Introducing: The Givens Quad Squad!

Harper's first weeks at home and getting used to life with the four of us has been quite the whirlwind! Sleeplessness aside, we've been doing pretty great and Hailey has been thrilled with her promotion to big sister! Sure, I could use a few extra hours weeks of sleep, but I really can't complain with the cuteness overload that's currently going on in our home.

Typical... Everyone's asleep but me... And yes, Hailey is sleeping holding a balloon

Proud Papa

Morning snuggles!

All bundled up after Harper's first bath at home!

Sleep... Harper's actually doing pretty well all things considered. She's up 1-2 times per night to feed, which isn't generally terrible, until she fights falling back to sleep and once she does, her 2 year old sister wakes up with a nightmare and needs to be comforted. That's when zombie mommy kicks in... Fortunately those nights are rare, even though they seem to last FOREVER in the moment.

On the plus side, Harper is eating well! Maybe a little too well.... I'm generally nursing her every 2-3 hours during the day, and every 1-2 hours in the evenings during her nightly bewitching. It's a glamorous life of nursing, burping, spit up and the million diapers in between. Fortunately there are plenty of snuggles too, which somehow makes up for all the gross, exhausting parts ;-) I have nothing but respect for stay at home moms, because honestly this is the hardest work I've ever had to do in my life. Don't get me wrong, I am beyond grateful that I get to have these 3 months off of work to be with Harper and Hailey, but whoa. Keeping those girls fed, clean and generally alive while attempting to get our house relatively clean, launder our spit/poop covered clothes and have food in our kitchen is no joke.

Too cute not to snap a picture of!

I could stare into those baby blues all day

Dreaming of her future modeling career

Venturing out solo with my girls for the first time! Jamba juice for the win! 

Sisters!

Post-bath sass. And Hair fro.

Harper's hair stands STRAIGHT up after a bath, defying gravity and conservatives alike. No, we do not style it that way... something I'm frequently being asked about. I mean, WHO has time to style a newborn's hair?!!? I consider it a successful day if I can get my own teeth brushed.

I DID however attempt to headband that glorious fro... 

Get this dumb thing off my head! 

We'll try again after your next developmental leap. I'm no pediatrician but think one of those major milestones is "First Happy Hair Accessory". Hailey of course skipped that one and went straight to the "Messy Hair Don't Care" phase. I pretty much fail as a mother of girls when it comes to the hair game.

Curls and spikes... and everything nice. That's what my girls are made of.

Fun fact: you can see Harper's heartbeat through the spikes in her hair...

Harper's nursery is getting a little more decorated, but we're in no rush as she's still in a portable crib next to our bed (we did the same with Hailey until she was about 10 weeks old) and I'm in no hurry to be tracking down the hall for for Harper's 3am feedings.

Nursery decorating! It's a start...

One month in and Harper has yet to get into the whole pacifier life... which is foreign territory for us because Hailey has been in love with her pacifiers since 10 days old when that glorious thing stopped her crying. Hailey still religiously uses her paci's to sleep (yes, we're working on that) so it'll be interesting to see if her sister doesn't end up using one.

Look mom! Baby Pacis! 

Just us girls!

 And just to show that we haven't completely forgotten our first born...

We're in trouble if both girls have this much energy...

Fun in the yard!

Still trying out this whole bike thing

My little gazer

Sup!

Roar! 

Hand me down onesie from Hailey!

I don't think the matching shirts will EVER get old to me

Hailey has BLOWN OUR MINDS with what a great big sister she is. From day one, she's been infatuated with Harper, or as Hailey calls her "Hopter". Hailey loves cooing at her sister, helping mommy grab wipes, burp clothes, or whatever is out of reach as I'm nursing and singing to her when she's crying. I was stoked that Hailey would have a sister, but I had no idea how beautiful it would be to watch her become so adoring and protective so instinctually from the start.

Sister Love

Yep, I'd say life is good, God is great and though we've got our hands full, we've never had so much to be grateful for.

But let's go ahead and end this post like this...

THIS IS WHY WE DON'T HAVE NICE THINGS!

It's A GIRL! Harper Jo Has Arrived!

Well after much anticipation, SHE finally graced us with her appearance! Harper Jo Givens was born!

Harper's original due date was January 21st, which we bumped up a few days to January 17th once her measurements started coming in, so when the 17th came and went, I was  convinced this child was never leaving my belly. BUT in the same fashion as her sister, Harper Jo arrived exactly on time on the 21st... two due date babies! Joe had even given me the request to go into labor that day, as it would fit in nicely with his work schedule... what can I say, I aim to please?

Warning: The upcoming labor story is not for the weak of stomach, so continue reading at your own risk...

Wednesday night (the 20th) we went to sleep, and at 10:30pm just as I started to settle into the giant crater my belly and I were carving into the mattress, my water broke. Just to be sure I hadn't peed myself, I got up and walked to the bathroom and sure enough, water was broken! I woke up Joe to let him know his request for labor was accepted... he began to freak out, in true dad-fashion. My mom was called to come over and watch Hailey as we packed up for the Hospital.

Oh yeah, the hospital... Due to a new job and new insurance, this was my first time delivering at Kaiser, but I was fully confident that things would go smoothly because they JUST finished building a brand new hospital one year ago, only a couple miles away! WOO HOO!! So when Joe called to let them know to water-proof the red carpet they were about to roll out for us, we were hit with a giant curve ball... They were FULL. We could not come to the new hospital where I was prepared to deliver. Instead, we were told to drive 30+ miles away to San Francisco, in the middle of the night, to deliver there. WHAT?!?!?!?! Imagine a gigantic, hormonal, leaking pregnant lady being told to divert her plans... I was a mess. Fortunately, Joe and my mom calmed me down and got us packed up for our slightly-re-routed journey.

Once we pulled up to the emergency entrance at Kaiser San Francisco, I was wheeled into labor & delivery and hooked up to all the right monitors and IV's. Things were getting REAL. At first (as with Hailey) I didn't feel any contractions, but I knew they were not far away... A couple hours later they were there... in all their intense glory. Rocking out to Hall & Oates on our jambox in the delivery room, Joe slow danced with me, rubbed my back, and let me crush his hands through every miserable contraction. By about 4am I was 4cm dilated. Not bad, and much better progress than with Hailey so I was feeling optimistic that I might be able to do this epidural-free... Fast forward 4 uterus-wrenching hours later to 8am when I was checked again and I was at... 4 centimeters. WHAAAAAAT!!?! Plan B... flirt my way into the Anesthesiologist's heart for the best Epidural he had ever injected. After explaining that it took 10 hours to get the epidural adjusted for Hailey's delivery, they were able to administer and adjust my epidural this time in only one hour. As we were informed, my spine is likely curved just enough that my right hip doesn't go numb with a normal epidural. But as it turns out, you can numb anything with nerves and I ended up with a VERY strong epidural, sending me into la-la labor land. A healthy dose of Pitocin put me on track to (now pain-free) active labor.

HEYYYYYY Epidural Man!

Oh, I get to push a button for more pain relief? pushpushpushpushpushpush

From 10am to about 3pm I was singing along to more tunes and making small talk with my lovely nurses. The doctors and nurses were all very friendly and helpful women (4 of which were pregnant!) - my infamous Anesthesiologist was the only male I saw! I was in good hands. Joe was looking a little under-nourished so I sent him across the street to Target to get some snacks and such. Bad timing on my part, because while he was there I was checked and the doctor said I was 10 cm and we could start pushing once they got set up. I called Joe and gave him the news that he'd have to leave the dollar section and get back fast so he could help catch this baby. I'd say that rattled him a bit and he ran back in a hurry.

So here we were, doctors and nurses set up and me ready to push. We even had a pediatrician on hand because there was meconium in the amniotic fluid, so baby would have to get checked for that being cleared out of his/her mouth and lungs and such. Funny story about pushing... thank goodness for stirrups because I had NO feeling in my legs. That super strong epidural was in full effect and I didn't feel a thing. The doctor had to tell me when a contraction was happening which was when I could push. About 20 minutes of pushing like that and baby was coming out!!! AHHH!!! Well, sort of...

I was told later that the baby's cord was wrapped twice around her neck and then, a shoulder got caught so baby was stuck... not a good combination. There was some urgency to get the situation remedied, so the doctor had me push no matter what... even when my body wasn't contracting because baby needed to get out and that cord needed to come off. Fortunately the pushing worked (and even more fortunately my epidural kept me unaware of all that was physically going on! yowzahs) Baby was out and Joe got to announce.... IT's A... GIRL!?!? A healthy... BIG... GIRL!

Back story to this - during our 20 week ultrasound, we told the tech that we didn't want to know the gender, but the tech never said to look away... so I looked. And I was 80% sure that I saw... something down there! Then I proceeded to google-image search boy versus girl ultrasounds and I was fairly certain that I saw boy bits... So even though my certainty faded with each week, Joe and I were thinking we had a boy cooking this whole time. So SURPRISE! GIRL!!!! What can I say, I'm not an ultrasound tech. sheesh.

Harper Jo Givens made her way into this world at 3:56pm on Thursday, January 21st, 21" long and weighing in at a whopping 10lbs 3.8oz. That's right, I just delivered a baby larger than the size bowling ball I'm comfortable holding. The nurses were all very impressed, especially after the doctor made prediction of a 9 lb baby only hours earlier. And to all the epidural haters out there.... don't talk to me until you're 10+ lb baby gets their shoulder stuck on the way out...

Harper's First Pic!

Mommy, Daddy & Harper - Just missing Big Sis!

10 lbs 3.8 ounces

Our big BEAUTIFUL baby girl has a full head of hair that sticks straight up, cheeks for weeks, and very chill demeanor. We are SOOOO blessed.

Rocking the hearing test in the hospital. She slept through the whole thing.

Rock Star Hair

Heading home to meet big sister! So Long San Francisco!

And THAT is how Harper Jo Givens made her beautiful way into our lives... Our hearts could not be fuller.

Before We Are Four!

The realization that we are going to become a family of four ANY day now is finally settling in... wowzahs! Now, I'd be lying if I said this concept isn't slightly terrifying. It's been just the three of us for so long, and Hailey has been our world that adding a baby brother or sister to her life somehow seems so unreal to me. But let's face it, despite the rivalry and bickering that these two will inevitable encounter... Hailey's going to completely rock this big sister thing. Plus we've been openly stealing her toys from her to get her used to the idea (kidding!)

SO in our last few days as a family of three, here's a snapshot (or a lot of them) of what we've been up to.

El Nino has hit full force, so we've been scrambling to find some indoor entertainment. So why not take Hailey to see her first movie in the movie theater? And yes, I ate my words as a mom who frowns upon tiny kids in the theater, but to be fair we went into it knowing we'd leave the second she started being loud or antsy - which could mean a very expensive 5 minutes of previews.

Hailey & Dad at the Movies!

Conveniently Hailey's new obsession in life is popcorn so once we let her loose on the bag, she was pretty content.

Oh hey mom, I'll share this ONE kernel with you. Savor it!

The rest of this bag is MINE!!!

We made it through an hour of The Good Dinosaur before hailey finally piped up and said "All done! We go bye-bye!" so we left. I'd give that a solid thumbs up experience for her first time. We'll probably wait for a while before we get her back into the theater, but it was a fun last hurrah celebrating her final days as an only child.

Other than that, we've done a lot of lounging at home.. which looks a little something like this...

Bum Life.

Now that we've moved and she's adjusted to her to the new twin bed Hailey's been a pretty great sleeper. She still has yet to leave her room on her own after bedtime (she did this once to sneak into the baby's room and grab a book to read and sneak back to bed as we spied on her with the baby cams) and calls for us in the morning when she wakes up (7ish) without leaving bed. Our new trick is to use the baby cam microphone to then tell her she can get up and come downstairs. It's insanely wonderful.

When we get bored at home, we break out the wheels and stroll down the street.

Hailey's still warming up to the two wheeler

Hailey prefers the trike while Dad rides her bike. Perfect fit!

 Hailey's latest requested locale is the downtown library. She LOVES it there, especially the computers, where she smacks the keyboard, puts on headphones and gets in her zone. She's always telling us "I work at library!"

"Working" with Dad at the Library

Back to some sibling snuggles!

Cheese!

Soft Serve Monster!

And now, for some obligatory bath time photos... now that she no longer fears the tub.

Eating the bubbles. She loves making me squawk at her to stop drinking the water.

Pure Joy

Silly faces with mom!

We love having friends over, so we've been getting lots of playtime with them.

Playtime with Nicholas & Ethan

Hailey, Brewer, Alex & Nicholas loungin'

Grown up couch potatoes :)

Kendall, Hailey & Charlie. Friends that bathe together... stay together. Until they're older and it's just weird.

FYI I love how Hailey just looks like the middle sibling between Kendall and Charlie in this bath pic :)

Hailey & her beloved piggy bank. Cheese!!!

Not a bad way to end her days as an only-child and as much as I worry about her adjusting to life with the new baby, I am overjoyed with the thought that these two are going to have each other for life.

Now hurry up and make an appearance Baby G2! We're all ready for you!!!!

Baby G2 Belly - 40 Weeks!

How far along? 40 Weeks!!!! I'm done now right?

Baby size?  Doctor estimates somewhere in the 8 lb range... but if this kid takes after Hailey, I'd be shocked at anything less than 9 lbs. Hailey was 8 lbs, 14.2 oz.

What's going on with the baby? Baby sure likes it in there cause we haven't been graced with his/her presence yet! 

Maternity clothes? Nothing Fits. At least comfortably. Every item of clothing has something about it that's uncomfortable. Also, FYI... don't wear flannel PJ's to bed when you've got flannel sheets. Unless you enjoy tourturing yourself evertyime you need to turn over. It's like you're velcro-ed into place! This holds true for non-preggos as well, but personally flannel has become my new worst enemy at night.

Stretch marks? Just around my belly button. Maybe I'l just get a cover-up tattoo that turns my belly button into a sun? Cute. Bleh.

Sleep: Sleep is stupid. And completely foreign to me. 

Best moments this week: Ummm how about hitting 40 weeks?!?!?! WOOO HOOO!!!! Made it! Now if only this kiddo would show up...

Craziest dream this week: Started having nightmares, unfortunately. I think now that baby is ready, I'm getting anxiety playing the waiting game.

Miss anything? Bending over, picking up anything lower than my hips, walking pain-free, sleeping... I hate to say it, but I think I've hit my limit with this whole body-sharing business.  LOVE being pregnant, but it's getting a little much.

Movement: Yep, but there's just not a whole lot of room in there any more, so it's more like shifting every often. If I'm this crammed and uncomfortable, I can't imagine this baby's swimming in luxury.

Food cravings: Due to some less than fortunate events, food has not been my number one friend lately. See below...

Anything making you queasy or sick? Um how about the stomach flu? Yep, we spent a night taking care of Hailey puking and instead of sleeping it off the next morning, I got the full blown grown-up version stomach flu. At 39 weeks. I would never wish that kind of horror upon anybody. We are all recovering now, especially thanks to family and friends who helped get us through it. Who knows, labor might be a breeze compared to that experience! sheesh.

Gender prediction: Gi-Bo-HUMAN. Just get him or her out of me!!! lol

Labor signs: Nothing real. I am in way more discomfort this pregnancy than I was with Hailey though. Wether it's braxton-hicks, bad baby positioning, or just healing from the stomach flu, I've been struggling through these last couple of weeks. Fingers crossed baby comes soon! 

Belly button in or out? Out

Wedding rings on or off? Off

Happy or moody most of the time? Almost completely depends how much pain I'm in and how much sleep I did (or didn't) get.

Looking forward to: Meeting this baby! Not looking forward to labor itself, but knowing that we get to see this adored baby G2 face-to-face any day now is about all we can think about. Hailey arrived promptly on her due date (at noon nonetheless) so the fact that baby G2 has already passed that deadline, we know we've got all new rules to play by for this child. Challenge accepted, little one!

Baby G2 Belly - 40 Weeks

Bonus sibling shot (Hailey needed to get more in on the action)

Baby Hailey Belly - 39 Weeks +6 (on our way into labor & delivery!)

Baby G2 Belly - 38 Weeks

Disclaimer: I missed week 36 due to Christmas, New Year's, my last weeks of work before baby and a cold,.oh and life in general. But let's get back on that wagon!

How far along? 38 Weeks

Baby size?  Baby weighs about 6.8 pounds and is over 19 1/2 inches long. 

What's going on with the baby? S/he has a firm grasp, which I'll soon be able to test when I hold that little hand for the first time! Baby's organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Maternity clothes? I've reached a whole new level of maternity clothes. It's a good thing it's cold out  and I need to stay warm because otherwise I'd probably just walk around naked. Yikes!

Stretch marks? I think the fateful day has arrived. 1.8 pregnancies later and I'm starting to see my first belly stretch marks! WAHHHH!!! Nothing major, but I've got some stretching going on where my belly button ring used to be. Not a comfortable feeling physically OR emotionally!

Sleep: Only getting 3 hour stretches at a time now max from the hip pain and whatnot keeping me up... on the plus side, there is a chance I'll get better sleep once I actually have this baby haha!

Best moments this week: Well since it's been a whole FOUR weeks since my last post.. there are a BUNCH! 

Christmas! The Givens family came over on Christmas Eve and we had a BLAST opening presents, eating food and spending time together. Christmas Day we stayed home and had family come over for more visits and present opening. Hailey was in heaven. We even had one final Christmas gathering a week later with my brother's family so Trent could join in the fun. (Yes, there was a them this year, I'm too huge and our toddler is too crazy for us want to leave the house, so everyone came to us, hehe) We are so blessed to be surrounded with so much love. Makes me want to cry with happiness about the family that Baby G2 gets to be surrounded with. 

New Year's Eve! - I ended up getting a cold and we stayed in, but Joe made it amazing and picked up pizza, california rolls and pad thai (in true Givens form) plus Trinette dropped off a stash of delicious food including reggo-friendly cookie dough!!! Life-Changing! Hailey stayed up to about 9pm and by some miracle Joe and I stayed awake to midnight after some fun movie watching. After the countdown, we hugged & kissed and this baby gave the BIGGEST punt to say hi to daddy (or kick him away). Both of us cracked up, it was a great start to the new year!!! 

Craziest dream this week: Ha! Dreams require sleep. Good one. 

Miss anything? Wine. And raw fish. And Costco hotdogs. And sleep. And walking.. not waddling. 

Movement: Baby G2 is still a major mover, but as it's getting more and more crammed in there, the movements aren't quite as crazy as they used to be.

Food cravings: Still mainly chocolate milk and red meat. Once in a while I'll get a fast food craving but let's be honest, who DOESN'T need a crunch wrap supreme every once in a while?! But in general, the major cravings are getting less and less.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Not getting nauseas these days, but definitely feeling the effects of a shrinking stomach as baby grows. Don't worry though, I'm powering through it ;-)

Gender prediction: BOY. no GIRL. or boy. girl? AHHH I dunno. SO excited to find out! And we've got two pretty strong names picked out (one for each gender) so it's getting extra exciting!!!

Labor signs: Yeah. Fake contractions come and go, but not the real thing and the more I rest, the less they come. Unfortunately I can't use this as an excuse to sit down on the couch every day and binge-watch Netflix.

Belly button in or out? OUT. Because this bird if cooked!

Wedding rings on or off? On... but only because I found a cheap blingy ring that fits my swollen finger. Not the real thing, but I like having something on that finger :)

Happy or moody most of the time? Goes in waves, but with all of the family love, friend support and holiday cheer I've got a WHOLE lot to smile about, despite the general pregnancy discomforts and hormones.

Looking forward to: Maternity Leave! Starting NOW!!! I've been a little nervous that baby might come early (no problems, I'm just being a worry wort) and that I wouldn't have time to get my baby prep in! Working full time and partying it up over the holidays hasn't left a whole lot of time to "nest" so the couple of weeks I'm off work before this baby is due is going to be devoted to cooking freezer meals, cleaning, organizing, washing baby clothes and general baby prep. If I get my act together I might even finish Hailey's baby book before this next baby! OK, that may be wishful thinking haha ;-) 

Plus, next weekend (I'll be about 39 weeks) our friends Heather & Bob are hosting their annual Black Tie party. Joe's got a Tux rented and I somehow found a fabulous dress that fits, so I keep telling Baby G2 to stay cooking past that night, because this could be our last fancy night out in a WHILE. However, if baby feels an urgency to meet us, I'd be OK showing up to the hospital in our finest attire that night. 

Oh and also looking forward to MEETING THIS BABY! Home Stretch!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!

Baby G2 Belly - 38 Weeks

Baby Hailey Belly - 38 Weeks

And just to re-cap the missed week..

Baby G2 Belly - 36 Weeks... I look like an eclipse! Ha!

Baby Hailey Belly - 36 Weeks

Baby G2 Belly - 34 Weeks

How far along? 34 Weeks

Baby size?  Baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is almost 18 inches long. 

What's going on with the baby? Fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling him/her out. His/her skin is also smoother than ever. His/her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. Babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Maternity clothes? Running short of shirt options (pun intended) that cover the bottom 2" of my bump.

Stretch marks? Negator

Sleep: So bad. The one time 6 hour stretch I got was such a tease. I'm back to waking up for hours at a time in the middle of the night. Hip pain & general bump discomfort are the main culprits. 

Best moments this week: Christmas Season is in full swing! Which means holiday parties! And thanks to Rent-the-Runway it means dressing up this bump! Joe's work was invited to two parties on the same night, so we hit up both with co-worker Adam and also-preggo wife Kendall... We all had a BLAST

We clean up alright...

Smuggling a disco ball

Bedazzled Bumps! (I think 34 & 23ish Weeks respectively) How cute is Kendall???

Also, Christmas decorations went up! And we had our FIRST fire in our fireplace. We haven't lived with a fireplace in a looooong time so that was a real treat.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Craziest dream this week: Dreamt that I could SEE the baby as it moved in my belly.... like waving at me. Not in a cute way, but an OMG that-is-terrifying kind of way. 

Miss anything? Standing without hip/sciatic pain, sitting without rib pain. I may need to get a girdle to keep my ribs from splitting apart... cute image, eh? You're welcome.

Movement: HICCUPS! I wasn't sure I was going to get them this time around, but baby G2 does not disappoint! Quick, repetitive flicks that last a couple of minutes. It's one of my favorite things about pregnancy :)

Food cravings: Chocolate milk and red meat - fortunately Joe's been BBQ-ing like crazy so I've been indulging in steak!

Anything making you queasy or sick? Sometimes milk. But that could have something to do with the fact that I will sit down and eat about two sleeves of oreos at a time... which requires about half a gallon of dunking-milk. 

Gender prediction: BOY-OH-BOY two more stranger predictions that I'm carrying a boy this week alone. That's gotta be a sign right?

Labor signs: Yep. Braxton Hicks, small slightly painful contractions that generally show up when I'm walking too much or not drinking enough water. But they go away so nothing to worry about.

Belly button in or out? Out

Wedding rings on or off? Off

Happy or moody most of the time? Depends on how much couch time I get that day. I don't remember my first pregnancy having this many aches & pains, but maybe I blocked that part out of my memory?

Looking forward to: Christmas week! I get the whole week off from work (then only one week back before I go on maternity leave) and we're hosting Christmas Eve for the Givens family. We are so spoiled to get to be surrounded by so much family! 

Pardon this week's image... the days are short and the nights are long, so sunlight is few & far between

Baby G2 Belly - 34 Weeks 

Baby Hailey Belly - 34 Weeks