The Simple Life: Welcome to the world, Abby Marie!

Abby Marie Jauregui has finally made her entrance into the world! I say "finally" because my due date came and went and she still didn't show any signs of wanting to be born. Her birth was such a different experience for me all around. For starters, I had never had any Braxton Hicks contractions with Ellie. Or if I did, I didn't know what they were. I started to get really intense contractions at 38 weeks and thought for sure that I was in labor. This was both exciting and frustrating when it kept happening...but not happening. At 38 weeks I was 2cm dilated and 50% effaced and at 39 weeks I was exactly the same. In those last few weeks leading up to her birth I was so anxious and ready for it to happen already that when it did finally happen I was in denial because I had thought it was happening so many times before.

So when it did, it went a little something like this...
I was scheduled to go into the doctor for a non-stress test since I had passed my due date. That morning during breakfast I had started to feel some steady contractions. I wasn't sure that they were real contractions so I showered and got dressed for the day not thinking much of it. Tom and I said our goodbyes to Ellie and we decided to bring our hospital bag, just in case. The doctor called to push our appointment back by an hour so we decided to go to lunch. I told the nurse that I was having contractions but I wasn't sure how serious they were. By the time we sat down to eat my contractions were regular and 3-4 minutes apart and I realized that this was probably it. We decided to go to the appointment anyhow since we were so close (it was just around the corner). When my doctor checked my progress, I was 100% effaced and 2.5 dilated. She said that the baby's head was "way down there" and that I was definitely in labor so she sent us to the hospital. The hospital is just a few miles from my doctor's office and in the time it took to get there my contractions went from uncomfortable to "epidural please!". We called Tia and Unk and they arrived shortly after we did. The anesthesiologist took a different approach to the epidural since I had experienced the spinal migraine last time. The meds took longer to kick in but once they did I couldn't feel my contractions at all. Once the epidural was all said and done, we hung out and chatted with Tia and Unk for awhile while the nurses came and went. I really didn't even feel like I was in labor at all. It was about two hours after we arrived that I felt my mucus plug fall out and then shortly there after my water broke. This was a crazy sensation for me since I didn't get to experience it the first time (the doctor had to break my water with Ellie). The doctor came in to check and I was 9cm dilated. I really couldn't believe that I had progressed that quickly since my dilation took forever the first time around (22 hours total). Everyone rushed in and the doctor told me I could push when I felt a contraction. Easier said than done since I couldn't feel anything this time around. I only had to push a few times - maybe 10 minutes total and Abby was born!

Here are her stats:
Abby Marie Jauregui
Born on January 3rd, 2014 at 5:39pm
8lbs 8oz
21 inches long

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. I was so glad to get out of the hospital and home to Ellie. It was the first time we had left her overnight and if it had been for anything else I probably would have been more sad about it. Luckily she had a great time with my parents and hardly noticed that we were even gone (okay, she noticed but wasn't in the least bit traumatized). She has done surprisingly well adjusting to being a big sister. She is mostly very gentle and sweet with the baby. In the morning the first thing she says is "Abby!" and wants to see her sister. She will kiss her head and say goodnight to her. She is a little more needy and a little more defiant at times but all in all it has been a pretty easy transition. Lets hope that sticks!

Abby is very healthy and is gaining weight like a champ. I definitely think she has more me/Parrish in her than Ellie does. We had a few bumps on the breastfeeding road but I am happy to say that they seem to have worked themselves out and she is happily breastfeeding now. Such a relief for me since we had such a traumatic time with Ellie. She is mostly a very easy and happy baby. She does get periods of extreme gas/upset stomach/spit up which can cause her to be fussy, mostly in the evenings and I am hoping that she'll grow out of it and it's not predicative of Gurd or acid reflux. She is sleeping in 3 hour stretches at night which is pretty good for a 3 week old. We are still in survival mode trying to adjust to the two different schedules. Naturally Abby is up when Ellie is asleep and visa versa. She usually wants to eat when I am trying to feed Ellie or when we are sitting down to eat. We'll have to figure out a system so we can all get our needs met at the same time (need good suggestions for this!). She loves to cuddle and be held pretty much all the time. I carry her around in the front pack a lot and that works well so I can keep up with Ellie. We just had our newborn photo shoot last weekend and I'm looking forward to sharing those photos when I get them. All in all we are adjusting quite well to being a family of four. Tom and I are of course totally sleep deprived and brain dead (hence why this blog is so scattered. I actually have been adding to it while I'm breastfeeding in the middle of the night). Even though it wasn't that long ago since we had our first newborn, it was easy to forget how hard having a newborn is - especially with a very active toddler in tow. Good thing they are both really cute!

Here are some photos of our newest little love: