Isabelle Marie

Yesterday morning (May 22, 2016), at 10:16am, we welcomed our second beautiful daughter into the world!

Everyone meet Isabelle Marie Winterstein :)

She's already filled our lives with more joy and love than we could have imagined. Abigail is a phenomenal big sister and we can't wait to go home tomorrow and get our new normal figured out :).

 

I will post more later with many more photos, details, etc :). For now, I'm going to try and squeeze in little bitty naps when possible... It's been a few days since I've slept! 

 

Relaxing while waiting...

Ahh....I'm currently relaxing in a nice warm bath while Abby naps. This is so beyond needed for me. The past few days I've really let myself be my own worst enemy. I've been way too focused on trying to induce this labor naturally that it's pretty much taken over my mind. I was in such a funk yesterday, which I blame myself for. Sure, I've been pretty miserable. My back pain at night is keeping me from getting any sleep. My tailbone pain is stopping me from even wanting to sit down, and definitely making standing up dreadful. And I've had some of the worst crotch pain of my life...but I won't go into that! Haha. On top of it all, the past week has been filled with nausea and a total lack of appetite. So yeah, none of that is fun. But I'm still trying to remind myself that this could be the last time I'm ever pregnant. And that's pretty crazy to think. Despite the pain, I want to treasure these last moments of feeling a baby moving inside me. I want to embrace how amazing my body is for being capable of carrying and growing a life inside of it. It might not be comfortable, but it's more than worth it!

 

I'm also a little thankful that I've gotten to this point of misery. It's made the whole "Abby not being my only baby" thing a little easier on me lately. I was initially feeling guilt over it - thinking the transition would be difficult for her and that I needed to soak up these last moments with just her. I still want to soak them up, but I'm in so much pain that it's taking away from my time with her. I'm not able to chase her around the house as easily. I can't bounce her on the yoga ball like she wants because my belly gets in the way. And the most simple of all, I'm not able to comfortably snuggle her on the couch because we don't both fit very well and can't get comfy. Once baby Isabelle is here, I can snuggle my little girl again! Sure, I might be exhausted at times...but at least I'll feel good enough to sit on the floor and play with my beautiful two-year-old.

 

So for now we wait! My body is progressing and telling us that it's ready for Izzy's arrival. It's just up to her when she decides to make her grand debut! We are ready and excited. :) Until she arrives, I will continue to pray for patience and peace while trying to relax and enjoy these last moments as a family of three! 

 

Still pregnant!

Here I am, laying in bed, 37 1/2 weeks pregnant! As of Wednesday, I was 3 1/2cm dilated and 80% effaced. The doctor said I could go into labor any day. If I'm still pregnant by my next appointment on Wednesday, she is going to sweep my membranes in hopes to jump start something. I know I technically still have almost three weeks until my due date, but the baby is a good size and my body seems to be getting itself plenty ready. My tailbone, pelvic region, and back can't handle being pregnant much longer! So here's to hoping we get to meet this little girl soon. 

 

Abigail had a bit of a tough week this week. She was pretty emotional and a little irritable for several days. We all thought she was just sensing that things were going to change soon with Isabelle coming and whatnot. She was also refusing to eat most things we'd offer her. After waking up from her nap one day, she told me she was hurting. A little while later, when taking her potty, she began to cry and told me it hurt. It was so sad! I got her into the doctor that day and sure enough - my baby had a UTI. We had to catheterize her at the doctors. It was awful. But she's now had three doses of her antibiotics and is seeming much more like her normal and happy self. I'm so glad I trusted my instincts and got her in to the doctor so quickly! My poor little girl.

 

Good news! Our neighborhood added another park down the road from us. It's probably about a 3/4 mile walk, which is perfect for some exercise while I'm trying to induce this labor ;). Abigail got to go twice today, which she loved! 

 

She's just the sweetest, silliest, and most adorable little girl. I can't believe we are Blessed enough to be getting another wonderful little gal!! I'm feeling so many emotions with this being so close to reality now.

I love my little family so much. 

So in love

Today is one of those days where I feel emotional thinking about how much I love Abigail. It's a strange feeling when you love someone so much that it is almost painful. Painful in a good way, of course. 

 

This little girl has completed my life in so many ways and I'm filled with so much joy just by looking at her. Thinking about how much I love her almost brings me to tears. She is so amazing. I can't believe that my heart is going to feel this way for two kids soon! How crazy is that?!

 

Days like these are wonderful. 

A challenging day

Abigail was a little challenging today.

First, she wanted nothing to do with her breakfast. So we caved and finally set the plate on the coffee table desperate to get her to eat something to start off her day.

Then, I ran an errand with a friend this morning so daddy took Abby to the park. When they returned home, she was refusing to lay down for her nap, constantly claiming she needed to potty. But she'd sit there forever and nothing would happen. I think someone was delaying her nap on purpose ;).

After sleeping for a solid three hours, she woke up very emotional. She couldn't seem to pull it together. She even passed out from crying so hard because mean-old-mommy put clothes on her! After that whole ordeal, we went to the beach and had a great couple of hours.

When we got home a little later, she again decided that she wasn't going to eat dinner. We ended up showering and relaxing later, and that was wonderful. We also got to video chat with my sister, which was great.  But the poor girl decided to cry when I said it was time for bed (which is very unusual for her). Honestly, I considered bringing her into my bed and letting her sleep with me. We never do that, but it was awfully tempting! But I was in so much pain & I haven't been sleeping well, so I needed to get her down so that I could relax and try to feel some relief. 

Days like these can be challenging, but they also remind me of how great I have it most days. These days are rare for us. We are extremely Blessed to have a happy and pretty easy-going kiddo. She's always very strong-willed and can be a bit stubborn, but I wouldn't change that for the world. I think she's going to grow up to do great things and I'm excited to watch with pride. 

Oh, and did I mention that tonight was the second night in a row that as I'm walking out of her room at bedtime, I've overheard her saying, "thank you Jesus." MELTS MY HEART! How precious is that?! I must be doing something right :).

My payment

It's 3am and I am unable to sleep. I'm uncomfortable, my back hurts, and my heartburn is really acting up...pregnancy sure can be glamorous ;).

I read an article a bit ago about stay-at-home mom's and their "worth." It talked about how a lot of stay-at-home mom's feel the need to compare their days and hours to day cares and such to show "the money they are saving them and how valuable their time is."

It got me thinking...isn't my time at home with Abigail payment in itself? Getting to be there when she says each new word or phrase, being there hug and kiss her when she feels pride in achieving something that she feels is worth celebrating, and being her rock for when she's needing a little extra TLC. There's timess where out of nowhere, for no apparant reason, all she wants is to snuggle on my lap. Although I know Dan loves his job, I also know that he would kill to have some of these special moments with her. Time is something we can never get back. As each moment passes, we're all getting older and we can only look back on the memories we've made. I am so grateful that I'm able to stay at home at this point in our life and raise our daughter. Being her "person" in life right now is worth more to me than any amount of money.

I love my little girl :)

Shoutout to my Folks :)

Today is one of those days that I'm feeling extra thankful. 

I am so grateful to have two parents in my life that have always taught me to stay positive, stay strong, and to do everything with optimism, love, and a joyful attitude. My parents have been extremely supportive of my life and I am so grateful for that. 

When I wanted to pursue something in school, they supported me. When I wanted to get a new job, they were happy for me. When I got married, they made sure to make that one of the best days of my life. And when I had Abigail, they were her biggest fans and made me feel so proud of what I had created and accomplished. They still make me feel like I'm a great mother and wife, and their validation means so much to me. Having their support with this pregnancy has been a Blessing, too. I love that they trust in Dan and I to make our own decisions, and are there beside us if we ever need them. I'm so thankful to have grown up in a stable household with a family that loved and supported me in each stage of life. They are still this way with both my sister and I. Having role models like that in life sure makes being a mother easier. If Abigail and Isabelle grow up respecting and adoring me half as much as I do my own mother, I will be so happy.

Not only are they great parents, they are wonderful grandparents. Abigail loves them so much, and I know Isabelle will too :). Whether it's a quick "hello" on FaceTime, or a visit to their house...she loves her time with Mimi and Grandpa. 

Knowing that they moved up to Washington to be closer to Lindsay (my sister) and I gives me such comfort in day-to-day things. There such a safety and reassurance for me in having my parents close by. Living in a separate state from them for four years was tough for me! I'm not at all ashamed to say that I rely on seeing my parents often. 

So mom and dad....I can't thank you enough for being my biggest cheerleaders through life. You are both so amazing and I'm so happy to have you as my parents and friends! I love you so much more than I could ever begin to explain.

(Sorry this was so jumbled and if it seems as though I'm rambling. I'm tired and am battling a headache tonight...but I felt the need to get out what was going through my head) :)