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.