by Rachel | Family Life
I find it more than a little amusing that we’re weaning one child from the pacifier while simultaneously trying to teach the other child to take one. And it’s going better than expected…for one child, at least.
Mia isn’t a fan quite yet, but if she’s anything like her big brother, she’ll develop a deep love for the “paci” over time. Parker didn’t take one consistently until he was about 10 weeks old, but from there on out, they were pretty inseparable.
I was never a huge fan of letting Parker have his paci during the day, but we were pretty lax on that up until the time he hit 18 months. At that point, we stopped taking it with us when we went places, and he started to learn to put it (well, usually them — he liked to sleep with multiple pacifiers) on top of his dresser on his way out of his room in the morning and after his nap.
That helped with his transition to daycare, where he spends 3 whole days per week with no paci. He did great with that, and had no problem taking naps there without one. So I knew there was hope once the time came to get rid of it altogether.
Once he hit 2 years old last month, I was ready to ditch the paci. Zach was a lot more apprehensive than me, but game to give it a try. So one morning after Parker woke up, we told him that Dada was taking his pacis to work so that another baby could borrow them. We said he would bring them back that night, but that he wouldn’t have it for his nap.
Parker ate the story up, and we continued talking about it throughout the morning until he was able to tell me where his pacis were when I asked. We talked about it one more time as we walked upstairs for his nap, and then — for the first time EVER — he did not so much as ask for his paci before he went to sleep. Then he slept for an hour and a half with no issues.
We continued the conversation about where his pacis went during the day all week, and then at the end of the week, it was time to bite the bullet. We told Parker that the “baby at Dada’s work” was going to borrow it overnight, since Parker was a big boy and didn’t need a paci anymore. There was no crying, no meltdown…nothing. He went to bed and slept through the night as usual.
I’m not sure how we got this lucky, because Zach and I were both convinced that the big wean was going to be a miserable process. I’m crossing my fingers that we don’t have any setbacks, especially when he naps or spends the night at his grandparents’ house. But for now, I’m proud of my big boy and pretty ecstatic that we made it over this hurdle painlessly.
Next up, potty training. Maybe that will be just as easy…one can dream, right?! ;)
by Rachel | Family Life
The question everyone is asking these days: “How is Parker adjusting to the new baby?” I think this video pretty much sums up his relationship with her.
In all honesty, I thought we were going to have some serious jealousy issues to deal with once Mia arrived. Parker is used to having 100% of our attention, and he thrives on it. But from the moment he met her, he was completely in love.
Every morning when Parker wakes up, he asks to see “baby”. And he gives her about 500 hugs and kisses a day. He can be a little aggressive with his affection, but what do you expect from a 2-year-old? ;)
It will be interesting to see how their relationship develops over time, but for now I am soaking up the mutual admiration. Mia is one lucky little sis!
by Rachel | Family Life
I’m so happy to share with you that my baby girl is here! Mia Belle Rambach was born on Saturday, May 23 at 9:29 am. She weighed 6 lb 13 oz an measured 20 inches in length. She looks just like her brother Parker did when he was born, except with a lot more hair!
I wrote Mia’s birth story on my personal blog and shared many more photos from her first day of life. She’s almost two weeks old now, and we are starting to find our rhythm as a family of 4. Parker LOVES his little sister and gives her about a million hugs and kisses a day.
It’s funny how you forget what it’s like to have a newborn; at first, I couldn’t believe how much she slept. I’ve actually been able to get things done around the house and even get some rest myself on the days Parker is at school — the days he is home are a different story! Mia is even sleeping well at night, sometimes for 4 hours at a time.
I’m so happy to have the entire summer at home with my babies (minus a couple hours per week I’ll be teaching early childhood classes next month). Life has been so fast-paced with work up until now, and will be again come August, that I want to soak up this time as much as possible. I learned very quickly with Parker that it flies by in the blink of an eye.
I’ll be posting here as often as I have the chance, not because I have to but because I love doing it :) I’m making a bigger effort to stay connected to my work during this maternity leave; I didn’t do that last time, and it felt like a big part of me was missing after awhile. Thanks for reading, however sporadically, and all the words of encouragement and support I’ve received so far!
by Rachel | Family Life
The last month of my pregnancy was a bit of a rollercoaster. It started smoothly enough; I was feeling pretty good, just huge and tired. Work was keeping me more than busy as I wrapped up lots of loose ends, and of course Parker kept me on my toes at home.
But at the beginning of my 37th week, things went a little downhill. Zach left on a company trip to Puerto Rico, so of course something had to go wrong.
On that Friday I woke up feeling fine; Parker and I had a nice morning playing and eating breakfast. But as we were sitting on the couch reading, I got a bad case of the chills that wouldn’t go away and started feeling some pain in my back. I called my doctor’s office, and they thought it sounded like the symptoms of a UTI. The pain kept getting worse, though, and later that afternoon I thought I felt contractions. So they told me to go to the hospital.
Luckily Parker was able to stay with my mother-in-law so my parents could go with me to the hospital, and that’s when the real fun began (and by fun, I mean total misery). It turned out I was completely dehydrated, so much so that they couldn’t find a vein to start an IV of fluids. They had me drink a ton of water, and my contractions — which had been coming just a few minutes apart at their peak — started to die down. They sent me home at 8:30 that night with instructions to come back if I started feeling worse.
I woke up around 3 in the morning feeling completely awful…horrible chills, pain, and more contractions. My mom had stayed with me that night, and she insisted we go back to the hospital. By the time I got there I was running a fever and my contractions were worse than ever. They had to call an anesthesiologist to insert an IV since my veins were still so bad, and then they started running tests. Later that morning they admitted me and did an MRI to try and find out what was causing my fever. They thought it might be kidney stones or something even more serious.
All this time, there was a threat that the baby could arrive early if the contractions were effective, which was so scary since I still had over 3 weeks left and Zach was out of the country. My doula Janet stayed with me and helped me through the pain, and my mom too. The results of the MRI came back negative, so they decided it was some type of flu that had caused the fever and other symptoms. Also, I wasn’t dilated at all, which was AMAZING news after all those hours of contractions. After getting all that IV fluid, I started feeling better and later that day they discharged me.
The next couple days were rough, since I had basically been in labor all that time and my body was feeling the effects. Parker stayed with my mother-in-law and my mom stayed with me until Zach got home.
I returned to work after taking two days off, and at that point felt pretty much back to normal. I took it easy for the next couple weeks, but I also realized it was probably a good idea to get ready for the baby in case she did end up coming early. I got all of her clothes washed and put away, had Zach set up the pack n’ play downstairs and install the carseat, and packed my hospital bag.
And then I waited. I was convinced she would arrive at the start of week 39 just like Parker had, but she seemed nice and cozy. I continued working, even though at that point I was pretty uncomfortable and exhausted. In fact, I worked up until the day I went into labor…
TO BE CONTINUED!
by Rachel | Family Life
We spent the first few days of my 3rd trimester in Florida, which was (as) relaxing (as vacation can possibly be with a toddler in tow). But there was nothing relaxing about the following month, which I spent feeling completely miserable with a never-ending sinus infection.
It didn’t help that I had a LOT going on in the month of March, including several performances, a new music therapy group, a speaking engagement at Illinois State University, and the list went on. Looking back, I have no idea how I survived that month without completely losing my sanity.
By the time April rolled around, I was finally starting to feel better and ready to try and enjoy my final trimester. And I have, for the most part — despite feeling pretty huge and uncomfortable. We’ve been making progress around the house (I finally unpacked my dining room with the help of my mother-in-law, hurray!) and I’m making plans for maternity leave.
The hard part is feeling like I’m overdoing it with just about every physical activity. Even simple things like taking Parker for a walk, leading a music class, or organizing around the house, completely wear me out. I fantasize about the day when just getting off the couch doesn’t require all my energy — and then I remember that I’m probably MONTHS away from that, if baby girl causes as much sleep deprivation as Parker did.
As I write this, I’m exactly 1 month away from my due date. I’m determined to make the most of these last few weeks of pregnancy, especially my one-on-one time with Parker before he loses his only child status. Oh, and sleep. A lot of sleep.
by Rachel | Family Life
Before I talk about just how real things are actually getting, I have to wonder why in the world I waited until week 35 to get out my Snoogle pregnancy pillow? It was a nighttime necessity from the beginning of my 2nd trimester on when I was pregnant with Parker.
It took our trip to Denver, where my newly postpartum sister-in-law so kindly left her Snoogle in the guest room, to remind me how amazing it is. As you can see from the photo, I’m not the only one in this house enjoying it :)
Anyway, on to the reality that I’m going to have a baby in a few weeks. People keep asking me if I’m getting excited, and the truth is, I haven’t really even had time to process it yet. Life has been so full and busy between keeping up with Parker and everything I have going on at work that the thought of a newborn in my arms rarely crosses my mind.
Does that sound terrible? I’m kind of hoping that’s a normal second-time mom thing.
But a couple things happened today that served as a BIG reminder of what’s to come. First was a meeting with Janet, my wonderful doula (who was the main reason Parker’s birth was such an amazing experience).
Talking to Janet about the labor and delivery process and figuring out my birth plan, which I haven’t really even thought about up until now, was a heaping dose of reality — in a good way. Of course I’m nervous, but staying positive was key the first time around and I plan to do the same this time.
And then tonight when I returned home from work, the furniture was all put together in the nursery. It’s been sitting in boxes in our garage for a couple weeks, but now I officially have two cribs in my house. Craziness. I have a feeling the nesting bug will hit me this weekend since I can finally start decorating baby girl’s room.
At this point in my first pregnancy, the nursery was completely finished, my hospital bag was packed, the house was completely organized, and I was already starting to wrap up loose ends at work. Of course, back then I also had time for naps and pedicures.
I’ll be back soon (although, no promises) with a recap of 3rd trimester so far. Until then, feel free to enjoy the pregnancy archives, most of which was written in my B.C. (before child) days.
