All About Lilly

We have put so much emphasis on little Leo lately that I wanted to write all about my Lilly. She did a lot of growing up while I was growing Leo. It's sad to look back and know that I missed out on 7 months of her life. But I hope she can look back and only remember the good. She was able to spend so much time with her grandma's. Not many other kids get that opportunity. I love that she is getting older but it also makes me sad that she is not my baby anymore.

Lilly has such a strong energetic personality. At times this can be VERY difficult. I just have to keep reminding myself that someday it will work to her advantage. As she has gotten older it has been getting more and more difficult to channel all that energy she has. I find myself struggling everyday on trying to keep my composure. This girl can make me want to scream and pull my hair out one minute, and then laugh until I cry another minute. There is definitely not a dull moment when she is around.

I have been researching "High Energy Children" in hopes that I can find some help. I found this:

"High energy children are the type of children that typically have short attentions spans, can not hold still for lengthy periods, talk in very loud voices, are running every where they go and don't do a whole lot in 'slow' mode. They also typically are very verbal with communication skills, so independent they won't listen to anyone as they definitely have a 'mind' of their own and act before thinking of consequences".

I thought, "Wow, do you know my child personally? Because this is my Lilly." But then I found this:

"High energy children can be so fun to have around, given you use stimulating and exciting paths for them to explore. But let them get bored and everyone around them wants to pull their hair out. They need us to guide them by encouraging all this wonderful energy into creative outlets that stimulate them, allowing them to express their individuality to it's fullest, and helping their free spirits to blossom to their full potential."

I think I might laminate it and put it on the fridge. I needed to hear that. 

With all that enthusiasm for life, she often says the funniest things I've ever heard. Here are all the ones I actually wrote down over the past year. I wish I could have captured more.

Lilly didn't get enough sleep one night. She came into the family room and laid down on the floor and said, "Ugh, I feel like an old lady".

Lilly was watching Snow White for the first time. During all the scary parts she would cover the eyes on her baby dolls. At the end of the movie, where the wicked queen falls off the cliff, Lilly announced, "Now that was a great ending!"

During family prayer Lilly prayed, "Please bless that mommy can get 2 lines". This was when I was trying to get pregnant with Leo.

After swimming lessons we would walk by an aerobics class full of old ladies. When we got home Lilly liked impersonating them:

 
Lilly heard them say something about "President Obama" on the news. She quickly said, "Hey, I know that guy. I've been to his White House!"

Before Lilly turned 5 she started getting nostalgic about being 4. She kept saying things like, "Four years old has been a good age for me. I have really like being 4. I think I am going to really miss it. I'm not sure that I am ready to be 5."

My dad picked my mom and Lilly up from the airport in Salt Lake City. When they got in the car, my dad leaned over and gave my mom a kiss. Lilly said," Aww, I could just cry!"

Whenever anyone asks Lilly how old she is, she responds, "I'm 4, but I'm tall for my age".

My mom told Lilly that her favorite book when she was little was called "Jenny Lynn." So she decided to name me that. Lilly said, "Well then, we should probably name Leo, Harry Potter."

In Primary they called on a little boy in Lilly's class to help with Sharing Time. As he was walking up to the front she said in a very loud and dreamy voice, "Oh, isn't he handsome."

Lilly came up to Gus and said in a very serious voice, "Dad, I really need a pet. So you can either buy me a dog or a dolphin."

While at the hospital Lilly tried to take my food tray out to the nurses. It was too heavy and she was going to drop it. So my mom took it from her and said she would take it. Lilly was a little upset and said, "Fine you can carry it, but I will do all the talking."

Whenever I tell Lilly how proud I am of her for being brave she always says, " I know! I just keeping coming out of my little shell!"

One night while I was in the hospital, Lilly said, "Mom. promise me you will never get pregnant again."

Lilly felt Leo kick in my belly and said, "Wow, he just kicked me! I know I have said that I felt him kick before, but I really hadn't. This is the first time. I lied."

We were in the car and Lilly said, "Daddy your my best friend." Gus said, "Your mine too Lills." So I said, "Well what does that make me then?" Lilly said, "A monkey's uncle."

It was really cold outside and Lilly said, "Wow, it is shivering out here!"

Gus was taking a really long nap and Lilly said, "Dad is like a firefly. He is just sleeping all day."

We found out that we had a mouse in the basement. So we set some traps and every morning Lilly would go and check them. Well one morning Lilly ran downstairs and came right back up screaming and shaking. She kept saying over and over, "It snapped his little neck! I can't believe it!" It was so funny because Lilly is not scared of anything! It really freaked her out.

Lilly met her Aunt MJ's friend David at a basketball game and was immediately smitten. She came home and wrote him this card: (Cover - "L" and "D" for Lilly and David; Inside - "David, Lilly really wants to have a play date.") 

One morning Lilly woke up, went outside, and took off her training wheels with Gus' tools. When we woke up she said, "Quick, come outside, I have something to show you guys." She then showed us this:

 Lilly watched Kung Fu Panda 2 and acted like this for about two weeks.

 During December, Lilly was a little obsessed with Christmas caroling. Because we never made it out ourselves she decided to serenade the neighbors. She sang for over an hour until we forced her inside. Then she serenaded me and Gus.

One afternoon we all went to the grocery store, and I crept up behind Lilly and scared her. She jumped, quickly turned around, and said, "Oh! I thought you were a stranger and were going to stick a cigarette in my mouth!"

Although Lilly is a very high maintenance child we love being her parents. She definitely keeps us on our toes and makes us laugh so much. We are so grateful she is part of our family!

3 Months Old

I love that Leo is healthy and growing, but I want it to stop. I want him to stay this size forever. I just want to squeeze and kiss on him all day long.

Now that Leo is on new reflux medication he is SO much happier. He is so smiley, especially to his momma. Sometimes when I am rocking him to sleep, he will look up and smile at me and then act all shy and bury his face in my shirt, and then peak back out and smile again. Its adorable. He loves watching Lilly bounce around the house. His little head whips back and forth as her tracks her every little move. He especially loves it when sister dances. He gets excited and kicks his little legs so fast.

He is still a pretty sleepy guy. He wants to sleep most of the day and is only awake for about 4-5 hours total. If I can't get him to take a nap when I know he is tired, we take a drive. He loves his car seat. Its weird because Lilly hated hers. Once he falls asleep in his car seat I carry him inside and move him around the house with me, rocking him when he starts to stir. Sometimes he will sleep in there for 4 or 5 hours straight.We still spend plenty of time rocking in his room. He fights sleep just like his sister did. I have now watched every episode of Vampire Diaries and Bones and have started on the second season of Glee on my iPhone. It helps pass the time while I rock this little one. I can only start watching my shows once his eyes are closed though. If I am not staring into his eyes he fusses and stops eating until I stare at him. He needs my undivided attention to fall asleep. Sometimes I will continue to rock him way after he falls asleep just to snuggle with him. Lilly has to lure me out.

He now weighs 15 lbs and is 26 inches long. He is in the 95% for both weight and height. His head is still pretty wobbly and he has no interest in toys. Every baby goes at their own pace I guess. Actually, it makes me happy that he isn't hitting milestones really quickly like his sister. I want him to take his time so that I can savor every little thing he does.

Leo has the most amazing eyelashes. They are very long and curl right up. He still doesn't have much hair. Ever since I scrubbed out his long baby hair it has been nonexistent. He is starting to look chunky with rolls of fat everywhere. And his belly is huge! When he sits up it just bulges over. It is so cute. His eyes are really blue. Lilly also had blue eyes but then they turned brown before she turned one years old. I am hoping Leo's stay blue.

I can't believe this Little Man is 3 months already. I always wonder how I could love him more than I already do, but every day that passes I do.

2 Months - Little Man

Leo (aka Little Man) is growing up SO fast! Here are his two month stats:

Weight: 11 lbs 6 oz (48%)
Length: 23 1/2 in (50%)

As you can see he is not little anymore! When he was born he was in the 5th percentile now he is in the 50th! He is sure catching up fast!

Leo's Acid Reflux has been getting worse. Much worse. He is constantly spitting up most of his bottle and crying. He also has been waking up with a hoarse voice in the mornings because the acid is burning his throat. I feel so bad for him. We have tried a few different medicines and we have an appointment with a Gastro Intestinal Specialist this week. Hopefully we can get things figured out so that he can feel better.

He cries a lot but also has happy times throughout the day. At nine weeks he finally started smiling! We were a little worried because they usually hit that milestone around 6 weeks. The Pediatrician said that if he didn't smile by 12 weeks then they would start running tests to see if there was something wrong. We are so glad there is not! He doesn't do it often but when he does it melts your heart.

He definitely already has his likes and dislikes. He loves to snuggle. His favorite place to fall asleep is on your chest. He loves his binky, he loves his car seat, and he loves his bottle. He eats ALL day. He hates sleeping alone, getting dressed, taking a bath, getting his diaper changed, and he hates it when his sister mauls him. He also has a hard time falling asleep for his naps. Lets just say I spend TONS of time rocking him while watching Vampire Diaries on my iPhone!

Even with the crying and fussiness I LOVE this little man! After trying so hard and long to get him here I will take what I can get.

Leo - One Month Old

This little boy is still SO sleepy! He rarely opens his eyes and only wakes up when he is starving. I love holding and snuggling him all day long. It doesn't get better than this.

On the 4th Chris blessed Leo. We decided to bless him in our old ward. We had only been gone a few weeks and there are so many friends there that helped us and prayed for us during my pregnancy. We wanted to share it with them. His blessing was beautiful. We love this little man SO much.

New House

We have had a lot of changes in 2011. It has been especially hard on Lilly. I was sick most of the year and Lilly bounced around between my friends, my mom, and my mother-in-law. Then I had Leo and miraculously I wasn't sick anymore. So I became Lilly's mom again.

When Leo was 3 weeks old we bought a house. We moved and left behind our friends and Lilly's preschool.  All of these changes happened within 3 weeks. Lilly has struggled to adjust. She has a new set of rules and a new caregiver (me). She also isn't the only child anymore. I can't dote on her every little need like I could before. And now with the new move, she has no friends. That has been the hardest. Because she has no siblings close in age we have relied on her friends to help entertain her and teach her how to interact with her peers. Now she sits at home, bored out of her mind while I take care of Leo. That boredom has led to the destruction of many items, bad listening skills, and massive tantrums. It may be rough for a while but it was a good change for us. We went from a tiny apartment to a house with a huge yard. I know that with time Lilly will make new friends and be very happy in this new house.

We had been looking for about a year and couldn't ever find that perfect house with the perfect price tag. But we finally did. The house was a mess so we had to redo all the flooring and paint every square inch of it. But it looks brand new now. We love the neighborhood and the area. Gus even has a shorter commute now! It will be perfect once we are settled and have made new friends!

Here are some pictures of the new house. We are still organizing and buying odds and ends. I have BIG plans for this house. But first I need money to buy them! 

Family Room

We have big plans for the kitchen. We need new appliances and new countertops. But what I am really excited about is extending the counter top and making a bar. Hopefully that will happen soon!

We want to eventually close off this room with french doors. Then Gus will have somewhere quiet to work from home.

Entryway

 

Main Floor Bathroom - needs to be painted

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

 

 Lilly's pink explosion - We were in a hurry to pick out paint colors because I had just had Leo 3 days earlier and we made the mistake of letting Lilly pick out her own. I must say it looked a lot lighter on the paint chip. We are hoping to incorporate a lot more color soon.

 Leo's Bedroom - Leo sleeps either in his little bed or in our arms in the recliner. He HATES laying flat and we found this amazing bed at Target that lets him sleep upright, which also helps with the Acid Reflux. He uses it about half the night until he realizes he needs someone to be holding him. I haven't decided what I want to do to his room yet.

 

Lilly and Leo's bathroom

 Basement Play Room - We need some serious organization 

Basement Family Room

2 Weeks Old

Leo has been such a joy since we brought him home!! We can't get enough of him. We fight over who gets to hold him, feed him, and burp him. We are so grateful to have him in our family!

Nights are a different story though. Nobody fights to stay up with him all night because he never sleeps! After a week or so of this I told my sister about it and she said, "Its normal, all my kids did that." What?!! Lilly slept through the night since the day we brought her home from the hospital. We had no clue what a "normal" newborn was like. Gus and I take turns sleeping in his room at night so the other person can get some sleep.

He eats 4 oz every two hours. He loves his food. He also loves to scream. His screaming is so intense that he turns purple and threatens to pass out. It makes me nervous every time! He does it almost every time we change his diaper, change his clothes, or don't get him a bottle fast enough. So it happens a lot! He is a lot more demanding than Lilly was as a baby. But I have a whole new perspective this time around. I am enjoying everything, even the unpleasant things. I want to soak it all up because I may never get to have another baby.

At his 2 week check up he weighed 7 lbs 3 oz and was 21 inches long. The doctors were so proud of him. He really shouldn't have gained that much because he was a preemie. I know it's because he eats ALL the time.

Lilly LOVES her new brother. She is very helpful. Sometimes too helpful. Its hard. I want her to be able to help out and feel included. But there are only so many things that she can do for her brother. She gets frustrated, and we have had a lot of tantrums. Hopefully we will find a middle ground, and as Leo gets older we will find more things for her to help out with.

Leo and my Mom

 Sponge Bath

Leo Christopher Henshaw

On November 4th at 9:00 AM, two weeks after I was released from the hospital, my water broke. I was 34 weeks along, but not worried at all, because honestly, I thought I was going to have the little guy WAY earlier. And besides, I had Lilly at 34 weeks. Gus rushed me to the hospital, and after a quick evaluation in Triage, I was sent up to Labor and Delivery. We waited around for my mom to pick up Lilly from preschool and come to the hospital. Gus and I had promised Lilly throughout my pregnancy that we would let her watch Leo's birth, that is if the doctor would let her. She deserved to be there after everything she went through to get her little brother here. She had waited just as long as we had and she was ecstatic. It helped our decision knowing that she is not phased by many things.

After an hour or so, my contractions came on hard and I begged for an epidural. But after I got the epidural I could still feel the pain on my left side. The nurses had me try different positions to distribute the medicine, but it didn't help. So they gave me more medicine through my IV, but that didn't help either. I was glad that Gus, my mom, and Lilly were there to distract me. The doctor came in right after my epidural to remove my cervix stitches. Thanks to the epidural I didn't feel it.

We sat around for another hour and watched my contractions come and go. I was in so much pain but so excited for this rollercoaster ride to be over, and of course to meet my little Leo. Finally my favorite doctor in the world came in to check on me. She checked on me and told me that they actually may have missed a stitch on my cervix! Sure enough, she got out her scissors and took out that stitch. She said I was at an 8 now and that hopefully getting that stitch out would let my labor progress. About 2 minutes after she left I felt a lot of pain and pressure. I told my mom and Gus that I thought I might be ready to push, but I was only an 8. The nurse ran and got the doctor and she came back in laughing telling me there is no way I was ready. She checked me and sure enough I was ready to push! The doctor and nurses scrambled to get ready. My mom held my leg, Gus stood back so he wouldn't see blood, and Lilly stood behind the doctor ready to help catch that baby!

I started pushing and I felt everything on my left side. But thankfully I only had to push twice before my sweet baby boy was born. They rushed him to the side of the room where a team of nurses were there to help him breath. I was a nervous wreck watching them as they roughed him up trying to get him to pink-up and cry. He was breathing on his own but not crying and pretty lathargic. But this was to be expected because he was a 34 weaker. I had to remind myself that Lilly did the exact same thing  and she is just fine now.They finally let me hold him for a minute and then took him down to the NICU. 

That night after I was settled in my room, Gus wheeled me down to the NICU to see Leo. We weren't able to hold him because he was in an isolette and was having a hard time keeping his temperature under control. But we were able to stick our hands in and touch his tiny hands and feet. The nurse showed us a big deep cut on the top of his head that was in a "X" pattern. She told us that she didnt know what had caused it but it happened during the birth. When I saw that X on the top of his head, I knew exactly what it was. It looked identical to the lone stitch that my doctor removed minutes before he was born. I guess my cervical stitches were doing their job a little too well.

I went home on the 6th without my sweet baby boy. I was sad to leave him behind, but I knew it could have been much worse. It brought back a lot of memories I had of leaving the hospital without my twin boys. But I knew this time was different. He was doing amazingly well and eating like a champ. The nurses said he would be able to go home a lot sooner than anyone thought. Children are not allowed in the NICU and Lilly was sad that she wasnt able to see or hold her brother. One of the sweet nurses unhooked him from all the monitors and brought him out to a window so that Lilly could see him. It made her so happy.

Over the next two days we made lots of trips to the hospital to see our Leo. We were able to hold him and feed him. I was in love. 

On November 8th we were able to bring our little Leo home. Throughout my pregnancy I never bought anything for Leo. I didn't want to have to bring everything back if something were to happen to him. I didn't want to make that mistake again. So we had to borrow a car seat from a friend because we had not bought one yet. As Gus and I walked into our apartment and Lilly came running to see her new baby brother, I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. We finally had another child, a sibling for Lilly, and he was finally here. Healthy and safe.

Leo Christopher Henshaw

November 4 - 5:00 pm

6 lbs 8 oz - 19.5 in 

The X on his head from that naughty stitch!