Starting to really feel tired these days.

Every night is a gamble. There are a few more adjustments with sleeping now that I have two other toddlers around and a newborn. The more kids you have, the harder it is to get in a nap! When the baby is sleeping, the others are wide awake.

Here was my schedule last night....of course around 11pm I have these high hopes that I will sleep in a bit more than past the 2.5 hours that Isaac allows me. By the time I feed on both sides, change the diaper (how annoying is it when you have just changed him and he then poops minutes later! Grrr! Makes you not want to change it at all, but roll over and just go to sleep again...but, then you feel guilty that you may be starting a diaper rash and it isn't his fault that he is poopy, etc...blah blah blah), burp the baby (which also takes a while b/c Isaac falls asleep 1/2 the time, I then lay him down hoping that he will sleep, but starts to grunt b/c he is so uncomfortable b/c there is a burp hidden somewhere in there)....you get the picture...the "feeding" takes so long at 2am!!!

11:30 pm Last feeding
midnight Grunting begins
2:30 am poopy diaper (Jared's turn)
3:00 am feeding
5:30 am Austin wakes up screaming, "Medicina!" Running a fever
5:45 am Wesley is up laughing at Austin's coughing attacks
6:00 am feeding
6:00 am Wesley and Austin are fully awake going full speed. I threaten for them to go to their room and read books quietly. Jared then starts to threaten too.
6:15 am More threats b/c the boys are not keeping quiet and it's still dark outside! Grrr! I am so darn tired! Go to bed boys!
7:00 am Put cereal in baggies, sippy milks and send them to watch cartoons.
7:30 am Out the door....heading to a Yoga class. Wish Jared good luck! I am outta here!
9:00 am Back at home, boys are overly-tired, baby is hungry, house is COLD (63 degrees) and my day begins

Everyday is a gamble. Will Isaac sleep longer if I put him in a swing or in bed with me or even in the bathroom with the fan on? Can I leave the house between feedings? Will Isaac wake up while I am doing my small errands back and forth? Will the boys continue to get up at 5:30am? Will Jared work 'til 10pm again? Will I ever feel like I am warm in this Arctic weather? When will I catch up with mopping and laundry and feel like a homemaker?

I love my little boys....sure wish I could get in a nap once in a while, or even sleep longer than 2.5 hours at a time. Maybe today I can force Austin to have quiet time while Wesley is at preschool...and hopefully Isaac will sleep as well. Then the decision will be: nap vs. cleaning. We all know what I hope to do, if I can learn to relax and concentrate on sleeeeeep.

Chubby girl goes to gym

Obama has been making fun of DC recently b/c of the "snow days." Here in DC, the snow is actually just a thick layer of ice that is all over the road, sidewalks and lawn. My lawn is a thick sheet of ice..literally. It snowed a few days ago, and that night the rain turned quickly into icy rain, something that freezes your tires over in the morning so you can't drive. The schools are closed, businesses shut down, aerobic classes canceled, etc. I guess it's a pretty big deal out here. My boys enjoyed the one "snow" afternoon, but ever since then, they've just fallen on their booties while trying to cross the sidewalks.

I ventured out into the gym for the first time this morning. My peanut will be 2 weeks old tomorrow, but I am not holding back from working out any longer. I have NO clothing to wear. I have one pair of old green pants that don't have a button on top that I can squeeze into. I refuse to go back to work in my maternity outfits, and so, if I have any hope of fitting into my pre-pregnancy clothes, I need to work out!

I juggled Isaac's feeding schedule so that I could make it to my 7am time with the personal trainer. I only have a 2.5 hour of workout time in between feedings, so it does get a little tricky by the time I nurse, get dressed, warm up the car, drive slowly on an ice road and get inside.

I worked out with Dave, and he worked me over! I was very humbled to say the least b/c I am so experienced in physical training at a gym. In the beginning I was going good and strong, heavily breathing of course, but keeping up. By the last 45 minutes, I started to feel light headed and couldn't breathe very well. Dave actually had to go and get me a Gatorade to keep me from fainting. Way to go Adrienne, push yourself a bit to hard, huh? I don't care though...I can't wait to start into a good workout routine and to see my belly sluff off. In the mirrors today I just couldn't get past the big pooch that is under my shirt, not to mention my thunder thighs. I am anxious to lose these last 20 lbs and I know that it will take hard work, a close diet and portion control. I can already feel my hamstrings burning every time I sit down.

We also took newborn/brother pictures today at Target. We got the boys all dressed up super cute in matching blue vests and dress pants. They kept asking if we were going to church. I think that they turned out great. Isaac was awake for some of the pictures, and of course he did pee on me when I tried to do a naked shot. My boys continue to smother their little brother, which can be cute sometimes, but more than anything it makes me very nervous and I don't trust them in the same room with him if I am not around. Isaac continues to sleep a lot and when he does open his eyes up, I just tell him how much I love him and how grateful I am to have him in our home.

I am super tired right now. My 4 hours of not-consecutive hours of sleep last night are beginning to add up. Too bad it is only 3pm and Jared is at work until 10pm. This means that I have another 5 hours of keeping up with my toddlers before bedtime! I was hoping to sneak in a nap, but my landlord is over and I am not about to try and doze off while he is fixing stuff. I can always hope for a nap tomorrow...

PS...our electric bill was only $600 this month, and that was keeping our house at a cold 67 degrees....it feels like a cave at most hours of the day....brrrr.....

Chiropractor

I have been to the chiropractor twice now. It was VERY embarrassing the first time I went, just 4 days after delivering Isaac. Any mother can relate with my post-partum body blues. I was not prepared for him to have to lift my leg up, rotate my pelvic bone, grab ahold of my chubby waist, etc. I felt mortified that he would see any leaking or check out my grandma pads! No good! I kept my mouth shut though, assuming that it would be best to not draw any more attention to those areas, or apologize for my messy state.

I had some electricity therapy done on my back, which was pinching and somewhat uncomfortable. I have always been the "queen of posture," telling Jared and close friends how they should sit up more. Well, I soon found out that my own posture stinks! I need to always try and squeeze a pencil in between my shoulder blades in order to be sitting properly aligned. Who knew?

I am glad that I made it a priority to go and see this Dr. It was like a spa treatment for me, something that I wouldn't do on my own. But, the fact that I am still struggling with walking, lifting, or bending, tells me that something seriously was injured. The Dr. told me, "carrying a 45 lb bowling ball will do that to you." I guess he was right. I hope to go only one more time.

Isaac continues to squeak, gurgle, sigh, and slurp. He is opening his eyes for a total of 30 minutes a day. I know he knows who I am b/c he will dip his head towards me when I talk to him. I am off to go organize his nursery while Jared took the boys to church. I am not up for taking him out unless necessary in this 20 degree weather + windchill. I also am enjoying this time of "no make up and wearing sweats until noon."

My dad and tia Olga are here from Mexico as well, they are staying for a week. The boys have enjoyed their extra company and I think they will take them next week to downtown DC to check out some museums. I haven't been on my "own" quite yet, so we'll see what melt downs are to come.

Too fast

My baby is one week old tomorrow. The time is going by so fast, I knew it would. It always does, but it doesn't mean that I already am feeling sad at how quickly the days pass! Instead of doing dishes, taking naps, emailing or even putting on make up...I just sit and snuggle up on my little peanut. I love his "orchestra" of sounds that he makes, his little gurgles, twitches, tiny double chin, soft fuzz on the back of his ears, his tiny mouth that wrinkles up when he is dreaming, and of course his baby smell.

I don't know how to appreciate him before he grows up! If only I could pause these moments and dig back into a reservoir of memories when I need them. Having gone through this two times before, I know how time flies and I know that I need to just ENJOY the days as they pass.

I love you baby Marc Isaac! I may not be sleeping much these days, and I am still recovering from strained back muscles, but you are so worth it.

Night Owl

This is a quick shout out for any mama that has ever had a Night Owl for a newborn! My baby refuses to wake up during the day, but the minute night time comes around (say 11pm), he is wide awake and has this energy that can't be contained. I was up with him until 3:30am this morning, where he finally went to sleep. I tried rocking, nursing, swaddling him up tight, having him lay on my chest, singing, talking, etc.

 Once I went in to do another diaper change, turned on the light, and immediately he shut his eyes...as if it were time to sleep since there was light! I was encouraged by that little movement, so I turned on the bathroom light, laid him back down, and rolled over. Those 3 minutes were too good to be true b/c he started his noises and fussiness all over again. 

How do I help him get his days/nights on a normal schedule? It's only been two nights, so I still have quite  a bit of patience for my little monkey and his games....but, if this continues, I can only imagine how exhausted I will be in a few more weeks! 

Another Superhero

We have another Superhero in our family now.  His name is Marc Isaac Wilson, we'll call him Isaac (or "Ike" if you ask Wesley).

We just got back from the hospital about 4 hours ago and Jared and I have been doing last minute set up in the nursery, as well as trying to get our boys to finally go to sleep. I can feel the change of our rythmn already and I am anxious to see how we pull things together as a family. We've got the glider set up now, the bouncer (which will be Isaac's new bed until for the next 6 weeks or so while he is in my room), the swing is set up in the living room, and next I need to hang up some clothing. 

How did it all go? I will give the short and sweet version. 

Thursday at work I strained my back. I was leaning over and when I stood back up, I had a serious kink. I could no longer walk, sit or stand. Impossible to work. So, I went home in a lot of pain and started putting heat on my back. The weight up front could not compensate for the weight in the back. Good thing Rosa was around to put the boys to bed while Jared was at work. If you have ever seen a crooked and bent over grandma, that was me. Just with a bigger belly.

Around midnight, Jared and I were finally getting to bed when I started feeling more consistent contractions. I have had contractions every hour now for months, but these ones were coming every 10 minutes. Could this be it??? We called Rosa to come back and watch the boys while we went to the hospital. Uh-Oh, by the time Rosa arrived they had stopped. Shoot! I felt so bad making her come all the way in the middle of the night for nothing. So, she went back home. 

About 2 hours later, the contractions started up again every 5 minutes. Should we call Rosa again? Pobrecita. She came back over, we got our bags and headed out to the hospital. I felt anxious, excited and nervous all at once. 

In the triage room, they decided to admit us to the hospital b/c I was dialated to about a 4 and my contractions were every 5 minutes. I could have stayed at home and waited for more dialation, but I was told by everyone how your "third" child comes so quickly and that you need to be prepared. I also was more than happy to be hooked up to monitors so I could see my little peanut and measure his health. 

So far, no sleep for either Jared or I. We were both hoping for a quick delivery so that we could get some shut eye and move on. Well, little Isaac took more than his fair share of time to come into this world. I did the majority of my laboring and dialating while I was standing, to further things along quicker. This did NOT help my back strain by any means, but I was determined to just focus in on the labor and progress as much as I could. (As I write this, I have a heat pad on my back b/c it is seriously in shock from all of these physical labors. I sure hope it heals soon b/c I can barely walk and I know that come tomorrow, my boys will be needing their mama!).

By the time I got to a 10, Jared and I had successfully done our "hypnobirthing" method and I was doing all of this laboring drug free. Jared was an all star birthing coach and I was so grateful for his support, his creativity and for his consistency in talking me through every contraction. 

My midwife, a phenomenal woman who I had just met (she was on call), was amazing. Her name is Kris and I am so fortunate to have had her in my delivery experience. I don't know why anyone would NOT want to have a midwife. She stayed with me, helped rub my feet, talked me through my fears, was very gentle, explained everything and answered any question I had. 

By this time, it is closer to noon. We had been laboring now for 10 hours. Little did I know that the most intense and physically challenging part was yet to come.....

Hypnobirthing works great when your baby is descending properly. This was not my case. As he was coming down, he decided to come down like a corkscrew and changed his entire position from back to front. He was sunny side up (face up), which made it virtually impossible for me to "breathe" him out.  The pain was so intense at this point, and the contractions were so consistent, without allowing me any time to recover from the pain, that it was a very very challenging time for me. 

At times I felt utterly depleted from any energy left inside of me. I felt desperate for some sort of relief from the pain that kept coming, yet I knew that I had no where to go, and that it was up to me to get this baby out. 

So, for a solid  1 1/2 hours I contracted hard and somehow was able to focus enough to not die, but to get Isaac down and past my pelvic bone. That was the goal, b/c after that point, I would be able to push him out and be done. 

The last 30 minutes of my 13 hour event were so intense that I would rather spare you the details. I felt like a crazy lioness with my breathing and groaning in so much pain and anxiety. Thank goodness for my wonderful husband who reassured me throughout everything, who despite my delerium, he continued to hold my hand and help me out. My midwife also was very calm, reassuring and helpful with ideas to help me cope. Hypnobirthing was not an option, just straight pushing and physically pushing myself beyond any limit I ever thought I could reach. 

Marc Isaac plopped out at about 2:45pm, weighing 7.8 lbs and 20 inches long. I was too depleted to even hold onto him, and then my full body shakes began. So, I really did not enjoy my sweet angel for several hours later when I was able to recover emotionally and physcially. 

Wesley is thrilled about his new present from God. He was clapping his hands and literally jumping up and down when he first met Isaac. Austin is not so sure about it all and continues to be very sensitive and cautious about him. 

Isaac so far has done nothing but sleep for two days. Maybe this is a sign that he will be a good sleeper like his dad? I absolutely LOVE snuggling up on him, and enjoyed my few days alone with him in the hospital to just enjoy BEING together. 

Now the real fun begins. 

False Alarm

No baby. High blood pressure. Scared. Non-stress Test. Shady Grove Hospital. 5 hours later...

Healthy baby. Mom needs to relax. Dialated only to a 3. Still have 1-2 more weeks of "cooking."

Any questions?