Hadley's 18-month update

Hadley is 18 months old now and she definitely not a baby anymore, but a full-fledged toddler! Our little Haddy-kins is just a little bundle of energy and is always on the go-go-go! Her newest fascination is with climbing on everything or anyone around her...Daddy, the couch, the ottoman, the kitchen stool! She also loves to run and "jump," and she's doing great at learning to throw and catch a ball. Haddy also loves to dance! At her 18-month well-baby checkup, she was in the 25th percentile in all areas. She weighed 21pounds, 11ounces, was 31" tall, and had an 18" head circumference.

Since my last update, Hadley colored Easter eggs for the first time, and also went on an Easter egg hunt at church and at Grammy & Granddad's house! She didn't completely get the idea, but once she discovered that there was candy inside some of them, she decided that Easter was pretty fun!

Hadley loves reading books and playing with her princess and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse figures. She also loves everything that has anything to do with water - the pool, the ocean, playing in the sink or the water table, or just taking a bath! Hadley had her first experience with playing in the ocean (and in the sand) over Memorial Day weekend and she had an absolute blast!

Hadley has adjusted well to her new big sister role. She gives Carlie about 20 kisses a day & loves to sing to her and rock her while she's in her swing. We have appropriately nicknamed her the Paci Patrol because she is always at her sister's side the second she starts to whimper or cry, so that she can pop her pacifier back into her mouth...even at times when we'd like to let Carlie fuss it out a bit.

The past month or so has really been a huge language explosion for Hadley. She has a vocabulary of over 100 words including some two-syllable words, and she has begun to string together two or three word sentences/phrases ('my baby,' or 'I kiss baby' are her favorites). She can appropriately answer questions about "how many?" or "what color?," but her answers are always "2" and "blue" respectively.

Hadley has also just recently (finally!) graduated to the big girl bathtub for her baths. Thankfully, it was a smooth transition which was mostly only put off for so long because we were procrastinating on getting a good bathmat for her tub. The hardest part of the process has actually been getting her OUT of the tub at the end of bath time! Usually we have to drain the tub while she's still in it, and even then she would find some reason to keep hanging out in there!

Carlie's Birth Story!

Carlie Isabella Scholl entered the world on May 2nd at 4:36am weighing 7lb. 5oz. & measuring 20.75" long!
And without further ado...here's a recap of little Carlie's birth story!

I went to the doctor's at 9AM on Tuesday, May 1st.  I was still 4cm dilated (for the 2nd week in a row), so I had the doctor (Dr. Pellini) strip my membranes.  He is known in the practice as being the 'professional membrane stripper', so I had high hopes that things would happen - he said he almost always sees results within 24 hours!  He also said that he was the doctor on call the next evening, so maybe he would see me then (I was happy about this since he is one of my 2 favorite doctors at the practice - there are about 10 doctors total at the practice). 

Around dinner-time on Tuesday (we were at Gregg's parents' house), I started having some contractions, but nothing with any real regularity.  We went home and put Haddy to bed as usual.  I was having a TON of back pain & sat at my computer on the exercise ball with a heating pad on my back.  My contractions were still not regular at this point.  We both went up to bed around 9:30, but I continued having contractions - Gregg got to sleep for about an hour and a half when I woke him up and told him that I thought we should call the doctor.  The contractions were between 7-10m apart at the time.  I called & was SO excited to get the call back from the doctor on call & discover that it was the same doctor who had delivered Hadley (Dr. Black).  She was amazing during Hadley's labor and delivery, sitting on my bed for 4 hours because she had no other patients at the time.  She confirmed that we should come in, so Gregg's mom came over to stay with Hadley while Gregg and I made our way to the hospital.  We had to wait in triage for quite a while (an hour or so), but at least I was being monitored & the nurse confirmed that they would most likely be admitting me, based on my contraction pattern.  I finally saw a doctor who checked me and said that I was 5cm - this was around 1AM.

They moved me to a regular room & checked me again around 2:30am and I was 7cm, so a doctor (not my doctor) broke my water.  The contractions were starting to get really strong and the pain was so much more intense and painful than I had with Hadley.  The doctor said that she would come check me again in two hours...After about an hour, I was feeling lots of pressure and I told the nurse that I thought I needed to be checked again, but much to my dismay, I was still only 7cm.  By this point, I was writhing on the table & seriously crawling out of my skin from the pain in my back (now I understand all the stories about back labor - it was awful).  Knowing that the dr. thought I would still be laboring for another couple of hours, I broke down and got the epidural around 4AM (I didn't need one with Hadley so I was hoping to avoid it with Carlie, as well).  However, I stumped the anesthesiologist because I felt absolutely no numbing from the epi.  He put a cold towel (and later, an ice cube) on my face, legs, stomach, & feet & I could feel them all absolutely the same.  However, it did take the pain away in my back & allowed me to relax a little bit (I was having a hard time breathing through the contractions because of the pain and tensing up against it). 

Lo & behold, about 10 minutes after I got the epidural, I was telling everyone in the room that I felt the urge to push - the nurse was telling me not to bear down, because she assumed that I was still 7cm, but the doctor must have known better (she had come in not long before, straight from a c-section) because she told me that it was ok to push...which is a good thing because I wasn't even pushing - my body was doing it involuntarily - it was the strangest feeling since I never had a strong urge to push with Hadley at all.  I pushed through maybe 5 contractions and Carlie Isabella was born at 4:36am, 7lb 5oz, 20.75"! 

Because I had some meconium in my amniotic fluid when they broke my water, the NICU team had to be present and take her right away to examine her...she remained in the room with us, but they had to suction & assess her to make sure she hadn't ingested any of the meconium, so I didn't get to hold her for a few minutes & Gregg didn't get to cut the cord, but she was healthy & had a good set of lungs, so all was well. 

We had a great stay in the hospital - after how rushed it seemed last time (because of the time of day that Hadley was born), it was nice to really get our two full days in the hospital, even though we missed Hadley like crazy! 

From the very start, Carlie has been an amazing sleeper!!! After our experience with Hadley basically never sleeping, I always kept feeling like it was ME and that I was doing something wrong, but the two girls could not be more different when it comes to sleep...in fact, I have had to wake Carlie up at night to feed her & the nurses at the hospital would tell me that Carlie had a rough night because all the cranky babies in the nursery were keeping her up (LOL - we actually were told that Hadley was the cranky baby keeping the other babies up when she was born!) - and they would say "I waited to bring her to you as long as I could - she was just sleeping so peacefully!"

 

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Hadley's 15 month update!

Our little princess is already 15 months! It is so hard to believe how quickly time is flying...my next update will most likely be my "Hadley's a big sister!" post and that's REALLY SCARY!

Hadley is such a big girl now - Gregg and I seriously look at each other everyday and ask, "When did she get so big?" It's amazing to watch her grow and change...and learn new things everyday! She has become somewhat of a technology addict over the past couple of months, so we really have to be careful to limit her "connected" time - she would watch videos and TV all day if you would let her, which is interesting to me since she otherwise hates sitting still at all! "Melmo," "/C/" (Cookie Monster), and "Hehehe" (Ernie - the sound of his laugh) are currently her favorites! She is still not much interested in entertaining herself, which makes for one tired (and sore) Mama most days, after sitting on the floor with her reading stories and playing with her babies all day!

What new changes have we had over the past 2 months or so since our last update? Let's see! Haddy's still not much of a talker, but there are a few words that are recognizable pretty much all of the time...Elmo, Nimmie (Minnie or Mickey Mouse), keys, stink (as in flowers or feet!), Mama, Dada, cat, dog, meow, moo, pawoo (what an elephant says), MumMum, Gam (Grammie), PopPop (for Pops or Grandpop or Grandpa Joe). Hadley now has six teeth (4 on top and 2 on bottom) with another two coming on the top, we think! Her hair is really starting to grow in now, so we can get a ponytail or two out of it, but only when we distract her with movies/videos while fixing it. Hadley can also open and close her own water sippy cup and Daddy is also starting to teach her how to slide down the stairs on her butt.

Hadley now consistently sleeps 10.5-11 hours a night with one good nap (almost always 1.5 hours) and sometimes a second 45 minute nap each day. She is still in size 3 diapers, but will be moving up to 4s once we are out of those, and she is wearing mostly 12-18m clothes & size 4-5 shoes! She is starting to enjoy being outside more (especially walking up and down the sidewalk in front of the house) and she loves to play with her baby dolls (especially putting them on her shoulder and making them burp!)! She has grown attached to one particular type of baby doll, so we've been stocking up on them & probably have about 5 of them all over the house & car, so that Haddy knows she can leave one behind and still never be too far from another! She is also learning to be a much better traveler in the car (we think it's mostly because she is now able to see out the windows)!

In January, Hadley had her first trip to the sick-side of the doctor's office with an ear infection and cold. She was so miserable the whole time and we felt so badly for her, especially the first few days before the meds kicked in. She couldn't breathe, so Mama had to hold her and rock her to sleep for a few nights until she drained out enough (with the humidifier and VapoRub) to be able to be laid down. Seeing your baby sick is so, so sad!

Haddy's stats from her 15-month well-baby appointment (which she screamed through the entire time) are: 29 inches long (+1.75 from 3 months ago), 20 pounds (+1lb, 14oz), and 17-3/4 inch head circumference (+ 3/4"), putting her in the 10th percentile for height and weight and the 30th percentile for head circumference...so she's still a little peanut, but definitely healthy (and up from her 5th percentile at her previous appointment)!

Hadley's Christmas Update

Now that Hadley's over a year, I won't be doing monthly updates, but I do plan to post when I think of enough significant things from her life to blog about. I would also love to start blogging about OTHER things, but we'll see how that goes - I know how much time I don't have on a daily basis!

Hadley had a WONDERFUL second Christmas! She seemed to love opening presents, but as expected, the boxes and paper were much more entertaining than what came inside! Haddy also did an amazing job with all of the changes in schedule/routine and considering that she was sick with her second cold (to go along with her second and third teeth coming through)! She did end up being rocked to sleep quite a bit, which (thankfully!) we've gotten out of the habit of doing except for occasionally at nap time, but it's really hard NOT to rock her to sleep when you're traveling, sleeping in a Pack n Play, and/or staying in a house full of people who are also trying to sleep!

Hadley was so blessed by the generosity of family and friends this Christmas (as were Mommy & Daddy)! So much so that I do believe we'll need to add on to our house just to contain all of the toys and clothes she received! What a blessed little girl!

Hadley got to see Santa (or was he Father Christmas?) at Goody'z restaurant this year! She was shy and a little clingy, but she didn't cry! She really enjoyed looking at his musical pocket watch! We also took her to see the train display at Uncle B's store - she really enjoyed that, too!

Haddy also started doing many new signs this month, and making more noises/sounds/words. She now signs "fish," and "please," (in addition to milk, more, and thank you). She has also started making up her own signs for things like "sit" (she pats her belly, mimicking how I pat my lap when I want her to sit on my lap) and "Captain Hook" (she makes her finger into a hook and waves it around). She also stretches her arms up for "so big!" and will consistently say, Mama, Dada (although she thinks SHE is Dada), dog, cat (in a cute high-pitched voice), duck, and she'll smell Daddy's shoes, scrunch up her nose & say "stink." Hadley has also started to put her hands in front of her face to play Peek-a-Boo & she will act out "If You're Happy and You Know It," "I'm a Nut," "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear (we sing Haddy Scholl, Haddy Scholl)," and "Patty Cake."

Hadley still knows what she likes as far as food is concerned, so Mama's still having to figure out ways to sneak in fruits and veggies other than bananas, peaches, applesauce, and peas. Meats and breads never seem to be a problem, though! Haddy is also starting to feed herself with a fork. She will put the fork right into her mouth if you pre-load it for her, and she will try to load it up herself, but she doesn't quite have the hand-eye coordination needed for that yet! She is also starting to be able to catch and throw.

Oh and one last thing - come this spring, Hadley will be a big sister to a LITTLE SISTER! Yes, Baby Scholl #2 is a GIRL and we couldn't be more excited (especially Daddy, since now he doesn't need to buy new stuff - LOL!)!

Hadley's 1 year update!

Here goes - Hadley's ONE YEAR UPDATE! I still can't believe our baby girl is a year old! Time truly DOES fly once you become a parent. To start off with, here are Haddy's one year stats from her well-baby checkup last week. Our little peanut is still a little peanut. She measured in the 5th percentile for everything: she weighs 18lb-2oz, has a 17 inch head circumference, & is 27-3/4 inches tall. She got three shots, which she was NOT happy with and she didn't seem to be too convinced when Mommy tried to tell her that the shots were meant to keep her safe & healthy!

Hadley is completely weaned at this point, which may have happened sooner than the time that I actually weaned her, as I've been feeling like my supply had been drying up for a while since I've become pregnant again. Especially since I just decided to go cold-turkey one day (2 weeks before she turned 1) and she never looked back! I would say that Haddy had minor emotional issues that week & it wasn't exactly a smooth transition to cow's milk, but I think that was more the fact that she doesn't like to drink much period, not just milk. She seems to be doing pretty well now. There were a few weeks in there (that coincidentally went hand-in-hand with weaning) where Haddy was a terribly picky eater. Fruits & veggies were spit back out the second they were put into her mouth. We seem to be working past that for the most part now, though, which is a huge relief to Mommy!

Haddy FINALLY sprouted her first tooth this month, which coincided "nicely" with her first cold. The first night was rough, as she was so congested & couldn't breathe, so she spent a couple of hours sleeping on Mama's shoulder in the rocking chair until she had finally drained enough to be put down flat, slept 5 hours in her crib & was then super clingy all of the next day. She was pretty much her normal self after the first day or two, which was a relief, since she wanted nothing to do with anyone other than Mommy while she was sick. Lucky for her that she has a great Daddy who went out to buy her VapoRub at 10PM after a super-long day of work with parent-teacher conferences just to give her some relief!

In Haddy's 12th month, she celebrated her first Halloween and her first Thanksgiving! For Halloween, she dressed up as Tinkerbell. We only went trick or treating to two houses, Aunt Mel/Uncle Pat's & Carolina's (the next door neighbor), but Haddy didn't really know the difference. She was more excited to pace back and forth in front of the door, waiting and
watching out the window for more trick or treaters to come! It was so precious! Hadley did a great job eating her first Thanksgiving dinner, as well! She really seemed to enjoy the turkey, stuffing, corn casserole, homemade noodles, green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes!

During this month, we also celebrated Uncle Rob & Aunt Kasia's wedding! Hadley enjoyed entertaining everyone there!

Hadley's vocabulary is slowly starting to grow. While mostly only understood by Mommy and Daddy, Haddy can now say dog and duck (which basically sound the same). Although she doesn't verbalize much, she understands a TON! It seriously amazes us on a daily basis how much she seems to know and absorb from her environment. And WOW can she communicate! She really started to pick up on the baby sign language this month! She regularly (and accurately) signs 'more' when she wants food (or more food) or if she wants you to read her a story again - she also uses it for 'please'. Haddy can also sign for 'milk' and she finds her own way of communicating other things to us. For example, if she wants a snack, she will sign 'more' and then smack her lips!

Hadley also learned how to climb the stairs this month, so I guess it's about time we invested in some baby gates at the top and bottom of our stairs, huh? Haddy also loves to dance now! Her favorite tunes are Sharky & Bones from Jake & the Neverland Pirates (hopefully we'll get video of this soon!).

And here are some picture updates from Hadley's two birthday celebrations!

If you would like to see the video that Gregg made for Hadley, you can watch it here (password in caps: HADDYKINS)