Morning Videos

I took a couple videos of the girls this morning in Granny and Grandad's kitchen.  Brenna was happy talking to the little green birdy hanging from her play mat while I unloaded the dishwasher. I love how happy she is in the mornings after a good night's sleep.

Later on we were trying to persuade Ellen to sit down for breakfast, but she was too busy dancing and jumping around the kitchen to the same song over and over.  Such a happy girl... for now, at least.

Brenna is 3 Months Old

Our baby girl is 3 months old today!  We are currently in Northern Ireland visiting Granny and Grandad - Brenna's first visit! Brenna is becoming more alert and curious about her surroundings. She loves to watch her big sister and coos at bright pictures in books and the hanging animals from her play mat.  I love the smiles that greet me bright and early in the morning and they way she looks into my eyes and is simply glad to see her mommy.  Brenna's colic is slowly improving, but now has developed eczema, thanks to her mommy.  Jeff and I are relieved that we've made it through the first 3 months, a definite hurdle with a newborn.

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Brenna is Two Months Old

Our Brenna Boo is two months old! She's past that newborn stage and is a proper chubby baby.  At her 6-week appointment, she weighed 10lbs, 6oz, which means that she gained 3lbs as of two weeks ago.  She's just beginning to smile at us; last night, all four of us were sitting on our bed reading a bedtime story, and Brenna just gave us the biggest grin.  Ellen loved seeing her smile, too.  What a special family moment!  She has also begun to coo, usually after a good feed and while laying on the floor "reading" a book.  Although Brenna still sleeps a lot, she also can be quite colicky, crying for hours almost inconsolable.  Unfortunately (or fortunately?) she tends to cry the most in the evenings as we're putting Ellen to bed, which leaves very little time to do anything in the evenings before it's time for bed.  However, the biggest blessing is that she usually only wakes once (during our 6, maybe 7, hours of sleep a night) for a feed, which is soooo much better than waking every hour or two with Ellen for over a year.  Speaking of which, Brenna has been sleeping in her crib/cot bed since Sunday evening and doing very well at sleeping in a big room, in a big bed without Mommy and Daddy.

So, how is it going taking care of a two-year-old with her Jekyll and Hyde personality and a two-month-old?  Sometimes fun, sometimes very, very difficult.  There are the wonderful moments when Ellen is cuddling her baby sister, saying, "Brenna is so coot".  Or when Brenna is crying and I'm taking a minute to get to her, Ellen will say, "It's okay, Brenna, it's okay", while gently bouncing Brenna in her bouncer.  Then there are other times that aren't so wonderful when I have both crying at the same time with too many hours until Daddy comes home.  Jeff and I realize that the colic will pass in the next month or so, so things should settle and be a bit more predictable. 

Brenna is One Month Old

 Our darling baby daughter is already one month old!  She still mainly sleeps all day, but is now beginning to be awake for longer periods of time. She is also struggling with colic, but hopefully this won't last for too long.  Jeff and I love being parents to our two beautiful girls.  During the past month, Brenna has met her Granny and Grandad and Grandma and Grandpa (Palon).

Ellen is doing really well at accpting her role as a big sister and has begun to give Brenna some attention by kissing her and talking to her.  She understands that I need to divide my time and attention between her and Brenna, though she doesn't always like it.  


We are amazed at God's blessing to us and our family.

Brenna's 1st Week

Brenna spent her first week at home doing what any newborn does best... sleeping.  The highlights of her first week include her first (and second) bath and her first cuddle with Granny and Grandad, who arrived last Wednesday evening and left this afternoon. 

Just as a sidenote, Ellen was soooooo excited for Granny and Grandad's visit. They weren't arriving at the train station until 8:30pm, but after her nap, Ellen thought it was time to go to the train station. When we told her that they were arriving later and she was just going to the play ground.... oh, the tears!  We let her stay up past her bedtime to drive to the station with Jeff to pick them up.  It's so wonderful to know that Ellen identifies her family and those she loves.

 Daddy and his girls

 Grandad and Brenna

 Brenna with Granny

 A picture with Mommy

 Brenna's first bath... before she started to scream.

 A lovely expression

 

 A naked little Doodle

 Much better cuddled up with Mommy

 Getting dried off and dressed

 

Mommy kissy

Welcome Brenna Sue

Yesterday evening, we welcomed our daughter, Brenna Sue Bolton, two weeks early to the world. I spent most of the day volunteering at the NCT Nearly New Sale, but my hips and back were aching more than usual. I just thought I had overdone it on Friday. My bigger concern was that I hadn't felt the baby moving since sometime Friday evening or Saturday morning, no matter what I tried to get her to move. Despite resting once I got home from the sale, my hips and back were still aching and I still hadn't felt the baby moving.

At 5:15pm I called the midwife unit, but no answer, so I left a message.  When I called a different number at 6:15pm, the midwife I spoke with advised that I have supper (had just finished), drink a glass of very cold water and relax as much as possible to try to get the baby moving.  At 7:15pm I called back to report that I still hadn't felt the baby moving. The midwife advised that I come to the hospital to be monitored.  It's a good thing that I had finished packing the hospital bag and asked our next door neighbor, Carol, to come over to watch Ellen just before calling the midwife again.

Jeff and I left the house thinking that I'd be monitored for a while and return home later in the evening. However, on the way to the hospital, I started to feel light, but regular contractions, and I began to think that I wouldn't be returning home without a baby.  Jeff dropped me off at the midwife unit at 7:45pm while he went to park.

In the midwife unit I was eventually hooked up to a monitor, and the midwife found the baby's heartbeat, much to our relief; however, even I recognised that it was beating too fast.  My heart rate was also too fast - something was happening and the baby was in distress.  I was monitored for a while longer, all while my back pain and contractions were increasing. Then suddenly, two midwives piled my coat and purse/handbag onto the bed I was laying on and swiftly wheeled me down the corridor to the labor unit. It was about 9:20pm.

Not entirely sure what was going on, Jeff and I were surprised to see a baby warming bed in the room that I had been wheeled into.  "Oh, they must think I'm about to have a baby," I thought, still not believing I was in labour.  The midwives quickly hooked me up to a monitor and checked how "far along" I was.  4cm already?!  I couldn't believe how fast this labour was progressing (compared to being in labour with Ellen).  Because of the seriousness of the situation with the baby being in distress, the midwife asked to break my water.  Of course I said, "yes". It was 9:30pm.  Unfortunately there was "thick meconium" in the water, proving that the baby was indeed in distress and she really needed to be delivered.

Labour progressed very, very quickly from that point.  Within what seemed like a few minutes, the midwife calmly said, "Lauren, you're going to meet your baby in the next few contractions".  Seriously?! That quickly?! Is this really happening?  At 9:58pm, Brenna Sue Bolton was born. Her umbilical cord was cut immediately and she was whisked over to the examining table for the paediatrician to examin.  After working on her breathing with the aid of a baby-sized respirator for about 10 minutes, I got to hold our daughter for the first time.

Jeff and I were in utter disbelief that I had just given birth... was technically in labour for 28 minutes (from when they broke my water)... and was two weeks early.  Our beautiful daughter laid on my chest while we gazed at her in amazement and made phone calls to our family. We were so grateful to God for her safe arrival.

 

 

 

We stayed in the delivery room for a couple of hours while the midwives continued to monitor Brenna due to her initial breathing difficulty.  Jeff drove home just after midnight. I showered and then taken to a bed in a shared room in the post-natal ward.  While Brenna slept in the bassinet next to my bed, I continued texting and writing emails to friends.  I got very little sleep last night due to midwives coming in to monitor Brenna every 2 hours (though this was absolutely fine with me), midwives talking very loudly to the Polish lady in the bed opposite me, the other two babies in the room and the snoring lady next to me.

At 10:15am Jeff and Ellen, wearing her "Big Sister" t-shirt, arrived.  Unfortunately, two paediatricians were doing a routine baby examination when they arrived. Ellen stared down at Brenna, probably registering for the first time that this baby was somehow her baby sister.  After a few pictures with Brenna and playing with the "shower curtains" (the curtains around my bed), I was discharged just after noon.  Ellen was very happy when we told her it was time to go home, but she got quite upset when we continued to say, "with your baby sister". 

Welcome to our family, Brenna. We love you very much.

Swimming with Daddy

Jeff and Ellen went swimming together last Friday after Jeff finished work.  I decided I would sit out this time since my swimming suit wouldn't fit my 37-week bump (and body)... what a scary thought!  Ellen had been looking forward to swimming "on Friday"; we had been attempting to explain to her earlier in the week that we had to wait a few more days - until Friday - to go swimming.  My friend, Emily, gave us her daughter's no-longer-needed water wings earlier in the day, and Ellen was THRILLED about the water wings, since Peppa and George wear water wings when they go swimming... of course.  Ellen's confidence in the water soared with the water wings on and she LOVED the Daddy-only time in the pool.

Earlier in the day, I had introduced a toddler pillow and duvet to Ellen's cot bed, as a step toward her using a toddler bed when we move into our new house. I wasn't sure how she'd react to having something besides just her blankie, let alone new things in her bed, but she LOVED her new big girl things.  These are a couple of pictures of her trying out her new pillow and duvet.

 

 (She wasn't asleep here)

 

Ellen loves to draw and color and is very good (for now at least) at not drawing on anything besides paper, though I did walk into the lounge a week or so ago as she was coloring on her books (on the shelf). Luckily it was only a colored pencil.  However, I did walk in the other day to green marker-covered lips; she had used her dark green marker as lippy.  I tried to get her to look at me, but of course, to no avail. 

As we all know, Mommy becomes chopped liver when Daddy gets home from work. Most evenings after supper you can find Ellen and Jeff having a picnic in the lounge with her tea pot and tea cups.