Book Club

I don't think I've written about book club yet. Laura invited me last spring. It's mainly a bunch of women she knows from here and there, and now I've gotten to know them too. It's always held in the city and I am definitely the only one with kids. Actually, until last month, I was the only married one too. That makes for an interesting time. On the one hand I miss my single (or at least childless) city days when I was skinny and fashionable and had a multitude of things to talk about other than cloth diapers or teething. But on the other hand, it gives me a chance to go out in the city and pretend I'm still that fascinating person. After the first meeting, I was literally giddy on the drive home. I called another mommy friend and said, 'It was so great. I actually had intelligent things to say and kept up with the witty banter'! 

So over the course of the spring and early summer they got to watch my belly growing bigger and bigger and said they were all eager for me to bring the baby to the next meeting, and yes, of course, you should feel free to breastfeed openly. Well, I took them up on their offer and brought Lincoln to the last meeting. I admit I was looking forward to showing up looking cute, hair actually done and make up actually on. So what that I didn't manage to keep my new dress spit up free. No one will look that closely anyway. I was also planning on showing off my effortless mother skills by nursing Lincoln to sleep and laying him peacefully down in the corner while I enjoyed a glass of wine and a good laugh. 

Funny how these little one's always like to keep us on our toes. I spent the far majority of the time with him in the sling, bouncing him and shushing him until he finally fell asleep, only to start crying again when I sat down. I was dripping with sweat and starving because I was barely able to eat a thing. I can only hope the smile on my face looked real enough instead of the anxiety strained one that it really was. I think I had them all hypnotized with the bouncing/rocking motion I was doing for about an hour straight, which I of course laughed off as my secret way to burn off the baby weight. (I said, followed by a fake but polite little chuckle.)

Well, hopefully I didn't scare any of them away from having children some day. And while I'm thankful they were open enough for me to bring him, I'll make sure to leave him home next time. I think book club is better when I can step outside my day to day life anyway. 

Sesame Place

Sto was finished with work early last
Friday so we decided to go to Sesame Place at the last minute. We were able to buy twilight passes for just the evening, which was a good thing because this place charges almost as much as Disney World. But let me tell you, it's no Disney! For being such a big deal, I've always thought it was odd that it's basically in the parking lot of the local mall.

But it is pretty cute once you get inside. We started wandering around with no real plan and decided on the carousel for our first ride. After an agonizingly long wait in line, Sto and Pippa rode on a pink horse. (Have I mentioned Pippa's current obsession is horses?) Though she looked quite serious throughout the whole ride, she was actually tickled pink. I know this because she threw a mini temper tantrum when the ride was over. Then we headed to Grover's World Tour (aka, The Tea Cups). After a surprisingly long wait for a relatively short line, Pippa enjoyed the ride with a little grin on her face. I  then passed Lincoln off to Sto and took my little girl on Big Bird's Balloon Race. But only after waiting far too long in line. When you start to memorize the music played during the ride you know you've been waiting too long. Seriously, who do they hire to work in this place?! Is 'snail's pace' a requirement? And we almost didn't get on because we didn't walk fast enough to a seat and they got filled up! But I was a little snotty and were able to share a booth with another family. I was NOT waiting another 10 minutes for a 3 minute ride!

So after our grand total of 3 rides we grabbed a quick dinner and headed home. Yup. That was the extent of our first visit to Sesame Place. I've learned a few valuable lessons. Mainly, to make a plan ahead of time. We should have gone to one of the shows. That way she could have seen Elmo in person! This is what I learned while chatting with other parents in line for our stupid ride. Probably it's just as well we didn't, though, because Pippa was scared of the Cookie Monster she saw walking around the park anyway. But live and learn, right? Next year we'll get a season's pass and go when it's the least crowded. Now, does anyone know when that is?

Our Life At 1 Month

 So it's been just over a month since Lincoln's birth. 5 weeks, exactly. So how are we doing? Great, overall! He is a total cutey and I'm pretty much obsessed with him. Having 2 under 2 is a challenge, as expected. We have our good days and bad days. Today was a good day so I'm willing to say that the good days outweigh the bad. But I was singing a different tune yesterday! I admit that much of what determines our day depends on how much sleep I've gotten and how willing Pippa is to walk instead of being carried.

Lincoln is doing fabulous, though he is 'colicky'. It's pretty typical colic, worse in the evenings, etc., and thankfully keeps his fussing to the day time. (Hope I'm not jinxing myself!). I've tried all of the usual things and nothing really seems to help. I wear him in the sling most evening and sometimes he falls asleep, sometimes he just cries on and off for a couple of hours as I prepare dinner and get Pippa ready for bed. He is finally going longer than 3 hours between feedings at night, too. Though his longest block of time (5 hours) generally starts around 6 so it doesn't give me much more sleep. But I really can't complain. It's very normal for this age. (Can you tell I'm reassuring myself?)

He is starting to reward us with those awesome, gummy smiles! He is so cute it almost makes me forget all the crying...but not quite. He's working hard on developing his eye sight as evidence by frequent funny crossed eye'd faces. It seems every time I go to take a picture, he crosses his eyes! I'd prefer not to have a million pictures like that! Really, I swear he has a sweet little face. He's also working hard on finding his thumb. Please let it happen soon!

He's growing like a weed thanks to all that great breast milk he's getting. His 1 month stats are: Height 21 inches (50%), Weight 10 lbs 5 oz (55%, little piggy!).

Lincoln's Birth Story

Sorry I've been so neglectful of my blog lately. Well, I guess I've had good reason. We had our baby! Yeah! Here is the story:

After a lot of thought and talking with a Midwife group in the area we decided to plan for a home birth! I was so excited that Sto was on board. After Pippa's short labor (only 4 hours) I was pretty worried that I might not make it to the hospital in time and there was NO WAY I was having a baby in the car. Or the parking lot. Or the lobby. And since I'd already had one smooth, natural/unmedicated birth, I was confident this was a good decision for us. After all, the likely hood of a problem was extremely low and midwives are extremely capable of handing emergencies. And the thought of sleeping in my own bed and using my own shower was too good to pass up!

My due date, or should I say estimated due date, was July 2nd. Originally it was June 26th, however, and since Pippa was only 1 day early I was 100% sure I would go into labor at least a few days early. That's what always happens with subsequent births, right? Wrong. Oh so very wrong. I ended up being 5 days late. That doesn't sound like all that much, and it's not in hind sight, but let me set the stage for you. My mother in-law was going to be out of town for a week surrounding my due date. This meant I needed to have someone handy to help out with Pippa when I went into labor. So my mom (God bless her!) came to stay with us at that time, roughly a week before I was due. My father and brother were also planning on coming over the holiday weekend to meet the baby. At the same time, Sto had a major case he had scheduled but ended up postponing it because we were sure I'd go into labor in the middle of it and he'd miss the birth. (He ended up rescheduling it 3 times!) On top of that, he only had someone to cover him at work through the weekend and then Sto would have to do the covering of not only himself, but this other Dr. and the ER! Needless to say, with every passing day I felt like time was running out. And if one more person asked me if I was in labor yet or how was I feeling (you know, feeling. Wink, wink. As if that was a different question and therefore OK to ask) my head was going to explode!

I was trying all sorts of natural ways to induce labor. Spicy food, acupressure points, sex, and I even ate an entire pineapple after someone told me that could work. And I walked so much my feet hurt. In fact, one night I woke up with some contractions (or was is gas? Still not sure.) so I got out of bed and walked around the block for 45 minutes in my night gown at 3 in the morning. It didn't work. But I did sleep really well after that!

Finally, I was so late that it was time for my scheduled weekly appointment with my midwife. You know, the appointment I never intended to keep. I waddled into the office and we did an non-stress test to make sure the baby was doing well (which he was) and she checked me. I was 3-4 cms and 90% effaced! Thank God! I was worried she was going to say I wasn't dilated at all! So I went home hoping the irregular and painless contractions I had been having all day would actually progress into labor....

At almost exactly 5pm I had my first real contraction. It made me pause from doing the dishes and take notice. It was starting just like Pippa's labor so I knew this was the real thing. I called Sto to make sure he was on his way home, which he was, and then I paged the midwife. When we spoke I described my contractions: 4 minutes apart but less than a minute. I could still talk through them but they were already getting stronger. She said she would finish up at the office an come on over. I said, 'Ok, but take your time.' (Ha!) My mom took over caring for Pippa and I headed upstairs to my bedroom. By the time Sto got home (maybe 10 minutes later) was having serious contractions. I had to get down on my hands and knees and could barely talk through them. He set up the room for the birth and I climbed onto the bed, piled up some pillows to lean over and continued to labor on my hands and knees. It was the only position that was remotely comfortable to me. I was definitely having some back labor this time. Contractions were coming very fast and even more intensely. It was all moving so fast and was so intense (way more intense than my first labor!) that I remember thinking, 'Where are my endorphins, god dammit!' You see, normally contractions start slowly and build gradually and the body reacts by releasing endorphins that act as pain killers. The stronger the contractions get, the more endorphins are released. This is part of the key to handling a natural childbirth. But when a labor is really fast, there isn't time for the endorphins to get released and start working their magic, leaving me to cope all by myself! But cope, I did. I just kept reminding myself to let the contraction do it's job and bring my baby closer to birth. Moaning really helps too, though this labor also included some crying and some cursing in my head! By this time Sto called the midwife again to make sure she was on her way, which she was. But very soon I was feeling the need to push! I said, 'He's coming!' and Sto checked me and could feel his head! He said he thought he might have to deliver the baby himself, which would have been fine, but he wasn't familiar with the position I was in and asked if I could roll over. Um, NO!!! I CAN'T!!! Always calm under pressure, he was just going handle it. But luckily the midwife and her assistant came, literally running, up the stairs into the bedroom. It was about 6:10 at this point and 7 minutes later Lincoln Fredrick was in my arms! Total labor time 1 hour and 17 minutes! I was shocked! It sure seemed like longer to me!

There was some meconium but because of my birthing position he cleared his airway really well and they were able to suction him immediately. The other great thing about that position is that I did not tear at all! Lincoln did great and is the cutest little boy I've ever seen. 6 lbs 9 oz. and 20 inches long. He has big hands and feet (like a puppy) so we think he's going to be a tall drink of water. We started nursing right away and while it's taken a little work to make sure he's getting a good latch, he's nursing like a champ and I am so relieved.

Pippa is doing great with him too. She is so gentle and loves to hug and kiss him. While I'm nursing she usually comes over and lays her hand on his hand or foot, sucks her thumb and snuggles with us. Priceless. If I had a 3rd hand I'd snap a picture. She's going to be a great big sister!


So now the real fun begins!

Myrtle Beach Vacation

It's been a little while since I've posted, so let's play a little catch up. We went on vacation to Myrtle Beach with Ben, Michelle, and the kids. It was a great week. The weather was perfect and the water nice and warm. Pippa had a blast at the beach and is totally fearless in the water. No wonder she has water in her blood between Sto (an avid scuba diver) and me (a former competitive swimmer). We were very proud. I have some great video of her but can't seem to download it. But just imagine her running back and forth on the beach with her sand pal. And then into the waves and even bending over to put her head in the waves and sand! What a goof. The house we rented also had a pool so we had the best of both worlds. Our little gold fish was blowing bubbles and jumping off the side by the end of the week! Now if we could just talk Ninong and Ninang into getting a pool....

Mother's Day Traditions

I'm finally getting around to writing about Mother's day. I figured I should do it before it becomes a Mother's Day/Father's Day post! So anyway, I had a marvelous day. It started off my Sto making me breakfast (french toast with berries), which is actually not an uncommon event but it was nice none the less.  Then he went to work for a few hours and Pippa and I played outside and did some gardening. After a surprisingly early and good nap, we met the rest of Sto's family for lunch. I had put Pippa down for a nap so early that she ended up missing her morning snack and didn't get lunch until later than usual. Well, when that food came it was like I hadn't fed her for days! I was a little embarrassed, actually. I swear I feed that child! Really! I guess I can't blamer her, it was really good food. And she always love hanging out with her Ninong Fred. They get along like gang busters!

Then the men all had to finish rounding at the hospital so all of us women took a little detour to an azalea festival at a nearby park. We've all driven past this park and admired how pretty it was, but we had no idea that it was so big! There were all sorts of great trail with beautiful flowers and bushes along the way. And, on this day, there was a jazz band playing in one corner, an opera singer in another, and vendors in another. It was great! I think it may become a new Mother's Day tradition. Such fun!

Sleeping Beauty

Pippa really loves her bed, and her thumb. Sto and I have been marveling recently at how nicely she goes down to sleep these days. We read a few books and then snuggle for a few minutes, usually continuing to play and chat the whole time. Then we say 'Ok, time for nigh-night' and put her in her crib. She generally smiles at us and says nigh-night and that's it. She plays or talks to herself for a few minutes before she falls asleep. Waking up in the morning is even cuter.  This morning when I walked in (after letting her hang out for 45 minutes) I found her lounging, sucking her thumb, with one leg lazily hanging out of the crib like she was lolly gagging on the beach. When she saw me she gave me a 'Oh, hey. What's up?' kind of look. Stinkin' cute.

Here is a rare look at her fast asleep.