It should be interesting next year when I ride with 2 babies on the bike!
Monday, July 22, 2013
Bikes and babies
Many of you have expressed interest in what it's like to bike around with child. Well, I can tell you that it's a lot of things. It's scary, freedom, fun, hilarious, easy, and makes for great pictures. We started biking with Ellie when she was 9 months old, I think. We got our bike seat off a second hand site, mounted it to my bike and we were off! Well, actually I rode around the block a few times with a bag of flour but then we were off!!
Biking gives me a new sense of freedom as I am no longer tied to a bus schedule. Ellie loves being on the bike. She chatters on and on the whole time she's on it. She loves to look around and check out her new surroundings.
The greatest thing that has happened is that Ellie has fallen asleep on the bike! Yup, as we are riding along, Ellie just sort of slumps over and next thing I know she is asleep. Sometimes I try to support her head with one hand while steering the bike with another. It's no use though, she just flops around asleep while I keep laughing.
So I can definitely recommend that if you can get your hands on a baby bike seat, do it! Pretty soon we will have to transfer Ellie to Dan's bike because the bigger I get, the harder it is to fit on the bike behind the bike seat. I'm sure she'll love it because Dan's a faster bike rider than me.
It should be interesting next year when I ride with 2 babies on the bike!
It should be interesting next year when I ride with 2 babies on the bike!
Thursday, July 18, 2013
It's been awhile. . .
Wow! It's been October since I last posted. So much has happened in the last 9 months that I'm pretty much going to have to give a brief summary and start fresh from now. In my last post, Ellie was 2.5 months old and we were preparing to go back to the States for my best friend's wedding.
We stayed there for almost 2 months, due to a long, drawn out story that's not worth repeating. Ellie did great on the international flight.On the way to the States, I flew by myself with her and the way home, Dan was with us. If you want tips on traveling with an infant, let me know because I'm becoming an expert.
After arriving back in The Netherlands, we hit the ground running. We had to move out of our current apartment a week and a half after getting back and move into our new apartment. Since we hadn't planned on staying so long in the States, nothing was packed and it was a mad rush to get it all done. Tackling moving on top of jet lag proved to be a challenge but thanks to our lifegroup, we got it all done! Then came the task of unpacking our new house, however I was still super exhausted-like, exhausted like I've never felt before except one other time in my life...when I was pregnant with Ellie. A week and 2 pregnancy tests later(I apparently have issues taking pregnancy tests because I always mess up the first one), we found out I was pregnant again!! We were super excited because we wanted our babies close together and this was not an oops. More of a "hey let's see what happens" and apparently we're both fertile myrtle's because we got pregnant the first month. So then began my prayers that I would bypass the morning sickness this time around. Not so much. Sick again until about 16 weeks but this time with another baby to take care of. We found out we were having a BOY!
Thanks to our good friends Samuel and Kindra, they did an awesome gender reveal for us because Dan wasn't able to make it to the ultrasound due to being at a conference. So now we are expecting little Leroy/Jasper/Danger Caputo (we actually still have no idea what we will call him but I can tell you none of these will it).
The rest of the Spring passed uneventfully. We went to the flower fields again
And Brandy came for a visit. We took a girls weekend trip to Paris (minus Ellie) and had a fabulous time being Parisians for a weekend. This was pretty monumental because before I met Brandy (back in college) she had never driven on an Interstate, had only flown on a plane when she was very little, and had a tendency to stop on on-ramps to the highway. I never thought I'd see the day where she'd get on a plane by herself and fly half-way across the world. I'm so glad she did though!
In June, I got a phone call that my dad has passed away. This was very sudden and unexpected, as he was only 54. He had a heart attack, the same thing that killed my grandpa(his dad) at 55. So we hopped on a plane and flew home again for 3 weeks. It was a tough 3 weeks, dealing with all the funeral things as well as logistical things, being 27 weeks pregnant, having a toddler, dealing with his actual death and I also developed some freaky ear/tooth/jaw pain that lasted the ENTIRE time I was there and a week or two after we got back. Another long story short, I had some ear pressure problems and after that cleared, I had a tense jaw from all the stress that was causing huge amounts of pain. It was just what I needed on top of dealing with my dad's death. But I am so thankful for my aunts and uncles who helped out tremendously and took care of a lot for us.
Now we are back, settled, and preparing for Ellie's 1st birthday! I can't believe she will be one in 9 days! In fact, today was her due date this time last year but she decided to come late. This year we will be celebrating her birthday and preparing for the birth of our next baby in September.
It seems like a weird time to revive the blog, considering I'm tired, chasing a 1 year old and almost 8 months pregnant so hopefully I will be able to keep up with it. But I want to record these times. We have a year left here and I want to remember everything and have our children be able to look back at where they were born and see how things were.
For now, I will leave you with some adorable 1st birthday pictures of Ellie taken by Monphotography!:)
After arriving back in The Netherlands, we hit the ground running. We had to move out of our current apartment a week and a half after getting back and move into our new apartment. Since we hadn't planned on staying so long in the States, nothing was packed and it was a mad rush to get it all done. Tackling moving on top of jet lag proved to be a challenge but thanks to our lifegroup, we got it all done! Then came the task of unpacking our new house, however I was still super exhausted-like, exhausted like I've never felt before except one other time in my life...when I was pregnant with Ellie. A week and 2 pregnancy tests later(I apparently have issues taking pregnancy tests because I always mess up the first one), we found out I was pregnant again!! We were super excited because we wanted our babies close together and this was not an oops. More of a "hey let's see what happens" and apparently we're both fertile myrtle's because we got pregnant the first month. So then began my prayers that I would bypass the morning sickness this time around. Not so much. Sick again until about 16 weeks but this time with another baby to take care of. We found out we were having a BOY!
The rest of the Spring passed uneventfully. We went to the flower fields again
In June, I got a phone call that my dad has passed away. This was very sudden and unexpected, as he was only 54. He had a heart attack, the same thing that killed my grandpa(his dad) at 55. So we hopped on a plane and flew home again for 3 weeks. It was a tough 3 weeks, dealing with all the funeral things as well as logistical things, being 27 weeks pregnant, having a toddler, dealing with his actual death and I also developed some freaky ear/tooth/jaw pain that lasted the ENTIRE time I was there and a week or two after we got back. Another long story short, I had some ear pressure problems and after that cleared, I had a tense jaw from all the stress that was causing huge amounts of pain. It was just what I needed on top of dealing with my dad's death. But I am so thankful for my aunts and uncles who helped out tremendously and took care of a lot for us.
Now we are back, settled, and preparing for Ellie's 1st birthday! I can't believe she will be one in 9 days! In fact, today was her due date this time last year but she decided to come late. This year we will be celebrating her birthday and preparing for the birth of our next baby in September.
It seems like a weird time to revive the blog, considering I'm tired, chasing a 1 year old and almost 8 months pregnant so hopefully I will be able to keep up with it. But I want to record these times. We have a year left here and I want to remember everything and have our children be able to look back at where they were born and see how things were.
For now, I will leave you with some adorable 1st birthday pictures of Ellie taken by Monphotography!:)
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Kraamzorg
I know I have talked some about the Kraamzorg that came to the house after Ellie's birth but I wanted to go more indepth about my experience, partly because I want to remember it all and partly because many others have asked about it.
If you read Ellie's birth story, then you know that we were sent home from the hospital 4 hours after she was born. This is very typical in Dutch society (if you don't have a home birth). Depending on the time of day your baby is born and as long as you and baby are healthy, then you go home. It is their thinking that you would be more comfortable in your own bed, surrounded by your own things than hanging out in a hospital for 24-48 hours if there's no reason to. To ease the shock of coming home with a newborn, they typically provide you with a "kraamzorg", which is like a step down from a midwife and nurse but a step-up from a CNA. These women are trained in breastfeeding, infant development, postpartum care, etc. They typically go to school for 2 years (I think that's what our Kraam said..). You call the agency the day your child is born (after already having had an intake at about 32 weeks) and they send out a women either that day or the following morning, depending on your preference. Ours came out that day for a few hours, to help us settle in because when you bring home a baby for the first time you have no idea what to do with them! At least I didn't, maybe there are super moms out there who just "got it" but not me.
She came over and met us, met Ellie, met my parents and then got to work weighing Ellie-which she would then do every morning when she got there to make sure she was gaining the appropriate weight. She took her temperature, explained to us how to regulate her temperature if she got too hot or cold, watched me attempt to feed her and offered pointers there, etc. Pretty much did all the things I imagine that they would've done in the hospital. She recorded everything she did in a little book given to us by the government. We were to keep track of her wet diapers, feeding times, temps, etc while the kraamzorg was gone. She came back every morning around 9am, checked how she did overnight, asked us about questions that might have come up while she was gone and stayed until 4pm. She would always check my stitches, take my temp, and feel my stomach to make sure my uterus was shrinking back down. The second night we were home, Ellie screamed most of the night. She screamed herself hoarse. We were beside ourselves because we knew it wasn't typical newborn crying. The following morning when the Kraamzorg got here, my parents told her what had happened all night(we were still asleep, having taken Ellie out to my parents when the sun came up). By the time we got a few hours of sleep, she had already called the midwife and figured out that Ellie was hungry. My milk had not come in yet and Ellie was famished. So we supplemented with a little formula and it was like a whole new baby. But the nice thing was, she took care of that. She took care of calling the lactation consultant that day and tracking down a pump for us to rent, to try and stimulate my milk to come in. Later in the week when I still wasn't producing any milk, she made an appointment for the lactation consultant to come to the house to meet with us and try to figure out the problem. She also helped clean up a bit, do dishes, cleaned the bathroom every day and changed and washed our sheets every other day. It was nice having someone there to ask questions, to sit with Ellie if we needed to rest (although that didn't happen much thanks to my parents being there!), etc. By the end of the week, we were doing pretty well so it was more of sitting around visiting but I still appreciated having her there, especially those first few days.
Another thing they do here is have everyone come to you that first week. So a midwife from the practice I went to, came to the house every other day to check on me. She would consult with the kraamzorg to see how things were going and then also check my stitches, my uterus, my temp, etc. She would explain things that I had questions about regarding my recovery. It was nice not having to go to their office. Also that first week, a women from the "health department" came over to test Ellie's hearing as well as do her heel prick to test for genetic diseases. And finally towards the end of the week, another woman came from the Consultatie Bureau (which is basically like a well-child clinic but they only do preventive things) to do our intake and set up our 1 and 2 month appointments for Ellie. It was really nice to have people come to us because that first week you are just struggling to keep your head above water...and that was even with having awesome help from our parents.
Overall, I really enjoyed the whole experience here. Obviously I have nothing to compare it too but I felt it was more natural without being too crazy. In theory, I liked coming home soon and being in my own house but in practicality, I didn't rest. I was up taking care of her, checking on her, wandering around, etc. I think that could've contributed to the problems I had with my milk supply never increasing beyond 1.5oz, despite constant pumping, medication, etc. So if we have another baby here, I think I might fight to stay in the hospital at least one night or at the very least, tell me husband to force me to take it easy and stay in bed. But I was pleased with our experience here and definitely would have no qualms about having another baby here.
Feel free to comment if you have any more questions about the process/system over here!
If you read Ellie's birth story, then you know that we were sent home from the hospital 4 hours after she was born. This is very typical in Dutch society (if you don't have a home birth). Depending on the time of day your baby is born and as long as you and baby are healthy, then you go home. It is their thinking that you would be more comfortable in your own bed, surrounded by your own things than hanging out in a hospital for 24-48 hours if there's no reason to. To ease the shock of coming home with a newborn, they typically provide you with a "kraamzorg", which is like a step down from a midwife and nurse but a step-up from a CNA. These women are trained in breastfeeding, infant development, postpartum care, etc. They typically go to school for 2 years (I think that's what our Kraam said..). You call the agency the day your child is born (after already having had an intake at about 32 weeks) and they send out a women either that day or the following morning, depending on your preference. Ours came out that day for a few hours, to help us settle in because when you bring home a baby for the first time you have no idea what to do with them! At least I didn't, maybe there are super moms out there who just "got it" but not me.
She came over and met us, met Ellie, met my parents and then got to work weighing Ellie-which she would then do every morning when she got there to make sure she was gaining the appropriate weight. She took her temperature, explained to us how to regulate her temperature if she got too hot or cold, watched me attempt to feed her and offered pointers there, etc. Pretty much did all the things I imagine that they would've done in the hospital. She recorded everything she did in a little book given to us by the government. We were to keep track of her wet diapers, feeding times, temps, etc while the kraamzorg was gone. She came back every morning around 9am, checked how she did overnight, asked us about questions that might have come up while she was gone and stayed until 4pm. She would always check my stitches, take my temp, and feel my stomach to make sure my uterus was shrinking back down. The second night we were home, Ellie screamed most of the night. She screamed herself hoarse. We were beside ourselves because we knew it wasn't typical newborn crying. The following morning when the Kraamzorg got here, my parents told her what had happened all night(we were still asleep, having taken Ellie out to my parents when the sun came up). By the time we got a few hours of sleep, she had already called the midwife and figured out that Ellie was hungry. My milk had not come in yet and Ellie was famished. So we supplemented with a little formula and it was like a whole new baby. But the nice thing was, she took care of that. She took care of calling the lactation consultant that day and tracking down a pump for us to rent, to try and stimulate my milk to come in. Later in the week when I still wasn't producing any milk, she made an appointment for the lactation consultant to come to the house to meet with us and try to figure out the problem. She also helped clean up a bit, do dishes, cleaned the bathroom every day and changed and washed our sheets every other day. It was nice having someone there to ask questions, to sit with Ellie if we needed to rest (although that didn't happen much thanks to my parents being there!), etc. By the end of the week, we were doing pretty well so it was more of sitting around visiting but I still appreciated having her there, especially those first few days.
Another thing they do here is have everyone come to you that first week. So a midwife from the practice I went to, came to the house every other day to check on me. She would consult with the kraamzorg to see how things were going and then also check my stitches, my uterus, my temp, etc. She would explain things that I had questions about regarding my recovery. It was nice not having to go to their office. Also that first week, a women from the "health department" came over to test Ellie's hearing as well as do her heel prick to test for genetic diseases. And finally towards the end of the week, another woman came from the Consultatie Bureau (which is basically like a well-child clinic but they only do preventive things) to do our intake and set up our 1 and 2 month appointments for Ellie. It was really nice to have people come to us because that first week you are just struggling to keep your head above water...and that was even with having awesome help from our parents.
Overall, I really enjoyed the whole experience here. Obviously I have nothing to compare it too but I felt it was more natural without being too crazy. In theory, I liked coming home soon and being in my own house but in practicality, I didn't rest. I was up taking care of her, checking on her, wandering around, etc. I think that could've contributed to the problems I had with my milk supply never increasing beyond 1.5oz, despite constant pumping, medication, etc. So if we have another baby here, I think I might fight to stay in the hospital at least one night or at the very least, tell me husband to force me to take it easy and stay in bed. But I was pleased with our experience here and definitely would have no qualms about having another baby here.
Feel free to comment if you have any more questions about the process/system over here!
Friday, September 28, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
8 weeks!!
It is so hard to believe our little baby is 8 weeks already!! and sometimes it feels like she has never not been a part of our family. We have been truly blessed with a beautiful baby. She has a great temperament and doesn't cry too much. In the past 2 week she has started really smiling, giving me her biggest smile when I get her out of her crib in the morning. Oh, yes, she is now out of her moses basket and sleeping in her crib. She looks so small in that big crib! She has started cooing and giggling. We can carry on whole conversations that consist of "gooooo, gaaaahh, oooh, ewwww", it's pretty sweet. As if my English hasn't gotten bad enough living in a foreign country, now I speak baby talk half the day. . . Anyways, she has been sleeping through the night for over a week now. She usually goes to bed between 9:30 and 10:30 and sleeps anywhere from 6-8am. Then gets up to feed and goes back to sleep for another 2-3 hours. It's pretty sweet, I'm not gonna lie. Now if I can just get used to all her noises at night, I might get a peaceful night's sleep myself!:)
We've decided to stop breastfeeding, as much as it pains me. The last week or so, she has stopped drinking from me and will scream bloody murder anytime I try to even get her close. I think she has maybe gotten used to the bottle, I don't really know. So we decided since I'm only producing barely an ounce anyways, it's not worth the fight each time. It's a hard decision but nothing went right from the beginning in that area. Hopefully with the next baby things will be different. I'm just glad I got to feed her for the 2 months I did. It's such a special time.
Ellie was supposed to have her first round of vaccinations on Monday. We wanted to go an alternative route and have our general practioner administer them. In the Netherlands, they have a clinic called the Consulatatie Bureau, who does all the preventive medicine for children up to the age of 4. So she goes monthly to be weighed, measured, head circumference, hip checks, etc. They are also the ones who typically vaccinate the children. However, after much research, we decided that the Hepatitis B vaccine was unnecessary for Ellie at this point. Maybe something to look at later (especially since schools in the US require it, but we'll fight that fight when it's time) but right now we felt it was best for her not to receive something that just seems extraneous. So because of this, she couldn't receive her vaccinations at the CB, because they have it mixed in with the other vaccinations in one shot. So we went through craziness to figure out how to have it done some place else and long story short, our huisarts said she would do it, we just had to pay for it. But when I went to the pharmacy to pick up the vaccinations to take with me to her doctor's appointment, they didn't have it and said something was wrong with the vaccine and they weren't sure when they'd get it in. Dan and I were both on the fence anyways about giving her so many vaccines so early, we both just felt a little uneasy. So we talked more that night and continued tons of research and decided that in addition to opting out of the Hep B vaccine, we were going to do an alternate time schedule for her vaccines as well. We're not sure what that's going to look like yet but we do know it means waiting a little bit longer before starting her vaccines. After all of this decision making, wondering if we were making the right decision for our daughter, we have officially decided that parenting is hard. :)
And in final news, Ellie had her 8 week checkup today and she weighs 4640grams or 10.2lbs. She gained a pound since her 4 week check-up and only grew 1 cm! The doctor said she looks really great, alert and strong. She'll go back again right before we leave for the States for a month.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Refletions on the first weeks. . .
Now that life has settled into somewhat of a routine, I feel like I am out of survival mode and can share some of my thoughts about these first 8 weeks. I find it easier to organize my thoughts into a list sometimes so here ya go!
1. The first week or two of having a baby sucks. I'm just gonna put it out there. Of course you love them and are amazed that you have grown this little miniature human inside of you but now that they are here, you are left to wonder what the heck to do with them! And while they're adorable, that's just not enough to get you through the screaming at 3am after you haven't slept for 3 days. And newborns don't do anything!They just lay there, staring at you with suspicious eyes(did anyone else's baby have suspicious eyes the first few weeks? Ellie certainly did!). Dan kept asking me, "when is she going to do something?" and although he knew the answer, those first days you want something from them in return for all the craziness you are going through. I think people who have already had babies should talk about this more often because it's nice to know you're not the only one who feels this way.
2. That being said, the amount of love you feel for someone so tiny is amazing. How can you love someone who offers you virtually nothing those first few days/weeks? It seems very similar to God's love for us. We are selfish, always needing something from Him, offering very little back to Him yet He loved us so much He sent His Son to die for us! I feel like I can grasp that just a tiny bit better now after having Ellie. It's amazing how all these major life events (marriage, baby, etc) can give you even more insight and glances into the character of God.
3. I never knew I could be covered in 3 different bodily fluids, all in a span of 15 minutes. ugh.
4. The crazy hormones after having a baby are just as bad as the hormones while you were pregnant! I'm sure Dan is tired of hearing that excuse when I go crazy on him:) but it's true!! It's so easy to go from blissfully happy to raging mad to hysterically crying and back to blissfully happy all in a span of 30 minutes. Sometimes I think he just sits back and silently laughs at me (he knows better than to laugh out loud at those times! :) ).
5. The quiet moments after a feeding when you and baby are just looking at each other(after the suspicious eyes stage has passed of course) and you can tell she is studying your face.
6. We are still trying to figure out who she looks like. Neither Dan nor I see either of us in her. However, everyone and I mean everyone, says that she looks like Dan, especially in the eyes. Random people at church, who I don't even know, are telling me she looks like her dad. It's great because Dan has beautiful eyes.
7. And on the other hand, it surprises me how much it bothers me that no one says she looks like me. It's silly I know and I'm glad I married such a good looking man that could pass on his good looking genes.
8. Don't anyone start telling me how much Ellie looks like me! I'll know it's a lie to make me feel better:) And for those who have already said that they see me in her (the 1 or 2 people), you are my new best friends.
9. No one told me that I might have hallucinations the first few weeks after she was born! I would wake up in a panic, thinking that she was in the bed with us and buried under the covers. I would frantically start searching for her until Dan would wake up and realize what I was doing and stop me, reminding me that she was in her bed. This happened on a daily basis for the first 2 weeks and then periodically thereafter. I would literally be digging through the blankets to find her, aware of what I was doing and knowing we had put her in her bed but convinced that she was somehow suffocating under the covers. Ugh, it was horrible. I'm pretty sure it was due to sleep deprivation.
10. I have discovered what a blessing a baby sling is. I can put her in that thing, all crunched up in there, and she falls right asleep the moment I start walking. Love it!
11. You are never more popular than when you have a newborn with you. I mean EVERYBODY is so happy for you. It's great!
12. I learned quickly those first few weeks that being a parent means giving a lot up and over to God. There is SO much to worry about that it can be paralyzing but when I finally was able to let that go and realize that I have no control anyways, it was such a blessing!
13. Dressing up babies is fun.
14. Cloth diapers are easy! and cute!! I do laundry every other day, day and a half and voila! that's it! For all you naysayers who were taking bets about how long I'd last doing cloth diapers, I will be expecting my money when I return in November. :)
15. Last but not least, I know I said in a previous post that I didn't believe people who said that you forget the pain of childbirth but I guess it's a little true. I'm at the point where the thought of having another baby doesn't send me into a state of shock at the absurdity. Babies are pretty cute. . .if you can survive the first few weeks.
1. The first week or two of having a baby sucks. I'm just gonna put it out there. Of course you love them and are amazed that you have grown this little miniature human inside of you but now that they are here, you are left to wonder what the heck to do with them! And while they're adorable, that's just not enough to get you through the screaming at 3am after you haven't slept for 3 days. And newborns don't do anything!They just lay there, staring at you with suspicious eyes(did anyone else's baby have suspicious eyes the first few weeks? Ellie certainly did!). Dan kept asking me, "when is she going to do something?" and although he knew the answer, those first days you want something from them in return for all the craziness you are going through. I think people who have already had babies should talk about this more often because it's nice to know you're not the only one who feels this way.
2. That being said, the amount of love you feel for someone so tiny is amazing. How can you love someone who offers you virtually nothing those first few days/weeks? It seems very similar to God's love for us. We are selfish, always needing something from Him, offering very little back to Him yet He loved us so much He sent His Son to die for us! I feel like I can grasp that just a tiny bit better now after having Ellie. It's amazing how all these major life events (marriage, baby, etc) can give you even more insight and glances into the character of God.
3. I never knew I could be covered in 3 different bodily fluids, all in a span of 15 minutes. ugh.
4. The crazy hormones after having a baby are just as bad as the hormones while you were pregnant! I'm sure Dan is tired of hearing that excuse when I go crazy on him:) but it's true!! It's so easy to go from blissfully happy to raging mad to hysterically crying and back to blissfully happy all in a span of 30 minutes. Sometimes I think he just sits back and silently laughs at me (he knows better than to laugh out loud at those times! :) ).
5. The quiet moments after a feeding when you and baby are just looking at each other(after the suspicious eyes stage has passed of course) and you can tell she is studying your face.
6. We are still trying to figure out who she looks like. Neither Dan nor I see either of us in her. However, everyone and I mean everyone, says that she looks like Dan, especially in the eyes. Random people at church, who I don't even know, are telling me she looks like her dad. It's great because Dan has beautiful eyes.
7. And on the other hand, it surprises me how much it bothers me that no one says she looks like me. It's silly I know and I'm glad I married such a good looking man that could pass on his good looking genes.
8. Don't anyone start telling me how much Ellie looks like me! I'll know it's a lie to make me feel better:) And for those who have already said that they see me in her (the 1 or 2 people), you are my new best friends.
9. No one told me that I might have hallucinations the first few weeks after she was born! I would wake up in a panic, thinking that she was in the bed with us and buried under the covers. I would frantically start searching for her until Dan would wake up and realize what I was doing and stop me, reminding me that she was in her bed. This happened on a daily basis for the first 2 weeks and then periodically thereafter. I would literally be digging through the blankets to find her, aware of what I was doing and knowing we had put her in her bed but convinced that she was somehow suffocating under the covers. Ugh, it was horrible. I'm pretty sure it was due to sleep deprivation.
10. I have discovered what a blessing a baby sling is. I can put her in that thing, all crunched up in there, and she falls right asleep the moment I start walking. Love it!
11. You are never more popular than when you have a newborn with you. I mean EVERYBODY is so happy for you. It's great!
12. I learned quickly those first few weeks that being a parent means giving a lot up and over to God. There is SO much to worry about that it can be paralyzing but when I finally was able to let that go and realize that I have no control anyways, it was such a blessing!
13. Dressing up babies is fun.
14. Cloth diapers are easy! and cute!! I do laundry every other day, day and a half and voila! that's it! For all you naysayers who were taking bets about how long I'd last doing cloth diapers, I will be expecting my money when I return in November. :)
15. Last but not least, I know I said in a previous post that I didn't believe people who said that you forget the pain of childbirth but I guess it's a little true. I'm at the point where the thought of having another baby doesn't send me into a state of shock at the absurdity. Babies are pretty cute. . .if you can survive the first few weeks.
Friday, August 31, 2012
France
We then headed for the D-day beaches at Normandy. We went to the American Military Cemetery and Memorial and if you ever get the chance, you should definitely go. It was very moving and just amazing to stand above the beach and think about the soldiers who stormed those beaches and climbed the cliffs to fight the Germans.
Dan and I got to go out to a proper dinner for our anniversary while Cheyrl watched Ellie. We went at night and explored the island and walked up the stairs to the abbey. The next day we went back and took Ellie up and explored inside the abbey (it was nearly closed the night before).
We wrapped up the trip in Belgium and bought lots of chocolates ( I will save Cheyrl here and not say how much chocolate she bought :) ). It was a fun trip where we made lots of great memories with Ellie!
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