April

The past 6 weeks have been amazing, busy, stressful, wonderful. Having 2 kids is such a blessing and I feel like our family is complete in so many ways. Thank goodness Skyler is an easy, content baby because Hunter has been quite a handful since we brought her home. He decided that the potty is an unnecessary interruption to his day and that throwing anything in sight is the most fun game ever. The lack of crying from Skyler Hunter makes up for in whining and chaos. We are trying to give him plenty of attention but its just going to take a while to get used to sharing the spotlight I suppose. He sure does love his "sissy" though and is still constantly trying to hug and kiss her throughout every day.

We celebrated Easter at Papa and Grancy's this year and Hunter loved playing with his cousins; Abby, Riley and Braden. They hunted for easter eggs and played all afternoon in the beautiful weather. Skyler soaked up all the love and snuggles she could from her amazing family. The next day Oma (my mom) took the kids and me to Carlsbad for a fun overnight vacation. We went in the pool, had delicious meals, played at the beach, and shopped at the outlets. It was a great little trip and loved the time we spent together with Oma. I went back to work on the 21st and will continue to work on Saturdays only while I start building a small hair service from our home during the week. To end a great month, we had a celebration at our house for Nana (Vicki) and Tom's wedding! There was tacos, margaritas, music, and family celebrating the happy couple's big day. It turned out beautiful and so much fun, and we are so happy that Nana found someone to make her so happy. Welcome to the family, Tom :)

Skyler Dawn Ehrlich

Skyler is here! March 16, 2012. 1:28 pm. 7 lbs 1 oz, 21 inches long, grey eyes and lots of dark brown hair. We were again blessed with a healthy, beautiful, easy baby, so far. We have to wake her up for most of her feedings and rarely hear her cry. We are unbelievably blessed and so thankful for our amazing family.

Well, the verdict is in. C sections are definitely the way to go. :) At least in my experiences, I am so glad that I had this surgery. I had no labor pains, no hours of misery followed by more pain. Just an appointment, a few hours of prep, a short procedure, and a beautiful baby girl in my arms. I must admit that recovery wasn't any easier than my first birth. Different, yes. But not much less or more painful or difficult. At least from what I can remember. Although I was released from the hospital much earlier this time, which was nice.

I was lucky enough to have Chase with me the entire time we were at the hospital and one day at home together. He stepped up like the amazing Daddy he is, changing diapers, doing his "burrito wrap" swaddle, and helping me with my needs as well. We are all so lucky to have him. The following few days my wonderful mother took time off of work to stay and help me. My grandma stayed the few days after that and then Chase was home again for the weekend. So I had plenty of help and love the first week home, to say the least. All was beautiful and perfect and I was recovering so much quicker than I imagined. Then came day 10.

On Skyler's 10th day of life I woke up with chills and body aches. I had planned on being on my own with the kids that next week while Chase was out of town for work. But the symptoms came and went throughout that day and I decided that I had better pack us all up and stay at my parents house in case I needed the help. Thank goodness I did. The following 5 days ranged from awful to worse, I got in infection in my breast which is called Mastitis. The symptoms of this infection are those like a severe flu and so it took a few days for me to realize I didn't just have a bug. Once we diagnosed the problem I was put on medication and it went away after a few more sleepless days. Its taken a while to catch up on the sleep I lost and with nursing every 3 hours and occupying a 2 year old, I am still extremely tired. As is every mother in the early weeks, I suppose. Thanks to my wonderful parents and grandma for being nurses, babysitters, cooks, and maids. I don't know what I would've done without them. So beyond blessed. But I think its safe to say that we are now all finally doing well and adjusting to this new life we all are blessed to have.

Hunter absolutely loves his baby sister. He constantly gives her sweet kisses and leans close to whisper "hi, sissy". He was beyond excited to present "Raisin" to her in the hospital and still presses the bear's hand for her to tell her, "i love you, baby skyler". It warms my heart to see their bond forming and I hope they can grow to love and like each other unconditionally.