2 Weeks

Today is Ella's two week birthday - how time flies (it could just seem like it is flying since I am walking around in the typical sleep-deprived mommy mode). She is such an easy and sweet baby - she loves to be held by her momma and I love to oblige.

She is such a lucky little girl - she has two of the biggest fans in her older sisters. Every morning while taking Haley to school, it is so cute to look in my rear view mirror and see Haley and Sophie staring at Ella in amazement. If Ella opens an eye or sneezes or yawns, I get a full report of what she is doing and how cute it is. I love that they are so in love with their baby sister. I can only hope that they are always so watchful and protective of their little sister.

Breastfeeding

OK - if you are one of those people who are in love with breastfeeding, you should stop reading now so you do not judge me or . For everyone else, I absolutely HATE breastfeeding. It has been almost 3 years since I have had to experience the pain of sore nipples. At first, I thought we were doing well - my nipples were a little sore and when Ella first latched on, the first 10 or 15 seconds were painful, but then everything seemed well. Then late yesterday, Mike pointed out that my boobs didn't look quite right - I brushed to comment off and went along my way. Well, after dinner last night, I went to feed my little cutie and about jumped off the bed from the intense amount of pain. I have been a crying emotional mess since that point - poor Mike is not quite sure what to do with me and all of my tears. I spent the night putting warm washcloths on my boobs trying to ease the pain as I hand expressed the milk on one side in hopes to give myself relief between feedings. Can I just that there is nothing, nothing, nothing worse than nipples that crack, bleed and then scab over between feedings to only have the whole process repeated?

I know - for those diehards that did not heed my warning and are still reading my ranting, she is not latching on properly. I went thru this with Sophie as well (Haley was a bottle baby - she is quickly becoming my favorite child). I have seen the lactation consultants, read the books, have the creams and I still suck at this whole thing. I don't know if anyone remembers, but with Sophie I ended up getting a staff infection that landed me in the hospital for a week. All of the pain over the last day has just brought up all of the old memories of that awful week and the pain I had then - I think that is part of my problem, I am scared to death of getting that sick again (as a note of how sick I was, the doc. gave me a lecture and told me that she would have given me 12 more hours before I would have been to sick to help and I would have left my family dealing with my death instead of figuring out a week without me - so needless to say, I have a legit fear).

I want no lectures, no judgements, no nothing. I just want to type this out so maybe I can feel a little bit better about the whole situation. After all - I have spent the last 24 hours judging myself and telling myself to suck it up and deal with the pain. Then tonight, I made the trip of shame to the store to get the little 2 oz. bottles of pre-made formula since what I tried to pump out was not enough.

Alright, enough self-pity. I am off to pump and see what I can do to keep my cute, cuddly baby happy and chubby.

**As a side note for anyone who is reading this, as I just re-read what I typed, I am already taking Zoloft for any baby blues that may head my way since I had a wicked case with Haley. So no need to rush over to my house with anti-depressants baked into brownies, I am good to go on the drug front.**

Ella Jane McAtee
October 15, 2009
8 lbs. 3 oz 21 in.

After a rough start into this world, Ella is a happy and healthy baby girl who is now home being loved and adored by her big sisters. Mike and I are in awe of our newest creation and are loving every minute of being parents again for the third time.

The Flu has invaded our home...

Grrr....the flu has invaded our home. Haley came home from school on Monday night with an awful cough, achy knees and circles under her eyes. We made a quick visit to the doc. where they couldn't tell me much or do much for her. So, she stayed home Tuesday and Wednesday - I knew she was better last night when she was dancing around the living room giggling and laughing (can I just say that I am soooo ready for her to go back to school this morning). Well, this morning I woke up and can hardly breath, my chest sounds like a train is running inside it, my head hurts and my body aches. I am headed to the doc. today at 1:45 to hopefully get some anti-virals so I can kick this crap BEFORE Ella decides to join us. Which if you haven't heard, I have an induction date of Oct. 15th. So, that gives me exactly 6 days to get my family all well - I believe Haley is over it, I plan on being better by this weekend, Sophie finishes off her antibiotic for her ear infection on Sunday and Mike is currently feeling fine. So, get on your knees and say a prayer that everyone is healthy before I add a newborn to the mix - how bad would it stink if I had to ban someone from holding their new sister or daughter or even if she got sick in her first week of life???

To top it all off, this weather sucks. I just heard on the radio that the high on Sunday is supposed to be 44 - that is crazy talk!!!

More savings

I just opened my mail and had a notice from Target about my REDcard (Target's store credit card). Starting Oct. 19th, when you shop at Target and use your REDcard to pay, you save an additional 5% off your total bill (it does say that it is only at local KC stores, but the SuperTarget in Liberty is listed as well as the target on Madison Ave). I make sure that I pay off my Target bill every month (I use it b/c they are always sending me 10% off certificates on a whole day of shopping - I get one every couple of months). So, by paying it off, I am not paying any interest, I get good coupons in the mail and now I save an additional 5% - it is like free money!! I should mention that this is taking the place of their points program which earned the 10% off certificates, but I am thinking I would prefer 5% everyday as opposed to 10% a couple of time a year. Thought I would share how to shave a little more off your shopping totals.

My grocery bill just keeps dropping and dropping - I should open my mail more often!

There is a reason I look really, really large from all angles these days

Just had a 36 week sonogram to see how big Ella is getting and after a quick scan and calculation by the tech, they are estimating that she is weighing in at 7 1/2 lbs. That is ALREADY a full pound heavier than Sophie was born at and a full pound lighter than Haley entered the world weighing. And I have at least 18 more days before they will induce me...if only I could stop eating.

We are off to the Plaza Art Fair to enjoy a child-free evening, look at some art that I could never justify buying, eat (the grilled artichokes are calling my name...they are to die for) and walk, walk, walk to get this baby to start dropping - perhaps I can convince her to vacate the premise early!!

Where have all the manners gone?

What has happened to everyone in this world - it seems that all manners and common decency have disappeared. Why am I ranting? Yesterday, as I was leaving the doc. office in the pouring down rain, I was carrying Sophie on on side and had my way too large purse on the other side. The entryway to the hospital is tile and the rain had come in and the floor was wet. I took a step onto the tile and immediately went into a wild, flailing split like action as I slammed into the door frame (luckily the door frame was there - it stopped me from falling completely onto the floor). Three, count them three, men were either standing around or passing by. They all looked at the pregnant woman in the midst of falling and not one of them said a thing. Who asked if I needed any help or if I was OK? The little old lady who could barely walk herself - I was worried about her and her cane slipping on the wet floor. She asked if she could help me and started to pick up my purse before I stopped her and assured her I was fine.

Where are the manners - if I would have seen the above situation play out, I would have made sure everyone was OK and asked if there was anything I could do. Instead, the 3 men were too involved in their own world to see if I needed anything or if I was OK. Grrrr....their mommas would have been embarrassed by their actions. Meanwhile, I gathered everything up and my pride and I limped to the car while Sophie kept telling me to be more careful as I carried her cause she didn't want me to drop her.

Last night, as I laid on the couch nursing my giant bruise and two pulled groin muscles (you should see the pregnant waddle when combined with pulled muscles - priceless), I gave Mike a lecture that if he ever ignored someone in need, he was in deep, deep doo-doo. Luckily for me, I know I am married to the kind of man who still uses his manners.