Our Newest Little One

We welcomed our newest little one into the world on July 22, 2014 at 3:37 p.m. As I had mentioned in my previous post, I went in to be induced. I was nervous about this because I had already had a previous cesarean and a VBAC, and really wanted to do another VBAC, even though being induced could increase my chances for another cesarean. We got to the hospital at around 6 in the morning and by about 8, I was on the Pitocin. My midwife was going to be coming in later to break my water but it ended up breaking on its own (yay!). Around noon, I was only about 4 cm dilated, so I sent my husband home to see the kids for awhile (we live about 5 minutes away from the hospital). Shortly before 3 p.m., I was finally measuring at a 7. I called my husband to let him know to go ahead and come back after he got Snuggle Bug to calm down (I could hear him fussing in the background). No more than 10 or 15 minutes later, I felt a lot of pressure and a strong urge to push. The nurse immediate got my midwife who checked me and said that I was all ready to go and baby was coming. My husband hadn't gotten back to the hospital yet so I called him again to let him know to hurry up. After calling twice with no answer, he walks through the door. My midwife finished getting prepped and it was time to start pushing. Just 15 minutes later, our baby boy was here!

 

 

He weighed in at 7 lbs., 14.7 oz., and measured 20 inches long. He's perfectly healthy and is sweet just like his older two siblings. He also has quite a bit more hair than they had at birth. 

 

This pregnancy has been my easiest (I did not throw up even once). The birth was also pretty easy (epidurals help, but I'm also glad I wasn't pushing for an hour). And while this little man is only 3 days old, he's been very easy to take care of. We had a very good first night at home. My husband went in to work this morning for half a day and things went very smoothly with all three children. A part of me is waiting for my luck to run out.

This sweet boy has made it very easy for us to fall in love with him.

 

 

Jenny

 

Last Day as a Mother of Two

It's now official. Today is my last full day as a "mother of two". My due date for baby #3 was last Thursday, and I am now 4 days overdue. I had an appointment this morning with my midwife and she had mentioned inducing some time next week, as that would be the furthest they could let me go. However, after the crazy weekend we had it is just time to get this baby out (an illness that I'm not going to get into has hit the family which knocks out one option of childcare and my other source of reliable childcare will not be available next week---so my reasons for wanting baby out now are not entirely selfish, as I feel pretty good physically and could keep going).

I am scheduled to be induced tomorrow at 6 a.m. Honestly, I'm a bit nervous. I was hoping not to be induced as it could increase my chances for another C-section. I had a C-section with my daughter, and even though it wasn't what I had desired, it still went well. But then with my son, I attempted a VBAC, and did really well with that (and healing was much better!). I really hope I can have another successful VBAC, and that my decision to be induced doesn't come back to bite me.

I've been spending the remainder of my day at home with my two sweet children as I get in my last really good snuggles before their world gets rocked. Sugar Plum should be fine, as she's gone through this before, but Snuggle Bug may have a hard time. He knows there is a baby in my tummy and he snuggles it all the time. I just don't think he understand that baby will soon be outside of my tummy and making a lot of noise and needing a lot of attention. I've spent a portion of my afternoon on the couch with this little guy and had to get some last shots of him loving on my tummy. It's been an amazing few months as I've grown and got to experience Snuggle Bug's tenderness and his love towards his unborn baby brother.

I adore his big blue eyes.

I told Sugar Plum as soon as I got back from my appointment this morning that her new baby brother will be here tomorrow. She's so very excited. The picture doesn't show it, as the movie Alice in Wonderland has her attention. Just for the record, I love her big green eyes too.

As far as everything else goes, I feel prepared yet very unprepared. My house is not how I'd like it to be. I'm good on my everyday chores like laundry and dishes, but everything else is chaos. Not extreme chaos, but I wish I had more motivation to get some other things done. I've accepted the fact that the house will never be completely ready, especially with a 4 year old and 2 year old destroying it.

I think I'm prepared enough with food. I have two baked penne dishes and two lasagnas in the freezer, along with a bag of chili and a bag of Brunswick stew. I made a list for my husband of take-out options to bring me while I am in the hospital. While I am going to try finding vegan options on the hospital menu, I know it will not be easy so it's good to have a backup plan. As I experienced during our hospital stay last October for my sons surgery, the cafeteria does not offer hardly any vegan options. (Yes, they do have salad with one vegan option for dressing, but I, like many other vegans, have gotten very tired of salads as they are the only vegan option at most restaurants). While they did have hummus, it looked gross and dried out since hummus eaters in eastern North Carolina are few and far between.

That's about it I guess! My next blog post will hopefully be about our newest little one.


Jenny

Family Update for Mid-April 2014

After noticing that I have been posting way too many recipes lately on our blog, I thought it was time to make a non-food post! We eat a lot. Every day, actually. Delicious food, too. And I like to share the yummy recipes that I find. But, we are more than just food.

Homeschool Planning

I have been spending a lot of time getting ready for homeschool in the Fall. My daughter will be studying a kindergarten curriculum and I am trying to plan things so that my toddler son can be included in the lessons, and for the subjects that Sugar Plum needs my one-on-one attention I need to find something to keep him entertained (without using the TV, of course). It’s actually quite challenging. He’s more at a learning-through-play age right now while she’s ready for more actual instruction mingled with learning play (there’s only so much fun that can be put into practicing handwriting or learning to read, but I am trying).

There is so much that I want my children to learn and I just don’t have enough time in the day to teach it to them. That and having school for 12+ hours a day would not be fun for them! Planning an age appropriate curriculum that will keep the kids entertained and interested is hard work! I had thought about purchasing a full curriculum, but I am not satisfied with any of them at the moment and they are far too overpriced. But I did settle on a math curriculum. This is the only curriculum that I am not going to plan all by myself, because it’s such a crucial subject that I don’t want to leave anything important out. Now I just need to budget my money to be able to afford the curriculum each year (my husband and I set up budgets for just about everything, so yes, I also have a homeschool budget to go by). I can see how homeschooling can be very expensive, but I’m going to try to be as frugal as possible.

I have come across some great resources online to help me teach them both and some blogs with advice for mom’s like me that still need to teach but also need to take care of younger children. I feel ready. The only thing I am clueless about is the temperament of baby #3, who will not be born until mid-July, just 2 weeks before the start of school! There’s a lot that we’ll have to play by ear and take one day at a time.

Getting Ready for Baby #3

Something else we‘ve been up to is getting ready for baby. I still have another 13 weeks to go but I already want to start unpacking and washing the baby boy clothes. My daughter has completely accepted that she will have another baby brother. She has fallen in love and likes to give the baby (my tummy) hugs often. Bear finally understands that there is a baby in my tummy. If I am holding him and he starts kicking and throwing a tantrum, I tell him to be careful not to kick mommy’s tummy because the baby could get hurt. When I say this, he starts crying. Really, really sad crying. Like he thinks he already hurt the baby and he feels so sorry. Then it makes me so sad because he’s feeling sad. I assure him that the baby is fine and we sit down on the couch and he gives my tummy lots of love. I am so lucky to have two tender-hearted children. They have their moments, but they really are just amazingly sweet most of the time. How did I ever get so lucky?

Other than homeschool planning and daily life, we don’t have much going on. I suppose it’s time to end this update and get back to work!

Jenny

 

Here we go again!

We are very happy to announce that we are expecting!

I'm sure that face will look much cuter in July.

We found out back in December. So far, this pregnancy has been going great. While I did have some nausea (which occurred in the late afternoon/evening), I never actually threw up. This is also my very first vegan pregnancy. (The kids and I have been vegan for about a year. Even George spent a little bit of time drinking whole milk before we switched to soy). I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do a vegan pregnancy because I want to make sure the baby is getting all the nutrients it needs, but so far everything is great. My blood work came back and baby and I are both healthy (and I got a bonus in good news along with this, which I’ll post about later). Even my iron was great, which was really good news because I had low iron when I was pregnant with George and had to take a supplement. And that was when I was still eating meat. Ha! So I’ll continue being vegan until I am told that I need to do something different. I won’t be happy about it, but a healthy baby is top priority.

Yesterday, we had the big ultrasound appointment where we learned what baby #3 will be!

The kids and I met Hubby at the doctor’s office and we all went in together. Bridget was not feeling her best (she caught the latest GI bug) but she so badly wanted to go. She has been so excited about having a new baby, and has even prayed that it would be a little girl for her to play with.

Very quickly into the ultrasound, we discovered that it is a BOY!

Bridget was heartbroken. She just stood there and I could tell that she wanted to cry, but her shyness prevents her from doing that in front of strangers. She’s the only one who was hoping for a specific gender… the rest of us just wanted a healthy baby. But seeing her so disappointed, I was almost wishing that it would have been a girl, just for her. But, we are still very happy to have another boy.

After coming home, I let Bridget know that with her and I being the only girls, we get to have our own special ‘girl time’ and that she’s still going to be daddy’s baby girl. This cheered her up a little bit. Throughout the rest of the afternoon, she’d come to me with questions like “Why does Heavenly Father think I need another little brother?” and comments like “I wish I was having a little sister so that I won’t be so lonely”. Way to break my heart, kid.

George's reaction was… nothing. He has no idea what’s going on. I think he finally got the concept that there is a baby in my tummy, but he’ll probably need reminding. I’m sure he’ll be a good big brother, as he is so loving towards Bridget's baby dolls. It’s sweet to watch him feed the babies and carry them around. Then of course being the boy that he is, he’ll whack the baby’s head on the floor a few times and laugh.

Now, back to the baby: He is due on July 17th, 2014. His heart rate was 148 (at 16 weeks, 5 days along). So far, I’ve gained just ONE pound (although I do feel like I’ve gained more). I was a bit alarmed by this and promised my OBGYN that I am eating a lot but she said that this is perfect considering the baby only weighs 6 ounces right now. She said most women gain way too much too early but that I’m on the right track. So yay! My next appointment is in 4 weeks, and sometime in March I also have a fetal echo scheduled with George's pediatric cardiologist to see if this new baby has any sort of heart defect. It’s rare for someone to have two CHD children, but it does still happen. I’m not worried about it and I think it will all be okay. Even if the new baby does have a congenital heart defect, at least we know what to expect with surgery, recovery, etc. But we’re hoping for the best, of course.