February wrap up

It's seasonal slump time, where you just slog through and face each day with resignation. At some point it gets warm and the sidewalks are clear and life returns, but until that time autopilot is the name of the game. So, not too much to report on, or any plans for that to change soon. Henri and I did stop by Petsmart the other day to check out the fish, and I think that will become part of our routine as it was a huge hit. We've also been baking together a lot, and while the kitchen is a perpetual mess, she loves the sensory play (and adding salt to everything) and it's been a lot of fun. Sampling the finished goods isn't too bad, either :) I've finally started feeling better, just tired easily, so that's a relief. I still haven't gained a pound but lately I've been ravenous, so I expect that to change soon. There have been a few more babies born, and while my numbers are still low I'm starting to get a feel for things. Clinic days remain my favorite, and I'm going to really miss my clients when I move on.
On a fun note, Henri's imaginative play has kicked in to overdrive, and it's pretty funny to hear what she's thinking. Lately she's been all about dinosaurs (no idea where that came from) and last night she was pretending a piece of her chicken was a dino head that was eating the rest of her meal. Playing with your food is not something I'd normally encourage, but it keeps us very entertained. Nothing coming up that I'm aware of, so March will probably just be a lot of shift work.

Getting in to her work

She was absorbed for a solid hour

A bit of imported spring

We went to Maine for the night. Henri loved the big bed...

...to jump on. Vacation with children is not the same :)

Headed to the beach in the morning. Temp was in the teens and the wind was 40mph

H just buried her face in my shoulder and begged for the car. Not a great beach day

Washing the sand off

Coming back from our short-lived ocean trip

Her hair is usually up in "ponies" now

So, no weight gain, but the bump is a bit large. 17 weeks today.

A great package came from Aunt Carol and Uncle Tim. So cute!

How my morning started. Cream of Wheat spit all over the kitchen while H made her plane noises, and the bowl dumped on the floor when she decided to try flying with her arms. Note the very unrepentant look.

So, pretty typical winter weeks. Hope to have some outings to report soon so you're not totally bored reading this :)

Snow stuff and how we all survived

Greetings! As you might have heard, the weather man was right for the first time since I've moved to MA and we finally got some snow. Not quite the "blizzard from which we are all going to die and never recover" like they tried to make it seem, but snow enough to keep Steve busy shoveling for a day and Henri giddy with joy. I did not participate in any of the festivities, since I was at the hospital/birth center from Friday at noon until Sunday morning. During that time I had 2 births, triaged and managed an additional 4 labors, sat with a woman for literally 24 hours during her labor and birth, and got 4 hours of sleep total. I will not say I had the worst end of the bargain, but I will say that the highlight of my time was the french fries in the cafeteria and I'd left some amazing meals behind for the family.....Anyway, we all survived, Henri had a wonderful time with her dad, and she clearly didn't miss me too much because she was thrilled to head to school today and casually asked when I'd be headed to work (tonight for a 12, if you're curious as well).

The week before Henri and I made a quick trip to Vermont to see Dustin and Katie. (Side note: on the trip I mentioned we were now in VT and Henri made the connection that is where Papa lives. Ask her where Papa lives, her pronunciation of Vermont is almost as cute as her one of Massachusetts ("where does Daddy live?")). Henri is really a great traveling child. She doesn't like her new car seat too much, but she only complains when it's been a really long trip. She slept the first 2 hours, we stopped for a walk break, and then we sang and chatted the rest of the way home. She reads books to herself, tells me about her day or what she's seeing out the window....it's fun. And Dustin is adorable and  happy unless he's hungry or tired, in which case he just eats or sleeps and is happy again. Henri showed minimal interest in him, didn't care when I held him, and spent her time harassing Anna. I love the dynamic between the two of them. Anna's attitude towards H is very much what mine was towards her at that age; barely tolerant. Henri's is the same as Anna's was: entitled. So Henri spends her time assuming Anna will do as she wishes and Anna finds herself doing what Henri wants. It's nice payback, and a great break for me. Also very effective birth control for Anna should she ever have thoughts of wanting her own child :)

There's been little time in the past month for us as a family, and we all have a long weekend coming up with no obligations (that I'm aware of) scheduled. We haven't booked anything, but I think we might take a quick trip up to Maine for a night. I'm hoping for a heated pool, Henri would love some beach time (even if it's below zero) and a family time away from home responsibilities would be lovely. Maybe we'll just talk about it and get the fun from that without the financial commitment :)

He's already had one haircut :)

"Helping" her favorite person

Love all his expressions

Chatting with Aunt Anna

Something was funny

He's just a love bug

Henri taking over Anna's room; her phone, her music, her stuffed animals, her bed....

Snow starting to fall on Friday

Clearly not all the time was spent on shoveling....

Saturday morning

After some work and help from the neighbors snow blower

Lots of drifts

Bedtime stories

Toddler fashion

Biggest pregnancy craving so far. I bought this Thursday, and this was taken Sunday night after me being gone all weekend...I put it on everything and it helps with heartburn. Can't do yogurt because then I hurt, but hot sauce (and yes, I've drunk it straight from the bottle) is soothing. Kids do really weird things to you.

Not much else on tap for a bit. Just putting in a lot of time at the hospital, lots of projects that suddenly really need to get done now, the usual home stuff, finishing up a hat for a client, doctors appt tomorrow (I can feel my uterine fundus!, lol), perusing Pinterest for valentine's ideas for Henri's classmates.....Hope you all enjoyed the snow as much as we did, and that you're staying safe in this freezing rain we're getting now. :)

Some January pictures

 

It's been a while since I've (1) taken any pictures and (2) been on here. Mostly because not much has been happening, and once all my reports for school are typed and up and filed (or I'm done procrastinating for the night) and Henri's gone to bed, I've crashed. I'm not one to fall asleep on the couch, or while watching tv, or while playing with my daughter, but lately I've been doing all of that. Fortunately 2nd trimester has arrived this week (helloooo, so happy to see you!!!) and since my appetite has returned, I expect energy to soon follow.

 

Clinicals are starting to pick up more hours as I have a few more midwives that have kindly filled out the piles and piles of paperwork necessary for me to be allowed to work with them. In addition to my regular clinic stuff I've attended two gatherings for families of the birth center in the past two weeks, and it's been really fun getting to know all these folks. Everyone has been really excited that I'm training to be a midwife, and I had three women come up at the end of a meet and greet session and ask how they could be sure I'd be present at their birth. What a gift! I was not that welcoming of students when I was a new mom, and I realize now how dumb I was. Being a student means that I get to give you 100% of my attention. There might be a ton of stuff going on, but I'm going to get to just stay with you and be the continuous support that's been proven to be so effective in positive birth outcomes. I can point to a birth I attended just last week. If I had not been there, she would have gotten her epidural and who knows how the birth would have gone. Not that I discouraged her from getting one, in fact I asked her a couple of times if she was ready for it since she'd made it very clear she wanted one, but each time she said my support was enough and she was handling the contractions OK if I stayed there and kept up the hydrotherapy. Well, if given a choice I think anyone in their right mind would chose a comforting person pouring wonderful water over their tummy over a huge needle with awful side effects in their back, and I was thrilled she was comfortable with this route. She had a beautiful 2 hour labor and a gorgeous little undrugged baby. She was so proud of herself, and I could see her utilizing this new-found strength even in the next day and as she started to deal with some tricky social situations. Anyway, my nights aren't always like that, and more often than not I'm rounding on a family who had a drugged up birth and are questioning every little decision they make and are completely unable to take ownership of anything. And those visits are tough and frustrating and so many times I've wanted to pop the baby on my own breast so he can have a quick nurse that's calm and unstressed and fulfilling. But then I remember how long and hard Henri and I struggled, and that we finally got it, and that these diads will eventually as well. So, that's a quick summation (for those that wanted to know) of what my L+D experiences have been like so far. Truthfully, I still prefer the gyn side of things, but this might change around as I get up my birth numbers.

 

So, sorry to ramble. Henri continues to do well in school (she was so excited to go this morning she packed her own school bag AND lunch bag...pretty cute to see her take ownership), and is just a general pleasure. I know life is not all roses and rainbows and I don't want this blog to come across as life is always grand, but at the moment we're all in a good place. There are fits (especially when food is delayed even a second in reaching her mouth) and we're still stumped as to how to get her to just say "sorry" for a bad behavior and move on (because WOW is she stubborn about admitting guilt) but in general I love having her around to chat with and miss her like crazy when she's gone. We'll be heading to VT for a very fast 24 hour trip to finally meet Dustin the end of this week. Henri identifies him easily in all the pictures, so we'll see what she thinks of him in person. I expect indifference and then insane jealousy if her Papa dares hold him in her presence. I've started daydreaming/planning an overnight trip for Steve and I to celebrate the end of clinicals/little babymoon the beginning of May. And it's about time to plot out my garden, though after last year I'm thinking it will be much more economical to just hit up Russo's for my veggies and can those. I'll still plant a few tomatoes and onions for Henri to root around in.

 

And as for pictures, well, here's what was lingering on my camera and phone (in no particular order):



 

 

 

2nd Christmas in VT.

She loooooves snow (especially to eat)

Steve's new Catan game. I've yet to win so I still don't think it as fun as some of the others ;)

Getting the mail in style

Playing with her sushi set. She has it out every day

New "social" smile

Hm, out of order, but back in VT

Finally got a hair cut! Trimmed up the scragglies in the back. Unfortunately they also trimmed the bangs :(

She loves church

Becoming very conscious of how she looks, likes to add stuff to her wardrobe that she's convinced looks great (like cat hats...)

Listening to sermons together. Forgive the bangs, I've been keeping them pulled back in a little ponytail.

I head back in tonight and am hoping for a few labors, or nothing at all so I can sleep (the oncall bed is sooooooo comfy!). And then H and I go grocery shopping tomorrow! I know, too exciting, but we split a donut and she keeps a better mental list than my written of what we need to get, so it's fun to have her call out the stuff as she sees it :)

Stuff for the home

Thank you so much for all of your sweet comments after the last post! I was striken with the flu right after I posted, and have spent most of the past week on the couch (and yes, I got the flu shot). I've been on call all week, but we have yet to have a birth, and while I need the numbers, the chance to be a slug has been sooooooo wonderful. Henri was very good about playing fairly independently/not burning down the house, and Steve ignored my constant whining. Anyway, I hope health is returning to the house, morning sickness finally seems to be easing up a bit (lost 7lbs so far! only eating clementines will do that for you...), and we seem to be emerging from the holiday scramble to a semblence of normalacy.

Henri has become hyserically fun lately. She's generally in a good mood (except when she's throwing a fit, and then watch out!), is completely into imaginative play, continues to love books (though now they're long ones that I enjoy reading as well), is starting to talk in complete sentences with proper use of pronouns, is clearly an oldest child with a deep concern that everyone and everything be just so, catches on to everything we say and do, is girly without being over the top (it might be coming, but I'm really against the princess culture so am keeping Disney off the radar for now), is pretty easy going, loves to grocery shop....I just love to watch her. It might be the realization we won't have just her any more, but I find myself really loving this age (not a suprise, I knew the 2+3 age would be a favorite) and wishing we could stay like this for a long time.

But as proof that we can't stay the same, we have two new additions to the family! Well, the first one we've had for a year (ice cream maker), but Steve just got it out and made ice cream for the first time this week. I'm not  a huge ice cream lover, but it turned out quite good and Henri was very excited about the proces.
The second, is (drum roll, please).....my Miele vacuum! We've been saving for six months and today we went to a shop down the street. I was planning to get a lower model, but the prices at the shop were the same as Amazon, and the sales guy brought the price down to between the models, so it was a much better deal. And then there's a good return and servicing policy, which made it better than online. Anyway, I got it home and cleaned every nook and cranny. Henri wanted to use it, and I let her have it for a minute, but it was way too satisfying to give up for long. I know this is a very sad commentary on the state of my life that I can get this excited about a vacuum, but trying to keep some semblence of order with a broom (and in the past few weeks not even trying I've felt so lousy), well, it was pure joy to see that dirt disappear.

Not sure I'd posted this before, but Henri's new bed! She's been sleeping in a travel sized pack-n-pay her whole life and is totally in love with her "sleepy bed".



I don't blame her, it's got plenty of room to stretch out and the matress is really comfy

We had a warmish day and walked down to the park. Most of the playground was still under snow, but the all-important swing was free

A pinecone treasure

Strawberry ice cream. Nice flavor, no yucky film on your tongue like some homemade can leave

Ok, I know ultrasound pictures are a bit ridiculous and hard to see, but I thought this blob was pretty cute. Looks like we'll be encountering the same problem we had with Henri's birth of a huge head....

My vacuum! Got it just in time, too, as the warm weather means all the nasty spiders are sneaking out. They have no idea what's waiting for them, bwahahaha!!!!!!!!!!

(It's Sunday now...it's taking me days to write these lately) It's been a slow week for births (which means I've been totally stressed about never finishing this program) but I just got a call my continuity client is in early labor, so I'll be having a long night tonight, and then I'll have a project to work on so I'll feel productive. I have a midwife appt this week and there should be a heart beat on the doppler which will be nice to hear. Other than that, just the usual plugging away. And vacuuming :)

30 on the 30th

Well, it's over. I'm no longer the young and idealistic girl I once was. Mortality is staring me in face, years of exposure to the vices of humanity have made me cynical, though still with a healthy appreciation of the absurd, and the metabolism is shot. In short, I turned thirty. I had one last mad thought to go get a hideous tattoo or something, but bad weather prevented road travel so I laid on the couch and read an old book. Being with my family was enough celebration for me, and I had a wonderful Vermont winter day.
As is customary at these times, I took a glance back through the year, and found it be a busy one. Let's recap, shall we?
1) Henri turned one. This didn't feel as big of a deal as her turning 18 months (which she also did) but it was amazing to look at how big she's gotten in the past year. No longer a baby, very much her own girl, and the most wonderful gift I've ever received.

2) We bought our first house. Not even close to what I was imagining I'd be living in, but it's ours, it's adorable, and more than ample for our needs. It has plenty of opportunity for improvement so we'll never be bored, but it's cozy and safe so we don't have to dedicate every weekend on it if we don't want to.

3) I became an aunt twice again! First Ella Joy on February 26th, and then Dustin Josiah on November 14th. Both beautiful babies, both a true joy to the family (can't wait to meet Dusty in a few weeks!).

4) Clinicals. This has  kind of become the over riding theme of my life the past few months, and I don't remember life before it. It's meant a lot of changes to how our family works, including the start of institutional daycare for Henri and a ton more responsibilities at home for Steven, but so far I've been the only one to complain. Given how scared and upset I was at the thought of anyone watching Henri, much less a daycare situation, this reality has been a breeze. She loves her daycare, they are wonderful to her, and Steve has become even more of a hands-on dad (not that he wasn't fabulous before). I think Henri is with him more than me, and she's thriving. In fact, it might be nice if she'd slow down once in a while to let us catch our breath....

5) Cross-country vacation. We got to go visit dear friends in CA! Henri has splashed in two of the world's big oceans now, and we reveled in the fabulous weather.

Whew. I'd also like to briefly brag that I kept my New Years resolution of blogging once a week. I'm well aware there was rarely a thing of importance said, and the gloating over Henri probably nauseating, but I appreciate so so so much all those that did read, and commented, or said they liked the pictures. Thanks!

And now for the coming year. The calendar is already pretty filled up and it looks like it'll be an interesting one.
For starters, I hope and trust that come Spring I will be a Certified Nurse-Midwife. Yikes. What started sort of as a whim three years ago, and was pushed along with tons of support and encouragement from my wonderful and sacrificial family, will finally be coming to a conclusion. Two more semesters, two huge and scary certifying exams, and, well, I actually have no idea. The plan of course had been to get a job, buuuuuuuut:

Yeah. We'll be getting our butts kicked by #2 come fall. Actually, he's already kicking mine as this has been by far a way harder and more yucky pregnancy than Henri's. Between the never ending nausea, the painful shots so I don't have a stroke or die, the brain-frying exhaustion (24 hour shifts at the hospital have not been helping), utter hatred of all things sweet, mandatory ban on caffeine (I almost didn't survive going cold turkey on coffee), crying about everything, and the mere fact that this is a high-risk pregnancy so I will have seen 6 providers by the time the first trimester ends (seriously, I have at least one appointment a week through the end of the month. ridiculous), this is one I'll be happy to have over. We're still trying to wrap our minds around the fact it's even happening, so don't think we're not welcoming of it, we're just a bit, um, scared.

And that's about it! We've been blessed far and above what we deserve, and are so grateful for the love, family, and wonderful friends we've been given. I don't plan to hold myself to a goal for blogging this year as the next few months are packed, but be assured there will be fresh photos and bragging aplenty when you periodically check back in. Happy 2013!!!!