Coen Silas B-
7lb 1oz, 19"
11:03 am Jan 31st
After 2 solid days of painful contractions, they finally got close enough to do something. I showed up at the hospital at 4 am and 4 cm. At the appointment the day before, I was 2-3. I couldn't believe how much pain I was in, but I wanted so badly to birth naturally. At first I visualized my contractions as the tide coming in to the beach. When the tide was in, my son would be here, but I knew it would take each wave to build up. I was a bird, flying above the pain, fully conscious of it but far above.
It was taking so long to get things moving despite the increasing pain. I labored in the bed, on a chair, walking in the hallway, every position I could think of. The jacuzzi helped for a while, and then the doctor showed up and asked if I wanted him to break my water. I said not yet, and labored in the tub for a while. Soon I was not in control anymore.
I got out of the jacuzzi in constant contractions, and I said "go ahead and break my water, and I'll take an IV, whatever." The nurse said the doctor had just left, and when she checked me she said it was almost time anyway. She was so awesome, and she believed in me even though I was ready to quit and go for the interventions. She kept saying how wonderful I was doing (I was not, hehe). My throat is sore from screaming, but it felt better to scream! So when the doctor came to catch and I was pushing, my water still hadn't broken. He said it was bulging, and with the next push, POP! SPLASH! Doctor is covered. Silence. Doctor starts laughing, and that really makes it easier. Just a few pushes and Coen was born. They laid him on me and he nursed for like an hour before I gave him back to get cleaned up and weighed and everything. I didn't even tear, just got a "skidmark" that is really really sore. We're both doing great.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Laundry with Kalten
Paul told me he needed work laundry done, so I headed downstairs after he went to school to throw his clothes in. I brought K with me because he likes to help, and if I didn't bring him, he'd be into everything up here.
Eight months pregnant and carrying a hamper, I try to explain to him that he is going to have to go down the steps by himself just holding my hand. He wants to be held because he doesn't like to step on the cat food he just found so amusing to throw down the stairs.
When I finally get him downstairs, I open the dryer door and put a laundry basket in front, and watch as he pulls everything out of the dryer and flings it behind him across the room.
I help him get everything in the basket, and then start to put stuff from the washer into the dryer. He can't really help with this one because it's a top-loader. I have only thrown a couple of things in when the dryer starts to giggle and thank me after every handful. I reply, "you're welcome," finish emptying the washer, then unbury K from the damp clothes and pull him out of the dryer. I hand him a dryer sheet to put in, and then wince as he slams the door shut. I set him on top of the dryer so he can push the button to turn it on.
I start the washer filling, and then pour the detergent into the lid of the bottle and hand it over. This is where the kid really shines. You should see him standing on the rim, deftly pouring (nearly) all the liquid into the washer from three feet above it, expertly pouring in a circle around the central hub just like he's seen Mommy do hundreds of times. I have to remind him to move his toes before he slams the lid down. He can't always remember which way to turn the cap to get it back on the bottle, so I have to help, or we'd be there forever as he turned it first one way, then the other.
Back upstairs, we settle down to fold. He picks up a shirt and holds it sideways. He's great at shaking out the wrinkles, but that's all. His "folded" clothes end up as rumpled piles strewn about the room. Some of mine get thrown at me and have to be re-folded. I dig furiously in the basket for the used dryer sheet and hand it over for him to throw away. I use his absence to quickly finish folding.
Anything not put away right away becomes unfolded and worn as a hat as he returns from his mission, clapping for himself.
I cherish the time with my son because he won't always want to "help mommy." He won't always be this cute, either. And hopefully, he's learning something about how, um, not to do laundry, how to be a helper, how to work with a smile. I love my kid. I can't imagine how boring the laundry -and life!- would be without him.
Eight months pregnant and carrying a hamper, I try to explain to him that he is going to have to go down the steps by himself just holding my hand. He wants to be held because he doesn't like to step on the cat food he just found so amusing to throw down the stairs.
When I finally get him downstairs, I open the dryer door and put a laundry basket in front, and watch as he pulls everything out of the dryer and flings it behind him across the room.
I help him get everything in the basket, and then start to put stuff from the washer into the dryer. He can't really help with this one because it's a top-loader. I have only thrown a couple of things in when the dryer starts to giggle and thank me after every handful. I reply, "you're welcome," finish emptying the washer, then unbury K from the damp clothes and pull him out of the dryer. I hand him a dryer sheet to put in, and then wince as he slams the door shut. I set him on top of the dryer so he can push the button to turn it on.
I start the washer filling, and then pour the detergent into the lid of the bottle and hand it over. This is where the kid really shines. You should see him standing on the rim, deftly pouring (nearly) all the liquid into the washer from three feet above it, expertly pouring in a circle around the central hub just like he's seen Mommy do hundreds of times. I have to remind him to move his toes before he slams the lid down. He can't always remember which way to turn the cap to get it back on the bottle, so I have to help, or we'd be there forever as he turned it first one way, then the other.
Back upstairs, we settle down to fold. He picks up a shirt and holds it sideways. He's great at shaking out the wrinkles, but that's all. His "folded" clothes end up as rumpled piles strewn about the room. Some of mine get thrown at me and have to be re-folded. I dig furiously in the basket for the used dryer sheet and hand it over for him to throw away. I use his absence to quickly finish folding.
Anything not put away right away becomes unfolded and worn as a hat as he returns from his mission, clapping for himself.
I cherish the time with my son because he won't always want to "help mommy." He won't always be this cute, either. And hopefully, he's learning something about how, um, not to do laundry, how to be a helper, how to work with a smile. I love my kid. I can't imagine how boring the laundry -and life!- would be without him.
I'm in a baking mood
I wanted to warm up the house by baking, and I'm not in the mood for cake or cookies, so I found a savory cheddar bread recipe on allrecipes.com and tried that. I'm so not a baker or cook, so I didn't have a bunch of the stuff in the recipe. I modified it and used what I did have. It is soooooooo good! Here's my recipe if you want to try it.
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp minced dried onions
½ tsp table salt
1½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 egg, well beaten
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350° F, grease an 8½"x4½" loaf pan.
Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, onions, salt, and cheeses in a large bowl, set aside.
In a small bowl, combine egg, milk, and butter. Add all at once to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
Spread into loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes.
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp minced dried onions
½ tsp table salt
1½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 egg, well beaten
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350° F, grease an 8½"x4½" loaf pan.
Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, onions, salt, and cheeses in a large bowl, set aside.
In a small bowl, combine egg, milk, and butter. Add all at once to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
Spread into loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes.
Monday, January 26, 2009
- Hospital bag packed.
- Clothes sorted, put away.
- Bed ready.
- Car seat coming.
- Post-partum supplies ready.
I think all that's left is to go into labor!
No change as of last appointment (Friday). Sort of a letdown, but we still have high hopes for a First-Week-in-Feb baby so Paul will have time off. I'm feeling lots of movement and pressure low down that I never felt with K, maybe because it's my second time around and I'm more sensitive to it. Definitely doing the pregnant waddle! Lots of contractions all over the place, but nothing regular or serious. A couple are a little painful but not very, and they're so scattered I know it's not the real thing.
*Sigh* Part of me is so impatient for this baby to be born, and the rest of me is freaking out knowing he's coming so soon!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
One more
I really really want chips and salsa and a nacho cheese burrito from Fiesta Cancun soooo bad!
Oh yeah...
Oh, yeah, check this purse out. I made it for a custom order, but the orderer canceled, so it's up for grabs now.
Click the picture to go to the listing!
Click the picture to go to the listing!
Baking experiments
I am so cold, so I decided to bake to warm the house up a little. I figured I could use the last of our baking mix, but all the recipes needed milk except for the banana bread, and we only have a tiny bit of milk until Friday. We have one banana, not the three that I needed, and it isn't ripe enough to smash. So I dug around and added a small package of cherry pie filling that we had forgotten to use on cheesecake instead of the bananas, then I topped it with crumble topping you're supposed to use on cherry cobbler. It smells really good right now, but we'll see.
If Baby's head is so low, why do I still feel out of breath? Bleh.
If Baby's head is so low, why do I still feel out of breath? Bleh.
Friday, January 16, 2009
OB check today
We were joking about how we'd like him to be born on Feb 2nd about noonish because of Paul being laid off that week, and how nice it would be if we could place orders. So Dr.T. asked if I'd like him to check, and since I've been having contractions pretty much every evening, I said yes. He said Baby's head is "right there" and I'm 2 cm already. With K, I don't think I dilated until we checked in to L&D! Who knows? We might get our wish!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
When's it my turn to sleep?
Kalten woke me up at 2:30 this morning crying hysterically. I finally got him calmed down, and realized I was wide awake. Even if I was tired, I couldn't get comfortable, no matter what I did. Around 3:30 I was finally drifting off, and I thought I heard a loud bang. I wasn't sure, because I was in that half-asleep place, but then a few minutes later I heard it again. I called my mom (haha) and she said because it's so cold, the house is settling, and their house does it too. So I got brave and went downstairs to just make sure. Everything was locked up tight and all the pets were fine (Robby likes to sneak into Pip's room and throw her cage on the floor - it's happened twice now). Then as I was turning to go back upstairs, I saw the shape of Paul's wind program polo shirt on its hanger by the hallway and almost screamed. I thought it was a person standing there! After that rush of adrenaline, I had to calm my nerves by reading, which helped me fall asleep. I woke up around 5 with the light still on and my hand in the book. I put that away, turned the light off, and Kalten woke up at 7. He's napping right now, lucky kid.
Paul had school this morning, and as soon as he wakes up he has to go back to school for his night class. The night class is every day except Friday, so I'm looking forward to making a nice dinner tomorrow that we can eat together.
It is SO COLD here! K and I are each wearing two pairs of pants, long sleeves, and a sweatshirt. He's got a hat and slippers, when he'll leave them on. We needed to go out and get milk, so I threw on his huge puffy coat and my double-layer coat, and we spent an hour and a half at Wal-Mart just walking around because I didn't want to go back out to the car. It's -13° with an almost -30° windchill. I felt bad because we had to park so far away, and he cried because of the cold before I could get him in the car. He fell asleep on the way home, and hasn't moved since I brought him in and laid him on the couch. I knew he would do that, so I bought him a banana and had him eat that before we left the store. I'll give him a real lunch when he wakes up.
I have been craving ruby red grapefruit juice, so I splurged on that too. Cravings used to be fun. "Paul, I want some egg drop soup." "Paul, will you go get me a vanilla shake?" I was spoiled when I was pregnant with Kalten! Now, if we don't already have the ingredients or if we need them for something else, forget it. I will be savoring this stuff in tiny cups to make it last as long as possible.
Paul had school this morning, and as soon as he wakes up he has to go back to school for his night class. The night class is every day except Friday, so I'm looking forward to making a nice dinner tomorrow that we can eat together.
It is SO COLD here! K and I are each wearing two pairs of pants, long sleeves, and a sweatshirt. He's got a hat and slippers, when he'll leave them on. We needed to go out and get milk, so I threw on his huge puffy coat and my double-layer coat, and we spent an hour and a half at Wal-Mart just walking around because I didn't want to go back out to the car. It's -13° with an almost -30° windchill. I felt bad because we had to park so far away, and he cried because of the cold before I could get him in the car. He fell asleep on the way home, and hasn't moved since I brought him in and laid him on the couch. I knew he would do that, so I bought him a banana and had him eat that before we left the store. I'll give him a real lunch when he wakes up.
I have been craving ruby red grapefruit juice, so I splurged on that too. Cravings used to be fun. "Paul, I want some egg drop soup." "Paul, will you go get me a vanilla shake?" I was spoiled when I was pregnant with Kalten! Now, if we don't already have the ingredients or if we need them for something else, forget it. I will be savoring this stuff in tiny cups to make it last as long as possible.
Monday, January 12, 2009
One more month!
Tomorrow is January 13, one month before our due date! I am having a lot of pain suddenly: my ribs, my hips, my lower back, and that blessed round ligament pain, like a guitar string twanging all down my hip and leg. I'm trying to keep positive by thinking that all this means the end is near, and soon we'll meet the little guy!
We're having a little name trouble, and I think we're going to wait until we meet him to give him a name. Kalten was Kalten from the first "it's a boy" ultrasound so it's a little weird not knowing for sure. We have a list, but no clear favorites. I'm hoping that once we meet him it'll be obvious. Kalten has provided a list for us (it's on the right), but I think we'll pass on those.
I bought a cloth diaper pattern because I want to at least partially cloth diaper to save on buying disposables. Cloth diapers have come a long way from the white Gerbers and the plastic pants! I've seen some really really cute ones! But I haven't felt like sewing at all. It's a little overwhelming, plus we can't really afford the special fabric right now. I have a bunch of prefolds that we used for burp cloths when K used to spit up all the time, and ONE cover, but no pins or other way to close the diapers. I might just modify the prefolds with Velcro. I found a tutorial for that online. Then I'd use fleece for the covers, and when we can afford the special fabric, I'll use the pattern. It's for one size fits all so I'm not in a huge hurry.
Soooo tired!
We're having a little name trouble, and I think we're going to wait until we meet him to give him a name. Kalten was Kalten from the first "it's a boy" ultrasound so it's a little weird not knowing for sure. We have a list, but no clear favorites. I'm hoping that once we meet him it'll be obvious. Kalten has provided a list for us (it's on the right), but I think we'll pass on those.
I bought a cloth diaper pattern because I want to at least partially cloth diaper to save on buying disposables. Cloth diapers have come a long way from the white Gerbers and the plastic pants! I've seen some really really cute ones! But I haven't felt like sewing at all. It's a little overwhelming, plus we can't really afford the special fabric right now. I have a bunch of prefolds that we used for burp cloths when K used to spit up all the time, and ONE cover, but no pins or other way to close the diapers. I might just modify the prefolds with Velcro. I found a tutorial for that online. Then I'd use fleece for the covers, and when we can afford the special fabric, I'll use the pattern. It's for one size fits all so I'm not in a huge hurry.
Soooo tired!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Ultrasound
Everything looks great - no low fluid problem, measuring right on track.
Tried to get some good pictures, but his face was half covered by the placenta, half covered by one hand (the other hand was down by his parts - Paul said "geez, he's already playing with himself").
35 weeks today, 35 days to go!
Tried to get some good pictures, but his face was half covered by the placenta, half covered by one hand (the other hand was down by his parts - Paul said "geez, he's already playing with himself").
35 weeks today, 35 days to go!
Ultrasound today
We're going in for the (hopefully) last ultrasound in about an hour. I remember being excited for this with Kalten, and being like "that blob is my baby?" This kid is out of room in there, and I know he's going to be just as squashed and hard to figure out as K was. Really, though, it's not for us but for growth and positioning, blah blah. They still print off the little pictures though. I only laminate the 20-week ones because you can tell it's a baby.
With K, I had a different doctor for this ultrasound because ours was busy with surgery. I'm actually kind of glad I got to meet him because he ended up being the one on call when K was born, and I don't generally like strangers reaching in my lady parts, doctor or not.
After this, appointments switch to every week. Good and bad because while it means we're almost to the end, it also means a lot of driving, shuffling K around, and a lot of time.
Paul's work is shutting down unpaid for the first week of February, so probably he'll use up all his vacation time right before the baby is born and I'll be on my own right from the start. Hopefully, though, I'll end up having him during that week and having Paul there with me for a while. I've been getting a "slightly early" vibe, but that could just be wishful thinking.
With K, I had a different doctor for this ultrasound because ours was busy with surgery. I'm actually kind of glad I got to meet him because he ended up being the one on call when K was born, and I don't generally like strangers reaching in my lady parts, doctor or not.
After this, appointments switch to every week. Good and bad because while it means we're almost to the end, it also means a lot of driving, shuffling K around, and a lot of time.
Paul's work is shutting down unpaid for the first week of February, so probably he'll use up all his vacation time right before the baby is born and I'll be on my own right from the start. Hopefully, though, I'll end up having him during that week and having Paul there with me for a while. I've been getting a "slightly early" vibe, but that could just be wishful thinking.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Virus
As if me breaking Kalten's first Christmas ornament wasn't enough, we got a virus that installed things on our computer like bestfetishsex.exe and completely messed everything up. Paul had to reformat and we lost all of our photos and videos. Yesterday morning the virus scan said we were all clear, so between then and evening, something got in. All I did was look up a recipe for beef gravy.
Thankfully, being the total mom that I am, I have TONS of pics and videos saved on my parents' computer, on flickr, on Walmart.com, on shutterfly, on Vimeo, and on my blog. Now I just have to go and collect them. When Paul told me everything was gone, I thought of all those sites and realized that the only ones we really lost are the ones I didn't think were good enough to upload.
Except...
There was this one video I never put on Vimeo because I didn't want to share it. It was so special to me. Just mine.
And it's gone.
Kalten and I were goofing around, making silly movies with the camera. I flipped the display out so he could see himself and hit record. He started saying "Wii" over and over, and pointing at the Wii. I said "is that all you talk about?" and he turned to me and pointed to himself. "Kalten!" I said, "yes, that's Kalten!" Then he pointed to me and said "Mommy!" I said, "yes, that's Mommy!" Then he got up out of my lap, turned around and hugged me, knocking me off balance and saying "happy!" The last thing on the camera is my face, smiling hugely as I turned the camera off to hug my son.
It's gone.
No, it's not that big of deal. It's so clear in my memory anyway, and there are billions of those precious moments in a lifetime and only a tiny fraction are ever recorded. Most people don't even have a way to record them, and I've got a whole website full with only two years' worth!
But that one was special. It was the spontaneous affection that comes so rarely. It was the one that I was going to pull up on one of those rocky teenage days and play over and over. It was the one that I watched when he was napping and I needed a hug. It was a special gift, and now it's gone.
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