I was pacing the house, packing my bag, taking a shower, anything to stop my so called false labor pains. Little did I know my baby boy would make his entrance into this world less than 2 hours later.
Happy first birthday mon petite bebe!
Tu es ma raison de vivre, le bonheur de ma vie.
Mommy loves you!
See anything wrong with this picture?
Well, the problem here my friends is that this hallway typically has two little toddlers playing and running in it. My pumpkins started Summer daycare today. I'm so sad. I miss my babies, but it is a necessary evil. I need time to work on the book and it's just impossible to do with them here. I honestly feel like the worst mommy in the world today. I'm so sad. The apartment is so quiet and I'm still not quite sure what to do with myself. I've got lot's to do, but this first day..........*sigh*....It's just really been hard for me to find some sort of rhythm. It's a very different feeling for me, because they're with strangers and not my mom or Mel's mom. *sobs* Anyhoo, time will make it better.
On a lighter note......Elijah got so excited when he saw the other children at daycare today. Mel was holding him and put him down on the floor so that he could stand...........my little man took off walking!!!
Woohooo! \^O^/ *moonwalks*
He sneezed..........
and it flew everywhere.......
and I just HAD to take pictures.......
.....love it!! He also snatched the spoon out of Mel's hand! I guess he felt like he could do a better job at feeding himself! ^_^
A huge thank you to all of you for your kind and loving words during this difficult time. Mel and I appreciate every drop of thoughtfulness from each and everyone of you. Thank you. *Big Hugs*
I'm not good at dealing with these types of things and I usually end up taking on some type of project to distract me from my sorrow. Baking cookies was a nice way for me to distract myself from....well......myself, my mind, my sadness. Mmmm.....Ghiradelli chocolate......mmmmmm....chocolate makes everything better sorta. Their chocolate chips are some of the best and I love baking cookies with them. Perfect for taming that crazy chocolate craving that rears it's ugly little head once a month. I know, what you're thinking...."Shame on you, you little indulgent chocolate chip cookie baking minx...rowr." Okay....maybe you're not thinking that. But I bet I was close! ^_^
I was preparing to take photos of my cookies for this post and they suddenly took a back seat to this:
I found this oh so sweet little tea set at Ikea this week! Child size. 17 pieces. $7.99 I bought a set for Bella even though I know she is far too little to play with it now. But I couldn't resist buying it! I never had a tea set as a girl and totally wanted one. Now I have one!
It's just......well......a tad too small for me.
They have a 24-piece dinnerware set, a 7-piece baking set, AND a 6 piece cookware set. I'm going back to stock up and put them away for her for when she's older. I can't wait to play with them!! I mean for her to play with them...yeah that's what I meant. It's just screaming for a little linen and patchwork tea cozy and accessories!
I also found a pattern for a cardboard play kitchen on Etsy for $7.00. This pattern is incredible! I haven't built it yet, but when I do I'll be sure to post pictures of it. It's on my list of projects for 2008. Has anyone built this already? How did it turn out?!
Yesterday was a crazy, cah-razy day! My husband and my daughter BOTH had some allergy emergencies.
Mel came home from work around noon looking quite green and very ill. He had decided to partake in some office holiday nibbles, not knowing that they were made with nuts! He's has severe nut allergies and his body just went into rejection mode. I won't go into the gory details, I'm sure you can just imagine. Things quieted down with my Mel, he seemed to be stabilizing and all was right with the world again in our little household. Then dinner time came around.
Mommy, in one of her not so clever moments, thought it would be a good idea to try and give our little Bella-docious some Mac and Cheese for supper. Isabella normally doesn't do very well with milk or anything that has milk in it. I don't know what I was thinking. She took one bite, literally maybe two macaroni noodles touched her mouth and she stopped eating. Wouldn't take another bite. Within minutes her face began to swell up! Her eyes, her mouth, her little cheeks were all red and puffy and covered in hives! To make matters worse she began to itch! Mel scooped her up and ran with her across the street to the hospital in our neighborhood. (Yes, thank goodness the hospital is right across the street, we can see it from our apartment window.) I quickly threw on my coat and woke up Elijah, got him dressed and ran across the street after them. All types of horrible thoughts went through my head as I ran across the street. By the time I arrived, sweaty and afraid, they had her undressed on a stretcher getting ready to give her a shot of adrenaline.
(Still a little puffy from last night. She likes to run around the house with her mittens and her hat on....lol)
Shortly after, the swelling went down, she began to breathe properly, no more tears, Mommy and Daddy could once again breathe properly as well. She had to stay for a few hours for observation and wait for a prescription of Benadryl. I carried her home in my arms like a little baby, gave her a bottle and put her to bed. Crisis averted.
This was our first emergency as parents and I think we managed to handle it quite well. I'm can't get over the feeling of complete helplessness I had seeing my little baby like that and not being to do anything about it. Not fun at all.
She has a follow up with her pediatrician tomorrow. The doctor at the hospital thinks she should have an Epi-pen to carry around. I used to have one as a girl. I'm allergic to bees and wasps. I was stung for the first time in the fifth grade. We were playing tag and I ran underneath the jungle gym to get away from the person who was "it". Ran right smack into a nest and they attacked my head and face. The next day I woke up and couldn't see and I freaked! My head had swollen up like a melon and my eyes were swollen shut! I haven't been stung again. (knock wood) But I'll tell you I freak out whenever I see a bee or wasp, like screaming banshee, I'll climb on your back to get away, freak out. lol
I'm allergic to penicillin too. I got a dose of that by accident once. Not cool. Anyhoo, I'm just glad my two babies are better. On to the next crisis!! *Marches away*
How was your weekend? I hope everyone stateside enjoyed their Labor Day! I had a great weekend with the hubby and the kiddles! It was relatively quiet but quite enjoyable. Spent some time with my grandparents who returned to Florida today. They've been here since Elijah was born 7 weeks ago! *whew* Looooong visit, but I'll miss them. On Saturday we packed the stroller full of goodies and headed to the park for the afternoon. It was such a beautiful day, so nice to be out with the kids.
Bella especially had a good time out this weekend. But my dear little daughter is suddenly afraid of grass!
She wouldn't set foot off of the mat. (See, even with some gentle nudging by my husband's smurf feet. ^_^) It was quite amusing and perplexing to say the least. How are we supposed to move down South and have a nice big yard if my little one is a afraid of grass? Well, I'm sure it's just a phase and she'll grow out of it.
I have to admit September and October are my favorite months. The
weather is so wonderful this time of year. The air seems to have this
crispness to it and the sky always seems to be an extra special hue of
blue. The fall always means new beginnings to me, which brings me to the fall cleaning I've started.
I'm slowly eliminating some of my fabric stash and craft book library. (Making room for the new ^_^)
I've set up a little gallery to show some of the items I've chosen to part with. Take a look.
Lots of tears falling around these parts lately. Tears of joy, tears of frustration, tears from allergies, tears from baby Elijah, tears from big sister Bella, tears from Mommy. (I'm also just getting over a little cold. *ah-choo!* ) So there's tissue everywhere! In tribute to all of the boo-hooing, I made some little tissue holders. I promise I won't post anything with this fabric combination again. Okay that's probably not true. I won't post anything for the next month! ^_^ I just love it so much! Anyhoo, these are most likely shopward bound.
I'm so happy many of you commented on my "Hello" post! Thank you! I think I've managed to respond to everyone, if I haven't yet I will. ^_^
Many of you are surprised that I'm able to fit in crafting while taking care of my two children. I have to be honest with you all. It's a must for me. I'm very exhausted indeed! But I figure it's only temporary.....for the next 18 years or so! ^_^
On a more serious note, crafting also helps me battle postpartum depression. It's something that's been very real for me since Bella was born last year. I'm very open when it comes to speaking about my experience as well. I think it's important for other mommies dealing with it to know that they're not alone.
I failed to recognize the signs of it last year and it quickly spiraled out of control. I think it was a mixture of denial and a lack of knowledge about the subject. It reared it's ugly head when Bella was 4 months old and I found out that I was pregnant with Elijah.
Therapy helped me to get it under control. But crafting is also like therapy for me. It helps me unwind at the end of the day, gives my mind a little break while the kids are napping. It also gives me that oh so important "me" time that everyone needs. Staying busy helps me keep it under control. I don't over do it, but just enough to keep The Mean Reds away.
I'm doing much better this time around though. I still get weepy every now and then, which I guess is a "normal" amount of boohooing for someone who's recently given birth. I'm not sure where I'm going with this post. I guess I posted about this because blogland can sometimes seem like life is perfect and it's not always so. So I'll step out of the confessional for now. I think I'll go sew something! ^_^
*Yaaaaaawwwwn* Just thought I'd stick my sleepy head in here and say "hello". Have you ever been joyfully exhausted? Well that's what I am right now. Late night feedings are taking it's toll, but I'm ever so happy to be this tired. I think the week finally caught up with me. From the false alarms, to the quick delivery, my grandparents arrival, no rest in the hospital, and me pushing myself a tad bit to hard. (I've been up and about and not really resting like I should.) But, I've finally hit the wall and I'm taking it easy now.
Last Monday and Tuesday were two of the most incredible days of my life. At about 4:00 am on Monday morning I began to have a little bit of false labor. Not too painful, but they definitely kept me up for a few hours. I went to see my obstetrician that day as scheduled for a routine check up. She didn't seem concerned about the false labor, I was still only 2 cm dilated and the baby's head was pretty high up. So we scheduled an appointment for me to see her the following Monday(today ^_^) and I went home.
Tuesday morning, same time 4:00 am, more contractions. I figured they were false labor again, so my husband and I didn't really make any moves. He continued sleeping, I got up and took a shower to try and relax. The contractions started to become a little more painful as the hours went on. They also started coming 10 mins apart. I paced the house, tried to sleep, drank tons of water, used the bathroom about 1,000 times. My husband decided to run to his office and pick up work and come back home. We really didn't think I was in labor yet so I was fine with him leaving. We figured if I was in labor I still had several hours to go.
I called my mother just in case and she decided to come keep me company. I called my doctor and she told me to come in so that she could check out what was happening. It was 9:15 by the time my mother arrived and I was in tears. The contractions were coming 5 mins apart now, my 14 month old had awaken and wanted my attention, my hospital bag needed packing and I was all alone in the house! My mother had taken her time thinking I had hours to go as well. She stopped to get coffee and donuts!!
When I finally got to the hospital it was 9:39, I was 9 cm dilated, was dripping with sweat and having the urge to push. Elijah was born at 9:53, 5 lbs 12 oz., and I only had to push twice. My mother was trying to find parking and my husband hadn't left his office. When they called my cell phone to find out what room I was in they were both alarmed to find out that I had already had the baby!! lol The staff in Labor and Delivery kept coming in to see if I really had the baby so quickly, because they had just seen me filling out paperwork in the hallway. Even my doctor was shocked at how quickly it went. Fastest delivery ever!
When I gave birth to my daughter last year, they induced labor with Pitocin. The contractions that I had with her were so painful and so unbearable! I really thought I would pass out before I got my epidural. I think the reason I didn't think I was in labor this time was because the pain just wasn't as severe and was actually sort of tolerable. I still can't believe that I gave birth with no drugs this time. But I have to tell you, I felt great. I was alert and wasn't groggy at all. I felt no pain, had no tearing or anything. Giving birth naturally is definitely the way to go if you can stand the pain. I really can't get over how different I felt after this delivery compared to the first.
Tuesday was quite a day! My grandparents were even scheduled to arrive that day from Florida at noon. My mother had to leave me at the hospital to go pick them up at the airport. My little prince picked the perfect day to arrive.
Elijah James Hale
Born Tuesday, July 17, 2007 9:53 am
