Eisms...

E was playing with a toy in the other room.  She came in and told me, "Mommy, the floor hit my head!"  I just hate it when the floor jumps up and smacks me.

E and I were sitting on the couch while Jut was changing A's daughter.  E aid, "Daddy has a butt crack sticking out." She then proceeded to pull down the back of her pants...to which I replied, "No honey, it is not nice to show people your butt-crack". 

"Maybe I get out now?!"  The phrase we hear numerous times a day while she's sitting in time-out...

My days...

My days are filled with two wonderful little ones. E is 2.5 and full of zest for life. She gets more articulate every day. Today she was getting in trouble for being naughty at the dinner table (she only got sent to time out tonight 3 times during dinner...). I was discussing her actions with her after one of the time-out sessions and she replied, "I being polite. I am Santa Claus." How do you argue with that?!
Life is getting more challenging with the addition of A. E's attention seeking behaviors get extreme at times, but she gets more fun to be with all the time too. She loves to come up put her arms around me and say, "Are you my friend, Mom?" I reply, "Am I your friend, E?" She says, "Yes" and gives me a big hug. She's such a sweetie when she's not being a stinker!

She loves spending time reading. We go to the library and sit and read books for at least an hour. At home, she spends lots of time sitting next to me reading while A is eating. I love my little reader!

E is also learning that letters are connected to sounds. She loves to give me a word and ask what letter it starts with...(thank you PBS for teaching her the letters and sounds). Yesterday, she asked, "What letter starts with 'Eeyore'?" I replied, "'E', 'E', 'Eeyore' starts with an E." To which she replied, "E not starts with 'Eeyore'. E starts with me!"

A is my wonderful little 7-week old. It is hard to believe that he is 7 weeks old already. He's a good little baby. Spends too much time crying but we are figuring that out slowly. It is usually because he's tired and for some reason feels the need to scream for awhile every time before he goes to sleep. He's on a fairly predictable 3-hour routine. He wakes up, eats, hangs out, and then goes back to sleep. During the day, he's sleeping 45-minutes to an hour. At night, he does 3-4 hour stints. He's growing quickly. I put the 0-3 month clothes away a week or so ago.
He's getting more of a personality all the time. He's really starting to 'coo' and talk to us...or any object that catches his attention. His favorite thing is the fish mobile above his changing table. He loves to stare at it and talk to it. Even if he is fussy, the fish usually calm him down.

He spends lots of time on the activity mat. We didn't use it too much with E, but the bars over it act as a semi-protective barrier from his big sister. He loves the mat. He coo's at the little stuffed bug and bird. He's quite content on it. He spends lots of time in the bouncy seat, too. He's started this week really cooing at the stuffed bee on it. E loved the swing but A doesn't really like it at all. It is interesting how their differences are showing up so quickly.

That sums up my days, but they are almost always good days with a few frustrating moments thrown in to keep things interesting.

We have so much to be thankful for through this holiday season. The two things at the top of my list are my two precious little ones...and their dad that keeps me from going insane when toddler antics and infant screams start wearing on my nerves. ;-)

The Christmas Tree...

E is so excited for Christmas this year. We've read the bible story numerous times since Thanksgiving. She'll tell you that baby Jesus was born just like baby A.

She knows that she'll get presents for Christmas and if she's asked what she wants for Christmas, she'll tell you "presents!". She's very excited. (However, I think she thinks its been Christmas since A was born because she just keeps getting presents...and she loves every one of them!)
She has been so excited to see Christmas lights outside of people's houses and decorated Christmas trees. She loves how 'beautiful' everything looks.

So, I decided that we needed to get a real tree this year. I came up with a plan that included Mom and Dad so that we could use their truck to get the tree home and have the manpower to cut and haul a tree back to the car and still take both kids with us. However, I did not get the plan executed before the cold struck. I decided that it probably wasn't a smart idea to take both kids out in the cold and E was getting impatient for a tree. So, one night when Jut was gone, I pulled our 6-year old $20 fake tree from Tar*get.

The whole time I was putting it together I was ranting in my head about how ugly and pathetic our little tree was...and wishing I would have been able to get that perfect real tree for E. E, on the other hand, was running around. She was yelling, "Happy Christmas!" or "Merry Christmas" the entire time. She was so excited to be putting together the tree! It was about halfway put together and she put her arms around me and said, "Momma, our tree is beautiful!"

So, I decided to put my grumbling away and just looked at our little tree through E's eyes. I cheerfully put up the rest of the tree and when Jut got home, he put up the lights. E was just thrilled with the tree. A couple of days later I pulled out the ornaments and we started decorating the tree and she had more fun pulling out the ornaments and looking at them. She hung them all on the same couple of branches, so I did redistribute some of them. It was a lot of fun to decorate with E. Jut isn't much into decorating the tree (shocker, I know..a guy that doesn't enjoy decorating Christmas trees) and it was fun to have E's excitement and enthusiasm to help me out.

E also LOVES playing with the decorations or 'treasures' around the house. They are getting a little worse for wear...a shepherd lost his hand and a couple of snowman lost their noses...but the joy she is getting out of them is worth it. (Besides all of my real 'treasures' are put up very high out of the reach of little hands!)

Seeing Christmas through little eyes has really helped me enjoy the season. It is much easier to see the magic of the season when you experience with little eyes! ;-)

Eisms...

A was sitting and crying (or rather screaming on my lap) and I took a package of fruit snacks away from E. She walked up to A, forcefully patted him on the head and said, "You no cry Baby A. Its my turn!"

We were walking outside enjoying the beautiful white snow. E got very distressed that some of the snow was gone from earlier in the day. I said that the sun was melting it. E exclaimed yelling at the sun, "Sun, you no melt the snow! Go away!"

E was out in the kitchen terrorizing the cat, and Jut and I heard, "Naughty cat, I just cut off your tail with a carving knife!" Hmmm...maybe we've been singing "Three Blind Mice" too many times.

E and A

I get asked all the time, "How is E adjusting to her little brother?" Well, she's adjusting. I think she may even be starting to like him. She was so convinced that he was going to turn out to be a "baby sister" that she told Jut when he broke the news that she had a baby brother that "No, I have a baby sister". It took a couple of days to convince her that A was a boy.



She wasn't allowed in the hospital because of the flu. So, it was Wednesday before she was able to meet baby A. She wasn't quite sure what to think.

But she did think that he was pretty cute.

Giving hugs to Baby A with G'pa

Playing with A on the activity mat.

Last week, I had A on the activity mat in the kitchen. I was working on dishes. When I turned around, A and the activity mat were gone! I heard this little giggle from the office. E had grabbed the activity mat and pulled it into the office where Jut was talking on the phone. Sometimes E might be a little too interested in her little brother.

However, when A cries, she declares, "This house is too loud!" and heads off for the opposite end/floor of the house. She does a quick disappearing act when he gets going. She's use to being the only noise maker and is not a fan of the volume of the baby.

She also loves to hang on me when I'm feeding A. I've learned to have a drink and snack ready in the kitchen for her during feeding times. But, she loves to have attention at the same time as A. I'm getting creative in giving her positive attention before her desire for attention during feedings turns into negative attention.

Everyone has been wonderful to E with A's birth. I can't count the number of people that have brought E presents congratulating her on becoming a big sister. Most everyone greets E before heading to see A. It has been wonderful to see how sensitive everyone is to E's needs, too.

So, she's making the transition. She told the dr at A's one week check-up that she couldn't keep him and we had to take him home. At the church Thanksgiving dinner last week, she had to keep checking up on him when Julie was holding him on the other side of the room while I was eating. I think that she's accepted that he's here to stay and that she needs to keep tabs on him. She'll probably be a bossy, protective, big sister and drive him nuts in a few years! ;-)

Baby A's birth story...from Chris's perspective

Baby A arrived almost a month ago...but due to a lack of time and the inability to sit at the computer for more than 2 minute stretches, I haven't updated the blog with the information.

Baby A joined us at 9:45 A.M. on Monday, November 2. He weighed in at a healthy 9 lbs 11 ozs and 22 inches long. He was a big boy! He was delivered naturally and all went well.
Now, if you don't want the details...stop reading here...

I had a C-section with Elizabeth and really wanted to have a successful VBAC with A. So, I did a lot of research on having a successful VBAC. I found the method of childbirth with the highest success rate for VBAC patients was the Bradley Method of natural childbirth. I read both of the most recently published books and decided that I was in. So, I set to work convincing Jut that we needed to take the classes. After some persuasion, he was in...however, the nearest classes to us were in Lansing and taking them meant that we had to go down there every week for 12 weeks. It was a commitment, but it was well worth our time and energy. Our instructor, J was amazing! She even came to us to do a couple of classes when we just couldn't make it down to Lansing. We were so well prepared on what to expect through labor and delivery...it made all the difference to having a successful birthing experience.

On Wednesday, October 28, I had my 'last' doctor's appointment. Since I was approaching the 40 week mark on that Friday, Dr. M. did an ultrasound and dilation check. Up to this point, he had been very much for me trying to do a VBAC. Then I had the ultrasound...and it measured A at about 9.5 lbs. Dr. M. basically flipped out on me...changing his mind about the VBAC. I think he would have done a c-section right then had I opted for it. He started talking about my chances for uterine rupture and all the things that could go wrong. I was confident from my Bradley classes that everything was okay but came home and consulted J, our teacher, and she confirmed that I was still a fine candidate for a VBAC.

So, I started praying really hard that the full moon (the following Monday night) would bring this baby into the world. I didn't want to go back and have Dr. M push even harder for a C-section. I also didn't want to hear any other worst-case scenarios. On Sunday, I had lots of contractions...the AM I was having them every 3-4 minutes but they weren't strong or uncomfortable. The afternoon they got a bit stronger but they still weren't consistent or uncomfortable. By 6 PM, they had completely stopped.

We went to bed at about 10:30. At 1:30 AM, I woke up with a fairly strong contraction and had to get up to use the bathroom. By 3, my contractions were pretty steady and Jut started timing them. They were about 4 minutes apart. At 4, we decided that we needed to call my mom to come and stay with E, as it was getting time to go to the hospital. We were at the hospital by 4:45. My contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart and very strong.

We checked in and I made our nurse, BethAnn so nervous. I think that she thought that I was ready to deliver with the strength and timing of my contractions. She checked me and I was only 2 cm dilated. I was so bummed. In the Bradley classes, it stresses not to check into the hospital until being dilated to a 5-6. But with the strength and timing of my contractions, Jut and I decided that we were correct in being at the hospital anyway.

Soon afterwards, my water broke and we were very glad that we decided to stay. Dr. M arrived shortly thereafter and I was moved to a LDR room, which was much more comfortable. They wanted to do continual fetal monitoring because of my VBAC status and the LDR room had wireless connections so I was able to move around, which was much more comfortable than lying in bed. In the LDR room, Dr. M wanted to do another dilation check. I was really dreading it because I didn't want to be told that I was at 3 cm again, but fortunately I was at a 6. It was less than an hour from when BethAnn checked me. That was encouraging.

Dr. M suggested using a birthing ball, since I was the most comfortable in the squatting position during contractions. I did enjoy using the birthing ball. It took a lot of the stress off of my legs.

After they found out that I was quickly progressing, things in the LDR room started happening quickly. They got all the 'equipment' ready for stage 2 (delivery). I never realized how much stuff the medical staff needs to deliver a baby! The anesthesiologist kept popping in to see how things were progressing. I had a full surgical team ready to do a c-section, if needed, and the anesthesiologist kept popping in throughout my delivery to check and see how things were progressing. Dr. M never left the room once he arrived at the hospital. I was so thirsty that I was wishing him away so that I could get a contraband drink...but no such luck. He was stuck to my side like glue. My VBAC status really concerned him, I think.

At about 7:45, the urge to push started. Yeah for stage 2! It was getting almost impossible for me to relax through the contractions anymore and I was so thankful for stage 2 to begin. Plus, I was tired of Jut and Dr. M. giving me advice on relaxing...I knew how to relax. I was just having difficulty doing it! Anyway for stage 2, Dr. M likes his patients to use the birthing bar attached to the bed. He was really worried about breaking Baby A's collar bone because of his size...so he wanted to keep a close eye on everything through the pushing stage. I acquiesced to the position even if I wasn't a huge fan because Dr. M. thought that it was best for baby.

I didn't time the contractions but I think that they were about 2-3 minutes apart with about 30 seconds between contractions. I felt like I just really got relaxed from a contraction and another one would start. They seemed very close together. After about an hour, I felt like I had been pushing forever and not making any progress. I never really got a second wind of energy during the pushing stage. Dr. M let me change positions to the squat and that helped motivate me a bit more. But, it was so frustrating feeling the baby sliding back into me after each push when they wanted me to relax back into the bed. I didn't feel as though the baby slid back so far when I was squatting but Dr. M only let me use that position for about 4-5 contractions.

After about 1.5 hours, I was getting tired and fairly crabby with everyone. Dr. M made a very demoralizing statement at some point in time that "this baby is making you work for every single millimeter." That was depressing and discouraging. Then, I snapped at the nurse several times with her 'helpful' suggestions. Dr. M made some comment about a c-section around 9:15 but I ignored him. Than at about 9:25, Dr. M ordered the nurse to go get an IV ready to go. I told him that I didn't want that. He replied that I was going to have to have a section if this baby didn't come within the next 15 minutes and I needed to have an IV if I didn't want to be completely knocked out. I yelled at him, "I haven't done this much work to have a section! I'm not having one!" He told me that I was having one if the baby wasn't out in 15 minutes.

Jut did a great job of blocking the nurse's access to my IV port that was already in my hand and asked her to wait for just a few more minutes before beginning to insert the fluids. So, she went back to the other side of the bed.

Well, the threat of a section was enough to re-energize me a bit. I had been losing steam on the 3rd push, but with the threat of that section hanging over me, I was giving 4 good pushes through each contraction. Within about 5 contractions, A was finally born! That was amazing to see that little man for the first time. It was so nice to be able to cuddle him and hold him right away. I just stared at his perfection. It was amazing.

Then, I asked Jut for my orange juice. I was so thirsty. I thought that I was thirsty before pushing started...I was beyond parched by the end! That was the best tasting oj ever!

Childbirth is the most excruciating pain. I was very surprised to find that I was a screamer...especially during the very end. I wish I could apologize to everyone that had to listen. Although, I think it helped me be more forceful in my pushes. I just about slugged the nurse at the end(I would of if I wouldn't have been so focused elsewhere). Just before A crowned, she told me I needed to quiet down so that I could hear Dr. M's instructions as he crowned. Whatever!! I knew that Dr. M would do just fine whether I could hear everything he said or not.

We had at least 10 people in watching the birth. The funniest was our student nurse, K. It was her first birth. Jut thought that she was going to pass out at one point. However, she did a great job the rest of the day. She thought the birth was awesome. I did about pass out on her when I got up to use the restroom for the first time, but she got some assistance and was able to handle that too.

The other humorous thing about having all the spectators during delivery was the audible gasp that happened when A's head finally came through. Apparently, his checks popped out and then jiggled for like 10 seconds because they were so full. Someone said, "Wow! Look at those cheeks!" And I thought to myself, "Look at his cheeks later! Get him out!!!!" But he finished his journey without delay despite the fact that everyone was amazed by his cheeks.

I did have some repairing that needed done. I wasn't ready for how much that hurt. Dr. M did numb the area but I still felt too many of those stitches! However, I think my pain receptors were just on overload and everything hurt.

People have asked if I'm glad that I did the natural birth or if I would have had another section had I known what it was going to be like. I am very glad that I did the natural birth. However, I will admit that I was not prepared for the recovery of a natural birth. I knew I was going to be sore but I didn't realize how sore. My whole body hurt for 2-3 days. I couldn't move well for a week and sitting was horribly painful for the first week. But, the second week was much better. At 4 weeks, I'm still a bit uncomfortable in the perineum but it is gradually getting better.

The flip side is that A took to nursing like a champ and I didn't have any of the troubles that I did with E. My ab muscles are intact and I can sit up and sleep on my stomach, which took me forever to be able to do after my section with E. I didn't have to take any strong pain meds and I only took my Ibuprofen for 4-5 of days a couple of times a day. The recovery was more than I had anticipated but it didn't last as long as the full recovery from a c-section.

The Final Pumpkin Product

E and her grandpa grew pumpkins this year. E had lots of fun planting, watering and tending the pumpkins as they grew. We watched them all summer grow and change. She and Grandpa always checked and tended the pumpkins each time that we visited their house. Grandpa sent them home with her last weekend and she had been anxious to turn them into jack o' lanterns all week. On Tuesday, we cleaned them all out and Jut carved 2 of them. Tonight, Jut finished carving the last 2, under E's direction, of course.

Cleaning the pumpkins on Tuesday night. She used a spoon to scoop out the innards.

E's big pumpkins waiting to be cleaned out.

E took more of a supervisors role for the majority of the evening...lounging in her chair.
Feeding the jack o' lanterns pumpkin seeds was good fun too!

The pumpkins were lots of fun to climb on...

E and Jut showing off their creations

Glowing jack o' lanterns

E chose the design of all but the one on the left...
it is supposedly Punisher

Didn't E choose great designs...and didn't Jut do a great job carving them?!

We did have a great time with the pumpkins through the planting and carving process. I still have a couple more batches of seeds to roast...those pumpkins were huge!