The Biggest Sister, Keira

With the new baby, I feel like I have neglected to write down so many of the funny little things that my other girls are doing and am afraid that I am going to forget everything and have no record of it!

So...starting with the oldest, I will do a quick update and then try to keep up to date from here on out!

Keira is our spunky 3 year old (4 next month). Like mommy, she wakes up each day and asks, "where are we going today?" When the answer is that we are staying home, she is totally disappointed! (as is mommy). She needs to know everything that we are doing and when we are doing it. She likes things to be in order and really would rather them be in the same order every time. Routine, routine, routine!

She is going through a phase where she seems to talk like a teenager (talking back to us and all!) which we have to laugh about [when she is not looking]. She LOVES to play pretend, especially with little dolls or princesses. She loves to have her hair braided [like Repunzel]. This kid makes me laugh because when I found out I was having a girl, I actually spoke the words, "I am fine having a girl, but I refuse to ever do anything Disney Princess." hahahahahahaha....I don't know why I even said that but this kid is 100% a Disney princess kid! We have the barbies, little dolls, dress up clothes, princess sandals, Princess jammies...you name it, our house is decorated with it! Keira loves her little sisters (sometimes a little too much). She is normally a fairly gentle child [unless Libby attacks her] but tends to get her feelings hurt easily. She is sensitive and caring. If I cry about something, she cries too...just because she feels sad for me. As much as I don't want her to be sad, I LOVE the compassion that I see in her that God has blessed her with. It is a trait that I hope we can always realize she has and help her to keep it and grow it. Keira learned how to write her own name about a month ago and is extremely proud of herself. (I must admit, this is something that makes me so happy because I taught her...which makes the thought of homeschooling, just a little less scary to me!)

Keira loves to pray. Her prayers at dinner and bedtime often include a variety of friends and family members and have also recently included praying for the prince that she will marry someday. At first, I laughed at this, but then I realized, it is NEVER too early to start praying for her future spouse and if this is how she starts...so be it! 

When Keira came to visit me in the hospital after Janessa's birth, she stated (without being asked) that when she grows up, she doesn't want to be a doctor anymore, but she wants to be a mommy. I know that most people dream of their kids growing up to be doctors, but I'd love to see her be a stay-at-home mom. I think this week she is back to wanting to be a doctor, but....she's only 3!

Keira is usually a very cooperative, obedient, friendly little girl...for everyone else. She saves all of her testing for mommy and daddy but I think I'd rather it be this way.  We love our little Keira girl and hope that she will be a light in the world!

Keira Marie

Janessa's Update

Janessa Faith at 2 weeks old!

So...on Friday, April 6th, we took Janessa to see the specialist about her cleft palate. Oye! We learned a LOT! One thing that I really learned was that they never should have sent us home from the hospital with so little information!

They gave us special bottles to use to feed her that allow us to squeeze the milk into her mouth. Since she has a hole in her palate, her trying to suck is like your or I trying to drink out of a straw that has a whole bunch of holes in it...somewhat impossible and frustrating! In the hospital we were told that I could not nurse her because it could cause that hole in her mouth to be covered and she would not be able to breathe...WRONG! I am actually allowed to nurse her for non-nutritive purposes (basically, as a pacifier). The only reason she cannot nurse is because she will not be able to actually suck enough to eat anything. So...for those of you who know my prior breastfeeding issues, you will find it as ironic as I do that I finally got a baby that WILL latch, has the desire to nurse, I am producing enough for her...and I am not able to feed her that way...figures! Well....at least I see the humor in it.

They told us that the reason that she was not gaining weight as she should be was because she was working so hard to eat that she was getting tired before she was actually full. That made me a little sad that I wasn't giving my baby enough food, but at least we got that figured out! She does FANTASTIC with the new bottle!

Janessa will need surgery to fix the hole when she is 10 months old and possibly a secondary speech surgery to rearrange muscles in her throat for speech purposes. We will hope that isn't necessary...but again, this issue is 100% correctable and I am thankful for that.

She will need speech therapy and braces (although...it seems like these are norms for so many now...it doesn't scare me!)

The biggest thing that I have been overwhelmed with was learning that our baby has a hard time breathing if she is flat on her back. I am not sure if she is going to grow out of this or not at this point. At the hospital, they told us that she should not sleep on her back because her tongue could fall back and cover the hole and that would suffocate her  (way to scare us to death!). The reality is, she cannot lay on her back because her tongue is normal size and her chin is not...it covers the hole a little bit and she has to work hard to breathe. Now...this isn't as scary to me, but it does make you realize that many of the "normal" newborn activities (playing on a  play mat, or laying on a blanket and just stretching out) are not things that we can do with her unless she is at an angle.

Overall, the specialist was SUPER helpful, gave us a binder full of information and websites and has even called me a few times since our appointment just to check on Janessa's weight gain and see how we are feeling about her feeding and such.

Now, 1 1/2 weeks later, Janessa is gaining the weight she should, she is eating and sleeping great. Her sisters are in LOVE with her (as are her mommy and daddy). She has perfect cheeks, is alert and curious. She loves to be held and snuggle...and she is going to make sure that even though she is number 3, she gets all of the attention that she wants!

For more information on what is going on with Janessa you can check out:

http://www.cleftline.org/  or
http://www.craniofacial.net/conditions-pierre-robin (they think that Janessa may have this...but it hasn't been completely determined yet)

My Favorite Wegmans Deals this Week 4/15-4/21

Here are a few things that I added to my list this week...Feel free to comment with any good deals you find! And don't forget to make your shopping easier by making your list on the Wegmans Website! It sorts it into aisles and tells you prices before you even leave your house!


Kraft  Milkbite Milk & Granola Bars (love stuff like this for snacks in the car!)
Price: $2.99
Use $.75 Printable Coupon (doubles to $1.50)
Final Price: $1.49


Upstate Farms Milk 
1/2 Gallon--$1.84
Use $.50 Coupon (4/15/12 Smart Source Insert) (Doubles to $1.00)
Final Price: $.84!


Crunchmaster Gluten-Free Crackers (found in Nature's Marketplace)
Price: $2.99
Use $.75 Printable Coupon (use zip code 77477...doubles to $1.50)
Final Price: $1.49


Goya Yellow Rice, Spanish Style
Price: $1.39
Use $1.00/2 Printable Coupon
Final Price: $.89 each when you buy 2


Goya Adobo Seasoning
Price: $1.69
Use $.50 Printable Coupon (Doubles to $1.00)
Final Price: $.69


Cheerios cereal (original)
Price: $2.69-3.99
Use $.75 Printable Coupon (doubles to $1.50)
Final Price: $1.19-$2.49


Popsicle Ice Pops (Firecracker or Sugar Free) (I'm saving these for a summertime treat!)
Price: $1.79
Use $.50 Printable Coupon (doubles to $1.00)
Final Price: $.79


Garden of Eatin' Tortilla Chips (Nature's Marketplace)
Price: $2.00
Use $1.00 Printable Coupon
Final Price: $1.00


Pampers Wipes (60 ct.+) (I usually buy the huge box of refills but all of my containers are broken now so I need to replace them!)
Price: $2.49
Use $.75 Printable Coupon (Coupon doubles to $1.50)
Final Price: $.99


Ortega Taco Seasoning
Price: $.79
Use $1.00/2 Printable Coupon
Final Price: $.29 each when you buy 2

Introducing Janessa Faith

We welcomed our newest addition, Janessa Faith on Saturday, March 24, 2012 at 7:59pm. She weighed in at a whopping 8lbs 14 oz...about two pounds larger than both older sisters (ouch!!!!). She has huge cheeks and tons of hair! We love her to pieces already!

She is beautiful. It was a rough delivery and it was noticed shortly after her birth that Janessa has a hole in her soft palate (cleft palate) and is thought to have Pierre Robin Syndrome, although that is not necessarily the case. She was taken to the NICU for a few hours so they could do her first few feedings and make sure that the cleft was not going to cause eating issues for her. She was able to eat without too much difficulty using a special bottle and nipple (Breastfeeding is not even an option because with a hole in her palate, she does not have the ability to suck or have any suction). Soooo...here we embark on a new adventure! 

Tom and I shortly after we checked in at Strong to be induced....before the pain really started!

Tom catching a few zzz's after I had the epidural knowing full well, it would be a while before we would get any good sleep!

10 cm dilated and ready to push...little did I know it would be another 2 hours before she was born!  YIKES!

Introducing....Janessa Faith!