Milk from there

Elliana is 1 month old today. Having kept her home this whole time, I was getting antsy to go back to church and worship with my fellow believers. This morning, I decided, was the best morning to start back again. It really helped that Ellie let me get a good night's sleep last night, only waking me up 2 or 3 times to eat and change a diaper. I got a 4 hour stretch in there, as well! So, she and I got all gussied up this morning and headed off to church with the rest of the family.

When we got to church, Aurora and Ryan walked around with me while we waited for their Sunday school teachers to arrive. Both the older kids were beaming proudly, showing off their big sister/brother skills. Aurora would let everyone in on some sweet little fact about her little sister. The adults would all smile and giggle at her and she puffed up with each turn. Ryan, not to be outdone, kept trying to come up with some fascinating fact about Ellie. I was watching him as his older sister got all the attention; I could see the wheels turning in his mind as he frantically searched for something Aurora had forgotten to mention. I had no idea what we were in for.

Ryan finally came up with his exciting fact when we introduced the baby to his Sunday school teacher, who is a man. The fact Ryan decided to share with him? Brace yourself:

Ryan said, "This is my little sister and she drinks milk from THERE!" (and, yes, he pointed right at my chest)

I was mortified! Of course, it's ok to breastfeed. I mean, obviously I feel that way--I do it! But, the look on his Sunday school teacher's face was one of absolute embarrassment. I don't know who he was embarrassed for more, me or him! I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole! Ryan, completely oblivious to the squirms going on all around him, walked into the classroom so proud of his special Elliana fact.

I walked away, hoping this man would compartmentalize that memory to some recessed corner of his mind that would be forgotten in 2 minutes.

The Hazards of Growing Up with Girls

Ryan has 2 sisters and a Mommy. He adores us all. This whole house is full of everything pink. Unfortunately, as a result of all our girly-ness Ryan has fallen prey to many a girly antic.

Today was not an exception. Ryan and Aurora have been playing so well with each other since Elliana came along. It's almost like they have a common ground now that they both have a little sister; they have been clinging to each other so much. Their fighting has even lessened, much to my absolute surprise and benefit.

Back to today, though:

The kids had been back in Aurora's room for quite some time, playing gleefully. They had not been quiet, but they had been keeping each other entertained and weren't fighting. So, I left well enough alone. When it was time for lunch, I called both kids out to their plates at the table and they came running out screaming something about "starving". That's when I noticed it:

Ryan's fingernails were PINK. I'm talking "Hello, Kitty" pink! Very casually and calmly, I asked him what happened to his fingers.

"Oh, Aurora did this." he said. He then took a bite out of his sandwich. Nothing out of the ordinary going on here, he supposed. I stifled a laugh. What would Rob think? Oh, my goodness! Daddy already has had to accept that Ryan loves everything little and baby. What would he think if our Squinky-loving and baby-loving son started wearing nail polish? No, I think we must draw the line somewhere. I think we may have just found where the line must be drawn.

So, I explained to Ryan that he could wear his nail polish for today only, but we were going to remove it at bedtime.

"Why?" he asked. I then explained to him that nail polish was really for girls to make themselves look pretty. Boys don't want to look pretty; they want to look handsome and nail polish is too pretty to be handsome. I let him down easily, and I hope he understands.

I am not one of those sexist people who thinks that boys need to be all about trucks and dinosaurs and lizards and LEGOs. My son is into all that stuff, anyway. For goodness' sakes, he had a Dinosaur-themed birthday party just last month! He just happens to have an older sister he adores. I think he was proud that she paid enough attention to him today and painted his nails during said attention-giving. For once, it was all about him and not about her--even if it was girly nail painting.

Anyway, the nail polish has now been removed and Rob is none-the-wiser (until he reads this blog post, that is). Ryan is pleased that he now looks handsome instead of pretty. Aurora got to paint someone's fingernails today. All in all, I think everyone's happy and we can now go to bed fully satisfied.

She's Not the Mother!

Last night, Rob and I were sitting on the couch with the baby around 9 p.m. when we heard 2 voices back in the bedrooms having a conversation with each other. Now, bedtime in our house is 8 p.m. Those 2 voices should have been snoring instead of chatting with each other.

Rob, being the excellent father that he is, went back to do some investigating. He noticed that Ryan was not in his room; he was in Aurora's room. While Rob was standing outside her room, assessing the situation to determine the best course of action, he kept hearing a very tired Aurora saying, "Get out of my room... Ryan, get out of my room, please. *yawn* ...Get out of my room." Her protests were falling on deaf ears, however. Ryan was happily playing on the floor of her room, paying absolutely no mind to Aurora's plea--and blissfully unaware of his father standing outside the door.

Now Rob, being the soft-hearted father that he is, decided to take a gentle approach. He told Ryan he didn't belong in Aurora's room after bedtime and that he needed to get in his bed and stay there.

Aurora, being the epitome of the oldest sibling, simply stated "I told him to get out of my room!" And, she was right. She had told him that. Over and over and over again. He just didn't listen. And, why didn't he listen? His next statement summed it all up:

"You're not the mother, Aurora!"

I guess he thought he didn't need to obey her command to get out of her room because she wasn't Mommy.

What am I gonna do with that boy?!?!?!?

Elliana Noel Rose--December 30th 2010

Well, folks, it FINALLY happened! That's right. I gave birth. Phew! Now, we can scratch that one off the list and get our tax break, to boot!

Just kidding! It's not all about the tax break. It's now all about our beautiful baby girl! And, she is just fascinating! After our 2 miscarriages in a row, we are not taking one thing for granted with this little one. The older 2 kids are more precious to us now, as well.

So, here's the story:

I went to the OB on December 22nd and had an ultrasound to measure the baby. I was 37 weeks at the time. He measured me and the baby and decided that she was growing big. I had been begging my OB to induce me at 38 weeks because I was just sure that if he let me go full-term that I would have a 10 lbs. baby. After measuring the baby at 7.5 lbs (according to his machines--I thought she was already 8 lbs.), he agreed that she needed to come out soon. When he mentioned her induction date would be in December, I told him I could kiss him! That meant that I only had 8 more days of being pregnant! I was beside myself with pure joy! I was going to meet my baby girl in 8 days!!! That was a heck of a lot better than the 19-20 days I was counting down.

Christmas came and went. The kids kept asking when the baby was coming. I gotta be honest, I was trying everything in my own power to will this child out of my body. To no avail. The Braxton-Hicks contractions kept coming regularly, but never progressed beyond annoying. I took bath after bath, trying to relax my body into labor. There were a few other tricks I tried, but none of them worked.

Ryan's birthday came and went. I was grateful that she didn't come on his birthday. He's already going to be the middle child and I didn't want him to have to share his actual birth date with his little sister. I hobbled through that day quite well. And, I was hobbling and waddling quite a lot by this point!

FINALLY, December 30th arrived. I had been having regular contractions every 3-4 minutes the night before, but since I was scheduled for an induction at 5:30 a.m. and we had childcare lined up for that, I just ignored them (as best I could) and waited to go to the hospital. After all, my water hadn't broken and they weren't hurting yet. Sure enough, when they hooked me up to the machines at the hospital, I was registering regular contractions and was asked by the nurses why I didn't come sooner. *sigh* Trust me, I wanted to!!! They started me on pitocin immediately and my contractions started getting stronger, longer, and closer together--rather quickly, I might add. Quick enough that I was asking for an epidural shortly afterward.

At about 8 a.m., my OB strolled into our room and asked me how I was doing. I had my epidural and couldn't feel a thing anymore, so I was doing great! He broke my water and left to attend his other patients.

Around noon, I was told I was at 6 cm and it wouldn't be long now. I took a nap. I woke up from my nap to be checked again. 9 cm. That was around 1:30 p.m. Sweet!!!

About an hour later, the doctor came in again and told me his other patient was having a tough time pushing. He said something to the effect of "Let's try a push and see where you're at." Famous last words. I warned the nurses that I was told I was a "good pusher" with my other deliveries. So, I gave a push. The doc started laughing and said he'd be right back. Apparently, my one push was enough to start delivering my baby!

He suited up and came back in. I gave one more good push and the baby was O-U-T!!! And she was on my chest and I was holding her and it was GLORIOUS! She wasn't crying yet and it took a few minutes and a couple nurses to get her crying, but she was healthy and beautiful and BIG! 8 lbs., 8 oz. and 20.5 inches long. Yessireebob, we make big babies.

We've been home now for just over a week and our baby girl is already growing bigger. She's the sweetest little thing. Ellie's just about the most content baby I've ever seen. She rarely cries, except when she's pooping--which she does more often than I think necessary!!!

Today, January 10th, was my due date. I now hold an 11 day old baby in my arms and am so grateful to God for His many blessings on our lives. It's been quite a journey to get here. We've learned many things over the past 2 years, some good lessons, some painful lessons, but in all I'd say it's been worth it. So worth it.

Elliana Noel Rose

b. December 30th 2010

3:09 p.m.

8 lbs. 8 oz., 20.5 in.