sisters

Life at the Broderick house is great! Claire continues to mature and wants to be independent with everything. From putting on her clothes, shoes, coat, climbing into her high chair, etc. Name it, she wants to do it by herself. At least she tries to do it until she gets frustrated and then she lets me help her. :) 

I let her stand on the chair to watch in the mirror as I do her hair. This is her showing off her new Mini Mouse shirt. 

Kate had her 1 month appointment. The doctor wanted to check Claire's growth too. Claire is now 24.5 pounds!! She is now in the 10% HOORAY! The doctor was thrilled. Claire is doing remarkably well with eating. She is expanding her textures and often wants to eat or try new things. We are now eating mostly gluten free here. Claire is also speaking in complete sentences. Her language has always come along nicely, but it's crazy how the last month it has really taken off.   

Kate is now 8 lb 14 oz and 20 1/2 in long. She is growing great and seems to be a great eater. So far she only seems to have major gas when I eat onions. I didn't realize how many recipes call for onions. 

At her appointment I asked the doctor about a blueish spot on her bum. It looked kind of like a bruise. She told me it is actually called a Mongolian spot. Basically what this means is Kate has my darker skin!! I asked my mom if I had any and she said yes! Kind of fun! (no, I'm not Mongolian...it is just a term they use for skin other than the pale white.) :)  

Claire gets so excited when Shaun gets home. Sometimes she makes me open the front door so she can watch for him. 

Kate is already accessorizing...AKA Claire playing bracelets with Kate.  

Claire still LOVES to read books and lately I've been giving her a few books during her nap time. Before that she started taking her diaper off and not napping. This gives her something to do before she falls asleep so nap time has been much more successful! THANKFULLY! 

Kate loves to have the blanket up around her face...almost like a little cocoon. She also has to be wrapped in this blanket to sleep for a long period of time. Other blankets she keeps waking up. About 4 weeks old she broke out in the  baby acne. Not my favorite stage, but it will get better. 

The blanket Kate is on was made by my Grandma Lundquist for me when I was a baby. She pieced together the dolls, etc. It is beautiful! Do you see those beautiful brown eyes? 

Kate's first week at church lasted about 15 minutes. She was sleeping peacefully in the car seat and Claire was sitting on my lab eating her snack, popcorn. A few words into the sacrament song she choked on a piece of popcorn and started puking all over me, her, the floor. Shaun ran out to grab paper towels. A sweet lady grabbed her  one-year-old daughter's blanket and ran over to catch the puke that kept coming. It was quite the scene. I picked up Claire and we slowly walked out. Once we got in the foyer I was trying not to laugh because it was such a crazy situation. After the sacrament we packed up and went home so everyone could bath and clean up. The best part was the look on everyone's faces as we were leaving. Kate slept the entire time and didn't wake up to eat until we got home. Silly Claire! I guess popcorn is off limits for church snacks now. 

Christmas Break 2013

Our Christmas break was focused on one thing...adjusting to having Kate. Initially when I found out my due date (Dec 26th) I was really sad because I didn't want her to grow up feeling her birthday was always smashed in the middle of holiday parties. I can see now, however, the wisdom in Heavenly Father's timing. This is Shaun's last year of his PhD program and will hopefully be graduating in August. It is an extremely busy year and he gets little, to no time off. Because the campus is slower during the holidays he actually only had to work half days for 5 of the days my mom was here. So he was around! If she had been born any other time of this year it would've been a lot trickier to have Shaun home. So, Kate, forgive us but we promise to try and make your birthday special. :) 

I waiting until I knew for sure if Kate was coming before Christmas to buy this outfit. Once we had the induction date I gave it. Kate needed something new, right? 

Claire LOVED having Nana and Joseph here. Auntie gave Claire this darling owl hat that she worn ALL of the time. Lucky for us it snowed so Nana and Joseph took Claire outside to play a few of the days. Here she is patiently waiting in the sled. 

Not the greatest picture because I was inside trying to zoom in. :) 

Kate is such a sweet girl! We just love her! 

Claire got a play kitchen for Christmas. A lady in our ward was done doing her day care and gave this to us. I tried to pay her for it and she refused. She gave us all of the food, dishes, cooking supplies, a pink chair and even a pink high chair for the baby. So fun! She played with it non-stop for a week!

Story time gets a little tricky with two girls  

We love uncle Joseph 

and Nana! 

It was so nice having my mom here! Joseph kept saying, "Mom, we are on vacation, how come you are acting like the maid." Haha! She did our laundry, the dishes, cleaned, held Kate so I could sleep, played with Claire non-stop and everything in between. She even helped me take down the Christmas decorations and reorganize the living room so I could fit the rocking chair downstairs. Since we just have two bedrooms Kate is in our room and when she wakes up to eat I take her downstairs so Shaun can keep sleeping. Well, our couches are very uncomfortable especially when trying to feed and rock a baby. So this worked out great. It's right by the sliding glass door so I can watch the snow fall outside and enjoy the light during the day. Thanks again mom for being so amazing! 

The adjustment to two kids has definitely been a lot more challenging than I expected. The first week after my mom left was really really hard. Claire was still trying to fit in and understand her own emotions, which is completely understandable, plus running on little sleep and trying to keep up with just basic things seemed impossible like laundry, cleaning, etc. I have a hard time leaving things just partly done. I decided to change my expectations and mindset. That really helped me to stop worrying about the unnecessary things and just enjoy this journey.  
 Through the addition of Kate, Claire has become miss independent. She wants to do EVERYTHING herself. From putting on her shoes, to getting her milk out of the fridge. I let her try to do all that she wants to and when she gets frustrated I gently remind her I can help. This makes getting out of the house quite the ordeal.
 Kate is a great nurser but loves to be held. I think she may have a little reflux going on. Sometimes it will take me an hour to get all of the burbs out of her. Claire is really sensitive to crying so when Kate cries it throws Claire into a panic. We went through the "still the pacifier stage." I finally just got one that Claire could hold. I don't let her suck on it because I don't want to have to break her of it again, but she finds comfort in carrying it around. Claire's is purple and Kate's is pink. Claire also wants her stuffed animals to be in the swing, bouncer and car seat. She has a hard time sharing them with Kate. :) 
The second week after my mom left was much better. Still challenging and I still get little to nothing done (compared to before) but I know that my kids are the priority right now and it will get better. The biggest adjustment is just having very little personal time. I think it has taken me almost 10 days to get this blog posted. I'm not complaining I'm just recording these details so in the future I can remember how it really was. I definitely see the Lord's tender mercies in all of this. I have been able to get both girls napping at the same time. Thus, I have been able to get at least a 30 minute nap in everyday. That definitely keeps me going. Claire is doing better and better with Kate as well. Today she even leaned down and gave her a kiss and said, "I love you." Progress! 
It is so crazy thinking we are now a family of four, but I love it! I know the girls will be great friends sooner or later. :) I would be lost without my sister! I love being a mom, I don't mind the late night feedings because it gives me time to think and ponder. Being a mom keeps me on my toes, humble, and helps me remember what is really important. 

Kate is almost a month old. I better start working on that post soon before it's too late. :) 

Introducing Kate

Introducing Kate Elizabeth 

Claire holding her sister 

First picture family of 4.

The best snacks at the hospital 

Checking out her sister...

Tell us how you really feel, Claire? :) 

Straight from Heaven 

Right before being induced 

Such a precious girl! 

7 LBS  9.8 oz

18 3/4 in long 

  

I haven't blogged much about this pregnancy mostly because it has been very routine and rather easy. I definitely was more tired and still had the dreaded heart burn and water retention but up until 36 weeks I didn't have much to worry about.

I feel like during my pregnancy with Claire I spent a lot of time reading about nursing, the the post delivery stuff like how to take care of a new born, etc. and kind of assumed-subconsciously- that during the labor and delivery the nurses would just tell me what to do. My labor and delivery with Claire was a little rough so this time around I wanted to be more prepared-emotionally and mentally. I really wanted to delivery naturally! I used to think that people who went natural were CRAZY!! But the more I read about it the more I thought it was a good plan for me. 

     Anyway, at my 36 week appointment we discovered the baby was breech. If she didn't turn by delivery then it was a automatic C-section. I was really upset, mostly because I had been reading and preparing for this delivery and the thought of that opportunity being taken away made me sad. So a week later I was scheduled for the doctor to try and flip the baby. During that week my friend suggested I go to a chiropractor and see if that would help. As the chiropractor worked on me we discovered my left hip ligaments were extremely tight. I was able to go to her a few times and it really seemed to help loosen me up. Thanksgiving came and as I was going outside to start the car I slipped and fell. I landed on my bum and my back hit the ledge of the bottom step. I was sore but seemed okay. 

     Well, Shaun and I went into the hospital to get the baby flipped and it was a miracle. Kate had already flipped on her own. I had to get dressed in the gown and get an IV, etc as we were waiting for the doctor but the fact he didn't have to do anything else was awesome. There are some risks involved with this procedure- one being if the placenta became detached they would have to take me in for an emergency c-section right then. It was a HUGE relief that she flipped! We joke it was my fall that turned her. 

     As my due date got closer I met with the doctor that delivered Claire. When I was delivering Claire her head came out but her shoulders were stuck. A condition called shoulder dystocia. If the baby can't be maneuvered out within a minute the changes of the baby having nerve damage to the arms or spinal damage or brain damage significantly increase. We had an ultra sound done and Kate was measuring about the same Claire had been at that point but my Doctor advised me to be induced or consider a c-section so we could avoid the same situation. 

   My due date was originally Dec 26th but the doctor suggested we have induction scheduled for December 20th. I kind of wanted the 21st. I wasn't sure why, but the doctor suggested we stay as close to 39 weeks as possible. So the 20th it was. The 20th came and we dropped Claire off at our friend's house at 6:45AM. We showed up and apparently it was the night to go into labor so they didn't have room for me. I wasn't that surprised because I had been dreaming all night that Kate was born on the 21st...my next thought in the dream was, "that is going to be a long labor." I was also a little relieved because the nurse that helped us the day of the flipping was working and I really didn't care for her so that was also a win win. So we went back, picked up Claire and Shaun went to work. 

Then the 21st came. I woke up at 4:30 with some pretty strong contractions. I took a bath to help relax but couldn't go back to sleep. We went through the same routine but that morning felt different. I was in a much better state of mind and felt really calm. 

The doctor came in and broke my water at 9:20 AM. Then they started me on Pitocin. I was still planning on going natural...and I DID! I think I was able to because of prayer and the great support of my hubby! I'm not going to lie, it was tough. I did get some nubain, which just takes the edge off and that helped a lot. Once I reached a 7 it was really getting hard. I sent my sister a text...prayer for me it's getting tough. She sent a text to my siblings, definitely grateful for their support. I pushed through and Kate was born 30 minutes later. I felt so much better after this delivery and my recovery was very minimal. The delivery was a success, Kate didn't get stuck and I actually got to hold her right after she was born. AMAZING! She was born at 2:19 PM. 

I was able to go home 24 hours later. I feel so blessed! Kate has been great with nursing and is so sweet. 

More coming soon with Christmas, a visit from Nana and uncle Joseph and adjusting to two kids! In the mean time I'm working on catching up on sleep. :)