Pinterest Challenge!

I was inspired by a friend who recently created and completed her own "Pinterest Challenge."  Basically, you commit to complete one project that you have found on Pinterest every day for 30 days.  For those who don't know, Pinterest is "a virtual pinboard...that lets you organize and share beautiful things you find on the web...used to plan weddings, decorate homes, and organize favorite recipes."

I was impressed by all the projects that she accomplished, so I took a look at my pinboards and got started. Here is a little about what I did during the first week.

{I just realized my last blog post said that I never have time to clean, yet somehow I found time to do these...each one honestly didn't take very long, and it helped me feel like I "accomplished" something during the day, so take that for what it's worth!  haha}

Day 1:  Pretty Makeup Brush Holder

This was an easy one.  I already had this leftover from a centerpiece and I have had no idea what to do with it, because I had taken the flowers out to use for something else.

So all I did was tie a ribbon around it, and stuck my makeup brushes in there.  Super easy and looks cute in my bathroom. :)

Original Pin:  (the link is bad, so here is just the picture)

My results:

Day 2:  Food coloring ice cubes for the bath

Original Pin (another bad link, so it's just the picture):

Our results:  Fun bathtime!  They melted pretty quickly, but Grant thought it was fun.  He was disappointed when they were all gone, lol.

Day 3: Blog Article: "Advice for second time moms to be"

It talks about transitioning from one kid to two.  

Some things I tried that the article suggested:

-Go hands free:  I tried out the Moby wrap for the first time and it REALLY seemed to help the fussiness and enabled me to do other things and not feel so tied down to a crying baby.  I'm definitely going to continue using it.

-Involve your first child:  he's been getting me diapers and I loved the hint about reading to him while i'm nursing the little one so he feels involved and it's good multitasking.  :)

I'm so glad a friend of mine pinned this!

Day 4:  Manual Binder

This was a really helpful idea.  You Put all your manuals into a binder, to keep all in one place:  

My results:

 I really like this one!  I already had the binder and page protectors, so it was easy to just throw stuff in there.  It cleared out a lot of space in my kitchen cabinets since most of the manuals are from appliances, etc., that are in the kitchen.  Great idea!  I still need to go through some of our electronics stuff to gather that stuff together, but so far I already have lots more space. :)

Day 5:  30 minute rolls

My results:

Mine definitely are a lot uglier than the blog!  I found that the dough was very sticky, even though I followed the recipe exactly, I couldn't really get it to form into balls, so I basically just dropped it in the pan.  Maybe I should have added more flour or something.

Anyway, they tasted pretty good.  They weren't amazing or anything, but for only taking 30 minutes it was worth it to have rolls with dinner.  They were more dense than I would think a roll should be.  But I'll still keep this recipe on hand for times when I want some bread with dinner in a hurry.

Day 6:  Organizing laundry room

One of the tips I did was to get a 3 bin organizer for separating laundry, since I'm bound to have more of it now.

My results:

I don't have a pic, but I found a much cheaper version of this at Walmart for $10.  It was easy to set up and I think it will work great!  So far I'm using one bag, for baby clothes, one for towels/blankets, and one for whites, since those are the loads I do most frequently.

This site actually has quite a bit of good tips for organizing if you click through them.  I would like to do more, but I'll have to get to it another time.

Day 7:  Emergency kits for kids/babies

My kit for my newborn:

We have family emergency kits, and I already had stuff for my toddler, although at another time I want to add more of the things on this list.

Since I just had a baby, I needed to add another bag for him.  I didn't have everything on the list, but I just put together what I had, and I'll add more later.  I like how the site gives you quantities.  I included: 20 diapers, travel container of baby wipes, small bottle of baby wash, wash cloths, burp cloths, baby blanket, a onesie and sleeper, a bottle with formula (even though I exclusively breastfeed, you never know what will happen), 6 bottles of water, and a flashlight.

Stay tuned for Week 2!

We have survived 3 weeks!

Thomas is now 3 weeks old and I'm happy to say we've survived being on our own for a little while now.  It was very scary for me to be in charge of two babies by myself all day and it has been challenging, but not as hard as I thought.

Having two kids, especially with one as a newborn, is MUCH busier than it was with just one toddler.  Grant could take care of a lot of his own needs and entertain himself a lot.  Now he is a little more clingy and it's hard to get him to not yell and poke the baby and wake him up.  He also has been extra stubborn with what his eating habits (which has been an ongoing struggle anyway), so that has taken a lot of my mental energy.  Thomas has gotten a little more clingy, too, wanting to be held a lot.  I've been using wraps and slings to carry him around for part of the day so that I can still do things while keeping him close and happy.

Basically I go back and forth between them a lot and the hardest times are when they both need something, and both end up crying LOUDLY at the same time.  Sometimes I cry too, haha.  There are also MANY more diaper changes with Thomas now.  This kid poops a lot!  Literally almost every single diaper has poop in it.  They aren't huge or overly stinky, but still- it gets old.  I can't wait to potty train Grant, but he's still not showing enough interest for me to think he's ready.  Hopefully not too much longer, though.

My house is always messy.  I am back to being able to get the dishes done every day, and maybe ONE other thing (load of laundry, clean one toilet, etc.), but that's it.  I had gotten into a really good cleaning schedule before Thomas was born and I wonder if I'll ever get there again.  So...if you want to feel better about your own messy house, just come over to mine and you won't feel so bad anymore. ;)  It's a public service that I provide, raising the self esteem of others everywhere.

So my life is pretty exciting, isn't it?!

Luckily, I have these two cuties who keep me laughing and fill my heart up with love and fulfillment.  I wouldn't trade them or this life for anything.

Now for some pics.  I realize Grant never has pants on in any of the pics.  A lot of times he just runs away after I change his diaper before we can get them back on.  In these pics, it was right after his bath. :)

Thomas' first bath

Staring me down...

After his 2 week checkup.  He gained back his birthweight.

I think his eyes may be blue, but it is hard to tell.  Guess we will wait and see.

Grant is obsessed with these pumpkins.  They came on a strand of lights that I got for decoration, but he pulled them all off.  He took one with him to cuddle with in bed last night.

So grown up...big brother!

Daddy and his boys!

Grant decided he wanted to go on a trip.  He has been dragging this suitcase around everywhere last night and this morning.

My little snuggler.  He is so precious.

Video of Grant and Thomas

Here's a little clip of Grant interacting with Thomas. His favorite thing to say is "he's awake! he's awake!" over and over again. Also, whenever Thomas' arm or leg touches Grant, Grant SCREAMS and laughs because it tickles him. Then usually he runs away. It's pretty funny.

One Week Old

Thomas is now a week old!  Time is already flying.  It feels like it has been one really long day.  The cycle of feeding and changing him makes every day feel the same and almost makes me lose track of what day it is.  My mom came for a few days to help us out and that made things a lot easier, especially with keeping Grant entertained.  And many thanks to our church family who kept us well supplied with meals during this first week.  A lot of people think that bringing neighbors and friends meals in this day and age is unnecessary with fast food, delivery, and frozen meals so easily accessible.  But it is something that I really appreciate.  It is one less thing that you have to think about and often you get to try something different from your ordinary meal rotation, and is usually much healthier compared to whatever takeout you might have gotten.  Plus, it is just nice to know that others care about your family and they get to meet the new baby when they come by.  So thanks again to everyone who thought about us!

We took Thomas to the doctor yesterday and he weighed 6lbs 11oz, so he has almost gained back to his birthweight which is great.  He has a bit of jaundice but nothing to be too concerned about.  We just need to make sure he eats regularly and gets some natural light each day.

So far, things with Thomas have been going really great and there have been several pretty big difference between the newborn experiences of Grant and Thomas.  I want to outline some of them so I can remember what it was like.

1.  Sleeping!  Thomas has been a much better sleeper than Grant so far.  Every night since birth he's had one block of sleep that is 3-6 hours long during the night, then will wake up about every 2 hours after that.  I could not believe it!  That makes such a HUGE difference being able to get 4 or so hours of uninterrupted sleep per night.  With Grant, he woke up every 2 hours to eat like CLOCKWORK.  It was beyond exhausting.  And Grant would also stay awake and fuss or cry for a while at night, too, and often would only sleep if one of us was holding him.  So far Thomas hasn't done either of those things.  So I've really been enjoying having Thomas sleep on his own in the bouncer or in the Rock and Play sleeper that my brother is letting us borrow.

2.  Eating!  Thomas overall nurses pretty well, but he does have a little trouble latching sometimes.  It just takes him a little while, but once he gets it, he gets it.  Overall I think Grant picked up nursing a little easier/faster, but we've still had a good experience with Thomas because I know a lot better what I'm doing this time around.  I thought I would experience less soreness, but it's about the same.  I guess it still takes some getting used to with each baby.  Thomas also seems to eat a little bit slower since he's always so sleepy, so our feedings take a bit longer.  Sometimes we will sit there for about an hour, or we'll have one 20 minute session, take a break, and then have another 20 minute session shortly thereafter.  Grant pretty much just took 20 minutes and that's it.

3.  Alertness! Overall Thomas is much sleepier and less alert than Grant was.  Grant was constantly moving his arms and legs around, would never stay swaddled, and was awake and alert quite a bit.  Thomas seems more calm and laid back.  Today was the first day where Thomas was pretty fussy for part of the day, so who knows if that will change in the long term.

4.  My recovery...so far it has been a million times better than with Grant.  I think my pre-eclampsia had progressed further the first time around before I had Grant, so my body had a harder time recovering.  The next day after having Thomas, I felt really yucky and swollen and in pain, but every day after that I have felt better and better.  It's still not a walk in the park but I can't even explain how great it is to see improvement each day.  With Grant, it felt like I kept feeling the crappiness of the first day went on for several weeks without much change.  I'm so happy things are better this time!

And now for some pictures...

Sleeping in daddy's arms

Meeting Nana

Sleeping and dreaming in his bouncer

Meeting Granny and Grandpa

Meeting Aunt Susan

Finally getting to see more of his eyes

I love how innocent and sweet he looks when he peeks his little eyes open

Snoozing away

Grant laying next to Thomas.  Whenever Thomas touches Grant with his arms or legs, Grant screams and says "it tickles!" and then usually runs away.  It's funny.

Finally getting some awake time!

Introducing Baby Thomas

We are happy to announce that baby Thomas James Gardiner was born on September 25th at (officially) 12:42 p.m.  He weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces and was 20 inches long.  He is healthy and doing great, and we are so happy he is finally here!

Here are a few details about his birth and some pictures.  Note:  don't keep reading if you don't want to know about medical procedures or other birth descriptions.

I had a checkup with the doctor on Monday afternoon.  I had a feeling that something might happen because I noticed my swelling had been kind of bad.  It turns out my blood pressure was high.  It wasn't horrible, but since I had pre-eclampsia with Grant, the high bp combined with the swelling and a few other indicators made the doctor want to get him out.  So I was scheduled for an induction the next morning, at 38 weeks pregnant.

We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. Thankfully a friend of ours was willing to let us drop off Grant at 5a.m. Talk about early!  So we get to the hospital and get settled in, and finally we started to get hooked up to the IV and get pitocin around 8 a.m. I started feeling the contractions pretty quickly and I was really debating on when to request the epidural.  I had considered trying to go without one if I went into labor naturally, but I knew if I had an induction I was going to get an epidural due to the intensity and rapidness of the pitocin contractions.

I was feeling the contractions pretty intensely around 9 a.m., and I think we requested the epidural about 9:30 a.m.  The anesthesiologist got there around 10 a.m. and started the procedure.  She had to try several times to get it in the right place and it seemed liked it was taking forever.  It was hard because I was supposed to sit in a certain position and stay still, but I was still having intense contractions.  She was trying to test if things were in the right place, and suddenly I felt a sharp pain and tingling in my leg, and my leg jerked forward.  It was a weird feeling and they waited to see if it would go away or whether they needed to fix the placement again.  I guess it was pressing up against a nerve.  It happened two more times and I started to get upset.

At that point James started to feel lightheaded and dizzy.  They anesthesiologist and nurse told him to sit on the floor against the wall.  I was trying to stay calm so I couldn't look at James because I was trying to focus on staying still and breathing through my contractions while waiting to see if the leg pain/tingling would go away.  I heard a barfing noise coming from James and he ended up passing out for about 10-20 seconds (I guess he didn't really throw up, it was just a part of the reaction he had because his bp dropped suddenly).  That upset me and I started crying because I was scared, wondering if he was okay, wondering how in the world this epidural was going to turn out, and wondering if my labor was going to turn out to be a disastrous experience.  Luckily the nurse was really helpful and calming and helped me to feel better.

James was okay.  The anesthesiologist said it happens all the time and that's part of the reason why they really don't like people watching the procedure.  There is something about watching certain procedures, especially on your loved ones, when there are complications it causes a change in blood pressure and people pass out pretty frequently.

The tingling in my leg went away and I got a "test dose" of medicine in the epidural catheter.  It worked right away, but it worked a little TOO well.  I was completely and absolutely numb up to my chest area and even kind of tingly in my arms.  I did not like that at ALL and I didn't feel right.  It was freaking me out.  I started to feel nauseous also, but they gave me some medicine and I felt better.  Some of the extreme numbness wore off and I was very relieved.  The anesthesiologist came back several more times to check up on me and gave me the regular dose of epidural meds and things seemed to be fine after that (except I had a slight side effect from one of the drugs which made me really itchy, but it wasn't bad).

So all of that craziness actually took up a lot of time.  It was probably about 11:30 a.m. at this point, and I had progressed to about 5 cm.  After that I got drowsy and was able to rest and catnap for a while.  I actually felt really sleepy the rest of the labor and was very comfortable.  About an hour later the nurse came and checked me and I was complete and ready to start pushing.  She said she was going to count to 10, but when she got to 2, she told me to stop because the baby was right there!  She called the doctor and he got there pretty quickly.  They asked me to start pushing again and counted to 10 and he pretty much slid right out!  I really wasn't pushing that hard.  Two more seconds of pushing and he was completely and all the way out.

It was rather calm, actually.  That's the upside of all the epidural craziness.  It ended up being a good experience once everything balanced out because I was numb in the birth canal but had some feeling in other places which made it easy to control what I was doing.  Once Thomas was out he wasn't really crying and the doctor was clearing out his airway carefully and calmly, and he let out a few little whimpers.  He was actually pretty quiet even as he was laid down on top of me and while he was getting cleaned up afterwards. Just little cries, not much screaming or anything.

I had a small tear so I got stitched up.  It took a while because there was a student midwife that my doctor was helping learn how to do stitches in a particular way.  I didn't mind though, because my doctor was very involved with everything and made me feel comfortable.

Thomas nursed right away and it was such a happy moment realizing that he was here with us and apart of our family.  His eyes were wide open and he was looking around as if he was wondering where he was and what was going on.  He has a very sweet disposition.

When Grant came to meet baby Thomas, he noticed the hospital bassinet and said, "hey, a baby!"  We told him it was baby Thomas and he wanted to see him right away.  He sat next to James and checked out Thomas.  He kept looking at him, smiling at him, touching his hands, and patting him softly on the head.  He also got concerned whenever he heard Thomas make a noise.  He would quickly look at us and say, "Baby Thomas cryin'!" or "baby okay?"  It was cute to see him get excited about seeing Thomas and being involved with him.  We asked him if baby Thomas could come live with us, and he said "yes!" So we will see what happens when we actually bring him home (most likely tomorrow).  That will be the real test!  :)

Pirate Grant

It has been almost 9 months since my last post!  So much has happened, and I'm sad that I haven't been good at keeping up with it.  Grant has changed so much and learned so many new things, and we are about to welcome Baby #2 into our family, another boy!  So I've decided to start blogging again from this point forward.  Ideally, I'd like to go back in time and cover all that I've missed sharing, but I can't commit to that right now.  Our lives are about to be turned upside down! :)

I'll start by sharing some pics that I love from this past week.

James was able to (finally) take a few days off after working some very long hours lately.  He wanted to spend some quality time with Grant and decided to do something different for him.  Grant loves the show "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" and enjoys pretending to be a pirate.  He'll put lots of things on his head (usually a pair of shorts) and say "ho ho ho!" to try to mimic the pirates saying "yo ho ho."  He'll say "arrrrgh" a lot and his favorite letter is "X," because X marks the spot for treasure. :)

So James organized a "treasure hunt" for Grant.  He got him this little pirate kit from the store and another toy to use as the "treasure."  He took Grant all different places around the house to look for the treasure until they finally found it.  It was hard to keep Grant focused but he still loved it.

 Getting his pirate kit

 Reading the "map"

 Ready for the treasure hunt

 Looking for Captain Hook through the spyglass

 Coming back to show mommy the 'treasure.'

 Opening the treasure

 He was sooooooo excited

 It's Mr. Potato Head!  (Grant calls it his "tomato")

Playing with Mr. Potato Head.  He really likes it!