1 Month

Our Baby Ruthe is 5 weeks old!  Time is just flying, and she is growing like a weed!

Stats
weight: 10 lbs. 2 oz
length: 21.5 inches
head circumference: 14 7/8inches

Milestones
Papoose can roll over!!! She started doing it at 3 weeks and 2 days old.  We thought it was a fluke, but she's kept doing it!  I've lost count of the number of times she has rolled over tummy to back.  She hasn't rolled from back to tummy yet, but trust me, she's trying!

She also loves to kick her legs wildly during tummy time, resulting in scooting across the floor by up to a couple feet and/or rotating around in a spot.  More than once I have left her in one room to go to another room, only to come back a few minutes later and she's rolled over, facing a different direction, and a foot or so from where I left her.

If she's moves this much as a newborn, I wonder what adventures she'll take me on once she learns to crawl and walk!

Rolling over is usually preceded by Papoose getting a little angry about being left on her tummy. :-(

Sleep habits
She's sleeping GREAT!  She goes to sleep between 9pm and 10pm usually.  A couple times she's kept us up til 11pm, but it's usually on a weekend, so no worries.  She'll wake up to eat once, usually between 3am and 5am, and then go right back to sleep until about 7am or 8am.  A few times, she has slept through the night, but I still wake up to pump milk those nights.  So I don't get any better sleep when she sleeps through the night, but hey-- I've got a 1 month old with incredible sleep habits.  I love it!

don't you just LOVE sleeping babies???

Sister Love

Munchkin adores her Baby Ruthe!  I love to see how much love and concern Munchkin has for Papoose.  When Papoose is sleeping, Munchkin will go to her bed and just watch her sleep for a few minutes and say, "Baby Ruthe sleeping.  Baby Ruthe pretty sleeping."

When Papoose is on the floor for tummy time, Munchkin will lay down next to her and insist that she have tummy time, too.  Munchkin also likes to show Papoose her toys.  Sometimes, Munchkin asks me to put Papoose in the stroller so she can take her for a walk, and Munchkin insists on pushing Baby Ruthe. I love that Munchkin wants to play with Papoose!

tummy time for both my babies

playing on the floor

sharing the dinosaurs

going for a walk... Papoose fits in the doll stroller!

Munchkin is a bit possessive of the blankets in the house... i've noticed she has started accumulating them in her room.  When Papoose is wrapped in a blanket, no matter what blanket, Munchkin tells us that it is her "blanken" and she wants it.  Most of the time we tell her that she needs to share that blankets, and everything is ok.  But if Munchkin is tired, we've been known to having minor crying fits about who's blanket it is.

Munchkin: "i love you, baby ruthe, but this is my blanket, so i'm taking it back while you sleep."

At bedtime after saying prayers, we do something like a family huddle cheer-- we all put hands in the middle and shout, "Love ya!" (it's something Brad did growing up, so we do it in our family, too).  From day 1, Munchkin has insisted that Baby Ruthe do "love-loves" also. And then she gives Papoose a hug a kiss, even if mommy is trying to feed Papoose at the moment, which makes things awkward. I must admit, that one of the greatest joys I have found as a mommy is seeing how much my girls love each other.  It just makes my heart all warm and fuzzy!

can you say, "awe!"

more kisses...

sweet-ness!

And before I mislead anyone into thinking our home is always picture perfect and peaceful... Proof that the Neeley house isn't always full of rainbows, sunshine, and smiles...

Big sister trying to make little sister be quiet... feel the love?

sometimes, Munchkin likes to "ruthe roll in blanken"... Papoose doesn't enjoy this game very much, yet.

Looks like typical sisters to me!

Munchkin and Papoose really are average siblings that argue, fight, tease, annoy, etc... but in the end, they love ever other so much!

No matter how much they bicker, they really love each other!

Interior Decorating

I've always wanted an interior decorator to help me make my home look pretty.  So when Baby Ruthe was born, I decided to finally hire one...

She is quite expensive though. 3 meals per day plus snacks, room and board for the next 16(+) years, LOTS of attention, clothes, hygiene maintenance, hugs and kisses and cuddle time, responsibility for her education and well-being physically, mentally, spiritually, socially, etc....

Here's some of her budding "portfolio" of work she has done for our home! (please forgive the sideways pics, I can't seem to fix them.)

the office: so much more efficient to gather toys in the office where mom works on stuff during the day instead of playing in her own room

Daddy always says, "out of sight, out of mind," and complains of not playing games often enough, so if he wants to play more games, they must be in plain sight-- in the middle of the hallway floor!

the bathroom was looking kind of plain, so our interior decorator added some art to the bathtub (using washable bathtub crayons, of course!)

after a busy day's work, the artist needs a break to watch "Elmo Street on the teebee"

I'm impressed with her talent!  As per our agreement, I try and give her a fresh slate to work with and practice her work each day... I feel like I've been slacking on my end of the deal lately.  Luckily, my family and friends are pretty forgiving.

Birth Story: The Ruthe Maedean Edition

Can I just begin by saying that I've never been so glad to be proven wrong about almost everything?!

Sunday morning, I woke up just like any other Sunday around 7am.  Used the bathroom and started taking a shower to get ready for church.  During the shower I started feeling a bit "crampy."  After the shower I asked Brad the time.  I started to notice that the "cramps" were coming kind of like waves and wanted to start timing them.  After getting dressed, putting on make-up, and doing my hair, I'd had 5 more waves of cramps, all consistently 3 minutes apart. I let Brad know that I was starting to time what "I think might be contractions" before he got in the shower while I started making breakfast and waking up Munchkin.

Shortly after 8am, Brad got picked up to go to his early morning church meetings.  He told me to call the dr and see if I really was having contractions and what I should do.  I told him I'd do that after giving Munchkin a bath and getting her ready for church.  By the time I called the dr, my "waves of cramps" happened at consistent 2 minute intervals and the dr wanted me to come to the hospital to get checked.  I called Brad and told him what the dr said, but that I think we could go to church first... I mean, it was the day BEFORE my due date.  I'd had 1 false alarm a few days before my due date with munchkin and had been sent home; so I wasn't convinced this was the real deal.  Besides, I wasn't having real contractions... I remembered those were the most horrible, painful, tear-inducing things ever when I was induced with munchkin. This was just some crampy feeling...

Well, Brad was waiting outside for me to pick him up when I got to the church.  Some dear friends of ours had also just arrived and we told them what was happening, so they insisted on taking Munchkin and her carseat "just in case."

We arrived at the hospital about 10am, the nurses were busy giving twin boys circumcisions and the dr was on the phone.  We just waited ... and waited... and waited.  The dr finally noticed us and took us to a room and left.  The nurse came in and asked who I was, I told her, and she didn't believe I was the one who'd called saying I was having contractions every 2 minutes.  But she agreed to check me anyway after I told her that on Thursday the dr had determined that I was "at 3cm but easily stretched to 4 or 5cm."  She asked if i had a guess where I was, I said maybe 4cm, if I'm lucky.

I was already 6cm!  I was shocked!!!  Needless to say, so were the nurses and dr.  The dr told me the next time he came in that he didn't believe I was in labor when i showed up. They also assured me that I was getting admitted; this wasn't a "false alarm". I just wanted to keep walking around and felt fine, but they insisted on keeping me in bed for at least an hour to do some monitoring. Baby Ruthe was having some slight deceleration in her heart rate after contractions, so I couldn't have intermittent monitoring, and I had to have an IV.  Bleh. After an hour of fluids and monitoring I was dilated to 7cm, and Ruthe's heart rate was stabilizing, so they let me get up and move around on the condition that I stay hooked up to the IV and external monitors (giving me about 3 sq. feet to roam in).

yummy orange Popsicle! dilated to about 6 or 7 cm

Brad and I played a game of canasta while I sat on a "birth ball", pausing during contractions so he could apply counter pressure to my lower back and I could focus on relaxing and breathing. By 1pm, I was at 8cm and my contractions were starting to feel more intense.  I asked the nurse if it was too late for the epidural... I knew 8-10cm was supposed to be the "hardest part of labor" and I was having vivid memories of the pain I felt when induced with Munchkin.  Even though the intense pressure and cramping I was feeling now was nothing compared to then, I was starting to get really scared that it would become like that after it was "too late."  Brad and the nurses were amazingly supportive and kept telling me how great I was doing and that they didn't think I needed one. Brad encouraged me to keep going, reminding me that I can do this contraction and that was all that mattered for the next 30 seconds.  He would also remind me that each wave of pressure was like a message from our sweet baby Ruthe that said, "I'm so excited to meet my mommy and daddy!" I crawled in bed at this point and, laying on my side, had to devote all my energy to staying relaxed and calm.  Brad never left my side.  He was a wonderful and supportive coach-- feeding me ice chips and popcicles, holding my hand, wiping my forehead, keeping me calm, applying counter pressure to my lower back.  Seriously, I have the best husband ever!

I stalled out at 8cm for a couple hours, which was really disappointing.  The nurse told us that the dr wanted to break my water, and asked if I was ok with that.  I said yes, but wanted to walk around some more and use the bathroom.  That's all it took to fully dilate, "except for a tiny bit on the right side" before the dr got there. I was feeling lots of pressure and wanted to start pushing.  He broke my water and told me to push when I was ready.  After 1 contraction, all I heard was "push! push! she's here!" So I pushed again and heard my baby's first squeals!

Ruthe Maedean Neeley
5/27/12
8 lbs. 3 oz, 19 inches

My first thoughts-- "wow! she's pretty chunky! how did I just do that?!"
The dr commented on how I was probably the "strongest pusher he's ever met"... Brad later explained to me that the dr wasn't telling me to "push," but rather "wait! don't push! stop pushing!" as he was trying to re-position Ruthe so I wouldn't tear... but I pushed so hard that I tore anyway and he couldn't stop me.  Oops! I'll need to work on that next time.

Happy mommy and "papoose"

It was an incredible birth experience.  I had to allow some things that I would have rather done without-- like the IV instead of just a heplock, and constant monitoring instead of intermittent, and more freedom to move around.  But overall, I feel like it was amazing! I felt amazing for hours after she was born; like I could go home right then.

I have to say I'm a huge fan of natural childbirth now.  Having been induced and gotten an epidural, and now having had a "natural birth", I can say I think natural childbirth is amazing.  I'd like to send out a quick "thank you" to a couple friends that inspired/convinced me to give it a shot-- Adele and Emily.  I read their blogs and birth stories (Emily actually made 3 posts but i only linked to the 1st one), and both recommended some books. (Thanks for sharing your stories, Adele and Emily!) I chose to read one of them, called Husband-Coached Childbirth: The Bradley Method.  I highly recommend it for anyone interested in trying natural childbirth.  When I read it, I thought he sounded a bit hokie.  But I tried it.  And he was right. (There's classes, too, but I just read the book.) Much of the pain associated in childbirth can be alleviated if we can train our minds and bodies not to work against itself during labor.  It is tough-- it's called "labor" because it's hard-- but it doesn't need to be harder than nature intended to get the baby out.  It was tough, and it was painful, but it was also incredibly rewarding to essentially surrender my whole body to the natural process of birth. The difference between this birth and munchkin's is like night and day! I would do it all over again... but I'll wait a couple years.  ;-)

Super-Dad! and Best Husband Ever!

The Waiting Game

so... i never posted this, and it seems silly now, but i'll post it anyway.

Well, I'm over 39 weeks... so now it's just the waiting game.

I totally intended to have a "real" belly picture... but silly Ruthe came  too soon and I never took one.  So you'll have to make due with this picture from when I was 37 weeks and went to the zoo.  :-)

Just a few hours before she was born-- it's my HUGE belly picture!

She's due May 28th, and the drs will induce me at one week overdue, or June 4.  What's your guess when our sweet little girl will arrive? (ok, it's a bit late to ask this question...)

At my 38 week appointment, I saw the doctor and found out that I'm already 3cm dilated and 50% effaced.  I told the doctor that I knew it didn't mean anything about when labor would start because I was dilated to 4cm and 60% to 80% effaced for 3 weeks with munchkin (heck, I'm further behind than the first time!)... for once, the doctor told me, "You're right.  It doesn't really mean anything about when labor will start.  Except that you're that much further ahead when you do get induced if that's what needs to happen in 3 weeks."  Finally, a doctor who listened to me and trusted that I know MY body better than he does!  (If I have to be induced, I'm specifically going to ask to get induced on a day when this dr is on-call!) (or i really don't know my own body that well... I seriously thought I was going to get sent home for false labor that day...)

At my 39 week appointment, I was still 3cm, but "very soft and stretchy".  What's more awkward?  The dr telling me this WHILE checking me and saying, "I can even stretch you to 4... or 5cm."

COMING SOON!  The Birth Story of Ruthe Maedean Neeley.

Zoo Fun

 Last Saturday, we had an all-day family date.  SO MUCH FUN! (and lots of pictures!)

It started at 6am when we all woke up to head to Columbus, Ohio to visit the temple. We made it to the temple with no car sickness-- yay!  (Every time we've gone before, Naomi has gotten sick on the way there and we've had to pul over on the side of the road to clean her up.  But this time-- we were extra blessed!)

Columbus, Ohio Temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

As soon as we could see the temple (shortly before 9am), Naomi pointed excited to the temple and said, "Jesus house!"  I was so excited to know that she recognized the building for what it was.  We had never called it Jesus' house, we'd only referred to it as the temple, but she knew!  (Really, I think she confused Angle Moroni on the top of the temple with Jesus, and decided that if Jesus was on top of the house, it must be His.  We tried to explain that it was Angle Moroni, but she continued to point and say, "Jesus."   Either way, she knew it was the House of the Lord; and Brad and I are very proud of our smart munchkin!)

Brad caught a perfect profile shot of munchkin looking at the flowers

I went in first while Brad stayed outside with Naomi to explore the temple grounds.  Afterwards, I came out and switched with Brad so he could do some work while munchkin and I had lunch and walked around the temple.

Around 12:30pm we headed to the Columbus Zoo-- the rated #1 zoo in the country, mind you. We wanted to show munchkin lots of animals (and i was secretly hoping all the walking would help move me closer to getting Baby Ruthe Maedean here sooner-- it didn't work).  Munchkin fell asleep in the car on the drive from the temple to the zoo, so we let her keep sleeping after we got there for about 30 minutes.  It was hardly a nap at all for her since she normally naps for about 2 hours, but Brad and I were excited to show her the zoo and knew she could sleep after visiting the zoo.  So a 30-minute mini-nap it was...
and then a super exciting and exhausting trip around the zoo... (We were planning on staying til the zoo closed at 5pm, but we would end up leaving around 4pm because munchkin got too tired and cranky. Yeah, aren't we awesome parents?!)  :-(

she loved petting the goats

she had to pet a goat of every color...

this sweet goat, when munchkin started to "brush" her by sawing back and forth, just turned to look at her as though thinking, "you've never done this before have you?  ok, make it quick!"

it's a "BYU Kitty"!  

up close with a polar bear!

one of munchkin's favorites-- a snake!

taking a break from all the walking...

trying out a bench... she's upset that mommy and daddy won't sit down with her.

But it was totally worth it!  Munchkin had a blast seeing all the animals. And Brad and I had a blast watching her meet the animals.  We decided pretty early that we'd let her set the pace-- after all, we were there to let HER see the animals and wanted her to have fun.  We didn't want to be those parents dragging their whining kids around the zoo telling them to hurry up-- nobody has fun when that happens.  Well, munchkin pace is really REALLY slow... we only got to see about 1/4 of the zoo.  Luckily, we got a membership, so we can go back as much as we want for the next year and not pay anything extra!

resting her tired feet :-)

sometimes, we wondered if we actually came to the zoo to
try out everything she could sit on...

Relay for Life

Last weekend, our little family helped participate in Relay for Life!  It was such a fun experience, and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year.

A few months ago, a friend from church asked me to join her team for Relay for Life.  I said, sure... not really knowing what i was getting into.  So I went home and did some google-ing and found the website, http://www.relayforlife.org/index.  I browsed around, and eventually found my self crying.  Remembering so many loved ones who's lives have been touched my cancer.

So Friday evening on May 3, I find myself driving in the pouring rain to do Relay.  Brad's co-worker dropped him off after work, so I met up with Brad and the Relay team when I arrived.  We sat for about 15-20 minutes in the car waiting for the rain to let up, and it did.  It turned out to have lovely weather the rest of the weekend!  We talked with the team, mostly made up of family members of my friend Jessie.  I got to help with a cake walk fundraiser while there.  After the sun set, there was a Luminaria Ceremony-- a time to remember those who have been touched my cancer, light candles for those who have passed away, and walk a lap in their memory.  It was difficult to hear the speaker, so I missed a lot of it, but I was touched deeply by the memories of my loved ones.  It was an emotional time, but I was glad to have it.

Since I'm 8 months pregnant, we decided to go home for the night and sleep in my own bed... i mean, it's hard enough to get comfortable in my own bed.  Forget sleeping in a tent on the wet ground with a toddler.  NOT gonna happen!

The next morning was beautiful.  I didn't walk any laps the night before because my feet were super swollen, but I did walk about 5-6 on Saturday morning since the swelling went down a lot during the night.  It was great to talk to friends and spend time with family and friends.  Also, while walking, I noticed I was having about 2 mild contractions per lap... They were mild enough that I could keep walking at a good pace and talk without difficulty though most of them.  Continuing to walk made it feel more intense, but the second I stopped moving, everything relaxed. Darn, Braxton-Hicks contractions!

There was a closing "Duck Drop" raffle. We bought 4 duckies, but didn't win.  We did get to keep the duckies though, and that makes Naomi super happy!  She loves duckies.  Over all, it was lots of fun, and we look forward to participating again next year.  Hopefully, I won't be so huge and pregnant, and we can stay over-night for more fun events!

In Memory of

Great-Grandma and me when I was little.

My great-grandma, Francis Maedean Harkins passed away almost 8 years ago from cancer.  She's been on my mind extra lately since our little Ruthe Maedean will be named after her. I was very fortunate to spend the summer with her shortly before she passed away.  She was an incredible woman!  Strong, stubborn, kind, loving.  She had high expectations of us, and always made sure we knew that, and at the same time helped us realize we could meet those expectations. A year after she passed away, I was also able to go to the Chicago temple and do her baptism/confirmation work for her.  It was a very special experience. I love and miss Grandma Harkins very much!

Left to Right: my mom, me, great-grandma, and my great-aunt Tina
This was taken the summer shortly before she passed away.

Two weeks after my great-grandma Harkins died from cancer, my step-grandfather Bob Brown, passed away from cancer.  That was a seriously tough summer!  Most of my memories are of him telling me that I was a "perfectly good Georgia peach" that was "ruined by the d*** yankees."  He was a southern man, through and through.

Two years ago, Brad lost 2 of his uncles to different types of cancers.  His uncle Mike (from his mom's side), and his uncle Bruce (on his dad's side).  I only met them briefly once or twice, but they were incredible men.  I felt like I knew uncle Mike through Aunt Jeanne's faithful email updates and getting to know Brad's cousins (uncle Mike's children) who lived near us in Utah at the time.

Uncle Mike is in the center.  He was diagnosed with leukemia after getting home from their trip out to be at Brad and I's wedding.  A great man!

Survivors!

My dad's mom, my Grandma Mary-Ann, has had numerous types of cancers, but is still winning the fight.  I don't get updates often, but I do know she has had at least breast cancer and skin cancer.  She's such a strong woman!  I love her!

And most recently, my mom had a type of skin cancer.  She's recovering now-- the growth was surgically removed and her nose had to be reconstructed, but her dr says she's healing great and has been impressed with her recovery so far.  Way to go, Mummsie!!!

My Mummsie is a grandma! (that's her with munchkin as a newborn)
 I don't know why I don't have a more recent picture of her!  I'm sure i do, but can't find one.

I've also had friends who've been battling cancer.  Brother Teemant of one of our former Provo Family Wards is still fighting melanoma, though in remission.  And the very young son of another friend from another Provo Family Ward is in remission for childhood leukemia.

Daddy-Daughter Date

Who takes their daughter to Wal-Mart on a Saturday afternoon for a Daddy-Daughter Date?

This Daddy!

And who thought it was the most fun ever?!

This awesome, laid-back Daddy-Daughter Duo!

Munchkin and Daddy both recently had birthdays! And with Baby Ruthe coming soon, Mommy and Daddy both thought it would be good for Munchkin and Daddy to go on a date.  But when the Daddy-Daughter Date Day came, the weather was horrible-- cold, rain, snow, ick-- and munchkin had a mild stomach flu!  And it pretty much ruined all of Daddy's plans.  :-(

Well, Mommy still had some "spring cleaning" she wanted to do with Daddy and Munchkin out of the house, so she sent them out to the store to get a few things.  And Daddy decided to make this shopping trip the funnest experience ever for Munchkin.  And thus-- the Daddy-Daughter Wal-Mart Date!

Lining up the dinosaurs

trying on some sun glasses

ready for the beach, anyone?

checking herself out in the shades!

hiding in the men's shorts :-)

i know i did this as a kid

hehehe, i see you!

helping daddy push the cart

Munchkin and Daddy had so much fun at Wal-Mart doing whatever Munchkin wanted.  And Daddy got lots of whispered, "Oh my!  That is just too cute!  What an awesome Dad!" comments as he walked by.

Yeah, Daddy is awesome!