Happy Halloween!!!

Picture Taking Tip: If you have time a few hours before you go trick or treating (or before any major picture taking event; Christmas/Easter outfits, etc) take pictures of your kids before the excitement begins. You'll all be more relaxed! You can also take pictures a few days before or even the day AFTER the big event...no one will ever know that you dressed your kids back up for a photo shoot!

Tried it, hated it, won't do it again

Gentlemen readers beware: This post is for ladies only!
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After so many "would you just relax and enjoy your baby?!?!" type comments the other day (on the post where I mentioned already starting Jason on a schedule) I had the perfect opportunity yesterday to practice flying by the seat of my pants and going with the flow.
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I took Jason to his first pediatric appointment and he got (*gulp*) circumcised. He slept A LOT all day long, barely ate and when he was awake, he was screaming crying. He was not a happy camper.
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Part of the problem was that they didn't get us in to see the doctor until 8:30, which is when he's been taking his first nap. Every time he nodded off, someone needed me to strip him, they weighed and measured him, the doctor poked and prodded him, then they finally took blood and circumcised the poor boy, which I was not around for. (I excused myself to the waiting room...just couldn't handle it.) By the time we left, it was 9:45, he was exhausted and beside himself and I had to listen to him scream most of the 20 minute drive home. A lovely way to start the day.
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He should have eaten again when we got home at 10:00, but he was out cold and refused to nurse. This teaser caused the first of many painful engorgement issues all day. He slept. He was finally quiet. He needed to rest, so I went with it.
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He woke up (screaming) with a dirty diaper somewhere around 11ish and ate a little bit before passing out again. Unfortunately, he didn't eat enough to reduce my pain, plus I swear my body produced even more milk for the additional feeding. Oh, ouch.
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The next time he woke up was with another dirty diaper, he pretended to eat again, screamed for a while, took his pacifier and finally fell back to sleep. That was a fun stint in the early afternoon.
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Before long, his pacifier fell out and he woke up starving - mama got some relief. He was full, but not happy. I'm sure he was exhausted and probably in pain, but there was nothing I could do about it. I truly had no idea how to meet his needs. He cried and cried inconsolably.
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Around dinnertime, a friend stopped by and told me to try feeding him again, suggesting he may need to cluster feed for a day or two. But he just ate his first full meal an hour ago, I protested...he can't be hungry again! I gave in, tried feeding him and he ate for 15 minutes. Talk about Mommy guilt! He nodded off again with his pacifier afterward, then woke up screaming. Again.
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Just to re-cap, he had a day full of mini-meals/snacks, catnaps and screaming fits. Every time I thought he was awake and ready to actually eat a whole meal, my milk would let down only to find out that he wanted to suck, but not eat. Hence, his bliss over the pacifier to help calm him or lull him to sleep. By 9pm, both of us were confused and exhausted. And I was petrified that Jason would be wide awake all night after sleeping so much during the day.
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Let's just say that this whole system didn't work for me. I can't say I had much choice yesterday, given the doctor/circumcision issue, but seriously - I was a mess, he was a wreck, it was a joke. And I tried to just relax, snuggle, bond and respond, honestly I did!
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When my kids are on a schedule, even at a week old, I am much more able to anticipate their needs. I know when to feed them and when they're tired and if they're crying outside of those two time frames, I know to check their comfort level in terms of diaper needs, surroundings, temperature discomfort, etc.
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So even though it sounds like it would be more relaxing to let go and throw any sense of routine out the window these first few weeks or months, I just can't do it. I'm already exhausted and easily overwhelmed. It drives me crazy not knowing what to try next to console my baby. And I know they're happier on a schedule because they don't cry all the time, begging me to figure out what they need.
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Disclaimer: Please don't think I'm getting defensive here and pu-lease don't feel badly if you made a "relax and enjoy" type comment. I welcome all comments and am very difficult to offend. But seeing just how many of you told me to "lighten up," (especially friends that I know personally) well, I started thinking that maybe I was being too rigid on myself and on Jason. Interesting how God chose to show me the very next day that my seemingly anal, overly neurotic, type-A way of doing things might be the very reason I stay sane in the early stages of my kids' lives. Because, for some reason, it seems to work for me!

Missing the Hospital?

I'm so glad to be home, but I have to say that there were certain "perks" about staying in the hospital vs. being on my own at home.
Here is what I have come to miss in the last few days:
- Not only getting breakfast in bed, but lunch and dinner, too.
- When the meal tray was removed, the dishes didn't pile up in my kitchen sink.
- Amazing pain medication available at all hours of the day and night.
- That great bed that reclined and inclined so I could lie down or sit up at the touch of button.
- Turning the lights on and off without getting out of bed. (maybe I should invest in The Clapper?)
- The cool side table on wheels that held my phone, magazines, water pitcher, notepad and pen, everything within arm's reach and just a wheel away.
- Jason's rolling bassinet with drawers underneath holding anything and everything he might need.
- The giant receiving blankets that they don't seem to sell in stores.
- Not caring about being clean, pretty or presentable for 4 days.
- An endless supply of free diapers, wipes, formula, maxi pads and a gazillion other toiletries that magically replenished themselves when they got low.
- "Hospital Mike" who snuck me bites of his dinner during labor, interrogated the nurses about the health and well being of me and the baby at every opportunity and brought flowers (invisible at first when he couldn't find a nearby grocery store - he even pretended to put them in my water cup - then real flowers the next day) and a dozen Paradise Bakery cookies.
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What I do NOT miss about the hospital:
- Graham crackers. They were actually Honey Maid brand, but I think I ate my weight in apple juice and graham crackers during the 16 hours of labor and in between meals. I never want to see another graham cracker again.
- Getting interrupted at all hours of the night for the most ridiculous, inconsequential reasons. (I still want to know what possessed them to loudly change my trash liners at 4am every night.)
- The nurses who don't think it's necessary to whisper or keep the lights dim at 2am, even though your husband is trying to sleep 4 feet away.
- The nurses hounding me to force-feed Jason every 2 hours.
- The nurses unswaddling a peacefully sleeping Jason to "check something" then leaving the room, expecting me to remember how to calm a screaming, unnecessarily awoken baby.
- The t.v. speakers that were on my bed rails. Intended to be a convenience, hearing surround-sound-by-my-head football while I was trying to nap and Mike was bored was more than a little distracting.
- The fact that there was no where to put my towel in the bathroom. The toilet didn't have a lid, the shower didn't have a tub ledge, the hook on the door was too far to reach...I ended up dragging a chair in there so I didn't have to put my clean towel on the floor.
- The long brown hair on the wall of the shower that was clearly from the occupant before me. Or before her. Who knows when they cleaned that shower last.
- All aspects of showering at the hospital.
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I finally realized that I need to set up multiple "stations" all over my house for basic necessities, especially because we have a 2-story home. I have two diaper changing stations in addition to the changing table that is currently unused in Ryan and Jason's room, a bath station, a stack of burp clothes and a change of baby clothes near the two main places I change and feed Jason, an ample supply of...um, "post partum necessities" in both bathrooms, still and rocking contraptions to put the baby down in the family room downstairs and near the computer upstairs, receiving blankets and baby socks sprinkled throughout the house to quickly warm a shivering Jason...my house has been taken over with baby stuff.
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Sometimes I still can't believe we have a baby in the house. A baby who was crammed inside my belly just one week ago. I already have trouble remembering life before he showed up!

And the winner is...

The commenter who guessed closest to my actual delivery date and time for the Baby's Birth Day Contest was...Rebecca M. who guessed 10/23 at 5:23am. Congratulations, Rebecca!

I've already sent you an email, but just in case you didn't get it, please send me your full name and address to claim your prize. Thanks for playing, everyone!!!

Do You Eat at McDonald's???

I saw, touched and smelled a 3 year old McDonald's Happy Meal in person while I was pregnant with Kaylin 3.5 years ago. It prompted me to take a health class at church that changed the way I feed my family. We have been to McDonald's exactly twice since I saw that presentation, buying salads, apple slices and milk. I refuse to put that stuff in my kids' bodies.
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This video is a little longer than it needs to be, but if you ever eat fast food, PLEASE take 5 minutes and watch it. I don't know about other fast food chains, but McDonald's uses so many preservatives in their "food" that it doesn't rot or deteriorate, even after years of sitting around. YUMMY! Happy dining...

Waiting...waiting...

This waiting thing is for the birds. I almost wonder if it's worse waiting to be induced because I have to be on my guard and ready to walk out the door at the drop of a hat. If I was waiting to deliver on my own, at least I'd have a few hours to do stuff around the house while waiting for the contractions to get close enough before going to the hospital. But when I finally get the call from the hospital, it's going to be "get here now or we might give away your bed."
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So here I am. On the edge of my seat. Bag packed, toiletries sitting on the bathroom counter ready to be added to the bag, grandparents on standby, backup neighbors ready to come over in the middle of the night...who needs this stress?
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Apparently I do. I brought this on myself, kind of. I didn't create the ridiculous induction policy at the hospital and I didn't ask for a 7 day induction window, but I did ask to be induced. However, I thought they'd give me a one-day window like every other hospital on the planet. Little did I know.
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Here's the torment I've been going through: Sunday night, I called to find out the likelihood of being called in the middle of the night, just to get an idea. They said it would be Monday morning, at the earliest, and if I don't hear from them by noon, call back. That's why I was up at 3:16am...in addition to having contractions all night, my mind wouldn't shut off. I was under the impression that Monday was THE day. But the phone didn't ring, so I called back at noon only to be told that it would be Monday night at the earliest, anytime all night long.
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I got all of my ducks in a row, took a Tylenol PM so I would get one final night's sleep before the baby came, everything was set. I called this morning and found out that they didn't get to 3 of their 4 medical inductions last night, so they wouldn't start on the elective induction list until tonight. Oh...kay...I could wait another day. At least I wasn't waiting by the phone and could go about my (boring) day as usual. I scheduled a deep-muscle-on-all-the-trigger-points maternity massage at my chiropractor and hoped that would help throw me into labor naturally.
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Finally, I called tonight to find out the likelihood of getting called so I know where to put my kids to bed. (my childcare options are limited tonight) As it turns out, they now have SEVEN medical inductions to get in tonight before they start on the elective induction list. SEVEN. "Check back in the morning," they said.
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In the meantime, I'm still having contractions, still doing little (and big) things here and there to try and help along the labor process, I'm just so ready to meet my little boy! But no. He's nice and comfy where he is. Every time he moves, I think, "I could be HOLDING you! What is going on!?!?"
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Watch: this kid won't be born until this weekend. And I'll laugh that I thought I was frustrated on TUESDAY. The days are seriously just draaaaaaaaaaaging along. I need a project or something, yet I kind of can't get TOO into something because I need to be available to drop everything and leave for the hospital at a moment's notice.
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I think I'm going to go rent a movie. I need to get lost in something...

3:16am

What do normal people do when they can't sleep at 3:16am? Some people watch infomercials, others read. Me? I might never know what "normal people" do when they look at the clock at 3:16 and are sick of staring at the ceiling. Because I finally just realized that I'm not normal.
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People like ME act like we're high on speed. We upload videos to our blogs.
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And unload the dishwasher.

And do laundry.

And finish making the chicken stock that's been cooking in the crock pot all night.

And pour it all into nice, neat little ice cube trays for easy access.

And make a homemade chicken pot pie. Or two. With fresh green beans.

And were fully willing to make a homemade pie crust but didn't have enough flour, so decided to freeze them instead using the new freezing method in a recent blog post.

And put more chicken in the crock pot for dinner.

Then, people like ME will take pictures of everything and blog about it at 6:30am when there's nothing left to do and no one else is awake yet.
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Because people like ME who wake up ever hour on the hour with contractions and are anxiously awaiting a call from the hospital to get induced to get this show on the road...well, we have a little too much on our minds to sit still.

(my belly this weekend...one last shot!)

Bull Riding

I should have known this wouldn't end well. And can you hear who's egging them on? Yeah, that's me...