1 month

I can't believe London is already a month old! The time has gone by so quickly, and my tiny little baby is getting bigger and bigger. Since last week, she has gained another pound! She's over 9 pounds now, and growing out of the newborn clothes. (Thank goodness, since I didn't have many to begin with!) She is sleeping well, waking up twice most nights. We've had a busy week. London experienced her first college graduation ceremony, two visits to the park, and two Memorial Day BBQ/pool parties. Whew! This mama is tired...

3 weeks

Today we took London for her 3-week check up, and she has grown!

8 lb 4 oz

20 inches

We also have Grandma Bev visiting from Iowa, so London has enjoyed getting to know her. Hudson has been sharing his room with Grandma Bev and thinks that's pretty cool!

2 weeks old

London is 2 weeks old (and still technically wasn't due for 6 days). So far she is an easy and content baby. But, again, she is 2 weeks old. Most nights she sleeps pretty well, for 3-4 hours at a time. She still sleeps a lot during the day, but is starting to stay awake for longer periods of time. I am starting her on a routine (Baby Whisperer's eat - activity - sleep) like I did with Hudson. Luckily she likes her crib, so putting her down for naps (awake) is fairly easy. Hudson loves his baby sister and wants to hold her, give her hugs & kisses, and even share his most beloved toys with her. It's really sweet. I was a little nervous about how things would go being a mom of 2 (especially at home by myself) but so far it's going smoother than I expected!

Spoke Too Soon...

So I thought London was getting the sleep thing down... and then last night happened. I was probably up 8 times. Now, of course, it is 9am and she has been sleeping since 5am. But it's hard to be mad at such a cute girl!! I'll just need an extra cup of coffee today.

Sleep is a Beautiful Thing

The first couple nights home didn't involve a lot of sleep... which is to be expected. But the last 2 nights, London has done great! I think she is starting to figure out day and night. The last couple nights she has slept 3-4 hours at a time, only waking up to eat and then has gone right back to sleep. I'm hoping she keeps this up!

I wasn't expecting to be a mom of 2 this Mother's Day (since London wasn't due until May 20th) but now that she is here, I couldn't imagine life any other way! She is the perfect addition to our family and we are totally in love with her.

London's First Week

5-day-old pout

We have been home for a few days now and getting settled as a family of 4! So far things are going well. London sleeps a lot during the day. She does okay at night, but seems to wake up a lot between 11:00pm and 3:00am. After that, she can sleep for 2-3 hours at a time. Overall, she is a mellow baby (except when changing her diaper). Hudson loves her and asks to hold her all the time.

Brandon has also been off work this week, which has been really nice. He goes back on Monday – it will be interesting to see how I do with 2 kids by myself. Luckily Hudson goes to school 2 days a week, so those days will be more mellow for me.

We've had several family members and friends visit and bring us meals, so that has been great. I'm not sure if those yummy meals are going to help me lose my baby weight very quickly, but we sure do appreciate it! :)

London's Birth Day

After my appointment on Wednesday, I emailed my doctor to ask about my fluid level and if I needed to do anything before my appointment the following week. She was on vacation, but gave me a call Thursday saying that she would like me to go in for biweekly non-stress tests, just as a precaution. She asked that I start those the next day, on Friday

Friday morning I went in for my first non-stress test. London was moving a little slowly at first, but responded well once I drank some cold water. After passing the NST, I had an ultrasound to check my amniotic fluid. Apparently it dropped from 8 on Wednesday (which was low-normal) to 3.5!! The nurse told me calmly that we needed to walk over to Labor & Delivery and have a baby! I was totally shocked. Before this week, I hadn't given any thought to amniotic fluid levels, and I was expecting this to be a quick appointment before heading back home to hang out with Brandon & Hudson.

I called Brandon and told him the news – he thought I was joking – and checked in to be induced 3 weeks early! I guess London felt that it was appropriate to be born during all the craziness of the royal wedding in England! Luckily I had just packed my hospital bag and put the carseat in my car the previous day!!

At 10am I started on pitocin. The contractions started, but weren't painful. The nurses kept coming back to check my pain levels, and I kept telling them, "Um, a 3? Really not bad..." and it literally stayed that way for about 15 hours. That entire time I was only dilated to 3 cm. The nurses kept upping my pitocin and even had me take a 1-hour break and start again. I was getting really frustrated to hear that I wasn't making any progress.

At 3am (Saturday), the midwife came in and broke my water. Almost immediately, my contractions started getting stronger and stronger, and by 4:30am I was getting my epidural. I got a little sleep after my epidural kicked in, and at 7:30am the midwife came back to check my progress. I was relieved to hear I had dilated to 6 cm.

At 8:30am, I was starting to feel a lot of pressure, so I asked that the midwife come back and see what was happening (even though it hadn't been that long... and actually, one nurse tried to tell me I wasn't about to have a baby). The midwife came in and said I was complete: 10 cm, 100% effaced and baby had dropped. (Told you, know-it-all-nurse!) She wanted to wait 30 minutes to see if the baby would drop a little more, and at 9:30am I started pushing.

I felt a lot more this time around that I did with Hudson. In fact, in many ways this labor was opposite from when Hudson was born. Even though I was induced both times, the experience was totally different.

At 10:10am, after 30 minutes of pushing, we met our baby girl! London Lorraine was 6 pounds 11 ounces and 19 inches long. She is absolutely beautiful, with lots of blonde hair! And for being 3 weeks early, she is pretty big and perfectly healthy! We are so blessed.

London Lorraine

6 lb 11 oz

19 inches

4.30.2011