Working Woman: from dawn to dusk

It has been exactly 5 months since my last post.  I was too deliriously happy this summer spending time with my baby to sit and focus long enough for coherent thought. 

Since April 8th...

• I went back to work to finish out the last six weeks of the school year.  We relied heavily on friends and family to pull us through to summer.  Thanks mom, dad, Jill, Cait, Ann, Tony, Casey, Jason, Aunt Vicki, Oma and Opa.  It was so wonderful to leave our baby in such capable hand while we stumbled into summer.  We love you!
• We vacationed some... The Frio, Port Aransas, Alabama, and Port Aransas again.  Our baby is a great traveler!
• We soaked up as much time with our Hendersons and Toys, thinking they would both be moving come this Fall... we were pleasantly surprised to not have to part with everyone.  But we miss our Hendersons something fierce!  Don't enjoy the mountains too much, we need you here in Texas!
• We did a whole lot of NOTHING!  And it was wonderful.
• I also rediscovered my sewing machine and rekindled my passion for sewing.  It's been great ;)

Then the new school year began...

• Julia went to day care... wonderful place, she's wonderfully happy, but it's an adjustment.
• We've been pulled back into routine... welcome exhaustion and an overwhelming feeling of "How am I gonna get everything done?"
• Our days our sooooo full.  I documented an evening to share, mostly with my young married friends who are thinking about babies...

A day in the life...

5:00 Alarm clock goes off and snooze hit a couple times, think to myself that I really cannot be starting the snooze habit the third week into school.  Hear the baby stir, know this is my last chance for a quick shower before life begins.

5:30 Out of the shower rushing to get ready before the stirring becomes crying.  Tell Evan to stop hitting snooze, it's time to start the day.

6:00 Wake a beautiful baby with a big gummy grin.  Wish Evan woke me up with a sing song voice and a back rub (note to self, ask Evan to wake me up this way and not with a grunt about my alarm going off).  Feed baby.

6:30 Make sure she has spit up at least three times before we get her dressed.  Dress baby.  Wipe fourth spit up off of baby.  Cover it up with a bib, we don't have time to change.  Get bags and car packed up.

6:40 Off to day care.  Roula and Ryan for the adults and a nap for the baby.

7:00 Drop off baby, chat with Ms. Ann, kiss kiss kiss, I love you, good bye!

7:40-5:15 Children arrive at my door and chaos ensues... just kidding ;)  Breakfast, Journal, PE (Pump), Calender, Phonics, Big Book, Songs, Sentence Structure, Five Senses, Cut and Paste, Snack, Stations, Recess, Lunch (Pump), Stations, Math, Folders, Songs, Goodbyes, Pick up extended day, Snack, Play Doh, Movie (Pump), Goodbyes.

5:45 Bring in bags and baby.  Evan begins dinner and I feed the baby.  Unpack from day care, pack up for the next day.

6:30 We eat and Julia plays.  Huge blowout... we get to drop our food to go remove our baby's diaper over a sink... lovely.  It's funny that neither one of us though anything about just getting right back to eating after it was dealt with ;)

6:45 Bath time!

7:00 Pajamas and Book!

7:15 Nurse

7:45 Good Night Sweet Pea :)

8:00-9:00 Get ready for tomorrow, blog for the first time in 5 months.

9:30 Go to bed!

I love working, but this is WORK!  We used to have friends over on the weeknights... not anymore ;(  Our weekends are getting crammed with all of the things we used to be able to accomplish throughout the week.  I'm not complaining... really, I wanted this, but whew!  Shout out to all you mamas out there with a house full of kiddos and a career!  I am just so grateful  for a husband who truly does more than his fair share and for family close by (shout out to Aunt Jill and Uncle Scott for the pediatrician run this week) and for friends who are soooooo understanding. 

We came sprinting out of summer and I miss our leisurely mornings and long afternoons.  Back to breakfast into classroom and ABCs.  Back to puffy eyes and pants with pee.

I'm going to be posting soon about my precious class.  I've got some pretty fun kiddos this year and they are going to be full of stories, I can already feel it!

One Month

My favorite One Month picture.

It is really hard for me to believe that we already have a one month old!  So much as changed in just a month.

• I regularly get up and hang out with a newborn an hour at a time in the middle of the night.
• Getting in and out of the car takes planning.
• Going anywhere takes forethought... What time do we need to be there?  Is there a place to feed her if I need to?  Do I need to bring a pumped bottle?  Will there be a place to change her?  Etc.
• And a million more things I can't think of right now.  My brain cells have changes too.

We have also learned a lot about our little Julia.

Likes

• Food
• Sleep
• Smiling
• Big bows (she really loves them) ;)
• Her wubbanub (a particular kind of pacifier)
• This pink unicorn toy I set in front of her the other day
• Her mobile
• Cuddling
• Riding in the car

Dislikes

• Gas
• Pooping
• Waiting for food
• Getting sleepy
• Spitting up
• Not wearing a bow with an outfit ;)

So you can see... life is pretty exciting here in the St Germain household!

Sisters, Sisters

Evan and I were a little concerned about how our big baby, Rue would take to the new little baby.  I am happy to report that they are getting along just fine.  It has been an adjustment for the Rue-meister.  We are not at her complete disposal anymore.  We were never concerned about her being aggressive with the baby.  The Ruedles is not the most graceful dog.  We've had to take away a few of the longer toys she likes to swing around because they are a hazard.  She's just really not that interested in Julia.  Here are a few of the sweet pictures we've taken over the last week of the girls bonding...

So sweet ;)

Our New Reality

Okay... so being home with a newborn isn't quite as boring as being home big and pregnant for weeks.  I'm actually more productive here with a baby than here without one.  Who wants to do laundry and dishes and house cleaning when they are nine months pregnant and carrying around all that extra weight?  Now I've only got got naptime to do all the things that need to be done.  It's kind of like waiting til the last minute to do science fair.  Laundry must get folded and put away and I've got t-minus 45 minutes before she eats again... go!  Here is a picture of a recent naptime.

Anyways, Julia's arrival has changed our our lives but it's hard to imagine life without her now.  For those who are interested I'm going to do a cliffs notes version of how she got here... you see when a husband and a wife decide they want to start a family... just kidding ;)

On Wednesday March 9th I awoke to consistent contractions starting at about 4:00 am.  Real fun, let me tall ya.  They weren't unbearable, but as the morning progressed they were getting stronger and closer together.  When Evan left for work he knew to have his phone ready.  After phone calls to Dolly and Mimi and Sarah and Dr. Thompson and walking the neighborhood again and again the contractions were close enough to go into labor and delivery testing... to make sure I was actually in labor.  We were in a tiny room in L&D from 2:00pm to 8:00pm waiting to see if I was actually going to progress.  Finally after my doctor left town, of course, I had progressed and was admitted.  Another doctor in the practice took over and monitored my labor and delivered Julia, all was well.  Once we were admitted, the real excitement began...

•  8:30 They broke my water.  Contractions began... fo real... wow... really.  Moms and Dads arrived with gifts for Julia, dinner for Evan(thanks Mom and Dad), and birthing comforts for me (thanks Ann and Tony and Sarah). Much contracting, much pain, discovered that Ann was one of my nurse's professors at TWU... small world!
• 10:30 Check-up... had minimal progression.  Lovely.  Still going strong without drugs but getting pretty tired.  Pain getting really bad... puked while my father in law is in the room... cute.
• 1:15 Check-up... progressed to 5 cm.  Oh no... bring on the epidural.  All of that for 5 cm?  Uh uh.  
• 1:30 Best thing that's ever happened to me... the EPIDURAL!  Also, got put on the lowest dosage of Pitocin.  Quality of life increases dramatically.  We all get a little rest.
• 2:30 Julia's heart rate begins to drop a little.  I got taken off the Pitocin and put on oxygen.
• 3:30 Check-up... 10 cm!!!  No way!  Evan, mom, get ready!  It's go time.
• 3:45 Pushing begins.
• 4:30 Baby Julia graces this world.  I delivered an 8 lb. 4 oz. baby.  Pretty awesome miracle.

 Here are my favorite pictures from the morning that changed our lives.

It is just amazing to me how much she has changed in the last few weeks.  I'll be posting more now that we've settled into our new reality.  Having Julia here is really a dream.  We thank God everyday for our wonderful new addition.

Drama Queen or Super Stubborn?

Okay... clearly I can carry a baby full term.  There was much debate on this issue a few weeks ago, but here we are and I'm 2 days shy of 40 weeks and Julia is quite content where she is.  With a petite 5'1" frame, there was some concern that my body just couldn't handle carrying a baby this long... wrong (Mom I'm looking at you).  This was compounded by the fact that my doctor and nurse practitioner but just "hoped to get to week 37."

Guess what?  I'm almost 40 weeks!  My belly is so swollen, I'm not sleeping and I'm not real pleasant right now.

I'm trying to decide if this child is going to be a drama queen, super stubborn, or some horrible combination of the two...  I mean she comes by them honestly.  Evan is probably the most stubborn person I know... only to be outdone by my sister, Jill (Jill, you know it's true).  And I'll own it, I've got a little drama in my soul.  Shocking, I know.  My favorite examples of Florence Family Drama can be shown with...

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Caitlin, I love you.  Julia, you are in good company ;)  We are all anxiously awaiting your arrival... please don't drag this out for the effect honey.  All eyes are going to be on you, okay?  Do you hear me?  It's time now ;)

And I was like baby, baby, baby ohhh

Okay Julia, what else can I do?

I have...

• Vacuumed the whole house
• Swept, swiffered, and mopped the kitchen and entry way
• Cleaned up all kitchen surfaces
• Walked with the puppy this morning
• Walked without the puppy this afternoon
• Dusted all dustable surfaces

The good news is, the house is clean... I may be doing this again tomorrow...

Last night, Evan decided that he might need practice diapering before he actually does a real baby bottom.  Besides diapering the chocolate syrup backwards and with much maneuvering of the syrup he did pretty awesome. 

Me: Um honey, the picture side is the front and I'm pretty sure you can't just whip a newborn around like that.
Evan: Everyone's a critic.

I think Julia will survive our parenting ;)

Here are some pics.

 What a cute little diapered chocolate syrup!

 Look Mommy, we're all nice and clean!

Baby chocolate syrup... what did you do to your clean diaper?!

Really honey? Thanks.

Last night, as I was dramatically trying to get in a comfortable sleeping position (which is impossible by the way) Evan says, "You know what I think?"
Me: What?
Evan: Now, none of the books we've read or people we've talked with will agree with this...
Me: What?
Evan: I really think you will be pregnant forever.
Me: (sighing) I know, me too.

14 Days and Counting...

Okay, so I know that a due date isn't set in stone and you are just as likely to go past it, but I am choosing not to think about that right now.  We are two weeks out and just waiting and waiting.  I never knew how strong the need to wipe a poopy bottom could be!  Julia, please get here soon!  We just want to meet you!  Whew, that feels better.  Julia, please cook until you are healthy.  But we're good with today, just think about it ;)

I've been completely negligent about taking belly pictures.  Mostly because it just keeps getting bigger and bigger and I'm not sure I really want to remember this part.  My lovely sister in law is pregnant too and will be having sweet baby Sophia right after Julia gets here!  We took a few pictures of our big bellys ;)

Cooking these babies is hard work!

Feel her kicking and punching and dancing around!

Ann was feeling left out ;)

Uh oh... someone needs attention.

I'm going to have to cut this short.

 I just can't say no to that sweet face ;)

My Favorite Tradition

In honor of Valentine's Day, I am going to share my very favorite tradition Evan and I have.  We do this on birthdays, our anniversary and Valentine's Day... all the card holidays. 

Here's the deal,  I really like cards.  I love getting cards for people and occasions.  I love hunting for just the perfect card.  Evan, however, thinks cards are a waste of money.  Now, he doesn't complain about getting birthday cards for our family members or baby showers, but he thinks it's silly for us to spend the money on each other.  He tells me how he feels on a regular basis, why does he need to spend $3 on a card to tell me the same thing?  I get it, I really do... but it's the effort I appreciate.  The knowledge that he went and searched and got just the right card for me.

So we compromised ;)

On birthdays, our anniversary, and Valentine's Day we have a mini date at CVS or Walgreens.  Today, when Evan gets home, we will head to CVS and scour the Valentine's section of the card display for each other.  When each of us has found one, we close the card in the envelope (not sealing it), and present them to each other.  After reading the cards we share what we might have written.  Enjoy the sentiment... then we put the cards back on the shelf and go enjoy a real date.

We've done this for a couple of years now and it's still pretty fun ;)

A Kindergarten Class Reaction

One of the goals for this blog is to share the funny, everyday musings of life with five and six year olds.  I think I'll start with how my kiddos reacted when I told them that I was going to have a baby.  Let me preface this with the fact that I am sooooo lucky this year to have quite a few students with new brothers and sisters in their homes.  So a number of them have a pretty good picture of how this all works... according to their five year old brains ;)

I was not quite ready to have this conversation with them yet.  I had not yet prepared answers to inevitable questions.  The day before, a few of the moms had noticed my growing belly and I guess had discussed with over dinner with the family.  While reading about about pumpkins, I paused to ask my students a question about the book when one of my little girls raised her hand to answer.  I called on her, and instead of answering the question she very loudly announced, "My mom says you are going to have a baby!"  Okay... I waited for the complete derailment to settle a little and when I had their attention again, I confirmed the news of the day.

I went on to explain how excited I was and told them when she was supposed to be getting here and that I'm still their teacher... etc.  They were pretty excited.  I let them know that my belly would be getting bigger and bigger and that it would be hard for me to bend over and get things off the floor and that it would be dangerous to leave things on the floor.  One of my sweet boys was concerned about how big I would get and said, "Well Mrs. St. Germain... you COULD exercise."  Very cute, chuckle to myself and explain that, of course I could, but my belly would still get pretty big.

I also had to explain that at recess, we need to be very careful not to run into me.  Quick interruption from a new big brother with a baby sister at home, "That's right, because babies are FRAGILE!  They can't be shaken or dropped or run into... even girl babies AND boy babies are FRAGILE!"  I wonder what kinds of conversations they are having about the 3 month old baby sister at their house ;)

Then came the inevitable question, "Well how is the baby going to get out?"  Hmmmmmm... pause, think... saved by another new big brother!  One of my little boys pipes in, "Well, my mom just went to St. Lukes.  She had to change clothes and get on a bed thing and then they rolled her into a room and me and dad sat in the waiting room and then they CUT HER!  Then we saw my baby brother in the nursery window!"  My response, "Yes class, that's exactly how it happens!"  Whew!  Saved by the five year old.  The rest of the class just shrugged their shoulders, like "Okay, now I know, no big deal."  So funny.

They were soooo not concerned about how the baby got in there... didn't care at all... whew ;)

Time Off To Do List

Okay, since I'm at home waiting for this baby to get here, I've compiled a list of things that can be done from the bed or couch...

• Thank you notes... 25 done, lots more to go!
• Lesson plans from week 28 to week 36... units filled in, language arts filled in, math still to be done.
• Update baby book
• Get shower gifts for pregnant friends ;)
• Taxes
• Meal planning... not really very good at this ;)
• Blogging!

 God is teaching me patience... I get it... I'm learning.

Nesting

So after some unexpected early labor pains, we decided that we needed to kick our nesting into high gear!  Although, there is NO WAY to fully prepare yourself for a new baby there are some ways to bring piece of mind to the truly unprepared.  We still have a few thing on our to do list, but Julia's not going to know if her name isn't on the wall when she comes home from the hospital... "Your Baby Can Read" doesn't have curriculum for those still in utero.  Here are some pictures from our "nest."

Entering the nursery

To the left, to the left...

Cute switchboards!

A place to wipe little bottoms ;)

 Books ready to go!

 Some favorites ready to go!

A place to eat and read...

 Snuggly Bee Bear :)

She needs to get a little bigger before she'll fit into these!

Ready to run!

Ready to sooth ;)

Rue loves trying out Julia's bows ;)

Looking good!