Lizzie is 3 months old!

It is just impossible to believe that my Lizzie girl is already 3 months old!  It really does go faster the 2nd time around.  Which is unfortunate, because now I feel like I know what I'm doing and I want it to go slower!  Elizabeth Michelle is absolutely a ray of sunshine!  She gives smiles away for free all day long.  She has only really giggled a few times, but that smiles shines throughout the day.  She loves the song, "You are my sunshine" and that is what she truly is.  

 Weight - ???
Height - over 25 inches!

We don't go back to the doctor until 4 months, so I don't have exact measurements.  Here are some things about Lizzie at 4 months:

- smiles all the time
- thinks her big sister is very funny.  She watches her all day long and gives her big smiles.
- nurses about every 2 1/2 - 3 hours during the day
- she started getting her hands out of her swaddle and was waking herself up.  We started double swaddling her and she was sleeping incredibly well at night.  Unfortunately, this last week has not been great with a growth spurt and a little summer cold
- takes 3 or 4 naps a day and usually goes to bed around 7:45
- still doesn't like tummy time
- rolls onto her left side from her back and spends a lot of time hanging out on her side.  She has gotten all the way over a few times, but her arms get trapped and we have to help her.
- isn't fond of cold pool water, but also really doesn't like the bright sunshine and heat
- favorite toys: linking rings, O ball with rattles, taggies blanket to chew on, and her playmat
- but overall her favorite thing to do is sit in  your lap (especially Daddy's) and chew on her hands
- she is holding her head up and can put her weight on her legs while standing
- She is a talker!  She loves to coo at her mommy and daddy.

Elizabeth is a very content and happy baby.  She loves to just sit in your lap or lay on her back and take it all in.  She rarely cries unless she is tired or hungry.  We just cannot get enough of her!

Lizzie at 2 months

My Lizzie girl is already 2 months old!  Because she is my 2nd and it isn't as overwhelming this time, I don't want her to grow up too fast.  I know that she is still little, but she seems to big to me already.  We are really enjoying every day with her.  We have fallen into a pretty good routine at home and for the most part, she is a really happy baby.  Charlotte just loves her so much.  I love watching them interact, which mostly consists of Charlotte trying to figure out how to get Elizabeth to smile.  Here are her 2-month stats:

height: 23 inches (72%)
weight: 11 lb. (42 %)
head 15.35 in. (70 %)

This is the first time I've had a kid with a weight under the 50%.  Crazy!  However, she is nice and long.  Here are some things about Lizzie at 2 months:
 - smiles at us often.  Mommy's voice makes her smile the most.  Yay!  However, she also loves to smile when you smile at her, make funny noises, laugh, and sometimes when you show her stuffed animals.
- isn't laughing yet, but makes very happy cooing sounds
- loves to lay on her back and wiggle - both on a blanket or on her play math
- she is kicking her legs constantly
- doesn't like to lay on her stomach (can't stand tummy time)
- sucks on her hand a the time
- grabs hold of objects
- she is very drooly
- doesn't like riding in the car
- loves when you sing to her (if she is not too tired).  Her favorites seem to be blue skies and rainbows, ABC song, Twinkle twinkle little star, and you are my sunshine
- eats about every 2 hours during this day (she is nursing)
- takes 1 bottle a day, but doesn't like it.  We usually have to stand up and walk around while she is eating her bottle
- is wearing 0-3 month clothes and 3-6 month clothes.  The clothes she has grown out of have been because of her length
- usually has her last feeding around 7:45 and then sleeps 7-8 hours before she wakes up to eat again.  So, usually she only eats once during the night and we start our day around 7:00 or 7:30
- a typical nap is 45 minutes, but sometimes she surprises us by sleeping longer
- she is still swaddled, but usually gets her legs out fairly quickly.  She likes to sleep with her knees sticking up.
- we are working on letting her put herself to sleep, which she can do about 50% of the time

Charlotte's favorites at age 3

I came across this great idea a few months back about interviewing your kids with the same questions every year on their birthday to see how they change over time.  Unfortunately, I am a little behind on the birthday deadline, but I still had a great time sitting down with Charlotte and listening to her answers.  I love that girl so much!


What is your favorite color? pink
What is your favorite toy? bouncy ball
What is your favorite TV show? Busytown Mysteries
What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? macaroni and cheese
What is your favorite outfit? underpants
What is your favorite game? cherry game (Hi Ho Cherry-o)
What is your favorite snack? goldfish and raisins
What is your favorite animal? Pooh bear
What is your favorite song? blue skies and rainbows
What is your favorite book? Little Dragon (pop up book)
Who is your best friend? Jake, Mallory, and Beau
What is your favorite fruit? grapes
What is your favorite cereal? stars and marshmallows (Lucky Charms)
What is your favorite thing to do outside? play on my bicycle
What is your favorite drink? lemonade
What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Bun-bun (pink bunny lovey)
What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? donuts
What is something that makes you happy? doing a funny face
What do you want to be when you grow up? a princess

Charlotte's Birthday Party

At the beginning of the month, Charlotte turned 3!  I can't believe it!  Knowing that her little sister would only be 3 weeks old at the time, I went for something simple for her party.  Charlotte says every day that her favorite color is pink, so we went with a pinkalicious theme.  A few weeks before her party, I bought her the Pinkalicious book and started reading it to her, so she would be familiar with the story.  We also opted to have it at a local park so that we would not have to worry about the state of our house!  Unfortunately, it was an extremely windy day.  Thanks to the quick engineering skills of Mark and his parents, they were able to put up a canopy and tarp that blocked most of the wind from the food table, presents, and picnic table. Charlotte had a great time playing with her friends, and that is what its all about!

Even Daddy wore pink for the occasion!

 Swinging with Papaw

 The very pink food selection

 My brother help a sleeping Elizabeth the whole time, which was wonderful for me because I could focus on the birthday girl

 Later at the house, we gave Charlotte her big gift from us, which was a new bike with training wheels.  It only took her a few days to get the hang of it, and now she can zoom down the sidewalk.  She is growing up so quick and we are enjoying watching her grow!

Lizzie at 1 month

Elizabeth turned one month old this week.  It is hard to believe time has flown that quickly, and yet it is hard to believe that she hasn't always been here with us.  She has fit so seamlessly into our family and I couldn't imagine not having her here.  We have been asked a lot what we are calling her and the answer is both Elizabeth and Lizzie.  We call her both names throughout the day.  She has been a very good, and fairly easy baby thus far.  Here are some things about Elizabeth at one month:

- wears 0-3 month clothes

- size 1 diapers

- likes to lay on her back on a blanket and wiggle, but cannot stand tummy time

- mostly likes to be held upright on your chest if she is going to sleep on you

- sleeps in her own bed for nighttime and most naps

- actually sleeps in her bouncy seat in her bed, but we hope to transition out of this soon

- goes to bed around 8:30 and will sleep anywhere from 6-8 hours, then eats, and usually sleeps until morning time, waking up around 7 or 8

- has the cutest little sad pouty face

- loves to snuggle up to my neck

- sleeps swaddled with her "miracle blanket"

- does not like the car seat; she will usually cry in it until she finally goes to sleep

- is a great shopper because she is worn out from crying in the car - so by the time we get to the store, she sleeps in her car seat the whole time I shop

- nurses every 2-3 hours; this girl really likes to eat!

- takes one bottle a day of 2-3 oz.

Charlotte has transitioned pretty well into being a big sisters.  Weeks 2 and 3 were the hardest with a lot of tantrums.  The fits she throws now seem to be just normal 3-year-old fits.  She loves Lizzie very much.  She loves to hug on her all day long.  She is also great about singing to her when she is fussy.  She usually sings Jesus Loves the Little Children or Blue Skies and Rainbows.  

We feel so blessed to have a two sweet girls.  It will be so much to watch Elizabeth grow throughout her first year and to see how her relationship with her big sister will change and develop.

Her Story

I was set to be induced on March 13, 2013.  The day before, I got a call from my doctor’s office telling me that it would have to be pushed back to Friday, March 15.  I was sad and disappointed because I desperately wanted to meet my little Elizabeth.  However, since it was Spring Break, Mark and Charlotte were home with me, so we tried to take advantage of a few extra days together as just a family of three.  I guess it was mother’s intuition, but I had this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that even though I was rescheduled for March 15, if I had to wait to be induced, they would reschedule again.  So, I prayed and prayed for God to help me to go into natural labor.  Plus, I had being feeling a little guilty about the decision to induce because I had told myself that this time around I wanted to experience going into labor at home.  Well, God delivered!  On Thursday, March 14 Mark and I crawled into bed about 10:30 pm.  Within 15 minutes I had a contraction.  That was not completely alarming because I had been experiencing sporadic contractions at night time all week long.  I lay in bed for another 45 minutes and had about 3 more contractions.  I knew at that time that I wasn’t going to sleep and didn’t want to keep Mark awake.  So, I moved to the couch and turned on the TV to wait it out.  I wanted to see if the contractions would stop, like they had the previous few nights, or if this was the real deal.  I started timing the contractions to see their spacing and they were coming about 15 minutes apart.  Around 1:00 I realized I had gone about 40 minutes without a contraction, so I turned off the TV and settled in to sleep.  Right then, I had the most intense, longest contraction I had experienced to that point.  I think it was the moment that I realized this was going to happen today.  I started timing my contractions again and they were still about 10-12 minutes apart.  I knew that it was too early call the doctor, so on went the TV and for the next few hours I labored on the couch.  Somewhere around 2:00 Mark woke up and realized I wasn’t in bed.  When he learned I was having regular contractions, he couldn’t go back to sleep either.  By about 4:30 am my contractions were regularly 8-10 minutes apart and I decided it was time to call the doctor.  We were told to head to the hospital.  So, we called Mark’s mom to come over since Charlotte was in bed sleeping and we packed the few last things we needed in our bags.  We headed to the hospital around 5:00 am.  It is about a 20 minute drive and the whole way there I didn’t have a contraction.  I started to worry that my labor had stopped.  I did, however, have a contraction in the hospital parking lot.  When we arrived at labor and delivery, they asked if I happened to be on the list of inductions for the day.  I told them I had and they said they were happy I went into labor on my own because they were pausing all inductions.  Out of their 22 L&D rooms, there were only two left!  They were very busy that day!  We ended up in L&D room 1 at about 5:30.  My nurse, Melissa, got me all set and hooked up to monitors.  For about 30 more minutes I still didn’t have any contractions.  I once again worried that my labor had stopped.  When the nurse finally checked me, I was 5 cm dilated.  She told me I was definitely not going home and I would be having my baby today!  After that, the contractions really started again in earnest.  They were intense and coming about 3-5 minutes apart.  By the time I was administered my much desired epidural around 7:30, I could not have been more ready!  After they put in the epidural, they told me to lay on my back to let gravity work with the medicine.  Not a good idea!  My blood pressure immediately dropped to about 40/60 and I became very light headed and nauseous.  For the remainder of my labor, I had to lie on one side or the either.  Elizabeth seemed to tolerate my right side better, so I spent most of the day in that position.  By this point my nurse had switched to a lady named Caroline, and she was amazing!  Dr. Hartley came to check on me around 10:00 and I was dilated to 8 cm.  She said she hoped I would have the baby within the next hour.  When she came to check again an hour later, I was still an 8 and that is when the waiting started.  Hour after hour, I continued to have very regular contractions, but no progress was showing.  Around 2:00 I was at 9 cm, but was very disheartened because I was just ready to have this baby!  The nurse kept telling me to let her know if I felt pressure.  In an effort to feel pressure, I let my epidural wear off a little.  However, that didn’t help because I still wasn’t progressing.  The nurse checked me again around 3:15 and said they would be back in 30 minutes.  Around 4:00, Dr. Hartley walked in with my nurse, and I knew that meant business.  Before she even checked, Dr. Hartley said we were going to get this baby out!  Well, what do you know?  When she went to check me, Elizabeth had moved down into position and the doctor was literally touching her head.  Everything went into fast motion after that.  Two NICU nurses were called because there had been a little meconium when my water was broken and we were ready to go.  On my first push, I realized I had let my epidural wear off too much and I was feeling the pain of delivery.  Talk about motivation to push with all your might to get it over with!  Luckily, Lizzie came out in only 3 contractions!  I think I started pushing around 4:10 and she was born at 4:17 pm!  What an amazing sight to see your child for the first time, followed by the terror of a mother when you are waiting to hear that first cry.  Because of the meconium, they immediately took her across the room to suction out her mouth.  It was probably only seconds, but it felt like forever before I heard that first cry. When I finally did, I was overcome with tears of joy.  My baby Elizabeth had been born!  About 5 minutes later they laid that sweet girl on my chest.  It was instant love.  I did not want to let her go.  I got to hold her for a good long while and then I let her Daddy have his turn.   When they weighed her and told me she was 8 lbs. 11 oz., I couldn’t believe that I had ever been able to hold her inside of me!  Lizzie was 20 ½ inches long.  My absolute bundle of joy.  The name Elizabeth means “gift from God” and she truly is.

She's here!

Introducing Elizabeth Michelle Fowler

Born: March 15 at 4:17 pm

Weight: 8 lbs. 11 oz.

Length: 20 1/2 inches

We are so excited to welcome the 4th member of our family!  She was born on a beautiful Friday afternoon. We could not be filled with more happiness and love now that she is in our lives.

Just minutes after she was born, I got to hold her for the first time.

 Then her daddy got his turn.  I love how she is looking right at him in this picture.

 About an hour later, big sister got to meet Lizzie for the first time.  Charlotte has been anticipating this event for oh so long.  She was overjoyed to meet and hold her "baby Elizabeth".

 The next day we got to have more snuggle time.

 And we were blessed with wonderful visitors.

Our friend, Alli (and her son Beau)

 Mark's dad, Poppy

 My sister

 And so many more that I didn't get pictures of.  My parents, brother, and Mark's mom were there to help us celebrate!

Of course, our favorite visitor each day was big sister!

We got to go home on St. Patrick's day, so we had to dress for the occasion.   March 17 was Elizabeth's due date, so that day will always stay special to us.

Shower for Baby Girl!

At the beginning of February, we were to blessed to attend a baby shower in Elizabeth's honor.  I had some truly wonderful and dear friends from church host the shower for us.  The decorations were adorable, the gifts were wonderful, but the friends and family were the best thing of all!

Here is my sweet group of hostesses.  I love these girls!

 

Mark's aunt, cousin, and grandma were so sweet to come.

 My mom and my sweet niece, Aaris, were also able to attend.

 We received so many cute girly things.  Baby girl accessories are the best!!!

 My Aunt Barbara made this adorable blanket for Lizzie.  I cannot wait for her to snuggle up with it!