2 Weeks

Wish I could say that time has slowed down since our little Gracie arrived but unfortunately the days seem to go faster than ever. At her 2 week appt Gracie weighed in at 8lbs 4oz(43%) and 20.5in long(52%) we aren't sure what to do with a child that has made it out of the single digits percentile wise since Hallie hasn't in her 2 1/2 years. She is healthy and growing well. She is a great baby and was pretty much born with a babywise schedule. She eats every 3-4 hours during the day is awake for about an hour and then sleeps until we repeat it all again. At night she sleeps 4-5 hours and then goes right back to bed. She eats between 3-6oz at a time and luckily has never been spitty to this point. She is however a big pooper and has blow thru several outfits in her first couple of weeks. The sleep deprivation although minor compared to some of my friends is killer with Hallie I slept when she did and now having 2 that isn't always the case. I feel like when they are both sleeping that I have a lot to accomplish but recently have found that I get more done and everyone is more happy if I get some extra sleep when I can. The guilt has been really difficult no matter what I do I feel like one of the girls isn't getting the attention they deserve so when Hallie does nap I hold Gracie usually for the entire time Hallie is asleep(2-3 hours) it helps me feel better. Hallie is a huge help and want to get me everything for Gracie. She also wants to have her picture taken every time we take Gracies' picture which is nice because she was at a point she didn't want her picture taken before the baby.I am learning that getting out of the house is a bit more of a chore than it used to be and can't be done quickly unless we look like we just got out of bed it can be frustrating at times that it is noon and no one is ready for the day but I am trying to focus on the fact that we are all fed, teeth brushed, and have at least clean PJs on. So to sum it all up we are adjusting and will someday be back to fully organized and somewhat sane.

Our Girls

I love the way "our girls" sounds when I refer to Hallie and Gracie. We are very much enjoying having 2 girls. Hallie is a big help and is very concerned and loving towards Gracie although she still doesn't want to hold her unless it is momentary while we take a picture. Since the beginning of the year Matt has been teaching a class at Weber State which leaves the girls and I home alone 1 night a week. I frequently ask Hallie to watch Gracie while I run downstairs or in the other room to get something the other night I came back to find Hallie laying by and singing to Gracie. I hope they always like each other.

1st Bath

Five days after Gracie was born her umbilicaL cord fell off and on day 7 she had her 1st bath. I think she really enjoyed it and didn't cry until I got her out.

Matt's Favorite Thing

Matt isn't like most dads that prefer older kids that they can play with although he does like that too. He loves the newborns and the cuddling aspect. When Hallie was little he would sit in the rocker or on the couch and watch football for hours with Hallie asleep on his chest...he has wasted no time starting that with Gracie. I love this picture he is such a great dad.

Family of FOUR!!!

Our 1st picture as a family of four

Matt and his girls

Our Girls in their 1st matching outfits

Our Gracie

Time is going to fast as usually but I still don't think I will ever get used to it. Gracie is now 12 days old and is another little blessing in our life. I still have times when I have to stop and remember that we have been blessed and entrusted with 2 sweet daughters of god I don't know how we got so blessed. Gracie is a great baby she eats every 4 hours around the clock. I have been supplementing with a bottle after breastfeeding but are now down to doing that only a couple times a day. She has very awake times after eating but usually within an hour is back to sleep for at least a couple hours. She really only cries when she is hungry. She look so what like Hallie but at the same time has a look of her own which is yet to be determined who she looks like. Here she is during some of her awake times.




She likes to be bundled and I quite often find that she has wiggled down so you can barely see her face.

Our girls in their PJs. Hallie has no interest in holding her but loves to pose in pics.

Hallie and her Pouting

Hallie has started what I like to call a "phase" in hopes that that is exactly what it is. We have been ignoring her and it has already stopped at times so I will remain hopeful but I can't help documenting this and the pictures that say it all.

After a few minutes of being ignored and possibly laughed at..real mature I know

Coming Home

We came shortly after our 24 hour mark due to visitation restrictions and Hallie so on Saturday afternoon after labs were drawn and paperwork complete we came home here are some pics of the big event.



Because we came home somewhat early we had to take her back to the pediatrician at 2 days for a weight check and overall assessment. She weighed 7lbs 5oz and is doing very well

Our Week with Grandma

My mom was great enough to come for a whole week when Gracelyn was born although I originally thought I wouldn't need help that long I am so grateful that she was here and to have the extra help was awesome. My mom came Thursday night since we were being induced Friday morning. Saturday morning it snowed for the first time almost all winter so she took Hallie out to build a snowman which upon completion she promptly kicked it over and then wanted to build it again.

She also took Hallie to the mall to run some errons and to ride the train. She loves the train at the mall and is always asking to go for a ride on it.


On top of being a huge help with the kids she cooked, cleaned, and helped with anything and everything I needed help with. Thanks mom come back soon.

Gracelyn Michelle Brower

Here she is Gracelyn Michelle Brower
Born 1/6/2012 10:34AM
7lbs 9oz
19.5 in

Visitors

Although we had minimal visitors due to the restrictions we did have several family and close friends come to see us or more likely our new little girl. My mom, Hallie, Nic, and Rigden came as soon as we got moved over to our new room and settled.


Matt's mom came to visit later friday evening

Anne Farner also stopped by briefly with a gift and to hold our little one. As well we had several of my coworkers from the nicu that came to say hi.
The Bennetts came to visit Sunday and brought us some yummy dinner Nick made.

Kim and Ez came up for the weekend since they had Martin Luther King day off of school. Hallie really enjoyed hogging their attention..kim and ez were very good to play with her. We were lucky enough to have Nic & Ky come up to hangout with us througout the weekend we did a lot of eating and playing games as well as just hanging out and visiting.

A New Year=A New Addition

On Friday Jan 6, 2012 our little girl hadn't arrived so we headed to the hospital to be induced. I had called my mom Wednesday after my dr appt and she made arrangements to be here Thursday so she could stay with Hallie while I was in the hospital. We had to be there by 7:30AM so we got up about 7 got ready and headed in to the hospital. The more I really thought about what was going to happen the more anxious and nervous I got. We got checked in and settled into our room by about 8:30AM. My nurse came to place my IV and Dr Boheen came to break my water all about 8:45 they had decided not to start my pitocin sooner because I had gone so quickly with Hallie. When Dr. Boheen broke my water I was dialated to a 6+ and she suggested if I wanted an epidural(which I totally did) to get it before they started my pitocin. So about 9 I got my epidural and they started my pitocin. Matt and I just visited as we waited.

One detail I want to remember is that Matt always thought she would come on the 5th or 6th so he was very proud of himself that he was right. Dr Boheen visited with us and the nurses she said she wasn't leaving because as soon as she did she would have to come back and she was right. After about an hour or turning from side to side to help speed things up Dr Boheen checked me at 9:20 and said I was complete and said to the nurse to set up for delivery the nurse said did you say she is a 7 and Dr Boheen replied no set it up she is complete. Matt jokingly said do you think we could have a baby by 10:30? Dr Boheen informed him that was probably a little optimistic but it turned out to not be so far off. After 3 contractions of pushing(3 sets of pushing per contraction) our new little one arrived at 10:34AM. My initial thought was that she was a lot bigger than Hallie and that turned out to be pretty true. Weighing in at 7lbs 9oz and 19.5 in she was 1lb and 1oz bigger than her sister(boy was I glad we hadn't waited another week for her). She has more and darker hair than Hallie and didn't really look like Hallie at all. She has the same big eyes and good temperament but that was about it.



It is really hard to believe that in a matter of a couple hours we had gone from a family of 3 to a family of 4 but I think we are still letting that one sink in.


I was really bummed because with RSV and an outbreak of pertussis they had very restrictive visitation so we could only have 2 visitors and no one under 14 so Hallie couldn't even come visit(was not happy about this). Hallie was very nervous and couldn't understand why I had to have an IV and couldn't hold her and most of all why I had to come to the hall to visit and couldn't go home with her and she couldn't see the baby but luckily she is still at the age that she is easily distracted. Since I have had Hallie they have also changed a few other things they bathed the baby in our room and Matt got to do her footprints on top of also getting to help with the bath. He did an awesome job even the tech was impressed. It was fun because I got to watch and take pictures.


Daddy loving cuddle time after her bath