Liam is 3 months old!

My little dude is growing well!  Everyone says each subsequent child goes faster.  It is kinda strange that three months have already passed, but it doesn't feel any faster to me then Miriam.  It was strange when she was three months too.  The days are long but the years are short.  In about 9 more months I'll be wondering what happened I guess.

I thought I'd give a quick update how our little guy is doing.

Okay I admit it, until Liam was 2 months old he pretty much slept in his bouncer.  He sleeps in the pack and play now.  He gets up once a night at 3-4 am sometime.  I can handle that.  I'd probably handle it much better if I went to bed before 11pm.  If I remember right Miriam got up 3 times a night FOREVER (it felt like).  So I'm happy.

Takes weird naps.  Basically he has two short morning naps (1 hour each) and usually a long afternoon nap.  Although sometimes he takes two short afternoon naps.  Little man...I think I prefer two - two hour naps.  Lets work that direction eh?

Will coo a lot at us.  He loves to be talked to.

Rolls from side to side.

Has an awesome smile!

 

Bring it! 2012

2011 has been a good year.  I don't think I appreciated it nearly enough while it was happening.  Some wonderful things happened this year!  Even so I feel SO READY to wave at it in my rear view mirror and meet 2012!

What was up for us in 2011:

February:  We're expecting baby #2! We register Miriam for Pre-K3 after finding our perfect spot!

May:  Bill leaves for Africa (2 month trip!), we get a new air conditioner/furnace (not as exciting as it was EXPENSIVE), and find out baby #2 is a BOY :)

July:  Bill comes home from Africa.  He sees a job announcement for position in Cheney only to find out it's already closed.  I launch Peach State Moms Blog with Rachel!

August:  Miri starts Pre-K3

September:  Position in Cheney reopens and Bill sends in an application.  I am super pregnant and feel ready to have our baby and add him to our lives already!  I get induced on September 28th and Liam is born!  As you might remember I was scared of the whole thing - but he's perfect and I wouldn't trade him for anything.  I felt so happy once he joined our family!

October:  My Dad comes to visit Miriam and Liam and spoils us quite a bit.  Bill interviews for the Cheney job in Olympia on his Dads birthday and gets to go home to visit.

November:  Bills parents come to visit.  Another great visit.  Now I know what to do to get people to come visit us.  Have a baby.  Got it.

December:  Miriams Christmas program at school. How beautiful and fun, a bunch of 2-5 year old belting out Christmas carols.   I LOVE her school, the families and teachers are awesome and I know it is the right place for us! Other things I'm not telling you yet.   Tomorrow - I am going to Jenna's house for the New Year.  Liam hates the car but it will be fun to spend it with friends!

2012 - I usually do a run down of things I think might happen but you know what?  I don't know!  Raising two children, that's about all I've got so far.  I hope that 2012 is great for us AND for you!  Happy New Year!

Comparison post

Looking at the previous picture made me think it was high time for a sibling picture comparison post!

 

Miriam at almost 3 months                       Liam at 3 months  :)

Mr Liam

While I was putting this red sweater on Liam today I kept singing "Won't you be my neighbor?"

Miss Miriam is four!!

Yes!  And she's been four for a month and a half!  Hard to keep up with stuff now a days!

Writing a post about a four year old is a little different then writing a post about a four month old.  When they are four months old you are seeing how well they roll and sit with help and talking about...I dunno....if they've laughed or discovered their feet yet.

I've got this four year old, and I pick up a piece of 5T clothing and think "This is way too big....Isn't it?"  when in fact it is NOT too big, my child is in fact that tall.  Her feet are that big and her hair is that long.  Get used to it already mama!

Here are some things about Miriam these days:

Miriam loves her preschool.  She has learned lots of songs and comes home and sings them.  She is super independent these days though and doesn't want us to even sing WITH her.  I remember the days we would sing every kid song  known to man on a forty minute drive.  Mom and Dad would sing and everyone would do the hand motions.  These days we nearly get tantrums for singing unless SHE has specifically designated it as moms (or dads) song.  Yes.  My daughter knows what she wants.  It can be rather exasperating.  I'm still not sure how to deal with it.

She can count to thirty.  Mostly.  And knows our names and how old we are.  Next up...phone number and addresses??

Loves her brother.  She talks about him and how cute he is.  And that he is going to grow and not be so cute anymore.  She imitates mommy a lot.  "Hey, little sweetie, how ya doing?" Knows his needs "Baby needs to nurse!"  and is mildly attentive.  "He's trying to roll." (followed by trying to roll him over) Only a couple times has she actually picked him up herself.  Just a few weeks ago I look up from doing dishes and there she is with brother in her lap having successfully removed him from his bouncer.  Not too bad.

Is speaking more.  I feel like in the last month, or even few weeks we're finally getting sentences on a regular basis.  And she is telling us what she is thinking/wants/needs.  We've done a lot of repeating mom and dad in the last 6 months so this is refreshing.  For the most part.

Loves The Lion King, Thomas trains, decorating the Christmas tree, playing ball (some things don't change),and (Daddy was so kind to point out) tell us no. 

She is amazing! I'm having a hard time believing she was this tiny bundle of joy 4 years ago.  We were celebrating her first Christmas and trying to get her to pick up her head off the ground.  Now we're just trying to keep up with her!

Happy (really late) fourth birthday beautiful girl!

Happy 80th birthday Grandpa!

Today my grandpa turns 80 years old!  I'm having a hard time believing this!  I think partly because my grandpa is one of the most active people I've known.  Both of my grandparents are very busy, usually involved in something.

When I think about my Grandfather when I was young I remember bike rides, tennis, gardening, and how he ran Bloomsday every year.  I'll never forget the year that it occured to me I should ask to go play tennis because I hadn't been interested in so long.  I went to ask him to play and he told me he hadn't played tennis in a long time.  I'm a little sad about it.  I guess I'll just have to come to terms with the fact that I didn't want to play tennis as a teen (I wasn't good at many sports, so I avoided them) and I can't blame myself for "being me."  But today, I really wish I had taken to time to learn to play tennis from him. I wish I had gone on more bike rides, helped in the garden more and run Bloomsday with him!  Now he's into golf.  I really am not interested in golf...but if the previous story is any kind of lesson, I should probably try to learn to golf!  We used to play ping pong down int he basement.  Now he's got a pool table, and, AGAIN - next time I am visiting, I need to go play pool...no matter how BAD I am at it.

I remember him making pancake breakfasts, feeding me prunes, grapefruit, V8 and sherbet.  (Those memories go with my grandma too). Not those together mind you.

Both of my grandparents have taught me a lot about working hard and serving others, being involved in your community and your faith.  My relationship with my grandfather went through a rough patch around the time I was 19 (imagine that) but since we came out of it I am very thankful for the chances I've had to see his strong faith. 

The older I get the more I realize I don't know about my grandparents.  I only saw their wedding album a few years before their 50th wedding anniversary (2005) when my cousin was looking at it.  A few years ago, I asked him about being in the Army and only then did I learn that he expected to go to Korea, but was sent to Alaska instead!

Today, on his birthday I am thankful for the person I know as my grandfather.  I know I don't know everything about him, but I know enough to appreciate him as my grandpa!  Happy Birthday!

Happy 100 Grandpa!

I love things you can do as a family to celebrate.  Yesterday, family members across the country from Washington to North Dakota to Georgia celebrated what would have been my great-grandfathers 100th birthday at 12:00, 2:00, 3:00pm, respectively, with a bowl of ice cream, which my grandma says he loved. 

Although I have known all of my great-grandmothers, most of my great grandfathers passed away before or around the time I was born.  My Great Grandpa Graham Orland VanCamp passed away from cancer in  1982, just a month after I was born.  I feel close to Great Grandpa VanCamp, for reasons I can't explain.  I have always felt somewhat drawn to him.  I remember seeing a picture of him in his 40's.  I can see my father in him.  Every time I wish I knew him better.  My grandma says one of her favorite memories about him is that she never remembers him being angry.  

I am grateful to be able to celebrate his life on earth - which began 100 years ago!

(Picture coming if I can remember to scan it!) 

Diary of my night

Why have I been so tired the last few weeks?  I think I've figured it out.

Even when then kids go to bed by 7:30, I end up cleaning, emailing, blogging, showering, whatever and don't get to bed until 11:15

11:27 - Miriam comes in and says she needs to potty
11:35 - Miriam comes in again and wants to shut the cat in the laundry room (he was meowing)

2:00-Liam is ready for his feeding

4:30 - Miriam comes in several times trying to get into our bed.

6:00 Miriam comes in again.  We've pretty much decided 6-7am is currently tv time.  Cause I can't move this early.

Gratitude moment day 3

Yesterday - I was tired again.  Today - I am tired again.  I think it's safe to say that having children is tiring.

Yesterday, I was really glad for food.  We had some friends come by the day before and bring us some cans of their food storage that needed to be rotated.  Powdered applesauce, dried bananas, flour, beans etc.  And I'm excited to try out that stuff.  Some of the cans even had recipes on them!  Now I just need a robot to do my dishes!

Today, I was really thankful for friends.  Once a month or so I pack up my kids and head over to my friend Shanda's house for the day.  She actually only lives about minutes away, but this is what works out.  Miriam plays with her dogs and she feeds us lunch and sometimes dinner.  We talk about whatever and watch television and play with my kiddos.  I love it!  Today we even had both our husbands there for dinner.  What a fabulous day.  I always feel thankful for her generosity to us.

:)

Gratitude moment day 2

I am so tired.  But here it goes.  I am grateful for the ability to procreate.  Sure, why not?

My first pregnancy was pretty good.  My second pregnancy I did not enjoy nearly as much.  I was sicker, more emotional, more depressed, my hips hurt more etc.  Today I look at my sweet children and I feel very lucky.  I am thankful to have them in my home.

I am now going to bed so I can drag myself out of bed when my daughter starts bugging me at 6am.  I am going to play horses with her I think.

Gratitude

Several months ago, while my husband was on a deployment, two of my friends (somehow we are all in the south) drove up to Atlanta for a girls weekend.  It was a wonderful time.  I haven't done something like that for a long time.  I've been itching to get together with them again for another girls weekend - it was amazing!

While they were up here I stayed in their hotel room and the three of us stayed up WAY TO LATE and had the best conversations - some of which were the kind only late nights can bring on.  I learned something from Tierney that weekend that has stuck with me this year.  She was/is possibly one of the most positive and spiritual people I have ever met.   She taught me a little bit about making faith part of your everyday life, and therefore strengthening it (your faith) each day.  I learned this from her just from her example, and from some of the things she told us that night. 

I am telling you this because it will be no surprise then that as I was browsing Pinterest (yes, I am slightly sucked in at the moment) I ran across a pin on her page about a Gratitude journal.  I have tried to keep a gratitude journal in the past with little success.   I will get started, but I have never kept it going.  The last couple of days gratitude is glaring me in the face.  The December Ensign presidency message is about gratitude, we did a short gratitude exercise in Relief Society on Sunday (which was actually the youth activity that went with the message in the Ensign), and I'd been feeling the personal prompting a few times to think of things I was grateful for - either about my children or my husband or in general - in those moments I was exhausted and maybe frustrated.  But here it is again today. 

I read this article called O Remember, Remember.  I remember reading this article in the past, but I think the time has come to actually act on it.  I am not good at keeping a journal or blogging every day.  But I think I will try to do one or the other through the rest of this month.

Today I was extremely thankful we made the effort to have a family home evening.  It was just a Living Scriptures video about the Tree of Life but it was a good experience to view it on the screen.  Then we did one of the learning activities with our daughter.  As we talked to her about the video, and asked her some of the questions I was amazed at what she was able to learn.  Some things were sort of funny like the "magic fruit" and some things were amazing like when she told us they needed to go to the tree to get to Jesus which wasn't something we had told her. 

I am grateful for moments like that that put the rest of my day into perspective!

Weight Loss Wednesday update

Weight loss:  not going as initially expected.  You can see my weekly updates on Weight Loss Wednesday. 
The short of the long though is that I went down and then up and then up again.  Nothing outrageous and nothing unexpected.  Just a bummer.
Since then, we have gotten rid of our colds, I've made more of an attempt to exercise and I've started dealing with a little problem called bloating!  This week, I had actually lost 1.6 pounds - which was mostly a relief!
The truth is I am a little worried about some other issues right now (breastfeeding) and that makes me less inclined toward weight loss.  So I'm just going to try and keep healthy and keep exercising and keep trying!!  Catch up with me again soon on Wednesday!

Life is Work

Well.  Some days are better than others. 
Last night I had to go to the store at 8pm to fill up a tire (that went nearly flat 30 minutes later again) and pick up some food.

Let me back track and say, the day wasn't so bad.  Its just an adjustment having two children and dinner to cook and housework.  I keep trying to remind myself that my job here on the earth isn't housework (ok - SORT OF.  Because part of keeping my family running is keeping us semi organized.  Which includes constant dishes and laundry).  My relationship with my husband and bringing up our two children, that is my current purpose on the earth. 

I was thinking this as I went shopping at 8pm instead of sitting on my butt watching a movie. 

My great-grandmother once told me that life was work.  I had told her Bill worked a LOT in Afganistan and you could almost hear her shrug as she said "Life is work."  And I think about how hard she and my great-grandfather worked in their day. 

Over and over I thought "It's okay.  This is your purpose."

As I left the store, I couldn't help it.  I shook my head and  thought to myself,  "Yeah.  You just keep telling yourself that."

That sarcastic person my friends is Molly.  She doesn't actually get out too much.

Today is hard for any other number or reasons, most of which involves some guilt about not 1)keeping Miriam on schedule.  2)not even attempting to do those dishes or 3) any number of other things I am not accomplishing right now.   Like helping Miriam on her computer game.  (Wait!  More guilt! Why is she on the computer AGAIN?)

I do know it will get better (the three of us not being sick might help too).  So I'm just going to get back to my "purpose" - they need to eat lunch before we fix the leaky tire.

One month highlights

Liam is already 6 weeks old, still growing and changing all the time!  But I'll try to remember what he has been like for month one!

Kid loves to sleep!  He really does seem to sleep a lot.  I try to give him 3 wakeful periods a day, that's the closest I am coming to a routine. 

By the end of the month he generally sleeps one 5 hour stretch (starting at about 8, so it's not super helpful to me) and 3 hour stretches after that.  He doesn't usually cry, just grunts until I wake up and feed him.  Unless I'm being slow.  Then he might get worked up.

At 2 weeks old he begins holding up his head more often.  He's getting pretty strong now.

He smiles a lot in his sleep.  And it isn't GAS - those look different!  But on the 26th of October, he actually gave me an eyes open smile.  What a cutie pants.

Is a pretty easy going baby most of the time.  We're pretty lucky.

Special memory from month one:
We're tired.  Bill is trying to get Liam to take a binky.  He's got it and is in his bed at the end of our bed.  We hear him doing some grunting and snorting.   Bill says, "No grunt snort.  Just nuk nuk."  And lays down.  It cracked me up! Had to put that up.

Special challenge for month two:
Even though I am a little less frustrated by the sleep situation then I remember being with Miriam, I'd still like him to sleep well.  I picked up the Sleep Lady's  book again for a while, but honestly, I read for a while and start feeling like a failure because I 1) can't find time to continue reading the book and therefore/also 2) can't/don't/have no idea how to implement their ideas.  SO - any thoughts for getting some regular sleep.  Last night he slept from 11 to 5:50.  I guess this technically = sleeping through the night. Good job Liam!  Except - I've been here before - this is what you call a FLUKE.  :)  But maybe I can get him to only get up once a night.  I can maybe live with this.  Thoughts??

Losing it! Round 3

I've been having some fun today checking out US News top diets.  You can get some basic information and ratings and many diets - DASH, Mediterranean, Vegetariamism, Paleo, Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig.  Then they are ranked in various categories - Best Overall, Best for Healthy Eating, Best Weight Loss etc.  It's interesting reading.  At the bottom of each synopsis is a little poll for each diet.  It says "Did this diet work for you?" and you can click yes or no. 

If you've been around here for a while you know that I work for Weight Watchers, which I began about a year after losing 30 pounds with them in 2004.  While I have a lot of intellectual interest in other diets, Weight Watchers is what I do.  It works when you own it, you know?  Probably most diets are this way, when you DO THEM you will see some results.  This was just the most livable for me.  I can do this every day of my life.  Don't get me wrong, there are days I fall off the wagon.  Weight Watchers is really made for you to get right back on the wagon.  (In fact WW is made for you to write down everything that happened to you to make you fall off the wagon, look at it and say "oh that was awful" and shudder about your weight gain but then LEARN from it and get back in there.)

Yes, Weight Watchers worked for me.  In fact it worked 2 times (in college and after baby #1).  I fully expect it to work after baby #2.  And I'll do it again if there is a baby #3.

Weight loss after baby #1 was hard.  It took me 2 years to get where I really wanted to be.  It's  not like I had 100 pounds to lose.  I had about 15 pounds to lose.  I lost my motivation for those last 5 pounds time and time again.  Until I kicked it out just in time to find out I was pregnant :)  What I really want this time is NOT to take 2 years.

So I'm endevoring to lose again.  I'll be talking about it here sometimes, but feel free to keep up with me on Peach State Moms where I just started Weight Loss Wednesday.  We'll see how it goes!  And lets hope I actually get cleared for weight loss tomorrow.  And that I keep my milk supply up!  Wish me luck!

Recovery ain't what it used to be

Recovering from pregnancy #2 was (is!) much different than pregnancy #1.  I'd heard this before, but didn't think about it (too focused on labor I guess) until it was happening!

It began when the hospital staff wheeled me to the postpartum room with my new baby.  I've still got an IV in and, even better, I am still hooked up to a bag of Oxytocin.  Why am I still hooked up to this stuff??  This is the made me go into labor stuff, and I don't want another bag of it in my system thank you very much!  Apparently I was bleeding a little more than they liked so they wanted to make sure my uterus was doing it's job and cramping and shrinking.  Thanks guys.   I asked Bill if I ever even mentioned having cramps after giving birth to Miriam and he said he didn't remember me mentioning it.  That would be because I don't remember having them!  But I was just checking.  What they say is true, afterbirth cramps after a second birth hurt.  I watched that bag of Oxytocin and waited to be unhooked.  Turns out, it didn't matter much, the cramps I had after it was gone were just as uncomfortable.  Uncomfortable as in - ouch this feels like a mildly intense contraction.  I have to do my breathing through this!  And it put a little damper on breastfeeding cause I knew every time baby nursed it would bring them on.  So glad when those went away.

This time, I totally get why there is this weeks long period between birth and your postpartum checkup.  After I got home, I still couldn't sleep on my back without bringing on pain in my abdomen for a couple weeks (sleeping on my back is what I've been waiting for dang it!).  I still have random pains in my hips and the ligaments that supported that uterus during pregnancy.   I've even had some random shooting sciatic pains - which I didn't even have during pregnancy!?

I had a follow up call from a nurse with our insurance company and we're both pretty sure some of the "problem" is the fact I am running around after a 3 year old this time.  No chillin' on the couch watching shows, napping and eating all day.  (I don't remember much about Miriam's first month besides getting up at night a lot, so I'm making that up)   I am feeling (MOST of the time) tons better emotionally since he arrived then during pregnancy.  So even though it's not easy, I'm less depressed.  It feels so good for Liam to be HERE and working on establishing our new normal. 


That said, I'd like to find that normal soon. :)  I gotta add exercise to it.  And holidays.  I'm ready to put recovery behind us.

Liams arrival story - part 2. Healthy Mom, Healthy Babe

(Happy One Month Liam, I'm finally finishing your birth story!) 
We were pre-registered so check in was really quick.  I got assigned a room and a nurse and she hooked me up to all my monitors and my IV in no time.  Then she was drawing my lab work and hooking up a bag of oxytocin.  I was rather surprised when I started feeling contractions 5 minutes apart about 10 minutes after 1pm.  I thought it would take longer to get started, but my body really was ripe for labor...apparently (Miriam was born in 4.5 hours)   The contractions got a bit stronger as the hour progressed.  At first they were not showing up on the monitor, which concerned me because...hello...if this isn't even REGISTERING what is this going to feel like in an hour.  I had to quit paying any attention to that.  And Bill says eventually they started appearing - a moderate peak. 

Around 2 all my labs had come back and we were just waiting for the anesthesiologist.  Things were starting to hurt!  My OB came over the second time to break my water.  (The first time I was still getting set up I think)  I really did not want things to go faster or get any stronger so I said "No."  She told me she couldn't keep coming back...other patients and all, but I didn't care.  Bill and I knew the labor would probably go a lot quicker then any of them realized.  

I liked the anesthesiologist.  He seemed friendly enough and just kept telling me what was happening/going to happen.  It felt easy to work with him and do what he asked.  It's not really fun getting the epidural, but the worst part was the first injection to numb up the area a bit.  It stung.  We got it done and laid me flat.  I did NOT want to lay like that.  It felt better to have my legs bent, but he said everything would work a bit better lying flat, so I did.  20 minutes to take full effect...so honestly I started watching the clock again.
In my labor with Miriam I had a "hot spot" - an area I could still feel with the epidural.  It was the little area of my lower right abdomen.  I got another hot spot with this labor that was considerably bigger.  After some of my 20 minutes ticked away, I started hitting the "gimme more please" button for an area on my right side.  The pain on that side began to get worse as he moved down.  I had to breathe through the contractions again.
  
They told me to let them know if I started feeling a lot of pressure.  Since the right side of my birth canal was basically not numb, I totally felt the pressure of him moving down.  We got a few nurses in, they had instructions to start pushing with me.  My OB made it back just in time for my water to break and to work on pushing baby Liam out.  That pushing stuff is hard work!  People say second births are "easier" - less pushing etc.  I suppose that probably was true, but I still felt like a pushed a while, and it wasn't easy!  I've also heard - from those natural birth people - that pushing is a relief because you can finally work with the contractions.  Eh - having feeling one side was plenty enough for me, and it still just hurt!  Relief came when he came out!  

Bill told me later that Liam's umbilical cord was wrapped twice around his neck, but my OB took care of that quickly. And then we were done!  He looked pretty good and didn't cry at first.   He got weighed and measured and brought back to us.  Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby!  Sadly, we had forgotten our camera in all our rushing around :( so I don't have the pictures for right after his birth.  It's okay, I have lots of chances to get pictures now!

Liam's arrival story - part 1

So - don't forget - this is a birth story, meaning you will be hearing some details about well - birth

The day before I hit 37 weeks pregnant is when the contractions really started.  They were on and off for a week.  The day of my 37 week appointment I got "checked" for dilation (about 2 cm that day), and then REALLY had contractions all evening.  I kept wondering if I was going to go into labor.  But I was somewhat freaked out of going into labor.  I kept "relaxing" and trying not to go into labor yet.  I was so ready to be done being pregnant - but not.  I actually asked my husband to give me a priesthood blessing because of the anxiety.  The only thing I remember now is that he told me when the time came, I would be ready.  Oh and also that I would be able to get some rest that night.  Which I did :)

I made some decisions that week that ended up being fortuitous.  I decided to stop working on Wednesdays, I had intended to work through the first week of October.

My 38 week appointment rolled around the morning of September 28.  My blood pressure had been climbing a bit (136/90 the week before).   The day before I asked if my husband would come to the appointment.  I was pretty sure, if my blood pressure was high, we would be talking induction.  The night before my hands/feet/ankles were VERY swollen.  I'd been doing things all week like eating more fruits and veggies and even CELERY (not kidding) to try and combat what I saw as blood pressure as a result of bad habits.  My blood pressure was higher - 146/90.   So yes, my OB wanted to talk induction.  In fact, the first words out of her mouth were – “Did you talk about induction with Dr McIntosh last week?”  She checked me again - 3 to 4 cm dilated.  We had a small discussion about why induction.  She, of course, said her main concerns were a healthy mommy and baby... and may have mentioned a few scary things that can happen with (basically) pre-eclampsia.  Bill asked "So when are we talking about?"

"As soon as you get over the the hospital."

 I cried.  The closer I had gotten to the end the more freaked out I had gotten about labor.  So I cried, because of all the "awful" things I'd heard about being induced with pitocin. My poor husband.  And doctor.  Like, you know this baby was coming eventually right?  I thought to myself - yes, I'm just a stinking basket case!  Maybe I was upset because this was becoming such a different birth experience from my first, and I didn't think I WANTED IV's and continuous monitoring and PITOCIN dang it! I'm not sure I was keeping the "healthy mom, healthy baby" mantra in my sights very well. 

We left the office to go pick up our hospital bag, take care of our daughter and head to the hospital.  I called my sister in law, who has been induced twice.  I told her I was freaked out and she talked to me for a while about her experiences, why she preferred induction and about other things.  She said - they'll be watching you really closely to make sure everything goes well.  Let your nurses know up front what you want.  Tell them you don't want to be a hero and that you want that epidural when you can get it (in case that sounds bad to you, we had already discussed this.  Yes, I wanted an epidural.  AFRAID of the pitocin I was.).  Anyhoo, our conversation was really fabulous.  And besides, she has two beautiful, healthy daughters.  What is a better testimonial then that?  She was a really great support to me - even all the way across the country.

About 12pm we had arrived at the hospital and started getting checked in...

Baby Day!

William (Liam) Jeffrey Cox

September 28 2011

6 lbs 9oz

18.5 inches 

Perfect

Last weekend was a wonderful weekend!  My baby shower was Saturday morning, which was fun.  Since I spent all day cleaning last Friday to get ready for my baby shower Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon found us sitting around without much to do!  The weather was actually nice.  It almost felt like fall out there - my most favorite time of the year. 

Bill decided to work outside and fix up some yard stuff.  Men....you have no idea what it does for your wives when you get off your butt and go do some work for the heck of it.  No idea.  Anyhoo - Miriam decided to go outside and help.  Well, some of the time. 

It was a very contented sort of feeling.  Awesome day!

The Waiting Game

Had some contractions Monday.  Nothing much was going on Tuesday, but Wednesday evening I was really wondering if we were going to have a baby!  Nope, I'm still here, he's still in there.  But still.  It was a little crazy.

My Dr. appointment on Wednesday was my first one getting manhandled my cervix checked.  I am about 2 cm dilated and not really effaced at all (aka thick cervix).  Weird.  But apparently normal for subsequent pregnancies.  Lots of contractions that night (until I took a warm shower) so maybe that's a little different now.  My blood pressure is climbing  little bit which makes me really unhappy.  It was 136/90.  That's the highest my blood pressure has ever been in my life.  EVER.  But I did eat Top Ramen for lunch the entire week before my appointment.  And made fried rice for dinner Tuesday night.  And was busy that day and semi-nervous for getting "checked"  so I am hoping with lots of water and fruit (and some veggies, I'll try anyway) I can bring that number down.

My Dr asked if I would want to be induced or wait for things to happen naturally.  Which was weird in that there isn't a reason yet to be induced.  Whatever for?  Do I want to be strapped to an IV before labor is even really going?  Not so much.  But once I'm ready for an epidural baby... (And of course if the blood pressure doesn't come down this will turn into a different conversation)

 Friend of mine's daddy tells us this storm that just came through Atlanta might have been contributing to all the extra contractions.  And strangely enough, the last couple days have been better.  Go figure.  Anyway.

Since working on my Blurb book I'm realizing how much I am going to forget in 4 years.  Right now I want to remember what it felt like to play the waiting game.

It's so strange, how I've done "this" before, but it's still entirely different this time!  No pre-term labor, no bed rest.  I don't know what to expect from this kid.  And I kinda HATE it.   I am in fact trying to prepare now, and just live my life the rest of the time.  But everything feels very unknown.  Gotta stop thinking about it....

Silly body: Contractions are for labor

I am sitting here madly trying to finish a Blurb book I bought a Groupon for a couple months ago with the intent of making my blog into a book since it journals some extra stuff for me.  Especially the first year of my daughters life.  And when I say "madly trying to finish"  I mean, I've been thinking about it for days, but it takes FOREVER, which has been deterring me.   I've only set up 10 pages and the original download was - I kid you not - 150 pages.  I am doing things like putting more than one post on each page etc.  I was trying to decide what posts to include, but really, I'll just put them all in. Much simpler.  Anyway, I only have until October 4th to do my order.  So this is where you find me most evenings.

It is fun to see some information that I haven't thought about in...forever!  I was just reading a post from the 19th of October 2007 and I read that my baby's head wasn't engaged yet and we might have to figure out why soon, or if she was breech.  Like...really??  I didn't even remember that was remotely an issue!

But maybe I'll try to record a few more pregnancy things for my second Blurb book go around.  For example, I had completely forgotten that I developed pregnancy arthritis (I don't know that that is what it is exactly.  Only my finger joints get really sore, especially in the morning.) in my hands when I was pregnant with Miriam.  Until I started waking up with it in THIS pregnancy.  This time, my joints stay generally sore all day long.  But night time/ morning time is a lot worse.  At least this goes away.  And maybe I'll completely forget about it again.

I have not had pre-term labor this time!  As a matter of fact, as of tomorrow, I am 37 weeks.  No one will try to stop my labor if it starts.  I have been much more aware of contractions this pregnancy.  It is very interesting because I don't know that I ever noticed them before my pre-term labor with my first pregnancy.  Although I guess this is pretty standard, to notice them much more subsequent pregnancies.  Sometimes I have quite a few.  Never enough for me to call the Dr about, but enough for me to lay down for a few hours sucking down water.  Today was a "ton of contractions" sort of day.  The difference was if they had kept up for more than an hour or so like they were, I WOULD have called the Dr today.  They've slowed down now.  But I've had a lot today.  And frankly, it's creeping me out.  Like, I could have this baby anytime.  And no one would try and stop me.

So, I may have finally started packing a hospital bag, and a bag for Miriam.  And I should really write a birth plan.  We joke that we know that this baby is a boy, because I am not nearly as prepared as I would normally be.  It's a lot of eh, I should do that huh?

In any case, I'm going to put away the computer now, because believe it or not, sitting propped up like this makes my contractions come back.  And I'd like to go to sleep now.  I still have to write a birth plan tomorrow.  

Other stuff I can't post on the other blog

So we are doing a series called Georgia Transplants on our blog.  So far Rachel has written both posts.  My only idea so far has not been shot down exactly...but kindly rebuffed.  So you get to read it instead.  Well, the quick version anyway.

Georgia Transplants - Traffic

So you can laugh at me all you want, maybe I'm just a small town bumkin, having lived in Cheney for eight years before I moved to Georgia and all, but this is what I/we noticed about traffic when we moved here.

• Don't you guys believe in street lamps??
• Don't you believe in speed limit signs? (This one has gotten better)
• Everyone here drives either 20 over or 10 under.  Don't think you are going to go the speed limit on the freeway through Atlanta, you would be a danger to others.
• WHERE is the street sign?  And how am I supposed to know where to go without one?  Oh wait...there it is, but I can't read it until I'm passing it
• Also Mt Zion Pkwy, Mt Zion Rd, Mt Zion Circle, Mt Zion Blvd...maybe you could put those in separate corners of the city...instead of right next to each other/crossing each other.
• Turn left is ________ Rd, but turn right is an entirely different (named) Rd.  This happens all over the place.

Bill...am I missing anything??

Letters to my baby

So my partner in crime on peachstatemomsblog.com wrote a post about these letters that she has written to her baby through her pregnancy.

It's kinda cute and stuff.  But I think I can't write those because they would look like this:

Dear  Liam -

I am hungry all the time and simultaneously don't know what to eat.  Please, make up your mind.

Mom

My big sister

Since we are about to rock her little world in a few weeks, I am glad she is starting to understand a little bit that there is a baby in moms tummy....and what babies sometimes need.  What a helper!

Blog status

I am probably going to make this a private blog.  Too many random hits from Brazil and Europe.  Will send you an email/message soon with an invite.  Leave me a message if you are concerned about being included.  No need to leave contact info, if I need it from you, I'll let you know!
Also, I've decided to use some blurb discounts to make a book of my past blogging stuff. I can't decide if I should include it all, include my favorites, only donthe first year, include things that are journal like for my family etc. Vote in my poll to the right and leave me a comment!

Preggo Con

I had an interesting moment of feeling trapped in my body yesterday.  Have you ever had that?  It was awful because there was no where to go and nothing really to be done about it.  I can't hop out and be the self that  I sometimes feel like (or sometimes remember).  Because this is my body.  This is what it is right now.  And I'm attached to it.  Not that I would have it any other way.  I do like having my body and all.

But I really felt trapped.  Trapped in a body with an expanding belly, with hurting hips and an aching upper back, that couldn't run or move very quickly.  How many people feel like this every day?  Because illness or injury has altered and deformed their body.  So, I know how lucky I really am.  Doing it all in the name of having a child yada yada.  Knowing that didn't stop the feeling of being trapped in that moment though.  Today, I am trying to use my body in ways it still is capable.  And when it's all over I'll try to remember WHY I hate carrying around extra weight.

Mindfulness

Last Monday was an interesting day!  Miri and I had a long night, so we slept in.  I was busy all morning trying to get us ready for the afternoon (and the rest of the week).  We met up with some friends and went to The Wiggles concert with tickets that I won from Atlanta Parent magazine (free magazine, free tickets, what's not to like?).  Although Miriam was a bit freaked out at first (because it was so loud when people were cheering) she finally got into it by the end. (Pictures coming as soon as I load them)

After that we had to pick up our car - we had carpooled - and head straight to the airport to pick up Daddy who come home after 2 months in Africa.  Woo hoo!  We had to wait at the airport a LONG time, but it was great to be together again!  This post isn't actually about that....

On our way out of the airport, a police officer was directing traffic (and pedestrians).  We got to the sidewalk right as the walkers were being stopped and the cars were being directed through.  One woman, with a cartfull of luggage kept asking the people next to me to move.  I don't know where she thought she was going though, since none of us could cross.  THEN, after the police man asked us all to back up a little bit, because he was getting a car to back up, a man on his cell phone pushed his way through EVERYONE and starts walking across the street.  BEHIND the car that is backing up.  Not even noticing what the police officer is doing.  Not hearing the 10 people telling (and eventually yelling) at him to stop and look out!  Until the police officer is in his face, with a whistle telling him to get back.

So I've been thinking about it ever since.  We're so "connected" all the time that we often don't have a clue what is going on around us.  Right in front of us.  When it could be dangerous.  Or just worth watching.  Although being on the phone in the car is already a big no-no (I don't really want my future teenage driver thinking that is okay) I've been thinking about the other times that I could unplug myself from my cell phone.  While browsing in a store.  While taking a walk through the neighborhood.  Sometimes there has been a place for those things.  Maybe I need a friend that is far away on my walk.  But what am I missing because I'm focused on what we are talking about?

What am I going to miss because I am not paying attention? (Not just on my cell phone) Maybe it's time for me to be more mindful.  Present in the moment I am living in. 

So now you know. It's LAUNCH DAY

So now you know where I spend a bunch of my free time.  On my new project  Peachstatemomsblog.com  with my partner in crime (and the real driving force behind this project) Rachel. 

The goal of our blog is to be both a resource for moms in general and moms in our local area.  So while some of the posts you will find are geared towards our area in the south, others are really just about our experience as moms and wives - frankly, those are my favorite!  It was a little weird, putting up posts that I would have put up here for you to enjoy on Peach State Moms. 

Here are my favorite (to write) posts so far!

Everything Pink

Embracing Motherhood (I wrote this one on a whim while I was busy crying my eyes out after a difficult day, I meant it to go up here but realized that new blog I was trying to build was a good spot for it)

Childrens Museum (Great potty-training experience in this one)

Also coming up from yours truly:

Choosing a Preschool

Scheduling a New Baby (this is a need feedback post)

Thanks for continuing to stop by and support us!  

Happy 4th! (and intermittent blogging)

Just came by to say Happy 4th of July!  I am feeling pretty grateful today! We're pretty lucky to be living where we are and to be able to enjoy the things we want to do!

We had a good weekend celebrating with a few of our friends.  Miriam is pretty much terrified by the loud bang of the fireworks.  So we didn't attempt to go see any tonight.  I'm exhausted from a busy weekend might be the actual excuse! 


In other news, I am in fact blogging a little more than this, only I've been working on a new project.  Visit me at peachstatemomsblog.com  


 (In fact, yes, please come visit me there!)


Most of my creative thinking is going into that one at the moment.   You can laugh about my children's museum experience and think about how fast the time goes.  That's what is up from me so far!

Make it fun

Sometimes it's a challenge to get your kiddos to do what you want/need done.  Sometimes all you need is a little creativity.  Sometimes - I don't have it!!

When Miriam didn't want me to wash her hair I had to come up with a game to dump the cup over her head.  We'd sing a little song and dump water on her toes, then knees, then tummy, then shoulders and then head to get her all wet.  Then we'd lather down and do it over again - as many times as it took to get rinsed.  Still works pretty well most of the time.

Today - all I wanted was to fold laundry.  We're going through a phase where she just wants ME to play ALL THE TIME.  Not that she is adverse to helping, but she can also be very focused, so she didn't want to help fold-sort the laundry she wanted to play with Garfield and Odie.  So I had to stop and think.  "What does she want?"  She wanted to play with her dog (I'm always Garfield).  "How can we both get what we want?"  So I tried this: "Hey dog!  Can you help me find Miriam's clothes?"  It was almost like a little light bulb went on.  Hey - I can be dog and help mom.  And it was a great game.  I had to keep the commentary going to help it along. "Does Miriam have any more clothes?... What about a pink shirt?...Can you find another white sock?"  By the end she was throwing clothes at me saying "Dog is a good digger."   And we got most of the clothes folded and put away.

I'll admit, initially, I did NOT want to "make it fun."  I wanted to scream and say "play by yourself for 10 minutes!!!"  But I also felt like this was a household chore she could help with and I have to take advantage of those, so that she learns about work.  It was worth it.  Also, I felt much better about the outcome of the situation and better about myself as a parent - something I really needed lately.

So, make it fun.  How do you do it?

For Daddy - Religiosity

This is actually an excerpt from "Miriam's journal" which I began at the end of Bills last deployment.  This time has been sorely lacking for journal entries but I am trying to take it up again.  A much different entry then usually goes into the journal.  It's usually much more milestone related - or - wasn't this thing she said funny? Anyway...

Last Sunday, I gave Miriam a Book of Mormon as we left church.  She had been asking me to sing a song called Search, Ponder and Pray over and over and over again.  It says “The Spirit will guide, and deep inside, I’ll know the scriptures are true.”  So I handed her what I had and told her those were scriptures.  She has looked at them a couple times, however, it is a book with no pictures and we don’t read yet!  We put them on her headboard.  Tonight we were getting her ready for bed.  We read two fun stories and said a prayer.  I decided to open them up and read a few verses.  We read Mosiah 4:7-9.  Verse 9 says “Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.”  I had her repeat “Believe in God.”  Then we talked about how God takes care of us.  

So I’ve been thinking about  this.  I bet my 3 year old can handle 3 verses out of a book of scripture each night.  Sometimes, trying to get her to unplug is difficult.  Yes, my 3 year old.  I mean, we just spent a week sick in our beds (and on our couch).  So she wants  to watch Blues Clues and play Hello Kitty Birthday Party on my DS.  I have to have us do other things.   But how did I not think of this before?  One verse for every year of her life!  That’s going into the bedtime routine.

Day 2:  Last night I worked and she was in bed when I got home.  So tonight was day 2 of the scripture reading.  We actually opened up to a picture in the front this time, so I asked her what the picture was and then I went a found a couple verses about it.  I was even able to come up with another verse of a song to sing after we talked about it.  I LOVE this!

We're cystic fibrosis carriers, now what?

This pregnancy has been different from my first.  I feel like every time I go into the Doctors office something has changed from being pregnant four years ago.  For example, four years ago I was offered a triple screen.  Now, I am offered a quad screen and down syndrome testing in two parts (which didn't work out so well seeing as I transferred offices).  When I went for my 20 week ultrasound I had a vaginal ultrasound with it.  Okay, I don't know that this was normal.  But, at the time, I thought maybe this was just a new "standard" since everything else I'd done so far had changed.

My first ob office (transfer remember?) told me that cystic fibrosis carrier testing had become pretty much standard in the last several years, particularly for Caucasian people.  Not even mentioned in my first pregnancy, by the way.  So I had it done.  Then, because I was found a "carrier" we had my husband tested.  Who also came back a "carrier" so they referred me to a perinatologist.  All of this supposedly covered by insurance.  I called my insurance in advance about BOTH tests, and the big bill I just got for my husbands test would BEG TO DIFFER that "yes, we cover that."

These two positive tests left me in a tailspin.  When I was sitting in the office, I guess I just didn't have enough wits to spout out good questions.  Things like, 
"What does this even mean?"  
"What mutation do we carry?" (there are multiple)
"Do we have to carry the same mutation for a child to get CF?"
"Why am I seeing a perinatologist?  Can they actually tell me anything more?"
"Does it make a difference at birth?"

I already knew that I was not going to have further testing (aka: amniocentesis or other more invasive tests) and that I was not going to terminate the pregnancy.   I went to the perinatologist anyway.  I suppose it was worth the trip, as I got a good description of what cystic fibrosis was.  I learned that both parents have to carry the same mutation to have the 1 in 4 chance of having a child with cystic fibrosis.  And no there isn't much else the ultrasound could show, or a difference at birth.  They did not, however, know if we had the same mutation, because of missing one set of records (someone in records got a big fat fail with me that day). 


In hind sight I don't know that I would have cystic fibrosis carrier testing again.  If you are facing similar testing I would consider a few things.


Does it make a difference to you if your child has a genetic issue?

Would you have further testing?  ( The answer may change for you depending on the condition you are facing.  I have an "undecided" stance on having an amnio to test for Trisomy 18.  But a "no" on things like Downs Syndrome and Cystic Fibrosis. See also, next question.) Do you know what the risks of further testing are?

Do you want to be "prepared" for a condition or face things if they show up?

Is there anything different you can do during pregnancy to help the issue (besides all that general healthy stuff you are already trying to do)? (in the case of genetic problems, the answer is probably always no.  After all, the issues are genetic)

Those things said, all you can really do is be educated about the things you are being offered at the doctors office.  Try not to get tongue tied like me and DO ask your questions.  Or call later and ask questions. And don't feel like you HAVE to do anything.   


So, now what?  We sit back and enjoy expecting our baby boy.  Hopefully he will be a healthy horse like our daughter.  If not, we'll do the best job we can to take care of him.  Like we already would have done.

And it's a....

We had our ultrasound this week.  Looks like I'll get to use this sleeper after all!

Sorry can you read that? It's a BOY!

Joyful Moments

I have no idea how I got started following this blog, but every now and again I check in on a blog called Abiding Joy.  Every day she comes up with a joyful moment, or something to be grateful for.  She's on day four hundred something now.  I'm not so optimistic about my abilities to blog every day, however I am very aware of my need to document some of these fun things that are happening in my life right now!

Today it was a rain storm.  Before the winds came and branches everywhere.  Before the hail.  I showed Miriam the rain out of the window and she asked me, "Where is my umbrella?"  It made me think of Laurie and her boys taking their umbrellas out to test the sound of the rain on them.   Anyway, we had just gotten out of the bath so I told her to go put clothes on.  This isn't exactly her forte yet (she's not a dress up kind of girl) so her shirt was on backwards  but I really didn't mind at all.  I was pretty proud she really did the whole thing by herself without asking me for help.  Impressed really.  


Then we opened up the umbrella and went outside to sit in the rain.  She enjoyed it so much she wanted me to run the hose on the umbrella, which I did for a little while.  I do love our fun spontaneous things like that.