Oh Happy Day!

jb's brother, Jared, got married on Saturday.  We are so happy for him and his wife, Mallory.  I'm so glad our family could be part of their big day - and it was a blast.  Celebrations started on Friday night with the rehearsal dinner and lasted through Sunday morning's champagne toast brunch.  It was lovely.  Here are some highlights:

Rehearsal

Rehearsal Dinner

10 pm sillies

Spending his last hours as a single man
flirting with a pretty lady

All eyes on Zoe

Before the ceremony with Uncle Daniel

Groom pins boutonniere on jb

groggy 8 am babies

Don't make me separate you two

The big event

jb's family

Spoooooon!

"If my arms were longer this would make a killer profile picture"

 

Tearing up the dance floor with Daddy

Breaking it down with mama

Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!

Zoe gets a turn on the dance floor

snuggles

crashing

crashing part 2

 

Sunday brunch

Zoe's Birth Story: The Longest Two-Hour Birth Story You Will Ever Read

In daddy's arms for the first time

Leading Up To The Big Day

I was shocked when I made it to my "due" date (June 21st) since I had been yapping about how sure I was that this baby was going to come early.  Oh, mother's intuition...  My sister, Larissa, had been in town for a few days already and had been helping me prepare the house for our impending arrival as well as doing fun things with Leo (since I was pretty much house-bound).  My feet were massively swollen, but I wasn't very concerned about it since the same thing had happened toward the end of my pregnancy with Leo and my blood pressure had been steady.

I had a midwife appointment on my due date (Thursday) and there was a touch of protein in my urine and my blood pressure was slightly elevated.  That combined with the swelling made her suggest stripping my membranes to (possibly) get labor going - because if I didn't have the baby in the next 48 hrs they would need to monitor my blood pressure and protein very closely.  I agreed and when she checked me she found that I was already 5 cm dilated (halfway there!) and that the baby's head was so low and pressed against my cervix that not only could she feel the head - but she could feel the baby's heartbeat through the fontanelle.  Wild.  She gave us the names of the on-call midwives for the next few days and said she'd be surprised if we weren't back before the end of the weekend.

The Big T-W-O

Yesterday, Leo turned two years old.  Initially, our plan to celebrate this milestone was to basically try to recreate his first birthday party - because we had all had such an awesome time, and much of our family is in Pittsburgh.  So months ago we reserved the same pavilion in the same park (for this Saturday) and planned to head to Pittsburgh at the end of this week to recreate the magic - from the menu to the piñata .

Unfortunately, we recently lost a family member and his memorial was scheduled for the same day.  We didn't want to miss the memorial (which is in another city entirely, so doing both was out of the question) and we didn't want family to have to choose to attend one event over the other, so we cancelled Leo's birthday party.  Bummer on every level.

June Bug

Thank you for all the comment love :)  I was sure that when I returned to this neglected space I'd be met with tumbleweeds.  It made me very happy to be received with such a hearty welcome back. 

The main reason I've been MIA is that I've been feeling under the weather.  For the last few weeks I've been fighting the urge to toss my cookies - but I don't mind too much because it's for a very good reason. 

Zoo-bilee

Leo playing with the "big gato"

We had a magical trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo with my mom and sisters.  In the past my experiences with zoos have been hit or miss - either the animals aren't out/active, or the habitats seem inadequate and just make me sad, or it's too hot...  But this time it was as though the stars aligned.  The weather was perfect, the improvements they've made over the last couple years are fantastic, and at each exhibit the animals walked right up to us - really.

Leo got pretty up close and personal with tigers, leopards, gorillas, sharks, giraffes and elephants.  I don't want to get too hokey - but seriously, it's as though Leo had some kind of energy that attracted the animals.  If they were hidden or in a far corner when we'd walk up to an exhibit they would inevitably make their way over to the glass/gate/water so that Leo could get a good look at them.  It was awesome - even when the tiger suddenly tried to playfully pounce on Leo through the glass (see those muddy paw marks!).

Tubby

So our long and lean (where the heck did he get that from?) baby had yet another weigh in yesterday. I'd mentioned that he hadn't been hitting weight goals, so that's why we've been at the pediatrician's office three times a week.


Initially he lost a good chunk of weight after birth(8 lbs 5 oz to 7 lbs 9 oz), bottomed out for a few days and has since been gaining it back slowly. "They" like to see babies back to their birth weight two weeks after birth, but he didn't quite make it, and was still 4 oz short at the end of last week. So at the start of week three we headed out for our latest weigh in with our fingers crossed. We are pretty familiar with the routine at this point: strip Leo down buck naked, place him in the baby scale and hold our breath biggest-loser-style while the numbers flicker until they land on his weight.

Well, this time the scale stopped at 8 lbs 5.5 oz!! And we don't have to go back until his two month appointment. Leo was so excited that he peed all over jb in celebration.


In other news, our nights are going much more smoothly. We are still taking breastfeeding one day at a time, but we've come a long way. My supply is just barely enough - which means frequent marathon nursing sessions - and therefore ouchie nipples, so I've started taking fenugreek in hopes of increasing my supply and making our routine a bit more comfortable.

Not only have nights been better, but just in the last couple days Leo has had a lot more awake/alert time during the day. He's looking around a lot more and even making non-crying noises - mostly "agoo". It's adorable. The flip side of this heightened awareness is that after a little bit he seems to get a tad over-stimulated and has trouble getting to sleep. It hasn't been too dramatic, as long as we can get quiet and cuddle somewhere familiar. On that note, we've succumbed to the pacifier - and I couldn't be happier about it. I didn't want to use one initially, but now it's a lifesaver when he's fussy and hard to comfort. Hopefully we can use it in moderation.

Leo's First Week

I am so incredibly tired. This week has been a rollercoaster. We are crazy in love with this little man and can just stare at him for hours - at the same time, I'm seeing why sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture. It's such a shame that this incredible, once-in-a-lifetime, fleeting time has to be enjoyed through a haze of exhaustion and pain. It's been a bit of a blur - and honestly I'd much rather be sleeping or staring at Leo right now than posting, but I want to make sure I record a few details before it all runs together.

Sunday - Day 1
Once our precious baby joined us earthside and we were cleaned up and filling out paperwork - I asked my family to bring me strawberry pancakes from Pamela's. We were home just six hours post birth and little Leo got to meet jb's side of the family. Leo was pretty much passed out for 24 hrs. after the birth, which we should have taken advantage of to get some sleep, but we were on such an adrenaline rush that we mostly just stared at him.

Monday - Day 2
We had a follow-up nurse home-visit for both Leo and I. The soreness began to hit me as the adrenaline wore off. My mom and Aunt Fanny (Aunt Fanny is Muffy's chosen name for Leo to call her) came by with lunch.

Tuesday - Day 3
Big outing day. First the pediatrician, then voting (I wish I had a picture of Leo voting with jb at three days old, but alas that pesky no camera rule). For dinner we went to Abi's (Abi is my mom's chosen name for Leo to call her) and had an awesome feast of veggies, fish and rice.

Wednesday - Day 4
I had a home visit from the lactation consultant, which was helpful, and timely because I was already getting super frustrated and almost ready to introduce formula. My hormones crashed something awful. We had some neighborhood visitors stop by the cafe to meet Leo.

Thursday - Day 5
Back to the pediatrician for a weigh in - he was still was not gaining, but had not lost any more weight which was encouraging. Katerina (my godmother) and Aunt Fanny came by for lunch and we had awesome chinese take-out and cupcakes. We got ambitious and walked down to the Greek Food Festival for dinner. The walk took a lot out of me, but it was nice to take Leo out for a casual meal and feel like we were getting some date time in.

Friday - Day 6
The lactation consultant came back for another home visit. I got a lot of sleep thanks to daddy (daddy is jb's chosen name for Leo to call her) picking up just about everything. Uncle Daniel came to see Leo. There was Brunton's chocolate milk back in my life after a dry spell (every where was out of it for the last two weeks of my pregnancy!!)

Saturday - Day 7
Leo made his cafe debut and met some of the regulars that hadn't come by yet. We took a lovely family nap. My Aunt and Uncle came by after the shop closed to meet Leo. Leo ate a whole bunch and fell into a deep sleep and jb and I were able to watch a TV show together and steal a bit of a cuddle.


Things about this week that have been hard:

• Breastfeeding - holy heck. I don't even know what to say about it that's not too awfully graphic, but it has been a real challenge. I know it's hard for a lot people, but I've got the extra challenge of having had a breast reduction (years ago) so it's been unclear what kind of success we could have with breast feeding, if any. I'm very proud to say that at this point we haven't needed to supplement with formula.
• Pain - Not only are we using new muscles when we carry Leo making for aching arms and back, but also, my posture while breastfeeding isn't always ideal (especially if it's a particularly painful session). On top of that, while in labor I got through contractions by bracing myself against two walls, so the next day I felt like I had bench-pressed a car. On top of that the soreness of recovering from a vaginal birth and the pain associated with learning to breastfeed. Well, ouch.
  
• Talula. Overall she is great and gentle with Leo - but she's also been acting out. She's had about an accident a day in the house which is just not what we want to be dealing with. In the last day or so she has calmed down a bit, so here's hoping it's getting better.
• Not having the same time with jb. We've been very blessed to have very flexible (if busy) schedules over the last few years and we are spoiled because we are used to eating together, falling asleep together, relaxing a bit together, even taking naps together - but now we have to take turns doing most things and while we've managed to stay on the same team, we miss each other quite a bit.
• The great hormone crash of 2010. Oh my goodness. It was so intense and so scary. Like drowning. I cried nonstop, about everything from how beautiful our baby is, to how I'm doing everything wrong. Luckily it cleared up in 24 hrs, and while there are still rough moments, I'm feeling pretty sane.
  
• Lack of sleep. It just magnifies all the above and makes you feel so run down. And then it's just sad to feel the days slip by as you are just trying to keep your head above water. Getting out of the house helps, sunshine helps, good food helps, and well, of course rest.
  

The little things I don't want to forget:

• Leo peed on jb
• Leo pooed on jb
• Leo spit up on jb
• Hearing jb repeat "I'm a dad, I can touch poo" like a mantra over and over with the messier diaper changes.
• I missed sleeping on my tummy so much!
  
• Friends and neighbors have provided a constant stream of food, flowers, clothes, and support.
• His "poof. poof. poof." and snorty breathing. This is already long gone, and thank goodness because were worried it might be a sign of respiratory issues, but man was it cute.
• His billy goat fussing noises.
• The bruising on his forehead and eyes and his poor little conehead that he wore as badges of his tough, if quick, birth.
• His two faces - totally relaxed, passed out after a milk binge or grumpy old man.

Anyway, I hope yinz like baby pictures - because I can't stop taking and posting them.

Welcome Little One!

Leo Sebastian
Born at 8:26 am 5/16/2010
21.5 inches long
8 lbs. 5 oz.





We are just so happy! I will eventually post the whole birth story - but for now, here is the short version. After attending a young neighbor's birthday party last night we stayed up late - watched SNL, cuddled in bed and finally went to sleep at around two am. At about four am I got up to go to the bathroom and my water broke. Immediately the contractions were pretty much right on top of each other. About 30 seconds long and a minute and a half apart. We called the Midwife Center and woke up our birth team. The midwife on call wasn't 100% convinced I was far along enough to come in - which wasn't helped by the fact that when she asked to "listen" to a contraction on the phone I got total stage-fright and the contractions I had been struggling through suddenly puttered out to the lamest contractions you ever did see. So, she said we could come in to "get checked" and implied we would be sent back home - so to let our birth team know that they should wait for the go ahead before heading over to meet us at the center. As we arrived at the midwife center I was 4 cm. Transition came on quick and by 8 am (yes four hours since being woken up) I was ready to push. By 8:30 I had a squirmy baby on my tummy. My mom and sisters arrived just in time for the pushing stage - my doula arrived right in the midst of transition. jb held me as I pushed our baby son into the world, announced the sex and cut the cord. My mom and sisters were all crying. Six hours after the birth we were all back home.

It was incredible. It's too bad we did it with only an hour or two of sleep under our belts - but heck, you can't have everything. We are just so in love with this little guy. He is so soft - like crazy soft. He's a champion nurser. He's got a ton of hair. He makes this adorable breathing noise when he sleeps - he poofs air through his lips with each exhale. He's got long fingers and toes. He's barely cried (knock on wood). He smells like heaven. He's perfect.