Linkage

Only two links to share, but both pretty great.

weeds vs. wants--cjane. laugh out loud, especially the FHE poem midway through the post.
homemade granola bars --ellen posts a great recipe and a mouthwatering picture of this yummy treat. I'm hoping to make some this week with dried cranberries, coconut and almonds.

sweet

The days of this week have been spent cuddling, nursing, and smelling a baby head more than should be allowed. Luckily, help from mom, big brothers, friends, and a husband on paternity leave have allowed me hours and hours of just these things.

Sometimes the only thing that got me through the difficult days of pregnancy was the vision of a new baby in the springtime when the sun comes up early and stays up late. I knew that once Henry was born, visitors would follow and days would be peaceful, sunny and warm. Those days are here and are better than I could have imagined.

The winner

Finally, Finally, James and Owen would like to announce the arrival of their baby brother:

Henry William Fuller

Born May 21, 2009; 10:11 a.m.

8 lbs. 2 oz.; 20 inches long

And the lucky winner of the contest is Tara! Her exact quote: "I'm guessing May 21st at 3:47 p.m. Weight 7 lbs 11 oz. Good luck Kristine! I am jealous you are so close!!" She's jealous because she has 3 more weeks to go until her own little sweetie boy is born. Hang in there, girl. (Brittany and Emily, you were both so close. It came down to hours--Tara's guess was a few hours less off the actual time. But how fun that Henry will share a birthday with both of you)

It was so fun to read all the guesses. Trust me, I was wishing that some of you who guessed Saturday and Sunday were right, but I guess this little guy wanted to take his time and then make a seriously quick, intense trip out when he was good and ready.

I'll try spare the nitty gritty, sometimes gory, and TMI details that make up mother-to-mother birth stories, and just sum it up like this: Monday afternoon we went to the doctor for the final checkup, and found that I was about as far along as you can be without actually being in active labor. I had some pretty regular contractions that night, but nothing that could actually be called painful, and eventually those sort of fizzled out. Doctor agreed that if baby wasn't here by Wednesday, he would break my water on Thursday morning at the hospital. So on Thursday morning, it went like this:

7:00 am: got to the hospital

7:40: broken water

8:00 ish: regular, painful contractions set in

9:15: really hard, intense contractions set in

9:20ish: asked for some kind of drug to take the edge off, found out it was too late, baby was about to make his entrance

9:40ish: had some serious doubts about being able to do this drug-free

10:11: Henry is in my arms.

It was a crazy, awesome and truly amazing experience. Jeff was such a helpful, positive coach through it all, and the two nurses and my Doctor were also so incredibly helpful and encouraging that I can honestly say it was one of the most spiritual and even pleasant experiences I've ever had.

Now that I can sit back and compare a non-epidural experience with an epidural experience (which I had with both of my other boys), I don't anymore think that people who do it drug-free are crazy. I went into the birth without a specific decision on whether I would use pain medication or not, but knowing my low pain tolerance, was leaning more toward medicating. Because I wasn't decided either way, I just wanted to let my body and my mind make that decision for me during the actual delivery so that I wouldn't be disappointed no matter what happened.

I just realized that up in that paragraph I called the experience pleasant. It seems like a ridiculous word to use to describe such an intense, painful thing. But honestly, with supportive people who encouraged me all the way through, (trust me, I had some serious, serious moments of doubt and terror) I guess the word pleasant could describe the environment around me, and not the actual pain and intensity. Henry was lucky enough to be born into a room full of peaceful, helpful, loving people on a sunny, blue-skied morning.

That said, it was extremely fast, and had it been longer, it most likely would have been a completely different experience. I wouldn't say it would have been a worse experience, just different.

As I sit here typing with Henry in the sling (I think he likes it!), it is overwhelming and amazing that someone such as myself is allowed to fall completely in love for the third time with a precious little person. I am so incredibly thankful that he is here and healthy and for all the love and support that brought him and us to this point.

***(Tara, leave me your address in the comments, and I promise your prize will be there sometime in the next few weeks.)

Make a guess, win a prize

I got this idea from Crystal over at Money Saving Mom, who had a baby boy last week and named him Silas Benjamin. Such a cute name. But I thought it was a fun idea, so I'm going to do it too.

Guess baby's birthday and win a canvas shopping tote from my shop (except it will probably have colored webbing handles). Don't we all need more totes to add to our reusable supply? If you do, then make a guess. Everyone is welcome to guess--even all of my family.

Leave a comment with the date and time you think this little guy will be born, and also make a guess on his weight. Whoever comes closest to the actual date and time will win, and I'll use the weight as a tiebreaker if needed.

Here are some hints to help you guess:

• The original due date given at the first ultrasound was May 19th, but a few weeks ago I had another ultrasound just to check size and the computer was saying May 21st. However, at that second ultrasound, baby was measuring kind of big.
• I had an appointment on Monday of this week and my doctor found that my body is already starting to move things along and is getting prepared for labor
• James was born 3 weeks early (water broke) and Owen was born right on his due date (induced)
• James weighed 6 lbs. 2 oz. and Owen was 8 lbs. 4 oz.
• My mom is flying in tomorrow morning and once she gets here I am planning some seriously long walks--perhaps even some jogging--to get this thing moving.
  

I think maybe I should say you have to make your guess in the next couple of days, since it could technically happen anytime. So all guesses made before Saturday night at midnight will be counted in the contest.

Have fun.

Baby Items: part 2

As promised, more items and baby tutorials

Boppy Cover

Tutorial and pattern found here. If you make one of these, I would definitely recommend fitting it onto your boppy and pinning it around to make sure it is a snug fit before sewing.

WetbagVery useful for cloth diapering. I just used the wristlet pattern found here, made it a little larger, eliminated the handle and used ripstop nylon as the lining. (Thanks Tara for motivating me to figure it out)

Sling I bought a maya wrap ring sling when James was born, but I never really liked it because I always felt like he was never very secure, so I ended up selling it on Ebay and mostly used a baby bjorn carrier with him and Owen.

With this baby I still plan on using my bjorn, but wanted to also try a hotsling, since the main thing I didn't like about the maya wrap was the rings, and hotslings don't have rings. Free Pattern and tutorial found here. Can't wait to see how it fits a real baby, instead of a doll.(thanks to Clara, who asked me to help her make one of these for her little guy over a year ago)

Baby Items: part 1

These days there are so many great items that simplify your life with a baby. Lately I have been in the mood to make some of these items (call it nesting) and found free tutorials online for each one. I thought I'd share what I've made, and how you can make your own. These all make such great, inexpensive baby shower gifts. Most of these I'm keeping for myself, though.

It's amazing how much money you can save by making things yourself with clearance and thrifted fabrics.

Diaper Bag The pattern for this bag was developed in my head, but I got the idea for the all the inside pockets (minus the elastic) from this tutorial. I ended up having enough of this to make two of these, so the other one is listed in my shop.

Nursing CoverI have made these as gifts for so many people, so I was excited to make one for myself. Tutorial found here.

Diaper ClutchI found a tutorial here, but I actually prefer this style better. Here is one I just made for a work friend of Jeff's who is having a baby. The green one is mine--I made it last year and has been well-used already, so isn't as cute. But it's still very useful.

There are three more items to show--a boppy cover, a sling and a wetbag, they will be in a separate post.

It's the final countdown

Well, at long, long, long last I can say with excitement and some surety that I am on the homestretch. It's the bottom of the ninth (month, get it?), and I find myself pretty impatient and uncomfortably waiting on third base for a 7-8ish pound person to bat me home for the winning run.

This has been one heck of a thing. Four months of nausea, vomiting and zero appetite gave way to about two months of feeling sort of normal and the appetite returning, which was followed by three months of major heartburn and reflux and back to a restricted diet and way too many antacids. There really isn't much I have been able eat which I don't regret later, but some things definitely cause EXTREME regret and serious acid, and therefore have to be added to the list of things to avoid. Sadly, it's a pretty long list.

You'll notice that the whole previous paragraph has to do with food. I've made previous confessions here about my love for all food. In fact, I have a pretty serious list of foods I am planning to devour when this little guy decides to appear and I welcome with OPEN ARMS the appetite sans heartburn that appears almost immediately.

Here are just a few:

• Mauna Loa Chicken from Hawaiian Time. for you non-Eugene peeps, think teriyaki basted chicken grilled with a spicy lava sauce served over sticky rice. yum.
• Cadbury creme egg saved from Easter. chocolate is one of the major acid-producers and oh, how I have missed eating chocolate for three long months
• The largest combo plate of BBQ ribs, pulled pork, brisket and all the sides from Hole in the Wall BBQ covered and smothered in their spiciest sauce
• Chinese Food
• A western bacon cheeseburger from Carls Jr. Maybe the ravenous nursing appetite will even allow me to eat a double.


• Tomatoes. so full of acid, but so delicious. oh, how i've missed you.

Sixteen more days (give or take a few)--baby will arrive and the feast will begin.