3 weeks old: Oliver moves up a size

This little guy turned 3 weeks old today! It's hard to believe that just three weeks and a day ago he was still cooking in my belly. I look at him and can't figure out how he fit! I wonder if he remembers anything about life on the inside.

In the last week Oliver has grown out of newborn clothing and diapers and is now in 3 month clothes and size 1 diapers. He is a growing boy! Just this morning his umbilical cord finally fell out. If it hadn't fallen out by Monday we were supposed to call the pediatrician. I don't know what they would have done but now we don't have to worry about it.

We're all figuring out life as a family of four... well, five including Gertie the dog. Logistics have to be figured out for every activity. Showering, making breakfast, getting everyone dressed, going to the store, laundry, going to the bathroom, everything you can think of. Evan has been off of work for three weeks and we have relied on the strategy of each taking a kid a lot. When he returns to work next week that will all change. Not only is this Evan's last week home, it was also Eloise's last week at daycare and our last week of getting meals every other day from friends that organized a meal train for us. Sink or swim next week!

Speaking of the meal train, one of my friends also brought this adorable knitted hat for Oliver. I think it'll fit perfectly in the Fall:

We've had some great weather recently and started up the after dinner walks again. Now we have a double jog stroller so Oliver and Eloise are side-by-side. Here's our first outing in the new stroller:

We've also ventured out to eat a couple times with both kids, just to places that are within walking distance. Here's Evan with Oliver in the front carrier while I push Eloise in the single stroller. We each prefer a different front carrier - Evan the Baby Bjorn and me the Beco Gemini - so they are each adjusted to our bodies and hanging by the front door.

Have I mentioned the dimples on this kid? They are adorable. Once he starts to smile, watch out.

2 weeks old: settling into home life

Oliver had his newborn photos taken at 8 days old, at a place in the mall using a Groupon, just like his sister. We brought both kids and it was challenging to wrangle them both, even though Evan and I were both there! We're getting used to managing two kids. Oliver was awake and alert through the whole portrait session, sometimes crying, but we got a couple good pictures. Later, Picture People emailed us a digital file of "our favorite" picture from the session. I think it looks like Eloise just pinched Oliver.

For the first solid week of Oliver's life I was in bed a lot recovering from birth. It was nice to bond with him but I also missed being active with Eloise. It's amazing how long I can be content just staring at Oliver. He is so precious!

Oliver continues to nurse well and cycle through the eat-sleep-poop routine every 2-3 hours. He had his 2-week appointment with the pediatrician when he was 13 days and the doctor pronounced him healthy and thriving!

Weight: 8 lb 8 oz (52%)
Height: 21.75" (95%)
Head circumference: 14.5" (82%)

Eloise has been mostly helpful and gentle with her baby brother. Here she is next to him on the floor during tummy time patting him on the back. Speaking of tummy time, he has a really strong neck already and doesn't protest tummy time!

I took both kids to the store for the first time ever, just before Oliver turned two weeks old. It was a little scary because it's two ticking time bombs and not just one! But it went awesome and both kids were content. Here's Eloise in the cart and Oliver in the front carrier. He basically slept through the whole thing.

1 week old: Introducing Oliver James Zuber-Harris

Our beautiful baby boy, Oliver James, entered the world at 6:18 AM on Saturday, May 9, 2015. He weighed 8 lbs. 3 oz. and measured 21.5" long at birth. This picture was taken the day he was born.

When I was 37 weeks pregnant, I learned that Oliver had flipped to breech since my last prenatal visit. It was really unusual at that point and unlikely that he would flip back to head down. Nevertheless, I tried many techniques over the next few days to get him to turn including a couple appointments with a chiropractor certified in the Webster technique, moxibustion with an acupuncturist, Spinning Babies inversions several times a day, playing music low on my belly to draw his head down, doing handstands in the pool, and finally an external cephalic version at the hospital. At my follow up "position check" appointment five days later he was still breech so a c-section was scheduled for May 13. After a day of wallowing, I got back on the horse and began doing inversions again and scheduled another appointment with the chiropractor and for another version. One day I felt his knobby little head just above my right hip, so I quickly got into an inversion, played Beatles low on my belly, and begged him to keep turning all the way head down. After about 20 minutes his head disappeared but I also couldn't feel what his position was at all. Same with all day the next day - no knobby head, but hard to tell what position he was in. The following day at my chiropractor appointment, she said she thought he was indeed head down, so I drove straight to the OB/GYN office and walked in asking for a position check ultrasound. The lovely nurses obliged and, thank goodness, he had flipped! I cried with relief.

After he flipped, I started having more contractions and more downward pressure. I could tell things were moving along. A few days later I had another prenatal appointment and learned I was 5 cm dilated. My midwife and I looked at each other in disbelief - isn't that technically active labor? - but she sent me home because my contractions weren't regular nor very intense. That night my contractions indeed became regular and intense so we called my mother-in-law to watch Eloise and drove to the hospital arriving around midnight. At admission I was 6 cm dilated and definitely in active labor so we called our doula to come to the hospital. She was fabulous, just like last time, and coached me through increasingly intensifying contractions. I got into the birthing tub immediately, which felt great, and within about an hour I was dilated to 8.5 cm. Since I was advancing so quickly, staff got the delivery table ready and I got out of the tub since they don't allow water births. I sat on the birthing ball for a while, and my labor slowed down a bit, so I did other standing, sitting, hands and knees, and side-laying labor positions. I hung out at around 8.5 cm for about 3.5 hours despite the efforts and decided to have my bag of waters broken. I remembered being stuck at this point of labor with Eloise for 10 hours - also unmedicated - and decided ahead of time I wouldn't let that happen again. Oliver's head was positioned in an awkward position - head back instead of chin tucked to chest - so there was a risk that breaking the bag of waters could result in him descending in a bad position. But, nothing else was working, and he was essentially bobbing around in the amniotic fluid. As soon as the bag of waters was broken, I had an overwhelming urge to push and the midwife said I was dilated enough to do so, so I did. After his head came out, his shoulder got stuck, so I had to hold off until the midwife could reach in and attempt to corkscrew his shoulder around. Another good push and he was out, just 13 minutes after breaking my bag of waters. Just like his sister, he came out with a hand by his face. Unlike his sister, he had a full head of dark hair already about an inch long. He let out a SUPER loud cry - what a set of lungs on this kid! Healthy all around, and after two hours of skin-to-skin first with me and then with Evan, he was weighed and foot printed and all the other usual newborn things. Also just like his sister, he latched and started breastfeeding like a pro immediately. We are so grateful for another healthy baby to complete our family.

Later that afternoon, my mother- and father-in-law came to visit along with Eloise. Eloise said hello to Oliver and gently petted him, then barely paid him any mind after that. There were too many interesting things in the hospital room to explore! Here she is meeting Oliver:

We stayed at the hospital two days and then returned home. The day after we got home my mom arrived from Phoenix. We've been settling into life with two kids with the support of my mom and also Evan has two weeks of paternity leave from work. It has been challenging to manage two kids - a tiny newborn on an eat-sleep-poop 2-hour rotation, and a rambunctious toddler. However, even just a week into it, it's hard to imagine life before. It feels like Eloise and Oliver have always been here. What a joy they both are.

Little Saka Sugar #2: The Third Trimester

Shortly after entering the third trimester, at around 28 weeks, I took an oral glucose tolerance test to screen for Gestational Diabetes. Thankfully, this time I passed the 1-hour test, despite having eaten a half pint of ice cream the night before. Unfortunately I wasn't so lucky with iron, and like with Eloise, I tested anemic. With Eloise I took liquid iron supplements, which tasted metallic and nasty and I had a hard time adhering to taking it every day. So with my midwife's blessing I tried to increase iron intake with dietary changes instead. The recommendation for pregnant women is 27 mg of iron a day, so I ate a cup of Grape Nuts cereal every day, which has 32 mg of iron, plus a cup of orange juice to aid absorption. At the next prenatal visit I was retested and sadly was still anemic, so I went back to the liquid supplements. I got in a routine easily though. I guess I was so low in reserves at that point I just couldn't catch back up with diet alone.

We hired the same doula as we had with Eloise, her name is Carrie Cohen. We thought she was fabulous and provided great support during a long labor to both Evan and me. Even though labor and delivery isn't as scary this time, we still want the calm and confident support and guidance she provides. Plus she documented the labor and took our first photos, things we wouldn't have had otherwise. We had two appointments with her prior to birth, which included reviewing our birth plan and practicing labor positions and partner supports such as counter pressure and using a Rebozo. I'm also studying Hypnobirthing again by rereading the book and listening to the audio tracks every night.

At around 32 weeks, I began having low back pain that quickly worsened over the course of a few days. I have scoliosis - my spine curves in the shape of a C - and between a heavy belly pulling on my spine and relaxin loosening my joints and ligaments, the pain became quite severe. I couldn't walk from the bed to the adjacent bathroom without excruciating pain. After a trip to labor and delivery to rule out preterm labor, I was referred to an acupuncturist and advised other supportive measures like prenatal massage, a heating pad, and bed rest. I expected back pain with Eloise and never had it, so I didn't expect back pain with this pregnancy and got it. At first the news of bed rest was incredibly depressing. It required some quick adjustments including closing my practice a month earlier than planned with phone calls to all my clients, a change in childcare, and hiring support for all usual household duties including cleaning, groceries, pet care, etc. It was a hard adjustment but then once all of the Plan Bs were in place it got less stressful. After three weeks of twice weekly acupuncture, in addition to bed rest, two massages, and daily time with a heating pad, my pain has significantly improved. Even so, I hit my physical limits quickly so I continued to maintain the modified lifestyle until delivery.

This pregnancy I have also started to feel contractions earlier. When I went into labor and delivery for back pain, they kept me for several hours because I was registering contractions every three minutes. Like last pregnancy, I have an irritable uterus, which means I have frequent but irregular contractions that aren't actually labor. Annoying and uncomfortable, but something I'm used to that doesn't worry me this time.

At my 34 week appointment I had a cervical check and was 50% effaced but not dilated. That means my cervix has softened and shortened. Cervical checks really do not provide any insight into the timeline of labor and delivery but it's a good thing that my body is preparing. And, a quick ultrasound in the exam room confirmed that baby is head down and in a good position for a vaginal delivery. It also confirmed that he is quite large - or, as my midwife said, "healthy" and I'm "all baby." Weight gain has been about the same as with Eloise for most of the pregnancy, but at around 35 weeks has started to outpace her by a few pounds. I'm guessing it's a combination of being on bed rest and also having a larger kid in there.

Third trimester has been much more unpleasant this time around so I'm hoping for an even earlier labor and delivery than with Eloise. Especially because I think the kid is going to be bigger. Only 1.5 weeks until I'm full term and then he's welcome to make his entrance ASAP. I would much rather be holding him in my arms than in my belly. We are so very excited to meet him and complete our family.

Little Saka Sugar #2: The Second Trimester

We had our anatomy scan ultrasound at 18 weeks, which checks to make sure all the organs and body parts are there and functioning normally, which they were. It's also the time we found out the sex of the baby, and it's a boy! Grandma Harris watched Eloise while we went to this appointment and we stopped by Helen Bernhard Bakery and asked them to ice a cupcake to surprise her in a fun way with the news. It's the bakery just down the street from us that made our wedding cake. We all celebrated together with tasty bakery treats. Here's what the belly bump looked like at 18 weeks:

About a week later, our whole house came down with a stomach virus, starting with Eloise. It was the first time she had ever vomited and it was scary and awful. She threw up twice in as many days, but thankfully still felt well enough to play during those days. Shortly after I caught the virus and was hit harder, probably because my immune system was compromised from being pregnant. I was very sick for about a week and almost lost all the weight I had gained in the pregnancy so far: 7-8 lbs. I was advised to go in for IV fluids if I went 8 hours without peeing, and there were a couple times I went 7 hours. I had a difficult time keeping anything down, including water or Gatorade. Unfortunately, this happened over the Christmas holiday so we had to cancel our travel plans to Arizona. Evan had the time off of work so he watched Eloise, but then he was hit, too, so thankfully Grandma Harris come up one full day to watch Eloise while we both were sick. That was a rough week but we survived and I caught back up with weight gain over the next couple weeks. So strange that I had a stomach virus at the same point of pregnancy as I did with Eloise, except this time I wasn't hospitalized and I was in the U.S. Much better!

Pain from Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction has been much worse much earlier this pregnancy, so I saw an obstetric physical therapist early in the second trimester. She gave me some tips about managing pain and some exercises that strengthen the adductor muscles, which apparently helps support the symphysis pubis. I also got a prescription belly support belt, which helps take the weight and pressure off the joint. It's very uncomfortable and doesn't seem to be that effective, unfortunately. It's just something I have to live with, and that's okay because it's temporary.

Then, at around 22 weeks, an irregular heartbeat was detected at a routine prenatal visit so I was referred to perinatology for follow up. I spent about two hours with baby's heart being monitored via ultrasound, and the heart arrhythmia was confirmed by the perinatologist. The baby's heart skipped a beat about every 5-10 beats. A heart arrhythmia is detected in about 2% of pregnancies, and among those, most resolve by the end of second trimester. Apparently it is often the result of an immature cardiovascular system, and once further developed, the heart beats normally. We had a follow-up appointment in perinatology two weeks later, again his heart was monitored for two hours, and thankfully was beating regularly. We were discharged back to our midwife for normal prenatal care again. A part of me worries that there is an undetected heart problem now, and he could be one of those kids that shockingly drops dead on the football field, but most of me is relieved and believes that his heart is healthy. Because we were seen in perinatology we also got the fancy 3D ultrasound pictures. Here he is at 22 weeks and 3 days:

And at the follow up at 24 weeks and 5 days:

And, here's what the baby bump looked like at 25 weeks:

Aside from the stomach virus and the heart arrhythmia scare, I felt better during the second trimester than I did the first. I started feeling movements and kicks from the little guy. This pregnancy I took prenatal yoga weekly at the same place (Yoga Shala) and with the same instructor as I did with Eloise. It feels great physically and it's fun to be in a room full of other pregnant ladies at various stages of pregnancy.

As soon as we found out this baby is a boy, Evan and I started on our name lists. We're using the same convention as with Eloise, which is that we create our own lists and share them. We each have veto power, eventually narrow down to our top names, and ultimately I get to pick the first name. With Eloise we easily decided the first name and then got stuck between two middle names. We both liked both middle names equally. One was a family name on my side, and one was a family name on Evan's side. After being stuck for a while, Evan negotiated a deal that we use my family middle name for Eloise and he would get to use a family name from his side for the second kid. So, for this kid, he quickly narrowed the middle name down to two family names and I'm leaving it to him to choose between the two. Once again they are both great middle names.

Little Saka Sugar #2: The First Trimester

Little Saka Sugar by Woody Guthrie has become one of my favorite children's songs and now we are expecting our second! I haven't documented this pregnancy like I did with Eloise because it seems to be flying by much more quickly, and it's a very similar experience. I am, however, cherishing it just as much as I did the first time. We only want two kids so this is the last time I will have the opportunity to experience pregnancy.

We got this positive pregnancy test on September 6, 2014. Unlike with Eloise, I had been tracking my cycle for a month prior to starting to try for a second kid by taking my basal body temperature daily and also taking daily ovulation predictor tests, so I knew exactly when I ovulated. As a result, and with good fortune, we were able to conceive the very first month of trying. Not what I was expecting but certainly a wonderful outcome! According to the date of ovulation, that makes the due date May 20. According to the first day of my last period, the due date is May 17. And according to the first measurement ultrasound, the due date is May 16. So, take your pick. I'm not invested in any particular date knowing that he'll arrive when it's his time to arrive, probably sometime in the first half of May.

We really liked the midwife that delivered Eloise, Jodi Arnoff Farerra, so we chose her for prenatal care this pregnancy. She is competent, respectful, and calm under pressure. She also has a lighthearted bedside manner that I appreciate. Per policy, our first prenatal appointment had to be between 8-10 weeks, so there was a period of a few weeks of holding our breath and hoping I didn't miscarry. Once you see a heartbeat on ultrasound after 8 weeks then chances of miscarriage are less than 5%. So, our first prenatal appointment was at 8 weeks and 3 days, and thankfully we saw a heartbeat! Here's the first ultrasound picture, and also a picture of what I looked like at that time.

I started showing about a month earlier this time around, and have continued to look about a month ahead of what I did before. Apparently your uterus never shrinks all the way back and your abs, joints, and ligaments give way more easily. All the body changes have been much easier to handle this time around because they're familiar. Likewise, the symphysis pubis dysfunction I developed during the third trimester last pregnancy due to a running injury returned very early in this pregnancy, as my OB predicted. I was able to run one race, the Volcano Race PDX on Mt. Tabor around 8 weeks, before the pain returned and I was benched. No big deal to me this time, pregnancy is temporary and the sacrifice is so worth it. Here's our first family of four photo, but no one knew except us and a few family members.

We announced our pregnancy more broadly at the end of the first trimester during a vacation to Maui. Evan appropriately drew this heart in the sand on Baby Beach.

My morning sickness and fatigue this pregnancy started earlier and lasted longer, however, it wasn't as intense as last time. And since I opened a private practice after Eloise was born, my work/life balance is better and I have been able to take much better care of myself so it was all around easier. After we returned from Hawaii, I had some of the genetic testing available to mothers of "advanced maternal age" (called Elderly Multi Gravida since it's my second, by the way). Technology has advanced since Eloise and the blood test I took, MaterniT21, had 99% accuracy. Thankfully, this kid has a <1% chance of having Down Syndrome and some of the trisomies. As before, we wouldn't have terminated the pregnancy, however we wanted to know in order to have time to prepare. 

One Year Old!

Eloise turned one year old! And so this becomes the last post of her first year blog that will become a book. I haven't decided when I will give her this journal of her first year. Perhaps at high school graduation? When she has her own first child?

We had a celebration at our house that included brunch, a smash cake, and hanging out in the backyard. There were about 30 people in attendance including family and friends. Eloise took a great nap in the morning and woke up 15 minutes before her party started, well-rested and in good spirits. She had a special birthday outfit: an ivory lace petti romper and matching fabric flower headband with a cameo. We sang her happy birthday with the singing cake plate and she ate her smash cake off of a chair in the backyard. At first she put her fingers in the icing and shook it off making a "yuck" face, refusing any bites we tried to feed her. On the fifth try of getting her to eat a piece we finally got a little in her mouth. After she realized it was delicious she ate cake by the fistful! It was a white cake with raspberry filling using the raspberries we picked earlier in the week, and the frosting was pink buttercream. Our guests got raspberry filled cupcakes with the same icing. We had children's music going in the backyard and Eloise did a little dancing, too. After cake we went inside and opened gifts. Eloise did great and was patient, playing with her new toys and also the tissue paper. Her favorite gift was probably the stuffed pink flamingo from her aunt and uncle. Here are a few photos from the day:

Icky, what is this?

Oh! Now I get it!

Mmmm

I love this flamingo!

With her mama right before cake

After the party, Eloise had a chance to spend some time with her cousin Nora and Aunt Emily alone. She really adored Nora and Nora was so sweet to Eloise. In that hour or so, Eloise suddenly started walking all over the place. And now she walks more than she crawls. I credit Nora for inspiring her!

Aunt Emily and cousin Nora hung out for a bit afterward

Just before bed that night, Eloise got measured on the new growth chart. She had her one year check-up today where we learned it's way off. We need to rehang it.

Height: 29  1/4"  (50th percentile)

Weight: 17 lbs 12 oz (18th percentile)

Head circumference: 17 3/4" (55th percentile)

I know I'm taller than this

Eloise has had three more first birthday parties to attend this week for her baby friends. On Saturday we went to Mateo's party and she enjoyed dancing to music there, too. Thankfully one of the mamas snapped a shot.

Get it, girl!