Audrey Ann Battisti

Born December 1, 2009 at 11:15 p.m.; 6 lbs 7 oz; 17 inches. As for a brief report, the pros and cons of this labor/deliver/transition are:

Pros:
1. Short labor and delivery (2 hrs as opposed to 14)
2. Baby is nursing and sleeping great!!
3. Recovery seems to be WAAAYY better this time around; I am feeling 100x better and I think the recovery will be a lot faster.
4. Overall, I feel more prepared and confident than last time. The transition seems to be easier than last and easier than I thought. Then again, I've only been home for 1 day.
5. Lexi is already loving her sister and is VERY curious about her.

Cons:
1. NO Epidural. Worst pain of my life. Was totally unprepared for that. The anesthesiologist got there when I was pushing the baby out so it was too late. I only pushed for like 5 minutes so although that was really painful, it was quick. The contractions were the worst and I don't think it helped that I was scared to death.
2. Mean, unsympathetic nurse.
3. Lexi is already jealous of her baby sister:)

Overall it has been a great experience and I am enjoying being a mother of two:) Pictures to post soon (I either lost my camera or Lexi threw it away...she is learning to throw away EVERYTHING in the garbage can and I can't find the camera anywhere.)

9 Month Belly Shots

Here I am, posting my first pregnant belly shots...at 9 months (Due Dec 7th). My sister in law is starting her photography business and was so kind to take some pregnancy shots for me. It was a super fun shoot and was pretty relaxing since I got to lay down for most of the shoot:)

Hope none of you are offended by the bare belly; I certainly don't think it is sexy or inappropriate, but I do think it looks cool and beautiful in its own way:)

She only took about 400 shots, so I thought I did good to narrow it down to 7.

What do you do with the left over cookie dough?

*Update on this: Lexi woke up several times in the night throwing up everything she ate that day. I didn't think I gave her even enough to matter, but I guess no more cookie dough for her! After lots of laundry, cleaning the carpet, and 3 baths, I'd say the pictures weren't worth it:)

Church Has Never Been So Good

Why?
1. It only takes 5 minutes to get to church now (instead of 20). We actually get there early b/c if we don't, we don't get a seat (our ward is huge), so more incentive for Derek and me to plan ahead and get there on time.

2. I'm in the same ward as my sister Sabrina. We probably talk too much in church, but what people don't know is that we are usually talking about the lesson--and that is a good thing for them so they don't have to hear 10 comments from us.

3. Lexi is 18 mos now--NURSERY ready or not here we come!! I forgot what it was like to actually get something out of church! Maybe all those times of sitting in the hall, watching Lexi run back and forth through the halls is helping me learn on Turbo to make up for lost time since I'm much more appreciative and attentive now:) Lexi has been pretty good in Nursery for the past 2 weeks but every time I go to get her, she is being held by someone. So, I think she is demanding a lot of attention from the nursery workers but they haven't complained yet:)
Lexi with Uncle Dustin (Sabrina's husband)

So Much for Beginner's Luck

Turns out the hardest thing is not getting Lexi to fall asleep in a toddler bed; it's getting her to stay in bed and not wake up a few times at night, not fall off the bed, and not get up too early in the morning. I really do want to try again b/c it would be nice to not have to lug around two pack n plays for vacations after this next baby comes, and I think she can get it. I'll just need to plan on it taking more than one night:) But, I don't think I have the energy to try again tonight; maybe in a few weeks.

Beginner's Luck??

So, I've been putting off training Lexi to sleep in a toddler bed b/c I'm just worried that it will be more effort than it's worth right now and maybe I should just wait until she's a little older and can learn a little faster. Well, ideally, I would like her to be in a toddler bed before the next baby comes (7 weeks), but I didn't know if that was realistic. Tonight, I thought I'd just try and see how it went. I decided that I wasn't going to spend a lot of time or effort but I would at least give her a chance.

So, maybe this is beginner's luck, but she totally took to it pretty much right away...which surprises me b/c she hasn't been the most adaptable baby. I laid her down and shut the door and heard her crying a few minutes later. She was out of her bed and at the door trying to get my attention. I think she was a little confused but I laid her down again, said "Na-Night" several times, gave her her blanket and just whispered to her while rubbing her head and back for a little bit. She was totally awake when I left and I heard her making babbling noises for a few seconds and then she was out! No crying and no getting up! Now, maybe I got her at a good time b/c I know she was super tired, so maybe she was too tired to fight it, but she at least seems to catching on. When I went back to check on her, I found her like this:

Oh the satisfaction that comes when you see your baby sleeping so beautifully and peacefully:) Apparently, her feet needed the pillow more than her head:)

*Update: During this post, I heard a cry, thump, cry. She fell off the bed, so I moved the mattress off the bed frame and onto the floor and she went back to sleep. We'll see how this goes and if I'm up a lot in the night putting her back on the mattress....

Texas Fire Ants

I say Texas Fire Ants b/c the ants here in Texas are different than the ones in Utah or anywhere else I think. They HHHUUURRRTTT! Apprarently, Lexi agrees and has some sort of allergic reaction to the fire ants here. She was outside for a minute and found a pile of "dirt" and got some good bites on her leg. Her leg swelled up pretty bad for about 2 days and she couldn't even walk on it or if she tried, she would limp and act uncomfortable about it. We gave her some ibuprofen, benadryl, and anti itch cream and that seem to help ease the discomfort. She was up every 2-3 hrs that first night and it was hard to console her b/c she was crying b/c she hurt; not crying just to be consoled. Anyway, her bites turned into some ugly looking blisters and here 2 weeks later they are still clearing up with some Neosporin. I'm just glad she didn't get bit by a bee or wasp or that it wasn't any worse.