Family of Four

first walk

This has been the fastest week of my entire life! Jake goes back to work on Monday which makes me want to cry, only because we have so enjoyed having all this family time! Do you ever wish you could just freeze time because if I could I would freeze it now: new baby, husband home, summer weather, and three months off!

sisters

We are adjusting to our addition. Mainly we change diapers, make meals, wash dishes, do laundry, nurse, and repeat. Luckily, we have had lots of help in the form of delivered meals from family & friends and babysitting courtesy of our summer babysitter, Becca, who comes three mornings a week to play with our first born. So far, so good!

snuggle bug

Our first few nights at home were really rough with our baby awake ALL night crying and nursing. In hindsight, I wish I would have given her a tiny bottle of formula to tide her over as it took a while for the good stuff to come in, but now we are nursing well and she is no longer starving. Breastfeeding is not easy although it is easier than I expected. She has been sleeping much better, only waking to eat and for short periods to look around. Laying on her back in the pack-n-play is not her cup of tea so she sleeps in her car seat at night. Sure, I worry about her being outside in the car all by herself, but don't worry, I lock the doors. At her check-up we learned she has lost 12 ounces weighing in at 5 lbs 8 oz, only ranking in 3% for height and weight. Guess we make 'em small.

Things you should know about Henley:

• every diaper is a poopy diaper
• she has tear shaped birthmark on her tush
• she loves to cuddle, sleeping great when snuggled
• Nori has lovingly nicknamed her Baby Foosie (which evolved from baby fussy)
  

I made this!

I made this, too!

one lump or two?

"MY baby is a stinkbug" is the first thing Nori tells all of our visitors. Other quotable quotes include her telling Henley" I am so glad you are here", "I love MY baby sister so much", "where is MY baby?" and "what is MY baby doing?". Obviously. Nori is amazingly loving and she has become more independent that I ever expected! She has been keeping occupied playing tea party and killing ants. Her listening skills have been on the decline like when she ran away in the Costco parking lot, so we are implementing a new sticker chart to try reinforce her for good listening. Oh child!

she was looking for Charlotte and Wilbur

Our first official family outing was to Grand Old Day today. Nori got a a tattoo that says READ, we listened to a fun children's band, fed the farm animals, and shared a iced lemonade. Next year I plan to go shirtless to show off my rad tattoos. Note to self: get tattoos.

Foosie

There is no free time around here so this blog is going to suffer. Feel free to start at the beginning if you are desperate for reading material and let me know when you get caught up.

One week ago at this time

labor

Her birth story...

I can not believe this is actually happening...

Admit it, you want to hear all the gory details, so here you go. I woke up with contractions at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 26th, but I was able to sleep in between them. At 5:30a.m. I got up to do my prenatal yoga DVD and shower, wondering if today was the day? Jake stayed home from work to be with me, and we dropped Norelle off with treats for her last day at Tammy's house. I took a short nap and woke up to find I was bleeding so the midwives asked me to come in to Labor & Delivery to be checked. They monitored the baby and declared me officially in labor, dilated to 3 cm at 1:00 p.m. The midwife on duty, Lisa, said I could stay, but I opted to go home for a few hours to get organized, call our parents, and labor at home. Jake & I ate lunch, did laundry, and walked around the neighborhood through contractions. By the time our parents arrived, I was having some painful contractions about every 8-10 minutes which increased to 5 minutes after walking. At 7:30 p.m. we decided to go back to hospital where I was checked and found to be only at 4 cm. I took a bath and walked laps up and down the short hospital corridor. Jake suggested we pretend we were walking a 5K to raise money for charity (we chose pancreatic cancer research) and every lap raised a penny. We would stop every few minutes for a contraction which were getting more and more intense. Finally, after 20 hours of labor, I reached 5 cm at 11:00 p.m. and when the midwife vigorously stripped my membranes, the real PAIN began. It was only minutes later I was begging for an epidural which slowly got started and in place by midnight. My legs and bottom were completely numb which was both a relief and scary at the same time as I could not even turn over in bed by myself. We tried to rest from 2-5 a.m., but I was too hot, thirsty, and anxious to sleep. At 2:00 a.m. they started some pitocin to keep the contractions steady, at 3:00 a.m. our moms arrived, and at 3:30 a.m. I felt mounting pressure, while a bag of Jiffy Pop exploded between my legs which was my water breaking. Lisa came into the room and turned on the lights to check me at 5:00 a.m. declaring it was time to push which I was not ready for. I started shaking & shivering uncontrollably and was very scared. Jake held my heavy left leg encouraging me, while my mom was at the foot of the bed and Liz was helping near my head. After less that 40 minutes of painless pushing, Henley easily popped out into the world Friday May 27th at 5:52 a.m., almost 27 hours after labor began. She did not cry, only squeaked and squawked, as I held her learning to breastfeed. She looks like her daddy, and I can not believe how immediately we fell in love with her. It was so special to share this experience with Jake and see the joy of Norelle becoming a big sister! All of our family members visited us in the hospital, including my dad just before starting his first round of chemo. We are enjoying our family time, and I am feeling very sentimental about our little family! Must be the hormones, but I would not rule out doing it all again. Thank you to all of our family, friends, neighbors and church community for the babysitting, meals, cleaning, gifts, support and love!

Henley is here!

Welcome Henley Cate!

Henley Cate Seltz
May 27th at 5:52 a.m.
6lbs 4 oz
19 3/4 inches

the moment we have been waiting for....

My hero and role-model is engaged! To someone from Minnesota! It's only a matter of time before I run into her and become her new BFF!

ailments etc.

What an eventful week! I am done working (well, mostly) due to my SI injury which is painful but manageable, especially now that I don't have to try keep up with the demands of regular working life. Lots of laying on my ice pack and resting which helps! Jake is turning into a woman as he officially has Couvade Syndrome which is characterized by a man having higher levels of estrogen due to being around a pregnant women. He has way more cravings than I do, has gained weight, and has a thumb/wrist injury commonly found in pregnant women. Send tampons.

On a lighter note, we also met with my dad's surgeon to discuss his treatment plan and tomorrow we meet with the oncologist to plan for 6 weeks of chemo and radiation prior to Whipple surgery. After the onc appointment, he is going to have minor surgery to place a stent in bile duct to keep it open until the bigger surgery. His mood is positive and he is feeling good which is great. Thank you to everyone for your prayers, support, and offers of help. Most of the time I am coping well but then suddenly feel so sad that he the must go through all of this and scared of what the future holds. Life is hard like that.

Oh yeah, I may have a baby any day. Or not. We'll see. They think she is about 6lbs, so a little on the small side and very low. I will have an ultrasound on Tuesday just to make sure she is doing okay and growing well! Bought the Bio Oil, thank you stretch marks (not pictured, on other muffin top).

holding steady at 157 lbs at 39 weeks

Congrats Juan, Alisha & Mason!

Mariana Alease Ramirez

Born 8:52 am Wednesday, May 18th.
6 lbs 5 oz
18 inches long