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Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Moshe's Birth Story

Now that Moshe is officially ONE month old (!), I figured this was a good time to share his birth story:)


Now to give a little backstory, I went into labor with Ellie when I was 37 weeks and 6 days along. Since I had been *planning* to pack my bag at 38 weeks, I was totally unprepared, just throwing things into a duffel bag while in intense back labor!

So this time, I was determined to be ready. I packed my bags, created an "in labor" checklist for my husband to follow, discussed babysitting options......and waited. And waited. And then waited some more. By my 39 week appointment, I was shocked I had gone this far.  As I ate dinner with S after my appointment, I complained that I was going to be the only pregnant woman to just stay pregnant for ten years.  Later that night (can you tell where this is going?) I felt a contraction as I was menu planning for Shabbs. Unlike my Braxton-Hicks contractions, this one hurt. I didn't want to get too excited, so I gave myself time, and kept on menu planning. The contractions got more and more intense, so I decided to call a babysitter and our doctor and doula, just in case.

The next hour was a blur--I tried to breathe through contractions on the couch, accepted that I was indeed in labor, and we got everything ready to go. As an aside, this contraction app was awesome and super helpful!


My first contraction had been at around 9:45, and by 11:00 we were heading to the hospital. We met our doula there, and checked in. By this point, I was measuring 5 cm but I was in extreme pain--as with my first labor, I had terrible back labor. I waited (very impatiently) for my epidural--by this point it was nearly 1:00 AM.

And this is the part where things got a little too interesting--as the anesthesiologist came to give me the epidural, I felt a strong need to push. Sure enough, I was fully dilated. However, the baby's heart rate had started rapidly dropping when my nurse stepped out for the epidural. I could tell my doctor was concerned as she urged me to focus and get the baby out immediately. I was terrified at the thought of having to do that without an epidural, but I focused and was able to get baby M out in a single contraction.

When he was born, he wasn't crying, moving, or breathing on his own. My doctors determined that I had had an placental abruption and the cord had been wrapped around his neck several times. It's still terrifying to think of what could have happened had we not been in the hospital when I had the abruption--especially since I delivered baby Moshe only about 3 hours after my first contraction.

Moshe spent the next 8 days in the NICU, getting treatment to help him recover his rough start. It was very difficult seeing him connected to so many wires, and being unable to care for him. I didn't see him until hours after his birth, and didn't hold him for nearly a week. And to be honest, I think I'm still processing all of that.

Eight crazy days after his birth, baby Moshe finally came home:



And met his (very excited) big sister:


The weeks since then have been a blur--newborns tend to do that to you:)  As I'm still figuring out I feel about the birth and everything that happened, it feels good to share it.


So tell me, are there any stories YOU struggle with sharing?

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Our Year in Review, Part Deux

I love going back and reviewing all of the events of the year--it's been a busy one!

In JUNE, we hung out together as a family a lot and enjoyed the heat sunshine.


Ellie spent some time cooling off in the fridge....


And we did some yummy baking!



JULY brought us on an amazing vacation to Israel with my family!





We spent a wonderful two weeks exploring Israel (more pictures here, here, here and here). Love.


In AUGUST, we went to the Jersey Shore, and on a day trip to Long Branch to celebrate Steve's birthday.


We also found out that we were expecting a baby BOY! (We loved our gender reveal cake from Carvel!)


SEPTEMBER brought a lot of changes, including a move to the toddler room for little Ellie and new hours at work for me.


We celebrated the holiday of Sukkot with our own backyard sukkah!


And took this mommy-daughter photo, one of my favorites:)


In OCTOBER, we visited a pumpkin patch with family:


And Mama here enjoyed a mani/pedi and lunch with friends!


Ellie joined us on a family lunch at Noi Due, one of my favorite restaurants in the city, where she literally sat and ate every course. #hoorayfortoddlersthatlovetheirfood


And meanwhile, the baby bump grew and grew....



By NOVEMBER, I started feeling REALLY pregnant!


We also got into a car accident (but were ok, thank G-d) and wound up with a new minivan as a result. Silver lining?


DECEMBER started off with Chanuka celebrations!


We spent time with my family (hey sis!):


Experienced quite a bit of snow:


And topped the year off by welcoming baby Moshe on December 24!!!


Moshe spent 8 days in the NICU, but we found out on December 29 that he had passed all of his tests and would be discharged the next day. It was the best way to end the year:)

What was the most major event in YOUR 2013?

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Our 2013 in Review!!

Well, it's a little bit into the new year, but I figured there was still time for a 2013 recap! This was one heck of a year!

In JANUARY, we...


Enjoyed our 11 month old baby girl:)


Bought E her first pair of shoes!


And took a family photo at the RV show (a weird, but fun outing--trust me!)

Then, in FEBRUARY, we....


Celebrated baby girl's first birthday!!



I took a fun cupcake decorating class:)


And we enjoyed a good friend's wedding!

Come MARCH, we....


Celebrated the holiday of Purim with our little baby ice cream cone:)


I made some shoe-tastic cupcakes for a friend's wedding shower...


And we road-tripped to see friends in Baltimore!

In APRIL, we....


Admired our sweet girl:)


I met some friends for a girl's day and we indulged in some heavenly Mac & Cheese balls at Noi Due (my favorite NYC restaurant!)


And I took a photoshoot for my friends!

And in MAY, we....


Had a fun surprise!! Baby #2 was on the way!


Had some spring photoshoots with the little lady...


And baked some pies!

And that's the first part of our 2013!! Part 2 is coming soon!

What was YOUR favorite part of 2013?


Friday, January 10, 2014

Five on Friday


I've been meaning to link up with Five for Friday for a while now, so today is as good a day as any! Check out the full link up here!  Today, I'll be sharing five things I'm loving lately

ONE

Newborn photos!!  I went to the fabulous Stefanie Diamond this week to get some newborn portraits taken of baby Moshe, and here's a sneak:


How sweet is that baby smile??



I love this one because I have blue all over my house, so this will be easy to frame!

TWO

On a much more shallow topic, have you heard that there's a new Naked palette? I have used Naked 2 so much since I bought it a few months ago that I'm almost out of a few colors, so I was thrilled to try this new color palette! It just arrived so I haven't had much time to dig in, but I can't wait!

THREE

Now I know this is old news already, but if you haven't seen Frozen yet, you should. I saw it mostly because I felt like sitting in a dark theater and eating peanut M & Ms, but it was SO good! Like a Broadway show in musical form. Speaking of which--I bet this will be a show at some point!



FOUR

I seem to be on a beauty kick today! I got this hand lotion in my Birchbox box this past month, and love it. The texture is fantastic, and it smells heavenly (grapefruit + cucumber, which work surprisingly well together!)


I treated myself to this set with my Birchbox points, and I'm happy to say the other scents are equally lovely!




FIVE

I've been good and only purchased one kit so far, but I love the Freckled Fawn Oh Deer Me kits, which are embellishments only.  Check them out here!



So here are five things I'm loving lately:)

Tell me, what are YOU loving these days?