Mia doesn't eat grapes

Along with her new baby sister, B has had a lot of new rules introduced into her life recently. For example: Mia doesn't eat grapes...Mia doesn't eat Cheerios...Mia doesn't drink juice...Don't pick her up...Ask mommy before you touch her...Wash your hands before you touch her...and above all--DON'T wake her up if she's sleeping! :) It's enough to make any almost-three-year-old melt down. Through it all Bianca has been incredible. She's surpassed all my expectations as a big sister and just wants to hug and kiss Mia all day long. Mia loves to stare at her. They're very sweet.

Mia looks so much like Bianca at her age, it's like deja vu. Right now it looks like I make one baby--same model, two different years. Right down to their matching outie belly buttons. It will be fun to see Mia grow and become a little individual.

Mia had her two week appt today and she's gained A POUND in the past week, putting her at 9 lbs 4 oz (75th). Funny thing is it's exactly Bianca's weight at her two week. Crazy! She's also grown an inch (20 3/4--also 75th). My kiddos grow like weeds right out of the gate. Mia's already outgrowing her newborn-sized clothing and moving into 3 month. Putting away the too-small clothes always reminds me that this time passes so quickly. The days are flying by.

Supervised play time in Mia's crib.


Hangin' out in a cute outfit from aunt Kora.

Aunt Laura came for a visit with our snuggle bear.

Photos

I planned to take some one-week photos of our new princess, hoping to get some "sleeping baby" shots, but Miss Bright Eyes decided to be awake the entire time! :) Here are a few shots.

First bath

Miss Mia, all snuggly after her first bath. Is there anything better than a clean warm baby?

First week

I can tell life with two kiddos is going to be a juggling act! We're all doing really well, and Steve and I keep commenting that we feel so much better and have more energy than when we brought Bianca home. So far, the biggest challenge has been meeting the needs of both kids (sometimes one has to wait!) and keeping Mia protected from Bianca's enthusiastic affection! B wants to hold her, kiss her, and play with her, so I have to keep watch constantly. B is already settling in and accepting Mia being here as normal, so she's not getting quite so agitated when she cries. Steve is home from teaching this week, but things are getting crazy with basketball starting. He already has practice and is spending his little free time making practice plans and telephone calls. The next three months are going to fly by!

Bianca finally got to make a birthday cake for Mia and daddy. Aunts Kendra and Sarah helped.

Holding Mia. She got up the nerve to hold her on by last Thursday night and has wanted to hold her several times a day since.

Trying to make sissy laugh.

Mia with Farmor (Steve's mom).

Do you think she's proud to be a big sister?

Mia is a pretty easy baby so far. She seems even older than 42 weeks to me--she has really long alert periods, she's an expert nurser, and she can hold up her head with pretty good control. We've had lots of cute moments...Mia gets the hiccups a lot and does a little squeak when she hics...so Bianca always says "Mama she's laughing!" and then tries to imitate the noise.

She had her first pediatrician appt yesterday and is already back to her birth weight and gaining! I learned that she's the Jacobson family's biggest baby--cousin Jillian was the next largest at 8lbs 1oz. Bianca was a narrow thing at 7lbs 5oz...it's fun to have a baby with some chub!

She's here!

Well, Mia Juliet finally decided to make her entrance! She arrived at 11:50 am on Wed. Nov. 11. Birth story: Early in the week I was feeling a little discouraged and anxious about labor and my chances for a VBAC. It seemed like the baby was high up, barely any dialation--deja vu from Bianca's labor and birth. I went for repeat accupuncture on Monday evening, but didn't feel much change. My water broke around midnight on Tuesday night. I felt some crazy baby movement and all of the sudden a -pop- like a balloon bursting. I never expected my water to break pre-labor--I thought you had to be much more dialted for that to happen (shows what I know!). No contractions at that point, so we stayed at home and headed into the hospital at 2am as labor was starting. After working with very intense contrax for about 7 hrs, I was only dialated 2 centimeters, and baby was still at -3 station (very high). This was almost exactly what had happened with B. I knew that baby was going to be very stubborn about moving down. It didn't take me long to decide on an epidural. It was in place by 9am, and things started to fly after that. By 11 am I was fully dialated and ready to push, and Mia was born 50 mins later. Not bad for a first-time pusher!!! (My doc and doula both told me to expect to push for a couple of hours.) After she was born, the doctor put her on me and Steve leaned over and told me that it was a girl. I was crying, and I just couldn't believe that it had happened. The experience was very intense and emotional for me, especially toward the end. My tears started to flow at 9cm when I realized that I was really going to push this baby out. My mom had five c-sections despite her best efforts to have first a home birth, then VBACS. After hearing about my mom, my old doctor had told me that "maybe there was something with my anatomy" that wouldn't allow me to have a vaginal birth. I definitely had doubts but I'm glad I decided to face them. I'm so grateful that I was able to assemble an awesome support team this team, including my doula, Kelli Hancock, who firmly believes that women make babies that fit out of them. Steve was an awesome support and coach. He surprised himself by watching the birth and even taking photos of Mia coming out.

One thing that helped was that I had a sort of "customizable" epidural--they set the medicine at a lower level and allowed me to adjust the dosage as needed. So during pushing, I was able to feel the pressure of each contraction and know exactly when and where to push. I felt Mia kicking and poking as she moved down and I was able to feel her come out into the world. It was a truly amazing experience.

A funny moment from labor--early on while we were in triage, the admitting nurse (who took literally hours to get us into our delivery room) told me "You look kind of irritable". I was sitting there thinking--why would she say that...to a woman in LABOR? How rude! I mean, I was feeling pretty irritated, but I didn't know that it was so obvious. :) Later on we clarified that she had meant my uterus looked irritable (i.e. she had thought the early contrax might be dehydration and not true labor). So that was the running joke during labor, anytime things were taking longer than we wanted, someone would say "I think she's getting kind of IRRITABLE!" :)
Photos!!!

Hello, sweet girl.

Her nails were really long and she'd been scratching herself in the womb!

Ready to go home. Outfit knitted by Farmor (Steve's mom).

Welcome home sister!

Birthday boy with his brand-new girl.

We're happy and cozy at home with our two beautiful girls. Mia is very sweet, not quite as spirited as Bianca was, but very active. She's very vocal and loves to coo and squeak, I love listening to her. My milk is in and she's a happy nursling. I feel richy blessed in this incredible season of our lives, with our own girls, and growing families, weddings, new houses, new jobs, and other adventures happening all around us for our friends and family. It's just amazing, and I'm so thankful.

Guess what?

Still pregs. Some of the positives of being overdue--getting to see the shocked looks on people's faces when they ask when I'm due and hear the response: "Last week!" :) Also, getting to hear the many, many tips that people have about bringing on labor. So far, in the past week I've heard:

Baking bread

Strawberry-dipped Dairy Queen ice cream cones

Jumping jacks (ouch!)

Spicy food

Pedicures

And I can't even remember the rest. Hmmm...gotta say, if any of these things worked every time, there would be NEVER be any overdue babies. :) Since I have the time, I'm getting more and more last-minute things done, like orgazing B's third birthday party, buying batteries for the swing and bouncer, and wrapping Christmas gifts. Maybe that's why my babies are late--they know better than to arrive before mom's finished her to-do list!

Milo and Sylvie hanging out in the baby's bassinet (it's an Arm's Reach co-sleeper that hooks onto our bed like a sidecar). Glad someone's getting to use it! They're not big fans of newborns, so once the baby's here they won't go anywhere near the bassinet, or the baby. But they do enjoy all the soft and cuddly baby things beforehand.

We made it!

Since Deuce has decided to stay put for now, we got to take what's now our tradition--a "due date" photo.

On Bianca's due date--Nov. 28, 2006. She ended up being eight days late--after the due date I wasn't in the mood for any more pregnancy photos!

So, it looks like I just don't have my babies early. I had hopes that this one would debut a little before his or her due date, but no luck. Steve said my babies like staying in because I feed them so well and take such good care of them, they just don't want to leave! Sweet, but I'm getting really impatient to meet this little one! Every morning this week I've woken up thinking "today's the day!" So now, I'm just moving on with my life and the baby can come whenever he or she decides. Even though I'm uncomfortable, I feel blessed to have had a very drama-free pregnancy. Hopefully Deuce is getting lots of cute baby fat and getting ready to meet us very soon.

In true 2yo fashion, Bianca did her part to make things tough today: she found my $17 Laura Mercier very waterproof cream eyeliner--which I thought I'd lost--and covered herself from head to toe, and did the bathroom counter and tub while she was at it. She had a lot more fun putting it on than she did taking it off. That stuff is like greasepaint and it took a lot of soap and scrubbing. She shed some tears and needed her pacifier for comfort. So the bathroom is now spotless, and B's been thoroughly exfoliated--and the week is almost over. :)

The Underbelly

Steve was laying on the floor when I walked by and he said "Hand me the camera, you've gotta see this". O...M...Gah. There's really nothing else to say. I'm a planet!

I had "labor induction" acupuncture today to help get things moving. The acupuncturist, who's done this for hundreds of women, told me that she would expect me to be in labor within three days. Who knows with my stubborn bod. The treatment took about 30 minutes. It was enjoyable, not too painful (OK, the ear needles stung just a tad!) with tiny, flexible needles in my ear, hands, shins, feet, and lower back. The needles were almost as thin as a strand of hair. Afterward I definitely felt...drugged--sleepy, spacey, and glassy-eyed. As far as induction goes I'll take this over Pitocin, although like many "natural" things, it can be much slower to work than a pharmaceutical. I went home and took a long nap and woke up to some strong contractions, but all is calm right now. I wasn't expecting an immediate result--anything that can shave a few days off the pregnancy or a few hours off my labor while being safe for baby is worth it to me.

Labor playlist--I haven't thought much about the music that I want in labor since last time, I just wanted quiet. But since we have the time, I decided to pull a few CDs. Bob Marley, a collection of Hawaiian music that Steve put together from our last trip there, and ocean sounds. Cheesy, but that stuff relaxes me. I guess I'm an island girl at heart.

On another note--We are SUPER excited for Kora and Nick, who just got engaged in Mexico! There must be something in the air--2009 has been a year of weddings and engagements (hopefully to be followed by a bumper crop of babies in a couple of years--no pressure though, guys!) I couldn't be more thrilled for my BFFHS (best friend from high school). I'm very much looking forward to Wedding Season 2010--right now we have Laura and Israel (6/05), Kendra and Tyler (9/18) and now Kora and Nick (TBD!) on the roster!

Cheers!