The Two Kids

MG cries much more than Liam ever did.
Not because she's colicky, or even fussy, but because she's the second child.  There are at least five times a day when I have both babies crying and I have to decide which to fix first; these days that first is usually Liam.
(Or else I have to clean up the snot that he got everywhere, because he's been sick.)
(TMI!)
It's tough being a younger sibling, you know?

Thank goodness for Netflix!  The great land of Netflix instant streaming which is ruled by fickle gods who KEEP TAKING WORD WORLD OFF.  Why do they do this??  It's the only show I don't feel guilty about sticking Liam in front of (actually, I kind of like it myself), and it's also the only show that I've noticed to be part of a double-disappearing act.  If you have any insights regarding, please share.

Today was my second time taking both kids to church by myself.  This is the WORST thing about Slice's work schedule - every other Sunday he's working while I am struggling through meetings.  And this year is especially hard, because we have Sacrament Meeting last.  Liam doesn't want to leave nursery, MG is tired and/or hungry, and I have 70 minutes to keep them both quiet.
Today I passed MG off to the bishop's wife and FORTUNATELY she slept through most of the meeting.  Liam kept me busy the entire time.  By the time the closing song came around, I had used up all my tricks, and I was trying to soothe MG because she had woken up.  Liam crawled under the bench and slowly made his way up to the stand.  The benediction-giver herded him up the steps, the bishop held him during the closing prayer, and afterward I dragged him out along with my bulky diaper bag and baby-in-the-carseat combo.

It's exhausting.

At least I have some treats, some inspired words, and a naptime to get me to 5:00.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - and Die

Here's something weird.

We recently acquired a swing for MG exactly like the one we used for baby Liam.  (That was my sister's.)
It's a great swing, 3-directional with lights and a mobile and a WALL PLUG, and four sound settings including one of nature sounds.  I love those chirping birds.

Anyway, one of the sound settings is a series of songs, which has been playing intermittently for a week now. And every time I hear one of the songs, I start thinking of The Hunger Games. Characters, impressions, specific scenes and conversations - they play and replay in my mind.  It took me a while to figure out why.

Last time I had a newborn, I read the Hunger Games series for the first time - mostly while my baby was sleeping or rocking in the swing.  The swing songs played over and over while I read of oppression, terror, violence ... and the scenes stuck in my mind are inextricably connected with the baby tunes.  Weird.

I remember hearing once, maybe in college, that you should study with Mozart (or similar music) playing in the background.  Supposedly the music helps you commit information to memory.
I didn't utilize the tip much, but now I'm thinking I should have.  There is clearly some potential to be tapped there.

Adjusting

Three weeks ago my younger sister and her friend from college moved into our downstairs bedroom.  This brings the total number of siblings I have lived with post-marriage to FIVE.
We love each other a lot, eh?
Both girls are off track from BYU-Idaho, and while I think the track system is downright crazy, I also like having Kiana home every few months.  It's fun.

Monday Slice's parents started their move to Cedar City.  It will take a few weeks (possibly months) to finalize, but once they're gone, it will be the first time that Slice has lived away from his parents, if you don't count his overseas mission.  I imagine it will take some adjusting.
For one thing, Liam is going to miss having his "Papa" around.

Tomorrow my baby MG will be six weeks old.
I feel like Slice and I are leaps and bounds ahead of where we were with Liam at this point, parenting-wise, but it's still quite an adjustment from one to two.  And just when I was getting used to Slice's work schedule, my workload doubled.
Ha!

Fortunately MG is awesome and sleeps as well as Liam did at night.  Even better, she goes to sleep on her own with a binkie in her mouth.  No rocking/walking/bouncing baby to sleep and putting her down as gently as possible, just hoping that she won't wake up. (Or we repeat the process - possibly multiple times.) Nope.
I nurse her, burp her and stick her in bed, and if it's dark in the room she'll eventually go to sleep.  Amazing!
(I know this means I will have to wean her off of it later.  It is totally worth the extra sleep I'm getting right now.)

and he's good to us

It must be said that Slice adores his baby girl.
(We all knew he would.)
He is wrapped around her beautiful, tiny fingers and she gets whatever she wants from him.
To hold her all day?  Sure.
To sleep in bed with us?  Fine.
I have to put my foot down every once in a while, because I don't want to deal with a spoiled baby.

And speaking of spoiled....
I got a new kitchen table!  Again!

See, our other table was lovely, but it just didn't work with my breakfast nook.  The legs were on the edge of the table, and we had to push it out and back in anytime we wanted to use the bench.  No Good.

After stewing about it for a few weeks, I listed the table on KSL classifieds (without telling Slice first....) just to see if there would be any interest.
It was sold in 3 days.

By Thursday night we had no kitchen table, and family coming to stay with us Friday.  I didn't think we would find anything I liked for a decent price anywhere around here.  There's not a great selection, you know?

Friday we went to Vernal, and in the first place we stopped at we found this table:

which is now sitting in my kitchen - obviously.  And I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.
It works perfectly with my breakfast nook.

Thanks Slice!

This is why we have kids.

11/12

Three years ago I wrote a lovely review of the previous year's events.  I'm glad I did, because 2008 was life-changing for Slice and me, and it's fun to look back on that year and what we've done since then.  If I did a quick recap for 2011 it would look something like this:

• Alex moves in downstairs, we remodel the bathroom out of necessity
• Slice gets fired at the worst possible time
• I am diagnosed with hypothyroidism
• We find out I'm pregnant 
• We spend 4 months searching for a golf job, then consider other options
• South Carolina almost becomes our new home
• We are blessed with work opportunities in the meantime: piano students, photo shoots, research job, pumps
• Slice gets hired in the oilfield, we try to adjust to his new work schedule
• A bunch of my friends get pregnant
• I give birth

Things can only get better from here, right?

Some of my plans for 2012 are:

Donate my hair again, before postpartum fallout
Put my kids in the same bedroom
Don't have a baby (I'm liking the sound of 2014?)
Take at least one family vacation besides the annual Arizona trip
Buy a bigger car
Start exercising again

Pretty low bar right there, folks.  What about you?

and a Happy New Year

I was hoping to send out Christmas cards this year.  It would have been our first time.  But after some procrastination and a disastrous home-photo shoot, it just didn't happen.

Looking over these, I'm having a hard time deciding which one is most representative of our family right now. They're all pretty good -- too good not to share, that is.  Merry Christmas, Internets!

Let's start with an action shot:

singing "Baa Baa Black Sheep" to get him to smile

and the "how can I get out of here?" shot:

Moving on to the "how do we take pictures with a two-week old?" shot:

"... especially when she wants to eat?" shot:

And ending with the "WE ARE DONE WITH THIS" shot:

I'm thinking the last one takes the cake.

(Next year maybe Kiana should use a tripod?)

(Also, don't you love the Arnold Palmer ornament prominently displayed on our tree?)

Anyway.


From our house to yours - may the next year be better than the last.  May you grow in wisdom and love.  May your days be merry and bright ... and filled with less crying than mine are.

Photoblogging: because I don't even have to leave the couch

I am really loving my Android phone now that I am up in the night (and down all day) needing things to entertain me  - that don't require the use of both hands.

See: Facebook, Great Expectations, Words With Friends, Tetris, Netflix

And, as most of you discovered years ago, it's nice to have a camera on my person at all times so I can record the little moments that make up my life.   Behold:

                           Cutco for Christmas!          

(the best thing is finding pictures that I didn't take)

We had a lovely December, not least because Slice had more than half of the month off work.  My bones stayed intact, my baby is beautiful, and I haven't gone into sugar shock yet. (No small miracle!)  In fact, I'm almost back in my pre-pregnancy pants.
Joy!

Small-town living: healthcare edition

I was already thinking about how nice my hospital stay was when I heard the hullabaloo about the baby switching.

Now, it's a rare thing to live in a town as small (/insert-your-own-word-here) as Roosevelt is, and to have health care like Roosevelt does.  Our Medical Center is the pride and joy of this community - and for good reason. It's a nice combination of good quality and low pressure.

I was especially grateful for this during this labor/delivery/recovery.  As I've mentioned before, I know my Dr. on a personal level, and I've called him at his house with any questions I had.  When I arrived at the hospital at 4:00 a.m. in advanced labor, he got there pretty quick-style (although he wasn't on call).  He was very supportive of my birth decisions, as were the nurses, most of whom I also knew.  I was pretty much free to do whatever I wanted.

Switching babies? Hardly possible.  If there were any other babies born during my 48-hour stay there, I didn't know about it.

I don't know how other hospitals are, but I didn't have to change rooms or wear a gown or shower in nasty bathrooms or ask the nurses to let me keep my baby for the first hour(s) after birth.  I could have come home after 36 hours, but chose to stay an extra night.
We also came home with a pack of diapers, two pacifiers, two baby shirts, mittens, a crocheted baby hat, formula, pillows and egg-crate foam pads, among other things provided by the hospital.

BUT next time around I am definitely taking my own towels.

Emma Grace

It's been a week and the shock hasn't quite worn off.
The shock of being a mother to two, yes, but also the shock of having just gone through a birthing experience beyond my wildest, most optimistic dreams.
This birth story won't be as long as the last one - but no one's forcing you to read it anyway, right?


This time around my birth plan went something like this:

1. Spend as much time at home as possible
2. DO NOT BIRTH A POSTERIOR BABY

And ... that's about it.  Seriously.

Of course, I was hoping for as little intervention as possible.  (Who wants pitocin? An episiotomy?)
I've been there, done that and after last time, I just wanted something better.  The Hypnobabies preparation gave me confidence that I could handle anything.

So last Wednesday the real "pressure waves" (HB speak) began.  It was 3:00 a.m. and they were intense enough that I couldn't sleep through them.  (Unlike my faithful contraction-friends, that plague me from month five onward.)
I woke Slice.
They were coming 7-8 minutes apart; Slice decided to take the day off work.  He left for a quick meeting, I put on a hypnosis track and eventually fell asleep.  By the time he got back, they had slowed to 10-15 minutes apart.  I spent the rest of the day laboring that way.

Thursday morning just after midnight, the waves woke me again.  I got up and started timing, changing positions between each one, relaxing as well as I could.  (Also eating and drinking.  See, I learn!)
At 3:00 again, I woke Slice and told him we needed to go.  My mom came over, I packed and showered and dressed and labored, still feeling pleased with how well I was managing the pressure waves.

I didn't start to doubt myself until we were en route to the hospital.  What if it was too soon?  What if I was still in early labor, and didn't progress?  Could I do it without anesthesia?  If I was on pitocin?  WHAT IF SHE WAS POSTERIOR??

We checked in around 4:00 and the nurse checked me.  "Six or seven," she said.  I about died.
But she couldn't tell the baby's position, and neither could the Doctor when he came in shortly.  He broke my water, declared I was at an 8, and told me not to push until they were ready to catch her.  Ha!

A few more hard waves and I was clinging to my husband for support through them.  That blasted back labor.  The nurse came in to check me - but I was ready to push.  They scrambled, I lost any relaxation/concentration I was still employing, and two more birthing waves later, my baby girl was born.
It was INTENSE.

She weighed a perfect 7 lb. 4 oz. with a head of thick, dark hair.  Born at 5:32 a.m. the day before her due date, she came earlier, quicker and easier than I even dared hope.  The little darling.