Date

Step 1:  Get that little guy to take a bottle.

Step 2:  Send the kids to Gigi and Pappaw's house.

Step 3:  Date Day!

We had 6 hours for a date day last week, and it was lovely :)

As much as I love my kiddos, it was a nice break.   

We went to a newer restaurant that was very different from anything I had ever had before.  

Tucanos Brazilian Grill.

If you like to try new food, and like meat this is your thing.

F loved it.  I thought it was weird, but fun.

Either way, it was a nice day out for us without the children.

The Little Mister

So far, our Little Mister has been nothing but easy.  He is laid back, and rather than actually crying he just grunts when he wants something (most of the time).  He has pretty much been attached to me his entire 6 week life.  He is in my little homemade Moby wrap at least a few hours a day.  I have had zero complaints.  He sleeps well at night, and only wakes to eat and get a diaper change.  This little guy has adhered to his own little schedule, and is very predictable.  Happy, laid back, and I-can-tell-you-what-time-it-is-because-he-is-hungry type of baby.

Sooo.......

We ventured out to church when the little guy was 5 weeks old.  He did great during church, and pretty much slept the whole time in daddy's arms.  After church, we stopped at the grocery store, and all was well.  In the checkout lane, F told me the little guy would probably need a diaper change before we headed home, so on the way out to the van we agreed I would change the little guy's diaper in the front of the van, and F would unload the groceries and help with O.

I unzipped Little Mister from his fuzzy teddy bear coat, and quickly realized what a mess there was.   Yep, diaper mess.
(Side note:  O never had a 'blowout diaper'  Her diaper may have leaked once or twice, so I had no idea how bad one could be).
I am not quite sure how the mess ended up all the way into his hair, but it did.  The laws of physics apparently were not at play here, because his head was up the whole time but gravity didn't do its thing.  And seriously, the diaper held nothing.  Nothing.  I have no idea how that's possible, but I guess it is.

I just chuckled to myself as I did my best to clean up the very messy child in my arms.  I used every single one of the large package of wet wipes I had with me.  I was about halfway finished, when the little guy peed.  I was laughing so hard at this point I had tears in my eyes.

Of course, hubs saw this as a perfect photo op and snapped photos from outside the van.  He didn't want to open the door and let in all the cold air, so he got to watch and laugh from a distance.  Although I was the one cleaning up the mess, poor F had to sit in the seat I was using as a changing table, so you can decide who had it worse :)  







































The rest of the day was filled with a whole lot of diapers and a whole lot of mess.  The poor kiddo had some serious tummy issues the rest of the day, but by night he was back to normal.  I still have no idea what evoked such tummy trouble, but we are again back to normal.

Sleep When Baby Sleeps (and other ridiculous notions...)

You know the discharge papers they give you after you have a baby?  The nurse sat down with me and went through all the do's and don't's when I go home.

Sleep when baby sleeps.

Do not lift anything other than baby.  

Don't let baby go more than 3 hours without eating.

Um, yeah right.  I obliged in the hospital, but the moment we stepped out of those hospital doors, was the moment those rules were over.  

We came home on a Friday night.  It was super cold.  The furry thing my son is wearing is for 3-6 month olds.  Apparently, I thought I was going to deliver a giant of a baby.  The little guy's feet didn't even make it to the leg holes.  The gigantic outfit kept me from properly buckling him in.  Is the chest buckle lined up with his armpits?  Who knows?  When they are that tiny, one can only adjust it a centimeter either way anyway so we will risk it on our 3 minute drive home.  

We arrived home to be greeted by my sister-in-law who spent the night.  My brother showed up soon after we did.  My daughter was still at my parent's so we still just had one to care for.  I wanted to stay up and visit, but it was like 10 pm, and I was exhausted, so I let my husband entertain, and I went to bed.

Saturday, I awoke to my mom bringing my daughter home.  O was so happy to be back home, and was full of energy.  Lots and lots of energy.  My mom was full of energy, too.  I came out of the bedroom to find she had started my laundry, was doing dishes, and general clean up.  She was grabbing all the bags we brought home from the hospital and emptying them for me.  That was pretty much awesome.  She also may have tried to wash my sister-in-law's clothes and find a home for her belongings...but that's ok :)  

Then the hubs showed up with doughnuts and other goodies from the store.  

Mama + doughnuts = big smile.  

Daughter + doughnuts = Too much energy she doesn't know what to do with....

Sunday was very much like Saturday.  My mom showed up and had food, and I tried to rest as much as I could.

Monday was my first day home with 2, and we had to go to the grocery.  This mama didn't have diaper ointment, and Little Mister developed a serious diaper rash late Sunday evening.  Before anyone even says it....yes I have heard coconut oil and lavender essential oil 'works great'....I whipped some up.  And no, it did not work.  Not even a little bit.  We needed the chemical-filled-probably-going-to-give-us-cancer-but-it-gets-rid-of-the-rash-fast stuff.  We left early (ok, it seemed early to me, because it was before 10, and getting us all around took forever).  

Hurdle #1...I didn't buy the typical car seat carrier everyone has.  No, this mama found a carseat that lasts through booster seat years, and stays planted in the van.  Safer?  Yes.  Pain in the butt to get your 4 day old out of and into the store when it is 3 degrees out?  Most Definitely.  

I put Little Mister in my sling, which worked out great.  He snuggled up and slept.  We went straight to the diaper rash cream, grabbed that, and then, since Little Mister was sleeping took a little walk around Walmart.  Did I mention I grabbed a grocery cart?  For 1 bottle of diaper cream, I grabbed a cart.  And then we 'took a little walk'....

20 minutes later with a cart full of snacks, dinosaur stickers, and Crayola paint, we checked out.  

Hurdle #2...I have a large cart I am pushing (ahem, more than the weight of my 8 pound baby) and I need to get a newborn in a carseat, a 5 year old in a booster seat, and ALL. Those. Groceries.  

Well, so much for not lifting more than 8 pounds.  This may have been the first time in the history of Walmart trips that the cashier didn't pack 1-2 items per bag.  This lady had each bag full.  Heavy and full.  

Step 1:  Tell Daughter to get in seat.  

Step 2:  Start Van

Step 3:  Put baby in carseat.  He wakes up and cries.  He seems to be cold, so cover him up and shut the door.  

Step 4:  Chase after cart that has started to move across the parking lot with your purse and all the food you just bought in it.  

Step 5:  Put all those bags in the back, while you listen to baby scream, and 5 year old complain of the loud screaming.

Step 6:  Shove the cart in the direction of the cart caddy, and hop in the van.

Step 7:  Drive home with the lovely sounds of baby cries and 5 year old complaints.

We survived.  O helped carry groceries in, and left the door open so our house was a nice cool 58 degrees by the time all the food was in.  

Hurdle #3...That trip pretty much wore me out for the day.  I managed some PB&J for lunch, and turned on a cartoon.  Must. Take. A. Nap.

2 Magic School Buses later I have not napped at all.  Little Mister woke up when my head hit the pillow, and there were diapers to change, and some nursing, and an outfit change in there somewhere.  Boys are way more difficult to change than girls.  I don't recall my daughter ever peeing mid diaper change.  If it happened it was a very rare occurrence.  This little guy...not so much.   Every single diaper change has resulted in the use of 2 diapers.  It's maddening.  

Skip a few days and we are to Day number 6 of life with Little Mister.

It has been 8 days since I have had coffee.  Little Mister is sleeping well at night, and I am not excessively tired.  By 8 days I had proved to myself that I could go without coffee, but it's kind of yummy and it makes me happy.  So, I had a cup.  Then, Little Mister had horrible tummy issues that evening, and I was sad.  I am still not sure if the tummy issues were because of the coffee, but I will get back with you on this topic.  

Skip a few more days...we played more games of tic-tac-toe than I care to admit.  We read.  We watched some cartoons.  It's been like a week and we are out of sorts without our routine.

 I told O that when Little Mister arrives we are taking a break from school.  She was super excited about this, and keeps telling her daddy 'I don't have to do school today.'  Ok, well that's great, but what are we going to do instead?  She told her daddy she played some games on the iPad (almost all of her games are school related apps), she found South Korea on Google Earth, counted to 113, read some words, and didn't have to do any schoolwork.....

She also pulled out her 'Writing Center' tote and has been making invitations to all sorts of things.  

 The same little girl who insisted she did not want to help with Little Mister just a few short months ago, has been eager to assist mama and daddy in just about everything so far.  She proudly announces every time she believes her little brother needs a diaper change, she combs his hair, she reads all her princess stories to him, and she likes to choose his outfits.

It has been 13 days since Little Mister arrived.  I have napped one time.  However, I have had a shower 12 of the 13 days, so I think that is pretty awesome.  :)

Birth Story

My 'due date' of February 16 came and went uneventfully.  I had a hunch Little Mister would take his time coming Earth side.  I was totally fine with this idea until I woke up on the 17th with some mild contractions that stopped an hour before my appointment with my midwife.  I went to my appointment, discovered that I had not progressed since last week's discovery of being 1.5 cm dilated and 50% effaced.  Bummer.  I left my appointment knowing that those stats don't really mean much, and things can progress quickly (and with some encouragement from my doula that he will get here when he is supposed to).  I deleted my Facebook app off my phone, because I was already getting the questions.........'we are waiting.......what's the news............'  Just so everyone is aware, I am waiting too.  It doesn't make me more patient to hear everyone else's excitement.  

The 18th was met with a non-stress test to make sure all was well with the baby.  I went to my appointment knowing everything was fine.  Little Mister was still quite active, and I had no concerns.  The nurse set up the fetal monitors on my belly, as Little Mister was doing somersaults (or karate chops?) inside me.  My stomach was jumping all around, the monitor was making a bunch of noise picking up all the activity and the nurse asked, 'does he kick at least 10 times in a two hour period?'  What?  Hello Nurse!  Look at my stomach.  Check out the monitor.  He's kicked 10 times in less than a minute.  Yes he is still moving in there.  I know she was probably just asking the standard questions, but I already felt like this was a bit of a waste of time.  Little Mister completed/passed all the requirements they look for in just a few minutes, and then I sat with the monitors for another 20 minutes just to have the minimum amount of time recorded.  I went to bed at peace that Little Mister would come when he is ready and me being impatient wasn't going to hurry along the process.  It was just going to make me miserable/unhappy the last days of my pregnancy.

February 19th, 3:00 a.m. I woke up with a contraction.  I got up, went to the bathroom, got a glass of water and went back to bed.  15 minutes later, I had another contraction.  I tried to stay in bed and sleep.  I made it until about 4:30.  I got up and moved to the sofa.  I turned on Everybody Loves Raymond and laid down on the sofa.  The contractions were not consistent at all ranging from 7 minutes apart to almost 20 minutes.  I slept as much as I could and got up around 7.  I told F about my sleepless night, and he got up and got around for work.  I made his lunch, wondering if he would even be at work long enough to eat it.  I told F to go to work and that I would let him know if things progressed, but that I still wasn't certain it was time.

Last Prego Pic--Bright and early at 7:30 a.m. with no make up and hair not done.  Looking fabulous :)

I started O on her schoolwork, and set about doing my regular chores.  My contractions still were not consistent in length.  The duration of the contraction was slowly getting longer though.  I texted with my doula, and she assured me early signs of labor can be tricky and we confirmed my contractions were not Braxton Hicks but the real thing.

By lunch time I was getting snippy with O.  She asked for lunch and I was so annoyed that I had to make her something.  I let F know that he may need to come back home to help with O because I wasn't being terribly nice.  He suggested I call my mom and have her pick up O after she got off work at 3.  I called and my mom said she would be there.

I managed to make some cheese toasties for lunch for the both of us.  Every time I had a contraction at this point I started going onto my hands and knees to help alleviate the discomfort.  O thought I looked like a pillow and would then lean on me completely oblivious to what was happening.  She just wanted to be close and snuggle.

Can you see the frustration on my face from O leaning on me?  I was so grumpy at this point.

By 1:30 I gave up on schoolwork, and turned on a movie (yes, I was still trying to do schoolwork with O).  I laid down and tried to sleep.  My contractions slowed way down to once every 20 minutes.  I rested while I could.  As soon as the movie concluded my contractions picked up quickly.  I sent F a text and said 'it's time to come home.'  The contractions were about 5 minutes apart (this was an average.  They actually ranged from 3-7 minutes and varied in intensity).  My mom wanted me to go to the hospital then, but I didn't think I was ready.  F showed up soon after my mom arrived.  My contractions slowed back down to 7-9 minutes apart, so we went outside and walked around the cul-de-sac.  They picked back up and were coming every 4 minutes.

My mom headed out with O.  F showered, collected our things and put them in the vehicle.  I set about cleaning the house trying to not think about the contractions in between them, but having to fully concentrate on them each time I had one.  F called our doula and she showed up at our house around 5:30.  We chatted through contractions, and she suggested I try the reboza scarf attached to the door.  I switched to that position and after maybe 15 minutes of doing this (it was basically me squatting next to the door with the scarf there to help me hold myself up with my arms), I said 'let's go to the hosptial.'

We headed to the vehicles, and waited through a contraction before we headed out.  As we were leaving I started shivering uncontrollably even though I was not cold.  I insisted we park and I walk up to the hospital on my own.  I was worried that the transition to the hospital would slow my contractions up so I wanted to do everything possible to keep them consistent.

I registered for what seemed like 30 minutes (the hubs told me later that it was more like 5).  It was about 6:45.  I had a contractions in the middle of registration and the lady at the desk just kept trying to get me to sit down.  I knew I did not want to sit.  She offered to get a wheelchair and again I declined.  I walked to the elevator, stepped on, and had another contraction.  So basically, my concerns about labor stalling when heading to the hospital were for nothing.  :)

I walked to the front desk at labor and delivery and had another contraction.  I remember the midwife on call saying something to the effect that I did well getting through the contraction.  I was asked how long I had contractions and told them, then they ushered me to my room.  I changed clothes and remembered thinking I was never going to be able to stay on my back for 30 minutes for the nurses to get a baseline to make sure everything was ok, and to set up my antibiotic (I tested positive for Group B Strep and was supposed to get at least one 30-minute dose of antibiotic to insure baby didn't get sick).

My pain level shot up to almost unbearable when I got on the bed and waited to get the antibiotic connected.  I remember growling to the nurse to wait on the antibiotic until I finished my contraction (hubs said I actually asked nicely and even said please--no growling).  After another contraction I thought I was yelling 'I need to get off my back' (hubs said, nope I asked politely again--no yelling.  The midwife commented 'she's so polite' and the nurses were getting a kick out of my manners).  The fetal monitors were set and started recording at 6:58 pm.

I am not sure if it was before, during or after the antibiotic was being set up, but the midwife checked to see how far along I was.  I remember thinking 'if I am not at least 5 cm, I am getting an epidural.  She checked me and as she was checking I had another contraction and my water broke.  I heard her say 8-9 centimeters.  I saw several surprised looks around me and my husband say something like 'that's awesome honey!  You just walked into the hospital at 8 cm dilated!!).  I had socks on and they were soaked, along with everything else, and thankfully a nurse took them off for me.  I remember just wanting to get out of all the goo :)  During one of the contractions I started to throw up, but with no place for it to go, I ended up swallowing it--yuck!

They got me a yoga ball/birth ball and I flipped over onto my hands and knees and leaned on that.  I remember focusing on my husband's hand and practically clawing it off but still trying to relax during those contractions.  During one contraction I remember looking at my arm and saying, 'my hand really hurts.'

Before labor started we had agreed on a code phrase for if I really wanted to get medication.  In honor of our favorite show 30 Rock it was supposed to be 'Good God Lemon'.  I remembered telling F 'This hurts a lot' and being so uncomfortable I didn't know what to do.  Each time I had a contraction at this point I also felt like throwing up.  I felt the ring of fire everyone always refers to and thought, 'oh my I can't do it'  I looked at F and said 'Lemon! Liz Lemon!'  F knowing full well we were past any chance of getting medication said 'honey I need you to tell me the phrase the right way if you are serious, and then I will see what we can do.'  Another contraction later and baby's head was out.  Just moments later the rest of his body.  The relief when he was delivered was wonderful.  I remember thinking, 'I can't even see my baby, and I am not sure I care right now.  I am just happy that the pain is gone.'  Then I felt a little guilty for thinking that.  Little Mister was born at 7:26, less than an hour after I entered the hospital.  That may have been cutting it close :)

Since I had the IVs hooked up to my arm, monitors around my belly, and umbilical cord between my legs with baby still attached it was tricky at best to get flipped around onto my back so I could see/hold Little Mister.   In the process, my IV was pulled out of my arm.

I looked at F after I was handed Little Mister, and someone snapped a picture of my 'Did that just all happen?' face.

I went into this birth wanting to do it without pain medication so that they wouldn't cause any grogginess with Little Mister when he was born, and because I wanted to labor how I chose without being 'confined to a bed' like I was with my daughter.  I knew I wanted to labor at home as long as possible.  I promise I had no idea I was that far along in my labor when I finally decided to go to the hospital.  It's not like there is a gauge I could read that said, 'You are __ cm dilated'.  I really thought labor was going to be much longer/harder than what it ended up being.

I did end up tearing in the same places I tore with O, so I had to get stitched up (which seemed to take forever--hubs agrees on this one).  It is strange how I had no sense of time while I was in labor and afterwards.  Everything seemed to slow way down.  I think waiting on getting stitched up and having to get the local anesthetic was way worse than labor pains.  I (again) thought I yelled at the person stitching me up, but really didn't (according to my husband).  I bled a lot, just like I did with O.  I lost a lot of blood with O, and was put on bed rest for 6 weeks.  I opted to have Pitocin injected to help stop the bleeding.  It had to be injected because my IV was yanked out earlier.  I had about 10-15 minutes of antibiotics before the little guy arrived.  His preliminary lab work all came back negative.

We had originally planned on F taking lots of photos during the labor, and possibly some video.  Since we had a doula we thought he would be more free to do this.  Between everything happening so quickly and me requiring everyone's attention pretty much the whole time, not many photos were captured by either of them.  Thankfully, my mom picked up the camera and snapped a few for us.

Keeping at it

I am still at it with my 40 days until baby!  I am not gonna lie, it's a little bit crazy here with my incessant folding and refolding to make everything look nice.  F just smiles and looks the other way.  He can not comprehend why I would want to organize closets that no one sees.  Hello....I see them!  :) 

FAIL

For Christmas this year we bought exactly one gift.

Our little family got an iPad to share, and the hubs made an awesome little video to recap our crazy hectic full year.  

Since I love to be crafty, I thought I would make a cute little case for the iPad for when we tote it around in bags.  You know, just a little extra protection.  Sew Mama Sew had a cute tutorial, so I followed her directions.  Now, I knew we were putting a case on it (it's called the Survivor or something like that.  Super bulky, super protective, should hold up to a 5 year old) so I added an inch to all of her dimensions.  I also used felt rather than her suggested flannel for the inside to be super soft.

I made it.  I loved it.

I went to put the iPad in it.

It doesn't fit.

It is probably 1/2 inch too small to fit the bulky case.

Ugh...FAIL.

So, if anyone has an iPad Air and wants a cute little case just let me know, cause this one is just chilling on a shelf in my house with no use.  I am certain it will fit without a bulky case on the the iPad.

Laundry Detergent

The very first step we took when we were making the switch to more natural cleaning products, and watching what we were putting on/in our bodies was Laundry Detergent.  It was super easy, and I loved it.  I have told countless people the simple recipe...

You can imagine my dismay when I realized the detergent isn't so great for you.

I read this article, and immediately freaked out.  Ugh, great.  Borax may be linked to reproductive issues.  It's also not so great on your septic tank (if you have one).  Great....

Here is my newest find for making my own detergent.  I have made it, but I have not tested it out for very long so I don't know how well it will wash.

I am also on the search for a better detergent alternative for washing diapers.  Apparently homemade detergents cause the yucky build up that needs stripped off?  Who knew?  Not me.

So, with that I say,

"When you know better, you do better."  (Maya Angelou).

I am not going to dwell on it.  Just time to change and move on.