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

Thankful for YOU! / Smiling Tree Toys Giveaway

This post was originally part of the Thankful for our Followers Giveaway Hop

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2 years ago, I began the journey of taking my blog to the next level. When I started this blog in February of 2012, my goal was to keep an online journal / baby book for Penny. After a few months of writing about topics that were important to me, I saw my stats and numbers increasing!  As an attachment and natural parent, I found that my parenting style was supported and influenced by bloggers sharing their experiences and I wanted to be a part of that. There were so many occasions where I doubted my gut and instincts because what I was doing wasn't always the way my friends and family did. I never got harsh judgement, mind you, but I would get such relief when I'd find a blog post, written by another blogger, talking about and justifying some of the choices I was making.  This experience drove me to also become a source for moms in their journey.

One of the first businesses that I worked with was Smiling Tree Toys! I approached Kathleen because I loved the esthetic of wooden toys and their approach to providing all natural, safe products for families. We worked together on my first review and giveaway - Penny's first Christmas ornament! It was only fitting to work together again on Ruby's first Christmas ornament too.

I'm happy to see that even after two years, the quality and craftsmanship with Smiling Tree Toys remains the same, even though the popularity of the business grows! The ornaments (as well as any of the other wooden products in their shop) are created from sustainably harvested American Maple trees and finished with their homegrown Camelina oil and beeswax. These ornaments will be heirloom pieces for my girls; that will be hung on Christmas trees for many decades past my time and enjoyed by future generations of my family. And I think that's root of Smiling Trees Toys goal too - to create products that will be enjoyed for years and years while being respectful to our Earth and honoring the gifts it gives.

Smiling Tree Toys is expanding their product line this season - in addition to ornaments, rattles, balancing toys, wooden blocks, wooden musical instruments(and so much more!), they are launching Smiling Tree Home. Keep an eye on their facebook for more teasers and information!

Keep up with Smiling Tree Toys 

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Disclosure: I received product in exchange for my honest review, no other compensation was provided.

Joanna Monger Photography: Greater Seattle area Photographer

You know that quiet awkwardness you sometimes see in portraits? How your smile is strained, your eyes are just a little fake and your entire posture is so stiff and unnatural? That's because you're trying to show a very personal side of yourself to a complete stranger. Portraits are hard work! 

Shortly after Ruby was born, I had the pleasure of working with Joanna Monger, of Joanna Monger Photography, to take our family portraits. I was a little worried as I was preparing for this event. To call Penny "shy" in new situations is a severe understatement. She was at a very insecure stage; she would cling to me and completely shut down in new situations.  I knew that it would show in a picture that she's uncomfortable. Her comfort level was extremely important to me, but getting a family picture with our new addition was too. I knew this was going to be a very difficult task.

Joanna and I met in January when she was at the tail end of her pregnancy with her second son and I was in my 3rd trimester with Ruby. We initially started out meeting for coffee but ended up at the local burger joint - what a sight we two pregnant gals must have been! We chatted for a couple hours about our two businesses and how we anticipate the addition of second children would be. Not too long after our meeting, she had her precious little boy and a few months later Ruby followed suit.

Ruby was a fresh 13 days old when we visited Joanna at her home studio. In addition to the challenge of getting my toddler to be at ease for the photo shoot, we asked Joanna for the trifecta of a photography session - newborn, sister and a family portrait session all into one sitting. We approached our appointment with caution and hoped for just one great photo. Just one is all I ask for!

As soon as we arrived I could tell that Penny wasn't completely at ease. Her eyes roamed around Joanna's studio, eagerly searching for something to play with. Joanna quickly brought out necklaces, boas and a toddler sized rocking chair. She got down to Penny's level and simply introduced herself. Imagine my shock at how quickly Penny warmed up to her! Words couldn't describe how much it meant to me that this woman knew exactly what to do. It has to be a mom thing, because within a few minutes Penny saw the environment as comfortable and safe...and as we all know, if the toddler is happy - everyone is happy!

Getting along with Joanna was so easy, and that clearly shows in her photography. You can see the genuine smile on our faces - because even our eyes are happy. She caught so many wonderful moments in our studio session and my entire family was comfortable while she was working with us.  Joanna also made sure that I was getting the breaks that I needed to either sit down or nurse Ruby, and took advantage of the few minutes of just Adam and Penny to take very sweet Father/Daughter portraits too.

When it was time for Ruby's newborn session, we sent Adam and Penny home so that we don't have to worry about keeping the toddler content and quiet. I gave my new little lovebug a nice top off of milk and attempted to get her into that sleepy newborn state that everyone loves for their newborn photography.

...Well, Miss Ruby had other ideas. She wasn't letting me put her down so that we could take adorable swaddled poses! Eeek! After a few attempts with only being able to catch a millisecond of snooze time, Joanna suggested that we try taking some pictures of her nestled in my arms. Those pictures ended up being my favorite...

It's so hard to believe that this tiny little girl is now 4 months old and is rolling around, pulling toys to her mouth and will be sitting up before I know it. Looking back at these precious images reminds me just how fleeting these moments are. Thanks Joanna! 

If you're in the greater Seattle area, don't wait! Joanna offers several styles of photography to fit what you're looking for. She offers maternity, glamour/boudoir, family, studio or in home sessions for newborn portraits, and she's currently booking 2015 seniors (better hurry!). She also has a fun "Baby's First Year" program, which documents their first year with sessions as a newborn, 6 month and 12 month old. 

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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. 

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.

Baby Birthday Trend: Tips for the First Birthday Cake Smash Photo Shoot

When your baby turned (or will turn) one, did you do the celebratory cake smash?

Penny's cake smash was a two part event. The first part was at a photo shoot in a portrait studio, the second part was the real thing at her birthday party a few days later. 

Here's a recap of her first birthday party

For her first shoot there was no holding her back. She wanted that cupcake and I'm thankful that the photographer was ready because this girl was lightning quick. The second time around she looked at the cupcake for a lot longer and it actually took some encouragement from us to get her to eat it. 

Here are some tips on how to prepare for a successful cake smash, whether you do it at home or in a studio.

1. Keep contrasting colors in mind. Just like any other photoshoot, you want to make sure that the focus of your picture doesn't melt into the background. So if your (cup)cake has white frosting, go for a contrasting color of shirt. Or better yet, go diaper only (cloth diapering mamas like me get excited when we get to coordinate an outfit with diaper color!). Try to keep backgrounds not too busy either.

2. Have that camera ready! It's a good idea to have help when preparing to take pictures of your little one go after their first baked sweet. If your child is like Penny, they will lunge at that cupcake as soon as you set it down. Tag team the occasion by having whoever is more comfortable with the camera taking pictures while the other manages the birthday baby.

3. Clean up crew: If you are doing your shoot at home, buy a disposable table cloth (again, remembering contrasting colors) to place baby and cake on top of. This way once it's all done you don't even have to mop up (too much). You can also do the cake smash in a high chair. Have some baby wipes at the ready to help with sticky hands that can make their way into little eyes. 

Pin this infographic on the simple 4 step process to baking a birthday smash cake with Betty Crocker.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. 

You can find tons of fun ways to make a birthday smash cake on the Betty Crocker website.

What's up with The Pierogie Babies?

I used to be so good about keeping up with Penny updates on at least a monthly basis.. But then as soon as her baby book switched from monthly updates to annual, my updates here sort of fell off the radar.

So the last update was in June -  15 months. And she's going to be 19 months old next week. And I'm 17 weeks pregnant with #2. Oy. So here's some things going on in Penny's life and an update on the pregnancy.

TV Friends:
Until very recently, Elmo was Penny's BFF. At the start of my pregnancy when I was laid out on the couch, we spent an embarrassing amount of time watching Sesame Street. I'm ok with it. It was a short period of time and regardless of what others may say - I think there is definitely a level of educational value in watching certain shows for children. Especially for one who is at home with mama 24/7 and does not interact with other children terribly often. Which we're changing.

Penny very quickly grew attached to "Elvo" (which graduated to "Elbo" and is now officially pronounced "ELLLLLLLLLLL MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!") and it was the easiest way for me to catch a snooze for about 45 minutes and just try to get through the first trimester yuckies.

Then when we moved into our new house and we didn't have cable for a couple weeks, I pulled out a dvd called "Juno Baby: Indie's Teddy Bear Hunt" that I had bought before she was born. It's won some Emmys for original musical performance and whatnot, which having been a music major in a past life I have an appreciation for. The voices are annoying comical but now she asks for "kitty!" in the morning instead of her beloved Elmo. She's caught on to a few things from the movie that are absolutely adorable (popping out from behind a curtain and saying "Boo!" or dancing along with classical music) so I tolerate the silly voices and use that time to catch up throughout the house.

Favorite Foods:
This girl LOVES apples. She's gotten really good at demolishing an entire large apple on her own. I prefer to at least peal off the skin for her, but most days she doesn't mind and will literally gnaw the entire thing away if I let her. This is something that has come in handy during road trips. Other favorites include hummus, peanut butter, yogurt, french bread, peas, roasted butternut squash mixed with applesauce, slices of Parmesan cheese, crepes with spiced pear sauce and pistachios.

Activities: 
Putting coins in her piggy bank (which she calls "monies")
Hide and seek
Throwing the ball for Squirt
Reading books with Daddy before bedtime
Organizing / moving things around
Not favorite: grocery shopping. Not in the least bit.

Talking:
In addition to the few words that I already mentioned, she can say -
'pretty' = flowers
'bunny'
'ohh nooo!'
'sheeeze' = cheese
'yum - yum' = food
'juice'
'wirsty' = thirsty
'uh-cooo' =  uncle
'a-teees' = auntie
'gack' = cousin Jack and 'zeeekeeys' = cousin Zeke - her two cousins that she sees most often
'bay-zha' = Babcia and 'vovo' = Vovo, her maternal grandparents

New animal sounds: owl, bee, monkey, elephant, train (choot-choot), sheep, and we're working on saying the words 'goat' and 'goose.' She can point out a ton of different animals, even after only showing her once.
Then she's got this word that seems to be a catch all and it seriously sounds like she's saying bourgeois.

MOPS
Something new that I've signed us up for is the MOPS group at a church close to us. I've wanted to do MOPS with her forever, but the living situation over the last year made me disinterested in making the effort in joining a group, making friends and then possibly moving away. I'm such an introvert sometimes. But once we bought this house I knew we were going to put down roots. So last week we went to our first MOPS meeting and Penny spent her first 2 hours being watched by a stranger. I had zero worries. With #2 on the way, it's important to me that she can branch out socially with other kids and be ok with not having an immediate family member always being the one to watch her. We also want to start going back to church regularly so that'll be another opportunity for her to be independent and make new friends. And she did so well. She was one girl with 12 boys (story of her life - she's surrounded by boy cousins too!) and was really good with sharing.

In regards to my experience at MOPS, I felt so welcomed and supported. Our table has 8 women and 3 of us are pregnant. Each mom had at least 2 kids and at least one of them is within Penny's age range too. I feel so blessed to get the opportunity to know these women and draw on their experiences as moms. I am really looking forward to next week's meeting.

Quick other updates:
As I've mentioned before, Penny sleeps alone in her room in her big girl bed. The transition has been both easy and hard. Easy in the sense that she never woke up in the middle of the night terrified and wanting to return to our bed. Hard because she wakes sometimes 4 times per night just wanting a back rub. And her wake up time is between 5:30-6a when she wants to nurse...and unfortunately I am in the stage of my pregnancy where my supply is almost non-existent. I've started giving her raw whole milk throughout the day and making sure that she gets a really good, high calorie snack before bed time to help her through the night. But the morning routine is tough because I'm battling being tired due to the pregnancy and waking up throughout the night and she gets frustrated about the lack of milk. It's something we're working on figuring out.

And then there's the topic of Penny's hair. Yes, I am making a specific comment about her hair! The poor girl is so fair haired and it's taken her almost the full 19 months for her to have any hair to speak of. Now she's got this cute little plume / faux hawk going on and even has some hair over the collar of her shirt. Bring on the hair clips!

Pierogie #2
Admittedly I haven't had too much to say about this baby on the blog yet. The second trimester has been so low key and until recently I've felt 'pre-pregnant.' But now that bump has appeared and gets in my way at night so it's starting to feel very real now.

I had my 17 week appointment with the midwife this week and this was the second appointment where we heard the heartbeat. I've felt little bumps in the last couple weeks but with the Doppler pressed up against me I was able to feel a few more profound kicks. Baby's heart rate was in the 150's, as was Penny's.

We scheduled our ultrasound for October 9th and will be hosting a laid-back gender reveal party on the 13th with our family and close friends. It'll be a mix of reveal, house warming and just a plain old get together.

And that's what's going on with these Pierogie babies!

The Maternity Sash: The process of one year

Ahh the wonders of Pinterest. I love looking there for inspiration, don't you? I was newly introduced to Pinterest when planning for my maternity shoot (thanks to the wonderful Theresa at TC Photography) and was able to find quite a few ideas that I loved and that my photographer helped me recreate.

One of the sweetest ideas I came across was the maternity sash. You can find beautiful versions on Etsy, but I opted for the DIY route. One of my manifestations of nesting was becoming a little crafty.  We were in the process of moving so I didn't have a way to put that energy towards a baby room, which wouldn't have been necessary anyways because even at a year we still bed-share.

So I visited my local craft store, used a few tutorials on fabric flowers and put together my own maternity sash!

The end result - a sash that I used for belly, newborn and one year old pictures. Who knows? Maybe it'll stick around for many of Penny's other milestones. Adam would like to put the kibosh on that because he thinks the feathers are gaudy, but I thought they were quite cute!

P.S. - I miss those little squishy cheeks so much!

Did you use a prop throughout your baby's growth to keep a theme going?

The fastest year of my life: Penny is 1 year old

Welcome to Post #101!

Little Pennypot-

Yes, I am 11 days late in writing you your 1st year birthday letter. Oops! You already know how busy mama and daddy's life is, but I promise you that all this moving around is the path that we're working on to get us into the perfect home and perfect job for daddy. We just have to be patient. Luckily you love exploring new places so this new home has been a total adventure for you.

It seems like just yesterday that we brought you home. You were so small! As your mama I accepted you wholly for who you were, but looking back now it is simply unbelievable how perfectly portioned you were.

Every time I look at this picture of you at a mere 48 hours old, I'm astounded by how different yet the same you look.  Every time I look at this picture, I am reminded of the very sudden waves of different emotions I had during those first two days. Utter and complete love. Fear, as your weight was dropping and I was so afraid of losing you (your dad did a great job at diffusing those fears, reminding me how strong you and I are). Admiration. Your smell. Literally intoxicating.  I should also mention that for the first probably 6 weeks of your life you were usually only dressed in a diaper and wrapped in a snugly "luly." I preferred the skin on skin contact and honestly..was just too tired to dress you.

Looking at you now, still a short little cutie pie but in a very independent toddler frame.  It was only a short while ago where all you needed was to lay snuggled inside of me, and later n my arms. Although we don't spend as much time laying together, it's become more special because now you search out mama or daddy's embrace.

Sweet Penelope, I never knew love until I met you. Love was stirred in my heart in ways it never has before, I never understood the depths of commitment or selflessness until I had you to care for. You were, are, the perfect reason to remember why every day is so precious.

Some of my most cherished memories in the past year..

• watching your daddy pat you to sleep on his chest to the tune of "Sweet Child of Mine" in your first couple weeks.
• the first time we shared a laugh together.
• you crawling around calling for mama or dada.
• the way you play ball with Squirty.
• as a newborn, how your cheeks would droop so low (almost to your shoulders) when you were so ready for a nap. You never cried for your naps, you just got very quiet, still, contemplative and droopy.
• how you know exactly what the Boppy represents and how quickly you come clambering over to me, demolishing everything in your path to get to me as quickly as possible!
• the look of recognition when you see your grandparents, uncles and aunts, and cousins.
• how absolutely tickled pink you used to be when you saw this silly chicken keychain that played the Chicken Dance.
• the certain icy blue your eyes turn when you are just about to fall asleep.
• how you wake up happy and with a clean slate every day. It's something I aspire to do too.