The Mommy Job

As I was running around this morning to get us out the door, I did something really stupid. I fell down our wood stairs. I wasn't holding Nola but I'm more careful with the kids. Louis is at "school" today so I should be productive but instead I'm stuck on the couch and can barely get up and down.

I thought it was a good opportunity to blog and I'm catching up on January thru Nola's arrival. Those were Louis' last days as my only child. I have to admit the transition to two kids has been easier than expected in some ways but harder for me as far as Louis is concerned. It's hard to explain how weird it is to welcome a new baby and feel differently about your first born. I don't love him any less or feel guilty. He just isn't the center of my world anymore. They both are and it is strange. I look forward to Nola being a little bigger so I can spend a day with just Louis again.

Here are some things we were up to before the little lady's arrival.

In January Louis had his first visit to the Dentist. We told him about it a month in advance and he was super excited. He'd ask when we were going and did really well although they didn't clean his teeth this time.

He sat in the chair and got to see and feel all of the tools.

He showed them how he brushes at home with the big teeth and got a few toys.

And they counted his teeth.

His cousins came over and they watched a movie together. He loves them and announced the other day that he was leaving for Topeka. I think if he says it he thinks I'll be tricked into letting him go.

Before Nola, I was having him do a craft every morning. (This hasn't really happened lately.) Painting was fun for him but not relaxing for me. I had a really hard time letting him do it without my help. I'm working on my control issues!

Louis is pretty good at helping in the kitchen. I think we were making pumpkin bread here.

For Valentine's Day we made cookies and valentines. I learned from our Christmas cookies and baked these while he napped. It made the decorating easier and faster.

He still hasn't learned how to smile for a picture. He is posing with the valentine we made for the neighbors.

Louis really enjoyed all of the snow. Luckily Joe's work closed most of these days so he could take Louis out to play. I wasn't really into it when I was super pregnant.

Unfortunately the neighbor's tree fell on both of our cars. Insurance covered it so it was fine.

My new closet has some great hiding places.

Painting isn't that easy with a toddler around.

Bath time

More hiding places...

Hy-Vee grocery has free horse rides. This is a great way to bribe him to behave while we shop!

Helping daddy put the knobs on his new dresser after we painted it. His new room isn't quite finished but I'll post pics when it is.

He started Mommy's Day Out which we call school. He goes one day a week and loves it. His little reports are always really good too! This was his first day.

Playing school at home.

His friend Aiden took him around the block in his sweet ride. Afterward Louis asked, "Can we play now?". Maybe Aiden was a crazy driver! (Joking. Hayley goes with them.)

I love these pajamas.

I thought I'd include one picture of Nola. She is one month already! Time is flying and we are adjusting well. She is a great baby and has been going 6 to 9 hours between night feedings this week so I'm getting lots of sleep which is great! Now if we can get some consistently nice weather I'll be more motivated to get out and do things with her!

Here I am six days before I went into labor. I was SO uncomfortable and ready to have this baby. I went into the doctor Wednesday the 13th and it didn't look like much was happening. I was dilated to a 1 and 50% effaced so I was positive this baby was going to be overdue. After all, Louis was 10 days late so I decided it made sense.

If you don't know already, I am a natural birth kind of girl. No, I don't want to be a "hero" or have anything to prove. It's just something I've always known I wanted and believed in. With Louis my dreams were a little crushed, so this time I switched doctors to a midwife at Saint Lukes on the Plaza. I didn't get an epidural with Louis but since my water had broken I was given Pitocin to increase contractions. I had to have him within their 24 hour time frame. Don't get me started on this. After all, this is about Nola's birth. You might want to grab some wine because this is a long post...

Thursday the 14th I finished up the baby room. I was having contractions all day but didn't think much of them. Joe and I joked that I was in labor because I kept complaining about a backache. We went to bed at 10:30 and an hour later I woke up because my water had broken. Since I knew I couldn't be in labor two days early, I thought maybe I wet the bed. (No, I'm not a bed wetter. Just another wonderful thing that can happen in pregnancy.) So I got cleaned up and went back to bed until about 3:30. This time I was sure it had broken. Joe woke up to me getting new clothes and I told him what was happening.

We got out of bed, started laundry and packed our bags until about 5 am. We slept again until 8 when Louis woke up. We ate breakfast and got Louis ready while I bounced on the yoga ball to get my labor started.

Joe took Louis around noon to his parent's house but I had a last moment with my little guy trying to hide my sobbing from him. I was sad that our special time where he was my only baby was ending.

I did some yoga and when Joe got back we walked about a mile on the trolley trail. We were lucky to have 80 degree weather and while we walked my contractions were 3 minutes apart but not painful. They slowed down at home when we tried yoga so we went on two more walks. By about 4, I was having to breathe through contractions so we ate dinner and moved upstairs. Joe was great at helping me through contractions with moves we learned in a partner yoga class. It really helped with the pain which was gradually getting worse. By about 6:30, I decided the car ride wouldn't be very fun so we headed to the hospital around 7pm.

Car Ride Home

I was only dilated to a 2 when we got there and they made me stay in bed for an hour to get monitored. This was super painful during contractions. I needed to be moving but an hour later I was dilated to a 4/5 which was good news. (I should mention that I lied about the time my water broke just so I wouldn't be pressured to have Pitocin and deliver in the 24 hour time frame.)

Next, they needed to get an IV started as a precaution. The first nurse couldn't get it done so they found another nurse. Three sticks and an hour later I was able to get the wireless monitors and get out of bed. It was really horrible to stay still as they started the IV and they ended up giving me Saline since it made me a little dizzy. By this time, I was cursing through each contraction. It hurt. Bad.

I moved to the bathroom and labored on the toilet because the counter pressure felt good. Don't freak out. I know that sounds weird but I've heard about other women doing this when I've listened to labor stories. I probably lasted 30 minutes there before I felt like I wanted to push. They had me move back to the bed but didn't make me get in until I wanted. I was now 9 cm dilated and not long after complete at a 10.

When the doctor came in and I tried pushing, she realized the baby was "sunny side up" which explained my extra back labor. She wanted the nurse to have me push on my side. I started pushing around 9:30 and after a few tries on my side I finally felt the baby coming down. It hurt so bad. I was screaming and a few times told everyone I was dying. Joe does a good impression of me.

They had me get on my back to finish pushing. The doctor wasn't really telling me where the baby was but she told me because of the baby's direction it was going to hurt really bad until it was out. So I kept screaming and pushing with my eyes closed. I told them I couldn't do it anymore when Joe had me open my eyes to see the baby. There was my little cone head baby looking at me so I pushed one more time and she was out! I was the first one to see it was a girl. Joe also does a good impression of me saying, "It's a girl!". I don't remember but apparently I was crying.

Nola Rose was born Friday the 15th at 10:25 pm weighing 8 lbs 1 oz and 21" long. She looks like Louis but has her daddy's complexion and more hair. I think I was in labor for about 36 hours but only 23 if you count from when my water broke. I would say only 6 hours of it was painful. Contractions without Pitocin hurt just as bad but come on slower and allow for a break in between. I had the birth I wanted although during I thought I was an idiot who was going to die and for sure never have another kid.

First Family Pic

Nola is doing great! She was almost back to her birth weight 48 hours after we left the hospital. We think she is easier than Louis but it might be due to our experience.

Louis hasn't been that excited about her. He told me she kind of bugs him when I asked. Each day he will touch her a little more but didn't want to pose with her during newborn pics over the weekend.

This is how it usually goes --

I've shed a few tears over not being able to give Louis attention but we had a really good day today. It was Joe's first day back to work and I feel pretty good about how it went. I'm still in my pajamas at 6 pm but the kids look good! Tomorrow I have to get Louis to school and get Nola to a doc appointment so I'll let you know how that goes.