Another day, another day recovering from another surgery....

I figure if I want to maintain any sort of readership and followers, I should probably find time to write a few lines now and then even during this crazy time. Why crazy? Well, last week I had my gallbladder removed, which although a laparoscopic procedure was more painful to recover from than I anticipated. That on top of recovering from Amelie's c-section and keeping up with two babies and my household, on top of the nightly wake-ups to feed my very hungry baby...well, lets just say there aren't many minutes in the day that aren't accounted for ahead of time. And did I mention the pain factor? Who knew a 5mm trocar port in the belly could be such a bear?! Then again, I suppose getting stabbed would be painful, and that's about what happened!

Today I woke up with that feeling...I didn't feel good, again. My tummy was bad. Shit. Did I just have an organ removed and still haven't fixed the problem? Is this going to be ongoing? So thankfully, my nanny came early today and was able to stay late, and from the time I woke up until Alia's morning nap, I was basically on the couch. Now here's where I admit something to the universe that will make it real. What was Alia doing for that two and a half hours? She was running back and forth from the library to the kitchen getting one grape at a time, rolling on the sheep skin rug, rearranging her furniture (she got two kid-sized polka dotted chairs from Pottery Barn for Christmas and she loves moving them around, which is funny because I love to rearrange furniture too. Oh, and Alia didn't get two chairs...she got one chair and Amelie got one chair, but Alia believes she got two chairs since Amelie isn't using hers yet). Anyway, Alia was doing her normal running about like a monkey while watching Baby Signing Time. That's right. I caved. Although all research points to not allowing television of any kind before the age of two, I caved this month. Alia is 17 months old, and I now let her learn sign language from the TV. Yes, I've blogged about this before, I think (but who can remember for sure since I've basically been on pain pills since Amelie arrived!). But anyway, today was Alia's dream come true. Mommy didn't cut her off. She got to watch and watch and watch. But here's my justification. One, there was no choice because I didn't have the physical capability to keep up with her, and two, with all that running back and forth and hither and dither, I figure she actually only watched about 6 minutes. Or that's what I tell myself anyway.

So that's where I'm at. Still not quite cured of my stomach woes. Still not sleeping at night for more than two hours at a time. Still thankful for having the support I have from Ajay, my neighbors, and my nanny. Still absolutely loving being a Mommy. Oh, and that brings me to the sweetest moment of the day, perhaps week....perhaps month? While I was on the couch with blankets up to my chin, eyes half closed,  Alia would come to me from time to time, and place her tiny little hand ever so softly on my cheek. And other times? She would give me kisses. Right on the mouth. Wet ones...just the way Mommy loves them.

And yes, I realize Amelie was somewhat absent in this blog...she's basically growing like crazy and very sweet. But today while all this was going on? She was sleeping. Because that's what she does during the day. How else could she get up all those times at night?

Alia is 17 Months old

This month has been a busy one. Getting through Thanksgiving and entering into the Christmas season all while entertaining and caring for two babies (while having gallstone attacks) has been crazy at times. But Alia? She just keeps on impressing us.

In this past month, Alia's Grandmother left us after being here for nearly 2 months. Alia's Aunt Chris also came for a visit, as well as Grandpa Mike. With all the coming and going, we realized that Alia is very well adjusted, but needs to know all the information. No more sneaking out the front door so she doesn't notice one of us has left. Yes, in the short term, it may upset her a bit when Daddy has to go somewhere, but after all her relatives came and went, she seemed to feel insecure, as if she felt one of us might sneak off and not come back.

This month I finally gave in and allowed Alia a little bit of television. I had hoped to keep it out of her life until she was two, but I decided watching Baby Signing Time was a good idea, since much of Alia's frustration is derived from her inability to express herself. So this month we turned on the TV, popped in a video, and now Alia signs away with the best of them. She can sign milk, juice, cracker, hat, shoes, socks, dog, cat, sleep, and baby, off the top of my head. And while she sometimes becomes relentless about watching Baby Signing Time, let's face it, the 5 minutes that the program has her attention allows me to pee from time to time.

Alia is still a pretty good eater. This month she found that she loves kiwis. She also loves string cheese and will do anything for orange juice.

Alia's favorite person in the world is her Daddy. She is very possessive of him and does not like when he holds Amelie. On the one hand, I want her to understand that Amelie is a part of our family and that Daddy will hold her from time to time, and on the other hand, she's still not even 1 1/2 years old, and her frustration is totally predictable. If anyone has any insight into integrating a new baby with an existing baby, I'm all ears!

Alia now wears shoes proudly since she is easily excited about them...all we have to do is sign "shoes" and ask if she wants to wear them and she responds with ooooooooh yeah! which is one of her new adorable expressions. Alia also loves her winter coat, and even napped in it one day because I just couldn't convince her to part with it.

Alia has enjoyed touring various libraries this month and loves to see other little people. She is sweet natured and is happy to share whatever she has with others.

All in all, it's been a fast and busy month. Some days we just scrape by and others are quite charmed. Now if I can just get through this gall bladder surgery tomorrow, we'll be in business!

Wow....!

Well, since I have two girls that are currently awake, contained and not crying, I thought I'd say hello to the cyber world. Amelie is in her bassinet next to me making little baby noises and looking at the ceiling, and Alia is in her crib, easing into the day with her favorite stuffed animals. Good thing I type fast!

So what's new here? Well, what's new with me is my gall bladder has to be yanked out next week. That's right, I'm now at the age that I have conversations about my gall bladder. I thought these were conversations for my Mom, but here I am, a Mom myself, have gall stone attacks at the most inopportune time. If you know anyone who has had this problem, they'll tell you it is among the most painful things you can suffer acutely. So, next Tuesday, it's comin' out. Yeah for me, another surgery! I joke that I wish our hospital had a frequent flier program, since in the last six weeks I've given birth there, had an upper GI endoscopy, and now another surgery planned. And all this fun stuff is going on while I'm raising two babies!

Speaking of babies, Amelie had her six week checkup yesterday. I've been a little concerned for a couple of reasons, and of course, it was just me over-thinking everything. Babies cry, some more than others, and Amelie is in the camp of "We love to cry!". But it's normal. My doc says that some babies just take awhile to learn to soothe themselves.

So in a nutshell, we're keeping our heads above water. I'm getting an hour or two of sleep in a row at night. Amelie isn't the best sleeper, in case you didn't catch that. I'm tired a lot. There aren't enough hours in the day. But we'll get through it, and seriously, isn't it worth it?

Amelie goes to the mall

Yep, it's official...Amelie's first outing, outside the pediatrician, that is, was a trip to the mall this past week. We took her to Fashion Island. She rode around in the Ergo Baby the whole time, sleeping, while Alia got a new pair of shoes and rode the carousel. Oh! And did I mention? Alia's ride on the carousel on the big moving horse! Up until now, Alia has been a bench-only carousel rider...but that's my big girl for you!

Amelie is 1 month old!

As a true reflection of our lives, here I sit trying to finish up this blog that I started several weeks ago...

Is it possible that a month has already gone by? As I reflect on this past month, a lot of things come to mind. First of all, I'm tired! Having a newborn baby and a 16 month old is insane. Although I try not to compare Alia and Amelie because they are their own individual self. I can however compare this time around to last time around.

First, I've learned the importance of convenience items and getting help. With one little one running around like a crazy person just looking for things to hurt herself with, and another teeny tiny one whose needs are critical and sudden, I've totally justified using the premixed/pre-measured formula nursers (mainly at night)...last time? I thought the price to need/payoff was way out of whack. This time around? I am just glad that the convenience item is readily available and I couldn't tell you the price difference because whatever it is, it's worth it due to necessity. I have also learned that if some one offers to help you, it's okay to let them. With Alia, although I had the same family members present, I still tried to manage on my own as much as possible. Now, if you come to my house, you're handed a baby, a broom, a chewed up banana...whatever. You will be put to work.

Amelie has transitioned from a teeny tiny newborn that sleeps and cuddles nonstop to a bigger newborn that loves her quiet alert time kicking her legs to exhaustion. She has developed a little inquisitive look whenever I approach, I swear as if to say "Mommy, is that you?". Amelie is somewhat skeptical of her big sister, but all the same regards her with an inquisitive look.

Amelie has rounded out nicely...her cheeks are full, her tummy is round, and her little tiny spider legs are gaining some bulk, too. No surprise since she eats 4 ounces every 3 hours! At first the amount she wanted to eat was a little alarming to me, but then I recalled her sister being the exact same way, and Ajay reminded me that our girls grow tall...always greater than the 95th percentile on the charts.

So although I could go on for days, the truth is I just don't have the time. Having Amelie has of course changed everything, including how often I can sit down and write about her and her sister. But I wouldn't have it any other way....I'm just so tired!!!