Look what I can do!!

Besides smiling, this week Tessa started turning her head! Thank goodness for cameras!

I love the feet!
Ta-Da!!
Adam caught it all on his lego camera.

New Update

It has been a while since we gave an update....but we have good news to report! Tessa is doing so much better! We made it to her six week birthday this past Saturday and she made it over the 8 pound mark yesterday! She is eating so much better, but still will not nurse-that is our next battle. She finally has meat on her bones and she looks so much better. She started smiling on Monday and that has made the last 6 weeks all worth the hard work. She has Eric wrapped around her fingers already. He thinks she is the prettiest thing he has ever seen!
She is still my snuggle bug!

As for the rest of us...Adam is such a blessing!! He was glad to be home and sleep in his big boy bed after being with Grandma's and Grandpa's for a week and a half. (I couldn't have done any of this without them!) He is talking so much and so clearly. He sings all of the time and is such a good helper. He is really good with Tessa although I think he freaks her out. He is in love with trains, dinosaurs and the Magic School Bus. We watch The Land Before Time almost every day. His cousin Mya surprised him with lots and lots of cars and he has been in heaven with those. Having new toys has been a wonderful distraction which has helped when I need to give my attention to Tessa. Thank you Courtney!
Eric is doing well and still enjoying his job. His boss has been so great to give him time off when i have needed help at home. That would have never happened in St George!
I am still on survival mode. I am still only getting 4-5 hours of sleep a night. A really great night is 6 hours!! I have been sleeping through my alarm for about 2 weeks now, but luckily Tessa is waking up at night to eat and that does wake me up. I have been fighting a cold for a week and had a blocked milk duct over the weekend that was beyond painful. I was about ready to give up after that. I just don't have time to heal from anything. Eric told me on Sunday he wanted more babies. All I could do was laugh! (The past 6 weeks haven't been quite so hard on him.) Even though things have been hard, we have been very blessed and realize that things could have been a lot worse. I am so grateful to be a mommy!

Update

It has been a difficult week and a half, but I think we are finally on the mend. I took Tessa back to the doctor the end of last month for another weight check, only to find that she had lost another ounce. I was devastated and felt so guilty!! Luckily we had decided to go home for Labor Day weekend to see our families and while we were there I was able to get the help I needed from my sis-in-law, Angel. (I love having doctors in the family!!!) She put Tessa and I on a feeding schedule which we have been doing now for over a week. I am pumping instead of breastfeeding because I lost most of my milk supply. So, I am pumping and feeding Tessa every hour and every two hours at night. Between the two I have like 10-15 free minutes an hour! It has been beyond exhausting, but worth it! After being down to 5 lbs 9 oz she is back up to 6 lbs 7 1/2 oz!! On top of all the stress of getting Tessa to eat (getting her to wake up has been a daily battle) we all got the stomach flu this last week. My poor body has had about all it can take... a surgery in the last month, no sleep, the stress of a starving baby, and then the flu-I am amazed I am functioning! I only get about 4 1/2 hours of sleep a night. I know it is bad when I get a cold sore and I have had 10 in the last 3 weeks!!
Our families have been so wonderful to help us out during all of this! I couldn't have done any of this without them. Our moms saved my life and kept Adam down with them for the last week and a half. We get to pick him up on Wednesday and we can't wait to see him. Not having him home with us has been like a form of torture for mommy and daddy. We miss our bug-a-boo!!
So things are finally looking up, although we are not out of the woods yet. Tessa is still throwing up every now and then which is frustrating but she is more alert and looking a lot better. I am anxious to get our life back to normal and to have our little family back together again.

Cute Kids...

I don't know how I got the best 2 year old in the entire world, but I did! Adam has been so wonderful the past 2 weeks with all the changes in our family. He has LOVED having his Grandma's here to play with him! He is such a good helper and loves his baby sister -almost too much sometimes. We hear a lot of "ee-ar" (sweetheart), "baby Tess so illy" (silly), and most often it's "baby tess so ute!" (cute). It has been fun watching him become a big brother. I can't believe how big he is now that there is an actual baby around. I also marvel at how much he is like his Uncle Kevin. Some of his favorites include Peter Pan, Pagemaster (I know, go figure!), he started making animal shapes out of his half eaten crackers, and today he discovered and loved Lego's! Yikes!!!
We have wonderful parents that have helped us out so much the last 2 weeks while I have been recovering. My mom was here for a week and a half. It was so nice to have her around!! Dad and Katy drove up last Wednesday to pick her up and spend the day with us. Then my awesome mother-in-law came for a few days and was Adam's little shopping buddy. They had already left the house for the morning by the time I woke up most days. It was such a help having her here.

As for our little Tessa...she is doing pretty well. We both had our 2 week check -up yesterday. I am healing well and the dr said I could go back to normal activities as long as I was still taking it easy when I feel I need to. I am glad to be able to drive again. That was annoying, but Eric was great about getting me out of the house. I am feeling good though..considering I am getting about 4 hours of sleep a night. I just remind myself that it won't last forever. Somehow that makes me feel better in the morning.
As for Tessa, everything is looking good except her weight. Instead of gaining, she is losing. We have gone from 6 lbs 6 oz when she was born to 5 lbs 14 oz 4 days later and now 12 days after that she is at 5 lbs 10 oz. The dr is concerned as am I because she eats really well and is having good wet diapers. I am taking her back Thurs afternoon to check her weight again and if she hasn't gained anything then we will have to figure something else out. I will have to pump or give her formula and measure exactly what she is eating so we can see what her intake is. I wasn't really stressed at the dr's yesterday, but last night I was really worried and feeling like a horrible mother. Today is better though...I am working hard to make sure she is eating well and we will just see what happens on Thursday. My mom says her block of cheese weighs more than Tessa does. I have no idea how I ended up with such scrawny babies considering the genes that run in my family.
Tessa's favorite place to be is snuggled up on my chest and I have to say I love having her there!
Her 2 weeks old pictures. She swims in some of her newborn clothes.

Thoughts from a tired Mom

I have a few minutes, so I thought I would throw some new pictures up. Tessa is doing really well and I am feeling pretty good. I am so grateful that everything was okay and that both Tessa and I were safe. I get scared going to sleep sometimes, but I guess waking up to a pool of blood underneath you will do that. I am also so thankful that I didn't have to have a blood transfusion, which was a strong possibility. Not my idea of fun. Tessa is eating really well and loves to be held! I have a hard time putting her down....I think we are making up for the day and a half that I didn't get to hold her. I am so glad that she is here and so happy to be a mommy!!

Her first bath at home

How cute is she?! I am loving her clothes and bows!!

what a difference two years makes!!

Anniversary

Thursday Eric and I celebrated our 4th anniversary! I can't believe it has already been four years! My Mom took Adam out for a couple of hours so we could enjoy an evening at home, since I can't really go anywhere. We ordered some take out (Thai food!!) and watched a movie-which let me tell you was really nice to do without a two year old running around. So much has happened to us in four years and I wouldn't change a minute of it! I have the best husband ever and am so glad that we have each other!

BABY PICS

Becky and Tessa are doing well. Adam is thrilled to have a baby in our house. Here are some pictures from the last few days.

Adam playing hide and seek in the curtains at the hospital.

Adam thought the breast pump would make a good trumpet.