Camp was pretty slow one week during my parent's stay. So slow in fact that the wranglers were organizing staff trail rides one afternoon. I asked Darin about the possibility of getting a ride for my parents, and they were welcomed to join the crew.
Daisy and I went up to the barn for orientation so we could take some pictures for my Dad and before they left we passed Daisy on up so she wouldn't be too sad for missing out on the trail ride. (Soon enough, kiddo, soon enough.)
They look like naturals.
And then a few days ago my Dad emailed me the picture below. Yup, that young good-looking guy is my dad, and the adorable girl in pink is me.
My parents loaded up their house and pulled out of our yard last Friday. Even though we got two extra days (they were supposed to leave on Wednesday, but my dad got really sick), it was still hard to see them go.
Not only did they watch Daisy for us while we were in the hospital, Mom did so much laundry and cooking and cleaning when we came home that I think I forgot how to work my washing machine or load my dishwasher. In fact, the other day the dryer made a noise that caught Daisy's attention and she called it "Grandma's dryer". Clearly, my mother has been the only one doing laundry around here for weeks.
Oh yeah, they were also really good at baby holding and toddler entertaining. They even babysat one night so I could escape to a staff worship event. And Mom is the best grocery store/library/park/anywhere companion as I worked to learn getting out and about with two kiddos. I'm glad we'll get to see them again in Eastern Wa in a few weeks, but for now they are really missed.
Friday was made a little bit easier by a short visit from our best Bellingham friends, the Dvoracheks. We miss these guys a lot and even though they only stayed a few hours, it was wonderful to have them here.
Here's to hoping we can see them again next weekend in B'ham!
This morning I woke up with the idea to take my best girls and my Mom on a little picnic playdate. One of my favorite parks around here is about 15 minutes up the road in a town called Home. They have an awesome play area and lots of shade.
Here's my Momma, cuddling the baby so I can play with Daisy.
These were sent out on Monday, so hopefully all of you expecting to receive an announcement got one. (And these babies took a while to put together, so I've only got one extra that I'm keeping for Miss Dani.)
And here's the inside. (I made a 4x6 jpeg, uploaded it to Costco, and then trimmed to the 3.5x5 size. Nobody prints that size anymore!)
That is Darin's hand and yes, I did take the shot. I'm pretty proud of it, and my adorable daughter.
If anyone would like a copy of just the inside, let me know and I'll be happy to send one your way.
Last Thursday, on Darin's last day of leave, we took our new little family for an outing to the dizzy park in Port Orchard. Dani and I were happily sitting on the park bench nursing away under a lovely coverup (thanks Auntie Jen!) when a little girl walks up to me.
LG: "What's that?"
Me: "A baby."
LG: "Can I see?"
Me: "Not right now."
LG: "Why not?"
Me: "Because she's eating."
LG: "Oh. How?"
Me: "She's breastfeeding."
LG: thinking "How does that work?"
Me: thinking...how best to answer this..."She drinks milk from my breasts."
LG: "Oh...Can I see?"
Now, any good La Leche League mama would have whipped it out and given this little girl an anatomy lesson. Me, I was a bit freaked out about sharing with the rest of the park. I was desperately searching for a mother to come and save me, but no mother was to be found. So I told the little girl no, and sent her back out to play.
Darin told me later I should have told her to "go ask you mother" and seen what sort of reaction that garnered from said mother.
And here are some fun pictures Darin took from our afternoon outing.
And look at me. Officially the mom of two sweet little girls.
This first one is kinda long, but Darin shot it during our second day at the hospital. (You get to hear some of our banter if you make it through the whole thing.)
This second one I love. Daisy singing to her little sis. (And then wanting to watch herself sing as soon as she is done!)
Is there anything cuter than a little baby in a big carseat? I know it won't be too long and she'll fill it out.
We talked our doctors into letting us go home on Friday instead of Saturday and it's been so nice to get settled at home. Of course, it's also been wonderful to have the help of my parents and the friends bringing meals. We'll see how life looks when Darin's back at work and my parents hit the road again.
So far Miss Dani is a great baby, although she does seem to be of the opinion that when she's awake she should be eating. My little snacker likes to eat about once an hour, and always seems to get hungry right when my food is hot and on the table. (What is that sixth sense in nursing babies?)
She also has a love affair with her hands (which you saw on that video below) and it means we're constantly pulling them out of her mouth while trying to get her to latch. Hopefully she'll figure it out soon!
So far she is a great sleeper and we have logged several 4 and 5 hour stretches of night-time sleep since coming home. Heaven!
And is there nothing better in the world than snuggling a sleeping baby on your chest? I think not. (Gram & Dani)
What is it about sleeping babies that makes them loose all muscle function?
There are two things in life this kid clearly doesn't enjoy: baths and diaper changes. In the hospital she really enjoyed the head massage while all wrapped up and washing her hair. But clearly was not a fan of the sponge bath. And the one bath we've given her since being home was met with mighty resistance. Man, our kid has good lungs.
Big Sister Daisy has taken to calling Dani "my baby", which is only slightly confusing because she received a new baby doll from Gran last week too. So we're always clarifying, "baby Dani or baby Doll?" Most often she's asking what Baby Dani is up to or where she is.
Daisy has taken to her role as big sister quite effortlessly. She loves to see "her baby" and giver "her baby" kisses. She's learned how to throw diapers in the diaper pail, pat gently to help burp, and hand us wipes upon request. She gives us updates about Dani's status while riding in the car, and gets excited to serenade her.
We are so very blessed and I pray often these two will grow to be sisters with a life-long love and bond.
We took Miss Dani to the pediatrician on Monday and it turns out our little snacker was already up to her birth weight and beyond. We were pretty proud parents to hear how rare such an occurance was, and took extra pride in being told they wouldn't need to see her again until her one-month visit. Ah...the silly things that make us parents puff up a little.
Weekly photos began today and for those of you curious, you can see the last-minute prop decision below. Since Danielle is a derivitive from Daniel, Darin thought this cute little animal of Daisy's would be appropriate.
Darin snapped this shot last Wednesday morning as we loaded up in our truck and prepared for our lives to forever change, once again. One last look at the babe in the belly.
When we arrived at the hospital they were all there waiting for us. We met our nurse, Karen, and her trainee, Judy. I am so thankful for these lovely and kind ladies because even though I had done this before, I was still nervous. And their stories and jokes helped the hours pre-surgery pass by quickly.
AND, they called in the expert IV therapy lady to get my line in so I only had to endure three attempts at insertion this time. (Ah...isn't it pretty there in my hand?)
One thing I was up-front about was my inability to deal with the medications. From my previous surgery as well as my miscarriage, I was well aware of my body's tendency to become incredibly nauseous. So our anesthesiologist was well-informed and prepared.
And the nurses became my non-friends when they prepared by giving me some nasty concoction to drink so that if I did vomit, this would come back up. Really? I get to taste this twice?
This photo was not in any way staged. That's how nasty the stuff was.
Surgery was awful. From nearly the moment the numbing started to work I was sick. Sicky, sick, sick. There was nothing in my stomach to vomit but that nasty liquid, and when that was gone I was still vomiting. Darin even tells me the doctors were waiting to cut as I was moving too much with my sickyness for them to begin.
My dear anesthesiologist tried every concoction of anti-nausea drugs he could and nothing seemed to help.
I gotta say, when you're not feeling well to begin with the strange sensations of numbness and pressure don't feel so great either. I definitely knew when they were pushing and pulling to get that baby out.
When Dani was born there were cries of "It's a Girl", (we wouldn't even tell our surgery team the gender)
and lots of comments about the amount of hair.
But I just sat there and listened to the magical sounds of her crying.
And was a bit unbelieving when they told me how much she weighed.
After surgery was pretty miserable too. I was simply exhausted from the concoction of meds they had given me. All I wanted was to hold and nurse my baby girl, and I could barely keep my eyes open, let alone lift my legs.
So the nurses let me rest and Darin bonded with Dani. And I tried to get the feeling back in my feet.
I have no idea how long it took. At one point Darin left to get some lunch. And then, miraculously, I felt better. And I asked for my babe, who wasn't interested in nursing. So we just hung out.
She does have a good suck, though. Here she is just hours old going to town on her fingers. (And you can also get a glimpse of me scratching at my face, that face itchiness thing is a weird side effect of the spinal.)
Not too long after this video was shot, my nurses decided they were through with me and upstairs to recovery I went. Getting settled into my tiny corner room with a gorgeous view and natural light, I started to feel a lot better. And I waited eagerly to introduce the little bundle of sweetness to her big sister.
Our second day in the hospital was wonderful. We rested, watched some TV, worked on nursing, took a few laps around the unit, and cuddled with our cutie. Our visitors didn't come until later in the day, which was perfect.
Mom and Dad came back with big sister Daisy.
Darin's dad, Erwin, made an appearance.
Auntie Debbie came by after a meeting in Seattle and stayed a good long while.
Darin's boss (Steve) and his wife came by bearing flowers and a balloon, which Daisy quickly laid claim to.
And our last visitors for the evening drove down from Lakewood. Aunt Tiffany, Uncle Trevor, and Aunt Dakota.
And all our visitors left just as smitten as we are.
