From 39 to 42

39 weeks

42 weeks

The Birth Story

First off, I recognize that not everyone is going to want to read a birth story ... so I'll give you some quick escapes if you need them:

(1) a sweet reminder from my friend Amber who guest posted for me last week.  While this is particularly relevant for parents, it can also be meaningful for anyone who is trying to remain balanced and focused on the things that are most important in life.

(2) My theme song for the next three months:


(3) If you haven't yet had the chance to check out the series of guest posts from Mary, you'll want to.  She's a fabulous cook, and has shared some great recipes in the "Holiday Sweets" series.  Check out the Pumpkin Cupcakes, Skillet Apple Crisp, Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars, and Holiday Biscotti.  There's one more post from her coming soon - check back next week for some festive cookies!

(4) Baby Girl was born the day after my four-year blogiversary.  Just for fun, here's a link to the first-ever rhymeswithsmile blog post: Russian Apple Pancakes.

And now, the birth story.

I'd been having contractions for the entire month of November.  Sometimes they were strong and regularly timed (like the night I was up for 2-3 hours with powerful ones every 6-8 minutes), and other days they'd come and go with mealtimes, rests, water breaks, exercise, and toddler playtime.  Everyone - doctors, friends, the internet - told me that since my first was born right on time, the second one would probably come early.  Yes!  I was ready.  Mom flew in the week before the due date, and we scurried around making preparations, cooking, cleaning, and running errands like mad so that we'd have everything ready for November 16th.

But then the 16th came and went.  I was so disappointed and even a little weepy.  Not only was I physically uncomfortable and huge, I just wanted to meet our child!  But, I figured we could wait another day.  Besides, Mom and I had projects to do, and recipes to try.

But that day turned into another one, and another one ... and finally, another whole week had passed, and there was no baby (and the doctor told me I was about 2 centimeters dilated - I think maybe he was just having pity on a woman a week past her due date).  Family came into town for Thanksgiving - and instead of having a beautiful child to share with them, I showed them how awkward it is for a 41-week-pregnant woman to stand up from the couch and how much food could actually be stuffed into a pregnant belly.  Then, they left.  I resigned myself to the fact that I'd always be pregnant, and would never be able to go more than 1 hour at night without having to get up to pee, and would always grunt and look ridiculous whenever I had to go from sitting to standing.  I felt frustrated, sad, cranky with my body, and just plain upset.  Of course, my logical self knew that the end was in sight and I'd get my body back eventually ... but my oh-I'm-so-over-it self kept stuffing that self in the back of the closet with the pre-maternity skinny jeans.  (It's easy for me to have some perspective on this right now, looking across the living room at my sleeping newborn.  But this time two weeks ago, I was a mess, and not very pleasant to be around.)

So, the visiting family members left on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  Mom stayed here - bless her preciousness.  We went for a moderate walk that morning on a trail by a reservoir, and that really tired me out.  I had some contractions, but nothing regular or too painful.  I was, after all, always going to be pregnant, so contractions didn't really mean a whole lot to me anymore.

Saturday night was uneventful.  I went to bed, woke up multiple times during the night to pee, and slept in between.

Sunday morning at 6 o'clock, I woke up with contractions.  They didn't necessarily feel any different than previous contractions, but they were coming regularly at 6-7 minutes so I laid in bed for about half an hour, timing them and paying attention to them.  By the time I got up, I decided I should eat something - because, if these really were meaningful contractions, I would need energy ... and if they weren't meaningful contractions then I still wanted food.  Through breakfast, they started coming about 5-6 minutes apart, then 4-5 minutes.  I realized something was up when Mom asked me a question and I couldn't answer her until the contraction had passed.

Not wanting to rush to the hospital and be told that I was still at 2 centimeters (or worse, that I wasn't even really in labor), I decided to stall.  Why not take a walk?  The dog needed to get out, and it was a pretty Sunday morning.  Mom got Little Girl ready to go, and I said I'd join them.  But then all of a sudden, I couldn't.  The contractions were coming 3-4 minutes apart, for about a minute.  The last thing I wanted to do was walk through the neighborhood , stopping at every other driveway to huff and puff my way through a contraction.  So, we sent them on, and the Mr. and I got ready to go to the hospital.  He loaded things in the car, we called the hospital, and then we were off (after a somewhat weepy goodbye to the Little Girl and Mom).  I was scared - mostly of being turned away from the hospital with a pity pat on the back - but excited too.  Maybe we'd really get to meet our new child soon.  I sure hoped so.

We got to the hospital around 10:15 on Sunday morning.  Sure enough, I was in labor (I think I said "Praise Jesus!" when the nurse said they'd admit me), dilated about 6-7 centimeters.  I could've kissed that nurse.  I was so thankful that we were going to have our baby!

Contractions kept coming, but the nurse didn't check me again.  They monitored the baby's heart rate for a few minutes every 15 minutes or so, but didn't keep me hooked up to anything so that I could move around as I needed to.  After a couple of hours or so I started wondering how much I had progressed, and when I would know that I should start pushing.

And then it happened - the Mr. and I were alone in the room (my nurse had just stepped out for a few minutes).  I started to have a contraction, and then I had the sensation of a young elephant falling out of the sky onto my abdomen and had SUCH a strong urge to push.  There was so much pressure, and it was awful.  I don't remember whether I called the nurse or whether it was the Mr. who did it, but there was no doubt for either of us that this was it.

Apparently, my nurse also knew something was up from our tone of voice.  She rushed back in the room with a troop of other nurses and the doctor.  This was at about 12:20 PM.  The doctor barely had time to suit up (I heard her yell, "I don't care what size of gloves you give me - I'll take anything!  We're moving fast!") before another contraction came and I had to push.  My water broke then (exploded, really - the only gross fact I'll share).  But eleven minutes and four contractions later, our child was born!

And ... it's a GIRL (the Mr. got to announce it to me!)!  She weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces - just half an ounce less than her big sister.  She's 20.75 inches long, with a head full of dark hair and beautiful rosy cheeks.  She is healthy, squirmy, newborny, tiny, and precious.  We are so excited to have TWO daughters - TWO DAUGHTERS!  I'm still in shock.  I love it.

This time around, I am thankful for so many things regarding the birth experience ...
- that it was only 6 1/2 hours long
- that I knew from prior experience that labor wasn't going to rip me in half
- that it was an uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery
- that even though pushing a small human out of my body is probably the most painful and horrible experience in the world, it was SHORT
- that my kind, understanding, supportive husband was present and encouraging
- that my sweet Mom was able to spend a total of 3 1/2 weeks caring for me/us/Little Girl/Baby Girl

- that this Baby Girl is joining a family and community that have anticipated her with such joy, and welcome her with such excitement

Holiday Sweets 4: Holiday Biscotti

This biscotti is a fun, slightly fancy holiday treat. Making them has become a December tradition for me, often for a cookie exchange. Never made biscotti before? Try them! Perfect with a hot cup of coffee or tea. ~Mary

Holiday Biscotti

Recipe & photo from Foodnetwork.com

Yield: 12-18 cookies, depending on size you make the log and slices 

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2  teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup dried cranberries

12 ounces good-quality white chocolate, chopped

Red and green sugar crystals, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the pistachios and cranberries.

Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.

Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.

Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Dip half of the biscotti into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off the excess chocolate. Place the biscotti on the baking sheet for the chocolate to set (optional: cover baking sheet with wax paper). Sprinkle with the sugar crystals. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes.

The biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap them in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.

She's Here! (New Baby Pancakes)

Multigrain Medallion Pancakes
From Runner's World, October 2012 *do not be fooled - I have not taken up running.  It should tell you something that the one piece of information that I gleaned from a running magazine is a pancake recipe.*
Makes 16 four-inch pancakes

1 c. white flour
1/3 c. each: cornmeal, whole wheat flour, and old-fashioned rolled oats
4 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. milk or water
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, plus extra for brushing the griddle
1 tsp. vanilla

Heat a large skillet or griddle over low heat.  Mix flour, whole grains, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl.  Microwave buttermilk and milk for 30 seconds in a 2-cup measuring cup.  Whisk in eggs, oil, and vanilla.  Pour wet ingredients into dry; whisk until just mixed.  Return batter to measuring cup.  Increase heat to medium and brush skillet with oil.  When oil starts to spider, pour batter 1/4 cup at a time.  When pancake bottoms are golden brown and tops start to bubble, after about 2-3 minutes, flip pancakes; cook until golden brown on other side.  Repeat, brushing skillet or griddle with oil.  Serve hot.

Newest family member - welcome, sweet girl!

You may remember how passionate I am about pancakes - so much so that I announced being pregnant with Baby #2 at the end of a post about my favorite pancake recipe.  So, it only seems appropriate to share about the arrival of Baby #2 with another pancake recipe - coming full circle, if you will.  Just to get this out there - these are great pancakes.  Hearty, a little "meaty" with the whole grains, and nicely filling.  We ate them for dinner the night before Baby was born, so maybe - just maybe - this is what triggered her arrival!  She was born nine days past her due date - which started to wear on me a bit (ok, a lot) - but she knew when she needed to come and we're just so thankful that she's healthy and wonderful!
Welcome, sweet Mary Gatliff!

Exactly one day old - 12:31 PM

Getting some love from Diddie!

We're healthy, adjusting to each other, and working towards our "new normal" together.
Check back later for the birth story details, if you're interested at all.

This Is Your Work

I am again grateful for friends - and especially those who are willing to guest post for me!  This comes courtesy of my friend Amber, a sweet woman and mother of two little boys, whose positivity and kindness are a great encouragement to me.  And, I can't even begin to talk about her quiet level of energy - she gets up at 6 AM, gardens, helps run a preschool co-op, makes all her own bread ... oh, and did I mention she has TWO little boys?  

I once heard a religious educator share the following experience.  He was loaded down by stacks of paper work on his desk when a young woman came in, obviously in need of a listening ear and counsel.  Stressed about all the work he needed to get done, he felt an impression come to his mind as he remembered what was most important, "THIS is your work."

One day, I was on my hands and knees, talking to and smiling at my little baby Tyndale who was laying down on a blanket and cooing and smiling back. My two-year-old Ked had climbed up on top of me, ready to ride me like a horse. I kept thinking about how I needed to get back to work, when the phrase, "This is your work," came to my mind.

A little while later, I took Ked to the back window, hoping to find something to distract him after he'd been grumpy and crying ever since he awoke from his nap. Thankfully, a couple of squirrels were putting on a great show collecting walnuts. I pointed them out to Ked and explained what they were doing, and we watched for several minutes. Again, I kept thinking about my list of things to do and that I needed to get back to work. And again the phrase, "THIS is your work," came to my mind.

A while ago, I heard Julie B. Beck explain the differences between necessary and essential when it comes to raising families.  There are a lot of things I need to do that are necessary. But there are things that are too often given up that are essential!  "Maintenance parenting" lets go of that essential part.  I'm grateful to understand that the spiritual and emotional nurturing of these little boys is essential, as well as the physical and mental. Now I just need to remember that, and make it a part of my natural disposition!

My boys are clamoring for my attention as I write this. Gotta go!

Can you see the squirrel holding a nut in the tree? I took this a day or so after I wrote this post, when I noticed a rainbow out the same window where I took Ked to look outside.

The (Im)Patience Series: Blacksburg Enchiladas

Here's another recipe from the houseofthepassingduedate - Blacksburg Enchiladas.

I can't think of what else I'd call them - Creamy Green Enchiladas?  Creamy Chicken Taco Enchiladas?  The Green Enchiladas That Taste Awesome Even Though They Might Sound Questionable?

Feel free to offer your own suggestions.

We're enjoying all kinds of food here, while we I somewhat impatiently wait for Baby #2 to get here.

The (Im)Patience Series: Parmesan Chicken

I'm waiting - not very patiently.

C'mon, baby.

Here's another recipe that my dear sweet mom and I have recently tried - Dr. Jill Biden's Parmesan Chicken Recipe.  Even though we halved the recipe, we still ended up with a 9"x13" pan full of chicken, and ate on it for two nights and a lunch.  I'm usually too much of a frugalist to buy boneless skinless chicken breasts, but they were on sale for $1.79/lb, and I felt entitled.  Nine months of pregnancy and a passing due date will do that to a girl.