Ruby's Birth Story

My wait for Ruby began around the tail end of the 38 week mark. I had Penny at exactly 39 weeks and was fairly positive that Ruby would come at the same time too.

I had been having contractions in the evenings for several weeks but nothing like the real thing. My midwife had started to check me at 37 weeks, when I started at about 2cm and stayed fairly constant over the next several weeks. Days passed, and I reached my "estimated due date" (March 4th). No baby yet. I began to despair.

That week I decided to get swept, which kick started some things into action but ultimately I wasn't going anywhere. We had several nights where I would have some consistent contractions but they'd peter off in several hours. We invited my parents up for the weekend so that they were already here as we planned for them to watch Penny when we checked into the birth center. That Saturday we went to our local pool (which has an awesome kids water park) and my 6 year old niece dragged me around the pool ("c'mon Auntie - let's go down the lazy river!!") and kept me very active. That night I started another round of good contractions - lasting a minute to a minute and a half and 4-7 minutes apart. We got excited, thinking that tonight may be the night! But alas, morning came and a very grumpy Bianca emerged from the bedroom for breakfast with the family. False labor - you are a cruel bitch.

So it was Sunday, March 9th. I was 40 weeks and 6 days. My parents were going to leave in the afternoon. I began to get anxious because I knew that as soon as they'd leave I'd go into labor and they'd have to turn right back around. Adam and my stepdad took a quick trip to work on a school project together and were gone for a couple hours, during that time my mom and I sat and chatted while I tried to keep my mind off my gloom. Around 1:00 a round of contractions started - this caught my attention. My contractions always started after dinner; very rarely did I ever feel anything before 5:00. I kept this to myself but eventually my mom noticed that my attention was elsewhere and she asked if I was having contractions. The guys came home around 2:30 with lunch (at my request: spicy Thai food) and at the table I continued to have contractions and I was getting on edge. We timed them - 1 minute long, 4 minutes apart. Adam decided to call the midwife to see what she thought. Darlene thought it still might be early but agreed to meet us at the birth center around 4:15 to see where I was at. So at 3:45 Adam and I kissed our sweet Penny goodbye and took off in hopes that I'd be bringing home a baby shortly.

My birthing room was prepared when we arrived and Adam turned on a good Pandora station that he knew I'd like. My midwife checked me out - 4cm, not fully effaced. But these contractions were real. She gave us three options - go home for a few hours, go for a walk, or break the waters. I definitely didn't want to go home because I was afraid that the contractions would stop and that it would mean bringing Penny back into the situation when she's completely content with the grandparents at the moment. So we opted for a walk.

We walked up and down the streets in a nicer part of downtown Everett. The rule was that I had to walk through my contractions; no matter how hard it was or how teeny tiny my steps were, I had to keep moving. It. was. hard. Many of these contractions were painful enough where I was openly weeping as we walked. I lamented over what a sight I must be - a clearly very pregnant woman, in her sweats, bawling her eyes out and clinging to her husband. I thanked my lucky stars that this wasn't a small town or one where we could possibly run into someone! The icing on the cake - we walked by the local events center and they were just finishing up the home and garden show, so a ton of strangers got to witness this as well!

After an hour we returned and I got checked again. Sorry honey, no progression and your baby is sunny-side up. We were presented with the 3 options again - home, walk or water. Home still wasn't an option, walk was no longer desirable because it was getting dark. My birthing team was completely confident with breaking my waters because I was past my due date and all other risks were low. I decided to go for it - it was time to have a baby.

It was within a minute of breaking my water that I went into transition. In an attempt to help turn baby, the team had me do lunges using the side of the birthing tub. Lunges through 5 contractions, on each side. Oy. I got through my round of 5 contractions on my left side before I crumbled into my husband's arms and we decided to go into the water. This was an immense relief, though the contractions were still coming very fast and very hard. I remembered with Penny's birth that I was able to 'check out' in between contractions and rest. There was no resting here. Even in between contractions I was uncomfortable and barely paying attention to what anyone said.

The urge to push came a lot sooner than I expected and I pushed for several rounds on my knees and hanging my upper body over the edge of the tub, using Adam as support (the same way as I had done with Penny). Eventually it was time to get baby out (her heat rate had dropped) and I switched to being in a sitting position and was told to push with all my might. I got to the point where I knew I had either approached the ring of fire or I was tearing - the birth team urged me on and with a couple pushes I had my sweet baby girl in my arms!

With tears in our eyes we spoke to Ruby for the first time, welcomed her into this new world and marveled over her perfect features. She weighed in at 7 lbs 15 oz, 20.5" at 7:16pm. That's a full pound heavier and almost 3 inches longer than her sister was, sheesh!

From the moment that my water was broken to babe in arms was about an hour and 3 minutes. The only family who knew I was at the birth center were my parents - the paternal grandparents, aunts and uncles were all surprised with a picture text of Ruby and I!

This labor goes to show just how different each birth and child are! I went into labor spontaneously with Penny, had an 8 hour and 40 minute labor and she came in the morning. Over the last couple weeks I've been astonished at how quickly Ruby has grown, how different our breastfeeding relationship is and how I've emotionally coped with having a newborn again.

The Pierogie Babies: 40 weeks - where's my kid? & someone turns 2

Ruby

Well, here we are at full term and I am shocked - no baby. I had Penny at exactly 39 weeks and for this entire pregnancy I was positive that I'd have Ruby on the same week. Well, 39 came and went without anything to write home about. It feels so weird to wait on a baby, because as Penny's birth story went, we were caught by surprise when she was born. I was expecting to go over 40 weeks with Penny and so I never had that anticipation feeling. This time I set myself up and was expecting an early baby so I've been on watch since 38 weeks - I would have never imagined still being pregnant 2 weeks later! 

So this girl continues to bake away and although I'm just ready to hold her in my arms, I count my blessings. I'm not in any extraordinary amounts of discomfort. My hips ache but a good chiropractic adjustment this week did the trick. My stomach skin feels stretched and itchy; but no stretch marks and my regimen of organic coconut oil during the day and having hubby rub down the belly with Motherlove Pregnant Belly Salve in the evenings has kept my skin nice and soft. Penny got to keep her birthday as her own. Ruby's due date was 3/4 and Penny's birthday is 3/3 so there was a chance for them to share a birthday. It didn't happen and we got to celebrate in a small, special way. I feel pretty prepared for this baby to come. The cloth diaper laundry is kept up on, I have lots of extra food stored in the freezer, our birth bag is in the car and I have labor food at the ready in the fridge. The blessings keep pouring in but one little blessing in particular is taking her sweet time and I just have to be patient and let her come when she is ready! :)

Penny

My big girl turned 2 on Monday but we kept it pretty quiet. Her paternal grandparents came over for dinner and cake on Sunday. We are postponing her big, fun birthday party until mid April and piggybacking a "meet the baby" event along with it.

When I remind myself about where we were 2 weeks ago in my last Pierogie Babies update, I'm again impressed at just how quickly children grow and change. Penny seems to have a good grasp on the concept of "turns" (even though she doesn't always agree with them) and is transitioning to consistently saying "please" and "thank you" rather than signing them. She working on 3 and sometimes 4 word sentences and surprises me daily with things that she picks up on. We were visiting a cousin yesterday and she pulled out a Finding Nemo book and asks me to read the Nemo book...but I haven't introduced her to Nemo yet. How did she know this? She's also become much more social at library time and at the bouncy house that we visit; which was a struggle until lately because of her shyness. We haven't been going to our MOPS group regularly due to battles with the crud or avoiding the crud so I'm not sure how she would do when she's put into a situation where I leave her but overall if she knows I'm around she appears to be totally fine leaving me and playing independently. That wasn't anywhere close to being an option 2 months ago, so I'm proud of her burgeoning courage and curiosity to play with other children.  

Pierogie Babies: Almost there!

Ruby

Well, clearly a lot has happened since my last pregnancy check in on the blog (uhm, 6 weeks ago..oops). Little Ruby has been rolling, shaking, twisting as normal and head down. It's so hard to summarize how I feel these days! Excited to meet her (beyond all measures), but also completely content in her coming in her own time. I had Penny at exactly 39 weeks so next week is when I'll really go on watch. However, yesterday I was hit with some major nesting instinct and pretty much tore the house apart, so we'll see what happens ;)

Penny

As always, Penny is such a joy. Over the last month or so she has started talking so much and her memory is impeccable. We visited the Aquarium/Zoo about a month ago and she still talks about visiting the sharks and all the things she saw there. We also got chickens about 3 weeks ago and she gets a real hoot (ohhhh bad bird humor) out of them. We have a bay window that looks out into their pen and it's one of her favorite places to hang out if we're not visiting them in the backyard.

My Duraburb has been the main mode of family transportation for the last couple weeks and she very delightfully squeals "mama's honk honk!" whenever she sees it. Though yesterday she asked about Daddy's honk honk (which I'm assuming she meant the old green truck we've had that we sold about a week ago) and I had to very proudly tell her that only mama has a honk honk now - Daddy does not! Adam traded in his very tired commuter car (my faithful high school ride, mind you) and got an early 2000's Saab to replace it. We also are planning to downsize even more by selling my Volvo when the Duraburb is completely tested and ready to hand over.. Which will bring us down to 4 cars from 7. To be fair 2 of them are Adam's toys so they spend most of the year patiently waiting for the perfect ride.

The last 2 weeks have been rough for our family though. I came down with a mild cold, got better and then fell deeper into it. Then Adam caught it. And now Penny has a mild flu. This is the first time that she's ever been sick for more than a day (halleluah for nursing through toddlerhood!) and it's just been heartbreaking to watch her go through this. There's been tons of extra snuggles and she's been back in our bed for the last 3 nights and I'm happy to say that she is very close to being her old self again as of this morning. Which is a good thing, because with the end of the pregnancy drawing near I need to have my whole family in the best shape possible.

One last thing before I go.. As I was brushing my teeth last night and sitting on the edge of the tub last night, Penny walks up to me and gives my big belly a hug. She sweetly kisses it and says "wef bebe Ribbit" (love baby Ruby). It made me think of this saying that I'd like to have put up on their sister room someday..

The fun part.. Cast your guesses on Ruby's birth! Here are the stats from Penny's:

Born at 39 weeks gestationally (today 2/20/14 I am 38 weeks 3 days)

8 hour 40 minute labor

Born in the water

6 lbs 14 oz, 17 3/4"

Pierogie Babies: 32 weeks 22 months

Ruby

I feel myself growing exponentially at this point! This big ole belly keeps getting rounder, more in my way and less is fitting. Good news for us :) I have a feeling that this little girl is going to be a night owl - most of her crazy dance moves start around 7:30p and subside about 30 minutes after I lay down to go to bed.

The due date was under question at last month's midwife appointment because the 2nd trimester ultrasound (my only one) showed that she is "measuring a week small." My midwife suggested that perhaps instead of a 3/4 due date we might be closer to anticipating a 3/14 due date. My own intuition and simply feeling the size of this little girl inside of me tells me that my LMP date is more accurate than the ultrasound's suggestion and that I will deliver at 39 weeks according to my first due date - so put your guesses in folks. I'm 80% sure I will have Ruby the week of 2/23.  Plus, in case you haven't noticed - I have small kids. Penny has measured in the 15th percentile her entire life, but is a very healthy & proportional kid. 2nd trimester ultrasounds really can't take into effect family genetics and this tree bears small fruits.

For one reason or another, I have to visit the dentist A LOT. I take really good care of my teeth but I'm thinking that genetics and 3 years of pregnancy // nursing // pregnancy are beginning to take their toll. Last year I had the pleasure of 2 crowns and 2 visits for fillings in addition to just one cleaning. I visited the dentist this week to get some fillings taken care of and the dentist (my second female dentist ever) made a comment about just how much my gums are bleeding during the procedure. It's pretty common for pregnant women to have swollen and bleeding gums due to hormones, but I guess it was to the point where she wasn't able to get work done! So lucky me, I got to go back in yesterday to that final filling done. Oh, and next week I'll be going in for my cleaning too - that's 3 dentists visits in 9 days, folks. My jaw and gums are sore.  Miss Ruby was bouncing away, not seemingly startled by the drilling, and the silver lining is that I got to listen to my music for a couple hours instead of Penny-tunes. I made a comment to a friend that luckily it's my mouth that's a wuss, and not my youknowwhat, because I can take natural birth like a champ. Dental work? You've got me whining all evening and I just can't handle it.

Penny

This little lady of mine is a hoot and a half. Over the last 2 weeks she's started to come up with 2-3 word sentences and I've had many a conversation with her. A couple favorites from the past few days:

Conversation 1:
We're on our way to my dentist appointment (during working hours), where Adam was going to meet us and take Penny to the local mall for the playground:
Mama: Penny, you're going to get to play with Daddy in a few minutes!
Penny: {somewhat confused} Daddy - working? ("working" is a common word around our house - Daddy is gone because he's working, or you need to give Daddy some space because he's working {on the house})
Mama: No, Daddy will play with Penny!
Penny: YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Conversation 2:
I'm making dinner and give Penny a covered cup with a straw full of milk. She runs off happily, after a few minutes I hear "messy. raining. milk."

Conversation 3:
Penny wakes up from a nap and I hear her stirring over the monitor. She calls out for me, as she usually does, and I sit and listed to hear what might happen next. She started to get out of bed and I can hear her organizing her stuffed animals.
"Mama, Daddy - working. Yeah. Meaty play." ("Meaty" is what she calls herself, hilarious!)

Christmas break projects

Adam took the second half of December off and spent that time working on our Duraburb project. This is going to replace my current ride (our Volvo wagon) and this has been a fun project for him as an engineer and gear head. He put in a ton of hours during his 'vacation' and on the night before going back to work he got it started for the first time! This is quite the accomplishment because he's done full OEM engine replacements before, but this was taking a diesel engine from a different truck and putting it into a Suburban - not something that Chevy originally intended. Pretty proud of my man this week.

And as for me - well, one of my resolutions this year was to start and finish a project of my own (besides growing a baby, of course). On my last Pierogie Babies post I mentioned that I had my eye out for a solid wood dresser that I can upcycle to put into Penny and Ruby's room (check out my Sister Room Pinterest Board). Right after New Years I found the perfect French Provincial style dresser, nightstand and mirror set on Craigslist - and this week I've gotten to work sanding off the really crappy paint job. I'll unveil the project when it's all done, but in the meantime you can check out my inspiration dresser upcycle board.

Visit Salish Lodge and Spa in Seattle

I am beyond excited to share this with you all - in just a few short weeks we will be blessed with the opportunity of a 3rd trimester babymoon! We will be staying at the Salish Lodge and Spa -the iconic Seattle area hotel.

Literally perched on the top of Snoqualmie Falls, it's a 30 minute drive from Seattle and a popular tourist (and local's!) destination. There are two observation decks and the 270 foot  falls are lit up at night too!

A true Pacific Northwest getaway with two onsite restaurants and a full service spa, Salish Lodge and Spa offers a much more than what meets the eye. 

I'm really excited to learn more about their in-house apiary because I am a bit of a honey fanatic. In addition to helping the honeybee problem, Salish's honeys are featured in their restaurant menus and can be bought separately. 

Each of the 84 guest rooms feature their own fireplace and jetted tub - so even if you don't make it into the spa you won't be finding it hard to relax in your room.

In January I'll be sharing about our experience with their all-star babymoon package. This mama will be 33 weeks pregnant and I know we'll be in for a real treat!

Visit Salish Lodge and Spa and see what relaxation really means.

Online // Facebook // Twitter

Seattleites: Have you been to Snoqualmie Falls or stayed at the Salish Lodge and Spa? 
Share your favorite memory.

Update: Read my experience and review of our fabulous
Seattle babymoon!

Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by Salish Lodge and Spa. Images provided by Salish Lodge and Spa.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Undercover Mama Nursing Tanks

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

A common question that soon-to-be mamas ask is ...

It's not a super simple question to answer. It all depends on your levels of comfort with nursing.

As I enter into my second round of nursing (with 20 months under my belt), if I could give my first-time mama self a bit of advice it would be to loosen up. I was so worried about what people would think, I convinced myself that all eyes in the room were on me and it just made me nervous. This time around I'm not going to worry as much and just mind my own business - as other people should.

As a general idea for what you can add to your wardrobe to make nursing easier, here are a few tips that I've picked up:

• Most women will have at least one nursing cover, though some may find that a simple blanket over the shoulder or cuddled up near baby's face (if it's too hot to completely cover up or if baby doesn't like being totally hidden). I liked the cuddly blanket idea because it gave my daughter fresh air but I was also able to easily cover more skin if I felt that I needed to.
• Loose tops that can be easily pulled up or down, as well as button up shirts, were a staple.
• Dedicated nursing wear found through maternity retailers

But I'm a t-shirt and jeans kind of girl during the summer - and one thing I hated about nursing in a t-shirt was that when I pulled up my shirt to nurse, my sides and tummy would show. It was uncomfortable and I was so self conscious about it, even though I had no reason to be.

This time around I am so excited to get to try out the Undercover Mama nursing top. It works just like as if you'd have a tank top underneath your shirt, but you can wear it with your favorite nursing bra.

See Undercover Mama nursing tops in action. I can't wait to welcome Miss Ruby and share with you all how it works for us :)

The awesome part? You can even wear these without the use of a nursing bra!

Disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Our Babymoon at Sleeping Lady in Leavenworth

Have you ever heard of a "babymoon"?

Babymoons are becoming the latest craze in the expectant parenting world. It's a time where you and your co-parent whisk yourselves away for a period of reflection, preparation and dare I say .. a last hurrah .. before your little one arrives.

Our first babymoon, while I was pregnant with Penelope, was pretty over the top and extravagant. We took a 7 day cruise from Barcelona, Spain along the western coast of Italy. Yea. Back then we were "DINKYs" (for you non-demographics majors, that's "double income no kids yet") and had a bunch of airmiles to burn.

This time around our wants have changed. Traveling to Europe with an almost 2 year old isn't really our cup of tea, and leaving her in the States when we've yet to take a night away from her just wasn't going to happen. Instead we took a look at our options locally, because hey - Washington State is where people come for vacation too!

One of the top vacation destination spots in Washington is the quaint town of Leavenworth. It hosts a number of festivals throughout the year and is best known for its Bavarian flair with some seriously legit eateries. We headed to Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort , which is right outside of town on Icicle Road.

I immediately knew this was the retreat I was looking for. I wanted a weekend getaway with the hubs to relax, reconnect and simply pretend like we were those globetrotting DINKYs again. I got exactly what I was looking for!

 

Before dinner we took a walk around their 70 acre resort; not the whole thing of course! Throughout the trails that meander the property you can find sculptures, walk through some of the lodges (some of which are original from the barracks and buildings when the area was "Camp Icicle" in the 1930's and 1940's), read in their library or have a drink at The Grotto. 

What we were really excited about was dinner.

Breakfast and dinner are served at the Kingfisher Restaurant and Magpie Wine Bar. Food is served buffet style - which I wasn't really quite sure what to expect, but ... you guys. You guys. Listen to me. The. Most. Delicious. Food. Ever. #preggyhappy. This isn't your typical buffet bar. Each and every bite of food, from the leaves in your salad to the halibut or beef loin for your entree is hand picked with care. The greens come from their own 2 acre organic garden. Everything else is locally sourced and also mostly organic. Dining out has become a luxury to me, not only as a parent of a toddler but also as a smart-with-our-money single income family. So getting the opportunity to eat this truly handcrafted meal got high marks from me!

Our sweet server even brought us a special dessert plate when she heard we were celebrating our 2nd babymoon - she thought it was really cute! :)

But I'm not going to lie to you guys - it was a buffet, and yes - I went back for more dessert.During my first pregnancy, I earned the nickname "Two Dessert Bianca." This time around I graduated to "Three Dessert Bianca."  Does that mean for the 3rd baby I get to have four desserts??! Can I opt for twins? The best part was simply getting to sit for two hours with my best friend and talk about whatever. 

The next morning, when we woke up at our leisure because it was Daylight Savings Time and our toddler was someone else's problem (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!), we sauntered back to KingFisher for breakfast. Again, every morsel was delicious and I wished that I could just sit there all day.

But I couldn't sit there all day, nor would I want to, because I had an appointment at the Aspen Leaf Spa for an Earth Mother Pregnancy Massage. Using a special blend of essential oils that smelled like orange blossom and lavender, my therapist relaxed me into a pile of bliss. Even Ruby, who had spent the last 12 hours bouncing around in happiness from the delicious food at KingFisher, quieted down and relaxed with mama.

We ended up with a few extra hours and walked around downtown Leavenworth. We treated ourselves to a cheese plate and beer from Icicle Brewing Company and 1 1/2 pounds of fudge..

But the best part.. coming home to our sweet miss. We picked up a stuffed kangaroo from the famous Australian store, as her favorite book lately has been Pouch! by David Ezra Stein. She was named "Hop Hop" as soon as we walked in the door.

Did you take a babymoon? 

Check out 
Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort in Leavenworth, WA // 
keep in touch on Facebook 

Disclosure: Thank you, Sleeping Lady, for hosting my babymoon through accommodation, meals and

 massage. All opinions are my own, though I wouldn't recommend this amazing resort if I didn't wholeheartedly believe you would love it too!

The Pierogie Babies: 23 weeks & 20 months

Miss Ruby has been doing a ton of flips, somersaults & last night bumped Daddy's hand hard enough for it to visibly move.

Miss Penny is hard at work in preparing to be an older sis. She loves swaddling her frog "Buddy" nice and tight, puts him to sleep throughout the day. She can also recognize each letter of the alphabet and say most of them too! 

This past weekend we took our "babymoon" and had our first overnight stay away from Penny. We left her in the capable hands of her paternal grandparents and we knew she'd be just fine. More about that to come - I've got a lot to share with you guys about that trip!

Bamboobies and SleepBuddy giveaway!

This post was originally published as a part of the Natural Bump and Baby Giveaway Hop.

_________________________

I feel like I'm in a really interesting position in my mamahood - I'm expecting #2 and my toddler just turned a year and a half old.. Where is the time flying?

So these days when I do my research I am looking at newborn and toddler products, activities and clothes. Thus, it reflects on the blog with what I share with you :)

In celebration of two milestones in my mamahood, I'm giving away two products that have been a huuuuuuuuge support for me in the past and one that is currently helping Penny with her night time independence.

Read my Bamboobies leak proof review

Read our journey to more independent sleep 

for the previously bed-sharing toddler with the help of SleepBuddy.

Are you interested in having your product, service or business featured on The Pierogie Mama? Contact me here.

Helping the bedsharing toddler transition to independent sleep with SleepBuddy

From day 1 to day 558 Penny slept in our bed with us. I loved bed sharing; it helped us maintain a solid nursing schedule, gave us a little extra family snuggle time during the period where Adam was commuting over 4 hours a day, and most of all.. I had such peace of mind. I knew my little one was close, safe and I could be there for her immediately should anything go wrong.

But right after her 15 month birthday we learned that little Miss Penny was not going to be the one and only for that much longer. We learned that after literally a month of TTC, we had a Pierogie #2 on the way. By the way, we revealed this little one's gender this past week!

That meant there needed to be some changes in our household before little girl #2 gets here. The biggest change of all... mama and daddy needed their bed space back. I also felt that Penny was ready to begin to night wean - and let's be serious here - nursing through the first trimester was tough work, and the night time nursings were the first that I had to cut out in order to get the rest I needed.

So between her 15th and 18th month we began the process of fully night weaning and transitioning her to more independent sleep by having her spend as much of the night as possible in a pack n play in our bed room. Each one of those steps was met with a little bit of push back, but ultimately she adjusted within a few nights and we all started to sleep better.

The final change was when we moved into our new home. Penny got a big girl bed and I cautiously laid her down in it on our second night. She fell asleep without any worry - but I slept with baited breath. Was she going to wake up screaming, terrified, that she's in a new house, not in her pack n play and her parents are no where around? Truth be told, she woke up several times, but never once with an ounce of fear in her voice as she called for me.

As the weeks passed by, she continued to stay in her room for most of the night but the wake ups for back rubs and rocking increased. There was a 2 week stint where I think I would have gotten more sleep if I had a newborn instead of a toddler. It was rough. I had to look into options on what we can do to gently show Penny that it's time for sleep.

This photo wasn't edited - the brightness and color you see is representative of SleepBuddy at its brightest setting

When I found the SleepBuddy, I had a feeling this would be it. I had looked into other night-light timing systems / clocks, but they all had almost scary looking faces of celestial bodies and most featured a clock face. Penny is too young for a clock face and I wanted something simple, well designed and easy to understand. So the SleepBuddy arrived at our home and we put her to use!

SleepBuddy is a complete sleep system designed to help teach your children when they should be staying in bed, and when they can get up. The process is simple for you and fun for your children.

Penny's night time routine adapted to the flow of our new home. Around 7pm we start a bath, which she plays in for about 15-20 minutes. Around 7:15p her SleepBuddy light turns on, casting a gentle blue glow throughout her room. "Penny, do you see that? It's time for nigh-night!" We tell her. So we read a few books in her somewhat dim room, give some last minute kisses and hugs to Daddy. Then Penny and mama have our last few minutes of time together for the evening - usually a 20-30 minute nursing session and she usually lays down somewhat awake. Sometimes it takes a little bit of patting, singing or additional rocking.

Since establishing the presence of the SleepBuddy, Penny's night time wakings have been less frequent and much shorter. Sometimes when she wakes up she just points to the SleepBuddy and sleepily reminds me that it's 'nigh-night!' Most nights she just needs to be laid back down in her bed and given a rub for a few minutes and I can quietly exit. Our next step will be to helping her stay in bed until the SleepBuddy shuts off in the morning. I'm not sure that she is developmentally ready for it yet, but until then the 6am wake up call and snuggles in the big bed for another hour suit us just fine.

SleepBuddy was developed by fellow mom, Laura, a certified child sleep consultant. Like so many other parents, she struggled with her son refusing to stay in bed during naps and night time. She developed this very simple and easy to use light to help him and other children grow towards independent sleep. As your child grows older, you can also use the included rewards chart for positive reinforcement.

Connect with SleepBuddy via Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Interested in trying one out? 

Win a SleepBuddy here!
Don't miss out -
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Disclosure: Thank you, SleepBuddy for helping Penny bravely transition into her own room.
Product was provided for review purposes, but all opinions are my own.

Gender Reveal Party

Today was our gender reveal party. We had our ultrasound on Wednesday last week and it was tough keeping it a secret from the family until today. I pretty much had to be on a 'text only' basis, otherwise something was going to slip.

Our menu:
Balsamic spinach pasta salad (my mother in law's delicious recipe)
Deviled eggs
Crackers with a topping of cream cheese, smoked salmon and my mom's homemade pear sauce
ruske / potato and cheese pierogies (but of course!)
prosciutto and melon appetizers
fruit, veggie, meat/cheese/cracker platters
Baked brie with walnuts and cranberry sauce

And the grand finale:
the gender was revealed by way of cakepops. I used's The Kitchn's cakepop recipe using devil's food cake, sweet cream cheese and chocolate almond bark to coat.

The family members were told that the flavor of the cakepops is chocolate and only one of the 20 pops will have the gender of the baby revealed by the color of the batter. Kind of a Charlie Bucket and the golden ticket kind of thing.

We are so excited for Penny to have a younger sister. I don't have a sister and I think their closeness in age will be wonderful.

Pierogie Babies: 19 weeks, belly bump and a girl with her galoshes

Our ultrasound was yesterday and we are keeping the gender a secret until after Sunday. We're hosting a gender reveal party for our families and it is going to be SO HARD to keep things on the DL until then. I already have several people hounding me via phone calls and texts.. I'm probably going to have to shut off my phone pretty soon ;)

The baby is perfectly healthy, all fingers and toes are accounted for. I was feeling a lot of anxiety yesterday leading up to the ultrasound and it was a huge relief to get the initial report back from the tech that everything is as it should be. We'll get the full details in a few weeks at my next midwife appointment, unless something needs our attention sooner.

Based on my bump and the purposefully obscure ultrasound photo, what is your guess?
A boy or a girl?

I chose a natural birth and why I'll do it again

Welcome to the October 2013 Carnival of Natural Mothering! 

This article is a part of the Carnival of Natural Mothering hosted by GrowingSlower, Every Breath I Take, I Thought I Knew Mama, African Babies Don't Cry, and Adventures of Captain Destructo. This month's topic is Natural Birth Choices. Be sure to check out all of the participants' posts through the links at the bottom of this page.

Please note that my experiences are my own and my opinions may differ from yours. I always welcome discussion and am not offended if you think I'm crazy or my choices aren't what you'd consider for yourself. I do ask that if you choose to read this blog and make comments that you do so in a respectful manner of myself and other commentors here. Thanks for reading my story!

It's entirely possible that my two children will be pretty damn close to being exactly 2 years apart. Penny was born on March 3 and Pierogie #2 "due date" is March 4. When I first became a parent almost 2 years ago, I didn't consider the possibility of jumping back into pregnancy, birth and a newborn so soon. But as time passed and my husband and I took a long, hard look at the relationships we have with our siblings and the relationships we see between other siblings - we knew that we wanted our kids to be close in age. A big part of our decision in being open to a closer age spacing was how my pregnancy and the birth went as well. Our choice for a natural minded pregnancy and an unmedicated water birth in a birth center shaped so much of our experience in becoming parents.

In the few years leading up to our first pregnancy I spent a lot of time researching all the different options we have available to us in terms of approaching pregnancy, birth and parenthood. I soon began to form my opinions of what I believed to be 'safe' and 'unsafe.' Our family was going through quite the baby boom as well, with over 10 babies born in a little under a year and a half, giving me tons of exposure to how different women handled pregnancy and what their birth choices were. A dear friend raved about her experience with a local birth center and I knew this was the choice for us. Don't get me wrong - I am a firm believer in hospitals, doctors and nurses. Medical staff, interventions and technology are there for people who need help or are sick. My husband and I constantly discussed throughout my first trimester if a natural birth in a birth center is the best choice. In the end, after all the standard 'mainstream' medical care for my first trimester we decided that the baby and myself were both healthy, strong and completely capable of a natural birth. Both of our bodies were made to under go this process together and neither one of us was working to sabotage the other. We'd of course always keep the option open for a hospital birth if necessary (and of course our midwives supported this), and thankfully the need never arose.

What was it about natural birth and midwifery care that made it a no-brainer for me to do it all over again?

• I did my research. I looked at both sides of the coin, have spoken to women who have done it both ways. I read birth stories, good and bad, and filed away a lesson from each and every single one. No birth is the same, but I felt that a big part of my personal preparation was to hear about how other women had experienced birth.
• My first trimester with Penny was spent with a midwife at a Kaiser Permanente facility. I saw the same midwife for my visits, but there was very little chance that she would be the midwife at my birth. This struck a very deep chord within me. I was on this journey to become a mother and looked to my midwife was the guide - I felt like I'd spin out of control if I went into labor and a stranger would be there to help me. This was the biggest reason why we chose a freestanding birth center - my first birth center alternated between two midwives, and my current one cycles through three. All of which I will meet several times before the birth, so they get to know us, our desires and I can learn what to expect from them and trust in their wisdom.
• In Washington State more and more hospitals are allowing women to labor in tubs but water birth is still not permitted. When it's time to push, back to the bed you go. I wanted complete freedom in what is the most comfortable way to have my baby. When Penny's time came, I came to the birth center at about 5cm dilated. I slid into the tub, the warm water supporting my body and helping relax my muscles between contractions. Less than 3 hours later, I was holding my baby girl in my arms.
• Our birth center inherently has a calming and tranquil feeling within its walls. I'll have a choice between two rooms (hopefully) and both rooms feature a spacious floor plan, personal shower, large birthing tubs and queen sized beds. Walking into these rooms feels like I'm checking into a boutique spa. I feel supported and important when I am there. 
  
• My choices are supported. There is no 'bureaucratic protocol' to follow. If I don't want a certain vaccine given to my child, if I don't want to be talked to about formula, if I want to keep the cord connected for more than twenty minutes, I'll be supported. 
• Immediate skin on skin contact. I pull my baby up onto me, I can hold him/her for as long as I want. I nurse immediately. No whisking away for tests or measurements (within reason, of course). My baby will never leave my room, nor my arms if I don't want it to. 
• I get to go home at the end of the day! Ok, many of you will think "what?? why would you want that??" but honestly - I just want to get home and get into my bed and snuggle with my family. Another Washington State rule is that there aren't any overnight stays allowed in birth centers (unless they have a 24 hour nursing staff) so you are typically sent home 3-6 hours after the birth. This was a big chunk for me to swallow at first, especially because my friend who talked to me the most about natural birth happened to her her baby in Oregon, where that isn't a requirement.  But I learned and accepted that if there is a reason why you shouldn't go home after those few hours you are referred to a hospital. That means you need more support than your midwives can provide and you should get help. Natural births heal very quickly and a healthy mama and baby will be fine at home at the end of the day.
• After the birth, your midwife comes to you. I won't have to schlep my postpartum butt out to the birth center after 48 hours to go for baby's check up. She will come to me, see us in the comfort of our own home. That's a big help!

Those are just a few of my favorite things about birth centers, my midwives and how my experience went with my first birth :)

Have you given birth in a freestanding birth center? 

What were your favorite parts about the experience?

Bloggers, visit GrowingSlower to sign up to be a part of next month's carnival.