New Baby!

My sister had her baby yesterday morning after a very long 6 days past her due date. As with any mother-to-be, the waiting was very challenging but her labor finally began about midnight and I got at call at 1:30am. We just seem to have babies in the middle of the night and that's that. After getting the phone call, I knew I wouldn't sleep anymore so I got up, got ready and did a few things while waiting for mom to arrive. About 2:30, I was just starting to cut up fruit when Matt called and said that she wanted me to come to the apartment now. I walked out the door within a few minutes and drove nice and fast (it was 2:30 in the morning and we must take advantage of having the road to ourselves after all) to their apartment. When I got there, I could see that she was in the thick of it but she was still talking between. I think that every new mother is kind of taken by surprise at the sensation of actual labor. We spend so much time wondering what it will be like. Wondering if that contraction was "it" and we inevitably have people tell us "when it's real, you'll know". It's always true and yet it's baffling every time until that moment when it truly turns real.

I always had back labor. I don't know if my babies truly descended posterier or if it's just the way my pelvis is shaped but their heads and my back were always in full contact creating an excruciating experience unless there was counter pressure. When I walked in, she had a hot pad on her back so I knew she was having the same thing. During her next contraction, I pushed on her back instead of the hot pad and she said "that's much better." Good. We need all the help we can get. She had downloaded a Contraction Tracker onto her ipod and it actually came in really handy. From the time I got there, her contractions were no more than 2 minutes apart and she said that they started at 4 minutes apart. I guess all of those Braxton Hicks contractions had paid off! At about 3:30, we started talking about when to go to the birth center. I said I'd want to go before I'm in transition because at that point, you won't want to go anywhere. It was just a few minutes later that she declared it was time to go. She and Matt took off for the birth center while I waited the last few minutes for mom and then we followed. They arrived about 4:00 and we were there about 4:15. They got settled in their room and the midwife checked her. It took her a long time and I was just praying that she be at least at a 6. After what seemed like ages, she declared that Angella was fully dilated and efaced but the baby was still up a little high so she needed to labor a little more and let her come down. She got into the tub and did just that.

We could tell she was in transition at that point because she was definitely in her own world and they were more intense. All-of-a-sudden, she looked up and said, "I have to push". She was coached by the midwives on how to do that slowly to make the baby come slowly as to not stretch her to quickly. After just a couple more contractions, the baby was crowning and she went from resting on Matt's legs to resting on my legs so that Matt could catch the baby. A couple more contractions and we could see her head out and then with one more push, she was here! She was so beautiful right from the second she was born. A perfectly round face and head and plenty of black hair unlike her momma at her own birth! Those dreams that mom and I had about a baby girl with lots of black hair were true after all. She had a beautiful, lusty cry. It was such a perfect moment in time. We all cried. We were all joyful. And we all felt incredibly blessed to be part of this amazing experience. After several minutes, Matt cut the cord and held his daughter while Angella delivered her placenta. Later, Matt asked if she had done that yet. He was so entralled with his new baby that he hadn't even noticed the thing that he had been very curious about during the whole pregnancy! Welcome to fatherhood.

Angella and baby T got settled into bed along with daddy Matt and they were just a perfect little family. We all left the room for several minutes to let them have some time and mom and I started preparing food. Mom made soup and I cut up fruit as we knew Angella would be starving. When we brought it back in, the baby was nursing like a pro and didn't stop for the next hour. It was a beautiful sight.

Angella had a very bad tear that nearly resulted in her having to transfer to the hospital to be sewn up but luckily, that wasn't necessary. She did require stitches but just a few. They stayed at the birth center for 4 hours after the birth as the law requires and mom and I met them back at their apartment where we had prepared it for their arrival and mom baked the birthday "cake" of Carmelita Bars. We were exhausted but the adrenaline was still going strong and keeping us going too which was good. Angella and Matt arrived home about 10:00 and tucked right into bed. We made sure they were settled, visited awhile, Lee and Scott came to visit and then we all left to let them get some rest.

Mom and I came home to a quiet house as daddy had taken the kids to the zoo for the day for which he earned major points! We crawled into bed and slept. I was surprised that I was only able to sleep for 1 1/2 hours but it felt like enough for the moment. Once mom got up, we started cooking again. We made tacos and a Sundried tomato soup and took all of that over to Angella and Matt's along with the twins who wouldn't let me out of their sight (C especially) after being gone most of the night and day. They were so cute with baby T. It was precious. After a couple of hours, we left again and let them have their night. They were exhausted and having been a new mom a few times myself, I know that they were in for a long night and many more to come.

Yay! I'm an auntie!!

Shopping with Toddlers

Tim's traveling for work this week so I am on full-time duty which means that I'm responsible for getting the older boys to MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) 2 nights this week. I chose tonight and tomorrow night to just get it out of the way and because they are the nights that work best for me if such a thing exists. A friend was also at the class so she helped with the babies as I simultaneously tried to nurse S and cast on my yarn for a pair of socks (take 2 of the ginormous socks if we're counting). During the class, the instructor informed me that the boys didn't have their check in cards, their belts weren't tied right and...they need mouth guards and groin guards. Fun. So after class we grabbed dinner and then headed off to Sports Authority on our errand. Now I may have worked in a sports store many a year ago but I was never an expert on mouth guards or groin guards so I knew that I was either going to need help or this was going to be a long trip of looking all over the store.

I prepped the older boys to not ask for anything. We're going in. We're getting exactly what we need and nothing more (unless mommy finds something irresistable for herself in which case all rules are null and void) and we're getting out of there. The twins didn't get the memo. We weren't all the way in the door when C collapses in a heap of tantrumming toddler. I have to hand S over to M to hold onto while I grab C and look for someone to help. I can already tell this isn't going to be pretty. The girl I asked quickly handed it off to her male co-worker (smart girl) who was awesome in getting the boys everything they needed while I chased and managed my 2 screaming, jello-like and running toddlers around the store. We somehow made it back up to the register with me dragging S by the hand while asking him to stand up and C following along sobbing. I'm the picture of the perfect mother at this moment (dripping with sarcasm). I instructed the boys to toss their stuff up onto the counter, I quickly paid for it while simultaneously restraining both of the toddlers with my knees to keep them from running in opposite directions, scribbled my name onto the pen pad, handed the bag to M, my purse to G and grabbed 2 little hands while trying to convince them that we are indeed going home. We made it half way across the parking lot before S collapsed into a tantrumming toddler heap and I had to make the executive decision to again drag him the rest of the way to the car to keep him safe because I couldn't risk letting go of C's hand even for a nanosecond or he would have bolted. I finally got them both restrained in the car, turned on a movie, took a deep breath and drove home.

I have to say that a lot of the time, they're great shoppers. The twins help me push the cart and put things in - most of which are on my instruction but we get a surprise here and there - they hang out and then sit in the cart when they get tired of walking or I bribe them with a box of crackers. They usually do a great job but apparently, this was just too much tonight. I can relate kiddos. I can definitely relate.

Questions

I've learned a few things over the past 10 years of motherhood. Among these things is a list of questions that mothers just shouldn't ask if they want to keep their sanity:

Why did you do that?
Why didn't you do that?
What happened (asked to at least 2 children at the same time. If you do dare to ask this question, be sure you have a hot beverage in your hand because you'll be able to sit and sip it while trying to decipher "what happened")
Who did this?
Where did you put that?
What was that noise? (the answer is always "nothing")
Why can I find it in 3 seconds while you couldn't find it in 10 minutes of "searching"?
What have you been doing? (asked in the context of such things as: while they were supposed to be cleaning their room, tidying the kitchen, doing math, etc.)
What are you doing?
When is the last time you:
- changed your underwear
- showered
- brushed your teeth
- brushed your hair
- wore a different shirt
- wore different pants
CAUTION: if they pause and look blankly into space while trying to remember the last time they did these things, it's been too long. Just send them up to the shower with implicit instructions to throw every item of clothing currently on their bodies down the laundry chute, wash their hair, brush their teeth, brush their hair and use soap on their bodies - not necessarily in that order. You may want to make a list but even if you do that, there's a very good chance that they won't do it all anyway. 50% is a good result and you should be happy with this.
Whose socks are these? (they multiply like bunnies, I swear)
You've just spilled yet another glass of (insert beverage here), what do you think you should do about that?
Why do we have to have this conversation every single day? (this could pertain to just about anything. Especially the above list about changing clothing items and persoanal hygiene)
You KNOW you have to clean the table and floor as part of doing the kitchen, why must we have this conversation every single day?
Haven't we had this conversation before?
What did you say?

Okay, I could clearly go on. I think as a general rule it's best to not ask open-ended questions to which you already know or don't want the answer. It keeps us in nice oblivion or at least in the illusion of it (we always know what's really going on) and keeps the kids from having to step in it even more than they already have. It's just for the best.

And now, I will put on my rose-colored glasses and attack my day while doing my best not to ask any questions. Happy Monday!

Hello Sun!!

After several days of mild temps but no sun, lots of rain, a thunderstorm and plenty of fog, we had sun today!! We just relished it. I felt the cobwebs leave my brain and it had a positive effect on all of our moods. After a quick run to Costco with the twins this morning, we spent the rest of the day outside soaking in the rays and playing like crazy. G was positively tortured by the walk/bike ride I made him go on but it was worth it. The twins went through 2 pairs of pants each, there's a huge pile of muddy/sandy clothes waiting to be washed and I couldn't be more pleased to go tackle it! I've been waiting for the urge to spring clean to kick in and it hasn't yet but I feel like it's around the corner. I planned our Equinox celebration today (provided there isn't a birth happening) and I'm very excited about that too.

Spring is in the air and is very welcome!!

The Sock

We have a sock war going on in our house. I have recently taken up knitting socks with a passion. After completing a pair of little pink ones for my niece, baby T (who is due to arrive almost any day), I decided to bestow a pair on my wonderful husband. I let him pick out his own yarn, I chose the pattern and ran it by him for approval and cast on...without knitting a swatch to check my gauge. Now for non-knitters, not knitting a swatch to check your gauge is like walking into a store and randomly grabbing a size of whatever clothing piece off of the shelf and not bothering to try it on before purchasing it. I know, I know, stupid but when you're so excited to jump into a project sometimes you just go for it even though you've read a hundred thousand times NOT to do that, sometimes you just do it anyway. That's what I did. Not only that, but I also ignored the comments from friends and even Tim saying that the sock looked a bit big. Well, not being one to rip out my hard work, I pushed on lying to myself all the while that it would be fine. 2 weeks later, I finished the first sock. I lavishly presented it to my wonderful husband who put it on and had the nerve to announce that it was too big. When I asked him what size he wanted me to do the second sock, he answered, "the same size you're going to do the third." Uh oh. Wrong answer.

I promptly declared him un-sock-worthy right then and there and thus, the war began. I decided that I just didn't have the heart at that moment in time to rip out the entire sock so I set it aside (after wearing it for a full day just to prove the point that it was indeed wearable - so there!). I knitted myself a beautiful PAIR of slipper socks that Tim now threatens to steal because they look like the right size for him...not so. I've taken to hiding them when they're not on my feet and I'm expounding on the comfort and pure coziness my feet are enjoying at that moment.

It's truly been all in fun. I know that it was my fault. I'm taking it as a learning experience and I knew that at some point I would be ready to rip out my beautiful work and try it again. Well, today was that day. I just finished unraveling the ginormous sock and winding the yarn back into a ball to be made, yet again, into a sock. This time, however, I know my gauge and I will knit to it. I will constantly be requesting fitting sessions to be sure that it's fitting right and, if necessary, I will swallow my pride BEFORE I finish it and rip it out to make sure it fits.

My children, however, remain un-sock-worthy. Anyone who slings their socks this way and that on a whim, wears them outside without shoes and can't manage to get any piece of clothing into the dirty laundry until it can stand on it's own from build up of dirt and guck isn't yet worthy of my socks. Maybe by the time they get married they will be, but not today.

Mommy Bragging

We parents always think our kids are awesome. We love to brag about our kids to anyone who will listen and we soak it in when the other person agrees that yes, they are truly extraordinary. And sometimes we need to focus on those things to keep from going crazy from the other not-awesome things that our kids do as well - they're kids, right?

Anyway, here I go with some super cool stuff that my kids are doing:

- S (27 months) has amazing, truly amazing fine motor skills. It started with clipping his own buckles on his carseat and high chair about a year ago and lacing beads several months ago. That was impressive. He's now graduated to putting on his own mittens with the thumbs in the right spots and everything and he's getting himself dressed. He started with putting on his own pants, then moved to pajamas (the footie kind) and today, he walked into the livingroom completely dressed with pants and a turtleneck that he picked out and put on all by himself. I was impressed to say the least. He also loves to do the alphabet puzzle he got for Christmas and he can do the entire thing all by himself. He looks at the piece, finds its spot, pops it in and then repeats the sound that the letter makes (the puzzle says it). Having never had kids before this who were at all interested in puzzles, this leaves me amazed every time.

C- (27 months) has incredible recall. Yesterday, he had his Circle Time class at our homeschool co-op. That's at 11:00. At 3:30, he came home and announced to Nana that he had fun at Circle Time today and they talked about Dinosaurs. That's one heck of a timeline for recall. He also told daddy about it when he was going to bed last night. Impressive. His reasoning skills are incredible too. For ages, he's understood and voluntarily implemented the idea of taking turns. He often leads "S's turn, my turn" when the twins are playing together. He regularly takes up the cause of taking turns when there is a game going and he's been doing that since before he was 2. You can tell him to do things and he'll actually do them. I can give him something and tell him to go give it to one of his brothers and he'll do it and make sure that they do with it what they're supposed to and then come back and report on it. Handy.

G - (8 1/2 yrs) is as sharp as a whip. He picks up on things so quickly. He can always look at the clock and nearly instantly tell you how much time there is between now and the next event happening in our day. He's one of those people who is naturally good at nearly everything he tries whether it's academic or physical. And he has passion coming out of his ears! Once he decides where he's going to concentrate that passion, watch out world!

M- (10 yrs) has really incredible self-awareness and a heart that is huge. His newest venture, The Banana Club, was born out of getting punched in the nose last week at a park for no reason other than wanting to befriend a kid who wasn't being very nice to him. Instead of getting bitter, he turned it into a game and recruited others to it as well. The game was to find and resolve conflict. In his spirit of wanting to encompass everything and everyone in his visions, he believes that if he can just get the word out to enough people and get enough people on board with his club, that it will ultimately bring about world peace. It's so inspiring to see him dream so big and in a way that is good for all. It will be amazing to see where he goes.

So, there's my mommy brag for today. My children are amazing and that's that.

Vitamin D to the rescue!

I have been utterly amazed at our winter thus far. I had done some research in the fall when h1n1 was all the rage and we chose not to do the vaccination for it about which I'm am even more resolved after all of the news about it. Anyway, we chose to do a rigorous regimen of vitamin D instead. I have been taking 10,000 units a day for myself and the babes who are getting it through the breastmilk. The older boys take 5,000 units every-other day and Tim is SUPPOSED to take 5,000 units a day. He didn't. Guess who got sick...a lot. Tim spent several days this winter sick enough to be in bed for a few days at a time. The kids and I got a case of the sniffles one day and it was so minor that it was hardly noticeable. It's amazing to me that the vitamin D made such a huge difference in our health. I'm totally sold!