Lots of Firsts

These past few weeks have been full of lots of firsts.

First #1 – First time taking care of two children by myself while Ed was gone to campus.  How did it go?  Actually, really well.  The hardest part was balancing when Kinsley was supposed to eat with when Emerson was supposed to eat, but we survived four days of just the three of us!  When Ed left for campus the first day I had Kinsley by myself after she was born, I cried and I was so bummed I couldn’t get a shower.  So, this is the expectation I had of last week.  But, surprisingly, it wasn’t like that at all.  Not sure if its because I know how to take care of a newborn, or I am good at multitasking, or because we had fun things planned that got us out the house (did I mention I took both of them to Kroger by myself the very first day it was just us three??!!?? yes i was insane, but I wanted to jump for joy when we exited the store with groceries in tow), but whatever it is, I will take it!!

Emerson is getting so big!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First #2 – First time traveling with two children.  We traveled to Black Mountain, NC for our annual staff conference, a total of 4.5 hours with stops.  Both children did great!!  We stopped to eat and for me to feed Emerson at McDonalds (what better place to let your two year old get energy out?), both children slept in the car (which isn’t a big deal for Emerson but a HUGE deal for Kinsley), and we didn’t watch any movies that whole time!  It is so nice that Kinsley is getting big enough that we can say “go to sleep and when you wake up we will be there” and she will understand and do it.

First #3 – Kinsley’s first haircut!  Can I just say that this is a big HUGE deal??  Kinsley has been saying she wanted to get her hair cut for a while now (ever since she knew I got mine cut) and we decided to wait until we got to Greenville to take her to one of those fun “kid-friendly” hair-cutting places.  Although her hair wasn’t real long, it was real wild and getting mullet-y (which we all know is a sin in the hair world), so it was worth the time.  She did a great job, sitting so still and turning her head when the lady told her to.  After she was done, she got a sucker (its amazing the things kids will do for suckers) and a prize necklace.  She felt like such a big girl afterwards!!

Kinsley came down with the stomach bug, and while we made sure to disinfect and wash hands really well, I ended up getting it.  We are praying that Emerson stays healthy and that we are all well enough to go Black Friday Shopping.  While I don’t need a lot, I still want to go (it is a tradition and something I look forward to every year so I HAVE to) but I am not quite sure how all that will work out with a nursing infant.  I will update you on how it goes soon!

Life with 2 —-

What is life like with 2?  CRAZY!!!  And that has been with Ed, my mom, and me helping out so I suspect it will get crazier.  But, I love my crazy life so far and love my sweet little girls.

Here is the latest update on how our family is doing with this transition:

Kinsley is starting to adjust a little better minus a few nights where she was WILD! and her tendency not to listen well anymore, especially when I am feeding the baby.  Overall, I think she is doing well and that she loves Emerson dearly (she always asks where baby is).  It is also quite comical to see all that she is picking up on – for instance, she started nursing her Daisy stuffed animal and even put the nursing wrap over them as she did it and she tried to put her finger in Emerson’s mouth to calm her as she was crying.  Can’t fault her since those are all things she has seen us do.  Waking the baby while she is sleeping is her favorite thing and one that I WILL break her of soon.

We took Emerson to her two week appointment yesterday and she has gained almost a pound from her birth weight (it is over a lb from what she weighed when we left the hospital)….I didn’t think it was possible to gain that fast but apparently you can!  Needless to say, she is doing well and overall, is sleeping well at night, even doing 4 to 4 1/2 hr stretches at night.  She is still having some gas issues (mostly just when I eat yummy but bad-for-baby stuff like garlic) and spit-up at some meals, but the doctor determined it is most likely overflow.  While that it is good news, it means I have to continue to give my washer the workout of running daily to wash all the clothes (hers and mine!) that she spits up on.  We still can’t decide who she looks like (if you think you know, please tell us!) because while she has some features similar to Kinsley, we still think she looks different.  Who knows?

I am adjusting well, even though I am aware it will become much harder when my mom leaves (which is today…ahhh!).  Overall, I feel much more equipped this time around in the sense that I know what to do with a newborn and aren’t as scared about not knowing what to do.  Everyone says that when your baby is born, you automatically love them to pieces.  If I can be honest, i didn’t feel this way with Kinsley and felt like she was a stranger for the longest time.  But, with Emerson, it is totally different and I can say I did feel that right away, mostly because I know how much I love Kinsley and enjoy her and am and will feel this way about Emerson.  This helps the adjustment to feel like I am not taking care of a stranger.  I will have both kids most of next week while Ed is on campus and then we will start traveling for Thanksgiving and while I have some fun things planned to get us out and social, you can ask me then how I am really doing 🙂

Here is a picture of our family we took for our magnet….my mom did a great job and it turned out great!  I love the scenery (it looks like we were photoshopped in) and love my sweet family!  And here is another one of my mom with Kinsley – again, a great pic!

Introducing Emerson Claire Hetzel!

Well, the wait is over!! Introducing Emerson Claire Hetzel, born October 25, 2012 weighing in at 7 lbs 9 oz and 21 inches long!

It was a long delivery (over 24 hrs) but she arrived healthy and perfect! We are so grateful to the Lord for this very, very precious gift. The midwives that delivered her and the nurses at the hospital were all wonderful…we truly felt the Lord had just the right people there at just the right time to encourage me and push me through the process, which successfully ended in a VBAC. I was really hoping and praying for a VBAC and am excited it happened.

Since arriving home from the hospital, things have been a little crazy. Between visitors, family, and getting adjusted to life as a family of 4, it has been nuts. We are so thankful for our church family and Cru family for providing meals for us as we work into a new normal. Kinsley has done well overall…a few behavior issues and acting out…which is to be expected. Overall, she loves having “her” own real baby and loves on her, even though she does have moments of jealousy or not wanting mom or Gammy to hold or feed the baby. She is doing better each day and has been a huge help. Just today, she was able to tell us that Emerson was sleeping in the car and had her eyes closed when we couldn’t see her through the mirror (once again thankful that Kinsley is 2 1/2 and able to help).

Because Gammy was in town to help with Emerson and Kinsley, Bella (Gammy’s dog) got to go trick-or-treating with Kinsley. They both dressed as bees, which was stinkin’ adorable. I think this may be why she got soooo much candy! She had a blast this year as she understood to say trick-or-treat and the morning after Halloween, she asked to go again. Doesn’t she wish she lived in a world where she went trick-or-treating and got candy everyday?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emerson did great at first sleeping long hours at night, waking to feed, and then going back to sleep. But, she has had a few nights where she has cried for a few hours from gas pains. Please pray we figure out what is causing them (if its in my diet since I am nursing) and that gas drops will work to ease the pain. It is so hard to watch your baby cry inconsolably from pain and not be able to do anything to help. Any suggestions from moms would be great too!!