Time Flies...

...when you're raising babies. Or should I say 'rearing'? In the words of my 5th/6th grade teacher Mrs. Bollinger, "You raise chickens. You rear children." Anyway...2 months have flown by!

Miss Reese had her 2 mo. check-up on Friday, as well as her first round of shots :(
She is exactly 12 lbs. and a whopping 23.5 inches! Which puts her in the 75th% for both! She handled her first shots like a pro and only screamed for a few seconds. Big brother Madden was there for moral support :)

Other stats:
~Still in size 1 diapers
~Size 3 mo. clothes
~She makes the cutest noises: coos, grunts, and she will even sing with you!
~Her curly hair is still there and growing!
~She looks super cute in tights :)
~Madden LOVES her...for now! ;) If you ask him if he loves his sissy, he gives a BIG nod 'yes'.
~She has had one major blowout, which of course happened not at home, but while we were at Alamo Cafe! It was a 6 wipey-change clothes-kind of mess! (Only a mommy would smile while typing that!)
~She is a sleeping BEAUTY!

Grandmommy and I took pics of her and since I don't have time to post those here, you can check a few of them out on her website www.reparker.shutterfly.com

more on rearing these babies later! Pin It

One Month!

Miss Reese is ONE month old (and 2 days)!!!

Interesting facts:
~She is approx. 9lbs 10oz. and 21 1/2 in. She gains about an ounce a day! Although I'm not sure how, seeing as she spits up what seems like everything she just ate, at almost every "meal". :/
~She has a brand new cousin: Harleigh Katheryne, born yesterday Jan. 23, who weighs 9lbs 7oz and is 22 in.!!! I guess the race is on! :)
~Wearing size 1 diapers
~Still wears 0-3 mo. clothes! Although I put her in a 3-6 month sleep and play outfit the other day, and it fit (length wise)! ahh!
~Slept in her cradle last night for the first time and did great! She usually sleeps in her moses basket, on the bed, next to me.
~Sleeps on her belly, just like big brother Madden used to!
~Is an awesome sleeper. I would tell you how awesome but I don't want to jinx it! :)
~Holds her head up fairly well
~Burps like her momma, toots like daddy :)
~Hates a wet/dirty diaper, unless she is asleep. Then apparently it doesn't bother her all that much!
~Loves to be held up on my shoulder, not cradled like a baby. (Madden was the same way--my children like to think they are older than they are!)
~Not a huge fan of tummy time

There is so much more to this little buttercup! She is just wonderful, and Madden loves her to pieces! He gives her kisses everyday, puts her paci in her mouth when it falls out and if he finds one sitting around, he thinks it is necessary to give it to her! He loves to look at her and is going to be the best big brother ever!

I love my 2 babies more than anything! 

Here are a few pics from her One Month Photo shoot! Enjoy!

    Pin It

Jumbled Mess

Everyday, I go to my blog with every intention of typing something..anything...and well, nothing. nada. zilch.
And even now as I sit here typing, I can't piece together what it is that I want to post! Trust me, with a toddler and a newborn, I have the material!
AhHa...something has wiggled out of my brain!

People always ask "Who does she look like? You or Matthew?" My response "Madden!". The first time I saw her that's all I could think, "Oh my goodness! She looks just like her brother!"

Madden

Reese

 

 

 

HA! It's crazy to me how much she looks like Madden! They have the same facial expressions, the shape of their legs are the same, they have the same cute button nose...I think it's wonderful! Some differences: 1.While Reese has the "Hickman lips" she likes to suck in her bottom one, but when she gets mad it definitely comes out!
2. She has beautiful curly hair!
3. She spits up way more than Madden did :(
4. Her feet are perfectly tiny! Madden had monster feet and super long arms!

It's hard to believe she will 4 weeks old on Thursday! Time seems to fly when I read that, but in reality, it feels like we're in slow motion! Not sure if that makes sense, but I also don't know any other way to put it! :/
Brain mush has now taken over, so to avoid confusing all of you with my own stream of consciousness, I will end with some more pics from Miss Reese's photoshoot! :)

Pin It

Happy New Year! Reese's Birth Story

Reese Elizabeth Parker

She is here and today, 10 days old! Reese was born on December 22 @ 1:03pm. Her entrance to the world was definitely grand to say the least!
Let's back track to my 38 week Dr. appointment...

Tuesday, December 13 (which also happened to be my birthday :)) My doctor asked me if I wanted her to put me on the list to be induced the next week. I immediately said "No" and that she [Reese] can come whenever she decided to. I went home and talked to my mom about it, and then really started thinking about the idea of inducing. I did some research on the computer, talked to Matthew about it, and was still leaning towards no induction. However, I did not rule it out completely. I have several friends who were induced and had no problems at all, and the only negative things from my research were women who were not planning on epidurals or any other drugs. I, on the other hand, was definitely getting an epidural, so the concerns these other women had did not pertain to me!

After much thought and discussion, the idea began to be appealing. Reasons being: 1) With Madden, although he started to come on his own, the only way he actually came was because the Dr. induced me (broke my water and started pitocin)
2) I would for sure get the epidural when I wanted it because I would already be admitted to the hospital!--unlike 16 hours into labor with Madden
3) MY Dr. would actually be there!
The main reason for us deciding to induce is #1--my labor, once induced, was very quick and painless (thank you epidural!) and necessary when all was said and done!
So I called my Dr. and let her know we did in fact want to be induced and on the list we went! :)
With the date set, I had my next appointment the following Monday, Matthew came with me so that we could talk to the Dr. more about the induction and decide if we were really sure. As it turned out I was already 4cm dilated! I wasn't 4 cm with Madden until about 20 hours into it! This made me feel even better about our decision--I had read that if you induce and are not dilated, you could run the risk of having to have a c- section.
Thursday, December 22, 5:30 am- Matthew, Mom, and I head to the hospital. The Doctor came in, checked me, started the pitocin, broke my water, and said Reese should be here by lunchtime!
Noon came around and I had not made any progress. I was laying there listening to her heartbeat on the monitor and all the sudden it was not beeping as fast. I asked Matthew to look at the screen and tell me what her heart rate was, he said it had dropped and was around 85 bpm. All at once, about 8 nurses came into the room, and immediately started moving me around and gave me all sorts of shots and stopped the pitocin, trying to get her heart rate back up. It eventually came back up. At this point I was starting to cry and worrying about Reese. The nurses began talking, saying the Dr. is on her way and to prep me for a c-section. I started crying. "This is not how it was supposed to all happen!" was all I could think! My Dr. came in and assured me it would be ok, but that because the baby's heart rate dropped so low and I wasn't progressing like I should have been, that there was something wrong and she needed to get her out.
They quickly prepped me for surgery and gave Matthew some scrubs. The anesthesiologist talked me through what was about to happen, and it actually helped a lot, knowing what to expect.
It turns out the cord was wrapped around her neck and shoulder. Which is why her heart rate dropped and also why I wasn't progressing anymore--every time I had a contraction and her head should have been moving down, the cord wouldn't let her--the Doctor described it like she was on a bungee  cord!
It wasn't the ideal situation, but necessary. As I think about it more and more, I am thankful that we had decided to induce. What if we hadn't and the cord was still around her neck? There are so many What ifs? But by God's grace Reese is here, perfectly healthy, beautiful and wonderful!
After a couple days in the hospital, we were all able to go home late Christmas Eve.

Great Grandmother holding Reese- 3 days old!

My grandparents, Aunt Becky and Uncle Gene, Cousin Geoff, Emilie, Graham and Lucy, along with Jenn, Kat, and Matt were all at the house for Christmas Day celebrations! I spent most of the day laying down :( Recovery from a c-section is long and painful. I am just now starting to feel a little better and able to move around more.

Best Christmas Present Ever!

New Year's Eve 2011: My parent's celebrated 39 years of marriage! They truly are an amazing example of love and commitment. We were able to celebrate with them at dinner, and then being the crazy party animals that we are--went home! Where we put Madden to sleep, watched a movie, and fell asleep before midnight :)
Madden is slowly but surely warming up to Reese. He gave her a kiss this morning on the forehead! He is such a great big brother! I can't wait till I can pick him up again!! Only about 5 more weeks :( That is probably the hardest part of recovery--I can't pick up my sweet boy.

Madden meets Reese

Madden with Reese at home--So sweet! 

Well now that I have written a novel, I have to feed Reese!!!! Matthew and I are so blessed! Happy New Year! Pin It

And her name is....

Reese Elizabeth Parker!!!

Matthew and I are happy to finally announce her name! She already has plenty of nicknames (thanks to my granddad) such as: Reese Piece, Buttercup, and my granddad's favorite--Sparky.  We actually had several other names picked out for a baby girl, none of which were Reese or Elizabeth, but Matthew and I both really liked the name Reese, and Elizabeth is my Sister Kat's middle name as well as my granddad's mother's name. And there you have it!
I was 30 weeks in this pic. I made the blocks with: 2" wooden blocks, super cute scrapbook paper, and glue! I was really excited with how they came out!

I am 31 weeks today...we are now in single digit weeks with 9 left! Mom and I started making her crib skirt today--my first "real" sewing project with many more to come, I'm sure! It is going to be super cute! I will post pics of the finished product.  

We are so excited to meet Miss Reese Elizabeth in December!!!
Here are a few more pics...

 

Pin It

30 weeks!

It's hard to believe that I only have 10 weeks left--if that! I am posting pics of our pumpkin patch adventure to facebook this very moment. So make sure to check those out. Madden loved it!
Also, I will be revealing baby girl Parker's name later today! I was planning on doing it Friday when I was officially 30 weeks, but we were at Matthew's family reunion at The Heart of Texas Lake Resort on LBJ.
The reunion was fun. Madden had a blast! There was a TON of food and I'm pretty sure I gained about 6 pounds (just a guess--I don't make it a point to step on a scale these days!) I met all sorts of Matthew's family members (as did he!). I took a few pics of Matthew and Madden on the swing set and will try to get to those later. That's about it for now--stay tuned for Baby Girl's name! Pin It

The Final Stretch

First, I must say Happy 17 months to Mr. Madden! I cannot believe he will 18 months a.k.a. 1 year & a half next month! He is my hilarious, adorable, energetic, awesome little man!
Currently, he is working on teething his molars and a few other little teeth. One molar is already in! This makes him a little cranky some days, but apparently also very tired. He has always been a great sleeper (12 hours/ night) but recently he has been sleeping for about 14hrs/night and taking about a 2hr. nap!

The last weekend in Sept. Mom, Madden and I journeyed to Dallas to see Kat and go to a consignment sale. We got some great things for Madden, Baby girl Parker, and baby girl Grahn! Last week there was a sale in Boerne, so Mom, Madden, and I decided to go. Couple of things:
1. Kendall County Fairgrounds=no AC= HOT!
2. Madden does not like to stay in his stroller anymore=chasing him around KCF while trying to shop=EXHAUSTING!
Madden is FAST! Lesson Learned.

On to Baby Girl Parker--
We are now officially in the 3rd trimester! Which means:
-I now go to the Dr. every 2 weeks, and...
-there are less than 12 weeks/82 days till she's due!!!

I've been thinking about this for a while now, but there are definitely differences in carrying a boy vs. a girl.
1. Cravings- they say that when you are having a boy you crave salty snacks/food, verdict- TRUE. And with a girl, you crave sweets. Def. TRUE! I want/NEED something chocolate everyday--even if it's only a few choc. chips! Crazy.
2. The "way" you carry them- With boys, most women carry out in front and lower, and generally when looking at them from the back, you would never know they were pregnant! With girls, it is said, most women carry them higher and out the sides! The higher part--i dont know, I can't tell the difference this time. However, this little miss is def. side to side! I can feel the difference.

At the moment those are the only differences I can think of/remember. Baby brain is clearly inevitable--boy or girl!


(I was going to insert a few pics but apparently things have changed in blogger and I will have to do it in another post :( bummer.)

So with that said, Yay for Madden growing up (even though I wish he wouldn't do it so fast) and Yay for the last trimester! Baby Girl's name will be released soon!

Till next time! Pin It