white apples . a blog

the birth story

What makes a birth story a "story"? Drama and surprise? Swift, unexpected developments? Long, laborious battles? Shrieking and wailing, like those actresses on the screen with the impossibly skinny hips? What if there was absolutely nothing remarkable at all about the birth other than a beautiful, healthy, sweet baby boy slipping into the world?

27 weeks and sewing for mama

At 27 weeks along, our little bean is moving and stretching and tumbling quite frequently, especially at night when his big sister snuggles up to the belly for her bedtime story.  The excruciating lower back pain I had been experiencing has given way to a persistent but entirely bearable little ache, now that I have stopping doing projects hunched over on the floor in from of the TV and I have cut down on unnecessary hoisting of the constantly-eating, ever-growing toddler. Much like the last time around, chocolate and fruit cravings have kicked into high gear, though I get far fewer chastising lectures about dessert consumption from my Durham doctor than I got from my San Diego doctor. I tell myself that the fruit balances out the chocolate. Does eating an entire watermelon in one day negate that brownie binge? It does, right?

Speaking of mama indulgence, the first project I chose from Anna Maria Horner's newest book, Handmade Beginnings, was one just for me. The Four Corners Blouse is a nursing top ingeniously constructed entirely from rectangles of fabric. This was a pretty quick, simple project, though for most of the time that I was working on it, I was utterly confused about how it would all come together. I just chugged along, step-by-step, and it all worked beautifully (except for those straps... the placement of those are a bit wonky). 

for the little one

This pregnancy has been entirely different from my first one. I have had more symptoms - nausea, aches & pains, other little discomforts - that were absent last time. But most notably, I have a toddler to take care of now. With my first pregnancy, I was entirely mindful of the life I was growing each moment of the day. Every thought and action was colored with this new experience, every meal, every work day, every movement. Truly, though I worked about nine hours a day, I had an extravagant amount of free time - time to sit and contemplate my pregnancy and my changing body and this growing baby and this new life we were embracing.

Now we are completely immersed in that life, and my days and hours and moments are full of motion and planning and doing. Whole sections of the day fly by when I completely forget that I am pregnant. And so, between playing and cleaning and cooking and grocery shopping, between snuggling with Juni and flipping pancakes and chasing deer out of the yard, I've been trying to set aside some moments of pause. Moments to sit and be mindful of this baby, our son, her brother, to feel his movements and let the joy and anticipation and excitement wash over me as though he were the first and only.

Yet another difference this time around, a good one, is that we already have most of the requisite baby gear and accoutrements. With Juni, there was a long list of "stuff" to accumulate and assemble and arrange. Now there are just a handful of things that we truly need. And thanks to my tendency at the time to dress little baby Juniper in rather gender neutral colors, we don't even need many new baby clothes. And so, I've been focusing my nesting efforts on making handmade things for our little boy.

 

These are two receiving blankets I make a while ago. I couldn't believe the amount of blankets Juni ended up with when she was born. I thought it was ridiculous at the time, but we used and loved every one of them. Babies and snuggly blankets just go hand in hand, especially for those Autumn/Winter births.

Taking a cue from her blog, I used Anna Maria Horner's luxuriously soft Little Folks voile for one side of the blanket and her warm and cuddly Folksy Flannels line for the other. The binding is bias cut from her solid voile collection (as it turns out, making and attaching bias binding from voile is not as trivial as I thought, mistakes abound). The blankets ended up being around 34"x44", perfect for swaddling up a brand new little baby. As you can see above, Juniper has determined that they are snuggly indeed.

more beginnings

Almost two years ago, I began this blog with a glimpse of the 22-week Juniper bump. Here we are, not quite two years later, with another wonderful adventure ahead of us. Here is a our sweet boy, 22 weeks along, due to join our little family on October 20th.

Small Beginnings or The Birth Story

Ah, so much has been happening over here and I know that everyone is waiting for more photos.  But I might as well start at the beginning.  Friday was my last day at work - a full two weeks before the due date.  I had visions of lazy, Oprah-filled afternoons and long, late mornings with pancakes and good books.  I was going to finally finish the nursery.  And figure out how to install that car seat.  Oh yeah, and pack a hospital bag.

However, nothing went according to the plan, so at 6:15 am on Sunday morning - a Sunday morning that was supposed to involved freshly baked pumpkin bread - my water broke.  The doctor told us to leisurely start making our way into the hospital.  Leisurely?  We had to pack and read car seat directions and do laundry and locate paperwork and pretty much do all the things that people warn you must be done well in advance of the due date.  We finally arrived at the hospital around 9 am and got settled into our labor and delivery room. 

June in December!

Welcome to the world, Juniper Grace!  She was born on December 14th at 4:15 pm, 8 lbs, 1 oz, and 20.5 inches long.  We are so excited that she is here!  Many, many more photos and details about the birth will follow.  For now, Charlie and I are having a great time cozying up with our new little bundle of joy!  Thanks for all your support and well wishes!

thirty-seven weeks and counting...

How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn.
- Dr. Seuss



We are just past thirty-seven weeks now... three more weeks until the due date, although the the little bug is officially "full term".  As of last Thursday, I was 1 cm dilated and, according to my doctor, the head is down and "in position" though not actually pushing against things yet.  I have no idea what that means.  She was also so concerned with the levels of swelling in my already sizeable feet that she almost sent me to the hospital.  However, while swelling can be a sign of preeclampsia, all of the other tests were negative (blood pressure, protein levels, blah, blah).  So apparently I'm just one of those people who happens to swell.  Fun. 

Charlie and I are still in the process of choosing a pediatrician, figuring out how to install a car seat, training the cats to stay out of the bassinet (electric shock therapy... we're cruel like that...), and deciding where to store the mountain of laundry that is currently residing in the baby crib (this is why there haven't been nursery photos yet... don't worry, they're coming...). 

This is my last week at work before my maternity leave begins.  I'm scrambling to finish things up and transfer all the necessary information to my co-workers before I leave.  I stress out a little about leaving projects unfinished and making sure all my records are in order and whatnot.  However, I also do a little Snoopy dance of joy every time I think of not having to pipette anything for four and a half months...

34 weeks and the sniffles

Things are certainly rounding out now that I'm just about 34 weeks.  The belly is growing to unimaginable proportions, the baby is adamantly poking around with all possible limbs, and the bellybutton is holding steady in the "in" position.  Those of you who are aware of my extreme bellybutton phobia can appreciate the magnitude of this last statement. 

After bragging on Monday that I haven't been sick my whole pregnancy, I managed to catch a cold bug on Tuesday.  So now I'm all sniffly and snotty and generally whiny.  I stayed home from work today to rest and recover and hang around in my pajamas all day watching the Food Network and eating far too many blueberry and oat flapjacks.

We're also working on finishing up the nursery and tidying up  the nest for the arrival of the little one.  Charlie has been cleaning out all the nooks and crannies in this house, while I've been beaching myself on the couch wondering what important piece of baby gear I have neglected to consider.  For instance, apparently babies need hats.  Whether the hat is keep the head warm or just hide that strange cone shape, I have no idea.

Finally, we are eagerly awaiting the very imminent arrival of Amy's and Chris' new baby girl!  Good luck, guys!

Obama Mama '08

My favorite pre-election t-shirt

29 weeks, butternut squash, and puppy kisses

Here's The Syd, hanging out with the 29-week belly.  According to Babycenter, our little bug is about the size of a butternut squash right now.  I love butternut squash.  In fact, I had plans to make this Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons a few days ago (with leftover gruyere from the pie crust... how thrifty am I?).  However, while I may have six pounds of Ghirardelli chocolate chips, eight Scharffen Berger chocolate bars, seven Dagoba chocolate bars, twelve cups of Valrhona cocoa, five pounds of sugar, and a box of exquisite raw chocolate cacao nibs in my pantry right now, I have no chicken broth.  So no soup. 

Trimesters one and two were pretty easy and uneventful - the occasional teensy bout of nausea, a strange and distressing aversion to pizza, a previously-unheard-of dependence on Tums.  Now that I am firmly ensconced in the Third Trimester, various new and sneaky pregnancy ailments are creeping up on me.  It seems that a full eight+ hours of endless project meetings and sundry lab experiments/mini-science-disasters leaves me a bit ouchy at the end of the work day - lower back pains, achiness around the hip areas, assorted muscle soreness.  Waddling to and from the kitchen for ice cream feels like a marathon endeavor (though worth it... definitely worth it).  Oh yes, and the feet swell to (even more) gargantuan proportions.  This last development is truly appalling.  Truly.  But despite creaking around like a large, roly-poly wimp for most of the day, I'm feeling healthy and peaceful and centered and excited to meet our little baby girl in eleven-ish weeks.

Here is Sydney giving belly kisses, completely unaware of how much worrying she will face once the baby arrives... she thinks worrying about us and the kitties is an exhausting job...