My baby sister had a baby on September 1st, 2009! I know that I'm about a year and a half late, but now I will post about my views of Lily's life up to now.
Carli and her boyfriend Chris announced their pregnancy on New Years Eve of 2008. Carli's pregnancy went really well physically, although she did have some... emotional issues. Her provider was a friend of mine, Vicki O'Neal, a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM). I was able to take Carli to several appointments and give her all my labor and delivery nurse advice. Seeing Carli pregnant and reading Parenting magazine was a sight I thought I'd never see!
When Carli was almost 40 weeks and still not changing her cervix much, we planned an evening together to eat garlic pizza and go for a brisk walk. By the time she came over though, she was breathing through her contractions which were getting stronger and stronger. I checked her cervix on our guest bed ("No, this isn't weird for me, Carli, I do this every day!" :) ) and she was already dilated to a 4! We took our time getting to the hospital, but I did make Carli put a garbage bag under her bum in the car since her bag of water was bulging.
I started her IV once she was admitted to St. Mark's Labor and Delivery- the hospital where I work. Later, she told me that her IV start was worse than her epidural placement, but I'm sure that's only because her contractions were more painful and distracting during the epidural... My friend Reagan was her nurse and did a fantastic job with her and the rest of our family.
My family is a waiting room kind of family. We've always been. When my aunts, cousins and sisters were delivering their babies, we were always outside the room, hanging in the hallway or the waiting room, just waiting to see the brand new babe as soon as the mother would allow us in. Yeah, we're that family. I thought this was normal and fun all my life until I started working in Labor and Delivery. Now I realize that this is not the most helpful and loving thing you can do for a friend or family member in labor. Now, I'm the wait at home kind of girl. Though my view has changed, the rest of my sisters and mom still feel like they need to be within screaming distance throughout labor (a point we argue about whenever we talk about my own hypothetical deliveries).
After a long night of labor and pushing, Lily Anne-Marie Austin was born at 0611 a.m. on September 1st, 2009. She weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces and was 18.5 inches long. Her head and eyes were huge, which led some of us to call her E.T. for months.
This is the rag quilt that I made for Lily. Although she couldn't tell me at the time how much she loved it, at about 1 1/2 years old, when she saw her mom taking it out of the dryer, she ran over and grabbed it yelling, "MINE!" She put it down on the floor and curled up on it. I think she loves it.
When Carli went back to work, I was able to tend Lily once a week! I love the baby time: cuddling, feeding, sleeping and making faces. It's so relaxing and peaceful even though it's exhasting as well. Lily was a really good baby and on a great schedule.
Stanley has always been really good with the babies. He learned quickly to not lick them or take their toys. As he got used to having them around though, he realized he doesn't get as much attention when they are around. Yes, he has only child syndrome. He becomes really needy when the kids are over and though he's not a very cuddly dog, suddenly he'll have to be next to me, laying on me, or leaning up against me. If he still feels left out, he'll go sulk in the dark bathroom on the bathmat, all alone. It's hilarious.
In the spring of 2010, I started tending Koda, Jill and Brandon's son, as well (he'll get his very own post here soon!). Two babies are NOT double the work, they are triple, at least! I will never wish for twins. The cousins get along together well and I was a much happier auntie once I got a double stroller so we could get out of the house!
When I started watching my 4-year-old niece Bostyn also, it was too much to have 3 kids, so we split the days up: Koda and Bostyn one day every other week, and Lily one day on the opposite week. This helped me to be able to get out of the house more often and do fun activities with the kids. I get to have quality time with each of the kids, rather than just make it through the day with all of them.
Lily and I have been able to do a lot of fun activities together, such as:
Painting nails and putting on temporary tattoos
Last fall was Lily's first family trip to Lake Powell and she enjoyed the weather, the water and the beach! She liked hanging out under the dash in the boat with Koda, riding Jet Skis with her mom and dad, and she even tried out tubing with Jill, Brandon and Bostyn!
Lily is almost 17 months old now and is learning so quickly! She can sign many words, including: milk, more, dad, candy, food, bed, sleep, please and thank you. She spouts a lot of gibberish, usually at top volume, but she also can say a quickly growing number of words, such as: mama, dada, baba, papa, sit, more, please, sippy cup, what's/who's that, mine, book, bird, lion, monkey, and NO! She has quite a bit of attitude and likes to tease. She throws the occasional tantrum, but mostly when her mom is around or when grandma tells her no. Lily is such a grandma's girl because my mom watches her (and spoils her) two days and week and sees her often on the weekends.
I adore my nieces and nephews and feel so lucky to be able to spend time with them each week and watch them grow and change.
I my gosh I love it! She is adorable (and Koda too, when he get's his own post)! Next time you tend we will have to Skype and I can see how big they are! You make a great aunt! I'm just going to say it and put it out there, you and Mike (at some point in time, no rush) Would have pretty awesome kids :
ReplyDeleteWow you are a stellar aunt! I love watching my nieces and nephew. It is good practice and what's nice is that they get to go home after a while once you're exhausted!
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