Sunday, October 14, 2012

Sammy's Third Birthday Interview

I saw this cute idea on Pinterest to ask your kiddos the same 20 questions around their birthday each year starting when they're 3, and then have them all made into a book eventually.  Here's Sammy's first installment.

1. What is your favorite color? Pink
2. What is your favorite toy? My airplane
3. What is your favorite fruit? Watermelon
4. What is your favorite tv show? Fresh Beat Band
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Mac and Cheese and Chicken Nuggets
6. What is your favorite outfit? Ballerina tutu and butterfly wings
7. What is your favorite game? Memory
8. What is your favorite snack? Fruit Snacks

9. What is your favorite animal? Pig
10. What is your favorite song? Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People
11. What is your favorite book? Good Night Tennessee
12. Who is your best friend? Baby Chris
13. What is your favorite cereal?  Oatmeal
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride bikes
15. What is your favorite drink? Orange Juice
16. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Care Bear and Ribbit
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Yogurt
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Spaghetti and meatballs
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A pirate

Friday, October 5, 2012

Christopher David's Birth Story

30 Minutes Old
After my quick and uncomplicated birth experience with Samantha, I decided to look into a home birth for baby # 2.  We really lucked out and ended up moving to a house only 20 minutes away from the only home birth midwife in the area.

My whole pregnancy had gone smoothly, except for the pesky little issue of Pat's deployment.  Luckily, my mom was able to drive out to stay with me about two weeks before Christopher's due date.  Sammy arrived three days before her due date, so I assumed Chris would be a little early too. 

At about 1:30 in the morning on 9/25, I woke up with some mild cramping.  It came and went a few times, so I decided I should probably time them.  They were not very painful and only lasted about a minute each, but they were coming regularly and were only about 5 minutes apart.  I called the midwife, who advised me to drink some water, lay down on my left side, and try to go back to sleep.  I was supposed to call her back in half an hour if I couldn't sleep.  I e-mailed Pat to let him know what was going on, and then tried to rest.

By the time 30 minutes had passed, my contractins were a lot more intense, and I was convinced that we were having a baby soon.  I called the midwife and told her to head over and then woke my mom up.  My mom called my in-laws who were going to come over to watch Sammy.  By 3:30, I was in my room dealing with pretty serious contractions, and Sammy had woken up.  My mom took her downstairs to watch a movie, and I was just waiting on the midwife.

I think there were only 2 or 3 contractions after the midwife arrived before I felt ready to push.  Apparently, I only pushed for about 15 minutes, but it felt like longer than that.  My water finally broke, and 2 contractions later Christopher was born at 4:02 am.  The birth assistnt and my in-laws hadn't even gotten to the house yet.  He weighed 9 lbs 2 oz and was 21 inches long.  He was born with a full head of dark hair, just like his sister.

We let Sammy come upstairs to meet her baby brother, and then Chris and I got all cleaned up and settled into bed.  He latched on right away and has been nursing like a champ ever since.  Overall, it was an amazing birth experince.  If Pat had been able to be there, it would have been just about perfect.
Cleaned up and sleeping soundly