Spinning Jenny: January 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

Mommyhood Times Two

And we're off! Double mommyhood has begun!

Today marks the first day that BJ has gone back to work on a full-time basis, leaving me to tackle the boys with my own resourcefulness. I have to say that I originally felt completely daunted by this task and was dreading the day that BJ was gone all day long, but I have slowly gained confidence over the past week. Helping to boost my confidence is the fact that Silas is continually improving in terms of his acceptance of George becoming a permanent fixture in this family, so meltdowns are becoming fewer and farther between. The second day we were home from the hospital BJ left for about half an hour to go get Tex from my parents' house, and during his absence I began to question the sanity of our decision to expand our family: Silas was aimlessly wandering around the house wailing and screaming "Mama!", George was repeatedly spitting up all over both of us and having exploding dirty diapers, and my back was still aching from the epidural so I was going not too many places very quickly. This little incident has been marked in my mind as "the half hour from hell," but I'm happy to report that nothing has been this dramatic or hair-raising since then.

I have been overwhelmed by the help, gifts, and visits that we have received from others. I honestly expected very few presents, being that George is our second child and our second boy to boot, but the generosity of others has absolutely blown my mind. We have gotten everything from crocheted blankets to packages of diapers to restaurant gift cards to frozen casseroles, as well as numerous gifts for Silas. My mother-in-law has graciously put herself on an air mattress three times for overnight visits, my sister is keeping George for a while tomorrow night so that BJ and I can have a "dinner date" at Chick Fil A with Silas, and our hearts have been lifted by people calling and dropping by. Interspersed into these blessings have been the tasks of never-ending laundry, organization and unpacking, keeping food in the house, healing, and middle-of-the-night feedings. Thank God the Australian Open has been on during George's entire life thus far (until Djokovic unfortunately beat Nadal in the Men's Final on Saturday night), giving me the grand opportunity to watch live tennis in the middle of the night. How I do love tennis! Now I will just have to watch Parks and Rec re-runs and Barefoot Contessa.

Hope all is well with you, friends. I know that many of you I have not been in touch with the past couple of weeks, and for that I apologize. My facebook presence has also been fairly scarce apart from parental bragging on my page. A big thanks again to all of you. You are appreciated!

My Little Man

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

George Atticus

Friends of mine who follow my facebook page are aware that on January 18th, BJ and I welcomed our second precious son into our family. George Atticus was born at 3:14pm, weighing in at 7 pounds, 8 ounces and a long 21 inches, just like his brother. The child was seriously born in one push; how lucky is that? I honestly pushed for less than 60 seconds with this guy! The story of George's birth and my labor with him is extremely picturesque in my mind, as everything went so perfectly and I felt absolutely surrounded by positivity, despite the fact that George was induced, which was definitely not my preference. However, BJ and I completely trusted my doctor, who we feel steered us toward a great decision. My sister-in-law Jenny is a nurse on the mother/child unit at the hospital where we delivered, and she cleverly pre-arranged for me to have Melissa, the same wonderful labor and delivery nurse that I had with Silas. Family members and my close friend Sara were all by my side during the short labor process; one of my closest friends was even right across the hall and down one door, laboring away and delivering her own beautiful baby boy just a couple of hours after George made his appearance. As it came near to pushing time, even the scrub tech in the room told us that she has been a close friend of BJ's brother for several years. After delivery I had the honor of having Jenny as George's and my nurse on the mother/child unit for two whole days! I was amazed that everyone in my situation seemed connected, and in some way it made me feel protected and surrounded by love.

George is wonderful in every way. To me, he looks absolutely nothing like Silas or me. His nose is perfectly BJ's, but I truly struggle to see if he looks like BJ in any other way. I honestly have no idea who this baby looks like. =) I do know that he is adorable, and I went crazy over the newborn pictures that the hospital photographer captured the day after he was born. The CD for these came in the mail today, but alas my netbook does not have a CD drive so I will have to wait for BJ to work his magic before I can upload my beautiful pictures. Like many babies, George likes to have his head rubbed and his bottom patted; he squawks that newborn cry so loudly and yet so feebly, and he stares his big blue eyes intensely into mine at times. He is an easy feeder, unlike Silas. The first several days he drove both mommy and daddy crazy by having his nights and days backward, which left BJ and me doing shifts in the middle of the night (one of us up until 3AM, the other waking up at 3AM) since he wouldn't go down in his crib. However, the last two nights he has gotten this turned around and is now sleeping in his crib, which leaves me up for three middle-of-the-night feedings but really no extracurricular awakenings (fingers crossed!). As for Silas, he was extremely unsure about all of this in the beginning, but he has warmed wonderfully to his brother in the last two or three days and now takes an active interest in George (with the occasional complete meltdown!). He is also quite interested in George's pacifier, leading BJ to dub Silas "the paci hawk," as Silas is always aware of the whereabouts of George's paci and is willing to lick it himself before trying to place it into George's mouth. =)

As I journey into motherhood times two, I will certainly chronicle the highs and lows in this blog. Things in life have definitely changed, and I'm ready to experience and share it as it unfolds for us.

Monday, January 16, 2012

A Blanket for George

George's blanket is finished. The finishing touches were put on it late last night, after I was cautioned by Jeannie that perhaps the baby will not come until his blanket is ready for him. =) Honestly a tiny glimmer of superstition in me predicted my water to break just as I held up the final product for BJ's sweet (but expected) admiration. No such luck, but his blanket does await him when he chooses to make his arrival. In the bottom picture, friends, you must imagine a swaddled gorgeous little George instead of his owl partner-in-crime (handmade by none other than Sommer).

Friday, January 13, 2012

Patches

Time is becoming of the essence here with my latest knitting project, which is George's baby blanket. I had originally thought I would finish it in time, then realized that I likely wouldn't, and am now starting to hold out hope again. I have decided to knit his blanket as a construction of 24 patches in five different colors, all made with a simple knit-stitch. I figured that as long as I change colors and turn the patches in different directions, the texture would be interesting enough to make up for the fact that the blanket is constructed in only the knit-stitch. So far I have completed 21 of the 24 patches and am well on my way with the 22nd. This would all seem extremely do-able but for the small, insignificant detail that I still have to stitch all of the patches together. The problem is that my only free time is really during Silas' nap-time, plus a little time after he goes to bed at night. My friend Erin asked me yesterday if I thought I would finish in time and I had to tell her that I honestly have no idea. If George waits another week to come, then yes, I should definitely have it finished. If my water breaks tonight though, it ain't gonna happen. Luckily, my friend Jeannie sent George a gorgeous red baby blanket that I cried upon receiving, so it's not like little George is going to go cold. If George is anything like Silas, then he will love more than one blanket anyway. (Silas' word for "blanket" is "ninny," and he is extremely partial to his "blue ninny," which is also a Jeannie creation. Have I mentioned that Jeannie is a fabulous knitter? Why oh why must she live all the way in Indiana?)

So, knitting away furiously! At least, as fast as my swollen fingers will let me!

Monday, January 9, 2012

A List of Difference-Makers

I feel like so many things are intersecting in my life lately. It reminds me of the quote from 'Sleepless in Seattle' when Rob Reiner asks, "What do they call that, when everything intersects?" Tom Hanks sarcastically states in response, "The Bermuda Triangle."

This weekend I turned 31 years old, despite my kind sister-in-law's 'reminder' that I'm really only 26. I am days away from giving birth to another child, although that number of days remains to be seen at this point. Conveniently, this weekend BJ introduced me to the ideas of an author he has been following, a man by the name of Derek Sivers. Mr. Sivers appears to have dabbled in all kinds of life experiences, and he recently shared a blog post in which he compiled a list of meaningful people in his life.

The project inspired by Mr. Sivers got me thinking this weekend, as I feel that things are, oh, culminating for me right now. How many people have intersected into my own 31 years of life and directed me, knowingly or unknowingly, along the path that I have taken? In the past few days I have spent many hours thinking of my life from start to finish, as best I can remember, and making note of people who have changed me, inspired me to stretch, spoken words I have never forgotten, or fostered something within me that I previously didn't know was there. This list consists only of people I have personally met and is as chronologically in order as I can remember. Many of them may not remember me and some of them have passed away, but it does not diminish the effect they had on me. Last names for many of these people have also changed, but I listed them as I remember most of them in my heart. To the people on this list, a hearty thank you. If you should happen to see your name on this list, I'd be happy to share with you the reason(s) why you are there. Spending time compiling this list has brought me joy.

Bill and Cindy Hughes

Bill “Papa” and Jenny “Grandma” Hughes

Christa Hughes

Billy Hughes

Sara Dilks

Lois Sturch

Jerry and Dixie Cason

"Uncle" Kevin Wigginton

Candace Shephard

Kristal Lounge

Carolyn Snavely

Linda Warford