Season of Life

I love the TLC Show "Nineteen Kids and Counting."  If you are not familiar with it, it's about the Duggar Family that has 19 children.  The mom, Michelle, recently found out that it is highly unlikely that she will be able to conceive another child.  She is coming to terms with this and has said many times that the baby season of life is over for her.  She has also said that she is looking forward to other seasons in life like seeing her children become adults, weddings, and more grand babies.  She is embracing the next season God is giving her.  I really get a lot of insight from this program.

I realized a few weeks ago that my season of life has changed.  Having a baby is such a blessing, but also an enormous responsibility.  Now that we have 2 kids, I am beginning to see the ginormous responsibility that we have been given.  Don't get me wrong, life did change when we had Lorena but I did feel like I could pretty much still do everything and have some sort of a social life.  I'm now outnumbered by the girls and it is a bit overwhelming.  I'm really trying to embrace my current season of having babies.  This is such a good season but a difficult season as well!  My mother-in-law always told me that "the baby years" are very challenging and I'm beginning to think she was spot on.  

Ida is almost 6 weeks old.  We are still trying to establish a routine for the girls.  Ida is a wonderful sleeper so far.  She sleeps for 7-8 hours at night now which is awesome right?  I shouldn't be tired but I am.  I think being a Mom is just going to be tiring for the rest of my life.  Now that she has been with us for a while, it's really sinking in to me about how different life is with two kids.  It was cute and challenging trying to balance a newborn and toddler at first but now it is frustrating and exhausting.  I find myself not "liking" Lorena as much.  I know that sounds bad, but I'm just being honest.  I think all Moms must go through this right?  She is just constantly pushing my buttons.  Lorena is either climbing on me, climbing on tables, taking the bottle out of Ida's mouth, basically doing anything bad to get attention.  She wants to be held all the time (she never even wanted this much as a baby!).  I left the room for 2 seconds at one point and came back to find Lorena dragging Ida across the floor by her feet.  When I made her stop, she tried to hit Ida with a fly swatter!  It's just hard (and impossible) to be in two places at once.  I try to balance my time between the two girls but I feel like my brain is going in too many directions at once.  There are some times that make it all worth it. Whether it is putting Lorena's hair in pig tails, hearing her say "cow" when we drive by the feed lot, or seeing her wave at a diesel truck because she thinks it's her daddy...these times are still wonderful with her.

Dan's current season of life is farming.  Dan's been working with hay the past week and getting ready for wheat harvest.  It seems like he is constantly busy on the farm.  I know he loves the responsibility and thrives on it but it is hard on me when he gets home after 9:30 p.m. most nights.  I know this too shall pass but for farm wives it is basically our lot in life some seasons.

I start back to work on Monday so maybe that's why I have been analyzing life so much!  Part of me is ready to go back but part of me is not.  I will let you know how it all works out next week in my post about going back to work.

~Lydia

Settling In

It's June 20th and Ida is over a month old already.  She will be five weeks tomorrow.  You probably know that I'm going to say "it's gone by way too fast" but it really has.  I can't believe I only have one more week left of maternity leave.  I work for a great company that offers 6 weeks paid leave for a regular delivery.  I could also take 6 more weeks of unpaid leave.  However, my job is busiest this time of year and I know I am needed back in the field.  It's been a rough year for wheat in Central KS.  I have heard the average will be in the 20s throughout most of the area but we will just have to wait until the combines start rolling.  Poor crops mean heavy claim loads for adjusters like me.  I don't really mind being busy but it will be interesting heading back to work with a 22 month old and 6 week old.

Ida has been a great baby so far.  She slept for 3-4 hour stretches when we brought her home.  At about 2 weeks old she would sleep for 5-6 hour stretches at night, usually from 11-5.  For the past week she has been sleeping from around 11-6:30!  I know I shouldn't be so tired but I still am.  Unfortunately we have been passing around a cold, sinus, cough, congestion sort of sickness since Ida was born.  Dan, Lorena, and I have been on antibiotics twice.  We also have all had viral infections.  Now Ida has a cold and a cough.  Lorena went to the ENT this week.  We are getting her tested for allergies.  We thought she may need her tonsils out but the ENT didn't think it was necessary just yet.  It will be nice when we are all well.  I am nursing/pumping for Ida and supplementing with formula.  I think I'm making a bit more milk than I did with Lorena but I'm still falling short.  It has been nice to have the nursing relationship with Ida because I didn't have that with Lorena.

Ida was only in newborn clothes and diapers for 2 weeks.  She is now filling out 3 month clothes and size 1 diapers rather nicely.  She is awake more during the day and her neck is getting much stronger.

3 weeks old

5 weeks old

We have had a ton of visitors the past few weeks.  We baptized Ida June 7.  Aunt Kate and Uncle Jeremy Olson are Ida's sponsors.

Look at cousin Will in the background!

We also had Linn Picnic the next weekend and my sister came to visit for 3 days.  I love Linn Picnic but was thoroughly exhausted after it.

This week my Mom, Aunt Becky, and Uncle Danny came to visit. They cleaned my kitchen, did laundry, and vacuumed.  It was good to have them here.

I feel like I've been living on caffeine for the last month.  I know Ida is an excellent baby but it is just plain tiring keeping up with a toddler and newborn.  I know parents have done it forever, but it is just a major adjustment especially for Lorena.  When we brought Ida home, Lorena was constantly climbing into the pack and play to get to her.  Now she leaves Ida alone for the most part and enjoys handing me her bottle or pacifier.  Lorena has been her normal rambunctious self and recently got her first black eye.  I'm sure she will have many bumps and bruises to come.  I also think she regressed a little bit with speech for a few weeks but is now talking as much as she was before we had Ida.  Her favorite words are cow, moo, milk, mom, dad, and cookie.

Ida's Birth

I had Ida at the Clay County Medical Center in Clay Center, KS.  Clay Center is about 30 miles away from our house.  I was skeptical of going to a smaller hospital to deliver but since I didn't have any complications during pregnancy, we decided it would be the best option for us.  Remember, I went to Omaha, NE (2 1/2 hours away from our house) to a specialist until my third trimester.  I did have the option of delivering in Omaha but I'm so glad we chose Clay Center and Dr. Susan Thompson.  It was a wonderful experience!  I highly recommend Dr. T.  She is the best!

My due date was May 15 and this is a picture of me on that day.  I couldn't believe I actually made it to that day!

due date

I started having some mild contractions May 16 which was one day past my due date.  Baby had been head down for a while and I had been dilating for a few weeks before hand and was already dilated to a 3 at this point.  

4 p.m. Leaving for the hospital.  Feeling good.

Dan did not want to take a selfie with me

By the time I got to the hospital that afternoon I was at a 4.  I really wasn't in any pain though.  I could feel some mild cramps but that was it.  I got checked into the hospital around 7 pm and after being checked a few hours later, I was at around a 5 or 6.  I had always planned on getting an epidural like I did with Lorena so that was on the agenda for the night.  Honestly, I wasn't an any pain up until this point.  The contractions were getting a bit stronger but just still felt like normal cramps and my lower back had some pain but that was it!  I was like "I thought this was supposed to hurt."  Back labor in the days leading up to Lorena's birth was much worse than what I was feeling this time around.  

Still feeling great.  At a 5 or 6 now and sitting on the birthing ball.  I also told Dan I would not post this picture but he hasn't read my blog in years so who cares!

Since Dr. T wanted me to progress some more, she broke my water at about 11 p.m.  I felt more pain after that so I got an epidural.  Getting the epidural was pretty much pain free too!  The epidural hurt so much more when I was in Topeka having Lorena.  I was able to sleep from 12 am to 2 am and then for another hour before 3 am and 4 am.  Dan also slept a while too but his snoring woke me up several times...typical right? :-)  The epidural took the edge off and allowed me to rest.  I could still get up and go to the bathroom and move my legs which is how they like them to be.  I still felt like I had some control over my body which was nice.  I definitely felt a lot of pressure and it did hurt during the contractions but it wasn't that bad at all.  I pushed for an hour and a half and Ida was born at 7:33 am on May 17, 2014.  

I always joked with Dr. T that it took 3 pushes to get Lorena out since she was so small.  Dr. T told me this one would take a few more pushes.  She was right.  Baby's head was 14 cm and shoulders were as wide as the head circumference.  She did have a bit of a cone and was stuck under my pubic bone for a while I think. Ida was still a beautiful full term baby.  Ida was 8 lbs and 7 1/2 ounces and 20 inches long.  Perfect.

The whole experience was great.  The room was nice.  I could labor, birth, and recover in the same room and didn't have to shuffle to other rooms.  There are 3 maternity rooms in the hospital but I was the only one there so I got treated like a queen!

Dan and Lorena hanging out before we were discharged

The nurses and anesthesiologist were all really good to me.  Like I said before, Dr. T was awesome too.  She was very calm the whole delivery and it was truly an enjoyable experience.  She told me all along that this would be a much better experience than my birth with Lorena.  Having Lorena was such a scary time for Dan and me.  She wasn't supposed to come that earlier.  We were warned of all the possible long term problems she could have and that she could die.  I didn't want to hold Lorena when she was born, I just wanted the doctors to take her away and keep her alive.  Having Ida was so different.  We wanted her to come out, especially being 2 days over and having pushed for an hour and a half.  I wasn't scared to hold her when she came.  Dan got to cut the cord and she started nursing right away.  I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Dr T with Lorena and Ida - Dr T was supposed to deliver Lorena until I had complications and went to Topeka

My favorite picture of them!