Life with Two Babes

We're coming close to Ignatius' 2 month mark outside the womb. I can hardly believe he's as old as he is! It feels like yesterday we brought him home in his little cow get-up.

Since then he's grown from 0-3 months to 3-6 month duds! That hat doesn't fit him anymore as well. What can I say, we grow 'em big around here!

Life as a mom with two little ones has been an adventure thus far. Julian is extremely sweet with the baby, but a bit stand-offish. I actually don't mind this because I would be very concerned about Ignatius' safety if he wanted to be all over him all the time. For now, he gives him plenty-but-not-too-many hugs and kisses throughout the day. He'll say sweet things like, "It's okay, 'Nay-shus! We almost dare!" and "Don't cry!" when the crying gets a bit much. Of the most challenging aspects of this new phase of our lives is just the fact that Julian is a full-fledged 2-year-old. The tantrums are stronger and he's into EVERYTHING, but we've found the more attentive, patient and consistent we are the better behaved Julian is. So in other words, we rely on lots of prayers and caffeinated beverages around here!

Also, the fact that he can be this stinkin' cute helps especially in the patience factor.

Ignatius is such a beautiful, calm, observant, alert, and loving baby. He smiled a few days after he was born at his daddy, but he waited until he was just under 5 weeks to start smiling at mama. Now he'll smile at just about anyone who makes eye contact with him.

 Sometimes if he's crying and we come up to him he'll just smile at us and immediately calm down. Ignatius is definitely our little Love Bug.

He's one strong baby as well. He rolled belly to back 2 days after birth, and has rolled about 10 times since then. His neck is very strong and needed very little support from day 1. When he wants "out" of the moby wrap he gets OUT of the moby wrap! I call him my little Butterfly emerging from his cocoon. I wish I could capture on camera his little head wriggling out of his bondage -- funniest sight ever!

He wakes up 1-3 times a night, which is okay by my standards. We co-sleep so I just roll back to sleep when he's full of the Mommy Juice. He naps when Julian naps, and I think that's what has been my saving grace -- getting my rest in the middle of the day is the best gift this little guy could give me!

That's all for now. We love our little men, and they show us how to give of ourselves and love more purely every day. Life is a Gift.

Ignatius' Birth Story

Praise the Lord above for the gift of our son, Ignatius James who was born on February 10, 2013 at 12:04AM weighing 10 pounds and measuring 21.75 inches tall!

It was such a spiritual, intense, wild journey from the start of those early contractions until I saw his incredible self emerge from the womb. I am so grateful to have my amazing husband and my wonderful friend/doula Carmen by my side through the experience. During all of labor I deeply felt the prayers said for us that God would grant us a natural, drug-free delivery; He answered our prayers, and we couldn't be more happy.

So let's start from the beginning. Warning -- this post is full of the nitty-gritty facts of labor and delivery!

My due date was February 8th. I had a midwifery appointment in the morning that day, and was anxious to say the least about my progress. Before checking me she asked if I would like her to strip my membranes. I -- eager to get the ball rolling -- wholeheartedly said, "Yes!" When she checked me, she said I was 80% effaced but not dilated. She felt around and by doing so "made me" 1 centimeter dilated, stripping my membranes in the process. From that point until the baby was born I constantly felt a deep cramping sensation. I had a very good feeling stripping my membranes was exactly what we needed to aid Ignatius' sooner-rather-than-later entry.

At around 2:30AM Saturday morning, I began to have consistent, painful contractions. Since I knew my husband needed the rest to help me later on when things really got intense I didn't wake him up until Julian awoke. At 6:30AM he started timing the contractions which were about a minute long and four minutes apart. He called the midwife, I called Carmen, and prepared everything for our journey to the hospital. All along these contractions were steadily becoming more and more intense. I really had to work hard to relax through the surges; I thought I would have the baby after a few hours being at the hospital. I was wrong.

We arrived at the hospital around 9AM. The midwife, Angel (what a perfect name for her!), checked me and I told her I didn't want to know how dilated I was; I didn't want to be disappointed if I wasn't where I thought I should be. All she told me after she checked me was to walk for an hour around the unit, and she would see where I was after that. After 45 minutes of walking the halls and lots of painful, consistent contractions I had to rest. 15 minutes later Angel checked me again and had some disappointing news -- I had not progressed since my appointment the day before: I was still only 1 centimeter dilated and 80% effaced. She said I had two options -- 1) stay at the hospital, or 2) go home. She encouraged the latter as I would do better to be in my own comfort zone. That's what we decided to do. Angel sent me home after taking an Ambien, which she thought would help me get the rest I needed. That Ambien sure did the trick! Although I didn't sleep it relaxed me enough to get some much-needed, deep rest.

At home I labored from about 10AM until 7PM. During this time the cramping sensations became more intense and closer together. Things really started to happen once I took a shower upon Carmen's suggestion. It was right after that we called Angel and headed to the hospital. 

At this point something happened to me that I could only describe as entering "The Zone." I knew from the moment I sat in the car that my body was entering the transition phase of labor. I felt intense, hard contractions then fell into a deep sleep immediately following their peaks. I felt my arms and legs become tingly and my face naturally let go of any expression. All of my body and soul became focused on totally letting go and surrendering to the process of welcoming Ignatius to the world. Once we came to the hospital I hardly spoke a word to anyone. Everyone knew I was "there".

They checked me and sure enough I was 6.5-7 centimeters dilated. I only had a few hours to go before pushing. Amazingly -- I believe through the prayers said for me and Ignatius -- I welcomed each contraction calmly and peacefully. They were very strong, and at their peaks I could hardly breath. It really helped when my husband and doula told me when the contractions were almost over (as they watched them on the monitor), and that we were that much closer to pushing. At 10:15PM I was 9.5 centimeters dilated and feeling the urge to push. At 10:30PM I started pushing. This naturally was the most arduous part; luckily it felt like 20 minutes to me but in reality lasted 1 hour and 34 minutes!

It was funny as we thought he would come before the midnight hour. Ignatius really wanted to be born on the 10th; after all, he was an even 10 pounds! When he came from the womb, he was placed on my chest for some skin-to-skin contact. We bonded and enjoyed each other's presence. He didn't cry, but coughed making me a bit nervous. He had his first bowel movement in the birth canal and swallowed some of it. Not to worry! They got it out without a problem.

I want to say a word about the atmosphere in the delivery room. I was so pleased that everyone was calm, quiet, and peaceful. It wasn't a "big production." It was an intimate process that all respected by keeping the lights dim and their voices low. Even during the pushing, the midwife gave me a few gentle words to help the process and no more. She calmly cared for me as I labored; what a gift this was. I can't tell you enough how much that helped me! Of course right after delivery I was talking everyone's ears off. I couldn't keep quiet for too long!

The only glitch to Ignatius' delivery happened during the third stage of labor. It took 20 minutes to deliver the placenta, and during the process I hemorrhaged. Praise God, I didn't need a blood transfusion. I received two bags of IV fluids during the first 24 hours after he was born, and it did the trick. I am currently taking iron supplements and gaining my strength more every day.

Ignatius is such a good, healthy baby! He's already exceeded his birth weight by 13 ounces, which completely stunned his pediatrician especially due to the fact he is exclusively breastfed. He sleeps well, he nurses well, he poops well. He is so calm and reflective, even from the first moment of his big debut. We are so, so blessed with such a gift from God!

This was taken just a few hours after he was born.

Our alert newborn.

I forgot how wonderful it was to see a little face curled up, fast asleep on my shoulder. 

God bless you, baby Ignatius! Mamma, Daddy, and Julian love you so much!

I'm Growing Big Lately

Not to mention the baby, too.

37 weeks, 5 days

The growth ultrasound showed that the baby is big, but not as big as Julian. He's engaged the pelvis and I'm 60% effaced already which is way more than I could say about my Giant 11 pound baby. Julian was not wanting to stop growing or find his way out, no way!

My weight gain, despite the ginormous nature of my belly, has been right on-target this pregnancy. With this pregnancy I've gained roughly 22 pounds. With Julian, I gained a whopping 50 pounds. By the end my feet, ankles, and fingers were dreadfully swollen and my eyes were so puffy it's a wonder I could still see. My energy level was horrible as well. I remember walking 20 minutes straight was a big accomplishment.

My pregnancy with Julian at 40 weeks, 5 days (night before c-section)

Walking 45-60 minutes a day, eating well, laying off sugar while pregnant = smaller baby, feeling better, moving easier, and not being a swollen puff pastry balloon creature. Lesson learned.

Now that I'm "getting there" it is indeed more difficult keeping up with my toddler. Luckily Julian has taken to more educational activities lately.

He loves puzzles.

Sometimes he needs a bit o' help from Mother Dear, but don't we all?

Bonus: he even loves putting all the puzzle pieces back! Yay for less clean-up!

Everything about this new activity is great: it means I run around less, he learns new skills, and helps him work on his fine-motor skills. I really love watching him learn. In general he is a very patient student who takes pride in accomplishing tasks. I genuinely love seeing him grow into the young man God intends him to be!

I leave you with a video of him engaged in his new-found hobby. Hopefully Julian will be showcasing his new-found task of big brotherhood soon and very soon. We're all getting very eager to meet our little prince.

My Christmas Crafts

Happy Advent, everyone!

As you know from my previous post we're moving a mere three days before Christmas. This means that we cannot realistically put up our beloved tree until maybe Christmas Eve. In order to get my warm, fuzzy, "Christmas Spirit" fix in the interim, however, I had three small seasonal projects in mind -- a cylinder glass vase showcasing shiny Christmas bulbs, an advent wreath, and my lovely cream imported vase filled with Christmas greenery. Here is an account of my crafty journey.

I was inspired by Pinterest for this one. Here is the original idea brought to you by currystrumpet.blogspot.com. She used a string of lights to really make the sparkles pop, and it looks perfect in this picture:

Well ... I don't know how she made this one work. You can't quite drill a hole at the bottom of a glass vase (at least not easily!) so how the heck do you hide the chintzy-looking excess string of lights without them heaping over the top? Do they sell vases with holes already drilled in them, because I certainly didn't find any at Michael's? Let's just say I tried to make it work with the lights, but to no avail. 

So, I ditched the lights and went with some gold garland. 

I spray-painted these cones with silver glitter, by-the-way. I really like sparkle!

Now onto project #2:

Traditionally, an advent wreath  has three purple candles and one pink candle with greenery all around. 

Because of my innate gift of planning ahead (sarcasm) my advent wreath isn't exactly ... traditional. Michael's didn't have anything advent-related, and I wasn't about to search all over kingdom-come for exactly what I wanted. Also once I actually went shopping it was the day before Advent (shut up. I'm sanguine.) and I wanted something to show for ASAP. 

Life's about compromise anyways, right? 

Here's what I finally decided to do after about an hour of circling the craft store and all of its tiny, narrow isles whilst pushing my son around in his clunky stroller (Thank God for cheddar bunnies!) -- white votive candles wrapped in purple and pink ribbon all on a bejeweled silver charger!  I added two items I already had in my possession. In the center of the "wreath" I set a pretty white statue of the Holy Family. Encircling the statue is a beautiful pearl rosary. I am very happy how it turned out.

The third and final project was by far the easiest to plan and assemble. I purchased the ribbon and the tall, sprigs of greenery. The glittery gold flowers I already had on-hand. I used this as a centerpiece to liven up my bar.

That's all, folks! Maybe if I'm lucky I'll have the time to blog again before Christmas. Though in case I get swept away during the packing/unpacking process -- I hope you all have a lovely time with family and friends this Christmas, and may the New Year bring many blessings to you and yours!

What's New With The Crew

Let's neglect the fact that I'm terrible at committing myself to blogging. The reason lies in the following sentence. It's hard for me to know what to keep in Facebook Land and what to share here, so I decided just now that maybe the one thing I keep in the blog o-sphere is family-related updates. Without further adieu, I'd like to update everyone on our lives up to this point.

- My pregnancy is going very smoothly! I want to deliver baby #2 the good ol' fashioned way this time, and since I didn't last time because of Julian's hugeness (11 pounds, 3 ounces of child!) the midwives are encouraging me to keep my weight gain to a bare minimum. The risk of having a large baby is most often related to the size of mamma, FYI. Nothing like wanting a VBAC to motivate this lady to get her butt into gear! So, I have been watching my diet (especially the carbs and sugars. No fun.) and walking... A LOT! And I love it! I started walking 30 minutes, bumped it up to 45, and now I'm walking 1 full hour most days of the week. I believe whole-heartedly that I feel so good and haven't gained as much weight as last time because of this. I could go on-and-on about how great it's been and how every expecting mom should try to be as healthy as she can, but I won't. :)

- Speaking of walking, Joey and I have really wanted to get into hiking again. We hiked almost every weekend during the cool months before Julian came along, and also for a bit when Julian was small enough to fit comfortably in the Moby Wrap. We haven't done much recently, and it's because we need a comfortable, safe, and uncomplicated way of bringing Julian along as the Moby Wrap isn't cutting it anymore. It goes without saying that the stroller won't do the job when hiking up and down mountains and across rocky paths. So we made a little investment and found a high-quality backpack carrier ON SALE at R.E.I.!

 Handsome, aren't they?

 It even features cute little stirrups to hold the baby's/toddler's adorable feet. 

The brand is Sherpani. After we made our purchase we noticed the sun protector was missing. The hubby looked online to obtain the part we needed, but we can't find anything related to baby carriers anywhere on the Sherpani website. Wish us luck as our search continues...

I forgot to bring along the camera on our first expedition, but I managed to take a pretty cute picture with my phone. 

Julian now asks about riding on daddy's back while he is gone at work. He loves it, and so do we! 

-- We're moving again December 22nd! We're currently in a 1-bedroom apartment which clearly won't cut it when the Little Mister comes along. Our new apartment is a 2-bedroom apartment with... Drum-role please... a washer and dryer in the unit! I am so very, very, very excited about this! Joey will have a longer commute to work, but it is worth the quieter life than what we are living now. It is a slower pace farther north on the interstate, which is what we are going for these days.

-- Thanksgiving break is upon us, so Joey and I are going to start reading Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way together to prepare ourselves for The Big Day. It is meant to help prepare a couple for a husband-coached birth. I've read it, but it was just before Julian came and Joey didn't get a chance to crack it open. Clearly we weren't that serious about it as the point is for both to read this book! We are very serious about it now. We are praying that, if it is God's will, this baby will enter the world as naturally as possible. I'm looking forward to this preparation very much. I think Joey will be a most excellent coach.

-- Julian is a talking machine! He's learning how to say new words seemingly every minute. I love to engage him. I am always happily surprised at his new abilities. Here is a 3-minute video of the Motor Mouth himself titled Lost Puzzle Piece!

There may be more news than this, but it's midnight now. Time to lay down my weary head. Good night!

The Pictures Highlighting Summer 2012

This is the start of Julian's obsession with all things vehicular -- sitting in a Mack Truck with Daddy at a cattle ranch we visited in Minnesota.

   

Here is Julian pointing to lambs and saying, "BAH BAH!" This picture cracks me up every time! That boy loves those woolly creatures. 

 Ah! Here is the picture that captures the origin of the word, "Boo boo." Auntie Ann Said, "Vroom, Vroom!" to indicate the noise tractors make. This prompted the little boy to call anything that has an engine and wheels "Boo boo" from that moment on. All he seems to care about is playing with, reading about, and watching "Boo boo" from dusk 'til dawn!  

 This picture wins the most adorable toddler award in my book, but I'm not biased or anything.

 It was great to see Julian attach himself to his Grandpa so lovingly. He wanted to talk to him and play with him all the time during our visit. They would sometimes sit with each other and chat for a long time, which toddlers aren't too keen on doing for any extended period. 

 In the background of this picture is Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge. It's one of those distinctive Duluthian landmarks which every tourist admires while visiting here. My sister Ann captured this picture, which I must say is my favorite of the three of us.

 Watching a big boat come into the Duluth Harbor with Daddy.

Julian's first boat ride on the St. Louis River.

Fishing like a pro.

 

That's all for Summer Highlights. Fall Highlights are soon to come.

Yes, I'm One of "Those" Bloggers!

So... I haven't posted anything since (yup!) April 15th. I'm not good at sticking with things, so I blame it on my flighty, sanguine self. Or I could be totally honest and say I've been lazy. At least I have a bit of an excuse. We are --

EXPECTING! If you are a friend reading this you've been in-the-know for about a month now. But, it's always fun to announce it! We're due February 8th, which means this baby will probably end up sharing his/her (we're finding out the gender September 21st, but no name reveal until the baby arrives) birthday with a great number of relatives. On the top of the list is his/her daddy. Joey's birthday is February 3rd. That would be pretty neat, wouldn't it?

Other happenings... My best friend got married in Michigan, so we went to the wedding on our way to Minnesota. I had the pleasure of being her matron-of-honor. The wedding was so beautiful from the moment she walked up the isle to the last song at the reception. Needless to say she was absolutely glowing. Here is a picture of her lovely self and all her ladies.

In Minnesota Julian had some incredible experiences. First off we visited our family friends' farm. He saw cattle, sheep, pigs, a horse, donkeys, chickens, and rabbits. The highlight for Julian, however, was all the "boo-boo" he saw ("boo-boo" is his term for any and all vehicles). The bigger the more fantastic, of course. He sat with daddy inside a mac truck which sent him over the edge of delight. I'll have pictures up as soon as I organize them all. There are lots & lots!

This post must be a "to be continued" piece as I want to put something up now and if I take my time with it I will be delaying it even longer. So I will touch on the rest of our vacation and plenty of pictures in the very near future. Until then, here's a picture to keep you in suspense.