I have beautiful, amazing children. Also, I am learning how to French braid.

Now I must go feed a baby who is not sleeping well tonight.

Joel's Birth Story

So, this is a very lengthy post. I'm not apologizing for that, because I, personally, love it when people share every detail of a birth story. If you don't love that, I guess you'll have to skim it! Wish I had more pictures, though. :)

Journal entry excerpt from Sunday, October 9, 2011:

Our baby was born today at 3:40. He’s 7 lbs 14 oz and 19 inches. He is beautiful and perfect.

On Saturday, I began noticing contractions in the morning. They were crampy and low in my back; they didn’t feel like the Braxton-Hicks I’d been having for weeks. I tried not to get excited, since it was only three days after my due date, but yeah, right. Of course I was excited! I did everything I could think of (within reason) to keep those contractions coming. I timed a few, but they really weren’t very close together or regular. However, they didn’t ever stop completely.

Anthony called his mom to let her know something might be happening (she was our plan for watching Hazel, and since she lives an hour away, she’d need some advance warning). I called my mom, too. We decided to do the things we’d planned for the day, which was mostly errands. In Costco I had a couple of contractions that made me want to stop walking and lean on Anthony, so I did. After that, I just wanted to get out of there, go home and rest.

That evening, it seemed like probably nothing was happening that day, but we remained optimistic. We took advantage of the nice weather and took Hazel out to our apartment complex’s playground, figuring it might be her last evening as an only child. We had lots of fun together.

Sunday morning I continued to have the same kind of contractions as the day before. (I think they slacked off a lot overnight; I actually got to sleep pretty well (minus trips to the bathroom, of course)). They were hurting a bit more, though, and were a bit closer together and longer. I started recording after breakfast, and they were 3-5 minutes apart. Even before that, while I was getting ready for the day, I realized I wouldn’t be able to go to church—I couldn’t sit still and pay attention, no way!

After an hour of recording these contractions (which I was mostly dealing with by leaning over and swaying), I called the midwife. While I was waiting for my call back, I got a couple of big gaps in contractions, so she suggested I wait for a while of closer ones to come back before coming in. They picked up again (for another hour), I called again, and at noon-ish, we left for the hospital.

Anthony’s mom arrived very quickly, because she was working that day. She lives an hour away, but commutes to her workplace which is roughly ten minutes from our home, so this turned out really well.

Contractions slowed down again when we left, but I was glad, because that meant I only had three in the car—it was hard being in the car where I couldn’t lean and sway! I had to just close my eyes and breathe.

When we got there, I had to get monitored in triage for a bit before being admitted. I was worried about that because contractions were so much harder to deal with leaning back. My nurse (Lisa), however, very kindly put the bed all the way upright for me so I was sitting up. After a little bit, my midwife (Wendy) came in, did a cervical check, and said I was at 5-6 cm. Great! No question of being sent home. I had been a bit concerned about that as well, because although I had had several contractions just walking from the car to the hospital, I had had hardly any (or maybe none) while hooked up to the monitor.

We went to a labor room and did some paperwork and stuff. I really liked Lisa. She told me she’s had a couple of homebirths, and you can bet I loved hearing that! I was disappointed to learn that the hospital policy mandates continuous monitoring after 6 cm, since one of the things I liked about these midwives was that they usually do intermittent, but oh well. They had wireless, waterproof monitors, and I didn’t have an IV, so we were already better off than the last time. :) Also, after a bit of monitoring and the contraction belt kept flipping up, Lisa thought of something the hospital had some samples of, and brought in this knit tube that went all the way around my belly. It worked much better, and was more comfortable, too! Lisa was hilarious, joking with me about how I could take it home after and use it as a miniskirt. (Earlier, noticing the blood pressure cuff was disposable, I’d asked if that meant I could take it home. She’d never had anyone ask that before, but said that I could.) I really enjoyed Lisa’s banter throughout. Also, she and Wendy were just great about not doing stuff during a contraction.

I walked around a bit or sat on my ball, but I didn’t get in the bed. At one point, I expressed a slight worry that my contractions weren’t very close together, and Wendy advised me to walk around—I wanted the contractions, after all! She was right (sigh). I stayed in the room and walked around. Wendy and Lisa weren’t there most of the time, which was fine. I would lean over on whatever was nearby during a contraction, and after a bit, Anthony got into a routine of noticing this and coming over to do some counterpressure on my lower back, which helped a lot. During the gaps in between I felt totally fine, but the contractions were pretty intense and hard. I think being out of bed helped a lot, though—I felt like a normal person when I wasn’t actually contracting. I should note that I wasn’t wearing a hospital gown; I was wearing a pretty, dark blue nightgown that I brought specifically to labor in. I think that helped with the feeling like a normal person. We were pretty relaxed. Anthony had some of the free ice cream and chocolate milk. I had Powerade.

After a couple of hours, Wendy checked me and I was 6-7 cm. She said something about not being able to read me very well, because she wouldn’t have guessed when I first came in that I was already a 6! I guess I was pretty calm. She suggested trying the tub, and I thought that was a good idea. She got it filled, and I got in. It felt great. Anthony kept me company, and we decided that we should have brought bubble bath, and also that the hospital should market its birth center as “spa-like” instead of “home-like.” At least a spa is an institution; they might have a chance imitating that! I had a few pretty hard contractions in the tub (about four). The water didn’t seem to help much during the contractions themselves, but it did allow me to be relaxing on my back in between while flipping over during. (It was a nice deep tub.) There was also the downside that Anthony couldn’t reach my back for counterpressure.

After half an hour, I felt like I needed to poop, so I got out. I’ve read enough birth stories that I knew things were probably pretty far along. But on the off chance that I really did just need to use the bathroom, I wanted to be able to get back in the tub after! (As I sat on the toilet, Anthony was a bit worried—I suppose I’ve told him too many stories about women who think they need to poop and then they realize the baby is coming out…) Sure enough, I didn’t actually need to have a bowel movement (but no baby was falling out, either (unfortunately, sigh…)). I did notice some blood when I wiped, though, and even thought I wasn’t alarmed, asked Anthony to call for the nurse. Lisa came, and said it was the mucous plug. I hadn’t thought it would be so big, or so deep red (since I never saw Hazel’s), but now I know. :)

I let Lisa know that I was feeling some rectal pressure but there was no actual bowel movement. She got Wendy, and I stayed out of the tub. Now I was wearing just my sports bra, monitors/sleeve, and a slightly wet blanket draped over the rest of me.

Anthony was still giving me counterpressure, and I asked him to leave his hands there between contractions, because the back pain wasn’t really letting up between them. Wendy wanted to check me, so I climbed onto the bed. I tried to wait until after a contraction, but had one during the check anyway. It was so hard to be on my back for contractions! I was a nine. When I started getting off the bed, I ended up on my hands and knees, facing the foot of the bed. Wendy asked if I’d like to push on hands and knees (we’d discussed my wish to push not on my back at a prenatal appointment). It seemed like a good idea, and I knew I’d be pushing very soon. She requested that I turn around so she’d have better access. I managed to do that. There was no break in the contractions now. They adjusted the bed so that the head was higher than the foot, to be helpful, but I just didn’t care. This way was no better or worse than flat.

After a little bit, I shifted onto my (right) side. I can’t really remember why, except maybe I was just trying to find a position that didn’t hurt. (It didn’t work.) I remember they were asking if I’d like the bed flat now, but I really didn’t. The incline was nice.

Wendy checked me and said there was no cervix left. Then there was a little discussion about delivering on my side. (It didn’t really seem like I was part of it—I felt really far away.) I could, but Anthony would have to stop counterpressure in favor of holding up my upper leg. I decided to go back on my hands and knees, because I did not want to give up that counterpressure! I was trying really hard to stay relaxed, particularly in my jaw and hips area. (I had been trying to do this during contractions all along, whenever I thought of it, but really focused on it now.)

My memory is a little hazy after this point. Pushing began, and I remember that it felt like it was taking forever. It hurt like crazy. I was making a lot of noise. I tried to make some of my noises low-pitched (I’ve read something about deep noises being helpful), but mostly was just (in Anthony’s words) moaning and wailing. There was no relief. I remember pushing being satisfying with Hazel—that didn’t happen this time. Wendy was using warm compresses down below and encouraging me to “push toward the heat.” Anthony was still pressing on my back. The pain I was feeling was overwhelming. People were saying nice, encouraging things, but I was not really listening. I had turned very inward and was concentrating so hard on getting this over, getting him out. I was pushing as hard as I could with every urge, and it felt like I wasn’t making any progress. At one point I felt his head come out what seemed like most of the way, but I couldn’t get it out on that push, so it slipped back in, and I felt something like despair.

I guess it must have been on the next push that I pushed even harder—I felt like I was tearing all over the place down there and was a bit disappointed in the back of my mind (I’d had a fantasy that I wouldn’t tear at all). I felt the head come out. Anthony started telling me he could see parts of the baby (“I can see his ear!” et cetera). I was momentarily disappointed to hear his assessment of the progress, because I thought the whole head was out, but I just kept pushing. (Later, Anthony explained that the whole head was out, but since he was still pressing on my back, he didn’t have the best view, what with my bottom being in the way and all.) Then I had to push his body out, and it was so hard, and then the rest of him slid out, and I felt so much better!

Someone told me to turn on my back so I could hold my baby. Shockingly, I had forgotten all about the baby. I had been so focused on getting the head out that I hadn’t been thinking about the fact that the head in fact belonged to a baby. But I was happy to find being on my back seemed like a great idea, and I flipped over and Wendy handed me my baby, with the cord stretching uncomfortably between my legs (it was kind of a short one).

Then he was in my arms. People were tucking blankets around us and adjusting the bed. I held him close to keep him warm. He had a lot of dark hair, which I felt an irresistible impulse to kiss over and over. I decided to see if he wanted to nurse. He didn’t seem interested yet (and it was hard to pull my tight sports bra out of the way), so we just cuddled a bit more. I couldn’t get enough of my baby. At some point, Wendy told me she thought the placenta was detached and asked me to bear down to push it out. It was weird to try pushing without any urge, but I got it out after a couple of tries. Anthony wasn’t interested in cutting the cord, and I wasn’t paying any attention, but I know they delayed at least a bit.

(I found out that my water broke while I was pushing. Also, that feeling like everything was ripping as I pushed him out? I had no tears at all. Just three small scrapes. An intact perineum. Wow. Pushing, that seemingly endless agony, took six minutes. Dang.)

I’m not sure how long we stayed like this, but after a while, a nurse asked if I was ready for him to be weighed. I considered it and decided I was. I handed him over, and Anthony went with him (it was just across the room, but still). Lisa helped me take off my bra and get a gown on, and she and another nurse changed the bloody/wet stuff under me. The baby was 7 lbs, 14.2 oz, the exact same weight, down to the decimal point, as Hazel. When they brought him back, we were ready to be skin to skin. They gave him a Vitamin K shot and eye ointment. At some point, Wendy had given me a shot of Pitocin in my leg to prevent bleeding.

Everyone cleared out and it was just me, Anthony, and the baby. I tried out nursing again, and he latched.

I am so happy with how this birth went. It was, in my opinion, a perfect (realistic) birth. Labor started on its own (and on a three-day weekend during which my mother-in-law was closer than usual (to watch Hazel)). Anthony was with me for my entire labor (see: three-day weekend). Our timing on getting to the hospital was good (no transition in the car, no getting sent home for being in too early of labor). Contractions were manageable until the very end (I think transition (defining transition as nonstop contractions) and pushing took no more than thirty minutes total). I had a midwife and nurse who I trusted and who treated me with respect. I had practically no interventions. I pushed on my hands and knees, the position that seemed best to me at the time. I didn’t tear! I held my baby right away, and no one acted like they had a right to take him from me. And along with this amazing experience, Joel and I were both totally healthy at the end. Every time I think about Joel’s birth, I feel so grateful.

My recovery was lots better than the first one; no induction, no narcotics, no tearing, and giving birth in the afternoon instead of midnight really helped a lot. And I’d like to note that while I still had a pretty sizable belly afterward, I didn’t feel as negative about it this time. I just kind of wanted to pamper it. I mean, wow! My body is so amazing! I can do wonderful things.

Hi again

So, most of my posts on this blog seem to consist of me writing about how long it's been since I blogged, here's an update, et cetera. Well, I think I'm just going to quit doing that. I'll write if I have time/something to write about/I think of it. Just expect the long gaps in between! (I'm sure you already do anyway!)

Aaaanyway. I had a baby (on Sunday, October 9 at 3:40 PM, weighing 7lbs 14oz). His name is Joel Alexander, and he is adorable. I'm going to post his birth story sometime. I have it written down, and I don't know when I'll get to typing it!

On to pictures.

Hazel meeting Joel for the first time.

Hazel loves her little brother. She is very gentle and sweet with him. One thing I love is that she always gives him a kiss on the head and a "'il hug" at bedtime.

Joel before his bath at the hospital.

Not a day old yet, and so cute. :)

Going home from the hospital.

It took so long to leave that hospital. I'm so glad we managed not to spend more than one night there! It was impossible to sleep in that place.

Hazel nursing her doll.

I admit, I was hoping for this! I love it. How cute to have my little girl practicing taking care of babies. Being such a big believer in breastfeeding, it's gratifying that she's learning that this is a normal, good way to feed a baby.

Hazel the ghost.

Hazel started saying "Boo!" after baths (when wrapped in a white towel, looking like a ghost) a couple of months ago. Halloween costume dilemma solved. Yay for easy costumes!

Joel's first non-sponge bath.

Just this past Friday, Joel had his first real bath. I was concerned that it would be horrible for him, because Hazel really hated baths for the first while. But he loved it. He was calm and smiling (yes, he is already a smiler!) the whole time. Until we got him out. Poor guy; it's sad to be a cold, wet baby!

Joel at four weeks.

Since we didn't like the official hospital newborn pictures, we finally did our own photoshoot this Sunday. He just keeps getting cuter. :)

I love having two babies. It's hard, of course, but we're all adjusting pretty well. Joel is usually a good nighttime sleeper, and that definitely helps. Hazel is learning to share her parents, and I'm learning...a lot of things.

Flowers! Fish! Babies!

Hazel has been making this connection lately: flowers! fish! babies! What do these things have in common? Can you guess?

...

Time's up!

Answer: they all live in water.

I am impressed that she has assimilated this information. She has known that fish live in water for a long time. Recently, Anthony gave me flowers, and Hazel is fascinated with them--especially the fact that they are in water. Noticing this preoccupation with things that are in water, I thought she'd be interested to know that babies live in water when they are inside their mommy. And boy, was she! She latched right on to that little fact and has been announcing the connection ever since.By the way, aren't these flowers gorgeous? He specifically got lisianthus, because he knows I love the beautiful purple.

Yes, it's true.

I am pregnant.

Sorry for never answering your question, Elizabeth! I wasn't ready to tell everyone yet, and I thought I was being crafty by saying the maternity top was something I didn't finish during my last pregnancy. That was true, by the way. I just somehow didn't notice that by saying "last pregnancy" I was definitely implying that there was more than one...

Did you notice seemingly diminished brainpower during pregnancy? Because I feel like that's happening sometimes.

So, we had an early ultrasound just before ten weeks (I am eleven weeks today), and as you can see, there's a baby in there. Pretty cute, too. We saw him or her kicking on the screen. Awww!

I am due October 5th.

Great Escapes

Hazel got out of her crib somehow today. I do not know precisely how, but she was not particularly happy about it. If she continues to do that, we will have to take the mattress out of her crib so she can sleep on the floor, and see if she ever sleeps at night ever again.

That is all.

Hazel the big girl

I looked back to when I last blogged regularly, and it was before Hazel had even turned one! She has changed dramatically since then. She could already walk at that point, but now she wouldn't dream of being content with just walking. She climbs on stuff, runs around, dances, and is so physically adept that she amazes me. She is not content to sit in the front seat of a cart at the store for long any more; she demands to get down and walk. When she walks, I don't have to slow down for her. (Of course, I am a bit of a slow walker anyway, but still. She doesn't even slow Anthony down much.)

Her talking is also advancing well. She talks all the time, uses several words that anyone could understand (cookie! jewelry!), many more that only I understand (bik-bik=blanket; osh=wash), and often lets loose strings of garbled speech that I don't quite get (on one of her phones, more often than not).

She loves to play pretend. She feeds her animals and her doll, wraps them in blankets, and brushes their hair and teeth. It's so cute!

She's becoming extremely girly. She loves jewelry. She loves to look in the mirror after I decorate her head with a bow or flower, and we admire how beautiful she is. She loves shoes (and socks, but that's a family trait as well!).

A picture to wrap up. This was our Nativity pageant we held this past Christmas. As you can see, Hazel is Mary, while her doll is the baby Jesus. Her lion, elephant, bear, duck, and chicken are playing the parts of the farm animals. Anthony was the donkey Hazel got to ride on. She didn't really get it, but it was fun anyway!

Catching up

So, I have not blogged for a while. Naturally, this is not because nothing has been happening in my life. Here's a quick list of what's up:

1. Hazel is getting interested in potty training. Two weeks ago, she wanted to sit on the potty before her bath (which we often encourage, but she's never actually GONE). And she pooped. It was amazing. We gave her candy.

Since then, she has both peed and pooped several times (in the potty), but pretty much just when she feels like it. I'm not sure that I want to put in the effort to officially potty train her when she is this young, since her bladder control may not be good enough to succeed yet. I just don't know if I'm ready to deal with lots of accidents!


2. I've been doing a fair bit of sewing. I made covers for my sewing machines, embroidered some decorations on a maternity top that I never finished during my last pregnancy, and made a vest. I'm pretty proud of the vest, because it didn't fit well when I was done. So I took it in in a few places, and it's actually flattering now!

3. I've gotten on an organizing kick. There was a Relief Society conference thingy this past weekend with a mini session on decluttering, and that just sounded like such a good idea, with us moving in a few months. So for three days now I've been sorting through everything we own systematically, and I'm getting rid of lots of stuff, and organizing the rest of it. It is very refreshing and satisfying!

4. Anthony is almost done with the project part of his master's thesis. For those of you who don't know, for computer science, the project is the really big part, and the write-up afterward is just to show what you've done. And possibly get published. Anyway. It's a big stinkin' deal that he's almost done programming, and I am very proud. :)

Going Crazy

Yesterday, I thought I was going crazy.

I kept seeing flies in the house (remember those maggots? Guess we didn't get them all...). That wasn't the crazy part. They were slow and very easy to kill. Also, they were only by the back door, staring at the pretty light of the outdoors.

No, the crazy part was, after killing a couple, I couldn't find the flyswatter. There was another fly, and I wanted to render it dead, but the flyswatter was not where it goes. That was weird. I remembered getting it down from the top of the cabinet, taking it out of its plastic bag, killing the flies, and then putting away the swatter before dealing with the dead flies. I knew I must have at least put it in its bag, because it wasn't on the kitchen floor where I left it.

But it wasn't on top of the cabinet. I got out a chair to look. Nope. Definitely not there. I looked next to the trash can. Not there. I looked IN the trash can. Nope. I tried in the cabinet, and over by the back door, and all the various crevices in the living room and kitchen. Nope, nope, nope.

Where on EARTH did I put that thing?! And why couldn't I remember? Was I losing my mind?

So I gave up. I didn't know where else to look, and I figured I could do something more productive, or at least more interesting, with my time.

When Anthony got home, I told him about my adventure with the flyswatter. We both started looking. We looked everywhere (except Hazel's room, because she was sleeping when it happened. I'd like to think I'd remember going in her room...). Still no swatter. We decided to just leave it be, because we needed to go shopping before Hazel's bedtime.

What was HAPPENING to me? Was I really that scatterbrained?

Later that evening, after the baby was sleeping, Anthony tried looking on top of the cabinet again. Instead of just standing on the chair, he climbed on the counter catti-corner to the cabinet and actually got his head above it.

He said, "Denise, I found the flyswatter." (Or something like that, it's not like I have a stenographer recording everything that happens around here, okay?)

When this apartment was built, someone decided it would be a good idea to place a cabinet a couple of inches away from the wall. They thought, "hm, better wall that in on the front, so it looks better." However, they also thought it would be a great idea to leave a gap on the top of the cabinet.


Well, frankly, I don't agree. Not at all.

We still haven't quite decided how to try to get it out of the pit. The only thing we've thought of involves yarn and the hook part of a plastic clothes hanger. Any ideas?

**********************

If you came here hoping to read about Hazel, don't go away!

Today I clipped her nails for the very first time. In the past I've just filed them, bitten them, or left them alone. She was very interested in my bright orange baby clippers. And I liked them a lot. They were worth buying!

Laundry

I have been saving up thoughts about laundry for a while, thinking I needed to write a post about the topic. I will share with you now.

My first week of college, I went to do laundry. I've been doing my own laundry since ninth grade, so I just did it. While I was there, I saw the funniest thing: a guy my own age on the phone with someone I can only assume was his mom, asking her how to do laundry. Thank you, Mom, for not letting me suffer that ignorant fate!

My first married apartment had a very tiny laundry room that served way more people than it should have. It only had two washers and two dryers, for an apartment building that probably had about forty people in it, most of whom would be doing their laundry separately. Also, it was used by a couple of other small buildings nearby. It's hard to not have access to laundry when you plan for it.

At my second married apartment, laundry was a pretty big hassle. We were on the third floor, and even though our building was very close to the (fortunately very large) laundry room, it is hard to carry a big hamper on the stairs. And then I got pregnant, and carrying laundry up and down stairs became even harder!

We moved to a new apartment in the same complex, and our situation was the same: third floor, near the laundry room. But in this quad, I quickly noticed that people noticed me, and I got many offers to carry my hamper for me. Being six and more months pregnant, I never declined. It was so nice to be offered this help!

Then our baby was born. Laundry went from once a week to twice or more a week (with just as many loads per laundry day, might I add!) However, now I had the added tasks of figuring out what to do with my baby while I went down to the laundry room and figuring out how to get poop stains out of lots of things. Baby poop does NOT just wash right out. I asked my mom, went online, and tried lots of things. I still don't really have a strategy. Shout spray works pretty well, and if an item still has a stain on it, I wash it over and over without drying it until I can't see anything anymore. Sometimes this means it's out of commission for a few weeks! Thankfully, she hardly ever poops on her clothing anymore.

As far as what to do with Hazel during laundry, I never totally figured that one out. If she's napping, that's great, but her naps don't often last the two hours it takes to get laundry totally done. So, I carry her with me in our snugli or sling, and if I feel like I just can't do that, I leave her, safe but sad, in her crib until I get back.

Now that I'm in Virginia, though, things have been different. It is SO NICE to have a washer and dryer in the actual place where you live! I can do laundry every day or every other day if I need to, because it's not a huge deal! I can do it while my baby is awake! I don't have to walk stairs! I don't have to rush to get things out of the dryer as soon as it stops out of fear that someone will steal it or move it out of the way! I don't have to look at the dried up, blackened stuff on the inside of the dryer and hope that it doesn't get onto my clothes! I don't have to look at the leftover sludge in the detergent area of the washer and hope that the person before me didn't use bleach!

Having a personal washer and dryer is everything I hoped for, and more.

Another thing I've noticed since getting here: I'm beginning to suspect that non-high-efficiency washers work better. It shouldn't be true, but I think it is. Washing clothes in lots of water just works better.

Also, I should add, I do most of the laundry, but not because I'm a beaten-down wife who does all the housework. No, it's because I'm at home more, so I usually end up having time to do it even with taking care of our baby.

Also, I'd rather do laundry than dishes!

Our New Apartment, OR Murdering Maggots in the Morning

So, I'm beginning to feel like Pharoah must have felt when Moses came and there were all those plagues. Okay, not really...but we have had some troubles with this new apartment.

Plague #1 Elmos
We have lots of Elmos. There are a whole bunch of Elmos of different types in the corner between the couches. It's a little bit creepy, but Hazel likes to look at them.

Plague #2 Junk
The apartment is a sublet, so the girl we're renting from left her stuff here while she went away for the summer. I thought that meant she was going to leave everything in her bedroom (which locks) leaving the furniture and the rest of the space for us. Well, I was wrong. When we got here, there was stuff all over the place. Every surface was covered in random junk. *sigh* So we sorted it, bagged it, and stowed it in the garage.

Plague #3 Alcohol Paraphernalia
When we visited to check the place out beforehand, I somehow overlooked this. Empty vodka bottles (maybe they thought they were decorative?) on the counter, a couple of drinks-mixy contraptions, a few bottles that still had the alcohol in them...

Plague #4 Filthiness
Also something I overlooked when we visited. I mostly looked at the living room, where we were sitting talking to our prospective landlady. It looked pretty good. I think she shampoos the carpets regularly. But, I didn't look closely at the edges (which may have never been cleaned, ever), or the kitchen floor/cabinets (ick!). And, when some things in a house are dirty, I feel like EVERYTHING is, and I can't rest until it's all clean.

Plague #5 Coins
Why would someone leave little piles of coins spread throughout the house? I don't understand this.

Plague #6 Air Fresheners
Every room had multiple air fresheners. Spray fresheners, automatic-squirt fresheners, plugins...why would you want so many? It made the place stink!

Plague #7 Unfamiliar Cleaning Products
As I was gathering up the junk in preparation to clean the surfaces it was all resting on, I looked for cleaning supplies. I found several, but almost nothing that I'd ever used before. On the upside, I discovered that the multipurpose Fantastik is quite good!

Plague #8 Untrustworthy Dishes/Disposable Dishes
Part of the deal is that we got to use her dishes and stuff. But, her dishes mostly worried me. Nonstick pots with the nonstick coming off, stuff that didn't look clean... Also, she just didn't have a lot of normal dishes. Some things there were a lot of, but others (like plates and silverware), we just couldn't find enough of. It seems like she was mostly using disposable dishes, which were bountiful indeed.

Plague #9 Sauces
When I went to clean the fridge (which was pretty gross), I found that they had tons and tons of sauces and condiments. We managed to relegate them all to the door and the bottom drawer, but the door was TOTALLY full, with a goodly amount of the drawer taken up as well.

Plague #10 Brown Decorations
It seems like most of the stuff she chose to decorate with is brown or beige. I think I'm just not classy enough for that. I like color too much.

Plague #11 Poor Lighting
No overhead lights, except in the kitchen/dining room.

Plague #12 Dead Clocks
I counted six.

Plague #13 Daddy Long-legs
Okay, this one isn't really a plague. But most days there is a daddy long-legs on the screen of the back door. And it usually stays there all day long.

Plague #14 Ants
Two days ago, we found ants in the baby's room. This was really disgusting to me. However, I found out that there are many ways to kill ants, and I so I attacked them with baby powder. I'm not convinced that it kills them, but after powdering them, vacuuming thoroughly, and powdering again, they've been gone for over one day. It's kind of cool that there's something that I don't mind Hazel touching that will keep ants away. :)

Plague #15 Maggots
Finally, the worst thing of all, and the thing that caused me to want to write this post. MAGGOTS. Gross! We have been battling maggots all day. Here's how it went.

This morning I went into the kitchen, and I was like, Anthony, there's a little white wormy thing on the floor. And he was like, oh, there's another one.

That's when we realized there were LOTS of them! And they weren't just any old worms, they were MAGGOTS. And I began to feel like this:

Then we began killing them. (Anthony did most of it, because that is the arrangement. Anthony kills bugs for me. That is one of the reasons I love him so much.) We discovered that the only way that actually works, is to squish them, one by one. These things are practically invincible! We used spray bleach, we dumped boiling water on them, we drowned them in rubbing alcohol, we moussed them (I read hairspray would do it; we don't have any), we used Raid, we sprayed them with Comet, and combinations of some of these things. Time after time, they crawled right out of whatever toxic chemical we had just put all over them.


Well, the maggots are gone now. I hope.

After all this complaining, I should give you some good news. How about:

Hazel is still the cutest thing ever. :)

This Hazel was made for walking

And that's just what she'll do!

On Wednesday, I was very proud of myself. I had finally gotten the floors of our new place (by the way, we're in a new apartment...) almost all clean, clean enough that I felt okay not wearing socks inside any more. Also, I finally had our stuff almost organized. Anthony called to tell me he was coming home. Feeling very accomplished, I said to him, "You'll like what you see when you get here!"

Hazel and I were in the living room. She was finding various things in my sorting and playing with them as I tried to put them away. I found the little bird call Anthony gave me while we were dating as kind of a joke (it makes a squeaky sound that is a bit annoying and does not sound like a bird at all). I squeaked it. Hazel looked at me, from where she was standing up, playing with something I was about to take away because it was too small.

She took a step toward me. I (obviously) got really excited. I quickly moved a suitcase out from in front of her feet. I squeaked the bird call some more. She loved it, and took about three more steps over to me.

OH MY GOSH! She WALKED!!

Then Anthony came home. My pride in myself for cleaning was completely overshadowed by what Hazel did. She got all the glory. She walked for him twice, once TO him, to his delight.

We still don't have a video. I will continue to work on it, but I'm not sure if I can do it by myself. I think it's a two-person job; one person to hold the camera, and one person to entice her with something amazing.

Anyway, I guess the moral of the story is that we just didn't understand that bird call. It was actually a Hazel-call. :)

Back

Hellooooo...

I have been shamefully absent for the past month and a half or so. Let me tell you why.

1. I made a prom dress for my sister.

Though I was asked to do this a year ahead of time, things really started to get down to the wire. I kept getting sick, sewing is hard with a baby around, and the plan kept changing. But, with with dedication on my part and Anthony's as well, the dress was finished.

2. Taxes

What is there to say? We did them. On time, too.

3. Weaning

I ended up weaning Hazel the same week we moved. It was earlier than I had planned, but due to health reasons and frustration levels, we decided that would be best. I got her down to just two breastfeedings, one at bedtime, and one in the morning, then decided to just go cold-turkey from there. After a few days of soreness for me, and a few days of gas for Hazel, things normalized.

Despite feeling sad about it for a bit, I think that really was the best thing to do. Hazel had no problems just switching to bottles; she didn't even seem to miss nursing! In fact, I now realize that she actually wanted to wean. Every time I went to feed her, she rolled away, over and over again. When I gave her bottles, she settled down and finished it all. Oh, well. We made it nine months, which is pretty darn amazing, considering the obstacles we had!

4. Moving out/cleaning the apartment

This was pretty hard. Anthony and I have made a lot of moves since getting married (this makes the fourth, including moving in together when we got married) (did I mention we've only been married a little over two years?). However, all the other moves were just from one place in town to another. This time, we had to pack some stuff to come with us for the summer and pack the rest of it to go with us. We couldn't reuse boxes, unlike previous times, and we actually had to rent a truck! (This was new also, because for the first two moves, we had virtually no furniture, and for the third, our new apartment was a two minute walk from our old one.)

We probably wouldn't have been able to do it if it weren't for the many friends and neighbors who helped us move and clean. Seriously, there were a lot of them! Even with their help, we managed to get everything done several hours later than we planned, just barely in time to...

5. Drive across the country

We'd never done this with a baby before. Really, though, it wasn't so bad. The car was packed to the rafters (of COURSE we have rafters in our car--don't you?), courtesy of me! I really was quite proud to fit everything in. A Civic can hold more than you'd think.

Hazel and I rode in the backseat together, while Anthony drove the whole way. Hazel was extremely good. She did get bored, though, and it was a challenge to keep her entertained. When all else failed, Anthony and I sang primary songs to her, which she usually likes. We were going to try to eat food we brought with us in the car, but ended up just eating out along the way. It turns out that Hazel can have a lot of fun in a booth at a fast food place. She got to stretch her legs and we got to eat. Sweeeet.

It got to the point where when the car stopped and Hazel heard the parking brake, she would start to kick her legs, flail her arms, and look around for Daddy. It was pretty cute, and she always went along with us when we put her back in her carseat. I was afraid she would start getting upset to go back in, but she never did. What a sweetie. (By the way, this seems to have become a permanent habit. Even if we're only in the car for five minutes, she gets totally excited to get out.)

We did learn that we weren't very good at stopping in time for Hazel's wet diapers. Kirkland Signature is the best, but even they couldn't hold up long enough! Whoops...

6. Visiting family

We got to stop for about a week and stay with my parents. It was really fun, and I know they loved seeing Hazel. And she loved seeing them. My dad is apparently the master of peek-a-boo, and Mom kept giving Hazel lots of different foods. What a fun grandma and grandpa!

After a little more driving, we got to visit the other grandparents. Grammy Anita read Hazel lots of books, and Grandpa Selino charmed her quickly, possibly because of his glasses...but possibly not. :)

7. Starting a job and trying to find better housing

Aaaand, then, we finally wound up here in Virginia, where Anthony has started his internship. The thing is, the place we're staying in is a bit too expensive. It may be asking a lot, but wouldn't it be nice to actually make some money this summer?

*********

We did more things, but those are the big things I can think of. I'm planning on posting more regularly now, if my "i" key doesn't give out on me...

New Talents

Hazel has been learning so many new things. I already mentioned that she can crawl; well, she just keeps getting better at it! She follows me or Anthony around all the time. It's really cute to look down and see her sneaking up on me, looking up at me--so happy with herself!

She also uses her crawling abilities to stand up on everything. She pulls up all the time, and sometimes she doesn't even keep leaning on something. That's right; she's getting some balance! :)
Basically, she's just the cutest ever.

Sign Dancers: Why?

Why do businesses hire people to dance by the street holding signs? When Anthony and I drive anywhere, we always seem to see these people. It's not really working as advertising for me, because I see them and am unable to even look at the sign they are holding because I am so transfixed by how embarrassing it is. Many of them just wave the sign back and forth, preserving some dignity; however, there is one woman who dances incessantly (and not particularly well) with her pizza-place sign. Dance, dance, dance.

*sigh*

Hazel is doing many wonderful things. She learned to crawl about two weeks ago.


Also, she babbles like crazy now. And blows raspberries in new and exciting ways.

Unfortunately, we are both sick right now. I've been sick way too often since she was born. I wonder why that is.

Conditioning

I think I may have successfully conditioned Hazel. For the past month or so, I've been humming or singing the same lullaby almost every time she is falling asleep anyway, usually while she's nursing or I'm cuddling her. I was thinking it might come in handy for helping her learn to fall asleep without sucking on anything. The other night, she woke up crying in the night, and it seemed like it might have helped, but today was even better. I finished feeding her and put her in her crib for her nap. She woke up as I was laying her down, and as I was reaching for the pacifier, I started to hum. She immediately turned her head to the side and fell back asleep.

Isn't that cool?! Of course, she might have done that anyway. I can't tell. But, if it is working, that will be so nice.

Also, it wouldn't be the first thing she's gotten conditioned to. Almost from birth, I trained her to suck when I stroke the back of her neck. And Anthony accidentally trained her to expect something to come to her mouth when he makes an airplane noise.

I love my baby.

Since I don't have many pictures of me and Hazel together, I got Anthony to take some this weekend.

She almost always smiles when I kiss her. As you can imagine, I love that!

A dose of reality: Hazel loves grabbing faces. She seems to go for the eyes...

Mommy and baby.

The Sleeping One

It's been so long since I posted last! I know your lives must have been dreadfully boring without the chance to hear about mine. I am so sorry.

Hazel has improved her scooting forward skills, her creeping backward skills, her raspberry-blowing skills, and (of course) her being-cute skills.

She has started pulling herself up on stuff. She can't get all the way up most of the time, but the main reason seems to be her tendency to have her feet turned on their sides. If she could get them bottom down, I think she would pull to a full stand all the time.


Today I gave her a sippy cup for the first time. She caught on immediately--literally! As soon as she saw it, she reached out and grabbed it, stuck the spout in her mouth, and sucked. It was a little harder to figure out that she needed to tip it more to get more. Anyway, sippy cup=big success. She loves it. I don't know how much she was getting, however; it seemed like she dribbled it down her shirt instead of swallowing it.

We went to the doctor on Friday for her six-month checkup. (Yes, she is seven months old. That's what we get for picking a super-popular doctor) (And no, I don't regret it; he is so nice!) So I have new statistics for you. Hazel is...

27 inches--81st percentile
21 pounds--98th percentile

In other words, she is humongous. :) And, since her carseat only goes to twenty-two pounds, we had to get a new one.
It's a convertible carseat; it can be rear-facing until 35 pounds and then turn forward until 40. I was very excited to find out that the least expensive carseat of this type is the one with the best safety rating. It's the Cosco Scenera, in case you want one. :) I think it's interesting that the other companies aren't dying of shame to be selling their products for two or three times as much with a lower safety rating. Just sayin'. I'd be embarrassed.

The moment you've all been waiting for (but mostly the moment I'VE been waiting for)! Hazel has slept all through the night five out of six nights this week. I'm loving it! And she's getting better at taking naps. My baby is awesome. I hope this continues.

TOOTH!!!

Hazel's first tooth finally broke through! We got a couple of (kinda) good looks tonight, and her left front top tooth is definitely showing through the gums.

No pictures this time. It was just too exciting not to post at once. :)

Movement

Hazel is on the move! Today she made a full lap around the living room, with some help in avoiding obstacles. Why did she need the assistance, you ask?

Because she can only move backwards!

I'm not sure if this counts as crawling or not. Either way, she's really starting to get around.

Something more exciting actually happened today: Hazel got her entire tummy off the ground. I don't think she's ever done this before. The tummy is so big that this was quite the accomplishment!

Rolling, et cetera

Hazel finally rolled over! Last night, she rolled all the way from her back to her tummy. Anthony and I have been working on getting her to do this for a couple of weeks, and she has done many partial rolls up onto her side, but has never made it all the way. I am so proud! When she first rolled onto her back from her tummy (at two months), it could have been an accident. This was no accident. I could see her effort and concentration.

And she just did it again! What a prodigy. Here she is on her tummy after rolling.


Another development over the weekend: she has begun a sort of babbling. What noise does she make? "Mama, mama, mama, mama." It's so cute! The downside is that she has incorporated this sound mostly into her crying/fussing. This is extremely strategic for her, since it's almost impossible for me to leave her for even a minute while she's calling out my name! I wish I knew if she means it.

On Friday night, Anthony and I went on a real date. It was really nice. It's our fourth time leaving our baby, but it's still hard! And it seems like she was not happy we left her; she actually refused to eat the rice cereal my sister offered her. Michelle got lots of exercise when all Hazel wanted was to be walked around and sung to.

Oh, yes, the date. We went to Cafe Rio and then got Jamba Juice afterward. It really is nice to get out of the house without our baby once in a while. However, I was still eying every baby I noticed. I just can't help it!

On Sunday we put Hazel in the sweater and bonnet that Grandma Jen knitted for her, since she's big enough for it now. And it was even cuter than I ever imagined.