Comparisons

I think Brooksy-Boy looks a lot like Riley-girl when she was a baby.  I thought it right away.  But I also don't think I'm very good at the comparison, who-does-baby-look-like thing.  So what do you think?

On the top left and bottom right-- Brooks
On the bottom left-- Riley
On the top right-- Noelle

Living Room Session

 This morning, while his big sisters went with Daddy to Target, Brooks asked me nicely if I could take some pictures of him, now that he was home.  I said, "Well, okay, Little Man!"  He was really working the strong and smoky look, if I may be so bold. :)

I really don't think there's a handsomer little guy in the world.  And I'm totally unbiased.

Hugs!

When Mike gave me his computer, which had this video on it, I had to upload it immediately. :)

Amazing

Riley and Noelle got to meet Brooks yesterday.  I'll post pictures later, when we GET HOME!! :)  The girls were almost unbearably sweet with their little brother.  They wanted to hug and kiss and hold him.  I do NOT want to forget two things that the girls said.

We placed Noelle on the bed next to Brooks and me.  Steve asked her what her brother's name was, and she answered, "Monkey!"

Riley snuggled up to Brooks.  Then she looked at me and asked, "How did the doctor get the baby out?"  Ha!  How do you answer that?!  I laughed and eventually answered something about him falling out. With how fast he came, that's, uh, kind of accurate, right? :)

He has arrived!!

Before I say anything else, let me just say this: mothers who CHOOSE to do natural childbirth, God bless you.  You are amazing and perhaps a little insane. :)  So with that, here's the story of little Brooks Michael Green's entry into the world...

I had a doctor's appointment at 2:00, yesterday, October 27th.  I had an NST, as scheduled.  But the action had really begun around 12:15, when I felt a little contraction.  I had never had Braxton Hicks contractions, so I was slightly suspicious.  And then the contractions kept coming, and they weren't exactly comfy.  By the time of my appointment, they were pretty consistently five minutes apart. 

Praise God for His timing.  Logistically, everything worked out great.  Mike had actually been working from home for the day, and I was feeling pretty certain that I was going into labor, but instead of having to sit at home, wondering when and if I should call the doc, I just got to walk in and see him.

At the end of the NST, which was totally normal, Dr. Larry checked and found that I was 4 cm dilated.  I asked him what he thought my next move should be.  He told me I could go home but not to wait too long before heading to the hospital.

So I jumped in the car, immediately called the family, and headed home, thinking I'd probably have about an hour before we went in.  However, it only took about 10 minutes until the contractions were at three minutes apart and painful.  The girls were awake, so all four of us jumped in the car and headed to CDH.

I walked in at 3:34.  Stephanie (thank you thank you thank you!) came to the hospital to pick the girls up, so Mike could stay with me. 

I pretty much asked (begged) for my epidural as soon as I hit the front door, so the nurse started to prep me for all the stuff that has to come before.  And, holy cow, I had forgotten how awful contractions can be when they start coming fast and strong.  But the anesthesiologist got there pretty quickly, and I welcomed the relief.

After he finished his work, he asked his typical questions, and I told him I was feeling pain in the top of my left thigh.  "Huh," he said, "thigh... that's a new one."  As he was responding, the nurse checked my dilation and chimed in, "Umm, yep.  That's because she's complete, and the baby's low."  Apparently, Brooks was ready and raring to go.

They called to see if Dr. Macek (who delivered Riley) was nearby, and we found that he was actually at another hospital with another mom who was fully dilated.  Of course, the hospital has a doctor there at all times in case this kind of thing happens.  Nancy, my nurse, told me to let her know if I felt the need to push, and she'd call in Dr. Sanchez.  It took me about four minutes to feel that need, and she made the call.

Dr. Sanchez came in, but it was clear that he was going to hold off as long as possible, hoping Dr. Macek would be able to arrive in time.  Praise the Lord for that epidural because it gave me a few moments of reprieve from those contractions, but sadly, it didn't really have time to take hold.  So let's just say I was hoping Dr. Macek would make it, but I wasn't totally on board with the waiting thing. 

I'm guessing it was only about 10 minutes or so later when Nancy announced that Dr. Macek wouldn't be coming but that he had called Dr. Hay, who was only five minutes from the hospital.  A few minutes after that, Dr. Sanchez finally gave me permission to push.

Don't worry; we'll skip over the details except for the fact that HOLY COW, CHILDBIRTH HURTS!!!  I thought contractions put me at the 10 level of pain.  Clearly, I was wrong.  And I'm thinking that the epidural may have taken off a little edge, but I'd like to think that it couldn't have been much.  So, again, shout-out to natural birth moms!  Dr. Hay rushed in when Brooks' head was halfway out, and I was thrilled to see her. 

I only pushed twice, fortunately, and he was here!

I also should mention, in the interest of full disclosure, that I screamed my head off.  And I'm not usually vocal when in pain.  I'm more of the silent sufferer type.  Clearly, my tolerance hadn't yet been put to the test. 

The poor little guy had swallowed some meconium, so the NICU team had to be called in.

They ended up having to intubate him and bring him down to the NICU, but I got to love on him for a few minutes first.

We got to go down to see him at 7:30, and he was doing awesome.  He's super handsome, just like Daddy, and he was breathing great and ate great, too.

At around midnight, they released him from NICU, and he has been amazing!

His favorite things are eating and sucking on stuff.  He's eating great, and he loves his paci.  And he hardly cries at all!  When they had to check his blood sugar, he let out a short grunt and was done.  What a man!

I'll tell ya... it's an understatement to say that I really love this little guy.

A little less talk...

My last few posts have been so word-heavy.  And I know that pictures are what you're really here for.  Because of our recent illnesses, I haven't shot a lot of new pics, lately, but I did find these from a hilarious sister photo shoot a little while back.  My goodness, I can only imagine what the the pictures will be like with THREE!!

 Yikes.  Doesn't she just look lovey and snuggly?  Ha!

And more of the kind of pictures typical to these attempts...

This one's actually cute of Noelle.  Shock! 

And look!  The two of them together, being sweet. :)

Sleep is for the weak

I've never been a great sleeper. At least my mom will tell you stories of a platinum blonde little lady who would wail determinedly for hours instead of falling asleep. Not that I believe her, seeing as how I'm pretty sure I was the perfect child. (Cough.)

Pregnancy doesn't help the situation, and Baby Boy's imminent arrival just adds another reason to lie in bed, mind racing. Last night, my mind raced everywhere (ka-chow!) and throughout the night. Eventually, at around 3:30, I turned my phone on to make a to-do list. Sure, I wasn't going to DO any of the things in the next few hours, but I thought that maybe if they were written down, I could stop mulling them over for a little. Does anyone else function this way?

To-do lists usually do help me calm anxiety, which, for me, is often caused by expectation alone. Last night, however, the mind just kept on going.

I thought about what I have to do before Baby arrives. (Good grief, I need to clean the nursery. There's a pack of toilet paper in his crib, for heaven's sake!) I thought about our war zone of a laundry room. I thought about "Parks and Rec." I love that Amy Poehler. And I love Leslie Knope and characters who bring out the best in other people, even unlikely people. So then I thought about WALL-E, for the same reason. (Note: don't you dare even think about knocking WALL-E. I heart that little robot.) I thought about what I'm making Erin for her THIRTIETH birthday!! I'm really pumped about it and want to say more, but I know she reads the blog, sometimes, on study breaks. I thought about things I want to sew for the girls. I thought about how I need to finish their Halloween costumes, STAT! I thought about changing the sheets in the guest room. And there was more... But you get the picture, right? Mostly get-it-done! stuff.

I was wide awake, too. Unlike most sleepless nights, I wasn't miserable and increasingly more crabby. :) I was just wide awake. And I'm sure I'll carry that energy into the day with me...

Bwahahahahahahaha!!!

In other words, here's hoping for some really potent Starbucks! :)

Gettin' Close...

This morning was very eventful.  I had a doctor's appointment at Maternal Fetal Medicine, a place I became very acquainted with when I was pregnant with Noelle.  Little Guy wants me to stay on good terms with the seriously wonderful people there because here's how this morning played out.

I had a 9:30 appointment.  I went in and got to watch some Regis and Kelly (ummm... yay?) in the waiting room.  At least they had a segment on "Halloween animals."  I liked the lemur and the owl.  Scorpions?  Gross.  I eventually went in for my ultrasound where they were checking the baby's measurements and the fluid levels.  Remember, I was at 8.2 last Wednesday.

Little Man is looking great.  He was weighing in at exactly 7 pounds, in the 70th percentile.  And his tummy size (which, apparently, is the important measurement) was good.  Then we went to the fluids.  Like I said, I've had a LOT of practice at having these ultrasounds, and I've learned-- well enough-- what to look for.  She went through the first two quadrants, and I thought, Hey, not bad. I added in my head, and we were already up to a little over 6 cm.  Then she went to the other side of my belly.  After searching around for quite some time, she asked, "So, had they said that your fluids were looking a little low?"  I filled her in, and she said, "Yep.  Looks like I can't find any over here, so you're at around 6.2."

Immediately, I started playing out who I was going to call and how we were going to play out the Mom's-going-to-Labor-and-Delivery thing.  Janet went out to talk to Dr. Ianucci, to see his thoughts.  He had her do a test where she watches for the baby to practice breathing.  Basically, we just got to sit and watch his little tummy and chest, waiting for him to suck in and spit out the amniotic fluid.  I'd never had this done, so it was a kind of a fun first-time thing. :)  Mini Man cooperated almost immediately, which was nice.

I then went in to talk to Dr. Ianucci.  He looked at the chart, confirmed that everything looks great, except for that darn fluid.  He also said there was research out that stated that as long as the fluids didn't get below 5, the baby should be good.  But because there had been those declines last Wednesday, and the fluids were lower, he wanted me to get hooked up to another NST.

Margie the nurse set me up and gave me some apple juice.  Then I got to flip through the channels on my little personal TV and see if there was anything worth watching.  Who knew morning television was so awful?  I found Stacy and Clinton but mostly just played on my phone, texting and looking at the internet.

After another long session on that machine, everything looked good.  No declines this time, good accelerations, good movement.

So they sent me on my merry way.  Now I just have to have twice-weekly NSTs and weekly fluid checks.  Goodness gracious.

Skinny Minny and the Lengthening Pants

Riley has the fortunate dilemma of having a teeny tiny waist and long legs.  This means that she can actually fit into size 3T (or even 2T!) pants, but they're way too short on her.  So that means we have a lot of nerd-pants floating around our house. :)

I didn't really want to go out and buy a whole new set up pants for her, especially with all these perfectly good ones lying around.  So I went to work on them.  And since she's a cute little lady, what's better than adding ruffles to ANY clothes?  We still have a couple that need altering, but here's how the first three turned out.

It was super simple and fast.  So... should I show you how to do it?  Or does no one really care?  Either way, now Riley can be clothed appropriately for the fall! :)

Got it...?

"A terrible cold is a cold that is no good at being a cold. I have an EXCELLENT cold." -Mo Willems

First, I just have to say, "Tylenol with codeine, where have you been all my life? Or at least for the last three days?"

I've had off-the-charts awful sore throat and ears these past few days. It's been a very strange thing. My nose isn't really all that bad, but my oh my, all I've wanted to do is rip my throat out. What do you think is the success rate of neck amputations? Just wondering, you know, for next time.

I went into the doctor on Thursday because I was unable to talk or swallow without excruciating pain, and, therefore, I couldn't sleep either. Not a great situation. She prescribed me some antibiotics, and I'd taken every prescribed dose thus far. But I woke up this morning in even worse shape. This is not the way I was hoping to spend the weeks leading up to labor.

By the way, my babycenter.com update had on my checklist for this week to "lay low and take it easy." oh, babycenter, how you make me chuckle.

Anyway, I went back into the doc, and she said that it seems like a really bad virus (since antibiotics had zero effect). She then saved my life by prescribing some Tylenol with codeine. In case you're worried, I even called the OB to double-check this was okay for Little Man. It is. But, he said, it may also make me groggy. "Even better!" say I! :)

I'm an hour and a half into my first dose and am swallowing without wincing. The pain's not totally gone, but still, praise the Lord! I may sleep tonight! I was so excited that I had to pull up my blogger app and post for my whole three (four?) fans to read!

And if you're still with me, here's some more, totally unrelated news... I THINK we've settled on Baby Green's name! No, I'm not going to tell you, but here's a hint...

It's not Grayson. Okay, I really did that hint thing just to give Michael a little start. (Did it work?) Hehe. See; you can tell I'm doing better. But really, the name's not Grayson, which is a shame because I actually REALLY like that name. But could I live with myself if I named my kid Gray Green? Nope. So anyone out there creating a boy name list, consider Grayson. That's a freebie for you.

As for OUR name... You'll just have to wait to find out! And maybe not too long! Hip-hip-hooray!

Just like Sister

I mentioned, a couple posts ago, how I was sent to the hospital to have Noelle after an abnormal non-stress test.

Well, it's looks like Baby Boy is already trying to be like one of his big sisters. Not entirely... don't worry... he's not here yet. But he did go through some of the same motions Noelle did.

Remember, Noelle's fluid levels were low. And the non-stress test showed her heart rate dropping every now and then.

While I was having the NST yesterday (which they've been having me do because of my "history"), I kept thinking, "Huh... This is just like Noelle." The doc came in to check a few times, I saw little dips on the print-out, and they kept me strapped up for quite some time. Sure enough, when Dr. Larry had finally seen enough, he asked me when my last ultrasound was (about 4 weeks ago) and if I'd ever been to the Warrenville office (where I know they have an ultrasound tech). Now I'm not dumb; I knew what was coming.

"There were some dips in the heart rate, which we often associate with low fluid levels," Dr. Larry told me. Then he sent me straight over to Warrenville. But not to the hospital, like with Noelle. :) I did make sure to ask the chances of my having the kid that day. He said my levels would have to be really low. Alright then...

I left the office, made calls to Mike, Celeste (who was watching the girls), and the moms/grandmoms.

A little tutorial on amniotic fluid from someone who knows next-to-nothing: anything 8 and up is fine. 2-3 is where I would have had to be for Little Guy to make an early exit. 5-6 would mean I'd be coming back in a couple days for another check.

I was at 8.2. Normal but on the low end of normal. The doc said I could proceed with my life.

But I do have an ultrasound and NST on Tuesday. And another NST on Thursday. Whoo-boy. Here we go again! I guess the little man shares my desire for him to get out into the big, wide world. :)

What the Heck is for Dinner??

I tried something new for dinner tonight.  I'm calling it...

Tamale Pie... or What Can I Make in My Crockpot without Going Shopping?

My goal was to have dinner ready when Mike got home without having to work on it around 5:00, when my body is deciding it wants to go into full hibernation mode.  I haven't gone grocery shopping this week, so the pickings were slim.  But I wasn't feeling up to shopping, either.  And it was about time for the girls' naps. 

Enter, the inter-web. 

I had ground beef in the fridge, so there was my base.  Naturally, I googled "crockpot ground beef".  I pulled up a page with a long list of ground beef recipes for the crockpot and clicked on a tamale pie link.  It didn't have a ton of ingredients-- a good thing, considering our current situation.  However, I still didn't have a few of the options.  But I figured that tamale pie was kind of like chili-- everyone has a recipe, and you can throw a whole heck of a lot in it and still emerge with a decent result.  What I'm saying is that it's safe to say that I can claim this recipe as my own, success or failure because besides my calling it Tamale Pie, it looks nothing like the original.  The ingredient list is kind of daunting, I'll admit.  That's because I didn't have a pack of chili seasoning.  Plus, they're kind of hard to find in the gluten-free variety.  So I made my own.  Like I said before, if you don't have something I list, feel free to substitute.  It's scary... but then you can't blame me? Ha!  Shoot, you can.  Because I told you to substitute.  Bummer. :)  Also, if you like olives, the original called for that, but I'm not a fan, and olives are one of only three foods in the world that Mike won't eat.

Whatever you decide to do, here's what I did...

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
3/4 cup diced onions (I used frozen ones, which are a lifesaver, by the way.  I keep them on hand and use them ALL THE TIME)

3/4 cup yellow corn meal
1 1/2 cup of milk
1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup all-purpose flour (if you're me, it'll have to be gluten-free)
4 teaspoons chili powder
2  teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 tablespoon dried, minced garlic
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 10-oz can Rotel diced tomatoes with chilis, mild
1 can chili beans
1 bag of frozen corn... or two half-ish bags, like I had :)
shredded cheese, cheddar or Mexican mix

Prep:
In skillet, cook ground beef and onions until beef is browned; drain well. In crockpot, mix corn meal, milk, egg. Add drained ground beef, that big ol' list of seasonings, and tomatoes, beans and corn. Stir it all up. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours. Sprinkle cheeseover top. Cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes longer.


Verdict:

Holy cayenne pepper!!

That said, this was really yummy, but for my tastes, the cayenne needs to be stepped down about 83 notches... or I'd say to 1/4 tsp. The flavor was great, and Mike liked it, though even he said it was spicy. We didn't even try giving it to the girls. That would definitely have elicited tears. I'm wondering how it would be without the flour, too. I'm thinking it's not really necessary.

All in all, I'll be making it again, just with a few alterations. :)

Countdown

The ticker at the top of the blog says that I'm at 25 days till baby. Heavens, I hope it's sooner. Apparently, 37 weeks is considered full-term. I always thought it was 38? My babycenter.com update has told me, twice now, that 37 is the number, though. So can I get a shout-out for an October 22nd birthday? :)

Really, though, I'll be able to tough it out till then.  I'm just waiting on my mom to give me a 12- to 24-hour heads-up.

Let me clarify.  For both girls' births, my mom came in-- no joke-- the day before.  And I wasn't induced.  It's uncanny.  Riley's story is particularly amazing.

Since my folks are out in California, we had decided that when I went into labor, I'd give them a ring, and they'd get the first flight they could.  But in the middle of the night, March 28th, 2008, my mom woke my dad up and said, "We need to get out there now!"  They called me on the morning of the 29th and were here for dinner that night.  Actually, while we were out at Outback, I started having contractions, which I thought were Braxton Hicks (I've still never gotten those).  As it turns out, I was in early labor, and we had our first little baby girl on the morning of March 30th!

 

She has quite a bit of equipment attached to her because her oxygen levels, initially, were slightly low.  She sprung back quickly, though!  Much quicker than her mom, if I recall correctly, and I recall correctly.

 Granddad and Nana (the herald of all things Green baby!)

 I love this picture.  I love that you can see Riley's name on the card.  I love that she's a little sweet pea.  I love that you can see my Mountaineers sweatshirt, so the influence of my grandparents is present, as well. :)

For Noelle's birth, my mom just happened to fly out on December 3rd, 2009.  Riley was excited to have Nana here, and it worked out nicely since I had a doctor's appointment on the morning of the 4th.  

Noelle was measuring TINY for the whole pregnancy-- like in the 3rd percentile or so-- and my amniotic fluid levels were low, so the doctors had been telling me that she would probably come early.  I was going to the doc twice a week for non-stress tests and was informed, at my 37th week, that if anything was even a little abnormal, it would be go-time.  December 4th was exactly two weeks before Noelle's due date, and I had the usual stress test.  

Dr. Bowles came in a checked the print-out a few times, and I think it was on the third or fourth time that he said, "Alright.  You're having this baby today!"  He sent me directly to the hospital (do not pass "Go"; do not collect $200) and said he'd see me soon.  I called Mike (a few times-- pick up, gosh darn it!!!) and my mom, and got to the hospital at around 11.  Noelle was born just a little after 1!  Again, the day after my mom got to town.

 She was a PEANUT!!  At birth, she weighed in at a whopping 4 lbs, 11 oz.  We had a few other guests at the hospital who, when they saw us with her, said, "Oh!  That's Noelle!  She's so tiny!"  Apparently, the other babies in the nursery were giants compared to her. :)  

 I mean, look at her swimming in that carseat!

 Riley-girl instantly loved her little sister.

So, Mom, when are you flying out? :)

I Take it Back

I've complained before about sewing with knits.  Now, I'd like to officially declare that I was wrong.  Knits are not evil or even awful; they're actually pretty fun and forgiving.  I really just needed a few tricks. 

First, here's what was most infuriating to me about knit fabrics: necklines.  Okay, so when you're sewing up side seams, it's nice that knit is stretchy enough to adjust if you've made some cutting mistakes.  But what if you want your neckline to stretch slightly without being stretched out?  You can't use a straight stitch-- it'll just hold tight and snap under too much tension.  And knits don't hold pressing from an iron as well, so you have to fiddle with them.  Early on, I tried zig-zag stitching, but I don't like how it looks all that much.  Plus, you have to be careful not to pull on the fabric too much or you get stretched seams.  Boo on all counts.

But like I said, I'm converted to a knit lover.  I'm thinking that most of my transformation is actually due to practice, but I also discovered a new stitch that I'm in love with.  It's number 20 on my machine, and here's the best picture I have of it:

It's kind of like a double straight stitch with a zig-zag in between, like what a serger does.  Does that make sense?  I'm sure it has some kind of cool, official name.

And with a little practice, I realized that I don't even need to press the fabric over to finish off an edge.  As long as I'm careful, I can keep it pretty consistent by just pushing the fabric into place with my fingers and going at a reasonable pace. 

And look what I've got to show for it!  These are, by far, my most successful knit creations, both using ribbed knit fabrics that I got in the Red Tag section at Jo-Ann's (Yay!  Bargain shopping!)

Noelle is sporting her two-toned long-sleeved top.  (I'll have to talk about my overcoming of the sleeve fear later.)  It's basic, but you'll see from the picture above that it has a pretty cute keyhole on the back with a ribbon flower as a "button."  

And it's orange month at Riley's preschool, so I thought she needed an orange top.  Plus, she's going to be a butterfly for Halloween, and I decided to buy the 60%-off wings instead of making them.  (It gets harder and harder to sew when you're 8 months pregnant!  And, honestly, I just didn't want to mess with interfacing.)  But I couldn't let her be completely homemade-free, costume-wise.  Plus, it's just a hippy-dippy type dress when you take the wings off.   And I do love a good ruffle or two. :)

She has some bell sleeves (because I still wanted them to be a little wing-like). 

Her neck ruffle just goes around the front, but the hem ruffle extends to the back.  

And yes, I think the wings are technically fairy wings.  Shhhh!  Don't tell her!  She'll be getting an antennae headband soon, so there'll be no mistaking her. :)

Granddad and the Tanks

We've had a blast, having Granddad in town.  He's here for Wheaton board meetings, but he's gotten to spend way more time with us than we expected.  We are more than thrilled.  Riley has gotten to show him her preschool.  Noelle took him to see the fish at Whole Foods.  And we all got to show him how fun it is to climb tanks.  (Well, I got to cheer the tank-scalers on.)

We tried to get a picture of all three, but Noelle was clearly not on board with the idea.  Look at the cute matching shirts from Granddad, though!

 

Just chilling and dancing on the tank!

You can't really tell, but if you look closely, you'll see that Noelle is covered with dirt.  How she does it is beyond me.

The coolest flowers I've ever seen...

Even though he was exhausted, Granddad played outside with us, too.  Riley showed off her new pedaling skills (which also resulted in a scraped knee, and she handled it incredibly well).  

And Noelle showed how good she is at pushing stuff. :)

Sadly, Granddad leaves tomorrow, but we'll pack in as much fun as we can while we have him!