Sisters

Once I give everyone the details about Maggie's entrance into the world, the next question is usually about how Caroline is adapting to the new normal.

We brought Caroline to the hospital to meet her new sister. She was thrilled to see all the family members in one place and was interested in her sister briefly, but the novelty of the hospital wore off quickly. Soon she was interested in the next adventure. We snapped a couple pictures, the last clearly show her disinterest.







There were many jokes about how we thought Caroline would HATE the baby. Well she's been hovering between loving and ambiguity. Maggie's cries can send her parents blood pressure through the roof but Caroline doesn't skip a beat. Maggie will be screaming bloody murder and Caroline wants Mom to finish the book or Dad to contiue helping her with a puzzle unfazed. And then, she is the big sister, doting on Maggie with hugs and kisses, bringing her toys and educating her sister on the ways of the world.

Introducing Margaret Jane

So you probably have heard by now that itty bit is a GIRL. Maggie Jane was evicted from the womb after her due date came and went with little fan fare.

We were scheduled for induction on Trick-or-Treat night. It worked out perfectly because we got to take Caroline out for candy, put her to bed, and then head to the hospital. Of course as much as I LOVE Halloween, I had to join in the costume fun. I recruited a friend to come over and paint my belly like an eyeball. It was a little chilly to walk around with a bare belly, but the reactions were totally worth it.

Caroline was a buckeye cheerleader - so cute!

Once Caroline was tucked in bed with Mema watching over her, we left for the hospital. I should mention that I still had the painted eyeball under my shirt. Once ad the admission desk, the crew looked bored and uninterested so I flashed them the Halloween artwork. They LOVED it. Immediately they went to get coworkers and out came the phones to take pictures.

I think the nurse that was assigned to me was less than pleased about my belly makeup until I assured her that it washes off easily and I would take care of it before getting into my hospital gown.

The initial induction went pretty smoothly albeit slowly. I labored all night, getting an epidural around 5cm to allow myself some sleep. Hubs and I drifted in and out of sleep as Star Wars played on the TV in the background.

By 7 AM, Bubby was back and Hubs and I were preparing ourselves for a long day of laboring, I was only 6-7 cm.  At 8 AM the nurse came in to check me and to our surprise, I was fully dilated and ready to push. Considering the LONG night we had just endured, I couldn’t believe it was time to push.

It was in the middle of my first practice push that I realized how fast the delivery would happen this time. The nurse told me to stop mid push because of how fast she was coming and the doctor was not yet in the room. We waited about 5 minutes for the doctor, all of us suddenly wide awake and buzzing with excitement. Once the Dr arrived, it only took two pushes before we all exclaimed (with surprise) “It’s a girl!” Margaret Jane arrived at 8:15 AM.

Her hurried entry into the world left her a little shocked and this mom extremely nervous. She didn’t immediately cry and need a little oxygen and suction to pink up. 5 minutes later, she was perfect and ready to cuddle with me. She is amazing and beautiful! She is sleeping soundly and nursing like a champ.

And now there are four (six if you include the fur babies). Check back next week to see how Caroline is reacting to her new sister.

Am I Ready for This?

I left the house today for my last day of work before Maternity leave. I would normally work until the due date but the sitter is off next week and I'll probably be induced by Friday.

As I left the house, Hubs said "this is the last time  you'll leave for work with only one kid". I immediately felt sad. I'm not sure why. I know that Hubs wasn't trying to make me sad, instead he is excited about the new adventure we are about to embark on.


I felt sadness that my one-on-one time with Babybit is coming to an end. Sadness and fear that the now manageable morning routine will have to be rediscovered and relearned. And of course, sadness surrounding the sleep I know I'll be missing out on in the coming months. My emotions were/are probably exacerbated by my fatigue. Within the past two weeks, both Hubs and Babybit have battled the same nasty virus. Whenever either of them are sick, I worry and fret and lose sleep until they are better. Oh yeah, and I'm 10 months pregnant, uncomfortable, achy and having irregular contractions that interrupt all attempts at sleeping.

We are so excited to give babybit a sibling and grow our family. I can't wait to meet him/her and fall in love with my new baby and tell you all about how different yet similar the two kids are. I can't wait to see how our family and our hearts grow with the new addition. But in the middle of all this excitement and anticipation, I allowed myself a morning of sadness to mourn the way things were, making room for the way things will be.

Itty Bit's Nursery

I know its been a while but there hasn't been too much to report. I've been sleeping A TON. If I'm not at work, grocery shopping or finding time to play with Caroline, I'm sleeping. I actually told my Husband yesterday that I miss him.

My nesting phase came and went in a whirlwind. I accomplished trying to clean the walls (FYI, NEVER USE MATTE PAINT. It just doesn't come clean, no matter how many magic erasers you use) cleaning the tub and putting up a backsplash in the kitchen. I did some other normal house cleaning too, but the house is so trashed again, its as if I never did anything.

I'm at that point in my pregnancy where bending over to pick something up is akin to climbing Everest. Just dropping something on the floor results in a slew of cuss words that you'll probably be hearing from Caroline soon. Oops.

Itty Bit's room has been 95% complete for probably 2 months now. I've been waiting to post the before and after until its 100%, but that aint gonna happen. It probably won't be complete until a month or two after he/she is here.

To understand what a transformation this room has become, you have to understand that for the 8 plus years that we've lived in this house, the room in question has been Hubs office/closet/dumping ground. Have I ever mentioned that Hubs is a PACK RAT?? He is one step from a hoarders intervention.We've had epic fights regarding the overflow of crap stuff in that room. I never, NEVER, won. Instead, I resigned myself to keep that door shut and ignore it. That was, until I peed on the stick and saw two lines.


It was months of cleaning out the room, boxing up crap stuff and purging before I could even consider what it would look like. I scoured pinterest and found map-inspired rooms that I just LOVED. Hubs has so many old maps that we could put to use. Some of them even had road trips highlighted on them and brought back good memories. Remember TripTicks from AAA???  I collected all of Hubs maps and some from friends and family to create a map accent wall.  I didn't really want it to be permanent (wall paper glue and all) in case we decide to move in the near future, so I just used painters tape to hang the maps.

In support of the 'map' theme, Biscuit and Tina refaced the dresser drawers we had with in-laid maps. AWESOME. After that, I spray painted some of the accent pieces and assembled all the furniture in the room. The rug is actually the one from Caroline's room. Nana bought us a map rug but it was more primary colors and looked perfect in her room.

You'll notice that the room isn't complete because we still need to purchase and hang the shades. I still need a mirror to hang over the dresser, and the rocking chair will be moved from Caroline's room into the corner of Itty Bit's room.

This is me trying to get a good picture of the map wall.


Hanging over the crib are cork boards that I spray painted and/or covered in a map. Currently there are ultrasound pics and cards. As Itty Bit gets older, I have to reconsider what to hang here!


This is the corner where the rocking chair will go and a mirror will be hung over the dresser. Ignore all the stuff stacked up in the corner. Check out the dresser, so cool!


Another angle of the room with changing table and shelves. 


So that is the state of Itty Bit's room. Caroline loves to spend time in there, getting in the swing and getting into the drawer to find pacifiers. I hope she finds it just as fun when her baby sister/brother settles in!

Birthday booby traps

So Hubs birthday was this week. Since we are preparing for the upcoming increase in daycare care expenses, we’ve been tightening the belt on the budget. In other words, I was looking for some inexpensive FREE ways to show Hubs how much we love and appreciate him on his birthday. I decided that I’d leave little happy birthday love notes in all the places I expected him to be that day. Some were in expected places, in his laptop, in his day planner and on Caroline’s desk. One was not. I read somewhere about hiding notes in the toilet paper role. This seemed like the MOST unexpected and I HAD to do this. So I cut up a green index card into three pieces that read 1)HAPPY 2)BIRTHDAY 3)POOPY PANTS and placed them progressively through the toilet paper role so they would pop out as he was grabbing for some. I really didn’t see how this could go wrong….

I called hubs later in the morning to wish him a happy birthday. The first thing he said to me was “I have pee all over my hands”. I was very confused and didn’t know if my first reaction should be WHY or GO WASH YOUR HANDS. I know him better than to think he didn’t wash his hands immediately. He was just making a point, so I went with, “WHY? You don’t use toilet paper when you pee!” I may have grown up with all girls, but 5 years of marriage have taught me that much.

Then he relays what he has now called “the birthday booby trap”. 

He was taking his morning leak and had to blow his nose. He unrolled some toilet paper and green pieces of paper flew right into the pee-filled toilet. His immediate reaction was to try and salvage the green pieces of paper. What if they were clues to an elaborate birthday scavenger hunt? (Side note, why didn’t I think to do a SCAVENGER HUNT?) He tried to quickly grab the possibly important papers before they became completely submerged in pee, failing in the process. Once thoroughly disgusted he discovered they were just happy birthday notes and not important enough to stick his fingers into the dirty toilet.

As he is relaying the story, I’m laughing hysterically. So he thanked me for the birthday booby trap and is now excited to execute one on me in March.

Ignoring the details

Do you ever have those moments that make you realize you’ve got it pretty good, that is, if you are willing to look past the details?

I tried to explain this to Hubs this weekend. Imagine your younger self dreaming up a perfect relaxing evening. How would a younger me paint that picture?

 My evening would consist of a bubble bath soaking my perfectly pregnant body in a giant claw foot tub, admiring my newly manicured toes breaking the surface of the water, a sweet squeaky-clean daughter sleeping soundly in her perfectly decorated and organized room, and my doting husband bringing me wine and chocolates, quick to depart so I can enjoy quiet solitude. AHHH

Back to reality

Well, it WAS a relaxing evening and I WAS soaking in the tub. I also had an awesome little girl asleep soundly in the other room. Hubs then came in unexpectedly and brought me a glass of wine. He asked if I wanted candles, and even brought me something to rest my back against. It was when I sat back against one of Caroline’s giant bumble bee pools tools, examined the peeling paint and moldy caulk around the ancient tub that held one big whale of a pregnant woman half submerged in murky water that I smiled.

 Yep, I have it good. My heart got it right, even if the details are all comically wrong.

Blessings

The other night after Caroline was asleep; I did my nightly ‘peek in’. Once she’s sound asleep I have to check that 1) she’s still breathing 2) content 3) reassure myself that she is, in fact, awesome.

I was closing the door after going through my checklist when I couldn’t help myself from saying to Hubs, “I can’t believe I’m going to have TWO babies soon. I think my heart might explode.”  It’s at night when the calmness takes over the house, the anxiety and pressures of the day drift away that I’m left with the heart-swelling blessings my life has brought me.

During the day, those feeling get lost amongst the bills, alarm clocks, work, dinner, diapers, tantrums, and schedules. The idea of two kids has done its share of FREAKING ME OUT. But underneath it all, is that love and joy that is so rich and deep it scares me.  

I feel guilty that days sometimes go by without this recognition, but I’m too type A and practical to realistically spend my life in reverence. Instead I’ll write about those moments, give them life. When I click through the archives of my blog, these feelings don’t get lost or forgotten.