Jenny Garland

Be Still, My Beating Heart!

Kate and I were sitting on the couch and she was threading a Lace and Learn animal. All the sudden, she looked at me and said "I'm doing a craft like Martha, Mommy!" Yes, my sweet girl. You sure were!

Two kids ... I'm bone tired!

I can't express how thrilled I am to have two healthy, mostly happy girls. This past week has been exciting and exhausting. Did I mention exhausting?!

I have absolutely no concept of how long it takes to get myself, Kate, and Sara Paige ready to go and out the door. The other day we were getting ready to go to my friend Heather's house. I told her I needed to hop in the shower and said we would be there in 30 minutes (she lives 5 minutes away). Nearly an hour after my promise, with sopping wet hair, I looked at the clock and blurted out an expletive! When I called to say we obviously weren't there on time, Heather laughed and said she thought I was being pretty optimistic with my 30 minute estimate. Please note that Heather is an experienced mother of two. And so sweet because when I said I'd be there in 30 minutes and she knew there wasn't a chance in hell, she didn't say anything :)

Brad's been off this week and gets up to change Sara Paige's diaper and re-swaddle her after I feed her through the night. What a sweet guy. He's been a lifesaver and I am NOT looking forward to him going back to work next week. I want to play with Kate all day like I usually do but between nursing every 2 hours and caring for a newborn, Kate''s obviously not getting as much attention from me as she's used to. Thankfully, she doesn't seem to be bothered by it yet, cuddles with me when I'm nursing, and is very interested in being a big helper with Sara Paige. We'll see how she does next week when Brad's back at work and not a constant source of entertainment for her. I want to make sure Kate feels as loved and as precious to our family as she is.

As I type, Sara Paige is asleep on my chest, making the most precious of baby sighs. How can someone so small leave an impression so big and so meaningful? Life is an amazing thing.

First outing with the girls and a doctor's appointment

This morning I took Kate and Sara Paige to my MOPS meeting (Kate plays with other kids her age and Sara Paige stays with me during the meeting). I was nervous about taking both of them out by myself but it went really well. Here's a picture from right before our big outing:

Check out a close up of Sara Paige's sweet cheeks (and non-focusing baby eyes!):

And Kate's gorgeous baby blues:

This afternoon Sara Paige had her first newborn appointment (5 days old). She weighed in at 7 pounds 2 ounces (born at 7 pounds 11 ounces). Her head was 13" in circumference. All in all, she's doing great and we're happily adjusting to being a family of four.

Sister, Sister

Here are pictures of Kate and Sara Paige, both two days old at the time.

In Honor of Aretha Franklin...

I'm sure you saw or at least heard about Aretha's fabulous hat at the Inauguration!

Sara Paige thought she would try to make her own fashion statement this morning. It was a huge hit during our first stroll through the hospital hallways :)

Allow me to introduce you to our sweet baby girl, Sara Paige

She's here! She's here! She's here! Sara Paige Garland made her debut at 1:52pm at Centennial Hospital in Frisco, TX. I could not be more thrilled with the service and knowledge of the labor and delivery nurses here by the way! I totally recommend delivering here.

We got to the hospital at 10am this morning after driving very slowly on icy roads. I had my epidural at 10:45am and Pitocin at 10:50am. At 11:10am, my doctor came in to break my water and I was 5cm dilated. After that I contracted, dilated, etc quickly and all the sudden it was "go time!" I pushed for three contractions. The baby's umbilical cord was loosely wrapped around her neck but thankfully my fab doctor was able to quickly unravel her before she experienced distress. I delivered at 1:52pm (only three hours of labor, I wish that for everyone) and Sara Paige scored an 8, then 9 on her Apgar scores. She weighed in at 7 pounds 11 ounces and 20.5 inches long. Her hair is very dark, almost black, like Brad's and right now she has blue eyes like me!

Since Sara Paige (that's what we're calling her by the way, both names) was doing so well, we got to keep her in the room with us for an hour to cuddle and feed before Brad went to the nursery to watched her first bath. That was really meaningful for us to have some time together right away.

She is such a sweet girl and has the cutest, poutiest lip. We think she looks a LOT like Kate. Soon I'll do a side-by-side comparison so you can see for yourself! Kate was 8 pounds and 20 inches at birth, so they were pretty close in size.

My mom, Brad's parents, my sister in law Jenna, and Kate came up to visit this evening (my dad's out of town on business). Kate brought Sara Paige a birthday present: the cutest lovey named "Purple Pink Bunny" and a plush, pink blankie. What a thoughtful sister! Thanks for helping Kate pick out the cute present, Mimi and Poppy! I made sure Sara Paige had a gift for her big sis too: a stuffed animal Kate named "Giraffe Garland" and some purple cool girl shades (thank you Target dollar aisle)! Kate was super excited to meet her "sisser" and enjoyed tickling Sara Paige's teeny weeny toes.

I of course will upload a million pictures (probably starting tomorrow) but for right now I'm going to cling tight to my newest blessing and thank my lucky stars for another darling, healthy little girl.

Thank you all soo, soo much for thoughts, well wishes, and prayers. We are extremely lucky to have you!

PS ... Isn't this necklace the sweetest? I ordered it a few months ago and now I finally get to wear it :)

More updates soon!

Love,
Jenny

Holy moly, I'm having a baby tomorrow!

I went for my 39 week appointment this afternoon and since my blood pressure was even higher than last week, my doctor sent me over to L&D to run blood tests and monitor me for a couple hours. Thankfully, labs were normal and my blood pressure calmed down a bit. If I wasn't already scheduled for the induction tomorrow, I definitely would be now with blood pressure issues. Can you believe I'm still hanging on at 4cm? Three weeks at a 4!

Anyway, the weather here in Dallas is supposed to be pretty nasty tonight so we're thankful the hospital is only 10 minutes away. Kate's at her Mimi and Poppy's house being spoiled rotten, my bags are packed, and we're ready to go ... I'll definitely post tomorrow sometime with pictures of Baby Garlando! Yippee!!!!

*edit ... the hospital just called (11:45pm) and said to come in at 10am instead of 7am due to icy road conditions, so things are not going to get rolling as early as we had thought!

38 Weeks - Baby Garlando Update!

We just got back from my 38 week appointment. Wouldn't you know, I'm the same amount dilated as last week! Talk about beating the odds after 6 weeks of bedrest! Today my blood pressure was a little high (138/80) and I'm starting to swell, but this happened at the end of my pregnancy with Kate too. Nothing to worry about as of now.

The nurse and doctor said they were both surprised I made it this far along, which I'm thankful for. I had a feeling (apparently a very wrong feeling) that Little Miss would be here by now!

The gist is if Baby Garlando doesn't decide to grace us with her presence soon, I  have an induction set up for next Wednesday morning (January 28). Either way, I can't wait to hold her in a week or less!

On another note... during the past week, Kate has decided to be potty trained. I tried a few times before but girlfriend just wasn't ready so I let it go. I wasn't planning on trying again until spring but  when she started to say "Katie use the big gull pahty now," who was I to argue? I am definitely expecting some regression after her sister gets here.  But for now, it's nice to only use 1 diaper a day!

Baby Garlando Update - 37 weeks

Just got back from the doctor and I am 4cm dilated! The doctor said if I start having regular contractions to take my booty to the hospital right away because this delivery might go quickly. Don't have to tell me twice lady, I like the 'ol epidural. I'll be back with more news when I have it :)

36 Week Update

I had my 36 week appointment today and I am 2cm dilated and 75% effaced. My doctor is guessing I'll go into labor on my own before or around 38 weeks. We'll see! :)