Lately....

....We spent a day at the beach in Sorrento. It's still not quite warm enough to get in the chilly water, but we had fun having a picnic,

 exploring the tide pools, (by the way Chris isn't carrying a purse, it's Truman in the sling)

  searching for starfish,

 playing in the sand,

and climbing the rocks.

...I've been doing a little lizard catching. On my way out to the car to pick the kids up from school i found this guy in our carport. I snapped a quick picture with my phone, but then decided Ellie would just love to see it. So I used my mad skills and caught him. 

He has since become her little pet that she carries around on her shoulder like a baby :)

He's gone through about 5 temporary homes, then each time we do some more reading and learn more about the habitat and have to figure out a new home, oh well, whatever it takes to keep Ellie girl happy. When we told her that she had to let him go one day she just walked outside and held him in her lap and cries. I mean what can you do?

.....Truman has been really busy too:

 hanging in his Bumbo chair,

getting a passport, No smiling! Had to reject that one, but what a cutie! 

Playing with Caleb, who can always make him smile, 

 he figured out that he has a hand, and it's really interesting

and look- he rolled over!

Halloween

I never really finished this post, but if I don't just post it now it will sit in my drafts for another month, so there you go.

Because Ellie's birthday got seriously overshadowed this year as we were anxiously anticipating Truman's birth, we owed her a party. We had also told the kids when they first started at this new school that we should have a big party so that everyone could get to know them. So we ended up having a huge Halloween party last weekend. Both kids invited their whole school class, plus we invited a few other families that we are friends with. All together I think we had somewhere around 30+ kids and maybe 15 or 20 parents! Luckily the weather cooperated and the kids spent a lot of time outside. It was such a madhouse that I didn't get many pictures of the event, but luckily we took a few beforehand.

Dracula, zombie, witch, soldier, devil

Chris the zombie. I think our "retro" (okay it's just old) wallpaper and curtains were perfect for Halloween. And notice the picture frames, we replaced our family pics with scary ones!

Kids food:

mummy hot dogs, pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting and a candy corn (the kids insisted we get candy corns, which meant a trip to USA Foods- imported groceries), carrot sticks, apple slices and caramel, and since we ARE in Australia... vegimite sandwiches in Halloween shapes, party pies and sausage rolls 

adult food stashed away in the kitchen

I'm counting 29 kids in this picture, I'm sure there were probably a few more as well.

We decorated the living room and dining area with all the Halloween stuff we could find- It was a bit tricky in the beginning to find decorations, you have to go to the party stores to find anything. Halloween is not big here, although people keep telling me that it's catching on more and more each year. Chris did the playroom in backlights and had it decked out with some creepy stuff, complete with music/sound effects and fog.

Most of the kids hadn't ever been to a Halloween party, so I hope ours was a good intro to all the fun. We kept them entertained with a few activity stations: making ghost lollipops, decorating cookies, bob for apples, doughnuts on a string, and of course, stick your hand into the "medical experiment" (grapes and noodles). Lots of trampoline jumping, in the beginning there were ballons to pop, but they were gone pretty quickly.

I know, a little disturbing! People kept doing a double take, thinking it was Truman with a mask (like any 2 month old would keep a mask on)

This time last year......

Truman was sound asleep for his morning nap, so I just had a nice LONG shower (don't tell the Aussie authorities, they're very protective of their water and 4 minute showers here). But while I was in the shower I got to thinking about this time last year. So much has changed since then......

Of course our favorite change has been this little guy, this time last year we had no idea that he'd be joining our family.

He has made our lives complete! He's 2 months old now and so adorable- we love to get him smiling and laughing and "talking". He's already getting a bit spoiled, there is almost always someone willing to scoop him up and hold him and the first little cry. But hey, there's got to be some advantages to being the youngest. He's growing so fast- "massive growth" is how the nurse put it at his 8 week visit. He weighs 14 pounds now and is in the 80-90 percentile in both height and weight. I'm sure he'll even out to be 100% average (if not slightly shorter than average) like the rest of our family, but how funny would it be if he ended up being the tall one?
He's a great baby- sleeps well, usually only getting up once to eat in the night and then going right back to sleep- though we have had a few nights when he's slept all the way through! He's a great eater, he get the knack of breastfeeding easier than either of the others and just can't get enough of it, maybe that's why he's so big. Both my others would eat every 3+ hours, I remember feeling like I should wake them up to eat. But not this guy. He'd eat every hour if I offered it, but as it goes, he eats every 2 or 2 1/2 hours. He makes sure to let me know how much he likes to eat... Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmm with every swallow. He is seriously the loudest eater on the planet. It's hard to discreetly breastfeed in public when he's so loud :) On the subject of loud- he's a loud sleeper too. I have to shut his door and ours or else I can't sleep because of all the noise he makes. For those first few weeks when he slept in our room I was getting up constantly because he was so noisy I though the was waking up. But then as soon as I was standing over his bed, he'd be sound asleep. Sometime when Caleb and Ellie can't stop talking at night we'll tell one of them to go sleep in the playroom/Truman's room. Caleb almost always comes out and says he can't sleep because Truman keeps going "mmmm, ahhhh, hmmmm". Gotta love their little quirks :)

Another big change: We don't live in the city anymore. We're about 25-30 minutes away (without traffic), so not too far, but very different.

What I miss about the city:
The energy- living right in the middle of a big city certainly has a vibe all it's own. With all the people around, all the different smells and sounds coming from every direction you can't help but feel alive, like you're part of this thing that is somehow alive.
Unlimited cafes and restaurants right on our doorstep- our faves: Laksa from Claypot King, truly Italian pizza from +39, gelato from Il Freddo on Lygon Street, takeaway souvlaki from Lambs on the way home from school.
Being able to walk everywhere- this belongs on both lists. I loved being ABLE to walk everywhere, but hated HAVING to walk everywhere
Having a gym/pool/tennis court right in our building- I kinda miss my treadmill runs before work as the sun was coming up. And taking the kids down to the pool in the afternoon was a perfect energy release, especial in the winter when there was nowhere else to go. We didn't play much tennis then, but now that Caleb is taking lessons and getting really good, I'd love to have access to a court.
Chris's work so close- he didn't have to commute and I miss him getting home 5 minutes after work instead of 45 min-1 hour. We have to push dinner to 7 pm if we even want a chance to eat with him.
The view- we lived on the 27th floor and had the most amazing view!

What I don't miss:
Living around uni students instead of families. Here there are kids all over the place to play with, around the corner, across the street.
Other kid stuff- we like their school better out here in the burbs and their extra-curricular activities are better and easier to get to.
Not having a car/ stuck in the city- not that we COULDN'T have a car in the city, but we didn't. There was really no need during the week, but on the weekends we would have like to be able to get out and about a bit more. That's one thing I learned about city life, it's great, but you have to have a way to escape it too.
Night noise- we lived above a pub and next to a tram stop. Though I kind of liked the ding of the tram bell sometimes and I got used to the noise, I still don't really miss it.
The winter wind- the winter out here in Templestowe was much easier, not only were we not walking everywhere, but we didn't have the cold wind blowing in between tall buildings like we did downtown.
Rent- we pay less rent now for our somewhat spacious (albeit old) house than we did for our teeny 2 bedroom apartment

Some other changes
My hair is back to blonde

Ellie doesn't wear glasses anymore

 

Chris is a senior manager

and Caleb became a Cub Scout

6 weeks old!!!

I know everyone says the same thing... but where did time go? Truman is 6 weeks old today and it's true what they say- you really don't start feeling like yourself until about now.

Mom was here for the first 2 weeks and was an amazing help. She took over everything, all I had to do was feed and snuggle with my new baby. And he certainly is a snuggler. He LOVES to be held! That is his happy place; held tight, with his pacifier in his mouth and preferably holding onto your fingers with both hands.
I pretty much spent weeks 3-5 locked away in the house. I was still recovering and then as soon as I started feeling better, Chris and I both got sick. Having a newborn and being sick is NOT a good combination- getting up 2 or 3 times in the night makes it really hard to recover. But we finally made through and now we are a like a normal family!

The kids absolutely adore Truman. They are big enough to be my little helpers- giving him back his paci, or listening for him to wake up while I'm in the shower. Ellie even wants to change a diaper, but that's a little beyond her ability at this stage. Every time I give him a bath she is right there by my side, it's her job to wash his belly and his feet and then to get him dressed afterward. Caleb insists that Truman is going to look just like him when he gets bigger and can't wait for the day when he can teach him all that he knows!

Here are a few pics to catch you up:

 5 days old

8 days old

 2 weeks old

 2 weeks

 3 weeks old

 4 weeks old

5 weeks old

As it goes I started this post when Truman was 6 weeks old, well now he's 7 weeks old and even cuter! He was blessed at church on Sunday and he was so sweet all day. 

Blessing Day- 6 1/2 weeks old

 7 weeks old

7 weeks old

Welcome to the world Truman!!!

He's still kicking! But now we can see his cute little feet and his tiny little legs :) Truman Alexander was born on August 16th, 2011 at 5:22 am. He was born at the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne Australia. As I'm writing this he is 14 days old and has totally stolen our hearts. I seriously can't get enough of him. He smells so good, I just wish I could bottle up that smell and save it for later. He's a really good baby (crossing my fingers that it lasts)- he only cries when there's a reason and he sleeps and eats really well. What more can you ask of a newborn?

As for his birth, I'll start at the beginning. On Monday the 15th we picked up my mom from the airport. She was here for 2 weeks to help out, the plan was for her to arrive just as we were coming back from the hospital. Keep in mind I was due on the 8th of August (though I thought he'd come on the 10th- being 2 days late like my other 2 kids). When Wednesday the 10th came and went I started saying he'd be there by Friday. Then, to keep my sanity I said there was no way I'd make it through the weekend.

When we picked up mom I had to hold back the tears because I NEVER thought I'd still be pregnant! I had an appointment the next morning to monitor the little guy's heartbeat and check the fluid levels and talk to the doctor about the possibility of induction. Needless to say I did NOT want to go to that appointment. That night Chris said I should just take a little castor oil and see what happened. I had done this with Ellie as well and was in labor 4 hours later. I decided it was worth a shot, but because I had read some possible bad consequences of castor oil I only took a tablespoon (to induce labor they recommend 4 tablespoons). But it was enough to do the trick- yeah! I took it just before bed, hoping that if it did work I would at least get a few hours of sleep (kind of essential, since I had slept all of 45 minutes the night before).

I climbed into bed at about 8:30pm and woke up at 1am with contractions. I started timing them right away and they were about 3 minutes apart. Chris woke up and we laid there talking an timing and analyzing whether they felt "real" or not. I had been having contractions for the last 2 weeks, so I was all too familiar with the unreal ones. They started to space out to 5 minutes apart and I said, "this must not be real, otherwise they'd be getting closer together". Then 15 seconds later my water broke! No mistaking it, a big old gush. It was for real! I was so excited, these had been the longest 8 days of my life and I knew that pretty soon I'd have my little boy!

I had planned to stay at home as long as possible, so I got in the shower and took my time getting ready. Contractions were totally manageable at this point, so I wasn't too concerned. I woke up mom and told her what was going on, sent an email to my family in the U.S. and called my sister to tell her that it was FINALLY happening. While I was on the phone with her my contractions started getting bad enough that I couldn't concertrate and we decided it was time to head to the hospital. We left at 3am, and Chris just kept saying, "whatever happens I do NOT want to deliver this baby in the car". The drive to the hospital took about 20 minutes and everything got more intense as we were driving. For the past week I'd been telling Chris to drive fast over the speed bumps to get labor started, now I was telling him to go as slow as possible, because every bump was torture!

We got to the hospital and I started to feel nauseated as Chris filled out the paperwork. It was about 3:30am now and contractions were getting really intense already. They walked us up to our delivery room and we met Caitlin, who was our midwife throughout the whole labor.  Because Truman had done a little poop she had to strap me to a fetal monitor, just for a minute. But once I laid down on that bed I knew there was no way I was getting back up again. As much as I had read that staying upright and walking around would help things go faster I couldn't bear the idea of moving around. Caitlin checked me and said I was 5 cm. I immediately looked at Chris and said I didn't think I could do it without an epidural. Halfway there seemed way too long to go. He reminded me that epidurals wear off and that I was already doing so well. I also remembered reading that 7-10 cm usually goes real fast so my last thought about it was "if I can just make it to 7 cm I'll be okay".  After that I didn't really have a chance to think much about it, all I could think about was surviving the next minute in front of me. It seemed to go: 1 minute of contraction, 1 minute of back pain, 1 minute of rest, repeat. The midwife put a heat pad on my back, which seemed to help with the back pain, then I just had to worry about contractions. I'm not going to lie- They hurt...BAD.

The few things I did to deal with the pain and get through each contraction are kind of a blur. I tried really focusing on breathing, I know it was not calm, deep breaths like I had been practicing, they were pretty frantic, but it gave me something to focus on. Chris turned on my yoga video on my iPhone and I have to say, having that familiar voice playing was really calming in between contractions. During contractions I didn't hear anything, but it helped me calm down and regain my strength after each one was over. At one point the midwife pointed out that I was tensing up my legs during every contraction and as soon as I tried to really relax them, I felt like I needed to push. She said that was fine and I should just do what my body was telling me. Well it was telling me to push!

I have to admit I was that lady, the one who wouldn't stop screaming every time she pushed. It was just such a different feeling than when I had an epidural with my other 2 kids. It's like I had to release the pain somehow and screaming just made sense. I pushed just a few times and then one of the doctors said "Rachel, you need to stop screaming and really start pushing. It's really important that you push." I thought I had a second to take break, but apparently I was wrong. A few more pushes and he was out. Only then did they tell us that the cord was wrapped around Truman's neck 3 times. He was born at 5:22am after only 4 1/2 hours of labor and weighed 9 lbs 2 oz.

I only got to hold Truman for a minute because they had to take him away and check to make sure he was okay, luckily all was good and after giving him a bit of oxygen they passed him on to Daddy. Chris got to cuddle him for while because I was shaking so badly I couldn't even hold him. I was bleeding a bit more than expected so they kept us down in the delivery room a bit longer than normal. I was able to feed Truman and give him some extra snuggles to warm him up.

Grandpa called on Skype and was able to see Truman just hours after he was born- amazing that someone across the world was the first one to see him. The hospital phone rang and I guess Ellie was so excited that her teacher was able to track us down so she could talk to us. She wanted us to come pick her up early so she could see her baby brother.

After some lunch (I was famished! Even though it was hospital food I think I ate more food over those next couple days than most days of my pregnancy) they took us up to the maternity ward. Sadly, we were in a shared room (which is why I left the hospital less than 48 hours after Truman was born). After getting settled, Chris went to pick up Grandma, Caleb and Ellie. They were beside themselves with excitement! So happy to finally have them here, Caleb said that when we left for the hospital he was so excited he almost cried. What a sweetie! Here are pics from the hospital so you can see how adorable Truman is!

What a doll! We just love him!

......and kicking

Add to the kicking:
itching,
contracting,
swelling,
back ache/cramps,
peeing every 5 min,
hip pain,
anxiety,
not to mention the general discomfort of trying to eat, sleep, walk around with a watermelon hanging where my stomach should be.

I'M DONE. 2 weeks to go.
Hopefully I miscalculated and he'll be here sooner than that!

Today I went to Costco and pushed around a massive cartful of stuff hoping I could make a scene and have my water break right there in the frozen food aisle. No such luck.

Still Kicking ... and kicking and kicking

I'm 36 weeks now and wondering how I'm going to make it another 4 weeks! I'm massive, as you'll see from the picture below :) and yes, only one baby. He's super active now, and big, every little nudge is totally noticeable. The kids left to poke around and make him squirm.
The one thing I will always remember about this time around is the ITCH!!! Around 28 weeks I started feeling really itchy and it just won't go away, I've been tested for the liver problem that can occur during pregnancy, no problem. I've tried antihistamines, lotions, etc. Nothing helps. It wouldn't be so bad except that it is even worse at night and keeps me up until 3am at least 4 nights a week. All I want is some decent sleep! It seems to come in waves. For 3 nights in a row I'll be up till sometime between 2 and 4am, then I'll get a reprieve for a night or two, then start all over again, ugh.
Let's see... some other things to note:
This little guy is particularly fond of the right side of my belly. The doctor told me today that his back is on the left side and his limbs are on the right. Funny though, at night I can lay on my right side and my big belly rests comfortably (as much as is possible) on the bed, but when I flip to the left side I have to use a pillow under my belly to prop it up.
I've been addicted to prenatal yoga this time around. At night when I'm lying in bed all itchy and frantic if I go do my 25 minute yoga video it will sometimes calm me down enough to help me get to sleep. I've been told that it will help prepare my body for the delivery, but I won't hold my breath that it's going to be any easier.
People always ask how the healthcare is different here in Australia. Rather than going to the same OB for every visit most people do half their visits at the hospital with an OB and the other half with their local GP that is specially trained to care for normal pregnancies. Also, they seem to be a bit more "hands off" - they don't weigh you at each visit, no internal exams (unless you go over your due date), my friend who had a baby here also said the actual delivery was more laid back as well. I remember there being tons of people in the delivery room, but she said just her, her husband, one nurse and one doctor were there.
What else.... food-wise I've been fairly normal since all the early pregnancy cravings/aversions. Though I have been known to polish off 6 or 7 mandarin oranges in one sitting, which doesn't help the heartburn situation.

Here's to 36 weeks pregnant! Ellie was my photographer, not bad. And yes I have an empty picture frame on the wall. The prints are sitting at the shop waiting for me to pick them up!

Grrrrrrr.....

While we were in Chiang Mai we took a trip to the Tiger Kingdom. We heard it was the best place to see the tigers because you are allowed to go in the enclosures and play with the little ones or have your picture taken with the adults. Of course our kids were only allowed with the smallest tigers, who were about 4 months old. But I think these were the best ones to see anyway because they were still little enough you could ply with them. It was pretty quick and felt rushed, we only got to stay in for 10 minutes. So too bad the pictures aren't that great, but it was cool to play with baby tigers anyway!

After playing with the little guys we got to walk around and check out the rest of the tigers. This big one was pretty scary. As Chris Caleb and I walked up to his enclosure he locked his eyes on Caleb and followed him everywhere he went. I'm sure he was imagining how yummy he would be.

How would you like to be stared down by that guy in the middle of the jungle?