Holy Postpartum!

Well, it's official - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into! My mom abandoned us last Wednesday, and it's been sort-of down hill from there. The baby is doing really well. We've got a good sleep cycle down, she takes 2 or 3 good long naps a day and a hand full of cat naps. She goes to bed between 9:30 and 10:30 and sleeps till 2:30. She usually will get up one more time around 5:30 and then 8:30 is morning. Not too bad, I think. Feeding is still the struggle of my life! It just seems like it's one thing after another. I've always thought I had a pretty high pain threshold but this cracked nipple thing is killing me! I don't know how much longer I can stand it!
My biggest problem is definitely Emory. She has turned into a bi-polar, unreasonable toddler. It started while my mom was here, but has escalated since she left. We used to have a really good handle and what worked for punishment etc. and now nothing stops her once she gets "kickin'" - NOTHING! I even resorted to a swift swat on her rear, didn't even phase her. I hope this is just a phase, and that my sweet Emory will come back to me soon!
Cory's school is as vigorously hard as ever. He has 2 finals this week and 5 next week! Why did he want to become a doctor? After the finals though, he has a two week break, which I am looking forward to.
Like I said "holy postpartum"! I feel like it's the end of the world, pretty much all day long, and I hope it goes away soon. The problem is that I keep thinking that this is the second time I've done this, but it really isn't. Tessa is only 3 weeks old, I didn't even get Emory until she was 6 weeks! Everything is completely different, and my dang OCD is making it a lot harder than it needs to be! Thank heavens that Cory's mom is coming on Thursday for the weekend, and then I'll have Cory for the break. Pray for us! We need all the help we can get this next week and a half!
Sorry I've been bad about taking pictures, I'll try to get some stuff up soon.

What a week!

Who knew that life could get any crazier!!! I'm just kidding, it's actually been semi-calm around here. We are LOVING our new baby Tessa! She's a joy and a pleasure, and definitely keeps us on our toes. We went to the pediatrician on Monday, and she has a clean bill of health. She gained weight, 7 lbs. 12 oz., and just looked a little jaundiced, so she gets to sun bathe for 30 minutes a day. I love the doctor! She had 31 week triplets, so we're sort-of kindred spirits. I hate when doctors talk AT me and tell me what to do. I felt like she respected what I already know, from Emory, and that I know what is best for my child. She gave me some good pointers and we were out of there in 20 minutes. Tessa tricked me for a couple of days and slept for 6 hours straight! I couldn't believe it, because Emory didn't do anything like that for at least 4 months. I can't believe how different this mothering experience is from when Emory was born. It's night and day! There is one thing that is causing us (specifically me) pain.
Disclaimer: To anyone who doesn't want to hear about breastfeeding or the trauma therein, skip this next paragraph!
With Emory I pumped for 6 weeks and then she started nursing, so I was all "toughened up" by the time I actually fed her. This baby is a different story. Somehow, one "booby" is great and the other is not doing so hot. Let's just say there's bleeding and extreme tenderness, and that's putting it nicely! I've started calling Tessa "razor-blade lips", it's that bad. We're working on getting these things better, but if anyone has any advice, please feel free to share! I'm dying here!
Emory continues to be a two year old, and I truly can't ask much more of her. She has her good moments and her bad, and we're trying to help her realize that she'd be much happier if she'd simmer down.
Cory, well, we haven't seen him at all for the last week. He leaves before we wake up and gets home after we're asleep. Thank goodness my mom is here or I would be going crazy! Emory is so sad when a day goes by and she hasn't seen him. She'll look at us, stick out her bottom lip and say "I miss Cory". It just breaks your heart!
We're expecting visitors this week, Grandma and Grandpa Hulse are coming down with there friends to stay at a condo in Chandler. I think we'll see them for a few hours on Monday. Katelyn, my little sister, is coming tomorrow. She was dying to see her new and old niece, and since she is "off-track" she isn't missing school. It'll be fun to see family.
Thanks to all the well wishes and we hope to keep hearing from ya'll!

Tessa Elaine

Life with Tessa

Just a quickie here! Everything is going great. I think we'll keep her! It's definitely been and will continue to be an adjustment, but it's a sacrifice we're willing to make for Tessa. She's eating fabulously and my milk came in last night (ouch!). Emory's still unsure, but is doing okay. My mom has been amazing, and I don't know what I'd do if she wasn't here. Cory is stressed to the max with an upcoming "pharm" test, so I feel really bad for him. He wants to be here getting to know Tess and playing with Em. It's a hard life! Thanks to our awesome friends and family who've provided babysitting, entertainment, and food!
The video below is just about the cutest thing ever; after you see it you'll know why we love our girls so much!

Tessa Elaine Maughan

She's here, and we couldn't be happier! I went into the doctor on Tuesday and was only dilated to a 1 and 1/2. Dr. Erickson said that his best day for whole next week was Wednesday, the next day! I was surprised to say the least. He sent me home and said they'd call with the time that I was supposed to be there by that afternoon. I proceeded to run around like a chicken with it's head cut off, for the remainder of the day. No call. By 8 pm we thought that meant they didn't have room for me the next day, so we went to bed thinking that we'd have the baby on Thursday. Cory got up and went to school and I (by some miracle) slept in till 7 am when I received a phone call from Labor and Delivery asking why I wasn't there! There was a miscommunication between the Dr.'s office and the hospital, so I didn't get a call. Anyways, I proceeded to frantically finish getting ready, find Emory's sitter, worry about my mom flying in, and try to get Cory to the hospital. Thanks to some amazing help from Laura and Parker Thompson, and my mom (who was flying in as I was being induced) everything settled into place.
We got to the hospital at 9 am, and they started my epidural at 11:30 am. At 12:00 pm, Dr. Erickson stripped my membranes and broke my water. They started me on the tiniest drip of pitocin and by 3:00 pm, I was still only at 3 cm! I started to get nervous that this was going to take all night, because I didn't want the doctor to be at the hospital for ever. (When your attempting a VBAC the doctor has to be in the hospital the whole time you're in labor!) Dr. Erickson stretched me a little and by 6:00 pm I was at 7 cm, and and hour later I was 9+! The doctor said he'd run out and get the stuff for Cory and him ready. As soon as he left, I felt like I had a bowling ball between my legs! With every contraction I thought she was half way out! He came back a 1/2 an hour later and we did some practice pushes. I pushed 2 times, and he turned to Cory with a look of surprise and said, "Let's get dressed!" I was thinking I'd have to push for a while, but I was wrong. Cory and the doctor got dressed and a few pushes later Tessa Elaine Maughan was born, delivered by Cory. One of the best parts of this whole amazing experience was holding her right after she was born! That was the ultimate for me. She was 7 lbs. 7 oz. and 21 inches long. She has dark hair and eyes (hooray!) and you could see her hair a good 20 minutes before she was even born! My mom got to be there, which was awesome! The whole thing was just amazing and a 180 degree difference from my last child bearing experience.
Emory is not sure about all this, but I think she's doing well. She didn't want to have much to do with me or Tessa at the hospital, but since we've been home, she's wanted to help and hold etc. They look like complete opposites though, Tessa's dark and Emory's fair! We'll put up a super cute video of Em holding her in the next day or two, and some pictures from the hospital and delivery too! So, keep checkin' in on us!

One Centimeter, Arrrrggggghhhhhhh!

When I guess a centimeter is better than nothing. My doctor said that I have to stop thinking of this as a second pregnancy, because I've never been here before. With Emory, I never dilated or went into labor, although I consider the 4 weeks on bed rest in the hospital plenty of labor!
The plan is to wait until my cervix has "ripened" (guess it's a fruit or something?) and softened and I'm at least 4 centimeters. Then he'll admit me to the hospital, even if I haven't started into labor. He'll break my water and we'll all wait - literally. Dr. Erickson is such an amazing person! When a patient wants to VBAC he is required to be there the whole time, just in case the "something bad" happens. I can't believe how willing he is to help me do this. I'm so lucky I found him. Anyways, Cory has a some sort of "regimen" to make me have this baby on Monday - wish me luck!
Here's a quick, cute Emory story. We've been talking about Halloween lately, and she loves to look at the decorations at the store etc. We were walking by the display at Wal-Mart and there was this semi-scary looking lady, she wasn't even affected by her. As we looked at the lady we realized she was holding a tipped over man. We tilted him up and he had all this black hair in his face. Emory brushed the hair out of his face and almost died - literally! She didn't cry or scream, just convulsed. Violent shaking and pure terror! He was not super scary, just a ghoulish skeleton- looking man. She tipped him back over as fast as she could and began begging me to leave. As we walked away, she looked at me with the cutest eyes, put her hand over her chest and said, "Oh mommy! My heart hurts!" I absolutely died! I think that's the best description of how it feels to be scared, given by a two year old!
Pictured are: The new big girl bed, Emory finding "beads" in an apple, and the baby chain to my due date.

Quick update!

Well, here's a quick update. Cory's doing fabulously in school! He's been working his tail off and it seems to be paying off, because he is doing really well (compared to the averages) on all his tests so far. He's getting nervous as "D-Day" approaches because next week he has 3 major tests! He is determined to convince Dr. Erickson to induce me on Monday (the best day for him in the next week and a half) but it'll never happen. Dr. Erickson is very empathetic to Cory's situation, but there are extra risks in inducing when your trying for a VBAC. Poor Cory! Not like he has to give birth or anything like that!
The baby finally flipped over, all on her own! It's definitely a good/bad thing. Now I can try to deliver normally, but now I'm super uncomfortable. Waddling truly is the best way to walk. I go to the doctor tomorrow and hopefully I'll have dilated some more. I've been having some wicked contractions, and I'd hate for them to be all for not.
Emory continues to drive me crazy with this potty training. Some days she's a champ, other days it's like she totally forgot everything. I know I need to remember that it's a new thing for her and it'll take awhile. It's frustrating nonetheless.