Sunday, March 27, 2011

Gettin' The Hang of Things...

I am (slowly) settling into a routine, going from 2 to 3 kids. To some that wouldn't seem like a big deal, but with 2 year old twins and a breastfed newborn, it's quite the feat!

Mason is doing well, although still needs to get the hang of the nursing thing and actually swallow his meals, not just use mommy as a pacifier only to scream out of hunger when I take him off the breast. We supplement with a little formula when he doesn't get satisfied enough from nursing, but it's a little trying at times for me. The twins continue to adjust well and Merasia is quite the helper. When I give Mason some formula, she helps me hold his bottle. When he fusses and she can get to him, she tries to give him her paci or if the bottle is nearby and still has some milk in it, she'll try and give that to him until I can get to him, or she simply pats his head, back, or belly and says "Shhhh." The other day while changing Mason's poopy diaper, Merasia ran over to us at the changing table and yelled "Baby go ca-ca!" She's so stinkin' cute! And yesterday, while Mason napped and I went through the twins clothes (they have far too many!), both Connor and Merasia came into their room, went to their beds, and then walked back out of the room, shut the door, and said "night-night." If I had looked at what they did when they were in their room, I would have noticed that they each had a baby and put their babies on each of their beds, tucking them in for a little nap like they see mommy and daddy do with them and their baby brother multiples times a day. It's amazing what they pick up on at their age!

Though we may not have much of a structured routine, there is some sort of routine still in the mix here. The twins may not be dressed for the day until 9 or after, and lunch may not be ready until 1 some days, but they still know what to expect as far as meals, naps, play time, etc. Most of the time, I'm preparing their lunch with one hand, and rocking a fussy baby in my other arm...and most of the time, I'm eating lunch or having a snack with them...while nursing or rocking a fussy baby. Things are still a little rocky as far as routine goes but I know it'll all fall into place as the days continue to go by and all 3 kids continue to adjust...the twins to their new brother and sometimes off routine, and Mason to life outside the womb and with two older, rambunctious siblings always loving on him.

I think I'm slowly starting to get the hang of this mommy of 3 thing...

;-)

Monday, March 21, 2011

2 Weeks Old!

Mason man is 2 weeks old! It's so hard to believe it has been 2 weeks since I have given birth! I feel great, and Mason is doing well, too. He has had a little hard time with breastfeeding. He's a lazy nurser who would rather suck on the breast like a pacifier rather than eat and fill up. So because of that, I have to nurse him, then pump for 5-10 minutes, feed him the breast milk I get from pumping in a bottle, and then supplement with 2 or 3 ounces of formula to make him go a little longer between feeds, otherwise, he is on me non stop and I can't take care of the twins or my own needs during the day. It has been a little overwhelming, but I have hung in there so far. We'll see how the next couple of weeks go though.

He is an absolute joy to have though. The twins love him to pieces and always want to hold him, hug him, kiss him, help change him or clean him or feed him. They have adjusted better than we ever could have imagined. When Mason is fed and full and content, he loves being held and talked to, or playing in his bouncy seat. He doesn't seem too big on the swing yet though. Or his bed. But that's a whole other story altogether! ;-)

The more I look at him, I think he does look more like me. Some people say he looks like Merasia or Connor, but I don't really see it. And I definitely don't see a ton of Frank's looks in him like Connor has. He has Frank's feet and BIG hands, and the darker hair like myself and Merasia. But that's it as far as I can tell right now. I still can't believe he is really here! It's amazing to me that we have 3 children now! I love them to pieces, and already can't wait to welcome our fourth in a couple years! ♥

The Twins!

It's been far too long since I have done an update on only the twins!

I can barely believe they are 2...still, a few months later. They are so incredibly amazing! They are at a very fun, yet challenging age. They are both very independent. They are working on trying to dress themselves and are successful sometimes...well, not fully, but they can get pants on. Whether those pants are on backwards or not or whether two legs are in one side is another story. They are very good at taking clothes OFF though...no issues there! ;-) They put their own shoes on, and most of the time, get them on the correct feet.


They eat everything we eat, and aren't very picky when it comes to food or trying new things. They enjoy feeding themselves and have gotten very good at it. They love using feeding utensils with every meal. And they don't get as messy when doing so like they once used to, which makes this mama very happy! ;-)

Both Connor and Merasia have lots and lots of new words...so many it's hard to keep track anymore! They put small sentences together and some of the things they come up with are ridiculously hilarious! They know where their head, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, and butts are..."butt" is a popular term they use as they smack their little butts and walk around the house chanting "butt, butt!" LOL

They are very affectionate with each other and other people. They will give you a hug or kiss if you ask, and are always hugging and kissing each other and their baby brother. Merasia calls Connor "buddy" and just yesterday after they shared the most precious hug ever, she walked away and said, "Thank you buddy." Melted. My. HEART!

They aren't big into any television shows or movies. Kind of a good thing, really. The one thing they will watch all day if we let them is country music videos on CMT. Every morning, Merasia gets up, goes out into the living room, turns the TV on, and sits on the couch with her seahorse lovey and watches country music videos until we hear her and get out of bed. So every night when we head to bed, we have to be sure to turn the channel to CMT so it's all set and ready for her. Hey, whatever makes the girl happy! ;-)

They both LOVE to dance and LOVE any music. Actually, Merasia just recently discovered Justin Bieber and LOVES his song "Baby." I was able to get a couple adorable videos of her singing along to that song and dancing. It's actually how she first learned the word "mine." LOL I'll post the videos in a separate entry.

Connor and Merasia LOVE to run around and play outside. We have made it out a few times this winter. Not many because most of the time it was too cold and I was pregnant and huge...but the times that we did get out, they greatly enjoyed. They loved the snow this year, even if they did freak out a little when their mittens fell off and they got too cold. We even were able to get some sliding time in before Mason arrived...in hopes that it would jump start my labor, actually. ;-) It didn't work, but we had tons of fun trying!

Daddy started a new job at the mountain back in December, and the twins (and myself and the hubs) experienced their first ride on the gondola to the top of the mountain. They LOVED it...mommy and daddy, on the other hand...were slightly freaked out, to put it mildly. ;-) Daddy's work is a favorite place to visit now whenever daddy has the day off. The kids LOVE going there and seeing everyone and getting some lunch. Their favorite is popcorn chicken and french fries...with sweet and sour dipping sauce, of course! Most of all, they LOVE driving into the parking lot and seeing the gondola cars running back and forth in the air...they start pointing and yelling and getting excited when the see that, but we haven't been back for a second ride just yet. Soon, though!

In a week or two, they start daycare 2 days a week. We decided we'd do this when the new baby arrived, to give us a little alone time with the new baby, and to give the twins some time out of the house to interact with kids their own age. We decided we'd wait for 2 or 3 weeks after Mason was born, to let them have time to adjust to the new baby and not feel replaced by being immediately sent off to daycare. I think they'll really enjoy it though, but I'm gonna miss them!

I love this age. I love seeing the twins learn new things and discover they can do things they never knew about. I love hearing the new words and sentences they put together and just watching them interact with each other, with Frank and myself, and with Mason, especially. Merasia is very motherly towards him and Connor loves on him all the time too. Though there are definitely challenges with this age as well...I hate the term "Terrible Twos." They aren't terrible...they are normal, 2 year old toddlers. Everything they do, from the cute to the annoying to the downright pull-my-hair-out-of-my-head frustrating...is 100% NORMAL. While it definitely challenges us as parents and puts our discipline and parenting skills to the test, it's all worth it, and as soon as they smile or giggle at us, or run to us and wrap us in a great big bear hug complete with a sloppy, messy, kiss on the lips, it takes all the anger and frustration away. They make our life complete, and remind us every day why we are here on this Earth.

♥ ♥

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Udder Covers Gift Set WINNER!

According to Random.org, the winner of the Udder Covers Gift Set is...........

JENN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jenn has 24 hours to reply to my email, and then I will have to choose a different winner. :-)

Keep an eye out for our next review and giveaway coming VERY SOON!!!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Udder Covers Gift Set Review and Giveaway!

When shopping around for last minute baby items we still needed before Mason's arrival, one thing at the top of my list was a nursing cover for public nursing sessions. While there are many women who are so comfortable with their bodies and nursing in public without being covered up, I'm not one of them. Kudos to them though! :-)


I came across www.uddercovers.com in my search, and contacted them for a chance to review some of their products. I was sent an Udder Covers gift set to review, that contained a nursing cover, a couple re-usable (machine washable) breast pads, and a nursing bracelet to keep track of nursing sessions. I chose the Maria design shown here: https://www.uddercovers.com/index.php/shopping_cart#giftSets

I received my gift set a few days later and fell in love with it instantly! I LOVE the color and design, I love the fact that the breast pads are machine washable and can be reused, and the milk bands bracelet is helpful in keeping track of nursing sessions, especially in the first few weeks after birth when you are plagued by exhaustion!

I used my nursing cover while in the hospital when guests came to visit us and the baby, and have used it in public a couple of times already too. I can't say enough how much I love it! It fully covers me while nursing, it's pretty and attractive, provides shade for the baby should we be outside in the sun, and I can peek down easily whenever I need to check on the baby and make sure he's happy and nursing fine. My only complaint is that it doesn't cover my back so if I lift my shirt up to nurse, my back is still exposed, but that's not a big deal to me, since I love the cover otherwise.

Now for the good part...

Udder Covers have offered a gift set of your choice to one lucky reader of A Day in the Life of a Mother of Multiples!

How to enter:

MANDATORY ENTRIES (These must be done FIRST, before the extra entries can be completed):

1. Follow my blog publicly (1 entry)

2. Comment on another blog post (1 entry)


EXTRA ENTRIES:

1. Share about this giveaway on your blog and provide a link for me to see the post (2 extra entries)

2. Go to www.uddercovers.com and share with me in a comment here which gift set you would choose if you won (2 extra entries)


Giveaway ends on March 20th at NOON, winner will be chosen via www.random.org and will be announced shortly after!

GOOD LUCK!!

Picture Post!

Baby Mason!!

These pictures are in no particular order...I had to post them in what little time Mason gave me in between nursing sessions LOL

All swaddled in at home:
 Right after birth:
Merasia holding her baby brother! She kept saying "baby cry, baby cry" LOL
Texting, eating, AND in labor! :-)
In the tub for the most intense part of labor...breathing through a contraction! :-)
Daddy cutting the cord!
First sponge bath right after birth:
Tired mama the day after delivery. :-)
Resting with daddy:
Me and our wonderful midwife, Marj!
Going home outfit!
All ready to leave the hospital!


Tuesday, March 8, 2011

♥ Mason George Ryan - A Birth Story! ♥

Mason is finally here! I know all of you lovely followers want all the details, as do all my friends and family that read here too. So, here goes! (Some parts are slightly TMI, but don't read it if you can't handle it!) :-)


Last Wednesday, March 2, I called my hubs at work after I went to the bathroom and noticed a ton of my mucous plug was coming out. I assumed it was the rest, since I had lost some already many weeks earlier. I just called him to let him know, because being past my due date as it was, it could have happened hours later, so I wanted him to be on "stand by" and ready to leave work at the last second should it happen. He left soon after to come home, just in case, as he works an hour away and felt better being home should anything else happen. Of course, nothing happened that day or night and he had the next day, Thursday, off. He had to be to work for 5 a.m. Friday, so we called friends of ours, Jenn and Terry, who live 15 minutes from his job as opposed to an hour for us, and asked if we could spend the night there and cut down on the early commute for Frank, and I'd be with Jenn during the day if anything should happen as far as labor was concerned. So we left that night to go to their house, and nothing else happened that night. I noticed during the night though that every time I moved even a little bit, to turn over in bed or something, that I got menstrual crampiness. But that was nothing new for me so I brushed it off. Frank left for work that morning and I went back to bed before the kids woke up for the day. We woke up a few hours later and Jenn's husband left for work and we started getting our kids breakfast and ready for the day. She has an 18 month old daughter. :-) I noticed at 7:30 that I had a contraction. I could talk and function through it, but it was still slightly painful. I didn't pay much attention to it though, as that had been happening for many weeks at this point. By 9 or so I mentioned to Jenn that I thought I had been having contractions from about 7:30. Sometimes they were 10 minutes apart, sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes a little closer, but never longer than 10 minutes apart. I kept moving around because I was a week past my due date, and figured why not let things keep going if things were starting to happen! So I moved as much as possible, chasing the kiddos and going up and down Jenn's stairs for the bathroom or any other reason I could think of. LOL The kids were sleeping around 11 or so and contractions were still coming. Jenn suggested I call my midwife and just see what she thought about coming in or waiting things out. My first labor had gone so quick (4.5 hours!) that she had previously mentioned to me at a regular prenatal appointment to come in when contractions were 5 or 10 minutes apart. She called back and said to eat some lunch, take a nap, and relax because I'd need all of those things if it was real labor. She said to keep an eye on the contractions and call her with any updates and if my water broke, to definitely head in to the hospital. That sounded fine to me, so we hung up with that plan. I hadn't called Frank yet because I didn't want him getting too excited if things weren't really happening yet. I went back into Jenn's room to hang out with her while the kids were napping downstairs, and kept feeling contractions. At one point with a contraction I had a sharp shooting pain shoot down through my vagina, and Jenn jokingly said, "Your water better not break on my bed!" LOL A few minutes after she said that, I felt a little gush and said "Oh my GOD" and jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom. I told her I thought my water had broke and when I got into the bathroom I knew it was for sure. I sat down on the toilet and a whole bunch more came out. When I wiped though, I noticed it was greenish in color, and amniotic fluid should be clear. I knew he must have had a bowel movement inside me, and I got a little nervous then. Jenn got on the phone to call Frank at work and couldn't get a hold of him on his cell phone or through his work number, which was busy. She called her husband, who works at the same place as Frank, just in a different area, and he called one of Frank's co workers cell phones, to tell them I was in labor and Frank needed to leave asap! They got the message to him and then Jenn helped me by calling my (adopted) mother, who was supposed to take the twins for us, and I called our doula and called my midwife to let her know we were heading to the hospital. Jenn and I decided I should call the birthing center back after a few minutes and see if we had time to drop the kids off or if we should waste no time in getting to the hospital because of the meconium. The birthing center said come right in as quickly as possible, so I texted my (adopted) mom back and told her, and since the kids were already loaded in the van (Frank had arrived by this point), he called his sister, who worked right across the street from the hospital, and had her meet him out there to grab the kids while he got inside with me and got settled, so there was no extra stopping in case there was something wrong with the baby due to the meconium. I was still having contractions at this time, coming about every 1-4 minutes, and seeming slightly more painful. We got checked in to the hospital and got settled up in our labor and delivery room, and our labor nurse, Annie, got me hooked up to the monitor to check on Mason. My midwife, Marj, came in soon after and said the baby had in fact had a bowel movement while inside, and this would mean that we could not have the water birth we had been planning and hoping for. We were a little disappointed, but as long as he looked good on the monitor, we could still labor the way we wanted with walking, sitting in the tub, etc. Marj said she wasn't going to check me because it was still early she felt, and we had requested that cervical checks be kept to a minimum in our birth plan anyway. She changed her mind after she saw a couple contractions on the monitor though, and I was fine with that check, because I was curious myself. I was 2 cm. and 75% effaced and she stretched my cervix out slightly. I stayed on the monitor for a few more minutes to make sure Mason was extra fine and tolerating contractions fine, and I had some toast with peanut butter and some ice chips and juice as I hadn't yet got to have lunch, so I was starving! My birth had arrived in between all this and though we wanted only us in the room for delivery, we didn't mind her or any other extra people being there in the early part of labor. So we sat around and talked for a few minutes in between my contractions, and then they took me off the monitor and said we could take a walk to get things moving more but we had to come back in a half hour to get back on the monitor for a couple contractions to re check on Mason. We walked around the hospital, stopping for me to breathe and work through each contraction. Frank was very helpful and involved in this labor, since it was not twins and therefore, less high risk. Each time I had a contraction he was there rubbing and applying pressure to my lower back, which made them much easier to deal with. We made it back up to our room after a half hour walk and Mason was still fine on the monitor. I sat on the birthing ball for a little bit then and decided to get checked soon after because contractions seemed a little more intense and I had slight pressure with them sometimes. I was 4-5 centimeters by this point, and it had been a few hours since my water had broken. I got in the tub after that, and it felt AMAZING! I was still breathing through contractions but it was getting more difficult to do so as they were MUCH more intense. Frank was still rubbing my back and applying pressure with each one. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't, since I was getting so close to being fully dilated. The tub was very very helpful though and the water felt amazing! I got really hot soon after though so Frank and Vicki, our doula, were applying cold wash cloths to my forehead, they put a fan pointed toward me, and had be drinking ice cold water. I must have been in the tub for a half hour or maybe even a little less and I had a STRONG contraction. Vicki said it seemed like that one felt different and I said kind of pushy pressure. She said if I had another like that, she'd get the nurse back in there to check. Right after that I had another one and there was a TON of rectal pressure. I could tell it was definitely time to push! Vicki ran to call Annie in and they called Marj, who was over at her office but had been calling every half hour to check in and see how I was doing. My mom had left at this point to go run some errands and it was clear she wouldn't make it back in time for the delivery. Annie came in and said I needed to try hard to get out of the tub. She said if I had to deliver right then that we could, but that it would be great if I could get back in the bed. I got the edge of the tub on my hands and knees and I yelled, "He's coming!" The wheeled the bed next to the tub so I wouldn't have to walk and I did manage to get in the bed. Marj came in right after that and we got ready to push. Before she got there, Vicki and Annie had be breathe away the urge to push just to be safe that Marj would be there to deliver and not just the nurse. Marj started to check me just to be extra sure the cervix was fully dilated, but Mason's head was right there that she couldn't even get up to my cervix anyway. I said, "He's right there, isn't he?" She said, "Yes he is, push your baby out!" I started pushing so incredibly hard, the pressure was so incredibly intense that I couldn't help myself. I knew I was close when Marj asked Frank if he wanted to put on a pair of gloves and help deliver the baby, but he said no, he was too queasy! LOL Seconds later, his head was out and Marj told me to give one last little push and he was on my chest! I pushed for 5 minutes and he was out! They suctioned him nice and good and he let out a good little cry, and Annie wiped him off with a blanket. He stayed on my chest and Marj waited for the cord to stop pulsating before Frank cut it. He cut the cord, and then she checked me for tears and said I had one teeny one that was superficial and then one other really small one that she'd put two small stitches in just so it wouldn't hurt to pee. She numbed me up and did that, and then I felt like I was ready to push the placenta out. I gave a little push and that was out, and finally the hard work was done! :-) I got all cleaned up and then Mason got checked over and weighed while I went pee. Peeing was GREAT and barely hurt at all! After I had the twins, it stung like CRAZY and did for two weeks after wards! And I had only had 3 stitches with them too, but was very swollen and such after their delivery. Annie gave Mason a bath in the room with us, and we just hung out until they were ready to move us to our own room for post partum. I put Mason skin to skin with me and he started nursing soon after birth. We took pictures and texted our friends and family to tell them the news. Mason weighed 8 lbs., 2 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. He didn't swallow any meconium and had excellent Apgar scores! He was born at 3:51 p.m. on March 4, 4.5 hours after my water broke, which is the same amount of time I was in labor with the twins. And, he was born on a Friday, and so were the twins...AND, Connor was born at 3:58 A.M., so that was neat too that the times were so close, just the difference between morning and night.:-)

So, despite the fact that we didn't have an actual water birth, the birth was still everything we wanted. It was just our doula Vicki, hubs and myself, a labor nurse and our midwife in the room, so it was peaceful and small and quiet, not as crazy hectic as the twins' birth was. It was completely natural, intervention and drug free. I could not have asked for a better delivery!

We came home Sunday, a couple days after birth and though things are a little crazy still with getting settled into a routine, things are still going well, regardless. Connor and Merasia LOVE their new baby brother and love to try and pick him up or give him kisses or comfort him. Nursing is still going well, but I'm waiting on my milk to come in and hoping it gets a little easier after that. Mason never went to sleep his first night home until 7 a.m. the next morning! The second night was a little easier than that. Hubs went back to work today after having 3 days off, so this is my first day alone with all three kids. I'm scared out of my mind but we'll see how it goes...hopefully good!

LOTS of pics of baby Mason coming soon, as well as an update on the twins. :-)