Thankful for Momma Friends

I haven't blogged about my relatively new group of mommy friends who quite literally are my saving grace each day, especially Friday mornings when we get together for play dates. We all had babies within 4 months of each other - I was introduced to these 3 lovely ladies through my good friend Jennifer whom I met through Junior League over a year ago. She welcomed us into her life and our daughters became best friends as they spent hours together playing while we kept each others children - side note: she definitely kept Stella more than I kept Charlotte and never complained...I got to teach class without paying for childcare, knowing that she was safe and having a ball playing with her "Lawlette"...now that's what I call an awesome friend!

 Stella, 14 mo with Charlotte, 13 mo

Jenn welcomed me into her group of newly found friends, as she had moved here from Michigan as soon as her daughter was born. Jenn not only cared for my child, she introduced me to more child friendly programs and events than I would have ever found on my own, and all 5 mommies have become super close, which is hard to do when you're a mom. One thing I never realized is how easy it is to left friendships suffer after you get married and have children. For me, friends have and always will be something I need, and now I've learned how to nuture friendships and not take them for granted.

We've all signed up our children to be in the same 2 year old program in the fall and I look forward to the many more playdates, mommies night out and general hanging out we've got in the works. Good thing our husbands like each other!

 The gang...Charlotte, Hudson, Hudson and Stella...Gray missed out because he had RSV:(

Mary Tucker, 10 weeks old

10 weeks really sounds impossible as I watch Mary Tucker sleep and hear Stella waking up from her nap. Since I haven't blogged since Mary Tucker was 4 weeks old, you can imagine how busy we've been. Not to mention, we've been out of the interline for almost a month now. Today (yes, a few short hours ago) we finally got connected again and rejoined the human race. Don't get me started on the many reasons why we now despise AT&T.

So we've done lots of things over the past 6 weeks, including going to our first Mardi Gras parade, starting Stella in Mother's Day Out at St. Michael's (though I didn't get a picture of her on her first day...sad), taking our first beach trip with Stella (and of course, Mary Tucker), and more...here's most of our last 6 weeks in photos...

 Mary Tucker smiles, 1 month old

 Valentines Sisters

 Kisses, 6 weeks old

 Our Mardi Gras caravan...the Baby Brigade

 

Mardi Gras 2012 with the girls

 Beach babe, Perdido Key '12 - 20 months

 Stella and Daddy... her first time at the beach...loved the sand

 Pool time with Daddy

 ...annnnd she's off!

 beach strollin'

 How taking pictures with the girls works...not so well (but Jenn G., thanks for the Baby Ergo carrier!!)

 Mary Tucker was there...way down under there in the Baby Ergo carrier!

 Sand play

 beach walkers...[retty much love each other

She's judging me...so what if its a 6 month bathing suit...it was a spur of the moment trip!

 

the only shot of them in matching suits:) This photo op will get better once i don't have to super impose MT next to Stella with my magic go-go-gadget arms

 Ash Wednesday at the beach 

Our first beach trip as a family really was fun. It was just the 4 of us, and though the weather turned out to be mostly cold and windy, we had a few moments of sunny beach time. Stella was obsessed with walking in the sand. I believe I hated the sand as a baby, so I was happy to see her enjoying it. We enjoyed Ash Wednesday Mass at a Catholic church on the beach, and I proceeded to give up Facebook for Lent...I'm not even going to admit how hard this has been. That is sad.

Since I last blogged I've also rejoined the world now that Mary Tucker had her shots. Maternity leave is officially over and I'm back to teaching Pilates, which I adore. Gone are the days where we stay at home looking at Mary Tucker, feeding her round the clock (after working like h**l to get and keep her awake) and changing poop diapers. We are usually on the go every day, waking up to feed just once or twice a night, getting up in the morning, feeding Stella breakfast, either getting ready to take her to Mother's Day Out or getting ready to run errands before I have to teach class. We are lucky to have sitters who come to the house when I have to teach evening classes, but some days I have to get them ready to take to childcare at the gym where I also teach...this is always fun because Mary Tucker HATES the carseat...as in screams hysterically every time I put her in it. I've tried music, toy bars, mirrors, hanging toys, sunroof open and closed, radio music, etc...nothing works. There's no rhyme or reason to it, either. There are occasions (rare ones) where she's fine and doesn't cry even when shes awake in the seat. Like I said, that's really rare and I drive on pins and needles making sure I don't suddenly upset her. I've even borrowed my friends car seat to see if that'll make a difference. There is an extra headrest/shield thing on the Peg Perego that protects them in the event of a wreck, so perhaps that just pisses the poor baby off. We shall see!

Mary Tucker has been a joy for our family and we are so happy she was born healthy - Stella loves her sister and is now saying "May Tucker" instead of just "Sissy", which I love. I have a feeling she may shorten that to "Tucker" soon, which I don't mind. After her one month check up and shots she started to have some colic-like symptoms around 5-6 weeks old. She slept for the first month straight, which Stella did, so I call that the honeymoon stage. I would literally walk past the pack-n-play and glance down and startle myself at the site of Mary Tucker sleeping on the boppy..."Jeez, there's another baby in the house...I forgot!" Good think I had Mom and Mae Mae here:) She was a very sleepy baby and never ever cried. She really only whined to be fed at night. Now is real life. Right at about 5 weeks, the poor child spent most of every morning screaming in pain and had the.worst. gas. ever. I'm not even joking. Strangers have commented on how bad it smells and that with that gas she must have horrible stomach pain. I've addressed my diet and realized I really wasn't drinking half the water I should have been, which a Pediatrician at our doctors office explained was probably the reason she's been so fussy...she's been getting concentrated breastmilk that is too much for her little digestive system. It's not like I've been loading up on strawberries, cabbage and broccoli....I just didn't realize how much water I didn't drink. It's made a huge difference and she's much happier now that I carry a giant water bottle around all day;) It's funny how the simplest thing can fix the biggest problem.

Stella's started Mother's Day Out on Tuesdays and Thursdays and is adjusting well, though she won't answer to her name, won't stay in her seat when all the other kids do, and tries to eat every one else's lunch. Oopsies! At least she's not biting yet. The teachers said these types of things are totally normal, and she'll pick up the dos and don'ts of classroom behavior with time, because it's not like I can work on only eating her lunch when we're here at home. She's started just a little bit of separation anxiety whenever I leave her with the sitter or drop her off. I think it has more to do with knowing that Mary Tucker is now in the picture and when Mommy leaves, it means she might have Mary Tucker with her, too. Who knows...but everyone has reassured me its totally normal once #2 arrives.

We have a huge March and April planned, and I promise to blog more religiously now that we're online again. Happy late St.Patrick's Day!!!

Baby: 4 Weeks

Sweet, little baby Mary Tucker is 4 weeks old in about 12 hours. I can't believe I delivered her 4 weeks ago...that she's been in my little family for 4 weeks now. MT, just in case I forget how you looked in your first 4 weeks (as if I haven't taken enough photos), let's recap:

You have a little bit of light brown hair all over that's wispy at the nape of your neck. Though your sister's was much thicker and lighter than yours when born, yours is looking like its getting lighter by the day. Your sweet little face is porcelain white and you've definitely got Momma's nose (from the Foggo side). We know your pretty little eyes will be blue and right now they are a mysterious shade of thunderstorm blue. You've just gotten to the point where you can focus on my face and your little mouth opens and makes a circular "o" shape as you concentrate on this thing that holds you and feeds you all.day.long. I hope you are enjoying your view as much as I am enjoying mine:)

Your skin is getting lighter and less red each week and you look more like a baby and less like a newborn, softening around the edges as you get plumper. Our little nursing problem (AKA your heavy sleeping problem) is now resolved and you've gained weight enough to where your checks are squishy and you've developed those yummy rolls in your arms and thighs. I'll be the first to admit...you looked a bit tree-frogish there at 6lbs 12 oz, a full pound lighter than your birth weight at just a week after delivery. But I knew we'd work out our problem - we got this:)

You've got your Daddy's crazy long toes and your feet are just as big as they seemed on the ultrasound. Per old wives tales, you're set to have a controlling personality in relationships - your second toe is by far longer than the rest:) Both your Mommy and your Daddy have longer second toes...go figure:) You've even got long, skinny fingers to match:)

I spend my days feeding you, changing your little newborn -sized Pampers Swaddlers, wearing you in my Moby wrap or swaddling you tightly and laying you on the Boppy safely out of reach of sissy when she needs Mommy time. You've got a calm disposition and rarely cry...however, you are a fan of grunting, which Daddy and I find especially amusing at 2am (not). You nap during the day and so far have been an excellent sleeper - so much so that in the first two weeks of your life we had to wake you on a schedule through the night to make sure you nursed every few hours. In a sleep-deprived haze, Daddy (twice) mistook the alarm clock for a crying baby (you) and tried to gently but firmly "shhh" it rather than turning it off. Needless to say, it didn't work. One night, he also spent a good solid minute fumbling with the diaper wipe warmer trying to turn off the alarm clock. Note to self...keep wipe warmer and clock a good distance away from each other. We were both so confused at that point, we started unplugging all electronics on the nightstand in hopes that eventually we'd get to the right gadget and shut the alarm clock up.

During this unusually warm Louisiana January, I haven't gotten to bundle you up much in cute hats and long rompers, though there was a chilly day that you got to wear a winter hat/bonnet:) I usually put you in day gowns or a soft, sweet Kissy Kissy gowns and onesies - nothing beats Peruvian cotton - and you've already brought out the matching bows and bonnets. Lets face it...you like to accessorize...

and have since day one...

Welcome, Mary Tucker Devereaux!

We are pleased to announce the birth of "baby girl Devereaux" or "Stella's Little Sissy" AKA Mary Tucker Devereaux!

Yes, she is almost 3 weeks old and I haven't posted a single thing about her birth but hey, give me a break...I've got two girls under two years old (wow, that's scary to say out loud).

 Our new family of four!

She was born at 10:12 am on Thursday, January 5, 2012 weighing a light 7lbs 12oz (lighter than predicted via ultrasound!) and measuring 19 1/4 inches long. She came out with light brown hair and a few short hours after delivery we could see that she, too, would have blue eyes like her sister. Everything went fine during our scheduled c-section (besides the slight uncomfortable spinal insertion) and I am recovering very well.

Mary Tucker was named after my grandmother, Mary Ann, Matt's great-great grandfather, Grover Tucker, and my dear friend from high school, Tucker. Mary Tucker was perfectly healthy, even though we had a rough start learning to nurse. She lost about a pound in the first week and we had to supplement with a bottle of pumped breast milk for a few days,so she could plump back up, and as of last Thursday, she weighed 7lbs 10.5oz, so she is 2 ounces shy of her birth weight, thank goodness!

She has just melted into life at the Devereauxs and her sister Stella is in love with her, though these days Stella is much more interested in "Dora" and "Fresh Beat Band" than looking at her sissy. But when she holds her sissy, it's the sweetest thing!

Mary Tucker is sleeping well now, but I know from experience this is the honeymoon phase and at about 4-6 weeks old, she'll start acting like a newborn who does more crying than sleeping:) We are enjoying her sleeping patterns now, though. 

Her cousin, Ann Frances Moffett (my sister's baby) was born 4 days later and of course, as I predicted, a GIRL! I knew we'd be having girls together, and now my mother has 5 granddaughters!

Ann Frances and Aunt Ro Ro

Cousins Ann Frances and Mary Tucker, 5 days old and 9 days old

Sisters 

We are both doing well with our new bundles of joy and getting settled into life with two babes! Updates to come!

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Spending the New Year at Home

Since I'm as big as a house and not in the "partying" mood (except if that partying were to bring baby sissy any earlier) we spent a few hours of NYE day at "Zoo Year's Eve" at Audubon Zoo with MC, Dave and Millie, plus MC and Dave's college buds with their son, Reed. We had a blast and I am ashamed to admit it was Stella's first trip to the Audubon Zoo! She LOVED it.

 Stella and Daddy watching the entertainment at the zoo

 Stella ringing in the New Year with her hat (yes, that's a Saints smocked dress:)

 Carousel time! Dad chose the animal Stella would ride, of course...

Mommy and Stella got to ride together, too:)

After a fun day, we spent the evening at home watching movies and trying to keep our eyes open until midnight and NYD at home eating and watching the Saints. I have to say the impending arrival of Baby Girl Devereaux trumps New Year's right now, because I can think of NOTHING else besides our new baby and how her delivery will go.

She is scheduled to arrive on Thursday, January 5 at 10am...only 3 days,  21 hours, and 40 minutes left! We are having another c-section (scheduled) as we did with Stella because frankly I have giant freak babies. The first c-section was highly suggested because 1) I had gestational diabetes and 2) Stella's head circumference was measuring in the 97th% and from the looks of the last ultrasound, she would not fit through my pelvis, get stuck after hours of labor and I'd end up having an emergency c-section anyway. I must admit, after hearing so many positive experiences of women having a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and loving it, I thought, hey, that might be an option for me. For one, the recovery time is SO much quicker in a VBAC - you aren't recovering from abdominal surgery for 4-6 weeks, you'll be able to enjoy time with the new baby and the big sibling. However, there are risks in having a VBAC - so much so that some doctors refuse to perform them. My doctor chooses to perform them, but when I asked if I could entertain the idea with this one, she kindly but firmly reminded me of this baby's head size compared to Stella's...she is the same size OR bigger than Stella. Also in consideration was the fact that my sister is also pregnant and due 2 days after me. As it stands, we both have our c-sections scheduled 4 days apart so our family can spend time at both hospitals and homes with both babies. With a VBAC I cannot be induced so there would be no scheduling involved. We would be at the whim of the baby's schedule, which would have been fine had my family not been planning on 2 new babies instead of one. All in all, I weighed my options and decided another c-section was the best option for me because I had such a great delivery with the first one.

Surgery still scares me, I'll admit. I'm still nervous about the operation, even though I know I have a very skilled set of surgeons working on me...I just pray that the delivery goes well and she comes out healthy and safe. Then comes the fun part...seeing what she looks like! We've been going over all the questions we have...will she be huge? Will she have blonde hair like Stella? Will she have fair skin, blue eyes, and a big, round head like Stella? Since Stella is our only baby, we only have her to compare Sissy to, even though I know they'll be different and have their own personalities. Another question is WHAT WILL WE NAME HER???? We are stumped here...we have options but we cannot decide, and won't decide until she is born...but what if none of the names we have fit her little face/personality? I'm a little more anxious about her name than Matt is...he just thinks it will come to us once we see her, and I hope he is right!

...so as we enjoy this New Year's Day, or try to...we are reflecting on the joys we were given this past year through being Stella's parents and all the blessings we are lucky to receive in 2012. We know bringing Stella's new sister into the mix will change Stella's world for the better, even though it may be hard at times, we pray for the guidance to be the best parents we can to both of our little girls! God is good!

Christmas at the Devereauxs/37 Weeks Pregnant

Well, I've let a month go by since updating our blog, but give me a break...I've been working, running after an 18 month old, getting my house decorated to host Christmas for my family AND keeping up with being 9 months pregnant. Speaking of 9 months pregnant, here I am at 34 weeks, 2 days (Dec 4)...

...and 37 weeks, 5 days (Dec 28)

At 36 weeks I was showing signs of preeclampsia at my regular weekly check up, such as seeing spots in my peripheral vision, having unusual pain on the right side of my belly and a high level of protein in my urine. After some tests and bloodwork, they said my levels were in the normal range and after today's weekly check up they cleared me and told me everything was fine. For a while, my family was on alert because we didn't know if I'd be put in the hospital early if my results came back positive for preeclampsia, thus I'd be in the hospital for Christmas (boo!). But everything was fine, and I hosted Christmas night for the first time at our new house.

Speaking of Christmas, here is our first Christmas in our new house...

 front door wreaths I made

 Christmas morning loot for Stella

 Santa left a table and chairs!

 our foyer

 office turned extra dining area

 freshly painted dining room with new (old) dining room chairs - Xmas present from Matt's mom!

 Christmas Eve at MC and Dave's

 Traditional "Generations" photo - from R to L, Mae Mae (grandmother), her daughter, Cheryl (our Mom), my sister, Mary Catherine, her daughter, Millie, plus baby Moffett, who I think will be another girl, me, Stella, and baby girl Devereaux #2!

 Millie, MC, Mom and me, both MC and I with babies #2 on board:)

We had a wonderful time getting ready for and hosting Christmas Night dinner, even though it was tough doing everythiing a million months pregnant, but we did it! My sister (also a million months pregnant) hosted Christmas Eve after we all went to church together on the Point.

 Matt's first smoked tur-duck-en! It was delish!!

Now that Christmas is over, we are waiting on the arrival of Stella's baby sister. We will know this afternoon what her birthday will most likely be, as we'll be scheduling a c-section with the hospital today! Exciting! I must admit, I am pretty much done with this pregnancy. I am ready for the baby to be here, to have a name, and for our family to learn how in the world to adapt with #2:) We are pretty clueless, but try not to stress out about it!

...and lastly, here is baby girl's new (old) baby bed, just waiting for her arrival!