When You're Done Having Babies

Would you believe that I get asked almost daily if we are done having babies?

Yes, daily.

No, I'm not kidding.

While I think this is an incredibly personal decision and people can and should have as few or as many babies as they darn well please, I've reached a different point in my life when I've had to really sit down and think, are we done?

We have always talked numbers of kids or when we reached our end, and while I'm not quite ready to say we are done having kids, I am pretty confident saying that Eloise will be the last baby to grow in my belly. Take that for what you want, things could change, but for now, that's where we are at.

For the past 5 years I have been pregnant, breastfeeding a new baby, chasing around toddlers and never seen or thought of an end to diapers, night time wake up calls and baby cuddles. But I see that end now, I've become pretty comfortable seeing the end, but I have had to ask myself, what now?

I haven't worked in order to take care of the kids and keep them home with me and I have absolutely loved that. I am very lucky that we had that option. I have done a few small projects, volunteer work, but everything has always revolved around my kids. With the twins off at full time school and seeing what that is like, and what my future will be like when all 4 are at school, I've had to really sit back and think about, not my kids, but myself. Gasp!

What do I want to do with my days? What do I want our family to be like when we have school aged kids? Do I want to work? Go back to school? Take a long vacation on a beach when I'm finally done breastfeeding? Ok, that's a given. But what about ME? What do you do when you're done having babies?

It's a different chapter in life and one I knew would come eventually but haven't given it much thought. I'm happy and excited to see how these 4 little miracles turn out but I'm also excited to have more time for myself and what I want to do and figure out what I want to be for this next chapter. I still don't think I know what I want to be when I grow up. At 30. Ya know.

So my question for all of you lovely readers, how did you know you were done? What changed when you were done having babies? What should I expect for life without a baby in the house? Besides taking all the baby gates down. Can I get a hallelujah for that one? :)

Sweet Memories

We were lucky enough to have the chance a few days after baby E was born to get some professional pictures of her.

We did this with all the other kids, so it was kind of a no brainer to get Eloise's pictures taken as well, but it wasn't even on my radar when we had the twins. Luckily, we have been very lucky with photographer friends and one in my hometown offered to take pictures of the twins when they came home from the hospital. It was such a sweet memory and I'm so glad we had them done!

 

When Ben was born, we also had a good friend photographer who not only offered to take pictures of Ben when he came home, but spent countless hours in her garage trying to get good shots of him.

 

We have been on the hunt for a photographer since we moved to Ohio, for the first time ever we don't live next door or down the street from a friend who is also a photographer.

 Luckily, I stumbled across Sarah of Living Joy Photography and she was looking for adorable newborns to photograph. I am also very lucky that all of my newborns are incredibly adorable...I'm not biased at all. Obviously.

I can't believe these pictures were taken in our living room! Amazing what she can do with natural light.

 

Notice the beautiful floors Tom put down in our house last summer ;) They matched great with her basket.

All of the pictures came out so beautiful!

 

Sarah also is a crafty one. She made the headbands and jumpers seen in all of the pictures! You can find them here at her Etsy shop, Inspiring Joy Studios.

 

 

Sweet little baby!

 



This is my absolute favorite picture out of all of them. The way you can see every detail of her sweet little face and her cute little lips. It's just perfect. And definitely a face I want to remember as she grows up. Have I mentioned I just put a 6 month dress on her. 6 month. On my not even 1 month old. Excuse me while I go cry....Why do they have to keep growing up on me??

 

 

 

Back on track, the point of all of this, is if you are having a new baby and you haven't considered newborn pictures yet. Do it! It doesn't have to be anything as formal as these. You don't need all the fancy headbands (ok, but seriously, how cute??). You just need to make sure you are capturing the moments when they are so new. Darn babies grow up so fast and you think you will remember, but it's so amazing to look back on these picture. It's also an amazing baby gift for a friend who is expecting their 1st (or 4th) little one. I especially like having a professional photograph take the pictures who has the props and knows how to pose and capture their sweet little baby hands and feed and lips. I'm so happy with how these pictures turned out and can't wait to have Sarah take more pictures for us!

 

If you are in the Dayton area and would like to use Living Joy Photography, Sarah has been kind enough to offer 20% off to Up To Your Toes readers! Just mention you were referred from my blog and she'll apply the discount to your session.

 

You can find pictures of all of her work on her Facebook or website.

 

Also, all of the headbands are from her Etsy shop! You can check it out HERE and on Facebook!

Baby E Is Here!

I guess on her 1 week birthday I should get around to blogging that baby Eloise is here!

It's amazing how in 24 hours this big ol' belly goes from this...

 

To this cute little face!

 



 

 

I have no exciting birth story to share. I was having no contractions or anything going on up until 39 weeks. 39 weeks 0 days was my scheduled C-section. Tom and I woke up, said bye to the kiddos and went to the hospital. The C-section was pretty uneventful and after a few hours, Eloise came into this world, bright pink, kicking and screaming! She weighed 8lbs 10oz, almost 2lbs bigger than Ben! and over double the twins weights...combined. Big girl!

 

She received nothing but top reports from everyone who saw her, and luckily, I did too and we were home 2 days later!

 

The bigs LOVE their baby sister.

 

and she has been such a good baby! A little slow to gain her weight back and jaundice, just like Ben (my milk is a little slow to come in), but she passed her most recent check up, gained enough weight and bilirubin went down enough that we're done with check ups until her 2 week. Which amazingly, is already next week. I feel like she was just born! She is 1 week old today! Crazy!

 

My mom is here helping me out for another week. She is mostly in charge of the bigs while I recover from the C-section. They are having a lot of fun having her around. Baby and I are settling in well and it's so fun to snuggle with a newborn again! Ben grew up too quickly on me ;) Eloise better be a good girl and stay little for awhile!

 

Thanks for all the messages and congrats and all of our local friends who have been such great helps! It's made the transition for the bigs a lot easier :)



5 Things I'm NOT Buying For Baby-and a few things I am

Now I admit, a lot of baby stuff we don't have to buy for baby 4 because we have them, which is awesome! But there are a lot of things we haven't had, or I haven't used in the past that I don't plan on getting for this baby. For people expecting #2 (or 3 or 4) I thought I would share the things that we aren't bothering with this time around, unless I find that I really need them.

1. A new breast pump. I do plan to breastfeed, but I am really, REALLY hoping for a good eater and not needing this. If I need one, we'll go out and get it, but I'm hoping that's not the case! I used the same breast pump for my first 2 pregnancies but it's seen better days so I think if I plan on using one regularly, I will invest in a new one. I'm really hoping that's not the case though because I pumped enough with the twins to last a lifetime.

2. Along those lines...bottles. We tried for a few weeks to get Ben to take a bottle and he never did and honestly, I had enough going on with the twins and a new baby to worry about pumping and bottles and cleaning them. We gave away most of our bottles during Ben's first few months and I don't plan on buying any more. If we NEED them, I will go get them, but I'm definitely not buying them beforehand.

3. Pacifiers. The end all-be all of babyhood right? Ben never took a pacifier and never really needed one. Again, I loved the simplicity of not having to worry about carrying it, cleaning it, making sure I had it. It definitely was a big help with the twins, it's how they learned how to eat really, but if this baby girl isn't crying constantly, she's not getting a pacifier. Have I mentioned how awesome it is to NOT have to wean a kid from a pacifier? Amazing.

4. Fancy swings or bouncers. Apparently the 4moms Mamaroo is all the rage these days in infant swings and bouncers.

 Source

It looks amazeballs, don't get me wrong. If it's your first kid, I say rock it out. HOWEVER, this poor baby will probably not be able to left unattended...umm...ever. Have you met my other children? They'll be good helpers...maybe too good. Also, when not in use, my children like to climb in baby swings and a certain little girl is tiny enough that she can fit in them still, just like her 12 month "pants" that i put on her under her skirts. So to avoid this trouble and them potentially breaking anything, we're just skipping it. Baby will have supervised floor time, spend a lot of time in a wrap, and sleep in her crib or bassinet, but that's about it for baby 4. Sorry kid, you'll be ok though. I have faith.

5. Pretty baby towels/new clothes/new anything. This baby is getting almost all hand me downs. Sorry sweetheart. She'll use whatever towel is clean in the kids bathroom. She'll wear Amelia's hand me downs (and a few from other friends who have given us a few things), sleep in the cribs we bought 4 years ago, and major score, we still have a year left until the infant car seats we bought the twins home in expire. They hardly got any use with Ben (he was too heavy to lug around in the carseat and was close to 30" before he even hit 1) so I'm glad we can get one more baby out of them before they expire. Next babies-r-us trade in event, we'll get her a big girl car seat and we'll have managed to have 4 kids in 2 car seats in under 5 years. Bam! Win!

SO what exactly have I bought for baby?

Not much.

A little sister onesie.

Some things for me (nursing pads, nipple cream, some things to take to the hospital with me).

And the biggest purchase...new cloth diapers.

I destashed a few months ago and actually made a decent amount of money back selling my old diapers. People were really wanting to buy stinky diapers used on 3 kids. Wow! It helps they were all popular brands (all Bumgenius or Fuzzibunz). But because of Ben's skin troubles we had in the last diapers, I figured I'd just start brand new with this girl. I still think in buying all new diapers, we'll be saving money in the long run. I got about 1/2 of my money back from the diapers I sold. I am thinking I could get even more for these because they will be used a lot less than my first batch was. I'm also not buying nearly as many as we had so overall, about $250 (I shopped BG sales, and you can use Bed Bath and Beyond coupons on BG diapers at Buy Buy Baby! That took a $17.99 BG 4.0 down to $12.99 with a $5 off/$15 coupon people! Major score!) and I think we'll be set for her until she is potty trained. Definitely by far our biggest purchase for baby girl, but I think the best investment. I hate buying disposable diapers.

I also might get a cute nursing scarf. This one, in particular, caught my eye.

 Source

 These seemed to be more popular when I was nursing with Ben but I already had a nursing cover to use. But maybe, to get something pretty and different, I might try a scarf this time around ;) I'm much more of a scarf wearer in Ohio than I was in California. We'll see. 

What did you buy for your 2nd/3rd/4th/+ kids that you might not have had for your 1st? What did you skip out on?

March of Dimes Fundraiser-A beautiful dress

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! I know we did

although we really missed papa bear since he was in Alabama :( and next time, I'll wear shoes while taking famil pictures, although it's really hard to chase after frick and frack in dress shoes ;)

I have a special treat and fundraiser today for everyone!

If you have a baby girl, are expecting a baby girl, have a friend or family member with a newborn baby girl or expecting one, then this should be right up your alley.

You know those beautiful boutique dresses you see in the windows of cute homemade type shops or on etsy? Then you look at the price tag and quickly run away before you consider spending a ton of money on a dress your little girl will wear once? Gosh it's hard to turn down pretty clothes for your pretty little girl :) Now is your chance to get a beautiful handmade dress and help a great cause all in one!

I met Ruth at a ladies' night not long ago and she has graciously donated her time, money and amazing talent to our March for Babies team! She made this adorable newborn size dress** and I am giving it to someone who donates to our March for babies Team this week!

So pretty! Makes me want to sew...then I remember how bad I am at it.

This will work like past fundraisers so here are the details:

• Donate $5 to our March for Babies Team to be entered to win.
• For every $10 you donate, I will add your name in one extra time. Broken down...donate $5, get 1 entry. Donate $10, get 3 entries! Donate $20 and you'll get 6 entries!
• Fundraiser will be open until Friday 4/12/13 at midnight. I'll put everyone's entries on a spreadsheet and random.org will pick the winner. I will announce the winner on Saturday and send you an email letting you know you won. Your beautiful dress will be mailed to you shortly after that.
• Want an extra entry? Share this fundraiser on your facebook, twitter, blog or other social media site then write a comment letting me know you shared it. 
• Dress is size Newborn, fits up to 11lbs.

You can click on the March for Babies toolbar on the side or click this link to donate and enter!

We really appreciate everyone's support and help while we raise money to help babies! We couldn't do it without all of your help! Every donation is helping babies! Check out my About Us section for more details on our family and why the March of Dimes is so important to us. No baby should be born fighting for their life like my sweet little ones were.

and of course, a special thanks to Ruth for donating the dress! I wish I had a newborn little girl so she could win ;) but my little itty bitty girl has become a big girl :(

Good luck everyone! Check back Saturday for the winner!

**Original pattern for the dress was designed by Rae Hoekstra of made-by-rae.com. Ruth is an authorized seller.

Week 1

To celebrate the twins' 3 week birthday tomorrow I thought I'd give an update of some important accomplishments...maybe even some setbacks of them week through week.

Since I'm just starting this we'll have to start from the beginning...so week 1! Days 0-7. What did these kids do...let's see...

Jackson:

• Jack went off the vent and onto CPAP, then back on the vent, then back to CPAP to stay. It took him a minute but he got the hang of the breathing thing.
• He beat off his e coli infection with lots of antibiotics.
• Gained some weight from fluid (was over 1000grams for a little) but lost it again and got back on track with his weight, dropping a bit below his birth weight then back up to his birth weight by the end of the week.
• Was put on a bili blanket for his bilirubin (common with all preemies and most newborns, no biggie), then needed another bili light above him. He was our little glow baby and wore sweet shades. You could see his incubator as soon as you entered the NICU.
• Had some heart issues, but the dr decided not to treat it since it wasn't causing problems, so let him get past his infection then deal with the heart stuff.
• Started eating a few cc's of breast milk down an NG tube, but got most of his nourishment through IV fluids, vitamins and lipids.
• Got another dose of surfactant for his lungs to help with their development.
• It took until the end of the week, but daddy got to hold Jack on day 6 and mommy got to hold Jack on his 1 week birthday. 

Amelia:

• Dropped down to 1lb15oz at her lowest, but again, typical for all newborns to lose weight. Started to gain some weight by the end of the week.
• Had the same heart problem as Jack, was treated with baby motrin and problem fixed right up.
• Went on the biliblanket a day after Jack, just because she was jealous of the glow.
• Ate the same as Jack, started getting a few cc's of breast milk just to prep their stomachs.
• Was on the CPAP from the beginning and did well with that.
• Needed to get surfactant as well for her lungs. She was breathing good, but just needed a little help.
• Mommy got to hold baby Mia on day 3...best day EVER. First day holding either of my babies. Daddy got to hold her the next day and we rotated her until we could hold both babies, then switched off babies :)
• Heard her first sneeze (going on the nasal canula to kangaroo with us tickles their noses) , she could squeeze your finger and could open her eyes for a quick second, but didn't like it very much. Both of their skin and eyes were very sensitive the first week so they weren't big on lots of touching and definitely not fans of any light.

So that's a quick summary, by the end of the week they were stabilized and on the right track. Daddy came to be with them on Friday night, and stayed all week. I was in the hospital most of their first week so we could go back and forth and see them all the time. Leaving the hospital for the first time without them was nearly impossible. I don't think I've ever cried so much. It hasn't gotten any easier to leave them.