Juli & Co.

Luke fell down the stairs at a friend's house on Wednesday and hit head first. He ended up with a pretty big knot on his head and began throwing up which landed us in the nearest ER. A ct scan showed a very small subdural bleed so they decided to keep him overnight to monitor him and to repeat the ct scan the next morning. The repeat scan showed that the bleed was getting smaller and would heal on its own. We were all VERY relieved and were sent home yesterday morning. Luke enjoyed his stay at the children's hospital and actually cried and threw a temper tantrum when it was time to leave. I have a couple of pictures from the hospital that I will try to post later.

Luke has been doing great and is back to his happy self. We did have a nanny 911 incident around naptime yesterday, but that is a WHOLE different story that I will post about later.

Ever since Luke climbed out of his crib and we had to transition him into a big boy bed, he has been protesting every night. He cries and bangs on the door for us to "open the door, mama". We had to put a lock on the outside of his door to keep him in (at the recommendation of our pediatrician).

Well today, Luke only napped for about an hour. I did not think this was enough, but since he was being so sweet and smiley, I agreed to let him finish his nap on the couch. He laid down and I turned on Backyardigans for him. He was laying on the couch (awake) for about 30-45 minutes. I finished cleaning the living room, vacuuming, and then went outside to take out some trash and bring in the mail. When I tried to come back inside, the door was locked!!! I knocked and Luke knocked back and yelled "knock, knock" and then started laughing hysterically. I knew this was not going to be good.

I said "open the door, Lukey" and then he said (in a sing song kind of way), "no-oo". I told him a few more times to open the door and each time he said "NO" with a little more sass. Olivia was inside in her swing, mind you.

I went across the street to Brooke's house. She was not home. I went next door to Lucy's house. She was not home. I went several house down to Tiffany's house. She was not home either! I started to panic. I went back to the front door and demanded that Luke "open the door!" Again, he said "NO!!!"

I sat and thought for a second. It is over a hundred degrees outside and I am starting to sweat. I had an idea. I went back to the door and said "open the door, Lukey, and mommy will give you ice cream". He said "ice ceam??" and started immediately fiddling with the door lock. He was becoming frantic, saying "mommy give Lukey ice ceam?" over and over. Finally, he said "I can't reach it, Mommy". So I told him to go get a chair and he said okay. I heard him drag a chair from the kitchen over, bang it up against the front door and then a few seconds later...wa-la...the lock turned and the door came open!!!

He popped his little head around the door and smiled and said "where my ice ceam, mama??"

So, I guess one would say I got what was coming to me...

Note To Self: Don't turn back on that little turkey for one second.

Luke woke up at 3:30am and did not go back to sleep. He cried and tried negotiating and everything else he could think of to convince me to let him come out of his room and "wake up". I put him down for his nap at 10:45am and he went down suprisingly easy. He did cry for about 10 minutes but then was quiet, so either he is asleep or he learned how to escape out his window. :)

He is still sleeping...thank goodness. I think we need to go ahead and convert his room into a "big boy room" and make a big deal of it since we haven't been able to yet. I took the toddler rail off of his crib (that he have converted to a toddler bed) and he seemed to like that better. It think it's easier for him to get in and out of and makes him feel less trapped.

I'm tired.

Another one that didn't make it on the birth announcement, but I think is pretty cute.

She was two weeks old in this picture.

Olivia is already a month old. I love her so much. What was life like before this sweet girl??

Olivia sleeps from 10pm to 2:30am and then 3am to 6:30am pretty consistently. We are still exclusively breastfeeding, which has finally become easy and enjoyable. It is such a special time that we share and I am so glad I stuck with it. Olivia likes to hang out in the swing, vibrating chair, or on the play mate and just watch us. She loves watching Luke play and is staying awake for about 30 minutes after each feed. She has started to coo and make sweet little sounds when we talk to her. She turns her head when she hears my voice and loves to snuggle. She snorts and grunts and even growls sometimes when she is feeding. She is very passionate about her food, she must be an Evans. She even snores a little when she sleeps. We tease that she gets it from her Paw Paw, the master. Olivia is starting to turn into quite a little chunk and is getting rolls on her thighs and arms and has a huge double chin. Her personality is still very laid back and easy going. She is a dream baby and we are enjoying every minute with her.

Nick took Luke to the pool the other day and was throwing him up in the air into the water. Luke stopped and said "NO, Daddy, Lukey not the ball!" Hahaha!

I was playing with Luke last night and pretending to eat his hair, nose, ears, etc. He usually gets mad and tells me to "spit it out, Mommy" and give them back. Well, last night he said "NO, Mommy, Lukey not the popcorn!" Hahaha!

I have no idea where this kid comes up with this stuff sometimes, but he cracks me up. I still laugh every time I think about it.

Olivia slept from about 8pm to 2am last night!!! Whooohooo! I feel like a new woman this morning!

Luke is brushing his teeth "all by himself"...must run...I hear water!

Olivia has been going through a growth spurt the last few days so she has been wanting to nurse every hour and a half to two hours. Sometimes she would finish a feed and want to eat 15 minutes later! It has been exhausting to say the least, but I keep reminding myself that things will get better and easier and this will not go on forever.

So, not to jinx us, but I think the growth spurt is over (shhhh...don't say that very loud). Olivia slept from 10:30pm to 3:30am, nursed for 20 minutes and was back down until about 6:45am!! Heaven, I tell ya! I could certainly be okay with this schedule if she decides to keep it up. The night before last was a beating and I felt like a zombie all day. This morning I feel refreshed and energized!

Yay Olivia!!

This morning I was brushing out Luke's hair after we washed it and he kept saying "Ouchie, Mommy! I don't wanna be happy. I don't wanna be happy."

I was like "what?? You don't wanna be happy? What are you talking about?"

It took me a few seconds to realize that he was trying to say "I don't wanna be handsome." I always say that after we brush out his hair. I'll say "look how handsome you are!"

Haha...this made me laugh this morning.

Taking both kids to the mall today proved to be only a slight disaster. I thought it would be nice to get out of the house and let Luke play at the mall play area and then at the train table at Barnes and Noble. I was feeling a bit ambitious after my first real cup of coffee this morning since who knows how long.

Olivia slept the entire time and Luke had fun..for a little while. Then he started getting physical on the playground. First I saw him poke another kid in the eyeball, then he tried pushing Kailey off one of the climby things, then he was punching at another kid hulk style. He was laughing and having fun during all of this which I'm not sure if that means I should worry more or not. He had this little psycho laugh going on, too. I guess he has been couped up in the house a little too long and needs to be socialized...haha. He is usually such a sweet boy and today he was all crazy and wild and out of control.

By the time we got to the train table to play, nap time was nearing and what little patience he had was disappearing fast. He became enraged when Cameron would not give him the red choo-choo train and that was my cue to load up the kids and make tracks to the car, quick! About that time, Olivia decided she wanted to eat and began screaming her raspy little scream to the point where she was completely out of breath by the time we made to the car. Luke was kicking his legs and grabbing onto everything he could reach, screaming "I wanna play choo-choo, mommy...I wanna play choo-choo right now!".

Once we made it to the car, I strapped Luke in and sat in the front seat and nursed Olivia. All the while, Luke was screaming "I don't wanna go to sweep...I not sweepy...I don't wanna hear the beep." I didn't even tell him it was naptime...haha.

Although I absolutely LOVE this image, it did not make it onto the announcement, so I thought I would share it here.

Check out her little smile!

So, I decided a few days ago to quit breastfeeding. I went two long days without breastfeeding Olivia at all, and then I panicked and changed my mind! I started breastfeeding again two nights ago, but now my milk supply is so low, I'm not sure if she's getting anything at all. She still enjoys breastfeeding, even if she's not getting much right now, and it seems to calm her and put her to sleep at night. Yesterday I was feeding like a mad woman, every two hours, trying to stimulate my milk production. This morning she seemed to get a little bit more milk, but I am still giving her a bottle after we breastfeed.

Why am I making myself crazy like this?? Last week the problem was sore nipples and bad latch. This week, we have the latch figured out (thanks Judy!) and my nipples are better, but now I have no milk! Ugh!

I am making this SO much harder than it needs to be. I'm so indecisive (I blame it on the hormones) and wish that I wouldn't have made a rash decision to quit so early. I hope my milk comes back quickly so I can go back to exclusive breastfeeding.

Anyway, probably a lot more info on this topic than any of you care to know, but it's all I think about right now. :)

This is the little look he flashes quite often these days. S-T-I-N-K-E-R



And this is Luke sporting his "gobbles".

A favorite from our attempt at a newborn session this morning. You'll have to wait to receive the birth announcement to see the rest, but I just had to share at least one!

Oh, and before I forget, since I am sending out the announcements soon, if you have moved or I do not have your address and you would like me to mail you one, email me your updated info asap. Thanks!

Luke will take Olivia's tiny little hand and stick up her last three fingers, folding down her index finger and thumb, and raises her hand and says "two 'ore minutes". This is what he does when he doesn't want to take his nap or come inside or whatever. I guess he is trying to teach her the ropes.

He also takes her hand and makes it into a little fist and then makes her punch herself in the side and says "hulk, smash!" Of course, I don't let him do it hard enough to hurt her, but I think this is his way of bonding. Melts my heart...haha!

Olivia is wanting to nurse ALL the time...literally. She will sometimes nurse for 45 minutes or more and she is wanting to nurse every hour today. I am hoping we are just going through a 2 week growth spurt, because I'm not sure I can keep this up with Luke running wild around the house.

Today while I was nursing, Luke managed to climb up on the back of the sofa and onto my shoulders. He was grabbing my head from behind, giving me big hugs (the kind where he grits his teeth) and kissing my hair. I, of course, could not move and my hands were busy holding Olivia in just the right position since we are working on her latch, and so that is how we nursed today. He also enjoys rocking us really fast and spinning us around in circles if we are nursing in the recliner.

Life is chaotic right now.

That seems to be all we talk about in our house these days. Pump, nurse...nurse, pump...nurse, nurse, nurse.

"Whatcha doin' Mama? Pumpin' milk?"...."Seester cryin'! She sad. She need mommy's milk." These are the little conversations we have all day.

Yesterday I had just about had it with BFing and Nick and I decided to just give her a bottle of formula to see how she handles it. I mixed it up and gave Nick the bottle to feed her. She downed about 3.5 ounces in less than 10 minutes. We were both like, "Wow, that was easy." We got her all dressed and in her carrier, ready to go for a walk around the block, when just as we are leaving the house, she pukes up ALL of the formula. She let out the most heart wrenching scream and was twisting and arching her back in discomfort. It was just awful and made me feel like the worst mom on earth. Nick and I both looked at each other and agreed that we would go back to plan B.

So I called the local LLL ladies and they were SUPER helpful. I talked to each one on the phone for over an hour. They answered all of my questions about BFing and how to correct Olivia's latch so that it is more comfortable for me. They also gave me the info of a lactation consultant in the area how is supposed to be awesome. I put in an emergency call to her and hopefully we will get an appt set up for this week.

So we are still BFing. It is getting better, and in fact, today I nursed and it was completely painless. Olivia loves to nurse, she is so content and happy and relaxed and passes right out every time. The times we have to give her a bottle she squirms and grunts and screams and it takes her at least 45 minutes to settle after she is finished. Just seeing how much she enjoys it is enough to make me want to whatever it takes to correct things so we can continue to BF.

That's the update for now. Oh, I also thought I should note that BOTH kids are currently asleep and have been for over an hour! I have prepared lunch, picked up the house, and am working on laundry. Today is a monumental day, I may actually be able to handle two kids...and enjoy myself :)

Luke has been very interested in me nursing Olivia. The first time, he came over and watched intently and asked a thousand questions about "mommy's milk". He thought it was pretty funny and kept laughing about it. Then, yesterday while I nursing, he came over and put his mouth on my elbow and started sucking and saying he wanted to drink "mommy's milk". I just let him do it and, really, it just about made me cry because I felt so bad for him. He is still such a baby himself and it's hard to watch him have to be the "big boy" sometimes.

So then today, on the way home from the pediatrician's office, I hear Luke talking to Olivia in the back seat. Olivia was getting a little squirmy in her seat and Luke was lifting up his shirt, pointing to his boobie, saying "you want 'mommy's milk' baby sister?"

It was too cute!

Today was Olivia's first trip to see Dr. Lestz, our beloved pediatrician. This was just a 48 hour follow up since Dr. Lestz was not able to see Olivia in the hospital. She checked her weight and she was 7 pounds 11 ounces!!! She was 7 pounds 5 ounces on Sunday when we left the hospital. I am so proud of my "mommy's milk", as Luke calls it. That means that she has gained 6 ounces in less than two days! I thought the carseat straps were a little tight today. :)

We also had another jaundice check, just to be on the safe side. The doctor said it still looks like a very mild case that we don't need to worry about, but she ordered a blood check to get exact levels anyway. I was expecting Olivia to cry her little heart out when they pricked her foot and began squeezing the blood into a little vial, but suprisingly, she stayed sound asleep the whole time. I asked if that was normal and the nurse said that they gave her a little bit of sugar water just before they started to help with the pain. She said that most babies don't cry when they use it. I thought that was pretty interesting.

Olivia also received her Hep B vaccine, but she did let out a little shreek for that one.

We have to come back in one week for her two week visit, but no weight checks before then since she is already turning into quite the little piggy.

It isn't any wonder that the doctors said "look at those cheeks" before they even pulled her out of my tummy. She's definitely got 'em! She has smiled a couple of times, probably due to gas, but it looks like she might have great big dimples too!


And a few more from the hospital...