A "Bug" Day

So Andy has this analogy that in life sometimes you have days when you're the bug and some days you're the windshield. We had a discussion recently on this topic, it's always been my belief that your day is what you make of it, Andy on the otherhand, says that no mater what your attitude sometimes you're just going to have a bad day once in a while. Regardless of whether I chose it or not, I had a "bug" day last monday. It started out well, I got up in time to get a shower in before Noah's doctor's appointment and we made it to the doctor's office just a minute late, so by new mom standards that's on time. I was feeling super UNTIL Fisher fell asleep on the way home from Noah's doctor's appointment. If he gets 10 minutes or more of sleep in the car, it usually means that he won't go back down when we get home, such was the case. He and I butted heads for a while about whether he was going to go back to sleep and you know who won in the end- not mommy. The rest of the day went similarly. It seemed like all day the boys both needed me at the same time. I did my best to meet each of thier needs, but I went to bed feeling like I hadn't had quality time with either one of them. I knew that each of them was fed when they were hungry, held when they needed my attention, I'd managed to change at least, I don't know probably 10 diapers, give 2 baths and read 5 or more books to them that day. But still, I was really down on myself about feeling as though I'd failed to really connect with each of them. Then it hit me, I'd given my best, they DID get through the day healthy and happy with all of their needs met. And if I stop and I think about I'm sure I told them both that I love them and I must have kissed them each 10 times, because lets face it, I can't help myself. So, tonight instead of dwelling on the moments I spent having a power struggle with a toddler who was testing the limits, I will chose to fall asleep recalling the moments spent on the receiving end of the sweetest bear hug and warmest newborn gaze and figuring out how to make more of those moments tomorrow.

Littlest Man

Brothers stick together!

I am an amateur photographer, I'll never claim otherwise. But, I try. I don't think it's easy to get a newborn's photo even for a pro though.

"Hold You"

Fisher's at that age that he doesn't understand the whole pronoun thing, I love it. Because he's heard Mommmy and Daddy say "Do you want Mommy to hold you?" or "Do you want Daddy to carry you?" he comes up to us extending his arms and says "Hold you?" to be picked up. He's recently started asking "Hold you, Noah?" when he'd like us to help him hold his baby too. It's so sweet. Here's a couple pictures, but it's so difficult to get pictures of the little guys, plus the pictures just can't capture all the tenderness that's going on between them.

The Men in My Life

Happy Birthday Andy! Actually, I'm a couple days late, but I mean it just the same! To celebrate Andy and I had a picnic and some quality adult conversation on the beach while my parents came up to watch the boys for a couple hours for us. It was nice and they say that the boys were great for them. We hadn't tried to give Noah a bottle yet and he tends to be a little bit fussy in the evenings, so I wasn't sure. I guess Noah fussed a little to let them know when he was hungry and then took about 4 oz. of mamma's milk from a bottle like a champ and before dozing off cuddled with Grandma and a pacifier for a bit. It sounds like it went smoother for them than it usually does for us and my dad even managed to get Fisher a bath. I think that Andy had a good birthday- he of course got to decide how to spend the evening; he had been wanting for a while to go to this beach that's about 10 minutes away and down a two track about a 1/2 mile. The two track is pretty hard core, my car came out looking pretty tough with mud half way up the windows. Even though he's a dad of two now and whopping 32 years old, Andy still likes to seek a little adventure where he can. When we were going through the biggest rut I was wishing that I hadn't agreed to take my car, but I have to admit that it was a fun time. When we got home and Fisher saw the car, his comment was, "Car, mess." I should have gotten a picture but Andy washed it for me this morning.

For those of you curious about how Fisher's doing with Noah the answer is great! When he wakes up for the day the first thing he does is find Baby Noah and give him a hug and kiss. Of course there are times when Andy or I are preoccupied with caring for Noah and he gets impatient, but he's never acted jealous of him. I think that may be an advantage of having them as close together as they are, I don't think that Fisher has mentally processed things enough to realize that it's because of the baby that mom and dad have to share their attention now.

And Noah is doing well too- I think he's looking more like his Daddy to me all the time. I weighed him this week and he's up to 10 lbs, so they're very pleased with how well he's growing. It seemed to me like he enjoyed eating a lot, but I thought maybe I was a little biased, but you can't deny the numbers.

I think that's all for now, but I need to get some pictures up soon, so hopefully you'll see something from me again soon.

The Not-So Gory Details

For Kayla and anyone else interested in the labor itself- it went very smoothly. My contractions started at 3:30am on the 19th. Not very strong but by 6:30am they were coming at about 5 minute intervals. I called my midwife then and she suggested resting through them as much as I could, at that point I spent some time using the hypnobirthing and relaxation techniques I'd practiced and the contractions started to slow down. By about 10 am they had almost stopped maybe only one contraction per 15 minutes to half an hour. I made an appointment to see my midwife at 2:00 in the office, I stressed to her that I didn't want to go into the hospital any earlier than necessary (in the back of my head I was concerned that this could be false labor). At the appointment I was dilated to between 3-4cm (I was dilated to 2 the day before) and she thought my water would break at any point. She thought that things were happening and suggested that Andy and I stay in Petoskey instead of heading back to Charlevoix through Venetian Festival Traffic and a big stretch of road construction. I thought she was being overly cautious but we decided to listen to her anyway. Shortly after leaving the appointment my contractions started getting stronger again and were increasing in frequency. We called a friend who lives in Petoskey and asked if she'd mind if we stayed at her house while I tried to work through contractions for a while. She said that it was no problem and it worked out perfectly, she was at work, so it gave Andy and I the house to ourselves to relax in a home environment. By about 6pm I was thinking that we needed to think about heading to the hospital. At 6:30pm I was certain when my contractions were about 3 minutes apart. We got there at 6:45. The nurse who delivered Fisher and taught our birthing wisdom class was getting off work at 7:00pm that night so I was really just hoping to be able to see her for a few last minute words of wisdom and encouragement. It turned out that they had a full house at the hospital that night and she was able to stay for Noah's delivery, God's so good! Okay, so when I got to the hospital I was dilated to 8cm. I labored for about another hour in the hospital and at 8:05pm started pushing, at 8:20 Noah was born (which I got to watch in a mirror)! It was exactly what I'd hoped for this birth experience. I know that second babies usually come much faster than the first, but there were a lot of things that I think made a difference - no medication to make me groggy, relaxation techniques that really worked for me, and staying away from the hospital as long as I possibly could. I'm not trying to tell anyone what will work for them, I'm just telling you what worked for me. I of course also couldn't have done it without the unwavering support of my hubby, the encouragement from a great nurse, and the wisdom of my midwife. So those are the gory details, not bad eh?

A Lot Can Happen in Two Weeks!

I can't believe that two weeks ago the little baby boy I now hold in my arms was inside my body! I have so much to catch everyone up on. Of course life has changed drastically since my last post, but we're all doing great and loving our new little guy! Noah is a super baby, he's a much easier baby than Fisher was. Even Andy keeps commenting on how much more Noah sleeps than Fisher ever did (which according to what I've read, Noah's normal and Fisher was the exception). I think in retrospect, that Fisher had some acid reflux too, I've talked to a nurse recently about the symptoms he had, it was just that he didn't spit up excessively so I didn't consider it, but I guess they don't always. I only tell you all this to say that I was a first time mom, I didn't know any better, I thought that it was just typical newborn stuff. Now that I have a more typical newborn, I know better.

Regardless, God's plan is perfect I'm managing to chase a toddler and take care of a newborn and I feel great! This picture was taken the day after we got home from the hospital, we went to the Venetian Festival Fireworks with "Mimi and Bumpa" Brown and Aunt "Kiki" to celebrate my sister's birthday.

Fisher is adjusting well to brotherhood. He adores his "brutter," and gives him kisses and hugs all day long. He enjoys pointing out Noah's body parts to anyone who is willing to listen. It's the sweetest thing. I think that he's looking for Noah's knees in this picture.
Noah's doing well too, he's sleeping a couple good stretches at night and nursing very well, he was back up to his birth weight when we went for his first doctor's appointment at 6 days old. We get to see his eyes more every day, I think he has his own look, but people have said he looks like Fisher, I guess only time will tell for sure.

Nap is over, so I need to wrap up, but I hope to be able to blog again soon. I said things were going well, but I didn't say we weren't busy- so I'll do my best to keep up with this whole blog thing! Plus, I guess I can always make time to show off my beautiful boys.