Paige is (FINALLY) Potty Trained!

It was a long time coming but Paige is officially potty trained. Obviously we were a little preoccupied with the pregnancy and bed rest so potty training took a back seat but Drew and I decided it was time we tackle the job head on. I was beginning to have visions of her going to kindergarten wearing a diaper!

My friend, Catie, had used a three day method that worked for her two year old daughter, Reese, and she was generous enough to send me the book. Basically, it was just a matter of locking ourselves up for a long weekend and allowing Paige to wear nothing but a shirt and big girl panties. Drew had Martin Luther King Jr. day off so we decided it was as good of a time as any. Unfortunately, I had a hair appointment that weekend that I just couldn't bear to reschedule (I did try) so Drew had to start the process without me. While sitting under the dryer, I got my first text informing me that Paige was on accident number four and we were only an hour into it. It was going to be a long weekend!

Fortunately, Paige quickly began to catch on and by day two she was consistently telling us when she had to go and was no longer having accidents. We are so proud that she got it so fast and are thankful that she made it easy on us (one of the few things she has). Waiting so long to tackle the job seemed to pay off this time. Just to be sure, we kept her home from school on that Monday but when she did go on Wednesday, she did perfectly. I guess we've officially traded in dirty diapers (at least hers) for dirty public restrooms!

Paige picked her outfit for the day, a pig shirt, Minnie Mouse panties, penguin socks, and patent shoes. Perfection!

Playing with her sister.

A proud Mommy after a successful number two on the potty!

The penguin socks were replaced by pig socks and bear slippers later in the day. Love that little behind!

What a big girl she's become!

Margo is One Month Old!

Margo's first month in this world was a busy one. Between Christmas, New Year's, and a several visitors, the time seemed to just fly by, as it usually does. Since I'm so far behind on blogging and it's almost time for her second month "birthday", I'll just do a quick summary of the month's events.

After enjoying her first Christmas here at home, we were lucky enough to have the Maxey's come to visit over the New Year holiday. It was so much fun to see the kids play so well together and to introduce Margo to even more of her family. Both Lucy and Oliver were so sweet with Margo, wanting to hold her and help whenever possible. We had unusually warm weather that weekend so the kids did a lot of playing outside. We also enjoyed a low key New Year's Eve with the Ernsberger's and a quiet celebration of my 33rd (!) birthday.

Just a day after the Maxey's headed home, my Mom flew into town to meet her fourth granddaughter. We always love having Grandma around, not only because she's so helpful to us all but also because living so far away makes each of our times together all that more special. We were able to get out and do a little shopping with the girls before Paige came down with a fever that pretty much locked us up for the remainder of the weekend. It was still a great visit and made us wish we were able to see family more often.

Margo continues to do well. She's eating like a champ, on average every 2.5-3 hours. She wakes up twice at night to eat but generally goes back to sleep quickly now that we've borrowed an incline sleeper from friends. Unfortunately, she wasn't sleeping well in the cradle my Dad built for all of us kids to use. It turns out the doctor thinks she has acid reflux and sleeping at an incline has seemed to help.

At her two week doctor visit, she weighed 7.13lbs and was 20" long, both of which are in the 25-50th percentile. The doctor is extremely pleased with her growth. She didn't have a one month appointment but according to the scale at home, she was 9lbs. For comparison, Paige was 7lbs 8oz. at one month old. Of course, Margo had a one pound advantage at birth but thus far, she seems to be tracking a little bigger. They look so similar, Drew and I often have deja vu, especially when Margo is wearing one of Paige's old outfits. I've included a couple of Paige's photos from the same timeframe, again, just for comparison.

Check out more of our photos on our gallery. http://gallery.me.com/jessicaleeham

Margo at one week old.

New Year's Day and my birthday family photo.

Sweet cousins.

The Maxey's came to visit and meet Margo for the first time.

Grandma and her fourth granddaughter. We apparently don't make boys in my family.

Daddy and Paige feeding Margo her first bottle at three weeks old.

Margo enjoying her first bottle. As you'll see in the next photo, Paige would cozy up in this same position.

Here's Paige enjoying a bottle at two weeks old.

Sisters cozy in their pj's fresh from a bath. Nothing better.

Tummy time wore Margo out!

Margo's first bath in the big tub. She loves it!

Happy One Month Birthday, Margo!

Paige's one month birthday photo.

Christmas 2011

Ok, so I'm obviously way behind on blogging since the title of this post is Christmas and it's almost Valentine's Day. So here's my attempt to catch up...

This past Christmas was the first time that we've stayed in town for the holiday and not traveled to see family. With Margo being so young, we figured it would be a good idea to stay put this time. It was strange not to be with family but we did enjoy waking up Christmas morning in our own beds and starting a few traditions of our own. We went to mass Christmas Eve, made a yummy breakfast Christmas morning, watched Paige open (lots of) gifts, and relaxed. Not the same as it usually feels but still good, especially with our biggest gift of all in our arms.

Here are a few photos. See the rest on our gallery. http://gallery.me.com/jessicaleeham#101625

Our gingerbread house. Looks better than it tasted!

Paige's reindeer pancake breakfast on Christmas Eve morning.

Our family of four on Christmas Eve.

Paige, her wild bed head, and the loot Santa brought.

The girls in their Christmas PJ's.

All those new toys and it looks like boredom has set in already.

Margo and her gifts. Paige wrapped up some of her old toys for her and Santa brought her a rattle, at Paige's request.

Finally, Paige's First Haircut!

On December 23rd, we finally took Paige to get her very first haircut. She has such beautiful blonde curls and I had been afraid that a haircut would cut off all of those curls. Her hair is down to the end of her back when it is wet so I figured it was time to give in.

We took her to Pigtails and Crewcuts, a kids salon that has special chairs, TV's, and plenty of distractions from the fear of getting a haircut. I wasn't sure how she'd behave since this was a completely new experience. She chose to sit in the firetruck because it had a Dalmatian on the side of it. We opted for a small (and it was small) trim and Paige did absolutely wonderful. She sat still and had fun ringing the bell on the front of the firetruck. The stylist cut such a little amount from her hair that you can't even tell she had a haircut but at least we have the first (good) experience under our belt.

Before

She behaved so well!

After

A Bear for Baby Sister

I'm a little out of order on my posts, but a few days before Margo was born, we took Paige to Build a Bear to make a special friend for her baby sister. She chose a brown bear and a onesie outfit for the bear. We named the bear Zoro (a combination of Zoe and Rosie) and Paige presented it to Margo during their first meeting.

Filling the bear with stuffing. Nice and soft for baby sister.

Making a wish on the bear's heart.

Bathing the bear.

Choosing a special name. Daddy actually came up with Zoro.

Paige presenting Margo with her gift.

The Story of Margo

Margo Lee Ham

So now that Margo is already five weeks old, I figured I had better catch up on my blogging. Needless to say, life has been busy with a newborn and a toddler! Let's start at the beginning of Margo's life...

On Tuesday, December 13th, Drew and I arrived at the hospital at 5am, ready for my induction. I was nervous, not only at the thought of going through labor and delivery again but I was also praying that everything would go smoothly and our little girl would come into this world healthy, given all of our problems with the pregnancy. The nurses quickly admitted me and showed me to my room. Within the hour, we were settled in, they had started an IV, and were monitoring Margo's heartbeat. Here's how the day played out...

6:00am - They started the Pitocin. I was still at 3cm and 80% but I was still hopeful it would go quickly.

6:30am - I begin to feel slight contractions and was already on the list for an epidural.

7:00am - The anisteiologist arrived. I was surprised they would give me the epidural this early since I wasn't in much pain but I guess once a patient is on the list, they just check off that list as they make their rounds. Fine by me! Drew made the mistake of watching the apparently very long needle being injected into my back. I'm thankful we didn't lose him there!

7:40am - 3 1/2-4cm The resident guessed I would go quickly and have a baby by 10am and the nurse guessed lunchtime. The race is on!

10:45am - Still only 4cm. Obviously the resident was wrong.

11:00am - My OB broke my water and checks me again, 5cm and 90%. He guesses 2:30pm. Drew and I continue to kill time watching Teen Mom reruns. Feeling pretty good about our parenting skills.

12:15pm - 8cm and starting to feel more pain. I press the epidural button. Repeatedly.

1:30pm - The nurse thinks the baby is "sunny side up" and tells me that this could mean much more pushing. Great.

1:45pm - Another nurse checks me and disagrees with the sunny side up diagnosis. I'm 10cm, fully effaced, and 0 station. Time to go!

2:00pm - They call the OB, who is upstairs seeing patients. He explains to his next patient that he has a delivery waiting and will need to make it a quick appointment. The very nice woman insists that he come handle the delivery while she waits.

2:20pm - Begin pushing. I push three times and the OB makes a comment that it's not going to take long for Margo to arrive. I laugh and Margo literally pops out.

2:22pm - She's here!!

Margo checked out perfectly and actually received a nine at her one minute APGAR test and a 10 on her five minute test. The OB says it has been six months since they've given a 10 out of 10. I'm so thankful she is strong and healthy!

In the meantime, the doctor removes the stubborn placenta and comments that he's glad we induced labor when we did. His explanation was that the placenta was just "worn out" and he's happy we didn't push it any further.

We stayed in the hospital for two days and only that long because the pediatrician wanted to watch Margo's bilirubin levels. They turned out to be fine and we were sent home on Thursday. How nice it is to be at home with our two little girls!

As I mentioned in my last post, Paige is loving being a big sister and is doing a great job at it. She is so sweet to Margo, wanting to kiss her, hug her, help change her diaper, etc. I couldn't be prouder!

Margo is also doing well. She's eating like a champ and is quickly gaining weight. It hasn't been easy to get back into all the work that a newborn requires but we are so grateful that she's here and healthy!

More to come on her first few weeks soon...

Anxiously awaiting Margo's arrival.

Here she is! 6lbs 5oz and 18 1/2 in

Dr. Gorman was wonderful during such a rough pregnancy. I'm so thankful he took time out of his busy day to deliver Margo.

We're proud parents again!

Paige meeting Margo for the first time.

Paige giving Margo the bear she made for her.

Paige taking pictures of Margo in the nursery. I just love this!

Our first picture as a family of four.

Margo and Nana

Aunt Amy and Nana came to help us with Paige while we were in the hospital. So grateful!

Paige holding Margo for the first time.

Jodee, Addie & Paige

Tom, Addie & Margo

The Ernsbergers came to visit.

Ready to go home!

Rosie meeting Margo. We wish Zoe could have been here to meet her too.

All snug in her cradle.