The Os-man's birth story

On 5/19, 9 days before my due date [and Cohen's 18 months], I woke up praying I'd go into labor that day. If I did, Darren would be home with us that weekend, that week, and the 3 day weekend following. Darren and I both had a feeling it would be that day, even though part of me also thought I'd reach my due date. We went on a long walk that afternoon with Cohen and the dogs. I was having contractions but frankly I was having them anytime I was somewhat active, so I ignored them. We went home and during Cohen's nap tried another method of trying to naturally go into labor ;) ;) After Cohen woke up we got ready and went to the Ash Kicker; a big, muddy marathon hosted at the RV park. We met up with some friends and walked around a bit. I was having contractions while we were sitting on a bench, and the thought occurred to me that I had not felt any contractions while sitting in a while, and that could mean good things. On our way home (about 4:30) I mentioned that I was still feeling some, and maybe I'd time them after dinner. Well not even an hour later I was having them every 5-8 minutes as I made dinner. I wrote down some times but none of them had become more intense than another, so I wasn't sure what to think.

I made a bad habit of comparing every detail of this labor to my labor with Cohen. With him, just 18 months prior to that very day, I had timeable contractions for only a couple hours before I couldn't walk through them. I was writing down contraction times around 2 o'clock, we were at the hospital by 6, and I had him at 9. I figured this time around would be faster, and we had a bit of a longer drive to the midwife's, so I wanted to leave as soon as I knew it was the real deal. At about 6:30, Darren's parents picked up Cohen so we could focus on the timing of the contractions. Darren cleaned the whole house while I walked around timing contractions. They were still coming, but none had really hurt, yet. I was feeling slightly discouraged. My midwife said to take a bath as that can speed up the process if it's true labor. I took a bath as well as walked up and down the driveway for half an hour. A few had been more intense, but then they'd just go back to bothersome. Darren suggested we take a drive because the car always makes it way worse! I decided I wanted a brownie sundae from BK so we drove there and then drove around town a bit. It was about 8PM at this point, and I had finally had a really good contraction that made me stop what I was saying. Darren looked me and said, "We're going!" But the rest of the drive there didn't do much. I was hoping for some intense contractions in the car, but I got nothin :[

We got there at 9 and I was feeling discouraged that I hadn't had any good ones. It had been 4 hours since I noticed contractions, and by this point with Cohen we were headed to the hospital and I was moaning in pain. I walked and walked and walked, and she checked me at 10 or so. I hadn't changed since my appt 4 days prior [3cm 50% effaced]. I wanted to cry. I got in the jetted tub, as relaxing can sometimes help you dilate. It was too relaxing! I didn't feel one contraction the whole time and I was falling asleep in there. At 11, Laura told us we could go home and sleep and maybe I'd wake up to more intense contractions, or we could sleep there in the birth suite and see what happens. She said she would be surprised if I didn't have the baby in the next 24 hours. I was so exhausted, as was Darren, so we decided to go to sleep there.

I was passed out by 11:30 but only got one lousy hour of sleep because I woke up to back pain. I got up and walked around and they were definitely coming every 2-3 minutes and hurting me. I didn't want to call the MW right away as she was probably sleeping [her house is connected to the birth suite/her office]. Darren woke up to me walking around and helped me time them and at 1:30 he called Laura [MW] because I was feeling uncomfortable. She came over looking like she had been up and ready for the call. She said she figured the sleep would relax me enough to send me into labor, and sure enough it had. I got in the tub and could still feel the back pain coming so that was a good sign! I enjoyed maybe half an hour of uncomfortable contractions in the tub, and then the real show began.

At 2, I was moaning in pain, yelling for Darren to jam his fist into my lower back where the pain was. This back labor was 1000x worse than with Cohen. The jets in the tub helped, but I still hated every second of this labor. The nice thing was having a minute in between contractions. With Cohen, they were right on top of each other. I would moan and visualize and rock for a minute, then have maybe a few seconds of relief before doing it all again. This time around, I would yell and visualize and swear for one minute, then have almost a whole minute of breathing and pep-talking that it was only temporary and soon I would have my baby. Darren was such a wonderful coach. He crammed his fist into my back for the entire minute as I was yelling at him to do it harder. He reminded me to breathe, told me how good I was doing, and repeated to me that soon we'd meet our new baby boy. After 40 minutes of hearing me like this, Laura checked me at about 2:45 AM. I was 6CM and almost completely effaced. I told Darren to text my mom and sister because they wanted to be there, and it could be sooner rather than later. I tried a few other positions for one contraction each--hands and knees in the tub, on the bed, hula hooping against the counter, & sitting on the toilet. The toilet was the only other place I liked aside from the tub. The sitting position and having Darren to cry into was comforting.

I was back in the tub when I mom and sister got there a little after 3. I was in the tub, on the toilet, in the tub,  on the toilet for about 45 minutes. Laura asked me if I felt like I had to push, and I told her I had been pushing a little bit with the last few contractions because it felt a little better. But nothing like the pressure to push that I felt with Cohen. I knew exactly when I had to push with him, and I also felt relief. Pushing contractions with him were amazing--no more back pain, just my body completely taking over to push him out. I didn't feel any relief at all this time, so I thought I was far from needing to push. Laura decided to check me and said to push with that contraction. The rest was such a blur. My sister has a video that is 3 minutes and 6 seconds long. The first 30 seconds is of me in the tub with Darren at my side and Laura waiting for me to have a contraction as she wanted to check me. Then 10 seconds of me screaming "GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!" because her checking me was excruciating! Then she's telling me to push. I was so confused. It wasn't time to push yet, was it? I hear her ask Darren if he sees the head. What?! I felt his head come out and it was so relieving, I threw my head back panting. Laura yelled at me that she needed my air to get the body out. My sister, mom, Darren, and Laura were all encouraging me to push, so with one huge push, I felt his entire body just pop out! Cohen wiggled out slowly, but Oslo was just so so fast! Suddenly he was on my chest and I was staring at the face of my new little boy. Darren and I were both crying as he gave me a kiss and told me how great I did. After the cord stopped pulsing, he cut it and I tried nursing my new baby. I sat in the tub with him for maybe 5-10 minutes as I delivered the placenta. Then she took the baby to clean him up and weigh him and pass him off to Darren. I stood up and showered which felt amazing. The pain was gone, I had a new bundle, and I felt euphoric. He was born at 3:58 AM. 8lbs 4 oz, 21 inches long. On 5/20--my parent's anniversary :) Intense labor started at 2, so I'd say not too shabby! 2 hours of hard labor, 90 seconds of pushing.

Afterward I got in bed and nursed him-he latched on like a pro. My mom went and got us Subway as we tried to pick a name for our new baby. We could not decide for a while. I had decided on Ephram and Darren agreed. Then we tried to pick a middle name and as Darren said Ephram out loud more and more, he decided he didn't like it anymore, lol. I had suggested Oslo [the capital of Norway... I heard it on the news once] during my 1st tri and Darren shot it down. He eventually warmed up to it a few months later, so it had been on our list along with Ephram, Kingston, Keaton, Abel, & Abram. We both decided we liked it, and chose Ryan for his middle name. Ryan is his best friend's last name, who is marrying one of my best friends so it will soon be her last name, too :] We left Laura's at almost 7AM, and I was home in my bed with Oslo and I couldn't have been happier. I had an amazing experience with my midwife, and I was so so happy to not be in the hospital. I encourage every woman to attempt a natural labor and delivery. Both of mine were the best experiences of my life. Our bodies were meant to do it! It's incredible.

 We love our new addition <3

Oslo Ryan is here.

We welcomed Oslo Ryan ten days ago; he came at 3:58 AM on 5/20, weighing in at 8lbs 4oz [the same as Cohen at birth] and was 21 inches long [half an inch longer than Cohen was]. It seems crazy! He was just in my belly and here we are ten days later, settled into a nice routine, exhausted but overjoyed. Cohen was confused at first; he cried when he heard Oslo cry. But he's already adjusted really well, and aside from him not understanding that some things have to wait until Mama finishes feeding the baby, his days haven't been too different.

It was so wonderful laboring and delivering at my midwife's birth center. Such a better experience than the hospital with Cohen. It was a quick labor and delivery [I will post my birth story soon] and we got to be home not 3 hours later after having him. It was nice to get settled in at home and catch up on some sleep. 

Darren spent the first week at home with us [aside from a few half days during the week, when GMaw & Aunt Mandee came to help out]. With the three day weekend that gave us 9 days with Darren at home. Cohen was thrilled. He got to spend so much quality time with his Dad that week, he loved every minute of it. Yesterday was my first day alone with the boys, and it wasn't bad at all. It's already 2 o'clock here and today hasn't been too shabby either. The nice weather helps--we spend a lot of time in the yard, even with Oslo on my boob, lol. 

Os nurses much better than Cohen did at this age. His sleep is as expected: 2-3 hour stretches in between feedings. I'm not worried about it, I know he'll sleep long some day :] For now I'm enjoying our quiet time in the middle of the night, since we don't get many private nursing sessions during the day. It's nice to snuggle him and talk to him in the quiet of the night. 

He's due to eat any minute, so I'll leave with a few photos and post my birth story in the next few days.

A few hours old.

4 days old.

Cohen wanting to pick him his baby brother.

Daddy trying to give Oslo a binky. No dice, he doesn't like them.

A couple of posts to come

I have three blog posts all started and saved, and I never finished any of them. I'm at work so I'm going to just finish all of them. First, an update post!

We're on the last few days of March and it's definitely been a better month than the other shit months we've had in 2012. I've been working a lot and getting bigger and bigger. Here I am at 31 weeks in all my glory:

It's insane how fast it's all going by. I have 2 months until this baby will be here! The crazy part is I"m literally excited to go through labor and delivery again; especially knowing it could possibly be my last time doing it. 2 might it for us. I can't wait to experience it again, and it will be so much different/better at a birthing center with just my midwife and some loved ones around. My midwife is really awesome, and I'm so glad I'm going this route!

Cohen is doing really well. Being a peach and sleeping 8:30-8ish perfectly, and has OFFICIALLY moved to one nap a day. Let me tell you about the one nap a day: at first you fear it. You're scared because you normally get a nice break from 10:30-12ish and then another one at 3:30ish. Cohen is normally an hour-90 minute napper in the morning, and then maybe 45 minutes in the late afternoon. I didn't always get to enjoy the second nap becaue I'd be at work, but that hour in the morning was CRUCIAL to my day going well. I'd usually prep dinner for the evening, do yoga, and clean, or enjoy some lying around time. So when Cohen started waking up after half an hour from his morning nap I was like.. WTF IS GOING ON. Then he'd completely skip his evening nap. NO NAP WHATSOEVA. I was full on panicing. Then about 2 weeks ago, I forced myself to keep him up later, no matter how sleepy he was. Instead of going down at 10:30 I started keeping him til 11:30 for a few days, and then eventually until 12:30 or 1. So it's definitely rough; he's up at 8 and I have to keep him happy and entertained for 4.5-5 hours without a break for myself. I'm still not used to it, BUT it pays off when he goes down at 1, and sleeps for 2 hours, sometimes even 3. YES. THREE HOURS. It isn't exactly glorious for me now because I leave for work one hour after he goes down.. so I have one hour to myself, and then I go to work. BUT I'm only working for another 5-6 weeks.. so soon I will enjoy that 2-3 hour nap EVERY DAY, and I will also have a new baby soon after that, so that long nap will be a God send.

Cohen has also become a signing master. Okay that's a total overstatement. He signs "more", "please", "all done", and he claps for "yay" and rolls his hands when we sing Patty Cake and say "roll it, pat it!" It's pretty cute. We're working on signing "milk" and "food" but he's taking his sweet time with those ones. It only took him like EIGHT EFFING MONTHS to learn "more" and "please".. Lol. Whatever. Any communication between us will help when there's a newborn on my boob all day long and I have to try to cater to Cohen, too. Oh fun times.

I've been doing a lot of work for Britt's wedding. It's coming up and I couldn't be more excited! I've done some help with the invitations, and tried out a few center peice ideas for her. Burlap wrapped around a mason jar with a bundle of dried lavender in it. So gorgeous and understated. I'm making an adorable sign for the flower girl to hold (Kev's neice) that we saw on Pinterest. It'll say "Uncle Kev, Here comes your girl" and she'll look adorable holding it! It's turning out cute. I've also done some emailing for her; getting quotes on flowers, cakes, etc. I'm trying to help as much as I can since I'll be out of work in May and then it'll be crunch time since the wedding is July 14.

I've been reading about photography. Just a little hobby to start. It'd be nice to have good pics of my kiddos throughout the year. I'm starting just by reading the fatty manual that came with my mom's Nikon d40 (that's what I'll be using, seeing as I "borrowed" it months ago and she hasn't noticed). Once I actually learn how to use it, I'll move on to reading some photog blogs to get a better idea of what I'm doing. It's just a little hobby to have on the side. Since, you know, I have so much free time.. :-/

Okay that's about it. Stay tuned for I'll finally be finishing my post about meal planning and hippie life. Holla!

let there be light.

"Oh look at me, I'm going to update all the time!!!1!"
But wait, I have an excuse. Last wednesday, at 4:30am we heard a loud, scary banging & then our power went out. We were already awake thanks to Cohen, who I'm guessing heard the first loud sound minutes earlier. Darren looked outside the window & just yells a medley of things in panic. I hear "explosion", "fire", "tree", "sparks". I'm obvs in hysterics & I call 911. Darren went down to see that 2 trees had fallen, 1 blocking (TRAPPING) us in the house. The other had completely ripped our powerlines out. Hours go by & nobody has come. I took it upon myself to call PUD (as the 911 operator said she would), & we weren't even on dispatch. Awesome. So after sitting in our freezing house for 5 hours, we bundle up & trek over a ditch to our neighbor's house. Food & warmth! We then spend a few hours with our friends Jared & Mallory before going home at 4:30 in the afternoon & PUD shows up an hour or so later. They cut down the tree & tell us they can't do much about our lines & to call an electrician. WAHHH. We stay at my ILs & the next day we find out its pretty bad, were looking at a week or so. :(

I hate to sound selfish or ungrateful, I know it could be a lot worse. But this past week BLEW. Cohen didn't sleep as well as usual, & would wake up at 6:30 for the day (not his norm). We didn't have any of our food but didn't have much room to fill up with groceries if we were to buy them. The tiny area for him to play wasn't as babyproofed as our house so I had to get off my lazy bum & chase him around all.day.long. It was rough on Darren & I not to have much alone time. Even just to talk about our day & cuddle like we usually do at the end of the day. Living out of a suitcase is not for me (or my 1 year old for that matter).

Fast forward a week, & were home. My car is toast for a week or more (stoopid) but I can't think about that right now. We just got power last night. We have no TV or internet, tho. So I'm pretty bored. Cohen & I have been playing a lot of silly games. Once he goes down for his nap ill be working on a few things for the nursery. Its almost done!! Just some curtains to make, a crib mattress to buy, & a few little crafts to finish. I'm excited!

I'm 22 weeks (& 2 days) but I feel closer to 30 weeks. The baby moves & kicks much more than Cohen did at this point. I'm showing now--I'd post a pic if I wasn't on my phone. Oh well.

Okay time to entertain my kid. Peace out girl scouts.

Can't get the new nursery off of my brain!

When I was pregnant with Cohen, I never looked up nurseries. I looked up baby names, car seats, strollers, etc. I never really thought about his nursery, and before I had a chance, my mom said she wanted to do it while I was away at the weekend. I told her I wanted brown and green, and maybe some monkey things, and she delivered. I really loved how it turned out.

Then came Pinterest, and I started seeing nursery photos everywhere. I started pinning left and right, getting little ideas in my head. Now here we are, not a week after finding out I'm having a boy, and I've got the paint chips picked out, a crib, and painter's taped up on the wall. We're working on refurbing a dresser that I got on Craigslist that will be his dresser/changing table. I've got tons of cute DIY crafts bookmarked that I'm going to add to his nursery. Here are just a few things I'll be doing:

I'm going to make a yarn ball chandeleir in one corner of his room.

http://www.hostessblog.com/2012/01/diy-tutorial-creative-yarn-chandelier/

I'm going to add a collage of fabric covered sewing loops. How easy!

& I want to add an ABC wall. Ideally I would use individual letters and paint them each different colors/patterns, all in different fonts. But that's a lot of holes in the wall. SO, I found this awesome decal on Etsy. I can customize the size and colors. I can even have her cut each letter individually or have it all as one (and I'm thinking I'll have it as one).
http://www.etsy.com/listing/81915689/kids-letters-of-the-alphabet-abc-can-do?ref=sr_gallery_4&sref=&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=ABC+wall+decal&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_ship_to=US&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

I have no "theme" but I know want to do use a light blue/grey wall and white furniture. I plan use a lot of pops of color throughout the room with the fabric loops, yarn balls, a rug, crib sheets and blankets, etc. I'm ready to get this DONE.... even though I'm not due for 4 more months :)

Hello? Is anyone alive out there?

Why do I bother with a blog? "Oh, it'll be so fun to look back on! I'll update every week! Blahblahblah" ::gag::

Every single one of my posts is me saying "Oh, shit, I suck at blogging." Nothing's changed there. But, I'm going to try. I shall try for 2012, I shall try for my sake-to have these old entries to look back on, and I shall try for the new baby!

So since I last updated in July.. We bought our house, we moved in, I redecorated, we had an awesome summer of beach trips and fun parties, and then on my 21st birthday, I saw a "positive" on the routine pregnancy test that I take generally every couple months. I had taken at least 5 so far that year, each when Aunt Flo hid from me. I was still breastfeeding up until late July, so I knew why I was never regular. Well, low and behold, not 2 months after weaning, I am knocked up. HOLY BALLS I am fertile.

I don't recall my midwife every saying, "Hey this birth control pill is safe for breastfeeding, BUT NOT SAFE FOR YOUR UTERUS IF YOU STOP BREASTFEEDING." But apparently, that's the case. She basically laughed and said, "Yeah you should have switched to a different pill after weaning."

Um. Okay. How's about putting that in red font on the BCP package? I mean, really?

It's all good, though. It's sunk in now, and it's all joyous and stuff. Well, mostly. It's been an easy breezy (beautiful!) pregnancy, just as it was with Cohen. The first trimester was like this:  Wah wah, boo hoo, I'm exhausted and hormonal,  and I hate you, Darren! The second trimester hast been like this: I'm tired, no I'm not, I'm tired, no I'm not. And only a smidge of mean hormones in there. Also, I'm a bottomless pit and I want to eat any and everything. I don't actually think it's the pregnancy doing that to me, I think it's my mind thinking it's okay to eat like that.

Anyway, last week we found out we're having another boy. I knew it all along. I could just tell. My ILs and parents (and husband) were all slightly disappointed. I can't say that I wasn't either. A little girl would have been amazing. BUT with an 18 month age difference, I think I like the same sex sib set. When the baby is a little older, the boys will share the big room upstairs, and they can share clothes, and toys. Maybe in 6 years or something we will have another baby, and I'll get my little girl, and we'll be best friends since my boys will be 8 and 6 and think they're too cool for me.

So we found out on Sept 20th. What else happened since then? Oh, gee, idk the light of my life turning 1!

Cohen's birthday was Nov 19 and we had an amazing Oregon Ducks birthday party for him. He got some awesome presents, and even though he was fighting off his first cold, he really had a fun time. I loved planning the party and can't wait to plan more fun kiddie parties for the next few years.

Laura (my best friend!) came to visit for 5ish days. It was so nice having her here with me during the day. Adult conversation is priceless. We had a great time, and I was a sobbing mess when she left. I pink puffy heart her. She's my other half <3

We had a splendid holiday season! Christmas Eve with the Cooks, and Christmas Day with the Clines. New Years Eve we did nothing special, but we talked about some fun new traditions we want to start, that the kiddos will sure to love (when they're a few years older).

Also new on the homefront: I got into nursing school!!!1!!!1!! I was so excited, I cried my face off. I didn't think I'd get in. I didn't study for the TEAS (placement exam) as much as I should have. But, I got in and I will either be starting in September or January. I'm hoping January, then the baby will be 6 months old, and Cohen will be a little over 2. That will be FUN [codeword for overwhelming].

Other than all that junk, I've just been working part time, and being my awesome self. Doing yoga, eating a lot, watching too much TV, and having a lot of fun with my crazy baby... I mean.. toddler :[

So see you in another 6 months?

;)

I'll leave you with some photos:

Front view of our first house! Bad lighting.

Back view

Me & my babe. August.

Meeting the beach. September.

Halloween. Me and my parrot. He started walking like a pro around this time.

Our new puppy Juno.

CAKE! Happy Birthday, Cohen!

So happy to have Auntie Lala visiting!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

About 17 weeks with Baby #2. I will be 20 weeks this Tuesday!