The Babysitter's Here

Kristin has been coming to help out with Luca a couple of days a week since just before Matteo was born. She's a nanny for a good friend / school mate of Luca's and she has some extra hours available these days, so we've been more than happy to keep her busy during those times.

In a word, she is wonderful. She's young and full of energy (necessary for endless hours of legos, memory games, adventures in the arts and chase), and she has an innate sense of what works when it comes to little kids. She also has a ton of patience - lucky for us AND for the three and a half year old that we happen to room with.



Kristin has been sitting for Luca for almost a year now. She used to come in the evenings only, when we were out of the house - but we'd see her out and about at the park and at play dates. Now that she has a bit more availability, and now that the concept of "date night" is pretty much ONLY a concept - most of their time spent together has been during the day. As well, some of that time together has been in and around the house when Debbie and I are also at home. And, unfortunately - Luca gives Kristin a much harder time when his moms are nearby. When they are on their own - whether at the house or out on an adventure - Luca apparently does very well. He listens to Kristin, plays nicely, maintains a decent mood, etc. But, when they are in the house and we are around - Luca gets all Edward Hyde on her. I don't know if this sort of thing is typical - kids acting up with the sitter or another adult when the parents are around - but, it's been stressing me out quite a bit. We have her there so that he is insured some one-on-one attention and so that we have some help in tending to his needs. But, lately, he's been much more of a handful and has given Kristin a really hard time - so that Debbie and I, despite our best intentions, wind up intervening. I get aggravated at Luca and, at the same time, I feel sad for him. When he acts out for our attention, I feel like I am being neglectful. That I shouldn't be passing him off to the sitter, but - instead - I should be trying to engage him and care for his new brother at the same time. The reality, though, is that I can't. Not yet, anyway - at least not until I am feeing good again and this baby isn't so darn-spanking new anymore. And - the whole reason we have Kristin here is to insure Luca's well-being and his fun.

After having a difficult Monday, we came up with a plan for Tuesday - have them stay outside as much as possible. When we are out of his sight, we are pretty much out of his mind. The weather was great in the beginning of the week, so this wasn't a problem at all.

Books...



Picnics...





And other random outdoor adventures...





Luca has a day off from school on Friday, so Kristin is taking him away from the house for a play date. But, we'll have a day or two next week when we will all be around the house together again. I know that we can think of a few more "out of the house" activities, but I am hoping that we can also think of some ways to make the "all of us at home" situation a little easier for everyone.

Uhh...

We are just starting to emerge from the fog. There have been a few challenges this week, but we're maintaining. Our wonderful friends have been more helpful then we ever could have imagined. While my sister is here (until Tuesday), we are trying to catch up on sleep. And, we are finally starting to take some pictures.

Photo Op

I was taking a few pics of Matteo this morning...





...and his brother felt a wee bit left out, but was sure to let me know.



I asked him to pose a bit.






He did not disappoint.

My Sister is Here

Thank god.

Primo and Segundo

He's here...

The short version...

Drank the castor oil milk shake on Thursday night - with no results (except for what one might expect).

My midwife - Hope - broke my water at 10:45am on Friday morning, January 9th.

Matteo was born just two hours and four minutes later at 12:49pm. .



All nine pounds and six ounces of him.

Details to follow.

The update

So - lots has happened this week. Too much to even begin to fully explain right now, although highlights include - multiple scares because of the ever-conservative high risk docs, unexpected twin delivery and - later in the week - false labor (including a trip to the birthing center and back). We are at the point where they are going to medically induce on Saturday if this baby doesn't get here before then. We spent all morning at appointments and most of the afternoon either waiting to talk to or on the phone with the midwives and the back-up doc's office. Everyone came to the decision that we would try castor oil tonight (mixed into a milkshake), breaking my water tomorrow (if the castor oil doesn't do the trick) and - a medical induction tomorrow evening if breaking my water doesn't work. I am forty-one weeks, 4-5 centimeters dilated and Group B Strep positive. That along with the fact that I delivered the 20 week twin earlier in the week, makes them (and us, admittedly) uneasy about infection. I've had no symptoms of infection and the baby passed two non-stress tests and two high-risk ultrasounds with flying colors - so everyone agreed to another day to get this going outside of the hospital.

We are really tired - but happy to know that we will finally meet him within the next twenty-four hours or so.

The Mom Song

I had forgotten about this until a friend posted it on Facebook tonight. Thanks, Denise!

Congrats!

Congratulations to Paul and Chris over at It's Daddies. Plural. They are the proud new fathers of baby Kensington Grace, who entered the world on Christmas Day. I spent the early morning hours catching up on their latest blog entries. And, I am looking forward to reading up on their new adventures with their long-awaited, beautiful baby girl.

Weekend so far...

We've had a nice weekend so far. Luca spent the better part of yesterday morning up in a tree...







Then we met up with Lori and went to a new taqueria for breakfast...







In the afternoon, it was time to make the dinosaur cookies Luca got for Christmas from Jane's mom - Grandma Joan...











After the day's activities, Kristin came over to watch Luca and we went out to my belated birthday dinner with Lori and Ida. Tapas. So good.

Today, Debbie is putting away the holiday decorations and taking down the tree, Luca is doing his thing, we are all still in our pjs and we are about to make buttermilk pancakes. I plan on putting the second tier of laundered baby clothes away, gathering more things for Goodwill and consignment and - in general - taking the last official day of holidays as slowly as possible.

Ready.

Happy New Year, btw.

Our New Year's celebration was much like our Christmas celebration - small, quiet and just what we needed. A few friends stopped by on New Year's eve to visit, but the three of us spent the majority of the evening just hanging around the house. Luca made it to ten o'clock, Debbie and I made it to midnight, but just barely.

We had a brunch here on New Year's Day. A potluck, of course - because we are good lesbians. The food was delicious, the company was great. We had a Yankee Swap Gift Exchange. Yankee Swaps (or any of the other names they go by) are a great way to "regift" or recycle decent presents that don't work for you for one reason or another. And the "exchange" part usually winds up being hysterically funny. Our only rule this year was that people bring a functional item. No gag gifts. For the most part, it turned out great. We laughed a ton and most people left with things they really liked.

After dessert and gifts, (almost) everyone went for a walk around the neighborhood. After that, the party slowly started to break up.

The three of us spent the rest of the day cleaning up and organizing - finding spaces for our new Christmas presents, gathering older toys and things for donation and consignment, doing a little more work on the baby's room, etc.

Then - it was leftovers for dinner and an early bedtime for all of us. Nothing too exciting, but a very nice way to bring in the new year.

Checking in...

No pics to share. I have been busy / lazy - depending on the hour. No baby to share yet, either. Today is my official due date believe or not. The way I've been spouting off, you'd think I was a month late already. I'm not - it just feels that way. Because of several things - the pumping and herb protocol that started at thirty-seven weeks, a second fetus, a psychic that was right about everything else, the fact that Primo came early and that this is a second baby, my hugeness, etc - I really thought this baby would be here by now. It's all about expectations, I guess. (Wo)man plans, god laughs.

I went to the acupuncturist this week - twice - for electronic stimulation. She also gave me a hefty dose of vile herbs. I have had massage therapists friends pushing on pressure points for two weeks now. "Nesting" has come and gone. But, alas - nothing. Nada. Zilch.

So - now - on my due date, I am starting to feel the anxiety. I am worried about interventions and c-sections and what if something's wrong, and oh my god - I've been eating too many carbs, etc. Stepping outside of myself, I know that plenty of babies come past their due dates. I know that this baby will get here when he and my body are ready. But still...

Regarding no pics - I have been sooooo achy and tired that I haven't been motivated to pull out the camera. I have also been lucky enough to have our wonderful baby-sitter become available during some daytime hours and she's been taking Jr. out on a lot of his daily adventures.

The house is still asleep. I have been up since five. I think I might organize the baby's drawers. Very exciting. Maybe I will take some pics...

In the meantime, please send positive labor vibes!