Maternity leave comes to an end

Elizabeth officially turned 3 months old last week.  And with that, an end to maternity leave has come.  Cue the tears.  I was getting quite used to my life of leisure with the babes.  Elizabeth had her first day of "school" on Monday.  I am proud to say that she did great.  She is honestly the best and easiest baby, so I wasn't surprised.  But it was nice to be reassured that she was a happy little lady while there.  And her big brother is super excited to have her at school with him.  Each day this week he has insisted that we drop her off first so that he can "see those babies".  He takes great pride in deciding where Elizabeth should sit when we drop her off and has told the teacher 3 days in a row to "feed her if she cries". 

Next week is school picture day.  Please start praying for me now.  Getting Christopher to wear something other than sweat pants or pajama pants will take an act of God. 

 



2 Month Check-Up

Elizabeth had her 2-month check up on Friday.  I can't believe it has been 2 months- it went by way too fast!  And unfortunately it means that maternity leave will be coming to an end too soon.  I am not looking forward to March 20th.

But back to little E.  She really showed off at that appointment.  Not only did she show the Doctor how she tries to roll over, but she also tried to crawl.  The Doc was surprised by how well she got her bum and knees moving, as though she was about to crawl away.  And my babe took her vaccinations like a champ! 

Here are the 2-month stats:
     Weight= 10.00 pounds (28th percentile)
     Height= 23 inches (74th percentile)
     Head circumference= 39.3 centimeters (65th percentile)

When Christopher was the same age, he was:
      Weight= 13.9 pounds
      Height= 25 inches
      Head circumference= 41.6 centimeters

Our little lady is considerably smaller than her brother.  But the doctor said she is healthy as can be and looks great! 

Her likes/dislikes are:
Likes:
     -Vitamin D (1 ml a day is not enough- she would eat it all day long if allowed)
     -Facing out when being held
     -Her brother (as long as he doesn't accidentally attack her)
     -Smiling

Dislikes:
     -Riding in the car
     -Being cold (I definitely can't blame her here)

She has been a very easy/happy baby thus far.  I hope I am not jinxing it.  She has even give me so decent sleep- including a 7 hour stretch the other night.  Most nights we get around 5 at a time, which I will take all day long!

 

And on another note, we are on day 5 of potty training with Christopher.  And I dare say it hasn't been so bad.  Accidents have been minimal, he has started telling us when he needs to go (vs. us asking), and he has woken up from naps and night-time dry!!  I think we are almost there.

 

(I apologize if this picture makes you uncomfortable because it 100% looks like Bo sitting on the potty!)



She arrived...2 months ago

Great news everybody, Elizabeth Britt O'Neill has arrived.  Ok- so you all already knew that considering she is now 2 months old.  But I have been a busy lady.  Since her arrival, we have had Christmas and New Years, experienced Elizabeth's first flight (to STL), taken a month long sabbatical with the Britt family, looked at some open houses, had a little tongue tie snip, and survived the polar vortex!!  So back off the no blog posts, that's a lot of action in 60 days!

Now back to this little lady being born.  Behold her birth story:

I went in for my weekly appointment on Thursday, December 19th.  I learned that I was 4cm, 50% effaced.  Not much had changed since the previous week.  I was scheduled to be induced that Monday, the 23rd.  I asked the doc if there was anything she could do to help get the show on the road.  She was hesitant because she had a hair appointment that evening and didn't want to miss it.  I told her that if I went into labor, I was okay with the on-call doc delivering.  So she agreed and did her little doctor trick.  She warned me that I might go into labor that night or the following day.

The rest of that day was pretty uneventful, I had some cramping and contractions, but nothing too painful or regular.  I bounced on the exercise ball for a while that evening, while Christopher laughed at me and tried to join the fun, then went to bed.  I woke up at 12:56 with some pretty good back pain.  I know the time because it was also the exact time that Bo decided to come to bed.  Once the pain subsided, I went back to sleep, only to be woken up about 15 minutes later with more back pain.  I told Bo that I thought it was "go" time.  The poor dude hadn't even fallen asleep yet.  I was still a little unsure, so I gave it one more contraction before officially calling it labor.  Once that contraction came, we knew it was time to get head out.  We called Grandma O to come stay with Christopher, and got ready!  We left for the hospital as soon as Grandma arrived.  I texted my sis on the way to say what was happening, and to my surprise she responded (at 2am).  She had probably been out clubbin' and was just getting home.  We checked in to the hospital around 3am.  At this point the contractions felt about 5 minutes apart. 

We got up to our room and got situated.  The nurses came in to check me.  A small part of me was still scared that they would send me home.  Luckily that fear was quickly pushed aside when she said I was 6-7cm.  They started the antibiotic for Strep B immediately.  And I immediately asked for that little slice of heaven- the epidural.  The nurses said it would be in by 4am.  At this point the contractions hurt like a b#$^&!!  An hour after promised, I was blissfully unaware of any contractions!

Bo and I then tried to get some sleep while we waited for the antibiotic to do its job.  We maybe got 3 hours of frequently interrupted sleep.  Around 8am the on-call doc came in and introduced herself.  She then said she was going to break my water, go perform a C-section, then come back and hopefully it would be time to push.  Well surprise!, when she went to break my water, she informed me that it was already time to push.  She excused herself for a minute to push back her C-section (sorry to whomever that mom was).  This epidural was so amazing that I never felt the urge to push- I literally couldn't feel a thing.  She came back in and told me to push.  At 9:13am, only contractions later (9 total pushes), Elizabeth Britt O'Neill was born.  She weighed 7lbs 12oz and was 21inches long.  Then a small mishap happened.  The doc asked me if I wanted to hold her right away, which of course I did.  She handed her to me, not knowing how short the umbilical cord was.  When I grabbed her and brought her to my chest, the cord snapped.  If you have ever seen Dexter, you can imagine the sight.  Both Bo and I were freaked out, not knowing what happened, but the doc was calm, clamped the cord, and explained what happened.  I looked like I just committed a triple homicide, but was relieved that nothing was wrong. 

 

 

Once she was cleaned off, we saw just how much she looked like Christopher.  She was exactly one pound lighter and had a much smaller head, but otherwise they were twins!  Christopher is on the top of both of these, with Elizabeth on the bottom.

 



 

And now a random assortment of photos:

 

 

FYI- Bo and I have not separated, I just have done a terrible job documenting that he is actually the father of these two children.

Still cooking plus SANTA!!!!!!!

So this little lady is holding tight and cooking away.  It seems that she thinks a December 23rd induction is the way to go.  Little does she know that she will one day resent a birthday so close to Christmas and wish that she would have appeared a couple of days earlier. 

At my doc appointment last week I was 4 cm and 50% effaced.  My doctor commented that she did not understand how I was still walking around and not having a baby.  All I know is that you cannot call this walking.  The sciatic nerve pain has hit an all-time peak.  I contemplated calling an ambulance on Monday because I could not walk.  I was home from work because the Nugget was sick and I got hit with some serious pain.  It was so bad I could not walk, so I had to crawl to the bedroom and find some Tylenol.  I probably looked like a crack head digging around for drugs.  And my poor child was following me asking why I was acting like a baby.  He's lucky he is was sick, is cute, and I was crippled!

I am back to waddling today, so that is a positive.  Hopefully the visit to the doctor tomorrow ends in sending me to the hospital.  A girl can dream!

I am happy to report that the last couple of days were not a complete waste- we were able to cross one item off of our agenda- visiting Santa Claus.  Christopher was so excited to visit the big guy, but froze when we got within 10 feet of him.  Luckily there was no line, so I was able to coax him a bit.  The first attempt at sitting on his lap resulted in a cry/run away combo.  I'm not ashamed to say I bribed him with a trip to the train store to get him to sit and smile for 1 picture.  So here is Santa 2013:

Baby Dos

So it is obvious that I have done the worst job documenting this pregnancy.  I cannot even offer excuses (ok- so I can- nausea, back pain, anemia, extreme tiredness, etc...).  I realized that this babe is about to make an appearance- and I have done nothing other than announce the pregnancy.

So here is a quick snapshot of the pregnancy to date:

• 18-19 weeks = time when morning sickness subsided
•  25 weeks = time when back pain picked up
•  30 weeks = time when sleeping through the night ceased around-replaced with bathroom trips every 2 hours
• 30 weeks = time when peanut butter craving started to disappear
• 8425 = number of pistachio's consumed in last 2 months
• 18= number of pounds higher the scale is showing (although I lost 4 in the beginning, so actual gain is 22)
• 11 = number of pounds added as a direct result of the pistachio consumption
• 16 = number of times a day I remind Christopher to be careful and not jump on my stomach
• 5 = number of times a day Christopher kisses my belly and says hi to his sister
• 9 = number on a scale of 1-10 that I am mentally ready for this baby
• 4 = number on a scale of 1-10 that we are actually ready for this baby (this weekend will be spent packing bags, getting the car seat out, buying newborn diapers, & getting the bassinet set up)
• 1 = number on a scale of 1-10 that I am ready at work to be out for 3 months (but the good news is, if I am not there, I can't stress about it)

I had a check-up with the doctor yesterday, and was a bit surprised with the outcome.  I was hoping that I would be progressing along on my own so that they would schedule an induction.  I did not think that she would tell me that I am 3cm and 50% effaced.  She also said this baby will probably be smaller (in weight and hopefully head circumference) than Christopher- AMEN!!

So while that doesn't necessarily mean the baby will be early, there's a good chance she will.  Which is why this weekend will be spent getting the O'Neill household ready for the little lady.

Here's a bump picture- taken at 37 weeks:

Ahoy Matey

Apple picking

Two blog posts back to back= super productive day!!

Last Saturday we took the Nugget on his 2nd Annual Apple Picking Extravaganza.  Apple picking involves some of his favorite activities- eating apples, being outside, riding on a wagon/tractor, playing with his friend Flynn, and riding around on a track with Dad.  Christopher was loving life.  And Mommy is loving life now that I have homemade apple sauce and an apple pie.  My maternity pants are not loving life as they are now required to work a little harder to keep everything concealed.

 

Breaking News

Breaking news... the O'Neills are still alive.  And I'm 25.5 weeks pregnant with a little girl!  Ok- so neither of those are news to anyone that reads this blog.  But considering it has been 3 months since my last post, this is important info people!  The constant harassment from my parents has prompted me to blog again!

I have done a terrible job documenting this pregnancy.  I need to make sure to get some bump pics so that I can compare to when Purple Snake Christopher was baking in there!  This pregnancy came with the same crippling nausea- although it was nice enough to last even longer than with the Nugget- ending right around 18-19 weeks.  Same sciatic nerve pain as the first time.  Weight gain to this point is +5 (I had been negative, but packed on some serious lbs this last month).  Cravings= peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  It is all I want- everyday.  I have to force myself to eat other food because my choice would be the PB&J each time every time.

2 years old!!!!!!!

Guess who's back, back again.  Christopher's back!  Tell a friend.

So work has really been cramping my blogging lately, but I have not completely given up.  But I am acknowledging the fact that my readers reader will be disappointed (sorry Leslie). 

The Nugget turned two earlier this month!!  It has been a wild and fun two years and we have loved every minute of watching this wild, hilarious and sweet little guy grow up before our eyes.  Here's the 411 on the birthday boy:

2 year stats:
   -Height= 36 inches  (80th percentile)
   -Weight= 26 pounds  (25th percentile)
   -Head circumference= 50 something centimeters (92nd percentile)

So he's basically been pretty consistent with the tall, skinny, large dome situation.  The doctor was very impressed with his vocabulary.  They want a 2-year old to know at least 20 words, well this guy was talking about transit buses for goodness sake.  I think it is safe to say we are well past the 20 word mark.  20 words is for rookies, the Nugget is a pro.

Likes:

• Games on the iPad (specifically Shape Puzzles with Nana, Doc McStuffins, and Thomas) 
• Little Einsteins and Doc McStuffins shows (don't dare dream of a dinner watching the news (regular or E!)- the tv has been spoken for by a 26 pounder 
• Applesauce (or any squeezie thing)- if we would let him, he would live entirely off of those Gerber Graduate things
• Quesadillas.  When in doubt on a meal (or if you are out of applesauce)- a cheese quesadilla is the way to go.  He has never turned one down- and often requests them for dinner.  Which is cute in itself to hear him pronounce quesadilla.
• Being outside- especially while riding bikes.  We heard a cute story from school last week:  while cruising for chicks on the playground during recess, Christopher zoomed up to his teacher (who was sitting on the ground) rubbed her back and smiled, then zoomed right off.  Even while riding along looking cool, he still needed to make sure his teacher was happy!
• Animals- real, stuffed, or plastic.  Christopher knows animal names that I didn't even know existed.  And he knows the sounds for all of them.  Do you know what a Penguin says?  Christopher does!  Waddle waddle waddle burrrrrrrrr.

Dislikes:

• Going to bed.  He is king of the stall!  The words "bedtime" are usually followed by any of the following stall tactics:
• play trains?
• more books?
• watch a movie?
• kisses for mommy?
• Getting dressed.  Many a morning, Christopher will fight getting dressed.  He prefers to be a naked baby and "stay home with mommy/daddy".
• Keith.  Poor poor Keith.  Keith was a classmate of Christopher's (who has luckily since been expelled- for realz).  Keith looked like Ray Lewis and ate steak for breakfast (true story).  Keith was a not-so-gentle giant.  Everyday Christopher would come home telling us about what Keith did that day (Keith pull jacket, Keith pushed Addy, Keith went to cool down in the office).  I tried to explain to the little Nugget that he was fighting out of his weight class, but it did not sink in.  Luckily Keith left before Christopher ended up stuffed in a locker with a "snitches get stitches" note on him.
• Enchiladas.  I have tried and tried and tried, but that boy will not eat one of our favorite dinners.  So instead he gets...you guessed it-a quesadilla.

Swimming

Christopher's first attempt at swimming classes did not go so well. But we went against our better judgment and decided to give swimming class a 2nd try. And he didn't hate it!! Granted, he didn't LOVE it, but it was a step (or stroke ha ha) in the right direction. There were no tears, or screams, and we actually got a smile or two. Michael Phelps he is not, but no worries since we have our (our= Bo and I) heart set on golf.

Nap Time

There is nothing sweeter than a nap with my little Nugget. He is so sweet and cuddly at nap time. I need to hold on to these moments for dear life because they are becoming less and less often. In fact, Bo tried to lay with him yesterday and he told him to go downstairs and went to be on his own.

Cuddles!

The Nugget was sick last week and so sad. The only upside was that it made him super calm and cuddly. Luckily he is now on the mend and back to his crazy, sit on your friends, ways.

P.s.- true story- he was sent to the principals office at school two weeks ago for sitting on his friends. They assured us it wasn't to be mean, but there was some crying from the victims.

New jammies

Willy scored some new Thomas pj's (thanks to a tip from Nana that Old Navy carries Thomas).  These babies were a hit! 

Styling his hair just like his Dad's

"I LOVE THOMAS"

This little bum is my favorite!

Brunch with friends

On Sunday morning Christopher invited his nearest and dearest to a little brunch at his pad.  He made sure no drink went empty (seriously- he sent me back into the kitchen when I attempted to put out empty glasses), he shared his toast, and each guest even scored one grape (which he later ate).  A good time was had by all, but someone needs to work on Penguin's table manners.

Weekend fun!

Another weekend in the books.  We partied so hard on Friday and Saturday, that we had to take it easy for the Superbowl.  Friday night we went to the Lake Erie Monsters hockey game.  I had scored some free tickets, so we decided to check it out.  Spoiler alert- Christopher doesn't care about amateur hockey.  He was having NONE of it, and we left before they even dropped the puck.

Saturday morning was our big Build-A-Bear trip, followed with dinner with Christopher's buddy, Flynn.  The Nugget gets a little confused when we talk about Flynn, since one of his Thomas trains is a fire truck named Flynn.  We have to clarify the boy not the train.  We met up with Flynn (the boy not the train) and his peeps at Dave & Busters.  The boys had a blast (as did the parents).  Christopher even scored enough tickets to add a new animal to his stash- this time a penguin!


You'll be my wing man right dude?

Boys on a shelf

Racing an 18-wheeler with Dad!

Build-A-Panda

With Christopher's current obsession with bears, I thought a trip to build-a-bear would be a winner with him. Pandas have recently become his favorite type of bear, so I was excited to see that you can build your own panda. The Nugget was so excited to go into the store- it was similar to his dad in a brewery! He immediately went for the Panda- not one minute of hesitation on that selection. After our bear was stuffed and "washed", I let Christopher pick out some shoes for the bear. He insisted on boots because of the "no" (translation= snow). We even made the bear a birth certificate. Christopher was responsible for naming his new friend, so he got creative and went with "Panda".

Another visit with my STL peeps

The Nugget and I arrived home yesterday from a fantastic 5 days in St. Louis!  Christopher LOVES spending time with his cousins, so he was living the good life.  (Of course he also loves his time with Grandma and Grandpa- please don't take him out of the will).  His love/hate relationship with Reese is incredibly entertaining to watch.  He asked for Reese no less than 20 times/day, and was always sad to hear that she was at home.  But when he did have the privilege of being in her company, they often fought over toys (ahem Thomas the Train), or chased each other around with chairs (no joke). 

Another highlight of our trip came when Christopher FINALLY said his own name.  The boy can tell you the name of every child in his class, every train on Thomas, and every character on Sesame Street- but would not even attempt to say his own name.  I was convinced that he would be 18 years old and introducing himself by patting his belly and saying "me".  So imagine my surprise when I asked him his name and he replied "Chris-fer".  Had my mother not also been a witness, I would have thought I hallucinated.  I made such a big deal out of it, I probably scarred him for life.  But he has since said it several more times, so I am thinking this will stick!

Now on to the pictures:

A special bribe treat (licorice) on the plane to STL!

Jack showing Christopher how to really shoot those angry birds.

Hanging out with Papa (and watching Thomas for the 39th time).

Grandma/Nana bought me this super cool truck!

I am pretty convinced that no boy has ever loved an article of clothing as much as the Nugget loves this sweatshirt that Nana found!

More Thomas!

Need I caption this?  Thomas...AGAIN.

Heading back home to see Daddy!