Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Welcome Nathan Andrew
It is with extreme joy and excitement, despite the sleep deprivation, that we have welcomed our son, Nathan Andrew to our family. On May 10th at 2:40 p.m., Nathan was delivered at Newton Wellesley Hospital. In keeping up with his "fun-filled" experience in utero, Nathan arrived in a hasty fashion, via vacuum delivery. From the time the epidural was administered the second time-and didn't work yet again, to the moment of his arrival there was a 3 hour or so window. During that time, Scott and I experienced the fear and drama that I had only seen on those TLC "A Baby Story" shows. You know the ones, where they have the mother turning left and right to keep the baby's heart rate showing and from dipping into dangerously low ranges.
In the last hour of labor, I progressed from 6 cm to 10cm and we were ready to go. With two or three attempted pushes, I was then instructed the special care team was going to be present, my trusted and adored doctor was demanding my permission to use "whatever measures needed" to get our son out safely and with that I closed my eyes and prayed. Scott endured watching the entire delivery, I endured the physical pain and we both were bombarded with the emotional worry and then it was over. Nathan was here. Though, I didn't get to hold him or see him close up for over 30 minutes, though Scott didn't get to cut the cord, he was here and he was (and is) perfect!
Weighing in at a mere 6 lbs 10 oz at birth, Nathan was nothing of the behemoth that I was told he would be. He was a perfect fully dark haired blue eyed love. I later learned that when Scott texted my parents to tell them Nathan had arrived, the text exchanges went something like this: Scott-baby is here. Melody and Jay-how was delivery? Scott-scary. And that it was. But I'd do it again in a second. Just to have our son here.
About 2 hours later, Nathan got to meet his big sisters. Jenna and Maya came in bearing a balloon and a plant, fully attired in their big sis shirts and glowing with ENORMOUS smiles! Watching Scott introduce the kids and tear up with such pride was one of my most favorite moments ever. (I can count on one hand how many times I have seen my stoic husband cry in the 8 years I have known him.) The girls got to hold him, introduce him to Emmy and Sabba and beam with warmth, love and such admiration that he was here, he was real and he was their's!
Nathan has continued to be a love, particularly busy and engaging in the wee hours of the morning. He is attentive, observant, at times stubborn, and cuddly beyond words. He is a huge fan of having his hair washed and brushed and is not completely sold on the pacifier as of yet, despite offerings of a few different types. The girls still have not lost interest in him at all; they each have new baby dolls, named rightfully so Nathan. When the real Nathan eats, the other two Nathans and their mommies get out their Boppy pillows and breastfeed away. Just as Jenna did when Maya was born, now both girls have magically become mothers to their own "children" and to their brother. They each have their own chosen jobs; Maya is in charge of diapering the real Nathan-getting "all the stuff," and singing to Nathan while sharing her most special toys, while Jenna is his own personal traveling entertainer, anywhere we go she will talk to him, sing to him, kiss him, offer to hold him or provide us with updates on if he is sleeping, hungry or wanting to go in the BJORN.
Scott and I are absorbed in the daily routines of having three small children, but life has been going pretty well so far-now approaching week 4. It's amazing how much more I feel capable of doing not being pregnant anymore, the girls comment on how much tighter the hugs are now. :) Having the three children is such a gift and we don't take it lightly. Whether it is listening to him scream nearly every time we go in the car or the longer and longer gazes he is doing into our eyes these days, it just is truly amazing.
Welcome Nathan Andrew, we are so happy to have you in our lives. We are now the Farber Family of Five!
In the last hour of labor, I progressed from 6 cm to 10cm and we were ready to go. With two or three attempted pushes, I was then instructed the special care team was going to be present, my trusted and adored doctor was demanding my permission to use "whatever measures needed" to get our son out safely and with that I closed my eyes and prayed. Scott endured watching the entire delivery, I endured the physical pain and we both were bombarded with the emotional worry and then it was over. Nathan was here. Though, I didn't get to hold him or see him close up for over 30 minutes, though Scott didn't get to cut the cord, he was here and he was (and is) perfect!
Weighing in at a mere 6 lbs 10 oz at birth, Nathan was nothing of the behemoth that I was told he would be. He was a perfect fully dark haired blue eyed love. I later learned that when Scott texted my parents to tell them Nathan had arrived, the text exchanges went something like this: Scott-baby is here. Melody and Jay-how was delivery? Scott-scary. And that it was. But I'd do it again in a second. Just to have our son here.
About 2 hours later, Nathan got to meet his big sisters. Jenna and Maya came in bearing a balloon and a plant, fully attired in their big sis shirts and glowing with ENORMOUS smiles! Watching Scott introduce the kids and tear up with such pride was one of my most favorite moments ever. (I can count on one hand how many times I have seen my stoic husband cry in the 8 years I have known him.) The girls got to hold him, introduce him to Emmy and Sabba and beam with warmth, love and such admiration that he was here, he was real and he was their's!
Nathan has continued to be a love, particularly busy and engaging in the wee hours of the morning. He is attentive, observant, at times stubborn, and cuddly beyond words. He is a huge fan of having his hair washed and brushed and is not completely sold on the pacifier as of yet, despite offerings of a few different types. The girls still have not lost interest in him at all; they each have new baby dolls, named rightfully so Nathan. When the real Nathan eats, the other two Nathans and their mommies get out their Boppy pillows and breastfeed away. Just as Jenna did when Maya was born, now both girls have magically become mothers to their own "children" and to their brother. They each have their own chosen jobs; Maya is in charge of diapering the real Nathan-getting "all the stuff," and singing to Nathan while sharing her most special toys, while Jenna is his own personal traveling entertainer, anywhere we go she will talk to him, sing to him, kiss him, offer to hold him or provide us with updates on if he is sleeping, hungry or wanting to go in the BJORN.
Scott and I are absorbed in the daily routines of having three small children, but life has been going pretty well so far-now approaching week 4. It's amazing how much more I feel capable of doing not being pregnant anymore, the girls comment on how much tighter the hugs are now. :) Having the three children is such a gift and we don't take it lightly. Whether it is listening to him scream nearly every time we go in the car or the longer and longer gazes he is doing into our eyes these days, it just is truly amazing.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
He's nearly here!
The long long long awaited arrival of our son, (name to be disclosed soon!) is just two short days away. While I can't stand the anticipation, there is a part of me that will "miss" being pregnant. I am so curious to see what our little boy will look like, what his demeanor will be like-easy going I am sure right? :) The girls reactions to him are going to be incredible to observe as well. It is amazing to us now to know just how young Jenna truly was when Maya was born; being only 18 months, we had no concept of what expecting a child would be like with older siblings that "get it" within reason.
When Maya was born, Jenna mimicked EVERYTHING we did with her with her own babies. Most people would expect that to go away as things changed and she grew; however, Jenna has now taught Maya all the "tricks of the trade" and both are eager and ready to be their little brother's second and third moms.
I am so excited for Scott to have a son; he is an expert princess player, imaginary whatever they choose for the moment and has perfected his ponytails and is still working on pig tails. Though all of this has been fabulously fun for him and of course his adoring daughters, adding a little boy to our family is going to change things up and add so much! We can't wait for Thursday!!!!!!!!!!!
Jenna 03.21.2008
Melody and Leigh 9.7.1976
When Maya was born, Jenna mimicked EVERYTHING we did with her with her own babies. Most people would expect that to go away as things changed and she grew; however, Jenna has now taught Maya all the "tricks of the trade" and both are eager and ready to be their little brother's second and third moms.
I am so excited for Scott to have a son; he is an expert princess player, imaginary whatever they choose for the moment and has perfected his ponytails and is still working on pig tails. Though all of this has been fabulously fun for him and of course his adoring daughters, adding a little boy to our family is going to change things up and add so much! We can't wait for Thursday!!!!!!!!!!!
Maya 10.3.2009
Here are a few pictures of some of us when we were first born!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
A huge gush at Target, twice?
I have had two children, whose labor and deliveries were rather dis-similar. The first one being brought on on it's own, not really knowing I was in labor for the first day and then having my water break in the hospital parking garage the second time we arrived that same evening. (The first time we were sent home and told to "relax" and wait for progression, easily some of the most distressing news to tell a soon to be first time mom who was already MISERABLE at 1 cm dilated.) It wasn't one of those "OH NO, my water broke!" moments though, it was an "Umm I THINK my water might have broken?" Jenna was born about 36 hours or so after my contractions began.
My second delivery was an induction. Went in at 8 in the morning, received some meds to start things up, doctor broke my water when the time was right, epidural took on one side of my body, not the other, but still our little Maya arrived at 5 p.m. or so that same day.
Both deliveries ended obviously with the same wonderful result, a healthy and precious little girl. That said, for whatever reason, possibly the close eye the doctors having had on me for "high normal fluid" or the reality that my life for the remaining two weeks before our son arrives is not stopping-we still go to school, dance class, errands and such without missing a beat, or maybe just having these two little girls who are so aware of every little motion I make that I worry about my water breaking somewhere and being totally unprepared!
Thanks to a phenomenal husband, I have tapered down a lot of my bigger errands and handed them over to Scott. However, I have been to Target twice in the last month. One would expect that to be rather uneventful. The first time with Maya while Jenna was at school and the second time, dare I say ALONE while the girls played with Michele.
BOTH TIMES, I have been pushing the cart, in the same aisle only to slide across a nasty, slimy wet puddle with my cart and then ever so gracefully with my feet. Each time, I have had that paranoid panic and frantically checked my back side, crotch and legs-clearly forgetting I was out in public. As I rounded the corner near the end caps displaying the Essie spring/summer colors, each time the gathering of wetness has been left behind me and I have been able to breathe again knowing neither time was it my water breaking, but merely some fool spilling God knows what in the nail polish aisle just to scare the hell out of me!
So Scott and I have decided, no more nail polish purchasing for the time being and overall limiting my trips to Target likely wouldn't be a bad idea. I am not one to believe in signs or avoid situations for what "could happen," but in this case, I surely think it best to shop in CVS, the nail salon or take a little hiatus from the nail polish searching. I mean afterall, I can barely reach my toes to give myself a pedicure these days!
My second delivery was an induction. Went in at 8 in the morning, received some meds to start things up, doctor broke my water when the time was right, epidural took on one side of my body, not the other, but still our little Maya arrived at 5 p.m. or so that same day.
Both deliveries ended obviously with the same wonderful result, a healthy and precious little girl. That said, for whatever reason, possibly the close eye the doctors having had on me for "high normal fluid" or the reality that my life for the remaining two weeks before our son arrives is not stopping-we still go to school, dance class, errands and such without missing a beat, or maybe just having these two little girls who are so aware of every little motion I make that I worry about my water breaking somewhere and being totally unprepared!
Thanks to a phenomenal husband, I have tapered down a lot of my bigger errands and handed them over to Scott. However, I have been to Target twice in the last month. One would expect that to be rather uneventful. The first time with Maya while Jenna was at school and the second time, dare I say ALONE while the girls played with Michele.
BOTH TIMES, I have been pushing the cart, in the same aisle only to slide across a nasty, slimy wet puddle with my cart and then ever so gracefully with my feet. Each time, I have had that paranoid panic and frantically checked my back side, crotch and legs-clearly forgetting I was out in public. As I rounded the corner near the end caps displaying the Essie spring/summer colors, each time the gathering of wetness has been left behind me and I have been able to breathe again knowing neither time was it my water breaking, but merely some fool spilling God knows what in the nail polish aisle just to scare the hell out of me!
So Scott and I have decided, no more nail polish purchasing for the time being and overall limiting my trips to Target likely wouldn't be a bad idea. I am not one to believe in signs or avoid situations for what "could happen," but in this case, I surely think it best to shop in CVS, the nail salon or take a little hiatus from the nail polish searching. I mean afterall, I can barely reach my toes to give myself a pedicure these days!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Coming up on 1 year anniversary.
A year ago we were secretly elated. Scott and I were sharing with only ourselves and few select family members that we were expecting our third child in December 2011. We had been sitting on the information for nearly 3 months and were coming up on the date that we had determined to be "the date" that we would share our good news. We even had started an IMOVIE to post on our blog, Facebook and to email to friends and family to share our great news.
Then May 1st hit and our whole world came shockingly crashing down. Finding out that we had lost our future child was devastating-that word doesn't even do it justice to be honest. Every day became approached with a new outlook, a new perspective and a less naive way about things. Our miscarriage took away so much innocence.
Knowing we were moving into our new home two weeks later, coupled with having then a 3 year old and 1 1/2 year old girls required us to be strong and face the reality that life would go on, it had to, but in a different fashion.
We have yet to tell the girls about our loss, but will, when they are older and when we the feel the time is right. We will share that information for it is a part of who we are, that lost life has shaped us as parents, allowed us to treasure all of our children even more than we did before (if that was possible) and also has permitted us to value the life we are expecting, our first son, due to arrive within the next three weeks-possibly into May 2012. A year later...
Attached is the movie we began to share our good news and profiles the turn things took, so suddenly, so sadly. Please take the time always to honor those important to you, remember to tell them and know that we are truly so blessed to have whatever and whomever we do have in our lives.
Then May 1st hit and our whole world came shockingly crashing down. Finding out that we had lost our future child was devastating-that word doesn't even do it justice to be honest. Every day became approached with a new outlook, a new perspective and a less naive way about things. Our miscarriage took away so much innocence.
Knowing we were moving into our new home two weeks later, coupled with having then a 3 year old and 1 1/2 year old girls required us to be strong and face the reality that life would go on, it had to, but in a different fashion.
We have yet to tell the girls about our loss, but will, when they are older and when we the feel the time is right. We will share that information for it is a part of who we are, that lost life has shaped us as parents, allowed us to treasure all of our children even more than we did before (if that was possible) and also has permitted us to value the life we are expecting, our first son, due to arrive within the next three weeks-possibly into May 2012. A year later...
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Ladies and gentlemen place your bets!!!!
Our son is officially due on May 16, 2012, though as of today, things are a changin'!
With our 36 week appointment complete today, it was a bit scary, a tad exciting and a fair amount surreal.
Having reached the landmark age for my ob's practice of 35 years old, I am now subjected to a few additional tests for the remainder of my pregnancy. Today was day 1 of the official tests-I had a Non-Stress Test, which I think is the funniest name as it evokes nothing but stress for me! :) That said, I went to one of my only appointments sans Jenna and/or Maya, and I spent an hour and a half on the monitors as they tried to find our boy's heartbeat. It wasn't that they couldn't sense him moving, but more so that he WOULDN'T STOP!!!!!!! It was impossible to track him, therefore I nearly stood on my head and we got him to show off his strong beats of anywhere from 129-169!~ NO WORRIES there!
However, with all the fluid that has been watched since week 20 something has caused my amazingly candid and fabulous doctor to schedule and induction pending our son doesn't make his own arrival earlier than May 10th! My body has already made progress since 2 weeks ago and the belief is that will continue.
And so now we wait... However, we wait with an official end in sight-May 10th or before, our son will be here! And for that, we CAN'T wait!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
It's been a LONG LONG time...
Since I actively kept up with the blog. I have such high aspirations of posting about this or that and then something beckons, often times a little girl or the inner tappings of a little boy! :)
SO here I sit, trying to catch up on our life over the past few months in a short concise entry...
BIG EVENTS of recent:
1) In early March, March 5th to be exact, Jenna made a big change. She gave up her nap. Now we'd thought this was happening before and seeing as though she was approaching 4 in a few weeks, we shouldn't have been so surprised, but yet, we were. Jenna has been able to sustain her happy-go-lucky spirit most of the day, often until 7/7:30 p.m., and then she is a bear! BUT, considering, she handles herself quite well. We have noticed that if we can get her to concede and take one or two days to actually nap-even for 30 minutes-she is MUCH more pleasant. We also have come to the realization that tackling a dinner/late afternoon playdate with Jenna sans nap or rest is asking for trouble. Feels like our nap/lack thereof is dictating our schedules just like when you have a new little one---hmm, sounds like preparation for our upcoming addition.
2) Maya has really developed into her own person of recent. Now not that she wasn't comfortable in her own skin or unable to keep up with the "big kids," but she now has many more opinions about her likes and dislikes. She is aware of the days of the week and what class or schedule that means for her and for Jenna. Maya also has taken on a LOVE of language-written and conversational. Her favorite phrases of recent are: "Hey, want to hear the craziest thing?" or "I have to call Brooke's doctor, she called because she wanted a coffee." "Today is a work day for me, want to help me make my lunch?" Maya also knows how to spell her full name, first/middle/last. She can print the letters: O, E, L, F, J, and cross the middle of an uppercase A. She loves to count as well-up well past 30! Today, Maya is officially 2 1/2 years old. She's getting so big; though she reminded me today, "It be a LONG time till I'm 3!" I am sure it will be here before we know it!
3) The LONG anticipated Cinderella party arrived on Saturday, March 24th and it was even better than Jenna had dreamt of! Cinderella arrived in her "carriage" aka a BMW and was a huge hit! She taught the kids princess dances, decorated cookies, magic wands/robots and even led them in a red carpet walk. Jenna adored her-"It was THE REAL Cinderella!" Many guests commented about how much of a ham Jenna was and how much she came out of her shell at that party. She was in her glory. The guests, dressed in festive attire from princesses to knights and more, feasted on Cinderella themed cupcakes (see earlier post of the cupcakes) and left with Cinderella purse goodie bags. What a hit!
4) The girls have a new love; well it's not really a new love, but a stronger one. Michele, our babysitter is a HUGE hit-the girls ADORE her! They sit and wait for her for 10's of minutes and cannot wait for her to walk in the door to come and play. Michele teaches them funny games, brings books, art projects and lets them be "super silly." The girls make her pictures, are frequently asking to go over and play at her house and most of all, love to pretend to BE HER!!!!!!! Michele is a wonderful woman. She cares for our children so deeply, treasures the time with them and we trust her immensely-obviously, we are leaving our kids with her! :) We hope that our daughters continue to spend time with Michele as the months and years progress and that their relationship continues to grow. We love you Michele!!!!!
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