Settling In

I think we are starting to get into some routine. In the last couple days T has taken to being awake most of the day. This is nice for the fact that it means she sleeps better at night, but not good for the fact that sometimes I would like to get things done and she does not like to be put down when awake. Hmmmm. As I remember, P was a lot like this, and didn't nap much during the day.

So far though she has been sleeping still in 3 hour stretches at night, so not too bad. I've forced EZ to sleep in another room with the monitor so I can sleep more since I can't sleep through her tiny peeps. This has worked well for me, probably not worked so well for EZ.

She seems to be filling out a tiny bit, just in her face alone which is good. And we can finally fit into newborn clothes pretty well. :) Most days though, I just have her in a gown or in pj's. 

Dealing with both kids at the same time can be tough (especially if T is awake). I've attempted the park a few times with both of them and with T is screaming in her carseat and I have to watch/help P up some stairs or something, is when it gets tough, so T just has to cry more. But I like being able to spend time with P and make her feel like I'm still around enough to play with her and do all the things we use to do.

I decided to go for a run the other day and felt good enough to run a mile (in 10 min)! I did it again on Tuesday and hope to go out again in a little bit for another mile. I'm doing some back exercises and trying to do a little basic core work without sit ups so try and help out with the back pain and things are better. My goal is to run a 5K June 9th that is being put on by one of our neighbor for their daughter who has Cystic Fibrosis. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to run the 5K, but how fast is another story!

Here are a few more pictures from last week:

Random Stats

• TJ had her 2 week check up Friday. She weighed 7lbs 3 oz and was 21 inches long (which means there is no way she was really 19in at birth).
• She had a rough few nights with lots and lots of feeding but the last two nights have been pretty good.
• P seems to be handling being a big sister really well, she likes to talk to T and put blankets on her and push her in the swing or rock her in the car seat.
• P went poop in the potty for the first time yesterday. She already went in her diaper though today, but we are very slowly making progress.
• I've lost 20lbs of the 40lbs I gained with T so far. I have a long way to go to get back down to my regular weight. 
• I have been walking a little and hope to try out the elliptical today maybe add in some light weights. 
• My sister did wonders on my back and am feeling so much better. But she also said I probably wont get too much permanent relief until I can start doing core work again to help stabilize everything. 
• Here are a few pictures from her camera that she took:
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I Can Count!

I was sent the following video of P at daycare counting. I knew she could count to 10, but I have always promted her along. Her teacher told me they had to start her with 1 but then she counts her way to 10. What I find funny is that it doesn't even look like her mouth is moving at all. When we count at home, she usually is a little more excited than she is in the video. But that is ok. It is still cute that you can tell she gets excited when she hits 10!

One week Old

TJ turned 1 week old on Friday. Wow, that went by fast. We seem to be settling in to a routine which is nice. She seems to be a fairly decent sleeper, sleeps in 3 hour blocks most of the night which is good. The past few nights she has done a bit of cluster feeding from 6ish-9ish and then will sleep a little longer, and we end up waking her up at 4 hours to feed again. She is a very good eater, and has a super strong latch, which has been a pit painful over this first week. That pain though is starting to go down a bit.

I've been walking some just to get out of the house and it is so nice right now. But my stitches haven't completely healed, and I think walking 2-3 miles a day is a bit much for them right now. My back is all messed up too. I was having some serious back pain about a week before I had T and I assumed it was labor pains/ect and would go away after labor, but here we are a week later and still in lots of pain. Good thing the sis is coming next week and can work on my back!

We've tried to keep things as normal as possible for Piper. She seems to understand that "baby tay-um" (as she calls her) is here to stay and that she cries "wah wah wah" (like the baby on the bus in the song wheels on the bus). She gives her a hug and sometimes a kiss at night before bed and likes to read books with her and give her her finger to hold. I can tell P is a little off, perhaps a bit jealous, so I have tried to spend a little more time with her, it is just that moving around and up and down is still not completely possible with the stitches healing. Hopefully in a few more days I will be a little more functional in terms of playing with her. EZ has stayed home this week and got lots done around the house he had been meaning to do. And he has been playing with P in the mornings and taking her to daycare and picking her up and playing with her in the afternoons. A little daddy-daughter time which is probably really good for her right now, since it is usually me who does those things.

This pics were taken on Friday when she was 1 week old...she is a mini-EZ:



This was taken today at 1 week at 3 days old:


Reading a story together:


I'm a big sister!

Easter Egg Hunt

I was determined not to let the birth of TJ to interfere with P having a fun Easter. My neighbor and I planned a small egg hunt in the yard. I filled eggs and EZ was on call in case I was in the hospital still. But we managed to come home on Saturday and still had our fun little egg hunt Sunday afternoon in beautiful weather. P had no concept of what we were really doing, but loved finding eggs in the yard and putting them in her bucket and then opening them all later to see what was inside! Enjoy the pictures (most of them sporting her new shades from Papa).

P Update

I have been meaning to post a few pics of P during the last couple weeks. She is growing like a weed now it seems and her vocabulary is ever increasing. In terms of the eating department, she is still a bit picky, but has started to eat more and more what we are eating now which is nice. A few of my favorite lines from her are:

When we ask her what she wants to eat for a snack, she goes to the pantry and says "how about...." and does a long pause before she picks something.

When she knows she is not suppose to do something, she has started to say "No no Piper". I about lost it when she said it to me the first time about a week ago. Then she continues what she is doing that she isn't supposed to do. Funny girl.

Fun times at a birthday party:





Diva:

Tatum Jean Zack

Tatum Jean Zack was born Friday April 6th at 6:47am weighing 6lbs 9oz and 19inches long.





Quick Recap: My water broke at 10:15pm Thursday night (although it really was more of a tear and didn't fully break). We arrived at the hospital about 12:30am. My contractions were pretty bad by about 2:30am. I got an epidural around 4:15am and at that point I was only 7-8 cm. They came in to check me around 6:20am and I was fully dilated and complete and they called the doctor in. By the time they had me all ready to go, the nurses told me not to push because she was already about to come out. Each contraction I had, she was coming out on her own. They called in the midwife just in case I had the baby before the doctor got there. I don't know when he arrived, but I pushed through two contractions and Tatum was born. A very different birth than Piper, thats for sure!

How did we come up with Tatum Jean: Her due date was almost halfway between when my grandpa passed away last year on April 2nd and when my mom passed away 2 years ago on April 17th. So I wanted to honor them in some way. I decided that I wanted to give her my moms middle name Jean who was also named after my grandpa (Eugene). Then I thought naming her with something beginning with D after my mom (Debbie), but Eric and I couldn't come up with a D name that we liked, so then I asked him could we come up with a T name after my grandpa (Troy). And so we decided on the name Tatum Jean.

We are all doing well though and settling into a routine of being a family of 4.