Body Image After Baby

I regularly see pins on Pinterest circulating around that say things like 'get your pre-pregnancy body back!', or claiming that they can get you back in shape FAST! Well, I'm not convinced that pregnancy is something that one can recover from quickly. It is pretty darn taxing on the body.

On a bad day, I used to be a bit self-conscious about my body. I was too short, not curvy enough, not toned enough and all of that jazz. How silly of me. Especially since I was always able to physically do what I wanted to do.

Pregnancy has taught me to be proud of my body. While pregnant I weighed more that I ever have in my life. I could not see my toes. I physically couldn't run, and had to take frequent rests on a hot day or while walking (for those last few weeks), but it was the proudest time of my life. I was growing a healthy baby. I gained a smidge more that what is considered "normal" weight gain during pregnancy, but I'm pretty sure it was normal for my body. Now that pregnancy is long over, I am still proud of what my body did. I grew a human for goodness sake! I have plenty of signs from that pregnancy. I'm still carrying around a few extra pounds. I have very soft skin on my belly and a few stretch marks in various places. But I am proud of them. I am no longer worried about what other people may think of my body, because I have finally realized that it is mine to take care of.

That isn't to say I'm not looking forward to dropping those last few pounds. I'm sure I'll shed that last little bit when I stop breastfeeding. But it has much less to do with my weight (our scale doesn't even have batteries), than it does about the way I feel. My body IS mine to take care of, so I will. I am much more grateful that I can run now that I have been too big and too sore to do so. I am aware of what I put into my body because I am still nourishing another. I want to stay healthy so that I can be an example to my daughter.

 And when she learns where her belly button is, and I show her mine, I will be proud to show her the stretch marks from when I got to carry her.

5 Months Old

She found her feet this last month. That means she'll never have two dry socks on her feet again, ever. Not that socks stayed on very well before, she inherited my loooong and skinny feet. In the last month, we have conquered: a cold, two four-hours flights (like a champ!), first bites of rice cereal, and grabbing those feet. she has also rolled over a total of 4 times on her own, but that was 5 weeks ago and she refuses to try again. We are also up to a total of 5 nights of 12 hours of sleep. Not in a row mind you, total. That isn't too bad considering all the time zone changes and the coughing and sniffling we've done. I'm crossing my fingers that we may see a few more long nights of sleep. :)

4 months

Here is my happy camper! She had her 4 month check up yesterday and did great. She's definitely NOT following my growth pattern, but is just like her daddy! She's 97th percentile for height and 46th percentile for weight. She's grown 5 1/2 inches since she was born! Holy Buckets!

She LOVES:
blowing spit bubbles
smiling
laughing
"The Wheels on the Bus"
playing with her winkle ball toy
shrieking
cooing
'talking'
watching me make dinner
chewing on EVERYTHING
bath time!
attention of all kinds

She does NOT love:
having her face wiped
having her fingernails clipped
waiting for a meal

We borrowed a bumbo seat from a friend this week in the hopes that it will help her learn to sit up on her own. She seems pretty confused when we put her in it, like she may be wondering why she is sitting up but we are so far away. It was the same look that she got when she took a bottle the first couple of times. She isn't rolling over yet, but she's getting pretty close. She tends to spit up every time she's on her tummy, so her tummy time sessions are short. I wouldn't like having puke so close to my face either!

She has been chewing and sucking on her fingers regularly and with gusto for the last few weeks, so I suspect she may have a tooth coming up. She recently discovered the joys of a thumb though. For the past 2 or 3 days she has been going to her thumb when she's tired (not just to chew on it, she still chews on her fingers and fist). Maybe that will help prevent the middle-of-the-night games of binky fetch?

In other news-- SHE SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT LAST NIGHT! I know the definition is 6 hours- which she has been doing regularly for months now (for her first sleep, during which time I sleep maybe one or two of those hours), but last night was 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I know it was a fleeting night, and that it may be weeks before she does it again, but I tell you it felt good. Even though I woke up twice to check on her it felt gooooood. Now the reasons she slept 12 hours: she completely missed her morning hour and a half nap yesterday, she got a round of vaccinations, and she had a half dose of baby Tylenol to help her feel better. I wouldn't care to repeat those reasons to recreate the night sleep, but hey. It gives me hope for a bright future.

Basically I love my little dimpled smiling Little Miss.

My Chatty Girl

She dropped her ring toy on her nose and couldn't figure out how to get it off. I was just cracking up, then I remembered to run and grab the camera! But unfortunately she had figured out how to remove the offending object. I re-created the event, and this smart cookie didn't take long to figure it out again. Her 'commentary' on the situation is my favorite.

Love this girl!

Happy Halloween!

From our home to yours, Happy Halloween!

I had great intentions of making a few things for our costumes this year, but it can wait 'til next year. Little Miss loved her flower costume anyway, and so did all those that saw her!

Baking Season: Failure!

All-in-all, Hubby's birthday cake turned out LOADS better than last year or the year before. In fact, it baked perfectly, (I actually followed the directions on the back of the box *cough* and mixed the batter for 2 min!) and it frosted well too (what? you have to wait until the cake cools completely?)!

But then I tried to decorate it. For simplicity's sake- and so we don't burn down the house- we usually just get the number candles for decorations. Didn't get one of the numbers this year, so I decided to try the stenciled number on top of the cake trick, as seen here.

I cut out the numbers, sprinkled the powdered sugar, and covered the cake to surprise hubby when he got home from golfing. I was pretty proud of myself, I must say. Although I had one little thought that maybe I should have waited to put the sugar on the cake....

Several hours later when I pulled out the cake to sing with our friends, the powdered sugar had absorbed the moisture from the frosting and all but disappeared.

Lesson Learned: Wait until the last minute to do your powdered sugar stencil. Or it will disappear and so will all traces of your cake decorating skillz.

Shucks.

The remains of the 2 from the pintrest-inspired fail. 

Baking Season: Success!

I normally don't have the patience to do a whole lot of baking or cooking. We eat homemade meals, and that tends to burn me out in the kitchen (wimp, I know!). In fact, I haven't made a batch of cookies in years! Hubby though is the master baker. He has perfected his technique for chocolate chip cookies and I am more than happy to reap the benefits.

This week however has tested my mettle in the kitchen. It started with pie and, baby, it ain't over yet!

The pie was for a pie baking contest at the church Halloween activity. I had no intention of competing, but I had a large bag of frozen blueberries (Costco, Woot!) that had been sitting in the freezer too long. The twist comes when we are feeding the Sister Missionaries and we discover that one Sister has a sensitivity to processed sugars. The poor girl rarely gets dessert, and I decided to come to her aid. Having watched my sister-in-law recently test the Williams-Sonoma blueberry pie recipe, I was feeling a little more adventurous than usual. The pie was delicious by the way, but I wanted something a bit simpler for this Sister. So I used the simple Better Homes and Gardens basic double crust and berry filling recipes with minor adjustments. The main difference really being that I used honey instead of granulated sugar for the filling.

Pie Crust:
 2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
8-10 Tbsp cold water

I've had several friends express anxiety at making pie crusts. Friends, if I can do it, you can do it. I don't even have a pastry cutter. I rock it old school with two butter knives to cut in the shortening. The trick is to not over mix when adding the water. Add it 1 tablespoon at a time, and just barely push it around with a fork until the flour has soaked it up, the push it to the side and add another tablespoon of water. No mixing or stirring here! The amount of water you add will depend on the temperature and humidity of the day, that is why is gives you a range.

Also, foil around the edge of your pie while it bakes will save you every time!

Pie Filling:
5 cups blueberries (frozen works just fine)
3 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon

The cookbook recipe calls for 2/3-3/4 cup of granulated sugar, but when I called my awesome SIL for help (she always knows!), we read that honey is sweeter and richer than white sugar. Hence the reduction. The cookbook also calls for either lemon zest or cinnamon, but I decided that since the honey had a darker, richer flavor, I didn't want to go too bright with the honey. So cinnamon it was. Also, if you use frozen berries, the honey will also freeze when you add it. Fear not and keep mixing, it will turn out ok.

The pie was DELICIOUS. It was rich and just sweet enough, and perfectly flavored for fall. I would definitely go with lemon for a summer pie, but the honey and cinnamon were perfect for the season. This will be a make-it-again pie. Which is a big deal for me, the non-baker.

Also, it was eaten too quickly for me to snap a picture, and not to toot my own horn, but I got a prize. That's right, I wasn't even trying and I was voted one of the lucky winners.

Make this pie. It is good.

The end.

Because she's cute

Taken right around 3 months of age. 

She's my little bundle of drooly adorable happiness. She's my Little Miss. 

We're in! -Angels on Earth

Last weekend we moved the last of our stuff into the new place. We (meaning me and several other angels-on-earth) spent the weekend previous painting the bedrooms and the living space- someday I'll show you why- and we got all of our stuff packed and moved last weekend. 

During the past couple of weeks involving the move, i decided that there are times in life when you are able to give help, and times when you need to be gracious about receiving it. This move was one of those times when I gratefully accepted a lot of help from many friends at church. I ended up getting a blocked duct the day before we moved and felt feverish as we packed the last of our stuff and loaded the truck. Our first night here I was BURNING up, and by the next morning I felt weak, but better. We still had some packing and cleaning to do at our old apartment, and my wonderful friends at church told me they were coming over to pack up the kitchen, move it, unpack it, and then help clean the old apartment. They realized how sick I was when I didn't even know it myself. I didn't know how much help I needed, and they came anyway. 

Folks, there are angels here on earth. You just might be someone else's angel at sometime. 

Also, my Mom, photographer extraordinaire, sent along this picture from when Little Miss was 5 weeks old. it makes me smile. 

The stuffed animals are watching us creepily, and my nose is all smooshed. Love it!

 

The Good and the Bad

The Good:
We found out at a doctor's appointment earlier this week that Little Miss is done with her hip dysplasia treatment! No more harness for us! So now instead of going in every 3 weeks for a size adjustment and ultrasound, we only have to check her progress at six months, one year, two years and five years of age. Since she's no longer in the harness, she can wear the adorable footie pajamas we've been saving. Woot!

The Bad:
Those checkups involve x-rays (I've already talked to her doctor about it. I'm not keen on pelvic x-rays on a baby, but it is important). Also, it has become apparent the last couple of nights that she used the harness to help soothe herself to sleep. It kept her legs bent, and we would frequently see her stretching and pushing against it when she woke up in the morning. It helped keep her little leggies contained, much like one swaddles a newborn. Well now she doesn't know what to do with her legs. So she kicks off her blanket and wakes herself up repeatedly. Whereas she used to sleep two- six hour stretches at night, now she is back to waking up every 3 hours like a newborn, needing to be fed to get to sleep again. Its been a rough couple of days, but with a smile like hers...

Now for a nap. At 8:30am.

Two Months

Okay, so this is a little later than her two month birthday.  So she's more like two and a half months old now, but the pictures were taken on her two month birthday! First off, I can't believe she's two months old. She seems so BIG now! I was looking at her newborn pictures, then some newborn pictures of her cousins... She seems so little in her newborn pictures, but her cousins... really are (were!!) so little! It made me miss her as a newborn already. I miss the random uncoordinated arm motions, the rooting reflex, the crossed eyes, the (relative) itty-bittyness of her! Though being born at 8# 11oz doesn't count as itty-bitty I don't think...

Now for the pictures:

The first two show off her little personality pretty well. She is smiley and gurgley and goofy! The second picture is of the face she makes when she makes a particular coo. It makes me melt every time! She is super chatty, and will 'talk' to me for a long time, especially if I'm talking back! 

The last four pictures are on her two month birthday. I'm going to take pictures of her every month at the beginning of the month in a plain white onesie to help me track her growth. I got the idea from the folks over at Young House Love, who photographed their daughter every week using different fabric as the backdrop. I'm too lazy to do every week, and too poor to buy that much new fabric. So I'm going to do monthly shots on her favorite blankies instead. :) And I will be improving my photography skills as we progress. Hopefully the pictures will be good enough/ consistent enough to track her growth and look cohesive in a photo album or something... The difference in lighting form her one month pictures is huge though... we were actually traveling and away from home both times. Oh well, I'm just going to have to be flexible. :)

For the record, Little Miss LOVES:

• Cooing, gurgling, and giving great big gummy smiles. 
• Bath time. To the max. 
• Kicking and splashing at bath time and soaking mommy. 
• Being out of her harness during the day. 
• Kicking her little legs.
• Her swing. She smiles and kicks in excitement when we put her in it.
• Nursing. She'll take a bottle, but prefers mommy. 
• Waking up like clockwork at 2:50 am. No matter when we put her to bed.

Little Miss HATES:

• Laying flat on her back right after she eats. She usually pukes that way. 
• Being flat on her tummy. She does fine propped up on her boppy though (with supervision of course).
• Being nekkid. Except when in the bath. :)

We're moving!

Again, yes. With a 2 month old, yes. With Hubby in school full time during his second year of med school, yes.

But we couldn't be more excited! This new place will be a much better fit for us. It is a townhome in a residential neighborhood across the street from a cute little park. It has a washer/dryer in the unit. It has a driveway with garage space. It is a townhome on the first floor with its own outdoor space!!!

I literally cannot wait for that. It can be a bit of a chore to pack up Little Miss to hike down from the 5th floor every time Luna needs to go outside. Same story with the laundry.

We get the keys in a week and a half, then we have about 2 and a half weeks to paint the walls and move out stuff over slowly.

So very excited!!

Mama said there'd be days like this...

You know, days when you have plans so you need to be out the door at a certain time.

Days when you can't even finish unloading the dishwasher because Little Miss needs to be held.

Days when she's eating way more often than usual because she slept too long during the day yesterday and needs to catch up. (mommy fail!)

Days when she wakes up while you are showering and screams for 10 minutes straight and there's not much you can do about it being all sudsy.

Days when she has a blow out and YOU need to shower again.

Mama said... she just never said they'd all be the same day. I'll probably be able to laugh about it soon, just give me a couple hours. And a nap.

Don't worry though, she slept through the second shower. 

*sigh*

Starting from Scratch

Exercise has always been a good source of stress relief for me. I don't run with music, because I like the peace and quiet when it is just me and the road. Given that I am also a bit high strung, I have been running consistently since I was about 14. And before that I tried just about every other sport imaginable; soccer, swimming, jumprope....

I have never been so injured or lazy that I have let too much time lapse between runs. I have always been able to lace up my shoes and go pound the pavement for at least a mile or two without stopping. I'm not a fast runner, but I was fairly consistent.

So now that I've taken a hiatus from running for the last 9 months, I am for sure starting from scratch and I'm not sure how to begin! I would consider this hiatus along the lines of a injury just so everyone knows. It had nothing to do with laziness. :)

So how does one start from scratch? I guess we'll find out.

My current and future running buddies. Aren't they cute??

PS- I'm thinking of trying the Insanity workouts. Any feedback on those? Recommendations on other workout videos?

6 weeks of Little Miss

2 days old

3 weeks old

one month old

5 weeks old in her blessing gown

6 1/2 weeks old and smiling up a storm!

Since she is spending more time out of her harness, she is kicking up a storm! She loves to kick on the floor and in the bath. She is super smiley when she wakes up in the morning, and right after she has eaten or had a diaper change. She smiles when I smile at her, and when we sing, or dance or talk to her. She is starting to coo and gurgle a bit, and I swear I'm hearing the beginnings of a giggle. She is going to be quite the little comedian!

Hip Dysplasia

I mentioned before that the day after Little Miss was born, her pediatrician referred us to an orthopedic specialist who diagnosed her with developmental hip dysplasia. The doc gave us the Pavlik Harness, which helps keep her legs apart, and the femur head in the socket so that it can develop properly as she grows.  She had to wear this "23 hours a day" to help keep her legs in a hip-healthy position. I put that in quotations because that thing has to be hand washed and drip dried, and lets be honest, that takes WAY more than an hour. 

Here she is in her little harness. We thought it looked a bit like plain lederhosen...

Last week she had her hip ultrasound, and even I was able to tell the difference in her hip socket from 6 weeks ago. Her hips are developing well, and now she just has to wear the harness "when she sleeps". This time is supposed to include nap time, but lets be honest, she doesn't exactly go down for a 3 hour nap yet. Anywho, we are pleased to report that she just has another 6 weeks of harness-wear during sleep time, then she is in the clear!

It is such a relief to know that this won't be a permanent problem for her. Because of this tiny inconvenience now, we are able to save her aches and pains and surgery later in life. I'm glad the harness was available, and that the diagnosis was made quickly.

What really surprised me is how many people recognized the harness, and knew what it was for because they knew someone whose child had hip dysplasia. I had only ever heard of it discussed in the context of dogs before, so I didn't even know how common it was as a human disability.

Labor Part 3: The Final 12 hours, including delivery!

Told you it was a long process... Here are Part 1 and Part 2 if you missed them. 

Midnight - 4 am: The blood pressure cuff automatically takes my BP every 15 minutes, but I'm so tired I barely notice. Erin came in to flip me from one side to the other at about 1:30, and says  she'll check my progress at 4 am. I am amused that I can use my left leg, but can't feel a darn thing or move my right leg to save my life. I happily fall back asleep.

4 am: I'm awake when Erin comes in but Alex is still asleep. I'm excitedly nervous. I tell her I could felt something different, but no urge to push yet. She is surprised to find that my water hasn't broken, and she breaks it in order to check my progress. I fist pump when she tells me I'm a 9. Woot! We get another fist pump when she says Little Miss is facing the right direction for delivery now. Woot Woot!

5 am: I am complete (-ly dilated and thinned), Erin reports that the Doc said I can keep resting and let my contractions keep working to bring Little Miss down so I don't have to push so long. Win.

7am: Erin is off shift again... and I get another nurse that I've seen before. I wonder if they are getting sick of me. It is time to push!

7:20 am: As strange as it may seem for some people, I decide I want a mirror to help me see her delivery. It was a great motivator for me to see how much progress I was making while I pushed. It also helped me to know that I was pushing the right way. Doc arrives sometime soon after this. He and the nurse do a great job coaching me and cracking jokes while I rest.

And I can't forget how wonderful Alex was during this process. He got to lift my dead-weight right leg, and accidentally dropped it once. I was still numb enough that it was just funny and didn't give me pins and needles. He was a fantastic coach, and partner. I couldn't have done it without him!

8:15 am: Ok, no one tells you that even with an epidural, pushing hurts! I should have guessed, but I was surprised near the end when I could feel... stretching.

8:32 am: After an hour and a half of pushing, Little Miss arrives in to world with a mighty wail. She turns pink right away and they lay her on a towel on my chest. I am in such shock that it takes me a moment to realize that I should help dry her off. She is wailing away, and just beautiful. 

Alex was a great photographer. He was busy snapping pictures away while the doctor was tending to me. I remember at one point I was talking to the doctor and asking him questions about what he was doing and my recovery when it kind of dawned on me that that was MY child on the other side of the room wailing, and I should be asking about her too. So strange!

She weighed in at a healthy 8 pounds 11 ounces, 20 3/4 inches long. And to think I was promised she'd be around seven and a half pounds... Don't worry, I got to give that Doc a hard time a couple days later. :)

I wrote about some of my thoughts on motherhood in this post, so I won't repeat myself too much. But I fell in love with this Little Miss pretty quick. 

Labor Part 2: The NEXT 12 hours

Sorry for such a long intermission everyone, turns out taking care of babies takes up a lot of the day! Go figure. Not to mention we spent a wonderful week on Lake Michigan with the in-laws, but who knows if I will ever write about that. If not, it was beautiful and I would love to go back. Like Newport Beach CA beautiful. Amazing!

Here is Part 1 if you missed it, and Part 3 to look forward to!

1 pm- 19 hours before delivery: I request pitocin, deciding it is the lesser of two evils at this point. I am ready to have a baby dagnabit! Doc checks me, still a 2. Double Dagnabit!

1-3 pm: I am strapped to contraction and fetal monitors full time now, but I can still get up and walk around if I feel like it. I decide to hang out in my room on the exercise ball for a change of scenery from the halls. Pitocin dosage is upped every half-hour. Contractions are getting closer together and significantly stronger.

3:15 pm: Contractions are 3-4 minutes apart, and significantly more intense than this morning. Alex is helping me breath and concentrate, and basically being a fantastic coach. I am tired, and in pain, and I want to know what my progress is so I can determine if I am ready for an epidural or other pain meds. I am told that the Doc is with an ER patient at the moment, but will be up as soon as he can to check me. I grit my teeth and bear it.

4:15 pm or thereabouts: We call the nurse in to see where the doctor is because I HURT. Contractions are now 2-3 minutes apart and I don't have the strength to stand up for them anymore. I sit on the edge of the bed because thats all I can do. Nurse says the Doc is still in the ER. I request an epidural, but she can't get it because the doctor hasn't ordered it yet. She offers an IV narcotic to take the edge off. I decline, knowing that I never wanted that during labor, because I didn't want to risk pushing while I'm high as a kite, nor do I want to risk it being in Little Miss's system when she is born. Since i have no idea how dilated I am, I'm not willing to risk it. 

5:00 pm: If I had the energy, I would be cursing my absentee Doc and whoever had tied him up in the ER. How dare they keep him busy while I'm laboring?? (Don't worry, I didn't actually have the spare brain power to think these thoughts at the time). Contractions are 1 1/2 minutes apart, and I am in agony. Alex is a champ at keeping me calm. The nurse decreases my dosage from 8 mu to 6 mu because Little Miss's heart rate is staying elevated.

5:30 pm: Doc and Nurse come in together, Little Miss's HR is still staying a bit too high. Doc takes me off pitocin and checks me. Laying on my back is the worst agony I have ever been in. I can barely catch my breath. He tells me I am still dilated to 2 cm, and that is the nail in the coffin. I burst into tears, and can't stop. I request an epidural, but he says they shouldn't give it to me yet because I reacted so strongly to the pitocin. He had originally wanted to get me up to 20 mu of pitocin, but that route clearly wasn't going to work. He wants to see what my body is doing on its own. He speaks to the nurse, and I only catch snatches of the conversation since I am hysterical, but he is suggesting the narcotic to the nurse. She tells him I had already declined it. I don't let her explain why at this point because the point is moot. I may have literally said at this point "Anything! Give me the drugs!" just like in all those cheesy movies. Whatever I said, it worked and sweet relief followed. I got the narcotics, was able to calm myself down and finally get some sleep. I had gotten about 3 hours of terrible quality sleep in the last 36 hours at that point. Alex slept too.

7:45 pm: The narcotics are starting to wear off enough for me to be curious about my contractions. They are back to 6 minutes apart, and are moderately painful. I ask to be checked again to see if I have progressed "enough" for an epidural. Nurse says the doc is with another patient. I'm no dummy, I request another round of narcotics and happily soar off for another 2 hours.

8:30 pm- 12 hours before delivery: My 4th nurse of the stay comes in to introduce herself. Actually she is the nurse who set my IV the morning before, so she knows me. Her name is Erin and she is awesome. Erin tells me that she was instructed "not to starve the woman" by the doctor, and that I should order dinner before the kitchen closes. I am again told I could eat steak if I wanted to. I am back to blessing the doctor for his liberality, we order food, and go back to sleep until it arrives.

9:30 pm: We've eaten dinner and I am starting to be aware of my contractions again. They are 5-6 minutes apart. As I come off the narcotics, Alex is helping me concentrate through the contractions again. They are more painful than those the morning I checked in, but much less painful than those on pitocin. Sometime around 10:30 I request to have to Doc check my progress as soon as he is able so that I can get the epidural. Even after a few hours of narcotic-facilitated sleep, I am FAR too exhausted to deal with 2 minute contractions again.

11:30 pm: Doc arrives and checks me. We all breathe a sigh of relief when he tells me I'm 4 cm dilated, but I get a bit nervous when he says Little Miss is facing sideways. No wonder things were taking so long! I request an epidural, but express my concern that it will slow things down again. Doc tells me that an epidural is not going to be a mistake at this point, and it may even speed things up. By 11:45 the anesthesiologist arrives. One minute I'm breathing though a contraction. He gives me the lidocane, puts the catheter in my back, and asks me how this next contraction feels. We say unanimously "what contraction?" and laugh. I feel fantastic, and fall asleep as soon as he leaves.

Still to be continued...

Labor Part 1: The first 12 hours

2 days before birth: I woke up feeling tired as usual, but I couldn't shake it during the day. I had more little signs of labor (of which I will not go into detail: you're welcome), but I had been having little signs for weeks now. Plus lots of irregular contractions that didn't hurt. We politely declined a dinner invitation with friends because I still wasn't feeling great by the evening. Oh, and we cleaned the whole house. Yay!

36 hours before birth: We went to bed at about 11 pm, because that was our stupid habit. I fell asleep, but woke up because I was having some painful contractions.

1 am, 31 hours before birth: I realize it will not be possible to fall back asleep, and start timing my contractions. 8 min apart.

1:30 am: I wake Alex to rub my back to help me get through the contractions. 6 min apart.

3:00 am: We are up and about, puttering and trying not to get to excited. We tidy whatever is left of the house to be tidied, and finish packing our "go bags". Contractions 4 min apart.

The last belly picture at home. I. was. enormous.

3:45 am: I call the answering service, and the on-call doctor calls me back. I report that my contractions are have been 4 minutes apart for an hour and a half, and he tells me to come in. Alex and I finish packing, he showers, and we are off!

4:30 am: We arrive at the hospital, the let me walk from the ER to L&D thank goodness. We get all checked in, they start my IV (hospital policy. I asked if I could be the exception, they said no. But the nurses were funny about it!), I don't like IVs.

I had the nurse, Erin, wrap my IV so I couldn't see it. Out of sight, out of mind. 

5:00 am- 6:30 am-ish: We are walking the halls and doing laps like its the Indy 500. Contractions still 4-5 min apart. We change directions from counter clockwise to clockwise to mix things up. Woo.

A little after 7 am: The Doc comes in to say hello and check me. I'm dilated to a 2, and 100% effaced. This is about a 1/2 cm change from my appointment 2 days ago, so I am a bit disappointed. My dreams of a 6 hour labor like my mom are dashed. Doc estimated that Little Miss will be 7- 7 1/2 lbs. I am skeptical given that I was 8 1/2 lbs (10 days early no less!) at birth, and hubby was 8 lbs. Little Miss is a whole week late. He assures me she will be under 8 lbs; "either that or she is hiding it well!" I am not comforted...Contractions still 4-5 min apart.

Sometime soon after that: We are up and about doing laps again, the nurses let us into to Mom & Baby wing so we can walk past the nursery and possibly inspire Little Miss. Contractions are 4-6 minutes apart now.

Around 8 am- 24 hours before birth: We are pretty pooped since we didn't sleep last night, and my contractions have slowed down a bit despite our walking. We decide to rest for a bit. Hubby falls asleep in the reclining chair, and I miraculously doze for a while in the bed.

A couple hours later- ish, maybe around 9:30 or 10 am: New on call doc from the practice checks in, says Hi, and gives me the ok to eat breakfast. I express my shock and concern that my contractions are now 10 minutes apart, neither he nor the nurse are overly bothered. I am reassured that I won't be sent home.

11 am: Breakfast. I am grateful that this new Doc's philosophy on eating during labor is "Order a steak if you want to, I'm ok with it". Bless that man. We eat, then walk some more.

Noon- 20 hours before delivery: Contractions have not picked up. I am wondering what my options are. We ask the nurse what we can do. She says since we have already been walking, the options are really to either go home, or start pitocin. I dislike BOTH options, but agree to think about them.

To be continued...
Part 2
Part 3

On Motherhood

I'm in the middle of writing a nice long post about my labor and delivery experience, so I hope I won't keep you all in suspense for too long. It is a very long post, because it was a very long process. Details to come.

I just wanted to write down a few thoughts about being a mommy.

I was very excited to learn that I was pregnant, but I was always very nervous too. I am a worrier by nature, and I was naturally concerned about this huge change in my life. It felt so very permanent in ways that going to college, getting married, getting a job, supporting my husband, and moving across the country didn't. I was nervous that I would get postpartum depression and not be able to enjoy my baby. I was worried that I wouldn't feel a connection to my child. I was worried that I would get frustrated easily, or be too tired. I was worried about a million things even right after I delivered her.

I can happily say now though, that I need not have worried. It took a few hours after her birth to set in, but in the scope of things, a couple measly hours is no big deal. I feel like I have known Little Miss forever, but I can't wait to get to know her personality. She is the most beautiful baby in my eyes, and I am devoted to this little bundle. So much so that when the doctor who diagnosed her hip dysplasia told us "don't worry, she's almost perfect", I almost threw something at the back of his head. She is my daughter, and she is perfect the way she is. I could stare at her forever, and I definitely cuddle with her longer than is absolutely necessary, even in the middle of the night. I love being her mother.

But I'm still happiest if I get a nap sometime during the day.

Labor Part 1: The First 12 hours
Labor Part 2: The Next 12 hours
Labor Part 3: The last 12 hours including delivery. Finally. 

One week and Good News!

Little Miss is a week old! 

She hates to be changed. 

She has a great accidental smile. 

First family walk!

She looks just like her Daddy!

At the hospital when the doctor checker her out, he found out that her hips were loose in the sockets and dislocatable. He had a pediatric orthopedist come check her out and she was diagnosed with Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH). It can cause a limp and a swaying walk in children and adolescents, and painful arthritis in adults. Fortunately though, since we caught it so early she can wear a harness that will help keep her femur head in the socket and let the joint develop properly so that she won't have any problems as she grows. So she gets to wear a Pavlik Harness to help her hips develop normally. The harness looks a bit like lederhosen to me... She is in the harness full time for the next 6 weeks, and then she'll wear it when she sleeps for the next 6 weeks after that. We were thinking that she would have to wear it full time for 12 weeks, then at night until she was 6 months. We got the good news today that her femur is already staying in the socket, and that her treatment plan can be shortened. So though the harness is a bit of a hassle, I'll happily make it work. 

In short, we are a bit sleep deprived, but happily getting to know our sweet Little Miss!

Introducing...

 Our newest little Miss! We are absolutely smitten, and I now understand why first time parents are so obnoxious about their kids. I'm proud when she eats well, proud when she screams, proud when she poops a good one, and proud when she accidentally smiles at me.

Welcome to the world little one, we are so glad you are finally here!

Waiting on the World to Change

But not in a passive-aggressive political kind of way.

Happy Due Date to Us!

We're not-so-patiently awaiting the arrival of our littlest one. We've had a few days where it was much to hot to do much of anything at all, we've walked miles on the treadmill and outside when it is cool enough. We went to see Men in Black 3 (it was good, but took a slightly more serious note than the last two. But not in a bad way. I liked it, and it was almost a feel good movie. Is that strange to say about MIB?), we did a little bit of shopping, I had lunch with a friend who had her baby 3 weeks ago, and we've been to the doctor. Who stripped my membranes for me. It wasn't as bad as I've heard. But it didn't move things along like I had hoped it would.

Apparently this little girl is quite comfortable, and needs a bit more time. Mommy and Daddy are not comfortable, and are ready to be done.

So we keep on waiting, waiting on our world to change.

Keeping Busy

One of the reasons that Alex and I were so gung-ho about the Ragnar business from last week is that we are getting bored. Alex finished with classes about a month ago, and I just finished my last day of work yesterday. We've done a pretty good job of staying busy- I gave Alex a lengthy honey-do-list when he finished classes- but now our schedule is starting to lag even more. Here is our list:

To Do Before Baby:

Buy crib

put together crib

find pediatrician

finish headboard

organize baby's closet

organize bookshelves

finish blanket

wash clothes

pack laura's bag

pack alex's bag

assemble carseat and stroller

assemble bassinet

organize pantry

Luna bath

clean cars

choose and order announcements

address announcements

find out how to add baby to insurance

make and freeze meals

write thank yous for shower 1

write thank you notes for shower 2

pack diaper bag

As you can see, we've accomplished the big tasks, and we may or may not even get to announcements before she comes. We'll just have to see. 

So in order to give ourselves something to look forward to, we planned a trip to the Chicago Botanic Gardens. We went on Wednesday this week because it was the coolest day on the weather forecast. We went with our friend who is in town for the summer doing an internship in landscape design, and he gave us a bit of a personal tour. 

Being 38 1/2 weeks pregnant, my endurance was limited. So we were only there for about 3 hours, punctuated with lunch and ice cream breaks. Who could resist? :)

Naturally I made friends with the toads...

My favorite- Pink Flamingo!

A nook I'd like to re-create in my future backyard!

Alex the Conquerer!