Mitta and David Visit the Girls

Sunday, Aunt Mitta and David came to meet the newest member of the family.Izzy had a great time with Mitta on the swings. I wish I had gotten a picture of Kris and David talking about phones while up in the fort. Good thing the playset is rated for adults :)

Father's Day at the Farm

This year, we were able to have a farm share at Green Hill Farm with help from the Wolfsons. Izzy was very happy to see the chickens and the sheep that lives in the garage. We got a lot of good veggies including bokchoy which Kris cooked into a yummy chop suey and mint that was used in a julep. Izzy helped Daddy pick strawberries while Mae slept in her carrier.

Mae is One Week Old!

And what a week it's been! Mae has been settling in at home fairly well. We just need to get her onto a more diurnal schedule. Last night gives us some hope since we got two blocks of 3 hours of sleep. She is her most awake between 10pm and midnight which is past this teacher's bedtime. And she likes to sleep in until 8am or so.

Mae's been eating like a champ. She lost a good bit of weight at the hospital since the milk takes a couple days to kick in but we had learned from Izzy's experience to supplement before dehydration sets in and she was back up to 7 lb by Friday at her first doctor's visit. She was very good for the pediatrician with minimal fuss. We have started her on bottles of pumped milk in the wee hours of the morning since I just don't function at 3am (who does?) Fortunately, she has done just as well with those as with the real thing. We've been using the Breast Flow bottles like we did with Izzy. She'll also take a pacifier if really she's no longer hungry and just wants to suck on something.

Overall I would say Mae's fairly low key. She likes to watch us and Izzy and her mobile. She's already addicted to that monkey mobile and the rainforest music. She also likes the vibrating bouncy seat. It's nice that this time around we can take her outside with us since the weather has been cooperating. I can watch Izzy play on her swingset and splash table and have Mae with me. Yesterday we took our first walk through the neighborhood which Murphy definitely appreciated. Murphy stayed close the whole time. Especially when a neighbor came to say hi.

Izzy has been warming up to her sister. It was love at second sight. We've had a couple pleas to sit in my lap when I'm feeding Mae but Izzy came up with her own compromise: She'll sit between my calves and lean back on the couch to be with me. We've been trying our best to keep Izzy's routine and schedules stable. Day care has been a BIG help with that. Izzy's also becoming a good helper and is willing to throw away diapers and retrieve burp cloths and blankets. She also likes to help bounce Mae in her seat. Overall Izzy has adjusted better than we hoped but we are braced for the other shoe to drop. Especially in a couple weeks when daycare closes for vacation.

What Mae can do:
Focus on a person's face at close range.
Drink from a bottle
Suck on hands
Lift head to change direction while in tummy time
Sleep through ambient noise (tv, visitors, Izzy)
Kick out of even a good swaddle

Mae Likes:
Cuddling
Watching people
Her new ducky rattle from Izzy
The playpen mobile
Sleep all day, Party all night!

Mae Dislikes:
Having a dirty diaper
Diaper changes
Being hungry

Happy Father's Day Grandpa!

Big Sister Izzy

Mae's Birth Story

What happened? We thought she was coming Monday!

So Mae must not have wanted to wait until her scheduled appearance set for Monday morning at 10 am. Kris and I finally took advantage of baby sitting from Grandma Patty Lou and headed out to the Chophouse for a much needed date night. I had a contraction upon pulling up to the parking lot but figured it was one of those fake Braxton Hicks things and we went inside. Well, they continued. I told Kris to start counting after we got our appetizers. They were 5-6 minutes apart. We got to enjoy our appetizers and salads but had our lobster and steak packaged to go. I kinda wish we had finished dinner first but the doc had said to come in at that point since I had been planning on a C-section. I didn't know then that I wouldn't get to even have water again until the next afternoon. We ran home, helped get Izzy ready for bed and packed a bag (we were going to do that Sunday. Really!) Kris let Izzy know that we were going to the doctor to get the baby out of Mommy's belly. Izzy's response: "Like a monster?!"

We got there and was told jokingly by the nurses that there was no room and I didn't look like I was in enough pain. Actually that was kinda the theme for the night. Kris and I read books while riding out contractions. Those beds are SO uncomfortable! But I couldn't really walk around with the monitors and they kept losing contact. The doctor didn't expect me to progress from the 3 cm upon coming in to the 4 cm 90 minutes later since I didn't seem to be having contractions. Um, yes, I was they were weak but productive. We got bumped for surgery by moms in more emergent situations so we decided to wait and see if we'd go for VBAC or another C-section. I stalled out until morning and then we were at 5 cm and then 6 cm. They broke my water at 10:30am to move things along. We were then committed to the more conventional route. I entered "transition" sometime around noon even though the monitors still weren't picking up my contractions. Trust me, I was having them. Really I don't like to cry but couldn't help it. So I got an epidural shortly thereafter. The anesthesiologist was awesome and there's a whole other short story centered around that.

The nurse briefed us on what would happen when pushing began and mentioned to the doctor that I probably had about 2 to 3 hours to go. That was at about 2pm and I remember thinking what the heck did I get myself into?! But I thought I'm strong and this is NOT going to take 3 HOURS! Mae was born a little more than an hour later. The nurse called NICU and Dr. Deldon just 7 minutes before Mae was born. They barely had time to get on their Hazmat suits! The epidural only hides so much but Kris was awesome and at times noticeably awestruck. I'm so happy I couldn't see anything. I did see Mae out and getting her cord cut. One nurse asked if I wanted her on my chest but the docs looked at me and then down and said maybe not right now, clean her up first. Kris and I were both struck by how big she was compared to Izzy. And STRONG! Kid was screaming before she was all the way out and continued to do so until I got her in my arms.

So far, Mae's proven to be fairly easy going and alert. We're home and trying to get into a routine. Time has not stopped like the first time since we have Izzy's schedule to keep up with. I'm being better about "taking it easy" this time around and again I'm happy we had moved downstairs where the bathroom is :)

Introducing Mae Elizabeth Horning Pearson!

Kris, Izzy and I have a new addition to our family: Mae Elizabeth Horning Pearson.

Mae was born Sunday, June 13, 2010 at 3:23 pm.
She weighed in at a respectable 7 lbs 11.2 oz and is 20 inches long.

Some privacy please?

Now we can laugh about it!

Man, it's bright out here.

Proud Daddy!