What I like Wednesday

I saw this on a friend's blog and decided to challenge myself to it!

I like this cute wooden rocking horse with a corduroy seat. I can't believe Lucas is proudly kneeling next to it as a big brother! Just yesterday, he was reaching out his little hands with great intent to touch the horse's hair (it was the first thing he grabbed.)

I like that Lucas has not yet acted jealous of Sofia and that he's always happy to see her.

I like that no matter how much Sofia spits up or how much difficulty she has in processing the broccoli I ate (oops!) she always has a smile for me.

I like that I can't find a window in my house that doesn't picture a dogwood tree. And I especially like the wild dogwoods in the forest in my backyard.

I like using hazelbrand soaps on my babies and myself :)

I like that Lucas's basement playroom which is the bane of my existence and a total wreck right now, just got a huge smile and a "Woah!" from his friend Alexander.

I like that Lucas reacts to a dinner of smoked salmon on toast with sliced, salted cucumbers on the side with a "ya!" (fist in the air.)

I like that Lucas is almost always willing to give me a big hug, kiss and grin. Even after a meltdown and a time out.

I like that my washing machine and dryer are downstairs and not down the street.

I like our mega den!

I like that whole foods now gives pseudo-healthy snacks to kids to occupy them while you shop. Lucas loves the chocolate coconut milk.

I like watching Lucas build coordination and strength (and have lots of fun!) in his gymnastics class.

I like that I will probably get some sleep tonight! Looking forward to that. :)

Justin Bieber?

Lucas Loves Legos!

Lucas continues to amaze me with his Lego skills. He spent many hours putting together this 662 piece fire station, asking for help only a couple of times. Lucas is quite accurate, but occasionally something will be transposed or a bit off. At the end, daddy helped to rework a couple of things so that the stations could be linked together. Definitely Lucas's biggest Lego accomplishment so far!

Sofia at 2 1/2 Months

Well, here we are. Almost out of the "4th trimester." Sofia is an easy baby to love and she just gets better every day.

Since the beginning, she has been a good sleeper, nurser, spitter and a tummy time champion. At her two month appointment she weighed 12 lb. 8 oz. and was 24 in long (if my memory is right.) That put her in the 90th percentile. She was already in the 90th percentile at her 2 week appointment and I was sure she'd take this as a challenge and jump straight into 99% like Lucas did. But it seems that she may not be a chart topper, at least not for a while.

Her hands and feet are more dainty than were Lucas's paws and her features are more delicate as well. It's still hard to say, but we think she may be blonde with light eyes.

Although Lucas likes to remind us that he is faster than her and always will be faster (and taller, older, etc.), Sofia is every bit as athletic as her brother was at this stage. She rolled over from her tummy to her back when she was 3 days old. And at two months she did it over and over again just to prove that she could. Now that she's conquered it, it doesn't much interest her. She was holding her head up well almost from the start and has been facing out in the wrap for increasing lengths of time since before she was 2 months old. She started grabbing things this week and is doing crunches, in training for the day that she can sit up. (She has the strength, but not the balance.)

Sofia has chubby cheeks, poochy lips, perhaps a little dimple in her chin, and a huge gummy grin which she reserves for off-camera moments :) Her personality shines through more each day. She goes with the flow but makes her requests clear when she needs a change of scenery or diaper. She doesn't startle when I grind the coffee, but may have a full-fledged panic attack if she sees one to many new faces. She puts herself to sleep in the crib with mild fussing and has a love/hate relationship with the swaddle. She resists it like mad, especially now that it binds the hands she is learning to do so many things with (rub her eyes, scratch her nose, grab toys and clothes and blankets.) And although I bundle her up tightly like a little burrito, she somehow wiggles herself free only to cry out at 5am to be re-bundled.

Sometimes I feel she is so easy, that we must be doing something wrong. But I have no real time or desire to worry about that so we will continue on. We'll just call her the little angel and the huge blessing that she is. Sofia Marie.

Through Lucas's Eyes

When Lucas was very young, he became proud owner of our first digital camera, which we had lost, replaced, and found months later. He is, of course, more technically savvy than I am. He can set the timer and review photos, set the flash on and off, etc. I am one of his favorite subjects, especially when he catches me from an unflattering angle, pregnant and scrounging for food. Since a whole separate gallery could be devoted to these blackmail-worthy photos, I haven't included them here.

Cold and Rainy Days

Monday was so cold and drizzly that it knocked us out on the couch for a late afternoon nap. I was sleeping in between Lucas and Sofia until I realized it was my only chance to make dinner. Soon after I woke up, Lucas did too. When I came back in to check on Sofia, the blanket I had laid on top of Lucas had been placed carefully on top of her.




Usually we stay and picnic after school but it's been too cold for the baby (and for me) so we are finding things to do at home. Lucas was in the zone washing all of the accessories in from his kitchen. He did a great, thorough job! The one suggestion I had was to unstack the dishes when washing them (he washed a stack of three together) but he thought it was unnecessary :)

Introducing Sofia

Sofia Marie Gill
January 6, 2011, 6:21pm
7lb 10oz, 21 inches

Sofia finished forming her wings Thursday January 6, six days after her due date of 12/31/2010.

For about two weeks leading up to her arrival, I had episodes of contractions, sometimes for hours on end building in intensity (though nothing like active labor.) But most days things were quiet. She was slowly working her way down. At my appointment on Monday January 3, I was almost 4cm dilated and 80% effaced.

The night before she was born, I slept relatively well. I had a dream about contractions and awoke to one around 5am. Things went on and off through the morning, but I felt this might be different so I had Chris and my mom be ready just in case.

Timeline:

At noon, I was eating a picnic with Lucas at his school. I was having some contractions but was able to talk through them pretty easily. When we got home, I noticed I had to pause doing things with Lucas to let them pass. So after I laid him down for a nap (around 1:30) I called my mom and asked her to come down. At this point I lied down and listened to part of a "birthing affirmations" cd lent to me by Tarcia, a friend and fellow mom at Lucas's school. One thing in particular stuck with me. "The stronger my pressure waves get, the more limp and loose my body becomes."

2:30ish Mom arrived and I decided rather than give in to the urge to sleep or take a bath, I'd walk to get them going more. I took my phone and, after a really good contraction struck at the bottom of Echo Hills Circle, I called Chris to come home.

3:00ish I walked into the house and got into the bath. Meanwhile Lucas woke up and my mom whisked him away to her house. Although the water felt good, the contractions continued about 3-4 minutes apart.

4:00 I was in bed and managing through the contractions with the affirmations cd and movement. (I was also eating an apple.) I decided it was time to do some official timing and when Chris came in I had 3 contractions, 2m45s apart, the third lasting 2 minutes. After a brief deliberation, I called my doctor's office and the nurse there told me to go to the hospital.

4:30 and driving in, we experienced mild traffic, but I was still above water, managing with breathing and relaxation. Thankfully, about 4 good songs played on the radio (when does that happen?) one being "Closer to Fine." All Indigo Girls songs remind me of my dear friend Rachael who we lost a couple of years ago so I had a good cry, which I think helped to open me up more.

5:00 I was checking in at the desk. I managed to carry on quick, minute-long conversations with the receptionist, even talking with her about yoga and Pilates when she read it off my chart. In between, I was squatting (thanks to the BEST, simple tip from Audrey's mom and Bradley Method teacher Cheryl) and dropping onto all fours rocking, and kneading the hard ground. I will have to show you this sometime. A concerned lady in the lobby asked if I was ok and I told her yes, it looks strange, but doing this keeps me "ok." I had read to make yourself at home in the hospital and this is what I set out to do. Any level of "keeping up appearances" instantly made things more intense so I abandoned it immediately. Dropping in front of the nurses station on the way to the room had people scampering and calling for a wheelchair (which I had no intention of getting into!)

5:20 Here time gets foggy. Because of the admission process I had to get into the hospital bed. They checked my cervix - a somewhat disappointing 5cm, but I did not yet feel defeated. Then I was strapped to the fetal monitor and attached to an IV. The questions began, the endless questions. (any history of anxiety? Diabetes? Syphilis?)

5:40ish Things were now considerably more intense. Within 10-20 minutes of questions (now turned over to Chris) I asked for an epidural. Chris told me he thought I was in transition (the final, very intense part of labor immediately before pushing) but I couldn't believe him. He had seen on the monitor the contractions had gotten considerably longer and more frequent. The brief valleys were at the same level as the peaks of the previous contractions.

5:50ish As soon as I could I detached the fetal monitor and we wheeled my IV pole into the bathroom. I felt some urge to go to the bathroom, which was in retrospect the beginning of the urge to push. I said to Chris "Bath, Hot" and he started filling it up. I vaguely heard the nurse in the background telling me that I needed to wait as I plopped myself in.

During this time I thought I was waiting for the epidural. I had no idea I was in transition and if transition was any more intense than this there was no way I was planning to experience it.

5:55 Two angels arrived, Nurse/Midwife Carol and Dr. Moore. I had gotten to know Carol during the last month of pregnancy appointments. Dr. Moore (the best!) delivered Lucas four years ago and was the OB I chose for this pregnancy.

I asked them (still in the bath) why with my labors do contractions come one immediately after another at only 5cm dilation?

Little did I know they were conspiring with Chris to keep my mind off the epidural a little while longer. In one of my "birthing wishes" I had asked for continued support of a natural birth, especially if I requested medicine during transition and this is where they suspected I was.

6:00ish I got out of the bath, thinking that in no time I'd have an epidural, when Carol asked if she could check me again. Miraculously, and I mean miraculously, I started to have some moments of clarity. This was the "lull" between transition and pushing. We grabbed a moment between contractions and she declared me "complete." I asked "what does that mean?" in case she had meant I was completely closed :) And she said, "You're doing this without and epidural. Once we break your water, she will be ready to come out."

I could not believe what was happening. We're estimating it was 30-40 minutes from 5cm to when it was time to push. They got some things ready, broke the water and she was out after five minutes of pushing.

6:21 Everything seemed dreamlike. Dr. Moore was ok with letting the umbilical cord pulse for a short while, a last minute request. She came out so quickly she had to be monitored in the transition nursery to see how she transitioned between womb and world (due to a little grunting sound.) I kept calm as I was assured this was nothing serious.

Chris was perfect throughout the process. He was supportive, involved and calm. He remembered a pressure point on my forehead at the exact moment I needed it and was very good at interceding for me.

Sofia and I felt good enough to come home the next evening.

I think Sofia resembles newborn Lucas a good deal. We decide on the middle name Marie to honor three of our grandmothers (Mary Gill, Maria Pauls and Maria Swetlowski) and as a toast to Mary because she was born on Russian Orthodox Christmas Eve. Marie wasn't exactly chosen with a coin toss, minutes before we left the hospital. But the action of the coin toss helped us to realize which name we truly liked best. It was a close call between Sofia Marie and Sofia Natalia (Natalia meaning Christmas Child.)

Over the last week, I felt increasingly faithful that God would be performing a miracle on the day Sofia would be born. I have been in awe looking back at the thoughts, emotions, people and prayers (a few of which I have mentioned) that led to her birth. It could only be the holy spirit who weaved it all together.

"I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart..." Jeremiah 1:5