Rhett, the Big Brother

Rhett got to meet his little sister this morning! All things considered, I think it went pretty well. He came into our room immediately wanting to say hi to her, pat her and give her hugs and kisses. He climbed right up in the bed next to me and cuddled with us for a few minutes. He and Josh went to pick up a cake before stopping by and as soon as Josh pulled it out, Rhett was done with Poppy and I and ready to get down to some delicious birthday cake and singing! I'm really excited for Rhett and Poppy to have one another through the years. From what I can tell so far, they look a lot alike but in most other ways, she doesn't remind me much of him when he was a newborn. She is a lot fussier than he was, and a much better eater! We're so happy to be a family of four now and are truly blessed to have two amazing little ones to raise and love. 

Happy Birthday Poppy!

We made it up to my scheduled C-section! Poppy Kay was born this afternoon at 1:04, weighing in at 7 lbs, 3 oz and was 20 inches long. We were so blessed for a complication-free pregnancy and delivery this time around. It was such a wonderful experience to actually get to hear my baby cry and wail in the operating room and to spend so much time bonding with her today. (as I write this she is curled up on my chest, fast asleep).

From the time we got to the hospital to when I held her in my arms was about two and a half hours, and let me tell you, every minute snarled by. I'm not sure why time slows down so significantly in the last weeks of pregnancy and then speeds up after the baby comes. I know soon, she'll be a two year old that thinks the only acceptable breakfast is milkshakes and birthday cake (sidenote--Rhett has developed quite the sweet tooth).

Poor Josh had to wait outside the operating room while I had my spinal inserted. He took some pictures of this clock so that we'd always remember what time the surgery started. I think he really needed something to do because I'm pretty sure waiting outside a door while your wife is about to give birth is a really tough thing to handle. 

 Ready to go! I got nauseous from the anesthesia this time, which I didn't expect. I figured that if I was good the first time, I'd be fine this time too. I was wrong. I was terrified of getting sick in the OR but the anesthesiologist was able to give me some medicine pretty quickly that settled my stomach and it wasn't a problem.

I'll spare you the graphic photo of little Poppy being lifted about the curtain, but it was a great moment. We missed it with Rhett because he needed emergency care immediately. It was so nice to see her and to hear her little wails that meant she was healthy and HERE, finally. They got her cleaned up pretty quickly and whisked her off to the nursery for all of the usual tests and measurements. 

The rest of my surgery took about 45 minutes and they felt long. But as soon as I was wheeled into recovery, Josh was able to meet me with our little girl. We're so in love!

Rhett is coming to meet his sister tomorrow morning. I'm so excited to see my little boy become a big brother. I'll be sure to post photos of the big event. 

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Ready or Not!

Tomorrow's the big day! I'm schedule to be admitted into the hospital at 10:30 in the morning for my c-section and our little girl should be here before 1:00! I"m very much looking forward to not being pregnant anymore. One of my college friends is arriving in a couple of hours to stay with Rhett while we're in the hospital. We're thinking that we'll wait to bring him in for a visit until Wednesday morning. We had thought about brining him in Tuesday evening, and we still might. But I'm a bit worried about him seeing me really drugged up and immobile. We'll play it by ear. I think he'll be really excited to see his sister. I'm looking forward to a better birthing experience this time around. So much was up in the air in the weeks leading up to Rhett's birth. I wasn't sure how long he'd need care or how I'd feel after giving birth. I was physically comfortable but an emotional mess throughout my pregnancy with him. This time, it's the opposite and even though I haven't slept normally in weeks, I've had a much better pregnancy this time around. I can't wait to meet our little girl!

Our New Home

I promised some folks that I'd post pictures of our new house, and then promptly forgot! Better late than never, I suppose. Our new home is in a killer location. Our church is just across the street so there's no commute for Josh and we're a little less than a mile from the beach (and a host of great seafood restaurants!). 

The house itself is lovely. It's small, but the layout is really logical and it's a much nicer place than our previous apartment in St. Louis. 

Our Bedroom: 

The Kitchen:

The Office:

 Bathroom:

Open Concept Living Room/Dining Area/Playroom:

 Hallway:

It's a cozy little home and I think it'll suite our needs very nicely this year! 

The Kid's Room

It feels so weird to type/say "the kids" but alas! Poppy will be here in jus three short weeks and so I'd better get used to it.  I thought I'd do a separate post for the kid's room just because I always love to see blog posts about nurseries and children's spaces. We decided pretty early on that we'd have the kids share a room once the baby starts sleeping through the night (she'll stay close to my bed for the first few weeks or months). We really just don't have the space for separate rooms and I like the idea of sharing. They'll have to share a lot through the years, so we might as well start now! 

I didn't really have an end game in mind when I started setting up their room. I've always used a pretty big variety of colors in Rhett's room with the goal of keeping things fairly neutral. I'm also a fan of the eclectic look. With our little Poppy coming, I wanted to incorporate more reds. The results so far have been a touch more masculine that I'd prefer, but I'm hoping to add more touches that will balance it out. If not, I'm sure she won't mind. She's a baby.

 I can't believe Rhett is in a big boy bed! He's been loving it. He's always liked his space when he sleeps and he definitely loves his new bed. The quilt on his bed was Josh's when he was little. I'm not sure if it'll stay in this space or not, but it's a good size and Rhett really likes it.

We decided to go ahead and put the crib up, even though Poppy may not be in it for sometime. We thought it was a good idea for Rhett to get used to it in his space. I'm going to add artwork above the crib (hopefully a poppies painting). The blanket was given to me by a friend at work and is perfect for the space. 

I'm hoping to get Poppy an identical armchair for Christmas this year. Rhett really likes his. It used to be his TV watching chair, but now it's a reading chair. He knows it's his an loves curling up in it. 

 Rhett has been really into reading lately. I often catch him curled up in his bed with four or five books when he's supposed to be napping. It's a good problem to have. We decided not to have toys in his room this year. He doesn't really like playing in his room anyway because he'd rather be wherever I am. It's nice for him to have his books handy though.

I love these Eric Carle prints. I got them as a gift before Rhett was born and I love how much color they bring to white walls. 

We Made it to Florida!

Well, it's been a long time coming (or at least felt that way!) but we're finally all settled into our home-for-a-year in Jacksonville Beach, Florida! I think the move went as well as could be expected with a pregnant woman and a toddler in tow. Josh drove our moving truck and Rhett and I took the SUV the 1000 miles down to Jax Beach. The trip went really smoothly until we were about 100 miles out. We blew a tire on the moving truck, which was just really disappointing when we were so close to our new home. It actually got repaired pretty quickly and Rhett thought being on the side of the road was just hilarious. So things could have been worse, but we were definitely glad to get here and settle in.

Helping put together Poppy's Crib!

This was when we were stranded. He really thought it was funny. 

Finally here! 

Rhett has adjusted beautifully. He was thrilled to see all his toys again and he absolutely loves the beach. He asks to go all day and has so much fun splashing in the water, digging in the sand and collecting seashells (which he throws in the water, of course). Josh has been his primary care giver for some time now and he does seem a little confused now that Dad's not home as much. He asks me a few time a day "Where Daddy go? Water?" (He call the beach "the water". So I guess he thinks Josh has gone to the beach without him). He's happy though and I think he'll really enjoy the year. We will too!

30 Weeks

This has pretty much been my pregnancy style for the hot St. Louis summer. Maxi dress + the same sleeveless denim cardigan. All. Summer. Long. I was kind of dreading being in my third trimester in the summer heat but it hasn't actually been too bad. I like that it allows me to dress in clothes that show off my pregnancy a bit more. When I was pregnant with Rhett in the cold Michigan winter, I was pretty covered up with bulky sweaters and coats.

Anyway...this pregnancy is trucking right along. It's kind of amazing how opposite these pregnancies have treated me. Physically, I'm a lot more exhausted this time around. My hips and thighs are usually pretty sore by the end of the day. I've had restless legs keeping me up at night and just generally feel pretty huge, all the time. But emotionally, it's been a lot easier this time around. I felt wholly unprepared for a baby when I was pregnant with Rhett and as my due date approached, I just felt like it was almost exam day for a test I'd surely fail. That all sounds dramatic, but really. This time I've been very happy and excited to meet our little one! Also, I think I look about a hundred times better this time around, which is much more fun.

I've been getting a bit paranoid about the possibility of a reoccurrence of IUGR, so I asked my doctor if we could do a growth ultrasound. I'll go in this week and see if Poppy is on track. Then I'll just have one more appointment before our move down to Florida! I've got about two months until her birthday and we can't wait!