It's a BABY!

I was a little behind in getting the last two posts up because I'm already back to alleviate your itch of curiosity!

We're having another little GIRL!!!

She looks like she'll be right on time--April 23rd.

All of her parts are there. Today there was a bit of a murmur in her heart beat, but there's a good chance that that will clear up as she grows bigger and stronger.

We have no idea what we're going to name her. That was probably the only disappointment. We still have our boy name picked out from last time around, so that would have been really easy. But now...the search begins!

I don't know what I'm going to do with two little girls! I don't know how to handle girl squabbles. Heck, I don't know how to handle boy squabbles!

As for the Mama, 
I'm doing GREAT! I really don't feel like I'm pregnant.
Symptoms include:

• Cravings of anything at the mention of almost any food
• Can't stand even the thought of eggs--hard boiled doesn't sound too bad though
• Overly Emotional--there's a good chance I'll cry at anything
• Non-oily hair--I usually wash my hair every 2 days, but lately it's been a few more, and I don't think it looks that bad!
• Really tired every day
• Overly anxious about getting things done (nesting)--cleaning, organizing, buying everything we need all at once because I can't stand the thought of having to try to remember it later. Which brings me to the next point
• Pregnancy Brain--forgetting how to use the English language correctly and just generally forgetting lots of stuff
• I've graduated to my pregnancy pants/yoga pants almost every day
• Running to the bathroom quite frequently

So really there isn't anything terrible going on right now. I just take naps every day with Claire and get up in the middle of the night to pee.

This is probably the biggest reason I thought we were having a boy; this pregnancy has been SO different from the last one--very relaxed.

So here is a side by side of me at 19 weeks. I'll let you guess which one is now and then! :-)

Until Next Time!
Happy Thanksgiving!

BOO!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Here's a picture of my two loves heading out to trick-or-treat! Sofia the First and Steve Jobs.

 

Claire was SO excited to get dressed up and go trick-or-treating when daddy came home. I waited until after her nap to tell her that she would be going trick-or-treating. It was my incentive to get her to practice saying "trick-or-treat."

This picture is just adorable!

And here is the after trick-or-treating:

Claire's "smile"

 

Obviously, we've been pretty busy over here for the last couple of months with birthdays and parties and MOVING and now unpacking. We are finally at a place where I'm not compelled to unpack a box each day. So I can start blogging again--hopefully regularly.

So here's a virtual tour, through pictures, of the main living areas of our house--the downstairs.

Here's the front of our house--with grass!--all decorated for the big day! Until this afternoon there were only pumpkins on the front porch and a mummy door. Now there is caution tape, spiders and spider webs, and jack-o-lanterns! And a cute little girl ready to go trick-or-treating.

And would you look at that porch!

Would you like a close up of the carvings?

BOO!
Did you get it?
Are you surprised?

I'm already 15 weeks along. It hasn't been too terribly difficult keeping the secret because I don't really have good friends to talk to about that sort of thing here yet. But that has also been the hardest part, not joking about/complaining about the worst part of being pregnant. One friend said she liked waiting to tell people because then those people weren't bugging her so long about "how much longer" she would be pregnant. I dunno. I got bored of not telling people. I'm ready to be excited about having a baby!
Sometimes it's still unreal. Last time I was SO eager. This time, now that I'm feeling better, I've pretty much forgotten that I'm pregnant until I hear that little heartbeat at the doctor's office!

Another factor in us choosing to wait to tell people (mostly just me) was that we know at least 5 other people or more who are having babies early next year--a few of them in April. So I thought we could wait and try to be less white noise in the baby announcing frenzy.

But enough about that. Here's the rest of the house.

 The first room on the right as you enter the house. This is the music room and library. This is also where I'm storing all of our boxes of pictures.

Claire's window stickies in that room.

The stairs are next.

The door to the left of the stairs leads to the basement.

 On the wall opposite the stairs and basement are the coat closet and then powder bathroom.

Straight ahead is the living room.

 To the left is the tech center, dining area, and kitchen.

And the mess of toys in between the two areas.

Off of the kitchen is the mudroom/garage entrance.

And here is my kitchen. To the left of the fridge is my pantry door. It currently stays closed. :-/

I honestly haven't had much trouble keeping the counters "clean." Generally I like it clutter free, but I am also referring to crumbs and marks. I only wipe the whole thing down once a week or so (it's a lot of counter to wipe!). I do big spills as the come.

So there it is. All of the exciting things happening over here are all out now! Hooray! Yay for the holidays!

101st Blog Post--A Birth Story

Over the course of about two years we have now posted over 100 posts!

So in honor of the event, here's a little backlog of a big event that was missed.
Claire's birth story. (That's your warning!)

There wasn't really too much to tell about the day.
It was exciting. It was fast. It was surreal.

It was the day after my written due date, and we started the day like every other day. I woke up at 7--no alarm, just a baby moving in my belly-- like I had every morning for the last several months. Peter went to work. My mom and I stayed home. It didn't take too long (maybe an hour or two) to realize that I was having contractions. It was about then that I realized that I had been having occasional Braxton Hicks contractions for a while without recognizing them. I just thought that Claire was stretching in all directions or doing jumping jacks. I had a tub of Nestle Toll House cookie dough in my fridge which my mom balled and baked while I sat around at the computer playing on FB and blogging.  At 10 I called Peter and told him to come home around 11:30 because I was having more regular contractions and thought he should stay at work as much as he could to get things done. He got home around 10:45 am. At 11:30 I was posting this to our blog about my excitement.

Before we left we of course took one last pregnancy pose picture. (It was a hot August day, I was having contractions, and carrying an extra 28 pounds--ignore the sweat!)

I had no idea what to expect. Most of the stories I had heard/read involved women who had gone to the hospital prematurely and been turned away because they weren't far enough along in their labor to be admitted so I was surprised when I called the doctor's office to tell them that I was having contractions, and they told me to go ahead and drive to the hospital. I received the return call from the doctor's office and another 20 minutes later we were on our way to the hospital. We arrived at about 12:30. When I got to the front desk I was offered a wheel chair to get up to the second floor, but I chose to walk because I still had about five minutes between contractions.  Before getting to the room I stopped along the way and had a few more contractions.

My "birth plan" was more like a general idea. I never really told anyone anything about what I wanted because I wasn't too particular about what happened. I was open to medication and intervention if it was necessary. So my doctor arrived just before 1 and checked me out. I was at a 4. Peter says it was 30 minutes later, but I think it was sooner (which is confirmed by this picture) that my doctor came in and broke my water to speed up the process. He had a little trouble doing it and had to try twice. This was the only thing that I wish was a little different about the whole experience. I'm sure it made everything go more quickly, but I don't know that it was actually necessary.

Whatever.
We snapped a few more pictures together because what else do you do while you're waiting for time to pass as you anxiously wait for the arrival of your very first baby?!

taken at 1:50p

taken at 2:20p

By 2:30 I was dilated to 7cm and decided to start an IV with some meds. I wanted to know what the pain was like and by the time I got this point, I felt like I had tried enough. I wasn't broken yet, but I really didn't want to know what worse felt like. So I took some medication and about 10 minutes later I threw up because I was so dizzy. I was walking around with my eyes closed to sit in the rocking chair. My mom and Peter had a good laugh at me because I was quite delirious. I don't remember too much about it. I remember that I could still feel the contractions, but I really didn't care any more. It was definitely a weird feeling being aware of my body and yet hardly noticing it at all.
Apparently I kept saying "this feels good!" Peter says I was in a "happy place."

First dose at 3:10p

Before getting another dose Peter gave me a Priesthood blessing. Once again, I don't really remember everything that happened, I was being medicated and it worked really well! ;)
So after an hour, the first dose was wearing off and the pain of contractions was coming back. I could barely walk over to the bed where I was given another dose and opted for the epidural. Now that was happy! So at 4p I had been given the epidural and was at 9 cm and Peter could see the hair on our baby's head. My mom was slightly disgusted because I was WAY too happy to be having a baby. I was just sitting there talking and laughing with Peter and my mom. Every couple of minutes I could feel a twinge in my left hip as I was having a contraction. I would say "I think I'm having a contraction right now," and then the monitor would confirm it.

At 5:00 I was 10cm dilated and 100% effaced and down to station 0. As Peter recalls, "At 6 pm, Melanie started feeling a slight need to push. The nurse showed Melanie what to do and we had a “practice push”.  I could see the baby’s hair clearly now.  The nurse said to let her know when Melanie felt a very strong need to push."

This is me right after the nurse left at 6:05p

By 6:40 I had gotten tired of waiting. I didn't particularly feel a need to push any more than I had at 6, I don't think at least. So our nurse came in, called my doctor to tell him that we were starting, and we started to push through some contractions. Peter held my hand and foot. With the first contraction I didn't push as well as the nurse seemed to think I should. I stopped pushing before I got to 10 seconds when I was supposed to break so I did 4 little pushes in one contraction. 

TMI WARNING: So the nurse suggested that we use a mirror. At the very thought of it I was really grossed out, but the nurse said that it can be encouraging seeing what your pushes are actually doing. So I said I wanted to try it and then if it was too gross, we would have her take it away. I pushed through 2 more contractions and had a lot more success because I could see my baby's head coming out. I know--it sounds really gross, but I really like seeing results!

So after 3 contractions the head was crowning very well (Peter says it was coming out about 2 cm which probably means stage 2). The nurse said we should now wait for the doctor before we push any more thinking it would take another hour of pushing before she was born. The nurse called my doctor with an update. With the next contraction, Claire was coming out! The nurse said, “don’t push!” Melanie replied, “I’m not!” Our nurse hurriedly called for the on-call OB, but not 10 seconds later Claire had slid right out into the nurse's arms. She barely made it to the end of the bed to catch my baby. No one else had even arrived yet!  One nurse came in and helped with the cleanup, and when the on-site OB came in, our baby already had a hat on!

The nurse that delivered our baby

Peter cut the cord. They gave me my baby with a blanket and hat. It happened so fast!

They were all so surprised at how fast and easy it was, especially for a first time mom. A few minutes later, our doctor arrived saying, “I don’t believe it.” He said he got a call saying the baby had been delivered, but his monitor still showed a fetal heart rate!  In 20 years, he has never seen an experience like ours. There's a word or it when 1st time moms deliver as though it was a sequential, but I don't remember what it is.

So in about 12 hours I went from being vaguely aware that I was having contractions to having a baby girl in my arms! I would suggest that everyone use an epidural. I was able to really enjoy the birth of my daughter. Sure it was "expensive," but the insurance paid for it. I was calm and enjoyed the time shared with my husband and mom before the birth of my baby without pain. 

And that is how Claire Annette was brought into the world on August 3rd, 14 months ago.

11 Months Old

Now that Claire is nearly 12 months old, here is her 11 month post that I started when she turned 11 months old.

Claire is one mobile and busy toddler! It's really hard to get her to sit still.
She's been practicing a few new skills this last month including:

• Pushing buttons--I showed her the button on her stroller. It plays 2 different tunes for a whole 4 seconds! That's just enough time for her to push it and clap twice.
• Taking things out of containers and throwing them--no teaching required.
• Putting lids on--She's a curious little tyke and loves to figure out how things go together. She'll also let you know when she thinks she deserves shouts of joy and clapping!

What's that mom? DON'T do it?!

One by one

Obviously they are in her way!

 Things she loves to play:

• Peek-a-boo
• This Little Piggie

She really likes to throw things

And she thinks it's hilarious!

She loves when we sing Popcorn Popping.

She loves to read books. Her current favorites are:

• Daddy Hugs 
• Melanie Mouse's Moving Day
• Baby baa baa!

She could read these for hours! I love it when she sits down and just starts looking at the books all on her own.

She has also started mimicking holding a phone to her ear. She only does it for a moment because what she REALLY wants is for ME to talk on the phone. She doesn't want to listen or talk. Just wants to watch me. 

She is so curious and eager to learn. She is a funny little girl and a bushel of fun!

10 Months Ago Today

Little Claire Annette has reached ten months!
It's amazing how fast time goes by.

So, we won't waste time trying to catch up. We're just going to jump in right where we are, here at 10 months!

The biggest development in the last month?
She walks!
On Friday June 1st she decided that she wanted to walk more than crawl. So she got control of her excitement and kept on walking. When she fell down, she would stick her little bum in the air as she pushed back up to her feet to keep going. Her balance improves every day.

If you aren't looking at her, Claire will cock her head to the side and bend so that her face is right in front of yours like she's saying, "hey mom! What are you doing? You ok?" And when you notice that she's looking at you, she gets this HUGE grin on her face that just screams, "Hi mom! I'm so happy that you're looking at me!" a lot like this picture from 8 months.

She waves, claps, and gives high fives, hugs and kisses.
She also just started raising her hands high above her head so that we will exclaim that she is so big. Then she smiles and giggles.
She likes to have laughing rounds occasionally. If she hears you laugh, she'll start laughing too. It's so funny, and she'll keep laughing because you're laughing, but it's a very forced, fake laugh. A little gravel-ly, even, which seems odd for an infant to have a gravel-ly tone.

She begs to be picked up at pretty much every moment.

She has recently taken an interest in stacking things/putting things together properly. When she's done drinking from her bottle, she reaches and grunts for the cap so she can try to put it over the nipple. Her hand-eye coordination is definitely improving!
She similarly has started trying to stack her stacking cups rather than just knock them down.

After we change her diaper she excitedly holds the dirty one as we carry her to the garbage where she reluctantly releases the soiled diaper in exchange for excited cheers and a high five.

She loves the swings at the park and is slowly warming up to the slide.

You can see her top teeth in this one

She LOVES music and bounces and raises one of her arms above her head any time that she is enjoying the tunes.

She doesn't say anything when you ask her, but she does whisper the words "dada" when Peter comes home as she waves "hello," "mama" when I'm ignoring her and she's crying to be picked up, and I SWEAR she copied me and said "vegetable" the other day when I was pulling out a jar of Beechnut's Mixed Vegetables puree--one of the ONLY vegetables I can get her to eat. She even said it one more time for Peter to hear. Two witnesses!

She's gotten a lot more picky about eating. Besides the pureed mixed vegetables, she also likes bananas and raspberries. 

She has two teeth on the bottom and still only 3 on top. I've been saying it for some time now that the last tooth to the left of her middle teeth was breaking through, but alas, it still has not come through. I can now feel the tip of it pushing out, but who knows when it will actually break all the way through the gums. It's no matter though. Claire still has an adorable smile that is now toothy with little toddler teeth.

She's only recently started using her teeth as tools. Although she's had at least four teeth for well over a month now, Claire has needed a good deal of encouragement to use them to bite her food. Obviously this lesson was not restricted to food only, but has also crossed to toys, clothing, body parts, and anything that goes into her mouth.

Speaking of things that go into Claire's mouth, she's become ridiculously obsessed with shoving her fingers down her throat so that she gags, and sometimes throws up. Most of the time I try to just pull her hand out of her throat and redirect her attention, but sometimes I am caught off-guard and shout "no" while pulling her hand out. This usually evokes raised eyebrows and a high-pitched "huh" with a shoulder shrug from Claire. She obviously does not associate my alarm and direct and decisive "no" with inappropriate and unacceptable behavior that is not to be repeated yet. Oh well. Maybe one day she'll get it.

So I know that's a lot, but she's just learning so much and is such a busy and active girl. People were asking me what we do at home to get her so "advanced." I kind of laughed because really I just let her have alone play time and together play time. Playing by herself doesn't always last very long, but usually long enough for me to step out of the mommy scene and into the few emails I've received and blogs I read. So basically a max of 10 minutes!

We sure do love our little Claire Annette!