Hey! Everybody! Meet Little Lady Lola!

Whelp, it's official, I had a baby.

Miss Lola Ann was born August 7, weighing in at a robust 8 lbs, 9 oz and measuring 20.5 inches long. She has a head full of brown hair, and beautiful blue eyes, 10 fingers, 10 toes and quite a pair of lungs. She enjoys eating, sleeping, pooping and being worn in her carrier as mom shops or eats while trying not to drop food on her.

Smiley Little Lady, Two Days Old

What? What's that? You want to hear the story of the day she was born?

OK! And for those of you not in the know, you can read TJ's day-of-my-birth story here.

So it was a Monday like any other. My mom was in town and I had stayed home from work that day, as I was 41 weeks pregnant and no longer amused by schlepping, well, anywhere, but especially to work. We watched the Olympics that evening (what else), I read blogs (what else), peed a lot and did my best to ignore the aches and soreness in my abdominal area that had become routine over the past couple weeks.

Tom was working that night and as soon as I talked to him at 10 p.m. when he got off work and he told me he was going out for a drink with some of his co-workers, I just knew our late little bundle of joy would be arriving that night.

And I was right!

I went to bed around 12:30 a.m. and that's when I noticed the achey soreness in my abdominal region had started to come and go in a bit of a pattern. It didn't hurt enough to really bother me so I did my best to relax and rest until Tom got home.

Fast forward to 2 a.m., Tom got home and came to bed.

Me: "Don't get too comfortable."

Tommy: "Why?....Seriously?"

Me: "Yeah buddy, this is definitely happening." <I make large circular motion with my arm over my giant baby bump area>

Tommy: "I knew it! I knew if I went out it would happen today...and I was right!"

Me: "Yeah, I knew it too. Rest while you can, I haven't timed anything but these suckers are definitely getting closer together."

He didn't listen. Tom tried his best to lay down and relax for approximately 3 minutes, before he insisted I call the midwife, then go sit in the tubby, and he began his pacing.

So that's what I did. The midwife (her name is Faith and she's awesome) told me to stay home as long as I was comfortable and to shoot for having my contractions be 5 minutes apart for about an hour before coming in.

Thank Jeebus we didn't listen to her!

I sat in the tub for about 20 minutes, TJ "randomly" woke up (ahem Tom, loudest laugher ever), and my contractions got more intense and closer together. Tom had called his mom to share the news already, and it was at about this time that Tom's stepdad Ken texted and told us to "stop dicking around and get to the hospital."

Sound advice, Ken.

I got dressed, called the midwife to tell her we were on our way, we zipped up our hospital bag (which had been packed for like a month and a half), took one last picture with T as a family of three, and headed out the door.


Headed to the hospital - last photo as a family of three.

I proceeded to have three contractions on the walk to the car, then three more in the car, then three more during the 100 yard walk from the parking garage to the emergency room entrance.

Once in the ER I presented the requisite ID's, as well as my pre-registration paperwork to expedite our check-in (pat on the back, me), hopped in a wheelchair and headed to OB Triage. Once there I changed into my so-stylish hospital gown, got hooked up to some stuff, and was told I was dilated to 6 centimeters. Yeah buddy.

OB Triage
 

It was about this time that Tom figured out there was a set of numbers on the monitor I was hooked up to that told when I was having a contraction and how strong it was. This was a fun discovery for him. He then provided a running contraction commentary for me for the duration of our stay in OB Triage.

After we had been in OB Triage for about 30 minutes (it was now around 4:45 a.m.), I started to get a little testy, and really hot and sweaty because the contractions were very intense and fast at this point, and all I could do was lay on this stupid gurney waiting for the nurses to complete paperwork and get me admitted. One nurse made me lay on my side, and as soon as she left my curtain cell I literally spit hatred on her name during my next contraction and then figured out a way to stand up with all the stuff still attached to me. This backfired a bit when I discovered all I could do from there was move around like a caged animal in the approximately 2.1 cubic feet of space allowed by all of the wires and cords on my person.

Finally, FINALLY we were ready to move to our delivery room and it was at this point I was basically completely immobilized everytime I had a contraction and they were only about a minute and a half apart.

We got to our delivery room a little after 5 a.m. and Tom immediately started the shower for me as I clumsily tried to put my bathing suit on. All I wanted was to escape to the sweet sweet little sanctuary that had been so comforting when I delivered T. I didn't quite get there, though. Between the nurse putting more stupid monitors on my belly, my ineptness at changing, and the fact that (Whoopsie!) my water finally broke, I didn't actually make it to a real shower until the next day.

As soon as my water broke I told the nurse (between expletives) I needed to start pushing. She ran into the hallway to get my midwife and a team of others, and the real party started. I'll spare you the intimate details, and just skip to the part where a crying baby was placed in my jurisdiction, Tommy cut the cord and at 5:26 a.m., only two hours after we  had left our house (thanks again Ken), our second little miracle came to be!

Lola
 

We took pictures, made phone calls, studied her little face and marveled at how fast it all went down. I, for one, was thanking the HEAVENS that it went so fast, as I opt for the natural childbirth method, I really don't know if I could have handled that intense of contractions for too much longer - it was seriously ridiculous. But, just like our first labor we came through it on the other side with a smile, and a healthy, seemingly content little baby! The rest of our hospital stay was uneventful. And BORING. But this time we came armed with reading material, and the Olympics was on, sooo.

Watching the Olympics, obv.


Tom needed to take a load off after the long night.
 

Fast forward to now, baby Lola is still a dream. She has assimilated very well into our little family unit so far, sleeps like 20 hours out of 24 and eats like a champion. I'm thinking she just may fulfill her daddy's wishes and become a competitive eater. Of course, he only wants that to keep the boys away, but judging by the way the child eats I would not be surprised if it came to fruition, and the only milkshakes brought to her yard are vanilla, chocolate or strawberry.

TJ is adjusting like a champion too. He came to the hospital to meet Lola that Tuesday afternoon and was more engrossed in pushing the red button on the side of my bed than he was with fawning over his new baby sister. Whatevs, he's 2. Since we brought her home there has been only one incidence of hugging too hard that basically gave me a heart attack, but other than that he's been gentle and loving, and even tries conversating with Lola.

T, Lola. Lola, T. Love each other, kay? Thanks.
 

T: <As we load up to go to the store> "Lola, you coming to the store toooo?"

Lola: <Blank stare...looks at something shiny...sees her hand move out of the corner of her eye and watches it suspiciously...>

T: <Confused as to why he is being ignored> "Momma, Lola coming too?"

Me: "Yes, boyo, Lola is coming too."

T: <Big smile> "OOOOOK! Alright!"

Me: <Big smile...accompanied by little heart flutter>

And our story continues...

Ciao from Babyland,

Christa

P.S. Enjoy this picture parade of the last three weeks...

  

Hanging out with T right after coming home from the hospital

 

My dad (Pop Pop to the kiddies) pushing the stroller on our first family walk after coming home from the hospital. That buggy is a beast.

 

Pretty Sleeping Girl

 

Lola with my mom (aka ShlimShlam, or Ding Dong) Ready for Kelly Jo's wedding

 

Teej and Lo with Pop Pop and Shlim right after the Altgilbers nuptials

 

Family pic

 

With smiley great-gramma Hitz

 

 

It's Yaya!

 

In her pretty purple tutu, a gift from Yaya!

 

First trip to Roc City to meet the fam, two of Tom's siblings Rachael and Dan (aka ChaCha and Deepers)

 

Prepping for Pain Party Oh-12...Yes, I'm Going for Another Natural Childbirth

What. Who even does that? Elects to try for a double-dip after experiencing the agony of a natural childbirth the first time around?

Oh, this girl.

Bring it.

And by that I mean, please dear God let it be faster and less painful this time.

We're getting close over here people, and I'm just as pumped and excited for baby girl's arrival, as I am dreading it. (You can read our TJ birth story here.)

Super fresh, minutes-old baby TJ

The other day I was at lunch with some co-workers and one of them asked me what had even made me consider having a natural childbirth, so I thought I would share my thoughts with the four of you out there as well. And just so we are clear - I make absolutely no judgements here.

Labor sucks.

It hurts.

Bad.

Like, nuclear-bomb-went-off-in-my-abdomen-and-is-ripping-through-my-body-and-I-can-feel-it-in-my-teeth-and-legs-and-fingertips-and-hair-and-eyeballs-and-it's-not-going-away-and-I'm-probably-DYING bad.

Everyone makes their own choices for how they bring their children into this world and I do not begrudge anyone who chooses to beat the pain with medicinal support.

It's just not my preference.

In the beginning I decided I didn't want to use drugs during my labor because it honestly just doesn't make sense to me. It makes zero sense in my brain that for the nine months preceding childbirth I am not allowed to eat fish, or take medicine, or drink alcohol, or ingest unpasteurized food and drink, or pick up dog poop, and on and on, because doing so could possibly maybe have a chance of hurting the baby. BUT at the 11th hour - during labor - it's somehow ok for me to have anesthesia intraveneously administered while my baby is still inside and attached to me?

I don't get it.



How does that NOT get to the baby?

I'm not a doctor, and I'm not claiming to know anything about medical science, but if you're telling me it's not ok to take cold medicine while I'm pregnant, but I can have serious anesthesia administered during labor, I can't process that. I just don't get it.

Dadda supervising the APGAR proceedings. I took this picture!

So that was the genesis of my not wanting to use drugs during my labor...

And then I watched The Business of Being Born.

First of all, put your giant nips away.

And second, yikeserwhoayowza.

After watching this documentary hours upon hours of research ensued on my part, as my curiosity on the effects of anesthesia on the unborn, and then born, baby was piqued, and to be objectionably honest (personal feelings aside) it was pretty inconclusive. Studies have been done by both sides, those for the use of anesthesia, and those against. But from what I can tell it's a stalemate. They just continue to "disprove" one another's "conclusive evidence," and so the dance continues.

What really blew my mind, though, is that there are serious ANTI-natural childbirth folks out there. To the point of basically declaring war on groups like Lamaze, which is all about natural childbirth.

What?

But why?

To cut through the bullshit The way I understand it, the "PC" argument they pose here is that women should not endure the pain of childbirth, simply because they don't have to. These anti-naturals don't see the point in enduring that pain, when there are approved and effective drugs available to just disappear the pain away. "It's surgery." NBD.

Discovering this led me to do more research, as I forced myself to read every horror story personal diatribe I could find written by women who had had a natural childbirth, and what it was like, as well as stories from women who had used drugs, and what their experience had been like.

Neither side painted a real pretty picture of labor, which I was grateful for, because I wanted to know exactly what I was in for. And I'm not going to get into the "she said - she said" here, because anyone reading this is perfectly capable of doing their own reading (start here), and for me to share the particularly poignant stuff that resonated with me would certainly come off as preaching.

But I will say, without a doubt, I was far more disturbed at the terrible tales told by those women who had used drugs during their labor, than I was by the women who had not used drugs, and ended up with a negative childbirth experience.

For me, I think it's also that when you use the drugs, you essentially give up control. You put the decision-making power of your labor - the birth of your child - into another person's hands from the beginning. That doctor doesn't knooooow you, and doesn't know your baby, you have no idea what that person's intentions are or what preoccupations they may have that day - I feel it's probably wise to be at my witty best in this kind of situation, not potentially numb, sleepy, loopy, distracted, and/or sick.

Minutes after being born...Welcome to the World Little Man!

I'd like to start out with the power to make my own choices for my own child's birth, and if something happens and I have to relinquish that power for the safety and health of my child, then so be it.

So pregs out there - it's important to know your options, do the research, and decide what you want for the birth of your child. No one else can make the decisions for you. Be your own advocate. Be informed about things like epidurals and pitocin and what a low heart rate is for the baby during labor and dilation and scraping cells and the bag of waters.

Be in control. And most importantly BE INFORMED.

I choose to forgo the meds. I can take the pain, so I choose to take it - how can anyone have a problem with that? I don't recall anyone ever dying simply from pain, and I want to ensure I have the option of having the power and cognition to preside over how my baby is born, so that's where I'll start.

My first labor was 16 hours long, and the way I look at it that's 16 hours of my life, for potentially the entire rest of my baby's life, and that's totes worth a little bit of hellacious, teeth-gnashing agony.

After we walked (yes I walked) to our room.

And there you have it. My feelings on natural childbirth, why it's my choice and why it's very important to me. 

One last thought I reflect on constantly that helps me keep everything in perspective...

When I was prepping for T's birth I read a passage somewhere, written by someone a lot smarter than me (how's that for citing a source?) that essentially said, there is no time in a human beings life where they are more fragile or compromised than when they are being born.

That thought helps me keep my preferences and ideals in check, and keep the health of the baby first and foremost in my brain. If I end up having to get an unplanned emergency c-section so my baby is born safely and as healthily as possible, so be it, I'm down. But I'd like to try to experience the single most incredible, empowering and proud moment of my life one more time - to birth my baby naturally, without the synthetic assistance of medicinal substances.

First family photo, home sweet home with our 24-hours old little bundle.

Good luck out there pregs.

With that, I bid you (and this behemoth post) adieu...

Christa

I've Made My Decision, And the Winner Is...

<Cue angels singing gloriously from the heavens>

The Sony NEX-5N with the E 3.5-5.6/18-55 OSS lens package.

This. Is the camera I want.

And it only took me like 2 years to pick one!

Me for the past two years: "I really want a nice camera. Like a really good one that's easy to use but that will take amazing photos of our kids."

Tom: "Ok, which one do you want?"

Me: "I don't knooooowwww, I just want to take the pictures."

After eons of extensive research on my own (which yielded nothing because I know zero about cameras), we went into a camera store the other day and the lady behind the counter gave me a demo on four different cams. Three DSLR's and then this beauty.

This Sony was far and away my favorite. It has everything I want, like creative photo settings, it's great in low light, the body is small and compact, it takes HD video, you can take panoramic photos, and MORE!

I am reminded right now of shopping with my dad when I was growing up.

Me at age 4 to ...well, present: "Dad I really want <insert item here>!"

Dad: "Oh yeah, that's really nice, yep, looks great! Let me show you how to make that happen."

And then he would do this...

And then I would hold my breath until I got my way.

BAH! Just kidding, I never did that once. No way Mike McElyea would stand for that nonsense. "Whelp, save your money!" really was always his response when we asked for big ticket items growing up, though.

Oh yeah, in an unrelated reminder...I do have a birthday coming up (August 31) just in case anyone forgot. Aaaaaand, also totally unrelated, but come to think of it, I am going to give birth to a child soon, soooo, in some circles that is often cause for celebration, which certainly could include the bestowing of expensive trinkets.

But what am I saying, this post is about a camera - I don't even know what made me think of that baby and birthday stuff (August 31).

One last unrelated thing: I am available for product testing and reviews. So if anyone from, I don't know, Sony?, is reading this...juuuust throwing that out there.

Happy Camtastic Photo Phriday Phriends!
Christa

Like Peas and Carrots

In honor of Father’s Day, today I pay homage to The Man and daddy of my babies – TOMMAAYYYY. First, for the one of you reading out there who is not related to me, allow me to introduce you to my sparkle heart husb. With photos. And comments.

This is Tom.

He pulls his pants down when he doesn’t want his picture taken.

He likes to watch Hoarders and then “practice” for someday when he gets to become one.

He’s a majah USA Soccer fan...actually a major soccer fan in general, but this pic is from our cheer parties during the 2010 World Cup. We were U-S-A, all the way. Yes that is a flag banner hanging on the wall.

(Aside: Let me try and give you an idea of how much Tomas hearts soccer...I have seen my husband cry exactly three times – one was when our son was born, and another was when the USA soccer team defeated Algeria in the 2010 World Cup. You remember that right? Because like me, your husband made you decorate the house in red, white and blue and take off work for every game the USA played in the 2010 World Cup, right? NO? That was just ME?! Shocking.)

He’s Santa Clause…Don’t tell your kids.

He peed in this shoe because he hated it. And no he was not intoxicated. Just decided to pee in my shoe one day so I couldn't wear it anymore. I was laughing too hard to even be mad.

I don’t even…just…yep, that's my man.

He HATES looking directly at the camera for photos.

And he lurrrrves his baby boy.

I know, I know, every dad loves his boy, but this pair is truly two of a kind. TJ is the happiest, loviest, smartest kid I know, and I credit most of that to the time he spends with his daddy. Tom and T spend all day everyday together and when I get home both still have a smile on their face, and TJ has a sparkle in his eye - and lots of stories to tell.

They go to the park.

They both generally adhere to the "Sun's out, Gun's out" policy in the summertime, whenever possible.

They chill.

They read together. In matching chairs.

They stroll their way to daily adventures.

They wrestle.

They do cool stuff, like go to car shows so T can dazzle yellow lamborghini owners with his expertise on their car.

They cheer for Penn State.

Whether it's in the kitchen, at the park or on the beach, they play soccer pretty much every single day.

They laugh…a LOT. In fact, I think they have a new little inside joke pretty much everyday too.

When I put TJ to bed every night, the last thing I say to him is "Momma will be here when you wake up," and his response every single night that Tom is at work when he goes to sleep is the same - "and Dadda be here too!"

TJ and Dadda are like peas and carrots, and I could not ask for a better teacher, or more devoted, fun and loving father for my babies.

Happy Father’s Day Pooper! - I hope you know I appreciate you everyday and not just on this one.

Continuing to harbor strong feelings of affection for you,
Wife

Photo of the Week

"HELLO?!"

This is TJ on his "Tootsies Phone". Yes, you read that correctly. TP has taught him to call any number of various invidivuals on his tootsies to have meaningful conversations throughout the day. These individuals include, but are not limited to:

Ginka and Geneva (Yaya's goats at the lavender farm in Rochester)

Elmo

Thomas the choochoo

Superwhy

The most popular recipient of Tootsies Phone calls are Ginka and Geneva - T likes to check in often to see how their new baby goats are doing. Various family members receive calls from time to time as well, so stay by your tootsies people - you don't want to miss it!

Hey! I'm Back!

Oh man, has it been forever! I have missed blogging! Three months, 2 weeks and 1 day into this craziness I feel like I FINALLY have enough of a handle on this parenting thing to say we have established the all-important routine. Let's catch you up on the last three and half months, shall we?

The first 6 weeks after Thierry's birth I was on maternity leave. And it was AWESOME. Tommy was in his brother Dan's wedding on August 21 (6 days after bebe made his appearance) and left for NY on the 18th - the same day my parents arrived to meet their grandson and hang out while baby daddy was away! When he was 6 days old Papa Mac took Thierry to his first baseball game (outside the womb, that is, he had been to approximately 50 games while in utero). Tomas returned to us unscathed the day after the wedding and we met him for a much-anticipated reunion in San Francisco. After meeting Tommy at the airport we spent the day at Pier 39 and enjoyed a birthday lunch (for ME) at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. We left mom and dad, er, excuse me, Gramma and Papa in San Fran and returned home to Motown as a family once again!

Tom's parents Ken and Connie (aka Yaya and Poppie) came to Modesto about a week and a half after TJ was born for a delightful visit that included lots of laughter and an awesome rib barbecue at our house. My mom came back for a double dip and overlapped her visit with Ken and Connie's so they could meet each other. Shar-Bear stayed for a week and was an enormous help with the baby and around the house! Anytime you wanna come back ma, you're more than welcome :) After the visits were over the days blissfully ran into one another, we didn't get much sleep, and took lots of walks around the neighborhood with our baby boy for the remainder of my maternity leave.

Buuuuut, those long days of delightful relaxation and hanging out with all of my babies came to an end and I returned to work in October. Fortunately my boss has allowed me to work part-time from home and my schedule in the office is only 8:30-1:30 everyday until we return from our Christmas holiday break in January.

At 11 weeks TJ started sleeping through the night and he has been a ridiculously amazing baby since we brought him home. He's incredibly strong and very easy-going. He doesn't cry too often, rolled over for the first time when he was 7 weeks old and loves to hang out with mom and dad. He's also content spending time with himself, and at just 3 months likes sitting in his bouncer or laying under his mobile and just checking everything out. One thing he does not particularly like is sitting in one place for too long, and he lets us know it! He's starting to recognize words, is smily and giggly and absolutely fantastic. I could seriously gush about the kid for hours!

Being a parent is completely surreal. I can't even describe it. But I know that I love it. Over the next couple of weeks I'll catch up on some of the fun adventures we've had since welcoming Thierry, and do my best to keep up with everything that's coming up. For now, here's some pictures of the boy...welcome back to blogging MOM...bahaha, so surreal :)

This is What We Were Doing August 14...


Brand New...


Just Cleaned Up...


Home from the Hospital...


Us...


First Baseball Game!


Thierry Goes to San Fran...


Baby's First Bath...


Mmmmm...Ribs...


One of Our Favorite Things...


Yaya and Gramma!


Ready for Some Football!


15 Weeks...