November 28, 2009
For our blogosphere friends who may not be in our actual address book…
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November 21, 2009
November 8, 2009
I get those “your baby week by week” updates (I did it when I was pregnant and for the first year of each of the kids’ lives) and I was reminded this week that we are nearing week 39…when Lily will have been on the outside as long as she was on the inside. It is such a strange realization because sometimes it seems like she just got here and other times I wonder how did we ever live without her?
So, here are 9 reflections as I think back on the 9 months that led up to her arrival and the 9 months that have followed…
1. I remember when I didn’t know if we would have a third child. Eli was a fussy newborn and I think Bob was ready to call it quits. But I just knew we weren’t done. Eli turned into a delightful little guy, I got on full time at the university and it seemed like the perfect time to have another baby. For several reasons, it was almost 9 months after what we thought was “the perfect time” before we were on our way to having Lily.
2. I felt like we had won the lottery. I prayed not to be anxious, but was still relieved when we hit the second trimester and I could be confident things were going well.
3. I recall the surprise of discovering we were having a girl (at an ultrasound ordered because of a spill I took in the parking lot at the STAM conference). I said I would be happy either way, and I believe I would have, but when the technician announced the sex, I had that amazing happy and scary feeling of realizing I was getting just what I wanted.
4. I loved being pregnant. I always felt so purposeful and important when I was expecting. I also felt cute for some reason. Maybe it is because I didn’t have to worry about whether or not I looked fat and my wardrobe got a little update. I just loved feeling the baby move inside of me…it was worth every bit of being uncomfortable in other ways.
5. I wonder if anyone gets used to the miracle of birth. It seems to me that even the nurses and doctors who see it on a daily basis have reverence for it. It is such a strange day…especially when you’re induced…you go in feeling fine, then get all hooked up. The pitocin starts flowing as you distract yourself with Food Network magazine and “Cash Cab” and then pretty soon all you can concentrate on are the contractions. (Bob was such an excellent partner, coaching me when labor got hard, putting up with my quirky demands during transition and almost catching Lily when she emerged—he was the only one in the room who didn’t encourage me to push when I said I wanted to…he could tell they weren’t really ready yet!) Then, there’s that moment when you look your baby in the eyes and everything stands still, even as things are still buzzing around you and the lights are bright and I’m sure it is probably noisy but all you can hear is that one cry. And then they take the baby to weigh her and clean her off and time resumes fast motion again…first trip to the bathroom, stats, trying to nurse again, more stats, guests….and then it is quiet. Just you and your husband and the isolette full of perfect newness. And you’re supposed to go to sleep? Like everything is normal again? What a day.
6. I think one of the reasons it is hard to believe almost nine months have passed is because I am still recovering from PPD. Seems like my hormones should be completely evened out by now. It may be slow, but I am recovering and am grateful for every better day.
7. I am loving getting to know Lily. We’re at a stage now where we’re figuring her out as a little person and not just as a baby. She has been easy in some ways and hard in others…turning into an awesome sleeper and then into a not-so-good one again; being a fabulous nurser from the get-go but being a real toughie when it comes to eating baby food; sometimes “chill” and occasionally demanding. Always wonderful.
8. I am wistful about, but also confident in, our decision that she is the last child for us. I think it is hard to close the “child-bearing” chapter of my life, but there are many wonderful chapters ahead.
9. I am wondering if I could somehow keep nursing forever. I love the bonding time with Lily, of course, but I think she will outgrow wanting to get up in my lap for a drink before I stop enjoying the weight loss and maintenance benefits I experience. It is just so amazing to me and i am so grateful! I am currently wearing a size smaller jeans than before I got pregnant. Before I got pregnant, I was counting calories and trying to exercise big time every day and not seeing the scale go down a smidge. Producing milk just revvs my metabolism like nothing else can, I guess. I am torn between gathering my rosebuds while ye may (eating Oreos and milk at will) and working on developing a diet and fitness routine that I can try to kick up a few notches when I stop nursing so I can stay in these jeans.
October 31, 2009
October 24, 2009
I took the kids out for lunch at Pizza Inn in Cape today, which has a nice view of the “Baby’s Name in Lights” billboard at St. Francis Medical Center. Eva was reading some of the names of the new babies when this conversation ensued:
ME: Eva, what do you think you’ll name your kids someday?
EVA: Molly, Matthew, Derrick, Cassidy, and Sophie or Sophia.
ME: Cool. Eli, what will you name your kids?
ELI: (with no hesitation) Zeke and Basketballman.
October 21, 2009
October 18, 2009
(or reason #4950 that I might be a terrible mother.)
Eva has been fever free for over 24 hours and the weather was beautiful, so we decided to go to the pumpkin patch after church and lunch today. We were originally going to go yesterday, but we wanted Eva to have a day of rest. Then, at lunch, Eva started looking flushed. Sure enough, her temperature was rising. But, she already had missed so much—daddy’s kids doing a performance at her school, cheerleading camp and performing at the football game—I decided we should give her some tylenol and go. I could tell Bob was reticent, but I figured it wasn’t like I was putting my vomiting child on TV after staging an elaborate hoax right?
Her fever was gone by the time we arrived and she went on to have a wonderful time, as did we all. Will we pay for this choice tomorrow? Perhaps, but we will have wonderful memories of today!
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October 17, 2009
Hey, it’s been a while! I have totally fallen off my weekly listography wagon, but I thought I would post a quick list of what was going on.
1. It is mid-term/fall break at the U and I feel like I still have not got on top of the semester. Maybe it’s the six classes I’m teaching. Maybe it is the third child I have. I dunno, but I hope to feel more on top of things soon.
2. Lily is now able to feed herself puffs and small cereal pieces. This morning she also signed “more” for them! This is great for many reasons, but also because it supports my theory that maybe she would eat better if she could feed herself. She has to be in just the right mood to submit to being fed baby food, but will eat the puffs anytime. Little Miss GDI.
3. On that same note, we recently had to revisit The No Cry Sleep Solution with Lily. While she had become quite the awesome sleeper by her third month of life and started sleeping through the night to the tune of a 12 hour stretch, she started getting teeth at 5 months and gradually regressed to the point where I was up feeding her twice a night. This led to her being nursed to sleep which as any sleep expert will tell you is no good. So, I dusted off my copy of the book that helped us get Eli to start sleeping better when he was a baby. Bob and I have been using some of the techniques this week with pretty great success. Hopefully, in a few more weeks, all our kids will be great sleepers again!
4. Eva got sick this week. There has been a lot of Type A flu going around her school and that may be what struck her down on Thursday. Big time fever. She handled it all really well, considering she missed the last two days of the after school cheerleading camp she had been going to, as well as the football game performance. She woke up feeling better this morning—the challenge will be getting her to take it easy so she doesn’t have a relapse. Also, I feel like I am waiting for the other shoe to drop in terms of the other kids’ health. I’ll just keep lysol-ing and bleaching and washing till then…
5. Henry has been staying with my parents this week while Krista and Chad are at a conference in MN. He cried the first night mom tried to get him in the bathtub, so Eli and I have been going over so the boys can take a bath together. The first night, Eli welcomed a smiling Henry into the tub with, “See Henry? That’s what fun is all about. Being with friends.”
I’ll try to be back soon with more musings and updates. 
September 28, 2009
September 20, 2009
Sitting, waving, getting four teeth on top…it’s 7 month old Lily!
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