The Heart of Community

"Won't you be mine, won't you be mine....won't you be...my neighbor" - Fred Rodgers

As our ways of communicating have become much more advanced, we taking advantage of this advancement without being present. From social media and entertainment at our fingertips which don't have to leave the confines of our homes...we are seeing a lot less of us with each other.

Over the past five years we've lived here...we have seen our neighbors come and go. Some have been great, while others we hardly knew. We were either ships passing in the night with our lifestyles, or our stages in life differed, making any possibilities of connecting to be almost nonexistent. For us, knowing how social and friendly we are...this made us sad. We like to know who we live with and see if there is any chance for us to connect with others. Our kids thus far have also inherited this friendly character trait....if not a little too well!

This is the first summer where we have more than just 1 or 2 great neighbors living with us...but the community spirit which has blossomed due to some things going on with the ownership of the properties we reside in...its something special. We are coming together to help each other out. Lawns are getting mowed with borrowing or even doing it for others. Parents actually go outside and socialize with the other parents and help watch each others kids as they play. Kids go from one side of the yard to the other...playing with each others backyard toys. Even spontaneous bonfires and grilling take place. Need a tool for a project? Chances are one of us has it and lets you borrow it.

We are coming together....pooling our resources and talents. It is the kind of things of the past like knocking on a neighbor's door for a cup of sugar. 

No one is complaining at the sounds of kids making noise like you hear about on social media.

The kids have others to play with this summer, although Eliza is the only girl of the group lol.

I am excited for the first time in a long time this summer season and the good times to be had!

Being a Family of Five

I think the question most asked of us is, "So are you absolutely exhausted?"

And my response to this is...

Not yet.

Believe it or not, the pure fact of not being pregnant anymore gives one a very nice boost in energy they haven't had in 9 months. Throw in some motherly confidence earned from the last two children, and the baby becomes the easiest of them all.

They don't back talk, knowingly disobey you, stay where you last laid them down....and you can count on one hand what it is they must want.

With this being said....it is our two year old who may not live long enough to see his third birthday!?

Take one two year old, a cup of stubbornness, minced temper and a dash of boyish charm and mix well. To ensure a delicious finish for those with acquired tastes...baste with one pregnancy and bake to the desired nine months to achieve a very naughty toddler.

Nolan is taking after his sister in trying to love his new brother a little to hard. He loves to give constant kisses on his head, pull brothers head away while still latched to mommy, yank on his legs and crowd him out while being nursed. We have to watch this boy like a hawk when little bro is around. Basically, any undesired behavior we had before has been magnified since Alden. It mostly is focused on his sister with extra fighting/hitting/bitting/wrestling while pushing just about every button mommy and daddy have left. We wonder if maybe naming him Dennis would have done him more justice. 

Eliza, we think, is still mourning the idea that this isn't a baby girl. When being asked questions about her new baby brother by her physical therapist, she would only say what his name was and then stated she didn't want to talk about it anymore. But overall, she wants to be the big sister and hold the baby all.the.time. Although she is still a daddy's girl. When Matt has to go out and run some errands, he'll take Nolan since he is the most physically demanding and too much for me in my recovery to handle. This upsets Eliza very much, but taking both out to some very boring places is not worth the fight.   

Lastly...

Give props to daddy...

He has really had to step up to the plate in the last couple of weeks. After just starting a new job position, he has had to wear many additional hats while taking care of the family. He has gotten to see first hand at what my life is like a little bit more while he's at work. I am sure he'll be singing some silent praises when he returns to work towards the end of June, but will have some extra support when my mother comes out for her long annual visit.

Today, I had my post op visit. I've been cleared to drive again (yippie freedom!), and I can lift a little bit more weight. I'll have to wait another month until I can lift the two older kids though. But I sorta celebrated this afternoon with an outing to Target with Eliza and Alden. It went so well, that I even hit up hobby lobby! Time will tell what it may be like when having all three kids while solo....but I think this was a good indication that I'll be alright when the time comes.

What a difference going from 1 to 2 kids compared to 2 to 3 kids. I think I've earned my mommy cred and have enjoyed the extra confidence this time around ;) 

Alden- A Birth Story

Without having the excitement of spontaneous labor happening (which has never happened for me), one might think there isn't much to write. Yet there are always those surprises one never thinks of or wants to think about when it comes to giving birth.

Note: This is just my experience, and not to trigger any new mothers who may be facing a csection, as every woman's body is different and so is every experience. 

The night before, we were blessed with the help of having the kids be able to spend a couple nights away. With having to be at the hospital at 6 am, I don't know who would want two active little kids awake in their presence before 5:30. So after we did the drop off, we decided to take advantage of being kid free and enjoyed some Chinese in peace.

After doing probably way too much the night before in nesting and procrastinating on kitchen duties...we headed off to drastically change our family forever.

For the third time, our journey started in the same delivery room as it has for the last two kids. In having a prior experience, albeit certainly different for a csection, I knew there were 3 different levels of discomfort to make it through before everything would be where I last remember it to be in recovery.

Step 1- Receive foley bulb catheter

Step 2- Endure IV start up

Step 3- Manage and have successful spinal block

Not sure why...but for whatever reason...I have the most stubborn back to be stuck. Despite not being in labor...and even taking preventative measures with a chiropractor....it made no difference in making the process any easier or less painful. It required several attempts and going with an even bigger/longer needle (seriously...a bigger one?!) until the final shooting pain down my right leg resulted in success (Matt could hear my howls outside the OR). Now if only this hadn't triggered my vomit reaction and the doctor had just listened to my pleas of Zofran to be given before I reached critical nausea mass.

You never realize just how physical the act of vomiting is until you are laying flat and 2/3 of your body is numb and powerless to aid in evacuating nothingness of your stomach bile. It's nothing to be embarrassed about, as the nurses have seen it all! In fact, one of them was wondering when I was going to cry uncle and ask to be put under general. And I was even asking myself the same thing, if this was going to be fruitful at all.

When I was laid flat, heaving and they had started cutting...Matt finally got to join me in the OR. And it was surprisingly pretty fast from start to finish. When it came to Alden being pulled out, they weren't sure if he wanted to or was trying to shake hands with the doctor first. But he wasted no time in belting out his war cry, and I instantly felt a giant weight lifted off my lower abdomen. Matt left my side to go and document those first moments that he wasn't able to with Nolan. He even witnessed Alden peeing all over the nurse and managing to get it inside and down her scrubs!

My OB- Dr. Pfeiff

I think if it weren't for the continued vomiting during delivery that a more gentle csection would have been possible. But after the cord had been cut and airways suctioned out...I was able to hold my baby before any other official evaluations were done. It wasn't for as long as I would have liked, but I guess I wasn't done throwing up (and wouldn't be even in the recovery room). But Alden opened his eyes just for me when he heard my voice and in my arms. All the while, I couldn't mistake the very present lip curl/snarl that his daddy has given me many times. I guess he was not amused by anything else ;)

After things calmed down in recovery, I was able to attempt our first nursing session, but all he wanted to do was chill out at the bar. This didn't worry me, as we had plenty of time while waiting for my body to start perking up from the spinal block...which is a weird sensation/experience in itself. With time, he started to root with daddy and I was confident he'd latch. I think with me having to lay flat to avoid post spinal block complications made it hard for both of us to get into a natural position.

When being moved from recovery, it just so happened to be the same post partum room I had with Eliza....and later to move to a different room towards the end of my stay in the same one I had with Nolan. Matt was able to spend one overnight with me, as the first 24 hours are usually the hardest. After all the business of getting ready for the birth and surgery...we felt very content to just be still in the quiet of our room...gazing at the similarities of our newest son.

Look for the next blog post on how the kids have accepted the new baby and how we're juggling a family of five!







 

Final Week- Law & Order style

I've never watched much if any of the series Law and Order in my life. But I am familiar with the intro and the famous sound bite played when transitioning from scene to scene.

If my current life was a TV drama (who am I kidding...I think it really is, but without the affairs/murders/cliff hangers) I could see a shot of me waking up each morning with the day of the week displayed below and the sound effect played each time.

This 39th week has been the LONGEST week to get through.

Almost like a prisoner waiting to get sprung from their sentence....watching the clock to strike midnight to take a one way bus ticket into a new life.

I've tried to keep busy in order to pass each day...doing some ridiculous things in the process. Hello reorganizing the linen closet and pantry! Throw in breaking down wooden pallets and using power tools to make a Pintrest wall mounted shoe rack and picking up free firewood from the roadside for the backyard neighbors firepit we crash most weekends.

Unless you have a specific high risk pregnancy and have strict orders to not do much if any lifting....when it's your 2nd plus pregnancy....you never seem to hear the doctor say to avoid any heavy lifting. Your 25 lbs. toddler isn't going to lift themselves in and out of the car/shopping cart/bath tub etc... You are now a veteran momma and have to just deal with it.

....and by deal with it...it might also include a bonus of your youngest figuring out out how to open doors. Which results in door knob covers to keep said little brother out of the bathrooms....including potty trained big sister :/ Not to mention, making her think little brother is "obviously" ready to potty train when he takes his diaper off when you're not looking.

Big changes a comin!