Dear Mateo,
Today, you are 21 months old! 21 months has always been a prominent age in my (Mama's) mind, because it's how old I was when my sister was born. Throughout my life, I have heard my mom say, "they are 21 months apart" in response to questions about our ages. I never understood why she didn't just round to two years, but I do now. It seems that we count your age in months until two years, and then we switch to saying two, two and a half, three, etc. So, you are 21 months old. And what an amazing boy you are!
Here are some of the things you've been up to this month.
The most momentous part, obviously, has been adjusting to our new family structure. There are four of us instead of three and the fourth member sure does take up a lot of your moms' time. You certainly have had some trouble with the transition - telling us over and over that you need cuddles, you need mama's milk, you need mommy's attention (you say, "Mateo need patentions!") - but really you are doing amazingly well considering everything.
You continue to show us what a sensitive and empathetic kid you are. You remember (from your big brother book) that babies cry to tell us something, at least most of the time, and suggest that baby Talia might be sad or hungry or need a new diaper. Today, we were driving home in the car and your sister was screaming her little head off and Mommy was feeling stressed about it. Out of the blue, you told us from the back seat that "Mommy feel sad and upset." And you were right!
You have been learning all sorts of things this month. You are starting to know the sounds that some letters make and can recognize a lot of different letters. Your favorite letter is "w" and you find it in books, on the stereo in the car and all over the place. You also like to look through books and will find pages that don't have W's and will say "no W's." We think it is just too cute. Your other favorite letters include Y, K, O, Z and some other ones too. You also like to chant the alphabet song and play with your alphabet centipede.
Any time of the day you like to play "pretend." You like to put on Mama or Mommy's shoes and walk around the house. You say that you are going to the fresh pot and order a Chai and a decaf Mocha and a cookie. You love to say the word pretend too. "Mateo pretend to go to fresh pot." Today you wanted to pretend to take the milk out of the fridge and pour it all over Mommy and Mama's head!
Speaking of things that could make one cold, you also have quite the interesting imagination. Yesterday, when we were driving and it was hot in the car, you decided to put a blanket over your legs. You then started to complain that you were hot. We asked you what you thought you should do, and you said, "Put ice under blanket!" We have no clue where you got this idea, but it was very cute and quite hilarious.
In the areas of basic needs, you've had two big gains. Number one, you've been sleeping much, much better. Our last really difficult night was the one we posted about a couple of weeks ago. Since then, you've suddenly started sleeping through the night most nights. You've also started to display a truly amazing ability to wake up, fuss for a few seconds, and then get yourself back to sleep. You have never been able to do this before. Normally, if you wake up at all, you are crying and upset and awake. We are soooo happy that you're starting to figure it out.
Number two, you have been eating us out of house and home! Well, not really, but you've been eating a lot. You haven't been the biggest eater, so it's kind of fun to have you interested in all this food. And still nursing the same amount on top of it all! Your larger appetite, plus the increase in sleep time, has us thinking you might be growing. You do look bigger to us, and several people have commented on it, so maybe you're in a growth spurt? I just hope that we hold onto the sleep gains when it ends!
Mateo, when you've been in bed at night for a few hours, we start to miss you! We look forward to seeing your smiling face in the morning and hearing all the things you want to tell us. You are such a fun little guy and we love watching you learn and grow more every day. Te amamos hasta la luna y las estrellas. You are our favorite boy in the entire world.
love,
Mommy and Mama
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Just saying
Today I've been having this thought that I've had on and off ever since Mateo was born. The gist:
In so many ways, we are the epitome of a regular, run-of-the-mill American family. We have two parents, two young children spaced about two years apart, and a cat. We own our home and one of us is gainfully employed while the other is a stay-at-home mom.
Our days, for the most part, are consumed with diapers and nap schedules and playdates and all the other little parts of raising kids. Our house is full of baby gear, our car is full of car seats, and our bed is less often occupied when it is dark than we would like. When we talk to our friends and family, it is most often about all these things. The fact that we are lesbians seems, in our liberal enclave, pretty much irrelevant. We are lucky, so lucky, to have incredibly open and supportive families and friends for whom our sexual orientations are a non-issue.
Given all that, it just seems so strange that there are people out there, and lots of them, who think we are unnatural and going to hell. That we are freaks. Who not only disapprove of us and want to keep their children away from us (and potentially take our children away as well), but who are actively working to make sure we can't get married and who hope we will lose the limited legal protections we do have.
It really is cognitive dissonance, because our lives seem so incredibly normal and yet there's this one part that's a big issue in many places. In fact, in most places. Sometimes when I'm changing a diaper or planning a playdate or trying once again to figure out how to get a little more sleep, I think "if only the religious right could see us now..." I'm sure it wouldn't make a difference, but maybe they'd realize the so-called lesbian lifestyle isn't quite as bad as they think if they saw what our daily lives are really like.
In so many ways, we are the epitome of a regular, run-of-the-mill American family. We have two parents, two young children spaced about two years apart, and a cat. We own our home and one of us is gainfully employed while the other is a stay-at-home mom.
Our days, for the most part, are consumed with diapers and nap schedules and playdates and all the other little parts of raising kids. Our house is full of baby gear, our car is full of car seats, and our bed is less often occupied when it is dark than we would like. When we talk to our friends and family, it is most often about all these things. The fact that we are lesbians seems, in our liberal enclave, pretty much irrelevant. We are lucky, so lucky, to have incredibly open and supportive families and friends for whom our sexual orientations are a non-issue.
Given all that, it just seems so strange that there are people out there, and lots of them, who think we are unnatural and going to hell. That we are freaks. Who not only disapprove of us and want to keep their children away from us (and potentially take our children away as well), but who are actively working to make sure we can't get married and who hope we will lose the limited legal protections we do have.
It really is cognitive dissonance, because our lives seem so incredibly normal and yet there's this one part that's a big issue in many places. In fact, in most places. Sometimes when I'm changing a diaper or planning a playdate or trying once again to figure out how to get a little more sleep, I think "if only the religious right could see us now..." I'm sure it wouldn't make a difference, but maybe they'd realize the so-called lesbian lifestyle isn't quite as bad as they think if they saw what our daily lives are really like.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Blueberries
We went blueberry picking with one of M's little buddies and his mama the other day. There's a rural island about 20 minutes away that has u-pick farms that go crazy during the summer. You can pick everything - strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, marionberries, blackberries, etc. You can also do tomatoes, pumpkins in the fall, and a zillion other things. We'd been invited to go berry picking a few times and kept declining because we weren't sure we had it in us. However, after our weekend adventure, we thought we should just give it a try.
(As an aside: Inspired by our own adventurousness, we actually went to the zoo today. On the spur of the moment! And we managed to have a good time. This second kid thing has its difficult moments, and the sleep deprivation is basically the same, but we are definitely out of the house more and more confident in general this time around. Well, and we have a rambunctious toddler to keep busy...)
We had a great time! Mateo and his buddy ran around under the blueberry bushes playing with trucks and smashing berries into their mouths, a la Blueberries for Sal. The adults alternated between picking and supervising, and Sacha even nursed Talia under the shade of some bushes. It was a lovely morning and we got some great fruit to eat now and freeze for the winter.
Here's the little guy playing with his loader - very important in a blueberry patch:
She's a surprisingly efficient berry picker:
Just another day in the life - can't get everyone smiling (or even not screaming) at the same time:
(As an aside: Inspired by our own adventurousness, we actually went to the zoo today. On the spur of the moment! And we managed to have a good time. This second kid thing has its difficult moments, and the sleep deprivation is basically the same, but we are definitely out of the house more and more confident in general this time around. Well, and we have a rambunctious toddler to keep busy...)
We had a great time! Mateo and his buddy ran around under the blueberry bushes playing with trucks and smashing berries into their mouths, a la Blueberries for Sal. The adults alternated between picking and supervising, and Sacha even nursed Talia under the shade of some bushes. It was a lovely morning and we got some great fruit to eat now and freeze for the winter.
Here's the little guy playing with his loader - very important in a blueberry patch:
She's a surprisingly efficient berry picker:
Just another day in the life - can't get everyone smiling (or even not screaming) at the same time:
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Many firsts
Natalia, having reached five weeks today, has decided that she loves the baby swing. She was only halfway interested in it prior to now, but suddenly, she thinks that it is the best thing ever and slept in it for six hours last night! Yah.
Some other firsts for the day include a ride in the stroller to the park. She has gone in the moby, but never the stroller. She thought the stroller was just fine, until she got hungry at the end.
Her last first is that she sat on the potty with Alayna and peed this morning, and then while we were nursing, she had a bowel movement on the potty between sides. She seemed quite pleased with herself. Similarly what we did with Mateo, we have been offering limited "potty tunities" usually around diaper changes. With Mateo it has been a great way to ease into learning to use the potty, and we hope it will be for Natalia too.
What a day of firsts!
Some other firsts for the day include a ride in the stroller to the park. She has gone in the moby, but never the stroller. She thought the stroller was just fine, until she got hungry at the end.
Her last first is that she sat on the potty with Alayna and peed this morning, and then while we were nursing, she had a bowel movement on the potty between sides. She seemed quite pleased with herself. Similarly what we did with Mateo, we have been offering limited "potty tunities" usually around diaper changes. With Mateo it has been a great way to ease into learning to use the potty, and we hope it will be for Natalia too.
What a day of firsts!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Sleep deprivation and Praxis tests
For my job next year . . . (yes I have a job next year!!!), I had to take (not pass) the Praxis II Spanish test. This is a test designed for people that are going to be teaching middle school and high school Spanish, but for my job next year working as a reading specialist for Spanish speaking students they had me take this test.
It should be interesting to see how I did. Here are some of the mistakes I know I made, but was able to correct.
It should be interesting to see how I did. Here are some of the mistakes I know I made, but was able to correct.
- I forgot my social security number.
- I remembered it, but bubbled the numbers incorrectly, somehow filling in zeros for the ones etc.
- I completely forgot to bubble in the test code form. I noticed this when I glanced over, before the test started, at my neighbor, and noticed that her form looked different . . . oops.
- Then there was the interesting mistake I made while we were driving. It made sense at the time. We were at exit number 254, and I thought . . . wow - Portland is around 300, so we just have six more miles to go. In my sleepy state it made sense that if there are 60 minutes in an hour, 260 was the same as 300. . .
Traveling team!
We made it home! And, we are all in one piece, at least if we don't count my head, which we may have left somewhere between here and Eugene . . . on the trip down:)
On Friday we did a ton of packing and got ourselves in the car just in time for Mateo's nap. As an aside, why is it that it takes just about as long to pack for a one night trip as it does for a three night or five night trip? I guess with kids, you have the same amount of travel gear, no matter how many days you go. We need the bouncy chair for one day or five, etc.
As I was saying, we timed the nap just perfectly. Mateo and Natalia both slept from Portland to Eugene! Yah. We stopped for lunch at Sub.way and Alayna (who just got a rather short haircut) got some interesting looks from the locals. We also bought ourselves an umbrella stroller once we got to Eugene (we had lost our first one somewhere) and then checked into the hotel.
We walked into our hotel room, and found one room and two queen beds about two inches apart. Not what we paid for, or what we reserved. We reserved a suite with TWO separate rooms (read . . . sleep for at least the test taker), not one small room. Thankfully I had printed out our reservation, so we talked with the hotel manager, who insisted on looking at her reservation and said, no, we didn't have two rooms. After a bit of convincing, I found out that they did have an available two room suite (still very, very small), which we took!
We had a fabulous walk around campus, and at least for me, it was the longest walk I've taken since the birth of Talia! We were very proud of ourselves for getting out and exploring the university. We even went to a coffee shop and got a smoothie and a snack. We hadn't attempted any kind of eating establishment since the baby's birth, so it was a big step.
Then we had homemade burrito dinner at Joaquin's house with fresh guacamole, and all sorts of other yummy goodies. We had a wonderful time catching up and Mateo got to run around their beautiful garden, pet their dog, and play paper airplanes with Joaquin! We even went out for ice cream, although it took a Herculean effort to keep M awake on the car ride there. Way past his bedtime.
Sleep. Mateo got great sleep. He slept the entire night through. He's actually been sleeping through the night very well since that last horrible night I posted about. Maybe he should have taken the test. I got some good sleep between 10:30 and 4am, and then a bit more till 5:45. Alayna got a little less, but we were both somewhat functional in the morning.
We got ourselves together and packed up our room and the kids. Then we headed out to try to find this breakfast place our friends had told us about. It was supposed to be open 24 hours, but it wasn't! In fact, it said 'closed on weekends.' Defeated, we somehow circled back around to our hotel and lo and behold, there was another branch of the same restaurant RIGHT NEXT DOOR to our hotel that was open 24 hours. So we got me some breakfast there. We had to laugh that we had driven right by it on the way out the first time.
(This is Alayna now) Now Sacha's feeding the baby, so I'll just fill in what the kids and I did. It actually went quite well. We dropped off Sacha and then headed to a park along the river, stopping for a quick drive-through decaf mocha for me. Mateo has now learned to say "decaf mocha," which is a bit disconcerting.
We went to this awesome park and wrapped Natalia up in the moby wrap, where she slept and slept. We played a lot, watched a road race go by, walked along the river, and played in the car for a long time. Mateo loves to pretend that he's driving. I even managed to change his diaper (on the back of the car - very classy, eh?) while she was on my front. Eventually, Talia got hungry and I gave her a little milk to tide her over, while Mateo did his best to destroy the car. Then she screamed her little head off all the way back to campus. It was great. Definitely the low moment of the day, but not so bad all things considered.
We got to Sacha and Talia commenced nursing for Sacha's whole break between tests. Mateo conked out. After Sacha went back in, Mateo woke up and we headed back to the hotel to check out. Then we had what I thought would be about an hour to kill before meeting Sacha again. Turned out, the test was late, late, late and we wouldn't see her for over two more hours. We ended up back on campus playing in the car while the baby slept. I kept trying to get M to come out and play, but he just wanted to "pretend drive car! pretend driving!". And so that is what we did.
Eventually, Sacha finished her second test and we all grabbed a lunch of fish and chips (and then more ice cream) before getting on the road. Our trip back included an extended nursing break in the parking lot of a random Best Wes.tern (where M also had a meltdown after pinching his fingers in the door handle, poor baby) and a verrrry long last hour of the trip home. Mateo finally just started saying "Ready get out! Want two sips of Mama's milk. Ready get out!" over and over, as Natalia was wailing away in her baby seat. I told Sacha he was having a classic moment of American childhood.
So, now we are back. We are so happy to be back. I'm sure Sacha will update this with the story of her tests, which is somewhat involved, as these things always seem to be. We can hardly stand to look at the car, but eventually we must unpack. I am starting to see that we may need a bigger car someday, as the tiny Civic just doesn't work that well for road trips. But that's for another day. We're very proud of ourselves that we made it in one piece. Now let's just hope we can get some sleep tonight.
On Friday we did a ton of packing and got ourselves in the car just in time for Mateo's nap. As an aside, why is it that it takes just about as long to pack for a one night trip as it does for a three night or five night trip? I guess with kids, you have the same amount of travel gear, no matter how many days you go. We need the bouncy chair for one day or five, etc.
As I was saying, we timed the nap just perfectly. Mateo and Natalia both slept from Portland to Eugene! Yah. We stopped for lunch at Sub.way and Alayna (who just got a rather short haircut) got some interesting looks from the locals. We also bought ourselves an umbrella stroller once we got to Eugene (we had lost our first one somewhere) and then checked into the hotel.
We walked into our hotel room, and found one room and two queen beds about two inches apart. Not what we paid for, or what we reserved. We reserved a suite with TWO separate rooms (read . . . sleep for at least the test taker), not one small room. Thankfully I had printed out our reservation, so we talked with the hotel manager, who insisted on looking at her reservation and said, no, we didn't have two rooms. After a bit of convincing, I found out that they did have an available two room suite (still very, very small), which we took!
We had a fabulous walk around campus, and at least for me, it was the longest walk I've taken since the birth of Talia! We were very proud of ourselves for getting out and exploring the university. We even went to a coffee shop and got a smoothie and a snack. We hadn't attempted any kind of eating establishment since the baby's birth, so it was a big step.
Then we had homemade burrito dinner at Joaquin's house with fresh guacamole, and all sorts of other yummy goodies. We had a wonderful time catching up and Mateo got to run around their beautiful garden, pet their dog, and play paper airplanes with Joaquin! We even went out for ice cream, although it took a Herculean effort to keep M awake on the car ride there. Way past his bedtime.
Sleep. Mateo got great sleep. He slept the entire night through. He's actually been sleeping through the night very well since that last horrible night I posted about. Maybe he should have taken the test. I got some good sleep between 10:30 and 4am, and then a bit more till 5:45. Alayna got a little less, but we were both somewhat functional in the morning.
We got ourselves together and packed up our room and the kids. Then we headed out to try to find this breakfast place our friends had told us about. It was supposed to be open 24 hours, but it wasn't! In fact, it said 'closed on weekends.' Defeated, we somehow circled back around to our hotel and lo and behold, there was another branch of the same restaurant RIGHT NEXT DOOR to our hotel that was open 24 hours. So we got me some breakfast there. We had to laugh that we had driven right by it on the way out the first time.
(This is Alayna now) Now Sacha's feeding the baby, so I'll just fill in what the kids and I did. It actually went quite well. We dropped off Sacha and then headed to a park along the river, stopping for a quick drive-through decaf mocha for me. Mateo has now learned to say "decaf mocha," which is a bit disconcerting.
We went to this awesome park and wrapped Natalia up in the moby wrap, where she slept and slept. We played a lot, watched a road race go by, walked along the river, and played in the car for a long time. Mateo loves to pretend that he's driving. I even managed to change his diaper (on the back of the car - very classy, eh?) while she was on my front. Eventually, Talia got hungry and I gave her a little milk to tide her over, while Mateo did his best to destroy the car. Then she screamed her little head off all the way back to campus. It was great. Definitely the low moment of the day, but not so bad all things considered.
We got to Sacha and Talia commenced nursing for Sacha's whole break between tests. Mateo conked out. After Sacha went back in, Mateo woke up and we headed back to the hotel to check out. Then we had what I thought would be about an hour to kill before meeting Sacha again. Turned out, the test was late, late, late and we wouldn't see her for over two more hours. We ended up back on campus playing in the car while the baby slept. I kept trying to get M to come out and play, but he just wanted to "pretend drive car! pretend driving!". And so that is what we did.
Eventually, Sacha finished her second test and we all grabbed a lunch of fish and chips (and then more ice cream) before getting on the road. Our trip back included an extended nursing break in the parking lot of a random Best Wes.tern (where M also had a meltdown after pinching his fingers in the door handle, poor baby) and a verrrry long last hour of the trip home. Mateo finally just started saying "Ready get out! Want two sips of Mama's milk. Ready get out!" over and over, as Natalia was wailing away in her baby seat. I told Sacha he was having a classic moment of American childhood.
So, now we are back. We are so happy to be back. I'm sure Sacha will update this with the story of her tests, which is somewhat involved, as these things always seem to be. We can hardly stand to look at the car, but eventually we must unpack. I am starting to see that we may need a bigger car someday, as the tiny Civic just doesn't work that well for road trips. But that's for another day. We're very proud of ourselves that we made it in one piece. Now let's just hope we can get some sleep tonight.
Friday, July 25, 2008
On the road
We're about ready to head out for our first overnight trip since the baby was born. Sacha has to take a test to add to her certification for her job this fall (she'll be working as a literacy specialist in Spanish, so she needs to be certified as a Spanish language teacher, or something like that). The only place she can take the test is a couple of hours away by car. After some deliberation, we decided it would make the most sense for us all to go. And so we are.
We have a hotel room (actually, a suite with two different rooms and a little sitting room, so the kids won't keep each other up all night long) lined up and our stuff packed and now we're just hoping to make it there and back in one piece! Tomorrow, Sacha will leave early for the test and I'll be with M and N until early afternoon. We're hoping we can drop by the testing center so Sacha can feed the baby on her break, but we have lots of pumped milk packed on ice just in case. I really have no idea what I'm going to do with the three of us all morning, but I guess we'll go exploring!
We've had several family outings in the car by this point, but none more than a few miles from home. It's going to be for just over 24 hours, so hopefully we can do it. Wish us luck!
We have a hotel room (actually, a suite with two different rooms and a little sitting room, so the kids won't keep each other up all night long) lined up and our stuff packed and now we're just hoping to make it there and back in one piece! Tomorrow, Sacha will leave early for the test and I'll be with M and N until early afternoon. We're hoping we can drop by the testing center so Sacha can feed the baby on her break, but we have lots of pumped milk packed on ice just in case. I really have no idea what I'm going to do with the three of us all morning, but I guess we'll go exploring!
We've had several family outings in the car by this point, but none more than a few miles from home. It's going to be for just over 24 hours, so hopefully we can do it. Wish us luck!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Talia at one month
See how she's lifting up her hand and part of one finger to indicate one month? Smart cookie, this one. Happy first month of life, kiddo!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Zzzzzzzzz
I am so tired. I think the long days on top of nights of scattered sleep are starting to catch up with me. Plus, the past, oh, 20 months of interrupted sleep on top of that. It seems like the kids are alternating nights of good sleep, so that one of them is up a lot when the other is not, and then they switch. Talia's definitely getting some more nighttime fussing in, which is to be expected but not exactly enjoyed.
Grogginess notwithstanding, we had a lovely weekend with Sacha's parents here to visit. They and Sacha and the kids even made it to a big sand-castle-making competition downtown. They also brought down a beautiful rose bush that some friends had sent for Natalia. It is gorgeous and we even had a free space in our (very full) garden for it. We love it!
This is totally random, but I've been noticing how much more protective we both are with Natalia, compared with Mateo when he was a newborn. I mean, we're not exactly keeping her in a bubble, but we're a little more jumpy about germs and such this time around. I think the somewhat traumatic birth combined with the scary (and very sudden) rehospitalization probably have something to do with that. Especially having her sent back to the hospital with no warning at all. Even though it turned out to be just precautionary, it's easy to feel like if some germ gets her, it could happen all over again. Obviously that's not rational, but that's how it goes.
Talia's really starting to hold up her head already. It's fun to watch! M did this at a relatively young age, too. She's a strong one already!
Mateo's friend, D, who lives down the street, and his mom came over to play this afternoon. I think our poor little guy must be just desperate to see his friends, because he had a wildly good time and just couldn't get enough of them. Laughing, shrieking, showing off, running around, etc. It was simultaneously great to see him having so much fun and guilt-inducing to think about how things have changed for him. I mean, mostly he's doing really well, but it has been a big change!
Some photos from our weekend...
Sacha with the baby after a feeding:
Hanging out with Poppa:
Cuddling with Mommy:
Trying for a family portrait with one serious kid and one sleepy baby:
Grogginess notwithstanding, we had a lovely weekend with Sacha's parents here to visit. They and Sacha and the kids even made it to a big sand-castle-making competition downtown. They also brought down a beautiful rose bush that some friends had sent for Natalia. It is gorgeous and we even had a free space in our (very full) garden for it. We love it!
This is totally random, but I've been noticing how much more protective we both are with Natalia, compared with Mateo when he was a newborn. I mean, we're not exactly keeping her in a bubble, but we're a little more jumpy about germs and such this time around. I think the somewhat traumatic birth combined with the scary (and very sudden) rehospitalization probably have something to do with that. Especially having her sent back to the hospital with no warning at all. Even though it turned out to be just precautionary, it's easy to feel like if some germ gets her, it could happen all over again. Obviously that's not rational, but that's how it goes.
Talia's really starting to hold up her head already. It's fun to watch! M did this at a relatively young age, too. She's a strong one already!
Mateo's friend, D, who lives down the street, and his mom came over to play this afternoon. I think our poor little guy must be just desperate to see his friends, because he had a wildly good time and just couldn't get enough of them. Laughing, shrieking, showing off, running around, etc. It was simultaneously great to see him having so much fun and guilt-inducing to think about how things have changed for him. I mean, mostly he's doing really well, but it has been a big change!
Some photos from our weekend...
Sacha with the baby after a feeding:
Hanging out with Poppa:
Cuddling with Mommy:
Trying for a family portrait with one serious kid and one sleepy baby:
Friday, July 18, 2008
Miles
My sister had to put her cat down today and I just wanted to write a little bit about him. Miles was really more like a person in a cat's body - he was her companion and had been with her from her early days of teaching in the deep South to a stint in the pacific northwest and back to the South again. He was a big guy - 24 pounds at his zenith - and he had this wonderful big flat head that was just so comforting to pet.
Miles was a southern gentleman at heart. He came to my sister as a tiny kitten with big ears and no hint of how large he would become, and they huddled under the covers together during their first winter in her unheated, un-air-conditioned house, where it sometimes reached the mid-30s in her bedroom.
Miles and I got to know each other after her second year of teaching, when she packed up her house and moved to the west coast for a year. Since Miles hated the car, I flew out there and then flew back with him on my lap in a huge cat carrier. I think we really bonded during the moment at airport security when they made me take him out of the carrier to go through the metal detector. I was holding onto those 24 pounds of cat for dear life as I rushed to the other side! Luckily, he didn't get away and we made it safely to the left coast.
In the end, diabetes struck Miles hard and it quickly became clear that it was time for him to go. Even though we haven't seen him in quite some time, we've missed Miles ever since he and my sister moved back to the place of his birth, and we will miss him even more, now. Rest in peace, big guy.
Role reversal
One of our children went to bed at 10:30 pm last night, woke for a relatively brief feeding at 4:30 am, and then slept until 8 am.
Our other child went to bed at 7:00 pm and then woke at 8:30 pm, 11:00 pm, 1:30 am, and 5 am before getting up for the day at 6 am.
Betcha can't guess which did what!
Edited to add: This baby is the miracle sleeping baby of our dreams. Seriously. Just amazing. And we will be addressing the frequent wakings of our lovely boy (who had been doing fairly well, actually, until this week) in the next couple of nights. We're fine with him being up once to nurse, but more than that is just crazy-making at this point.
Our other child went to bed at 7:00 pm and then woke at 8:30 pm, 11:00 pm, 1:30 am, and 5 am before getting up for the day at 6 am.
Betcha can't guess which did what!
Edited to add: This baby is the miracle sleeping baby of our dreams. Seriously. Just amazing. And we will be addressing the frequent wakings of our lovely boy (who had been doing fairly well, actually, until this week) in the next couple of nights. We're fine with him being up once to nurse, but more than that is just crazy-making at this point.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
20 months (plus two weeks and two days)
Dear Mateo,
Your 20 month letter, not surprisingly, is going to be a little short and is already quite belated. Despite our general lack of well-restedness around here, you continue to light up our lives! Here are a few things you've been up to recently, and a few photos.
We've noticed that you seem to have had another verbal leap recently. You've started to use the pronoun "I" in sentences - and you often speak in four and five word sentences now. You still sometimes use other pronouns (like in the mornings, you'll often say "carry you!" or "carry him!" if you want us to pick you up) to get your point across, but "I" comes out more and more.
You say the funniest things, only a few of which we can remember at this moment. The one I remember most was when you randomly pointed out, as we were walking home from swimming lessons, "I don't see a fan!". You love fans. And wind chimes. When your grandmas were here for two weeks after your baby sister was born, you loved to go out on adventures around the neighborhood with them and look for fans, air conditioners, and wind chimes.
So far, you seem to love your little sister. Of course, you've had your jealous moments and your capacity for whining has increased rather dramatically, but overall you're doing quite well. One cute thing is that you will tell us that baby Talia wants to go to someone else when you want their attention. For example, you might say "Baby Talia want go to Mommy!" if Mama's holding her and you want Mama to hold you instead.
Along those lines, you've become a little more...well, directive of us. We're working on learning to use "please," because you like telling us to "get it!", "read it!", "wash it!", etc.
You are also loving mama's milk more than ever these days, probably in response to how much your sister nurses. We've started having just a few sips of Mama's milk if you need a snack, which seems to be fine with you.
This month, you have fallen for cookbooks. You are very excited about the photos of all the different culinary creations and will often squeal in delight when you see the next picture.
One of our favorite Mateo-isms from this month: You've been carefully observing your baby sister as she nurses and have started announcing "Baby Talia say eh-eh-eh-eh...she nurses!"
We love you to the moon and stars!
love, Mommy and Mama
Your 20 month letter, not surprisingly, is going to be a little short and is already quite belated. Despite our general lack of well-restedness around here, you continue to light up our lives! Here are a few things you've been up to recently, and a few photos.
We've noticed that you seem to have had another verbal leap recently. You've started to use the pronoun "I" in sentences - and you often speak in four and five word sentences now. You still sometimes use other pronouns (like in the mornings, you'll often say "carry you!" or "carry him!" if you want us to pick you up) to get your point across, but "I" comes out more and more.
You say the funniest things, only a few of which we can remember at this moment. The one I remember most was when you randomly pointed out, as we were walking home from swimming lessons, "I don't see a fan!". You love fans. And wind chimes. When your grandmas were here for two weeks after your baby sister was born, you loved to go out on adventures around the neighborhood with them and look for fans, air conditioners, and wind chimes.
So far, you seem to love your little sister. Of course, you've had your jealous moments and your capacity for whining has increased rather dramatically, but overall you're doing quite well. One cute thing is that you will tell us that baby Talia wants to go to someone else when you want their attention. For example, you might say "Baby Talia want go to Mommy!" if Mama's holding her and you want Mama to hold you instead.
Along those lines, you've become a little more...well, directive of us. We're working on learning to use "please," because you like telling us to "get it!", "read it!", "wash it!", etc.
You are also loving mama's milk more than ever these days, probably in response to how much your sister nurses. We've started having just a few sips of Mama's milk if you need a snack, which seems to be fine with you.
This month, you have fallen for cookbooks. You are very excited about the photos of all the different culinary creations and will often squeal in delight when you see the next picture.
One of our favorite Mateo-isms from this month: You've been carefully observing your baby sister as she nurses and have started announcing "Baby Talia say eh-eh-eh-eh...she nurses!"
We love you to the moon and stars!
love, Mommy and Mama
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Dido
Mateo has an imaginary friend now. Seriously. She (Mateo has determined that she's a girl) appeared out of the clear blue sky a few days ago. Her name is Dido. She apparently sleeps in the crib with our little guy, as he's been wanting us to go and "get Dido out the crib!" Then we move on to "Dido onna counter!" and "Dido onna table!" Dido also goes potty with Teo and sits in the car with him, eats dinner with him, and, most importantly, plays blocks with him. We had nothing to do with this, needless to say. At first, we were like, who the heck is Dido? Then we figured it out.
I know I'm always saying this, but this is the cutest thing we've ever seen. It is so cute, it practically knocks you over. Coincidence that a special friend just for Mateo appeared nearly at the same time as his new baby sister did? Who knows, but it sure is convenient for now!
********************
On another note, breastfeeding is going well still, although Talia is showing some signs of the same reflux her brother had. We're doing a two-week trial of baby zan.tac and that seemed to help a lot for a little while, but now she's arching her back and screaming at feedings again, plus doing a lot of spitting up and having milk go audibly up and down her throat repeatedly. Yuck. That last one happened a lot with Mateo, who also had nasty reflux. We're planning on consulting the advice nurse and also calling Super Lactation Consultant, who will probably be able to solve the problem in some dramatically easy and obvious way.
I took this photo last night when the baby was nursing as we were watching a tv series on dvd. We blasted through all the available seasons of Scrubs with our little guy and this time we're distracting ourselves with Sex and the City (after M goes to bed) until we can manage to get season 3 of Weeds from our local video place.
Anyway, Natalia loves to nurse in this hilarious position in which she lies flat on her back and turns her head at a 90 degree angle to latch on to the boob. Mateo actually now nurses in a similar way sometimes, but it's nowhere near as funny as with a newborn. Here's what she looks like from my side of the couch. Notice how she is completely flat on her back but somehow managing to nurse anyway:
And here she is bouncing with her mama after the feeding. I have pretty small hands, but they look gigantic next to hers!
I know I'm always saying this, but this is the cutest thing we've ever seen. It is so cute, it practically knocks you over. Coincidence that a special friend just for Mateo appeared nearly at the same time as his new baby sister did? Who knows, but it sure is convenient for now!
********************
On another note, breastfeeding is going well still, although Talia is showing some signs of the same reflux her brother had. We're doing a two-week trial of baby zan.tac and that seemed to help a lot for a little while, but now she's arching her back and screaming at feedings again, plus doing a lot of spitting up and having milk go audibly up and down her throat repeatedly. Yuck. That last one happened a lot with Mateo, who also had nasty reflux. We're planning on consulting the advice nurse and also calling Super Lactation Consultant, who will probably be able to solve the problem in some dramatically easy and obvious way.
I took this photo last night when the baby was nursing as we were watching a tv series on dvd. We blasted through all the available seasons of Scrubs with our little guy and this time we're distracting ourselves with Sex and the City (after M goes to bed) until we can manage to get season 3 of Weeds from our local video place.
Anyway, Natalia loves to nurse in this hilarious position in which she lies flat on her back and turns her head at a 90 degree angle to latch on to the boob. Mateo actually now nurses in a similar way sometimes, but it's nowhere near as funny as with a newborn. Here's what she looks like from my side of the couch. Notice how she is completely flat on her back but somehow managing to nurse anyway:
And here she is bouncing with her mama after the feeding. I have pretty small hands, but they look gigantic next to hers!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Afternoons nowadays
Sacha went out for a walk yesterday afternoon and left us arranged like this. Mateo was having some mama's milk and Talia was cuddled up next to him working on her binky. We had to take a photo because it was just so cute with the two of them lying there like that. Of course, a few minutes after she left, things disintegrated, but it was a nice moment nonetheless.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Three weeks
I'm feeling better, thank goodness! Seems to have been a virus. Hallelujah.
Two noteworthy things today - first, Natalia is three weeks old! Second, Mateo had a new first today: he picked out his own outfit for the first time. He disappeared into his room and emerged with a very particular pair of red plaid shorts. Which he had never worn before. He must have figured out to open his dresser. This happened after he demanded to wear a shirt with a digger on it that we pulled out of the box of bigger clothes in the basement. He was so proud in his chosen outfit. Here is our fashionable little guy:
And here's his sister. . .
Getting to know Apa:
Look at that head lift!:
Enjoying some more tummy time:
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Blah
It's hot and I am sick, again. Whether it's strep part 2 or just a strep-like virus, my throat is killing me. Didn't I just have this? Argh. At least I don't have a fever though. It's been building up for a few days but last night I started feeling really yucky. I went to an urgent care place this morning and the rapid result strep test was negative (although apparently they're not completely accurate), so I just hope it goes away soon.
In other news, M is out for an adventure with his Apa. I guess they've been talking a lot about riding on buses, so Apa was going to take him on the bus to a park with a fun water fountain. It is just so sweet to see them having fun together.
Sacha and I ate lunch together after they left, with Natalia sleeping in her bouncy chair. We had to laugh because we felt like we were just having lunch together alone and were talking about how it was so nice to have some time with just the two of us...and Sacha mentioned that after we had Mateo, we had a million meals with him conked out next to us, but we never felt relaxed then! That must be the difference between a first and second child - the second child is born to people who already mostly know what to do with her. And, to people who know to relax when she's sleeping!
M went out for his adventure wearing a shirt that says "I love my two moms!" He picked it out himself to wear today. Gotta love it!
In other news, M is out for an adventure with his Apa. I guess they've been talking a lot about riding on buses, so Apa was going to take him on the bus to a park with a fun water fountain. It is just so sweet to see them having fun together.
Sacha and I ate lunch together after they left, with Natalia sleeping in her bouncy chair. We had to laugh because we felt like we were just having lunch together alone and were talking about how it was so nice to have some time with just the two of us...and Sacha mentioned that after we had Mateo, we had a million meals with him conked out next to us, but we never felt relaxed then! That must be the difference between a first and second child - the second child is born to people who already mostly know what to do with her. And, to people who know to relax when she's sleeping!
M went out for his adventure wearing a shirt that says "I love my two moms!" He picked it out himself to wear today. Gotta love it!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Bigger and bigger
Did I mention that little N was up to 8 lbs and 6 oz at her two-week check-up on Tuesday? That's a gain of 1 pound and 4 ounces from her birth weight - pretty amazing when you consider she lost almost 10% of her body weight in the first three days.
Check out that double chin that she's working on. We love it!
Check out that double chin that she's working on. We love it!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Swimming
I am sitting here waiting for our very wakeful daughter to show signs of sleepiness and so I thought I would blog. She is having tummy time on the couch next to me and I am having computer time.
Mateo and I started two weeks of daily group swim lessons this week. We realized last week that he was going crazy without any of his usual activities, so we decided swimming was a good thing to start again. We did the same thing with him last summer and he just loved it. Now he's in a slightly older age group but it's basically the same thing - a college-aged instructor convenes the group and talks for maybe 30 seconds, we sing one song, and then we have half an hour to play before we sing another song and the lesson is done. Today we worked on holding onto floating barbells and kicking.
Despite my rather low level of energy, we've been having a lot of fun with our pool trips. I love having time with just him. The lessons are at a city pool in a nice neighborhood in the middle of a huge park. Today we got there a little early and played in a fountain for a few minutes before going to the lesson. Then we spent half an hour splashing and kicking around the pool. Then, on our way back, Mateo ran along the path giggling and pointing things out as I tried to keep up. It was gloriously sunny and very sweet.
The swimming lessons have also inspired his longest sentence to date. We were on our way there yesterday and he started rubbing his eyes, so I asked him if he still wanted to go to swimming class. He said yeah, and then "I want go to swimming class!" over and over. He just said it spontaneously.
Tonight, despite our lovely night of sleep last night, we are exhausted. One thing I forgot about having a newborn (and now a newborn plus a toddler) is the relentlessness of it. Any given day is challenging but you can get through it if you just keep going...but then there's the next day, and the next day, etc. And, we both seem to be experiencing the weird phenomenon where you actually feel worse after getting a decent amount of sleep if you have a lot to catch up on.
Anyway, just par for the course at this point, I suppose.
Every night before bed, we've been letting Mateo hold his sister for a few minutes. He seems to like cuddling her and giving her a night-night kiss. Then, when he's done, he says "out!" very emphatically. If only all things in life were that simple! I think this is going to be the end of my ramblings, as the kiddo is now nursing and we both hope she'll conk out after that so we can, too. Buenas noches!
Mateo and I started two weeks of daily group swim lessons this week. We realized last week that he was going crazy without any of his usual activities, so we decided swimming was a good thing to start again. We did the same thing with him last summer and he just loved it. Now he's in a slightly older age group but it's basically the same thing - a college-aged instructor convenes the group and talks for maybe 30 seconds, we sing one song, and then we have half an hour to play before we sing another song and the lesson is done. Today we worked on holding onto floating barbells and kicking.
Despite my rather low level of energy, we've been having a lot of fun with our pool trips. I love having time with just him. The lessons are at a city pool in a nice neighborhood in the middle of a huge park. Today we got there a little early and played in a fountain for a few minutes before going to the lesson. Then we spent half an hour splashing and kicking around the pool. Then, on our way back, Mateo ran along the path giggling and pointing things out as I tried to keep up. It was gloriously sunny and very sweet.
The swimming lessons have also inspired his longest sentence to date. We were on our way there yesterday and he started rubbing his eyes, so I asked him if he still wanted to go to swimming class. He said yeah, and then "I want go to swimming class!" over and over. He just said it spontaneously.
Tonight, despite our lovely night of sleep last night, we are exhausted. One thing I forgot about having a newborn (and now a newborn plus a toddler) is the relentlessness of it. Any given day is challenging but you can get through it if you just keep going...but then there's the next day, and the next day, etc. And, we both seem to be experiencing the weird phenomenon where you actually feel worse after getting a decent amount of sleep if you have a lot to catch up on.
Anyway, just par for the course at this point, I suppose.
Every night before bed, we've been letting Mateo hold his sister for a few minutes. He seems to like cuddling her and giving her a night-night kiss. Then, when he's done, he says "out!" very emphatically. If only all things in life were that simple! I think this is going to be the end of my ramblings, as the kiddo is now nursing and we both hope she'll conk out after that so we can, too. Buenas noches!
Catching up on the Zzzz's
Well, Mateo and Natalia had a fabulous night last night, and both of us had a chance to catch up on some sleep. Mateo went to bed around 7 pm, and, maybe thanks to his swim class, slept through till 5am. After waking up to nurse at five, he went back to sleep for a whole hour! Yah. I was actually starting to wonder if he was sick. I know, it's crazy, that I wonder if our child is sick because he is sleeping till 6 am. LOL.
Natalia also had a great night. We got to bed around 9:30 pm and she woke up to nurse at 11 pm. She then fell asleep on her own by midnight, without having Alayna bounce her up and down for an hour or give her tummy time etc., and slept till 5 am! She went back to sleep sometime around 7, and I was able to sleep in till 9 am. What a fabulous life! Let's hope for more nights like this last one.
Natalia also had a great night. We got to bed around 9:30 pm and she woke up to nurse at 11 pm. She then fell asleep on her own by midnight, without having Alayna bounce her up and down for an hour or give her tummy time etc., and slept till 5 am! She went back to sleep sometime around 7, and I was able to sleep in till 9 am. What a fabulous life! Let's hope for more nights like this last one.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Training wheels off and we're rolling
My mom is leaving tomorrow and we're taking a deep breath before diving into this two-kid thing on our own. Well, we're never really on our own, thanks to an amazing community of family and friends both here and afar...but we will be embarking on life with our new four-person family from here on out.
We are so incredibly thankful for both our moms! They each took a week out of their busy lives to come hold our hands, hold our kids, do our laundry, cook our meals, shuttle back and forth to the hospital and doctor visits, and get up early with Mateo every single morning so we could sleep. We appreciate it all more than words can say.
Just in time for the transition, Talia has spent the past few days letting us know that she is now awake. She is awake during the day and during the night! Last night, she had a particularly memorable stretch in which she was up for two hours and fifteen minutes. Finally, mercifully, she went to sleep around 5:15 this morning, a mere 30 minutes before her brother got up for the day. She was also up some other times during the night, but neither of us remembers exactly when they were or for how long. Between both kids, we were up 5 times last night. Oy.
So, we're crossing our fingers and hoping for the best in the coming days! We do have one new secret weapon - a yoga ball for bouncing the babe. We lent our yoga ball to some friends who were expecting a baby any day and we just couldn't stand to ask for it back (before their baby came) once it became clear that we were actually going to need it. We borrowed one from friends down the street and it's a good thing we did, because the friends we lent our ball to just went into labor! We're thinking of them and hoping all is well. We can't wait to meet their new little person, who will be just two weeks younger than our girl. Yay!
We are so incredibly thankful for both our moms! They each took a week out of their busy lives to come hold our hands, hold our kids, do our laundry, cook our meals, shuttle back and forth to the hospital and doctor visits, and get up early with Mateo every single morning so we could sleep. We appreciate it all more than words can say.
Just in time for the transition, Talia has spent the past few days letting us know that she is now awake. She is awake during the day and during the night! Last night, she had a particularly memorable stretch in which she was up for two hours and fifteen minutes. Finally, mercifully, she went to sleep around 5:15 this morning, a mere 30 minutes before her brother got up for the day. She was also up some other times during the night, but neither of us remembers exactly when they were or for how long. Between both kids, we were up 5 times last night. Oy.
So, we're crossing our fingers and hoping for the best in the coming days! We do have one new secret weapon - a yoga ball for bouncing the babe. We lent our yoga ball to some friends who were expecting a baby any day and we just couldn't stand to ask for it back (before their baby came) once it became clear that we were actually going to need it. We borrowed one from friends down the street and it's a good thing we did, because the friends we lent our ball to just went into labor! We're thinking of them and hoping all is well. We can't wait to meet their new little person, who will be just two weeks younger than our girl. Yay!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
First video appearance
Here's a quick video we took of the little chica this evening, when she decided to cast off her usual evening nap for a quiet alert session. Now she's crashed out at the boob. I think that's a pretty successful evening for an almost two-week-old!
Friday, July 4, 2008
Happy birthday, America
Mateo kept saying "happy birthday!" earlier, so I got him to start saying "happy birthday, America!" It was too funny, especially considering our state of sleep deprivation around here. Oh, you're thinking, what about those days of a few days ago, when you were going on about what a sound and easy sleeper Natalia is? Of course, I never should have written that. That very same night, she decided to wake up and stay up.
We now think that she had an especially sleepy first week because she was recovering from the meconium and somewhat traumatic birth, but that she will probably be more and more alert from here on out. She is still sleeping four or more hours at a stretch at night, so we have nothing to complain about! But, the past couple of nights have seen her get up to eat and finish eating and still be wide awake and cranky. We've divided things so that Sacha does the feeding and I do the before and after feeding stuff, so I've been up trying to figure out how to get her back to sleep!
I felt so frustrated last night because she was wide awake and fussy and I just couldn't get her to nod off. Mateo's most difficult time has also always been going to sleep, so it felt uncomfortably familiar to have another wide awake baby who didn't want to sleep on my hands. I finally realized today that I just don't have my bag of tricks for her, yet, like I do for Mateo. We're both learning what she likes and doesn't like and what will work for her in all areas...so once we get there, things will be easier.
In other news, we had a nice 4th of July once we all got going this morning. My mom took Mateo out on a big adventure around the neighborhood and let Sacha and I (and the baby) sleep until 8:30! That will not be happening for a long time after she leaves, let me tell you.
Then M and I got our stuff together and went to meet some friends for this adorable little neighborhood parade where they live. It was basically all the families in the area meeting to walk this little parade route and have fun. There was a big fire truck that led the whole thing. It was packed and, despite the fact that I was a bit of a walking zombie, we had fun. Or, at least I did. Mateo slept through the whole thing in his stroller! It killed me, because he would have LOVED the fire truck and all the other kids and colors and goings-on...and because I had totally gotten us out of the house for a fun adventure and he wasn't even conscious for it.
After we got home, Mateo got one of the presents that Natalia "brought home" from the hospital for him. It's this awesome wooden truck with a container on the back that comes on and off that my mom found. He seriously played with it nonstop for an hour after he got it, which is a really long time for him. It was very cute.
Then we had Apa and his friend M over for dinner. They loved hanging out with both kids and it was great to see them all having so much fun.
Here are some photos from today.
Chilling in her special Independence Day onesie:
We call this her orchestra conductor pose:
They seem to enjoy cuddling together - or at least, Mateo does:
Mateo and Apa had a wonderful time together, as they always do:
Here's our favorite boy:
We now think that she had an especially sleepy first week because she was recovering from the meconium and somewhat traumatic birth, but that she will probably be more and more alert from here on out. She is still sleeping four or more hours at a stretch at night, so we have nothing to complain about! But, the past couple of nights have seen her get up to eat and finish eating and still be wide awake and cranky. We've divided things so that Sacha does the feeding and I do the before and after feeding stuff, so I've been up trying to figure out how to get her back to sleep!
I felt so frustrated last night because she was wide awake and fussy and I just couldn't get her to nod off. Mateo's most difficult time has also always been going to sleep, so it felt uncomfortably familiar to have another wide awake baby who didn't want to sleep on my hands. I finally realized today that I just don't have my bag of tricks for her, yet, like I do for Mateo. We're both learning what she likes and doesn't like and what will work for her in all areas...so once we get there, things will be easier.
In other news, we had a nice 4th of July once we all got going this morning. My mom took Mateo out on a big adventure around the neighborhood and let Sacha and I (and the baby) sleep until 8:30! That will not be happening for a long time after she leaves, let me tell you.
Then M and I got our stuff together and went to meet some friends for this adorable little neighborhood parade where they live. It was basically all the families in the area meeting to walk this little parade route and have fun. There was a big fire truck that led the whole thing. It was packed and, despite the fact that I was a bit of a walking zombie, we had fun. Or, at least I did. Mateo slept through the whole thing in his stroller! It killed me, because he would have LOVED the fire truck and all the other kids and colors and goings-on...and because I had totally gotten us out of the house for a fun adventure and he wasn't even conscious for it.
After we got home, Mateo got one of the presents that Natalia "brought home" from the hospital for him. It's this awesome wooden truck with a container on the back that comes on and off that my mom found. He seriously played with it nonstop for an hour after he got it, which is a really long time for him. It was very cute.
Then we had Apa and his friend M over for dinner. They loved hanging out with both kids and it was great to see them all having so much fun.
Here are some photos from today.
Chilling in her special Independence Day onesie:
We call this her orchestra conductor pose:
They seem to enjoy cuddling together - or at least, Mateo does:
Mateo and Apa had a wonderful time together, as they always do:
Here's our favorite boy:
Letter from Apa
I had a great time with Mateo yesterday! I was just thinking how fun he is at this age and about the great times we've had over the last twenty months. It's amazing that less than two years ago he changed many lives forever and now Natalia and all of us are starting a magical journey that only she can give us.
I loved the very cute, very healthy feeding sounds she was making yesterday. I look forward to all the sound she'll be making as she develops and to hear her express her feeling and thoughts as she grows up. I believe I am the luckiest man in the world to be part of your lives.
Mateo and I had the best time yesterday. Our lunch at Lorenzo's was a hit. We were served by a woman who is about 17 weeks pregnant and she was excited to see Mateo's expression of excitement everytime she brought something to us. He would look at her and just smile and say crane (we were sitting outside) and bike and bus. he thought this was really cute. After Lorenzo's we went to the PARK and played on the SWINGS. Mateo promptly ordered me to swing too and I did and I had fun!! I would kick my feet in the air and he thought this was the funniest thing ever. After the swing session I happened to jump up and hang from the swing frame and Mateo thought this was best thing and started mimicking me by holding on to a pole and arching his little head backwards. I suggested we go and play on the slides after that, but he said "quiro agua, si" so we went to the water fountain and sprayed our faces with the water fountain. He thought this was funny.
Mateo and I had the best time yesterday. Our lunch at Lorenzo's was a hit. We were served by a woman who is about 17 weeks pregnant and she was excited to see Mateo's expression of excitement everytime she brought something to us. He would look at her and just smile and say crane (we were sitting outside) and bike and bus. he thought this was really cute. After Lorenzo's we went to the PARK and played on the SWINGS. Mateo promptly ordered me to swing too and I did and I had fun!! I would kick my feet in the air and he thought this was the funniest thing ever. After the swing session I happened to jump up and hang from the swing frame and Mateo thought this was best thing and started mimicking me by holding on to a pole and arching his little head backwards. I suggested we go and play on the slides after that, but he said "quiro agua, si" so we went to the water fountain and sprayed our faces with the water fountain. He thought this was funny.
Our conversations were about the park, the centepied, his ABC's, cranes, buses, the digger, building houses, and "baby Talia." Mateo adores his little sister and I look forward to seeing their relationship grow and strengthen.
Thank you and I look forward to seeing everyone soon!
Apa
Apa
Thursday, July 3, 2008
New title
We finally decided on a new title - The Adventures of Teo and Talia. We like it because it uses both their nicknames and reflects our new family composition :) Thanks to everyone for your input!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Cute kids
Since figuring out how to nurse yesterday, Natalia has become a milk monster! She is way into mommy's milk. It is great for all involved. Sacha is doing an amazing job in her new role as milk provider.
And, (I am knocking on wood as I type this) Talia appears to be a sleeper. Yes, she actually sleeps! After a year and a half with a rather high maintenance sleeper this seems too good to be true, but she seems to love sleeping. Last night, she did a 4.5 hour stretch and followed it up with 4 more hours just for good measure. We love it! We had to laugh the other night when Mateo woke up crying for milk at 1:30 am, which is exactly when we had to rouse our one-week-old for her next feeding. Oh, the irony. We're just trying to enjoy it and not get all caught up in how long it will last.
We had our first outing today, which is about a jillion years earlier than we did a fun outing with our little M. We all went to the farmer's market. Mateo and Natalia and I walked there and Sacha met us there with the car. It was great fun, although a bit exhausting, and somewhat surreal to be at the same farmer's market where just a couple of weeks ago we had been with Sacha hugely pregnant. We bought a bag of cherries and enjoyed them at home over a snack with my mom.
I worried a little that I would have too little patience with Mateo after his sister's birth. We have definitely been dealing with increased clinginess and him needing lots of cuddling and reassurance, but I'm generally not short on patience. I feel like I love him even more now, if that's even possible. He's just such a sweet, creative, energetic and loving little guy. We're feeling pretty lucky around here these days.
Sacha's version of the birth story
Last time, when Mateo was born, both Alayna and I wrote up the birth story without reading each other's story. We wanted to do the same thing this time as well, and so this may repeat much of what Alayna said, but writing this is more for me and my memory than anything else.
On the 21st and 9pm, after waiting and waiting to go into labor naturally, we packed up and went to the hospital to do an induction. We knew when we got there that either I would start out with the ripening gel for my cervix (the preferred choice), or, if I was having 3 contractions every ten minutes, I would be started on a low dose of pitocin. After they hooked me up to the monitors, it was clear that I was having too many contractions for the gel:( The midwife, though, was great and suggested that I drink a ton of water, rest and see if they could get my contractions to slow down enough to still have the gel.
After an hour, they slowed just a hair, and I was given the gel at 11pm! So far, no pitocin! At 1:30pm, I started having real contractions that I could in no way sleep through. They were coming every 3-5 minutes, lasting a good minute, and I wanted our doula, Rachael. Alayna was helping me breath deeply through the contractions and would do all sorts of guided imagery about being in a rainbow and different things to help me relax. Thank you Bradley classes!
I labored with Alayna and Rachael till around 9am. I had times when I felt like I really couldn't do this, but with their support I got through each contraction. Part of me wondered at times if I was going through transition because the contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes, I felt like I couldn't do it any longer, and when I sat on the toilet I felt like pushing, and that made the contractions feel 100 times better.
But, when I was checked I was at 5 cm. Definitely not going through transition:( I was pretty discouraged for the next hour, because I thought I was getting closer to full dilation, but then I got back into the swing of things. I think if everyone had not been soooo supportive of me at that moment, I would have given up. Everyone, though, was incredible upbeat: Alayna, Rachael, the midwife, and our fabulous nurse.
After a while, I started feeling like, well I know I got through the previous contraction, I know I can get through this contraction too! Feeling more confident, I enjoyed my breaks between contractions and felt much more alert. I tried walking around the floor of the hospital, going in the bath, having water sprayed on my belly, rocking on all fours. This isn't to say that I was happy during the contraction, but I started to say to myself, "I know I got through the last one. I can get through this one too." Other times, though, I would say, "No, no, no. I can't do this." Rachael suggested that I say, "Yes" to the contractions. I really think this was one of the few suggestions I just flat out refused during my labor.
I'm not sure when, but I think around 1pm the baby's heart rate started to become less variable. I was also checked again at 1pm, and they found that I had dilated one more centimeter in the last four hours. I was started on oxygen at some point as well, and they tried tickling her head through my cervix to see if she would move or respond. I also know that I started gushing out think green meconium sludge. The midwife and nurse seemed much more concerned about the heart rate than the meconium, but it was rather disconcerting.
Time went really slowly and fast all at the same time. I just got through each contraction with all of my support and time kept on passing. I felt over and over like I just can't do this, and I know Alayna would say, "You are doing this."
At three pm, between a contraction, Alayna took me aside and let me know that she would support me no matter what and that I was doing a great job. At the same time, if I ever wanted something for the pain, that would be ok too and she wouldn't mention it again. She trusted that I would know if I needed that. I don't think I said a word about pain medication, and nor did anyone else.
At 4pm I was checked again, and in seven hours, I had only dilated to a 6 and my cervix was starting to swell. I felt really discouraged at this time. To top things off, I was on oxygen, the baby wasn't really moving, her heart beat was stable, but not variable. The midwife then said that I had some different options. I could continue as things were, or I could take some pictocin, have internal uterine monitoring of the contractions and have an amniofusion to try and decrease the concentration on meconium in my uterus.
The right thing, in my opinion, was to go ahead with interventions and have an epidural. I knew that after 15 hours of laboring, I didn't want to have all of those interventions without the pain control. Once the epidural went in, the baby's heart rate started to get more variable for a while, but then went back to her previous pattern.
At first with the epidural, I couldn't feel the contractions at all. Then, as they increased the pitocin, I got to the point where I was breathing through the contraction, but I could do it on my own. I took the nicest nap in the world, and let me body do her thing.
At 5pm or so, they found that the baby had moved into a much better position and was starting to dilate my cervix again! Yah. Life was good!
Things went on like that till 7pm. I would doze off. Rachael took a little walk and Alayna took a little breath of fresh air as well. I breathed through some of the contractions, but they were mild and just fine. The nurse offered to up the epidural, but I was happy feeling the movement down and some of the contractions. It was great to experience the labor in this way, and I didn't want to be totally cut off from more sensation.
At 7pm, suddenly comes in our nurse and a totally different Dr. who is telling us that the baby is not doing well and much come out right now. Part of me is asleep, wearing a noisy oxygen mask, trying to understand the thick accent of the Dr. and understand why I don't have a midwife anymore, without warning. (The nurse later apologized that she didn't have time to warn us about the change.)
The Dr. kept on saying, the baby is not happy. She is not doing well. She is not happy. She needs to come out now. After he checks me, and finds that I am fully dilated, and the baby is in the plus three position, he says I can have 15 minutes to push, or I will have a complete anesthesia c-section. We don't have time to up the epidural and then to a c-section, if I can't push her out in 15 minutes.
I felt really panicked. The pushing part was the part of the labor I was most worried about before giving birth and during the labor. I was afraid I just wouldn't be able to push her out at all. The Dr. said he would be using forceps, but that you can't pull out a baby with forceps. I would have to push for all I'm worth and he would assist with the motion, and he would make sure the baby didn't recede between pushes.
At 7:14pm he did a time check and said I had exactly 15 minutes, or till 7:29pm to birth our baby. He put in the forceps, and even though I had no physical urge to push at all, I sure had an emotional urge to push, and I gave it everything I had. The first push I had her down to my perineum. The second pushed she crowned. The third push she was born. Three pushes in three minutes and she was born at 7:17pm~!
I have to say those three pushes were the most painful thing ever. I was screaming for all I was worth during the second push and it sure didn't feel like the epidural was doing anything at all for me. (I'm sure it was dulling some of the pain.)
Actually, I expected that the pain of labor was going to be like that second push during all of my contractions. At to have that level of pain for only three minutes was amazing. Now I can just remember that it was intensely painful, but I can't actually recall the feeling of the pain, if that makes sense. Thank you endorphins or whatever it is that made me forget the feeling of the pain.
After she was born, I didn't see much of what happened. Alayna was over at the table and I could see that she was crying. I kept on asking if the baby was alive, and they kept on reassuring me that, "Yes," she is alive. I wasn't sure if she was ok, and was a bit confused.
At the same time, I felt the placenta just ready to come out, and it felt just huge. I wanted the Dr. to deliver the placenta at that moment. It was such a relief in my vagina once the placenta came out. And by that time, it was clear that our Natalia was going to be fine! I still had not seen her, and couldn't see what they were doing at the table, but I was told that she was breathing and would be ok!
They worked on Natalia for a while and the Dr. started stitching me up. I was able to hold our Natalia not too long after she was stabilized. And although they said she might need to go to the special care nursery to be monitored for three-hours hours, she was able to stay with us.
Forty-five minutes later, the Dr. had finished my stitches. On the white board they kept on writing the number of stitches. It started with 6 +2 + 2 etc. and I started to not look at the board after 10 minutes, plus soon I was holding Natalia and couldn't be bothered with the stitches. I never asked how many I received and honestly am happy not to know. Even with the forceps, I ended up with only a second degree tear! I think that all of the pereneal massage Alayna and I did made a huge difference.
After she was born, I breast fed Natalia for the first time. They helped me latch her on, and she sucked a little bit, and I just felt so ecstatically happy. I know that I can't describe how I felt. After nursing, Alayna held her her for a while, and then I think the labor caught up with me. While I was feeding Natalia, it took all of my energy and effort to not fall asleep, and as much as I wanted to stay awake while they were measuring her and everything, I just had no reserves left. I slept until 11pm, and Alayna had her own special time just with Natalia and got to witness her first bath and everything. And then we were moved to our postpartum room with our new daughter!
Overall, I just feel really positive about the labor. It was a wonderful experience. Yes, the last 20 minutes were scary, and not what we expected, but it all turned out well. The Bradley classes were amazing in preparing us for labor, and I feel really good about how I handled the contractions for the 15 hours before the epidural. I know that for me, the interventions and epidural were 100% the right thing to do for Natalia. Throughout the labor I think we really stayed focus on being flexible and remembering that at the end of the day, we wanted to have a healthy baby and a healthy me.
On the 21st and 9pm, after waiting and waiting to go into labor naturally, we packed up and went to the hospital to do an induction. We knew when we got there that either I would start out with the ripening gel for my cervix (the preferred choice), or, if I was having 3 contractions every ten minutes, I would be started on a low dose of pitocin. After they hooked me up to the monitors, it was clear that I was having too many contractions for the gel:( The midwife, though, was great and suggested that I drink a ton of water, rest and see if they could get my contractions to slow down enough to still have the gel.
After an hour, they slowed just a hair, and I was given the gel at 11pm! So far, no pitocin! At 1:30pm, I started having real contractions that I could in no way sleep through. They were coming every 3-5 minutes, lasting a good minute, and I wanted our doula, Rachael. Alayna was helping me breath deeply through the contractions and would do all sorts of guided imagery about being in a rainbow and different things to help me relax. Thank you Bradley classes!
I labored with Alayna and Rachael till around 9am. I had times when I felt like I really couldn't do this, but with their support I got through each contraction. Part of me wondered at times if I was going through transition because the contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes, I felt like I couldn't do it any longer, and when I sat on the toilet I felt like pushing, and that made the contractions feel 100 times better.
But, when I was checked I was at 5 cm. Definitely not going through transition:( I was pretty discouraged for the next hour, because I thought I was getting closer to full dilation, but then I got back into the swing of things. I think if everyone had not been soooo supportive of me at that moment, I would have given up. Everyone, though, was incredible upbeat: Alayna, Rachael, the midwife, and our fabulous nurse.
After a while, I started feeling like, well I know I got through the previous contraction, I know I can get through this contraction too! Feeling more confident, I enjoyed my breaks between contractions and felt much more alert. I tried walking around the floor of the hospital, going in the bath, having water sprayed on my belly, rocking on all fours. This isn't to say that I was happy during the contraction, but I started to say to myself, "I know I got through the last one. I can get through this one too." Other times, though, I would say, "No, no, no. I can't do this." Rachael suggested that I say, "Yes" to the contractions. I really think this was one of the few suggestions I just flat out refused during my labor.
I'm not sure when, but I think around 1pm the baby's heart rate started to become less variable. I was also checked again at 1pm, and they found that I had dilated one more centimeter in the last four hours. I was started on oxygen at some point as well, and they tried tickling her head through my cervix to see if she would move or respond. I also know that I started gushing out think green meconium sludge. The midwife and nurse seemed much more concerned about the heart rate than the meconium, but it was rather disconcerting.
Time went really slowly and fast all at the same time. I just got through each contraction with all of my support and time kept on passing. I felt over and over like I just can't do this, and I know Alayna would say, "You are doing this."
At three pm, between a contraction, Alayna took me aside and let me know that she would support me no matter what and that I was doing a great job. At the same time, if I ever wanted something for the pain, that would be ok too and she wouldn't mention it again. She trusted that I would know if I needed that. I don't think I said a word about pain medication, and nor did anyone else.
At 4pm I was checked again, and in seven hours, I had only dilated to a 6 and my cervix was starting to swell. I felt really discouraged at this time. To top things off, I was on oxygen, the baby wasn't really moving, her heart beat was stable, but not variable. The midwife then said that I had some different options. I could continue as things were, or I could take some pictocin, have internal uterine monitoring of the contractions and have an amniofusion to try and decrease the concentration on meconium in my uterus.
The right thing, in my opinion, was to go ahead with interventions and have an epidural. I knew that after 15 hours of laboring, I didn't want to have all of those interventions without the pain control. Once the epidural went in, the baby's heart rate started to get more variable for a while, but then went back to her previous pattern.
At first with the epidural, I couldn't feel the contractions at all. Then, as they increased the pitocin, I got to the point where I was breathing through the contraction, but I could do it on my own. I took the nicest nap in the world, and let me body do her thing.
At 5pm or so, they found that the baby had moved into a much better position and was starting to dilate my cervix again! Yah. Life was good!
Things went on like that till 7pm. I would doze off. Rachael took a little walk and Alayna took a little breath of fresh air as well. I breathed through some of the contractions, but they were mild and just fine. The nurse offered to up the epidural, but I was happy feeling the movement down and some of the contractions. It was great to experience the labor in this way, and I didn't want to be totally cut off from more sensation.
At 7pm, suddenly comes in our nurse and a totally different Dr. who is telling us that the baby is not doing well and much come out right now. Part of me is asleep, wearing a noisy oxygen mask, trying to understand the thick accent of the Dr. and understand why I don't have a midwife anymore, without warning. (The nurse later apologized that she didn't have time to warn us about the change.)
The Dr. kept on saying, the baby is not happy. She is not doing well. She is not happy. She needs to come out now. After he checks me, and finds that I am fully dilated, and the baby is in the plus three position, he says I can have 15 minutes to push, or I will have a complete anesthesia c-section. We don't have time to up the epidural and then to a c-section, if I can't push her out in 15 minutes.
I felt really panicked. The pushing part was the part of the labor I was most worried about before giving birth and during the labor. I was afraid I just wouldn't be able to push her out at all. The Dr. said he would be using forceps, but that you can't pull out a baby with forceps. I would have to push for all I'm worth and he would assist with the motion, and he would make sure the baby didn't recede between pushes.
At 7:14pm he did a time check and said I had exactly 15 minutes, or till 7:29pm to birth our baby. He put in the forceps, and even though I had no physical urge to push at all, I sure had an emotional urge to push, and I gave it everything I had. The first push I had her down to my perineum. The second pushed she crowned. The third push she was born. Three pushes in three minutes and she was born at 7:17pm~!
I have to say those three pushes were the most painful thing ever. I was screaming for all I was worth during the second push and it sure didn't feel like the epidural was doing anything at all for me. (I'm sure it was dulling some of the pain.)
Actually, I expected that the pain of labor was going to be like that second push during all of my contractions. At to have that level of pain for only three minutes was amazing. Now I can just remember that it was intensely painful, but I can't actually recall the feeling of the pain, if that makes sense. Thank you endorphins or whatever it is that made me forget the feeling of the pain.
After she was born, I didn't see much of what happened. Alayna was over at the table and I could see that she was crying. I kept on asking if the baby was alive, and they kept on reassuring me that, "Yes," she is alive. I wasn't sure if she was ok, and was a bit confused.
At the same time, I felt the placenta just ready to come out, and it felt just huge. I wanted the Dr. to deliver the placenta at that moment. It was such a relief in my vagina once the placenta came out. And by that time, it was clear that our Natalia was going to be fine! I still had not seen her, and couldn't see what they were doing at the table, but I was told that she was breathing and would be ok!
They worked on Natalia for a while and the Dr. started stitching me up. I was able to hold our Natalia not too long after she was stabilized. And although they said she might need to go to the special care nursery to be monitored for three-hours hours, she was able to stay with us.
Forty-five minutes later, the Dr. had finished my stitches. On the white board they kept on writing the number of stitches. It started with 6 +2 + 2 etc. and I started to not look at the board after 10 minutes, plus soon I was holding Natalia and couldn't be bothered with the stitches. I never asked how many I received and honestly am happy not to know. Even with the forceps, I ended up with only a second degree tear! I think that all of the pereneal massage Alayna and I did made a huge difference.
After she was born, I breast fed Natalia for the first time. They helped me latch her on, and she sucked a little bit, and I just felt so ecstatically happy. I know that I can't describe how I felt. After nursing, Alayna held her her for a while, and then I think the labor caught up with me. While I was feeding Natalia, it took all of my energy and effort to not fall asleep, and as much as I wanted to stay awake while they were measuring her and everything, I just had no reserves left. I slept until 11pm, and Alayna had her own special time just with Natalia and got to witness her first bath and everything. And then we were moved to our postpartum room with our new daughter!
Overall, I just feel really positive about the labor. It was a wonderful experience. Yes, the last 20 minutes were scary, and not what we expected, but it all turned out well. The Bradley classes were amazing in preparing us for labor, and I feel really good about how I handled the contractions for the 15 hours before the epidural. I know that for me, the interventions and epidural were 100% the right thing to do for Natalia. Throughout the labor I think we really stayed focus on being flexible and remembering that at the end of the day, we wanted to have a healthy baby and a healthy me.
Money well spent
The home lactation consultant was worth every penny we paid her and more. She looked nothing at all like what I expected - I was picturing a comforting and perfumed older woman and in her place walked in a gum-chewing, fast-talking, supremely confident professional - but she was awesome. She got Natalia to latch and feed and then helped Sacha learn how to do it. Her big thing was to only hold the baby's back and let them control their head and neck, which is not what anyone else has ever advocated to us, but it works really well with this baby.
She spent two hours at our house and by the time she left, Sacha had fed Natalia three times and latched her on all by herself several times. I was a little nervous about what the night would bring, but it's worked every time she's nursed since last night. Amazing! We all feel sooo much better about how things are going. And Natalia seems happier, too. She's been more alert when she's awake and doing better at waking herself up for feedings. Yay!
She spent two hours at our house and by the time she left, Sacha had fed Natalia three times and latched her on all by herself several times. I was a little nervous about what the night would bring, but it's worked every time she's nursed since last night. Amazing! We all feel sooo much better about how things are going. And Natalia seems happier, too. She's been more alert when she's awake and doing better at waking herself up for feedings. Yay!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)