BIG Night Out for Mama!

Tuesday, April 7th.

Green Bay, WI.

The Resch Center.

Danny. Donnie. Joe. Jon. Jordan.

AND ME!!!!

I'm going to see my boys, baby!!!

- becky

Shapes and Letters

There are great games for toddlers on Sesame Street's Web site.

I love how his feet just reach the edge of the chair!

Since I have been home on maternity leave, Isaiah has really taken to shapes and letters. I found some great Big Bird games on Sesame Street's Web site, and I've checked out a dvd from the library.

Next time you see him, be sure to ask him about squares, circles, and triangles!

- becky

We Nap A LOT!

Almost out... (Isaiah stole my weekend napping place!)

He deserves a gooooood nap...

I love these jammies!

There are no pictures of me napping because I take the pictures around here. It's really tough to take a picture of yourself when you're sleeping. ;-)

- becky

Napping So Sweetly

Mallory - Deep in Thought

"Hmmm. Give me a minute, and I'll figure it out."

"Let me see..."

Mallory - Hangin' With Daddy

She's resting so peacefully!

- becky

Tubby Time

I'm a bit behind in my blogging. Here are pictures from Mallory's first tubby at home. As Isaiah and Mallory begin to feel better, I'll get caught up in sharing with you the fun things that have been happening at our house.

Mallory is not a big fan of her tubby yet.

Big Brother Isaiah was concerned by all of 'little baby's' shouting.
See, Isaiah, she's okay!

"I'm much warmer now!"

- becky

Sick and Still Cute

Isaiah is so funny. He's been getting into shapes lately - circle, square, triangle. I checked out an Einstein dvd from the library for him called Discovering Shapes. He was watching it, and I asked him, "Are you enjoying your shaped dvd?" He looked at me and said, "ddd!"

Mallory has started to try out her voice! This morning and again tonight she was cooing!

Even when they're sick, they still do the most adorable things.

- becky

Follow-Up Visit

What a night. Needless to say, there wasn't much sleeping going on at our house last night. I think this is mostly because I was so worried about Isaiah and Mallory being able to breathe in their sleep.

Mallory still is waking up to eat every 2-3 hours. Her weight is up to 6 lbs. 4 1/2 ounces which is really good. The doctor told me this morning to let her rest and wake herself up for feedings, especially since she has been doing this anyway.

Isaiah is eating good, and his mood has been fantastic - unless he's waking up. He's a bit of a grump after his nap, but this is not really anything new.

Both Isaiah and Mallory are hydrated - we're getting wet and dirty diapers from both of them. I'm sure you really wanted to know that. While we're on the subject, Mallory peed all over the scale at the doc's office this morning. Then she peed on me when I was getting her undressed for her tubby. Silly girl!

This is going to be short, but I wanted to give you a quick update. Both kids seem to be doing well, considering how serious some cases of RSV can be. At this point, we keep them inside and let this thing run its course.

I feel like this post is all over the place, so I claim lack of sleep. If I'm more awake later I'll post again.

Family nap time!
- becky

Homebound

Well, we are officially more homebound than ever before.

Isaiah and Mallory have both been diagnosed with RSV. Isaiah has had a pretty bad cold for the past couple of days, and it has progressed into a barky sounding cough. During the night last night, Mallory started the cough. I called the doctor's office this morning, and they were able to get them both in to be seen.

Let me tell ya' - that RSV swab did not look pleasant at all. My babies were both crying, and so was I. I've been doing some research, and I was surprised to learn that most children have RSV before the age of 2. I guess it just goes undiagnosed in most people. I'm really glad that I trusted my instincts this morning and called the doctor.

Isaiah and Mallory are both napping. (They've been napping at the same time - how lucky am I?!?!) For now we are pushing fluids and keeping the cool mist humidifier running. Mallory has another appointment with the doctor in the morning.

Obviously, the doctor's office is the only place we'll be going. I'm going to be the overprotective mother and keep my babies sheltered from the outside world.

- becky

Laundry Assistance

I'm sure this will come as a big surprise (haha), but I am very particular about some things.

Laundry is one of my biggest chores in our house. In fact, no one is allowed to wash, dry, or fold the clothes except me. I have a system, and I get very irritable if my system gets messed up.

Mallory is a lucky little girl. She's borrowing a bunch of clothes from Isaiah's best friend, Kamryn.

All right, who messed up my system? When I left this laundry basket all of the clothes were neatly folded inside it!

Ah ha! The culprit...

He sure is an awfully cute culprit!

At least he has good intentions! I can forgive him. :-)

- becky

Great-Grandpa's Cradle

Mallory is supposed to be sleeping.

Cute little baby burrito!

My grandpa (my dad's dad) made this cradle for me. My sister has the original model from the late 1970's, but he made one for me to keep before he passed away. This is one of those pieces of furniture that we'll keep forever...

Isaiah slept in this one for his first 10 weeks at home, and we're in the process of transitioning Mallory to this one too. Right now she's been sleeping best in her bouncy seat. She's a little bit more upright in that, and this is helpful at night because she sometimes has a little trouble getting a good burp out after nursing.

See? Isaiah actually slept in Great-Grandpa's cradle.

- becky

Tickle, Tickle!

"Tickle, tickle!"

"Look at baby Mallory in my chair! She's so tiny!"

Last night, I had Mallory in her bouncy seat. Isaiah went over to her, removed the blanket, and tickled her toes. It was so cute! I snapped the pictures above later in the evening when he tickled her tootsies again.

This afternoon, he said, "Hi, baby!" Then he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

I'm so glad that they love each other so much. Mallory enjoys watching and listening for Isaiah, too.

- becky

Hangin' at Home

Mallory fits in one of Isaiah's (gender neutral) preemie outfits!

Winter is a great time to have a new baby at home. Who wants to go out in the cold and the snow anyway?

It's hard to have much of a routine right now, but we're adjusting really well. I'm proud to report that the laundry and dishes are caught up. Isaiah and I have had time to color, play with puzzles, read books, and watch Finding Nemo together (several times). Mallory and I spend lots of time together while she's eating, and we nap together while Isaiah is taking his afternoon nap.

Tomorrow we'll go to Bible class. We went to church on Thursday night, so it will be a little bit easier of an outing for us. I want to run to Target once Tim gets home to pick up a few things. I'm going to take Isaiah with me since he loves to go bye-bye so much. (One of my traits that he picked up; I don't like to sit still either.)

- becky

Labor & Delivery

It's hard to believe that Mallory was born one week ago today. I wanted to blog about Mallory's labor and delivery because the birth of my children are two of the most precious moments of my life. If you don't care to, you don't have to read this. I did my best not to be too graphic.

My last OB appointment was on Tuesday, January 6th. On my way to pick-up Isaiah afterwards, I started having very, very mild contractions that were every 3 minutes apart. They weren't labor pains, but I did think it was very strange that they were coming so regularly. Then again, my Braxton Hicks contractions were a lot more frequent with this pregnancy. (I didn't have any at all when I was pregnant with Isaiah.)

The next day, the contractions continued at work until about lunch time. They were noticeable, but not painful. I just felt a little uncomfortable when they would come. The length of time in between began to spread out over the course of the day. I went to choir practice and youth that night at church, and the contractions started to come more frequently. They were also a touch more intense.

When we got home from church, Tim and I talked about my concerns about being at work (an hour from the hospital) and going into labor. I didn't want to stop working early and feel stupid, but I also wanted to be safe and not stupid. We decided about 9:30 p.m. that I would begin my maternity leave immediately. It was just not safe for me to be driving the long distance through contractions, and it was certainly hard to concentrate on teaching!

Fast forward to 2:00 a.m. I woke up feeling pretty uncomfortable. I watched about an hour of TV, and when I tried to go back to bed labor offically started. The contractions were coming very strong every 5 minutes. I had called the nurse from work the day before to see how I would know when it was time to go to the hospital. She told me that if I could not walk or talk through the contractions, then it was time. Well, it was time. All I could do was try to breathe through the contractions and hunch over in pain. (Sounds lovely, doesn't it?)

We called Isaiah's overnight sitter, and we were on our way to the hospital by 4:00 a.m. Thank goodness I had packed my bag! When we arrived at Theda Clark they noticed the frequency and intensity of the contractions. The nurse said that I definitely would not be sent home. I was 5 cm dilated and my water was about to burst at any moment. (Tim is so glad that this didn't happen in his car.) The nurse checked me again an hour later, and I had dilated another 3 cm. We had left the camera in the car, and I asked the nurse if Tim would have time to run down and get it. She didn't think he would have time. Things were moving very quickly! Lucky for us, Tim has a camera on his Blackberry.

I was given an epidural (such a BEAUTIFUL thing - ahhhh), and was able to relax for a little while. The doctor (not mine, an on-call, but a GREAT doc) broke my water and I started pushing around 7:00 a.m. Mallory's heartrate started dropping during my contractions while I was pushing. It was so scary because she was not recovering as quickly as the doctor wanted. I was even aware of the slowing down as I listened to the monitor. If it happened again, the doctor would assist the deliver with forceps.

It happened again. So, time for the forceps. Let me tell you, this was not the best time for the epidural to stop working, but it did. Ouch! The great drug doctor (I can't spell his official title, but you know what kind of doc it is. :-) came up and gave me some stronger meds. Ahhh, relief. When Mallory was born, she was "sunny-side up" which explained why I had so much difficulty. She was given oxygen for just a little bit, but there were no great concerns.

Mallory did have some nerve damage from the forceps. She had a bit of paralysis on the right side of her face. It was most noticeable because her right eye would not always close on its own and the right side of her mouth was a little lazy. This is already almost completely gone! She will recover completely. My recovery has been a lot slower because of the assisted delivery, but I'm feeling better every day.

This experience was completely different from Isaiah's birth. They were both scary in their own way, but I'll never forget any moment of either experience. The first cry, the first time I held them, the first time we looked at each other and felt the bond of parent and child...

Tim and I are truly blessed with two beautiful children.

- becky

First Outings

Believe it or not, we made it to church on Sunday. I couldn't have done it without help from Jen, Ken, and Kamryn. Ken dropped Jen off at my house so she could help me load the kids in and out of the car. (I'm still not supposed to lift anything heavier than Mallory. I sure do miss picking up Isaiah!!! It's a good thing that climbing into my lap is one of his favorite things to do.) We sat together, and Isaiah and Kamryn were very well behaved. They are so fun to watch together! Thank you so much, Puls family!

Here she is - all ready to go to church!

Tim and I are working on a plan for next week. I'm going to leave when he does so that he can help unload the kids. After Bible class, he'll help load the kids back into the car. I'm not too worried about the kids during the service. Isaiah is always so well behaved, and there's never a shortage of people willing to help when needed. Our church family is so wonderful!!!

We had our second outing today. Mallory had her first doctor appointment. Her doctor wanted to see her before the standard two week appointment because of the trauma from her delivery. I'll have to blog about the labor & delivery to get you all caught up... I'll do that tomorrow. Long story short (for now) she had some paralysis on the right side of her face because the delivery was assisted with forceps. Great news - it is nearly all gone and the bruising is so minimal that it can't even be seen unless you are looking for it! She weighed in at 5 lbs. 11 oz. She's an eating machine, and the doctor said she's getting right back on her weight gain curve. :-)

Mallory is checking out her big brother. They are so sweet together!

I think that Tim and I both agree that one of the things we were most excited for was to watch out two children together. This has been so rewarding.

We are truly blessed.

- becky

Sibling Adjustment

Tim and I are both so impressed with how well Isaiah and Mallory have adjusted to each other. I think Isaiah was more upset with me for staying at the hospital and not coming home.

Isaiah spent most of his time visiting us playing under the bed and behind the curtain. He also enjoying taking a "ride" on the bed. He giggled when I raised and lowered it for him.

We haven't pushed Isaiah to go by Mallory. We've been letting him check her out on his own. He seems most interested in her when she is awake. He likes to blink at her when he sees her blink.

We are ALL so exhausted!

Mallory enjoys watching Isaiah (as best her new little eyes will let her see at this point), and she often listens for his voice when he's in the room.

2 year old Hemorrhoid - LOL - He popped the pillow.

- becky

More Pictures

I wasn't going to post anymore until tomorrow, but I wanted to put some pictures up for you to see her precious face. :-)

- becky

It's a GIRL!

Mallory Jael Seabaugh
Born Thursday, January 8, 2009
8:12 a.m.
5 lbs. 12.4 oz.
18.5 inches long

Welcome to the world, Mallory!

Love,

mommy, daddy, and isaiah

What Do I Do?

Do I stop work now and wait for the baby to come, or do I keep on teaching???

- becky

OB Update

It's been quite a night.

I lost another pound. My total weight gain is only 11 pounds. This is not as happy as it sounds. I am very frustrated that I just can't seem to gain weight because of concerns about the baby's size. My doctor liked the results of my BPP, though, so she is not too worried. She reassures me that keeping my blood sugar under control is much, much healthier for the baby.

I'm dilated to 3 centimeters, and my membranes have been stripped. I've been having some uncomfortable contractions since the exam, which were most likely brought on by the exam. We're keeping a close eye on things because there is a 50% chance that I will go into labor sometime within the next 72 hours because of the membrane stripping.

If I don't go into labor before Thursday, January 15th, I'll be heading into the hospital that evening to be induced.

Please, please, please - pray for a healthy baby.

- becky

Back to Work

Today was the first day back to work after Christmas break. I really enjoyed being back with my students, but it was a big time bummer to have to wake up to the alarm so early in the morning again.

I'm in baby preparation mode both at work and at home. I met with my long term sub today to go over my schedule, where I keep things, yadda-yadda-yadda. She is wonderful, so I know that I will not need to worry while I am home with my children. It's really tough to keep things very organized (at work and at home!) so that we are as prepared as we can be when the baby makes its grand entrance. (When will that be already?!?! I am getting so excited!)

The car seat cover is in the washing machine right now. I'll get that re-assembled tomorrow and hopefully get my bag packed for the hospital. I have a regular check-up at my OB office tomorrow. Between now and my due date I have 5 appointments scheduled - 2 regular weekly check-ups, 1 ultrasound to check the baby's growth, and 2 BPP monitors.

I talked with the nurse today to get the results of my first BPP from last Friday. The baby scored 8 out of 8 points, which is a good score. My doc wants to move my BPP monitoring to her office instead of at the hospital. Because this change is at such notice, I will get priority as far as getting an appointment goes, but that does not necessarily mean I will get a time that is convenient for me. Apparently, my doctor wasn't very happy with how the BPP was read. She wants my next one to be done ASAP, so I will find out when that is scheduled for tomorrow. Hmm... I'm not sure I like the sound of that. I'll post an update after my appointment tomorrow. Until then, I'm just going to keep reminding myself that if they were REALLY concerned about me and/or the baby she would have had me come in immediately.

- becky

Ice, Ice, Baby

Yo, V.I.P. Let's kick it.

Ice, ice, baby. Ice, ice, baby.

All right, stop. Collaborate and listen.

Ice is all over my driveway.

Something to hang onto, I need.

Then I decide to just stay inside.

Okay - admit three things. One, you are now singing Ice Ice Baby in your head (or maybe even out loud). Two, you remember more words to that song than you care to admit. Three, you're laughing at me and maybe even yourself right now. Was anyone else singing the drum beat in their head, too?!?!

Even with all of the snow that we have gotten so far this winter, I haven't complained at all. I actually don't mind it (yet). SNOW I can handle. SNOW is pretty. SNOW I can deal with.

ICE is not fun. ICE leaves us trapped in the house. ICE is much more dangerous.

GO AWAY, ICE! Melt and never return!

- becky

Bye, Tree!

Before Isaiah went down for his nap, he said good-bye to the Christmas tree. (Putting it away was my project during his nap time.)

These silly pictures were actually taken last night.

- becky

Thank You, Chicago!

Chicago is such a great town. I really got the royal treatment. Even the homeless people are nice when you're pregnant! This man asked us to buy him a paper, then he said, "Aw, never mind. You've got a little one. I know where all of your money goes!"

Isaiah said it right when he said, "Car! Beep! Beep!" Those people in that city must honk their horns for no reason. Naturally, most of the honking was coming from taxi cabs. At one point I looked up, and a cabbie was waving at us. We realized that they were trying to get our attention to give us a lift. I guess they felt sorry for the huge pregnant lady walking the Magnificent Mile. :-)

Isaiah kept himself busy with his toys and books while we packed up the room. I can't tell you what we found under the bed. This is a family blog, after all. I will tell you that we should have taken it to the hotel management - our room probably would have been discounted! I found the "item" when I was checking to be sure we didn't leave any of Isaiah's toys behind. EWWW!!! GrOsS!

Here's what our champagne bucket looked like on New Years Eve. Milk, anyone?

We went for dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Oh my goodness. What a wonderful meal! We really, really, really enjoyed our filet and lobster tail. Yummy! Isaiah was so well behaved. I was a little nervous taking him to such a nice restaurant, but his BK hamburger we gave him beforehand kept him full and happy. He played with his Teddy Graham snack while we were eating. He even named them - Mama, Daddy, Isaiah, and Baby. How cute is that?!?!

Chicago wore me out!

- becky