April

It's true this post has set new records for how long it's taken me to write and publish! April now seems like such a long time ago, but we're only just three weeks past. ::Sigh:: It's been a busy three weeks, though. I'll save those stories for a future post.

The first day of April directly followed Easter Sunday this year, and with it came a new experience in parenting for Matt and I. We try to follow a no-sugar policy at our house, which translated means the sweet stuff is reserved for only once-a-week desserts and 2-5 daily jelly beans as payment for chores done with happy hearts. Well, on this particular Monday morning our childrens' eyes were glued to the abundance of Easter candy showered on them by family members the day before. All were obedient, however, and put the candy in a special place for consumption at a TBD time. Except, that is, for one.

It was later in the morning and I had run upstairs for something, only to come back down and discover Jadyn was missing. Neither of the other two kids had seen her and after calling and searching for her for several minutes I got a bit panicky and called to Matt for help.

A few anxious minutes later we found her. Naked. In the dark. Yes, it's true. We found her sitting cross-legged and naked on a pile of laundry in the dark laundry room, with the door tightly shut, shoveling Easter candy into her mouth by the handful. I only wish I could have captured a picture of that little face when I discovered her. She had chocolate smeared all over her cheeks and was at that moment popping Starbursts (unwrapped ones, at that!) into her little rosebud mouth like there was no tomorrow. 'Twas the first time in my short parenting career that I couldn't do anything but quietly close the door, retreat to the living room, and fall on the floor laughing. So much for taking advantage of a disciplinary moment. I could hardly hold it together!

Needless to say, Matt and I had a good long talk with our little Jady-Bug and after hearing what the consequences of her behavior would be she tearfully admitted her undying love for candy. It was really too cute. Here's a photo of her I snapped a few days later that displays her cuteness, but in a better light :-). Yes, that's a skirt she's wearing in the picture. Yes, she pooped out colored candy wrappers for a couple of days. No, I don't think she'll do something like that ever again.

The other resident cutie-pie in our household is growing like a weed. She turned 7 months old the beginning of April and is still her Daddy's girl. She flashes grins like these at everyone she meets, especially if they are males. Heaven help us, this baby is definitely boy crazy. Ah, I could just eat her up!

April found us enjoying the opportunities to get outside and away from the house. With my business website in full swing I decided it was time to hit the trail and forage for some fresh herbs to write about. Nettle just happened to be the herb of the month and so the kids and I headed for my parent's property to go in search of them. Novice that I am, we discovered what we thought was a patch of Stinging Nettle (not that I wanted to touch them and find out!) and proceeded to harvest quite a bit. Later my grandfather took a look at my "weeds" and declared they were not nettles (as he grabbed a fist-full) and we later found out they were noxious weeds called Garlic-Mustard. Who knew? I redeemed the trip by taking this cute picture of my girlies with some wild Bluebells.

The gorgeous spring weather beckoned us outside for chores as well as play. Matt's lawn is his favorite project and it was green and beautiful this spring... and tall. Keeping to tradition he hoisted MJ on his hip and set out to mow one evening. Later I discovered this precious father/son bonding that was taking place. I think this will be a cherished photo for years to come.

I'll wrap this post up with another picture of our Jordynn. Our nicknames for her have turned out to be Jordy, Georgy-Porgy Puddin n' Pie, Punky Brewster, Lil' Ewok and Ham. Quite an assortment I guess. And as the picture suggests, she is a lover of food! We've moved on to cheerios and pancakes and muffins and... you name it she loves it! Here she's indulging in my Dandelion Banana Muffins.

Until next month... adieu!

Lil’ Sitter

Someone learned to sit by herself!
Look at those cheeks!
Jadyn, mid-May 2010

Bubbalicious

Jadyn started cereal the first week of May and loved it!
I’ve since added a little banana to it, which she likes as well.
In this picture, Daddy is trying his hand at feeding without making a mess.
Not too bad!
May 2010

My Tootsie Pop

Jadyn & Momma
May 2010

General Life Update

Life with two has been such a joy and a challenge. I’ve always heard it’s tough to adjust to two... or three (depending on who you ask)... and at least for me I think the former is the truth. I’ve struggled to live without sleep, find time to use the bathroom ALONE, and care for my family with grace and patience. It’s been a tough journey, one far from over, but I’m finally feeling more on top of things.

And I’ve had time to focus on all the joys of living life with two growing girls!

Morenna  - 25 months

Morenna continues to amaze me with her vocabulary. She definitely takes after her father in that regard. When Matt was five he was amazing people in grocery check-out lines with properly used words like “obstreperous” and I’m just waiting for Morenna to do the same.

She chatters constantly and will dialog with short conversations on the phone. And also by herself. Her capacity for imagination has definitely grown... which is something I’m thrilled about!

She can sing the entire alphabet and recognize the letters “O”, “M”, and “B”.  And she can almost recognize all colors.

Numbers-wise she can count to 10... and counts objects, too.

Dancing and music are definitely her forte, so I’m sure we’ll be looking into ballet or tap lessons in the near future. And dresses. She loves dresses with a passion!

And recently she’s mastered summersaults all by herself.

A haircut might be coming soon for her, too.

Potty-training still is a taboo subject. She will pee on the potty if we sit her on it, but other than that she has no desire. And I’m ok with that.

I’m also ok with they fact she still sleeps in a crib, with no apparent desire for the contrary.

Today we moved Jadyn into Morenna’s room... so we’ll have to see how that goes. :-) As a big sister goes, Morenna has definitely started to show more of an interest in Jadyn, but mainly to take her toys or let me know when she’s spit-up or lost her beloved binkie. There is the occasional kiss, but I’ve been a bit disheartened at her lack of gentleness or care towards her. Oh well, I shrug it off in light of her age.

Food wise she is my vegetarian in training. She’s not a huge meat lover, but will gladly pig out on beans, cheese and eggs... in addition to yogurt, fruits and veggies and crackers. Don’t forget the crackers.

She finally has both canine teeth on the bottom. Just two more to go and then we’ll be waiting for the last of her molars. I’m not at all saddened to see that phase of growth pass us by. I’m not big on teeth. :-)

 

Jadyn – 5.5 months

My little tootsie-pop. What a joyful spirit Jadyn is... despite how little she sleeps. Which is more than I can say for myself. :-)

At halfway through her fifth month she has taken to eating cereal like a pro. She. Loves. It. Funny how I’ve failed to make it to the six month mark with both girls before introducing them to solids. But both have been ready, so who am I to deny?

Jadyn can’t stand to be on her tummy, so about a month and a half ago she mastered rolling over from tummy to back on demand. Simply lay her on her tummy and before you blink, she’s flipped over and is giggling back at you.

Her latest accomplishment, though, is to sit unassisted. And she really likes this position. She does well with reaching for toys and keeping herself from toppling over.

Jadyn continues to act like she’s teething... as she has since month number one. Her favorite activity is to gnaw on daddy’s finger as he totes her around the house. Spoiled? Maybe. Adored? Yah.

And what a drama queen! I thought Morenna was passionate... boy, we’re in for it with Jadyn. Her version of a temper-tantrum is to cease breathing until her face turns bright red and then to squeal. A funny thing to behold!

In as much as Morenna is a Daddy’s girl (BIG time), Jadyn is a Mommy’s girl. She simply lights up whenever I’m around and thus far has belly-laughed really only for me. I’m not complaining. Such adoration is a small payback for the number of sleepless nights I’ve spent with her.

Morenna was a great sleeper right off of the bat. But Jadyn continues to get me up several times a night. I finally wised up to the fact she wasn’t waking in order to eat, but rather to cuddle with me... every three hours. Still not too sure how I’m going to handle that one... but I’m hoping it goes away soon.

Professional Grade

Jadyn, Punky Brewster, Gi-Gi, Pookie Bear
March 2010, 3.5 months.

Gettin’ Bigger All the Time

March 2010
Jadyn, 3.5 months

It’s All About the Cheeks

I can’t get over Jadyn’s little chipmunk cheeks!

And as usual, her beloved “bink” isn’t far away.

A Mother’s Love

January 2010

Her First Bath

Look at those cheeks!

December 2009

Worth a Thousand Words

If the old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” is true, then it’s my lucky day.

Despite my desires to maintain fresh content - written content - on this blog, the fact of life is that I’m no superwoman. I’ve been forced to identify my priorities of late and sadly blogging just doesn’t score high enough to outrank changing poopy diapers, shining the kitchen sink, kissing boo-boos, watching Veggitales, feeding my birds... well, not that last one. But you get the point.

Anyhow, since a majority of you visit to see updates about the girls and not to read my random thoughts or see my latest coupon bargain... I’ve decided to initiate something new here. Something that will both feed my desire to post fresh content, while likewise serving you up some fresh updates on the girls. Though not to worry, I'll still be tempted to write whenever I have a spare moment.

Here’s hoping for success! I bring you... a thousand words.

January 2010

Sisters

Not exactly the best pictures I have of the girls... but since they're in the same outfit, I thought it warranted a post on similarities. :-) So whacha think?

All About Roo - How She Got Here

I'm so glad Jadyn (a.k.a. Roo, GiGi [as Morenna calls her], Pumpkin) has joined our family. It was a bit of a long road ushering her into our family, but the joy of new life outweighs it all. Thankfully.

Otherwise there would be no more babies.

And our family would stay good and small. Really small.

I was fairly sure that labor the second time around would be a breeze, both mentally and emotionally, and perhaps physically, too. First time: ignorant and unsure. Second time: experienced and seasoned. Right?

Labor with Jadyn was a surprise. A mentally, emotionally, and physically-taxing surprise. I anticipated her arrival would be an early one. Perhaps Thanksgiving Day? It would be fun to have a child born on Easter and a child born on Thanksgiving. So we planned.

The Tuesday prior, I started having 5 minute regularly-spaced, but manageable, contractions. Based on my experience laboring with Morenna, I took this to be early labor and waited for them to become more irregular (in my case) but grow in intensity. Five hours later, they stopped.

Ok.

Wednesday they came again. As the sun hung low in the sky, they started. Six hours later, they stopped.

OK.

Thanksgiving day we prepared to celebrate our first holiday at home. (More on this, later... with pictures of some super-awesome homemade cinnamon rolls!) My parents were in town and my best friend and her hubby came over to join us in our feast. I spent a large part of the morning on my feet dabbling in food prep, but they [my feet, that is] swelled up and commanded me to take a chair. The rest of the afternoon was spent in a turkey-coma, curled up and happily watching football. Again the contractions started, but I was able to ignore them fairly well. At 11pm, my head hit the pillow.

Little did I know this would be my last night of full rest.

Blah.

Not that I would have done anything different had I known. I slept. It was good. The end.

Friday was a pleasant day and my hubby was home from work. In the afternoon we took a good, long, walk around our neighborhood with Morenna and Uncle Feather (my parent's dog, a.k.a. Buddy). Once we returned home, my contractions started up yet again. At this point they required my complete attention. Still they came regularly... 7 minutes apart. Could this be it? I was growing a bit weary of the start and stop method my body was taking, so I did my best to ignore them.

But they weren't easily ignored. And they continued...on... and on... and on. I cautiously, but eagerly announced that I thought this was it! Eight hours went by. I was exhausted... with no noticeable progress. I slept as I could, but they were strong enough to wake me up throughout the night. And then they stopped. STOPPED. The sun rose. But my spirits sank. Was I missing something?

Saturday I tried to be positive. Breakfast out with my hubby... and then a good, long, devotional certainly helped. I rested. I lived. And then, just as the sun was setting, they came again. Strong. Intense. Regular. I breathed through them and waited for some progress. Two hours... four hours... six hours... eight. All through the night I contracted. Breathed. But no progress came. And they stopped.

I guess it would be no surprise that Sunday's sunrise found me frustrated, exhausted, and utterly confused. What was going on!? I was supposed to know how this whole labor thing works... and yet I was more lost than ever. Moreover, my uterus seemed to be stuck in an everlasting contraction of sorts. I just couldn't get it to relax. I felt as though I had done enough crunches to satisfy even Marine standards.

To ease my weary and troubled mind, I spent the morning browsing the internet trying to find some consolation as to what was going on. Then I stumbled upon a support group for mothers dealing with prodromal labor. It was a jackpot of encouragement to me as I identified with all the symptoms to a "T". I wasn't going crazy. Phew.

At my husband's insistence, though, I decided to phone my midwife to tell her what had been going on and to ask for a sleeping pill so I could get some rest. After just a few seconds of dialog she replied, "well sweetie, it sounds like you're wrestling through some nasty prodromal labor."

Gee. Maybe I should have called her to begin with and saved myself the time of research. :-)

She suggested I come in for a brief non-stress test for the baby and she'd check to see if the contractions had been productive or non-productive. She reasoned, "Given what happened with your first birth, I just wouldn't want to prescribe you a sleeping pill if you're farther along than we realize."

Matt and I headed to the birth center and after two hours of monitoring (Jadyn wasn't quite as active at first as they would've liked) my midwife announced I was 3 cm and 60% effaced. I was somewhat relieved all my efforts hadn't been in vain. She offered a sleeping pill or a Tylenol PM for sleep, though she explained my contractions were registering strong enough that I would likely still awake with them. I took the Tylenol and we headed home with instructions to take a hot, relaxing bath to see if my uterus would relax.

It felt so good to have a "diagnosis" of sorts as to what was going on. But my mind still worried as to how I would know when real labor kicked it. From my research, many mothers who had prodromal labor would end up in transition out of nowhere. Given our close call reaching the birthing center with Morenna, I was more and more nervous that this baby would come at home, or in the car. And what if the contractions lasted for days, or even weeks longer? It's not unheard of. Prodromal labor is a nasty, mean, thing.

But my husband lit candles. And turned on peaceful music. The water felt wonderful and I fell asleep. Peacefully asleep. Right there in my bathtub.

Later we put Morenna to bed and then curled up to watch Christmas in Connecticut. My contractions were still coming strong, though, and eventually brought tears to my eyes. I had a good cry. Surprisingly, my whole body relaxed after that for the first time in a while. I fell asleep in the middle of the movie. It was just what needed to happen.

Matt woke me to go to bed a short while later. By the time I reached the bed, though, a wave of nausea swept over me along with the chills. Then I knew. The time had come.

We called our midwife and quickly packed up and headed back to the birthing center. The moon was bright and full as we drove the empty roads. My husband was the perfect driver and we all made it in one piece. :-) His watch chimed midnight as we walked through the doors. I was 5cm and 80%. What a relief. Things were finally happening.

As I soaked in the birthing center tub a short while later, my worries popped up again. What if things stopped? I hadn't slept in two nights - what if this took all night? Was I too tired to manage the non-medicated birth I wanted? I just wasn't sure if I had it in me. We prayed. And God was gracious.

My worries only lasted a short time. Within an hour of being in the tub, I felt the urge to push sweep over me. Yet I was only a 7cm and 90%. My midwife suggested breaking my water. We debated the issue... and then within the next contraction, it broke on its own. Dilemma solved.

And then things really moved fast.

With each subsequent contraction, I pushed... and progressed. 8cm... 9cm... 10. Those contractions were so intense. They didn't even compare to the ones I had with Morenna. But they brought Jadyn to my arms in less than an hour. And then it was all over.

And I didn't cry. I smiled.

We had been at the birthing center for two hours and forty-one minutes.

Jadyn's birth itself was very peaceful. I had wished for that when selecting a midwife this time around and it was exactly how I wanted it. Jadyn was immediately placed on my chest and made only a small whimper. I rubbed her and cuddled with her for more than an hour while the nurse and midwife took care of their various duties. (I tore again, unfortunately... but that is another story in itself. Apparently the shoulders of an 8lb baby need more room to enter the world than those of their smaller but older predecessor.)

Matt sat quietly with me as we stared at the new addition to our family. It was wonderful.

So how long was my labor? the nurse asked. I had no clue what to say. But the midwife smiled and said, "oh, just put down a really long time... like since Tuesday".

Tuesday... Wednesday... Thursday... Friday... Saturday... Sunday... all that mattered was that she was finally here. And it was all over.

God had been faithful once again. And we praised Him for his grace.

Welcome to this world, my sweet little girl. It was a joy to give you life.

More pictures to come, I promise. :-)
And I have video and pictures of Morenna and Jadyn's first meeting that I just can't wait to share!
Other pictures are available here.

All About Roo - She's Here!

Jadyn Elizabeth Marie
11/30/2009 @ 2:41AM
8 lbs, 18.5 inches