1 Month old!

***I will try not to say how fast time is going by with 2, every time I do a milestone post, but HOLY SMOKES!!!***

Mr. Jakiah is a happy, healthy boy. We had a week there where every one of us was sick and it was awful. Just AWFUL. Having a 3 week old with a cold is such a sad thing to watch. He'd get stuffed up, couldn't breathe, would choke on phlegm and then would scream and cry. Poor little guy. And Kalaya was much, much more sick than he was. Thank goodness his was just a stuffy nose. Kalaya had a fever, a hacking cough, really irritated throat, congestion, snot, etc. She was a miserable little girl. Thank heavens that Nelson was off during that time. I dread the day that both of my kids are sick at the same time, which yes, I realize will probably be every time one of them starts out sick from now on!

Now that the sickness has passed (for the time being....hopefully for quite awhile...), we are kind of getting the hang of this two kid thing. Most of the time. 2 wise friends of mine once said things that sum up being a parent of 2 quite nicely: (1) "The hard days are twice as hard, but the rewards are twice as wonderful." ~That Kind of Mom and (2) "It's not so much that [the older child] has that hard of a time adjusting to the new baby. It's that you're exhausted and your patience for their typical 2 year old behaviors is much lower." ~The Olson Times Both statements are completely right on.

Kalaya has done pretty well over all. If she hadn't gotten sick, it would have gone better, but she did, so that is what it is. She has had some unbelievable meltdowns in the last couple of weeks, has spent a lot of time in time out and her back talking has been driving us crazy. But, those things had been happening long before baby brother arrived. (they do call it the 'terrible twos' for a reason, right??) With her brother, she is incredibly sweet, gentle and fascinated. She is so affectionate and kind to him and always, always glad that he's around. Sometimes almost too much so, to the point of being too much in the poor little guys personal space bubble. It's been a big change, topped off with having Daddy around all the time, from whom she's used to getting his complete attention. She's learning. And, luckily, she doesn't seem to resent Jakiah what-so-ever. (knock on wood)

At the risk of jinxing myself (please God, PLEASE don't let that happen...), Jakiah is a pretty mellow, laid back, 'easy' baby. VERY different from newborn Kalaya. I wouldn't change anything about Kalaya as a baby. That's who she was and I loved every second of her. I actually loved that she needed me so much and that she was so dependent on me. And, she grew out of it and turned out just fine. But, it is very nice to have a baby who actually naps for awhile on his own, doesn't need to be held every single second, doesn't use me as a pacifier all the time and doesn't HAVE to have a breast to go to sleep. It's nice, because I'm able to give more attention to Kalaya than I feared I'd be able to. But, if he becomes more challenging and needy, I know how to handle it. He eats well, sleeps most of the time, is easy to meet his needs and just a sweet, happy, snuggly boy. I love, love LOVE having a baby boy!!

Toddler Obsession

We have a new obsession at the Sigrah house. Oh. My. Goodness. I thought Elmo was a big deal. I thought that having to sleep with him every night, wear the shirt with him every day, spot him in every store, every where, reading his books, listening to his song over and over and watching him every chance we got....

That was NOTHING.

The evening before Jakiah was born, we thought that we might be having a baby very, very soon. We decided to have a special family night with Kalaya and let her watch her first full length movie. We, of course, own many, many Disney movies. Surprisingly, the list isn't very long as to what we will let a 2 year old watch. The only one that didn't have any weapons, scary creatures, death, etc was Cinderella. Seems innocent enough. So, we watched it together as a family. After that, there was no turning back. Kalaya was ENRAPTURED. It was unbelievable. Her eyes were glued to the screen from the first second until the end. And, she comprehended every. single. second. For the next 2 days, she was home with my mom (while Nelson and I had a baby...) and she reported that Kalaya told her the plot over and over again in great detail. Everything. The broken dress, the fairy godmother, Gus Gus and Jaq, the stepmother, the ball, the prince, the glass slipper, EVERYTHING.

Now, this may have faded in time, but, of course, Jakiah was born and then everyone in our house got sick. Kalaya was pretty sick and was pretty tired and miserable. Nelson was tired and miserable too and in attempts to regain his sanity, played Cinderella for Kalaya over and over again. Sometimes 2 times in a row, so he could get a 2 hour nap on the couch, waking only to start the DVD over. I blame him. But, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Everyone in our house is feeling better these days, so we're trying to wean her off of demanding Cinderella 50 times a day. She has watched it once in the past 5 days or so. Nelson and I can recite it for you, if you're interested.

But, the obsession has taken on new levels. Holy CRAP. She talks about the plot all day. She insists on wearing tutus or dresses every where and only wears shoes that can easily slip on and off (no sneakers these days....) so that she can 'go to the ball Daddy!' at a moment's notice, with a glass slipper ready to fall off at will. Every dress is 'so beautiful!', including nightgowns, church dresses, even shirts with long hems. She drags Daddy around the house to 'go to the ball' multiple times a day and acts out every. single. detail. Seriously, go watch the scene at the ball and notice everything that Kalaya acts out: the 2 of them watching the water and touching it on the bridge, the almost kiss, the clock striking 'midgoodnight' (LOVE THAT!!), the dialogue of the prince and Cinderella, the loss of the slipper. She knows it ALL!

Not that I'd expect anything less from my daughter.

Guess we'd better start saving up for that Disneyland trip soon....

2 Weeks

At his 2 week appointment yesterday, Jakiah was 8 lbs, 3 oz and has grown 3/4 of an inch. Not surprising, he likes to eat!! Our pediatrician declared him 'perfect' as we already knew of course!

(Did I mention that a month ago I got a letter in the mail from Kalaya's pediatrician, who we LOVED, telling us he was retiring ON MY DUE DATE??? Long story short, we asked around, got recommendations and some how managed to get our first pick and we really like her!)

It's been busy at the Sigrah house for the last 2 weeks. (duh!) We've had some visitors, gone a couple of places, but mostly just stayed at home and tried to get this family of 4 thing figured out. I am SO GRATEFUL that Nelson has 6 weeks off. I cannot imagine him going back to work already. I am seriously terrified of the day he goes back to work in March. Obviously, I know we'll be fine, but he is so amazing right now. He is completely devoted to entertaining and taking care of Kalaya and some how is keeping the house cleaner than I ever manage to!! He's helping with Jakiah too, of course, but diapers and letting him sleep on him are his main ways of helping right now. (can't feed him, for obvious reasons!!)

Jakiah is pretty mellow. He is a BIG sleeper!! Maybe Kalaya was like this in the very beginning, but I don't remember it if she was. He seriously sleeps like 22 hours a day!! He wakes up about every 3 hours to nurse at night, more often during the day, but then goes back down pretty quickly. He has 2 times in the day where he's awake for 45 min-an hour, but that's all for now. He sleeps on us a lot of the time, sometimes in his swing or bouncy seat and is doing pretty well sleeping on his own too. He sleeps through wet diapers, but hates having his diaper changed. He is a sweet, snuggly little boy and I am over the moon in love with him!



Kalaya is adjusting pretty well. She looooves her little brother. She is fascinated by him, always wanting to know what he's doing, kiss him and report observations about him; 'He's awake!' 'Look at his tiny ears!' 'He's nursing' 'He wants to go in his swing' 'It's okay buddy, we're almost there!' 'He's hungry' 'What's he doing?' She is very, very protective of him, she prefers only mommy or daddy holding him. She gets worried when grandparents or anyone else holds him. She doesn't get upset by his crying, just says very matter of fact that he needs to eat or that he's talking, doesn't want to be in the carseat, etc. But, she has definitely been acting out otherwise, you can tell that she's dealing with the change, but probably can't put it into words. When she's cranky, it's more so than normal and the temper tantrums that started a few months ago are still going strong. Again, god bless Nelson, thank goodness for 2 parents around, one who can give his full attention and take her places as needed. We're trying to give her lots of attention and praise, giving her special time with each of us as often as we can and letting her do as much as she wants around and with her brother. Unfortunately, she's come down with a cold in the last few days and it has made her SO CRANKY and short about everything. We're trying to be understanding. The hardest part is trying to keep her from sneezing, coughing, etc on Jakiah, but not making her aware that she could get him sick and hurt her feelings.

My recovery is going so well. I honestly don't know why anyone would ever choose a c-section over a vaginal birth. Granted, my delivery was about as 'easy' as it could have been, but it just feels completely different. With the caesarian, I felt as though I was a patient recovering from major surgery (which I was!) and like I'd never feel normal again. This time, I have to remind myself to take it easy, because, other than being sleep deprived, I feel really good! I notice it if I overdo it, but I almost feel completely back to normal already.

Jakiah's Birth Story

Our story starts on the morning of January 24th. I was exactly 39 weeks and had a routine appointment at 8 o'clock that morning. I was measuring at 2cm and was 90% effaced. Our midwife offered to strip my membranes and we had already decided that we were ready to take that step. With a VBAC, we were told that anything to help start birth 'sooner and naturally' would help us avoid the OR.

I had some minor cramping the rest of the day, but hardly noticeable. I had a feeling something was starting, but didn't want to get my hopes up. We had a special evening with Kalaya, because something told me our days as family of 3 were rapidly coming to and end. : ) We watched Kalaya's first movie (Cinderella) and had a special dinner. I went to my pregnancy fitness swim class around 8 and then when I got home, Nelson and I did my belly cast for Jakiah and watched a movie together. I had taken a long nap with Kalaya that afternoon and didn't go to bed until around 12:45.

Around 2:15am, I bolted out of bed to the bathroom, feeling my water break. From that point on, I had very intense, close together contractions. I tried to lay down, relax and breathe, but it didn't last long. I had to be up and moving. With a VBAC, we were told to get to the hospital once my water broke, so Nelson called our doula, the hospital and my mom (our babysitter) and started getting everything into the car.

While this was happening, I was in our bathroom, with the lights off, just reacting to what my body wanted me to do. I was most comfortable sitting on the toilet between contractions to rest and standing up, bracing myself with my hands on the wall, rocking side to side while the contractions were happening. The breathing techniques from our class helped me slightly, but the main thing was just saying in my head, 'each time is bringing Jakiah closer to getting here', 'everything is in God's hands', etc. There really wasn't enough time for CDs or candles. : )

The car ride was the most challenging part of this phase, since it was difficult to get into positions that were helpful. And, at this point, the surges were SO intense and close together, right on top of each other, that I was getting nervous. I remember very clearly saying to Nelson, "I am aware of what I'm saying, I am able to make a decision right now: when we get to the hospital, I WANT AN EPIDURAL." The main reason was that I was terrified I was only going to be at 4cm (or similar) and was going to be doing this for hours and hours. I was already feeling the urge to bear down and push, so I was praying I was close to being ready.

Once in the parking lot of the hospital, I told Nelson, "I have to push NOW, I'm ready!!" He was calm and told me to go with what my body wanted, helping me brace myself against the wall when the surges came, while guiding me toward the place to check in. (this was around 4am) I remember shooing people away firmly, but then apologizing for not letting them help me. (including Nelson and our doula!) Everyone was really helpful and let me go with whatever I was needing at the time.

I was deep in the 'Zone' at this point. I was acting on instinct and didn't want anyone within a 5 foot range of me. I just waved people away and directed them to Nelson. They wanted my to get on a scale (for 'anesthesia purposes') and I was NOT having that. Somehow I remembered my weight from the appointment that morning and she accepted that! I was directed to a small room to be examined, since I was telling them I was ready to push, a nurse quickly checked my cervix and, sure enough, said, "Yes, you are ready! 10 centimeters!"

I was SO RELIEVED and at that point just completely let go. (at that point, I couldn't have had an epidural, even if I wanted to, but I knew that I could get through the pushing at this point, I was READY!) I was directed into the birthing room and the nurses and midwife just let me do what I needed to do. For me, that meant up on the bed, on all fours during contractions, leaning back on my heels to rest between. When anyone would get to close, I became aware of them, but mainly, I just gave into trusting my body, breathing, guiding and pushing Jakiah closer to emerging. Nelson said later that he couldn't believe how calm I seemed. I was pretty loud during contractions and he said I looked bored in between. He'd try to tell me I was doing great, etc and I'd just wave him away. Since it was a VBAC situation, I did have to have a monitor on at all times and have an IV port put in. I had tested positive for Strep B, so I had to have antibiotics in my IV for half an hour as well, but I barely remember that, other than getting irritated at the nurse that kept trying to touch me during contractions for the IV.

While I was pushing/breathing Jakiah down, I remember every second of it, and yet, it went so quickly, it didn't seem possible to take an hour and a half. I was in the room, allowing him to move down by 4:30 and I delivered him at 5:44am. It was very, very fast!! I am so grateful that it went as quickly and as successfully as it did. However, we didn't have much time for all of the things we'd practiced in class, though when I look back, I know that my confidence and trust in my body and the process were because of a lot of the things we practiced.

Did it hurt? Abso-friggin-lutely. Power to those women who say that they didn't hurt much, maybe their bodies don't go from 2-10c, so quickly, I don't know. All I know is that once my water broke, I was ready FAST!! And, yes, I remember being in pain during contractions and when he was coming out, but honestly, I've already forgotten actually feeling the pain. I wouldn't change anything, even not having the epidural. I did have one small tear, but that was all.
When I had been pushing for awhile (real life time, around an hour or so), I started to get frustrated, wondering why he wasn't out. I knew he was 'right there' and it was agonizing not having him out! In my head, I told myself, "Okay, four more BIG pushes, I can do this, and he'll be OUT!" Sure enough: four contractions: the second push his head emerged, then shoulders (let me tell you, the longest wait was for the surge after his head, but before his shoulders!!) and the last push, I looked down and THERE HE WAS!!!

Jakiah (Juh-ky-uh) Gabriel Sigrah was 7 lbs, 9 oz, 20 inches long, with a 14 inch head. Our hospital was incredibly conscious and compliant with everything we asked for in our birth preferences; everything was delayed that we wanted, the chord stayed attached until I delivered the placenta, no pitocin was used for the placenta delivery and Jakiah latched on to nurse almost immediately after delivery. He is a beautiful, healthy boy and his big sister is doing so great with him already!!

We are so grateful and blessed that our birth went so quickly and so well. It was world's different from a c-section and though we would have been happy for any outcome that resulted in a healthy baby and healthy mama, we don't think we could have asked for anything to have gone better. It was a beautiful, wonderful birth!!