Summer fun

Lucy's going to school 3 days a week this summer - to keep her in a routine and used to her school and teachers and classmates, and to give us some Max time too!

On her days at home, we've been trying to do fun things and we recently went to Kidzoo, the Cincinnati Zoo and Totter's Otterville.  She calls them adventures (pronounced "inventures!") and she loves them!

Kidzoo fun...we hadn't been since her birthday but she's repeatedly asked to go to "that place where we take our shoes off to play."  There weren't many other people there and she had tons of fun!

 

 Max had fun, too!



Cincinnati Zoo fun...she was excited to show Maxyboy all of her favorite animals (though he ended up sleeping almost the whole time we were there).  She rode the carousel twice - once with me when we got there and once with Dave before we left.  That was her first time agreeing to ride it, though she only wanted to ride on one of the animals that are stationary - she's not ready to sit on one that goes up and down, I guess...

Lucy was anxious to see the giraffes...she was excited to meet Nasha - now Lulu's a big sister, just like Lucy!

This girl loves eating outside!  We got there at about 10:30 and she started asking to eat lunch immediately...



Sleepy boy!



We had to get an ice cream!

Totter's Otterville fun...Lucy's been there with babysitter Tammy but Dave and I had never been...and we had a coupon for free admittance that we'd gotten at Hallzooween.  Dave thought maybe we'd be there for around an hour...which he told me on the way home - about 3 hours later!  Max was a good boy while his sister played, played, played!
She had so much fun on the indoor playground, shopping in the play grocery store, trying on costumes, playing in the water table, and much more!

She felt so special...Dave has been telling her she gets to go on fun adventures because she's such a good big sister...she was pretty worn out when we left, though...

I've been trying to make the most of my maternity leave - and we've been trying to give our girl a good summer (since there will be no vaca this year...Dave and I already went on our vaca - a 2 night stay at St. Elizabeth...) but Mama goes back to work next Friday! (boo)

A dancing girl and a thoughtful boy

This little guy cracks me up...he does this soooo frequently!  I guess he's got a lot to think about...

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My beautiful girl had her dance recital recently.  Dance class had been hit or miss and though she was on a "hit" streak lately, we still weren't sure what to expect on recital day...would she dance?  Would she even get on the stage?
She was excited to have her hair done and to wear makeup and she did really well at the rehearsal the night before so we were hopeful...
On recital day, I took her backstage with her class and teacher but she was pretty clingy - she wanted to stay with me.  I was able to get out of there for a couple of minutes to see what would happen and when I came back, the class was lined up and ready to take the stage.  Ms. Megan assured me she'd be fine...and she was right!

Baby #2 time!

Finally!  I was starting to think this baby was never going to come!  But on the evening of Thursday, May 15, I began to think differently...

I started feeling some pains and thought maybe this is it...but I'd had that same thought several times before.  

Dave began getting Lucy ready for bed - he was getting her in the tub as I was laying down to try to relax...and as I was laying still, I heard / felt a little click and thought maybe my water had broken...?  If so, it wasn't much but by then, I was having steady pains - coming every 9 minutes - so I decided to call my doctor.

Unfortunately, Dr. Lea was not on call that night...the doctor on call happened to be Dr. Loftus - the one doctor in the practice who I'd never met before...but she was quite nice on the phone and told me to go ahead and get to the hospital.

We called in Lucy's partner - Grandma - and headed to St. Elizabeth.  It was nearly 11pm when we arrived at the hospital and I was only 4cm dilated when they checked me in triage.  By the time I got to my room, though (just a few minutes later), I was 8cm!  We thought we'd be meeting our baby very soon but then the nurse said they'd check me again in two hours to see if I'd gotten to 10cm. 

Meanwhile, I got my epidural...hallelujah!  It was amazing!  I was (obviously) in a lot of pain up to that point and the act of getting the epidural was horrific (just getting into the correct position when I didn't really feel like I could move) but afterward, it was pure bliss!

The pain and discomfort went away almost immediately...and Dave said I got very talkative (though soon I got super sleepy).  I was completely numb and felt zero pressure - with Lucy, I felt pressure with every contraction...it didn't necessarily hurt but I could tell when I was having a contraction because of the pressure.  This time, the nurse would say, "You just had a big contraction...did you feel anything?" and I'd honestly say no...it was amazing!  My right side was particularly numb...I could not even move my leg...I had to pick it up and move it to where I wanted it!

After two hours, I'd dilated just a bit more and they were going to check again in another couple of hours.  At that point, I went to sleep...
By then, I'd met Dr. Loftus...and I loved her!  Dave really liked her, too.  They called her back in when it was time for me to push...besides waiting for me to get to 10cm, they were also waiting for me to get enough feeling back to detect the contractions.  I'm sorry, but I am happy to say that never happened!  By watching the monitors, they were able to tell me when to push and within 20-25 minutes, this little (huge!) guy was welcomed into this world!
He weighed 9 pounds, 5.4 ounces and was 22 inches long at birth.  I'd predicted about an 8 and a half pounder and was pretty shocked when they read out his weight.



It was love at first sight for his proud parents!
Max David Meyers



Our family of four!

Big sister was so proud and excited to meet her new brother.  For months, Lucy had been telling everyone the baby was a boy - she'd even convinced me - but for the last couple of weeks of my pregnancy, she changed her tune and said she was getting a sister.  When Grandma told her she had a baby brother, Lucy actually got mad and pouted - " No!  I wanted a sister!"  But by the time she got to the hospital, there was no more sister talk.
She was shy at first (there were several other visitors at the time and she was overwhelmed)  but warmed up enough to give him a kiss on the head and tickle his feet a bit. 
The next day she came back and got to ring the button announcing her baby brother...and she even held him!

Soon it was time to head home to begin family of four life.

So far, so great!

Big sister shared these toys with little brother!

Max and Lisa, Lucy's baby, both bundled and snuggling together!

Max had jaundice and had to have several heel pricks and doctor appointments in his first week of life but he's been doing great!


First outing in our new double stroller!