.....when September endssss!
OH WAIT!
The entire month has already ended, and we haven't even slept enough yet to be woken up! ;) :)
Wompity womp womp.
...I complain about no sleep in the most lovingly of loving ways, of course, but FUR REAL:
It's just real glam.
On September 2, we were discharged home from hospital, and life has been a "Haakaa-on-one-boob-and-baby-on-the-other" + "burp-towel-in-one-hand-and-coffee-in-the-other" type of hoppity hop hoppin' good time ever since! If the first month postpartum isn't THE MOST bittersweet time, I don't know what is! Despite horrid breast engorgement and severe sleep deprivation and alllll 'da other postpartum funsies, it's still so surreal and pretty perfect to have this tiny miracle in our arms after wishing and waiting for so long! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH, J! You are the .real. .deal. !
The day after we arrived home was Juliette's first pediatrician visit [and what could possibly change and/or go wrong with this tiny human in the <24 hours between her full assessment by the hospital's attending pediatrician and her first visit with our private pediatrician?! 'Tis a mystery.]. She checked out A-OK and had her big sister/body guard just inches from her at all times.
Then! The day after THAT was Brian's annual family reunion. I stayed home to steal some snuggles from Juliette but enjoyed a few photo updates sent from aunts and sisters-in-law. The kids had a great time at the reunion and parade and were thrilled to show me their souvenirs/winnings from the carnival the next day. What's better than a group of crazy Croatian cousins?! Nothing!
A horrible night of sleep with Juliette + a rainy Sunday morning followed the family reunion. I woke up around 6am [after just finishing nursing at 5am!] to some strange crinkling noises coming from kitchen. Knowing our beloved middle child is the morning rooster AND a clean freak, I considered that maybeeee
Scarlett was wadding/cleaning up a tissue paper mess from a baby gift that the kids had
opened the night before. ...But nope! I forced myself out of bed ~20 minutes later to find that the cherub was watching YouTube + indulging in a yellow bag of her parade candy. [Can't say the apple falls far from the tree; but how does she learn these horrible habits at the tender age of 3???]
After a legit [non-chocolate] breakfast, Scarlett and I braved the pop-up rain showers to storm around town and shop for clothes for family/newborn pictures. [...You'd think by the third time around, I'd have this photo wardrobe sitch ironed out BEFORE the baby's arrival; but nope nope nope, that would make things way too easy!] Scarlett immediately spotted the 'Tarbucks store inside Target and was a great shopping buddy after downing her "hot shocka' milk."
On September 7, we were back to the pediatrician's office for our little pal's weight check...
...and then September 8 was the long-awaited family photo session! [Sending so much love to EDA Photography and this sweet human right here who made all of it a breeze. You are wonderful in so many ways, Daven! Thank you!!!]
^^ Juliette behaved so well for photos that we rewarded her with chips, salsa, and margs [light on the margs]. Cheers to La Casa and J's very first dining out experience!
.....THEN! With the first week of postpartum tucked safely under our belly belts, I breathed a deep sigh of relief that we made it through seven full days of busyness and subsequently let the rest of the month slide. Not sure what happened and when it all went down, BUT! Sometime in September, Scarlett conned me into giving her her first haircut on the kitchen counter [because she really wanted it trimmed but claimed she was scared of the hair-washing bowl at the salon...]...
...annnnnnd we gave Juliette her first real [non-sponge] bath! She absolutely hated it; luckily the big girls loved it.
Over a 10-day span in mid-September, Juliette and I made two treks back to the hospital's outpatient lactation services department. Let's just say: shallow latch and cracked nipples. You'd ALSO think I'd have this breastfeeding situation mastered by the third time around, but again, nope nope nope. As the pain got worse and the wounds got deeper, I swallowed my "third time around the block" pride and admitted it was time to revisit the lactation consultants who had helped me succeed in the past. Annnnd they did it again! After assessing us twice in person and offering lots of little tips and tweaks each time, they helped me re-train the barracuda baby so that I slowly but successfully dropped my habit of counting to 3 before holding my breath and allowing her to latch. God bless those lactation angelssss; I know they will have VERY large crowns in heaven!!!
...Went off on a little tangent up there ^^ but mostly MEANT TO SAY: on the way to our first lactation appointment, we detoured up the street to see my co-workers at Veritas! These ladies loved me through the ups and downs of infertility and a lot of my most vulnerable moments, and it was so perfect to see Juliette here in the flesh and in their arms. I love you guys!!!
Back on the homefront, people were spewing out of the woodworks with flowers and gifts and dinners, OH MY. All of it was so so appreciated; I am truly amazed at all the kindness and generosity shown to us during our first several weeks at home! Thank you all!!!
Amidst all the newness of having a fifth family member and all the disruptions in routine and sleep, the older girls continued to knock it out of the park at school. Harper is thriving in 1st grade and Scarlett soaring through Pre-K 3. We are so proud of them and the work they bring home!!!
One morning during Community Helpers week, I visited Scarlett's class to talk about being a nurse. We read a book about nurses helping others and then showed a stethoscope and baby doll to demonstrate some of the things I do at work. ...I decided to hone in on "care of a newborn" instead of diving into the portions of my job that deal with fertility/infertility/helping women get babies IN the uterus and/or the portions of my job that deal with labor/delivery/helping women get babies OUT of the uterus. I'm sure the teacher was happy with my decision. ;) :)
Since Scarlett only goes to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I try supa' dupa' hard to keep her creativity flowing at home on her days off! Crafting and Cricut-ing and chocolate-donut-eating are our favorite days!
She's also enjoyed attending Kindermusik at the local children's museum on Monday mornings...
...and dancing the morning away at ballet/tap/tumbling class on Wednesday mornings!
But enough about Scarlett; back to Juliette! Little Miss scored herself some Godparents and has her baptism scheduled for this upcoming weekend. We cannot wait!
And enough about Juliette; back to the family! All five of us attended our subdivision's annual BBQ in the common space...
...and also the balloon glow in a town nearby! We randomly ran into many friends there, and Scarlett was also excited to see her Pre-K teacher working the Cakewalk tent...
...and she even won a cake! LOL!
During the evenings and on weekends, Brian has been working tirelessly at throwing together these bunk beds for the older girls [and he assures me they'll be done before Christmas...]...
...and the older girls have done exceptionally well with entertaining themselves while I attend to Juliette and her cluster feeding demands. If you're looking for a real legit baby-wipe-facial, Scarlett and Harper running a special for the rest of this month. The little sister on the right received hers; how does her skin look?! ;)
Ugh, I'm blabbing on and on. But LONG STORY SHORT: we started out this month just hoping to survive, but as the days go on, we're really learning how to thrive! The big sisters are so in love with the baby sister, and I totally think the feeling is mutual. My heart just melts into a giant puddle when I see everyone loving each other so well! We've enjoyed sharing her with the grandparents and a few other select/special visitors so far but are really keeping her tucked under our wings for the time being with all the germs swirling around in the outside world. We hope you feel the love and can enjoy her through these photos [for now]!
Cheers to September...
...and ON TO OCTOBER!!! :)
