Thursday, April 24, 2008

Three peas in a pod...two of them napping



Here is a pic from "movie time" today. L-town picked out Z's clothing. Nice. It looks like the '80's gone wrong...as if they weren't "wrong" enough! The other is of both my babies napping. (I don't know how often that one will happen!! :)

One week old

It was such a pretty day yesterday that we "took a walk" for a very few minutes. Langston pushed the stroller most of the time. :) happy birthday, Zora!

Zora's first visitors



Baby Z's first visitors were my folks. They came in from AL on Tues. night & she was born on Wed. They left on Sat. (?my days are blurry...wonder why!) And B's parents arrived. Amir & family came by our house & we got a pic of Z with her men. :) Here are all the grandparents & uncle Spence...seriously in love.


A few more pix from "the big day"

The one of L. with his arm around B. is the first time L. got to see "sister." The other is the following day. I LOVE his proud smile. He has really been great. There are a couple of Tammy, my wonderful doula. One can really see the "blueberry baby" in the one of Tammy & Zora. Sorry Z! Mommy pushed really hard & you arrived really quickly at the end! (Her color is much prettier now, folks, but I did bruise her little eyes.)


The belly...



Here's "the Zora belly" about 2 days before she entered the whole. Subtitle: painful. And here is the belly post-Z. Subtitle: tired mom.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

moooo & thank you

Any advice for engorgement? Call me or email, please, wise mommies. I know I was feverish, etc. with L. but I don't remember being this bad. Little Zora is a great nurser, but I think I produce for twins. Ice, hot showers, massage on the "lumps" has been done. I'm trying not to pump so much so that I don't keep over producing.
And now for the thanks. My family came in & helped a lot. Thanks so much to you, family!! I love you! We wish that we were closer!
And to my wonderful hubby...thanks to you for taking over so much. I love you & I'm excited to begin this new journey with you.

Friday, April 18, 2008

My baby girl is here!




Baby Zora arrived Wed. the 16th around 3:13 pm. She was 7 lb. 14 oz. & 20 1/2" long. She beat out big bro. on the size by only a few oz. & less than an inch. :) She arrived into the world via an all natural birth (holy moley, guys, it was a tough time). I did have Tylenol & something else eventually, but not much on the whole.
And now, her "birth story"...
I was scheduled for a potential "water breaking" on Friday (although I was still having a difficult time with "picking her b'day"...I wanted her to do it). So, my parents & Spencer came in from AL on Tues. night...around 10:30. We let L. stay up & play till he passed out from family fun. :) That evening, I was feeling really crampy & lots of pressure, but not any "contractions" as I had experienced them with L. I didn't sleep much at all (b't pain & potty). At around 4 a.m., I started having a few contractions here & there. Around 5:30 I had a few 8 min. apart, so I called my OB & asked when I should go in. He said whenever I wanted, since I was strep B negative & had done most all of this by myself before. So, I did what I did 3 years & 4 months ago with L & woke my hubby up, ate b'fast, got a shower, & mentally prepared for a big day. ;) I told my mom what was up & she got in the bed with L. so that he'd have someone there when he woke up. Barclay & I arrived at the hospital & I could tell that the ladies at the desk didn't believe me when I told them I was in labor. (Seriously, gals, I've done this before.) They checked me twice (fun times) & I was a 5-6, but my contractions weren't regular, so they still wanted to send me home...until my wonderful midwife called & said that she was coming in & to keep me. Sharie, my midwife, came in around 8:30 & broke my water (clear). I called Tammy, my doula, & told her I still felt fine, but whenever she had time, she could come in. Barclay went to get my mom & Tammy came in a little later. Then Barclay left & he, dad, Spence, & L-town had a morning of boy fun. (Park, pet store, comic book store, lunch.) We actually had a morning of "girl fun," too. We talked & laughed. My contractions came & went, but weren't too bad. Then, around 1:30 p.m., the real deal began. (I called Barclay & told him I thought he should come back soon around 12:30, so he was already there.) I was dilated to about an 8, which is when I got an epidural with L, so I had never felt the pain from 8-10. Let me tell y'all...for me, it was a night & day difference. I only opened my eyes twice from about 1:30/1:45 till the pushing part of baby story. Tammy was wonderful...Sharie was great. My mom cried & was very supportive. Barclay was super & supportive (like last time), but he let the wisdom of Tammy & Sharie rule. Overall, I had a great team. Carolyn, the nurse, was a little bossy...& towards the end I had three sets of directions yelled at me...which was a little frustrating in the moment...BUT! It was a good group to help me. The pushing part was a little bit of a painful blur. I pushed probably a little bit before I should've, but I was at the "get her out of me" point. Sharie made me breathe through two more contractions before I pushed again, but on push #3, little Zora made her grand entrance. She was out so quickly that she had a little "blueberry face," but her body was pink & her APGAR was a 9. She cried, screamed, & (only a few minutes later) nursed like a champ. :) I will say that I don't think all natural is for all women. Embracing pain isn't for everyone, but I would encourage more women to think about a more natural labor. It is a neat experience & you get the "ultimate prize" at the end. Maybe sometime I'll blog about the chemicals released during a natural labor, health care, midwives vs. o.b.s, etc. The film The Business of Being Born is a great one to watch on this subject. As usual, I encourage those thinking about becoming a mommy to educate themselves before making their decisions. There are many options out there...don't just take what the medical giants tell you as the end all. A C-section is a major surgery...although sometimes needed. And ladies, no one is "too posh to push," as the trend might tell you. Having a baby is a natural process, so don't buy into the theory that it's a medical procedure. There's my sermon for today. ;) Now I'm gone to eat with my family...and enjoy my new love!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Puff Daddy Langston's reading glasses & puffy hair





I came into the dining room after dressing myself from a shower & found my still-wet-from-shower kid reading a farm book...with his "reading glasses" on. This one should be dedicated to his granddad Key, who is the hero using reading glasses in real life. :) The next pic is a silly face with still-long-hair. Enjoy, grandparents!

One last time...before we leave it all behind




The quote above is dedicated to my sweet son's long locks. Barclay has been suggesting that we "cut it all off" for the (we hope) pending warmer weather. We did this last year & it looked cute (& took no time to grow out again), but I was mourning all the shagginess then, too. I'm sad about it, but it'll be much less "work" on this mama...who felt the need to round brush & blow dry the kid nightly (and if we were going somewhere & it looked funky). I'm sure it'll be a blessing when I have 2 kiddos to dress & get out the door...whenever I'm brave enough to do that by myself! So, back to the actual haircut...
We let Langston look through hairstyles & choose his cut. He was firmly resolved on this one, but as we were leaving, he stated that he didn't like it. When we got home he looked in the mirror & said that it wasn't "puffy enough." :) I shampooed him & tried to messy style it a little. He likes it better now, but I think we moved down a hat size! **The top photo is "puffy hair" at its finest!

I (don't really) love it when they call me Big Mama


This is L's version of "mom at 39+ weeks pregnant with sister"...my exhausted face says it all. (Well, I guess that & my HUGE belly!)

Monday, April 14, 2008

just a quick update...I'm still "with child"

Hi all! Since we're fielding lots of phone calls (Are you still there? Are you going to induce today?), I thought I would answer to all the loved ones...not so far! The next time we could consider the "water breaking" option would be Wed. morning. Barclay is taking "sick leave" till Zora arrives & he can officially take the daddy leave. Also, my parents and bro, Spence, will be here sometime this week (tomorrow night...Wed sometime, hopefully), so we might not need our "list of friends to take the L. when the blessed time arrives." I'm sure we'll be making use of those friends this summer when B. is out of town and I have two kiddos by myself. And maybe I'll have my mom, some in-laws, Lindsay, Bekki, (anyone else want to join the list?) and others come to town to help out. Thanks for all the calls & emails!! We'll post something as soon as there's more to post!

Friday, April 11, 2008

Still here!


Here's another blog for the brave. Be warned. Body things are discussed here. Today my midwife examined me & the first thing she said was, "OH, honey! Your hemorrhoids!" (Thanks.) She continued to tell me which one(s) were worse. (Thanks, again.) I really do love this woman. I hope that she is there when little Zora comes into the world. And I do appreciate her sympathy. It's just painful to my pride that I look so wounded pre-labor. Post-labor, one can only expect to be a train wreck (I remember that even after a "good" labor with L, I felt like I had been in a car wreck the following day(s)). Still, I was about 4 cm dilated & 80%, if not more, effaced. So I said, "How in the world can I get this kid out without drugs?" She laughed and offered, "The same thing that got you in this mess will get you out! Only that's like gymnastics at this point, right? Sorry!" (Yea, me, too!) We discussed the option of breaking my water & then using the breastpump (if things aren't progressing). Although she thought that since small girl dropped even lower this week (my tummy is lying on my lap as I type), she'll come on with a tiny bit of aide. I am SO torn about it all. I do not want any drugs, so I'm against hooking myself up to the dreaded pit drip or whatever else, but I remember what it was like to walk, sit, & lie down semi-comfortably...it was nice. Well, Monday was the chosen day for the water breaking, so we'll see what happens. Thoughts and prayers, loved ones!

Chain, chain, chain...




Paper chain! We know that Langston "got in" to the WIU pre-school program for the summer! Hooray! He's been on the waiting list for many months. (Close to a year?) He'll go only part-time, so it won't be too strange or tough for any of us. We really like his teacher & the program, so we're all excited for all he'll learn & do. He & I made a paper chain to "count down" the days till class begins. He has really enjoyed cutting off the "days..." and not to worry, the paper is going in our "recycle craft" box. ;)

we "heart" our Early Beginnings playgroup!




We really do love our EB playgroup. There are crafts, songs, books,...not to mention tons of toys. Langston calls it the "sandtable playgroup" because that is there, too. Here are a few of the most recent pix there. We do a good-bye song that includes the line, "shake your fingers, shake your toes, shake your bottom, shake your nose." L. gets down on it for the "shake your bottom" line. I always try to capture the little jig, but alas!...I am too late. I must bring a video camera! ;)

"spring" time in Macomb



Today is a "blustery sort of day," as Pooh might say. We are still awaiting the arrival of both spring & our baby girl. (Maybe she's waiting on spring? Our Southern boy doesn't dig Midwest winters, either, Zora.) Anyway, here are a few pix of an attempt at post-supper ice cream on the porch. It got a little chilly, as shown by L's clutching his jacket closed.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Peas, please!




This installment is especially for women, moms, & men who can "handle" pre-labor/post-labor talk. Just a warning. My 37+ week appt. with my OB was yesterday. I was dilated to a 2-3 and effaced 80% (good guessing, Mel, on the "I'll bet she's so low that she's thinned you out."). Wonderful news!! (Except to my hubby, who freaked out...asking "what does that mean!?" In his defense, he's been hanging out w. L. while I have appointments, etc. And he plans to take a month off work, so he's trying to "get things done" before child #2 arrives.)
Come on, baby girl! I have had the most difficult time sleeping off & on for the past few weeks. This child is low...as in when my midwife tried to find her heartbeat last week, she said, "woa...this isn't bad, but her heart beat is inches lower than it 'should be' for this week! Fast labor! Don't wait to call me & then come in." Okay, fast labor sounds good. Especially since I still want to go without drugs. The faster, the sooner it's over...no matter if it is super tough (as some women have said of their quick labors).
I will say that the low-lying little girl is driving me nuts hanging out on my nerve, sometimes pressing so that I can't stand or walk well. Ouch. And lately...hemorrhoids. (Hence the title of the post...and the warning.) About 4 weeks after L. things were healing beautifully...except those jokers. Of course, they never completely go away (one could have surgery, so I've been told). But this kid & her pressure down low is giving me the post-birth kind already. Needless to say, I'm sitting on peas, warm heating pads, in a bath, using meds (I'm suppose to get a prescription one today), but alas, nothing helps for long. She's so low that hiccups vibrate my butt. Seriously, that's not funny. So, for the love of this mama...come on, little Zora bean!! **All prayers & petitions on behalf of a quick & wonderful labor, producing one healthy little girl coming soon are greatly appreciated! :)
ps) one of these pix could be titled, "Langston, could you touch mama's belly softly?" He was being funny. Ha, ha, kid. These pix took over an hour.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Langston's part of the photo session





L. is a ham for the camera, so here are some of his photos from sweet Bill's work. (Sweet Bill wouldn't accept any payment for his time with us. God bless Bill!)

Belly Pix by Bill







Here are just a few pictures from our "session" yesterday. Bill took around 150. These are a few of my favs. I haven't "played" with any of them yet, but I think these are okay for now. I was pretty happy with the results. Enjoy the biiiig belly!! (And now Zora may come out, come out anytime!)