Once Upon a Tucker: November 2011

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was low key this year at our house. My parents came down and we hung out and ate:) Mom and I did go shopping on Friday from 10-4. We found some good deals! The girls were amazing little shoppers(and nap-skippers). We let them sleep from 4-6 that evening and then left to visit my parents at their house for the weekend. It was much needed quality family time!

Don't you love our centerpiece:)

patiently waiting for dinner

first ever taste of pumpkin pie

matching pj's

Mimi and Poppa's house

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Real life with a newborn and a 2 year old

So I've been wanting to write this post and have been putting it off all at the same time. Weird huh?

I feel like most of the time I only document/take pictures/blog happy times in the Tucker family. Well folks, I'm here to blog about real life for the past 3 & 1/2 months. I don't want to look back and think things were always so bright and cheery. I also want to be real for other moms who may be going through the same season. I don't want to hurt Kate's feelings, which is a big reason I've been putting off writing this....

But let's be honest.........life has been real, real hard ever since Kate was born.

I've shed more tears in the past 3 months than I have in the last 2 years! Those tears stemmed from a lot of things, but the re-occurring theme was "I'm just not enjoying my baby." Now, if you know me AT ALL, you know I'm huge on enjoying every stage and really celebrating each day with my kids. Days never go by where I take them for granted or I don't sit and fully play with them. I don't 'live' for bed time or just 'make it' through the day-but truly soak in the days I've been given with these sweet gifts. All that being said, it pains me to say it's taken quite some time to really enjoy Kate.

By the time Kate was 7 weeks old, Denny had been gone half of her life. Adding that on top of a little 2 year old exerting her independence and adjusting to her little sister, plus, having the little sister who cried when she wasn't sleeping was super challenging! I would get so down on myself a lot of days. With infants, their happiness in life is almost solely dependent on Momma. To say Kate wasn't happy here, was an understatement. I just kept thinking-what in the world is going on. You're fed, napped, dry, cuddled, burped and loved.....why are you screaming your head off? And it wasn't just crying, but downright screaming! The decibel level Kate can reach while crying is astounding! I've had many strangers comment on how well her lungs work. And when she wants to cry, she's just going to cry. There isn't that one thing that usually helps.

I'm not sure if Macy Brooks was unusually happy or if Kate was unusually unhappy, but boy are these different babies:) If MB was crying(which was rare), I could soothe her in about 5 seconds by holding her or talking to her. Kate is a different story. Just until recently, Denny and I have actually been a little scared of her:) It was like, "don't move her blanket, because if she starts crying, who knows how or when she'll stop!" So that was another depressing thing, I couldn't soothe my own baby! Talk about feeling terrible!

To say I've had a rough start and adjustment period is to put it mildly. I'm kind of thinking that she has a sensitive stomach and it's taken time for her little intestines to get straightened out. BUT.....things are looking up! In the past 2.5 weeks, Kate has done a 180! She's turned into a laid back, happy, go with the flow kind of gal. You just glance her way and she smiles! Swaddle her up, give her the paci and lay her in her bed and she'll go to sleep. She still hates to be rocked, if she needs help going to bed she prefers the bounce, like deep squats bounce(hopefully my booty is getting firmer!) Pretty sure the carpet in front of her crib is showing signs of wear, while her comfy rocking chair looks brand new.

I'm not scared of her anymore and I can calm her down quickly! She's falling into a nice schedule during the day of 2 or 3 naps and eating every 3 hours. When I feed her around 5am, I go into her room, turn on her night light and peer over the crib. Each time I'm greeted by a huge smile as I scoop her up. I mean, who smiles in the middle of the night like that? She loves her playmat, just smiles and laughs at that disco light. There's no more screaming on every car ride and I feel confident going in public again! Days we do have to leave the house during her normal nap time, she either sleeps on the go or just stays awake, but rarely cries! She's a true joy and is bringing so much happiness to this family. I fall more in love with her everyday. I can now say that I am really ENJOYING her! It still makes me feel horrible to think back to (what is likely our last) newborn stage and know I struggled so much, but guess what? That's real life!

I love you Kate!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Celebrate Kate

On October 15th, we had a backyard cookout with friends and family to celebrate Kate! We had a great time. Denny manned the grill and cooked up hamburgers and hot dogs. We had mac and cheese, watermelon(that we forgot to put out!), and baked beans. It was such a fun party. The adults had a good time visiting because all the kids played so well together. We borrowed the roller coaster and the bounce house from 2 different neighbors, plus I set out the bubbles and cozy coupe.

The weather was beautiful in the 70's with beautiful blue sky and lots of sunshine! Kate slept the first half of the party and was up and out the 2nd half. She looked adorable in her green dress!