Clara ("big sissie" as she likes to be called) has been very sweet with the baby. She helps me burp him and gets his pacifier when he cries. She likes to hold his little hands and give him lots of kisses.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Getting bigger
Robbie (I think that's how we'll spell it--thanks for all the input!) is such a sweet baby.
Five days old.
Ten days old.
Clara ("big sissie" as she likes to be called) has been very sweet with the baby. She helps me burp him and gets his pacifier when he cries. She likes to hold his little hands and give him lots of kisses.
Clara ("big sissie" as she likes to be called) has been very sweet with the baby. She helps me burp him and gets his pacifier when he cries. She likes to hold his little hands and give him lots of kisses.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Welcoming Robert Michael
Before the utter exhaustion and overwhelming feelings really set in, I thought I'd take a minute to post some pics and tell Robert's story.
Tuesday I started feeling contractions during the day that gradually grew closer together as the evening came closer but were still about 15-20 minutes apart. I decided to head to our Relief Society meeting and enjoyed a rousing game of scripture pictionary and a s'more, I drove back home, feeling stronger contractions along the way.
At home, I told Michael that I think this might be for real, and after getting things organized I called my midwife. At about 11:00, we drove to the hospital (which is literally within walking distance). Even though I was three days overdue (four when he was born), I was afraid that they were going to turn me away.
Fortunately, I had progressed enough that they kept me. My contractions were between 3 and 5 minutes apart but were still pretty inconsistent. However, they were strong (i.e. very painful). I was very grateful to receive some pain medicine and then an epidural about 2:30 in the morning.
I am so grateful for epidurals. I will never contemplate the idea of going naturally again, nor will I feel bad about not being able to handle the pain.
I dozed off and on, gradually progressing to an 8 or a 9 (with the help of some Pitocin), at which point my midwife broke my water. Within 15 minutes I felt like I was ready to push, and sure enough, I was.
I had to push quite a bit more with Robby than I did with Clara, and after he weighed in at nearly 9 lbs 9 oz, I understood why!
He was born at 7:53am, weighing 9 lbs, 8.6 oz, and measuring 20 inches long. I am thrilled he has Michael's coloring.
Michael is so excited to have a son.
Clara is already a great big sister. She was so excited when we were getting ready to go to the hospital and did not want to go to sleep. For several days before I went in, she would ask me every day, "Are you going to have the baby today?" or "Are you in labor?" or things like that.
Hyrum was as excited as Clara was to get this baby here. We were so grateful he could watch Clara while I was at the hospital and has been a big help (well, he was before the baby was born, too).
My favorite people.
An attempt at a family portrait on self-timer. Please note that Clara is wearing the same outfit as the day before (which she has also worn for a couple of days before that). Her hair hadn't been brushed until today when I did it for her at the hospital. I guess doing Clara's hair wasn't on the radar for Michael or Hyrum. Men!
So glad to be together.
Filled with so much love for these two.
At home in the bassinet.
Well, we are home and are going to be taking some time to adjust (duh!). We are so grateful for this little blessing. I am not going to lie--I am nervous about it and hope and pray for Clara to be filled with love for him (and him for her). I hope I won't get mastitis again. But no matter what, I am grateful to be an eternal family, bound by covenants in the temple.
In other news, should we spell it Robbie or Robby?
And finally, we are thrilled that we won't ever have to make him a birthday cake but can just get him a free slurpee from 7-Eleven and call it good. Haha.
Tuesday I started feeling contractions during the day that gradually grew closer together as the evening came closer but were still about 15-20 minutes apart. I decided to head to our Relief Society meeting and enjoyed a rousing game of scripture pictionary and a s'more, I drove back home, feeling stronger contractions along the way.
At home, I told Michael that I think this might be for real, and after getting things organized I called my midwife. At about 11:00, we drove to the hospital (which is literally within walking distance). Even though I was three days overdue (four when he was born), I was afraid that they were going to turn me away.
Fortunately, I had progressed enough that they kept me. My contractions were between 3 and 5 minutes apart but were still pretty inconsistent. However, they were strong (i.e. very painful). I was very grateful to receive some pain medicine and then an epidural about 2:30 in the morning.
I am so grateful for epidurals. I will never contemplate the idea of going naturally again, nor will I feel bad about not being able to handle the pain.
I dozed off and on, gradually progressing to an 8 or a 9 (with the help of some Pitocin), at which point my midwife broke my water. Within 15 minutes I felt like I was ready to push, and sure enough, I was.
I had to push quite a bit more with Robby than I did with Clara, and after he weighed in at nearly 9 lbs 9 oz, I understood why!
She was willing to hold Robby once--which is just fine.
Well, we are home and are going to be taking some time to adjust (duh!). We are so grateful for this little blessing. I am not going to lie--I am nervous about it and hope and pray for Clara to be filled with love for him (and him for her). I hope I won't get mastitis again. But no matter what, I am grateful to be an eternal family, bound by covenants in the temple.
In other news, should we spell it Robbie or Robby?
And finally, we are thrilled that we won't ever have to make him a birthday cake but can just get him a free slurpee from 7-Eleven and call it good. Haha.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Summertime
This past month has been a good one. I was nervous about not having Clara enrolled in any sort of summer school, therapy, class, etc., which she has almost always been in since she's been about one or two years old.
It has turned out to be precious time to enjoy just being with each other. That's not to say I don't get tired of pretending all the time or get frustrated with behavior, but we've made special memories reading together, swimming at the pool, snuggling, having playdates, and working on her summer skills (see later on in the post). And she's gotten to watch quite a few Charlie and Lola episodes while I work at the office a few hours a week.
My non-smart phone has only demo games, but she likes to mess around with it and try to text Michael.
Last week Clara lost her fourth tooth (the first on top). Now Michael has pulled two and I have pulled two. She looks way too big and we have informed her that she can no longer grow but must stay seven years old forever. She refuses for some reason and takes great pleasure in informing us when she is eating healthy foods (if she drinks water she taunts, "I'm hyyy-draatiiing!") or doing something that can help her grow.
Clara really wanted to make taffy, so one Sunday afternoon I agreed. Let me put it this way: I broke the Sabbath because it was wayyyyy too much work--you are supposed to pull the taffy for half an hour (!). Clara's taffy totally worked better than mine for some reason, and she was very proud of it. I just ate some of mine and threw the rest away.
Summer skills? Yeah, like I could just not have any expectations or things we needed to work on . . . not in my personality, I guess. We try to do "summer school" at home and work on telling time, counting coins, adding and subtracting, and writing sentences. For physical activities, I emailed her PE teacher and asked her what things Clara could work on this summer. She let us borrow a jump rope and a rolling board as well as a kickball. So we are working on hopping on one foot, catching and throwing, kicking a ball, and jumping rope. Well, I haven't really practiced the rope-jumping part with her . . . Michael is going to help her with that since I can't seem to lift myself off the ground much these days.
Here's hoping that the second half of the summer will be as good as the first half!
It has turned out to be precious time to enjoy just being with each other. That's not to say I don't get tired of pretending all the time or get frustrated with behavior, but we've made special memories reading together, swimming at the pool, snuggling, having playdates, and working on her summer skills (see later on in the post). And she's gotten to watch quite a few Charlie and Lola episodes while I work at the office a few hours a week.
My non-smart phone has only demo games, but she likes to mess around with it and try to text Michael.
Last week Clara lost her fourth tooth (the first on top). Now Michael has pulled two and I have pulled two. She looks way too big and we have informed her that she can no longer grow but must stay seven years old forever. She refuses for some reason and takes great pleasure in informing us when she is eating healthy foods (if she drinks water she taunts, "I'm hyyy-draatiiing!") or doing something that can help her grow.
Clara really wanted to make taffy, so one Sunday afternoon I agreed. Let me put it this way: I broke the Sabbath because it was wayyyyy too much work--you are supposed to pull the taffy for half an hour (!). Clara's taffy totally worked better than mine for some reason, and she was very proud of it. I just ate some of mine and threw the rest away.
Summer skills? Yeah, like I could just not have any expectations or things we needed to work on . . . not in my personality, I guess. We try to do "summer school" at home and work on telling time, counting coins, adding and subtracting, and writing sentences. For physical activities, I emailed her PE teacher and asked her what things Clara could work on this summer. She let us borrow a jump rope and a rolling board as well as a kickball. So we are working on hopping on one foot, catching and throwing, kicking a ball, and jumping rope. Well, I haven't really practiced the rope-jumping part with her . . . Michael is going to help her with that since I can't seem to lift myself off the ground much these days.
Here's hoping that the second half of the summer will be as good as the first half!
Saturday, July 7, 2012
No inhibitions
I have noticed that pregnancy makes people very uninhibited in their comments. Things that they would never say to a non-pregnant person are bound to pop out of their mouths at any moment. When would you ever make a comment to someone about their body shape or size? What most surprises me is when women who have had their own babies make thoughtless comments. I'm thinking, "Don't you remember what it was like?" Apparently not.
But it's been good for me to realize how vain I am and a good time to hone my sense of humor.
What not to say to a pregnant woman:
"Are you sure you're not having twins?" (I got a twins comment probably five times early on because I got big pretty early.)
"You look ready to pop!" (Gee, thank you so much.)
"You look so uncomfortable." (Wow, that is so nice of you to say that.)
"I hope you aren't offended, but you look like you've changed shape." (Um, okay. . .)
"Oh my goodness! Are you going to go into labor?!" (when on a short hike about six weeks ago)
What to say to a pregnant woman:
"You look beautiful."
"You look so good."
"I love that maternity dress."
"If I were pregnant, I would like to look like you."
"You look beautiful."
"You look beautiful."
"You look beautiful."
Michael is very good at saying nice things, fortunately. He can counter-balance all the silly things others have said. And you can imagine how much I am looking forward to going to church tomorrow to hear all the things people are going to say since I've passed my due date.
Here I am yesterday--the day before my due date. The bassinet I am standing by is the one that Michael's dad, Michael, and our future baby boy will be sleeping in. Well, actually he will only be sleeping in it for a picture for posterity's sake because it takes up too much space and will have to be moved.
But it's been good for me to realize how vain I am and a good time to hone my sense of humor.
What not to say to a pregnant woman:
"Are you sure you're not having twins?" (I got a twins comment probably five times early on because I got big pretty early.)
"You look ready to pop!" (Gee, thank you so much.)
"You look so uncomfortable." (Wow, that is so nice of you to say that.)
"I hope you aren't offended, but you look like you've changed shape." (Um, okay. . .)
"Oh my goodness! Are you going to go into labor?!" (when on a short hike about six weeks ago)
What to say to a pregnant woman:
"You look beautiful."
"You look so good."
"I love that maternity dress."
"If I were pregnant, I would like to look like you."
"You look beautiful."
"You look beautiful."
"You look beautiful."
Michael is very good at saying nice things, fortunately. He can counter-balance all the silly things others have said. And you can imagine how much I am looking forward to going to church tomorrow to hear all the things people are going to say since I've passed my due date.
Here I am yesterday--the day before my due date. The bassinet I am standing by is the one that Michael's dad, Michael, and our future baby boy will be sleeping in. Well, actually he will only be sleeping in it for a picture for posterity's sake because it takes up too much space and will have to be moved.
Mornings
During the school year, I had a very difficult time trying to get Clara out of bed and get her onto the bus in a non-frustrated, timely manner. Getting her to complete her morning routine without being distracted has been quite the challenge. I have thought about lowering my expectations (i.e. not expecting her to make her bed, etc.), but I feel like I need to stick to my guns because life is only going to get busier for me with a baby. Teaching her and learning to be independent is a major goal for both of us.
I've tried a lot of different things:
After doing a ridiculous amount of research into an alarm clock (it couldn't be too loud because Clara hates loud noises and that would scare her and throw her off in the morning, etc.), I got this one with two alarms that I set ten minutes apart. The first had classical music from the radio playing, and the second alarm went off with a progressively faster beep. But you could control the volume, which was nice.
OUTCOME: I think it will be good, but sometimes I got lazy and forgot to set it and would just come in and wake her up (after which she would usually just go back to sleep again). I am going to use it more faithfully this next year.
I also got this timer that has a red area which visually helps you see the time diminish.
OUTCOME: It is helpful only as much as the child learns to reference it. It's still a work in progress.
Those who have been following my blog for awhile might remember the routine charts I made several years ago for Clara. Here is a re-vamped version. (I have since added prayer to her morning--I am ashamed to admit I left it out because I felt I couldn't add one more thing!).
Of course, the mornings aren't the only time we need help, so I have an after-school and a night routine, as well as "She can do it all by herself" and "Skills to learn by age 8" and "Weekly Chores" lists as well.
OUTCOME: Again, these are only useful insofar as they are referenced by the child. But my goal is to teach Clara to learn to reference her lists so that (1) they will become engrained in her memory; and (2) she will learn the value of making lists for herself and remembering to reference them as she gets older and has to handle ADHD on her own.
In the summer we are a bit more relaxed (thank goodness!), but I also try to maintain a sense of order and expectation. So, taking an idea from a friend of mine, Clara gets to put one marble in a small jelly jar every time she completes her morning routine on time (within 45 minutes). We took her to Target and had her pick out something she wants, took a picture of it, and then taped the picture onto the jelly jar to help keep her motivated.
She chose Gak (remember that stuff??)--she hasn't ever used it but considering her propensity for sticky and gooey, I think she'll like it.
OUTCOME: The jar is about half-way full. There are definitely mornings when she doesn't get her marble--or when I don't time her and give her the marble when I can tell she is really "on" and focused that morning. I think it is a good idea and I will probably continue using it during the school year.
I am hopeful that things will get smoother in the morning this next year, but considering the fact that I will also have a nursing baby, I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up. But Clara is great at surprising us, so who knows?!
I've tried a lot of different things:
After doing a ridiculous amount of research into an alarm clock (it couldn't be too loud because Clara hates loud noises and that would scare her and throw her off in the morning, etc.), I got this one with two alarms that I set ten minutes apart. The first had classical music from the radio playing, and the second alarm went off with a progressively faster beep. But you could control the volume, which was nice.
OUTCOME: I think it will be good, but sometimes I got lazy and forgot to set it and would just come in and wake her up (after which she would usually just go back to sleep again). I am going to use it more faithfully this next year.
I also got this timer that has a red area which visually helps you see the time diminish.
OUTCOME: It is helpful only as much as the child learns to reference it. It's still a work in progress.
OUTCOME: Again, these are only useful insofar as they are referenced by the child. But my goal is to teach Clara to learn to reference her lists so that (1) they will become engrained in her memory; and (2) she will learn the value of making lists for herself and remembering to reference them as she gets older and has to handle ADHD on her own.
In the summer we are a bit more relaxed (thank goodness!), but I also try to maintain a sense of order and expectation. So, taking an idea from a friend of mine, Clara gets to put one marble in a small jelly jar every time she completes her morning routine on time (within 45 minutes). We took her to Target and had her pick out something she wants, took a picture of it, and then taped the picture onto the jelly jar to help keep her motivated.
OUTCOME: The jar is about half-way full. There are definitely mornings when she doesn't get her marble--or when I don't time her and give her the marble when I can tell she is really "on" and focused that morning. I think it is a good idea and I will probably continue using it during the school year.
I am hopeful that things will get smoother in the morning this next year, but considering the fact that I will also have a nursing baby, I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up. But Clara is great at surprising us, so who knows?!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Quick comparison
Very randomly, I thought I'd post about an experiment we tried a few weeks ago. I wanted to see which tasted better: Kraft Mac 'n Cheese or Kroger brand.
I am not too brand particular except for a few things: brown rice (Uncle Ben's), detergent (Tide), and I'm sure a few others I can't think of. In fact, for some things I prefer the store-brand. Kroger cottage cheese, for example, I like much better than any other kind I've tried. I also like Martin's brand of Frosted Mini-Wheats better than Kellogg's. And Kroger's natural creamy peanut butter is better than Smucker's or other kinds I've tried. But I digress.
Sometimes it's worth it to me to spend more money and get the name brand. Was mac 'n cheese the same way?
Well, the pan on the left is the Kraft and the pan on the right is the Kroger. You can see the Kraft has a much smoother consistency. We could have made the same consistency with the Kroger by adding more milk, I imagine, but this is what they looked like following the recipes.
Upon tasting them, we really couldn't decide. Yes, there was a difference in their taste, but neither was necessarily better than the other. The ingredient list, as you can imagine, is mighty similar, and I decided that if I'm going to buy a cheap box of processed cheese mix with some enriched pasta, it's probably not worth it to shell out an extra thirty cents for the Kraft brand.
But that's just my opinion. Are you partial to a particular brand of something?
I am not too brand particular except for a few things: brown rice (Uncle Ben's), detergent (Tide), and I'm sure a few others I can't think of. In fact, for some things I prefer the store-brand. Kroger cottage cheese, for example, I like much better than any other kind I've tried. I also like Martin's brand of Frosted Mini-Wheats better than Kellogg's. And Kroger's natural creamy peanut butter is better than Smucker's or other kinds I've tried. But I digress.
Sometimes it's worth it to me to spend more money and get the name brand. Was mac 'n cheese the same way?
Upon tasting them, we really couldn't decide. Yes, there was a difference in their taste, but neither was necessarily better than the other. The ingredient list, as you can imagine, is mighty similar, and I decided that if I'm going to buy a cheap box of processed cheese mix with some enriched pasta, it's probably not worth it to shell out an extra thirty cents for the Kraft brand.
But that's just my opinion. Are you partial to a particular brand of something?
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