And Then There Were Two

So it's been a little while since my last post, but I figure this way I have a good three-weeks experience at being a mother of two to write about.
Thankfully (thankfully, thankfully, thankfully!) Adelyn is feeling better and is back to her normal, lovable, adorable self! I tell you, the first couple weeks were so difficult as she really wasn't herself, was extra irritable and cranky and tired so it made every single little thing we did/had to do ten times more difficult!
This whole time Adelyn's definitely been fascinated with Lauren. She honestly does love having her around, however she's also taken to biting her. Not just biting, the occasional punch and hit in the face too, but mostly a good chomp on the head. I have no idea how to stop this behaviour. Lauren howls and then I...? I've tried saying no and explaining that biting hurts Lauren and that's why she's crying. I've tried yelling no and "firmly" saying "we don't bite!" I've tried biting back to show that it hurts. I've tried timeout. I've tried spanking (lightly... I'm not keen on spanking at all!) And nothing appears to work. Or maybe it has now? A culmination of it all perhaps? The last time Ady bit Lolo I sternly yelled no and put her in timeout until she was calm enough for me to explain that biting hurts Lauren and that she has to be nice and gentle around her. We then went to visit my mom and Jordyn (Lindsay and Marlon are on their honeymoon, lucky ducks!) and the first thing Adelyn says is "No biting Lauren, Jordo. Timeout." She then instructed my mom there was to be no biting as well. Since then she hasn't bitten, punched or hit Lauren... so maybe something stuck and she gets it. Hopefully this is the new trend!
So Lauren's a pretty good baby. She has a couple fussy periods a day, but is mostly pretty quite and happy. And my oh my, she's the most alert baby I've ever seen! Granted, she's now three-weeks old, but since day one she's had fairly lengthy periods throughout the day where she's wide awake, alert and taking it all in. She's so stinking cute too, so I absolutely love these times when I can just look at her and sing to her and drink her all up!
As far as sleeping at night goes, she's also pretty good with that. Her last fussy period last for a couple hours before we go to bed, but usually wraps up around 11:00 pm. Then she's asleep and stays asleep until she wants to eat and then eats and goes right back down. So it's a good 7-8 hours of sleep (with the exception of the few quick feeds and diaper changes) each night, which is great!
She's still sleeping in the co-sleeper in our bed, but I'm really, really hoping to move her to the bassinet any day now. We moved Ady at three-weeks, so I'm hoping I can build up the strength to move Lauren too. I want my bed back!
Taking care of the two girls at the same time has it's challenges for sure, but luckily I have help during the day... people willing to take Adelyn so I can get some housework/grocery shopping/bonding with Lauren done, which is great. I'm also looking at taking Adelyn out a few times a week to activities in the community for toddlers, so she can interact with other kids, play around and burn off some energy. We went to Tumble Time last week and will probably be doing that, as well as other play dates, fairly often in order to keep busy.

Yesterday I bought what I think will be my saving grace- a kangaroo-pouch sling! Terra lent me the one she used for Amy, but it was one that had rings so you could tighten and loosen the hold to fit you and your baby perfectly. Sounds great... but I had zero luck with it! I couldn't get comfortable at all, Lauren wasn't comfortable at all and I don't think I ever had it on for more than a few minutes because Lolo was constantly howling. However, the one I got yesterday is sized according to your t-shirt size and is basically just a pouch- so comfortable, so easy to use and Lauren seems to love it! (She's sleeping in it right now as I type.) I think this is going to make my life a lot easier, because during the fussy hold-me-or-I'll-cry periods I can hold her close to my body while still having my hands free to get stuff done around the house. Hallelujah!
Anyway, that's enough random rambling for now... I know this post was kind of all over the place, but I'm just happy that I finally say down long enough to write something!
Here are some photos my friend Holli did of Lauren at the one-week and two-week marks, as well as some others I've snapped of our two little darlings as well. Enjoy!

A, M, a & l

She's Finally Here!!!

Wow, I thought 39 weeks was a long time to wait, but it's nothing compared to 41 weeks and 3 days! Every single day after the 40-week mark was more and more frustrating as I really just wanted to have the baby and not be pregnant already!

On Monday (Oct. 27) I had a regular pre-natal doctor's appointment, but Dr. Bright noticed some more bleeding and thought I should have an ultrasound just to check that no blood was pooling in-utero. So that was set up for the next day and was to determine if I should be induced right away or if I could wait until Wednesday (yes, the following day!) for my induction.
Well, the results of the ultrasound showed no abnormalities so I wouldn't be induced any earlier than my original date (again, the next day). The whole thing seemed so pointless as it was only a one day difference and we were thinking if there were any concerns what-so-ever, why not just induce me already and get it over with! It's not like I was early, I was already 9 days overdue! Sheesh!

So I went to bed on Tuesday night (Oct. 28) all giddy and excited like it was Christmas Eve. I was for sure having a baby the next day (or at least getting induced)... all I had to do was call at 6:30 a.m. and find out when to come down.

Well, I called bright and early only to be told they had a really busy night and I wouldn't be getting induced until (most likely) the next day. Well, I was absolutely devastated. I was already so tired of being pregnant and had my heart set on having this baby today, a full 10 days overdue and now they tell me that they'd put me on the list for tomorrow instead? Heartbreaking!!!

The maternity ward called back about an hour later asking me to come in for a non-stress test at 9 a.m., but that I wouldn't need my bags as I still wouldn't be getting induced that day. So I dragged my upset-self out of bed and headed on down to the hospital for another pointless test.
I came home and Andrew, Adelyn, Lindsay and Jordyn and I spent the day trying to keep my mind off of the whole situation by watching a movie and just hanging out. Then the maternity ward called back asking me to come in for another non-stress test that afternoon at 4:30, but that still nothing had changed and I wouldn't be getting induced. I agreed and hung up and then both Lindsay and Andrew said I should call them back and tell them no, I wouldn't be coming in for another pointless test. We argued about it and what to say if I did call back when the phone rang again and it was the maternity ward asking if I could come in right away for a non-stress test followed by an induction!!!! YAY! We were all soooo excited!

So Lindsay packed up Jordyn and Adelyn and took them back to her house and Andrew and I packed our things for the hospital and headed out the door! FINALLY I was getting to have this baby!

We got to the hospital around 2:45 p.m. and had a non-stress test and then waited for Dr. Bright to come and do the first induction gel. She got there and did the first gel at 4:45 p.m.
Well cramps and steady, constant contractions started right away... and I remembered that being in labour isn't much fun at all! We were in a room with another woman who was having a really long and non-progressive labour and her family kept chatting with us which was really awkward, so I was kind of hoping to go home until "active" labour started.

However, when the nurses came to check on me to see if I could leave or not we all decided that "active" labour was just around the corner and it was probably best if I didn't leave the hospital. I was only 3 cm's dilated at that point, but the contractions were strengthening so they all assumed labour would be quick. Well at 7:00 p.m. they moved us into the delivery room as active labour had definitely hit!

I headed on into the shower (which was my favourite place when labouring with Adelyn) and once again felt great. The only stupid thing about the shower is when you're on the exercise ball you clog the drain and so to avoid flooding everything you have to constantly be moving the ball around to let the water drain out. Well on one of these repositioning attempts the ball slid out from under me and my naked, pregnant self went crashing onto the floor! A nurse and Andrew came running in to check on me and while my butt hurt, my pride was injured more than anything! I got back on the ball and stayed in there for a few more minutes, but then decided to get out and not return... I didn't need to add any further embarrassment to an already embarrassing time!

I had quite a bit of back pain during labour this time, but had the luxury of moving around and changing positions this time as well, so I could alleviated some (that's a very small "some") of the pain simply by moving around, which was beautiful!

Anyway about an hour and a half after moving into the delivery room I was already 8 cm's dilated and it looked like I was getting close to having a baby!

Dr. Bright was called in and after not too much longer a baby was born!!! 6 hours and 10 minutes after getting induced we had another baby!

So, without further ado, allow me to introduce our second daughter;

Lauren Alexandra Godbout
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
10:51 p.m.
8 lbs, 13.5 oz, 20.7 inches

We're thrilled to have another baby girl and are overjoyed with her already! We stayed in the hospital only for 24 hours as they were sooo busy we were sharing a room and so since Adelyn was staying at my parents house we decided to take Lauren home with us late, late Thursday night.
We're settling in rather nicely at home. Adelyn loves Lauren so much and can't get enough of kissing her and hugging her and holding her hand. It's adorable!
However, Adelyn has been sick the last week and a bit and so she's been pretty irritable and upset and had cried and tantrumed a lot these last few days. So, while she's definitely adjusting to having a baby in the house, being sick has made the whole situation a lot more difficult. Luckily, she just takes everything out on Andrew and I and not Lauren, but it still isn't easy. It absolutely breaks my heart to see her cry a sad, devastated cry, but I know it'll get better. In fact today was a lot better than yesterday and yesterday was a lot better than the day before that. So with each day she feels better and starts acting more like her normal self, which is wonderful!
Anyway, I'm falling asleep here... getting ready to take my pre-bedtime nap so I can be alert enough to take care of Lauren in what appears to be her fussy hours of 12:30 - 4:00 a.m!
Again, we're just thrilled with our new addition to our family! We're so blessed to have two healthy, beautiful daughters and have been thanking our lucky stars every day!
Here are a couple pictures of Lauren, Adelyn and Lauren and our little family. Enjoy!

A, M, a & l