Suzy Starves for Attention

Everyone always warned me that having two babies would be completely life changing. They were 100% correct. I have been meaning to blog about Suzy's terrible adjustment period for going on 10 weeks now, but seriously have had zero time to do it. The only reason that I have time right now is because I am sitting at the surgery center waiting on Memaw to have a tiny procedure done! Our life has changed completely, but Suzy had the hardest time adjusting.

 

Week one was absolute torture. She cried, complained, whined, moaned, and groaned more than Sally did. She told me constantly that I didn't like her anymore, that I hated her, that I never did anything for her or with her anymore. The girl ripped my heart into pieces on the daily. I was an emotional wreck. Having terrible hormonal issues didn't help one single bit. Everyone stepped up and helped me out as much as they could, but nothing seemed to make it better. As soon as she would get home from an adventure the terrible behaviors returned! Things are slowly getting better, but she still has her days! If it weren't for the amazing support system we have there is no way that we would have made it this long. Suzy got out of school when Sally was around 4 weeks old. I was terrified to be cooped up in the house with both girls all day. I knew Suzy would go nutso and I would probably pull my hair out. I got creative and checked Kate and Lilly out of school a couple days to help entertain Suzy at the pool. The next week Piper and Tucker came to play. Dates with other kids were always a huge help!

My sweet Kate! This girl is so special to me!

Their very own bubble pool!

Lilly joined us the following day! She was pumped to be playing hookie from school :)

Suzy thought she was just as grown as they are!

Evie joined in on the fun too.

Suzy's best friend from FBC, Piper Massey.

Scott and I have done everything we can to make sure that Suzy knows that she is still just as special to us as she was before Sally came. We have talked to her, consoled her, and assured her as much as possible. I will be 100% honest and say that none of the talking and petting on her worked/works. It all boils down to her being alone at home with us or BUYING HER LOVE! The girl has it all figured out. The only thing that makes her totally and completely happy is buying presents and taking her places solo! We are so guilty of doing whatever it takes to keep her happy. Let's just face it.... Suzy rules the roost. If she ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. If she ain't happy I am seriously a crazy lunatic! I am either yelling, crying, spanking, or counting down the seconds before Scott gets off work!

Only big girls can ride in the VW! She thoroughly enjoys the fact that Sally is too little to ride in the Thing.

She also enjoys the fact that Sally doesn't have a life jacket small enough to go on boat rides at the lake house!

We struck out when Sally was only a couple weeks old and took Suzy to Academy to buy everything a child could possibly need for T-Ball. She picked out some pink cleats, a pink glove, some balls, and a purple bat. After buying all the goodies and seeing how excited she was about it we really thought she would love going to ball. We wasted that money. The only thing she wanted to do was bat. She would stand in the same spot on the field and get absolutely furious if the ball was not hit DIRECTLY to her. Maybe next year will be better (if she even wants to do it)!

 

 

I think the only game that she truly loved was the last one! They should have given out trophies at every game!

 

There is no doubt that Suzy loves Sally with all her heart. She tells us that she adores her, she hugs and kisses on her, and she misses her when she's away. She just doesn't like to share all the attention. I have to remember that she was the only child, grandchild, and great grandchild for four years. Her attitude toward the family of four idea changes daily. Things get better and better by the day. Prayers things continue to progress in a positive direction! 

Sally's Grand and FAST Entrance... Part II

Since I was nursing Sally stayed in the room with us a good bit of the night. I was absolutely exhausted and in so much pain from my uterus contracting that I sent her to the night nursery after the last feeding of the night. I am guilty of letting her snooze on my chest every other time. There's  nothing better than a baby sleeping so soundly. Every time she would nurse it hurt so badly. I needed pain meds some kind of serious. I begged the nurses for something to drink every time they came in to check on me. I was ill as a hornet because I needed some Lortab and some Diet Coke; I also needed a shower in the worst kind of way! They finally came to get me late Wednesday morning to do my tubal. By the time they got me to the operating room I was in tears and cramping so bad that I begged them to put me under anesthesia again. They originally wanted to tie my tubes with me awake and to only use local anesthetics. After they saw the shape I was in they didn't hesitate to give me the good stuff! Let me tell you.... DO NOT GET YOUR TUBES TIED! Dr. Harper tried everything to talk me out of doing it. I should have listened. I wanted to get it done because I was already in the hospital, my deductible was met, and Scott doesn't have any insurance. I thought it would be better if I did it while I was there.... WRONG!! That tubal made my belly even more sore. I couldn't raise up out of the bed without assistance because my belly button had been cut open. It was a big yucky mess. Usually the incision isn't as large, but my tubes were shorter than anticipated so that caused a bigger cut (my luck).

After the whole tubal ordeal I was allowed to shower, take meds, and have something to drink! I was feeling much better!! The grands, Laurie, and KK brought Suzy to meet Sally shortly after lunch! Oh my gosh, when Suzy saw Sally it just melted my heart. She came over to her, rubbed her head, smiled, and teared up. She was in love. She said, "she's so cute. I love her". My heart turned to mush.

My girls!

The crew is complete!

He wouldn't have it any other way!

See how proud she was!

Memaw is excited to finally see Sally!

Nanny is too!

We are complete!

My heart is so full!

Once everyone got their time with Sally they packed up and left us. KK and Laurie stayed the night at our house with Suzy that night. When we got home the next day the house was clean, the fridge was stocked, and everything was taken care of! I owe them so big. I can never repay them for everything they have done for us. Their efforts definitely didn't go unnoticed. We are so lucky to have those girls!

I ended up in the emergency room Friday morning due to extreme swelling and pain. I seriously thought that my epidural had gone wrong. Scott was having to pick me up to move me anywhere. When I got to the ER I weighed more than I did when I was admitted into the hospital Tuesday night! I was absolutely miserable. They found that I had an infection in my tubal incision while I was there, too. They gave me some Lasix and an antibiotic through IV. As soon as some of the fluid starting coming off I started feeling much better. I was good as new by Sunday night. Our moms stayed with us the first couple nights to help out and Suzy was bound and determined not to stay at home. She was not dealing with me being sick very well OR the fact that a baby intruder had taken all the attention away from her.

Sally did wonderful her first few nights at home. She was absolutely perfect! She seriously spoiled me rotten.... She never cried. She ate. She slept. Perfect little newborn stage :)

Suzy's story of transition coming soon......

Sally's Grand and FAST Entrance- Part I

April 12 I was home alone for the day. I cleaned a little, napped a little, and caught up on House of Cards. Suzy was still on her same schedule even though I was officially on maternity leave. I figured it would be best if she continued doing exactly what she was used to doing in order to keep some stability in her life. She was about to have her spoiled little world rocked enough in a few weeks (or so I thought). I had been having some slight cramps that day, but just assumed it was trapped gas, constipation, Braxton Hicks, etc. I picked Suzy up from Memaw's house around 3:30 and we headed home. Scott was already home from work when we arrived home. I told him how bad I had started feeling and that I needed to lie down for a little while. He agreed and started making plans for he and Suzy to go play golf for a little while. Of course, Suzy insisted that I tag along with them.... So, I did what all mamas would do. I drug myself on the bumpy ride to the golf course. After an hour or so I had all I could stand. I came home and got in the bath tub hoping it would ease some pain. Nope. Didn't work. I called my mama to tell her my symptoms and then called the doctor's office and talked to Dr. Patton (he was the on call doctor). Within a few minutes mom was here to entertain Suzy while I contemplated what I should do. Dr. Patton assured me that I was just having BH contractions and not to come to Oxford until my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and they were hurting so bad that I couldn't talk through them. I should have told him that I lived in Senatobia and that Suzy came very, very quickly. Mom took Suzy home with her just in case things worsened. I hugged Suzy so tightly and cried like a big baby. I wasn't ready to let her go. I wanted just one more night with her being my only baby. I wanted to squeeze her tight and tell her I loved her all night long. Thankfully, Suzy didn't really understand what was going on. She just told me to quit crying because grown ups don't cry. She left around 6:30 that night and my contractions were about 5 minutes apart. I still thought they were BH contractions or that I was in false labor. Scott was ticked off at me because this routine was exactly how I ended up almost having Suzy on I-55. Bless his soul; I should probably listen to him more often. He knew in the back of his mind that I was having a baby that day, I think. He started packing bags and getting things together while I was still fiddle farting around debating on whether or not to make the humiliating trip to Oxford just to hear them tell me it was false labor and send me home. Around 7:30 my contractions started getting worse and they were about 3 minutes apart. I decided I may need to get my rear in the car and go to the hospital. I let the girls know what was going on and Scott let the family know. We were on our way to BMH around 7:45. By the time we hit Hwy 6 I thought I was going to DIE. I checked into the hospital at 8:20. The girls arrived shortly afterwards followed by the family. I went from 4 cm to 9 cm in the blink of an eye. Thankfully, I got there in time to get an epidural. Sally was coming and she was coming fast. Kalon headed to the waiting room which left Scott and Lauren to endure the madness of delivery with me. My nurses earned every dollar they made that night. One nurse, in particular, should have gotten some of Dr. Patton's pay. I had almost fully delivered Sally by the time he showed up. I think all he did was the episiotomy. I had to quit pushing for 20-30 minutes while we waited on him. After he did his part, Lauren said I pushed once or twice and she was here!!! She weighed 7 lb even and was 20 inches long. She entered the world crying a healthy beautiful cry at 10:27 pm.

7 lb of pure preciousness already wrapped around Daddy's finger

Smitten

Sally meets the grands! Memaw and Papa stayed home to take care of Sue Baby for us. Gigi kept Nanny informed by phone.

Mimi lovin'

Gigi was tickled pink.

I hope KK has baby fever after all this! She has stolen lots of kisses from that moment on.

Proud, proud Laurie. She seriously watched the whole entire thing. She's the only person I know that wants to see the whole process and loves every minute of it. She coached along with the nurses while Hubs stayed by my head the whole time :)

Daddy loving on baby girl!

 

My two very best friends and the newest addition to our crazy crew!

Her sweet little bow didn't last long at all, but it sure was cute!

 

After the family got some Sally loving they headed back to Senatobia. KK, Laurie, and Oakey stayed for a little while longer. I sent KK and Laurie to get me something to eat and the biggest Diet Coke Sonic had. They arrived back around 11:45. The nurse cut me off from all food and liquid at midnight because I was scheduled to have my tubes tied the next morning. Little did I know that being cut off from those things meant that I couldn't have any pain meds for the rest of the night or the following day. That's when MY hell started.......... 

 



Sally's Nursery

Sally's nursery has been a long project. When I was decorating/designing Suzy's nursery I knew exactly what I wanted immediately and had big plans that were executed far before my due date. Sally's has been a bit of a challenge. It took me a while to decide on fabrics that I wanted to use, find a dresser that would fit in the space that I needed to fill, and wall coverings... gracious alive that was just finished over the weekend. There are still a few little things that need to be added, but I will just have to find them as I go.
After I picked my fabrics out and handed them off to SheShe all I had were little swatches to go by when picking out paint colors and accessories. I still carry those swatches around with me. I always have them handy in case I run across something that catches my eye. While SheShe was working on the bedding, I had the nursery painted (two different times, remember). I also started hunting for furniture to use. I wanted Sally's dresser/changing station to be in the closet in order for me to have a twin bed. I was adament about having a twin bed for myself in there. I am a big time "don't let the baby sleep in mama and daddy's bedroom" kind of girl. Suzy slept in her nursery from day one and I really hope the same goes for Sally! I finally found a dresser in the window of a resale store in town. It was a whopping $75. I sanded it down, painted it, and added new knobs. The finished product turned out perfectly. I already had a changing pad holder from Suzy that Papa made for me. He secured it for me, and tada..... brand spanking new changing station!

before

during 

after, minus the changing pad

I made the rookie mistake of buying a white chenile rocker for Suzy, so needless to say I had to have it recovered. Gigi also had a black nightstand that needed some TLC. I repainted it the color of Sally's closet and found some new glass knobs to replace the brass ones that were originally on it.

Lauren had the blanket made for Sally. She did the same for Suzy. They are called Flubbs and they are to die for. That minky dot material is heavenly. Gigi gave me the Peter's Pottery pig for my birthday, but I thought he belonged in Sally's room. I found the lamp at Tuesday Mornings for like thirty bucks. It matches the glass knobs to a T. Kalon's mom, CinCin had an old ottoman that she wasn't using. She recovered it for me using some of the extra fabric I bought for the chair. 

All of the fabrics for the curtains, twin bedskirt, and baby bedding are made by Joel Dewberry. It is from his Bontanique Fabric Collection. The colors are just amazing. They are bright and upbeat without being too overwhelming for a nursery in my opinion.

Sally even has her very own SheShe made quilt to match her bedding! 

The monogram above the crib is what Piper Yount made. This was the gift the hostesses from the shower gave me, remember! 

The closet was the biggest challenge of the nursery project. There was no light in the closet originally. Papa and Scott spent a great portion of a Saturday installing one. The attic space above the closet was extremely tight, so they ran into a few hiccups.... but, our Papa can do anything. The light was installed that day! There was originally two doors to the closet which we removed and the painters patched the trim work. We saved the doors and will add them back when Sally outgrows this set up. I repainted the shelves that were originally in the closet the coral color to match the walls. I found baskets at Marshall's to hide all her little knick knacks and blankets in. Everyone seemed very concerned as to where I would hang her clothes, but don't worry.... We cut the bar that was all the way across the closet into small sections to hang in the opposite corner of the shelves. She will need more hanging space eventually, but for right now it is perfect.

I scored this "honeycomb" light fixture at The Tin Roof Market before they went out of business. It was on sale for 75% off. I almost posted it on Facebook to sell when I couldn't find a use for it when we moved in our new house. I am so glad I hung on to it. It looks perfect in the closet. 

Scott picked up the mirror from Lowes. It is a bathroom vanity mirror, but works perfectly in the space.

I still haven't sanitized bottles and put up all the stuff that will eventually live in the kitchen (bottle brushes, detergent, etc). I am trying to keep a clutter free kitchen as long as possible. All the stuff in the floor beside the dresser will eventually take over my kitchen counters! 

Poor Sally doesn't have quite the wardrobe that Suzy did, but I have tried very hard to be more practical this time. Suzy didn't wear a 1/3 of what I bought for her. Hoping I don't make that same mistake again.... Oh at the money wasted! 

Dresser with changing pad added. 

Kalon and I met Lauren in Batesville over the weekend to cash in the gift certificate that Kimmie gave me for Sally some pottery. I went in just looking for a massive circle piece to hang over the twin bed. I wandered around the store several times, but I couldn't' find anything that I thought would work. I did keep seeing these little paintings that caught my eye because they were the colors of the nursery.... I grabbed a few and started playing around with an arrangement using them and a piece of pottery. I ended up taking them home! I am in love with how it turned out. The paintings are called Gospel Art and the pottery is Peter's, of course.

My coworkers had a diapers, wipes, and gift card shower for me at school. While I was putting all those goodies away, Suzy was practicing on her Baby Alive.

She also decided that she still loves the Nap Nanny and that they should make them in her size! 

All those baby clothes and such were Suzy's.... She is loving having all the wee little things handy again. Her baby dolls are pretty well dressed these days! 

The long project is complete and waiting on Sally Scott to come enjoy it. I love just going in there to sit and look. I am very happy with how everything turned out. I hope Sally loves it as much as I do!