So Carter LOVES listening to music. I don't know of many little kid artists (are there even artists for the "little kid" genre?) or songs or anything. So I'm hoping that some or all of you more experienced moms can help me out here. What do your kids listen to and how can I get my hands on it?
Wednesday was a very sad day... my Mom went back home:( She was here for 10 days helping out with the boys. Carter loved having her here - he was super grumpy all day on Wednesday after she left. She made it feel so easy to have two kids! She played with Carter a lot and held Jude while I took naps. It was so great having her here. If my dad didn't miss her so much we might have just 'forgotten' to take her to the airport! So thanks Mom, for all your help and for being the best mom in the world. I'm so glad I had such a good example growing up of how a mom should be. I love you!
Aww... isn't he just so cute?! We didn't do much for Halloween this year for obvious reasons. Some friends came to visit last night and we drank apple cider and ate yummy cookies. It was a nice relaxing Halloween night.
Carter didn't want to sit still for the first matching shirt picture with his baby brother.
Carter absolutely hated wearing his costume until one of his little friends came over dressed as a cat. Once he saw her all dressed up he didn't mind being in his chicken suit as much.
World's cutest chicken
Carter LOVES his baby brother! He always has to know where he is and he loves to pat his head and he says, "beebee!". His car often doubles as a stool.... comes in quite handy, don't you think?
So several of you faithful blog readers have requested more about my waterbirth experience. So here it is. My reasons for choosing to do a waterbirth were 1-It's a much smoother and easier transition for the baby into this crazy world. He's already used to being in water and the temp of the water is 98 degrees so it's much nicer than coming into the cool room temperature air. 2-The water softens your tissue so the chances of tearing are significantly reduced. 3-the water helps your contractions to be more productive and feel less painful. 4- Labor usually progresses faster once in the water. For more info go here.
**Warning** Birth story ahead, read on if desired.... I went to my midwife in the morning and found out that I was already dilated 6cm. I had been having pretty regular and strong-ish contractions since the week before when I thought I was in labor (thanks, Lindsay, for driving an hour to watch Carter at 3 in the morning even though I didn't have a baby until a week later!). So I was hoping those contractions were doing something but I wasn't expecting 6 cm! Anyways, my midwife was a little baffled as to why I wasn't in labor yet. So she told me to go home and if nothing was happening by 4:00 to just go check into the hospital and she would break my water. She was worried that if I went into labor on my own I might not make it to the hospital in time. So I went in that afternoon and I was having regular contractions about 2 or 3 minutes apart. I could feel them but they were nothing like how I remember them being when I was this far along with Carter. So she broke my water at 6:30 and I got into the tub. Within 15 minutes the contractions were stronger and closer together. They were still very managable and I'm conviced it's because of my hypnobirthing breathing and relaxation techniques and also because I was in the water. At about 7:15, I could feel the contractions change and I knew it was time for Jude to be born. Sidenote: I'm so glad I had a midwife this time! She gave me a few suggestions along the way but mostly just let me do my own thing. It made me feel so confident and in tune with my body. Although you might not believe me, the only time I really felt pain was when I was fully dilated and the contractions changed. Other than that, I felt a lot of pressure and stretching and whatnot, but I wouldn't describe it as painful. So my 9 lb 2 oz baby was born at 7:30. I still can't believe I had a 9 pounder!! Thanks to the water, I'm sure, there was no tearing or anything. Once he was born, she handed him right up to me and I held him in the water with his head our for a while. He didn't cry right away but he opened his eyes and looked around. They touched his back with a cool cloth to get him to cry when they were doing the apgar test. He was so alert and content. He loved hanging out in the water with me. He was mad when we finally got out. It was an amazing experience and I HIGHLY recommend waterbirths to anyone and everyone!
This is Jude Leon
He was over 9 lbs!!
Me in front of the birth tub. Doing a water birth was so awesome!! Believe it or not, this was about an hour before Jude was born. Hypnobirthing is pretty awesome, too.
Daddy and Jude. I think he looks a lot like Carter in this picture.
