Lilly Lu

Lilly Luana Fuller
8 pounds 10.8 ounces
21 inches
Wednesday, April 18 @ 8:31am

 The final belly shot, taken circa 5am

 She came out squawking and very pink!

 Quite squishy, if I do say so myself.

 Daddy was immediately smitten, and took excellent care of her for about an hour and a half, before I came back from surgery.

 So happy to not be pregnant anymore!!!!

 Evan was a big fan, and it was so fun to watch the wheels in his head turn as he was trying to take in the hospital room. And he wasn't afraid of me in the bed, all hooked up to a bunch of wires, like I was afraid he would be!

 He kept saying over and over, "She's got teeny tiny ears, nose, eyes, toes, etc." and "she's so cute!" And without any prompting, immediately was giving her hugs and kisses. He still says and does these same things all day long.

 Lilly was so easy going in the hospital. She gave us way more rest than the nurses did, that's for sure.

 Evan brought mommy and sister some flowers, and it was just the perfect touch of pink that we needed :)

 Evan loved to sit in my bed with me and watch a show. He usually managed to be there at meal time, and thankfully, would eat half of my food for me every time.

 Snuggles every day.

He LOVES when her eyes are open, and thinks it's so funny if she looks at him.

 Grandma Susan took beyond excellent care of all us while she was here, and loved being with her grandbabies.

Leaving the hospital, Lilly was less than thrilled. Unlike her brother, who screamed as we put him in his carseat and cried the whole 5 minute drive home, Lilly simply yawned as we buckled her up, and enjoyed the ride in the car.

 Evan was so excited when we came home, and told him we didn't have to be at the hospital anymore. He immediately asked where his baby sister was, then proceeded to take off her headband and attempt to put it on his own head, then dance around the living room :)

 We have received several beautiful flowers, and I have them next to my nursing station, because I love being reminded of how much we are loved. I take flowers over chocolate any day. 

 She was content to be home, and took a long time observing all of her surroundings.

 Evan constantly asks to hold her, and as soon as he does, she gets an immediate kiss.

 I think in pictures she looks so big and chubby, but in real life, she seems a petite little thing!

 Me trying to tell my mom to not get me in the picture she was taking of Lilly. I think she missed.

 Evan and Daddy went to church, and when Evan got home, he came running in asking for baby sister :)

 We all spent a bit of time outside trying to help Lilly's jaundice. Such a big girl with her hands folded on her chest.

 Evan made sure every time he walked past her to give her a little kiss and say Hi.

 Grandma Susan did a superb job of keeping Evan entertained.

 Who needs a yard to play in when you have a sidewalk and a yard full of rocks to shoot at?

 Lilly and Grandma loved their snuggle time. It's a welcome break from all of Evan's energy!

 Proof for my sister that Lilly does not look like a starving alien baby, as her brother did.

 And Evan got a book called I'm a Big Brother.

 She started rolling onto her side in the hospital, and now really prefers to sleep that way.

 The last night my mom was here, I had Lilly wear her special nightgown that was Grandma's from when she was a baby. I used to dress my dolls in this nightgown when I was little. I hope Lilly gets to do the same.

 Grandma Susan gave Evan a going away gift of golf clubs (because for some reason he knows what golf is and talks about it often). It has been the ONLY thing he has wanted to do since she left.

 I found this adorable sight yesterday. She is one lucky girl to have such a thoughtful brother.

I am one lucky mama to have such adorable kids. I'm pretty sure I will keep them both.

A few random thoughts over the last week:

• Lilly looks exactly like Evan did when he was born, except for all of her dark hair. 

• Their stats are the exact same. Although Evan was born at 42 weeks, and Lilly at 39.5. Guess it's a good thing they were cutting me open with her!

• I was much more nervous about surgery this time around, although as soon as I got into the OR, I felt great. I was so confident in the surgical team, which was completely opposite than with Evan's birth. Unfortunately, the main similarity between both stays at the hospital is how disappointed I was in the nursing staff. I just don't think you should make the lady who just had her insides sliced open wait 2 hours for pain meds!! And that's with her having asked for them at least 3 times!

• Jaundice sucks. I don't know what we do that makes our babies have it, but I hate it more than anything. It's not fair to the baby to have their poor little heels pricked every day. It's not fair to the c-section mom to have to go back to the hospital every day. It's not fair to mom to have extra pressure making sure baby is getting enough liquid to help them heal. Sigh. It's just not fair, and there's not much you can do about it. 

• Recovering this time around has been a mixture of easier and harder. I feel that my incision is healing fine, but my back is killing me and I'm constantly hunched over. Plus, I got a plugged up duct yesterday that is almost more miserable than each time I have to get out of bed, which is by far the hardest part of a c-section. I know I'm not getting anywhere near the rest my body needs to recuperate and heal, but it's kind of impossible! Feed the baby for an hour, while trying to keep Evan entertained/from causing mass destruction while posted to a chair. Than you have two hours of sleeping baby, but I feel I have to make up for that hour where I couldn't do anything with Evan, so I keep him happy for those two hours, then it's time to feed baby and the cycle starts over. Of course they never nap at the same time, and I haven't even begun to take care of my household yet! Newsflash: Having more than one child and a major surgery is hard. Crazy, right?!

Oh, and it only took me approximately 6 hours to create this post.

I feel...

anxious, nervous, stressed, excited, uncomfortable, happy, ready, completely unprepared, exhausted...just to name a few off the top of my head.

This is it. Baby girl will be joining our family here on Earth early tomorrow morning. I think Evan has some strange sense that doom is impending in his world; he's been rather naughty the last couple of days. Poor little guy. I think his world is going to be the most shaken up out of all of us. The major part of all of my "uneasiness" is because of him. I hate that I'm going to have to be away from him. I hate that he's not going to understand why I can't pick him up, or come home. Thankfully, so thankfully, Grandma Susan is here right now and there is not a doubt in my mind that he is going to be well and happy with her for the rest of the week.

It's a very odd feeling knowing I'm going to have a baby tomorrow. With Evan, I was induced, but I still didn't really know when he would come, until the emergency c-section was decided and we knew we'd have a baby within 20 minutes. This baby has a countdown to the minute, and we've known for quite some time now. I know exactly when she's going to make her appearance and exactly what I have to go through and feel to have her here. I vividly remember what surgery feels like, and I don't love it. I hate not being in control of my body. And I really hate the whole, not being able to walk, like your a 90 year old woman, thing. On the other hand, I'm thankful that C-sections exist. I don't think I would be able to have babies without them. I've thought this entire pregnancy that she is SO much lower than Evan ever was, and I feel a whole lot more pregnant, if that makes any sense, this time around. Yesterday at my final appointment, I was zero everything, totally closed, and was told baby was "way up there". Doc said my babies are obviously high-riders, and have to go through a lot of work to descend. Which is probably how Evan ended up with the cord wrapped around his neck so many times. My doctor knows what he's doing when it comes to the knife, and I am grateful for that. I trust him there. I am hoping and praying that since baby girl won't have to be doing any work to get out, all will go well tomorrow and she will be healthy and happy. 

Well, the bag is packed, I've had my final meal at my favorite restaurant in town, I cried a little bit as I told Evan good night for the last time for awhile, I've recorded my feelings as much as I think I can, and I'm now a bit numb emotionally as I await for the very long, next several hours to pass.

Next post will most definitely involve a baby girl, hopefully she'll have a name by then!

I have watched and admired this very dedicated mama bird outside of my kitchen window for the last few weeks. I witnessed the first morning the baby birds hatched out of their eggs, I've watched their rapid growth over the course of just one week, and two days ago, I believe the whole family (daddy bird included) flew the coop. It's been kind of a beautiful and inspiring experience. PS-I think having a baby in spring is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

Showered with Love

There are a lot of fabulous people in this world. I believe that the majority of them live right here, surrounding me. A few weekends ago, my fabulous friends threw me and baby girl a shower. I felt spoiled and loved, and it was an all around FABULOUS day.

The girls that threw it went WAY above and beyond, but holy smokes, was it dang cute...

They know me well. The whole thing was decked out in purple, and I absolutely. loved. it.

Even the water had specially made tags! They read "This water has no sugar and spice, but it sure is nice!" And that grape limeade was like crack for this pregnant gal. Wow.

Maybe my favorite part of the night was when I showed up (early, mind you...no guests witnessed this) to find the hostess, my dear friend Becky, trying to open her vents :) She wouldn't let her 9 month pregnant, taller than her by several inches friend, climb on the couch to open them. So I captured the moment instead!

Ridiculously adorable decorations

And the best part was that I got to take everything home to decorate baby girl's room!

Instead of playing shower games, each guest made a bow (or two, or three, etc) for baby girl. I made the chicken wire frame because I wanted something cute to have the bows on, so I wouldn't be digging through a drawer or something. All the bows can be interchangeable to put on headbands, etc. I'm so excited to play hair!!! Let's hope she has some.

Not only was the food DYNAMITE, it was fairly color coordinated and seriously, all of my favorite things.

I may have gained 6 pounds at my next dr appt after this party....

It was honestly better than a birthday! With all of my favorite things.

My dear fabulous friend Christy wore a Bump It specifically for me. It made me ridiculously happy inside. Later, I found out my favorite Megan had posted on facebook earlier that day, that there should be a contest for biggest hair at my shower. I wish I had seen that before the party! I totally could have won. (I came in a pretty darn close second, after Christy and her bump-it, without even knowing there should be a competition!)

I'm ecstatic about the bows! And love that they were all hand made, because no one else will have anything like it! :)

A gift that was so adorable and perfect: my sister has been calling this baby "some-bunny" since we knew the due date, just because she would be born near Easter. And we have a thing for sock monkeys at our house (who doesn't?!), so this was just awesome.

Adorable party favors, and delicious! Homemade carmel corn, another of my faves!! :)

The most perfect part of the night was this incredible gift from all of my friends. The hostesses secretly gathered notes from my mom, my sisters, my best friends from Utah, and all of my wonderful friends here in the Ridge, and put together this book that reads "Your life has touched ours for good!" They each shared things they loved and admired about me, and I tell you what, it's a good thing they wouldn't let me read it at the party, because I cried and cried when I read it at home, and read it and read it again. This book is a very special treasure for me, and I read it nearly daily. Thank you, from every inch of my heart, to all those that contributed to it.

Unfortunately, this little number somehow made it into a gift for baby girl. Thankfully, no one actually spent money on this thing for us, it's a hand me down, but the fact that it even currently resides in my home makes me twitch and cringe a little. I cannot wait to get rid of it, pass it along. Anyone know of any baby cougars coming along, ASAP?!

Have I mentioned lately how much I downright love the dearly, fabulous women in my life?