See, here's the thing

My sister and her family, all of whom I adore, live in Seattle. We get to see them fairly frequently and we were with them at Christmas. Being 8 months pregnant I would sometimes ask one of my eager nieces or nephews to get me something that I was too lazy to get. I also didn't help make dinner or clean up. Or take care of my kid. Nathan, my 14 year old nephew was making fun of me and we came up with this perfect response / request. "I would (fill in the blank), but see, here's the thing" while patting my prohibitively large stomach. I got a lot of mileage out of this delightful phrase. I tried it this past week when this delightful family came down to visit, but its just not as effective when said stomach is simply jiggly leftover baby belly fat. "See, here's the thing. I'm disgusting, so could you please do it? Or get it? Or feed my kid? Or bring me the playing cards? Or bring me the deodorant?" (Not real requests. Well, not all of them.)

Enough about my belly. Annika has a toy piggy bank which sings, counts and snorts. She, the pig, also sings a song about her piggy snout. I think any toy that can combine porcine anatomy with fiscal responsibility is truly valuable. I just wish I hadn't stubbed the freak out of my toe on this treasure this morning.

Jacob is an easy baby and nursing is going great. The problem is, I keep calling him Isaac. Hmm. I'd always liked the name Isaac and kind of assumed that I would name a son Isaac. Then, two of my cousins named their sons Isaac in the space of a week. John has a cousin named Isaac. My uncle and aunt just named their son Isaac. (Granted, they named the twin Jacob.) And, Annika's best friend, who we see several times a week, is of course, named Isaac. There just seemed to be too many Isaacs in our lives to justify adding another. And, Jacob looked like such a Jacob. Really. So, I'm feeling pretty lame that I can't call my son the right name. I keep practicing. Really.

On the subject of names. We really liked the name Luke but realized that with a sister named Annika, we were setting ourselves up for too many Star Wars jokes. Being a big fan, (of the originals) I could see someone believing that it was a deliberate homage. Now, having called my daughter Annikin at least 4 times in the past two weeks, I'm realizing that not only did we act sensibly, but we really have averted disaster, therapy and complete estrangement from our daughter for all of her teenage and adult life. (I think John has done it at least once.)

At least we feed them and recognize them amidst a crowd.

P.S. Go to Eliza B's site for pictures of us.

Pictures!

If I could find the camera. If I didn't have a nursing child on my lap while my other child wants to share said lap. If I was awake. If I wasn't spending ten minutes every hour trying to untangle my hair from amazingly strong fists. If, if, if. So, no, no pictures. Or much of a blog entry.

Here are a few quick notes:
- Jacob snorts like a truffle hunter when looking for the food source. He looks in funny places like John's elbow. Or Gran's neck. Etc.
- Annika likes to "fist bump" Jacob. Softly, usually.
- Annika has worn a hat to church the last two Sundays and wore her rain boots (Thanks Aunt Roo! She loves them!) this Sunday.
- Jacob likes to be held and wants to eat ALL the time.
- Annika likes to spin and fall down. Even if the spin doesn't make her fall down, she fall on purpose.
- John sprained his ankle playing basketball.
- I bought fresh cut tulips at one of the many local farms. They are beautiful and help me to believe that spring will come again.

I promise that I will share more pictures soon.

Peaceful

I'm at home while everyone else is at church and Jacob is sleeping. John's mom and sister are so much help in taking care of Annika and making sure that she has an audience and attention. They take Jacob when he needs extra cuddling and I have to do something other than nurse. They do the things that I would do so that I can nap. They make yummy food AND do the dishes! They make very good company!

Enough rhapsodizing about them.

Annika knows her body parts and likes to show us on her, on us, on Jacob, etc. We taught her "bum" because its a body part and we figured this was a pretty innocuous word for that. Now, when she's showing us the body parts by pointing and naming them, she turns bum towards us and points and says, "bum!" And, if she can reach, she points to ours and says, "bum!" I'm just waiting for her to do it to someone not quite as close to the family and laughing my head off. Or, my bum off.

Don't worry, I'm not suicidal.

So, I was re-reading some recent posts and realized I may have given the wrong idea about my mental state. Don't get me wrong, everything I've written is true and not exaggerated, but I'm actually happy. Exasperated, but happy. Ragged, but happy. Living in chaos, but happy.

So, here's some more pictures to prove it.
(Of course, none of these were taken in the last 4 days. We haven't had any free hands.)

Nice people

Last night Annika decided that a new person in the house that monopolizes my lap ALL the time (nursing woes)is not acceptable. Never mind that she rarely cared to sit on my lap before I was prohibitively pregnant, but now that she can see the actual rival, she must make her claim known. Soo... while trying the techniques that the lactation consultants have recommended to turn Jacob's biting (gumming, but still, VERY painful) method into a sucking habit and trying desperately to keep myself together, Annika thought that, just to be safe, I should wear a bicycle helmet. Her helmet. The ladybug one. That's the size of her head, not mine. Baby on my lap, trying to shield him from the helmet, wondering why Annika has suddenly developed an urgent need to play with my hair (my curly hair that no one would even try to run their fingers through except 2 year old) and why my baby was biting me harder than ever, I thought I would scream. But, I didn't. Nor did I throw anyone of the couch. And then she started kicking us. I blame the cute rainboots that she wears everywhere. They give her a sense of power and control. She lay on her back and started pumping her legs at us. That's when I started bawling. Better than other options that would land me in jail.

Then, John came home and took over Annika duty. (Don't think I'm neglectful, I just really had this boy on my lap that frequently. Don't condemn me, pity me.) Annika was still on one and the crowning moment was when John was getting her bedtime sippy cup of milk and he was holding her at her insistence, she arched her back like an olympic diver and took him by surprise. He actually heard her back crack and she almost went down straight on her head. He was able to hang on to her, but the milk covered the front of the fridge and the floor. She was very helpful in cleaning it up by splashing her hands through it and running away to find the perfect spot to dry them off. I give credit to John for not yelling or smacking or hurling anyone out the window.

Annika really is easy going in general. She just needs more attention than I've been able to give. I'm not stressed that this is a permanent change, but she is almost two and we brought home a new guy, so I'll give her a break. I just hope she doesn't give me or Jacob a break.

Today, however, has been just fine. A friend came over with her son and he and Annika play REALLY well together. Usually. Oh well, reinforcements come tomorrow!

Maybe later

I will post anecdotes about my cute children and some more pictures. Later. Maybe. First, I am going upstairs to make up for the no sleep I got last night and to rest from my crying about nursing. Yay for motherhood. When it doesn't suck.

Jacob Gregory!!!

Jacob Gregory
January 24th
4:45 am
8lbs 8oz
20 inches
Lots of dark, dark hair and dark grey-ish eyes.




We actually didn't get in for the induction until that evening at 6pm and they didn't officially start until 8pm. I got an epidural a little after midnight and Jacob was born at 4:45 am. I fear describing my experience for fear of the angry mob of mothers who haven't had the same. Just like last time, I slept after getting the epidural of love (the epidural, however, hurt like a banshee) and enjoyed the night. At 4:25 am or so, I called the nurse and told her that I thought maybe I wanted to push and she checked and affirmed that I was ready. She called the doctor and from official start to finish, I pushed for 8 minutes. Yes, really.

We didn't name Jacob until about 3 hours before we were discharged because we kept going back and forth and just couldn't decide, but ultimately, we just realized he was Jacob and we couldn't name him anything else anyway. We're fine with Jacob or Jake and we use it interchangeably.

Annika was excited at the hospital: by the baby for about 2 minutes, about the surroundings for 30 minutes. When we got home, she was excited and jumping and dancing and pointed and said, "baby, baby, baby!" I had her sit on the couch and started to put Jacob on her lap and she shook her head and pushed him away. She grabbed his hat, put in on her head and ran away shouting, "hat. hat. hat." So, the highlight of bringing Jacob home, for her, was the new hat. She has since shown intermittent enthusiasm, feigned disinterest, and a intensified desire to sit on our laps, especially if Jacob is already on said lap.

We're tired and happy and thank everyone for their happy wishes! Here are a variety of fun pictures.