3 Months

I cannot believe Gabriella is 3 months. She is still such a petite little thing that people think I'm lying when I tell them how old she is. She is just the sweetest little girl. Although, this month most definitely tested my patience. Gabriella, is what you would call a night owl. She was wide awake most nights. Just smiling and staring at me and as soon as I would put her down she would freak out. I started letting her cry for a few minutes and she was able to put herself back to sleep. Luckily, her brother doesn't mind and is able to sleep through it. It has been such a different experience because Ty was SUCH a good sleeper. Like amazing.

She is really into holding her rattles or grabbing an object that is in front of her face. Tummy time never lasts very long because she always tries to roll over. She starts on her tummy and a few seconds later turn over and then a beautiful little smile would form. It was like she knew she accomplished something fantastic.

Ty really is the center of her universe. I'm pretty sure I am too... because I feed her so she has to love me (LOL) but she has such a cute bond with him. She will be laying on my lap or the floor and she loves to stare at him. He dances, sings or does something crazy (and LOUD) and her eyes just fixate on him. It's the best bond. I really hope they continue this.

Luckily, her hair hasn't fallen out and she has no bare patches on the side or back :) She has beautiful soft hair that I cannot wait to style! Everyone was right... having a girl is so incredibly fun. The clothes for girls are just soo cute. Luckily, we have a consignment shop right next to our house that offers really good deals so I can buy her cute and affordable clothes!

I cannot believe she is already 3 months.Time is flying by!

First smiling picture!!! :)

First time at the Alameda County Fair



Happy Breastfeeding week!

http://www.thealphaparent.com/2012/06/news-flash-breastfeeding-requires.html?m=1

I found this on a site and thought it was quite interesting. I fully support any way a mom chooses to feed their child ;-) I was lucky that my first child nursed so easy! My husband and I were young and poor so formula feeding was not an option due to the expense of formula. Thankfully, Ty latched very well and although it was painful, the pain went away quickly and I was able to successfully nurse for 10.5 months.

Now, flash forward 4 years when I was to nurse Gabriella. It was SO DIFFICULT! She did not latch on well, she was losing weight very fast, and her jaundice was getting worse by the minute. Sometimes she would latch on then move her head extremely fast... taking my nipple with her. It was painful. It was awful. And there were plenty of times I wanted to quit. Our financial situation is much different this time around but I wanted to nurse her because I wanted to. Not because I had too.

 The staff at the hospital I delivered at was so incredible and so encouraging. They constantly encouraged me and helped me adjust positions for easier nursing. Although she was losing weight they never wanted me to supplement with formula but gave me suggestions on other things I could do. In order to have my milk come in faster and plump her up I would nurse her for 10 minutes on each side then pump for 20 minutes and feed her what was expressed. I did that for 3 days straight.
One of my really good friends, Nicole had a lot of difficulty nursing. She developed an infection and so did her son. She was in so much pain for the first couple months but even through all of that she continued on. She is a wonderful example of a mama who never gave up despite all obstacles! I am so amazed at her perseverance.

If it wasn't for my desire to nurse, the support of the hospital and my family I most likely wouldn't have the second time around.

4th of July

I love holidays! I also love my husband having PAID holidays! We spent 4th of July with my parents, younger brother & sister, and my sister's family. It was great! The boys played so well together in the backyard and then we headed to the park for some playground time and of course, baseball! Then we came home and made some yummy s'mores and went to Livermore to see the fireworks. It was fun to see them there because Ty's 1st fireworks show was also in Livermore. I love my family!  Ty & Gabriella are very lucky to have SO many people who love them and like to spend time with them!

 Grandma pushing all 4 boys!

 Love my baby girl!

 Such a pretty grandma!

 Ty wanted to try it himself-he didn't get anywhere lol

 Dads playing baseball

 Little E & Little T

 My little patriotic cutie :)

 (Her shirt was $1 at Babies R Us and skirt was 0.75 at my favorite consignment store. MAJOR SCORE!)

 My parents :)

 Auntie Vanessa cuddling G

Cute little Gabriella all bundled up



Gabriella's Baby Blessing

This past Sunday we were able to bless Gabriella in the church. This was Tyler's first time giving a blessing at church and he did a wonderful job. He was very nervous because he typically doesn't like speaking in public but he seemed very confident during the entire blessing. Gabriella was a little cranky at home and on the car ride to church so I was so nervous she would cry during the blessing but she didn't make a peep. She was such a perfect little angel. We invited all of our families and had a good turn out. Tyler's mom, step dad and grandma came to support him. My three aunts and 2 uncles came and 10 of my cousins. Along with my parents, grandma,  little brother and sister and my older sisters family.  It was so amazing to have so many family members who traveled far to come support us. It meant so much to us!!

I was hoping to get pictures of the men in the circle but unfortunately I didn't. We were lucky to have my Uncle Lindsey, Uncle Aaron, my cousin Aaron & Adam (Both of whom have recently returned from their mission), my dad, our friend Ted, my brother in law Thomas and our Bishop. It was such a great group of guys that all love our little Gabriella.

Afterwards, we had a delicious lunch at our house. The kids had a blast playing in our backyard and it was nice to socialize with the adults.

Family is SO important. And it meant so much to have our family there to witness such an amazing & important event in our daughter's life!

 Uncrustables for the kids(and men LOL), chicken salad sandwiches, caesar salad, fruit salad, veggies, and pita chips and hummus!

 Gabriella's happy and proud parents!

 Gabriella's cake. The top layer was chocolate cake with chocolate filling and cream cheese frosting. The bottom layer was white cake with strawberry filling and buttercream frosting

 4 Generations

 Her beautiful dress. The 1st of her 3 white dresses :)

Light pink flowers

Manos, Pies, y Boca

So, I thought saying it in Spanish would make it sound less gross... but nope. A few weeks ago we found out Ty had Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. Ty was about to go inside the pool and told me a bug bit him and he had a bump. So I go in the backyard and he had two pea sized blisters on his hand. I immediately thought it was weird and then I look at his hand and he has red bumps in between his fingers and toes. I make an appointment for the doctor hoping it was an irritation since he was in the pool for like 6 hrs straight the day before. I was a tad grossed out so Tyler took the day off so he could come with me to take him in. We go to the doctors and they said he has Hand, Foot and Mouth. She gives me a pamphlet telling me that he might get blisters in his mouth and they will probably get worse. I was so disgusted I moved away from Ty and was just mentally freaking out. For 1, bumps totally gross me out. Like I seriously can't handle bumps. Poop and vomit don't bug me AT ALL. But for some reason, I cannot handle blisters or bumps. And 2, they said it was highly contagious and I didn't want Gabriella to get it. I go home google pictures, which is probably the WORSE thing you can do because they show the nastiest and worse case scenarios of the disease.

We go to the store and buy a bunch of disinfectant spray. It lasted 4 days and then all of the blisters went away. Then 4 days later he got the weirdest rash which we found out was an irritation from his undies. :) Poor Ty was so sad that he couldn't touch or be near Gabriella. I probably overreacted but I didn't want her to get sick. The doctor said if she were to get it she could most likely get a fever. I was most worried about that because Ty had a febrile seizure when he was a baby and I couldn't go through that again. We also missed church because I have a big issue with sharing diseases and exposing others. Luckily, he is fine and now is immune to it. It was a hardest 4 days attempting to keep Ty from Gabriella so she wouldn't get it. After the blisters went away I sanitized each and every toy, bedding, stuffed animals he owned. I also sprayed door handles, chairs, lamps basically everything in our house.

Thank goodness it's over!

2 Months

Ohhhh Gabriella Gabriella. It has been such a change for me  to wake up at least once a night and sometimes only getting a couple hrs of sleep a night. I use to think if I didn't get at least 8 hrs I would be ridiculously cranky. However, now getting 3 hrs of sleep can be the norm and I function perfectly. She no longer needs to be swaddled. Sometimes she gets irritated if we swaddle her. She does however, need to fall asleep on us and then we can switch her to her crib.

She started smiling when we smile at her. I truly feel like she knows who I am. Sometimes when I am nursing her she will look up at me and have the biggest grin on her face. It is probably one of my most favorite things. It is the best bond ever.

She is such a happy baby and has a brother who dotes on her all day long. They have such a magical and special bond with one another. If Gabriella is crying, Tyler will sing any song he knows to try to get her to stop. Nice thing is, she usually does. Sometimes he runs out of songs and starts to make up things to say. One line goes like this, "No crying my baby sister. Let me kiss you so I don't miss you. Gabriellaaaaa I love you. Stop screaming or I will kiss you."

She also has a very cute bond with my mother. My mom will speak to her in Spanish and she looks so peaceful. It is beautiful. Also, everytime we have seen my mom Gabriella has THE best night ever. Which means, I have the best nights ever! I always know I will get a good nights sleep after visiting my parents.

She HATES when the car stops. Sucks at red lights. She loves the motions of the car but as soon as it stops she will make the cutest pout expression. Ohhh, I love this girl.

Father's Day!

Father's Day is always so much fun around our house! I took better pictures of Father's Day from last year than I did this year so this post is almost pictureless. With Ty being sick it kind of ruined a lot of our plans which I'll blog about later. Anyways, we still had a very fun day! This year, I wanted to make him something really cute and different. So we made him the cutest youtube video with pictures of Daddy and his kids

Here is the link for the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7-HtmPZno8

We made him a delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner. We weren't able to go to church which made me a little sad because Ty learned a cute little Father's Day song and he was suppose to sing it. I tried to get him to sing it to him but he only liked to sing the ending. LOL.

I am so grateful that my kids have the father they do. Tyler is amazing, fun and caring. He truly adores his children which makes me very happy!

 She loves staring at her daddy!

Ty LOVES playing baseball with Daddy!

"Mommy, guess what I did to my sister"

I love taking showers. I love taking hot hot showers and just having the water  hit me while I am laying in the tub. Man... I miss those days. Now, showers are 4 minutes max. Some days it is a triumph if I have a shower before noon. On Friday, I took my 4 minute shower and as I was getting out Ty comes in and says "Mommy, guess what I did to my sister." I panic and run over to see her and there she is with a Darth Vader mask by her. Ty explains that he put the mask on her and she loved it. He says she is the best sister ever.

I love my kids.

The Joys & Challenges of nursing... the second time!

Man oh man. Ty's labor and delivery was awful. But breastfeeding and his newborn stage was a breeze. He was the PERFECT baby. Gabriella on the other hand has been a little difficult. She is now 6 1/2 weeks and nursing finally doesn't hurt. With Ty, it hurt for about two weeks and then was so easy. I expected that it would be easier the second time around. Gabriella had latching issues at the hospital and sometimes she was hardly interested in nursing at all. But I didn't give up and prayed that eventually it would get better.  I'm so glad we got over the hump. Although sometimes she gets a little fidgety and then I realize she either peed or has gas and then she's fine. If it wasn't for the ridiculous cost of formula and multiplying that for the next 11 months, I might have given up. Thank goodness I didn't, I wouldn't miss this bonding for anything.

I read this online and it brought a tear to my eye. It was such a sweet story and helped me on days when I wanted to give up :)

Dear Daughter,
You are three weeks old. You nursed pretty much straight through the night last night, as I sort of drifted in and out of being fully awake.
You’re going through a growth spurt.
When you switch sides I feel the sting of letdown. Sometimes you nurse eagerly and gulp down the milk. Sometimes you become upset because you don’t want milk. Or you don’t want the fast flow of my over-active letdown. Sometimes you just want to lay in the semi-dark and nurse peacefully while your little dark blue eyes stare at my face and your little feet kick the still-soft skin of my belly which was your former home. Sometimes you want to comfort nurse. When this happens I kiss your forehead and switch you back to the “empty” side and let you lay close. You are a wise little creature that understands what it is that you need.
I am not a human pacifier.
Usually when a mom says that, it’s an expression of frustration that their infant insists on suckling for comfort. This is not what I mean when I say this.
I am not a warm human substitute for a cold silicone and plastic doohickey.
Your father may sometimes be a human pacifier. You suckle on his pinky finger during diaper changes or when I desperately need to wash my milk-stained body in the shower and remember for a few moments that I have two arms with two hands and that the dimensions of my body do not include an oddly independent nine pound female child that is frequently suspended from my body in a wrap of lightweight gauze. Your grandfather may be a human pacifier, as he holds you lovingly while I get your big brothers ready for bed or eat a hot meal without waiting for it to cool first- a luxury of not being afraid of hot bits of soup falling on you while I eat. Your brothers may briefly be human pacifiers when they offer up their pinky fingers for you to suck on, always imitating their daddy.Your grandma may be a human pacifier when she offers you her pinky finger to suck on and sings you Russian songs from her childhood.
But my breasts are not pacifiers. Comfort sucking is not time wasted. It’s part of the job that my body and you have. It is how we evolved. We are the product of a long process of evolution that causes you to seek out my arms and my breasts, to suckle for comfort, to communicate with my immune system, to stay close and warm and protected, to stimulate the supply of your food, your antibodies, the components of breastmilk that scientists can see but cannot identify the function of.
Maybe you want the comfort of non-nutritive suckling because there is something that has you stressed out. Maybe you want a slow flow of high fat hindmilk that comes from comfort nursing. Maybe your body has some bacteria in it and you need the closeness so that your immune system can communicate with my immune system and it all can be taken care of without either of us ever knowing and without you ever becoming sick from the foreign invaders that your body cannot cope with but that my adult immune system attacks with the ferocity of a mama bear defending her cub.
Independence will come at your pace. “I DO IT MYSELF!” will become the phrase of the moment soon enough. The need to peel off and be independent is as natural a need as the need to breathe, to sleep and to eat. It comes from within the child when the child has the ability. It has come from within your brothers as they get older. It will come from within you as well. I can see it already as you bob your head against my chest in the wrap and peek over the side eager to strengthen your muscles and look at the world.
I choose to neither hold you past when you wish to be held, nor deny you comfort while it is something that you seek. I push you gently to be independent, recognizing that your world naturally expands within your comfort zone without me needing to push you past it into tears.
I am not a “human pacifier”. I am what you have a biological and evolutionary need for. I will not devalue your needs by implying that you lack the wisdom and understanding of what those needs are. I will not devalue your needs by becoming frustrated by your refusal to accept something that does not meet those needs. I want you to listen to your body from the beginning, to understand the difference between a healthy need of yours and a pacifying object. To have an understanding that dates back to the beginnings of your time on this planet.. That comfort comes from having your needs met, not from distracting yourself with something pink, pretty and plastic.
No manufacturer makes what you need for happiness, little one. I want you to understand this from the beginning of your life. Happiness comes from love, from closeness, and from deep inside of you. Seek this happiness, and never be distracted by things that simply pacify you rather than satisfying your needs.

<3 Mama.

http://nurshable.com/2012/05/04/i-am-not-a-human-pacifier/

1 month

Gabriella is an amazingly easy baby. That said she also is a little more high maintenance than Ty was as a newborn. Gabriella needs to be double swaddled in order for her to go to bed. If she is only swaddled once she can get herself out of it and screams her head off. Which makes waking up at 3 am super fun. Unlike Ty, Daddy is not allowed to hold her while playing x box unless in the Ergo and very rarely does she allow him to play. Ty use to lay on Daddy's chest for hours on end while he played x box. However, Gabriella does not like that... AT ALL.

Nursing was a little more difficult starting out with her. In the beginning, it was downright frustrating but we both stuck through it and she nurses perfectly! Ella is quite the pooper and farter... makes for one happy daddy :) This month she also met her grandpa (Tyler's dad) for the first time. He lives in Washington but made the trip to see her. It was a wonderful visit and she is so lucky to have so many people who adore her!

Ty and Gabriella

So Tyler is now back at work. Having both of them has been pretty easy. Ty is such a big help! He cuddles her while I make breakfast for the two of us and holds her if she is cranky and I need to do something. I was nervous about the age gap between the two of them but it actually has been nice. Because they are so far apart Ty can be a big help. He can grab himself snacks if I'm nursing her and he's hungry. And the fact that there isn't any jealousy is amazing.

They are just perfect. I am in love :)

Gabriella's Birth

I had been going back and forth since I found out I was pregnant the idea of having a VBAC. The pros/cons were split pretty evenly but the idea of a planned c section seemed so much easier. I knew that I could have a uterine rupture but the fact that it had been 4 years since my last c section, left me and my doctor feeling pretty positive. It was a long shot. I knew that. But I tried to remain semi positive that I would be able to have her vaginally. I exercised, tried not to gain too much weight and read up as much as I could about having a successful VBAC.
I started feeling weird when I woke up on the 24th. I was having weird period pains but tried not to think anything of it. Around 6pm, they started feeling a bit closer. Not too close but definitely a different pain than I had felt before. It was around 1am, April 25th that Tyler and I started timing them. With Ty, my water broke and we went to the hospital. I never felt contractions beforehand so I wasn't sure if this was them. I wasn't in excruciating pain at all. So I disregarded them. We tried to go to bed and I wasn't able to sleep. We prayed together and both felt at peace with whatever that would happen. Around 3am, I called my doctor and he said to head to the hospital. Ty was 2 weeks early and he wanted to give me ample time just in case she came faster (he said typically 2nd babies come faster). Everything was already packed in the car so we grabbed Ty and got in our car. I didn't want to make a fuss so we told Ty that I was going to the doctor's real quick. We didn't call our parents at that moment because I wasn't sure if I was going to be admitted and we didn't want to alert anyone if it was a false alarm.
In the car, Ty kept saying how he wanted me to hurry up so we could cuddle when we got home. I tried so hard to keep it together but I was sobbing in the passenger seat. I knew if I was admitted I wouldn't see him for a few days. And his birthday was the 26th so if I was going to have Gabriella, I would for sure miss his birthday. I went into Labor and Delivery and they checked me and I was only at a 3. My doctor said to admit regardless of how far I was dilated. So I called Tyler (who was waiting in the car with Ty) and told him to let our parents know and to come up. I laid with Ty in the bed and we talked about what the baby would look like and all the fun stuff we could do together. My mother in law came and Ty did not want to leave. Usually, he is pretty happy to see her but he cried the whole time she was trying to get him to leave. It was awful. I felt like my heart was breaking. The week before she was born I would go into his room and just hold him. I knew this would completely rock his world and I just felt partially to blame. I heard him cry the whole way down the hall.
After not progressing very fast, they broke my water around 8am. That was the weirdest feeling ever. The DR said we could start pitocin around 10 if I didn't progress. At 10am I still hadn't progressed but asked if we could start after 12. He agreed. Around 12:30, I still hadn't progressed so I received my first round of pitocin. Because I had a c section, they wanted to make sure they could control my contractions so they slowly increased it every hour. They were very careful not to rush my contractions which could cause a uterine rupture. Around 5pm I was at 5cm and they asked if I wanted the epidural. My mom thought it might be better to get it just so I didn't get tired and opt for a c section. After 26 hrs of labor with Ty, I was exhausted and a c section was the next choice. I wasn't trying to be superwoman and felt that the epidural might put me in a better place to have a successful VBAC. After receiving the epidural, I felt amazing! I told the anesthesiologist that with my first child, I had received a epidural and I couldn't feel anything which I hated. He said he would put it very light so I would feel better but still feel the contractions.
At 7pm, I was fully dilated. We waited for the doctor and I started pushing around 7:30. My mom and Ty were holding my legs and both of them kept telling me to remain calm and focus. My mom was the most amazing coach. She was my biggest cheerleader for having a VBAC. She always encouraged me and kept supporting me every step of the way. All I kept thinking was how much I wanted this and how important it was for me to have her vaginally. And after 24 or so minutes of pushing, Gabriella Marie was born. It was incredible. I tore... which is not the highlight but it beats having to be cut open again. It was the most amazing feeling and I am so glad that I stuck to my guns and tried. I loved my doctor, loved the nurses and loved the hospital. Everything about this delivery was SO much better than my first. It was totally worth it. And it was an amazing experience having her placed on me and seeing her beautiful face as soon as she came out.



Me and Ty

Gabriella's Nursery

** To read up on all the steps we took prior to the finished project start here **

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Painting
We have been looking for a rug for such a long time! I was fortunate to find this one at Target and luckily we had gift cards :)

PAINT COLORS:
Aqua Spray by Behr
Hidden Meadow by Behr
Her closet!!! I wanted to paint the inside of the closet a different color but we had already put the shelving in before I decided that. Maybe when she's older. I love how organized and huge it is! The top left is for shirts, bottom left is bottoms, top right is skirts and dresses and bottom right are clothes she doesn't fit in yet.

Here is her BRAND new FREE crib :) and the bedding. We were going to use Ty's old crib but it was recalled so we got a $280 giftcard to Target and bought this one! We opted to not buy the complete bedding set because I didn't need a diaper stacker, bumpers or comforter and didn't need all the extra fluff. Saved a ton of money that way!

Those heart shaped wreaths were made by my mother in law. She made one of them for my shower and I loved it so much we wanted to use it in the nursery! Her name or a saying will go in the middle of the wreaths right above the crib

I am in love with the shadow boxes. We got all of them for 11 bucks at Ross. The larger one will be for all of her hospital stuff. Then we have an ultrasound picture. Eventually I'll add a picture of Ty and Ella together and a picture of both of their handprints.

BEFOREWe got this lovely gem for free :)

AFTER

This project was super fun and CHEAP! I made those boxes out of cardboard boxes and fabric. The sides are sprayed with white spray paint. We were trying to find a specific size for the opening and we couldn't find anything! Or ones we did find were like $15 a basket. Ummm, sorry... we were not about to spend $45 bucks on three baskets. We got the dresser for free and sanded, primed and painted it white. We got the beautiful matching knobs as a gift.

This was a mirror my mom gave to Tyler and I after we got married to decorate our first apartment. I wanted to add that to the room so we spray painted it white and added the cute butterflies to it!

Got the shelf from Target. The "cupcakes" were made from receiving blankets and onesies. They were baby shower decorations from my talented sister in law, Kristi and I just loved them so we added them to her nursery. My mom bought this book and had everyone who came to my shower sign it and leave messages for Ella. It was a wonderful idea and something Ella will be able to treasure forever!

It is finally done!!!! We were very fortunate to reuse a bunch of things we already had which cut the costs down a lot! We also received a TON of handmade items from our wonderful family. It was nice to use gifts that our family members made especially for her. We also received a ton as gifts or through giftcards! Well, we are technically missing the decal but besides that everything else is done! All we need is our little Ella :)