Finally just about ready for cloth!

It has been my intention for a while now to switch Robin over to cloth diapers when he got big enough. I had always wanted to cloth diaper Arthur but couldn't get around the start up expense. Several months ago I found a great deal on Fuzzi Bunz and I couldn't pass up buying a starter set. The size I bought starts at 15lbs and Robin is only about 11lbs now, but I am so itching to start that I couldn't help putting him in them today. They are definitely a little big on even the smallest snap setting but they're holding up fairly well. I have a slightly snug onsie on him over the diaper and that seems to be holding it on well. Time will tell but so far so good!

After a conversation with my mother this weekend talking about how I was brought up in cloth, I've strengthened my resolve to get him in them as soon as I could. I'll feel much better about the environmental impact and since these diapers are so easy to use and clean, I don't see how I can NOT use them. :)

Some new pictures of the boys

Happy Birthday Mum!

I had to work last night so Arthur and I made some cupcakes in the morning for Joanne's birthday so they could have some after dinner. Arthur helped by putting the cups in the tray and putting the decals on after I frosted them. He snuck in quite a few tastes of course, and yes I'm letting him eat raw cupcake batter...bad mommy. :)

I made a really yummy twist on the buttercream frosting. Frosting is so easy to make that I never even look at the tubs of it at the store anymore and the real butter is just so good. Yum.

Jen's Orange Buttercream Frosting:

1 stick of butter softened slightly

3.5 cups confectioner's sugar

2-3 TBS half & half

1 tsp natural vanilla extract

1 TBS natural orange extract

Beat on high speed the butter and sugar. Add half and half in 1 TBS increments until blended in smooth. Add vanilla and orange extracts and beat on high until light and fluffy.

Apple Picking

Just Playing

A couple of weeks ago an online friend of ours sent Robin a little fabric ball that she made herself. Robin thinks there are no better toys in the world right now. I've taken to hanging the ball on the foam supports of his playmat and no matter what side I put in on, that's the side he migrates over to so he can bat at the ball. It's really cute and I wanted to get a video of it so Liz could see for herself how much he enjoys it.

I love doing this comparison....

Boston Children's Museum 9/9/07

Sears Retakes

At the end of April we had Arthur's 2 year pictures taken at a Sears Portrait Studio and they came out pretty terrible. We had a new girl and she just wasn't used to taking pictures of young children. We felt a little pressured to order some anyway but overall we just weren't happy. I ended up returning the photos.

So there's a long story involved but finally we were able to get retakes done and since I had already had excellent photos from the Picture People for Arthur's 2 year shots...we used the credits for Robin's 3 month photos and one of the boys together.

Arthur Climbing a Ladder

A Cute Photo

Robin's 2 Month Checkup and Arthur's New Backpack

Robin: Robin had his two month well baby visit today and he is doing really great. He's gained just about 3 lbs in the past six weeks, which puts him currently at the size of the average newborn..ha ha ha. But his gain is a really really good indication that he's doing just fine and he's fully recovered from his surgery.

The doctor was very happy with how well he lifts his head when he is on his tummy. Although, I've kind of felt the opposite when I'm holding him. I feel like his head is floppier than it should be, but I guess he's really just fine. His eyes, ears, fingers, toes and all that are just fine. They're happy not seeing him again until his four month visit.

Stats from today:

7 lbs 13 oz
21.5 inches long (He grew 3 inches in two months???)
Head: 14.5 inches
Chest: 13.75 inches

Arthur: We went out this weekend on a little day trip because we really don't get to do that too often. It was a very nice day just the four of us and in our travels we found a wee little backpack for Arthur that was on clearance and just too cute! There was a red one and a yellow one and no matter how hard Joanne tried, she couldn't get him to pick the red one (which she liked more). After three attempts of him picking the yellow one (which I preferred), she conceded and yellow it was!

He got to practice with it today when he spent a couple of hours at his aunt Patti's house while I brought Robin to the doctor. I was able to fit two diapers, two swim diapers, a bathing suit and shirt, a towel, three snacks, sunscrean, and a water bottle...all of which he managed to carry himself. Good deal!

Merging Blogs - Keep Checking Back...

I've decided to merge Arthur's blog with my own personal journal that I kept when we were expecting Robin. It's going to take some time, but I wanted to create just one place friends and family could go to for updates on both our boys.

I'll be adding the posts back on the day I wrote them, so they will still appear in chronological order. I'll make sure to keep adding the pictures and to update with some new posts (again in chronological) for what we've lapsed on Arthur's blog (Now Arthur and Robin's blog).

Thanks for being patient with us!

A Cute Robin Video. Just doing what babies do...

The Boston Pops

Every year we like to go see the Pops by the Sea. We usually get free tickets through work and it's a nice day with great music. We've made three out of four of the past few years since we started going.

This year's special guest conductor was Ray Romano. We didn't really get to see much because we were way off on the lawn in the only shady place we could find left. This meant we could hear the music, but if we wanted a peek, we needed to walk around.

The concert started at 5PM and we arrived around 2PM. Any later, and there would have literally been NO spots left on the lawn at all. We settled down, played with Arthur, and had some yummy Thai food for dinner before the show began. We had our blanket and we were pretty comfortable. It didn't take much for us to be happy.

People get really funny about it though. The best are the ones who sit right in front of the grassy spot along the line of the path and set up their big folding chairs with the canopies and umbrellas so that no one behind them can see anything at all. This would be rude, I suppose, except that just about EVERYONE does this. They break out their coolers and wine (outside alcohol is allowed) and sunhats. By comparison, we look like ragamuffins on our little blanket.

The music was great and Ray Romano was pretty funny. Although I have to say that while I loved his humor, Joanne and I discussed after on whether it was appropriate or not for the crowd of about 50% aged 70 and up...

For example, Ray was talking about the instruments and said something like "These guys are nice. What are these? Trombonists" (crowd giggles) "...well, I guess that sounds a lot better than Tromboner."

I thought it was cute anyway, even if it was a tad innappropriate.

We had one "scary" moment when I was nursing Robin and Arthur went to sit on my lap. I wasn't paying attention and he sat square on Robin's head, who screeched immediately. I paniced a little and started scanning him all over for sign of head or neck injury. I got up and brought him to the rest room and calmed him down. After noting that his arms and legs were moving, so that probably meant his neck wasn't broken, I went back to our blanket. He was fine.

I don't know whether we'll have this opportunity next year so I'm glad we had such a nice day of it this time.

Smiling Baby

Pyloric Stenosis...round 2

We'd been having a difficult time with Robin's eating since he was a few days old. He just didn't seem to eat as much as he should and was very lethargic and lazy about it once a week or so passed. At around 2 weeks he started with the projectile vomiting and at around 2.5 weeks he started to look pretty icky. I was afraid he hadn't gained weight but when we went to the pediatrician, he had actually lost some.

At 3 weeks old he was back down to his hospital discharge weight of 4 lbs 10 oz. He was vomiting a lot (unfortunately, most of the time all over my mother) and the doctor agreed that he was nothing more than skin and bones. She sent us up to Mass General where it was confirmed that Robin was our second son to have pyloric stenosis.

It's actually very rare for two children in the same family to develop this, even though it is somewhat genetic. One of his pediatricians told us she's only seen two children in the same family develop it once in the past 30 years.

The cure for pyloric stenosis is surgery (a pyloromyotomy). Arthur had one at 9 weeks old and Robin had his at 3 weeks. The good news is that it has a nearly 100% success rate. Of all surgeries for your baby to have, this one is preferable. It's quick and it cures the problem almost immediately. A few days in the hospital and we were back home with him on the mend. He did very well and began gaining weight immediately. By one week later, he had gained nearly a pound and has done very well ever since.

Visit to the beach and park...

Robin Joseph is here!

Robin Joseph

June 11th, 2007

3:45 PM

5lbs 18.5 inches

My birth story (taken from when I actually journaled it):

We arrived at 7AM as scheduled at the hospital for my induction due to high blood pressure. I had wanted my homebirth, and compromised on a birth center, only to be risked out, and there I was...exactly in the situation that was the opposite of everything I wanted about birth. But, I made my peace with it and tried to take a "what will come, will come" attitude. I arrived happy that we would start with the most natural interventions possible (breaking my water).

Upon arrival I learned that my negative strep B test turned positive in the days after (don't you just love it). So breaking my water right away would put me on a timeline that no one really wanted us to go down. It was decided that Pitocin would be the better option for me. I was not happy and asked a gazillion questions about it and the alternatives. Thankfully, I had an excellent nurse who explained everything with me and who understood my concerns. The bottom line though, as she put it, was that the baby was at a very serious risk and it would have to come out one way or another....none of us wanted "another".

So, Pitocin begins....

I was already 3cm dialated and about 70% effaced when I arrived. None of us really thought it would be too much of an issue to get me to contract. So at 9AM, the line was started...and I couldn't feel anything. I felt tightenings but they didn't really hurt and I was talking and laughing and all was fine. Nothing was being picked up on the monitor though...

So they kept increasing the Pitocin. The nurse knew I was not at all happy about this so she really did try to make it light...she teased me and in all honesty, it really did help a lot. I still didn't feel much...definitely not pain.

11:00 AM, I'm still feeling tightening sensations but they really didn't hurt at all. All of it was felt below my belly button. But they did come regularly. Still nothing on the monitor. So the nurse checked me again. I was at 4cm and about 80%. The decision was made that along with the dreaded pitocin increases, they would break my water. I was actually fine with this intervention. It was the one thing close to "natural" that I got to experience by way of interventions go...ha ha ha

So, if anyone were to ask me how to explain the feeling of having your water broken, I don't think I could possibly describe it. It was so gross, and so hysterical at the same time. I kept laughing about it. I knew it would be "warm"...yeah right! Warm actually meaning "pretty darn hot". No pain and I just relished in being "gushy" for the rest of my labor. I had some blood with the rupture so that was a good sign.

Still no pain.

For the next 4 hours, I definitely was feeling surges. The nurse wasn't picking them up and I was pretty relaxed and comfortable. When they came, I could still mostly talk through them but when I couldn't, it wasn't that uncomfortable and I would close my eyes and just completely melt into the bed.

Did I mention that I was pretty much confined to the bed because of my BP. We've got the pitocin, and we've got the "stuck in bed" combo. I was pretty frustrated. I couldn't use the tub and wasn't really allowed up much other than to use the bathroom. But again, I wasn't uncomfortable. I really felt completely manageable and o.k. with everything. Most of my "complaints" about being stuck in bed, etc...were done with levity and humor. It was like a "woe is me" in a mocking sense. I hope I explained that right...

The nurse was getting pretty confused. I dialated to 5, then 6, then 7, and 8 and I was pretty much fully effaced by then and the baby was already abt 0 station when my water was broken. No contractions were being registered on the monitor and I still wasn't feeling more than squeezing in my pelvis. I still had absolutely no sensation above my belly button..or even a couple inches below it. Nothing in my back. The "squeezes", as I began to call them, registered enough for me to have to just rest and relax..but they didn't really hurt.

The nurse was in and out and telling me how she knew I was contracting because she could see it but she couldn't understand why they weren't showing up on the monitor and how I could be at 8cm without experiencing to many problems. Apparently, we were the talk of the nurses station.

I have to tell you that if that's hypnobirthing..then hypnobirthing ROCKS! I hardly felt a thing, on pitocin of all things, until 8cm. It was pretty freaking amazing. I had Joanne being so supportive, and my mom who did Reiki and massaged my feet and rubbed my head. It was so nice. I was so comfortable.

Then things got a wee bit uncomfortable...It went from me just wanting to be done, to feeling shaky and teary, to vomiting, and to pleading with Joanne and my mom because I was trying so hard to relax and was finding it more difficult to do with each surge. I had to go to the bathroom a lot but I guess that was a good thing... I spent a bit of time saying "I'm trying..." to Joanne who responded with "you're already DOING it".

There was a period of time when I know I was whining that I was ready to be done. My surges were like 4-hilled waves. They never really ended before they started again. I was cranky that I didn't get a break more than anything. I wanted a break. They were uncomfortable, but more than anything I needed to rest. Then I remember just getting focused and "mantra-ing" through several multiple-wave contractions by saying "down", "down", and "please baby, move down" through a whole bunch of waves.

I knew my body was doing all kinds of involuntary but helpful things and I was so glad that it was telling me what to do. The nurse commented on how I was "rocking" in bed subconsciously, and how when I went to the bathroom, I would clutch to Joanne the right way and sway and crouch and rock. She said I was doing exactly what I should.

In my heart, I knew this was transition and I so badly wanted it to be over. The whole transition phase only lasted an hour but it was pretty intense. Now what I remember is that the nurse checking me and commenting once again at how "melty" my cervix was. I was at 9 cm but she could very easily stretch me to 10. She wanted me to push.

I didn't want to push.

Now what I experienced was several surges of being encouraged to push because I was "so close" and my body completely rebelling. I pushed on the bed and it hurt, so I resisted. Then the midwife had me get onto the toilet where the pushing was more intense (but I actually WANTED to be on the toilet because it would help me progress).

I NEVER once felt the urge to push and I knew it was too early...but still, I listened..and then complained that I didn't want to do it, ha ha ha. But I kept pushing…

What I DIDN'T know was that the baby's heart and my blood pressure hit very much "danger" zones. They didn't let this on to me but Joanne saw it, the nurse saw it, and my mom saw it. He had to be born very quickly and they did it in a way so that I didn't panic. I a lot of ways, I appreciated that. I got to be "cranky" through it instead of scared.

After the toilet pushing, I moved to the bed and walking there was really weird because I could feel his head inside the birth path at this point. I got into bed and completely zoned out.
I don't remember much other than pushing when I surged and I swear on my life that I fell asleep in the 30 seconds or so in between each wave of pushing. I felt like I was hallucinating or in a trance (not bad for no drugs..huh?). And when I "woke", I pushed. I didn't like pushing. It didn't feel right...but now I know it was just because I never had the urge. If it weren't for the interventions I had, I would have probably experienced it as smoothly as the first 95% of my labor.

This whole pushing phase lasted a mere 30 minutes, if that. After three waves of trance-like pushing, his little head popped out. I didn't feel that "ring of fire" but I started to feel a tight, scratchy-ness and I thought "I'm going to feel that ring of fire soon". (But I never did) Then they told me not to push and I thought I was crowning, but nope, his head was already out. I guess the cord was around him (but I know it's common and although they didn't tell me, it wouldn't have scared me anyway).

So the head didn't feel too weird to me but the shoulders, now wow. It's not that it so much "hurt" because I can't even say that it hurt any more than anything else...but it truly was the weirdest sensation ever. Joanne said I pushed the shoulders and he literally flew out of me. It was pretty amazing.

I never knew that he was purple and tiny because they handed him right to me and he was already fussing. I thought he was a lot bigger than he turned out to be.

The moment I saw him fly out of me, I felt nothing physical in the world. I was completely amazed and thankful for everything. The last hour was hard, and so intense but I still remember thinking "that was it???" .."that's what everyone writes stories and tells horror tales about?"

I was so happy to NOT have had a terrible experience. Sure, at the end, I was whining to Joanne "this is horrible" and "no, I'm not pushing him out" and "my butt is turning inside out" (ha ha ha) but my heart of hearts told me that I was having a really great experience and his birth wasn't this big terrible, horrific event.

I did have a tear (2nd degree?) but I never even felt it. The doctor (amazing advocate, even for an ob/gyn by the way) was literally tugging away at that fishhook when they took my BP and it was a smooth 114/65. My BP after that never got above 120/80 and most of the time was much lower. It was so fascinating to me that birth really did "cure" my blood pressure problem.
The interventions I had really did make things tougher for me...but still, it really wasn't horrible. I know that if I didn't have that pitocin, or confinement, I very well would have made it to the end as comfortably and as painlessly the first 5 hours.

Again, hypnobirthing rocks! And no, I wasn't even listening to my tapes or even trying to actually hypnotize myself. Mostly I just BELIEVED that it wasn't bad and that I could completely relax. Relaxation was truly the holy grail of labor solutions. It was only when I couldn't relax that I felt true pain.

Robin Joseph popped out of me at 3:45 PM weighing a mere 5lbs even. He was 19 inches long (a string bean for sure) and he has this teeny little blonde head. It will be interesting to see if he keeps it or if his eyes stay fair. (Right now they are they normal deep midnight blue that all babies have).

We're so happy with him and although I feel like a complainer at the end, I heard nothing but such love and support from everyone around me. Today I was still being talked about and as the doctor was stitching me, she looked at me and said "amazing...I don't think I could have done that". It made me feel really good about myself because I really did feel badly that I whined through the last hour.

I would do it again in a heartbeat. Even on the pitocin, I would go the same route...in most ways, it was so easy and simple and in others, it was the hardest thing I ever ever had to do. Interventions do stink, but it wasn't the end of the world for me.

I actually now do believe it was a good thing to induce. My placenta was kaput and wasn't nourishing little Robin any more. Even if he had stayed inside, he probably wouldn't have gotten any bigger. We had no idea he would even be as small as he was. A 38 weeker usually runs around 6.5lbs. It did him no service to stay inside and it was only making me sicker.

A truly, positive and incredible experience for me for what we had to work with. No horror stories…completely manageable.

Robin will be here on Monday...

On June 7th I had an appointment to determine how likely my body would be to take an induction. My blood pressure had been remaining high and I had been seeing my doctor a couple times a week.

I had been researching induction methods and wasn't happy that my hospital used cytotek. This is a drug that the FDA has not approved for labor induction and in fact, the drug company itself advises it to not be used for such purpose. It's a drug designed for stomach ulcers. When doctors use it to induce labor, they quarter the pill and place it directly on the cervix. Once it is on, you can't slow it down like Pitocin. There have been much higher incidents of uterine rupture and fetal deaths with this drug and I knew I didn't want it.

Luckily, at this appointment I was elated to learn that I was already 3 cm dialated and 50% effaced. It was the best case scenario and because I was already so progressed, I wouldn't need any kind of cervical encouragement at all. No cytotek. I was very happy. My doctor was to be back in on Monday, June 11th and we made arrangements to arrive at the hospital at 7AM. I was also instructed to not leave the area (so I stayed with my parents all weekend) and she said I could very well go into labor on my own.

Over the weekend I continued taking my evening primrose oil capsules and my raspberry leaf tea. Both are natural labor inducing herbs. (Which worked very well for me because I was even further effaced when I arrived on Monday).

Although I had been on bedrest, I did "cheat" a little bit by walking some with my mom and Joanne. It was exhausting. I had been on bedrest for a few weeks and was completely worn out. We went to check out "crunchy granola baby" which was a new store and I wanted to stop into Whole Foods. I had to stop a lot but I do think the walking was good for me (even though I technically wasn't supposed to be doing it)

No More Birth Center...

It was about this time when I was 35 weeks pregnant when my blood pressure suddenly shot up very high. It started at around 120-94 and eventually got as high as 115/106. Everything happened very fast and it was decided by my new midwives that my birth was no longer considered low-risk.

Since birth centers are only designed for low-risk patients (and are very very safe in such instances), I was now out of their realm of expertise and needed to be referred to their ob/gyn partners. I was very lucky and was given to the doctor with a lot of experience with birth center transfers. Her practice supervises the center and at the time of my transfer, she was their communicating doctor. She was extremely understanding about my desire for a birth as natural as possible and I felt comfortable with her.

I was very crushed, of course. I felt like my body had failed me. I was unhappy that my body had turned my birth into a medical event, something I never considered birth to be. I needed some time to digest and accept what was happening and I was able to come to terms with how things would progress.

In hindsight, if I had known this would happen, I might have stayed with my original ob/gyn since I liked her so much. But I'm glad I took the chance. My pregnancy had been going so well that there was no way to know I would develop Pregnancy Induced Hypertension. It's just something that happens to a lot moms and nothing you do, eat, or think about causes it. It did end up working out as best as it could have. My original hospital wouldn't have even been able to deliver my baby as early as the new one could have. The resources were much greater staying on the North Shore. And after needing a blood pressure check and being visited by one of the ob/gyns from my earlier practice, I was convinced that I made the right decision to stay with the new doc when she said "Why on earth did you transfer, there is no difference between an ob/gyn and a midwife." That was the cincher for me.

We did try to ride it out for a week when it seemed my blood pressure was dropping but it shot back up again a few days later and I ended up being hospitalized overnight for one night when I was 36 weeks along. I was already on bedrest and at this point, I was pulled out of work for the remainder of my pregnancy. For the overnight stay, I was kept in a room with no stimulation for about 30 hours. No TV or calls and for the first 12 of those hours I was on BP meds. They stopped those when it was determined that it wasn't really going to help me much in the long run.

My blood pressure stabilized and I was sent home with instructions for twice a week visits.

Happy Mother's Day

We had a nice dinner for Mother's Day at Cafe L'Escadrille in Burlington. We've been doing this the past few years and it's always a very nice day. We really enjoy spending time with my family.

Arthur did well and bounced around from lap to lap, mostly spending time with Grammy, who is his favorite. I wore a dress that I knew would especially show off my belly. We got some really nice pictures of everyone (but I try not to post too many pictures on our blog of people I'm not sure would want them online).

Happy Birthday Arthur! 2 Years Old

Arthur turned two on May 2nd. His new big thing is Mickey Mouse or "Muh Muh" as he calls him. It's adorable and I wanted to do something small along that theme.

I found a silicone Mickey Mouse cake pan at the Christmas Tree Shop and while I have no experience with that fancy decorating, I just frosted it plain and it looked just fine. I found an organic, trans-fat free cake at Whole Foods and made a buttercream frosting from a recipe a friend online sent me. I knew it was a hit when one of Janet's girls said "This is actually good, Mom".

Arthur got lots of sand toys for his birthday and some other cute outdoor things as well. He was outfitted for the entire summer by my aunts and my parents and we had taken him to build-a-bear a few days earlier. I sent him to school with special nut-free but healthy cookies and he had a good day.

32 Week Appointment/Hypnobirthing Class

We left at about 2PM to make the drive to the North Shore for my appointment. We had about a half hour to stop at my parent's house and pick up my mom. It gave me a chance to use the restroom, of course, and show her my son's 2-year DVD that we made.

The appointment went well....it was fast. While she had me all worried about my "normal" reading last week of 120/80, it was a nice 124/72 today (which made her and I both happy). I was afraid that my fear of it "jumping" would actually cause it to do so. While I waited for my appointment, my mom did some Reiki on me and that eased me right down. I was still apprehensive when she took the reading but I just focused on breathing and it all worked out.

I'm measuring right where I should, 32 weeks and my weight is up .5 lbs since two weeks ago, bringing my total to a modest 13lbs. I'm certainly eating like a cow...but I'm glad that I'm not ballooning up. I don't want any blood pressure concerns and I'd really like to not have a huge baby growing in there. I'm visualizing a comfortable 6 1/2 - 7 1/2 lbs. That's where I'd like to be so that's what I'm picturing for the baby.

The hypnobirthing class was very nice again. It's such a mix of parents in the room! Some, I do question how they ended up in this class but I give them kudos for trying. We have one who has never seen a birth video and was going "oh!", "Are they really blue like that?" and was kind of clutching her mouth when we watched them (and these were CALM hypnobirth videos). Then we've got the other mom who comes in with her latte and hasn't yet been able to experience any of the visualizations. I really do give her a lot of credit for being there though because it must be harder for her. Only two of us are going to the birth center and the rest have chosen hospital births.

There's another mom who like me, wanted a homebirth, but also had a spouse who wasn't 100% on the same page so we've chosen the birth center as a compromise. The mom next to me is fun to sit next too. Like me, she has no qualms about making herself comfortable on the beanbags on the floor and she's a snacker. I like her and can relate.

Then it was back to my parent's house to rescue my dad from babysitting. My grandmother and cousin happened to stop by and were there when we arrived. So my son was awake 2 hours past his normal bedtime and we had to leave at 9:15 because we had a nearly two hour drive. I felt bad leaving but we really couldn't stick around.

I'm off to bed soon after my son's cake has cooled a little (he turns two tomorrow). And we're both working in the morning so sleep is looking really good!