It's a DomerBaby

Get in There!

2012-01-25T16:04:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder to get in the shot sometimes. Sure, you may not have combed your hair after you washed it. You may not have a lick of makeup on. You may be 30 pounds heavier than you wish you were. But your kids won't care when they look back at photos in 5, 10, 20, or 30 years. They'll just be happy to have pictures of their mom.

So get in the photo!

Sometimes, no news is good news

2012-01-23T20:44:00.000-05:00

Even the first born milestones take a back seat if they don't make a big show about it...

Joseph got all of his molars! I did notice several months ago that one was starting to come in, but after that I'd only sort of half-heartedly look for them (it's not that easy to peek that far back in a toddler's mouth - and I'd hate to waste the cooperative time without a toothbrush in there!). Well, tonight I asked Daddy to count, and he has all 20 teeth! Either they came in easy, or we attributed the problems to something else. I do remember him having a fever once (maybe right after Nora was born?)... but that's about it!

We're done with baby teeth for a month or so, and then we can start the process again! Ha!

There is nothing funnier

2012-01-21T10:19:00.000-05:00

Than getting cheered on when you're sitting on the toilet by your almost 3-year old.

Joseph gets just as excited when "I make it" as when he does. Haha! He's my little cheerleader.

We're giving potty training (for Joseph) a real try this weekend. Wish us luck!

Toddler Theory of Relativity

2012-01-18T12:56:00.000-05:00

"Every action has an equal and opposite reaction"

It's not just physics, apparently. As wonderful as Joseph's morning was, I sat through 15 solid minutes of sobbing - by BOTH children - on the way home.

Nora regularly cries a bit in the car. It's NORMAL. Sometimes, Joseph could care less. Sometimes, he cries, too. Today, he had a full-blown meltdown. She stopped crying, he kept crying. So then she'd cry more, and then he'd cry louder and longer - as if it were a competition. On it went for the entire car ride, unloading, diaper changes, etc... I sent him to his room to calm down, which sort of worked, but it took nearly the whole time I was getting Nora changed and settled.

Advice on this behavior? In the past I try to empathize to get him to stop (mostly so it'll allow Nora a chance to calm down). Today I opted for silence vs. screaming at him to shut the ^*#& up, since that's not the parent I want to be, and would have been unlikely to work anyway.

He tells me that he "feels sad" and I try to suggest things that will cheer him up, but mostly I think he "feels sad" because it's likely to get an empathetic response. I don't want to be mean and unresponsive and teach him that it's not ok to share his feelings, but I would like to help him get out of these funks more quickly.

Did I mention that I'm sick, too? My fuse is a little on the short side today.

The Great Diaper De-Stash

2012-01-17T17:58:00.001-05:00

After nearly 3 years of cloth diapering, I'm ready to streamline my stash for ease of use. That means getting rid of a LOT of diapers that we've either outgrown or just don't reach for in the pile. All of my diapers have had a purpose, and I've liked almost every one at one time or another, but now that I'm diapering two kids, I just want my diapers to feel "decluttered".

So, I'm getting rid of everything but my pockets. Whoa!

Before I post them on diaperswappers.com (great place to buy used diapers, by the way), I figured I'd post them here in case anyone is interested. I will probably try and sun them before I take photos... but I don't know when we might get a sunny day next here in the great (muddy) North.

Here's my list, if you'd like more info on them, email me jenmonn at gmail dot com and I'll take pics and such. Prices include shipping so long as you're getting at least $20 worth of diapers.

There's a tear, in my... sippy cup

2012-01-16T23:00:00.000-05:00

Oh, the tears. Before Nora was born, I worried that her cries would upset Joseph. They do every once in a while, especially in the car. The much more likely scenario, lately, has been Nora crying because Joseph is!

Is there a more helpless feeling than a mom trying to comfort 2 small children? :P Yes, I'm sure there are many, but good grief - that is not an easy task. The tried and true boob-in-mouth technique for an infant is much harder to pull off when you are trying to snuggle an almost 3-year-old at the same time!

Given Joseph's new penchant for being "sad" and on the brink of tears with anything ranging from being awake to having to walk out the door, I'm sure I'll get used to this new challenge, too!

A Full Day

2012-01-15T23:25:00.000-05:00

Today we went down to the Carnegie Science Center. It was really fun, and we only go through a few exhibits so we'll have lots to enjoy with our new membership (thanks J&P)

Joseph LOVED the train exhibit, and we did, too, to be honest. It was enormous and amazing. Check out the pics I took.

The evening has been full of tasks - cooking, cleaning, organizing, and hair cutting (you'll see Joseph's new 'do the next time I take his pic!). Nothing extraordinary to report, but boy we feel worn out!

Nora does, too. She's been asleep since 5:30pm. Last night she slept from 6:30pm-7:30am, and that was just when Joseph got up so she did, too. The poor girl doesn't get much sleep during the daytime, though. Not like her big brother, when Mama could just sit and rock him all day long!

Nora is really starting to become a little person - lots of cooing and chatting, likes to play with her toys, and loves to watch her big brother! She's a feisty little thing and doesn't take no for an answer (just like her Mama).

Mama and Nora after Joseph ditched us to go watch Thomas chuff by

Daddy and Joseph learning about air compression

And here's a gratuitous tummy time photo of Nora... isn't she just gorgeous???

Quick Notes

2012-01-14T00:39:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling overwhelmed by how backlogged I am, so I'm just gonna try and move forward. That might mean just a little info about what is happening in our lives for now, rather than well thought out posts. As it is, I'm typing this at 12:30am with a baby crooked in my arm nursing!

Highlights of the last few days:

- Joseph went to school the last 2 days w/o tears!
- Nora (inadvertently) rolled from her belly to her back today. It was a complete accident on her part, but it was really cool! She was unfazed. Joseph thought it was HILARIOUS and couldn't stop laughing. I was amused and grabbed the video camera in case it happened again (no such luck)
- Joseph is singing a ton (Santa Clause is Coming to Town is his fav, but he's learning and repeating new songs from school, as well as the Thomas intro). Nora is babbling and cooing a lot now. So sweet!

In a hand-knit from Tante Teresa, who she cannot WAIT to meet in person!

This look? I DIE

Joseph looking older and more in need of a haircut every.single.day.

Tales from the Potty

2012-01-11T17:32:00.001-05:00

Joseph has learned to pee if we sit him on the potty. Thi is good - very good. But he doesn't tell you in advance yet. The other day, he did a #2. This is even better. I'd change pee diapers forever, but I almost threw up last week. I'M ready, even if he's not.

Today, I changed him after his nap - he had a heavy diaper. He used the potty then, too. Then he was very insistant that he wanted to put on Thomas underwear. I say OK, since he must be pee'd out anyway, right? He picked the red ones - James the Red Engine.

We literally got down to the kitchen and he's yelling "I pooped on James!"

Haha. No, but he did pee on him. how he had more in him? I don't know. Oh well.

If I'm lucky he'll be in underwear by summer. I'm not even saying his birthday... that's only a month and a half away!

He likes it, he really likes it!

2012-01-06T14:22:00.001-05:00

Well, Joseph started preschool this week. ::Tear::

Rabidly Excited for School

or: "Mom, could you not even get it together enough to get me a haircut?"

We enrolled him in a local Montessori school, and he's going Wednesday through Friday from 9-11. Not too long, but long enough to be away from Mama and get some learnin' done. And hopefully long enough for Mama to run some errands and get groceries!

For posterity, here is the play by play:

Wednesday: They start the day by hanging up their coats (Montessori is big on real life type work), and they had to coax pretty hard to get him to take it off - they ended up doing it for him (all of this i just saw through the one-way mirror window at the door). Then he went and played w/ the farm because there were two tractors for about 45 min, before they were able to get him to try something else (he did some stickers on paper). Then he went on his own to do play dough, and after that back to the tractors before circle time. He seemed happy to go to circle time, probably because we'd been coaching him that after circle time I'd be waiting for him). Then it was time to get his coat and go! I think he had fun, though he did have some near-tears sad faces during the first hour. I just stayed in the hall for the whole time, since by the time I felt OK to leave I'd have had about 15 min at home before turning around to go back.

Thursday: In the hallway he knew what was coming, and he did not want to go in. I encouraged him and he did go, but he started bawling when they took his coat off. ::sob:: I felt so terrible. I wanted to race in there and hug him, but of course I couldn't (no really, the door is locked on the outside! Hahaha). So I just watched and cried, too. I waited until he was OK and playing with the tractors (of course) and then went home. I got laundry in the wash and some dishes done. Haha. Preschool is so much fun for moms! Yeah right! I went back early to peak in, but they were already in circle time in the back of the room. I did hear him crying :( but it turned out that he just bumped heads with another little girl and that set him off. He was happy when he came out, but upset that he did not get to wash his hands (they have a hand-washing station to use before eating a snack - he'd been refusing the snack). He talked about the "accident" for a while, but said he liked school.

Friday: Today was the worst drop off yet for him, but best for me. He started crying in the hall with me, which was much easier for me than when he was "alone" in the class. The teacher had to carry him in, poor guy. A few moms invited me out to breakfast with them (they go every Friday) so I went with them. I only had a tiny moment of guilt! I had a good time, and it turned out that Joseph did, too! He came out of class laughing and smiling today! We went outside and he ran around with his classmates for a few minutes before we headed home.

I think he's REALLY going to enjoy school. And I think I'll like it, too. It's kind of hard to do grocery shopping with both Joseph and Nora (especially when it's snowy or rainy - trying to get them both in and out quickly, get Joseph in the cart with wet/muddy boots while wearing Nora, etc...). So school will be a good time to do that and other errands - or get a cup of tea on Fridays with the ladies!

Relaxing at home with Nora - Holding hands was his idea!

Mama happy to be with Joseph and Nora

or: "Joseph, Mama can't even comb her hair and put on makeup, a haircut is too much to ask"

or: "Jen, close up that lens, and then you won't have these self-portrait focus issues,

though that is a lovely shot of your pillow"

2 Months!

2011-12-30T10:26:00.000-05:00

Nora is two months old today - which seems impossibly short. I love that she was born just before we moved - it really makes it feel like she's been part of our family forever since we all moved into the house together.

But, her teeny tiny-ness reminds me that it's not true! We just got back from the doctor, and she's sleeping peacefully after having 2 shots. She was unappreciative of the weighing, measuring, and poking. Ha!

Stats:
Weight: 10lb 9oz (about 35-40%)
Height: 23" (about 75%)
Head: 38cm (about 50%)

According to my old blog posts, Nora is even smaller than Joseph (though the percentiles change since she's a girl). Luckily she is not fussy, nor does she spit up a lot, so I don't have to give up my ice cream this go-round. I'm wise enough now to accept that my kids will not be on the big end (or probably even the small end!) of the charts, so I don't worry much about it.

The doc said she had wonderful head control and looked great.

Our DomerBabies

2011-12-29T20:54:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Joseph was crawling into our (non-working) fireplace and saying he was going in the grotto. I guess that "First Notre Dame Words" book really did indoctrinate him! He is a little domer already!

Here are some game day photos from tonight's bowl game:

Touchdown!

Our two future domers

Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame

Go long!

I'm Such a Primate

2011-12-27T01:16:00.000-05:00

Poor Nora has been suffering from congestion all week. Luckily I got a NoseFrida this time around.

It is SO satisfying to get all that gunk out so she can breathe again! And wonderful to not be losing sleep every night because my newborn is so stuffed that she can't nurse.

Nora HATES the thing, which is actually good because otherwise it could become addicting to see how much gunk you can get out!

I am such a primate... nothing makes me happier than grooming my family. Haha!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:02:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas, from our family, to yours!

The Fam - heading out to Grandma and Grandpap's house

Pretty Miss Nora

Starting in on Presents!

Putting my new lens to work - Bokeh!

Four stockings hung (though one still needs a name - oops!)

Through the pocket doors

Santa Came!!!

We're still here!

2011-12-13T22:29:00.000-05:00

Can you believe that between moving, having a baby, and having a toddler I'm just not finding time to post regularly? It would be a pathetic excuse, except that the times of day when I was used to doing posts I am not one-handed, holding a baby. Internet surfing = easy. Typing = hard.

I've been taking and posting pictures somewhat regularly on smugmug, so check there for pics until I get myself back to it!

Nora is beautiful, and thriving. She is such a good little girl. She sleeps pretty well (for a newborn) and is mostly content. She has, unfortunately, developed a preference for me in the last week. Sigh. I wish babies would express their preference in extra smiles for mama instead of wails when mama leaves. T.J. is a tough cookie, though, and has been great about taking on both of the kids while I get out to do some stuff with my new mom's group (a Christmas party AND knitting in the last week!).

Joseph is a phenomenal big brother. He has never once done anything mean to Nora. The worst is that he "cries" like her when we change his diaper. :P He's also developed a bit of an independent streak since Nora arrived and we moved. He regularly heads up to the playroom on the 3rd floor by himself to play with his cars and trains! I feel like I'm letting him down a lot, lately - there is so little time to devote to playing with all normal housework/errands plus new house tasks plus Nora. Instead, I've been focusing on taking him out for a daily walk. It's good for all three of us, and we all enjoy it and are meeting lots of neighbors this way! We're going to visit a potential preschool on Thursday (gasp!) and we're planning to enroll him for January. Yikes. I have to admit that I'm terrified.

T.J. is working hard, as always, but now he's got a lot more on his plate at home. Hopefully I'll be in a position to lighten his load at home soon, as Nora gets older and we get more settled in.

So that's it... be patient, I'm sure I'll be back to more regular posting soon!

Thanksgiving 2011

All smiles for Mama!

Hopped up on Hot Chocolate

"I can't put my arms down!"

Christmas Photo Shoot Success!

Trimming the Tree with Daddy

2 week and 4 week Appointments

2011-11-30T23:37:00.000-05:00

yeah, yeah... I just had a baby and moved across country into a decrepit (yet charming) house. Cut me a little slack. ;)

OK, a lot of slack, because I don't know where the info is that they gave us so you just get weights this time!

Birth: 9lb, 2oz
2 weeks: 9lb, 5oz
4 weeks: 9lb, 14oz

I think they said today that they like to see 1-2lb gains per month. I told them about my slow-growing son, though, and that they shouldn't expect much from my kids in the weight gain department. Ha!

Nora is beginning to smile for real! She's always been pretty expressive, and starting Sunday, I'd say, I got some reactive smiles from her. Tonight we almost had a "conversation". We stuck our tongues out, smiled, raised our eyebrows, and I swear she almost laughed back at me! We're BFF's already.

Nora at 4 Weeks

Toddler Mysteries

2011-11-23T12:21:00.002-05:00

After refusing the booster chair, Joseph is fine with sitting on the phone book for lunch.

Maybe he likes kickin' it old school?

Two Weeks Old!

2011-11-13T21:27:00.000-05:00

Nora's accomplishments:
1. Survived first flight without any fussing
2. Lost umbilical cord stump
3. Practicing lifting her head (she loved IKEA today and wanted to look all over!)
4. Charming everyone within eyesight with her red hair and gentle demeanor.

New Stuff in Nora's Life:
1. Enjoying her new state/city/house (and her swing as much as she can tolerate it so Mama can unpack)
2. She lost her umbilical cord stump last night (finally), but no first bath yet... how long can I get away with not bathing her? I have NO desire to do so. Her first bath might just be with big brother so I can kill two birds with one stone...
3. A pacifier. I finally remembered to try one today for the car. It worked for a little while to keep her occupied in the car. She is not a huge fan of driving, though she seems to settle relatively easily right now.
4. Baby acne. :( I'd almost convinced myself that she wouldn't get it, but it's starting to come up. Just a little right now. Maybe she won't get it quite as bad as Joseph.

A Day in the Life of Nora:
Nevermind, it's just eating and sleeping. She had been super-angel-baby, sleeping anywhere we put her and staying that way to the point that I often woke her for feeding because I was so uncomfortable, but she's waking up now, and has a CLEAR preference for being held... just like her brother (and every other infant in the world, right!) She's become very vocal about her desire to be held over the last couple of days.

I don't even know where my camera is, so new pictures are probably a few days away. Moving sucks.

The Birth of Nora Mae

2011-11-06T21:57:00.000-05:00

After having some irregular contractions on Saturday, I woke up to contractions every 10 minutes at 2:30am on Sunday morning. They were uncomfortable to lay down through, so I got out of bed around 3am and started timing them online. I passed the time reading on the internet, listening to an NPR podcast, and watching "Sister Wives" on netflix (don't judge, I was distracting myself! And the NPR balances it out, right?). During contractions I would kneel and lay over my exercise ball, using my yoga breathing to manage the pain.

I watched as the contractions went from 9 minutes to 7 around 5am. By then, I found using the mantra "open" to be helpful, envisioning my body opening up for the baby to come through. I made "oh" sounds and "ah" sounds, depending on the strength of the contraction. At this time I was just feeling tired and nervous. I'd spent the last morning in much the same way, although these were a little more substantial. I was scared that when daylight came the contractions would taper off again, and I'd be stuck pregnant yet another day, just getting exhausted every night by contractions that amounted to a hill of beans.

By 6:30am they were down to around 5-7 minutes apart. They were lasting 40 seconds to about 80 seconds. I was so tired that I'd sort of fall asleep between contractions, and when another would come on I'd lean back over the ball and ride it out - then sit back and lean against the couch to doze for 5 more minutes. Unbelievably, this did seem to get me a little bit of rest and energy back!

Joseph woke up around 8am, and I woke T..J. up to go take care of him. I thought about making a "birth day cake" with Joseph, but I was still afraid that my contractions would go away, and then I'd be left with a birth day cake without a birth. So I didn't mention it. I moved to the rocking chair at this time to rest some more, and for the most part was able to labor through contractions in the chair.

I called my doula, Laura, around 9:15am to see what she thought about these contractions, and she was equally cautious about calling it labor. We'd seen this before with Joseph's birth, and heck, that was a 40 hour ordeal! After talking with me through several contractions, we agreed that I'd try and rest and call her when I felt that I needed her. I told T.J. that I was going to wait until 10am to call the midwife, Charlotte, and T.J. said he was going to take Joseph out to a golf store about 20 minutes away if I thought I was OK. At first I thought that was fine, but about 10 minutes later I told him to stay closer to home. I ended up calling Charlotte around 9:40am and talking with her for about 20 minutes through 4 or so contractions. She said she'd grab a cup of coffee and call me back in an hour to see how I was.

After that I called the 2nd doula, Jill, whose job was to care for Joseph during the birth - whether that meant keeping him near or far from us. She was on her way to church, but said she'd bring everything with her and I should call if I needed her.

Well, about 10:40 I was calling EVERYONE to come as soon as they could! I'd had 4 hard contractions that convinced me that it didn't matter if I was "wrong" about being in labor - I needed some support. When I hung up with the last person, I was going to start the water in the birth tub, but I felt another contraction come on and just had to cling to the exercise ball for dear life!

T.J. and Joseph arrived at the same time as Jill about 10 minutes later, and I'd already had 2 "pushy" contractions. Jill stayed with me so that I wasn't alone, while T.J. worked quickly to do everything I was telling him between contractions (get me a drink, get me a hair band, get me a towel, fill the birth tub...). He didn't realize how imminent things were, and to some extent I didn't either. I felt pushy with Joseph for about 6 hours before I was at 10cm with him, so I was afraid to push. But my body just didn't give me a choice - it was expelling that baby!

Jill, being very SMART, grabbed some waterproof pads and towels from the birth kit in the bedroom and put them under me minutes before my water broke (I was still fully clothed). While she was gone, Joseph came over and rubbed my arm, telling me it was OK. He was such a darling, and a trooper! After my water broke, it took her another couple of contractions to convince me to take off my pants so she could make sure the amniotic fluid was clear and that there wasn't a head already poking out! Haha. Not funny, though, as I could feel the baby in my pelvis at that point. This was about 11:50.

At this point I was just surviving contractions - still using my sounds and trying to not push any more than my body was making me. It was pretty hard to keep control of myself and my emotions. There was some mild swearing, and once I simply said "I'm frightened". Mostly I was frightened of having the baby before the midwife arrived!

Soon T.J. said the tub was filled enough for me to get in, so I quickly moved there to help get some relief - Oh my, it worked! The tub was horrible with Joseph, but it was such a relief this time. Still, the baby was on its way out, and Laura and Charlotte were still en route! I told T.J. to call Charlotte and see how far she was, but after that it was just a matter of survival. T.J. had put a towel on the edge for me to lean over, and I took to biting that at the end of contractions to make it through the pain. Joseph came in at one point at the height of a contraction and I heard him run toward me and then stop when I let out a particularly strange noise. But he just ran back out again - no tears or anything. He was amazing. I think he mostly stuck with Daddy at this time.

The baby began to crown, and oh my it was painful! I can safely say that pushing is the worst part of giving birth. The "ring of fire", of course, but I felt like my clitoris was going to tear! That was terrifying enough to get me to breathe and hold verrry still while the baby stretched things out a bit.

Charlotte arrived at this time (12:05pm), and I told Jill to holler at her to hurry. I heard Jill yell "Charlotte, I'm holding a head!" and Charlotte came bounding in ready to get down to business. T.J. was behind her with her gear, getting things opened up and ready to use if needed.

The head was out to about the brow now, but I was taking it slowly. Charlotte was concerned since she hadn't had any time to listen for the heartbeat, and wanted me to push to make sure the cord wasn't wrapped and pulling tight around the neck, but it wasn't really physically possible at that point. I was just following what my body was telling me. Luckily another contraction came and the head was out, and I was yelling at Charlotte to get away from me as she was poking all around down there and it was so uncomfortable! She was just checking for the cord, but I didn't care. The next contraction came and I was able to push out the shoulders and the rest of the body!

Charlotte caught the baby and passed her through my legs under the water (the baby was fully submerged the whole time, which prevents them from breathing). I reached down and picked up the baby, like it was the easiest, most natural thing in the world (it was)! And then I sat down in the tub. It was 12:16pm.

The baby was quiet, but seemed pretty rosy quickly. It took her a few seconds to get her first breath, but it wasn't scary. I just rubbed her. Charlotte suctioned her briefly around the cheeks to help clear out what she coughed up, and that was that! She scored an 8 and 10 on her APGARs.

Right after the baby was born, my doula, Laura, arrived! I sat and "relaxed" and I let the baby try and latch on and nurse while Charlotte did her thing and everyone exclaimed at the craziness of it all. About 20 minutes later the assistant midwife got there, as well. We stayed in the tub for about 30 minutes, while we waited for the placenta. After it came out, T.J. cut the cord while Joseph watched, and then we got out of the tub and into bed.

Joseph did so well through the entire labor. He was never frightened by my laboring. When I'd have a contraction and close my eyes, he would say that I was sleeping. Haha! Not quite, darling! The poor kid got a little forgotten about in the fray. I remembered that he was probably hungry an hour after Nora was born, and he got to eat some eggs and banana bread for lunch in bed with us! By 4pm he was asking to go to sleep, and resorted to bringing his pajamas out to the living room at 6:30pm. Haha. He didn't have ONE meltdown the entire day, though. Completely in awe of him!

The whole experience was amazing, empowering, and just a tiny bit scary! Thank goodness that Jill was able to get there so fast, or it would probably have been pretty terrifying! And a little messy. Ha!

The amazing part of this birth is that I didn't realize just how negatively I had been viewing Joseph's birth. I always had pretty bad feelings about it, but this birth instantly healed me of those negative thoughts. I can see now that my body works just fine. I was capable of having a "normal" birth, and I have never felt stronger or more capable.

I've felt great physically this time around, as well. After a day of general soreness, I'd felt good enough to go out almost daily, do housework and prepare for our move, play with Joseph on the floor, wear Nora while getting things done, etc...

I also think that I really did suffer from PPD from the beginning with Joseph. I feel SO different mentally this time around. And I don't have this general "who is this alien" feeling about Nora like I did with Joseph. She fit right into our family immediately and we all just hit the ground running.

Nora is a beautiful little thing. She is so mellow and sweet, preferring to rest and nurse her days away! It's early yet, but her disposition seems to by typical of 2nd borns - very go-with-the-flow.

I do have some thoughts as to why I'm feeling better all around this time, but I think that's another post, as this one has gone on quite long enough! Sorry there aren't any labor pictures this time... it wasn't on our minds (though one of my commands to T.J. during labor was to get the camera out for the birth!). I did post several birth photos on smugmug and in this blog post

Then and Now

2011-11-05T22:56:00.000-04:00

Joseph at 3 weeks old:

Nora at 6 days old:

The blanket, sweater, and hat were a gift from T.J.'s Godmother Marilyn. So lovely!

Joseph at 8 days:

Nora at 6 days:

Newborn Photo Shoot

2011-11-04T20:39:00.000-04:00

I tried my hand at taking some newborn photos of Nora the other day. I got a few good ones, which is I suppose all you need, right? I think this is out of about 150 or so photos. She was a very good sport!

Enjoy!

A busy week

2011-11-04T20:29:00.000-04:00

Things have been busy here. And I don't really mean like, typical "have a new baby" busy. I mean "you are somewhat insane" busy!

Nora was born on Sunday, and we spent monday at home, of course.

Oh my is Joseph big compared to Nora!

Chillin' in front of the fire. What, don't you nap in baskets?

Enjoying being a big brother

On Tuesday we took Nora to the pediatrician, had some visitors, and our midwife came back to check us both over.

First time outside

First car ride. She was a champ!

Not a fan of rectal thermometers, though.

Hey, a picture with Mama!

Wednesday I took Nora to her first La Leche League meeting while T.J. and Joseph rode the train to get some lunch. That afternoon Auntie Debbie arrived, and that evening she and I took both of the kids to music class (hey, we had a couple to make up!)

Every once in a while Daddy even gets to hold her!

But he has to fight Auntie for her. Ha!

On Thursday, we took Nora to get her newborn hearing screen done (she's fine) and had a visit from my doula, Laura. Joseph and Auntie baked that birthday cake I meant to do when I was in early labor. Except that I didn't get around to it because I wasn't sure I was in labor. (more on that soon!)

The rest of the day, Joseph kept busy reading books...

Nora napped

Joseph played with Nora's hair bows

Nora ate, and napped...

Joseph wanted more hair bows...

Nora wanted more naps...

Joseph played in the infant car seat

and pretended to be Cookie Monster (he does a good impression!)

And today to cap off our "inappropriate places we take our newborn" we rode the train downtown to vital records to get Nora her birth certificate made up before we leave. When I called a couple of days ago, they said mornings were best. I said, "is Friday morning OK?" and they said yes, any morning. So we showed up a little after 9. The person (there is apparently only one) who processes home births was at a meeting. So we waited. And waited. And waited. Finally after two hours she got back, and we made it home around noon.

Whew! What a week! Tomorrow we are having a few friends over to say goodbye, Auntie leaves on Sunday, and on Monday we'll be packing up for my flight out with the 2 kiddos on Tuesday! T.J. and his dad will be driving up on Wednesday and Thursday with all of our things.

So, to say the least, we've been "busy".

Introducing Nora Mae

2011-10-31T18:35:00.000-04:00

Nora Mae was born on October 30, 2011 at 12:16 pm, 9lb 2oz, 20.75" long, peacefully into water and her mama's arms at home.

Everyone is healthy and happy! Amazing birth story to come in a few days! Seriously, be super excited.

We named her Nora because we all liked it (Joseph had the tie-breaking vote) and Mae after my mama, the most loving and strongest woman I know. It's her middle name, though I took spelling liberties being the PITA daughter that I am!

Here are some pictures to tide you over... they should be flooding into smugmug in the coming weeks, so check them out often!

Alternative methods of producing a baby

2011-10-28T17:26:00.000-04:00

In order to produce a baby from my loins, I've been:

Taking an herbal supplement called 5-W for the last 5 weeks (6 pills per day)
Taking evening primrose oil - also for the last 5 weeks (I've been increasing weekly and am up to 6 pills/day)
Drinking red raspberry leaf tea - I'm up to 3 cups per day of a prett strong strength

And now I'm off to eat a big plate of eggplant parmesan from Scalini's, which promises results within 48 hours. Haha.

So don't say I'm not trying, people!

We'll see Charlotte tomorrow for another appointment, I'm interested to see what she has to say. I'll probably have my first cervical check then and we'll discuss additional options of "natural" induction - but I'm still pretty on the fence about evicting a baby, however naturally. There's a reason she's still in there, and I'm trying to temper my impatience/worry about our plan to be flying out of Atlanta in 12 days with my desire to let this baby take her time.

Hopefully she won't keep us waiting too much longer.

Continuing to Bake

2011-10-25T23:16:00.000-04:00

In more ways than one.

Joseph and I kept busy this afternoon baking five dozen chocolate chip cookies - Daddy's favorite!

Hopefully we'll be baking a birthday cake in the next few days. No signs of labor so far.

The Latest and Greatest

2011-10-24T18:07:00.000-04:00

Stranger comment, that is.

Today at the bank:

Banker: So, when are you due?
Me: Thursday
Banker (with look of absolute horror): THURSDAY? Well.... (sputter, sputter)... You seem so calm!
Me (baffled): Um... well, we're just waiting for her to make an appearance....

What is the appropriate behavior supposed to be when out in public 3 days before your due date? I assumed that I should still act like a rational being. Perhaps I should be openly weeping or my head should be spinning around as if possessed???

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. People are weird.

Our Last Few Weeks as a Famiy of Three (In pictures)

2011-10-23T14:33:00.001-04:00

I don't feel like doing separate posts for all that we've been up to, so here's a highlight reel of the last couple of weeks!

Mama got a new lens for her camera! You can see what it does here... it's focal length is fixed and it can "stop down" really low, so it's great for shooting in low light (i.e. indoors). However, you have to be careful how low you go (and how close you get), otherwise you end up with fuzzy ears and chins!

Joseph got a $1 store balloon. Not exactly the equivalent gift, but he likes it just as much.

He picked it out himself.

Last weekend we went to an art festival that my friend is in charge of. We had a great time at the children's area, playing with hoola hoops and looking at the puppies from the shelter.

We went to the park for a birthday party for one of Joseph's friends

We watched a little bit of Sesame Street

We went to the zoo. Grrr!

We celebrated Daddy's birthday - I even taught Joseph to sing Happy Birthday in only 2 days! He's not too bad at it, either. Now he wants to know whose birthday it is ever day -

I think because that means he gets cupcakes!

We had a "Prom Playdate" at our house. It was adorable. (for the record, there were supposed to be more older boys - Joseph wasn't trying to shut down all the other gentlemen!)

We went to a pumpkin patch with my mom's group. It was amazing.

Joseph rode the cow train (twice!)

Sat on all of the tractors

Ran around in the pumpkin patch

Visited with his friends

Galloped on the horse

We also took a hay ride, fed some farm animals, watched a chain saw artist, saw a pig race, watched people shoot corn cannons, and rode pedaled "go carts". Mama beat Joseph and Daddy, despite her huge belly hindering her. It was a tough race! I think the only part we missed was the corn maze... but it was naptime!

It's been a fantastic couple of weeks - a great way to end our stint as a family of three. Baby Girl, we're ready for you!

New Video!

2011-10-18T00:48:00.000-04:00

Check out our new videos - we've got one of baby rolling around (just like I did for big brother... baby #2 doesn't ALWAYS get the shaft).

We also have some funny ones tonight of Joseph being crazy. He actually did a somersault on his own for the first time and we were trying to get him to do it again, but I have a feeling that it scared him a bit because he never got there a 2nd time.

It scared T.J., too. He thinks that it's probably not good for Joseph's neck. I figure that we all survived, right? He probably will, too.

Molars

2011-10-17T09:49:00.000-04:00

Last night while brushing Joseph's teeth, I discovered the tip of one of his 2-year molars! He's been drooling for months, and I've been watching for them, but no dice until now. The other three are still in hiding, but I'm sure at least the other bottom tooth will come through relatively shortly.

Not sure if this explains some of his behavior lately... there is so much going on with the new baby, his teeth, moving stress (which he doesn't understand but I'm sure he picks up on) and general 2-year-old-ness, that it's just impossible to pick out what the problem is most days. He usually has anywhere from 1-5 meltdowns in a day that are mostly inexplicable. He'll never tell me what is wrong, which makes me think that he doesn't know! We just wait it out and after a few minutes of crying he generally comes for a hug and says that he's all done. Poor little guy.

Maybe once the molars are in at least he won't have physical pain along with all of this emotional growth to deal with.

Frugal, Semi-Healthy, Toddlerific Lunch

2011-10-16T16:52:00.000-04:00

Sometimes (ok, often) we have mac'n'cheese for lunch on the weekends. Yes, we're all apparently under the age of 5 in our house!

In order to lessen the guilt, and stretch one box to feed 3 people, I've begun preparing it this way:

1 box mac'n'cheese (we get organic from WF or Trader Joe's)
2 cups frozen organic foursome veggies from Trader Joe's (beans, corn, carrots, peas)

When the water boils, dump in the frozen veg and let the water heat back up. Add in the pasta and cook until it's done. Drain and add butter, milk, and cheese powder. Divvy up and devour!

It's pretty good. T.J. said it's "not his preferred method", but Joseph eats it up like no one's business! And there is plenty for the three of us at this point for a lunch.

Total cost: about $3 - and it's all organic!

FO FO FO! I finished something!

2011-10-15T23:55:00.000-04:00

Woo hoo!

So Baby Girl will at least have a stocking this Christmas. Hers turned out kind of big... I'm going to block them all and hopefully get them the same size.

I can't say that I'm 100% thrilled with it, but if decide that I don't like it, I'll just make her a new one some other time. :) It's not like we have to be married to all of our projects, right?

I'm still planning on putting the lines (stanza? bar?) in with the notes to fill some of the blue space. Either that or some small snowflakes.

38 week prenatal

2011-10-12T14:17:00.000-04:00

Last week I was excited to report that the doctor's office had me DOWN a pound. The next day I went to see our midwife, and she had me up SIX pounds. I was incredulous and told her that her scale sucked.

Well, the doctor's office scale caught up with hers this week. Boo hiss.

In other news, my feet resemble paddles they are so fat and swollen, but my blood pressure is still great, and I don't have any other signs of pre-e, so I'm blaming it on being 38 weeks pregnant. It happens. That's probably where those 6 pounds are sitting.

Baby girl is doing great - kicking like crazy. We are getting excited to meet her! Hopefully she won't make us wait until November.

Preparing a Toddler for a Home Birth

2011-10-09T13:05:00.000-04:00

I don't think I've said too much about our plans for Joseph with regard to the birth. We have a doula coming whose job is to care for Joseph. We're thinking that he'll probably want to be with us most of the time, but if not her job is to babysit.

Besides that, Joseph and I have a few books we've been reading:

Hello Baby - by Jenni Overend. This is a book about a homebirth with a midwife. The author writes from the experience of the big brother. He has 2 older sisters, too. It's a pretty nice book and Joseph likes to read it a lot.

I'm a Big Brother - By Joanna Cole. Joseph *loves* this book. He has it memorized and goes around randomly talking about how "Daddy says babies cry to tell us something. Let's see what's the matter". And other things directly from the book. It's really cute.

A story of coloring book pages that our midwife gave us - I put it into one of those plastic covers you used for writing "research papers" in 4th grade. We've been reading it like a book and coloring the pages the last few weeks. He loves that one, too. It talks about the tools the midwife brings, and he loves to see the picture at the end with the Mommy, Daddy, Big Brother, Little Sister, and the Midwife. Maybe I should add a couple of people to that page for our 2 doulas!

Besides books, Joseph and I have been watching some birth videos on youtube. He's pretty interested in them, and he knows generally how the baby will come out. Which leads to my funny story of the day:

Joseph: Grunting
T.J.: "Are you pooping?"
Joseph: "I push the baby out"
T.J. and me: Die with laughter

Note: he did not, in fact, push a baby out. It was a poop.

Do you think he's ready?

Bicycle!

2011-10-07T20:16:00.000-04:00

Joseph's finally starting to enjoy his Skuut. He was pretty frightened by it at first, but now he loves to shuffle along like a real biker. It'll be neat (and scary) when he learns to glide!

Enjoying the ride

Utter concentration

Oops!

Look, a leaf!

Hi Mama!

What's going on in there?

2011-10-06T06:34:00.000-04:00

Baby continues to be very active. I realized this morning (lying awake at 4:30 with insomnia and heartburn) that baby is probably not the championship synchronized swimmer I've been assuming she is and that rhythmic movement is actually hiccups. Duh. I'm so smart.

I've been having some random Braxton Hicks contractions - I don't think I ever had them with Joseph, but that's pretty normal. Nothing to write home about.

My prenatal appointments this week went well. I tested negative for group b strep - the last homebirth hurdle. Next week I'll have my blood drawn again to see how my platelets are looking. I'm thinking they should be pretty decent with all the yucky stuff I'm taking for it (the grosser the supplement, the more effective, right???). Charlotte measured me at 39 weeks on Tuesday. I'm 37 weeks today. Lots of fluid still. I'm starting to notice a little bit of swelling in my fingers (my fake ring fits pretty well now - and it's 2 or 2.5 sizes bigger than my real wedding set. Eek!) But nothing out of the ordinary. I should probably just drink some more water.

Other than that... I'm feeling pretty awesome! The cool weather has helped tremendously in the last few weeks. It's not too hard being pregnant with a toddler right now!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2011-10-04T08:27:00.001-04:00

This morning when we were all in bed waking Daddy up:

Joseph: Joseph big nose, Daddy big nose, Mama big nose!
Mama: Joseph's nose is juuuust right.

Joseph (after thinking): Joseph a baby nose; Daddy a mama nose, Mama a daddy nose!

Now, I don't think I have to tell you the size equivalents in a toddler's mind. Clearly I have the biggest nose of them all. It gave T.J. and me a daddy sized laugh.

A First in Pregnancy!

2011-10-04T00:05:00.000-04:00

I'm pleased to report that for the first time in almost 2 whole pregnancies I have LOST weight between appointments! Now, don't go all BSC on me. I'm up 35lbs for this pregnancy. Believe me, I can take it. I think it's not too uncommon to lose a little at the end either, for SOME women. Never thought I'd be in that category, though!

I have no explanation for it, except perhaps I ate too much salt before the last appointment so I was retaining water.

Everything is fine with the baby, as well. Heartbeat is good, she moves lots, and my blood pressure is still super low.

I celebrated by going to Moe's. Joseph even ate most of the innards of his taco (a rarity)!

Oops, I meant SIX

2011-10-01T21:32:00.000-04:00

I knew I was forgetting one. ;) I think originally in my head I wasn't including the car seat.

I also picked up a moses basket... I mean, it was $6. Am I supposed to resist that? I think not. Even if it's used for 10 seconds, it's cheaper than a regular laundry basket. And I should be able to get one or two adorable pictures first, right?

How did that happen?

2011-10-01T20:14:00.000-04:00

We've been hard at work getting things ready for the baby. Last week was marathon cooking weekend, and this one has been about preparing the house physically. T.J. dismantled most of our entertainment center (we're not taking it with, and it's a big task we didn't want to save until the last minute). We now have a manageable TV stand to dispose of on moving day.

He also took down the ceiling fan he'd installed when we moved in, and put up a cheap light fixture in its place so we can still see (we lost all of our ambient lighting to baby-proofing efforts long ago). He'll still have to take down the light and other 2 ceiling fans before we leave (we aren't moving them), but it shouldn't be too difficult of a task for him and his dad.

While he was hammering away in the living room, I was hard at work in our room. I cleared out a bunch of moving stuff, moved a dresser, and set up the co-sleeper. I also put together the pack'n'play and baby swing. I realized that we now have FIVE baby holders (infant carseat, bouncer, swing, cosleeper, pack'n'play. How did that happen???

I guess it's not SUCH a stretch - we had three with Joseph in the end - and we used them all a little bit. I'm interested to see things go with a second.

- The pack'n'play will be a "safe" place (away from Joseph) to put the baby downstairs at our new house. It has a handy changing table, too, which might be nice on my back!
- The cosleeper obviously will live in our bedroom. Joseph refused to sleep in it at all, but who knows... maybe this baby will be more amenable. If not, she's welcome with us just like her big brother was.
- The bouncer was a favorite last time with Joseph. He hung out in it in the bathroom when I took a shower, and when I was cooking or making dinner before he was old enough to put on my back. I might look into a woven wrap this time in order to do some newborn back carries... we'll see how she feels about being away from me.
- The swing was also useful last time; one time we even got a 4-hour stretch with Joseph in it! Hahaha. He must have been less than 6 weeks, because we were still at the old apartment, and T.J. was so concerned that 1) he was still asleep and 2) was he "safe" in the swing. This from the guy who was terrified of our cosleeping at first due to safety concerns! Still makes me chuckle.
- The car seat is one I'm most curious about - since we started with Joseph in a newborn-appropriate convertible seat, we never used his car seat outside of the car. This time we need an infant seat logistically, because we have a 2-door car. In order for Joseph to get to his seat, we need to be able to remove baby's seat first! This will allow us to keep Joseph rear facing longer. We're buying a 4-door car after we move, but we this will be a good way to get us through that first month or two. I figure it'll also be nice to have the seat inside the house and warm when we go to put baby in, since you can't bundle a baby up under their seat straps. Who wants to get in a cold car seat with no jacket??? Not me.

So far the swing and bouncer are both big hits with Joseph! Hopefully having them out for a few weeks will help them blend into the background so he's not messing with them so much when Baby Girl is in them (fat chance, right?)!

On the bright side of all this accumulation, we picked up all of these items second hand! Not only saving us a bundle, but keeping baby crap out of the landfill for (at least) one more use. I was able to make a trade with one of my mom friends for the car seat, so I know it's safe to use.

One Month!

2011-09-27T17:26:00.000-04:00

30 days to go, peeps!

Holy Mother of Supplements

2011-09-26T23:09:00.000-04:00

Confession: I did not take my prenatal vitamin for the majority of this pregnancy. I don't take a vitamin normally, so it was easy to "forget", and they are so freaking gross. Seriously.

But good lord I'm having to make up for it now with all the stuff I'm taking!
- Liquid chlorophyll: You may recall my rants about salty wet hay when I was pregnant w/ Joseph. It's meant to help with my platelets, which are low (again). It's 3 tablespoons per day. Blech.
- Vitamin K drops: I just put them in w/ the chlorophyll at night. No biggie. Also to build platelets. Vitamin K is what they give babies at birth to help them clot better. Same deal w/ platelets.
- Dandelion extract: helps to build blood up. Also for the platelets. This stuff tastes yucky.
- 5-w herbal blend: this has a bunch of herbs that should help get my body ready to birth "on time". Since we're moving 12 days after baby's due date, I am hoping that she'll grace us with her presence in October. This stuff is just to help with it. We'll see. It's 6 pills/day
- Evening primrose oil: another supplement to help prepare my body. 1 pill a day this week - each week I take one additional until my pelvic bones start getting too painfully loose (apparently it loosens everything up!
- Prenatal: heck, I'm taking a thousand other things, it just makes sense. 1 per day
- Propolis 1000: is supposed to kill the group b strep virus. Since a group b strep diagnosis would be very difficult to get around with our home birthing plans, my midwife takes a proactive stance on making sure I *don't* have it. 6 pills per day for the next week.

My kitchen counter looks like a GNC.

I'm not sure how it's related, but since I've started taking the prenatal + chlorophyll + vit k + dandelion I've have a very clear reduction in leg cramping! Not too bad of a trade off.

Nesting

2011-09-26T22:57:00.000-04:00

I don't know that I'd really call it nesting, as I feel like that is the crazy can't-stop-myself-from-scrubbing-the-toilet-at-3am involuntary stuff, but at least I'm getting stuff done!

This weekend I:
- spent too much time shopping for baby (consignment! how green and frugal)
- did lots of baby laundry (and got depressed at the thought of how much more laundry I'm gonna have to do when baby comes)
- cleaned out a few drawers in my room for baby clothes (we'll buy baby a dresser after we move)
- took a baby-inventory of clothing and filled in the gaps
- made tons of freezer meals - lasagna, pot pie, shepherd's pie, masaman curry, chicken noodle soup, and banana bread I was planning to make chili and coq au vin a different time, too, but I'm honestly not sure that there is room in the freezer. A girl still needs ice cream!

T.J. did his part moving some more things to the garage, cleaning out a drawer in his dresser, and generally being at my beck and call.

We're pretty much set for the baby, except the car seat, which I'm planning to take care of this week! I've decided to keep Joseph rear facing and do an infant seat to start for the baby. With Joseph we loved just having him in a convertible from the start, but between Baby being born in the fall, and our 2-door car dilemma, the infant seat will be better this time.

35/35

2011-09-22T14:05:00.000-04:00

35 weeks down, 35 DAYS to go! Well, more or less. Can you believe it? I can't.

Things are coming along nicely in terms of planning and I'm excited to meet this little one! I'm starting to make my freezer stash up, and I think we have plenty of clothes and diapers.

Does anyone know how long an ~8lb baby would be in newborn disposable diapers? I need to put her in disposables for our flight up to Pittsburgh, but I'm not sure whether to get newborn or size 1. I suppose this is something we can do last minute, but I do like to be prepared!

The Stranger was Right.

2011-09-21T00:24:00.000-04:00

I had my home visit yesterday with Charlotte, and she measured me at 38 weeks. At 34w5d. Oh my.

She did say that the baby is a normal size - I just have a lot of fluid. Apparently I *do* look like I'm in my last month.

Baby is still looking great and is very active.

Silent Night

2011-09-17T23:08:00.000-04:00

My first contribution to the knitting community! I'm planning to use this chart for Baby Girl's stocking.

It's the first notes to Silent Night. Fitting for a stocking, and a plea for a newborn! Ha!

The pattern is 60 stitches wide and 24 long, and fits the Cascade Christmas Stocking Pattern.

Why I Love Consignment

2011-09-17T17:03:00.000-04:00

Or, the best $6 I've spent yet.

Or, why going "green" is so easy when it comes to baby clothes.

Here is baby girl's wedding outfit for Uncle Jake's wedding! He's getting married about 3 weeks after Baby is due. It's a newborn size dress, so I'm hoping it'll fit. I figure that dresses must be pretty forgiving, right?

I got tights, too. Do people combine diaper covers and tights, or do you pick one or the other? I have so much to learn about baby girls.

Hopefully baby girl will have daddy feet instead of mommy feet like Joseph, so she'll fit into the shoes!

I also got 10 pairs of Trumpette socks (mostly never worn) for $3.50!

A Big Boy Bed

2011-09-16T13:58:00.000-04:00

We went on a long vacation (more on that later) where Joseph spent the entire 10 days in various adult beds. He did pretty well with the sleeping - needing us more because they were new places than because of the beds.

When we got home, I realized that either he's gotten fatter or my belly had gotten bigger, because I could barely lift him in and out of his crib! He's never tried to climb out, and he sleeps so well, we were planning to just leave him in the crib until the baby needed it or things changed. Well, I guess things changed!

Last night T.J. took the front side off of the crib, and Joseph now has an open "toddler" bed. He had no trouble last night and stayed in bed until we came in this morning, so we'll see how the nap develops today. I *just* put him down to sleep. So far he's not very settled, but still lying down in bed. I hope he doesn't figure out that he has free reign of his room now!

Conversation with a Grocery Store Stranger

2011-09-11T21:03:00.000-04:00

Stranger in checkout line: "You're having a boy, right?"
Me: "Nope, it's a girl"
SiL: "Really?!?"
Me: "Really"
SiL: "Are you sure?"
Me: "Yup"
SiL: "So you're in your last month, right?"
Me: "No, I have seven weeks left."
SiL: "Really?!?"
Me: "Yeah"
SiL: "That's a big baby"
Me: "Yup"
SiL: "Are you sure it's just one?"
Me: "Just one."
SiL: "Wow"

People have no clue.

33 Weeks - Celebrity Spotting

2011-09-09T23:09:00.000-04:00

My mom got me candid today at the Como Zoo... Baby is 33 weeks and halfway to my knees!

And we got a nice picture at the Conservatory, too, right before Joseph fell into some bushes, Ha!:

Some days, it is too much

2011-09-05T23:14:00.000-04:00

Love, that is. In the last months, I've felt this overwhelming pride, happiness, and LOVE for Joseph... to the point of feeling a little guilty about the lack of these really strong feelings in the past. I presume that it's just a natural progression in life... spend more time with someone you love, learn to love them more and more deeply? He's just so darned amazing lately. I have told people since he was a wee one that every day gets better for us (isn't it wonderful, to know that the trend is going up and up and up???) and it's still true. Sure there are "days", but oh my, does life continue to improve by leaps and bounds. It's breathtaking!

Anyway, while we're on vacation, Joseph's been needing help at bedtime. He's in strange places, "big kid" beds, is overtired and overstimulated. Last night as I lay down with him waiting for sleep to come, I had this overwhelming urge to cuddle him up like I did for so many months when he was a baby - to feel him fall asleep in my arms. I didn't, though, because I didn't want to disrupt his sleep progress.

Today on our way to Chicago, I told T.J. about it and my assumption that this is all pregnancy related - thank goodness I'll be getting a new baby to cuddle soon since my baby is growing up so quickly, I said.

Then tonight, laying in bed in the hotel room with Joseph, he turned to me, reached out for me with both arms and said "Cuddle with mama." I was so excited that I responded "Really?!? OK!" - It might have been the most earnest and humble thing that has ever come out of my mouth when speaking to Joseph. T.J. looked over to see what was going on and just smiled and chuckled.

::tears::

I might still be getting a new baby, but my older one is not growing up too fast for me, yet.

Dear Mom

2011-08-31T22:43:00.001-04:00

I'll be honest, I wish you hadn't taught him to say cheese. Now look what my photos are like:

The smile and the dead eyes - not the haircut. That was all my fault. ;)

Head Down!

2011-08-29T23:53:00.003-04:00

We went to see Charlotte today. I'm still barely alive by my blood pressure, but gaining weight like a zombie champ. Ha!

Good news of the day: Baby is now head down! After my first yoga class I thought (and told T.J.) that she had flipped. My belly is much lower (got 3 comments on it this week) and less wide. And, the kicks are up high now. On the negative side of that, I don't breathe as well. I have a feeling that this baby is going to come out large and in charge.

Right now she's ROP - not ideal, but I'm pretty sure that's what Joseph was, too. I just spent 20 min looking for my blog post about that and couldn't find it. (Remember the awesome picture I drew of the baby positioned in my belly?) I've been reading up on it, and it sounds veeeery family given Josephs super-slow labor. Anyway, I'm not too concerned so long as she's not breech. I know there are safe breech positions, but I think that'd be my personal breaking point for the hospital.

Big plans for the next couple of weeks - we're heading up to South Bend on Friday for the first game of the year! Then we're off to MN for a family visit and my niece's wedding. Should be a fun time.

Cloth Diaper Update: Toddler Edition

2011-08-28T15:30:00.002-04:00

Well, obviously Joseph is not potty trained yet. Bummer.

On the other hand, cloth diapering is easier than ever. He doesn't go quite as often, so we have plenty of extra diapers for the days I'm too lazy to do the laundry on time.

The biggest change from last time is that I went and got a diaper sprayer shortly after his 2nd birthday. You do have to be careful not to spray crap all over the bathroom (literally), but besides that, it's pretty nice. Toddler poo is just... not something you want to deal with for longer than you have to. The kid can clog a toilet like a grown man. Maybe #2 will be more into early potty learning?

What we're using:
Fuzzibunz size medium diapers
BumGenius 3.o (though I had them converted to snaps)
Green Mountain Diapers brown edge workhorse fitteds w/ Thirsties Duo size 2 covers

We use FB and BG during the day, and BG at night w/ the two microfiber inserts and a hemp doubler. I tend to just put the GMD workhorse fitteds on when we're at home, and I leave him coverless and pantsless most of the time. I'm hoping that together we can be more aware of his bathroom habits. So far neither one of us is paying attention!

Our plans for Baby #2 include orange edge prefolds and kissaluv size 0 with prowraps and thirsties covers, just like we did with Joseph. As baby gets older and I sell off my stash, I'm planning to buy more pockets for the older stages. They are nice when the poop gets stickier, and I'm not as adamant about having natural fabrics near the baby's skin.

My Son, the Midwife

2011-08-26T20:21:00.003-04:00

Tonight as we're sitting on the couch, Joseph asked to put our bellies together. He started doing this shortly after he weaned (which was when I got pregnant). Frankly, I find it adorable, if not slightly uncomfortable now that I'm enormous. After a bit he pulls away the following conversation ensues:

T.J.: "Whose belly is bigger? Joseph's or Mamas?"
Joseph points to mine
Me: "My belly is so big because I have a whole baby in there!
Joseph begins pushing gently on my belly
Joseph: "Charlotte. Charlotte's house...a....a...a...baby"

("a...a...a..." is standard Joseph sentence structure and replaces all non-noun forms of speech. I'm told it's normal in 2 year olds)

Me: "Are you pretending to be the midwife?"
Joseph: "Charlotte...a...a...a...baby!"

Well, I guess so! He's so cute. He was feeling around for the baby, just like our midwife when she is checking baby's position! I wonder if they have play fetoscopes. Haha!

In other funky/funny/strange toddler and pregnancy news, I've been reading a book called "Mama's milk" to Joseph to prepare him for the baby, and it shows how all mammals nurse their babies. Lately he's been asking for mama's milk. I told him I won't have any until the baby comes. Ooooh boy. This could get interesting.

No FO

2011-08-21T08:36:00.004-04:00

Well, it's been 2 months since I finished a knitting project. I have no real excuse... I've just had a hard time working on my current project outside of my knitting night. I think it's a combo of being tired of the pattern, having a million other things to think about (house, baby, move, packing, labor, delivery, etc...)

I always tell people how "easy" cables are, but they are doing me in. Not because they are hard, but because I'm finding this pattern tedious. Now all the lace-knitters are rolling their eyes, but that's how it is for me. Where's my stockinette?

Anyway, I finally sewed up the shoulders on Joseph's cable-knit hoodie, and started on the first sleeve. I'm modifying the pattern so it's knit in the round instead of in pieces, so hopefully it turns out!

I *really* need to crack down and get this done, so I can start a Christmas stocking for Baby Girl! If that's not enough of a reason, I don't know what is. I'd say I'm about 60% done with this.

Leg Cramp Conundrum

2011-08-18T07:54:00.004-04:00

One of the less glamorous and more annoying parts of (my) pregnancy has been severe leg (and lately, foot) cramping. This lovely side effect usually comes on around 3-5am, and varies from a standard charlie horse in the calf to a full blown calf-shin-foot knot that is impossible to work out because if you stretch one side (calf) the shin muscle tightens (think where you get shin splints from running). It is excruciating and time consuming to deal with.

I'd had good luck keeping these torture nights at bay by drinking tons of gatorade. But, that's making me blow up like a balloon, which my healthcare providers (and I) don't especially care for. So last week I went cold turkey after calculating that I'd consumed 5,000 calories worth of gatorade in 2 WEEKS. Yes, that would explain my excessive weight gain the last couple of months. Ahem.

Buuuuttt... the cramping is back, and frankly, it pisses me off. What is it in gatorade that is keeping me from cramping up? The electrolytes, orange food dye? Just the fact that I can drink a lot more water if I have a little flavor in it? What is a good replacement, if it IS the electrolytes? Artificial sweeteners are out.

30 Week Belly Pictures - Then and Now

2011-08-17T17:21:00.004-04:00

Here we are, in all of our glory. That's right, WE. I'm not taking all the blame for this!

Here I was at 30w1d with Joseph.

Oh, to be young (and thin) again...

Cross

2011-08-16T22:07:00.002-04:00

Are you feeling cross? The panda bear is cross. Toby is cross. James is cross. So is Diesel 10.

Oh, you don't know what I'm talking about?

When you read a 500 page book to a toddler (twice) written in British English, he's bound to pick up a few words.

Once, he even said that *I* was cross. He was right.

For Your Entertainment

2011-08-12T22:35:00.002-04:00

Back by popular demand: The baby name poll!

Click this link to vote. Feel free to add a comment with the name that *should* be on the list and is not. T.J. and I have not been spending a lot of time on this!

28 Week Appointments

2011-08-10T22:41:00.003-04:00

We're a little behind this month - Tomorrow we're 29 weeks! I had my gestational diabetes test today (passed) and they drew a CBC. At first I thought my platelets looked better than with Joseph, but when I looked back at my old records I realized that I'm about in the same boat as last time. Der. So that means nasty chlorophyll, nettle, and vitamin k. Yuck, Yuck, Yuck.

Other than that, the baby looks good. I've gained ::cough::29lbs::cough:: so far. A bit much, but pretty much the same as with Joseph. Guess I'm not going to have a dainty baby this time, either. Oh well.

We're now on a 2 week schedule at the OB office, and 3 weeks with Charlotte. Lots more baby appointments coming up!

Dear Baby Girl

2011-08-07T00:07:00.003-04:00

Dear child,

You cannot escape. Especially not out of my belly button. Please, stop pushing! It's cute for a second, but then it starts to hurt! Your little feet and legs are boney!

Love,
Mama

Baby girl seems to be quite a bit more active than Joseph was... not sure how that's going to bode for life "outside"!

Also, WTF is up with my underwear. They cut into my bump and it's so very uncomfortable. Same with my pants (maternity). I don't remember this with Joseph, either.

I think I'm going to have to start wearing more dresses. This will still require some sort of underwear solution. Sigh. I always wondered why women needed special "maternity" underwear. I assume this is it.

Another pregnancy fail

2011-08-02T14:19:00.003-04:00

So, last week when I said that I missed the "99 days to go" post? I *should* have been posting that I was entering my 3rd trimester. Apparently it starts around 26w6d. For some reason I had it in my head that it was 28 weeks.

Sorry baby!

And - HOORAY - 2 down, one to go!!!

Our Big Boy

2011-07-29T13:15:00.002-04:00

I took Joseph to the doctor this morning, he's still getting some rashy areas on his face and neck and we wanted to make sure it wasn't anything serious (it wasn't).

When we got there, they treated him like a "big boy" for the first time! He stepped on the scale himself (24.5 lb!), Stood up to get measured (34" tall!) and even got his temperature taken by mouth. He wasn't scared and he did each task quickly and without complaint. I was so proud of him!

He also got two shots today. :( But he's almost "caught up" now - just the MMR and one Hep A shot to go. I think we'll do the Hep A shot next time we go in, and set up a separate day for the MMR later on. Since we aren't doing chicken pox, we'll be all set for him until he starts school!

After shots, we went to Costco for pizza and ice cream. He fell asleep on the way home, and now is trying to get settled in bed. I think they put some sort of sedative in those vaccines. ;) (kidding, I know they don't, but they never fail to make him sleepy!)

Funny thing about toddlers

2011-07-27T13:42:00.002-04:00

The things you find the least amusing, toddlers find the most. Here's a short list from the last few weeks:

1. Thoroughly inspecting (visually - thank goodness) poop before flushing it down.
2. Going through airport security and waiting to board an airplane
3. Riding the commuter train
4. Riding the bus

It's a good thing that Joseph finds these items amusing - makes them less of a chore for us, too! Sometimes it's good to be able to see things through a toddler's eyes (still working on seeing the beauty in flushing).

Second Child Syndrome

2011-07-26T23:22:00.002-04:00

I meant to have a big "yey" post when I had 99 days to go... but that was a week ago. Oops.

Yey! I have 93 days to go! That's almost exactly 3 months. Woo hoo!

Can't wait to meet this little one. She is feisty on the inside, giving Mama lots of little bumps to remind her that someone's in there (as If I couldn't tell - honestly, did you see the latest belly picture?)

A Home of Our Own

2011-07-25T13:54:00.002-04:00

We closed on our very own house this morning, up in Pittsburgh! We'll be moving after the baby arrives - in mid-November. We're very excited about the house and being closer to family.

The house is a bit of a fixer, and we have BIG plans for it. But we're not planning to do much with it until we've lived there for a bit, so we can get a feel for what will work best for us. I'm sure my home blog will be getting some action in the coming months, so go ahead and add it to your RSS feed if you are interested in keeping up with our renovations! Here's the url:

http://ahammerandacalculator.blogspot.com/

I've copied this post to the house blog to save myself time.

American Four Square, Built in 1924. Brick with a slate roof.

Entrywy - original door, mouldings, and stairs

Living Room - Original windows, light fixture (I think), and decorative (for now) fireplace with built-in shelves. And POCKET DOORS!!!

Dining Room - Original plaster walls, mouldings, side windows. The back window was replaced with a giant vinyl monstrosity. I envision French doors going out to a deck in its place.

1950's retro kitchen, complete with pink speckled laminate countertops, pull-out stove, and probably the first ever dishwasher (also in pink). I see a gut reno in our very near future!

Up to the 2nd floor:

Bedroom #1 - will probably start as a guest room,
turn into a nursery, and then back to a guest room.

Bedroom #2 - Joseph's room, and hopefully someday Baby Girl will join him
for several years when they are both sleeping through the night.

The Bathroom. Yep, there's only one... for now. Do you love the sage green and pink?
Even on the ceiling? I thougt you would. The tub and toilet are still pink. Whee!

Bedroom #3 - The Master. I hope it'll fit the king sized bed that I have planned for in my head since I was pregnant with Joseph. There are hardwoods under the carpet.

Bedroom #4 - AKA the future master bath. Ooooh, yeah, baby.

And up to the third floor (yup!). I envision it starting out as a family room - housing my craft stuff, the office stuff, and probably our lone TV. We think it'll morph into a bedroom for one (or both) of the kids in future years once we finish the basement.

Up the stairs...

Nice storage closet on the landing!

The back side of the room from the stairs

And the front side. It's very bright up there from those windows,
and two huge ones over the stairs.

And down to the basement

Towards the front of the house... our realtor thinks this was the "original summer kitchen"

Storage Room #1 under the front porch

Storage Room #2 under the porch - I wonder where that door came from... hmm.

The future family room... tall celiings, relatively dry and open. I'm in love.

The "Pittsburgh Potty". For some reason the 'burgh thinks they have the monopoly on these things. We had one in our old house in MN (built in the 1890's. We called it the "emergency bathroom". Haha.

And finally, the exterior:

The front porch - beautiful beadboard ceiling, and they already have the hooks in place for my imaginary porch swing. Yahoo!

The parking pad... we are hoping against hope that there is enough side yard to put a one-car garage in next to the house. Envision that bottom glass block window as the door to the garage. Cross your fingers.

The back yard... South-East facing, bright, relatively large, and mostly flat.
It's a freaking miracle in Pittsburgh.

The back porch. More awesome beadboard. This could become part of the kitchen (enclosed) or just get connected to the future deck. Not sure yet. Either way I'd like to spiffy up the part underneath and make it look less... yucky.

So there you have it - our new house! Hope you enjoyed the tour.

There's a rumbly in my .... Ribcage? + belly pic and prenatal update

2011-07-21T17:52:00.003-04:00

This morning while I was laying in bed my stomach started to growl. Except it wasn't in my tummy, it was in my ribs. I cannot express how bizarre that feels.

We had our prenatal appointments last week, and baby girl is looking good. She's still basically transverse. I think Joseph was until he was 28 or 32 weeks or more, so it's nothing to worry about for now. I gained almost 10lbs last month. Oops. My blood pressure is still catatonic, though, and I'm not swelling or anything.

I blame the fact that I have to drink a gallon of fluid per day now to stave off dehydration headaches, and I'm incapable of doing that with just water. So I've been drinking 1/2 gatorade 1/2 water - a half gallon of gatorade per day is not exactly the picture of health, but it's better than the alternative, I suppose. I'm sure the weight gain has nothing to do with ice cream, or chick-fil-a, or the 4th of July party and additional week we stayed with my inlaws, filled with mayo goodness.

I'm surprised at how different it is being pregnant in the summer. I thought it'd be no big deal, but it is.

So, anyway, I'm pretty enormous now. I'm creaky and cranky and sore and I waddle everywhere I go. I look about as pregnant as my friends who are a couple of months ahead of me, and I got my first "you POOR thing" at the store the other day when I said I wasn't due until the end of October. :P

Without further adieu, here are the photos:

26w0d

"Going to Work"

2011-07-16T19:04:00.002-04:00

The other day Joseph grabbed Daddy's new backpack and said he wanted to go to work, too. So I put it on him. It was empty, but it still nearly pulled him backward! He was so cute... doesn't he look just like a little turtle?

I'm going to work like Daddy!

Don't try to stop me. I can do it myself.

Oh man, this thing is heavy.

Bye Bye!

V-Day!

2011-07-07T10:48:00.001-04:00

Today I'm 24 weeks - when our little fetus is considered "viable" outside of the womb. Of course we want baby girl to stay in all the way until Halloween, but it's a great milestone! Hooray!

Peace and Love

2011-06-22T20:46:00.000-04:00

Last week we did a craft with my mom's group: tie-dyed shirts! It was easy and fun (especially since someone else did most of the work!) and I think it turned out great! Now Joseph can be psychedelic.

"throw balls, not grenades"

"Peace Out"

Blind as a Bat?

2011-06-21T20:38:00.003-04:00

Blind as a bat? Let's hope not. He sure looked like he was in one of those weird optical illusion paintings while walking with T.J.'s glasses on, so I'm thinking his eye sight is not as bad as Daddy's (lucky for him!)

Now that he can put the glasses on, I guess we need to stop letting him play with them, but it was too cute not to take pictures this time!

He really does look *just* like T.J.

Emotional Days

2011-06-20T20:31:00.002-04:00

Joseph is learning about emotions, and it's pretty hilarious. This weekend he started to say "I cry" when he's sad or hurt. It's usually pretend (I think) from his ability to actually tell me that he's crying, and the fact that he usually is not.

Coinciding with this little bit is that mom-hugs and mom-kisses fix things now! It's pretty awesome.

He also randomly will say "I happy". It makes us happy, too!

FO: Baby Girl's Sweater

2011-06-20T19:23:00.003-04:00

Note to self: stop making tiny things! They are just so tempting in their cuteness and quickness, though! I've done this pattern twice before and loved it, so I did it with another yarn but it knit up much smaller. My fault for not doing a gauge swatch. Hopefully it'll fit Baby Girl for a day or two!

I think next up is a sweater for Joseph.

The Coolest Thing about Having a Girl

2011-06-17T21:59:00.002-04:00

According to my ticker, my daughter is now supplied with all of the eggs she'll have for her lifetime. That means that my potential grandchildren are INSIDE ME right now.

How is that for a legacy?

That is super cool. And makes me appreciate my mom's obsession with Joseph a bit more. Haha!

Happy 5th Anniversary!

2011-06-17T08:51:00.004-04:00

OK, so I'm being lazy and copying a bunch of it from our 3yr anniversary post, but I'm adding on, so that counts, right???

Happy Anniversary to my love. I wouldn't want to have done this with anyone else!

Grad school graduation
Notre Dame - May 2003

Alaska - August 2004

Engaged
Chicago - May 5, 2005

Notre Dame - August 2005

Wedding
Notre Dame, June 2006
Wise Old Tree - June, 2006

Wedding Reception
Notre Dame, June 2006
Pittsburgh
Christmas 2006Hawaii - January 2008

Alaska - May 2008

Atlanta - March 2009

Notre Dame, September 2009

Biltmore, Asheville, NC - October 2010
Christmas - 2010

Oh No You Didn't!?!

2011-06-15T14:04:00.003-04:00

Oh yes I did. I went to Gymboree today and bought 21 (TWENTY ONE) items for the baby girl.

Joseph got some stuff, too.

Everyone else is gonna have to go easy on shopping, because this Mama is having fun.

I'm happy to say that only about 1/4 was pink! Bwahahaha!

My splurge of the day:

Joseph's Many Faces

2011-06-14T22:33:00.002-04:00

My favorite time to photograph Joseph is during dinner. Our kitchen is on the northwest corner, so we get great afternoon light and his eyes always look gorgeous! That's why he's always got food on or in his mouth.

I'm feeling much better this week, emotionally! Sunday was rough physically, but that seems to have passed and we're back to my normal headache/sciatic nerve complaints. Which honestly I don't even want to complain about anymore after Sunday! Ha! Guess it's all relative.

T.J. is traveling for work this week, so Joseph and I have been making an extra effort to stay busy and have fun. Today we went swimming with friends and took a walk to get ice cream! Who doesn't love a day like that?

Good Morning!

2011-06-12T07:41:00.005-04:00

One of the things I enjoy the most about this part of pregnancy is that I can reliably lie down at night or roll over in the morning and Baby Girl will greet me with a little kick! It's hard to focus too much on the pregnancy during the day (besides the negative physical aspects) while attending to Joseph, so I'm enjoying out special little time together when all is quiet. I can't wait until T.J. can share it with us, but with my placenta in front, it might be a while longer.

Meanwhile, Joseph has become more pleasant most mornings, too! He would always cry to alert us that he was awake, which I started to really resent when we were traveling and were in the SAME ROOM as him and he could just say "Mama, Daddy, I'm awake". Luckily my most excellent mom's group suggested that I actually *tell* him to say that when he woke up. Duh, Jen. At first I didn't think it'd work or that he'd remember, but it did - very quickly and most of the time. I wonder what other good works I can use this method for? Potty training? Play date meltdown prevention? Hmm...

He also often wakes up talking about rhinos and elephants and meercats - all of his favorite animals that the zoo! I'm not sure if he dreams about them, or is telling his stuffed animals how he went to see them, or if he just likes to talk to himself! But it's ridiculously cute to wake up to in the morning!

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo! Wake up!

Pretending to sleep in Mama and Daddy's bed is a fun game.

Wake Up!

Things you think your child should appreciate (but they don't)

2011-06-11T08:49:00.002-04:00

I'm learning (albeit very slowly) that the more work I put into something, and the more I think Joseph will like it, the less he will care.

Breakfast? I know, let's make pancakes! Sure it dirties every measuring cup in the house, take 30 minutes, and happens at the precise time of the day that I hate doing anything but lying on the couch, but Joseph loves to help cook, loves to eat pancakes. He will LOVE it!

Queue meltdown as I begin preparing (after making the mistake of telling him we'd make pancakes - if I say we're going to eat something, he wants it NOW). Then more meltdowns as I won't make a puzzle, do stickers, or anything else fun with him while I'm trying not to burn a million pancakes. Finally, the pancakes are done. But he decides to throw his fork. I'm starting to hardline on this behavior, so now he's fork-less. He won't eat with his fingers (I know, right?) and doesn't care to be fed by me when his fork is on the floor (only when he has his own utinsels - in which case he's incapable of using them himself), so he gets about 1/2 a pancake down between bouts of whining. Gee, that was worth it.

But hey, it's only 8:30am! There is a WHOLE day of fun to be had! Why don't we go to the Botanical Garden and run around?

"Stroller, stroller, stroller, stroller, stroller" (Imagine this said about 10,000 more times in a row, because I'm trying to get him to walk instead of sit through an entire morning. I guess I should be grateful that he doesn't want to run away from me, but half the point is to get out and get exercise, right? Aren't toddlers supposed to have an independent streak?

No matter, now he should take a great nap after lunch, since he's been well fed and had lots of fresh air.

But noooooo, today is the day where he falls asleep the last 3 minutes him in the car, and thus refuses to nap. Which is fine and dandy, until about 5:30pm. Then not only is he exhausted, but he is HUNGRY, and the short order cook (that'd be me) apparently didn't get his explicit request for food. That explicit request, by the way, is running around like a banshee and basically acting like a normal toddler. So all of a sudden we go from smiles to demon-child and I have approximately 3 minutes to figure out what he'll eat (because it changes hourly) and get it on the table before I *really* start regretting life.

Finally, bedtime. He's had a rough day, and I feel bad for him. He loves to read books, and always pushes to read more than the his quota of 3. So tonight, I read him a collection of FOUR Thomas books, in addition to the regular three, because hey, he'd appreciate it, right? Nooooooo. Apparently I'm supposed to read 4,000 extra books or my efforts mean nothing. Should've just stuck with the same 3 boring books we always read.

The only sweet relief I get is my reliable hug and kiss before bedtime, and the knowledge that tomorrow is a completely boring, normal day, without anything but cheerios for breakfast, a playdate, a regular nap, and playing trains around the house while mom cooks and cleans.

Thank goodness for boring days.

20 Week Appointment and Belly Pic

2011-06-10T07:56:00.003-04:00

We had 2 prenatals this week plus the ultrasound (I know, I still owe you pictures from that), so it was a very baby-centered week. Maybe that's why I've been feeling like I already have two kids in terms of workload?

I forgot to mention from the ultrasound that my placenta is anterior and to my left side - safe for delivery, but a PITA for trying to get a heartbeat using a fetoscope rather than a doppler, as that is where you generally find baby, and it's like getting a heartbeat through a pillow. I'll have to decide later what to do about that if they still have trouble with the fetoscope. I guess if they can't get it on the fetoscope I'll just have to use the doppler, but I hate to be using it twice a month. I'd still prefer to avoid excessive use of the doppler, but it's important to get good heart rates to make sure the baby is safe in there.

Here's a belly picture... I was not really in a great mood yesterday (or all this week, frankly), and I think the picture reflects that. I'm trying to smile more today - fake it till I make it. Hopefully this little bout of blues goes away quickly, otherwise I guess that's just another thing we'll have to address at my next prenatal.

It's a....

2011-06-08T12:14:00.004-04:00

Girl!

66% of my voters were right. Wow, you guys should play the lottery!

Of course we're thrilled (we would have been either way). I thought it was a girl, so it didn't really feel like a "surprise". I do have to say that having done it both ways, it was much more exciting to wait till the end. However, now perhaps DB2 will get some nice hand knits to wear made by Mama. :)

And no, we don't have a name picked out. We probably won't decide for sure until she's born and we get to see her. Can't get set on Neveah and then wish we'd picked Gertrude, right? ;)

Quick! Place Your Bets!

2011-06-07T19:10:00.004-04:00

We go in for our ultrasound tomorrow, and we're planning to find out if it's a boy or girl (hopefully DomerBaby2 is cooperative)!

Do you think it's a boy or a girl? Vote now on the blog!

Quick Rundown of this Pregnancy:
1) I don't feel different this time than I did last time
2) I didn't have nausea (again - didn't w/ Joseph either)
3) Heart rate was very high at first appointment
4) No heartburn
5) Skin is about the same as normal
6) I've gained less weight so far than last time

Adventures from the Poop Deck

2011-06-07T14:08:00.002-04:00

Way back in April when Auntie Debbie came to visit, she taught Joseph to tell me that he pooped (I think so she could get his smelly self away from her). Ever since then, he's been doing his thing in his pants and then (usually) coming to tell us that he pooped almost immediately. It's been great - much less mess when he's not sitting down and squishing it in his pants.

Today, he started to grunt and then said "Mama, poop" so I asked if he wanted to go put his poop in the potty. He ran toward the bathroom and when I checked (I fully expected a full diaper) he hadn't gone yet! So I put him on the toilet and told him to push it out, AND HE DID! Then he promptly asked to read a book. Just like a man - why can't they read AFTER the get off the toilet?

I hope this is the start of a beautiful friendship between him and the toilet. It'd really rock my world.

20 Week Appointment

2011-06-06T13:40:00.003-04:00

Well, I'm 19w4d, but let's not split hairs, shall we?

I had my appointment with the midwife at the doctor's office today. She's very friendly and kind to Joseph. I don't have any desire to deliver with her, but she is good about listening to my concerns and doesn't make me feel like a weird-o like the doctors there do, so that's something.

I gained 5 pounds this month, bringing the grand total to only 11! I guess that's the benefit of starting this pregnancy at a higher weight? I thought for sure that I was going to have gained 10lb this time to make up for my slow early gains.

My blood pressure is zombie-low, so she said just to make sure that I eat frequently. OK, since you said so. ;) Guess they don't know about my appetite! Joseph and I went and had Chick-Fil-A for lunch to be on the safe side.

The baby's heart rate looked fine and I'm measuring right on, so looks like DomerBaby2 is right on track! We have our 20 week anatomy scan on Wednesday - we ARE planning to find out if it's a boy or a girl, so I guess I'll have a big update in a couple of days!

FO: Newborn Cocoon

2011-06-03T20:50:00.002-04:00

I think I'm getting my knitting mojo back! Woo hoo!

I started whipping up this newborn cocoon last night and finished it this afternoon during Joseph's nap. These are all the rage in photography right now, and I'm thinking we can use it for DomerBaby2's [diy] newborn photo shoot.

Hopefully this is the beginning of lots more baby stuff!

Laughing with him

2011-06-02T14:43:00.003-04:00

Joseph and I went to the Botanical Garden today - we spent most of the time in the Children's area, and hit the fountain on the way out - it's hot out today! Joseph didn't get very wet, but he loved being a part of the the fray with the other kids, and did enjoy running through the puddles.

I realized I got some rare candid GRINS, too! What's better than that?

Exploring the caterpillar

His newest expression: tongue-in-cheek

Getting feet wet with the other little kids
(the one in the front was putting his head in the shower! Amazing!)

Checking in with Mama

Fun in the sun

"Did you see me, Mama?"

ET Phone Home! (anyone else think the same thing???)

Watching the other kids

The Owl Goes Hoo Hoo!

2011-05-29T20:40:00.002-04:00

T.J. reported that Joseph woke up speaking in full sentences today (I wouldn't know - since he woke up FOUR times last night I was completely spent by morning). The big winner of the first full sentence award goes to:

The owl goes hoo hoo.

::golf clap::

Going Cruising

2011-05-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

We got Joseph a Skuut balance bike for his birthday, but we forgot the helmet so we've only been using it in the house. I picked him up a cool Thomas helmet this weekend, so out he went with Daddy on Sunday!

T.J. reports that it's a lot of work for him because he has to bend over. I don't think he is willing to just see Joseph shuffle along on his own and instead pushes him all over. Silly Daddy.

Oh, and yes, we're aware that we've got the middle part installed upside down. Joseph is still a little short for it, and installing it this way gives him closer ground clearance! We'll flip it when he's an inch or two taller!

Belly Pictures: Comparison

2011-05-24T09:50:00.003-04:00

Here I am with Joseph at 17w5d:

And with DomerBabyII today, also 17w5d:

We went to Pittsuburgh

2011-05-21T20:54:00.003-04:00

And took one photo. Oops. Maybe Grandma has more on her camera?

Waiting for the school bus to drive by - is there anything more exciting?

We spent most of the time house hunting, though T.J. got to golf in a charity fundraiser for one of his old high school friends, and I got lots of relaxation time. The weather was pretty lousy, but I'm sure we'll get used to it in a few years! Our grand master plan is to move in November, after the baby is born and before T.J.'s brother gets married. Because that timing shouldn't be stressful or difficult, right?

We put an offer in on a house, but it sounds like the sellers are not ready to negotiate. Ours is the 4th offer they've received in over a year and they've never even countered! We'll see if ours is the lucky one. It's a nice house, with a great yard, so we'll be happy if we get it. But if not, we'll just keep looking.

DomerBabyII is growing like crazy! Or, I am at least. That could be the 2 cakes, 4 dozen (at least) cookies, 2 boxes of klondikes and 4 quarts of ice cream at T.J.'s parent's house last week. NO, I did not eat all of that. But I did what I could to keep the inlaw's happy! ;)

Today I went maternity clothes shopping so that I can be somewhat presentable. Not much of my wardrobe from last time works, since I was pregnant at a different time of the year and I was working, so the majority of my maternity wear was winter work stuff. Not so good for 90 degree weather at the park!

Next week our plan is to head to Florida for the holiday weekend! We're going to visit our friends Kathy and Pat in Jacksonville, then Sian and Marcus in Gainesville. I can't wait. It should be a great time. Hopefully Joseph won't mind the drive too much. It's only about 5.5 hours, so it shouldn't be too awful.

Good and Evil

2011-05-11T19:08:00.000-04:00

Tonight's Dinner Conversation

Joseph: fork? (asking for it back after the latest toss overboard)
Me: are you going to use it for good or evil?
Joseph: ::evil look and maniacal laugh::

I think I have my answer.

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa

2011-05-07T23:56:00.003-04:00

My parents came to visit a couple of weeks ago and we had an excellent time! They helped me (read: did all the work) for 9 jars of jam, played with Joseph, and cooked! Not to mention, we got a date night out of it. Totally awesome.

Again, we put Grandma and Grandpa on the train during rush hour to go back to the airport. Joseph now does the "Papa...airport...Mawma... Oota" schtik with them, too. Usually when I say we're going to skype with them. He's definitely getting some long-term memory! Not that he'll recall any of this in years, but it's fun to see him remember stuff more than an hour old!

One of our daily walks around the apartment complex

At the aquarium

Checking out the roses with Grandpa

At the Botanical Gardens

Grandma taught Joseph to say Cheese!

Atlanta History Center

2011-05-07T23:26:00.003-04:00

Joseph and I got a free pass to the history center yesterday, so we got to go check it out for the first time! It was a beautiful place. We took a tour of the Swan House, and roamed the grounds. Joseph especially loved the fountains, and I'm happy to report that Joseph got his first grass stains on his jeans! I know it's weird to be happy about that, but I have a 2 year old boy, for goodness sakes! It's a right of passage!

The front of the Swan House

The "back" side of the Swan house

Cheesy photo to bribe child in future years

What, your driveway doesn't look like that?

Try this angle, Mama, it's my best side.
See, I told ya.
Oh, birds!
The back yard... it's not too bad, eh?

Giant cascading waterfall

Whew, that was a big hill!

Hmm, water.

April Photos

2011-05-07T23:17:00.002-04:00

My little ham - he loves to try and poke the camera when I'm taking photos

Baby Burrito - I rolled him up in a blanket one day. He thought it was pretty awesome.

Playdates are very serious business for Joseph

Strawberry picking... loves to eat, but is not so much into working

I'll stand here, but I'm not gonna like it.

OMG! A smile! At a playdate! Could he be having... FUN?

A whole month?

2011-05-07T23:13:00.004-04:00

Since I posted pictures of my baby? I'm sorry, peeps. I'll try to do better here. Get ready for a marathon.

Auntie Debbie came in early April. Since she flew in and out during rush hour, we made her take the train and walked up to meet her. Ever since then, when Joseph hears the commuter train I usually get some form of "Auntie...train...airport...Ooota (Minnesota)". I guess she made an impression this time!

Fickle child, eh?

15w Prenatal

2011-05-05T19:14:00.002-04:00

Joseph and I went up to our doctor's office for my prenatal today. He's a trooper coming with for my appointments. T.J. comes when there is an ultrasound or bloodwork involved, but otherwise Joseph is content to chill out with some books and cars while I get weighed and measured.

Today was an uneventful day - Just weights and measures. I only gained 1lb this last month. I'm not excited, because I know that means I'm just gonna gain 10lbs next month. Ha! My blood pressure remains at zombie levels (very low). That's normal for me, though.

I saw the midwife today for the first time there, and I liked her well enough. I did let her use the doppler - next time I'll ask them if they can use a fetoscope instead, or just pass on it since they can measure fundal height and Charlotte can use her fetoscope. No need for all of those ultrasound waves if I can avoid them. I just prefer to be safe rather than sorry. Joseph turned out so perfect, after all - I'd hate to short change #2. ;) I kid, I kid.

The most exciting part of the appointment was that she said that they "discourage home births", of course, but they like to know and want me to continue prenatal care with them throughout the pregnancy if I decide to do another home birth. That's a big weight off of my shoulders, because frankly I hate to lie about it and it'll be nice to just be up front and not deal with bull crap about it. If we have to go to the hospital, we can always head up to their practice and I'll know someone there (hopefully the midwife, as I pretty much can't stand the doctors in the practice). Of course, in the event of a transfer we'd probably be heading to the closest hospital anyway, which is not where they have privileges.

They put the order in for the anatomy scan, so I'll call and schedule that tomorrow. Hopefully it'll be the same day as my next prenatal to save time (June 2) but we'll see what their schedule is like in radiology. Oh the excitement of the HMO.

Hump Day Bump Day

2011-05-04T20:39:00.003-04:00

14w6d pregnant. Oy.

I have a prenatal appt tomorrow. I'm hoping to schedule the anatomy scan then, but who knows!

Officially 2nd Trimester!

2011-04-24T20:04:00.003-04:00

Can you believe that I almost missed it? I just looked at the ticker.

Second babies are funny. I do think about the fact that I'm pregnant a lot (the burgeoning belly is a constant reminder), and about the baby itself, but the "milestones" are kind of a blip on the radar.

I think it's going to start feeling more "real" soon, though. I've been feeling weird sensations in my belly the last few days. I'm not a big believer that you can feel something that weighs an ounce, but it kind of feels like there is a bunch of water sloshing around. Which, well, there is. And the baby is the one sloshing. No kicks yet, though.

Cravings

2011-04-22T15:10:00.002-04:00

On the first day of cravings, the baby said to me:
"one double-decker taco with cheese, please"

On the second day of cravings the baby said to me:
"2 cheesy tacos, and fried potatoes with cheese and sour cream"

On the third day of cravings, the baby said to me:
“one cheesy taco, and a bean burrito to attempt to be healthy”

Now mama has a tummy ache.

on the 4th day of cravings, the baby sad to me:
“one cheesy taco”, But mama said “sorry, time for something healthy”

And so we had soup and salad at home. The End.

Other cravings have included:
- Eating an entire pound of potato salad in one sitting
- Furthermore, purchasing another 2# "just in case" - I did eat it, though not all at once.
- Deluxe seafood salad (i.e. more mayo)
- Klondike bars - 5 packages later, and I still want one every afternoon, though I did not buy more (yet)
- Fresh fruit salad (thank goodness for small miracles) and green salad w/ lots of dressing
- Lucky charms

Aversions:
- Meat of pretty much any kind, especially if I'm the one cooking
- Cooking in general. Joseph and T.J. would have starved without the grocery store deli and local eateries.

My Latest Baking Project

2011-04-20T12:35:00.003-04:00

Meet our newest little DomerBaby! S/he is growing well, and we're expecting an arrival around 10/27! I'll be 13 weeks tomorrow - these are from Last Friday.

We're ecstatic and can't wait to meet the baby!

At 12 weeks, 1 day pregnant

12w1d Pregnant