Brooke is TWO months!!

I can't believe I am actually writing this post!  Today is December 9th, (I know, it took me awhile to post this) which means Brooke is TWO MONTHS old today!  Our sweet girl is growing so incredibly fast!  Here are her two month stats from her doctor visit and development!

*22 1/2 inches (58th%), grown 2 inches since birth
*10 lbs, 9 oz (44%), gained 3 lbs 3 oz since birth
*size 0-3 months clothes and some 3 month (just not the pants)
*size 1 diaper
*still nursing, but will drink bottles of pumped milk
*when on her stomach, can lift her head to look straight at you-not for too long, but she's getting there!
*likes to sit up and look at everyone and everything-inlcuding her crazy brother who runs around the house at night!
*smiles!!
*coos at you when you talk to her
*loves to be swaddled
*loves to be held
*loves her swing when she's sleepy
*not so much a fan of laying on her back to play or be in the bouncer seat for too long

Check out these smiles!  She definitely is a Daddy's Girl already!  When Ryan talks to her, she coos and gives him THE BIGGEST smiles ever!  He's in serious trouble...and he knows it!  I love her cute little smile-it reminds me of how sweet and innocent she is, how much happiness she has to look forward to!  I love the brightness in her eyes and the little corners that turn up on her usual frowny face.  Sweet, sweet, Brooke!

 I started back at work on November 23rd, and she is spending the mornings with Connor at their sitter, Rachel's house.  I think Rachel was excited to have not only a baby, but a girl!  There are currently all boys with the exception of one lonely 2 year old girl (who was also excited for some extra estrogen in the house).  I got Brooke adjusted to take a bottle awhile back and she does so well with it. I just have to make sure I remember to pump enough for a couple bottles!  It did feel strange getting her ready that first day.  I did great until I pulled down the street to drop them off...that's when the tears started.  I choked them back, got my babies out of the car, and walked them up to the door.  As I was explaining instructions for Brooke, I started again!  (I have to throw in here that I am so incredibly grateful for Rachel-she is AMAZING and loves my children so much!  She is the reason I was absolutely at peace with going back to work at 6 weeks!)  I quickly left and got myself to work before all of the makeup was off my face.  Luckily, the three hours went by SO quickly!  I was back to pick them up in no time, and realized that it was going to be easier than I thought.  I LOVE my kids, but it was nice to get dressed in professional clothes, do my job and talk to adults.  It's even better that I only do that for a short time before I get to leave and spend the rest of the day with Connor and Brooke.  I count my blessings for such a great balance every single day!!!!

Then I get to come home!  Connor has lunch, and usually Brooke too.  I have had to figure out a system for a lunch routine.  This was SO EASY with just Connor.  But now...well it takes some creativity.  I have to leave Brooke in her carseat for a few minutes while I get Connor's lunch ready.  Elmo's World gets turned on or he plays.  Then I give him his lunch and milk.  By this time, Brooke is usually yelling at me to get her out of the carseat to eat.  So, I either have to leave Connor at the table until he's done while I feed Brooke or I take the Boppy over to the table with me and they both have their lunch!  Then I put Brooke in her swing or bouncer while I put Connor down.  On really nice days, Brooke is passed out in her swaddle in her crib.  On not so nice days, she has to cry for a few minutes while Connor and I get a little snuggle time in-usually it is the latter.  We read a few books in his room, listen to his music, and cuddle until I put him down.  He usually whines because I think he wants more mom time, but at that point, Brooke can be really upset!  Whew!  I finally get out to Brooke and then she wants to finish lunch before she officially is down for the count.  I love this part of the day because I just get to sit with her, rock and just take in all of her cuteness!

Dinner time is the harder part of the day as well.  They are both up from naps.  Connor likes to go outside or play with his toys inside.  Brooke will hang out in her bouncer and stare at the lights in the kitchen for a short amount of time.  I'm counting down the minutes until Ryan gets home, because usually both of them are crying at me! Poor Ryan has worked all day, driven in rush hour, and comes home to be put to work! Ahh, the life of a parent!  He takes whichever child is in the most need of something, and I finish dinner.  By the time I get food on the table for everyone, Brooke is usually hungry unless Ryan has been able to give her a bottle.  This is the beginning of her fussy time, and there have been many meals with Brooke in one arm and a fork in the other! 

After dinner, one of us tends to Brooke/cleans up dinner while the other gives Connor a bath and gets him ready for bed.  This time is pretty busy as well, but we are really getting the hang of it.  Finally, after some rocking, feeding, reading and music, they are both down.  Whew!  Then we sit on the couch for a few minutes together before one of us is about to fall asleep and we decide to go back to bed.  Then we check on both of our babies before we join them in dreamland!

Christmas is coming soon and I can't wait!  Then I'll be hurrying to write Brooke's three month post! Slow down!

The Birth Story of Brooke

The past 3 weeks have been a whirlwind...the most incredible whirlwind of my life.  You all know how anxious I was to add our baby girl to our family.  And then, it suddenly happened! 

On October 9th, 2011 we all got up like any other day.  I told myself I wasn't going to think about the baby coming.  Instead, I was focusing on the fact that my Mom is moving out of her house into a new one, and I hadn't been much help.  It's hard with an almost 2 year old and a giant belly to really do much, but on this day, we enlisted the help of Ryan's parents to watch Connor so Ryan and I could help Mom, Aunt Mary and Aunt Carrie move as much as we could before the baby did come.  I got Connor ready and drove over to my in-laws, switched vehicles with them and came home.  I had one errand to run-I needed a battery charger for the camera I had purchased from a guy on craigslist the day before.  So, I quickly ran up to get that and a pomegranate tea from AJ's.  I even texted my sis in law, Carly, and told her I had zero signs of the baby coming any time soon!  I came home and Ryan and I ate some lunch to fuel up for the move-this was at noon.  While I was chomping on my ham and cheese panini, I started feeling some contractions.  I didn't get my hopes up though...this has happened before!  However, this time was different...

I timed them.  They were 10 minutes apart.  I called Mom and let her know I was going to watch my contractions for an hour and then call her back.  She told me "I think this is going to be it".  I replied with "yeah, yeah" and finished watching a show.  Ryan took advantage of the time by taking a nap (since he had gone out with some friends the night before).  I went for a brisk walk around the neighborhood and park and worked up a good sweat.  Now they were 7 minutes apart.  When I got home, I sat on the big exercise ball, did some deep squats and cat/cow from yoga, and they maintained.  I woke Ryan up and debated with him.  He got up with me and we went for another walk around the park.  During this walk, my contractions got down to 5 minutes apart, and I had to stop for some of them and breathe through them.  By the time we got home, I called Mom and told her what was happening.  My biggest fear was going to the hospital only to be sent home!  It happens all the time!  By 4:00, they were painful enough and still 5-6 minutes apart, so we decided it was time.  My bag was ready, but Ryan threw as much as he thought he needed into his gym bag and we headed out the door.  My mind was racing-I hadn't packed a bag for Connor.  I only laid out his "Big Brother" outfit and the present I got for him from his sister, and the little pink giraffe he picked out for her.  The carseat was ready, but I had taken out the base when my sister was here...etc.  We walked into Banner Thunderbird.  The last time we did this, I was there for an induction, so we got to skip triage altogether!  In we went, got hooked up the monitors and waited.  Sure enough, my contractions were strong enough and close together and I was at 4 cm.  The doctor advised walking for an hour, and she needed to see change in order for me to be officially admitted.  I was determined!  Ryan and I not only walked, but ran up and down stairs, did jumping jacks, and even a few lunges and squats to make sure I showed that change!! (Well, actually, I did all that-Ryan made sure we had a pit stop at the cafeteria so he could get a drink.  He also got me an icee-let me tell you, it was the best icee of my life!).  We got back to the room at 5:30, and crossed our fingers and toes!  Sure enough, I was at 5cm!  She got in touch with the doctor, and they made the decision to admit me.  Woohoo!!
By 6:30, we were in our labor and delivery room.  About an hour later, we decided to break my water to move things along, so I got my epidural (which only worked on the right side at first...thank goodness laying on my left side finally helped numb me!).  We watched the contractions get stronger and our baby girl stay steady. My mom and aunts got there not long after and the wait began!  We chatted about the new iphone, convinced Aunt Mary to take Carrie's ipod touch, and played with the new camera. I was still only about 6 cm, and were told it could be awhile-most likely our little girl would be an October 10th baby because she wouldn't be born before midnight.  About that time, my mother in law arrived, and I got to catch up on Connor's day.  I missed him so much!  I also talked to my sister, who was at a wedding and in a different time zone, therefore had already taken advantage of the open bar.  She was very excited, I think, through all those tears! :)
Suddenly, just as Carrie busted out the game of Quiddle, I felt the most intense pain of my life.  It was that sheet gripping, face squinting, if-I-had-a-leather-strap-I'd-bite-it type of pain.  It was 11:15.  I told Ryan to get the nurse ASAP, and my family decided it was time to go to the waiting room.  The nurse came in, showed me how to use the pain pump, and then checked me.  She was shocked to see that I was 9 cm!! She said she'd come check me in a half an hour or so.  Fifteen minutes later, I told Ryan to go get her again because the pain wasn't going away and I was feeling the need to push.  She came back in (and I think was a little skeptical!) but checked, and sure enough-I was at 10 cm!  She called to start getting people in the room to get ready for baby, and I looked at Ryan.  This was it!  She said to give her a couple pushes to see where I was, and then quickly told me to stop so she could get the doctor in there before the baby came!  We were elated-Connor's birth was two and half of the longest hours of pushing.  Poor guy was up high and not ready to come out, so to have 2 pushes down and be ready for her to come was incredibly exciting!
The doctor came in (ps-it wasn't my doctor, but a wonderful doctor from the practice who I liked very much!) and got herself ready.  On the next contraction, I was to push.  Our nurse, Jolie, took the camera from Ryan and snapped away while Ryan helped me push.  TWO PUSHES, yes, TWO PUSHES later, we met our daugther.  The umbilical cord was wound around her body, but she was absolutely perfect.   She let out a few cries, and they put her directly on my immediately.  Our eyes met, and we looked at each other like we were old friends. It was an amazing feeling to feel so good after giving birth to her (with Connor I was so exhausted and sick!!). 

After her tests and getting cleaned up, I got to to nurse her immediately (another experience Connor and I missed out on until 6 hours later).  She was perfect!  At that point, Ryan and I had to decide on a name! Yikes!!  We had decided our top three names the night before while eating some spicy food at Abacus.  Kyra, Brooke and Lindsay-it was one of those!  We knew immediately that she was not a Lindsay.  So it was between Kyra and Brooke.  I looked at her and looked at Ryan and told him I felt like Brooke was it.  I think he was too tired to make any decisions, but he agreed after we repeated both names a few times to make sure.  The middle name had been decided on by me months earlier, but this was kept a secret.  Why Laurel?  My Grandma Phyllis' middle name was Laurel, my mom's name is Laurie (derived from that) and my sister's middle name is Laurel.  What better name to give my daughter than one shared by three very important women in my life!  So, there it was BROOKE LAUREL. 

We gathered everyone back in the room, and introduced her.  Everyone got some snuggle time in before we let them go to bed, and we prepared for our first night as parents of this beautiful little girl.

She has been amazing these past three weeks.  Brooke is much easier than we thought considering how much she moved in the womb.  She's still a mover, but very content and calm unless hungry or dirty.  She sleeps well, and wakes up on average three times a night to eat, change and snuggle. 

How is it as a family of four?  It's a struggle at times to make sure we are giving Connor enough attention, or when he wants something and I am nursing Brooke.  Thank God for a great support of family and friends!  They have all helped so much and shown both of our babies so much love!  We've realized that we can easily make it on our own, and that we work so well as a team which makes life easier.  I wouldn't change a thing!  I do know that this is it for us.  As soon as she was born, I had an overwhelming feeling of complete-ness.  Like this is the way our family is meant to be!  I'm not sad about it either (well, most of the time-I'd be lying if I didn't say that I love the birthing process and the newborn stage, but I don't want to be pregnant and trying to take care of 2 kids!). 

So, that's it!  That's the story of how our Morgan family became a complete family of four with the addition of Brooke.  We are incredibly blessed and reminded of what a miracle life really is.  Thank you all for your support and love.  We look forward to what life will bring is in the coming years!