Isla's Hospital Days

I remember writing about this on the blog when Addison was born, but the days in the hospital after a baby is born are some of the most special. It sounds weird to say that being in the hospital is special, but you are truly in a little bubble with your new baby and the love of your life/husband, with nothing to worry about or focus on besides each other and the miracle you have both just brought into the world. Everything else around you is taken care of in terms of food, your health, healing, and if you're lucky like us, family is taking care of things at home. The peace and comfort we have experienced during the first few days of bonding have been so appreciated, despite the exhaustion that comes along with it.

Similar to what we experienced when Addison was born, we have had nothing short of outstanding care and compassion here at Fairview Southdale. The nurses are all awesome and the accomodations are clean, quiet and comfortable. We're finishing up with all the check-out details and lunch here, and will be heading home soon. We're so excited to bring Isla home and to see Addison. We realize that here is where the REAL work begins, outside of our bubble environment of the hospital room. :)

We're so in love with little Isla - she is a precious little sweetheart who makes us want more, more and MORE babies! I think we're a little delirious right now. :) She's doing amazingly well, healthy as can be and nursing like a pro - that makes my job a little easier. She's actually GAINED 2 ounces since birth, which is pretty rare for 4 days old. I'm feeling pretty great myself - seems easier the second c-section around. We're about to get her dressed and pack up our things to go HOME!!!

DJ takes a turn in the comfortable (relative to the lovely pull-out chair he's been sleeping on) hospital bed

Baby Isla is here - Happy Birthday!

Even though it's been almost 2 years since we were in this position for the first time, the overwhelming feelings of joy and amazement truly come rushing back. I was JUST as nervous to go through the c-section, and JUST as happy and in awe of Isla as I was with Addison. It's so incredible to bring a tiny new baby into the world...and I do mean tiny by Barat baby standards. Isla joined us this morning at 8:52am, weighing 7 lbs. 7 oz. (as compared to Addison at 8lbs. 10 oz!) and measuring 20" long. She has a FULL head of dark hair, even more than Addison had at birth, and has been doing really well from the start. She latched on in about 3 seconds with no issues figuring that piece out, had a bath which she thoroughly enjoyed, and is now sleeping soundly in her little crib in our room.

Addison came by for a visit and didn't know quite what to make of it all. She was hesitant at first, but ended up giving Isla kisses and attempting to feed her Cheerios. When Addison shares a snack, you know she's feeling the love. :)

We're now sitting here quietly enjoying this special time with our new baby. I'm feeling pretty great for having been sliced open earlier (sorry, gross I know), and looking forward to a speedy recovery. Thanks for all the well-sishes and support, and please check back often for updates. Although.....with 2 little ones I'm not making any promises on the frequency of posts just yet. ;)

Prepping for delivery

Dr. McDreamy...HA!

First moment entering the world

Happy Birthday Isla! DJ says 9:52 in this clip, but it was actually 8:52am :)

T-minus 11 hours until Baby Barat #2 is here!

In a few short hours (well, long for me because I doubt I will sleep tonight), we'll be leaving for the hospital to prepare to meet the newest addition to our family - so exciting! I think we're as prepared as we can possibly be, down to the carpets being cleaned, Callie being groomed, cars washed and filled with gas, refrigerator stocked for Addison and Grandma, laundry hamper empty, baby car seat and gear ready to go, bag packed....the list goes on, as I've been "nesting" obsessivley for the past 4 days.

Addison had a field day with all the baby gear and even got herself seated in the baby bouncy seat that she HATED when she was an infant. As she's playing with all the baby stuff, she makes the sound of a crying baby - "whaaaaaa" - it's quite funny. We've been talking about the fact that the baby will be here to live with us and she'll be a big sister a LOT, but we're pretty sure she doesn't have a clue what's going on. She's with Nana and Ba tonight, and will come to see us at the hospital at some point tomorrow. We're dying to know how she'll react.

It's been HOT and muggy here and Addison has been having so much fun playing outside. Her newest obsession is with caterpillars, pronounced "ca-piya". She picks them up, dunks them in water, carries them around until they die and then hands them off to me. Nice. Her watertable, pronounced "wa-table", provides hours of entertainment as well. We got a big blowup pool with a slide and can't wait to get it set up for her in the backyard.

That's all for now, and stay tuned for more when three Barats become four!

She woke up on Saturday asking for "pancakes, strawberries and milk" - how could we resist? Headed straight to the Good Day Cafe

Ca-piya

Front yard in bloom

Day before! I'm huge....
but you can't tell from behind!

Mother's Day

We had a Mother's Day brunch at Ba and Nana Barats house, where Addison practiced her piano skills. Check out the cute clips below.

Lounging on her toychest at the foot of our bed - strategially placed and gets a ton of use from Addison

38 weeks and counting

Random pics and vids

The final coutdown to baby Barat #2 is officially here. I am finding it hard to walk, sit, eat, sleep and breathe at the moment, so every day I make it through is a victory. Addison gets cuter by the minute, singing new songs (5 little monkeys jumping on the bed is the current fave) and saying funny things. We don't think she has any idea that a baby is coming, although she points to her own stomach and says "baby" quite often. When asked what a baby says, she simply replies "whaaaaaaa", so at least she'll be prepared for the crying! We transitioned her to her new, downstairs bedroom last week without a hitch. She didn't even bat an eye at it, and in fact, she seems to like her "big girl room" better than her "baby" room. So, only 3 short weeks until Addison and our lives are changed forever, and 3 become 4!

Go Callie, go!

Camera face

Addison and Delaney after Delaney "styled" Addison's hair

Not sure how many weeks, about 34 maybe?

About 36 weeks

That face again

Super hungry after a nap!

Minnesota Zoo

Well, it's no San Diego Zoo, but on Saturday we had a great time with a few Target moms/toddlers at the Minnesota Zoo, which niether Addison nor I had visited before. There was a baby farm animals exhibit that we didn't want to miss and the kids LOVED it! The day was comical with all of us trying to corral the tots and get them from place to place in a pack. Addison and her buddy Kellen shared a wagon that Kellen's mom kindly pulled (thanks Nicole!), and just watching the two of them together was hilarious. Addison talked to him non-stop, seemingly trying to either tell him what to do or point things out to him. They have this thing with snacks, the two of them - each always wants what the other is having, so snack time in the wagon was interesting! It was a warm, sunny day and we walked and walked and walked.....despite this, Nicole told me that we didn't see at least 60% of the actual zoo! More reason to go back later this summer. Addison was singing "Old McDonald" all day and was still sining it today - the animals she picks for the farm are funnny - always owls, pigs and horses and that's about it. She's also been singing her ABCs quite well and she's got her numbers one through ten down PAT! So proud of her.



On Saturday night we went to a BBQ at Jeff, Natalie and new baby Gus's loft. Addison was a party animal and quite the little entertainer. There was a birthday cake for me and she enjoyed eating off of everyone's plates while saying "Happy birthday to you" - nice sugar rush at 9pm. :)

Loading up the wagon

Noah and Addison looking at the fish in the lagoon

On the tractor ride to the "Farm" to see the baby animals

At one point she insisted on pushing the wagon up a hill...with Kellen in it!

There was a petting zoo where the kids fed goats - so cute

Lounging on the roofdeck at Jeff and Natalie's - sorry I didn't get any pictures of Gus. What's wrong with me?

Weekend update

Spring is truly here, although our neighbor, Ann, swears there will be a snowstorm in April. We don't believe her though, and are in great spirits due to the mid-70s weather. Perfect for sleeping with the windows open at night, a treat all Minnesotans cherish! This weekend we finished up the yard, cleared out all the flower beds, raked the lawn, picked up leaves and pulled the cushions out for the patio furniture. Addison was outside pretty much the entire weekend, and wanted to play with her water table as much as possible. In fact, at one point she hoisted herself INTO the water table and did not want to come out. We need to get her a little blow-up pool, fast! We also ALMOST finished Addison's new room, and I promise within the next week or two I will debut pics.

She's standing in the water table here

and blowing bubbles here

lunch outside!