11 Months

Our baby girl is 11 months. One month away from being a WHOLE YEAR OLD. Just where did the time go?? I can tell you.

Once Evelyn was born I was in a total fog. For about a month. Those first two weeks of learning how to breastfeed and get sleep with a baby who refused to sleep on any non-living and breathing surface was unbelievably trying. I was so happy to be a mom but I was so devastated that the process by which this was achieved had almost killed me. When you have a newborn, your whole world is turned upside down, over and over again. Each time your baby cries your heart stops beating and your whole being wants to go to this tiny human and comfort it.

As the weeks went on, I became less paranoid about being at home with Evelyn but was still paranoid about going anywhere with her. Figuring out when and how to take her out was a big challenge. We had breastfeeding down. We knew how to cloth diaper. We knew how to use the wrap and the sling. But for some reason I was terrified of leaving the house without someone. Mainly my issue was about her crying in the car and having to pull over repeatedly. I just couldn't bear to hear her cry for any period of time. Sounds lame looking back, but it was relevant and important to me in so many ways to put her happiness and comfort above ALL of my needs. I found it hard to go pee because she would cry if I left. I didn't shower unless Dave was home and even then I became easily stressed if I could hear her crying from the bathroom. And if I didn't hear her crying I thought she might be, but the shower was too loud for me to actually hear. How ridiculous this all seems to me now, but I still look back on it fondly.

Evelyn got a little bigger, a little more animated, and we got used to being around each other. I slowly ventured out of my mamababy nest, diaper bag filled to the brim (except I always forgot something important) and cell phone ready. I must have called Dave a million times in those early months. Just having another person on the phone while I was grocery shopping or going to the pediatrician's office helped me tremendously. I was still severely depressed but I forced myself to get out from time to time. I immersed myself in thought; thoughts about parenting, infant development, motherhood, my birth, and all sorts of other issues that were important to me. I watched LOTS of shows on Hulu. I ate LOTS of hot pockets. I lived and breathed for my daughter and couldn't think about things other than the mamababy relationship, emotionally and physically, for many months.

Maybe once Evelyn got to about 6 or 7 months, I really started to feel like a mom. A mom who knew what she was doing, who wasn't so afraid to talk about her parenting choices, who wasn't afraid to take her baby outside or on a car trip, and who knew exactly what her baby needed if she cried, fussed, smiled, or reached out to me.

Once I started to feel like a real mom things changed for me. My depression was still there but I felt like I could actually do things to help it. I felt like Evelyn and I had our own language and I understood her better than any other person. She had developed trust in me to understand her signals and care for them appropriately. She knew that if something was wrong, I'd keep trying to figure it out and wouldn't eat or sleep until she was ok. I realize now that I could have delegated more or even let her fuss for two minutes while I made a bowl of cereal...but as a first-time mom those things weren't important to me.

Evelyn has been to New York City three times, up to Maine twice, been on four flights and attended about 6 conventions. She has gone on numerous other little road trips, one most recently down to Florida to help a dear friend during her birth and immediate post-partum period. She has just been a trooper when it comes to travel. As long as we have the Ergo everything is fine :)

Over the past three weeks Evelyn's development has just blown me away. She started eating real people food and basically refuses pureed baby food now. She started crawling. She loves to hold your fingers and walk laps around the living room and kitchen. Sometimes she even runs. She has stood a few times unassisted, much to her surprise. She learned "Kee-ee" (kitty), "Ditduu" (thank you), and "Ehoh" (elmo). She already knows Nigh-night, Mama, Dada, Nuhnums, and will shake her booty on demand if you either sing or say the word "dancing". I can't believe how well she communicated her needs to us and understands what we're saying.

I knew these days would come I just didn't think it would be so soon!

We have also been successfully catching many poops and pees on the froggy potty. If I was better about it we'd catch most eliminations on the potty, but we run around a lot these days and I depend on my diapers.

I am trying to decide what to do for Evelyn's first birthday and it almost immediately overwhelms me so I put it off. I can't do that any longer. Invitations must get sent out and plans must be made. This baby is turning one whether I like it or not.

Lately

I win the award for the worst blogger ever. I have the best intentions but these past couple months have been one big ball of stress and I have simply lacked the motivation to write about Evelyn's milestones and our happenings. I have tons of cute pictures, but it is a huge chore to upload them, partially due to the fact that Google blogger makes me do them one-by-one and then I feel guilty that I don't make the time to do it. There are so many wonderful people in our lives who don't get to see us or Evelyn hardly often enough, and I feel so sorry for not posting regularly.

So a quick update:

Evelyn is great. She is such a happy baby. She is saying mama, dada, and num-num-num. Over the past two weeks she has been going poop on her little frog potty. She cues me by grunting and sitting very still, then I take her diaper off and put her on the potty. It's so very cute and it makes me feel good that I can communicate with her in this way. We've caught 8 poops so far. Only one pee, but I know that having poop in her diaper really bothers her now. She waits for me to put her on the potty and this whole thing really fascinates me! My 9-month old goes poop on her potty.

Evelyn hasn't shown much interest in crawling or walking yet. She scoots backwards and can turn around many times. She's an acrobat during sleep; half the time I awake to find her head down by my back and her feet in my face. I love those moments.

One of Evie's favorite things to do is take a bath. No matter how tired or upset she is, taking a bath makes her feel instantly better. She calms right down and starts babbling away. She loves to lay on my chest with her back to me so that she can sway and kick her feet under water. She'll turn around every once in a while to nurse for about 5 seconds then goes back to playing.

She loves to rip apart paper and napkins or anything that will tear. She'll store a few pieces in her cheeks then spit them out after a few minutes. She has been eating baby food pretty regularly; she loves sweet potato, carrots, pears, peaches, plums, and the awesome medleys that Earth's Best makes. The past week she's been only eating a few bites of food and then completely refuses it. Those are the days she nurses a lot instead. I never worry about what she's eating because I know that until she's at least year old, she can drink breastmilk and it will provide her with all the necessary calories and nutrients she needs. Maybe after her first birthday I will become more scheduled in when and how much she gets fed solids. 

Evie sits and stands up very well now. She loves to sit and wiggle her feet in opposite directions. She likes to kick her feet when she's laying on her back and she knows how to hold herself up when she's standing. Sometimes she rears back while sitting and hits her head on the floor. We always have a wail for a few seconds then she's fine and back to doing whatever she was doing. 

Some days Evelyn only wants mama, other days she says Dada all day long. She'll even cry when Grandma leaves the room at times when Mama is being boring. I love that she is comfortable with other people besides me, but that I can always come back to her and cuddle or nurse her if I've been gone for some reason. I actually don't leave her often at all, but I know if I really need to go somewhere my family will take wonderful care of her. 

It is still very important to me that Evelyn always feels like we will comfort her and meet her needs. I have not pushed any type of early independence on her and I really believe it shows. She is such a happy, alert baby!

When I have enough time to myself, I will try to post more photos of our pumpkin :)

Evelyn's first teeth!

Evelyn is cutting her second tooth! I can't get a photo of her little toothies because she either sticks her tongue in the way or tries to chomp down on my finger. She has been doing so well it's surprising me. My mom warned me that my sister and I had a terrible time cutting teeth, but I think part of that is because we weren't breastfed. Breastfed babies suck differently than bottle-fed babies. It's nature's way of releasing ear and sinus pressure as to prevent fluid buildup that leads to ear infections. Plenty of bottle fed babies cut teeth just fine, but it is more rare for breastfed babies to have ear infections associated with teething.

When Evie is having gum pain, we usually give her the Hyland's teething gel and sometimes Tylenol if it seems really bad. A few times during a drive she was bored and in pain, which was a bad combo. When we're out and about I'm sure she's somewhat distracted so she doesn't complain as much.

Thankfully Evelyn has not bitten me yet while nursing. I'm just not going to think about it, otherwise I'll be tense and I won't let down as much milk. I've been super stressed lately from sleep deprivation and just trying to keep all my affairs in order that I'm not making as much milk as I used to. Evelyn is gaining weight and doing really well so I'm not concerned, really. With the few babies that are going to be born soon comes a need for pumped milk. I have nothing right now due to my lipase issue (will explain later) so I need to be drinking more water!

So our baby is getting her teeth and I'm mostly excited :D She is growing so fast and before I know it she'll be reaching up and asking for more juice, pwease?

7 months!

My sweet tiny baby who would not sleep unless she was literally laying on either Dave or myself is quietly sleeping on our bed and cooing in her sleep. Oh wait, now she's fussing. Be right back..

Ahh the night nursings! Evelyn probably nurses about 5-8 times a night. I don't know how I go without sleep, maybe it's the mommy hormones? It's kind of strange but Evie really does the majority of her nursing at night. I think it would be nice to switch to more frequent day feeds because I'm going to need sleep at some point, right? It's been 7 months and I think the last time I had even 6 hours of solid sleep was before I gave birth. But when that baby cuddles and reaches out for me at night, it's one of the best feelings in the whole world. Sometimes she turns to me and opens her mouth wide, grunting in anticipation of being fed. Then she lets out a huge sigh of relief and gulps for about 2 or 3 minutes. Did I mention she's a super fast eater? She can put down 5 ounces in less than 5 minutes!

So Evelyn is also sitting unassisted and just starting to support herself standing. I'm kind of surprised that she has taken so long to figure out standing. She's been sitting for a couple weeks, but only about a week ago did she figure out how to lock her legs and pull her body weight up. It's been really cute holding her while she wiggles out of my arms in an attempt to stand up. She's also wanting to be held facing forward. She'll tolerate the Ergo carrier for a bit, but then wants to face out. I need to figure out how to carry her like this and have it be comfortable for us both. The Moby Wrap supports a front carry so I'll maybe try it out tomorrow. I'm not really looking forward to putting her in and out of the wrap because it's soooo long. I tried tonight, but she was really squirming and I was worried she would fall. I'm sure we'll figure something out.

We went on a fabulous trip to New York for Comic Con. Dave was hoping to get more networking done, but he had some great meetings with some game development companies. I had a blast meeting some of the ladies from Battlestar Galactica. We met Katee Sackhoff, Tricia Helfer, Nicki Clyne, and Michelle Forbes. We also got a cute photo of Evie with Bruce Campbell. It was really neat meeting some of the cast since Dave and I just finished watching the series about two weeks ago. I admit, I was kind of a fangirl when Katee stopped on the way out of her autograph line to play with Evelyn for a couple minutes. I'm pretty sure Evie is going to think her mom is a huge geek!

We stayed with our beloved Bianca and her brother, Lukas. Our hotel was a two hour trip into the city and it just about killed us. Next time we're definitely footing the extra $$ and staying in Manhattan. We saw tons of other friends and had a great time. My back was killing me by the time we got home since I carried Evelyn the entire time, but is was worth the effort; she stayed very calm and happy throughout the majority of the trip. There was one night when were verbally harassed by a bunch of kids on the way home and I really lost my cool. We missed the last train out of NYC.. Evelyn was screaming and I was so upset that these kids were going out of their way to wake her up and be noisy to get attention. I guess they won because I am not proud of some of the things I said to them. A fight almost broke out between Dave and two of the boys, but they stepped down quickly when Dave said a few words. I was traumatized by that experience and learned a very valuable lesson(s). We are not staying outside Manhattan and we are not going to travel late at night. I can do a 10 minute subway ride, but a two hour trip home with a tired baby is a recipe for disaster. Goodness just thinking about that night gets me a little upset. But the rest of the trip was really great! -lol- I'm so thankful for Bianca and Lukas' ability to endure our crazy family trials!

I'm going to try and get some sleep tonight - Dave doesn't have to work tomorrow so I think we might pass Evie off to my wonderful parents in the morning. I also need to clean the guinea pig cage and do some laundry.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Singing and more

I just wanted to write that Evelyn is singing in her sleep. I put on some meditation music for her and she's been asleep for over an hour, singing and cooing away. Melts my heart! I think we have a new nap/bed time routine.

Also, I am happy to say that EvieBell has been eating prunes and pears for over a week with no issues. We're back on a daily poop, which is a huge improvement over once every 3-5 days. I could also tell that going less frequently was causing her to have more gas and to be a bit crankier. Breastfed babies can go for over a week without pooping because the nutrients in the milk are almost completely absorbed, unlike formula, which has tons of extra vitamins and minerals to compensate for the lack of absorption. Babies still get adequate nutrition from formula, of course, but breastmilk is much less wasteful and is specifically created for consumption by human babies. Now that E is getting a bit more fiber, I think it's really helping her poop better. I will never recommend apples or bananas to parents as a first food - it can be incredibly constipating. All the "P" fruits are better like pears, peaches, and prunes. I think next we're going to try some veggies. I have some Earth's Best peas and sweet potatoes. We'll see if she'll take either one!

Since Nestle bought out Gerber I cannot, in good conscience, buy any of their products whatsoever. I am very against Nestle and the harm they do by marketing their formulas to impoverished women and babies. It creates a domino effect; mothers get formula for their babies, they switch between breastmilk and formula, usually their milk dries up because they are encouraged to use more formula, and when the formula runs out, they can no longer afford it plus their milk has dried up. So what do the babies eat? Mothers resort to diluting formula, which is exponentially worse than having less than ideal breastmilk. There is a website about this issue, but I need to track it down. Many breastfeeding advocates boycott Nestle because of their contribution to infant mortality and poor health. Makes me sick to my stomach.

Anyway, I don't buy anything from Nestle or its affiliate companies, and they have over 30.

On a lighter note, we have to go to Evelyn's 5 month check-up! I will post her stats later. I'm guessing she hit the 15 pound mark!

Lots of milk!

I just pumped 8.5 oz from one side. I don't know what the heck I'm going to do with all this milk! Oversupply can be a blessing but it can also be a curse. I am very lucky that I can make enough milk for my baby, and maybe another two babies, but we do run into problems. As soon as Evie starts nursing, I have a huge letdown. If I don't pull her off fast enough, she chokes and coughs on the milk, and most of the time, refuses to eat afterwards because she's traumatized. If I am lucky, she's hungry enough to continue eating five minutes later. If I pull her off fast enough during a let down, she pops back on, nurses happily, and pulls off when she's ready to sleep. Engorgement isn't the most fun either, especially when you go to nurse and your milk is spraying all over the place. Evelyn swallows a lot of extra air gulping down my milk, so we have to use simethicone (Mylicon) to keep her from having painful gas.

On top of her allergies, she also has reflux, and nursing a reflux baby when you have overactive let down is not very easy. I don't always get to snuggle her close to me while we quietly rock to sleep in the glider. Often I have to perch her upright and let her feet dangle between my legs. She falls asleep that way because her tummy isn't scrunched and pushing the acid up her esophagus. When we lay in bed she can nurse well because I'm on my side, so the milk flow isn't as strong plus she can lay out straight. I do have to put her upright when we're done, but sometimes at night I'm just way too tired and she falls asleep next to me. Next time she wakes, I will re-swaddle her and put her in the co-sleeper that's all rigged up for inclined sleeping and bottom support so she doesn't scoot down.

It's funny, even after all the problem's we've had with Evelyn's reflux, nursing, and sleep I would never even think about weaning her onto a bottle or formula. It's very likely that any type of formula would cause an allergic reaction since she can't have milk or soy. Feeding Evelyn from my own baby is the most special thing we do together and I just can't give that up. Pumping exclusively might not work in the long run because when baby's not actually at the breast, a mother's milk supply can lessen dramatically. Certainly doesn't happen with everyone, but I just wouldn't want to take the chance. If we can make it through these next couple months, her stomach sphincter should close up on its own and we'll go back to carefree nursing. For now, we're doing the best we can with what we've got. Evelyn seems like a happy baby and that makes me feel like I'm doing something right!

~C

Growth spurt and conventions!

Evelyn has been sleeping pretty much all day, only waking to nurse and poop. Textbook growth spurt, right? Over a week ago after returning from our awesome trip to New York with Auntie Bianca, Evelyn was having major gas pains and trouble pooping. I had eaten a ton of soy products while we were there, so the pediatrician and I just assumed it was the soy. She wanted me to do an elimination diet and not eat anything with soy for at least a week. Well we did that and Evelyn was still having pains. She would spend quite a few minutes crying in pain until she passed gas or pooped. I then called my midwife, Nancy, to see if she thought I should do anything different. She thought it was dairy because that is the more common allergy. After buying a bunch of food without soy, I am switching to a dairy-free diet. Dave will have to eat all my organic pizzas and chicken dishes that are loaded with cheese, I suppose. After two days now of not eating any dairy, Evelyn is napping for longer periods and she hasn't had any green poop or much difficulty going potty. It's probably safe to say that my baby has a dairy allergy. To be honest, I'd much rather her be allergic to dairy than soy. I can eat lots of tasty soy products from Whole Foods and Trader Joe's but it is such a pain to find soy-free food. Go to the store and look at the food you buy (besides fresh produce and meat) -- almost everything has soy in it! If thousands of breastfeeding mothers can go without dairy for a year or two, so can I. The way I see it, trading something I like to eat for a non-gassy, pain-free baby is a no-brainer.

Just like last year, we have a massive summer con schedule planned. It's all starting this upcoming Thursday. We're going to Anime Mid-Atlantic, then Anime-Next the following weekend, then leaving for Maine, then stopping by PortCon, and finally, stopping by Connecticon if we have the time or desire. We have a few good friends who are going to CTCon and we don't get to see them more than once or twice a year. Now we have a BABY and barely any of our con friends have met her!! There's just so much we'll be doing and I want to make sure Evelyn is comfortable. Our friend Allison is coming to AMA and Anime-Next, so I might enlist her help with baby so I don't feel too overwhelmed. I am going to ask my sister (she doesn't know it yet) if I can borrow her camera for our crazy 5 week trip across the north-eastern seaboard so I can post pics during our trip. Please pray/wish/hope that we all get through the next month!   

~Christine

Evelyn is 2 months old!

I am so happy. Our baby girl is 2 months old and doing so wonderfully well. I feel so bad that I have not been able to blog about her lately. Having a newborn is hard work when you're a first-time mom and it's incredibly hard to find a half hour to give everyone updates! Our house is slowly filling up with laundry and general messiness, despite my efforts to clean a little bit each day. There have been things on my to-do list since before March and of course they aren't done yet. I can't even keep Evelyn's baby clothes put away and organized. I have to admit it's generally easier to just grab a sleeper off the clean laundry pile than to go into the closet and look through everything..  Oh but I love her so much and I'd rather have a messy house than a screaming, hungry, bored baby!!


So what's been going on with us? Well not too much, really. I am very proud to say that we have been succeeding at breastfeeding so far. Now that Evelyn is sleeping for about two 4-hour blocks at night, we no longer need to switch shifts and have Dave give her bottles of pumped milk while I sleep. I am so proud that I stayed so determined while we had breastfeeding issues for the first two weeks. It's so wonderful to be able to feed and nourish my baby from my own body; the way nature intended. We have also been using cloth diapers 100% of the time. It is definitely easier than I thought it would be! Now that she's fitting into her GroBaby, now called GroVia, diapers it is so easy to do two loads every other day. Her soaker pads get a rinse and hot wash, then her outer shells get one wash on warm. The shells air dry in about a half hour, and the soakers dry on high in the dryer in about an hour. Ah I love them!! They are so cute on her and she has had NO diaper rash since we did cloth full-time. I don't think we'll actually be able to use disposables at all because we have tried to put her in them and she immediately gets a rash on her legs where the elastic is. I know that seems strange, but she really does start breaking out. We tried Pampers Swaddlers and Huggies Pure & Natural and they both gave her a rash. It would be nice to find something to use in case of an emergency so I might try the Seventh Generation kind. I think it's the chlorine bleach on the elastic that does it.. hrm..


What else.. Well, Evelyn got her first vaccines a few weeks ago. She got the Rotavirus drink and the first DTaP. We are following a delayed vaccine schedule that can be found in the Dr. Sears Vaccine Book. I feel very confident about our decision to vaccinate and do it on a more delayed schedule. I am just not comfortable giving her so many vaccines in a short period of time. I suppose I'm just following my maternal instincts on this one. Although the AAP and CDC say that the normal schedule is perfectly fine, I don't buy it and I'm ok with not buying it. Evie's pediatrician is quite comfortable with Sears' schedule and recommends it if parents are wary of the normal schedule. She rocks! Dr. Annemarie Tull at The Pediatric Center. She has 3 children and nursed them all past one year. She's also a lactation consultant. Our beloved midwife, Nancy, gave us Dr. Tull's name and after our interview with her we were sold. I highly recommend her to parents in the Richmond area.


My body seems to be getting back to normal fairly quick. At 2 months post-partum, I weight about 147, and my pre-pregnancy weight was 152. Nancy says it's because I am producing a lot of breastmilk and my body is basically burning calories all day long. I have been trying to eat more recently, but I am steadily losing about a pound or so every week. I still have the linea nigra on my belly, but my stomach is actually flatter than it was before I was pregnant. I have noticed a slight widening of my hips because many of my pants are looser in the leg, but tighter in the hips. Oh joy. Now I need pants! Since we plan on breastfeeding well past one year, I anticipate keeping weight off. Maybe with the next baby I won't be so quick to bounce back; in fact, I plan on exercising more next time!


I am still thinking of Evelyn's birth often. It took me a few weeks to be OK with how everything played out. I had a tiny bit of regret that I requested the epidural before we even got to the hospital. After talking with Nancy for over an hour last week, I came to the conclusion that it really was necessary for me to get through Evie's birth with my sanity intact. With all the dry-heaving, vomiting, and intense contractions, Evelyn wasn't moving down and my body was becoming overly stressed too fast. As soon as I had the epidural, my cervix opened right up and she descended beautifully to be born only about 5 hours later. I also think that in some ways I deserved to have that easy delivery in the end. After being so sick for so many months, then being sick during labor, it was really nice to gently push her out at my own pace! I feel so good about Evelyn's birth now that I've had time to reflect. She is a beautiful, healthy baby and I couldn't have asked for a better birth team.


I promise after every post that I will do my best to keep everyone updated, and I really do try. Anyone who has had a newborn can probably empathize. I know that we have many friends and family who live too far to visit as much as they would like, so it is important to me to keep this going. I'm sure that as Evelyn grows a bit more and does not need someone to hold her every second, it will be easier to blog. In the meantime, thank you for being so patient (or at least trying to be) with me as I navigate being a new mother. Now for some Evie photo love!!!

~ Christine

Evelyn at 6 weeks - we're getting the hang of this!

Here's the newest photo of our sweetness and a few others.

She loves sleeping with her hand by her head

This is how we hold her paci in her mouth sometimes because she hasn't quite learned how to keep it in there..

She's just starting to smile when she's happy

This is exactly what I looked like when I was a baby. I love her furrowing!!

Now that we're on week 7 I feel much more like a sane mother than a stressed out person who just had this adorable baby, but who wasn't quite connected yet. I was at a dear friend's birth a few days ago for about 24 hours and I missed my baby so much!! I absentmindedly forgot my breast pump shells when I brought my breast pump so I had to spend about 30 mins in the bathroom trying to hand express milk into the little storage baggies - NOT fun. The hospital was so gracious and set me up with one of their breast pumps so I did not explode from engorgement. I was thinking of Evelyn so often that I kept having let downs. Ouch! The birth was amazing and I kept flashing back to my own experiences weeks prior. It did not make me less present, it just kept me thinking about how I could help the situation with new knowledge about what may help a laboring mother. It was pretty neat!

Evelyn is doing so well. At 6 weeks she weighed 6lb 7oz and was in the 50% range for length, weight, and head circumference. She received her DTaP and Rotavirus vaccine, which wasn't pleasant for either of us.. Breastfeeding is going very well despite our rough start. I'm glad I kept going, to say the least. I do have an overactive let down, plus I have an abundant milk supply. Evelyn sometimes chokes a bit on the milk because she can't get it down fast enough. She will get gas later on if I can't get her to burp during and after feedings, too. It has been so hard to just lay with her, holding her legs up and letting her suck on the paci while she tries to get her gas out.. poor baby. I can tell it's painful but sometimes no matter what I do she won't burp. Lately the gripe water has been working small miracles. She loves the apple flavor so we have no trouble giving it to her in the dropper, thank goodness!

We are cloth diapering 99% of the time and using cloth wipes 90% of the time. She is finally fitting into her GroBaby diapers and I'm thrilled. We are still using her Thirsties covers with the cotton prefolds, also. I really want to get use out of the prefold method before she grows out of them otherwise I'd feel like they were a waste of money. Both diapers look cute on her and in my opinion, aren't too bulky. Sure, they are visibly larger than disposables, but I could really care less. I think her big butt is so cute and I feel very satisfied with cloth diapering. Laundry has been no problem at all - we wash about once a day because I don't have enough time for a 3 hour chunk every 2 days like many moms do. Evie needs me to hold her so often and I still tire easily. We set up a drying rack with multiple rungs out on the deck so the sun can bleach out the poop stains in the diapers. I accidentally pre-washed the diapers in hot one day and it set in stains in about 12 diapers. Hopefully over the next few days they will bleach out and we can avoid using any actual bleaching products. I am having an issue with my wipes warmer which makes it hard to use cloth wipes 100% of the time. It has been getting moldy very quickly even though I am following the instructions. I need to call them or search on some message boards for people with similar issues. I'd really like to do cloth all the time, but I can't put mold on Evie's tushie!

I am beyond tired right now and I must sleep for now. There's so much more I want to share, so hopefully I will have the time to write again very very soon. 

~Christine

Evelyn is 3 weeks old!

Grandma is here and keeping an eye on Evelyn so I can update!

We've made it through the past 3 1/2 weeks and it's been full of many laughs, cries (for both me and baby),  poo explosions, diaper changes, sore boobs, outfit changes, and sleepless nights. Evelyn has been an absolute joy, although I teetered on the brink of crazy many times in those first 2 weeks. Breastfeeding is still challenging, but not nearly as hard as it was in the first two weeks. I had cracked, sore nipples and cried every time she nursed for a few days. Let me tell you firsthand, use that nipple cream religiously. If I made one mistake, it was not using the nipple cream enough those first 2 days in the hospital.. She nurses much better now, but she still has trouble latching on. I have a strong let down so Evelyn often chokes and swallows a lot of air for the first few minutes. I hear it takes about 6 weeks for everything to settle down and regulate to the baby's needs and I'm really looking forward to waking up not soaking in milk after two hours.

Evelyn has gained almost 2 pounds already since leaving the hospital, so that brings her to 8 pounds. She's finally fitting into some of her 0-3 month clothes, which is nice because they're so cute :D Her thighs are filling out a little more and her skin is so soft.. I just love snuggling her tiny body.

Here's a photo from today

I will do my best to keep everyone updated from now on. The post-partum period really is hard so I'm prioritizing. Blogging has been put on the back burner and I'm glad to be resurfacing.

We made it two weeks with a newborn!

We made it two weeks and one day with our sweet new baby. Second to the pregnancy, this has been the hardest two weeks of my life. We came home on day 3 and I was ok. Day 4 and 5, I fell apart completely. With cracked sore nipples, no sleep, and a gassy baby I was burnt out in every which way. I am slowly crawling out of this dark cave of immediate post-partum depression and trying my best to take care of myself and Evelyn.

Within one day I began pumping and Dave was giving Evelyn bottles. I just could not keep up with her wanting to feed every 40-60 minutes. It was so exhausting and I needed at least a few hours of sleep daily.

Evelyn Isabel is here!

Please welcome our new baby girl.. Evelyn Isabel.

Evelyn was born on March 12, 2010, weighing in at 6 pounds and 14 ounces. She was 19.5 inches long and cute as ever.

My birth story is still coming together and the more I think about Evelyn's birth, the more it changes. I know I need to just write it out and leave it at that, but I have been so full of emotions and physical stress that almost anything besides feeding and cuddling this baby seems impossible. 

For a rough recap, I went into labor thursday afternoon and in just a few hours Dave and I were packed and on a rush to my parents' house to set up for the birth. My labor was hard and I began to throw up and get extremely nauseous with and between each contraction. It was awful. I was in so much pain, could not drink any fluids, and after about 4 hours of laboring at home, Nancy and I decided I needed to go to the hospital for some fluids and pain relief. Double whammie! I was in so much pain and so nauseous that my contractions were not doing anything besides making me miserable. We got to the hospital and within a half hour I received my epidural and could finally relax. A few short hours later, I was 10 cm dilated and she was coming out. 

The actual birth was wonderful for me. I was itching from the epidural, but in comparison to the nausea and vomiting, it was no big deal. As Evelyn was coming down the birth canal, my bag of waters swelled outside of me into this big opaque balloon. It wasn't until her head was actually crowning that it slowly leaked and Dr. Fitzhugh pulled it away for her to be born. I had no one telling me to push, so when my epidural was sort of wearing off on the left side, I was able to feel my contractions enough to slowly inch the baby out. Nancy and Dave were encouraging me, and Nancy kept saying that I was doing a great job stretching. Once her head came out, Dr. Fitzhugh rotated her enough so that I could reach down, grab her underarms, and pull her out of me to my chest. So amazing! I got to birth my own baby and no one handed her to me! In that moment, nothing about my transfer to the hospital or my decision to get an epidural mattered. I knew we had made the right decisions and I was incredibly satisfied with my birth. 

I do wish that my body would have stayed well during labor. I did not think I was going to get sick, but I did and we had formed this back-up plan of transferring months ago. If I hadn't gotten so sick, I would have been able to breathe through my contractions, focus better, and stay hydrated, ultimately birthing at home like we had hoped. I know I am still a homebirthing mother, despite my transfer. I still strongly believe in what I attempted to do, and will go for another homebirth for the next baby. I feel proud that I decided I was not going to torture myself by staying at home, vomiting, dry heaving, and trying to birth a baby. That birth would have been traumatic. 

I am very much in love with this little being. Although we have had a rough, and I mean ROUGH past week, things are slowly coming together. She is nursing so well and has gained back her birth weight plus some in 5 days. We go back to the pediatrician on Monday to weight her again and check her out. Our doctor, Dr. Tull, complimented me and said that I was doing super with breastfeeding and Evelyn was looking so healthy. That made me feel really great since the night before I wept uncontrollably while my nipples were throbbing and bleeding and the baby was screaming... but that is another post.

I am so thankful for all of our friends and family who have been so wonderfully supportive during my difficult pregnancy and birth. I know Evelyn will be loved immensely by so many people and that our family is so blessed.

~Christine

31 weeks!

I feel like my belly exploded! I have no stretch marks yet (knock on wood) but my pregnancy has just been weird so I might get them in a few weeks. I’ve been trying to drink more water to help my skin elasticity as well as spending extra time rubbing it when I put the belly butter on. It’s not the moisturizer that helps stretch marks, it’s a gradual stretching that minimizes the appearance. My grandma and my mom never got them and I’m hoping that I’m in the same boat. It helps that I’m tall, too.

So instead of kicking, the baby has been doing more rolling. She’ll roll her heels or butt across my stomach and sometimes it hurts! I noticed her hiccups for the first time last night and Dave got to feel her, too. It was pretty darn cute. Last night she was head down, but today she’s not. I’m anxious to hear what my midwife says about her positioning. I won’t really worry until we get to 37 weeks but I’d like to be able to feel her more accurately. I can’t tell if I’m touching her head, butt, elbow, or foot. You can see in the photo above about how big she is in my tummy right now. It’s hard for me to believe sometimes. As of this week, the baby is not gaining much more length; instead she’s fattening up in preparation for birth and finishing up the final stages of organ growth. If she were born today she’d have about a 90% chance of survival.


According to my midwife, it will be safe for me to deliver at home by week 37. That’s in 6 weeks! I need to be completely ready with my birth supplies and anything else I will need during labor and birth. My mom is helping me out with the tub mat so I’m not sliding all over the place and she’s also buying the mattress covers and a plastic shower curtain for the floor. When you’re at home, you really don’t know where you’re going to deliver. I’m going to stay in the bedroom/bathroom area just to avoid making a mess and the goal is to have the baby in the water. Well, the real goal is to have a safe labor and a healthy mom & baby, but as far as the whole home birth experience goes, I’d really like to birth her in the water.


To backtrack a bit; we had a nice holiday. I am still disappointed that we did not make it to Maine for Christmas, but ultimately it was the right thing to do with all the sick animals. The kitty is doing much better now and Misha (our guinea pig) is all healed up and her front teeth have grown back. The pigs have had lots of extra hay lately due to their inability to really chew the timothy pellets, so they are quite happy. They’re also getting red peppers (has twice the amount of vitamin C as oranges) and shredded carrots. Happy squeaky pigs make me happy.


We have about 3 1/2 weeks until Ohayocon, which will be followed up the next weekend by our baby shower, then Katsucon a week after that. 3 solid weekends of craziness! It will make the time go much faster, though. Speaking of baby shower, I am getting the invitations done tomorrow with my mom. I decided that doing some facebook group invite was too tacky for my first baby shower ever, although some people think it’s probably a lot easier to go the internet route. Oh well; long live the classy invites!


I came across a website tonight, mentioned by a mothering.com mama. It’s for the Newman Breastfeeding Clinic & Institute. They have some great information about breastfeeding; including video clips and PDFs for troubleshooting a plethora of breastfeeding problems. You can also buy the DVD, book, and these really neat laminate wipe-off sheets to use as quick guides. I want to get some of the laminate sheets for myself as a reference and also for my doula business. I agree with so many of the things Dr. Newman and his associates talk about; especially the section on breastfeeding myths. Myths can be detrimental to breastfeeding.. A few that I can think of off the top of my head are that formulas are just as good as breastmilk, if a mother has an infection she should stop breastfeeding, and that women with small breasts will have a harder time breastfeeding. There is so much BAD information about breastfeeding and it’s so sad that women follow the advice of people who know very little about breastfeeding. Another interesting concept that I knew little about was the difference between sucking and drinking. Babies can look like they’re getting milk when they’re actually not. I’ve seen this happen with so many of my friends and I never knew how to really help them. After watching videos and reading about it on Dr. Newman’s site, I learned how to tell the difference between the two and how to actually help. This is really going to come in handy for my own breastfeeding experience, as well when I teach other mamas. It was such an AH-HA moment!


It’s very exciting how close we’re getting to baby time! In about 9 weeks I will have a little baby girl in my arms. It’s hunker down time. I don’t want to over-do it, but I really need to make a big list of all the stuff that needs to get done, including things unrelated to baby. I don’t want to end up neglecting certain things because of a baby who needs to feed every 2 hours.. I won’t be a failure if I can’t get everything done in 9 weeks either. The key is doing things one day at a time and not overloading my daily plate with so much that I get nothing done! I will do my best to update every few days from now on. There’s still so much I want to talk about from my topic list, but there will be plenty of time to get it out after the baby’s born, too.


~Christine