MORE Catching up...April 29 - May 30

Friday, April 29

Since both in-laws were in town, we decided to take a trip to the zoo that day.  Hubs had to work, but he had a long break in the middle so he came out for a few hours.

While waiting for the in-laws to get their tickets, took a selfie with Ozzie.   :)

I think Leif had the most fun at the little playground where they had a little sprinkler.

Climbing an alligator...

Later that evening, captured daddy & Ozzie taking a snooze.  So peaceful!

Sunday, May 8: I have lots and lots of photos in between, but trying to pare it down.  Sunday we took a family trip to our favorite sushi place, Sumo Sushi!  Leif got his yummy noodles.

Look at that spread, om nom nom!

Monday, May 9: Hubs had the day off so he took Leif to the zoo (their usual daddy/son trip).  Leif surprisingly had a great photo with a rattlesnake of all animals...

Tuesday, May 10: Ozzie already making faces at mommy.

Cute photo of daddy & Ozzie

Wednesday, May 11: We have a suitcase full of costumes for Leif, but this is one of his favorites.  He calls this his "BayMax" costume, from Big Hero Six (it's a race car helmet and knight "armor").

Thursday, May 12: My work had a faculty end-of-year potluck, so I decided to stop by and have Ozzie meet everyone.  My chair/boss kindly held Ozzie as I grabbed a plate of food.  

Friday, May 13: Another day off for daddy, another trip to the zoo.  :)

Saturday, May 14: It's blurry, but this little man started smiling at one month!!!

That morning, a pig decided to make its presence in our yard!  We saw this same pig on the side of the road on the outskirts of our community, so we think someone owns it but it keeps escaping...Leif was so excited to see it, and Hubs was mad I didn't wake him up to see it, hahaha.

Sunday, May 15: Promising smiles in his car seat, but of course he cried all the way to...

Ventura County Fair!  Leif's first carnival/fair and first carnival rides!  Daddy took him on the big slide...

He was a champ!

Leif won a small prize at the fishing game.

This was Leif's first ride ALONE...At first I freaked out because I was afraid he would fall off, but he held on tightly and had a good time!

Monday, May 16: I made a trek out to Thousand Oaks to see my old co-workers for lunch.  It was really nice catching up with everyone!  Ozzie slept almost the whole way there and most of the way back too, phew!

Tuesday, May 17: Daddy and Nana had bought Leif a pack of dinosaurs, and he loves playing with them.  I think it's fascinating to see him line up his toys-I think he's going to be an organized person like his parents!

Saturday, May 21: Holy cow, I'm 34...time just disappears now!

Sunday, May 22: To celebrate my birthday, we took a trip to...the zoo.  Yes, we're big zoo fans.  This was Ozzie's second trip I believe-it was a little warm, but all in all he did a great job.

Later that evening, Leif dressed up in his new Batman costume-Nana found these cute masks & capes for Leif.  I will post all his costumes later...

Leif's "school" photos came in from daycare-we don't know what kind of magic these photographers have, but they have the ability to have Leif sit still and pose and it's AWESOME.  Our son is so handsome!!!

Wednesday, May 25: Leif did this all on his own.  I think he's going to be a percussionist-he definitely has some steady rhythm!

Thursday, May 26: Ozzie has many facial expressions, just like the rest of his family.

Friday, May 27: Hubs had another day off, so another trip to the zoo!  Here Leif found an interactive section of the elephant exhibit.  We were here for a while.

Curious Leif in front of the elephant exhibit.

Leif normally doesn't smile for selfie photos, but I got him!

Cute cuddles with Miles.

Sunday, May 29: Another cute photo of Ozzie.

Monday, May 30: Since Hubs had another day off, another trip to Sumo Sushi!  Happy noodle boy.

So this isn't the longest post ever, June post is next!

Catching up: April 12 - April 27

Tuesday, April 12

So my doc had told me to call the hospital at 9am to see when to come into the hospital to be induced...L&D (Labor & Delivery) proceeded to tell me that it was really busy that morning and to call back at noon to see when a better time to come in would be.  Seriously?!  Isn't that why they make the appointment in the first place?  I was a little angry at first, but then I thought, hey, I can eat breakfast now.  So did that...then Missy was off to Universal Studios by herself to check out Harry Potter World (so happy for her!).  I figured since we had a couple hours to kill, I made an appointment for a massage.  :)  Did that, then called the hospital...

STILL busy, but they said come in at 3pm and it shouldn't be as crazy.  Really?

We grabbed some lunch at the mall and then it was go time.

They checked me into one of the nicer/larger rooms, but they said at any minute since they were busy they may move me to a smaller room.  WTF.  Oh well.

A very pregnant me getting ready!

 They gave me Cytotec, labor-inducing drugs; just a very small dose, around 4pm.  Then around 8pm I think they gave me another dose...things got blurry around this time, but I believe around 11pm I started getting bad contractions, and I was ready for my epidural.  The anesthesiologist was really good and in no time I was on cloud 9 and fell asleep.  It was blissful.  Around 3am they decided it was time to move me as someone else was going into labor...ugh.  So we were pulled into another room; but it was actually a good move as it felt a little cooler and Hubs' chair/bed was comfier.  I was all good, epidurals are THE. BEST.

Around 8am I woke up having to use the bathroom; nothing too demanding, but I couldn't sleep and I couldn't reach my nurse button and Hubs was passed out, so I tried watching a little TV.  15 minutes later Hubs woke up and I really had to use the bathroom, so I had him grab my nurse button...unfortunately they were changing shifts so they wouldn't be in for another 20 minutes or so.

8:45am rolls around and the head nurse/mid-wife finally checks on me...and right away she tells me I'm actually going into labor-his head was crowning.  Hahaha...so not a poop, but a baby.  Well how about that.

They weren't really prepared for this (which you'd think they would be considering it's a Labor & Delivery Ward), so they wheeled me into the C-Section Operating room.  For some reason most of the nurses weren't familiar with that room, so they were all scrambling around trying to find everything they needed (comforting, huh?).  I had Hubs get me my phone and headphones so I could grab my baby-pushing playlist...yes, I was prepared with music this time around.  But by the time I got my headphones in, the baby was half-way out.  Yes folks, labor with this little guy seriously took under 10 minutes.  It was my dream come true, phew!

World, meet Ozzie Matthew Hovland - 24 inches, 9 pounds, 4 ounces, born on Wednesday, April 13, 2016 at 9:07am (I think...).

He was so alert and ready to meet the world!

 That day Aunt Missy and Leif stopped by to meet Ozzie for the first time it was adorable, but I don't have photos of visit...

Thursday, April 14

My other little one dropped by for another visit with his Aunt Missy the next day-I was glad to see him again.

Had to get another photo with Ozzie.  

Hubs and his second little boy.

It was a crazy experience, but after having baby #2, here is what I learned/words of wisdom to pass on to moms-to-be:

1. It might seem like common sense, but take care of your body while pregnant.  With Leif, I worked out and ate well (I had the time to work out)...with Ozzie, I never worked out and ate everything.  I think I got a little out of control with food/eating out, thus spiking my blood pressure and having those crazy hospital visits.  Although, Ozzie's labor was way easier than Leif, but that's because my body was ready for it...

2. Hospital beds are the worst.  Be prepared to be uncomfortable.  If you want to bring your own pillows, do it.

3. If you are on the fence about epidurals, in my opinion: GO FOR IT.  But that was just me.  I applaud moms who opt for natural births, but I felt that contractions were worse than the labor itself.

4. With Leif there was a television in the delivery room with a channel of gorgeous nature scenes, so I concentrated on that as much as possible.  With Ozzie, I had music (even though I listened to about two tunes, delivering to Hall & Oates "I Can't Go For That")...so I suggest having something or someone there to help distract you from the pain.  Hubs was there of course, but I needed something extra.

5. Read about what to bring with you to the hospital, but I say pack light.  You really aren't going to be moving much and the hospital usually provides the initial onesie/blanket/hat for baby.  I stayed in the hospital gown because it was easy for me to nurse in and with your woman parts all messy, I'd rather get the hospital gown dirty than my own clothes.

6. Enjoy the help from the nurses during your hospital stay...those ladies/men know how to swaddle your baby and for some reason they have a magic touch.  When they swaddled Ozzie, he'd stay fast asleep; when Hubs or I tried, he'd break out and cry.  Good times.

Here we go catching up with lots of photos:

Saturday, April 16

I was released from the hospital on Friday...we had to stay an extra night due to me losing a little extra blood than I should have after the birth, so they wanted to monitor me.  But everything was fine.

Leif decided to mimic Tom Cruise that morning...

Oh, Nana came in on Friday!  Here they are playing with his Potato Heads.

Nana getting some quality cuddle time with Ozzie

Sunday, April 17: I can't remember what we did that day, but Leif didn't have a very long nap/played hard...and proceeded to fall asleep while eating dinner.

And another sleepy boy :)

Tuesday, April 19: Leif absolutely loves Ozzie, and it's been really sweet capturing his affection for his little brother.

Wednesday, April 20: Lots of kisses!

Friday, April 22: Cutie pie

Saturday, April 23: To keep Leif occupied, found a cardboard dinosaur at Target for him to finger paint

That night was bath night with daddy...lots of bubbles!

Tuesday, April 26: Pop Pop had time to come visit Ozzie too!

Wednesday, April 27: Me and my boys.  They make me very, very happy.

That night was Ozzie's first bath!  He seemed confused and a little worried, but he was a champ.

Next post: Ozzie's first fun trip out and more!

I'm Baaaaaack! March 24 - April 11

So it has been almost four months and that time has flown by so, so quickly.  In that time, I gave birth to a precious, beautiful, happy baby boy.  I am now a mother of two which is really crazy to think about!

I have LOADS of photos to share with you, but I've tried narrowing it down (a very hard thing to do).  This may take me a couple days to upload and write about since I'm going to start where I left off in my last blog entry...but here we go!

Thursday, March 24

The Extended Stay Hotel our property management put us in while our house was getting fumigated for termites was, hmm...drab and not that great.  The room felt dirty and had a weird smell, but it would do.

Leif playing dress up

Friday, March 25

Leif loved playing with the telephone that morning...

 Now, I have to say this was probably the WORST day of my maternity leave.  After dropping Leif off at daycare, we went to the hospital for a check-up on baby.  I thought we'd be quick so we could go up to Santa Clarita to get my car battery replaced and have a nice relaxing day....WRONG.  My blood pressure was a little elevated so my doctor wanted me to take a stress test where they monitor the baby's movements/kick count while monitoring your blood pressure for 20 minutes.  I didn't know Hubs could come back with me, so I was stressing out that he had to sit in the wait room while I sat closed off alone.  That didn't help with my blood pressure.  After 20 minutes and also checking the baby's fluids (which was fine), the nurse came back after talking to the doctor and they still wanted me to have blood tests done and more blood pressure monitoring but from the Labor & Delivery ward.  After I told the nurse there I was starving, they gave me a cold turkey sandwich...which is BAD FOR PREGNANT LADIES.  Seriously?!  Amidst all the chaos, they said worst-case scenario was they would induce me that day and I'd deliver that weekend.  We were so not ready for that-our stuff was in a cheap hotel, we had no one ready to watch Leif and Miles...which then sent me crying and more elevated blood pressure.  After a couple hours of being in the hospital, the doc said she called the higher-up doctor and they said even though everything looked fine except my elevated blood pressure, they wanted to induce me. NOOOO.  I then spoke to a mid-wife and I told them I wanted to opt out since they couldn't make me stay/induce me.  One of the nurses gave me a glare, but I didn't care-I knew baby wasn't ready to come out-I felt fine and even the mid-wife pointed out everything seemed fine.  They told me to get a home blood pressure monitor, sign a form and I was out of there.  UGH.

And looking back, I'm sooooo happy I made that decision.  Of course that left a bad taste in our mouths considering I'd have to come back and deliver there.  Not a happy camper.

That night we took Leif to the mall to get some dinner.

Leif being cute with daddy/feeding him a french fry.

Monday, March 28

Got a great photo of Miles.  I don't take many photos of him since he's kind of last in the chain of command (poor pup), but he's been a champ with all that's been going on!

Tuesday, March 29

The folks came into town!  Leif had a fun time showing all his books to them.

Wednesday, March 30

Grandparents bought Leif a large Batman figure...he really enjoyed it.

Friday, April 1

Another Stress Test at the hospital...Figured I'd take a photo of my super pregnant belly in the bathroom.  Stress test was fine, blood pressure fine.

Later that afternoon, more book reading with Grandpa.

Saturday, April 2

Let me set you up with the back story on the next photo.  Apparently there is this salad that women buy from a nice restaurant in the valley that makes women GO INTO LABOR after they eat it.  They say it's really the dressing...here is an article L.A. Weekly wrote about it.  So of course Hubs brings me back the salad and a bottle of dressing Friday night!  Haha.  I ate the whole salad (it was really delicious), and then Saturday-no baby that morning-so we went to get pizza and I brought the salad dressing with me!

Leif has been more affectionate with daddy which makes me really happy!

After lunch we stopped by the mall to walk the baby out (still no show) and Leif rode on the carousel.

Tuesday, April 5

My due date...but alas, no baby.  This was a rough day as I recall; my folks were going to leave that day and I felt bad they had stayed with no baby in sight.  Then Leif threw up and was really sick that afternoon with a fever.

A little cuddle time with Grandpa

After a few texts and phone calls that night, my pa pulled the trigger and ended up extending his flight to the 9th.

Wednesday, April 6

I liked this photo because it's Leif and his soon-to-be baby brother.  Leif still wasn't feeling well, thus passing out on me in our bed.

Friday, April 8

The day before I had an appointment that I almost didn't have (it was supposed to be for the 6th but the doctor called in sick...I made them make me an appointment the next day)-and since I was still really sick, the doctor set up an appointment for me to be induced on the 12th, a full week after his due date.  

Meanwhile, Leif still had a fever, so I called in for an appointment that morning.

Even though he had a fever, he was still in good spirits.  

Doctor said his sickness was just going to take time to get over...ugh.  Well, peace of mind I guess.

You know Leif's sick when he falls asleep in random positions/places.  

Saturday, April 9

Missy's turn to visit!  We went to our favorite breakfast place.

After breakfast, we hit up the Northridge Mall where they have a train that travels around half the bottom floor.  It's kind of useless in my opinion, but kids love it.  Leif really wanted to ride it, so Grandpa and I volunteered to go with him.

Happy boy

 Sunday, April 10

Missy and Leif worked on "Padsicles" for me; basically really nice, cooling pads for after baby...

I think Missy got messy so she had to change.  Leif had a really fun time getting messy!

Monday, April 11

This was my last known day of being pregnant/having only one kid, so Missy and I made the best of it.  After breakfast, we went to see "The Boss" starring Melissa McCarthy, then hit the mall to walk/do a little shopping.

I look terrible, but here we are at a nearly empty movie theater.

Then Missy and I met Hubs for a late lunch at Salsa and Beer.  Om nom nom...

Hubs had been in the transition of doing Leif's bedtime routine since I would soon be taking care of Baby #2 at night.  Leif had been struggling with mommy not reading books to him, but that night Leif was super cute and cuddly with daddy.

Alright, next post soon to come: Meet Baby #2!