Three Months!

Gabriella is 3 months old!

Weight: 12 lbs., 6 oz.  This was just with me weighing at home while holding her.  So, I’m not sure how accurate it was. That puts her at the 39^th percentile according to my app, but the app tends to read a little low – I think she would be closer to 50^th at the doctor’s office with that weight.  I don’t know if that’s accurate or not.  Caleb was definitely bigger by this point.  She’s not as chunky as him :)

Length: I don’t know, cuz we didn’t take her in this month.

Head Circumference: I don’t know again.

She carries her weight in her cheeks ;)

Diaper Size: She’s wearing size 1 still, without a problem.

Clothing Size: She is just outgrowing her 3 month things.  So, mainly 3-6 month clothes right now with a few 3 month things in the mix still.  She’s right on schedule! :)

She doesn't look much different to me here!

Nicknames: She is called Gabby most often, along with variations (Gabby Girl, Gabby Jane, Gabs, etc.).  Caleb calls her Abby and Baby.

Health: Her cradle cap is still not looking great.  I wonder if it’ll continue to be bad during the winter.

You can definitely tell that they're siblings, 

but I think they each have their own look!

Sleep: Gabriella has continued doing a long stretch at night.  She’s really an amazing sleeper!  I still just have to swaddle her, give her the binky, and lay her down awake and she’ll put herself to sleep!  This is so amazing to me :) It’s so different from Caleb!  She usually nurses between 7:30 and 8pm before bed.  Then she’ll sleep until between 4&6 am! She’ll nurse once and go back to sleep until around 8:30am! This is a great schedule.

Diet: She’s just nursing still.  She eats really well. She is pretty settled into a routine of eating 5 times a day still, although occasionally it’ll be 4 times/day.  I’m sure this is part of why she’s not as big as Caleb was!

Loves: She loves tickles!   

She likes it when Caleb talks to her – she smiles so big for him!

She likes music/when people sing.

Apparently she didn't like me making her do these pictures! Ha 

Dislikes: Being alone!  She’ll start making noise in the other room if we’ve left her there to go do something :)

Sudden Noises.  She startles at loud, sudden noises... General noisiness doesn't seem to bother her - just sudden shrieks or things like that.

Other than that, I can’t think of any this month! She’s just so pleasant and really rarely cries…

Milestones: She prefers sitting up.  She can’t do it herself, but she tries to pull herself forward if we lay her down :)

She sucks on her hands a lot!

She is just beautiful!

Baby Gear Love: Nothing has really changed this month…

We still love the Fisher Price Rock & Play, the Boppy, the SwaddleMe, and our swing! 

I love our Tula Baby Carrier! I can wear Gabby in it at the Y or if we go shopping.  It’s really convenient and comfortable.

We went to a Harvest Party on Halloween.

Gabriella was a little cheerleader and Caleb was a football player.

Pete and I were their biggest fans <3

Random Thoughts: I’m excited to enter into the holidays as a family of 4! Lots of fun firsts for Gabby and lots of things that Caleb will actually enjoy this year for the first time :) 

Thanksgiving was the day after Gabriella turned 3 months.

She was so quiet and easy :)

Caleb on the left and Gabby on the right.

This isn't the best comparison because Caleb was only 6 or 7 weeks old.

Mama Update:  I’ve settled around 22 pounds down.  I’ve really been maintaining at 21 pounds lost, but the last few days it’s been 22 :) If I can go into the new year at 21-22 pounds down still, I’ll be thrilled.  That puts me at 11-12 pounds left to lose.  I’ll probably start trying to workout harder and be more careful about what I’m eating at that point.  I’m still having trouble with these daily headaches; I go to the neurologist the week after Thanksgiving and I’m hoping that’ll help!

Our family on Thanksgiving, without Caleb...

Because he was being a 2 year old.

I love her smiles SO MUCH!

She's just a beautiful girl.  I can't get over it!

Two Months!

Gabriella is 2 months old!

Weight: 11 lbs., 12 oz.  That puts her at the 67^th percentile.  Caleb weighed more at this age, but was actually a lower percentile… That must be because boys tend to be bigger?

Length: 22.25” This would mean she hasn’t grown since she was 2.5 weeks old, I’m not sure if that’s accurate :) That puts her at the 40^th percentile.

Head Circumference: 16”

Diaper Size: She’s wearing size 1.  They fit her great!  Caleb was longer than Gabby, so he had outgrown 1s by this age!

Clothing Size: 0-3 months and 3 months.  I’ve had to pack up some of her 0-3 month 1-piece things.  3 month clothes fit her really well right now.

She's looking so much bigger and more alert.

I definitely think she's longer than last month too,

even though it didn't look that way at the doctor!

Nicknames: She is called Gabby most often, along with variations (Gabby Girl, Gabby Jane, Gabs, etc.).  Caleb calls her Abby and Baby.  She sometimes gets Lady Jane or Little Miss, as well :)

Health: Her baby acne is clearing up.  That picked up right around 3 weeks for her and just finally started clearing up.  Her cradle cap is starting to get worse now; Caleb had that pretty bad when he was little too.

Caleb filled out a lot between month 1 & 2!

They look very similar!!

He just had so much more hair than Gabby does... Poor girl

Sleep: Gabriella has continued doing a long stretch at night.  She’s really an amazing sleeper!  She goes right back to sleep after she eats overnight, too.  She sleeps really well in the rock n play or the pack n play.  She gets a little bit fussy when she’s tired.  I swaddle her, give her the binky, and lay her down awake and she’ll put herself to sleep!  This is so amazing to me :)

Diet: She’s just nursing.  She eats really well. She is pretty settled into a routine of eating 5 times a day.  I can’t believe she only eats 5 times a day… It’s all so different from Caleb!

She definitely likes to sleep on her side or belly if she's not swaddled!

I think she'll like it when she's able to roll to those positions herself

Loves: She loves snuggles!   

She likes bath time.  She is happy and calm in the bath.

She likes diaper changes!  I get sweet smiles from her then, just like her brother when he was this age.

She likes music/when people sing.

Dislikes: Just like her brother, she doesn’t like getting out of the bath :)  I’m sure she’s just cold… I hate getting out of the shower, too!

I honestly have so much trouble thinking of things she doesn’t like because she’s usually so calm.

Milestones: She is getting stronger with holding up her head, neck, and shoulders.

She turns toward noises, gives us big smiles, follows things with her eyes.  She’s your typical 2 month old!

She is so responsive!

Baby Gear Love: We still love the Fisher Price Rock & Play, the Boppy, the SwaddleMe, and our swing! 

I love our Tula Baby Carrier! I can wear Gabby in it at the Y or if we go shopping.  It’s really convenient and comfortable.

Tula in action at the circus for Caleb's birthday!

Random Thoughts: A lot of my thoughts are still the same as last month… I’m much more rested this time around, having a good sleeper.  It’s amazing the difference that makes!  And my heart just bursts watching the way Caleb loves on her and the way she puts up with craziness from him :) 

She's just such a pretty girl <3

Mama Update:  I have lost another 3 or so pounds this month.  So I’m something like 20 pounds down, 13 pounds to go.  I’m glad that I’m losing at all because I’m hardly able to go to the Y.  My non-scale victory was that I went down a pants size this month!  Now I'm only 1 size bigger than when I got pregnant with Gabby (which was the smallest I've been as an adult!).  With the holidays (and the millions of sweets that go with them) coming up and with me hardly being able to go to the Y, I’m really hoping to just not gain throughout the rest of the year.  If I lose, that’s like an added bonus!

Since at least the beginning of October (but I think it actually started during the last week of September), I’ve had daily headaches again like I did in 2012-2013.  This is really frustrating and it’s certainly limited the things I’m able to do.  I’m so eager to be active again – I, of course, want to lose the pregnancy weight… But, even more so, I just want to get in better shape and stronger!  

I’m so excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year… Caleb loves getting together with family and Gabby will be even more interactive!

This is what my life looks like a lot of the time...

Surrounded by toys and laundry,

both kids on my lap,

and my heart is more full than I can describe! <3

(Seriously, though, you should see the way Caleb climbs on me

while I'm nursing Gabby! My life is a circus!)

One Month!

Gabriella is 1 month old!

Weight: 10 lbs., 13 oz. This is an estimate.  I weighed holding her and without her and then did the math.  At 2.5 weeks, she weighed 9 lbs., 7 oz.

Length: 22.25” This is from her appointment when she was 2.5 weeks old.

Head Circumference: 14.75”

Diaper Size: Newborn.  We’re just finishing up the newborn ones that we have and then we’ll switch to size 1.

Clothing Size: 0-3 months.  She was just about too long for newborn from the beginning.  She needed 0-3 month sleepers right away. She was able to wear a few newborn separates in her first week.

Nicknames: She is called Gabby most often, along with variations (Gabby Girl, Gabby Jane, Gabs, etc.).  Caleb calls her Abby and Baby.  She sometimes gets Lady Jane or Little Miss, as well :)

Health: She hasn’t had any health issues!  She started gaining a lot of weight quickly and she hasn’t had tear duct issues like Caleb had.  She did have one “scare” (that wasn’t really a scare).  She had a deep sacral dimple, so the pediatrician sent us for an ultrasound. Caleb had this too, but we avoided an ultrasound with him (I think we kind of said no to the doctor because she said it was borderline and he was moving fine, etc.).  Gabby’s was deeper than Caleb’s, so we decided to go ahead and get it looked at just in case, but all was fine!

Gabby on the left and Caleb on the right

She's definitely chunkier than he was!

And I definitely need to use my camera and not my phone 

for Gabby's pictures from now on ;)

Sleep: Gabriella is beginning to do a long stretch at night.  She’s often going 6+ hours after her bedtime feeding.  So, she’s sleeping at least 5 hours straight and I’m getting around 4.5-5 hours.  It’s so nice!  She has spaced out her daytime feedings to about 4 hours apart.  I then do her bedtime one after 2 or 3 hours, which I think helps her go a bit longer overnight.  She’s having more awake/alert time during the day now.  She’s really chill, just watching things :)

Diet: She’s just nursing.  She eats really well.  Early on, I had salsa and then Gabby seemed to have tummy-troubles the next day.  So, I eliminated salsa for the first month.  I just tried it again (technically in the second month) and she woke up in the middle of the night projectile spitting up.  So, I’m done with that again for a while!  I’ll try it again sometime, probably in another month, and see how she does.  

She's definitely eating well - Check out those cheeks!

Loves: She loves snuggles!   

She loves her swing! This was interesting to me because it took Caleb a lot longer to like it.

She loves being on her tummy.  This happened pretty early on with Caleb too.  He slept much better when he could roll onto his stomach.  Gabby is already a good sleeper, but I think she’ll like sleeping on her tummy too!

Dislikes: She is such a content baby, it’s hard to even think of dislikes… She cries when she has a wet diaper, when her tummy is upset, and when she’s really tired.  When she wakes up to eat, she’s just grunting – not crying or anything!

Milestones: She is just starting to give us little smiles and smirks.  Caleb was smiling a lot by this time, so I expected it sooner with Gabriella because she’s not nearly as fussy as he was.  We’ve decided that Gabby is just more even keeled.  Caleb had extreme ups and downs :)

She has been rolling from her back onto her side since she was born.  One time she made it onto her belly, but I think the incline of couch/blankets helped her!

I just love her! Such a beauty <3

Baby Gear Love: Fisher Price Rock & Play!  This is what she sleeps in every night, just like Caleb :) 

The Boppy is super helpful with nursing, although I don’t feel nearly as attached to it as I did with Caleb… I’m guessing this is just because I’m more used to nursing this time around.  

We LOVE the SwaddleMe again! 

Gabby loves our swing, which is from the Bright Starts Playful Pals line.  We got the travel swing, which is nice to be able to fold it up and put it against the wall.

Random Thoughts: Gabby likes the MAM pacifiers too, but she isn’t as attached to them as Caleb was. 

I’m excited to see her growing into her personality over the coming days/weeks/months.  I just love getting to know our kids <3  It’s really different having a more calm baby.  I’m sleeping more and not feeling overwhelmed with screaming all day like sometimes happened with Caleb.  I really love watching a relationship starting to develop between her and Caleb.  C is always concerned about Gabby, giving her kisses and her binky, etc.  And Gabriella will smile for him!

Mama Update:  I gained a total of 33 pounds during the pregnancy.  That was exactly the same amount I gained with Caleb!  I was hoping to not gain as much, but it definitely increased more quickly when I went on bed rest this summer.  I was still really bothered by it, but not as stressed as I was during my first pregnancy.  I guess I feel more confident that I can lose it this time around, since I did last time.

At 1 month out, I’ve lost 17 pounds and have 16 more to go.  I think I’ve actually lost a little more than that, but my weight seemed to be running higher on the day I weighed in.  Again, I’m not super stressed because I think I’ll lose it eventually, even if it’s slower than last time.  I’m looking forward to starting to walk at the Y for the first time in like 4 months!  (I have since gone to the Y twice.)

I’m generally feeling SO much better than I felt during my pregnancy and SO much better than I felt after giving birth to Caleb.  I have had a much easier time recovering this time, which is helpful since I have a toddler to take care of too!  Also, Pete was able to take off about 2 weeks from work.  This was a huge blessing; we’re so grateful for the way this worked out!

Gabriella's first Sunday in church!

Clearly Caleb is a handful...

Overall, we’re adjusting well to our new life :)  Caleb is a handful, like a lot of two year olds.  He just loves Gabby and I love to watch the way he cares for her.  I can’t believe Gabby is sleeping as well as she is and I sure hope it lasts ;)  It’s really helping with needing to be on my game during the day.  We just love Gabriella and, once again, it’s hard to imagine/remember what life was like without her.

Birth Story

I've been meaning to write this for the last month.  I'll try to keep it short, but that didn't happen with Caleb's birth story ;)

I had been having bouts of regular, timeable contractions off and on for a week or two.  On Sunday, 8/21, I even had contractions 5 minutes apart for SIX HOURS.  This happened sometimes with Caleb; I went to the hospital once with him.  So, I felt a little better-equipped this time around.  I could tell they weren't yet the real thing, so I just waited them out.  Each time they'd eventually fizzle out, rather than increasing in intensity.

I got really emotional on Sunday night.  I broke down crying while talking to Pete.  We had discussed the option of induction, but we were really hoping I would go into labor on my own.  However, that meant I could be waiting it out for another 2 weeks.  With my pain and physical limitations, I just didn't think I could make it.  So we prayed... We discussed the fact that it was important for Pete to get through work on Monday (for his goals, etc.).  And we, yet again, reminded ourselves to trust God's timing and we went to bed.

On Monday, everything seemed normal.  I had some irregular contractions in the afternoon... Sometimes 6 minutes apart, sometimes 15 minutes.  Still, nothing seemed to be the real thing and they were easing up by the time we were eating dinner, doing bed time, etc.  I had actually stopped noticing them throughout the evening while we were watching Angry Birds with Caleb.

After we put Caleb to bed, the contractions started picking up.  I didn't pay much attention to them because I had gotten used to having contractions off and on.  Around 8:45 PM, I noticed that they were pretty regular and a little more intense than the contractions in the days before.  Around 9:30, Pete got dessert and asked if I wanted any.  I said no because I was feeling nauseous - that should've been a sign ;) Instead, I got on the yoga ball to bounce (that's how I labored through all of Caleb's labor).  We decided to keep watching the movie and see what happened.

I believe it was around 10:15 that I noticed the contractions were longer than a minute and about 4 minutes apart (I was watching the clock on the DVD player haha).  I still was doubting if they were the real thing and didn't want to go in to the hospital during false labor like I did with Caleb.  I warned my parents (who were supposed to be going to bed) that it could be the real thing, but I wasn't sure.

When the movie ended, Pete put worship music on.  That was really helpful because I felt a lot more calm and at peace.  I continued to bounce on the yoga ball, while messaging my mom to fill her in on what was happening.  I eventually started having more trouble focusing to send those messages - but nothing felt "bad enough" yet.  Pete was getting our bags ready and putting in the last minute things.

I listened to this album a lot through my pregnancy, 

so it's what we played during labor too!

Eventually Pete told me we needed to call the midwife to see what she thought - I didn't think it was necessary yet, but she lives about 30-45 minutes away... So it seemed like a better option than continuing to wait.  She suggested we go in to the hospital and get checked by a nurse so that she knew if it was time to come.  We later found out she heard me breathing or talking in the background and realized it was the real thing.  So, she got herself ready and headed to the hospital.

Pete helping me put my shoes on while I breathed through a contraction!

I let my parents know and they came to our house to watch Caleb.  He was sleeping away, with no idea what was happening :)  I made my way to the car, stopping for contractions and to put shoes on, etc.  While we were walking from the house to the car, I told Pete I just didn't think I could take it if we got there and they told me it wasn't the real thing.  He said that he didn't think they would be telling me that.

I didn't get an official belly picture, so this will just have to do ;)

I could hardly handle sitting in the van while we drove to the hospital, which is less than 2 minutes down the road.  When I got to the hospital, they were expecting me.  They realized I was pretty far along in labor, even though I was still afraid I wouldn't have progressed or anything.  They tried to get me in a wheelchair, which I refused.  If you've been in labor, you know the last thing you want at that point is to sit down.  So, a nurse (or a person from the lab or something) started walking with me to the elevator while Pete checked me in? or filled out paper work or something.  He met us at the elevator.

When I got to the delivery room, they had me put on a gown.  They wanted to see if I had dilated and to get a monitor on the baby.  When the nurse checked me, she told me I was fully dilated!  I was in shock, but almost immediately felt like I needed to push.  I didn't tell them right away because the midwife wasn't there.  I had Pete call my mom to tell her I was fully dilated and the baby would be born soon.

After a couple of contractions, I told the nurse I really felt like I needed to push.  She said, "No, you don't."  I said, "Yes, I really do!"  So, they called the head nurse into the room and she told me, "If you're going to have this baby without your midwife here, then I really need you to listen to me."  Finally, someone who was at least going to let me push ;)

As I was pushing, they realized my water hadn't broken yet.  Gabriella's amniotic sac was actually still in tact when her head came out!  The nurses were all excited because they had never seen that before :)  The cord was around her neck, so they broke my water then to unwrap the cord.  My midwife arrived around this time.  I actually saw my midwife and saw Gabby's face at the same time :)  So, that nurse got the excitement of delivering a baby that night!

Our sweet girl <3

The nurse told me that I got to the hospital at midnight and Gabriella was born at 12:23!  I was in serious shock for a while that she was born so quickly.  My goal had been to go into labor on my own and to spend as much time as possible laboring at home.  I'm pretty sure I met that goal ;) 

Pretty quickly after delivery, my midwife told me that I can't wait as long with our third baby.  I found it pretty funny and gutsy to start discussing a third baby just minutes after the second is born :)

There were 2 other hospitals we could've delivered at for this pregnancy, if circumstances had been a little bit different.  One is about half an hour away and the other is about an hour away.  I had been really nervous about delivering at our local hospital because I've had better experiences at the others.  However, I just love that God knew... I would've been having Gabby on the side of the road if we had to drive to the other hospitals!  (Ok, maybe we would've gone sooner, but I don't know because I was really questioning if it was the real thing or not.)

We also ended up being really happy with the care at our local hospital.  Gabby was born just after midnight, so officially Tuesday morning.  We were discharged 36 hours later, just after noon on Wednesday.  It was so nice to be home so quickly!

I went into labor with a lot of concerns due to the SPD (painful pelvic condition I had been dealing with through most of my pregnancy).  There were questions about how much pain I would have during delivery, what positions I would be able to use for delivery, if I would experience any permanent damage, etc... But God was so faithful!  I didn't even think about that pain while I was pushing.  And my pain was significantly better immediately.  Within a few hours, I was able to walk without any of the pain I had while I was pregnant.  I also was concerned because of the complications I experienced during Caleb's delivery, but I didn't have any of those issues either!

Overall, Gabriella's labor and delivery honestly couldn't have gone better... It was like my best case scenario.  Looking back, I am amazed.  God is good and I see His hand all over this situation!

Little Miss is Here!

Gabriella Jane Appleton

Born on 8/23/16 at 12:23 AM

Weight: 8 lbs, 6 oz.

Height: 20.75 inches

She's finally here!

First family photo!

Going home!! :)

Pregnancy #2

Baby #2!

We found out I was pregnant with Baby #2 on December 18, 2015 (our niece's 1st birthday)!

We told our families on Christmas.  We actually told Grandad first and let him and Nana tell everyone else.  That was Pete's idea - I knew it wouldn't go perfectly, and I was torn... I'm so glad we did that though because Grandad was able to be involved in a special way <3

We announced to the world on February 7, 2016.

12 Weeks

14 Weeks

16 Weeks

18 Weeks

 We found out that it was a little girl and told our families for Easter! (And my dad's birthday!)

My mom had picked this out, in case the baby was a girl!

20 Weeks

22 Weeks

24 Weeks

28 Weeks

30 Weeks

32 Weeks

34 Weeks

35 Weeks

36 Weeks

39 Weeks

Same dress, similar timing, very different sizes!

39.5 Weeks

Pete helping me put shoes on while I breathed through a contraction :)

And the very last picture of me, while I was pregnant... Headed to the hospital!