Mental Health Day

Today was so neat.


I kept Cora home from preschool today (I know how awful of me and yes I know we are paying for it), but Cameron didn't wake up until 5 minutes of 8 when we would usually get up at 8.  Cora and I lounged in Andy's and my bed until Cameron woke up. Then she stayed in her pj's all day.  She said, "let's have a pj day!"  Speaking of pj's, when I was going through my closet I found the old navy christmas pajama pants that I bought last year after Christmas!  Score!  So anyways, while they watched tv, had cheerios and milk, and played, I started to organize the gazillions of clothes in my room.  Maternity clothes, too small clothes, too big clothes, the laundry that I had to put away.  It is all away and organized (for the most part).  It is difficult because my small clothes are definitely too small (like what I fit into this summer)but my maternity clothes are WAY too big.  So it is kind of awkward.  Anyways, to reward myself and to keep me working the rest of the day, we got in the car in our pj's and went to Dunk Dunk's to get coffee and donuts.  No we don't normally eat donuts but man that Boston Cream donut was D-E-L-I-CIOUS!  And the kids shared two donuts - the pink frosted with sprinkles and the red frosted with red and green sprinkles.  So anyways, they had lunch then they played while I cleaned up after lunch.  They have made up a new game called "hop race."  
This is how it goes, usually after a meal, Cora will start running around the dining room table and say to Cameron, "wanna play hop race."  They will hop/run around the table chasing each other.  It is SO cute.  I am so glad that they are so close and that we had them so close together.  
Meanwhile Cora had to go potty and I nonchalantly asked Cameron if he had to go potty.  Usually he says no.  But he nodded his head yes and said potty.  So I took off his diaper and he went nakey.  I put the potty seat in the kitchen and he sat on it.  He got up wandered around and about 10 minutes later went pee in the potty!  He has gone number two but he never peed in the potty.  Needless to say, this Mommy sang a song of celebration.  And while he sat there, we sang Bringing Home and Baby Bumble Bee which is apparently the FUNNIEST song to Cameron right now.  So I sang that probably 10 times.
My mom came over to give Cameron a haircut which he did great.  Apparently the key with him is to do it while he is very tired, not cranky tired, but tired and falling asleep.  Because he was half asleep the whole time (even when I by accident got his ear - ouch, he didn't even make a peep, I mean seriously this kid is funny).  After this, I put him in for a nap and he fell right asleep and from the kitchen I could hear him snoring on the monitor which was in the living room.  
While Cameron napped, Cora and I went back up to my room to do some more clothes organizing, sorting, folding, putting awaying, giving awaying, etc.  So I have three (no make that four because the other day I went through a too small bin and got rid of most of it) bags to donate!  Yahoo!  Simplify.  This is something I am not very good at it.  I love clutter or at least I tolerate it because my house is never filthy but it is not clutter free. 
Cora helped me put my shoes back in my shoe rack (some of them slip out which is kind of annoying).  She wore my heels (she might wear them more than I do haha), we listened to Pandora on my new IPhone and she watched videos of herself which she loves.


Cameron ate three bowls of cereal after his nap!  Talk about an early dinner haha.  He peed on the floor probably seven times.  But he did go number 2 in the potty (warning gets graphic: I had to pick him up and plunk him in the potty but he finished and sat there for a while so that counts right!?)  And when I put the cotton training pants (the underwear with extra layers) he peed in them and had no clue.  


Oh well.  Who knows, maybe he will take to it, maybe he won't.  But when I put his diaper on to go to bed he was like "no iaper" So I don't know maybe he is into it just not really getting the whole going on the potty concept. 


We had meatballs and pea pods for dinner dipped in a honey soy sauce I made.


It was just a good day.  I don't know what was so special about it.  Even though Cora wasn't sick, I am glad she appreciated the extra day at home with her Mama (even if she didn't get to see her father at all except at 6:00 when he brought her into the bed while he got ready for work).


And when Cameron asks to rock after I leave the room and I say yes it is because I know at some point I am going to say man I miss those days.  So I am cherishing them now.


God, you are good.

19. Coo me please(after Cam burps)

20. Kids running around after dinner

21. Real play while I tidied up my room this morning

22. The after nap or morning toots

23. Cora reading stories to Cam at night

24. Twinkle lights

25. A relaxed thankful attitude in December

Memories that I want to remember/1,000 gifts

10. Hank you Mama (thank)

11. oo that one (do that one, referring to a video on youtube haha)

12. guess what.  what.  I love you. 

13. funny bridge (whenever we go over the bridge st bridge the kids say funny bridge and laugh the whole time)

14. snuggles

15. full body hugs in the morning from Cameron

16. December being a whole month of Christmas

17. new babies (Leanne's in particular)


18.  Mike Tomkins youtube vidoes

Tales from the Rocking Chair

Maybe I should have named my blog tales from the rocking chair or confessions of a green mama.  

Don't you think it would be funny to read confessions of a green mama?

Today, I took the kids sandwiches in plastic bags (gasp!)

I have been using disposable diapers on Cameron since we moved (ugh!)

I run the dishwasher sometimes when it isn't full (oh no!)

I don't dry my clothes out in the sun (this is disappointing to me I am not going to lie)

I don't compost

I threw away some paper today with the trash (oooh)

Well todays post is a tale from the rocking chair.

I have been spending some extra time with Cameron before bed rocking him in the glider.  He is 2.  (gasp, you still do that, are you thinking?  Isn't he supposed to be putting himself to sleep, do you still breastfeed too?  We just stopped breastfeeding this past month and I am very bummed, I had said that I would only breastfeed until he was 18 months.  That came and went and he turned 2 and we were weaning slowly.  He is about done, I don't think there is anything left :-( He asks every once in a while but it is almost jokingly because the last couple of times he has nursed I don't think there was much left)  Anyways, back to the rocking chair/glider tale...

I have really cherished the extra time we have spent cuddling, singing, praying, rocking.  The kids have listened to a worship CD at nap time and nighttime for as long as I can remember.  It is called Sing Over Me: Worship Songs and Lullabies.  And really they are beautiful.  What better to sing them to sleep than songs about Jesus and his love for them.  How Deep the Father's Love For Us, How Great is Our God, May the Words of My Mouth.  It is almost like in those times when we are rocking I can escape the troubles of today.  Enjoy being a child, praise God for the love between a child and his mother.  Thank God that he loves us like a parent loves his child.  Be His child, sit in his lap, sing to him, drink Him in.  Sometimes I pray out loud for my little blessings.  My kids share a room so Cora is usually in her bed about three feet from the chair where we are rocking.  I kiss his head.  Stroke his cheek, run my fingers through his hair.  Savor his little being.  Drink him in.  It is just absolutely wonderful.  I didn't do this with Cora, partially because I had Cameron when Cora was only 18 month but I was convinced at that time that babies were supposed to go right to bed on their own at 8 weeks, thanks Baby Wise.  (that is a little bit of a stretch, I think we did some sleep training when she was much older, 11 months or so)  Cora is 3 1/2 and I will take her to preschool this week and I feel like I missed something.  Those quiet times in the rocking chair.  Rocking, praying, singing, being, loving, touching.  They are not always going to be like this.

I was in a mom baby group after I had Cora and the lady who facilitated it would say to us, "ladies, love your babies, rock them, hold them" when we would say our babies don't go to sleep on their own, other people's baby's are going to sleep on their own.  Now that I have two babies - one who is going to preschool this fall and one who has just weaned my advice is to say love your babies.  Drink them in.  Caress their skin.  Feel their warmth.  Pray for them, thank God for them, because 

"it won't be like this for long."  

While he still wants to be rocked, I am going to cherish it.




Disclaimer: I know some kids don't want to be rocked and that ever kid is different and yes there are obviously other ways to love your child than rocking him at night.

1000 Gifts

Being thankful...

1. girls night

2. little voices in the monitor waking up in the morning

3. waking up before the kids to not only hear them wake up but to do a couple of yoga ish stretches to get my body awake

4. good friends and good conversation

5. rocking a 2 year old to sleep

5. marriage

6. prayer

7. A God who listens

8. These beauties

9. A compassionate, loving, amazing God

More about Cameron's birth story!

Okay some details I left out because I was writing a post so quickly.  He was due August 1st but I told myself the 5th so I wouldn't get too antsy (best advice to pregnant mother: give yourself a due month DO NOT get caught up in a due DATE, the baby coming on your due date is so rare.)  Or at least I got antsy with Cora and those last few weeks were really tough just waiting!  My parents still lived in Westford at this point but they were getting their floors refinished so she was staying with us for a few nights.  This was nice because I was so tired it was nice to have help with Cora.  Luckily, for us, she was there the night I went into labor.  Oddly enough I had a feeling that I was having the baby that weekend.  I am pretty sure it was a Friday because that Saturday my parents were planning on going to a college reunion and I remember thinking I think you might be watching Cora because I am pretty sure this baby is coming!  

Andy had gone to bed and that is when I started contracting enough to know what was going on.  I contracted while talking to someone on facebook chat, I don't remember who this was, was it you?  

My mom was laughing at me because there I am at the computer in the room she was staying in breathing, hanging out and chatting online.  So anyways, several contractions and an hour later I woke up Andy who was not so happy about the fact that he was not going to be going back to sleep. haha

Okay so now you can read the other post to get the middle of the story here








Now for some post partum happenings:
The funny thing about this was they did not whisk him away after birth which was great because a newborn's first moments should really be on the breast of their mother (unless medical intervention is really necessary).  I stepped out of the tub with Cameron on my chest and the placenta still inside of me which was weird because the umbilical tube was still connecting the baby.  I delivered the placenta and the midwife waited for it to stop pulsing blood and Andy cut it.  We didn't do anything with the placenta so she examined it to make sure it was all there and then discarded it.  What was funny about it is both Andy and I were kind of like hey isn't the midwife going to hold the baby now? haha  It was so nice at the birth center, they let you be and it was so homey with the comfort of the midwives.  
And now for some gross details: 
I did tear, but not as bad as the first and the midwife gave me a local shot of pain numbing medicine and she stitched me up - it was weird because I could feel it but it didn't hurt.  
The other gross detail was I passed a fairly large clot when I went to the bathroom a couple of hours after the delivery.  I knew that wasn't exactly right, called to Andy and Andy got the midwife.  My blood wasn't clotting so they had to give me some drugs to clot my blood so I wouldn't bleed too much.  That wasn't fun.  But it was fine and really it was a small obstacle considering what could happen.
Since he was born in the middle of the night, we tried to sleep from 2:30 / 3:00 until morning.  I had such an adrenaline rush after all I just had a baby so I didn't get right to sleep but I did snooze with the baby in between us.  Andy slept fine and before we knew it it was morning.  
I called my friend Leanne to come take newborn pictures and pictures of our new family of four.  I actually think she got there before my mom did with Cora.  My mom came with Cora and made us an AMAZING breakfast.  It was an omelet with zucchini, cherry tomatoes and cheese.  It was so good.  Maybe because I had just given birth but really it was good.  Cora was only 19 months when Cameron was born and neither of my kids are very verbal so she did not say much but she did hug him and kiss him.  My father came later in the day as he was in Westford.
We chose to stay in the hospital for two nights as the birth center offers that option for new families.  But luckily for us the room wasn't ready until late afternoon so we instead were in the beautiful birth center with barely any interruptions!  I had heard that Bridget from church had her baby the day before mine and that Tara (who is mentioned here) was in labor too. 

Bridget is on the left, Tara is next to her and Cerissa is next to me.  Cerissa had her baby about a month after ours.  It actually kind of felt like a party.  Bridge came to see me before she left and my friend Jocelyn came and we went to see Tara.  I felt worlds better than right after I had Cora.  

Such a blessing to have children and to be surrounded by friends who love the Lord!

A look back two years and some other thoughts!

So Cameron turned two yesterday!  I can hardly believe that it was over two years ago I delivered him in the water at the North Shore Birth Center.  It was really a great birth and I think fondly back to it.  It was fast.  I started contracting at 930 or 1015 the evening of the 30th and delivered him at 1:47 am four hours later!  But it was really intense! The contractions were bearable, and we left for the birth center around 1130(?) and they were still 5 or so minutes apart.  I remember walking around the birth center where the appointments are held because there was another woman in heavy labor and I could hear her and it was making me a little nervous.  So Andy and I walked around the other side of the building and were joking around a little bit.  The other woman delivered her baby and the midwife had to connect me to the monitors (by law - boo) and when she did that my contractions skyrocketed.  They got really painful and I remember saying may I PLEASE go in the water now , may I PLEASE go in the water now and demanding that someone give me a lower back rub.  hahah  SO after 10 or 20 minutes of the monitor, Andy filled up the tub and I went in.  I spent some time and there and at 1:35am (I think) my water broke - let me rephrase that, it popped.  I heard and felt it pop.  It was very strange.  Maybe I could hear and feel it because we were in water.  But anyways, a few minutes later Cameron was pushing himself out - the contractions were pushing him through the birth canal.   I remember thinking, um I guess I am pushing.  I must have pushed a couple more times because he was born at 1:47 am and I remember thinking HOLY MOLY that was FAST!!!!

To be continued....