Tonight before Zack went to bed we said prayers. We asked Zack who should pray and he decided it was his turn.
He prayed, "Dear God, thank you sooooooo much Jesus birthday party."
Oh how I hope and pray his love for Jesus grows and grows.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
First Post-Baby Run
I went running for the first time since Alison was born yesterday (Merry Christmas to me!). Well, actually it was my first run since about May, when I came to the conclusion that running and being pregnant made for a really, really tired Karen. So I quit running and took more naps. It was much better for everyone involved.
Yesterday my baby turned 6 weeks old (sniff, sniff, how did that go so fast?!?!), I was feeling somewhat rested, and I decided that I could wait no more, and was going to go for a quick little jog around the neighborhood. I charged up the Garmin, wore running shorts for their actual purpose, laced up my shoes, and headed out the door.
I decided to be reasonable, and just run one lap around the neighborhood, which is a little less than 1.5 miles. It felt wonderful and awful all at the same time. So great to finally be running again, and awful cause my muscles and lungs have not worked that hard in quite a while.
When I got home I uploaded my run, and started to analyze all the stats. My average moving pace was 11:47 per mile, and I only ran 1.4 miles. I looked back at my last run pre-pregnancy, which was with the jogging stroller and my pace was 9:22 per mile. Apparently pregnancy will set you back a few minutes.
I remember my first run after Zack was born. I felt like my pelvis was going to break in half, and I kept peeing my pants. Yesterday my pelvis didn't feel great, but I surely didn't think it was going to break in half....and I only peed my pants a little bit. Kegels anyone???
Later in the afternoon, my legs felt like jello....similar to how they feel after running 10+ miles. Today I'm all kinds of sore. My hips, quads, calves etc, all feel like I gave them quite the workout. Even my abs are sore! And I didn't even run 2 miles!
And so, my comeback begins.
Yesterday my baby turned 6 weeks old (sniff, sniff, how did that go so fast?!?!), I was feeling somewhat rested, and I decided that I could wait no more, and was going to go for a quick little jog around the neighborhood. I charged up the Garmin, wore running shorts for their actual purpose, laced up my shoes, and headed out the door.
I decided to be reasonable, and just run one lap around the neighborhood, which is a little less than 1.5 miles. It felt wonderful and awful all at the same time. So great to finally be running again, and awful cause my muscles and lungs have not worked that hard in quite a while.
When I got home I uploaded my run, and started to analyze all the stats. My average moving pace was 11:47 per mile, and I only ran 1.4 miles. I looked back at my last run pre-pregnancy, which was with the jogging stroller and my pace was 9:22 per mile. Apparently pregnancy will set you back a few minutes.
I remember my first run after Zack was born. I felt like my pelvis was going to break in half, and I kept peeing my pants. Yesterday my pelvis didn't feel great, but I surely didn't think it was going to break in half....and I only peed my pants a little bit. Kegels anyone???
Later in the afternoon, my legs felt like jello....similar to how they feel after running 10+ miles. Today I'm all kinds of sore. My hips, quads, calves etc, all feel like I gave them quite the workout. Even my abs are sore! And I didn't even run 2 miles!
And so, my comeback begins.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Welcome to the Circus
My house seems to be a circus right now.
We've got baby Alison in one ring, looking cute, pooping on her onesies, requesting food as she pleases, and requesting to be held as often as possible.
We've got big brother Zack in another ring. He too is looking cute, requesting fishes and pancakes as he pleases, and requesting that we "put her down" from time to time. In the times where little A is requesting food, and therefore mama is occupied, Zack entertains himself by watching PBS kids, scaling the toy shelf, and dumping out any cup, or dog bowl full of water that he can find. When he's not doing any of the above, he's washing his hands. And using half the soap dispenser in one trip to the bathroom to wash up. Foaming hand soap up to his armpits...no need for a bath that day, I suppose!
In yet another ring we've got Walter. He too is requesting food as he pleases, and doing his best to sneak Zack's fish from him. And snoring.
Then there's me, the ringmaster. Juggling. And then James comes home from work and we juggle together. Having Zack surely did throw us off...and adding another one to the mix has been slightly chaotic. Ok, absolutely chaotic. But totally worth it.
We've got baby Alison in one ring, looking cute, pooping on her onesies, requesting food as she pleases, and requesting to be held as often as possible.
We've got big brother Zack in another ring. He too is looking cute, requesting fishes and pancakes as he pleases, and requesting that we "put her down" from time to time. In the times where little A is requesting food, and therefore mama is occupied, Zack entertains himself by watching PBS kids, scaling the toy shelf, and dumping out any cup, or dog bowl full of water that he can find. When he's not doing any of the above, he's washing his hands. And using half the soap dispenser in one trip to the bathroom to wash up. Foaming hand soap up to his armpits...no need for a bath that day, I suppose!
In yet another ring we've got Walter. He too is requesting food as he pleases, and doing his best to sneak Zack's fish from him. And snoring.
Then there's me, the ringmaster. Juggling. And then James comes home from work and we juggle together. Having Zack surely did throw us off...and adding another one to the mix has been slightly chaotic. Ok, absolutely chaotic. But totally worth it.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
It's a GIRL!!
After 40 weeks and 2 days, our sweet little GIRL finally made her debut. Meet Alison.
I was just about 100% convinced I was going to have to be induced, but 3 days before the tentative induction date, I went into labor. I woke up around 2am having painful, painful contractions every 10 minutes or so. I thought to myself "could this really be it?!?" and then began making a mental checklist of what we would need to do should I really be in labor, and did my best to sleep. For the next 4 hours the contractions continued and got closer together and I got about 10 minutes of sleep.
James and I had discussed the "ideal" labor situation. The thing I wanted most was to go into labor during the day, more specifically in the morning. I didn't want to have to wake Zack up in the middle of the night only to drop him off with Alexis in a parking lot.
It appeared as though my "ideal" labor might be happening. We met Alexis at the hospital around 8ish. Sadly, the 15 minute drive to the hospital pretty much stopped my contractions. I was bummed. We still left Zack with Alexis and then headed to the mall to do some walking. Our walking involved a walk to Starbucks where I got a blueberry scone. The barista told me it must be my lucky day, since I got the last one. If only he knew how badly I wanted it to be my "lucky" day. After some walking at the mall, a nap at home, cleaning at home, bouncing on the exercise ball, and just hoping and praying that my contractions would get regular and stay that way, I decided that I needed to go to the hospital. Not because the contractions were regular, but because they hurt so, so badly. I was hoping they would see the strength of the contractions and keep me based on that.
We got to the hospital around 2pm, and I was once again not having very regular contractions, but was definitely progressing. The nurse sent me on a walk. She said to try and go for 30 minutes, and that 45 would be even better. I lasted 25 minutes. I was dying. That painful walk did it though. I dialated another centimeter (in 25 minutes, no wonder I was in so much pain unable to breathe), my contractions were regular, and they were going to keep me.
We got into our room around 4:30, and I finally got an epidural around 5pm. Ahhhhhhh, sweet relief!! At this point things were still moving along, so we just hung out and waited. Around 6:30 I felt a weird contraction, and then I was all kinds of wet. My water broke. Things really started to pick up after that. There was a nurse shift change at 7pm, and around then I started to feel more contractions, so I pushed my epidural button for more meds. The new nurse asked me how I was doing cause she noticed that I was receiving more medicine. She then gave me a list of symptoms to let her know about and would check me again, otherwise she would be back around 8 to check me. It was now 7:15. I told her that maybe she should check me now. She did and said it was time to have a baby. She quickly began getting everything ready and called the doctor in.
When everything was ready they had me push. Apparently Alison was quite ready to be born. I pushed through 2 contractions, and at 7:31 we had a baby girl. Just like when Zack was born, the doctor let James announce to the room what it was. He declared her to be a girl, and we marveled over her. I had happy tears rolling down my cheeks and a huge smile plastered on my face. I could hardly believe we had a daughter. I still can hardly believe I have a daughter. So far we think she is perfect and wonderful and all things lovely.
They let me hold her for a few minutes before taking her to get her cleaned up and get all her stats. When the nurse called out that she was 7lbs 12oz I nearly fell off the bed. She was over a full pound bigger than her brother. I thought for sure if the baby was a girl she would be between 6 and 7 pounds, and that if it was a boy he would be over 7 pounds. I was clearly wrong. I have also decided that if we have another child it will most likely be close to 9 pounds....maybe 2 children will be enough.
I am crazy tired. Crazy, crazy tired. I'm so tired it hurts. I think I could sleep for a week straight if I didn't have any other obligations. But, I have a baby who needs to eat, a 2.5 year old who wants his mama's attention, and a husband who is doing a great job keeping the house running.
I was just about 100% convinced I was going to have to be induced, but 3 days before the tentative induction date, I went into labor. I woke up around 2am having painful, painful contractions every 10 minutes or so. I thought to myself "could this really be it?!?" and then began making a mental checklist of what we would need to do should I really be in labor, and did my best to sleep. For the next 4 hours the contractions continued and got closer together and I got about 10 minutes of sleep.
James and I had discussed the "ideal" labor situation. The thing I wanted most was to go into labor during the day, more specifically in the morning. I didn't want to have to wake Zack up in the middle of the night only to drop him off with Alexis in a parking lot.
It appeared as though my "ideal" labor might be happening. We met Alexis at the hospital around 8ish. Sadly, the 15 minute drive to the hospital pretty much stopped my contractions. I was bummed. We still left Zack with Alexis and then headed to the mall to do some walking. Our walking involved a walk to Starbucks where I got a blueberry scone. The barista told me it must be my lucky day, since I got the last one. If only he knew how badly I wanted it to be my "lucky" day. After some walking at the mall, a nap at home, cleaning at home, bouncing on the exercise ball, and just hoping and praying that my contractions would get regular and stay that way, I decided that I needed to go to the hospital. Not because the contractions were regular, but because they hurt so, so badly. I was hoping they would see the strength of the contractions and keep me based on that.
We got to the hospital around 2pm, and I was once again not having very regular contractions, but was definitely progressing. The nurse sent me on a walk. She said to try and go for 30 minutes, and that 45 would be even better. I lasted 25 minutes. I was dying. That painful walk did it though. I dialated another centimeter (in 25 minutes, no wonder I was in so much pain unable to breathe), my contractions were regular, and they were going to keep me.
We got into our room around 4:30, and I finally got an epidural around 5pm. Ahhhhhhh, sweet relief!! At this point things were still moving along, so we just hung out and waited. Around 6:30 I felt a weird contraction, and then I was all kinds of wet. My water broke. Things really started to pick up after that. There was a nurse shift change at 7pm, and around then I started to feel more contractions, so I pushed my epidural button for more meds. The new nurse asked me how I was doing cause she noticed that I was receiving more medicine. She then gave me a list of symptoms to let her know about and would check me again, otherwise she would be back around 8 to check me. It was now 7:15. I told her that maybe she should check me now. She did and said it was time to have a baby. She quickly began getting everything ready and called the doctor in.
When everything was ready they had me push. Apparently Alison was quite ready to be born. I pushed through 2 contractions, and at 7:31 we had a baby girl. Just like when Zack was born, the doctor let James announce to the room what it was. He declared her to be a girl, and we marveled over her. I had happy tears rolling down my cheeks and a huge smile plastered on my face. I could hardly believe we had a daughter. I still can hardly believe I have a daughter. So far we think she is perfect and wonderful and all things lovely.
They let me hold her for a few minutes before taking her to get her cleaned up and get all her stats. When the nurse called out that she was 7lbs 12oz I nearly fell off the bed. She was over a full pound bigger than her brother. I thought for sure if the baby was a girl she would be between 6 and 7 pounds, and that if it was a boy he would be over 7 pounds. I was clearly wrong. I have also decided that if we have another child it will most likely be close to 9 pounds....maybe 2 children will be enough.
I am crazy tired. Crazy, crazy tired. I'm so tired it hurts. I think I could sleep for a week straight if I didn't have any other obligations. But, I have a baby who needs to eat, a 2.5 year old who wants his mama's attention, and a husband who is doing a great job keeping the house running.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
40 Weeks Pregnant
I'm now 40 weeks pregnant. A milestone that most people didn't think I would achieve, based mostly off the fact that this is my second child and Zack was a week early. Therefore baby number two HAS to come early, right? I've done my best not to get caught up in this assumption, which is a good thing. Otherwise we would have one very grumpy Karen. We surely do have a tired, and uncomfortable Karen, but overall, I'm not too grumpy. And I think James would agree. And even if he doesn't agree, he would say I'm nothing but wonderful.
I have, however, come up with a list of the 10 best things to say to a woman who is 40+ weeks pregnant.
1. You look lovely!! (While ignoring the fact that the bottom of my belly is hanging out of my shirt. And also ignoring the fact that this shirt has stains on the belly.)
2. Would you like some chocolate??
3. Let me do this dishes, you just go sit on the couch. (James has this one mastered, FYI)
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Ok, so maybe there are only a few acceptable things to say to a woman who has been pregnant for forever.
But really, I haven't had too many insensitive comments. I have wonderful friends who are all quite empathetic and hope for my sake that this baby comes soon. Thankfully no one has suggested to me how to help get this baby out. I'm quite efficient at doing a google search, and trust me, I've researched the ways to naturally induce labor. And none of them seem like good options, nor do they seem to be effective. If sitting on the couch and eating ice cream was a suggested method, I would be all over that, but I have yet to see that recommended.
James, however, is getting all kinds of off the wall comments. My two favorites are: "Does your wife cry every day??" and "Does she yell at you a lot??" The answer to both questions is no. For being 100 years pregnant, I'm quite sane and rational. I've cried a few times this pregnancy, but only due to things like watching Soul Surfer (seriously, I almost completely LOST it watching that movie), watching the Olympics, and trying to get a teething, out completely out of his mind 2 year old dressed and into a car seat. And the only one getting yelled at in this house is Walter. He's a stinky dog (a good reason to yell, right?) and finds it necessary to start kicking his food bowl every afternoon around 4pm. And the never ending food bowl kicking gets me every time. And the yelling has no effect on the beagle. He just keeps kicking. And on occasion howls. And I just keep yelling at him until I give up and just feed the beagle.
A couple of weeks ago I thought for sure this baby was going to be born soon. I was having all kinds of contractions and "aggressively nesting." As I've gotten closer to, and now almost past, my due date, I'm having fewer and fewer contractions, and my intense need to clean the house is dissipating (maybe cause there's nothing left to clean....). Every night before bed, I used to tell James "I'll wake you up when I'm in labor!" Now I just tell him, "See ya in the morning, I'll still be pregnant!" or, "I'll wake you up if you are snoring." I've even gone to bed a few nights in a row without having to have all of Zack's toys picked up. I'm a rebel like that.
I know that in God's perfect timing this baby will arrive. And when he or she gets here, we will be over joyed. Until then, James and I are doing our best to enjoy our last days as parents of just one child, and doing our best to spoil Zack and shower him with as much attention as we can before he becomes a big brother.
I have, however, come up with a list of the 10 best things to say to a woman who is 40+ weeks pregnant.
1. You look lovely!! (While ignoring the fact that the bottom of my belly is hanging out of my shirt. And also ignoring the fact that this shirt has stains on the belly.)
2. Would you like some chocolate??
3. Let me do this dishes, you just go sit on the couch. (James has this one mastered, FYI)
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Ok, so maybe there are only a few acceptable things to say to a woman who has been pregnant for forever.
But really, I haven't had too many insensitive comments. I have wonderful friends who are all quite empathetic and hope for my sake that this baby comes soon. Thankfully no one has suggested to me how to help get this baby out. I'm quite efficient at doing a google search, and trust me, I've researched the ways to naturally induce labor. And none of them seem like good options, nor do they seem to be effective. If sitting on the couch and eating ice cream was a suggested method, I would be all over that, but I have yet to see that recommended.
James, however, is getting all kinds of off the wall comments. My two favorites are: "Does your wife cry every day??" and "Does she yell at you a lot??" The answer to both questions is no. For being 100 years pregnant, I'm quite sane and rational. I've cried a few times this pregnancy, but only due to things like watching Soul Surfer (seriously, I almost completely LOST it watching that movie), watching the Olympics, and trying to get a teething, out completely out of his mind 2 year old dressed and into a car seat. And the only one getting yelled at in this house is Walter. He's a stinky dog (a good reason to yell, right?) and finds it necessary to start kicking his food bowl every afternoon around 4pm. And the never ending food bowl kicking gets me every time. And the yelling has no effect on the beagle. He just keeps kicking. And on occasion howls. And I just keep yelling at him until I give up and just feed the beagle.
A couple of weeks ago I thought for sure this baby was going to be born soon. I was having all kinds of contractions and "aggressively nesting." As I've gotten closer to, and now almost past, my due date, I'm having fewer and fewer contractions, and my intense need to clean the house is dissipating (maybe cause there's nothing left to clean....). Every night before bed, I used to tell James "I'll wake you up when I'm in labor!" Now I just tell him, "See ya in the morning, I'll still be pregnant!" or, "I'll wake you up if you are snoring." I've even gone to bed a few nights in a row without having to have all of Zack's toys picked up. I'm a rebel like that.
I know that in God's perfect timing this baby will arrive. And when he or she gets here, we will be over joyed. Until then, James and I are doing our best to enjoy our last days as parents of just one child, and doing our best to spoil Zack and shower him with as much attention as we can before he becomes a big brother.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
I love YouTube
I never knew what a valuable resource YouTube could be until now.
Our sweet little boy has quite the fascination with trucks. Fire trucks and garbage trucks are at the top of his list, followed by bulldozers and dump trucks. I find myself driving through construction zones on purpose, just so Zack can see these big trucks.
We've recently discovered the joys of garbage truck videos, as well as firetruck videos on YouTube. I'm not all that surprised at the huge number of firetruck videos, there are firetruck parades after all. But the sheer number of videos of garbage trucks picking up garbage amazes me. These garbage truck videos also amaze Zack. Seriously, endless entertainment for the 2 year old. These videos are going to come in very, very handy once we've got ourselves a new baby in the house.
Last night Zack and James were watching garbage truck videos together. The differences in their reactions was hilarious. Zack is excited about the different colors of garbage trucks, and he seems to really enjoy it when it's raining in the videos. James, however, talks about how inefficient some of the garbage trucks are, and wonders how many garbage men fall off the back of garbage trucks every year.
I love my boys.
Our sweet little boy has quite the fascination with trucks. Fire trucks and garbage trucks are at the top of his list, followed by bulldozers and dump trucks. I find myself driving through construction zones on purpose, just so Zack can see these big trucks.
We've recently discovered the joys of garbage truck videos, as well as firetruck videos on YouTube. I'm not all that surprised at the huge number of firetruck videos, there are firetruck parades after all. But the sheer number of videos of garbage trucks picking up garbage amazes me. These garbage truck videos also amaze Zack. Seriously, endless entertainment for the 2 year old. These videos are going to come in very, very handy once we've got ourselves a new baby in the house.
Last night Zack and James were watching garbage truck videos together. The differences in their reactions was hilarious. Zack is excited about the different colors of garbage trucks, and he seems to really enjoy it when it's raining in the videos. James, however, talks about how inefficient some of the garbage trucks are, and wonders how many garbage men fall off the back of garbage trucks every year.
I love my boys.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Come on Baby!
I've decided I would like to be done being pregnant. While my child is close to 1 million times easier to take care of while it's still growing in my belly (in comparison to how "easy" newborns are...), I'm pretty uncomfortable, and I'm getting quite antsy to meet this little person. Are you a boy? A girl?? Will you look like your big brother?? What is your personality going to be like? Do you have hair? And the list goes on, and on.
At night I'm getting a solid hour to hour and a half of sleep in between bathroom breaks. There are a few rare occasions when I sleep for 2, or maybe even 3 hours straight. Those stretches are amazing, and absolutely a gift from God.
I've been cleaning everything in site. I think I clean the shower every 3 days. And we've never been this caught up on laundry. Ever. Today I took it upon myself to wash a soap dish as well as the container that holds James' mouth guard. Things are beginning to get out of control. The space under the stove is clean, as well as under the fridge. The walls behind the toilets have been disinfected, as well as nearly every single surface in the house. It's a good thing the dog moves, otherwise I'm sure I would be trying to disinfect him as well. Thankfully I have some self control, and I have yet to vacuum the grass as this would surely break my back and make my belly feel as though it's going to fall off (but not get me any closer to having a baby, just make me very, very sore).
My doctor keeps telling me "it could be any day now." But, with each day that passes, my belly just grows bigger and my heartburn gets a little bit worse. Only God knows exactly when this little bambino will arrive (along with whether is a boy or a girl, and exactly how many hairs it has, or doesn't have, on it's sweet little head). So, for now, we will do our best to rest on God's promises, and know that He knows best, and has the most perfect plan for this wee one.
And while we wait, I will continue to wear the same 5 shirts that mostly cover the expanding belly, and clean until I can clean no more.
At night I'm getting a solid hour to hour and a half of sleep in between bathroom breaks. There are a few rare occasions when I sleep for 2, or maybe even 3 hours straight. Those stretches are amazing, and absolutely a gift from God.
I've been cleaning everything in site. I think I clean the shower every 3 days. And we've never been this caught up on laundry. Ever. Today I took it upon myself to wash a soap dish as well as the container that holds James' mouth guard. Things are beginning to get out of control. The space under the stove is clean, as well as under the fridge. The walls behind the toilets have been disinfected, as well as nearly every single surface in the house. It's a good thing the dog moves, otherwise I'm sure I would be trying to disinfect him as well. Thankfully I have some self control, and I have yet to vacuum the grass as this would surely break my back and make my belly feel as though it's going to fall off (but not get me any closer to having a baby, just make me very, very sore).
My doctor keeps telling me "it could be any day now." But, with each day that passes, my belly just grows bigger and my heartburn gets a little bit worse. Only God knows exactly when this little bambino will arrive (along with whether is a boy or a girl, and exactly how many hairs it has, or doesn't have, on it's sweet little head). So, for now, we will do our best to rest on God's promises, and know that He knows best, and has the most perfect plan for this wee one.
And while we wait, I will continue to wear the same 5 shirts that mostly cover the expanding belly, and clean until I can clean no more.
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