A Proud Big Sister

Olivia is developing into a great big sister. Not only has she warmed up to Lilly, but she tells me often that she "likes/loves her baby sissy." She enjoys giving her hugs and kisses and takes quite a bit of offense if you don't let her help by picking out the bib, burp cloth, and handing you the bottle. She will help feed Lilly by holding the bottle and burp her by patting her back. Olivia checks on Lilly for me whenever she is in her bed and informs me if anything is out of place (i.e. if Maggie gets too close to her by Olivia's estimation, which means if Maggie is anywhere in the same room as Lilly). Olivia also loves to show her guests Lilly's room. We are really pleasantly surprised about how well she is doing with the transition.

At the same time, we are also noticing signs of jealousy, which can be exhausting to deal with. We are having a terrible time getting Olivia to go to bed anymore, especially if she perceives that Lilly isn't going to bed. I often have to put her to bed in tears as she cries that she wants Mommy or Daddy (depending on who is holding Lilly) to go to bed too. She also has developed an aversion to going to daycare. She never wants to leave in the morning and tells me that she wants to stay home "for a little while." Olivia refuses to eat her breakfast and struggles when I try to dress her, sometimes even stripping off her clothes after I have dressed her to avoid going to daycare. When Olivia comes home from daycare, she most often tells me that her "tummy hurts" and she wants to sit in my lap. This is usually when I hear that she doesn't like Lilly anymore. But after a while she will be kissing her and telling Lilly that it is "okay baby" when she cries.

I guess all these mood swings are very normal for the big sister but they certainly can be exhausting. Running on less than normal amounts of sleep, I am often having to count to 10 to regain my patience in dealing with Olivia's love/hate relationship with her little sister, as well as the "terrible twos." It is certainly a transition for all of us as we adjust to our new family of 4, but all things considered, I think we are doing well.

Lilly's First Bath

It was only a sponge bath because her umbilical cord stump hasn't fallen off yet, but she wasn't much of a fan...

Daddy and Lilly

Finally Warming Up

A week makes a big difference. Lilly is a week old today and Olivia has warmed up quite a bit to her. We have gone from refusing to touch her to helping Mommy by picking out Lilly's diapers, wipes, bibs, and burp clothes. Olivia helps me hold the bottles while I feed her and loves to feel her feet ("I like them Mommy.") She pats her on her back and tells her "It's okay, baby sissy, it's okay." She also will tell her it is time to get up to eat when we are ready to feed. It is really quite funny. I did tear up a little when out of the blue Olivia told me that she "liked her" and then later said she "loved" her baby sissy. Now if we can get her to hold her...

On another note, although Lilly lost over 8% of her body weight and reached 5 lbs. 1 oz. (like I said, a complete monster), she is finally gaining some weight and is back to 5 lbs. 4 oz. In the words of her pediatrician, she is a peanut!

Our First Family Photo

This is our first family photo and it is a riot. Uncle Bob and Aunt Windy brought us dinner and a Christmas party! They arrived with boiled shrimp, potatoes, bread, and salad, dressed up for Christmas with Santa Claus hats in tow. Olivia was ecstatic! She danced to Christmas music and sang Christmas carols while we visited. It was very cute. We all were given hats and had to take a family photo in front of the Christmas tree. Olivia's smile says it all. Lilly slept through everything and, as you can see from Jeremy and I, we are doing good these days to keep our heads up. No makeup and bags under my eyes - well, I did take a shower that day...

The First Meeting

Olivia was not allowed to visit us in the hospital due to the H1N1 restrictions, so her first meeting with her little sister happened when we arrived home from the hospital. This has been a source of anxiety for us for some time, since Olivia cries when other babies cry and has recently taken to telling me that she does not like babies. But her Nanny and Papaw, who kept her while we were in the hospital, worked diligently with her, so she was a little prepared when we arrived home. The second we walked in the door she had a look of pure terror on her face and her hands over her ears in preparation for the baby to cry. She warmed up after a while of showering attention on her and not focusing on the baby and presented Lilly with a present - a new outfit she picked out and a sippy cup with Lilly's name on it (spelled "Lily"). She wouldn't come within a few feet of her without getting terrified (as you can see from the pictures), but it was better than I ever imagined it would be. Daddy bought Olivia a new camera as a present from Lilly and that, along with a box of Cheerios he sent home to her from the hospital from my breakfast tray, were a BIG hit. Lilly slept through the entire ordeal, completely oblivious, of course. All things considered, I think the introduction went really well.

Lillian Belle ("Lilly") Lankster

We welcomed Lillian Belle Lankster into this world at 11:51 a.m. on Thursday, December 3, 2009. She weighed a whopping 5 lbs. and 14 oz. at birth and was 19 inches long. It was quite a ride, particularly since my due date was not for another 2 weeks or December 17th. For those of you who don't know the story (and are interested) and of course, for posterity's sake, I will quickly fill you in.

On Tuesday, December 1st, and Jeremy's birthday, I had a particularly long day of painful Braxton-Hicks contractions and then a couple of hours that night of actual contractions, albeit irregular. I had a regular appointment scheduled with Dr. Simms on Wednesday, December 2nd, at lunchtime, but I was feeling better, so I scarfed down some peanut butter crackers since I had only had a bowl of cereal and headed to the appointment. When I reported to Dr. Simms what happened the day before, she asked about the baby's movement. I told her I thought it had decreased some, although I still had 10 kicks in 10 hours as required. She decided to put me on the fetal heart monitor, which I had done the previous week before with no problems. Unfortunately, she noticed a drop in the baby's heart rate during a contraction (that I did not feel). Dr. Simms decided to check me into the hospital for the night for prolonged fetal heart monitoring and an ultrasound, with the possibility of being induced in the morning. Dr. Simms said that even if the heart rate turned out to be fine, she could still induce me in the morning if I wanted, but I was so freaked out that I wasn't ready to make that decision.

Jeremy and I headed to the hospital, where I sat hooked up to the fetal heart monitor for most of the day. They didn't let me eat or drink anything, so I was absolutely starving and actually started having uncomfortable contractions every 5 minutes due to dehydration. I was wheeled off to an ultrasound that showed everything was normal other than the baby was small. A previous ultrasound, done a week earlier, estimated her weight at 5 lbs. and 11 oz. This ultrasound estimated her weight almost the same. By 7:00 that night I had not heard from my doctor and was worried about what was happening. A mix-up ensued in which the nurses informed me that they could not locate my doctor (I later discover that they apparently didn't try very hard) but they located Dr. Owen, who is in practice with Dr. Simms and helped deliver Olivia. Dr. Owen took a look at the stats and informed us that he was going to induce me at 5:30 the next morning because the baby was small and apparently not growing.

So Jeremy and I settled in for the night and I did not sleep at all. They moved me into a labor and delivery room at 4:30, induced me at 5:30, I was dilated 3-4 cm at 8:30 and Dr. Simms arrived to break my water. After my water was broken, I followed the doc's advice this time and went ahead and got my epidural. Boy, what a difference. I can safely say that my epidural did NOT work with Olivia, as this was a completely different experience. I felt nothing for the next several hours, despite contractions and dilating. In fact, I slept for a good hour before I woke at around 11ish with the pressure that ultimately led to 4 rounds of pushing before Miss Lillian entered the world at 11:51 a.m. It was a wonderful experience and we will always treasure it! I hope you enjoy the photos of our little Lilly Belle!