I am seriously obsessed with her. I’m not sure it’s because she MIGHT be our last baby, but all the things I did with Allie and Logan, like sleep training and have her nap without me I’m avoiding this time. She can sleep on my chest until she goes off to college. LOL

Likes:

• sleeping in the Tula and falls asleep on her own with the sound machine
• being bounced in the Tula
• looking at fans
• watching Allie and Logan
• always being held by mommy

Dislikes:

• when she’s hungry
• the paci. I still can’t believe it
• the end of the day is hard for her
• sitting in the car between Logan’s preschool pick up and Allie’s 4k drop off
• not a lot of dislikes. She’s a pretty happy baby

Schedule: She usually wakes us up around 7am. She stay up for 60-90 mins and then takes a nap. I’ll either shower or run on the treadmill during this time. Then she’ll be up for a little while before we pick up Logan from preschool. She mostly sleeps in the car during this time. She’ll be up for an hour when we get home and then back to sleep when it’s time to pick Allie up from 4k. 4-6pm she can be a little cranky and I’ll put her in the tula. Around 7-7:30 I get her ready for bed and she’s usually asleep by 8p when it’s time to put the big kids to bed. She wakes up at 2am and 5am to drink a bottle.

Eating: She’s a lot less fussy since I stopped breastfeeding and only giving her Enfamil gentle formula. She eats every 3 hours except the first stretch of nighttime sleep.

Sleep: She mostly sleeps in the bobby lounger next to me and takes 1 nap per day in the Tula and 1 in the car.

Lillie is 9 pounds 4 oz and the 4th percentile for everything.

She just started wearing size 1 diaper.

She’s wearing newborn or 0-3 month clothes.

She smiles a lot now. Mostly at mommy.

Her eyes are definitely blue and they are gorgeous!

Happy 2 months, Lilliana! 

With each baby the times goes faster and faster!

Lillie still isn’t at her birth weight so I am breastfeeding every 2-3 hours and then supplemnting with foruma right afterwards.

Lillie slept for the first two weeks of her life and now she’s waking up. So far, she’s the easiest out of all three of my kids. She sleeps most of the day except for eating A LOT, she’s tiny and newborn diapers are still huge on her, she loves sleeping on Mommy’s chest and being in the Tula. Allie loves her so much and she’s a big helper. Logan loves her but ignores her most of the time. I am obsessed with her and could stare at her all day. She makes me want to have a lot more babies

She is still wearing newborn diapers and newborn clothes.

She has a very long torso and skinny legs like her Mommy.

She loves listening to Daddy play the piano.

Her eyes are bright blue and we definitely think they will stay blue.

Happy 1 month, Lilliana! 

Leading up to Lillie’s birth I had prodromal labor for weeks. Every night I thought she was going to come and then my contractions would stop in the morning. On December 2nd I had my Mom come up from Chicago to stay with us because I thought she was coming soon. My Mom and Tony share a birthday on Dec 3rd and I thought she might come then, but she had different plans. It was still nice to have my Mom come so we could celebrate both their birthdays. The next day Friday, Dec 4th was pretty much a regular day. I wasn’t having many contractions until we all went for a walk in the afternoon. While we were walking I had a couple of strong contractions which made me excited to think today might be the day. The contractions continued, but I didn’t say much. Allie had her virtual dance class; Tony made dinner, we ate, and then right when I was doing the dishes I started getting really painful contractions around 10 mins apart. I told my Mom and Tony that I should probably call my Doula Vicki and my doctor.

I called them at 6:30pm, quickly gave my kids a bath and started packing last minute items for the hospital. At 7pm my Mom and I leave for the hospital while Tony stays with the kids.

While driving I felt like I started to leak more fluid (I thought I had been leaking fluid for at least a week, but this was more)! The contractions were really painful in the car, but right when we get to triage they slow down, but I’m still excited because I’m hoping my water broke. At 7:30pm Vicki joins us in triage and I tell her my contractions have slowed. At 8:00pm my nurse Erica and a resident tell us I could be sent home if my contractions arent consistent but they will check to see if my water did actually break. At 9:00pm they tell me I’ve tested positive for leaking amniotic fluid – yay! They do a cervical exam and I’m 3cm 50% effaced which is what I was a week earlier at my 37 appointment. At 10:00pm they give me a covid test and thankfully I tested negative. At 11:20pm I get moved to labor and delivery in room #481 and my nurse is named Tina.

At 12:00am on December 5th they start pitocin at 1 and I attempt to rest. 1:00 am they check my blood pressure, temp and increase pitocin to a 2. 1:30am increased pitocin to 3. At this point my contractions were getting really painful. I started walking around, using the bathroom and could not rest at all. At 2:00am I use the birth ball and start swaying my hips. The nurse does not increase pitocin because I’m in a lot of pain and my contractions are consistent. At 2:40am they lower the pitocin back to 2.

At this point, I’m not sure how much longer I can go without an epidural. So I ask the nurse if I can get one soon. She tells me the anesthesiologist is in the OR and it will be awhile. My heart starts racing and I get really nervous. Flashbacks of giving birth with no epidural with Logan come. I kneel down and lean onto the bed with my head in my hands and start breathing. Vicki was an angel during time when I was in so much pain. She rubbed my back and told me how strong I was and kept reminding me to breath.

Thankfully, the anesthesiologist (Dr. Lagman) comes quickly and gives me an epidural at 3:30am. I then try to get some rest, but I only feel a little relief. At 3:45am Dr. Schoenecker conducts a cervical exam and I’m still only at 3cm and 70% effaced and I’m in shock because I was in so much pain and I thought I was progressing. She places the catheter and they realize I’m probably not progressing because there’s a forebag of water so she pops that. I’m still in a lot of pain and getting nervous again so they give me another dose of epidural.

At 4:35am I feel a lot of pressure with each contraction. They give me more of the epidural because I’m in pain and they finally completely turn off the pitocin. I’m feeling a little bit of relief and I can rest.

At 5:00am I feel significant pressure and ask for the nurse to check me. I’m finally 9cm!!!!!!!!!! The nurse calls for assistance because Lilliana will be here soon. At 5:09am I start having the urge to push. At 5:11am the doctor arrives, I get into the position for birth and I push through the next two contractions and at 5:20am Lilliana Kay Larsen is born.

Lilliana is 5 lbs 15 oz and 19.5 inches long. They lay her on my chest and I fall in love with our third baby. She’s absolutely perfect.

My Mom gets to hold her and I’m so thankful she was with me. Vicki stays for another hour and leaves when I get moved up to the recovery floor.

Tony comes and he’s so happy to meet his daughter and that we’re both healthy. We spend the next few hours staring at her in awe.

I had the best experience at Meriter Hospital and I loved all of my nurses. We stayed for 24 hours and since we were both doing well we got to go home early. I couldn’t wait to see Allie and Logan.

I can’t believe we’ve made it to 37 weeks and it also feels like I’ve been pregnant forever (since the beginning of the pandemic)! I’m having contractions on and off, but nothing consistent. We are three days away from Thanksgiving, my Mom comes on Wednesday and I’m really hoping baby girl stays in until after Thanksgiving. Black Friday would actually be perfect to have a baby because my Mom will already be here.

I’m starting to mentally prepare myself for baby girl to be in our lives. I can not wait to meet her and spoil her because she’s our last baby, but I’m also nervous to add another baby to our already crazy household. It’s going to be tough staying home for the next 3 or so months because of the pandemic. Also, it’s going to be hard not having my Mom near by to help.

How far along? 37 weeks + 3 days

Due date? December 12, 2020

Total weight gain: I haven’t been weighing myself, but I think around 30 pounds.

Baby’s size? Baby girl is the size of a winter melon. At my ultrasound, they said she was measuring 5 pounds 10 oz.

Workouts:
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3 mile run at our old apartment w/ Lauren
Wednesday: 2 mile treadmill walk
Thursday: 4 mile run at Pheasant branch w/ Bri
Friday: Just a few walks with the kids
Saturday: 2 mile treadmill walk
Sunday: 3 mile run in Fitchburg w/ Debbie

Maternity Clothes: My leggings aren’t maternity, but all the tops I’m wearing are. My belly hangs out of all my PJs at night.

Sleep: I’m going to bed around 9pm every night (with Logan not napping and waking up at 5:30-6a everyday they go to bed at 7:30p now), I wake up to pee a few times or have pelvic pain and I wake up when Logan does.

Best moments this week: I’m really excited for my Mom to come for Thanksgiving!

Miss anything? Sleeping on my stomach, not feeling exhausted all the time and running comfortably.

Movement: She’s moving and grooving in there!

Food cravings: Pumpkin pie! We made one this weekend and I’m having a piece every day until the baby comes.

Gender: Girl!

Symptoms: Cramping and bad pelvic pain

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody: Feeling pretty happy and getting anxious/excited to go into labor.

Looking forward to: My next OB appointment today.

I can’t believe my baby is 3 years old! It feels like he was just born. Logan is the sweetest boy who loves his Mommy more than anything. He gives the best hugs, cuddles and kisses. He is also a control freak who wants to be in control of everything and I think he’s going to run the world one day.

He has a lot of tantrums, but the number one way to make the tantrum stop is to pick him up and hold him. He asks for “uppy mommy” probably 50 times a day and I love when my hugs can make him feel better.

Grandma Wendy came to visit on Logan’s birthday and we went to Schuster’s Farm to celebrate. Logan wore his spiderman costume that Grandma gave him for his birthday. It was a cold and rainy day, but we still had a lot of fun.

We then ordered Glass Nickel pizza and salad for dinner and had the cutest Dinosaur cake for dessert. Logan kept going back and forth asking for a Dinosaur cake or a Grinch cake, but finally decided on a Dino one. He was spoiled with so many gifts from family!

We’ve had a lot of big changes in the last month for Logan. We moved to a new house, he got a big boy bed and he’s been potty trained for two weeks. I was so nervous to potty train him because I’ve heard boys are so hard, but he has done amazing! He had a couple of accidents the first two days, but by day three he was pretty much potty trained. I’m so proud of him. He gets so excited to tell me when he’s peed and pooped. I don’t have to remind him to go he just jumps up and hops on his little potty.

We had his 3 year old well checkup. He is 36 pounds (87 percentile) and 3 feet 3.25 inches (90 percentile).

A few of Logan’s favorite things right now:
– Cars and playing with them for hours
– Paw patrol and all his new paw patrol toys from his birthday
– Peppers, he eats at least one bell pepper each day
– Kissing my baby bump
– Riding his scooter
– Playing with Allie, but also hitting her
– Looking at planets with Daddy before bed
– Fixing things around the house with Daddy
– Reading books
– His new car bed

Baby girl will be here within 6-7 weeks! Allie and Logan were both born a couple of weeks early so I’m expecting baby girl to come at the end of November or the first week of December.

I actually seem to have more energy since I’ve hit the third trimester. I think it’s because I just don’t sit down, there’s too much to do so I don’t have time to think about being tired.

Last week was busy, but a lot of fun. The entire interior of our house was painted. My Mom came to visit and so Did Tony’s Dad. Last weekend we went home to visit my Mom, and I threw a surprise 40th birthday/socially distant/outdoor party for my good friend Mara. And Sunday we went to my niece and nephews birthday party. I love that we get to go home often and don’t miss anything.

Total weight gain: I have no idea. I’ve stopped weighing myself and don’t look at the doctor’s office. I’m guessing 25-28 pounds.

How far along? 32 + 4 days when I’m writing this post.

Due date? December 12, 2020

Baby’s size? Baby Logan is the size of a large jicama (around 19 inches and 3.9 lbs.)

Workouts: 

Monday: 2 mile run
Tuesday: 3 mile run
Wednesday: 4 mile run
Thursday: Rest
Friday: A few long walks
Saturday: 4 mile run with Kristen
Sunday: Rest

Maternity Clothes: Still wearing a good mix of both. I’m wearing the same outfits over and over again, but I don’t want to buy any more maternity clothes.

Sleep: I’m exhausted every night and can’t seem to get enough sleep.

Movement: Lots of painful movements. We found out baby is breech so I’m hoping she flips. Logan didn’t flip head down until 34 weeks.

Food cravings: PB&J, coldstone ice cream, and Reeses. Lately, I’m either starving or feel stuffed!

Anything making you queasy or sick: When I get too hungry or eat too much.

Gender: Girl

Name: Lilliana Kay Larsen

Symptoms: Peeing every hour, huge baby bump, painful baby kicks, lower back pain, thumb pain, and some Braxton hicks contractions.

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody: Some days I’m very happy and relaxed and on other days I feel very anxious.

Looking forward to: Carving pumpkins and taking the kids trick or treating.

Pregnancy Update – 25 Weeks

How far along? 25 weeks

Due date? December 12, 2020

Baby’s size? Baby is actually measuring small. At my 24 week appointment, my doctor did an ultrasound because my stomach is measuring at 21 weeks. The ultrasound looked good except the baby is on the smaller side. They want to do growth ultrasounds once a month to make sure the baby continues to grow.

Workouts:

Monday: 3 miles with Lauren my friend from Chicago
Tuesday: 4 miles with Bri at Pheasant Branch
Wednesday: Rest, but lots of steps at the farm for Allie’s birthday
Thursday: 3 miles around our apartment with Emily
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: 2 miles. We went for a family run around Wingra lake, but we cut the run short because I had horrible pain. Might have been Braxton hicks?
Sunday: 6 miles with Debbie in Fitchburg

Maternity clothes? Wearing size medium leggings and a mix of maternity and non-maternity clothes.

Sleep: Sleeping 8 hours at night and trying to nap when I can.

Best moment this week: Allie’s 5th birthday.

Miss Anything? Running comfortably.

Movement: I feel her kicking a lot at night.

Food cravings: apples, peaches, peanut butter.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing this week!

Gender: Girl!

Name: Lilliana Kay Larsen

Symptoms: Running slower, feeling huge, headaches

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody: Very emotional!

Looking forward to: Fall and cool temps!

I can’t believe she is 5! Best 5 years of my life. She is the sweetest child with the best smile. She is talkative, compassionate, kind, cautious, so social and our little artist. She lights up our life!

We went to Green Meadows Farm for Allie’s birthday. We invited a few friends from home and our new friends from our apartment and my Mom and MIL came too. It was the perfect amount of people to really make Allie feel loved and special.

It was hot! The temps were in the mid 90s with a heat index around 100 degrees. We arrived at 10am, let the kids play for an hour, did the hayride and let the kids play, see the animals and explore before lunch and cupcakes.

It melted my heart to see Allie with her best girlfriends. All the kids wore their masks the entire time except for eating and no one complained, even in the heat!

We left the farm around 1:30 pm and both kids fell asleep on the way home. Once home, we opened presents, and then Allie asked for pizza for dinner so we order from the Glass Nickel – my favorite pizza/salad in Madison.

After dinner we had a dairy queen ice cream which was amazing! And then opened more presents from Mommy and Daddy.

Random things to remember:
– favorite foods: cinnamon raisin toast with cream cheese, strawberries, dyno chicken, jelly toast, chocolate granola bars, freeze pops, mac & cheese. She’s not into veggies right now.
– favorite colors: pink and yellow
– favorite books: pete the cat, the bear snores on & peppa pig books
– favorite stuffed animal: kitty cat
– favorite movie: trolls world tour
– favorite animal: kitty cats
– favorite friends: Eva, Lucy, Sammy, Ava, Ivana, Christian & Catelyn (from our apartment)
– wake up/bedtime: wakes up around 8 am and goes to bed around 8 pm. She stopped napping 4 months ago

Likes:
– drawing, painting, crafting – she’s our little artist
– being outside and playing on a playground
– playing with her new barbie camper van
– playing with babies
– taking care of logan
– talking about her new baby sister
– baking
– playing with her friends or making new friends

I’ve made it halfway with baby #3! The first 20 weeks have gone pretty slowly. That’s probably because of Covid and my horrible morning sickness the first 14 weeks. Time is going faster since it’s been summer. I’ll be sad when summer is over. We have spent a lot of quality family time and I’ve enjoyed having no plans except for going to the pool.

We found out that Allie’s 4k (last year of preschool) will start with e-learning because of Covid. I’m really sad for her, but also grateful I get to stay home with them. Her 4k is providing an Ipad and they will do zoom calls and work on SeeSaw. We pulled Logan from is first year of preschool because I can’t imagine sending him and not sending Allie. Right now I’m trying to find a teacher’s aid to come teach the kids a couple of times a week. I think they would really enjoy it and something to look forward to.

The last couple of weeks have been busy. We had the best time in Michigan with our best friends. I’ve missed running with Kristen so much! We were at their lake house for 4 days and our kids didn’t fight once. Everyone got along so well and we are now planning to go back and visit again in September.

How far along? 20 weeks + 3 days

Due date? December 12, 2020

Baby’s size? Baby boy is as long as a banana!

Workouts:

Monday: 3 mile run + 2.5 mile walk to Michael’s craft store
Tuesday: 2.5 mile run – ran to the pool and back
Wednesday: 4 miles at Pheasant Branch w/ Bri
Thursday: 3 mile walk to Middleton’s Farmers Market
Friday: 3.1 miles w/ Emily
Saturday: 6 miles w/ Kristen – so happy to run with her at home
Sunday: Rest

Maternity clothes? I just started wearing the GABRIALLA Elastic Maternity Belt again while running and I’m still wearing mostly leggings and regular tank tops and t-shirts.

Sleep: I could sleep all day!

Best moment this week: Going home to visit my Mom, see my sister and her kids, see Mara, Eva, and Matthew, run with Kristen and see Jenn, Max and Jake! We love going home to visit!

Miss Anything? Smaller boobs for running, my toned arms, and having more energy.

Movement: I can FINALLY feel her moving a little more! Makes me so happy!

Food cravings: Eggs, fruit, and freeze pops!

Anything making you queasy or sick: No

Gender: Girl

Name: Lilliana (Lillie)

Symptoms: Needing 10 hours of sleep every night.

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody: Emotional and edgy.

Looking forward to: My 20 week ultrasound at Merriter hospital next week!

We’ve made it to month 4 with baby #3. I have good days and bad days. I’m still exhausted, but that might be because I’m chasing after my 2 other kids all day.

We had a really great weekend visiting my family and friends in IL. It’s bittersweet going home. I really miss my old life, family and friends, but I’m also starting to focus on the life we are creating here in Middleton. I’m very thankful I can go home once a month and it’s only a 2.5 hour drive.

On Saturday we saw our good friends, Chantal, Lucy and Jonah, and had the best time running around a field even though it was really hot. Saturday night my Mom put the kids to bed so I could go see my friends Amy, Chantal, and Jenn! We all sat 6 feet apart on Amy’s patio and talked for 4 hours – it was so nice!

Sunday morning we said good bye to my Mom, which is always sad and drove north to meet our friends to go strawberry picking. It was another hot day, but we had so much fun picking berries and enjoyed catching up while we ate lunch.

Pregnancy Update – 16 Weeks

How far along? 16 weeks + 2 days

Due date? December 12, 2020

Baby’s size? She’s the size of a large avocado!

Workouts: Most weeks I’m working out 4-5x’s per week. It’s been harder to fit exercise in this pregnancy because I don’t have stroller strides or Burn Boot Camp child care. So I have to get my workouts in at 6am or run with the double stroller which is not easy with all the hills in Wisconsin. Waking up at 5am when your pregnant has been hard, but I’m proud of myself for doing it at least 4 times per week.
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Run with my new friend Bri
Wednesday: Burn Boot Camp – upper body
Thursday: Run with my new friend Emily
Friday: Rest – drove home to IL
Saturday: 6 mile run with Monica and Karen. It was so nice to catch up!
Sunday: Rest – drove back to WI

Maternity clothes? None yet, just wearing leggings.

Stretch marks? No.

Sleep: I wish I could sleep 10-12 hours most night, but that doesn’t happy because I’m either waking up early to workout or Logan wakes up early. I’m trying to nap when I can.

Best moment this week: Seeing family and friends!

Miss Anything? Running fast, burn boot camp child care. Living near my family and friends.

Movement: Before bed I can feel her a little bit.

Food cravings: I’m finally not craving as many carbs. This week I like cucumbers again and salads!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Feeling too full or too hungry. And when I don’t get enough water or sleep I’ve been getting really bad headaches.

Gender: Girl!

Name: Lillyana Kay Larsen

Symptoms: I’m getting big! Much faster this time. I’m exhausted and getting headaches.

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody: Feeling pretty happy this week.

Looking forward to: Going on the boat for the 4th of July, my next OB appointment, and visiting our friends in Michigan in 2 weeks.