Introducing baby Camille!

Well, my next post for thanksgiving day (the day I hit "full term") was going to be "place your bets on when this baby comes"... but that's the day my water broke:).
Introducing baby Camille Loraine Kunz

7 pounds, 2 ounces. 20 inches long.

Camille was a name suggested by my sister Lori that really grew on us the last few weeks. Loraine is my aunt's name (and my sister is a Lorilynn), so the name is attached to two of my favorite people (and is a beautiful name besides).
Elanor, the name we HAD been leaning towards, was meant for a hobbit child, and this baby is no hobbit, she's just too dainty.

She's a VERY mellow, sleepy baby. She has a dusting of dark hair (much more than Daniel ever had), very dainty feet and hands, and is just very pretty, if I do say so myself. I wish I had more pictures of her with her eyes open, she just looks so dainty.


The story:
My water broke at 4:15 pm on thanksgiving. I prepared some for the delivery, we ate our meager thanksgiving feast, then we waited anxiously for contractions to start before finally giving up and going to sleep around 11 pm. I woke up with contractions a few hours later and we called over the midwife and my "birth team" around 2 am.
We chose to do a homebirth for various reasons. One, since we have no access to maternity coverage (though our regular insurance would cover complications if they arose), it was the cheapest way to go. But really, I believe that the hospital is somewhere you go when something is wrong... and there isn't anything medically wrong with a low-risk labor. I felt completely relaxed and in control and comfortable. I've spent years researching it and felt that it would be the safest and smartest route for us (fortunately, Kenny agreed without needing to be convinced). I may write a post another time with details around choosing a homebirth and why it isn't as risky or crazy as it sounds, but for now... on to our story.
In attendance were my midwife Chris, her apprentice Danniele, and my friends Cristin (who acted as my doula) and Marissa (who lent her support and took pictures). Daniel was asleep upstairs the whole time (in the morning, he went to spend the day at my brother Kevin's- we are SO grateful he was somewhere we didn't have to worry about him).

Chris took my temp and listened to baby's heartrate and everything looked healthy and normal. A huge part of a midwife's job is to foresee any problems so we can take appropriate steps (including heading to the hospital if necessary), but my pregnancy and labor were pretty straightforward.

I got through the first contractions by leaning on the couch. In between, we chatted and laughed. I didn't have any internal exams after my water broke, so I can't tell you how quickly I progressed. Around 2:30 am I got into the birthing tub we had set up in our kitchen.

The water felt wonderful and the tub was obviously designed with laboring women in mind. Things definitely got intense, I made lots of funny noises ("lalalalalala ooooooooooooo"), but never felt out of control. Around 4:05 am I felt the urge to push, and Camille was born into water at 4:17 am.

She was SO quiet and sleepy when she came out. Apparently this is very typical of water births- it's a smoother transition for them- but she's been quiet and mellow ever since. She didn't want to nurse at first, she was too sleepy, but she latched really well about an hour later and seems to be a good nurser so long as she's awake enough for it.

This labor was SO different than Daniel's. For one, the second my water broke I spent every possible minute on my hands and knees to make sure she got in the right position- she had been hanging out sunny side up and I did NOT want a back labor like I had with Daniel. It worked, and I didn't have that horrible back pressure the whole time. In between contractions I could regroup, something I didn't have the first time. I had a very minor tear, just 3 stitches- again, SO much better than Daniel's labor.
This entire labor lasted for less time than I spent PUSHING with Daniel, and you can tell- I'm not nearly as physically exhausted and became a functioning human being much faster. Anyways, it's a GOOD kind of tired:)

After I was stitched up (and while others cleaned up the kitchen), Camille and I took an herbal bath in the clean master bath which she seemed to really enjoy:


After a few hours, we realized that the grayish tinge around her mouth wasn't going away. She'd pink up while on the oxygen my midwife had brought, but then go gray again if we took it away. Midwife told us that cyanosis (gray-mouthed babies) can be a sign of heart issues, and we knew my midwife's O2 tank wouldn't last forever, so we decided to head to the hospital.


I'm a little bummed that after such a successful homebirth we ended up paying the hospital money anyways, but I like to think we're living proof that homebirthers don't take unnecessary risks. Anyways I'm so glad I got to labor at home, our stay at the hospital only reminded me of some of the reasons we avoided delivering at the hospital.

It was fun being the spectacle of the ER- they don't get new babies very often (that's a different department of the hospital) and all the staff were very curious- you'd see people leave their offices to come watch the "homebirth baby" come down the hall. Everyone was super nice, congratulatory and supportive, though we did have to explain to them that Yes, we HAD had thorough prenatal care, and Yes, we'd had an ultrasound and everything looked healthy. It was odd, because even without the oxygen mask her O2 saturation levels would be at a perfect 100%, but her lips were still gray. On paper she looked great!

They did an xray, which led them to question the shape of her heart (NOT something we had wanted to hear), so they sent us up to the NICU and she got an echocardiogram.
Now, technicians usually can't tell you ANYTHING while taking tests like that, but ours was a very friendly man who told me "heck, lady, you're brave enough to have a homebirth and now you're walking around like you weren't even pregnant, I will go ahead and tell you, everything looks 100% normal."
Whew!!! Then they sent us on up to a nice suite in pediatrics where we spent the night under observation. By afternoon she was staying pink on her own.

They sent us home yesterday morning with a completely clean bill of health.

Daniel has been SO cute about his new sister. When he woke up yesterday morning at 5:30 am and came down to a house full of strange people, you can tell he was overwhelmed, but he was still very sweet and excited about his "baby -ter" (baby sister).

Apparently yesterday morning he came down the stairs asking "baby -ter?", then when Kenny explained we were at the hospital he said "baby -ter lost? Lost baby:("
When I brought her home a few hours later, his first reaction was this:

He's been all hugs, kisses, and pats since- perhaps a little TOO affectionate but oh-so-sweet. As far as interacting with kenny and I goes, he's very dramatic right now and obviously trying to figure out where he stands.
We couldn't be happier with how the homebirth went or with our sweet new baby girl. She only woke up once last night to eat, but I suspect she hasn't really woken up to the world yet and it will be a different story in a few days.
Thanks everyone SO much for the many happy thoughts and well wishes. This little girl came into a world of love:)

Nearing the end...

Today I hit 36 weeks- it's official, I can legally deliver with my midwife now and baby is likely to be in good shape to meet the outside world. Usually at least 39 weeks is ideal, but apparently women in my families bake babies quickly.
This pregnancy has been SO different from my last one. Well, I've still had the weird preterm contractions and all that, but we've been much more laid back about it and in general it just feels like a healthier, happier pregnancy.
For where I am in pregnancy, I feel good! Sure, there are the typical complaints- I'd love to be able to bend over, this whole getting up to pee every 4 minutes at night isn't cool- all in all, I still love being pregnant, I don't feel like a cow, I'm happy to not have any problems with swelling or blood pressure or any of that. It's been an easy pregnancy.

I'm dilated to about a 3 and 80% effaced, but nothing seems to be happening very quickly, and that's a good thing. Last pregnancy at this point I was 5-6 cm, so, things are going slower. My own feeling is that I have at least a week left if not 2.

I'm definitely bigger this time than last time, too. A lady in the area was building her portfolio and offered me a free maternity photo session, so we have some photos to shares:








More up at smugmug. Apparently I become a bit of an exhibitionist while pregnant- lots of bare bellies in there, but I think the pregnant body is beautiful, it's one of the few times in my life I'm not ashamed of my body at all, and you can show off some skin without it being sexual at all. Anyways...

We've got pretty much everything all ready for this little girl, and we feel so loved by everyone who has sent gifts, hand-me-downs, or well wishes. Thank you all.
I'm working up until next Tuesday, it would seem- hopefully I won't accept any last-minute projects (I was supposed to done by tomorrow, but...). Then come early February or so I'll go back to work, and keep working until I simply can't take it any longer.
We'll definitely keep y'all posted as things move along and the baby shows signs of wanting to come out. We're so excited to meet her.

This is halloween...

We had a very fun halloween this year.
We took Daniel to Old NAvy and let him pick his own costume (for the record they had lots of adorable costumes under 20 bucks). I wanted him to be a dragon, but he really wanted to be a shark. Even at the store trying it on, he was wandering up to strangers and pretending to bite them. He was cute enough he could get away with it though:


He got to dress up for school and also got invited to a friend's party (his first peer invite, from "lela", aka Bella). On the day after halloween when we got to school he was so sad that he wasn't in his costume again.
Saturday we went to our ward Trunk or Treat. My own costume was a bit too gory for it, so at the last minute I grabbed a white maternity shirt and drew a pumpkin on it (apparently my decade-old oil pastels work well on fabric for a temporary effect):

Kenny dressed up as a viking (the beard limits his options). Unfortunately I only got one pic of him, he was leading the parade (he's holding a sword and axe which added a lot to the costume but can't really be seen in this pic):

Then we hired a babysitter (for maybe the 4th time in Daniel's life) and went to a friend's costume party. My costume changed from the pumpkin belly to this:


Yes, that is a two-headed dragon erupting from my belly. :)
We ended up not trick or treating on Sunday because Daniel was a bit under the weather. I had wanted to, just to get to know some neighbors, but... no luck. And we only got two groups of trick-or-treaters ourselves- a bunch of kids Daniel's age, and some random teenagers not even in costumes. I've had a curse for about 15 years, no matter where I've lived I never get more than a couple door knocks on halloween.

These and other october pics are up at our web album.

The Imagination of a Two-Year-Old

Daniel's imagination has really taken off in the last month, it makes life fun. Some of this has been posted on facebook, so sorry for you FB friends if it's a repeat (but now it has pictures!)

First, the sticks. Daniel's favorite toy right now is a 4-foot-long plastic tent pole (also known as "Deeck" (stick)):

It is a: fishing pole, gun, sword, meal (either hot or cold), straw, light-switch flipping wand, pregnant belly poker, limbo pole, tightrope for small toys, speed bump, balance beam, and best friend. Here is Daniel giving it a good night kiss before putting it to bed (after brushing its teeth and helping it go potty):



His other favorite toy is his "baby", a small pumpkin he grabbed at the store that he didn't want to part with. Pumpkin joins us for family meals, requires frequent kisses, and apparently occasionally bites and needs punishment. The other day I found him thus:


Daniel loves to play-act that he's afraid of things, now, too. We watched Lady and the Tramp the other day and now Daniel runs around all the time yelling "Aaaaah! Rat!!!! Bite! Tooosh! HIIIIT!" (Then smacks it with our afore-mentioned Deeck). All scary things will bite your toosh, so beware. A neighbor has a scary halloween decoration in his yard and without fail, Daniel will approach it, pretend to throw a punch in its direction, then grab his butt and run away screaming "aaaaah! Bite! Tooosh!".

He was consistently waking up at 5:15 every morning and coming down and shouting at my door "momma! help!". He's generally VERY good about staying in bed when it's time to fall asleep, he just doesn't have a concept of morning time. So I bought this clock for him:

30 bucks is more than I would have liked to spend, but it has been worth every penny. We set it up with a red light when it's bed time and that lasts until 6:15 in the morning, when it switches to green. It only took a few nights and he now won't get out of bed until the light turns green (and even then he doesn't usually get out of bed, he sits ont he edge of bed shouting "green light! green light!")... lately he's been sleeping in even more. Today we slept in til 6:45! Glorious!!!

We've had a few spats of terrible twos here and there- usually for 3 or 4 days at a time he'll be a real pill but then we get over it. About a month ago we were both breaking down daily so I whipped out the Love and Logic for 0-6 book and reread it- still, most of the advice seems geared at ages 3+, but it did help remind me to be consistent and follow-through better so I don't repeat something 18 times then lose my temper. Just a few days of one-warning-then-some-fitting-punishment did WONDERS, though it was a rough few days for him, for sure.
This week he's a bit of a fussy pants. Yesterday he had a complete break down because I got a box of cereal out for myself and put it on the table. Still, overall he's a good kid, it's just rough being a 2 year old sometimes.

His language skills have sky-rocketed. He's still a tad behind his peers but he now more than makes up for it with effort. He will repeat what we ask him to and loves to say prayers now:


He's super accident-prone and regularly has at least 4 scratches, 6 bug bites, and countless bruises and bumps. His legs are always this mottled black and blue from bruises acquired in day-to-day exploration. The school had to call me earlier this week because he got scratched by another kid at school, making it the 4th time I've had to sign an accident report because he's drawn blood at school (a few of them were scratches he got from little girls from giving over-zealous hugs to them). I honestly don't mind, though I think the school is worried I'll think they are negligent. No, I understand- Daniel just attracts owies.

He weaseled his way into a playgroup at the park and now we hang out with them almost daily. It's been great, they do a lot of fun things and are all very friendly.

Potty training is going great- we still get an occasional accident but it's pretty rare, and he's not giving us much attitude about it anymore.

He and Patches the dog are still best of friends, though Patches has a kind of haunted look about her these days. He's learned he can command the dogs to sit, and they obey, so the poor dogs rarely get to stand for long in his presence anymore. He loves to take them in the backyard and play with them or just sit on the concrete with them.

All in all, this two-year-old is a blast. Exhausting but so much fun, and I LOVE watching his mind take off and grow and do all sorts of fun new things.

Pregnancy Update

I'm now a few days shy of 30 weeks pregnant. In case any one out there is thinking "wasn't Jenn on bedrest last time around at this point?" the answer is: yes, yes I was.
See, I am a Ball Girl. And that means early contractions and prodromal labor. This pregnancy is no exception. Contractions started around 24 weeks this time, didn't really seem bothersome until a few weeks ago. They aren't as consistent as they were with Daniel but they have been a bit more uncomfortable... a couple times I've had to stop and breathe through them.
As of Saturday, I'm somewhere between 1 and 2 cm dilated, I'm about 60% effaced, and baby is head down but not deeply so (she's still moving around). I'm measuring a few weeks ahead. In other words, I'm pretty much EXACTLY where I was with Daniel at this point of the pregnancy. For the record, Daniel hung in there another 7 weeks or so and was a healthy 7 lb 11 oz baby, born at 36 weeks and 5 days.

Last time when my contractions started and I was showing signs of dilating, my (perhaps overly panicky) OB put me in the hospital on Magnesium Sulfate for 3 days (which made me throw up for the only time of the pregnancy and even made me lose consciousness once) then sent me home for 8 weeks of FULL bedrest. I stayed near 1 cm dilated until I was 35 weeks, at which point I mysteriously slipped to a 4, then a week later to a 6, until finally we went into the hospital 8 cm dilated and still not in active labor at 36 weeks, 4 days. We may have made it past the 37 week mark if I hadn't let the doctor break my water.
For the record, Lori had contractions starting at 27 weeks and little Simon didn't come until nearly 39 weeks. Becky had prodromal labor for all 4 of hers and only one (Dylan) came before 36 weeks.

Since we now know that I, in true Ball Girl style, can contract and dilate for 8 weeks without a baby falling out, we're a little more laid back this time. Keeping a close eye on things, trying to take it easy (easier said than done with a toddler) and praying that we make it 6 more weeks.

If you want to join us in sending bake-the-baby vibes, please do. I absolutely must make it to 36 weeks if I want to deliver with my midwife (otherwise we'd need an OB) and I want this baby to be healthy and fully baked. Also, if you see me doing stuff that does not fall in the "take it easy" category, call me on it. I'm having a really hard time not pushing my limits.

One month later...

Whew, what a month! Lots to catch up on.

First the potty training. We've been a month without diapers now, and have even dropped the overnight pull-ups now. He's about 95% there when I'm around, but if he's with someone else (visiting friends or whatever) his success rate is much lower. Overall, I'm super pleased with how easy potty-training was. The first week was AWESOME, but then he hit a spiteful period we're still working our way out of, where he would only go if it was HIS idea, not ours. We're going to start trying some standing up methods this week.

Next, the pregnancy. For those who didn't see, here is our little girl:

She has a Ball nose

I swear she's signing "I Love You"

And here's the belly:

I'm now 25 weeks along. (Bare-belly pics are in my pregnancy album). I've been having a few worrisome contractions, but nothing to put us into panic mode. I'm officially to take it easy, or as  easy as one can take it with a very active 2-year-old running around.

Kenny started back at school a few weeks ago and things are going well. He rides 17 miles to work each morning- has to be out the door about 4:30 am- and another 17 miles home each afternoon, in houston heat. He's my hero.

Daniel started school up today. Same as last year- he goes Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 9 to 2:30. He napped well, had one big potty accident (while he was telling the teacher he needed to go) and one other "accident" that was more of an "aiming malfunction".

The month of August was my busiest work month yet. I billed 45 hours, which means I worked closer to 60. I am SO grateful to various friends who have taken Daniel off my hands, often at the last minute, so I could be on a business call. 

We finished painting and decorating Daniel's room. I'd love to do more, and received some great suggestions (thanks Anna Rose), but need some time!

Today was my biggest, scariest call EVER. It was a 2-hour recorded training session, with 45 people on the call, for a VERY large client. My boss and the client were both very pleased with how it went, and I'm relieved to be done with it for now.

At the beginning of the month, we competed in the Nintendo Wii olympics. Kenny blew them away with his basketball( I don't believe anyone in the nation has beat him), but the loud atmosphere made it hard to hear mario kart and apparently he needed sound effects to time a tricky jump just right. I'm absolutely thrilled that I didn't do pitifully on the hula hooping- I actually did darn well, 20 weeks pregnant and all. We didn't win anything big, but did take home some fun little nintendo toys.

Other fun news: Daniel and PAtches are the best of friends. They wrestle, cuddle, and race daily. She may be a crazy dog, but she tolerates this without complaint:

Funny story: yesterday, I was on a call with my boss (nice LDS fellow, understands I work from home with a toddler) and Daniel was in the other room watching a movie. He then came in telling me he needed to poo. I had to ignore it, knowing that Daniel often has false alarms, but also that I had no other choice- I was on a call. So I tell Daniel if he needs to go, to take off his own undies and go to his own potty upstairs, thinking all the while "not a chance". Sure enough, a few minutes later, Daniel walks into my bedroom, naked, with poop all over his hands and butt. 

Oh, dear.

Well, now I have to excuse myself from the call, and start marching around the house to find where it happened. Not on the couch, not on the stairs... "ok Daniel, where did you go?"

He grabs my hand, marches me upstairs, and shows me with glee his training potty. That's right, he did it all by himself! It was obviously a near miss, but... I couldn't be prouder, nor could he. Man did he scare me though.

PS: I will NEVER AGAIN try to post a blog from within the blogspot "compose" editor. What a mess.

A momentous weekend for Daniel!

2 big things-
One, Daniel told me a story a few days ago. Most people wouldn't think much of it, but when Kenny asked Daniel to tell me what they did this morning, Daniel told me (with many long pauses for concentration): "Walk. Push Red Car. Help Dog. Frog.". Which means "we went for a walk, I pushed the red car, I helped hold the dog's leash, and we saw a frog". This is HUGE- he's not just telling me he wants grapes or something, he's actually making unprompted efforts at conversation. I know non-parents or parents of children who communicate readily won't see what the fuss is about, but I'm way too excited about this. But not nearly excited as I am about...

POTTY TRAINING!
We started the three-day method on Saturday. I'd been told by various trustworthy sources that there is a short window of potty-trainability at about this age, and if you miss it things get difficult until they are about 3. That and I want to shampoo our carpets and it seems a foolish thing to do if potty training is in your near future. Kenny goes back to school in a week and Daniel goes back to preschool in 1 month, so now seemed a good time.
Daniel helped show his potty doll (which is even an anatomically correct little boy, only 8 bucks at Toys-R-Us) how to pee in the potty, and saw that the doll got a big celebration and candy. We then put away the diapers and whipped out the dinosaur underwear, then started downing the juice and water. We had one big mishap (fortunately in the kitchen) and Daniel just seemed confused by it, so I was worried maybe this was all a bit over his head. He got on and off the potty maybe 6 times in 2 hours (with an M&M each time) with no luck and one very small accident.

Yes, we threw a party for Victor the Turtle this morning. Daniel helped him get on the potty, helped him clap his hands, gave him high fives, and delivered a skittle for his success.

I know this is the beginning of a long road, but he gives me hope that he's not too young, he totally gets this.And then, 2.5 hours into it, he walked up to me, said "pee", so I helped him on the potty and sure enough... he did it! I called Daddy in from the garage, we all got way excited and threw a little party, and when Daniel saw what a big deal we were making, he made an obvious effort to get more into the toilet... and more... and more.. by the end he had a big proud smile on his face and obviously would have done more if he could.
His only other major accident that first day was in the garage- so no accidents on carpet yet.

We had NO major accidents yesterday (one minorly wet training pants, that's all), and 5 successes yesterday- one, he told me mid-shower he needed to go so I ran around the house naked and dripping wet getting his potty and treats, and he held on til I was ready! Then another 2 happened at church (yes, I toted the lid to his training seat to church with us because he's still not comfortable with big toilets). This morning he woke up dry (we're doing pull-ups over night) and has since pottied three times, no accidents at all.

Victor the Turtle is progressing in his potty training efforts nicely. His undies have been dry all day (as have Daniel's)!

I was surprised how many people have told us it wouldn't work, it was too soon... I can't picture the first three days of potty training going better!

PS Daniel REALLY likes telling people on the phone about his successes, so I apologize in advance to my family members who will be hearing from us a lot.