Christmas 2012

Christmas 2012 was our first official Christmas away from Utah and family for the first time. I was slightly dreading Christmas since Mike was on call both Christmas Eve and Christmas day and was going to have to go into work for at least a few hours both days. I wasn't sure how Christmas would be being so far away from family and on our own, but Christmas Eve and Christmas Day ended up being wonderful thanks to our good friends. I love where we live. I can't say it enough.

Christmas Eve we spent the evening with our friends the Andersons. The Andersons are a darling family with four daughters ranging in the ages of 4-15. The four girls remind me so much of my sisters and I. It was so fun to spend the night with them because it reminded me of being with my sisters. I laughed so much and reveled in the drama and emotions that come from a family of all girls. We are delicious prime rib, potatoes, salad, vegetables and amazing chocolate pie for dessert. After dinner we sang some songs, read some stories and each of the girls including my two girls opened new Christmas jammies. The Andersons were so kind to get jammies for our girls. Charlotte was so excited and put them on right away. We were completely spoiled by them and felt so blessed to be surrounded by such good people. It actually felt like Christmas Eve even though we were doing our usual family activities. 

After we came home from the Andersons, we opened our own Christmas jammies, read a couple of Christmas stories and went to sleep. 

Side story: This year Charlotte was more into the idea of Santa Claus and him bringing presents to our house. Christmas night Charlotte told Mike she did not want Santa coming into our house and actually seemed quite scared of the idea of a big, fat man wearing red in our house. Luckily Mike was able to calm her down and assure her Santa would not come into our house. Silly girl. 

The next morning we woke both of our girls up so we could open presents before Mike headed off to work. Charlotte was so excited. It was truly joyful to see Charlotte so anxious and excited. She was jumping up and down saying "Yes! Yes!" After Charlotte opened all her presents we ate french toast casserole which tasted delicious, it didn't quite compare to either of our moms Christmas casseroles but it tasted good and was great for our little Christmas brunch. After breakfast Mike headed into work and I played with Charlotte with her new toys. She was in heaven! 

We weren't sure how long Mike would have to be at work, so I had prepped myself planning on him being gone most of the day. Luckily Mike was home by 2:00 p.m.! Hooray! It was a Christmas miracle. We all took naps in the afternoon and that evening headed to our friends the Tracy's house for dinner. It was us, the Tracys, the Galloways and the Alders for Christmas dinner and it was wonderful. The food was amazing, the company was fantastic and the kids played the night away. Yes, we were bummed to be away from family but neither of us felt home sick or sad that night. We had such a good time with our friends. Again, I love where we live! 

I wish I would have taken pictures at the Andersons and Tracys but of course I didn't take any pictures. BOO! But here are some pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Mike putting the little white kitchen together for Charlotte. It took forever but Charlotte has played with it every day since she got it. What a handsome little Santa helper. 

Christmas morning.

Violet Marie just three weeks old on Christmas Eve. So tiny.

Both of our darling girls. 

Charlotte beyond excited, wearing her Christmas jammies from the Andersons.

I bought Mike his favorite drink from his mission. That face shows pure excitement. Such a hottie. 

Surprise! 

Mike with his girlies. He's such a good daddy.

All the ladies. I look a little hammered. Not mind me. 

The aftermath. 

Although I had been worried how Christmas would be being away from family and have Mike on call it ended up being absolutely wonderful thanks to our dear friends. We are beyond blessed. 

The first couple of weeks

The first couple of weeks with Violet were exhausting but so wonderful. Having a baby in the winter is a bummer, you are so worried and paranoid about them getting sick and you really feel like you can't leave your house because it's so cold outside. But I have to say I loved having a baby at Christmas time. Christmas meant a little bit more this year having a newborn around. Having my own tiny baby made me reflect more of baby Jesus and Mary and all they went through. Plus having a small baby this time of year brought me back to reality of what truly matters in life. 

Violet has been a fairly content baby. She loves to be held and snuggled. She does have a tendency to be gassy and easily over stimulated which has made for some frustrating, hard times but overall she's pretty pleasant. When she's awake she is quite alert, checking out her world. Violet takes the abounding, constant love from her sister well. She doesn't cry or fuss when Charlotte is constantly trying to hold her, pet her, kiss her, or give her the sniffer. I'm glad Violet has been so chill thus far. Of course nights have been hard, Violet's a newborn. But I think it was easier to get through hard nights this time around knowing they won't last forever and accepting the fact that newborns are hard and fussy. The gassiness is what is so hard. Is it something I ate? Swallowing too much air as she eats? Just the way her little stomach is? Does she have reflux? Always such a guessing game. Luckily things are getting better with her stomach issues. 

I had Violet on a Monday and we left the hospital around noon on Wednesday. Mike and I were so anxious to get home and start our new life as family of four. 

Coming home from the hospital. So tiny. The car seat always seem massive when they are this small. 

It was wonderful to come home from the hospital and have Grandma Carol at our home to help out. Man we were blessed and spoiled for an entire week. She cooked for us, went grocery shopping for us, cleaned and made sure Charlotte was loved and played with. Mike had that week off from work which was also heaven. He was so helpful while I was pretty much sleeping as much as a could and staying in pajamas. Charlotte was so happy to have us home and have her baby sister her. She could not get enough of her baby sister. She still gets so excited each morning to see her. 

Lots of crazy hair, it's already beginning to fall out and she lost a lot. 

Life with Grandma Carol is always better. 

Charlotte only gets to kiss her on the forehead and she takes advantage of that opportunity any chance she gets.

So serious. Sweet hairline too. 

Just introducing our little bug to some technology. We have to make sure she is up to date on everything. 

She wants to hold her ALL. THE. TIME.

Buddies. Let's hope they love each other this much for a long time. 

Twins. I think they look so much alike. Violet even has Mike's hairline. ;)

They love each other so much. I'm not even kidding. One of my most favorite pictures EVER.

After Carol was here for a week and Mike went back to work the following Monday which meant I was on my own with the girls for a few days before my mom came into town. I survived those few days and so did my girls but I was happy and excited for my mom to come. Again we were spoiled. Cooking, cleaning, sleeping, shopping and just having an adult around to hang out with was heaven. Being a mom at times can be lonely so I loved having my mom in Cincinnati ALL TO MYSELF to just chat with, cry to, laugh with. It was awesome. It's one of the perks of living away from family, when they come they are ALL YOURS.  

Grandma Kris and Violet. Violet loves both of her Grandmas. 

That hair kills me. 

Holding Grandma Kris's hand. I'll tell you Violet has had a strong grip from the get go. Even the doctors at the hospital commented on how strong she was. That's my girl! 

Sweet little face. 

Sisters. 

Anyone says you can't spoil an newborn is dead wrong. This little nugget loves to be held. Fine by me. I'll snuggle her all day. Spoil away! 

Yeah, I looked hammered but I've decided I've got to be in more pictures with my girls. I want them to remember that I really tried to play with them and be an involved mama.

Growing and getting bigger. 

Stop taking pictures of me and let me sleep.

The first few weeks flew by. I loved having both of our moms come. It made the adjustment to life with two so much easier. I slept a ton, ate a lot and was feeling more and more like myself by the time both moms had left. I can't believe how different it's been with Violet, compared with Charlotte. I was such an emotional mess with Charlotte. So anxious, nervous and worried about everything! This time around, I of course still worry and want to do my best as a mother but I'm much more calm and able to go with the flow. And so far, no baby blues. Phew. I didn't believe anyone when they told me it was easier the second time around but it certainly has been and I'm so grateful for that. Almost makes me think we just may have more than two kids after all. ;)

Violet Marie

Violet Marie Walker

December 3, 2012

8:58 p.m.

7 lbs 13 ounces

20.5 inches long

Our sweet little Violet Marie joined our family December 3, 2012. It's almost been seven weeks since she arrived and she's been a wonderful addition to our family. She's a pretty content baby besides when she is gassy. :) We love our little bug so much. Having a newborn is exhausting but there is nothing like having a fresh new baby from heaven in your home. Having her here especially during the Christmas season was a great reminder of what truly matters. We are blessed to have her in our family. 

Here's the birth story. Feel free to skip all the details. 

40 weeks

Looking huge

Ready to get this baby here.

Last picture of me before leaving for the hospital. My due date was December 2, 2012. With Mike's schedule and living far away from family, we thought it best to plan an induction. That way we could have family fly out to stay with Charlotte while I was in the hospital. I was scheduled to be induced a day after my due date, December 3, 2012. I was a little apprehensive the week leading up to Dec. 3rd wondering if I would go into labor on my own. I was induced 6 days before my due date with Charlotte and with my induction date being after my due date this time around I wasn't sure what my body naturally does on it's own. Would I be one of those girls who goes early? Right on my due date? I guess I'm neither of those girls, because I made it to my induction date. Someday I would love to go into labor naturally, but until Mike's schedule is a little more predictable and less demanding inductions are the way to go for our family. 

Charlotte's birth had been an incredible experience. I loved being induced and the day went by so quickly. With Charlotte I arrived at the hospital at 6:00 a.m. and we had Charlotte by 2:00 p.m. Everything was so slick and easy. I assumed it would be the same way with Violet. I went into this second delivery day so naive, thinking both deliveries of the girls would be so similar. FALSE. Couldn't have been so different. Mike and I woke up bright and early with our bags packed and arrived at UC hospital near downtown Cincinnati, at 6:00 a.m. It didn't take too long before we were in the hospital room and I was getting dressed and getting hooked up to IV's. That was probably the fastest part of the day. Now it was just the waiting game. 

Happy and cheery. Ready for the day. 

At this point I hadn't received any pitocin and they hadn't broken my water. 

December 3rd was a BUSY day at the hospital. Lots of babies were being born, I guess it was a pretty crazy day. Finally at 10:00 a.m. they started me on pitocin. When I delivered Charlotte I was on pitocin and they broke my water by 8:30 a.m. I had already been at the hospital for four hours before they even started my pitocin! I had no idea it was going to be such a long day! But with the hospital being so busy and grand rounds that the doctors had to attend, that was the earliest my doctor good come in and check on me. Ugh. Best part was she told me she had delivered 3 or 4 babies by that point. Ah man, when would it be my turn? 

Now that I was on pitocin, it was more of a waiting game. The contractions were coming but they weren't strong or very painful. Finally about 1:00 p.m. I decided to just get my epidural. It wasn't until about 2:00 until I actually got my epidural. I was beginning to be a bit uncomfortable but nothing too painful, but why not, let's just get things progressing! I don't know why but getting my epidural was so hard for me this time. I was so tired at this point and starving, they wouldn't let me eat anything other than ice chips, and they were trying to tell me what to do and I was doing it right so I just kinda broke down and cried. Such a baby. At this point in the day Charlotte was already here and to just be getting my epidural was disappointing. The resident putting the epidural in was ok. He hit a nerve a couple of times which was so uncomfortable, but he finally got it in and it ended up being a great epidural. Not to strong that I couldn't feel anything and not to weak that I felt pain. Phew. Once the epidural was in place they FINALLY broke my water. From the start of the day until my water broke I had only gone from a 3 to a 3.5 but once my water broke things really started to progress. Almost too much. 

My contractions starting coming quickly and hard. I didn't feel any pain but the monitors were showing the contractions were right on top of each other and unfortunately Violet wasn't reacting well to these hard contractions. Her heart rate kept dipping low, and they were struggling to get it back up. The doctors and nurses put me on oxygen and moved me so I was laying on my side but Violet was still struggling. At one point the emergency C-section crew came in ready to wheel me off to a c-section but luckily they were finally able to get Violet's heart rate back up. At this point the doctor thought we should lay off the pitocin for a bit. Bummer. This day was taking forever and I just wasn't progressing. So disappointing. After about an hour or so they checked me and nothing was happening, Violet's heart rate was good so they upped my pitocin again. And once again Violet's heart rate dipped low, very low. The contractions were too strong and coming too fast for little Violet. Once again the emergency c-section crew came in all ready to wheel me off. About 4:00 p.m. my doctor decided to give me a terbutaline shot to stop my contractions. The shot totally worked and stopped my contractions but I felt AWFUL after, AWFUL. That shot wipes you out and makes you feel like crap. I was still on oxygen and dead tired. And my doctor just decided to let me body rest for a little bit, they took me off pitocin completely. Luckily I was still having contractions and progressing since they had broke my water but the contractions weren't bad or hard enough to affect Violet. I also started throwing up at this point. Nice. Between being on oxygen and throwing up I'm sure I was a sight to see. Throwing up zapped all my energy. No fun. 

About 6:30 my doctor with the next doctor who was starting her shift at 7:00 p.m. came in to see how I was doing. That was disheartening, my doctor had been at the hospital for 12 hours and was ending her shift and I still hadn't had my baby. I had never met the next doctor coming on, but I ended up loving her. She was fantastic. I was so happy she was the one to deliver Violet. About 7:30 p.m. I was checked again and was ready to push. FINALLY! I was so nervous when they were checking me that I would only be an 8, luckily I was dilated to a ten and ready to get Violet here. Unfortunately Violet's head was titled back and the cord was around her neck so the doctor had to do some serious maneuvering to help Violet be in a good position to come out. Not comfortable. It wasn't painful but it sure was uncomfortable trying to move Violet around. I pushed for a good half hour and the Violet was being a bit stubborn and was still pretty high in the birth canal so the doctor thought it would be a good idea to take a break for a half hour. Fine by me. I was exhausted. Mike and I hung out for the next little bit, updated family, and before we knew it a half hour went by and it was time to push. The pushing is always my favorite part. So empowering, exhausting and so exciting. The doctor had to do a bit more maneuvering but I only pushed another 20 minutes or so and Violet finally came out at 8:58 p.m. 7 pounds, 13 ounces, 20.5 inches long. I can't even begin to describe how good it felt to have Violet out of my body. It has been the longest day or my life and I was just so happy to have her on my chest, safely. Phew.

She's here. All is well and she is healthy. Loved being able to snuggle my little baby. 

Naming Violet wasn't difficult. We had gone into the hospital knowing we would name her either Clara, which I still love or Violet. Leading up to her delivery I think both Mike and I knew it was going to be Violet, we just needed to see her and make sure it felt right and it did. I love her name and we think it fits her perfectly.

Rough day. Poor girl was exhausted. 

Proud parents. 

Perfect size 7 lbs, 13 ounces. 

A daddy's girl from the start.

She has the longest toes. I love baby wrinkly feet. 

Mike stayed in the hospital with me the entire hospital stay. It was such a blessing to have Carol in town to be with Charlotte. We missed our bug but I never once worried about her because I knew she was well taken care of and in heaven spending time with her Grandma Carol.

The next day Mike got up and went to pick up Charlotte and Carol so they could meet little Violet. I was so excited to have Charlotte meet Violet. We'd been talking about her baby sister for months, and she was finally here. Charlotte had seemed excited leading up to Violet's delivery but I wasn't sure how she would react. Honestly Charlotte was in love with Violet from the moment she met her. 

Having a baby sister is the best gift we could give Charlotte. She loves her. And truth be told we can tell Violet already loves Charlotte so much. No one gets smiles out of Violet like Charlotte does. 

Love my girls. Love that they will always be sisters and have one another. 

Our new little family of four. Life will never be the same, but for the better! 

It was hard to be away from all of our family this time around but we were so glad to have Carol here in Cincinnati with us. I'm so glad she was able to meet our little Violet in the hospital. 

Carol is such a fox. Couldn't ask for a better second mother. Love this woman so much. 

Mike is the best father and husband a girl could ask for. Violet's delivery day was a long, hard, emotional day and I couldn't have made it through the day without him. He is my rock. He was calm and collected the entire day even though he was constantly reading the monitors and knew how scary the situation got. He never let on that he was sick and worried, he stayed strong through it all. Love him. How did I get so lucky?

Our little Violet. Smitten from the start. 

Love a sleeping baby.

Those lips. Love! 

Such a sweet girl.

I delivered Monday night and we were able to go home Wednesday around noon. We were anxious to get home and start getting settled. The few days in the hospital were pleasant. We didn't have any visitors which was the way we wanted it. I felt like I was able to rest quite a bit and begin to heal. We were well taken care of by all the hospital staff. Having a healthy baby is such a miracle and something neither Mike or I take for granted.

Although the day of her delivery was hard, since then it's been such a joy to have our little Violet. None of us can get enough of this little baby. Everyone told me it's easier the second time you have a baby and I didn't believe them, but it's held true! I'm still struggling to balance my time between my three loves. Charlotte although loves her sister, still struggles with Mike and I giving Violet our attention,and that has been hard. I often feel guilty because I can't spend as much time with either of my girls as I would like however I'm not stressing out like I did when we first had Charlotte. Sure I still don't know what I am doing as a mother, but I'm much more calm and at peace this time. I'm snuggling my baby more, letting her sleep in my arms and soaking up that baby smell any chance I get. We love our little Violet and feel beyond blessed to have her in our lives.