Do They Look Like Sisters?

Swimming

Lizzie had her first experience with a baby pool today. It was so amusing to see her try and muster the courage to let go of Dave and walk through the water by herself.

At first she wouldn't loosen her death grip around his neck. Then she would cautiously let go with one hand to grab at a toy. Followed by a very trusting move of only holding his hand. Then she finally just let loose and started splashing and walking around by herself.


Her favorite part of the swimming experience, though, was having Dave zoom her around the pool in this floaty.

Fun in the Sun

I finally got my new camera! And not just any camera- finally a SLR! So let the picture taking commence!

We've been laying Julie in the sun, in the house, for a couple minutes each day after a nurse gave us a tip that the UV burning rays are blocked by the window. Great Daddy daughter time, too!

Julie learning important lessons from her Daddy such as how to properly shield one's eyes while lying in the sun.

Julie Emma Portraits

I am completely in love with these pictures that Jamie took of Julie. Julie is such a little angel and these pics capture her newborn sweetness so well. I am truly in heaven these days and feel so blessed to have two little girls!














Thanks again Jamie!!

If only...

If only this really was how Julie came into the world...

The other day Dave, my mom, and I went for a little walk outside. On our way back home we stopped to talk to one of our neighbors who wanted to see the new baby. We made the usual neighborly small talk and then Dave pulled Julie out of the baby Bjorn front carrier so the neighbor could take a look at her. A couple seconds afterwards, Dave declared, "She went in easier than she came out!" The neighbor just responded with an awkward stare, my mom and I looked at each other, then we said our goodbyes. And as soon as we got out of earshot from the neighbor, my mom and I burst out laughing! We've been repeating that phrase since, "She went in easier than she came out- thats for sure!" Dave just looked at us like we were crazy and did not understand why we thought what he said was so funny. Then Dave explained, "I was talking about getting her in and out of the baby Bjorn carrier." Unfortunately he did not make that clear and made the comment a little bit too long after pulling her out of the carrier so it just turned into an awkward moment with the neighbor and a great joke for the rest of us!


Like I said...if only this was how she came into the world.

5 Days Old

Julie is now five days old! So far she is a great baby! She does very well at what babies do-
she eats great and sleeps great! The last two nights she has slept so long that I had
to wake her up to feed her. Hopefully, this is trend will continue!


Lizzie is loving her new sister, giving her kisses and always placing her stuffed animals on her to "share." But she is not loving the lack of attention from her mom. Every once in a while she will throw an unnecessary tantrum or act out when she sees me holding or feeding Julie. Hopefully, THIS trend will end.

Birth of Julie Emma

Julie Emma Stevens was born on July 22nd, 2010 at 12:49pm. She weighed in at 7 lbs 7 oz and 20 inches long. It was a smooth, fast birth without any complications and we were blessed with a healthy little girl! She was so healthy, in fact, that the nurse said, "I hardly ever do this but I'm giving her a 10 out of 10 Apgar score!"


The most notable characteristic that we were surprised to see was all of her thick, dark hair! Her hair is actually long enough that I can put Lizzie's alligator clips in her hair and they will stay! All of the nurses were commenting on her pretty, long eye lashes, too.

Right after birth Julie was very alert, looking around the room and kicking her little legs. She was very patient with the nurses as they poked and prodded her. She put up with alot without any tears except for when they put the ointment in her eyes. The girl's very excited to look around and finally catch a glimpse of the world outside the womb and within 5 min they blur her vision with ointment- very upsetting. Other than that we were very surprised at how patient and happy she was.

Dave and I were on cloud nine all day- just elated to finally have this beautiful healthy girl in our arms.






Since Julie would not heed my hints, begging, or threats to show herself she was induced! I was worried about it taking long or having complications but it couldn't have gone better. They started me on Pitocin around 8:30 am, gave me an epidural around 10:30, and after 20 min of pushing, the baby was born at 12:49pm! I was so relieved at how fast and painless the whole process was- epidurals are amazing! I can't help but think that it was probably for the best to be induced since inductions usually slow the birthing process, and if Julie had come any faster it might have been a close call getting to the hospital...
Since we knew Julie's birthday beforehand we were completely prepared- Lizzie stayed the night at her Grammy's house, my mom flew in the day of, and Dave and I packed all kinds of food, drinks, and entertainment for the long hospital stay.
Within hours after birth, Julie got to meet her big sister, Lizzie, her Grandma, Grammy, and Papa!

We had Lizzie come into the room, first, by herself to meet her little sister. Her reaction was so cute! She said, "Baby Julie!" and gave her a big kiss. Then she gave her a soft little stroke and said, "Nice baby!" Then we presented Lizzie with a baby of her own (a new baby doll her Grandma brought for her). She has been very excited about her baby, pushing her in a little stroller, feeding her and taking care of her.

Lizzie's favorite part of the day, though, was sitting on the bed and playing with the controls. This kept her entertained for the whole visit.

We stayed in the hospital for the minimum 24 hours then convinced them to let us go home! The baby and I were doing just fine and Dave and I were so tired of sitting in that hospital room! So Grandma and Lizzie came to pick us up and take us home!