Fancy (and very serious)

Ellie is already sharing with baby Katie... sort of. We explained in a very serious tone that this is as close as she can put her necklaces to her little sister. We're working hard on teaching her limits around Katie, such as no poking in the face, covering with blankets or putting the wrong toys nearby. Ellie is trying to be sweet, but it's a little scary having such a fragile baby around our outgoing toddler. I guess Katie will learn survival skills early :)

How are we doing

So many well-wishing friends and family members have been checking in to ask how we are doing as a family of four. The simple answer is: We're doing pretty well. A bit tired, but happy and healthy and blessed.

But the more detailed answer would include our frustrations, fatigue and follies from the past week -- even as we ride out the wave of new baby bliss and continue to adore our toddler. I feel like I'm in the breastfeeding version of marathon training. My supply is low, again, this second time around. But thankfully I know more than I did when Ellie was first born, and I've been throwing everything I have into getting the supply to keep up with Katie's growing needs. Nine days in and so far (*knock on wood) we haven't had to give her any formula. To accomplish this, I am working with a lactation consultant and closely monitoring my output along with Katie's growth to make sure her nutritional needs are being met. My "homework" from the specialist is pumping with every feeding to get additional milk for Katie and condition my body into making a larger supply. This means every feeding takes at least an hour, by the time I've nursed and then pumped and then fed Katie the extra in a bottle. And since I have to feed her every 2-2.5 hours round the clock, I don't have much more than an hour between any of her feedings. It's intense, but SO worth it to me to make breastfeeding work. It's already going so much better this time than it did with Ellie. I'm really hoping if I power through the next few weeks I'll be able to cut back on pumping time... but we'll see how it goes.
Since my days are largely spent attached to Katie or a machine, Brian has had to take on a lot more daddy duties with Ellie. And he's doing the lion's share of the cooking, cleaning and errand-running. Really anything that comes up is more Brian's domain these days. I'm SO grateful that he's been super supportive of the extra breastfeeding efforts and making it possible for me to work so hard on it without letting much slip with Ellie or the house.

On the sleep front, Brian and I have been spoiled for a few nights now with Katie snoozing for long stretches (at least for a baby). I'm only allowed to go one stretch longer than 3 hours between feedings, but the past 2 nights I've had to wake Katie up after waking up myself to find it had been four hours since we heard from her! It's amazing how restful that amount of sleep feels to a new parent -- and it totally freaks us out not to hear from Katie for so long!

Even though things are hard right now, I still stick to my simple answer that things are overall good with the Schneiderheimers. All of the time spent nursing Katie is work, but also such a joy. Whenever I hold her close I am filled with the overwhelming new parent emotions of wanting to do anything in the world to protect her and help her grow. I'd forgotten how intense those emotions are, especially at the beginning. And Brian is enjoying the dedicated time with Ellie. She's testing our patience quite often these days with tantrums and disregard for our instructions. We're not sure how much of that is the age and how much is due to the second child we've introduced into her world, but either way we're trying hard to get her behavior more in line. I'll admit to a breakdown at the dinner table a few nights ago as Ellie threw a fit, Brian and I shouted and Katie somehow slept peacefully nearby. I mostly blame my tiredness and post-natal hormones, but seeing mom break down in tears stopped Ellie in her tracks and put her on her best behavior for the rest of the evening. But I don't want to repeat that scene again. We need fewer tears in our house these days, not more from mommy.

Ellie still melts our hearts a dozen times a day with a sweet phrase or a hug and kiss. And we're even more blown away by how big Ellie seems now that tiny Katie is in the picture. Here's hoping both girls continue to thrive and amaze us on a daily basis... just don't grow too fast, darlings.

Rewind: hospital stay

For some reason I'm way behind in posting these photos...
Here's a few more from during our stay in the hospital last weekend. Katie slept in her cart in the nursery for some of the time, while mom and dad snagged sleep during the nights.
And I was beyond thrilled when Ellie finally came to visit Saturday and I got to see her. My two girls!

Here's the obligatory "leaving the hospital" shot from Sunday night. I think our smiles here do a pretty good job of hiding the terror of leaving the hospital support system. But, actually, it was really nice to get home -- especially to Ellie.
The time apart was hard on everyone, but we're so grateful that both grandmas could come into town and help ease the burden. My mom stayed through the whole week after and pitched in a ton at our house, with laundry, dishes, cooking and taking Ellie for some outings. It was a huge help, and it allowed Brian to go back to work for a couple days so he can spread out his leave time over a longer span. For the next month or so he'll be able to take off Monday and Fridays (with paid paternity leave time) and only leave me solo for three days each week. I'm still nervous about how I'll cover all the bases with both girls, but parents do it all the time... right?

Good thing...

...we left the tags on the "little brother" shirt.

Family shot

Our first attempt at a family picture of four netted a few tears, a few smiles and almost open eyes from the newest family member.

Katie's big day

I have to share the story of Katie's arrival while it's still somewhat fresh in my head... although my head is anything but fresh these days as we're a week into new babyhood. But here's my tale of Feb. 3, 2012.

Brian and I checked into the hospital at 7:30 a.m. and got paperwork out of the way. They showed us to Room G4 of the women's center wing at St. Elizabeth East. I spent nearly every minute of the next three days in this room, except for a few walks through the hallways. Around 9:30, Dr. George came in and did an exam (to find I was only 2 cm!)... I thought after the week of cramping and pains I would have more of a head start on this labor, but no such luck. Pitocin started mid-morning and then it was all about the waiting game. By early afternoon I'd progressed to 4 cm and the nurses started to arrange for my visit for the anesthesiologist -- for the epidural. They'd ramped up my pitocin slowly during the day to avoid putting too much strain on the baby and also to make sure I didn't get too uncomfortable (from heavier contractions) before the epidural.
When the doc came in to do the epidural, Brian talked his way into getting to watch the procedure. While Brian had a blast learning all about how to put a needle into someone's spine, I winced through the pain and reminded myself of the greater good we were aiming for. Once the epidural took effect, I felt amazing.
As the pitocin continued to do it's work, I was instructed to rest up for delivery... which seemed to still be far away.
When I was only at 5 cm around 6 p.m, Dr. George said it would be safe for Brian to go home and help with Ellie's bedtime and still make it back in time. She said it would still be hours before baby's arrival. I was starting to wonder if we'd have a Feb. 4th birthday!
Brian left the hospital around 6:30 and within 5 minutes I noticed a change in my pain levels and contractions. At first I wasn't sure if the contractions were getting stronger or if the pain meds were wearing off. I called the nurse and then she called the anesthesiologist to give me a booster through the epidural. He got that done by 7 or so, but I was dealing with a lot of pain. My mom helped me bear through the contraction pains, but as they got closer and closer together she called Brian and suggested he not linger at home. (She told him he didn't have to rush, mostly to keep him from driving like a maniac on his return to the hospital... but I was thinking: get your butt back here!)
In another few minutes I was starting to feel a ton of pressure. A check from the nurse revealed I was at 10 cm and ready to push. My mom made another phone call to Brian and reported he was halfway back to the hospital. I believe he broke several laws from that point on in the trip and he later described a screeching turn into the parking lot (hard to do in our minivan) and a sprint through the hospital to my room.
When he walked in I was already sobbing from the pain, nerves and adrenaline. I was in position to push and more than ready when Brian took my hand. The next 15 minutes (or less?) are a blur, but I remember a few things:

• My epidural couldn't keep up with the contractions and I was in a lot of pain. A LOT. I'm glad I got the epidural, and would recommend it to other expectant moms, but I guess every tool in pain management has its limits. Thankfully the delivery process was fast.


• Brian was strong and supportive and helped me tremendously to get through it.


• After two rounds of intense pushing the baby's head was partway out. On the next one the head was fully out, and the next one pushed the shoulders through... and out SHE came.


• Brian proudly announced: "It's a girl!" and got to cut the cord while I cried and laughed and cried some more from everything that had just happened.


• Our baby girl, Katie, was in my arms a minute later. I'll never forget seeing this precious angel for the first time and getting to hold her on my chest, examine her perfect face, her tiny fingers and full head of hair. Too amazing for words to really capture that moment, but I tear up just thinking about it.

I think Katie's delivery story, with all of the ending drama, fits perfectly with the twists and turns we encountered through the pregnancy. Everything from the boy/girl mystery to her crazy activity level in utero to the last-minute rush of delivery tells me we have got a spitfire on our hands with this girl. I love that. And I am so thankful for the "happy ending" we're blessed with, since pregnancy and delivery outcomes are always full of worries and risks. Katherine Elizabeth Wallheimer is healthy and beautiful. She's already transformed our lives. Our new family of four seems as natural as anything. And Brian and I are so grateful for our daughters.

Three days

It's been an amazing first three (full) days with our newest angel, Katie.
Brian and I brought her home late Sunday, just after half-time of the Super Bowl, and then we all had a fairly sleepless night. But that's OK. Katie is getting adjusted to her new surroundings -- and they (Ellie and the dogs) are getting used to her, too. She's eating like a champ, making lots of dirty diapers and even getting some long stretches of sleep in (at least during the daytime hours). We are totally blown away by this tiny, beautiful creature.
Here are a couple more shots from the past few days.
Katie just after the nurses finished cleaning her up.
A hand shot that the nurse suggested we do, to show just how tiny our new baby girl is!
And here are the grandmas helping Ellie enjoy her big sister cake during the "party" the hospital helped arrange to help ease the new sibling transition. The cake even earned Katie a kiss from her big sis.