Sadie at 3 Months

Wow, we're at 3 months already! I can't believe how quickly Sadie has grown. It seems like yesterday she was a teeny tiny baby and now she's silly and fun and full of personality! We love her so, so much!

Nicknames: Button, Sadie Boo, Stinker
Temperament: You still love to smile, especially at daddy! You're curious about everything around you but easily let us know when you're not happy. Your cry has gotten louder and louder!
Things I Could Do Without: The struggle at nap time. You still don't like napping in your crib so we have to work hard to get you to snooze during the day.
Item/Toy We Love The Most: Your pack-n-play. We moved it into the dining room so that we have a safe place to put you when we're on the main floor. So much easier than trying to strap you into a swing or bouncer all the time!
Item/Toy You Love The Most: Your jitter bug! You love how it buzzes and its black and white feet.
Things I’m Loving Most Right Now: How great of a sleeper you are at night. You started sleeping through the night when I went back to work and you usually sleep from 8pm-6am! Sometimes I even get to go in and wake you up in the morning, which is so much fun. You're such a happy baby in the morning!
Things You’re Loving Most Right Now: Bath time! You love being in the tub and never fuss. You're definitely a water baby, and I can't wait until we can start swim class.
Sounds/Words: We make a buzzing noise with our lips and you've been trying so hard to copy us. It's just about the cutest thing ever watching you try!
Foods You Like: Breast milk!

Yep - that's the onesie I used to tell Steve I was pregnant. Crazy that it fits her! I will be so sad when she outgrows it. 

Our big, smiley girl!

Eating My Vegetables

Wow, I've left the blog terribly quiet these days! But don't forget, you can keep up on the nitty gritty details of raising Sadie over on Hellobee. All of the fun in's and out's of scheduling, sleep (or lack thereof!), feeding and everything in between.

And, obviously, Sadie is quite the happy baby!

Anyway, back to eating healthier. I wasn't a terribly unhealthy eater before getting pregnant, but I definitely didn't get my fair share of vegetables. And while on maternity leave Steve and I ate out a lot. Like, 18 times more than we normally did before baby. Living in a neighborhood where we're surrounded by Thai, Chinese, Korean, Mexican, Greek, German, Middle Eastern, Italian, Japanese, French and Indian restaurants plus some great local sandwich places, cafes and bars...well...temptation definitely got the better of us. Temptation and just run of the mill new baby exhaustion.

So, we ate. And ate. And ate. We ordered delivery. We carried out. Friends brought food when they'd visit. We ate out when we were brave enough to take Sadie with us. I've had so many fish tacos, orders of pad thai and yummy deli sandwiches that I've simply lost count. Oh, and even cheese steaks. Yes, we had cheese steaks delivered at one point.

Now that Steve and I have made a pact to cut back the eating out I've also been evaluating exactly how I eat. I've always been incredibly picky, which has led me to lean more on starches and fruits and less on healthier grains and vegetables. I need to be healthier for myself. But I also need to be healthier so that Sadie will dive right into her vegetables instead of pushing them aside.

I'm slowly learning that foods I've "hated" for years actually aren't that bad. In fact, they're quite delicious when they are prepared well. There are just so many veggies that I never knew how to cook or cook well. My hope is that if I can build of an arsenal of good veggie dishes that I enjoy, as Sadie gets older she will like them as well!

For those of you who are vegetable-challenged, I thought I would share a couple of recipes we've found that are delicious. And trust me, if I'll eat them I think anyone would eat them! Look for future "veggie recipe posts" as I learn to eat more vegetables!

Massaged Kale Salad
Source

Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale (black kale is especially good), stalks removed and discarded, leaves thinly sliced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons honey
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 mango, diced small (about 1 cup)
• Small handful toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), about 2 rounded tablespoons

Directions

In large serving bowl, add the kale, half of lemon juice, a drizzle of oil and a little kosher salt. Massage until the kale starts to soften and wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside while you make the dressing.

In a small bowl, whisk remaining lemon juice with the honey and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stream in the 1/4 cup of oil while whisking until a dressing forms, and you like how it tastes.

Pour the dressing over the kale, and add the mango and pepitas. Toss and serve.

Move Night Pasta
Source

Ingredients

• 3 tsp (15 mL) kosher salt
• 1 large head cauliflower (about 2 lb/1 kg), stems discarded, florets cut into small pieces
• 500-g box orecchiette pasta
• 3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) minced garlic
• 1 tsp (5 mL) crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped basil leaves
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup (250 mL) freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Fill large pot three-quarters full with water. Add 2 tsp (10 mL) salt. Bring to boil over high heat. Add cauliflower. Cook until fork tender, 5 to 7 minutes. With slotted spoon, remove cauliflower to drain in colander.

Return water to boil. Add pasta. Cook as per package instructions until al dente, about 11 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup (250 mL) cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat oil over medium until it begins to shimmer but isn’t smoking. Add cauliflower. Cook, using wooden spoon or spatula to break florets into bite-size pieces roughly same size as the pasta, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add garlic. Cook, stirring, 2 minutes.

Return drained pasta to pot. Add cauliflower and garlic. Using tongs, toss. Add red pepper flakes, basil, remaining 1 tsp (5 mL) salt and black pepper. Toss. Add cheese; toss. If pasta doesn’t look moist enough, spoon in a little of the reserved pasta water; toss.

Makes 8 servings.

Sadie at 2 Months

I almost started this post with "I can't believe" but I realized that's how I started her 1 month post. However, truth be told, that's exactly how I feel today! It seems impossible that our silly little girl has been with us for 8 whole weeks already. We have been blessed with such a fun and smiley little baby.

Just look at that grin! I'm so lucky that I am greeted with this smile each and every morning.

Nicknames: Sadie Boo, Boo Boo Girl, Baby Girl, Button, Stinky
Temperament: You are still such a wiggle worm and continue to want to be moving at all times. You definitely keep us busy! Now when we do tummy time, you try and crawl and get so upset because you're just not big enough/strong enough to do so. But those arms and legs are going like crazy, so I can only imagine how crazy you're going to go when you actually can crawl. You're going to be our little dare devil. You now smile big goofy grins, especially in the morning and love it when I kiss your toes.
Things I Could Do Without: The fussy crying (and screaming!) at 8 p.m. every single night. You have a strong set of lungs on you and it makes me so sad seeing you so sad.
Item/Toy We Love The Most: Your new Snuggabunny Swing. The allure of your bouncer is gone so we broke down and bought you a swing. You fall asleep immediately in it and it soothes you when you're fussy.
Item/Toy You Love The Most: The picture of yourself that hangs by your changing table. You could stare at yourself for hours and love "talking" to the picture.
Things I’m Loving Most Right Now: The longer stretches of sleep you're giving us! Sometimes you'll sleep as much as 5 or 6 straight hours. It's amazing. And you go to bed with almost no fussing. We swaddle you tight, put you in your crib, and you're snoozing away within an hour.
Things You’re Loving Most Right Now: Trying to stand on mommy. You love pretending you can walk and "walking" all over my stomach. I fear it's a bad habit because that's all you want to do!
Sounds/Words: We've been trying to get you to say "hello." Quite often your coo sounds just like it, so we pretend you understand us. It's a fun little game!
Foods You Like: Breast milk!

Sadie at 1 Month

I can't believe Sadie has been a part of our family now for an entire month! It's been so exciting (and, umm, often exhausting) getting to know her! We are so blessed to have her as a part of our family and I'm excited to share each month how Sadie grows and changes (thanks to Jenna from That Wife for the template below).

Nicknames: Sadie Boo, Stinkerface, Baby Sadie, Baby Girl, Shmushy Face
Temperament: You are always moving - your hands and feet never quit wiggling - and you are happiest in our arms! You hate being put down.
Things I Could Do Without: Not wanting to be put down. While I like snuggling with you, sometimes it's nice when you like to sleep in your own bed, especially at night!
Item/Toy We Love The Most: Your Snugabunny Bouncer - gives us a little hands free time and you like the vibration and the music and chirping bird noises it plays.
Item/Toy You Love The Most: Your Treetop Friends Activity Gym - you've just started to notice the owl, squirrel and birds that hang above your head and you've even tried grabbing them! You also do tummy time on the here and seem to like it (most of the time). Lifting that head is hard work!
Things I’m Loving Most Right Now: The little smiles you give us, the way you like to grab our fingers and won't let go and how you snuggle up to me when I pick you up, especially when you're upset.
Things You’re Loving Most Right Now: Peeing when we take your diaper off! You have flooded the carpet and your changing table many times already.
Sounds/Words: In addition to crying, you like to coo and make a noise that sounds like "hi" so we say "hi" back to you.
Foods You Like: Breast milk!

We love you so much, Sadie! I never knew I could be this tired and still functioning, but once you and I are up at 5am it's worth it because you are all smiles.

Sadie's Birth Story

I had hoped to take my 40 week belly shot but I went into labor the day before my due date! And if I'd had my druthers, we would have taken one before leaving for the hospital, but that wasn't quite in the plan. So my very last photo of being big and pregnant was at 38 weeks.



I still can't believe that a week ago I was rocking such a big bump! Anyway, so onto Sadie's birth story.

Wednesday
Three days before my due date I was getting what felt like "real" contractions - pain that started in my lower back and radiated to a cramp in my lower belly. I'd also been losing my mucus plug slowly for about a week at this point, which I hoped was a good sign. After a few hours of these contractions, I went to bed thinking this could be it. And I woke up the next morning well rested and feeling great.

Thursday
We had a midwife appointment scheduled - just shy of 40 weeks. She asked if I wanted her to strip my membranes, but I declined - it could wait until the next week if nothing happened. I'd lost a pound since my appointment the last week (finally got rid of that water weight in my feet and ankles by drinking a gallon of water a day!), and started having small contractions around noon during that appointment. Before I left the office, they had me schedule an induction for 42 weeks (just in case), and two non-stress tests (just in case).

Over the course of the afternoon my contractions got stronger but totally manageable. A friend came over for lunch, which was a great distraction. Things geared up into greater intensity as the afternoon went on. I tried watching some tv and relaxing. Steve and I both thought that these would wear off as they had the night before, so I just hung out and tried to distract myself. As evening came on I tried eating a small dinner and staying relaxed. It wasn't working.

Around 7 p.m. we decided to call our doula, Lauren. We'd been timing the contractions but couldn't find a good pattern. They were anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes apart, but lasting a good minute. Lauren said to relax, take a bath if I could and if I could sleep, even better. I tried a bath, sitting on an exercise ball, and lying down. There was no way I could possibly sleep through these contractions. They were getting more and more intense!

We called Lauren back around 9 p.m. to give her an update. At this point, I was really struggling and if someone had said "Let's go to the hospital," I would have been there in a heartbeat. But our plan had been to labor at home as long as possible. While Steve was on the phone with her, Lauren heard me having a contraction and how I was managing it. Since my "moan" through the contraction was really high pitched, Lauren encouraged me to go a lot deeper with my voice to help open me up and manage the pain better.

My contractions were still all over the place so we told Lauren we'd give her an update later on. First babies can take awhile, so we figured we'd have a long road ahead of us!

The contractions got worse and worse. By about 11 p.m. my water had broken. Fortunately I was in the bathroom for this! I think the water breaking was one of the worst pains. We checked the fluid and all looked clear, just tinged with a little blood. I was in so much pain, Steve called Lauren and asked her to come over. We also had a good friend come by and pick up our dog - poor pup!

Having the help of a doula was amazing support. I'm a people pleaser, so she could convince me to try positions that I wouldn't do for Steve (like hands and knees). She also knew how to hit the right pressure points and keep me focused. Steve was an amazing support person through everything, but having someone else support me was a help for him as well.

Friday - Leaving for the Hospital
About 12:30 a.m. - after being in labor for about 12 1/2 hours - I was very clear about my desire to be at the hospital. I was starting to feel what I thought was pressure to push, and I was just ready to be out of the house. Fortunately the hospital was only a 10 minute drive from our house. With how I was feeling it may as well have been an hour - getting into a car was a daunting thought at this point!
We had our bags packed, but everything was up in our bedroom. Steve was running around loading the car while Lauren helped me get dressed. I had imagined us calmly going to the hospital, snapping a few pictures as we left. Instead, we were racing around like crazy, I had a bizarre outfit on (large loose tank top, no bra, yoga pants, cardigan), and things felt flustered. Lauren called ahead to the hospital for us so Steve could focus on driving. I sat sideways working through urges to push.

The Hospital
After going through the after-hours security measures to get into the hospital (it locks down after 8 p.m.), we made it to the nurse's station. I think they thought I was crazy as I was literally clutching myself to keep the baby in through contractions. I threw my driver's license and insurance card at them and Steve took care of those details while they got me into a room. The midwife on call was the one midwife in the practice who we hadn't met yet. Fortunately, she was awesome!

I got into the bed and they checked me - 10 cm and ready to push! My instincts were right when I said that I needed to get to the hospital a.s.a.p. My plan was to avoid an epidural or any intervention, and at this point even if I had wanted drugs (which I secretly did), I couldn't have had them! I was going to have the natural childbirth I had wanted.

My midwife did find some meconium in my fluid, which we hadn't seen at home. They contacted the pediatrician who was on-call to be in the room when I delivered, and they let Steve know that he might not be able to cut the cord. This was scare #1 of the night.

Being able to push through contractions was the greatest relief. To actually be doing something as each one came on was awesome. I labored in the traditional position on my back, on a birth stool (which was great although intimidating at first), and in bed on my side. I pushed when I felt the urge to push and listened to my body as much as I could. I won't lie - I wasn't in a serene laboring state.

There was a lot of "Get this baby out of me," and "How much longer will I push for?" As soon as they could see the head, I was told she had a ton of hair. I touched it once but everything felt so squishy and weird, one touch was enough! I didn't feel extreme pain until she crowned - what I've heard others call the burning ring of fire. Burning is the exact way to describe it! Holy cow. I hoped and prayed that I was close to delivering.

Our midwife and the nurse lost the baby's heart beat so they rushed things as the end to just get her out. This was scare #2 of the night. The rush at the end resulted in a second degree tear (I had a total of two tears), but the tear was worth it. Once delivered, they saw that the cord was wrapped around her neck twice. Scare #3 of the night (cord around the neck was my biggest fear... that and the baby getting stuck!).

Baby all squishy and new as she's getting checked out!

Fortunately, we saw her cough right away which was a great sign. Our midwife still cut and clamped the cord right away to get her to the pediatrician. While I didn't get the experience of having her on my chest right away and Steve didn't get to cut the cord, we were just happy to having her out safe. Everything with the pediatrician checked out fine - she was breathing great (no inhaled meconium!), the lost heartbeat at the end of birth was just because she was behind my pelvic bone, and the cord had only been loosely wrapped.

After scoring an 8 and a 9 for her Apgar, and getting the eye drops and the other "just born" things, they gave her to me for skin to skin while I was stitched up. During that time, I had delivered the placenta which they wrapped up for us (we had wanted to do placenta encapsulation after the birth).

Not the sharpest picture, but I love it when she makes this face!

We finally had our little girl! I labored a total of 14 hours, which included about an hour and a half of pushing. Born at 8 pounds 9 ounces, 21 inches long and a crazy head of dark brown hair with blond highlights, we were officially a family of three. It was 2:36 a.m. when she was delivered, and I couldn't believe just hours before I'd been casually eating lunch with a friend.

Friday - Recovery
Steve and I rested in the labor and delivery room with Sadie laying skin to skin on my chest. Hospital policy is to have you stay in the room 1-2 hours before you move to a postpartum room. A couple of hours after birth, my nurse wanted to get me up to use the restroom for the first time. As we got up and started walking to the bathroom I got extremely dizzy and blacked out -- literally hit the ground! I woke up to Steve calling my name and a huge group of medical personnel above me. They got me back to my bed, started a saline drip (I'd avoided any form of IV up to this point!) and drew some blood.

Fortunately my blood work came back fine, and my episode was diagnosed as dehydration. I took it easy for the rest of the morning and because I never actually made it to the bathroom, I was required to use a bed pan to show that I could "go" or they were going to have to insert a catheter. Let me tell you, making a bed pan attempt while someone comes into the room to deliver breakfast is not fun times.

We were moved to our recovery room at about 5 p.m. that evening - 15 or so hours after I'd had Sadie! After that, the three of us snuggled in for the night.

Saturday
On Sadie's official due date we met with a lactation consultant a couple of times (wow breastfeeding is challenging at first), tried to rest for a little bit longer, and around 3 p.m. were free to go. We were more than ready to head home, away from the uncomfortable hospital beds, bad food and the constant stream of people in and out of our of room.

On our way home from the hospital! She was so peaceful in the car.

Reflections
I'm still so incredibly proud of myself for having the natural childbirth I was hoping for. It was a very trying experience, both physically and mentally and I honestly feel that if we were in the hospital sooner and had been offered an epidural, I would have jumped at it. I struggled with trusting that I could work through the pain, and had to really push myself to focus on meeting our baby girl.
While the meconium in the fluid and umbilical cord wrapped around her neck gave us a scare and caused our birth plan to change a bit, we are so blessed that everything else was absolutely perfect. We achieved the big picture items: a natural (and relatively fast!) birth, a healthy baby and surrounding ourselves with medical professionals and support who had faith in my ability to do things naturally.

Now we have so many adventures to share of life with Sadie!

Baby Koo has arrived!

I am so excited to announce that Baby GIRL Koo has arrived! Sadie was born the day before her due date at 2:36 a.m. weighing 8 pounds 9 ounces and 21 inches long! We are at home loving every minute of being parents and adoring her chubby cheeks and full head of hair!

It was so fun doing Sadie's first real photo shoot (thanks to Steve) - it will be exciting to see how she grows each month.

Toes!

This is her model pose. Love it!

Can't wait to share more adventures with baby Sadie!

Big Reveal: Baby Koo's Nursery!

We've been working, working and working some more on Baby K's nursery, and I'm excited to say that everything is finished and I can finally share the room with everyone!

When we first moved into our house last November, the room that we knew would be the nursery was, well, a little sad! As you can see from the picture below, it's a teeny tiny little room in the basement with low ceilings. It was just kind of "blah" and made me sad to think that this was going to be our baby's room. Fortunately, it has gone through quite the facelift over the past few months!

Here's the room from the same view as the picture above, but so much brighter and cheerier! (Note: all sources and links to patterns used are listed at the end of the post.)

At the back of the room you can see a circle shelf that we have the baby monitor set up on. I made super simple panel curtains for both of the windows.

We had paint tinted to match the turquoise fabric I'd used throughout the room. Steve painted an old shelf (once upon a time this shelf had been in my mom's childhood room!) and we put fun little odds and ends on it. Oh, you've probably noticed the question mark hiding something, right?

On closer inspection, you can see that it's our little family! For our wedding, we'd had our cake topper made by Goose Grease, and before the wedding we'd done a little photo shoot with our "mini mes" that we used for our table numbers. A couple of months ago Steve and I were looking at the pictures and I thought about how fun they were. But, obviously, we needed an updated version of our family! So I contacted Goose Grease about doing a custom family for us and I absolutely love how they turned out! Me, Steve, our pup Charlie and Baby K are all represented! Of course, you'll have to wait until after Baby K arrives to find out if they made us a little boy or a little girl!

I knew I wanted the dresser to be the focal point of the room, and love the custom dresser we had done by Mint Home (conveniently located in Chicago but don't worry, they can ship to you!). And, of course, it also doubles as our changing table.

Above the dresser we have a little collection of pictures and other things. The frame in the bottom right corner - currently displaying fabric - will hold Baby K's hospital bracelet, and we'll update the photos with other shots (probably newborn photos). Right now it's just photos of us!

To the right of the dresser it's all set up with things we'll need for diaper changing, including cloth wipes, wipe spray, lotion, etc. It's super convenient and right within arm's reach! Tucked away underneath is also our dirty diaper bin.

I made a few different crib sheets as well as the simple crib skirt. Sitting inside is a stuffed owl that I also made.

Because the nursery ceilings are so low, I was afraid we wouldn't be able to hang a mobile. But we were able to hang something high enough that should stay out of baby's reach! This mobile was a fun, easy and inexpensive project for me.



I love our little rocking nook with the pillow and Moroccan pouf made by me, and the books all within arm's reach. It was hard to find a tree decal that would fit for such a small wall - we love the one we finally chose and that it has a fun, modern feel to it. To the left of the rocker is a table that was here when we moved in. Steve painted it with turquoise paint (also used on the shelf) and it was like a brand new table!

Baby K received a lot of books at both of our showers! I love that we have a good start to our library. And, of course, the room would not be complete without a plush little camera (made by me) for Baby K!

So, there you have it: Baby K's fun, bright, turquoise, yellow and gray nursery! Even though there are things that I would change or wish I could do differently, I know that Baby K's nursery is absolutely perfect because Steve and I have put so much TLC into every little detail! There were plenty of things we could have purchased for the room, but it was much more special to us to DIY so many of the details.

Beyond sentimental reasons, DIY'ing also meant we were able to control the costs a bit. The rocker and the dresser were our big splurges. Projects like the mobile and the pouf cost absolutely nothing (as I already had the fabric) and other projects (like the crib sheets and the table and shelf) were relatively inexpensive - you only need 2 yards of fabric for each crib sheet and the table and shelf only needed two coats of paint each.

Now we're just excited to have Baby K arrive and start using the room!

Baby Monitor: Motorola Digital Baby Monitor
Beatles Print: Ex Libris Journals
Bird Mobile Pattern: Spool Sewing
Bookend: CB2 (already owned)
Camera Pattern: Pink Stitches Blog
Changing Area Items (shelf, containers for wipes): IKEA
Changing Pad: Summer Infant Contoured Changing Pad
Changing Pad Cover: Land of Nod
Clock: Decoylab
Cloud Decals: Monkey Threads
Crib: Baby Mod Modena from Wal-Mart
Crib Sheet Pattern: Bundles of Love
Crib Skirt Pattern: Young House Love Blog
Dresser: Mint Home
Fabric - Tulip Pattern (for pouf, curtains, etc): Jessica Jones "Tulip, Dusk" Fabric
Fabric - Crib Sheet: Lotta Jansdotter "Choma Golden Rod" (difficult to find anyone selling it)
Fabric - Miscellaneous: Odds and ends left from other projects
Lamp: Land of Nod
Moroccan Pouf Pattern: Bromeliad Living Blog
Picture Frames: IKEA
Rocker: West Elm
Stuffed Owl Pattern: Toad's Treasures Blog
Tree Decal: Wordy Bird Studios
Wall Paint: Leftover from painting the rest of our house (custom color)
Wall Shelf (for books): IKEA
Wall Shelf (for monitor): Land of Nod