I had twins....four years apart!

 This picture below is my sweet Taelyn when she was 3 months old!

And this picture below is my precious Hensley at almost 7 weeks old.....

 

Isn't it amazing how similar they look! I am so blessed to have two beautiful and healthy girls!

Adjusting.....

I can honestly say that there is definitely an adjustment period when you add a new baby in the mix. I think when you have your first child, it's hard because you are learning so much and trying to do your best at everything. When you add a second child, you already know how to do everything baby related, but adjusting to caring for two takes some time. We planned way in advance with talking with Taelyn about the baby and even letting her be involved in everything. She came to every Midwife appointment, helped with the baby registry, picked out baby items, and even attended the birth. There is only so much you can do to prepare though. I was very emotional that first week. We hadn't been away from Tae for more than one night before Hensley was born, but because Hensley was having some heart issues we had to stay longer in the hospital. Tae stayed at my parents' house for 3 nights (she even told my mom that she "guessed she was living there now") and it was hard. Once we got released from the hospital, we picked Tae up and headed home. It probably took a full week to get in the swing of things. Tae seemed to be extra whiny for awhile and you could tell she was having a little bit of a hard time adjusting to not getting all the attention.

While I was pregnant, I kept feeling bad for Tae. I kept asking myself, "what are we doing to her". I remember crying to my husband, telling him that we were going to change who she was and who she would become by having another child (ugh, pregnancy hormones!). I read article after article about how to smooth the adjustment, but I couldn't get over worrying.

Once we were all home together it didn't seem as bad as I thought it was going to be. Yes, she was whinier, and yes she was adjusting, but it wasn't anything like my crazy mind was coming up with. There was one time when I was nursing the baby on the couch and she wanted to lay with me. She got so upset that she couldn't that she started sobbing (not throwing a fit, but super sad and hurt crying). I felt so bad that I started crying. It was hard to see my baby upset and struggling.

After that moment, I have made sure to give Tae extra attention when I'm able. When Hensley is napping, Tae and I will do a craft, play a game, or cook/bake something. Sometimes we will just sit together and I will listen to her (she always has lots to say!). We've made sure we do things with her separately. My husband will take her to the store or he will watch Hensley while I put Tae to bed. I think this has helped a lot.

There has been a lot of sweet moments too! Taelyn is the most caring, gentle, and sweet big sister. You can tell Hensley already adores her because she will just stare at Tae. When she hears Tae's voice, she will turn her head. Tae is always right there to help change her diaper, pat her when she's waking up, get her paci or other things that I need.

It's been six weeks now and we seem to have found our new normal. Yes, Taelyn is different because of being a sister, but different isn't a bad thing. I don't think we ruined her life or did anything that will negatively affect her future. She is a great big sister!

Here are a few tips that I think helped with our adjusting:

1. Be patient...it will take time!
2. Keep your routine and schedule (babies like routines anyways)
3. It's okay to break your routine on occasion (Letting Tae stay up a little later some nights is good for her and less stressful on me)
4. Have some one on one time
5. Let them know you love them
6. Let them know it's okay to be sad
7. Give lots and lots of hugs and kisses
8. Let them help
9. Make them feel important
10. Know that it will get easier!

My Experience with Placental Encapsulation

Placental Encapsulation is the process of drying, grinding, and encapsulating the placenta in order for the mother to take the capsules to help with recovery postpartum. When I first started researching this, I was a little skeptical, but quickly realized how beneficial it could be.

You can find a lot of information here, but the common benefits are: lessened risk for postpartum depression, increased milk production, faster healing after delivery, among other things. Encapsulating your placenta or even blending chunks of it into smoothies is quickly gaining popularity. There are several people that do the encapsulations here in Oklahoma. I went with a lady named Anne Coffee who assisted my sister in her homebirth. She is a homebirth midwife and also a Doula. You can find out more about her services on her Facebook page here. I thought Anne did a great job and she is a very sweet lady. I called her after I delivered and she came up to the hospital and got the placenta. The next day, she brought the capsules, along with a placenta print and umbilical cord tincture to me while I was still in the hospital. I had a super duper huge placenta and got about 250 capsules!

I started taking them as soon as I received them. They suggest you take 1-2 capsules up to three times a day for the first few weeks and then you can taper off after that. The first thing I noticed when I started taking them is that my milk came in very quickly. With my oldest daughter, I didn't get my milk until day 5, with Hensley I got it on day 3. I also got a lot of milk! At Hensley's 1 week pediatrician appointment, she was already back at her birth weight plus several ounces (a total of 12oz gained in just 6 days!). I also had VERY light bleeding as soon as I started the pills. I remember bleeding very heavily with Taelyn for about 2 weeks. With Hensley it was only the first 2 days and then super light until it stopped all together after just 2 weeks!

Another big thing I noticed was the quick healing time! I was feeling almost 100% by the end of week 2. Now this could be associated with a drug free/all natural birth, but I still think the capsules helped a lot. I didn't have any issues with postpartum depression with Taelyn, so I wasn't too worried about having issues with Hensely. With Taelyn I did get really emotional at the smallest things though and I have noticed on the days I take the most capsules I feel the greatest and when I taper them off, I tend to be prone to headaches and seem more emotional. I have noticed (even gotten compliments about) how happy and bubbly I seem and that I also still seem to have the pregnancy glow. I guess I can attribute this to the capsules as well!

I definitely don't regret doing the encapsulation and I feel that the benefits are definitely worth the price paid! I highly recommend everyone to do the research and consider doing placental encapsulation for themselves!

Hensley One Month!

One Week

One Month

I can't believe it has already been a month since my sweet little girl arrived. She has changed so much in her short month of life! She is definitely bigger, stronger, and is learning so much. She knows what she likes and what she doesn't like and will be sure to tell you also.

 

Weight: You can tell she is filling out! She has a few chins (which leads to the lovely "neck cheese"), rolls on her thighs, and rolls on her arms.

Food: We did a bottle with pumped breastmilk for the first time this week. She struggled a little bit, but ended up sucking on it and getting about 1 oz before she said she was done. Tae was pretty happy to help hold the bottle!

Clothes: Still 0-3 month clothes...some 3 months fit her well. Her G diapers are getting snug, so we will need to start her on the pocket diapers soon!

Sleep: She does not sleep as well in her bassinet as she does in our bed! We tried again the other night and instead of waking up for her normal 5:30am feeding, she woke up at 3:30am instead. I ended up leaving her in our bed after that. She is still sleeping really well. She is having longer awake periods during the day. You can also tell when she is sleepy because she starts getting cranky.

Product we love: I am so happy to have a baby who loves to be worn! Tae was really colicky and didn't like it much, but Hensley LOVES it! I have a ring sling that I had made when Tae was born and a Moby wrap my sister in law gave me. This past week our local cloth diaper store was having a big sale on Ergo carriers so we went to check it out. I have had my eye on the Boba carrier for awhile now and when we got there I tried out both and decided to go with the Boba instead. With the Ergo I would have needed the infant insert and it was already pretty toasty wearing it. The Boba is very lightweight and super easy to get on and off. We use it all the time and it is so much more convenient than carrying around the car seat all the time.

Highlight: Hensley has had two big achievements this month! She rolled over for the first time (I think it was by accident)! I had her on her back without a diaper and she rolled onto her side and then flopped onto her tummy! I was in shock, but she hasn't done it since then. She has also started smiling and cooing and it is the sweetest thing ever. Her smile almost brings tears to my eyes!

This week was a lot of fun as we celebrated the 4th of July by having a cook out with my parents and seeing fireworks. They didn't seem to bother Hensley at all and she slept almost the whole time! The picture below was taken on the 4th and is actually the first time Tae has actually held Hensley! I think she did really well (even though she looks to have her in a choke hold!)

Taelyn: Tae is SO much better this week. I think we are finally adjusting to this new family member! She has been a lot less whiny and has been really helpful and sweet.

Blessing This Week: I feel so blessed to have this sweet little family. I feel like our family is complete with the addition of Hensley. I love my two little girls and couldn't be any happier!

Hensley's Week 3

 

 

Weight: We unofficially weighed her today (Aaron weighing himself first and then holding her) and she's coming in at 10lbs! She is one chunky monkey : )

Food: Didn't do a bottle this week, but we are going to try tomorrow! Bottle feeding just seems like a hassle and something you have to plan for since I will have to pump when she is being bottle fed. She is nursing so well. I have a pretty forceful let down which tends to choke her quite a bit, but we are working on it!

Clothes: She is wearing 0-3 months....newborn is pretty snug!

Sleep: She is still sleeping with us. I keep saying I'm going to put her in the bassinet and then don't. Aaron would love for her to sleep in the bassinet, but I love having her close. She is nursing before bed at about midnight and then waking up at 5:30 to eat and then sleeping until 9 or 10.

Product we love: We tested out our tummy time pillow this week and she seemed to like it. She has really strong neck muscles and can lift her head and turn it side to side with no problems.

Highlight: The best part of this week is to finally feel like we have a schedule down. I am all about routine and I was feeling all out of sorts when we first came home. I know feel like we are back to our routine and I can manage to do things around the house and even cook dinner!

Taelyn: Whining is still an issue. She seems to be worse when my husband is home also. When he is at work, she is just fine and helpful and hardly gives me a fuss. I have no idea why she is worse when Aaron is home. I think sticking to our routine is helping and making sure we are giving her attention, but still staying on top of discipline too.

Blessing this Week: My sister made Hensley's birth announcements and they turned out so great! I should be getting them in a few weeks and I can't wait to mail them out! I feel that we are also blessed at what a good baby Hensley is. She hardly ever cries and she sleeps and eats so well. With Taelyn having colic for 3 months, I feel we missed out on so much of her babyhood. We are definitely able to take the time to enjoy Hensley!

Hensley's Week 2

Weight: We had a pediatrician appointment when she was 1 week and 3 days and she weighed 8lbs 11oz which is up about 6oz from birth! She is becoming a little chunky monkey! I think since her appointment she has gained even more weight...she has rolls : )

Food: Nursing is still going great! We haven't introduced a bottle yet, but will probably try this week. I've only pumped twice and find it hard to have time to pump and feed her. I'm hoping it gets a little easier when she gets a little older.

Clothes: I can tell she is growing because her G diapers a getting smaller! I got a pair of newborn jammies the other day and they fit her really well, but the 0-3 are fitting a little better these days.

Sleep: We tried the bassinet out this week! She slept in there for about 3 hours and then I kept her in the bed with us, mostly because I fell asleep nursing her. She is waking up about 3 times during the night, which is good. She had two nights where she was up almost every hour wanting to eat. I think she was having a growth spurt! She has been having a lot more awake periods during the day now.

Product we love: I'm really liking our cloth wipe warmer and cloth wipes! With using cloth diapers, it just makes the most sense to use cloth wipes. You don't have to worry about throwing the wipes away, you just dump them in the hamper with the diapers. Hensley really loves the warm wipes too, she hardly cries during diaper changes anymore! I am also LOVING the Moby wrap. I've mostly worn it when we go out. I hate carrying her in her car seat, not to mention that it isn't that safe! The other day I was trying to cook dinner and get the house straightened and she wasn't liking sitting in her swing. I put her in the Moby wrap and within minutes she was sound asleep!

Highlight: The best part of the second week was spending so much time together as a family. My husband got to take two weeks off and we had a lot of fun getting to know little Hensley and just adjusting as a family of four. I was sad he had to go back to work this week, but now we are getting adjusted to the new normal : )

Taelyn: She is doing well this week. She seems to be extra whiny these days and some days it seems she can't talk to me without her whine voice. She also wants us to get a "big girl" version of whatever the baby has...the Boppy, the swing, etc. I made a little pallet for Hensley to lay on the other day and Tae had me do the same for her (jealous much!?!) I know she is having to adjust to sharing the attention since she has been an only child for the past 4 1/2 years and I know she is doing an excellent job. She is definitely a sweet big sister and I can tell she loves Hensley very much.

Blessing this Week: We are truly blessed all of our family and friends. This week we had visits from my sister Jennifer who brought us dinner, Aaron's aunt Sherry who brought Hensley some cute outfits and Tae a lot of toys, and my dear friend Janean, aka "Aunt Janean". We love having visitors and having everyone meet Hensley!

Hensley's Birth Story

Hensley's birth was not what I expected, but ended up being almost exactly how I wanted it....

Sunday, June 9th was like any other typical Sunday. My husband and I stayed up to catch up on some TV shows and went to bed around 12:30am and I fell quickly asleep. I seemed to wake up more that night and was having some menstrual like cramps for most of the night. I didn't sleep very well, but didn't think anything of it, especially since I was only 38 weeks and a few days.

On June 10th, I woke up around 7am and started getting ready for work. My husband also got up with me because he was going to go over to my parents house with Taelyn to babysit their kitchen construction crew. At this point I was having more of the stomach tightening feeling and they were about 10-15 minutes apart. I remember sitting on our bed after I had gotten ready for work and thinking that I just felt different. I told my husband I didn't know if I should go to work or not and he suggested that I just come with him over to my parents house instead. I quickly emailed my office letting them know that I didn't feel well and that maybe "this was it". We decided we should probably bring our hospital stuff (luckily I had finished packing my bag the night before) and I rushed to throw Taelyn's stuff together, grabbing our toiletries, and packing some toys for Tae. We were supposed to be at my parents at 8:30, but we ended up getting there about 8:45 with the crew waiting to start work.

I was hesitant to call anyone because I wasn't sure if I was in labor or not, but I decided to call my mom at 9am and just let her know that there was a chance I was in labor. The pain wasn't bad at all at this point and I was sitting on the living room floor answering work emails. I tried calling my Doula, Heather, at 9:30 and for some reason I had her number wrong in my phone. I ended up emailing her at 10am and luckily she called me right back! I told her the situation and told her not to come yet. My mom called me back at 11am and said she would be home at 11:45. My mom got there and started timing my contractions. They were about 4 minutes apart and lasting about 45 seconds. They were getting a little more painful, but I was still able to manage them fairly well. We decided to head to the hospital around 12:15 (my contractions were 3 minutes apart and lasting about a minute at this point). I texted Heather to let her know to meet us at the hospital instead of my moms house.

We got to the hospital close to 1pm and was put into a triage room. I knew my midwife wasn't on call that day and I wasn't sure which one was. The nurse hooked me up to the monitors and had me change into the lovely hospital gown. The midwife came in shortly after and wanted to check me. This was something that I didn't want to do and was upset that they seemed to be so persistent. I told them I wanted to think about it and they told me I couldn't have a delivery room until I was checked. I think my husband was probably more frustrated than I was, but I was just trying to deal with the contractions. I did finally agree to the check and low and behold I was actually in labor ; ) I was dilated to a 7, thinned out, and she also said I had a bulging bag of water. At this point they actually asked if I wanted a hep lock, which surprised me since it is hospital policy, but they said I could refuse. I decided to get it since it would already be there in case of emergency. They also did an ultrasound to make sure baby was head down, which she was. After all this they quickly moved me into a delivery room : ) I remember feeling really encouraged when I heard I was dilated to a 7. I was thinking that this wasn't so bad and that maybe I could have done this at home! I had high hopes that I would have her quickly.....boy was I wrong!

They definitely had the easy part!

Checking in and getting the ultrasound

In the delivery room getting hooked up to monitors



On the way to the delivery room (which they make you walk like a mile) I think I had 5 contractions and had to stop in the hall each time. I felt a little weird breathing and concentrating with people walking all around. Once we finally made it to the delivery room, they got me all hooked up to the monitors. I only wanted intermittent monitoring and they told me I had to wear them for 20 minutes and then they would take them off (come to find out they never did take them off). Once we got all set up, my focus changed to dealing with the contractions. The contractions were starting to get stronger and closer together. They were definitely requiring more concentration. Heather was doing great squeezing my hips and rubbing my back. Aaron and my mom were also helping me through each contraction. They were making sure I was taking in plenty of fluids and remembering to go to the bathroom every hour. I drank some cranberry juice and kept drinking water with every contraction.

Tae kept saying "it's taking a long time!"

At 4pm they checked me again and I was dilated to a 10, but the baby was still high. I don't think she felt the bag of waters anymore and we assumed it had ruptured. At this point, the midwife suggested that I start bearing down to get the baby down into the birth canal. We tried several different positions. I tried kneeling while leaning over the birthing ball, leaning over the back of the bed, pulling on the squatting bar, and standing with the squatting bar. There was one contraction I was on the bed trying a different position and it hurt so bad I jumped off the bed so fast I think I scared everyone. The bearing down was probably the hardest part of the whole labor. The contractions were so strong and so close together, I never thought I was going to make it. I kept saying that I was done, that I was tired and I couldn't do it anymore. Heather kept telling me that I was doing it and both Aaron and my mom were encouraging me to continue. The midwife kept saying just 3 more contractions and then we'll check you. At about 7pm, the midwife had me lay down and she checked to see if the baby had moved down. All of a sudden I felt a huge gush of warm water and what felt like a HUGE relief. I heard the midwife say I had a hidden bag of waters and that things would be moving a lot faster now. I quickly jumped off the bed before another contraction came. They had the squat bar at the end of the bed with a sheet wrapped around it. It seemed like for the longest time I grabbed that sheet with every contraction and pushed with all I had. I know I had screamed during several of them and probably even said I was done. I remember yelling at them to "take the dang belts off", they were irritating me so bad. I'm so thankful I had several people there cheering for me and telling me I could do it.

 At about 8:30pm, I got in the bed to start pushing. I was feeling very irritated and didn't want anyone touching me. They kept asking if I wanted to them to hold my legs and I kept saying no. I didn't want anything other than the baby out. I tried pulling on a sheet with every contraction, but that quickly made me very tired. I finally started pushing with my mom holding one leg, my husband holding the other leg, and Heather pushing my back up. I could tell I was pushing well and they could all see the head with every push. We finally switched to putting my feet together which each contraction and then I could really feel that the pushing was working. I would say that at this point the contractions weren't super painful, I just had this great need to push and felt tons of pressure. It was almost relieving to push super hard. Every one was cheering me on. My sister in law was holding Taelyn down at my feet and I could hear Tae saying "go mommy, go mommy!". I remember reaching down and feeling the top of her head. This made me super determined to push with all my strength. The pushing became pretty painful when she started to crown. It definitely felt like the "burning ring of fire" you hear. Once I felt this sensation, I think it was only about 3 more contractions and I felt her come all the way out. She was born at 9:41pm.

 

 

I reached down to pull her up and I the midwife said something about a short cord. At the same time she said this, she said she wasn't going to be able to delay clamping because her cord had shredded. She had to immediately clamp the cord because blood was spurting everywhere. I was a little disappointed about this, but at this point, I was just happy that she was here!

 

 

 

 

 

My sweet little Hensley was perfect in every way. They did all of their checking while I was holding her. I just sat there and stared at her. The midwife was working on getting the placenta out. I started cramping pretty bad and had to push a few times to get it out. I ended up having a small tear that required two stitches which wasn't bad at all! Once the midwife finished up I got the chance to nurse.

 

 

Sweet Hensley latched right on with not problem! She nursed on both sides for about 15 minutes each. I was so impressed because it took Taelyn a lot longer to latch on (yah for drug free births!). After I finished nursing, they were able to get her length and weight.

 

 

 

We were all thinking she was at least 9lbs because she just looked so chunky! We were surprised to find out that she was only 8lbs 5.5oz and 18.5 inches long (smaller than Tae at 8lbs 12oz and 21inches long)!



Proud daddy!

Proud Grandma!

My dad and Taelyn (new big sister!)



My delivery was longer and harder than I ever thought it would be, but it was so worth it! There is something so empowering about delivery your child with minimal interventions not to mention the recovery time has been amazing! I am definitely proud of myself and so thankful of my support team. I think things would have been much harder without them!