Charlotte is growing quickly, she'll be 8 weeks tomorrow! She has had some issues with things in my milk, so I'm off dairy, soy and wheat. Because she is still having issues, I'm thinking that a TED is in my future. On the bright side, I've lost a bunch of weight since the birth and am now wearing jeans that I bought last spring when I was losing weight and never quite fit into. That said, I eat a lot of eggs and eggs are a no-go on the TED, so I'm going to have to make up some meal plans for things that I can eat! It's all worth it though - to see her not breaking out in rashes and having other issues.
Josh is like a little man now! He just looks so big. He's still my happy guy. :) He has an appointment with a neurologist this month, as his speech therapist says he has signs of apraxia. And he does, as I've researched it and can totally see where she's coming from. Since we started with Help Me Grow, he's gone from three words to 11 (in a year). While to some that might not seem like a lot, Apraxia is where the neurons in the brain misfire to the mouth and his words come out jumbled. Thankfully, we've always used signs with out kiddos from a young age (milk is always the first sign) and thus, even with his limited words, he's still able to communicate fairly well with us. I am pleased to note that he's attempting words more and doing less pointing and grunting. Josh will start preschool in the fall. Our district contracts with a preschool that is able to deal with kids that have special needs. I'm hopeful that Josh makes great strides, so that he can eventually not have to worry about extra help, but for now am thankful that it exists!
Nora has kindergarten screening next week! My little baby is ready to start school! She is going to be attending our parish school, which is where she's at now for preschool. We chose this for a few reasons. One is that she misses our districts cut off, by nine days and they're cheap and won't let anyone in, one person (whom I trust) told me her daughter missed the cutoff by a week and was not let in because she wasn't tall enough. The other reason is that even if they would let her in, I hate their kindergarten schedule. It's either M, W and every other Friday or T, TH and every other Friday. Now, it's all day, but I know that I'd be all sorts of lost every Friday, lol. We need a lot of consistency (because of the next update) and thus, the parish school is perfect for us. Plus, the parish school ranks two grade levels above their peers in the state. In addition, she knows everyone there.
So, why do we need consistency? I've officially been offered a seat in the fall nursing program! I'm super excited, but a bit nervous as well. I know that it's going to be a very intense two years. To that end, if you have a way that you keep track of the entire family and all the events going on in a way that will be easy for everyone to access - please post and let me know! We have Dr appts, schooling (three different schools next year), the sitter, DHs work, my clinicals, lab and lecture, plus running the house, my volunteering, birthday parties, holiday parties, family obligations, etc, etc! Clearly, we need something that will organize us! I'd love for it to have a digital component - an email to both DH and I every single day on the activities that day would be awesome. But, part of me also thinks we need something colorful for the fridge (where we are both likely to see it daily). Maybe a combination of both. Maybe a monthly fridge calendar AND daily reminders? If there's an app for the daily emails, let me know! I'm sitting for my IBCLC Boards in July this year! :)
Sean just got a raise (well, it is effective April 1, so we'll see it next pay)! Woot! I'm so happy for him and proud of his success!
Next up...a project :).
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
party of five....
It's been awhile, like the end of December of 2010. I suppose I should start my 2011 posting, ahem.
For starters, our family became a party of five...
And for the birth story....
On Saturday, February 5th I woke up with contractions. They became as close as 7 minutes apart. Sean, I fear, called his sister too early and when she arrived, they sort of fizzled out to every 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, etc. Completely random and not at all in any pattern at that point. Totally not her fault, it just stalled me out. She stayed the night thinking it would happen overnight. But, alas, it didn't. She went home the next morning and we putzed around the house. Contractions were about 15-20 minutes apart all day. It was cold that day, so we just stayed in. We even skipped mass on account of the contractions.
So, that Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday. Pittsburgh Steelers versus Greenbay Packers. We're Cleveland Browns fans, so we naturally turned in to cheer for the Packers. ;) Around 9:30 pm, I noticed that my contractions were starting to pick back up. When the game ended, my contractions were about every 8-10 minutes apart. I decided to take a shower, knowing that if it was the real deal, the shower would not slow these contractions down. So, I hopped in the shower and the shower did not slow my contractions down. The shower felt great though! After showering, I decided I would go to bed - thinking I'd be awake early in the morning. When I laid down, I noticed the contractions were coming every five minutes. After three contractions, I jumped out of bed because it was too much to be laying down. I continued timing my contractions and around 11:45 I called the midwives answering service to page the midwife on call. The person who answered the call told me that Erin would be calling me back shortly. The contractions were coming even quicker at this point and Sean asked me if he should call his sister, I told him yes. By midnight, contractions were one on top of another. Sean called his sister who said she was on her way. Despite the fact that my midwife still hadn't returned my call, I went outside to be ready for his sister. She arrived around 12:10 am. I would say that I jumped into the truck, but between contractions and being hugely pregnant, I'm sure it actually took me a few minutes just to get into the truck. Sean drove quickly to the hospital, briefly stopping at the two red lights before running them (one was a right turn, so not as bad as the left turn he ran). I could not sit in the truck so instead I sort of kneeled. Sean said if the window would have been down, I'd have probably jumped out.
Thankfully, the hospital installed an entrance with an elevator directly to the OB unit when they remodeled, so we went directly to the OB unit and didn't have to make our way through the ER or any other part of the hospital - which was a very good thing. We made our way to the third floor and we started walking towards the nursing desk. But, every time I had a contraction, we'd stop and I'd hang on to the rail on the wall. We got halfway to the desk when a nurse came and found us. And then another nurse, Marianne, came out of triage to see who was in labor in the hall. She left a stable, only 4 cm dilated patient in triage and came to help Hannah (who was in her first week of night shift!). Marianne sort of took the lead, getting me in a gown and on the bed to be checked. I was 8 cm dilated. Marianne asked what I was feeling. Between loud groans, I told her pain from the contractions and pressure. Boy, did that get some movement. Right away, she was on the phone with the midwife, Erin (who was on her way due to the patient in triage). Erin informed her that I was a VBAC, which seemed to freak out both Marianne and Hannah until I informed them that I'd already had two VBACs since my c/s. One of them went to the OR to find out how soon the c/s would be over to see if the house Dr would be available to catch the baby.
And then, despite Marianne's urging me to blow through the pushes and my best efforts to do so(haha!), 18 minutes after I arrived at the hospital, at 12:38 am, our baby girl, Charlotte Jane (nn Charlie) arrived after just a few pushes. Marianne got to catch her first baby and Hannah got to see exactly what happens when you're short staffed, the house Dr is doing a surgery and no other person is around to handle an imminent delivery. At that point, Marianne and Hannah began to do things like start an IV (just in case of a hemorrhage to push pit), draw blood and ask general intake questions.
Erin, the midwife, arrived about ten minutes later, just in time to deliver the placenta. She also ordered the pit for me at that point because I was losing too much blood. I had a second degree tear (right on that old, unneeded episiotomy site), so she stitched me up. Erin had never returned my page, but I learned that she got a blank page and called back the patient in triage thinking it was her again. They had problems the next morning with the answering service when they called every midwife but the one that was on call (they do 7am to 7pm). Erin felt horrible because she felt like she could have prevented me from tearing. She said that she hardly ever has to do any repairs because she prevents nearly all of them.
Here's the proud papa, who started calling people to let them know Charlie was here.
When he called his sister, she thought he was calling just to let her know that we had arrived. She was shocked that he was calling to say we'd had a GIRL!
She was 8 pounds, 2 ounces at birth. She dropped five ounces after 24 hours, but rebounded by an ounce in the next 24 hours. My milk came in quickly, I've nursed long enough now that my body remembers exactly what to do. ;) Here's Charlie, all cleaned up and sleeping:
As of breastfeeding support group Wednesday night, she was 9 pounds, 6 ounces - at 16 days old. Yes, she met and way exceeded the goal of back to birth weight by two weeks old. She's a nursing champ! So far, she has a sweet disposition, just like her older brother Josh. :)
For starters, our family became a party of five...
And for the birth story....
On Saturday, February 5th I woke up with contractions. They became as close as 7 minutes apart. Sean, I fear, called his sister too early and when she arrived, they sort of fizzled out to every 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, etc. Completely random and not at all in any pattern at that point. Totally not her fault, it just stalled me out. She stayed the night thinking it would happen overnight. But, alas, it didn't. She went home the next morning and we putzed around the house. Contractions were about 15-20 minutes apart all day. It was cold that day, so we just stayed in. We even skipped mass on account of the contractions.
So, that Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday. Pittsburgh Steelers versus Greenbay Packers. We're Cleveland Browns fans, so we naturally turned in to cheer for the Packers. ;) Around 9:30 pm, I noticed that my contractions were starting to pick back up. When the game ended, my contractions were about every 8-10 minutes apart. I decided to take a shower, knowing that if it was the real deal, the shower would not slow these contractions down. So, I hopped in the shower and the shower did not slow my contractions down. The shower felt great though! After showering, I decided I would go to bed - thinking I'd be awake early in the morning. When I laid down, I noticed the contractions were coming every five minutes. After three contractions, I jumped out of bed because it was too much to be laying down. I continued timing my contractions and around 11:45 I called the midwives answering service to page the midwife on call. The person who answered the call told me that Erin would be calling me back shortly. The contractions were coming even quicker at this point and Sean asked me if he should call his sister, I told him yes. By midnight, contractions were one on top of another. Sean called his sister who said she was on her way. Despite the fact that my midwife still hadn't returned my call, I went outside to be ready for his sister. She arrived around 12:10 am. I would say that I jumped into the truck, but between contractions and being hugely pregnant, I'm sure it actually took me a few minutes just to get into the truck. Sean drove quickly to the hospital, briefly stopping at the two red lights before running them (one was a right turn, so not as bad as the left turn he ran). I could not sit in the truck so instead I sort of kneeled. Sean said if the window would have been down, I'd have probably jumped out.
Thankfully, the hospital installed an entrance with an elevator directly to the OB unit when they remodeled, so we went directly to the OB unit and didn't have to make our way through the ER or any other part of the hospital - which was a very good thing. We made our way to the third floor and we started walking towards the nursing desk. But, every time I had a contraction, we'd stop and I'd hang on to the rail on the wall. We got halfway to the desk when a nurse came and found us. And then another nurse, Marianne, came out of triage to see who was in labor in the hall. She left a stable, only 4 cm dilated patient in triage and came to help Hannah (who was in her first week of night shift!). Marianne sort of took the lead, getting me in a gown and on the bed to be checked. I was 8 cm dilated. Marianne asked what I was feeling. Between loud groans, I told her pain from the contractions and pressure. Boy, did that get some movement. Right away, she was on the phone with the midwife, Erin (who was on her way due to the patient in triage). Erin informed her that I was a VBAC, which seemed to freak out both Marianne and Hannah until I informed them that I'd already had two VBACs since my c/s. One of them went to the OR to find out how soon the c/s would be over to see if the house Dr would be available to catch the baby.
And then, despite Marianne's urging me to blow through the pushes and my best efforts to do so(haha!), 18 minutes after I arrived at the hospital, at 12:38 am, our baby girl, Charlotte Jane (nn Charlie) arrived after just a few pushes. Marianne got to catch her first baby and Hannah got to see exactly what happens when you're short staffed, the house Dr is doing a surgery and no other person is around to handle an imminent delivery. At that point, Marianne and Hannah began to do things like start an IV (just in case of a hemorrhage to push pit), draw blood and ask general intake questions.
Erin, the midwife, arrived about ten minutes later, just in time to deliver the placenta. She also ordered the pit for me at that point because I was losing too much blood. I had a second degree tear (right on that old, unneeded episiotomy site), so she stitched me up. Erin had never returned my page, but I learned that she got a blank page and called back the patient in triage thinking it was her again. They had problems the next morning with the answering service when they called every midwife but the one that was on call (they do 7am to 7pm). Erin felt horrible because she felt like she could have prevented me from tearing. She said that she hardly ever has to do any repairs because she prevents nearly all of them.
Here's the proud papa, who started calling people to let them know Charlie was here.
When he called his sister, she thought he was calling just to let her know that we had arrived. She was shocked that he was calling to say we'd had a GIRL!
She was 8 pounds, 2 ounces at birth. She dropped five ounces after 24 hours, but rebounded by an ounce in the next 24 hours. My milk came in quickly, I've nursed long enough now that my body remembers exactly what to do. ;) Here's Charlie, all cleaned up and sleeping:
As of breastfeeding support group Wednesday night, she was 9 pounds, 6 ounces - at 16 days old. Yes, she met and way exceeded the goal of back to birth weight by two weeks old. She's a nursing champ! So far, she has a sweet disposition, just like her older brother Josh. :)
Friday, December 31, 2010
A quick year in review - projects
I've seen a number of these types of posts floating around and I thought that I would go ahead and compile my own. I've been busy with school and with a lactation mentorship, so my sewing was scattered and not at all regular.
Pink, black and white apron. Became part of my sister's Christmas gift. :)
Black, red and white apron. I think this is my favorite apron from the whole year. And it sold. :)
Steeler apron #1 - My sister snagged this one from me for a gift. Hopefully the gift recipient likes it. She's a huge Steeler's fan, so she just might. ;)
Steeler's apron number 2. This one will be on it's way soon to the intended gift recipient. I'm just bad with the mail.
Another of my faves. It didn't sell, so I kept this one for myself. Because we all need a cute apron (or eight). ;)
Apron for the Christmas flirty apron swap.
One of two identical aprons. One went to my mom for Christmas, the other one is still here. I'll keep it on hand for a quick gift.
The couch recover. I've since washed the cushion covers and as predicted, they shrunk, so they fit much better. It's slightly concerning that I prepped the fabric and it still shrinks every single time in the wash because I don't know how long they'll last at this rate. After all, I've got young kids, making washing often necessary!
I did start and not finish a number of crochet projects. I need to get back into that - as I'd like to make the newest little one on the way a blanket. Plus, I'm teaching myself to knit. So far, I like it, but I can see me tossing it to the side because right now I'm just practicing - not really making anything. I could make so much more with crocheting and the time spent. I have a scarf for DD almost done but ran out of yarn, went to a different JoAnn's and they were out of that color, so I need to go back and get some of that yarn yet. Also, I made a cowl for my sister for Christmas. I didn't take a picture of it, but my sister snapped one of her husband in it. It's very warm and fluffy.
All in all, a light year in terms of craftiness. Maybe 2011 will be better. I'm almost hoping it won't - as I'm hoping to finally start nursing clinicals in the fall. But, maybe I'll have some time between now and then, you know, despite being about to welcome another newborn home. :)
Pink, black and white apron. Became part of my sister's Christmas gift. :)
Black, red and white apron. I think this is my favorite apron from the whole year. And it sold. :)
Steeler apron #1 - My sister snagged this one from me for a gift. Hopefully the gift recipient likes it. She's a huge Steeler's fan, so she just might. ;)
Steeler's apron number 2. This one will be on it's way soon to the intended gift recipient. I'm just bad with the mail.
Another of my faves. It didn't sell, so I kept this one for myself. Because we all need a cute apron (or eight). ;)
Apron for the Christmas flirty apron swap.
One of two identical aprons. One went to my mom for Christmas, the other one is still here. I'll keep it on hand for a quick gift.
The couch recover. I've since washed the cushion covers and as predicted, they shrunk, so they fit much better. It's slightly concerning that I prepped the fabric and it still shrinks every single time in the wash because I don't know how long they'll last at this rate. After all, I've got young kids, making washing often necessary!
I did start and not finish a number of crochet projects. I need to get back into that - as I'd like to make the newest little one on the way a blanket. Plus, I'm teaching myself to knit. So far, I like it, but I can see me tossing it to the side because right now I'm just practicing - not really making anything. I could make so much more with crocheting and the time spent. I have a scarf for DD almost done but ran out of yarn, went to a different JoAnn's and they were out of that color, so I need to go back and get some of that yarn yet. Also, I made a cowl for my sister for Christmas. I didn't take a picture of it, but my sister snapped one of her husband in it. It's very warm and fluffy.
All in all, a light year in terms of craftiness. Maybe 2011 will be better. I'm almost hoping it won't - as I'm hoping to finally start nursing clinicals in the fall. But, maybe I'll have some time between now and then, you know, despite being about to welcome another newborn home. :)
Monday, November 29, 2010
Christmas sewing....
I had a whole post written about various Christmas sewing that I'm undertaking, but alas, a spool of cotton yarn fell off the back of my desk and knocked the plug out of my computer. I don't feel like writing the post completely over, so let's just say that I have lots of Christmas sewing to do - both to sell and for gifts.
And here's where I started - with a swap apron. I still have to buy the tuck ins, since I've been sick this weekend and haven't ventured out since Friday. I also don't recommend sewing while having a sinus headache, because you'll likely end up like me, with her seam ripper the next day. Ooops.
And, I also discovered that my coat rack works wonders for taking pics of aprons (not perfect, but the best I could do - and no, the houndstooth is not in the apron, that's my daughter's "fancy coat"), since when I put the apron on to take a self photo, I realized that my big baby belly just got in the way, lol.
And here's where I started - with a swap apron. I still have to buy the tuck ins, since I've been sick this weekend and haven't ventured out since Friday. I also don't recommend sewing while having a sinus headache, because you'll likely end up like me, with her seam ripper the next day. Ooops.
And, I also discovered that my coat rack works wonders for taking pics of aprons (not perfect, but the best I could do - and no, the houndstooth is not in the apron, that's my daughter's "fancy coat"), since when I put the apron on to take a self photo, I realized that my big baby belly just got in the way, lol.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Christmas decorating
We're hosting Christmas this year, including for my lovely sister, BIL and my mom. Because they'll be venturing from California and Montana, we're busy here prepping the house. General organizing has been happening since October. It's amazing how quickly I've filled up tubs and tubs of kids clothes (out of season, too small), bags of Goodwill donations and yet, we could probably still fill dozens more totes and bags! We have some time before they arrive, so we'll continue to purge stuff out of our house - it's good for when they come to visit, but it's also good nesting for me. Speaking of nesting, this baby is due in just about 8 weeks. Not sure how that happened!
Oh, back to Christmas decorating. Yesterday I brought up all the decorations and the tree from the basement. Very tiring for a pregnant woman! I then set the tree up, scratched my arms up arranging the lights and branches (yes, we use a fake tree) and then set about decorating. The pictures aren't the greatest, as they're taken by my itouch, but I didn't feel like bringing out the camera. I'm sure I will at some point. And, I didn't take a picture of all the decorations evidently, I was too tired.
Oh, back to Christmas decorating. Yesterday I brought up all the decorations and the tree from the basement. Very tiring for a pregnant woman! I then set the tree up, scratched my arms up arranging the lights and branches (yes, we use a fake tree) and then set about decorating. The pictures aren't the greatest, as they're taken by my itouch, but I didn't feel like bringing out the camera. I'm sure I will at some point. And, I didn't take a picture of all the decorations evidently, I was too tired.
Finally finished those couch cushions...
It took way longer than I anticipated. Not because they took a long time, but because it took me a long time to get motivated. In the end they came out okay, not the best, but certainly better than what they were. The cushions look a little big, compared to the cover itself - but, the cover has been washed about five times since I made it, and has shrunk a bit each time. I expect the same thing to happen to the cushions over time, so I purposely made them a bit big to start with. This couch takes a beating, with a two and a four year old being the primary beaters, so it is good that the fabric washes up so nicely. Now we just have to hope that it stops shrinking! The couch is so comfortable and even though it's our main couch, one day when we can afford to buy a new couch, this couch will be kept for a basement rec room couch - it's that comfortable, I just won't be able to part with it until it falls apart. Since it was built well, I'm hoping that day is a long, long way off.
Without further ado, here is the couch today vs what it started as:
For more before pictures, and to see just how bad it was, see this post. At some point, I'll probably add a pleat around the bottom like it had before, since as it shrinks, it rides up a bit, but for now, I'm going to leave it as it. ;)
Without further ado, here is the couch today vs what it started as:
For more before pictures, and to see just how bad it was, see this post. At some point, I'll probably add a pleat around the bottom like it had before, since as it shrinks, it rides up a bit, but for now, I'm going to leave it as it. ;)
Monday, October 4, 2010
The weather is cooling down....
And I'm thinking Halloween! I'm going to be more ambitious than normal and attempt to make Nora's entire costume this year. Last year she went as Little Red Riding Hood. I made the cape and her apron, but the rest was just things that I pulled from her closet. Still, I got lots of compliments on her apron, so I'm going to attempt to go all out this year. I want to be super mom this year. ;)
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