*screams into megaphone*
Woah.....Its been over 2 years since I last updated this blog. Holy crap. I mean, where the hell has time gone?! One thing I do know is I miss blogging. I miss writing, miss getting all the stuff I hold onto off of my shoulders. So I am coming back!
Not sure what my blog will entail. I do know it will just be a lot of random stuff and maybe some fertility stuff as we gear up for a FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer). That is another blog post though.
Do I still have any followers? Anyone who reads this?!
xoxoxo
Friday, April 29, 2016
Hello.......anyone there?!?!
Posted by Lexi + Sarah at 6:09 PM 7 comments
Monday, February 24, 2014
Happy Monday
I have come to the conclusion I suck at updating this dang blog. I love writing, not just for all my viewers, and fellow bloggers, but for me. Blogging allows me to write my feelings, thoughts, and I love looking back at how much we have grown as a family. A lot has happened to our little family of three. So much that it would take lots of time to get into. So to spare you the details and the boring blog posts...LOL, I will just give you bullet points of our little family updates. Seems easier for this lacking blogger. <-------
Since the last time I blogged....
- I became a stay at home mom (SAHM). Long story, but I couldn't imagine anything different. Things happen for a reason, and I'm learning this over and over.
- Harper started cutting her first tooth at 5 months!
- I have learned that life is about living at the moment
- We enrolled Harper in swim classes that start when she is 6 months
- Breastfeeding continues!! We have made it 5 months! This is a huge milestone for us, considering the very, very, rough start we got in the beginning
- Harper has grown so much in the past couple weeks....It is so bittersweet
Posted by Lexi + Sarah at 10:58 AM 1 comments
Friday, January 31, 2014
Our Little Girl
Harper is the biggest blessing! In all honesty there are no words in this world that could describe to you the love we have for her. She is our miracle baby and is the best thing that has ever happened to us. We are beyond blessed.
With that said I can't believe she is 4.5 months! Where does time go?! Sitting back writing this post as she sleeps makes me want to snuggle her forever. I remember someone telling me to cherish the time with them because they grow so fast. She kept saying they grow as fast as weeds do. I chuckled and never in a million years did I think what she told me a month before we delivered was in fact true. Time does go so fast. She is growing right past our eyes. Shes so beautiful and her personality is everything we could of asked for.
She is hitting milestone after milestone and frankly we as parents are hitting our own milestones as well. After having her I have learned there is no manual or book that could prepare you for the journey of raising a child. Its pretty much a touch and go feeling. Something I wouldn't trade for the world. In fact many of our discussions at the dinner table (if we get to sit down at the table...LOL) are about how our lives were before Harper. To this day I wonder how we even existed. Now don't get me wrong and go on judging....both Sarah and I have an amazing marriage and I consider us rock solid. We love each other to no end. We had a great time before Harper and I cherish those memories but now we feel complete as our little family of three. :)
So here is a little picture post of how we have spent the past 4.5 months of her life! I promise to go more into detail about us, motherhood, breastfeeding and all the wonderful stuff that happens after having a baby!
Posted by Lexi + Sarah at 10:10 AM 5 comments
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Baaaaaccccckkkk!
Finally.....I feel like I have some time to just catch everyone on our lives. It has been quite the ride of our lives! So I plan on writing a blog post a day to catch up everyone on how it has been. Stay tuned!
Posted by Lexi + Sarah at 9:51 AM 4 comments
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Breastfeeding well uh....
Breastfeeding has been hard to say the least. Now, I am going to be brutally honest in this post about breasteeding so I hope it doesn't offend anyone about what I have to say.
Then as the night creeped on we were exhausted. We got settled for the night. Got a new nurse and tried to go to sleep. At this time Harper started to cry and I put her on the breast right away. Nothing. Her latch was gone. Its like they switched our once beautiful latched baby with a different baby. She didn't want anything to do with my boob. Nothing. I called the nurse to have her come in and help me and she came in for a brief moment said my latch was perfect and left. Long story short we got no sleep that night and no help. Finally, our night nurse changed and we got our new day nurse. She helped me with latch and called the Lactation Nurse to me right away. As soon as she came in I felt a sense of relief. Soon to find out one of the reasons Harper was not latching was due to my flat nipples. She left the room brought a nipple shield and helped me with it. Bam, our baby was back. She was latching no problem.
Long story short...I am still using the nipple shield, pumping/nursing like a mad woman, taking supplements to increase supply, doing all sorts of tricks to help milk supply, and trying to get away from formula supplementation since she dropped weight so drastically. We are doing pretty darn well because were down to one bottle a day and now my goal is to get away from the nipple shield!
One step at a time!
Till next time!
Posted by Lexi + Sarah at 12:15 AM 6 comments
Thursday, October 10, 2013
The long awaited post....the birth of our daughter!
Sorry it has been a long time since I last wrote! It has been crazy busy with our little one. Here is the long awaited post our our birth story! Enjoy! :)
Harper was born on September 14, 2013. Everything we wanted and made a plan for completely went out the window. I was in labor at home for over 30 hours! Our goal was to labor at home as much as possible and then go into the hospital to have the most stress-free and invasive-free experience. We really did want a "natural" birth, or at least give it our best go. My contractions started on Thursday the 12th pretty sporadic about every 45 minutes to an hour, but it wasn't until 3 in the morning on Friday the 13th that they got closer and consistent. They just continued to get worse and more intense as the day went on. I felt like I was doing great, or at least the best I could for labor! I remember at one point distinctly my contractions were 8 minutes apart and we were so sleep deprived that we would fall asleep for 8 minutes and then be woken up for the next contraction and so on. We were so exhausted. There is nothing like not being able to sleep because of contractions! By the time she was born, we were going on 4 days without any sleep!
To make a long story short, when my contractions got 3-5 minutes apart, and I just couldn't take it anymore crying in pain, we went to the hospital. On Friday late afternoon we headed to the hospital to see what was going on. They checked me and I was 70 percent effaced and only 1 CM dilated STILL!! Are you kidding?!! I was in so much pain and my contractions were way too close but they sent us home. We tried to take the edge off and Sarah convinced me to try and go to dinner with her to take my mind off of things. I could barely make it through dinner. I just didn't understand how I could be contracting so constant, be OVERDUE by a week and a half, and they just send me home? I had to cut dinner early because of the pain and had Sarah bring me home. Before going to the hospital I had called my mom to let her know I was in labor so she could start to drive down here and now I just felt like a fool because they sent us home.
We got home and Sarah did everything to try and help me feel better. She rubbed me, helped me take a warm bath, walked around the block with me at midnight. Everything. By this time, my mom had arrived and my contractions were coming every minute. Sarah was afraid I was going to have this baby at home, and I didn't care if I looked like the crazy woman at the hospital, we were going back! By 1:30 in the middle of the night, we were back in L & D. These people weren't sending me home this time. No way. No one could tell me that or I would just explode! The pain was unreal. Finally, they hooked me up to a contraction monitor that only goes from 0-100. My contractions were measuring 80-over 100 at points. The nurse came in to check me after being admitted this time.....STILL 70 effaced and 1 CM! They couldn't understand because they said and felt that my contractions were definitely intense enough that it should be opening me. I was crying and moaning in pain at this point. I didn't understand what was wrong. I pleaded that they induce me even though pitocin (evil, evil drug I was trying at all costs to avoid) was the last thing I wanted! At that point, I was no other way! Of course my doctor was on vacation and the covering doctor didn't feel comfortable inducing me! I was not leaving. They came to do an ultrasound to make sure of head placement and they couldn't get a good view of her head. There were three nurses pushing and squishing my stomach for 10 minutes. Come to the conclusion that Harper's head was kinked somewhat, so when I had a contraction, she wasn't dropped down to open or dilate me. That is what they gave me. FINALLY....after all of this, the doctor finds it best to induce me. By this time my contractions were constant and this almost 42 week pregnant woman was ready to get this baby out! They induced me with the smallest amount of pitocin to "open" me. Pitocin started at 6:30 A.M. (Yes they made me wait till then..) I had an epidural which I also wanted to avoid but by this point, I threw that all out the window since this was beyond my control. I'm pretty sure with the pain I felt without progression, I could of given birth naturally if only her head wasn't kinked!
At 3:50 PM on Friday September 14, 2014, our beautiful 41 and a half week womb tenant, made he debut! She was 7.99 pounds and 20 inches long. I was sure she would be well over 8 pounds since she was so late! We could only imagine, if she were to be born "on time" she would of been 6ish pounds! Now being a mom, and knowing they drop weight, I'm glad she was late! It's scary how much they drop. She was absolutely perfect. This was such a life-changing moment. We had a birth photographer there to capture every moment, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Sarah watched the whole thing and as soon as Harper was coming out, she started to cry, before I could even see anything. I just knew she was seeing her and before I even saw her I started to cry just looking at Sarah and her reaction. They pulled her out, Sarah cut the cord, and they put her on my chest. It's a love I just can't describe.. This is our baby. I grew this baby from a one-cell organism. I remember the day they implanted the embryo inside me. Something so small you couldn't even see unless you had the most powerful microscope.
This was our miracle. She was ours. It's just indescribable. I didn't even realize they needed to deliver the placenta. Having her on my chest, everyone but Sarah and Harper just disappeared. We got to spend our time with her, but no time would ever be enough with her. After an hour, our family was welcomed in to see Harper. I never felt so much love in one room before. It was incredible. Thankfully, even though I had a hard labor, I'm glad that there was a silver lining and only pushed for "26 minutes before Harper was out. That even included the so called "practice pushes." They said it was easily going to be over 2 hours.
Breastfeeding started off rocky but we are finally getting the hang out it. My milk came in at day 5 or 6 and before that, my colostrum was nothing. Like teaspoons on a good day! We had a very rough first night, I wasn't producing any colostrum from her breastfeeding nor from pumping. Our nurse didn't want to help us, and refused to give us any formula. Trust me, formula was not what I wanted. It was actually the LAST thing we wanted. We wanted to EBF. If I am doing all I can for hours and still nothing, my daughter is not going to starve! She was just scream and scream and the nurse would come in and swaddle her and leave her screaming. She went 12 hours without any food. Finally with a new nurse in the morning, we got formula through the S & S tube. I've never felt like more of a failure in my life. I was furious at this nurse. We actually ended up being discharged the next day at night. We wanted to get out of there as soon as possible! I had a 2nd degree tear, but it was manageable. It is what it is, I say! We were determined to just breastfeed. It was an incredibly hard week. Harper dropped down to 6 pounds, 14 ounces and despite our daily lactation visits, we were left with no choice but to supplement until she got back to her birth weight. That did not take long since her body was playing some "catch up"! By the time she was back up to her birth weight, we took her off the formula and have been doing great since! My milk is increasing and we are only giving her 2 ounces of formula all day at night (if that). I'm still working on increasing my supply! I'm getting about 2-3 ounces every 3 hours. (breastfeeding post will come soon)!
Harper is almost a month. I can't even believe it. It makes me want to break down and cry! She's growing so fast. No one is joking when they say time flies. After having a baby, days literally feel like hours! I can't believe she will be a month this Saturday. She is weighing in about 7 pounds 12 ounces now. Our small little girl. It's been hard because everyone told us not to buy newborn. So we bought minimal and she can't even fit into some newborn things till just recently!
Enjoy the beautiful pictures from our birth photographer!
Posted by Lexi + Sarah at 1:49 PM 12 comments
Monday, September 9, 2013
NST & AFI Check
Today was an interesting day...I had the worst sleep ever. I know I need to get used to very little sleep and trust me I wouldn't mind little sleep but this sleep came with pain. Both my hips were killing me to the point I couldn't lay on any side. I had to sit sleeping so if you can imagine I woke up with my neck killing me. To say the least I only had three hours of sleep. I had to leave to go on the recliner so I could actually sleep!
I woke up around 5 AM and just stayed up until my doctor appointment at 7:30. It was sad because Sarah couldn't join me but it was fun because it just reminded me that soon we will be on the Labor and Delivery floor getting ready for our baby girl!
I checked in for my first ever NST and they had me do a pee test which I passed with flying colors. I was pretty nervous because baby girl is really active in the afternoon/evening but she must have known the spot light was on her because she was a moving machine! They ended up letting me go early because they got just the right amount of stats they needed. Oh, and only one teeny tiny contraction. After my NST I had my AFI ultrasound to check the fluids around baby. That too was excellent!
So all in all baby girl (aka Nemo) is comfy in her home :)
She will come when she is ready to come! In the mean time I enjoying all this time before baby arrives!
Posted by Lexi + Sarah at 9:53 PM 10 comments
Thursday, September 5, 2013
40 weeks!
Today is our official due date day!! YAY!! We officially made it to 40 weeks! Such a bittersweet moment. I remember when we first got pregnant I was deathly scared something would happen along the way of our pregnancy after all if seemed like all the stories we heard were sad. I remember holding my breath every time we had an ultrasound. It was one step closer to meeting our baby girl. After we hit the first trimester we both finally were able to breathe a sense of relief that everything was going well. For me I think around 24 weeks I finally felt comfortable that everything was going great and this pregnancy was rockin!
- Raspberry leaf tea
- Lavender oil bath with fresh lavender (Only thing that came out of this was I smelled like a lavender bush, LOL!)
- Pineapple (boy, did the acid in all that pineapple make my tongue raw!)
- bouncing on the exercise ball
- dancing like a crazy fool to Michael Jackson!
- Walking
- Jumping up and down
- Pedicure
Posted by Lexi + Sarah at 11:41 AM 5 comments
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Still cooking away!
You read right, baby girl is still cooking away! She wants to make sure she comes out just right! No sign of her coming either. My Braxton Hicks continue and are becoming stronger, I have been having major leg and hip pain, but that is about it. We want her to come out when she comes out but at the same time I would really LOVE to not be induced. Now, that is a whole other story. We finished our birth plan. Many told us to not have one because it gets thrown out the door as soon as you enter the hospital but we have decided that we would like a birth plan to go over what "we" want. After all this is our baby. I would post our plan on here but we have decided to wait until after she is born for certain reasons as many would not understand our "thinking".
We are starting to try at home remedies to see if by chance baby girl will make an early appearance and we even tried acupuncture last week! I know it can be a bunch of just gibberish but its worth a try! Tonight we will be trying a lavender oil bath with some pineapple as a snack! Its funny to think for so long you want to make sure the baby does not come out and you do everything in your power to keep them safe and warm and then BAM one day you want them out and you do everything in your power to get them out, LOL! Yes, we do know that she will come when she wants to come after all this is her agenda! We are just so excited and anxious to see her beautiful face and we can't wait to meet the love of our life!
So besides that for the next two days since Sarah is off for Labor Day we have decided to lock ourselves in our house and not leave once. We plan on just relaxing and resting. We sure can use all the R&R before baby girl arrives! It has been filled with some nice bonding and straight out being a couch potatoes. I also did some baking because lets be serious...that wont happen for a very long time once she is here because I know we will be very two exhausted mommies, but worth every second!
This past week I also attended my first Le Leche League meeting and I had my first private consult with a lactation consultant. I have been doing my reading on breast feeding and have joined many groups on Facebook to try and become as prepared as possible although I know nothing can ever prepare you for things such as labor and BF but all you can do is try! The consult was amazing and was the best three hours I have ever learned anything. This past weekend I set up "snack" baskets in the three places I plan to breastfeed the most within our house. It is filled with drinks and snacks because just as I am nourishing our baby I need to make sure I nourish myself and you never know when you may need a sip of water and you can't get up because you don't want to move, LOL!
Oh and how could I forget this past week we got baby girl her first Spanish book! I can't wait to show her Spanish. It was my second language when I was four and I can fluently speak, read and write. I hope to pass this down to her and the best thing is for a while I have been talking to Sarah more and more in Spanish and she is understanding more and more! Makes me SO happy and lights my heart up!
Hopefully, the next post will be a birth story?!
Posted by Lexi + Sarah at 4:10 PM 5 comments
Saturday, August 24, 2013
38 Weeks, 2 Days
Yep, we still have baby girl in my belly! We have approx. a week & 5 days until our due date. Feels so weird that soon she will be joining our family. Can't wait to kiss her and snuggle with her! I will however miss being pregnant. Everyone I talk to asks me if I am over being pregnant and truth is no. Maybe, its because this pregnancy has been a breeze and I have been blessed with a super easy pregnancy or maybe because I love being pregnant. I will miss the days I feel her kick inside of me daily. It stops me wherever I am and makes me smile and realize how awesome life is. I'm going to miss my hard belly and the many kisses I get from Sarah on a daily basis. Thinking about it makes me cry. There will never be a first again. Every pregnancy is completely different and unique. I have had the joy to have this experience for months and maybe that is why I am so sad to see it go because it is something that I have become a custom to. This does not stop me from being super excited to enter our daughter into the world. Dang these hormones are no joke....
On another note, we got the car seat and base installed in our cars yesterday.We had the California Highway Patrol install them and glad they did because they were fast, installed it super tight and talked about car seat safety.
Posted by Lexi + Sarah at 12:10 PM 8 comments
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Ready, Set, Relax
Today marks 38 weeks! Wowzers! Literally two weeks until our due date. To tell you the truth I am feeling awesome! Minus the constant, more aggressive Braxton Hicks life is good. We have a doctor appointment tomorrow and then were getting our car seats installed by the California Highway Patrol. I think seeing the car seat in our cars will make it even more real that baby girl is on her way!
- Pedicures
- Go to watch the movie "Planes"
- Have a candle light dinner at home
- Cuddle, Cuddle, Cuddle
- Farmers Market
Go swimmingFoot massagesGo to watch the movie "The Way, Way BackGo to lunch by myself and enjoy some "alone time"
Posted by Lexi + Sarah at 11:45 AM 9 comments
Sunday, August 11, 2013
36 Weeks & 3 Days
Time is sure flying by. A couple weeks ago the thought of time passing by scared the crap out of my. I was both excited and nervous. I am so used to being in control and labor and having a baby is just not in your control. I have learned that I had to let this go and go with the flow. I am now getting excited and I feel ready. As ready as I will ever be. We continue to finish things around the house, little things and I have been reading more and more.
Work will be over this this Friday and I can't even tell you how excited I am to be on maternity leave. I am so tired lately and my feet and back are killing me so being able to be at home and sleep as much as I can before baby girl arrives is my goal. That is if she decides to wait until 40 weeks!
We still have SO much washing of baby laundry it is not even funny. Frankly, I am not even worried. We have some stuff washed and ready for her to use if she comes early. I plan on washing the rest when she arrives and if it doesn't get done, I am sure it will at some point!
Our labor bag is ready and packed. It is sitting in baby girl's nursery along with my Boppy Pillow & Breast Friend Pillow. Every time I sneak in her room I look at everything and our bag and I smile with excitement. I can't wait to meet our baby girl. I wonder what she will look like how big she will be, it's just so exciting!!
This past weekend we upgraded my car. Long story short my car got hit in a parking garage and we decided that instead of paying the deductible to fix it we would just get the car we had been wanting to get since that was our plan for 2014 with tax return. Things just happened quicker. We also didn't want Harper to be in an unsafe/small car. So what did we get?!.....
A VAN!
Posted by Lexi + Sarah at 10:36 PM 3 comments