 inches long

For anyone who doesn't want details of the delivery, stop reading now...! I went into the doctor on Thursday morning for my 41 week check up. They talked about risks to the baby if I were to wait longer to deliver naturally, but I was still on the fence because I did not like the idea of being induced. After they did an ultrasound to check fluids and checked baby's heart rate, they told me my placenta was no longer functioning properly and I needed to head to the hospital immediately to be induced. There were many tears, but it was beyond my control and I knew it was best for our baby girl to listen to the doctor and head in. We made an appointment for noon that day, packed up and headed over to the hospital. I cried the entire way home and was a bit of a basket case... just not what I had "planned". We waited 3 hours at the hospital, hooked up to monitors, before they had a doctor who could see me and begin the induction. They checked my cervix and I was only 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced--not very much progressed at all. They told me I would get a dose of cytoxin every 4 hours for 16 hours, and this would soften my cervix to prepare it for labor. After that they would administer pitocin to kick my body into labor. So... we were thinking hours/days until she arrived. 2 hours after they gave me the first dose of cytoxin, I started getting contractions, fast and furious, every 2-3 minutes lasting 1-1 1/2 minutes each. They were so intense, I asked to walk around but they still had to monitor baby. They hooked me up to a portable monitor so I could sit on the ball & move around to deal with the pain better. The nurses and doctors were all so busy--1 doc to deal with 10 women in labor. So I was at the bottom of the totem pole since they thought I'd have at least 16 hours till I went into labor. The charge nurse kept whisking in and out, telling me I was only having cramping, I was not in labor. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! I had a few choice words swirling around in my head for her... I was definitely in labor, no question. After 15 minutes of moving around she blew in again and told me I had to lie down b/c she couldn't get a good read on baby with the portable monitor. She hooked me up in bed and had me lie on my side. It got so intense and painful all I could do was yell out for someone to please help me. The nurse then saw that I was having actual contractions on the monitor, but she still said it could be false labor, etc. Baby was fine on the monitor but the nurse wouldn't let me get up out of bed to move around. After over an hour of this, and nearly breaking Tom's hand from squeezing s

o hard, the nurse asked if I wanted a pain medicine to "take the edge off". As much as I wanted a natural birth, I would do anything to avoid an epidural and c-section, so I accepted this at 6:30pm. Within minutes the pain in between contractions was manageable and I could breathe and relax for a minute... and I felt loopy, which was a welcome change. The contractions themselves were still awful, but the little break in between was so nice. Any guilt I had for taking something was gone because I knew I couldn't last for hours without it. At 7pm the drug wore off and I started to feel like baby was coming out. The charge nurse was no where to be found, nor was the doctor. A nurse checked my cervix again and sure enough, baby was ready to come out! The nurse told me not to push until the doctor could get in there (she was next door delivering another baby!). I was screaming that the doctor had better get in there because I was going to have to push! A couple of minutes she arrived, 4-5 pushes and out came our baby girl! Oh my goodness, I have never felt such relief! The pain/pressure finally subsided and I crashed. They dropped her on my chest, Tom cut the cord and that was that. Nothing else mattered! I took one look at her and we knew, she had to be Hadley Orella. We liked the name Hadley but had a couple of others picked out... Orella was Tom's Nonnie's name, and he wanted to somehow incorporate his father's name/family in there somewhere. It all just sounded great and it fit her. We spent a night in the hospital and were going to stay one more night, but around 5pm we realized we'd be more comfortable at home... so we checked out early (no medical concerns with myself or Haddie) and were home by 7pm.

The next few nights were rough, Haddie cluster fed all night long, pretty much non-stop but she was so calm and quiet about it. There was some concern on day 5 that she hadn't had any poop since we left the hospital, so the nurse came out to check that she was getting what she needed from me. My milk had come in but no idea how much she was getting... she weighed 6 lbs 1.5 oz six days after birth, which is amazing! Usually they only hope for babies to be up to their birth weight at 2 weeks old. We far surpassed that!

Harper is an amazing big sister! She and Tom are pushing each other's buttons a bit, but we're all tired and it's to be expected. But she is very gentle and cautious of Haddie. Memere is here and she's been taking Harper on special outings to the library, store and Butterfly Pavilion. Tom is off work until Monday, Memere leaves Tuesday. Not quite sure what we'll do after that... I'm definitely still weak, fatigued and sore. And nowhere near having the nursing thing "down". I know I'll be on my own at some point, but not quite ready yet... it will be interesting to see how it goes.

Haddie is very mellow at this point in comparison to Harper. I thought Harper was a very good baby, but she was feisty and never seemed to really settle. She was a great sleeper at night, and slept though the night early on, but she had other challenges. Haddie seems to have fallen into somewhat of a night routine. Feed around 8pm, 11pm, 3am, 6/7am. Roughly. Not too shabby. She's still not thrilled about being away from me (survival instinct) so no luck with her going down in the crib yet. She sleeps next to me for now, which is not ideal, but we'll do what it takes to get sleep at this point. Last night she was so hungry, and I seemed to have run out of milk, so Tom gave her a bottle I had pumped earlier in the day to "top her off". She took it, no problem, so soon Tom will do that 10/11pm feeding with a bottle so I can start off the night with some sleep... we shall see...

Stay tuned as we move through this new adventure!!!

Three, Kauai, Big girl bed, First snow, Halloween & baby!

Wow, it is beyond time for a big update post! We've had so much going on I keep forgetting to write about it! Let's start w/ Harper's 3rd Birthday back in September... we rented a Princess bouncy castle for the day and a few of her little friends came to play and celebrate (Lily, Levi, Gracyn, Lola, Gillian & Garrett). What could be more fun than a few three year olds bouncing for hours, eating cake and playing in the sprinkler?! It was a great day and Harper had a blast sharing it with her closest pals.

To follow suit, Harper has suddenly turned into a "big girl".

She was 100% potty trained during the day last summer and oh-so-proud of herself! We've been introducing it for quite some time, but one day, she just decided it was time. And, miraculously, zero accidents. She's amazing!

We went to Kauai at the end of September for 10 days and had a blast--it was so fun to see Harper playing in the water, going on hikes (tough hikes too) and enjoying the tropical bliss. She was so good--on the plane, in restaurants, driving all over and being a super star. She also flawlessly transitioned into a big girl bed while we were there. They had a pack & play in the condo, but also a guest room bed and she asked to sleep in the "big girl bed"... so we let her and she did great. She stayed in bed, slept and was great for bedtime and naps. Amazing. She is so great about adapting to changes... it blows us away every time. She would also get up in the morning and use the big potty all by herself before she came into our room. Some fun things we did in Kauai: gecko hunting (Harper is amazing at catching them!), fun kid friendly beaches, lighthouse, farmer's markets, beach trips every single day (sometimes twice), hikes, pool, fun dinners out, cooking in the condo, Tom got to golf and I got a massage. Ah. Our most favorite place on earth did not disappoint this time around and was actually MORE fun with Harper in tow!

When we got home, Aunt Karen helped set up Harper's big girl beds in her room. She now has 2 twin beds that will eventually stack into bunk beds. She was SO excited and squealed with delight when she saw them for the first time. She's done an amazing job settling into her new bed... a few missed naps, but she stays in bed like a good girl. Over the past 2 weeks we seem to be back on the nap train. She definitely still needs them & is a bit of a mess when she skips one. We'll keep going with them, and days she can't sleep she at least reads & does quiet time in her room. I love how much a three year old can comprehend and understand--setting limits and consequences is much easier when they get it.

We got a big snow storm toward the end of October and Harper absolutely loves playing in the snow. It's fun this year to get her all dressed up to go romp around the yard. Unfortunately, our trees took a toll with the heavy wet snow falling on the leaves, but we all pitched in and helped cut and drag the limbs away (Tom did most of it, but Harper was happy to help for a little while).

And what was our little princess for Halloween? Why, Cinderella of course!!! One day, Harper said, "Mom, you know how Pam calls Lily bean?" (Lily is Harper's little 3yo buddy), "Well, can you call me candy corn?" So, we started calling her candy corn instead of punkin', monkey, sweetie and all the other random names I seem to come up with... now, that nick name has evolved into "Princess Cinderella Candy Corn" per her request. Oye. That's a mouth full, but she will correct you if you shorten it to candy corn.

For Halloween we took Harper to the Munchkin Masquerade on Pearl Street--such a great event, where the stores on the pedestrian mall give out candy to the kids during daylight hours. A great alternative to night time Trick or Treating... but we did both. Lily, Pam & Mark came with us to visit our neighbors... the girls filled their pumpkins with tons of candy and they ended up weighing more than the girls themselves! It was Harper's first time Trick or Treating in Colorado (we were in MA last year) and she had a blast!

Harper is also now 100% potty trained--day and night. She got to pick out new big girl undies as a reward for being dry at night for 2 weeks (princess of course!). She had 1 accident the first night in her undies, but none since. So another 2 weeks of dry nights. I think she had to have the 1 accident to figure it out, but she's going great. She's still a little peanut, but is trying new foods, having full on conversations, asking "why?" all the time and learning a lot! She knows almost all of the letters of the alphabet out of order, and can write about 10-12 of the letters on her own. It's so fun to watch her learn and develop! She's still in daycare with Jackie Tues & Thurs and that is still going great. We apply to Boulder Valley Preschools today--it's a lottery--and find out in February if we got in. What will be Harper's Elementary School (Douglass) just added a pre-school starting in Sept 2012, so we're hoping to get her in there. 4 mornings a week for a really good price. Can't beat that!

Baby news--I am now officially 40 weeks pregnant and READY for this baby girl to arrive. I'm really hoping it happens on its own, rather than being induced... I keep thinking it's happening, then nothing. I had the flu all week and I'm just starting to recover and feel like I'd have the energy should this baby arrive. At the last ultrasound 2 weeks ago her estimated weight was 6 lbs 14 oz. That's a good size, she can come out now. (:

Stay tuned for more posts when baby does decide to arrive...