super baby

I have the strongest baby on the planet. Yesterday I propped her up on my bed to take some pictures and she did this. No lie.

before

after

Not bad for two weeks.

movember

I abhor mustaches. I think facial hair in any form is gross, but the mustache is probably my least favorite. Perhaps that's why J-P didn't ask me if he could grow one. Normally I would pitch a HUGE fit (don't worry, i pitched a small one), but this appendage to his face has a purpose: raising cancer awareness. Sigh.

Luckily for me, all I ever see is his forehead anyway because he is always looking down at his iPhone. Here's to hoping November goes by quickly. Read about Movember HERE.

week one

Week one was WILD. We had our bags packed so we could check out of the hospital as soon as possible. The baby is required to stay 24 hours, and we didn't stay a second longer. J-P basically dropped us off at home and then drove to the airport to catch his red-eye for North Carolina.

It was a long week.

I got to do things that I have never done before, like change meconium diapers. The day or so after I got home from the hospital (it's all a blur), I got stung by a scorpion. On my birthday. I can officially say it was the WORST birthday ever. After spending time on the phone with poison control, I decided not to go to the ER (against my mother's wishes to rush me there). Instead, I laid on the couch in tears as the pain intensified for six hours. The pain/numbness SLOWLY subsided over the next 3-4 days. Between the scorpion fiasco (which left me unable to walk), 48 hours of no sleep, and toddler meltdowns, my mother and I were totally and completely frazzled. My dad flew in to rescue us, and arrived just in time.

Ava weathered week one like a champ. She is SO sweet. She rarely cries, nurses with gusto, and gives the sweetest hugs. She had a rough first few days coughing, gagging, and gurgling up the gulp of amniotic fluid that she inhaled on her way out, but is doing much better. She is growing FAST. Her cheeks are growing exponentially. I'm curious to see how much she has gained...we'll find out tomorrow at her two week appointment.

birth story

We woke up at 4:58, two minutes before we were supposed to be at the hospital. Whoops. I was dilated to a three and having strong contractions about 4-6 minutes apart when I got to the hospital. After explaining to the nurse that I am in painful false labor for the entire last month of my pregnancy, they gave me prostaglandin gel. Within seconds I was in hard labor. Very hard. I wanted to go get in the Japanese soaking tub, but I collapsed in pain after taking about three steps. I endured another couple hours of intense pain (including sciatic nerve pain which I had never before experienced) before giving in and getting an epidural.

Epidurals are the best invention ever. The combination of pitocin/having my water broken produces deadly pain. I'm pretty sure I would have died from pain if I didn't abandon my hopes of a natural birth during Max's delivery. Anyway, I was progressing at a couple of centimeters an hour. When I got to a six the doctor broke my water. Assuming that it would be another couple of hours, the doctor left, my nurse took her lunch break, and J-P went to the cafeteria to get lunch.

Fifteen minutes later a different nurse walked in because the baby's heart rate was dropping. As she started to put the oxygen mask on my face I told her that I was feeling a LOT of pressure. Then she checked me. I saw her eyes open wide with panic as she said "you're at a 10...DON"T PUSH!" I felt the urge to push so strongly (even through the epidural) that I couldn't stop. I started screaming and told the nurse that I couldn't stop. She turned my epidural all the way up and soon I felt nothing. Neither J-P nor the doctor answered their phones. J-P walked in as they were paging him. The doctor (luckily) decided to come check on me just in time. The page to come came through on his phone as he was sewing me up.

Upon first glance she looked just like Max, only white. Really white. Her vernix was very thick and everyone commented that she had to be more than a week early. Her apgar score was a 9.9, only because they "never give 10's".

Ava Lucia

arrived oct. 23
7 lbs 3 oz
20 3/4 inches

(see more pics HERE)

almost 39 weeks

At my appointment on Wednesday the doctor stripped my membranes before I told him that J-P was going out of town for a week, without much possibility of making it back in time for the birth (should it happen while he is gone). Stripped membranes, coupled with a baby dropped "as low as it can go", and being dilated to almost a 3 is, according to the doc, a recipe for going into labor at any second. He said that if J-P wanted to be there then we should induce before he leaves. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I never actually go into labor on my own, I just took him up on the offer.

So, today is my last day of being pregnant. I'm a little sad. I love being pregnant (aside from yucky medical compression nylons). I love little babies more though, so it's an easy trade. Wish me luck.

getting closer

I am 38 weeks and 2 days pregnant. At this point days count. This weekend we tried EVERYTHING to jump start labor (aside from castor oil and herbal potions). And it worked. I was up ALL night with painful, regular contractions. As the sun came up they got further apart...and finally they were far enough apart that I could fall asleep. And then they were gone.
Now I face the very real possibility of giving birth all alone. Not so excited about that. At all. J-P will be at Duke until my due date, so at this point all we can do is pray that this little lady doesn't make her debut until he gets back. And that she doesn't get too big in the interim.
J-P took me out to La Grande Orange on Friday since he won't be here for my birthday. I had been anticipating this date for months, as we never get the chance to go out. I spent extra time at the gym so as to be able to work up an appetite to eat whatever my little heart desired. As we stepped foot into the lovely little restaurant, the power simultaneously went out and my dreams of eating fig and prosciutto pizza were deflated.
The boys are doing great (if we don't factor in potty training, which still hasn't been accomplished). They are very helpful and sweet and respond pretty well to time-out threats. Ian sucks his thumb in his sleep (he has NEVER once sucked it while awake), and it's about to fall off. He has open sores/blisters from teeth marks and I have NO idea what to do remedy the situation. Any advice will be readily accepted. We also need some major help in the baby names department. I'm starting to worry that our impending arrival will be nameless. The names I like are SUPER popular and the non-conformist in me is preventing me from choosing a popular name. The problem: I don't like any unpopular names. So, we are at a standstill in the selection process. All advice and suggestions are eagerly accepted.

Happy Fall

We have been ushering in the fall season by making lots of soup. Even though it is still really hot outside. There is something about eating a meal of soup/salad/baked goods in the fall that makes me VERY happy. The other day I was chopping some vegetables for chicken tortilla soup and Ian started eating the raw vegetables as fast as I could chop them. He loves to stand on a stool and "help" me cook. By help I mean stir, sample, and narrate my efforts. "Mommy stirring, mommy cutting zuc..chi...ni, mommy putting apple (red pepper) in it..." He doesn't stop talking all day long, and says the cutest, funniest things.

Max has been building a lot. He spends a lot of time constructing towers, castles, and bridges with blocks and legos. He loves to order Ian around and teach him how to build. "No, that's not right Ian. Put it over here. Ok, that's good." Ian is a very willing apprentice. I love to watch them play together and spy on their little conversations. I don't want them to grow up. Aside from potty training, I love the stage they are in.

p.s. Here is a fantastic butternut squash soup recipe. It's the best one I've had, and I'm pretty sure I've tried them all. I use a few substitutions and it still turns out great.

Sweet Moments

I have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off lately. Both boys are in the destructive terrible two stage, and life is hard. Don't even bring up potty training. I have been doing it for a year and a half, with very little progress. The tears start to flow when I think about having three children in diapers, but at this point it seems inevitable. I have read every book and tried every tactic, but am still open to advice. I have been totally and completely humbled in this arena of parenting.

This morning while I was organizing things in my room, the boys snuggled up together on my bed and "read" some books they found on the floor. Max's stories were about trucks and animals, but Ian's went exactly like this: "Once upon a time...a little monkey...the end!" He repeated that phrase over and over for a good 10 minutes as he turned the pages of Emily Dickinson poetry and lounged on my bed. It was one of those sweet moments that reminded me that I love my job. There is nothing else I'd rather be doing and nowhere else I'd rather be than at home taking care of my little boys.

33 weeks

Tomorrow marks the end of week 33. I am still waiting for the last trimester burst of energy to kick in, but I am starting to lose hope. Pregnancy (post morning sickness) has never really slowed me down, and I can't figure out what is happening. I guess I am getting old. My nesting instinct is in full force. Nesting hits me differently than most. I get a STRONG urge to redecorate my whole house. When I was pregnant with Ian I sold all of our furniture and bought all new stuff. I even reupholstered a chair during my last month of pregnancy. I would love to re-do our entire house, but am constrained by lack of budget, lack of energy, and lack of time.

I did convince J-P to move his office into our walk-in closet (you are a saint honey!) so I could decorate a room for the baby. As if one project wasn't enough, I decided to completely re-do our Master bedroom. I guess I should say "do", because I haven't touched it since we moved in. Literally. I have been painting and moving things around all week. I also decided to add a project area so I would have some space to work on all the ideas I've been storing in my head. The boys have been dumping things out, breaking things, tangling themselves in my supplies, and "helping" me all the while. I'll post pics when I get it more put together.