10 End of Pregnancy Memes

Ahh, that delightful final month of pregnancy. That time where you are finely balanced between feeling like a Mother Earth Goddess and some kind of mammal wallowed in a tar pit (that is your bed). All women experience the "end of pregnancy" jitters; where we personally ask ourselves every minute of every day if today is going to be that day, how much longer do we think we'll be pregnant for, how will this labor go down, what are we going to do with our children and family members...the list goes on.

And, also, pretty much every woman goes through the very infamous end of pregnancy rite - the endless barrage of well meaning "how are you feeling?" and "are you in labor yet?" questions.

So as an ode to you, fellow mamas in the home stretch, a compilation of end of pregnancy and labor memes for you.


Your friends do their best and just stalk your facebook profile for newborn pics, like normal people. But when it's a soon-to-be-grandparent, suddenly you are the most interesting thing in their lives and not only are you getting the non-chalant "so how's your day been?" you also get the frantic response of "is everything ok??" when you call them just to ask how their day is going. Because you are the one who is waiting on a baby, possibly quite bored and wanting to get out of your own head for a few minutes. Ladies and Gents (particularly grandmas and grandpas), this is why women start leaving their phones in different rooms at the end of their pregnancies. Our phone is blowing up daily with dozens of well-meaning check ins. So don't freak out when it's been 12 hours since we've responded to your text, m'kay?

And this is the look on my face when I get those well-meaning texts and PMs.

This is my third pregnancy and let me tell you - the logistics of birth are crazy no matter what. But when you combine your schedule, your partner's schedule, your birth team's schedule and on top of that have to consider where your other children are going to be during that time.. Oh man. Did I tell you that my husband and I have like 6 contingency plans based on what time of day, or which day, I go into labor? Who will be available at what time to pick up the kids? Who is "on call" all day and night?

I'll just leave it at that.

I'm 39 weeks, with what feels like my largest baby. My own body is certainly larger than it ever has been, and while I'm totally ok with that and am working on channeling my inner-birth-goddess vibe...sometimes I catch myself in the mirror and do a double take.

Any mama who has had extended pre-dromal labor knows all about this. My baby #2 gave me start-stop labor for a week consistently from 1-4am every night. Turns out - the cord was a little short so she was getting hung up a little bit. Finally I went to my birth center and told my midwives that I'm not going home without a baby.

This was me last night. I was exactly 39 weeks, which gestationally was the same day that my first born was born. I pulled out all of my tricks - mowed the lawn, ate a whole pineapple, had spicy Thai curry for dinner, got my membranes swept, took a long, vigorous family walk. Dreamed about labor all night long. Did that baby come? Nooooooooooope.

This is going to be my go-to response if I go past my due date. Thanks, Dwight. You've always got the right answer for everything.

Poor orangutans! They seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to pregnancy memes.

We're all feeling that way. So if you could just sit back, let me go into labor the way my body and birth team intend, that'd be greaaaaaaaaaat.

Pierogie #3 is a boy! --26 week ramblings--

Like most moms who are chasing around kids during pregnancy, I just haven't had the time to sit down and reflect on this little one a whole lot! So here's a brief run down of the first 2/3 of my third pregnancy.

First trimester:

• tired and nauseated. Surprised, anyone?
• cravings for steak and soft cheeses like NONE OTHER.
• Interviewed two birth centers and picked our favorite. What a totally different experience it is to be in the position to interview your midwife and make sure that her scope of care fits into what I want. Being a 3rd time stand alone birth center, water birthing mom, I had a lot of specific questions and preferences! I was so happy to find the perfect fit between the two birth centers and have been loving the care that I've been receiving, feeling supported and also the recognition that I'm a "no muss, no fuss" kind of pregnant gal. 

Second trimester:

• The love for food came back with full force! Woo hoo!!
• Energy to play with my kids came back too! Yippeee!!
• 20 week ultrasound - the only one we plan to schedule - revealed that we will be adding a BABY BOY to our family! Big Sister Penny (age 5) had guessed that baby is a boy and is really excited about it. Big Sister Ruby (age 3) was hoping for a baby sister and has recently warmed up to the idea of a brother. What a fun and exciting new journey this will be for all of us.
• Alas, starting around 24 weeks my hips started to ache. Thankfully I already knew about the benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy and was able to meet with a well recommended chiropractor in our area. She's been working on getting me aligned and subluxation free to help carry this baby effectively and comfortably.
• Pierogie #3 loves to move around the most in the evenings when we are relaxed in bed and quiet. It's become very obvious when he is doing somersaults and rolling from side to side. 
• We celebrated the big sisters' birthdays - they are two years and a week apart so the first part of March is a birthday extravaganza for us! It was so sweet to reflect on my births for each child and how the experience of being pregnant changes as your children get older.
  // Read Penny's birth story // Read Ruby's birth story// 
• At 26 weeks weeks and over this past week I've had to be very proactive about taking care of my hips and pubis. Thanks to a few specific stretches, hot tub date nights, more chiropractic adjustments and a ring sling I've been able to keep the pain and discomfort at a manageable level but the pregnancy waddle has started early!

Pierogie #3 is on the way! -- 15 week ramblings--

I announced on my facebook and instagram a few weeks ago, but being that my blog has been quiet for about a month now - I figured a REAL post was in order.

We are expecting our third baby in June!

Breaking news! The blog has been quiet while I've been resting and working through my first trimester. I'm excited to share about this journey with #3!

A photo posted by Bianca @ The Pierogie Mama (@thepierogiemama) on Dec 12, 2016 at 1:02pm PST

The name of my blog, The Pierogie Mama, comes from what we have called our first born before we knew her sex, so naturally as subsequent babies became #2 and #3.

Our first two children are spaced 2 years (to the week) apart and this baby will be about 3 1/3 years younger than our second born. We chose to wait a year longer for this baby so that we had more time to let each of our older children develop their personalities and *hopefully* be getting a little more help (or at the very least, having both of them be a bit of independent) so that I may feel a little less of a hot mess whenever I walk into a room. Or just in general life!

Both of my daughters were born in the water, you can read birth story #1 and birth story #2 here. We have the same plan for #3.

How did my first trimester go? Well, last time I was super tired all the time - no surprise because I was chasing around a 15 month old and nursing through my pregnancy. Ruby, my second born, naturally weaned at 25 months so I've had a bit of a break to restore myself and my body in preparation for this pregnancy. My energy level didn't drop a whole lot in this pregnancy, but I did feel food aversions and a lack of appetite pretty much from 6 weeks through 13 weeks, resulting in a loss of probably 5-7 lbs. Shortly after Thanksgiving I started to feel more like myself and I've been back on board with eating and keeping the house and homestead in order. It feels so much better!

We had our first appointment with our midwife last week and we got to hear the baby's heart beat for the first time! Unfortunately we listened right after my blood draw and both of my girls were still really upset from seeing it, so they were too distracted to really get to hear the magic. The next appointment that they will get to be a part of will be my 20 week ultrasound in late January.

A photo posted by Bianca @ The Pierogie Mama (@thepierogiemama) on Dec 14, 2016 at 8:55am PST

Penny still remembers our appointments to "the baby house" while I was pregnant with Ruby and it was really fun getting to talk with them about how the baby is developing and what the purposes of the placenta and umbilical cord are.  Penny wasn't present for Ruby's birth, and my heart tells me that I prefer to labor in private, but it may very well happen that things will change and they will get to witness the birth of their sibling. Who knows? Ultimately I'm really ok with whatever happens; it's God's will. I like to put in my requests but am pretty go with the flow.

And that is pretty much what it is!

The Pierogie Babies: Birthday Month! Age 3 and 1

The girls were born 2 years and a week apart in March. It was awfully convenient to be pregnant at the same time because I didn't have to change anything about my maternity wardrobe! I thought that I'd luck out and get to pass on all of Penny's clothes to Ruby, but no such luck. Miss Ruby grows more quickly than Penny did; in fact there are many outfits that they share currently. But the silver lining is that it definitely cuts down on dresser space to not have to have two entirely separate sets of clothes for them!For as different in size they are, their differences in personality are also becoming more evident.

Over the last year we've learned that Penny is very much a little version of my husband, Adam. She has the same complexion, his eyes and definitely his love for sleeping in. She has a very analytical mind and I could see an interest in STEM in her future.

When she was 2 years old she was still very much into all things Elmo. Since then she's moved on to being deeply in love with the princesses. Frozen was the thing in our house for a large part of the year, but her big cousin Ella expanded her horizons (and showed her how fun dress up is) so now she has equal love for the different Disney gals. Closer to her third birthday she started watching the show Dinosaur Train and has quickly learned over two dozen different dinosaur species and is really good at pronouncing the 4-5 syllable names (Argentinasaurus, deinosuchus, troodon, pteranadon, just to name a few). This is what sparked her inspiration for a dinosaur-fairy themed birthday party.

Much of this year was spent at home, keeping quiet and getting a handle on having two kids. We have had many adventures with cousins, friends and have worked on making sure she gets a good social outlet with kids her age too. In this next year I'm looking forward to getting more time to sitting down and doing "school work" with her, because that's definitely slid to the backburner.

She also had her very first hair cut, her bangs were just too far down into her face so I gave them a little trim. If you've seen pictures of Penny through the months, you'll know that this girl took a long time growing these precious hairs. She also potty trained at 30 months.

Some of my favorite Penny posts:

Backyard Chicken and Toddlers

Babywearing on Mount Rainier

The Enchanting Fall Ball

Miss Ruby is definitely going to give me a run for my money. She's definitely a trouble maker! She loves opening drawers, figuring out what's inside, manipulating objects and God help us if she doesn't get her way! For the last couple weeks she's been waking up in the middle of the night and wanting to bonk my head or push her head into my face really hard. I'm not sure why, perhaps it's teething, but when I gently tell her no.. she gets really upset! And she never cries at night! Then there's also the cute-but-not-so-cute times where she flops onto the floor and throws a mini tantrum. Those quickly pass and she's back to her bright-eyed-happy self.

My coping mechanism for transitioning to two kids this year has been mainly that Penny leads what activities we do for the day and Ruby is along for the ride (literally, babywearing has saved my life). Now that she is standing, walking with assistance and taking those precious first steps, Ruby is getting a say in what we do too. Now that spring is here we've been outside more often and she has gotten to be on the ground and she is really not entirely ok with this. I can't say that I blame her, for her entire life until this point she's always been up and away. Now I'm encouraging her to get dirty, play in the bark and dirt, touch the grass and feel all the textures. It's taking some getting used to.

She truly adores her older sister. When she wakes up from her nap, the first person she seems to look for is her. If she wakes up first, I take her to crawl into Penny's room and Ruby always exclaims with such glee when she discovers Penny within the sheets. They both play together (I caught them conspiring not too long ago) and even have those typical sister battles over the same doll or book.

Words are coming along, she's still sticking to "mama," "dada," "Nee-nee" (Penny), "this this" (when she points to something)"tickle tickle"and we're working on "book" and discovering body parts (she is very proud of knowing where other people's noses are). It seems that at the moment she is somewhat afraid of the water, there's some nights where she's really against going in the bath tub and during a recent visit to the pool she was really quite scared.

Some of my favorite Ruby posts:

Sisterhood in pictures

Same outfit, two babies

Ruby in her "snail hat"

Newborn photography

Her birth story

The Pierogie Babies v.8

In the last month her vocabulary has totally exploded. She's talking about things that we've never talked about before, talks to herself constantly and now sings songs. One thing I've noticed about her in comparison to some of the other kids in her age group is that she spends a lot of time describing the world around her versus making statements or requests. She has very much become a girly girl; the other day I saw her standing by the front door wearing a hat, her Hello Kitty Purse, a bracelet and had her princess shoes (little play shoes with a bit of a heel) on. She announced "Time to go to the store, mama!"

Since visiting our local Touch A Truck event and meeting a few real live princesses, she has gone into full princess mode and loves our Friday night family movie nights and always insists on a princess movie. When given the choice, she chooses Belle as her favorite princess, but her favorite movie is The Princess and the Frog. Elmo has slowly fallen out of favor and she prefers to watch an episode of Super Why in the morning while I take a shower and get ready for the day. Because of that, she's learned phoenetics much faster than I expected and is starting to connect letters on the screen with what sound they make. We are working on asking politely ("can I please" versus "Penny wants") and she has a few chores that she helps with (putting away tupperware out of the dishwasher, throwing dirty clothes in the hamper).

Her imagination is also going at full force. She has a couple baby dolls that she dances around with (waltz style) and feeds them. She has started to pretend making food and eating it. She also started swim lessons with her daddy!

Hilarious things Penny says (which I think I might start writing as a new series):

• She poked at my post partum muffin top and said "mama, this is HUGE!"
• "Mama crab pants" (what Penny meant to say) "Mama crap pants" (what Penny really said)
• Penny: it's mama's birthday!B: not today. Do you know who's birthday is next? Mia's! We're going to Mia's cowgirl party soon.P: (wide eyes) No!B: yep!P: PENNY'S BIRTHDAY NEXT!B: no, Mia's birthday is next. Then Jack and Pammy's.P: Noooo!! Penny birthday!B: you're being a little irrational. well, your birthday is in 9 months but it'll be soon.P: I-rash-nal...cake.B: yes, we can have some irrational cake too. 
• Your eggs are deeee-wish-us, mama! I must be huuuuuuungry!

Rolls go on for days. And days. She's now very happy and comfortable laying on the floor and hanging out in the play gym, or on a towel in the backyard looking up at our maple tree's leaves. For her 4 month weigh in she was 15 lbs 2 oz.

She recently got her own amber necklace, straight from Poland, and probably in the knick of time because I took a look at her gums and I can see those little two bottom teeth making their journey northward. I haven't seen a lot of signs of teething just yet, but I'm happy that we got her started around the same time that we did for Penny.

She's now a roller and goes from back to tummy with ease. Crinkly toys blow her mind and she loooves this bird that I hang from her car seat. She's also working on blowing raspberries, which is absolutely adorable.

Penny singing the "Ruby Roo" song:

Ruby: 2 & 3 Months

Oh gosh, keeping up with these two kids on a monthly basis is going to be tough! I can totally see why second baby books are typically only half filled out. We're just on the go all the time - I have to scroll through the pictures on my phone to remind myself of what has gone on!!

Dear Ruby,

12 weeks - 12 weeks! What is going on here? You've very quickly turned into this bubbly little baby and I just can't get enough of your fat little rolls! At around 6 weeks it was almost as if you woke up from your newborn slumber and turned into an infant over night.

One of your very favorite things right now is being naked, which is funny because in your first 6 weeks you could not stand being changed. But now we let those rolls out several times a day and you get to kick, flap and attempt to roll around on a towel. And you LOVE it. You've developed a little ticklish spot right at your shoulders and you completely lose it if I gently graze that spot. You also think your sister is the bee's knees and if you are awake when she comes into our bedroom in the morning, your face lights up like a spotlight. I can already tell that you admire her so much. Penny has been asking to hold you a lot lately too - I think she's starting to learn more about big sister responsibilities. For my shower in the mornings I've been turning on a Sesame Street episode for Penny on our bed, then you and I head into the bathroom. The whir of the fan calms you, and I put you into your little bouncer and I can typically take a decent shower. Sometimes you need to be bounced, and on more than one occasion I've heard you start to squawk and then quiet down...because your sister came into the bathroom to bounce you while I shower. Oh, my heart...it melts for you two.

I wouldn't say that we have a schedule by any means; your sister still runs the show on that one. The morning is fair game until noon to two, where she takes a nap. Lately you have been taking a nap between 8-10a and then you usually will nap at the same time as Penny and some days even longer. Daddy comes home around 4 or 5 and we get dinner going and before we know it, its 7pm and you are ready for bed and your sister gets bath time. Life is really hectic, as always, but the days are getting warmer and we're starting to have fun outside again.

Developmentally you are really close to hitting a few new milestones. I've caught you half rolled over (it's a lot easier when you're naked), you smile and laugh a lot, and have started to string together your own little words and have "talked" back and forth with me a few times. You've just about outgrown your co-sleeper and will probably transition to sleeping on the mattress with us in the next week or so. You sleep better when I let you nap on the mattress during the day anyways.

Oh, and a funny note.. your sister came up with a nickname for you. Ruby Booby. Yep. I hope you can out grow that one before middle school ;) Good luck!

I love you little girl,
mama.

Penny's 2nd Birthday & Meet Baby Ruby Party!

What phrase did I hear come out of my daughter's mouth the most often during the months of March and April?

"Happy Birthday, Penny!!"

Penny's 2nd birthday was on March 3rd. But her almost 2 month long birthday celebration started the weekend before. We were preparing for the birth of Ruby (as I was positive that I'd give birth at 39 weeks, that didn't happen!) and my parents were visiting. We decided to celebrate Penny's birthday so that Adam and I would get to celebrate her special day without the possible craziness of a newborn. That came and went and the day of her birthday, Adam's parents came down for dinner and cake. Fast forward to a week later and Ruby was born! That started off a train of visitors who came to help during my tricky post partum recovery for the next month. Every few days a new family member would come to visit so we'd have another opportunity of a quick celebration of Penny's birthday and Ruby's birth.

Needless to say, my silly bubbly two year old quickly made the association that when we have visitors there will most likely be presents to open!

This Sunday we rounded out this 5 week adventure of learning how to be a family of 4 with a combination of birthday / meet the baby party with our friends and family. We were so blessed with amazing (I daresay a hint of a wonderful summer?) weather of about 70 degrees, cloudless skies and a gentle breeze. The party was at our block park, which has a decent play structure, and it was the perfect setting for letting kids run around and have fun while adults mingled.

One of Penny's favorite daily chores has been collecting the eggs from our 5 chickens that we got two months ago, so in honor of that (and the proximity of Easter) we held an egg hunt as well. It was so cute seeing the dozen toddlers / older kids run around and hastily snatch up the obvious eggs. As the party went on, sometimes a missed egg was unearthed and the victor pranced around with their egg. It was so cute.

Is this not the most previous fairy you've ever seen??

It will probably be very convenient to celebrate both of the girls' birthdays at the same time for most years, but I know that eventually they will ask for their own special days as well. Or maybe they will love sharing, who knows?

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.  

Penny was born in the water (My first birth story)

Today my oldest is 2 years old :) What a great journey it has been!

Prior to becoming pregnant I never really gave my birth options much thought. It was just something that I'd take care of when the time comes and one of my greatest influences in choosing a natural, waterbirth were from two co-workers who had both of their sons at home and my good friend Gretchen, as I followed along her natural parenting journey on her blog for about a year leading up to my pregnancy.

The experiences from these three women sparked my fire in researching why I'd want to have an unmedicated birth, at a free standing birth center, with a midwife and in the water. In addition to the great amount of research that I did (I highly suggest watching The Business of Being Born and reading any Ina May book if you are interested), one of the very best ways that I was able to prepare myself for birth was to read lots of birth stories. Each story is different and provided a new clue into what I could expect to happen or prepare for. Having never witnessed a birth personally, this was the closest I could do to beginning to understand what it might be like.

Our society permeates a lot of fear when it comes to birth. The media portrays birth as this dramatic scene where emergencies run rampant, women scream in agony and tell their "war stories" afterwards. As if for some reason scaring another woman about birth is what proves that you are strong. On the contrary, I believe that a birth free of fear is the most courageous act and is the best for mother and child. Which is why I want to share mine with you today. This story is very precious to my heart and I love to share it. 

The part that I'm the most impressed about with Penny's birth story is that it went exactly how I wanted it to be. This has made me wonder a lot during the preparations for Ruby's birth because who knows how the second time will go. I feel confident in my ability to handle labor pains but the whole unknown about it all is kind of driving me nuts!

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On Thursday March 1 I had my 38 week appointment with one of my two midwives. This birth center has two attending midwives and I met with each one equally so that depending whoever was on call, my husband and I had already gotten to know her and she understood our wishes. The midwife, Constance asked if I would like to be checked to see how far along I was, which I happily agreed to. A quick check showed that I was at 3cm. I was elated, but Constance cautioned that it still wasn’t likely to happen soon but that I probably wouldn’t carry to 41 weeks. That day I came home, finished packing the rest of my birth bag, prepared our cameras and tried to get a few projects done. I began to experience some lower back pain, lost some of the mucus plug, and rested that evening with Adam (who came home from work early). That evening I lost the rest of the plug in the middle of the night.

The next day, Friday, Adam went to work and I puttered around the house feeling great. My mom mentioned that the babybump looked lower but I didn’t feel any difference. I called Constance letting her know that I had lost the plug, and asked her opinion of whether I should go anywhere this weekend (side story: we are in the process of selling our home and at the time we were staying with my parents for the end of my pregnancy. This way the house was available for walk throughs at any time and I was getting support while my husband was at work). We planned to drive to our house to finish up some projects, which is a two hour drive from my parents’ house and the birth center that I was going to deliver at. All we needed to get done was clean the house and we were planning on listing it the following week. Constance was confident that we’d be ok, and even if I went into labor I was only a few hours away. So Adam and I drove down and made it there around 7:00p. Adam finished a few projects and I rested on the couch. We went to bed around 10:00p and I still felt completely normal.

At midnight I woke up and felt what I thought was a contraction. I waited a few more minutes, and another one came. Then they started being very consistently 3 minutes long, 7-10 minutes apart. Adam and I decided that if this continues to be consistent (no matter what the length) for an hour that it would be smart to pack up and drive to the birth center. I kept track of the contractions until 1:00a and we found that they were indeed consistent so it was time to go. Adam quickly packed up the dogs and our things into the Volvo and away we went. At that point, the contractions were uncomfortable but very tolerable. I also reminded myself that I had a 2 hour ride ahead of me so I needed to keep calm!

At 1:30a we were on the road and Adam turned on the hazards and very calmly drove 80mph until we saw we were coming up onto a sheriff. I told him to slow down, we don’t need the extra attention, but he decided to risk it and sped past. He started pulling over before the sheriff even turned on his lights. He approached the car, asked us why we were speeding, to which Adam and I both replied “I am (she is) in labor.” He asked if we were going to the local hospital, and Adam said no, we’re going to our birth center, about two hours away. The sheriff begins to launch into a lecture about how we can’t be speeding and that if we are going to be driving like that we either need to call an ambulance (and deliver locally) or he has to write us a ticket. I had grown very impatient at this point, as another contraction was coming, and told him to either write us a ticket or let us go, because I’m not having my baby in a hospital!! I’m pretty sure he’s not accustomed to being so directly spoken to, and he took Adam’s license to run it. A few minutes passed, and when he came back he started in on another lecture about driving safely but that he’s going to us go. We called Constance and my parents on the way to let them know we were coming home.

We arrived in Lacey around 3 am and my contractions were at the “5-1-1” rule (5 minutes apart, lasting one minute for one hour). We called Constance, and she said to wait until I was to the point where I was not able to speak anymore and that Adam would have to call for me. The contractions were still very tolerable during the drive, but as soon as we came to the house I was no longer as chipper. I took a shower and was only able to find comfort by bending over the edge of the bed and having Adam rub my back or provide counter pressure. Finally at 5a I decided it was time to go and we snapped one last picture (boy did I look enthused) and got to the birth center as fast as we could, my mom followed in her car. This time around, the contractions were not very tolerable in the car. The main way I found that I could cope with the pain was to keep writing my contractions down. When we got to the birth center, I think we actually beat Constance and Lisa (the apprentice) so we had to wait a few minutes for the door to open.

I was brought into the birthing room of my choice, which was “the yellow room.” It welcomed a lot of natural light, and I knew that I’d have her during the day at this point, and the bed in this room was higher so I was able to continue to labor in the same way as I had at home. This didn’t last very long, because Lisa’s job was to keep track of the baby’s heart beat and the simple act of gently pressing the monitor to my belly sent me into contractions, which for this first check she had to hold it there for 10 straight minutes. I became very intolerant after 2. Constance invited me to the tub and as soon as I climbed in, I felt a lot better. The water wasn’t as hot as I thought it would be, but it was a lot easier to move around. I had a hard time finding a position to actually have some control in, but soon just draped my arms over the side of the tub and rested on a hip. 

Adam and my mom alternated between holding my arms, hand, or wiping my face with a cold wash cloth. The wash cloth was a life saver, not necessarily for keeping my face cool but following the motion as it was wiped on my face was a distraction. Each time I thought I couldn’t go any further, Adam was right there telling me that I was doing great and that I could do it. He consistently reminded me of my beauty, strength and the amazing feat I was doing for us.

Shortly after getting into the water, Constance checked and announced that I was at 5cm. Lisa diligently would check the baby’s heart rate, but after 3 or 4 times I began to realize that the check was in fact sending me into contractions (in this case, a double load of contractions because she couldn’t check me during a contraction, so she would have to wait until one passed and try, which of course would start it up again) and I had my first outburst in labor - I distinctly remember telling this poor girl not to dare touch me and to keep ‘that thing’ away from me. She took it well, explained why it was needed, and I was able to regain composure but I was grumpy. From then on she was nice enough to give me a heads up a contraction ahead of time so I was able to better prepare myself. The only other outbursts I can recollect was when my water broke, I thought I had pee’d myself and lamented over the humility of it, and another time where I needed water, so my mom got up to get some, and I immediately screamed for her to come back and hold my hand.

At some point Constance gave me the encouragement to get on my knees to try to open up my hips more. I was afraid to move, but Adam was able to convince me to try. Constance checked me again and announced how low her head was, and that I should be able to feel it very shallowly. This gave me such a surge of enthusiasm; my labors were working and my girl was coming. This was no drill. No going back, not getting sent home. I was here to stay until she got here. I remember telling Adam not to not be afraid.

Soon I became impatient. I had felt her head, knew it was right there, and wanted her out. I knew that from here on out, it wasn’t going to be just my body doing the work for me, but that I needed the willpower to get her out. But I didn’t have the urge to push. I asked Constance if I should only push when I had the urge, and she said that I should, but the urge really didn’t come. I moved into a position where I was kneeling and would push down with my hands on my thighs and try to make the urge to push come. I started pushing without the urge. I begged my body for the urge to bear down. Finally the urge came, and hands down was the most terrifying feeling of my entire life. Even though I had hoped and wished so hard for this feeling to come, when it did I felt myself trying so hard to hold it back. I was terrified that literally all of my organs were going to come out. I was beginning to get very tired and would actually be able to fall asleep between contractions. For almost the entire labor I kept my eyes closed, but a few times that I did have them open I would focus on a droplet of water just hanging from my arm, playing a game with myself of whether the droplet would fall first or my contraction would end.

Adam and I recollect that I pushed about a dozen times. After the first half, I did begin to feel tears and knew the ring of fire was coming. I was still in the kneeling position, and Constance encouraged me to get on my knees and use Adam as support, so I put my arms on his shoulders and pushed my head into my mom’s hands. I think I pushed twice this way, and although I felt like I was getting somewhere, I was tearing and it was time to turn over. In this position I felt so out of control because of not having a place to brace my legs to help push.

I knew the end was near when I opened my eyes and saw a stranger in the room. To this point and the best of my knowledge, it had only been myself, Adam, my mom, Constance and Lisa in the birth center. Now there was another person there, not in scrubs, preparing something. I demanded who this person was, and at first no one knew what I was talking about (I began to think I was hallucinating). The woman came over and I saw that she was someone who I had met before at an appointment. She explained that she was the birth assistant and also a midwife.

She helped Constance put on some long gloves so that she can check me, help with the stretching and I think that the baby had to be shifted into a better position. I had asked if she was facing posterior or anterior, she was anterior (I’m sure we would have known earlier because I would have experienced back labor, but all of my labor was felt between my belly button and pubic bone). I asked Constance how many more pushes I had to give, I knew I was so close but with now in the sitting position, facing forward, being impatient and tired (and deep down knowing that I never felt like I had to push but pushed anyways), I just wanted a number. She couldn’t, she said soon, I joked that she always was so qualitative and I wanted quantitative. I asked was it six more times, and she said likely 2-3, maybe even 1-2. This gave me so much encouragement, but again I got scared. I pleaded for her help, and whatever she did, whether it was by physical manipulation or her encouraging eyes, I got the baby’s head out.

I took a small break, asked if it was ok to push the rest of her out, and closed my eyes and out Penelope came.

Immediately she was put on my chest; I saw a baby but didn’t realize who it was. I felt the vernix on my hands, saw and felt a little wiggly body, but still didn’t get it. I looked back at Adam and asked him if this was our daughter, and he joyfully said yes. A small wet towel was placed on her to keep her warm, and Constance asked when I wanted the cord cut. I said that I wanted her to get whatever else she needed to get from it, and we waited a few minutes. The instruments were brought over, and it was determined that someone was to cut it. Adam and I had spoken about this a couple times during the pregnancy, if he was going to cut the cord or catch her, but never came to a decision. Constance ended up catching her, but I asked Adam to cut her cord. It was a very short cord, I could feel that it had to be pulled a little bit to bring the baby to my chest and then some more to get the two clamps on it. I watched Adam very gingerly bring the scissors over, and pause. I asked Constance if the cord has nerves in it, because I knew he was afraid of hurting me or Penelope. It took three snips, and Penelope was now separate from me for the first time in her life. 

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"

Babymoon at Salish Lodge and Spa #seattle

"Just had the best night's rest I have had in YEARS. Must have been the 30 minute mineral soak, 
hour massage and delicious food right before bed, falling asleep to the sound of a crackling fire. 
EVERY pregnant mama deserves this in her 3rd trimester! 
Had an amazing babymoon at Salish Lodge with my handsome hubby"

That was the status update I posted on my personal facebook account after checking out of Salish Lodge and Spa about a week ago. Seriously - blissed out. 

We booked our 3rd trimester babymoon at Salish Lodge and Spa because they offer a special package for expectant parents that in my opinion really hits the mark. Having lived in the Seattle area my whole life, I had heard about how amazing this hotel was; I was not prepared for exactly how true this really was. 

Let's start from the beginning.  As I pulled up into the driveway a valet greeted me, took my bags and parked my car. By the time I reached the lobby (read: waddled), the concierge had my reservation pulled up. I guess the big ole belly gave me away. Minutes later, we were in our room; the bags had beat us there. 

We walked into a gorgeous, tastefully Pacific Northwest themed room that had rose petals spread over the king sized bed, French sparkling cider (read: not Martinellis!) chilling with a little stuffie for our impending bundle. The room also featured a balcony, a set of plush robes and slippers, two closets, a real wood fireplace, a Keurig with coffee and tea amenities. This waterbirth mama specifically drooled over the bathroom - a two person jetted tub with a peek through window that allows you to enjoy the fireplace from the tub. Everything felt so luxurious and relaxing, it was honestly very difficult to leave the following morning after resting in this oasis for a night. 

After we settled in and marveled over this really well appointed room Adam and I met with Greg Prescott, the Rooms Division Manager for a personalized tour of the hotel. Yes, being a blogger has its perks! :) Greg shared some of the most impressive highlights of the hotel as a business and vacation destination for locals and travelers alike.

The hotel has two restaurants on site. While they are extremely different from each other as far as their ambiance, the quality of service remains the same. Their sit down style restaurant is Falls Terrace, which is quiet and very personal. You will find over a thousand wine labels on their list; not kidding. You can order anything from the standard house wine to the once in a lifetime 1950's Bordeaux. Oh, and then there is the best table in the house - which offers 180 degree views of the waterfalls.

One of the many things I loved that Greg shared with us was exactly how connected Salish Lodge is to the Pacific Northwest community and their commitment to sustainability. They work with many local vendors to bring in the freshest, tastiest ingredients and products to their clients, but they're also doing the legwork on one other important part. In 2011 they began a small apiary with 4 beehives. This year they have brought it up to 12 hives and produce 2,400 pounds of organic honey a year. The honey is used throughout the hotel, from their dinner menu and spa, to their private selection of Salish Honey Ale and Salish Honey flavored Vodka and wine. Sweet deliciousness aside, the bees and their honey serve an important role in our environment - locally and globally. 

After our tour we checked into Salish's spa. The babymoon package includes massage treatments for both mama and daddy and I was READY for some relaxation. We first soaked in their two mineral pools - this was the perfect way to start my evening. You mamas know how few and far between quiet, relaxing baths are and this hit the spot. We sipped chocolate orange tea, relaxed to the sound of rushing water from the waterfall (and laughed at just how buoyant I am!) and were gently escorted to our treatment rooms.

I had the Mellow Mama massage (featuring Mama Mio products) and Adam had a relaxing tranquility massage. My therapist propped me and my belly on my side so that I'd be comfortable for the entire hour and got to work immediately. She checked in often to make sure that I was comfortable, but otherwise it was an hour of quiet, deep relaxation and wonderful work on some really tired mama muscles. Lifting and carrying a toddler during your 3rd trimester definitely takes a toll on your body, and it was nice getting those kinks worked out. After our hour apart, we met up in the 'recovery room' with huge, euphoric smiles on our faces. A comment that Adam made was that he was really surprised at how we weren't greasy at all when we came out; our skin had a really easy time absorbing the oils but left us feeling very glowy. 

Massages make this mama hungry so our next stop was a late dinner at The Attic - the second restaurant on the property. Here we found a more relaxed, lounge style atmosphere, where you can choose to sit at a table by the window or in any of their comfortable couches. Their claim to fame here is their wood fire pizza oven. Their pizzas are anything but the standard fare (though you can get a cheese or pepperoni pizza if you want!). We started with their baked clams (which featured chorizo in the broth, Adam insists that I now figure out how to make this at home!).

For dinner I ordered a pear and fig pizza (Salish Honey Fig Spread, Caramelized Onions, Prosciutto, Arugula, Bleu Cheese) and Adam ordered a shaved beef sandwich with a glass of the Honey Ale. Both were prepared to perfection - the dough and bread were soft, the pizza toppings and Adam's sandwich were perfectly paired with each other. Great food is always the perfect setting for the best conversations, in my book. 

We retired to our room, Adam started a cozy fire in their real fireplace (Salish has over 90 wood burning fireplaces!) and we sipped our sparkling cider. Later, I woke up around midnight to realize that we had probably fallen asleep mid-sentence and the fire was still crackling happily away. Big sigh of contentment. 

The next morning I got to do something that I haven't done in years...I sat in their library, sipped tea and read the paper for several hours, in front of yet another fire. 

Was this all a dream or did it really happen? Thankfully I have photographic evidence to prove that indeed, it did. If I can be promised a babymoon like this every time I'm pregnant, sign me up for 10 more kids please!

The biggest impression that Adam and I left with when checking out was how Salish Lodge and Spa proactively seeks the continuous improvement of their guests' experience. No, I didn't copy that from their website - that's straight from my genius husband's mouth. In addition to the connection that Salish Lodge has with its community to keep business local and provide sustainability, the guest leaves the hotel feeling like they were truly cared for during their stay. Everything was thought of ahead of time, down to having a screen door on your balcony so that you can sleep with the doors open on a summer night. What hotel thinks of that?

A few tips for you if you plan on staying at the lodge...

• Purposefully forget your laptop, tablet, whatever at home. They do offer free wifi, but seriously. Check out.
• Bring a camera to see the falls.
• Plan to spend a lot of time in your room. Even if you don't schedule anything in their spa, the rooms come in at a close second for relaxation. 
• Visit their Country Store. It's cute, has a ton of their honey products, you can take home a bottle of their Honey Ale beer or signature wine and a good variety of other things.
• Show up for their morning beverage service and afternoon tea and cookies in The Library. The fire will be stoked and ready for you :)
• Come midweek - my biggest tip. We stayed on a Monday night and it felt like we had everything to ourselves. We got to choose the best seats in The Attic and there weren't many tourists at the Falls when I went for a hike the next morning. 

What to expect with their signature babymoon package:

• Rose petals, sparkling cider and baby gift
• Special pregnancy pillow for the mother-to-be, to be enjoyed during her stay
• Two 50-minute Salish Signature spa treatments of the couple's choice (I had the Mellow Mama)
• $50 dining credit in The Attic

All in all, Seattle friends, this is one place where you do need to stay at least once - don't mistake this for "just another a tourist retreat!"

Find out more about Salish Lodge and Spa

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Disclosure: Thank you, Salish Lodge and Spa for hosting my babymoon through accommodation, meals and massage. All opinions are my own, though I wouldn't share about this amazing hotel if I didn't think you'd love it as much as we did!