Trip to the Transit Museum

Want to see a super happy toddler boy? Take them to see the trains at the transit museum. Sure, it is a schlep to get to Brooklyn but it is worth it. Jaime (and Dan) had the best time. Ellie was less than a month old so she was content to sleep (and do an enormous dirty diaper) and I am always happy when my kids are full of smiles, enjoying some adventure.

The main attraction was the platform with all of the trains from various different time periods. They are very neat to wander through.

In addition to all of the trains there were a couple of buses for kids to sit in the driver seat.

It was fun and filled with other stuff but with 1.5 year old boy the interactive displays were where we spent our time. I hope to go back when Ellie is walking as it is such a good family trip.

First weeks as a family of four

The first weeks home after a baby is born is like being a bubble. It is like nothing else is going on and everything is laser-focused, zeroed in on the immediate family and home.

Jaime was so excited about bringing Ellie up to our apartment and watching her. He picked up her name pretty quickly. When he would wake up in the morning and after naps he would run to her little bassinet and jump up to peek in at her. Periodically while going about his day he would wave to her while saying "Ellie!!"or run over to the rock and play and lean over smiling at her.  He was pretty interested in hats at this point so would grab at her little hat exclaiming "HAT!" or point to it and talk about it. He would point to her nose, eyes, ear while talking about her.  And oh-my-gosh did he want to hold her all of the time and kiss her.

I hope to never forget the pure adoration and excitement that all over Jaime's face the first time he got to hold Ellie. It was beautiful. Simply one of the highlights in my life. 

Ellie was a good little sleeper and that made it easier on the transition. She didn't cry much or loudly, when she did wake up and cry Jaime would look at me, point at her and say "Ellie".

Ellie was also a good little snuggler. I loved holding her while she was napping.  Such a tiny little baby bear! 

Ellie was a tiny peanut. She was wearing newborn size clothes for a month and the only hats that really fit her were the ones from the hospital. I probably kept using hats longer than I needed but the whole winter baby thing had me worried about keeping her warm enough. Her fingers and toes were so incredibly tiny.

It was cold and snowy during Ellie's first weeks. And by cold I mean majorly, abnormally cold. So the four of us spent a lot of time inside. We made pancakes, we did all kinds of indoor-toddler-activities to keep Jaime active so he wouldn't climb the walls.

But we did get outside. While Dan was home we tried to do little outings with Jaime when the weather was warm enough. Both so he could get out to run but also so he could have some one on one time with one of us and also Ellie would then get a little quiet time with the other parent. He also had music class once a week to give him some toddler time.

I had planned to get a double stroller after a while and to use the carrier initially. Well with how miserably cold it was out, I wasn't comfortable without being able to have her more bundled/protected. And with two little ones, I needed things to be a little easier for us to get out and about. So we ordered the stroller and moved right into being a double stroller family. It was so cute how Jaime would need to stop every few minutes to check in on Ellie. Ellie just napped in her cozy little cocoon.

When Ellie was about ten days old Dan flew out of town for two nights... talk about jumping in the deep end. I took this opportunity to do some of the toddler activities that Dan wouldn't be able to handle due to potential mess, such as water and ice transfering. Bedtime was a challenge by myself. I would try to get Ellie down and then Jaime... one night Ellie started to fuss but when I started to sing Jaime the bedtime songs she calmed down and dozed off again. We did okay, me and my babies.

It was a whole new ballgame to have two little ones. It made me look back at those early days with Jaime and think "man, that was so easy!" But the mix of chaotic, sweetness, and love in those first weeks are so unique and special. 

Elizabeth's birth story, part 3 - siblings meet + going home

After a while I got really restless in the delivery room and wanted to get out of there and to a regular room. Well, if there is a next time I will not take the blood pressure cuff off... oops. I apparently needed to be hooked up to it for a specific amount of time afterwards. And I would plead for the rest of the night to get that IV out of my hand (omg do I hate that) with no luck. Good grief.

But then it was time for Elizabeth to get a bath, for me to rest a bit in my room with the saddest lunch ever, and for Dan to go home to get James.

After a bit they brought Ellie in to me and we were in our little bubble world for a bit before the boys arrived. Just me and my sweet baby girl. (and the neighbor, this is NYC.)

When Jaime walked into the room and saw me on the bed I saw all of his emotions in his eyes. That one wears his heart on his sleeve.

He sat on the bed with me and was pretty concerned about the situation but we chatted about it all as he took it in. And we snacked on bagel crisps, everything flavor. He was worried about the IV in my hand and tried to understand what it was all about.

Then Ellie stirred in her crib and he saw her for the first time. He said a little "oh!", pointed and then looked at me with the biggest eyes. He wanted to see her and gave her little pats on the tummy. He was so curious and just wanted to know all about this new baby sister. It was the cutest thing ever.

I just know that these two kids are going to be great friends.  They have my heart and I can't wait to see them grow up together.

It started to get a little late so Dan and Jaime headed back across the park to make dinner and get some sleep. And I started the cycle of napping and nursing... and had the absolutely saddest little dinner ever.

Elizabeth's cries were so quiet that I didn't know if they would wake me up, after being used to a toddler screach being my wake up call. But of course they did and we spent the night getting caught up.

Having a baby is so exhausting and yet so emotionally charged. My love and bond with this little girl was instant and I feel such a calm when snuggling with her or having her sleeping next to my bed.

The next day we left the hospital in the late afternoon. Even though I ended up having the shared room to myself it was incredibly cramped and not the least bit comfortable.

I felt okay and so did the little miss. It was a little bit of chaos getting out so there weren't many pictures taken but we finally had all of the papers signed and both of our littles bundled into their car seats in the rented car. Ellie was in the little star onesie that Jaime wore, a gray kimono top, blue pants with little white dots, and her bear suit.

Jaime was so cute smiling at Ellie and chatting about how she was in the back seat with him on the short drive across the park.

And before we knew it we were home.

Love.

Elizabeth's birth story, part 2

After being admitted it was just a few minutes before I was being wheeled through the triage area to head to the delivery room.

The room was small and had a small window looking out at the park while a little chair off in the corner for Dan. Being at the tail end of active labor, I was pretty much in my own world and didn't really care about the room or bother to think about taking photos. 

I decided to get an epidural and the anethesiologist said they would be back soon, they were apparently running at full capacity and I remember hearing over his little speaker thing something about an emergency. Quite a while later my doctor came in to check on me, when she found out I was going to do the epidural she said "then they need to get in here now or it will be too late!"

The epidural was pretty strong (or maybe it is was just the lack of pitocin this time!) and I was able to relax enough to lightly nap. I was so tired after not sleeping all night that it was needed.

Before I knew it, it was time to have this baby. It was just the doctor, nurse, baby nurse and Dan.

45 minutes later a wiggly, squishy itty bitty baby was laying on my chest. She calmed right down, resting on me, I could feel her deep breaths and we were both like "oh I know you."

I could hardly believe how tiny she was at just barely over 7 lbs. After she was weighed and all that good stuff, we spend the rest of the time snuggling. This little girl could snuggle from day one.

It is a completely unique and amazing experience to give birth to your baby. All the emotions, all the thoughts. No other moment is quite like this. I feel so fortunate to have my second sweet little baby arrive safely and healthy.

Elizabeth's birth story, part 1

I started having braxton hicks contractions in early January. I was nervous about getting past January 15th as that was the deadline to be legally eligible for maternity leave.  And I was nervous about recognizing when labor was truly starting with enough time to get childcare lined up for Jaime.

When the 15th passed, I gave a little cheer. Eligible for FMLA, woo hoo!

On Thursday the 16th while we making dinner I felt a nice sharp contraction.  It was real feeling and had follow ups so I had Dan to the lifting for Jaime as it didn't feel good to pick him up and  downloaded a contraction app.

In the morning on the 17th I headed into work but felt a little off. A guy offered me his seat on the massively crowded train and I usually decline but this time really needed to sit so took him up on it and felt a wave of tears coming on. Bizarre. I sat there wondering if it was the day and thinking it would be convenient to have things kick off while the nanny was already taking care of James.

I went about my day at work, with the occassional contraction. At the end of the day my manager stopped by and said "baby, you stay put for another week!" And we chatted with a couple other coworkers, one of them saying how I don't look tired of it yet. But in the back of my head I knew that I could very well be in the earliest phase of labor and that at just a few days short of 39 weeks it was likely not going to be a whole lot longer. I just knew that I wouldn't go overdue.

On the way home I felt even more 'not myself.'

I got off the train at my stop and it felt like a lot to go up the stairs. I stopped at the convenience store at the corner to buy Jaime some animal crackers and as I went to get ice cream I paused, thinking maybe I would in the hospital soon and so didn't need to get ice cream... I got it anyways, cookies and cream.

That night after dinner as we watched tv I kept track of my contractions. They were real alright. And consistent. I wondered about when to call the babysitter and if we could hold on till morning.

That night I did really sleep. I was getting very strong contractions from midnight until around four that were 8-10 minutes apart.  I would barely start to doze off and then get a super strong contraction to derail any sleep plans. I was going back and forth between the couch and the bed trying to get comfortable. Dan and James were totally passed out, sleeping hard during this time. At some point I thought I should write out the meals to give Jaime for our babysitter, write down the various phone numbers and the address to the hospital.

Around five-something am the contractions were five minutes apart. I decided that it was time to call the doctor and to wake up Dan. Doctor said to head in - I am pretty sure they wanted me to call and go in when the contractions were 10 minutes since this is my second baby but I didn't want to spend all those hours in the hospital.

Dan showered and made coffee. But first he asked me if I was sure, yes honey, I am sure. Then I showered and packed my bag. Jaime woke up and was like lets party.

We called the nanny at 5:45 am but she didn't answer. So we called our babysitter who answered on the first or second ring, she had woken up to go to the bathroom just a few minutes before. She was at our place in 15 minutes.  And after a quick hand off it was time to go. I got a super sweet hug from Jaime and we headed out to catch a cab.

The cab ride was like five minutes, it was a quick, quiet trip across the park to the east side with zero traffic on a cold winter morning before sunrise. We were checked into the hospital at 6:30 am.  A quick exam and they said, "um yeah, you need to be admitted now."

At this point, I was so very relieved that the past 38 weeks and 5 days had been predominately healthy, we had childcare for Jaime when go time arrived, that I made it to the FMLA deadline, and that while the contractions were getting painful, everything was going smoothly.