I'm not dead

I just sorta fell off the blogging wagon. Its the kind of thing that is hard to get back to the longer you are away from it. It's like exercise. You lose your taste for it if you quit for long enough. Plus, I feel like I have to have the perfect post. What's that all about? So, this is not the perfect post. But it is proof that I am alive, although sometimes I wonder about that.

Evelyn is on this kick where she calls me Jess. I always tell her that my name is Mommy to her, but it totally cracks me up. Do you ever wake up and it seems as if your kids changed overnight? Like they grew up? Evelyn just went through one of those. It always amazes me. She has started singing all the words to songs all by herself. On Sunday, I went down to the basement and found her there playing all by herself. She has never done that. And she wanted to stay down there by herself. She didn't need me to be there. A little troubling.

Seriously, why does anyone make their child stop using a pacifier? It will mess up their teeth? Please. A pacifier is like cocaine for Gabe. Its almost scary sometimes. But, honestly, wouldn't it be better if everybody just carried around their own pacifier and blankie until they died. Like, instead of smoking, eating compulsively, and trying to hyper-control our lives. I guess those things are not as bad for one's teeth.

But, what do I know?

My pacifier of choice these days is called Gin. Gin and tonic, more specifically. I really like expensive gin, but these days I am forced to drink Seagram's. I guess life could be a lot worse, you know?

Evelyn turned to Joe this morning while they were eating breakfast and said "My milk came down". Evidently she was referring to her let down reflex. You see, she has been nursing her doll baby.

Kids choose to repeat some of the weirdest stuff. I guess I am glad that she didn't turn to Daddy and say "Shit!". I better quit that, 'cause it's only a matter of time.

14lbs 7oz

That's how much Gabe weighed today at his two month checkup. He has gained four and a half pounds in two months. Evelyn did not weigh this much until she was about 5 months. Gabe is truly a hoss. But, I guess all he really does is eat, poop, and sleep (with a few smiles in between).

Joe has been in Milwaukee since Sunday night. Tonight was the last night that I have to put the kids to bed by myself! It actually wasn't that bad (don't tell Joe). I have started putting Evelyn to bed a little early, just because she seems like she needs it. I think things have been a little hard on her emotionally, lately. Anyway, I even give them a bath together every other night, and I think Evelyn really likes it. I was so afraid that she would wig out when I tried to put Gabe in the bath with her. I guess it gives her someone else to pour water on besides herself. I love to see her love on him. Today she asked if she could feed him. Maybe in another month.

My old man

This is my beautiful husband, Chief Aebi. Right now, he is at the grocery store doing the shopping for me. His second trip to the store this week.

Joe has always been a lot of fun, (not to mention, very easy on the eyes) but ever since Gabe was born, he has seriously stepped up to the plate. Not only is he coming home early these days, but he has been super helpful with everything around the house. He busts ass at work, and then he comes home and busts ass at home.

That's a lot of ass bustin'.

My hat is off to you, Chief. You are lovin' me right where I need it. And most times, that ain't easy.

Gabriel's arrival

I thought I had better write down everything I can remember from the day that Gabe was born before I forget it all. So, here goes...

I had been having contractions all week long, but at my OB appointment on May 18th, the doctor said there was no change in my progress. However, she was willing to let me go past my due date, provided I came in for some fetal testing. I also let her strip the membranes to try to get things moving. That was on a Thursday. So, Friday rolled around, and I started having contractions, but I was trying not to get my hopes up, because I had been wrong all week. But I had lost my mucous plug overnight, and I thought that was promising.

I can't remember when I called Joe, but he was home that day by 2 or 3 in the afternoon. We were still not sure if this was the real thing. My contractions were close together, but they didn't feel particularly strong. I remember thinking to myself that I was tired, and it wouldn't be so bad if the contractions stopped, because then I could at least get some sleep. That was about 9pm. The contractions got markedly more intense at about 9:15pm, and we decided to call Maureen, since she was going to stay with Evelyn overnight. She was going to come over at around 10:30, but after a few minutes, we had to call her back to see if she could come a little sooner, since things really seemed to be moving now. She came over at 10. I kept trying to give her all these instructions about Evelyn. She was trying to get me out the door.

On the way to the hospital, I could not sit in the seat. I had to kneel in the front seat and lean my forhead on the headrest. By this time, I had to focus pretty hard during the contractions. No walking, talking, etc. during contractions.

We got to Labor and Delivery at about 10:30. This lady who was confirming some of my information was all mouthy with me. She was pissed because I came in just as she was about to leave. We know this because she told us so. She wasn't even looking at me, and I don't think she realized how hard I was laboring. Anyway, this super-angelic nurse named Michelle asked Joe to finish the check in process, and she took me into an exam room so she could check my progress. Now, it just so happens that Michelle was the very same nurse who was there for Evelyn's delivery. She is everything that a L&D nurse should be. Calm, compassionate, speaks in a low voice. We were hoping that she would be our nurse again. More on that to come. When she checked me, she said that I was about 4cm dilated. I was so disappointed to hear this. I really expected to be further along. She strapped some fetal monitors on me, and left the room. Joe was with me, by this time. At 11pm my water broke. We told Michelle about it when she came back, and they started prepping me for Labor and Delivery. They put in a port, and just before we left the room, Michelle said that our nurse would be Anne, and that she is hearing impaired. She said she is an excellent nurse, but to make sure that she could see our faces when we were talking to her. We walked down the hall to a labor and delivery room. Michelle helped us with our breathing techniques on the way. I guess we should have practiced them more, but it's a little like riding a bike. Michelle helped us get set up in the room. I sat on a birthing ball in between contractions, and I stood up and bent over the bed during the contractions.

We met Anne, our labor and delivery nurse. She started out by asking a lot of questions about my medical history. I still needed to have fetal monitoring done. They were trying to get what they called a "reactive strip", which is a logue of the baby's activity/condition during an awake state. I think they needed this because I did not have an IV. Anyway, they were never able to get it, and they wound up doing fetal monitoring during the entire labor. This might not have been so bad, except for the fact that Anne had a real knack for pressing the fetal monitor right on the part of my lower abdomen that hurt the most during each contraction. It must have taken her years to develop such a talent.

Pretty soon, I started feeling the need to push, and I told Anne. It was surprisingly soon. Like maybe 15 minutes after we got there. In her bitchiest voice, she said, "well, you're going to have to get in the bed if you want me to check you." I think she was pissed that I did not have an epidural, and that I was not in the bed, because she treated me like crap. I got in the bed, and she checked me again. I think at that point she said I was 7cm dilated. I think they had already called the doctor at that point. I sure as hell hope they had, 'cause it gets ugly at this point.

So, I got back out of the bed to try to get those last 3cm. And sure enough, I really felt like I needed to push. I waited a few minutes, and then I told Anne about it. She said (annoyed) that it had not even been ten minutes since she had checked me last. She wanted to wait a little longer. Here is where it gets a little fuzzy. I know that from that point on, I was not checked again until the doctor came in. But, somehow, I wound up in the bed again. I think I had to get in bed, because if I stood up any longer, I was going to have the baby right then. So I lay on my side, holding onto the rail for dear life and staring at Joe while trying to breathe through the contractions. Anne was totally uninvolved. She just stood back watching us, and she would say, just keep puffing through those. Joe says that we carried on like this for 45 minutes, waiting for the doctor to get there. My abdomen was convulsing from me trying not to push. But you can't really keep from pushing at that point.

Finally, the doctor walked in. Everything was all set up except that they had to lower the table. It was Dr. Paul, who is not my regular OB, but I thought she was just fine. When I put my legs in the stirrups, the baby's head was already right there. I pushed twice, and after that Dr. Paul did an episiotomy. It was a little weird, because all I saw was this huge syringe sticking in my crotch, and I could tell when she cut my flesh, although it didn't hurt. Joe said he couldn't watch. Obviously, there was no discussion about this, because there was no time. Anyway, it was a very minor episiotomy. On the third push the head was out, and then came the rest of the body. The first thing the doctor said was, "he's huge".

Indeed, he was huge. 9lbs 13oz huge. The women in my family tend to have big babies, but I guess I thought that with Evelyn's 7lb 11oz birth weight, that I had escaped this trend.

Now, here is the last thing. You would think that since Anne had decided to be so indifferent to my pain during the entire labor, that she would just leave me the hell alone. But, no. She has to help clean me off after I get sewn up. We go in the bathroom so I can try to pee pee. She takes this washcloth, and started to SCRUB my hindquarters with it. Not gently blot, being sensitive to the fact that I had just given birth. I do one of those hissing inhales, like when something really hurts, and I asked her, "can I do that instead?" She said, "If you want to", like I was crazy or something.

Gabe was born at 12:45am, so the whole thing was pretty quick. I am grateful that I have short labors.

I guess that's about it. All in all, a pretty smooth labor.

Tomorrow is my due date. Every night I have enough contractions to keep me up for about 2 hours, then I wake up in the morning, still pregnant. Every night, I think I am going to go into labor. You would think I would have learned by now.

I know they say you can't stay pregnant forever, but I am not so sure I am buying it. I have an appointment tomorrow with my doctor, and I know she is going to want me to schedule an induction. I really don't want to have that conversation.

Anyway, the anticipation is killing me. I just get so depressed with each day that passes without a birth. And I don't feel like it is going to happen today, either. I don't feel all crampy or contraction-y or whatever.

At least I won't miss Lost.

This is me on my last day of work.

It has been a long time since my last post. I have been frantically preparing for the new baby. Fourteen days to go until my due date. I am sooooo ready. I never thought I would feel that way. Last time, I wasn't ready to have the baby even when we were en route to the hospital. This time, I can't believe how everything hurts. Last pregnancy I accidentally ripped our back gate off its hinges trying to catch a dumpster thief when I was at about the same stage of pregnancy. I can't really see myself doing that this time around.

I think the most notable thing that has happened since my last post is that our neighbor caught our fence on fire from a cigarette butt. We call our neighbors "the Ozborne's". As in Ozzy Ozborne. Not because that is their real name, but because they are pretty bad neighbors. They have 3 scotty dogs. They are the yippiest, and our neighbors let them out at the worst times. Like 11pm and 6:30am (on Sunday morning). Amazingly, Barb and Liz (the Ozbornes) actually have the gall to complain about how other neighborhood dogs behave. Anyway, Barb's twenty-something year old daughter is a smoker and is always throwing her cigarette butts over the fence into our yard! It is truly amazing. So, I guess it was only a matter of time before our fence caught on fire.

Ok, I changed my mind about the most notable thing. Here it is:

I am officially unemployed!!!!! So now, I just work my ass off at home with no pay, sick time, etc. But that's ok. That's how we want it.

My last day was April 27th. Chief and I may miss the paycheck a little bit, but that is it. I don't regret it in the least, and thankfully, neither does Joe. I don't know what I would do if I was made to feel guilty by my husband for not working. I am so thankful that we are in complete agreement on this. Anyway, this change makes so many things in our life so much less complicated. I love it.

my little monkey

This is a post that I wrote on April 12......and then forgot to post.

Evelyn climbed out of her crib during her nap yesterday, twice. Needless to say, she did not actually nap. Anyway, I have often wondered what it will be like when she first climbs out of the crib. Basically, there was a big "thud", then screaming. I attribute all of this to her new found skills on the playground and in gymnastics.

So after all of that, we had to go to our attorney's office to sign a bunch of papers. And, of course, we had to take Evelyn with us. It always seems like she decides to skip her nap on the days that I have a doctor's appointment, or something else like that. We are keeping her in the crib, though.

Evelyn is Two today!!!

Two years ago, I gave birth to the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on, Evelyn. Other people may have ugly newborns, but not me.

How can she be two years old? Today, she can have all the strawberries she can eat. Especially since she has not had them for days because she had the flu this week.

Evelyn makes me look great, with only rare exceptions. I say that not because I am obsessed with myself, but rather to demonstrate how fortunate we are to have her. It is not because I am some kind of super-parent. I feel like I am just making it up as I go. Today, we went to the doctor for her two year checkup. Here is where she stands:

Ht 34inches. (70th percentile)
Wt. 27.5 (65th percentile--she is normally closer to 30lbs, but, again, the flu)
Head size I guess I missed this measurement, but I know it was in the 75th percentile (not counting hair volume).

Our pediatrician adores Evelyn because her mom has the same name. When Evelyn was born, she was not taking new patients, but she took us anyway because of Evelyn's name. She said she thought it was a sign from God because her mother had just passed away the previous week. We love Dr. Anne.

Evelyn, you are the best of everything, all rolled into a cute little package. I love you!

March Malaise

The past week here at the Aebi household has been a living hell. First, Evelyn gets the flu, and then I get it. This was Evelyn's first major vomitting experience, and it was terrible. She would not lean over the pan we had for her. She just wanted to hug me, so it was pretty messy. That was Saturday morning. Then, Monday morning I got it. Then Wednesday, Joe got it. My sister, Suzanne, came to take care of me on Monday so that Joe could go to work, and guess what? She came down with it, too. Last word was that her husband, James, does not yet have it. Keep your fingers crossed, 'cause this one is a bitch to avoid.

All of this came right on the heels of the three of us getting over a cold. It is all I can do to keep myself from cussing a blue streak.

This is the fourth time that Joe has been sick in the month of March. As you can imagine, we are not sad to see March go. March gets a great big middle finger from the Aebi's.

Yesterday was the first day this week that I have not had to launder something with either vomit or diarrhea on it.

The Poop Post

For all of you who have been as worried as I have been about Evelyn's constipation, I think the Milk of Magnesia worked it's magic overnight. Evelyn had a very normal poop this morning. It was just like old times. I had no idea how much I would worry about baby poop. I am just hoping we will continue on this trend.

Secondly, I got poop on Karen's bath mat last night at kinship. Not my own poop, but some baby poop. Karen seemed to take it all in stride, but I think the childcare situation may have totally scared the new couple. I hope they come back. We are really not incompetent.

This last part is not about poop. Last night, I had nursery duty. Jaime and I were totally awed by the way the boys are so wild. Simon asked Jaime and me if we would wrestle him. I told him I didn't want to hurt him. He didn't buy it. The rest of their time was spent wrestling with each other over a couple of brooms. I guess boys don't see brooms as something to sweep with. I have a lot to learn.

Today I was working in the room that will soon be Evelyn's, and she did the cutest thing. She walks over to me, says "kiss", so I give her a kiss. She then says "see ya" and walks out of the room and shuts the door behind her. I have never seen her go through this game before. Of course, she immediately started crying when she realized she could not get back into the room.

This afternoon, I gave Evelyn a dose of cough medicine. She has always been very good about taking medication, but today she said "yummy". I am so lucky!

Mommy cute

I just put Evelyn down for a nap. That kid is so sweet. She was touching my hair and face and saying "mommy cute". It is hard to believe that she is already to the age when she refuses to kiss me. How did that happen? Seriously, you gotta kiss 'em while you can.

Evelyn had her first taste of apple pie today. It went like this.

Mommy: You want some apple pie?
Evelyn: No. (very whiney tone)
Mommy: Its like cookies.
Evelyn reluctantly tries some apple pie, then makes a face like I just poisoned her. This is her response to all new foods.
Evelyn: More.

It is so much fun to watch Evelyn with other children. She is so socially cautious around kids she doesn't know. At storytime yesterday, the kids were playing with balls. Evelyn was standing with a ball in her hands when this little boy came up to her. He had a ball, too, and he kept hitting her ball with it and making some noise. Evelyn just looked at him, very stunned. She was so perplexed by what he was doing.

The thing that I find interesting about Evelyn is that she NEVER cries when I leave her in childcare. Even when she does not know another soul in the room. I drop her off, and she takes off and doesn't look back.

To me, these characteristics seem contradictory.

So, basically, I am not so good at faithful blogging.

Evelyn is now almost two years old. I think we are going to go to toddler storytime at the library today. She loves to play ring around the rosey. She calls it ashes. Its super cute.

Joe had the flu last week. The fever was remarkable. It lasted almost exactly 48 hours (the fever) and tylenol and motrin hardly touched it. He was off work Wednesday through Friday and missed his trip to Milwaukee because of it. It was nice to have him at home so much, in spite of the circumstances.

We made some great progress on Evelyn's new room this weekend (with the help of Dwight and Julie). We got the last of the wallpaper scraped off the walls, and the glue washed off. Now we just have spackling and painting to do. I really want to get Evelyn moved in there soon so that she can have plenty of time to adjust to her new room before the baby comes. I know she will do great with all the transitions, but I just want to make it as easy on her as possible.