Baby Hemberger

A New Smile

2009-02-13T12:34:00.000-08:00

Freddy has a new smile, it seems! It's been a while since I've posted a blog entry here, I'm considering phasing this blog out and focusing on my Swirling Tree blog. I will be posting pictures of FGH on there as well, I know a lot of family and friends keep up-to-date with him through this blog. Right now he's asleep in my art room, he loves it in there so we're considering swapping rooms. It sounds like a pain to move all that stuff to and fro, but right now I've got my computer on the dining room table along with stacks of folded paper and a tub of glue...and lots of other stuff...

Well, there are blobs of pesto mashed potatoes from lunch crusting up on the floor underneath the highchair that I need to tend to...

Happy Valentines Day!

He's Movin'

2009-01-22T17:01:00.000-08:00

I guess I can finally admit that Fredrik is a walker! Two nights ago he walked from the far side of the living room to my studio/art room...about 15 feet. He had been making little teetering steps, one or two between his little chairs and "walker" toys (not a walker, but a walk-behind deal with wheels) but now it's official. Pretty darn adorable.

new table and chairs

2009-01-14T11:46:00.000-08:00

Life is better now that we are settling into a routine again. Peter's back to school, Fredrik and I are back to our usual schedule which has made the days go by a little smoother. I think he really appreciates a schedule.

Here he is using his new table and chairs from Ikea (and gma and gpa Hemberger).

Stumped

2009-01-08T19:51:00.000-08:00

I've been feeling really depressed all day. I feel like Fredrik is not a happy boy. Teething takes a toll on this guy. He can't sleep, he takes one bite of the ten or fifteen things I offer him at a meal then chucks it on the floor and screams. He doesn't want to drink much. He gets frustrated with books, toys, games, and us. Napping is ridiculous and we've taken to car rides, then parking when he's asleep and doing homework/reading/what not until he wakes. I brought him to the car today after over TWO HOURS of trying EVERYTHING to get him to take a nap. I'm a stay-at-home-mom and can not even figure my baby out, I'm with him all the time! Hey, that gives me an idea...maybe I need to step away from the problem. I don't know. People talk about phases, so maybe this has nothing to do with teething and is just a phase. While I'm ranting; over-stimulation, what's up with that? Busca seems hyper, yet the only thing that calms him down is loud stimulating music or lots of bouncing and dancing. And he likes when I read books using crazy voices, not a calm soothing lullaby voice. When he was born I adopted a go-with-the-flow attitude, adjusting things to suit him, but now he's getting older and I feel like I need to lead him to the valley of calmness-for his own sake. But then, of course, it is probably his personality,right? Nature vs. nurture...who wins this one?

On a more happy note, he did have happy moments, even today:
1. He enjoyed walking around the Art Institute in the sling today (free!) and seeing lots of people and paintings.
2. He enjoyed a ripe pear.
3. He's braving his way through his new tunnel, even without one of us waiting at the other end and seems very proud.
4. He is having fun with mimicry- especially if I cock-a-doodle-doo.
5. He seems to be learning cause and effect all of a sudden and is trying new motor skills-like trying to put a ring on the stack-o-rings stick. (maybe this is frustrating for him?)

Any thoughts? Anybody?

Snow Days

2009-01-03T11:08:00.000-08:00

Fredrik LOVES his new Land's End snowsuit that he got from Grandma Hemberger. As soon as it was on he was smiling and laughing. It's down-filled with a faux-fur trim that makes him look like a little Inuit. Either that, or it looks like he suddenly grew a crazy amount of hair. There are even fold-over "mittens" and "boots," what a great design. Peter took him to get groceries at the Co-op and he said he snuggled up and slept on his chest they entire time. He feels so cozy. Bring on the cold!

Christmas Baby

2008-12-28T15:46:00.000-08:00

We had a very Merry Christmas full of travels, family, friends, food, and, of course, presents.

I guess we began celebrating the season on the 21st at our house with some "solstice" presents.

We started traveling on the 22nd in Forest City, IA with Grandma and Grandpa Hemberger. On the 23rd we partook in the annual festivity of Lille Jul Aften in FC. A large crowd gathered for glogg, sing-alongs, the children's nativity (FGH was too mobile to play Jesus, though he was the smallest babe), and a smorgasbord. I took video that night, so I hope someone reading this will forward some photos to me! On the 24th we had mock-Christmas morning with the Reids, Mittmans, and Hembergers, and then we headed north for Christmas with the Larsons, G.Grandma June, and the Jacobsons, and Lindblooms of course. FGH and Madi played together really well and loved all the toys they received. More presents, a delicious breakfast, and play time followed in the morning and then we lounged around the Larson house for most of the day before heading home. We're feeling a little stir crazy after all the busy days. It's dull inside and cold outside. Without further ado...the photos...

This is my all time favorite, striped pants, vintage jacket, crazy-colors awesome toy.

Solstice gifts under the Christmas tree...how unitarian.
blocks are good things
Jonah and Fredrik in matching stripes
Lachen, Aksel, Fredrik, and Jonah in sweaters made my Gma Hemberger
Madi and Fredrik in their Christmas outfits
Telephone toy...a blast
Gma Larson, FGH, Madi surprised by...something...Santa?
Another good read
some assembly required, nice drill, Freddy

Gimme that Tree

2008-12-18T21:43:00.001-08:00

For the love of garlic

2008-12-16T12:31:00.000-08:00

The infatuation with garlic continues. It's everywhere. Not only bulbs, but the papers. Everywhere. He has taken a bite a few times, and he'll cry a bit, but he still goes back for more.

Such a dignified pose.

Entering Retirement

2008-12-15T17:04:00.000-08:00

Fredrik has outgrown the best darn shoes ever. They stayed on, they looked darling, they were soft, they were warm. We will miss you, sweet shoes. Now the quest for another pair begins. The Hanna Andersson Swedish Moccasins seem to be pretty nice so far. But still, we will miss you, little football shoes.

A Visit to Macy's

2008-12-10T20:39:00.000-08:00

Fredrik met Santa today! We were at Macy's to check out the 8th floor animatronic Christmas display and at the end was a line to meet and greet Santa Clause himself. It was a fun family outing, we all had a good time. Fredrik did OK with Santa, they snapped two pictures and then he burst into tears. It was short-lived- as soon as he was back into my arms he was fine. He had a lot of fun in line for Santa, there were many shiny big ornaments for gazing and playing not to mention a lot of kids. We even had a delicious lunch in the Sky Room. Quite a day. I think we just might have found our official Christmas card family picture, too.

Fun at Gma and Gpa's

2008-12-07T19:22:00.000-08:00

Fun was had at the Larson Residence this weekend. Tiny plaid chairs, Christmas decorations galore, a cousin, and plenty of play time. What more could a boy want?

Scooter

2008-12-04T20:12:00.001-08:00

Fredrik LOVES this little scooter. He crawls over to it and hits it until we put him on top and cart him around. It's quite adorable. He's hamming it up a bit in the pictures, but usually he's very very serious while he's ridin'. It's a good workout for us, too. Down the hall, through the kitchen, around the dining room table..down the hall...
Notice the one blue mitten. What a circus.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T14:05:00.000-08:00

These pictures are in reverse order! Oh well.

Eric snoozing after dinner:

Cute little Jonah:

Fredrik at the table:

Madi smiley and messy:

The pie course, nice touch with the pastry cookies, Bev:

The bird turned out well. Go Organic, Free Range and lots of butter basting!:

We had so much food. Our kitchen was overflowing, and so was the table, notice the doubling up of bowls:

Jonah and Fredrik play a duet with assistance:

Tis Peter and I in the kitchen:

G June and FGH:

Playing in the apt. full of tables:

The table before it all happened:

Auntie Anna

2008-11-23T16:42:00.000-08:00

Anna swooped in for a little SAHM pick-me-up this weekend. She arrived from Boston on Thursday and stayed until Sun. morning. We had a blast, chatting, going out-and-about, and eating along the way. Peter and I even went on a date on Friday night. We traveled all the way to Brasa in Mpls. Thanks for everything Anna!!!

Mirror, Mirror

2008-11-23T16:39:00.001-08:00

Mirrors are one of the new fun toys with FGH.

From today:

A cute shot by Gpa Jim on Halloween:

Sun Doodles

2008-11-23T16:32:00.000-08:00

I've finally finished doodling the sun. I don't know why I did it in the first place, but here they are again all together. Two of my marker pens are totally dried up. It was fun. I'm thinking of printing them out as little note cards. My goal is to get an etsy shop up and running by January 1, just in time for the holiday shopping to be over and a perfect time for recession-phobic consumers to not buy things. Ha.

Another Sun

2008-11-18T17:57:00.000-08:00

My boy is a little strange-looking in this picture to say the least. He's foaming at the mouth, well, not really, that's a teething tablet that he spit it out before it dissolved. They dissolve in about 3 seconds, so that's pretty impressive. This is his looking-at-the-camera face:

Another good one:

Another sun doodle:

Up and Running Studio

2008-11-17T07:05:00.001-08:00

It's amazing what sleep can do. In my case, now that I have some free time at the end of the day while Fredrik sleeps, I have been going full steam with art projects. I finished unpacking and gave my little art studio room a quick organize, and now it's so easy to start creating things.

First on the list was a 15 book series of handbound journals that I had started a few months ago. I thought a big project would quickly hone my bookmaking skills. Repetition is best. Here are my book parts as they lay now:

I just ordered some book cloth from Paper Source, I've never used there book cloth, but the colors were just fabulous.

I made these name tags for Thanksgiving next week. I had collected some fall leaves a couple of weeks ago and I pressed them in a huge anatomy book. I had the bright blue cardstock on hand and simply sewed the leaves on. Easy yet classy, I think. (I didn't write the names on yet). We may have a crowd of 19 in our cozy little house here.

I'm not sure what I think of this sunny drawing. I was missing the sun and I had just bought some wonderful illustration markers.

Natural Toys

2008-11-17T07:04:00.001-08:00

Sleeping Baby

2008-11-11T09:05:00.000-08:00

Fredrik slept 8 1/2 hours last night without waking!!!

Day with Dad

2008-11-09T18:13:00.000-08:00

FGH spent most of the day with Peter. I needed a break from the house, and Peter needed a break from studying so there you have it. This is what Busca looked like when I got home! Really, I was only gone a few hours, but even once home Peter played the part of Dad most of the day and I took care of things like hanging curtains and cooking supper. I visited Costco for the first time with my sister, bro-in-law, and niece. It was very big. I came home with a lot of food and cooked up a pasta dish with mushrooms, fresh spinach and a very nice fresh pesto -all costco purchases, also organic salad greens. We followed up with dried mangoes. It was good stuff, I'm not sure if we'll join, but it was fun to get out.

I also stopped at a bookstore and browsed the baby section for books on sleep training. I made a plan and I have to say, Busca is asleep in his crib. He groaned and lightly cried for about 45 minutes. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, and I know that it will be good for him to be able to self soothe. He has been waking up so many times lately in the night and I know he wishes he could stay asleep. It is progressively getting worse, too, he stays awake for sometimes 1/2 hour at a time and wants to crawl around the play. He wakes up early and just looks exhausted. This is supposed to work in a few nights. Tomorrow he will probably take an hour or more to fall asleep (according to my sources) and ....oops...he woke...and is not happy...

Best Pancakes Ever

2008-11-09T17:49:00.001-08:00

Last night I made the best pancakes. I have been on a gluten-free diet for about five years. My wonderful Grandma June makes most of my baked goods, but I have become a bit of a gluten-free pancake master over the years. It's pretty much the only thing I make with flour. Our meal last night consisted of Buttercup squash pancakes, toasted walnuts, a shredded apple salad, real maple syrup, and wonderfully tart goat's milk yogurt. They were the fluffiest I've ever made, a feat without gluten if I do say so myself. Mmmmm.
Here are some pancake rules I have learned over the years:

1. Measure everything with ACTUAL measuring cups and spoons.
2. Use a fairly hot cast iron skillet, adding a dab of butter before each scoop of batter.
3. Keep pancakes uncovered in a warm oven (on a pottery plate is my favorite) as you wait for the whole batch to be made.
4. Use fresh baking powder. I only buy the little containers. It's just not an ingredient to buy in bulk.
5. Be careful about substitutions.

Gluten Free Squash Pancakes
2 cups Bob's Red Mill GF Flour
2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 cup milk (I use goat's)
1 cup baked buttercup squash
4 tablespoons olive oil
butter

Whisk dry ingredients together. Whisk wet ingredients together, starting with the eggs. Stir all of them together until mixed. Add a dab of butter to a hot cast iron skillet, pour 1/2 cup of batter into pan. When bubbles start to come to the surface around the edge of the cake, flip it. It will be done in another moment or two, not too long. Stack into the oven on a warm plate. Serve with toasted walnuts, apples (shredded), yogurt and syrup. Peter added more butter. This recipe made a lot of huge pancakes, but we ate them all. We will never be waifs.

Sleep Training

2008-11-06T17:11:00.000-08:00

We are at our wit's end around here. FGH is too busy to nap. He is too busy to eat during the day. He likes to eat all of his calories at night. That equates to 4-5 full fledged wakings each night. Could it be teeth? Could it be excitement over crawling, trying new foods and pulling one's self up? Whatever the cause, it has come time for a little sleep education and we are trying to figure out the best way to teach our busca that it is OK and actually REALLY ENJOYABLE to sleep through the night. We've tried some CIO (cry it out) the past couple of nights. I just can't handle it. We may try that again, but tonight we are going to try the Dr. Sears method http://www.babycenter.com/0_baby-sleep-training-the-basics_1505715.bc (thanks for the link, Amos). I like it because it focuses on the father playing a big roll. ( And I can catch up on blogging (and housework(and portfolio building(and sleep)))). Peter is supposed to rock the boy to sleep, lay him down -feet first for some reason- and keep his hand on him until he feels calm and stays asleep. This goes on through the night as he wakes up for up to 5 nights, then apparently he is able to nap better during the day AND sleep better during the night. As for eating only at night, I'm hoping the preference to sleep during he night leaves him starving during the day.

We'll see how it goes. And I won't really make Peter get up all those times, we may switch to co sleeping when we wakes up in the night. He does have a law degree to earn.

WOO HOO!!!

2008-11-06T17:10:00.000-08:00

The Most Beautiful Fall Ever

2008-11-06T16:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got out of bed and there were only two cars on our street, ours. Hmmmm, I thought, it seems as though we should move our vehicles to another location. It was leaf-sweeper day. Huge street sweepers came through to take our golden autumnal glory away. For weeks I've enjoyed strollering through the leaves piled in the sidewalks, giant yellow and red maples, red oaks, other varieties that I can not identify but are still very nice looking. I feel like a kid again and shuffle through the deep spots so I make an extra crunchy noise. It's so delicious. This area of St. Paul should win awards for fall splendor. I think it has, actually. The leaves just keep coming and coming, too. It's not just a week or two, they've been around since before I moved in. As I write this I realize that I haven't even lived here a month yet, but I guess it just seems longer since I am outside walking around 1-3 times/day (mostly to induce sleep for the one in the stroller). Many days the sun is peaking through the half-skeletal trees making it even more enjoyable. Today rain fell and tomorrow it might be snow. I guess snow is nice, too. And the farmers like the rain!

Bad Idea Baby Food

2008-11-06T16:48:00.000-08:00

I thought I was being resourceful, but the busca would not eat my creative baby food of puffed millet mixed with blueberries and apples. I bought the puffed millet as an alternative to cheerios, since I want to stay away from wheat until he's a bit older --- I am a gluten-free girl. But, the millet is too small for busca's motor skills at this point. They taste good, but they just don't end up in the mouth. So, I let a tablespoon or so of the puffed cereal soak in a too-runny apple/blueberry sauce that I had made a few days ago and the result was a unique textured flavorful concoction. Not so to FGH, he spit and squirmed and spit some more. Oh well, it was worth a try. By the way, I figured out on another website that the reason my applesauce was so runny, I overcooked the apples.

In other baby food news, he has successfully tired potatoes, white rice, goat and cow's milk yogurt, and cheese! Don't forget small soft pieces of ice, an alternative cheerio called an Oatey O or something, and a teething bisquit. The excitement is just too much, I know.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T06:37:00.000-07:00

Fredrik and Madeline Play Date

2008-10-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

We had a play date with Madi last Friday. It was pretty hilarious. The two babies have definately started to notice each other. At first they stared at each other and played with toys in slow motion not taking there eyes off each other. One of them would make a noise with a toy, then the other would decide whether or not to investigate. Great Aunt Bev had given them the Jack-O-Lantern shirts so we had to get a picture which was not the easiest thing. By that point the novelty of a second baby had worn and they were both on the move, continuously plunging head first off the couch into Bev's arms and making a lot of noise.

I'm going to try to bring Fredrik into more social situations where there are other kids around. It was a wake-up call when I brought him into the daycare at our gym and he screamed and trembled when he saw the other kids. Today I took him to a nearby playground with 5 other kids running around. He's too little to play "with" them, but he definately watched what the older kids were doing. He also enjoyed digging in the little pebbles that covered the ground around the playground equipment and he also ventured around via crawling a bit. That's my brave boy!

We have a fun Halloween weekend planned in Forest City visiting Gma and Gpa Hemberger, and Jessa and Jonah. It should be a blast.

Not a Video

2008-10-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

I can't figure this out, the extremely short video uploaded, but I can't get any other videos to load. Maybe I have a weak signal.

In the mean time, I'll post some pictures.

First, scrunch face:

The crawler: A video would be more affective, I realize.

Recently Aunt B and I toured some area gyms and settled on LA Fitness. It's a brand new HUGE gym with classes, a pool, DAYCARE, volleyball league and a really nice locker room. We went for the first time today, Bethany, Peter, Fredrik and I loaded into the Toyota. Peter went right to the treadmills and then on to the weight area, while B and I waited 5 minutes for the "Kid Club" to open. Fredrik was the only kid there for the duration of his stay, so he had full attention from a really nice woman, but, she was not familiar and he was pretty scared, I came back to check on him a few times and I could see he wasn't sure, but he was doing OK. The last time I checked on him (after 1/2 hour) he was crying so I stayed and played with him for about 10 minutes to familiarize him with the surroundings and then we went home. I think he will get used to it soon, that brave little guy. It is a pretty awesome kid area so he will probably LOVE it in no time....I hope...

Video

2008-10-22T12:59:00.000-07:00

This it a video test. Did it work???

ining frrom

Farmless

2008-10-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

After a highly dramatic closing, we are farmless. About 24 hours before our scheduled closing I listened to a voice mail as I headed out of St. Paul. The title company had called to tell me that some glitches had come up, so we spent the next day fretting over numbers and details and we made a lot of calls. We closed a day late (Friday) but we are now officially finished with the August Earth chapter of our lives. Though we've been slowly making our way to this day for a long time, it still feels abrupt. Suddenly we aren't responsible for our dog, Toblerone, who is staying at the farm, and the other 40 acres of life that surrounded us. We are ready to move forward, but we're pretty exhausted from the last two months-the CSA, moving, law school...It's finally time to recover and relax. I guess we can ALMOST relax anyway; after we unpack, get organized, and, well, I guess Peter doesn't getmuch of a break from school, "Fall Break" is not much of a break with tons of studying and a take-home test, and a paper to write.

The three of us had a fun falltime walk through Youngstrom Woods outside of Litchfield on Thursday since we suddenly had a free afternoon. The leaves had mostly fallen, but they were still beautiful. I was excited for Fredrik to have an "in-the-woods" experience, with the foresty sounds, shadows, and sights. He seemed to like it.

Da Busca

2008-10-14T20:18:00.000-07:00

We are settling in to our new city house...OK, we are TRYING to settle in. Things are still is disarray. We sell the farm in two days and hopefully things will get easier after that and I will be able to think forward, and not dwell on the fact that I am really going to miss the farm!

Madeline was out at the farm for a visit and they somehow both fit into this stroller.

Fredrik likes to watch me cook. I had taken this picture because I thought it would be the last August Earth meal, but no, we have about 120 pounds of onions, 12 squash, a bag of beets, about 50 pounds of carrots, a ton of garlic, peppers in the freezer, a bushel of tomatoes that are almost ripe... We should be set for a little longer. We grew the bananas, too.

Peter dresses all fancy-pants now.

Fredrik likes to reach out and grab the camera. I've cleaned the lens many times.

Oh, the farm.

Old-Timey

2008-10-09T20:10:00.000-07:00

I can't believe this picture never made the blog! It's from a few weeks ago and I just pulled it off of an email from my mom before I lost all my hutchtel.net emails from my inbox. Freddy is sitting in a buggy my mom found at Very Vintage in Litchfield. He's set next to the Allis Chalmers WD45 that pulled the potato digger through the potato field a few weeks ago. It's so old-timey, I love it.

The Big Move

2008-10-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

We are pretty much moved in to our new house thanks to: Mom, Dad, Jim, Amy, Curt, Madi, Bev, Emma, Mark, and Sherbie. Thanks guys! We brought too much stuff but I've been figuring things out the last couple of days and I think by next weekend things will be in order. It's amazing how much I can get done during the day when Peter is gone for a bajillion hours studying.

The biggest task so far has been the kitchen. We covered a dresser with a big butcher block countertop for an instant awesome 4'x2' island and brought in two shelving units, a magnetic knife strip, and some hooks. Everything seems to have a spot for now, but I have all of my large canisters still at the farm.

I think I overloaded this bar with pots!

View from our bedroom into the dining room:

Thankfully we had extra help to move the piano in. It does look darling where it is:

Holy pottery!

Hmmmm...I seem to have a few extra things in my studio/office room:

Next on the agenda is a run to Goodwill to drop off some chairs that we just can't fit and some other odds and ends. I've also decided to bite the bullet and buy a swiffer. Excitement overwhelms me.

Breath of Fresh Air

2008-10-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

I feel exuberantly happy and proud for filling the last CSA box today! Inside the box members will find 8 pounds of Russet potatoes, 12-15 red and yellow onions, 4 pounds of carrots, 2 heads of garlic, a bunch of green kale, 3-4 beets, 3 pounds of tomatoes, 3 bell peppers, 2 hot peppers, a winter squash, and a pumpkin. Whoopee! I'm still here to talk about it! Life is good and my darling husband just called to say he's making a trip to Hutchinson tonight to take me out for dinner at a new restaurant, Zellas that just opened. I'm pumped. Bring on the bottle of red wine and plate of comfort food.

The last boxes.

I feel the same way.

Farm Days Gone By

2008-10-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

I can't say that the last 7 weeks flew by, but here I am about to fill the CSA boxes for the last time tomorrow morning. The emotional part of all of this has been sooooooooooo stretched out that I'm ready for it to be over. I have gotten really good at packing overnight bags for Fredrik and I, we spend 1/3 of our nights at the farm, 1/3 in St. Paul, and 1/3 at my parents' house. I don't know what I'm going to do when we actually can go to our dressor for a change of clothes instead of rifling through bags. Anyway, the big move takes place this Saturday. Last weekend we moved our queen-sized bed to our new place so it feels a little more like home and it feels less like home in Hutchinson where there is now no bed. Still, despite the lack of sleeping quarters, I enjoyed a beautiful sunny, blue-skied, crisp fall day with leaves falling around me today while I harvested squash for the last box.

Green Smoothies

2008-09-25T11:59:00.000-07:00

When I visit our new urban home, I go out for a green smoothie. The other day I was putting together Ikea bookshelves in our 80 degree place (due mostly to the cooking of rice and beans in the kitchen) with Bethany (OK, she was doing most of the putting together and I was trying to let Fredrik scoot around on a small designated "clean" area), and I had had enough. I needed a walk to the Co-op (destined to be my mecca of familiarity). We loaded up the umbrella stroller and took a walk to Mississippi Market. To Beth's disgust, I bought a 16 oz. freshly juiced Cuke Skywalker, complete with cucumber, parsley, celery and apple. Yum. No really, it is good. Bethany scoffed and I assured her, she would hate it if she tried it. On the way back we took Summit since it was dark outside and it's well lit and populated and I thought, you know, whatever happened to going out for a beer? Since when do I go our for a Cuke Skywalker to wind down? Then I started to think of other things that I miss since I've had a baby. Mostly, I miss having a fully functioning brain.

Finally, an Update.

2008-09-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

Life is chaotic. I don't know if it really is, or if that is just what it seems like when I'm sleep deprived. Actually I do know that that is the case since last Saturday night Fredrik slept from 11:00-4:30 and I thought I was a new woman. LAst night he was up SIX TIMES. He loves to sleep in our bed with all three of us in it, apparently. I prefer it as well.
Here is a list of what's been happening at our places:
The Farm: we barely missed a frost last night, according to the internet and my parents, we've been harvesting a lot of tomatoes, this weekend we have a big work day (anyone is welcome to participate!!!!!!!!-it's Saturday, all day, and we're hoping to harvest the rest of the potatoes, carrots, winter squash, and trim and bag all the onions curing in the hay loft, fun fun fun!), and the CSA continues as well as day-to-day cleaning, cooking, baby rearing. I wish I could add packing to the list but I can't.

New Place in "the cities": Cleaning, cooking(nothing great, it's hard without all of our kitchen gadgetry) and baby rearing, a quest for some new hip yet affordable clothing, stroller rides to Mississippi Market, frequent IKEA runs, and avoidance of neighbors since I'm not used to seeing people all the time and I don't know how to act. I've had some awkward experiences thus far.
Fredrik is probably feeling like our life is in a whirlwind.
The weirdest part with Peter being gone is that I am in charge of Fredrik all the day and night. Right now I asked him to be in charge of him for a couple hours, even though I am about 10 feet away. He's giving FGH a bath, the first time he has done it without my assistance. It took him about 15 minutes to get everything "prepped" and ready to go. Funny.

Now some pics:

Adventures in Parenting

2008-08-24T18:57:00.001-07:00

What a week we have had. We (attempted) to go to a wedding last Saturday. Getting ready was interesting. I haven't worn high heels for at least a year and bouncing a baby boy around a wedding and reception gave me a good workout. When we sat down in our pew Fredrik took a big bite out of my program. I couldn't seem to get it out of his mouth and then I realized it was plastered to the roof of his mouth. At this point I was in the narthex since he didn't enjoy the enormous spit ball. The procession started and we snuck back into the sanctuary. The pipe organ began and he let loose his (usually) funny and impressive scream. Over and over again. I hustled outside when the screams (not cries, just loud vocal...screams) didn't stop for the prayers. He was hungry so I went into the nursery and pointed myself against a wall since I had to pretty much undress from the top down to nurse him. We made it back to the wedding in time for the recessional. Oh well. The first picture below is of Freddy and Jonah in their wedding matching outfits. The look of can-not-be-contained excitement is apparent to me, but maybe not to anyone else. He was very over stimulated throughout the reception so we missed most of that, too. Weddings and babies don't really mix all that well. At least for this baby. And this particular wedding.

Peter started school last week so we had a bit of a Women's Commune at the farm with Gma Roz, Aunt Jessa, Cousin Jonah (OK, not a woman), my mom, and my dad(also not a woman). We managed to get the CSA delivery done and also some shopping in Rosedale and Ikea, of course. It was hot so we bought a little baby pool. The boys loved it. The "relaxed" shot of Fredrik is a rare sight so I had to capture it. He's a busy boy.

Double Life

2008-08-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

We are in full swing now, leading a double life at the farm near Hutchinson and at our rental place in St. Paul. It is so weird, I can't really handle it. Yesterday we were in the big city for Peter's first day of orientation. I experienced my first day as a real life stay at home mom (SAHM). It was really quiet, not talking with any other adults (except for the cell phone calls I made) for about 5 hours. We went on two extensive stroller rides, checked out the co-op and some other shops. I spent too much money. Fredrik was a hit in every store we visited with his loud happy shrieks. I had not really had people stop me to look at him while strolling about until I was ALONE with him. Weird. About 10 people commented on his cuteness and stopped to say hi. Although it was fun strolling around the city, I have to admit it was quite gorgeous at the farm this evening and very pleasant to take a walk amongst the crops, billowy white clouds, and nature sounds. It's going to take me awhile to get used to life in the city.

Star Boy

2008-08-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

Making Our Own Rules

2008-08-07T18:57:00.000-07:00

We are all a little under the weather today. FGH has a foul sounding cough (from teething?) and Peter and I just feel wiped out. So, we made the rule that tomorrow is a rainy day even though there is not much chance of rain. We just want to be inside watching movies all day and be lazy. It has become apparent to me that having a kid is a license to make up rules. Sure, there is information on the internet, advice from friends, knowledgeable health care professionals, yada yada yada. But when it comes down to it, we are here, in our house, with our kid. I have become the rule maker in regards to Fredrik for the most part. I am the mom after all. One of my new rules is that disposable diapers are allowed during moving times. As Jessa said, it just isn't practical to be hauling suitcases of pee and poop around. We are already hauling boxes, furniture, etc. I guess this tendency to be assertive over parenting matters is what the phrase, "becoming a mother" is all about.
Time for bed.

It's August, Oh My

2008-08-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

It freaks me out a bit to look at the calendar and see that we are already working our way into August. Yet, we might as well get the party started. I'm pretty nervous about the next two months of moving, tying up loose ends on the farm, and moving to a new neighborhood. Everything seems to be going well so far, so all this stress is probably for nothing. Peter had his first law school event last Friday so he feels a little more at ease having talked to some fellow Fellows in the Fellow Program. He reported back to me that it was, "a bunch of nerds nerding out" and he seemed to fit right in. Is that 'nerd' in a good way? I'm not yet sure. I thought the event should have included spouses so I will have to wait for the next thing to check it out myself.

While Peter conversed with other fellows, I was shopping at the mall with my mom, aunt, and Fredrik. I am excited to report that I have officially lost 40 pounds since the birth. So, I needed some new clothes. I don't quite fit into my old duds and I'm not sure I ever will. I have hips now, for example, and most of my pants did not have room for hips. Also, as I pack up I have been throwing most of my clothes away because they are ALL WORK CLOTHES or extremely out of style as they haven't been worn for about 6 years. We actually had a clothes burning ceremony and burned up our spent clothing. I would recommend it. We had commentary for each thing, like, "That was the shirt I received for helping with the ice ballet at Luther," or, "These are the jeans I have worn since 11th grade." Anyway, I have 10 pounds to go until I'm at my pre-pregnancy weight and then another 10 to get to my goal weight. We'll see. I would like to join CorePower Yoga after we move, but it's pretty spendy. If anyone who lives in the vicinity knows of a more affordable yoga option, let me know. I just don't want to run on a treadmill while starting at a wall or a TV playing Weekend at Bernies without sound.

The news with my little Busca is that he cut his first tooth last week. He was very unhappy the day before it happened, and then I finally felt it, a little spot of sharpness on his bottom gum. The neighboring tooth is close, so I expect that to come in a day or two or a week or month. I don't understand how teething works. It takes forever. He has a cough and today it sounds nasty. I've heard that babies get sick when teething, but I doubt they get a cough. I think he found some bad germs when we were shopping.

The Farm News is the addition of three kittens who now live in our porch. Two orange and white males, Ron and Weasley, and a dark gray and white adventurous girl, Hermione. Yeah, sticking with the Harry Potter theme still. (We had Huffle and Puff first).

Gpa and Gma Hemberger were here to help tear down and haul away the hoophouse.

Jessa made these cool knitted nested bowls, who knew they would be the best toy?

Where's Hermione?

Nearing the Five Month Mark

2008-07-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

Wow. Five months already. Unbelievable. Time is flying. It's so weird to think back to a year ago when I was pregnant, the horrible nasty heat that made me so nauseous, the worries that everything was OK inside there, and just the excitement of having a baby on the way. It seems 100 times more amazing now that we have that little baby around here. He's getting so big already, he's squawking, laughing, and eating bananas. Weird weird weird. Here is an assortment of recent pictures:

The Fourth of July onesie from Grandma Hemberger. He started the day with matching stars and stripes socks, but it was a bit warm in the sun. We went to the annual Brown family picnic on Diamond Lake.

We had a bit of a photo shoot this morning. He looks so different in this shot.

My mom took this awesome picture of Fredrik this week. She always manages to catch his smiles.

Ooooo...black and white. Fancy.

joe and Tiff visited us on Friday and she took this nice family shot. Nice parsley in the teeth, Katy. We had just been snacking on some tabouli.

Fredrik's new friend Tiff.

First Food!

2008-07-11T20:25:00.000-07:00

I love making baby food.
Fredrik's Doctor gave us the go-ahead to start solids. We decided that he was ready when he howled every time we ate and if he was on our lap he would grab our food and make for his mouth. He's been acting anxious about eating for at least a month already so we decided we had had enough of this waiting business. He;s only getting a tiny bit of food each time, and not even every day, so there's not a substantial amount of calories coming his way, it's more about just tasting.
So, here are some photos of the monumental first food. We boiled some carrots grown here on the August Earth farm. He loved them, we actually limited his intake to about a teaspoon. Sadly, he later had a little crankiness that seemed to me like indigestion so we ceased the carrot feeding. Now, about 4 days later (my memory is bad so I don't remember when he had the carrots exactly) we have tried banana. He wasn't quite as sure about it, but he was a happy and content boy all evening.
Right now I am waiting for some peas to boil. We have a surplus growing outside so I thought I better get some in the freezer. Wow, labor intensive, but delicious. Picking, washing, shelling, another rinse, cooking (it takes 20 minutes!) and then a quick puree in the food mill (Thanks Betsy!) and they are ready for the ice cube tray. It looks like I am going to get 14 full ice cube-sized portions of peas tonight. Not bad considering he eats a tiny spoonful. I hope to make enough baby food this summer to last through the winter. It's super fun!

Teething=Exhausted Brain-Dead Parent

2008-07-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

Teething has officially begun. I've gotten some advice on some great remedies, I just need to go get them at a store. One would think that I would do this immediately, but wow, the minutes and hours and days and weeks are going so fast that I am finding it hard to get ANYTHING done. Having a baby is super great and awesome. Having tons of work outside and inside and a farm to pack up and move at the same time is crazy and impossible. I have constructed a large calendar list sort of deal that is propped on our piano with a weekly schedule of tasks and chores. The bulk of these things are to take place before Peter starts school in a month-both for the well-being of me here at home and Peter who needs to focus on lawyering sorts of things at that time. So, to end this tangent I will get back to the fact that I need another 20 minutes in my day to go get some teething remedies tomorrow. Maybe.

In other news, bedtime has been going well the past two nights. The three nights before that were horrid. One night it took him 2 hours of extreme fussiness to settle down. I partially blame the teeth. What has worked the last couple of nights is calmly bringing him to bed after he nurses around 8:00 and letting him finish falling asleep on his own in our bed with a snuggley toy. Success. (We are co-sleeping and we prefer it. He sleeps 250% better as do we.)

Blogger doesn't want me to publish a picture so I'll try again later.

Summertime

2008-07-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

Plant Fun

2008-06-25T20:05:00.000-07:00

We had some plant fun in the napa cabbage and chamomile today. Fredrik LOVES plants. We have a nasturtium potted on the deck and he loves to pull on the leaves and flowers. It is a great way to calm him if he needs it. It is so hot outside. Well, I don't think it even got up to 90 degrees today, but the humidity made it unbearable. I camped out inside with the little guy. I had him out in the middle of the day (shaded of course) lat week when it was pretty mild and he got slightly dehydrated-(dry diapers for a few hours). A hot car ride (where the AC couldn't really keep up) didn't help either. So, I'm extra cautious about him being in the heat. Of course, we only have AC in our bedroom so he needs to be in there. It was 80 in the rest of the house today. Hopefully this hot weather breaks for soon, and with it a lot of rain falls onto the veggies outside. Oh, he can't sit yet, he's sitting in his Bumbo seat.

Day to Day

2008-06-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

Schedule? I've thrown in the towel. For three days I tried to get Fredrik on more of a schedule. We've been having a big problem with overtired babies in our house and being preemptive with naps seemed to be a good solution. The morning is easy, he eats, plays, then sleeps for about an hour, sometimes longer. After that, chaos. I was trying to get him to settle down for a nap FORVER in the afternoons, and soon, it would be night. So, we're back to going with the flow. Looking on the bright side, Freddy has occasionally self-soothed himself to sleep. Flannel receiving blankets are the key. He hugs and snuggles them all day. Plus, they are right there when a burp cloth is needed. The picture above is from the other day when he was lying in his crib. When he's tired he covers his face with a blanket. Apparently, when he falls asleep he no longer needs the blanket on his face since he had somehow wound it around his head like a turban.

We were surprised that Fredrik would lie comfortably and calmly in a hammock with my dad. He just isn't the passive calm baby, so I was happy to see him relaxed like this for a good 20 minutes.

Peter with the buggy on Father's Day. How celebrity of him.

Pineapple.

We now have pretty much every piece of baby gear; recently the UPS man delivered an exersaucer to our door. At first Freddy screamed and had to be removed. Now he loves it and plays for an impressive amount of time. We opted for the Baby Einstein model. We enjoy the buttons that call out "Woof, Dog, Perro, etc."

Does anyone have any tips on solid food? We're starting to wonder when and what to start with.

Real Estate Update

2008-06-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

We have sold the farm! That was quick! They've signed the papers, we've signed the papers, now we just have to wait for...October. The new owners also run a vegetable CSA so they are a perfect match for an October transfer of farmland. We will both have plenty of time to finish our growing seasons. We will now start to pack up our goods and sell what's not going to travel to St. Paul or a storage unit. This will not be a small project, but with the sale of the farm not looming over us we are feeling full of energy and excitement.

So far it has been a fabulous year for growing. We've gotten perfect rainfalls. I just did a walk-around and noticed the green beans have popped up and are already putting out true leaves. The melons and squash are all poking out of the soil and the peas are growing very very tall with no sign of flowering yet. I think we will have loads of peas in about a week and a half. This season has been quite enjoyable with the perfect weather, a smaller CSA, no pigs, and no wholesale accounts to deliver.

On a more baby-related note, Fredrik certainly likes to be held. All of the talk of bedtimes, sleeping routines, and methods in which to get your baby to sleep suddenly has become valuable. For a couple weeks Freddy was sleeping in his crib, he'd wake up one or two times, then go back to sleep. In his crib. No longer the case. He cries and as soon as we pick him up he's asleep on our shoulder. Instantly. Hmmmmmmm. Of course he's been ending up in our bed when we give up and just want to get some sleep. The same thing seems to be happening during waking hours. I enjoy having him in a baby carrier but I know it's also important for him to have some playtime by himself. Gma Roz has ordered an exersaucer for him. We can hardly wait for it to get here. He played with one at Madeline's house and LOVED it, many smiles and a lot concentration. Plus, we can get some work done while he plays.

He's been hip to being on his tummy and has even rolled over a few times.

New Abode

2008-06-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

After vigorous internet searching and an intense afternoon of touring apartments we have successfully secured our future abode. Peter and I looked through 5 or so places around William Mitchell and one in particular was just perfect. I was hoping to find a place that was "just perfect" because I've been a little nervous about the switch from farm to city. When we walked up to tour a place about 3 blocks from WM there was a 7 or 8 year old girl sitting on the sidewalk with acrylic paints lined up as she painted rocks. I knew then that we were in a good neighborhood for kids, not to mention moms. The woman showing our place was a doula and the current occupant was a massage therapist (out of the rental), which means there's an extra bedroom in this place that will be perfect for my future book making studio. My idea is to start a craft/art business, slowly of course, since I'll have Buska around to keep me busy. Anyway, back to our place, it's the downstairs of a an big old St. Paul home. We'll have 2 bedrooms, plus the studio bedroom, our own laundry, living room, dining room, back yard, kitchen, bathroom, and front porch. It's quite the pad. The biggest change will be the mobs of people everywhere. I've become a bit of a hermit here and it will be very strange to look out the window and see people milling about. We'll be living on Laurel and our block has an abundance of young families and we're just a 1/2 block from a playground.

As for our place, we have been showing it nonstop. We have more than one person interested in taking over the CSA so we'll see how that pans out-hopefully soon.

Talking Bears

2008-06-03T10:41:00.001-07:00

This is Freddy's favorite Talking Bear:

Here are the two guys in their yellow pocket tees:

We are well past the 3 month mark. It's bittersweet. Well, mostly sweet. It's a lot of fun to play with Fredrik now, he smiles a lot and almost has figured out the art of laughter, he can hold on to a rattle, and is very close to being able to bring things to his mouth. But, I do already miss the recent past days when he just wanted to snuggle on my chest all day and he was just such a tiny little guy. It's a lot less stressful now that he doesn't seem quite as fragile.
People seem to be asking me the following questions quite often:
Q. Does he sleep?
A. Sure. He sleeps about 4-5 hours after he goes to bed, then I nurse him, he goes right back to sleep for about 3 more hours and we're all refreshed and ready to go for the day. The catch is, whenever I tell someone this story, he wakes up every 1-2 hours the following night.

Q. Is he a good baby?
A. I think so. I mean, I am his mother, of course I think he's good. He may be more "spirited" and "intense" than other babies.

Q. This is not really a question, but everyone says either, "He's so light!" or "He's so big!" depending on the size of the last baby they held.
A. Yep. He's bigger yet still so small.

Visit from Jeanne and Bud

2008-05-21T19:28:00.001-07:00

We had a nice visit from Peter's grandparents Jeanne and Bud Carlson this week. They drove up from Des Moines to meet Fredrik. They thought he was quite adorable and quite strong for his age. We had a tasty dining experience at Peter's on Lake Ripley in Litchfield where we traded off walking around with Fredrik.

Here's Jeanne with her signature "lap sway" baby calming technique. It worked, Fredrik was soon snoozing:

Here's a 4 generation shot with Bud, Roz, Peter, and Fredrik:

Flannel Elephants

2008-05-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

Another First: Fredrik snuggled with this little stuffed elephant/blanket from Great Grandma Jeanne. I laid him in his bassinet while I ran to get something and when I came back he was hugging and sucking on this snuggable thing. It was very adorable. He has snuggled with it a few times since. He is now realizing that there are objects that he can manipulate. He's playing much more actively with his floor gym. He even pulled down one of the toys today and some of the plastic rings that held it up were around his wrist. Now that is talent.
Fredrik suddenly does not like bathing. He always had scared look on his face when he was in the water before, but as long as he made eye contact and I had my hands on him he was fine. Now it is a scream session. I feel like I'm burning him, or freezing him, but really, the temperature seemed just right. His bum was a little red, so maybe he has some diaper rash that is irritated with water. I don't know. This reminds me that I have not gotten a picture of him in his bath yet. I'll have to get Peter to take one because there is NO WAY that I could take a picture during bath time. Check the blog at a later date for a cute-as-can-be bathtime shot.

Father like son. Flannel. Now I realize that those moccasins are still too big and the pants too small. Oh well.
Well, I best be getting back to readying our house for showing. It is a task that will never be done but we will just have to get as close as possible to having a presentable place. It's hard to be neat and tidy when you are also growing vegetables for 60 families and taking care of a 2 1/2 month old. Possible, yet, but not desirable. This is how I have come to terms with our newest decision to sell the farm and move. I COULD do it all, but I don't want to. I would rather have a little less stress in my life, and, in Fredrik's life. Peter probably would enjoy less stress as well. Or at least a different kind of stress.
The procrastination must end.

Fredrik and Madeline

2008-05-06T18:35:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday we participated in the Cystic Fibrosis walk around Lake Calhoun in honer of Fredrik's cousin Madeline. It was a bit blustery but we walked a bit. "Team Madeline" was able to raise over $3000 and the entire walk raised about 670,000. After the walk we went to Aunt B's new apt for a little get together-B's birthday and just an event to have everyone in one place. It took about 1 1/2 hours to get out of her place and to a restaurant. First Fredrik ate, then Madeline, then Fredrik again... It was pretty baby intensive. I took these pics with the two babes on the bed. I think they are getting diaper changes or clothes changes..it's all a blur.

2008-05-02T10:14:00.003-07:00

He's been sucking on his fist for about 2 weeks now, but today he finally found the thumb. He's in heaven.

Here's the latest picture of the duder.

Last week we had a little visit with cousin Madeline.
I haven't taken the time to put pictures of Freddy up on the blog for awhile, so, even though we are INCREDIBLY busy right now, I decided I would take a time out to blog a bit. Fredrik is doing great, he had a Dr. appt. last week, he weighed 12 pounds 7 oz. and was 24 inches long. He's in the 43 percentile for weight, 60th for length, and 35th for head size. All of these are normal, I guess they don't have to match up. He doesn't look like a pin head or anything.
We are super busy with so many things right now. Having a 2 month old baby is probably enough to keep one busy, but we are also getting our spring planting done between rain showers. Yesterday the three of us were out for about 20 minutes transplanting brassicas, then I went in with Fredrik while Peter worked alone, then I went out and finished up when my mom and grandma got here (Peter is still teaching guitar 2 nights a week). Today we had some hand weeding to get done in the greenhouse, we got most of it done.
The big news is that we decided to sell the farm. It is official. We met with a realtor (a CSA member, of course) this week and we will finalize things tomorrow. We actually already have a potential buyer. We are running around here like crazy trying to get things ready for showing the house-painting, de-cluttering, rearranging, cleaning the barn... We have a huge garage sale pile so we're thinking of having a "Granary Sale" in our granary this spring.
We will be venturing to the cities on Saturday for the Cytstic Fibrosis walk around Lake Calhoun, then to Aunt B's new apt in St. Paul for a little Aunt B birthday bash. We might look at a few rentals while we are there. We'll see how the day goes.

The Ergo Baby Carrier has Arrived

2008-04-23T07:23:00.000-07:00

Many moons ago Peter and I were at the Duluth Area Harvest Festival selling hot sauce and produce. I was newly pregnant and I was checking out all the hip baby carriers and strollers coming by our booth. One that caught my eye in particular was the Ergo Baby. It just seemed to make sense. I finally splurged and spent $92 on cottonbabies.com and yesterday Mike, the UPS guy delivered it to my door. I love it! It's so smart. It works as a front carrier (as in picture), back carrier and side carrier. Fredrik is maybe a couple pounds small still, so I have his legs tucked in. Once he's a bit bigger he will sit in the carrier with a leg dangling out each side. There is a little hood that works as a rain, sun, and wind block, and also a nursing cover and a place for him to rest his head if he falls asleep (which happens immediately). It's ergonomically correct for both me and baby, and he will fit in it until he is about 4 years old.

I recently splurged on this because the three of us planted potatoes, peas, green onions, radishes, and some other stuff on Sunday and he didn't enjoy sitting in the stroller unless it was moving and my other slings and carriers didn't work so great. I ended up using a Peanut TM sling, which he loves, but I still need to support him with one arm and bending over is impossible.

On a side note we had about 1" of wonderful rain right after the seeds were in the ground. Too good to be true?

First Night Out

2008-04-13T14:06:00.000-07:00

Last night Peter and I had our official first outing since Fredrik was born. We went to the Hutchinson Theatre Company production of Mousetrap. It was REALLY WEIRD being away from the baby for nearly 3 hours! Peter stopped the car to drop me off at the door, then, realizing I wasn't pregnant anymore, we both laughed and parked the car together. The past two months went really fast. I was getting pretty antsy during the play and made a quick call during intermission to check on things. My parents were watching the boy and assured me that things were fine. During the second act I was getting antsy again, but I had to see who the murderer was so leaving early was out of the question. We darted to the car (the first ones out of the building) and found a content baby at home. All in all, it was a fun night, it was a funny and mysterious play and we can now say we've been on a "date." Sort of.
Here are four pictures that my mom took of her darling grandson while we were away, proving that he thrived without us for a few hours!

Spring is Here...Maybe Not

2008-04-11T09:53:00.001-07:00

I thought that spring was here to stay, but no, not even close. We are in the middle of a three day blizzard right now and it is "the pits." Fredrik was starting to like stroller rides, and I was starting to enjoy the exercise of pushing the storoller around the farm. Peter was also experiencing parental bliss carrying Freddy around in the front carrier (it's the cool dad thing to have a front carrier) and showing him the sights and sounds of the farm. The grass was starting to green up in spots, the quack grass anyway (a horrible wretched invasive weed). We had days that were sunny and blue with huge summertime clouds floating by. The greenhouse was filling up with plants, some spinach and greens plantedin the ground and hundreds of seedlings; tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cabbage, onions, leeks, flowers, and herbs were all doing great. Yes, this last sentence is written in the past tense since our greenhouse now looks like a tornado came through.
Last night Peter got home from giving guitar lessons and ran out to check on the greenhouse before we settled in for a long winter's nap. To his dismay he heard a thunderous sound which was the greenhouse plastic whipping in the wind. Not a good sight. He ran back to the house and said, "Katy, we have some work to do." By his tone I knew this was serious. "The greenhouse top blew off?" Yikes. My first thought was, "The baby." I thought fast and got that little guy to sleep in about a minute, our emergency-only pacifier went in his mouth, I strapped him into the jogging stoller that was now in the kitchen and turned the radio to static (white noise). I wheeled the stroller back and forth until he fell asleep then took off to the greenhouse where Peter had already parked the van next to the gaping side. Inside, it was really dark but the headlights lighted the way. Hail was flying in our faces, the wind must have been close to 40 mph, and the ground was mud and slush. We loaded the van up with seedlings, drove them to the house, made room in the house, unloaded, went back to load up again, and again, and again. All the while I was running back and forth to check on Fredrik. He was still sleeping, sucking away with a pleasant smiling expression upon his face, OK, run back out into the blizzard, run back in, still peaceful, out again...pretty soon we had gotten all of the plants inside. Our kitchen, living room, and dining room floors are covered with all the plants. We're going to leave them inside until tomorrow when we will bring them out to our smaller greenhouse. Peter is rigging up a heater and some better insulated sides for their next home. Craziness.
Here is the recent past when the weather was getting better all the time. Fredrik's first buggy ride with Grandma Barb, he loved it.

Peter with Fredrik after a good walk-around:

The peaceful baby amidst the greenhouse plants in our kitchen:

The greenhouse this morning:

Getting Bigger all the Time

2008-04-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

He likes to flail his arms. In the back right is the birth announcements ready to be sent out. Yea!

This picture is a little blurry but just look at that smile!

Peter enjoys reading exciting things like this book, "Torts" while feeding the baby. Sometimes he is also drinking a cup of hot tea. Safe!

Tongue Tied

2008-03-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago my mom noticed that Fredrik never sticks his tongue out. I remembered reading in a breast feeding book that tongue tie can be a problem with nursing, but I knew it was rare so I didn't think twice about it for a couple days. I mentioned it to Peter who typed "tongue tied baby" into Google (the parents best friend). I have had a lot of trouble nursing since Fredrik was born, so that was why we decided to do some research. He had all of the symptoms, first of all I should say what tongue-tie is, the fraenulum (the membrane under the tongue that holds it the bottom of your mouth) is too tight. In Fredrik's case, it was connected all the way to the tip of his tongue. He could only stick it out to about even with his lower gum, but the middle of his tongue would not even reach that far, but remained puckered back, or heart-shaped. Other symptoms were that he could not cup his tongue around my finger or follow my finger from side to side when I rubbed his lower gum. He also dribble milk out the sides of his mouth when bottle-fed. It is hard to establish breast feeding with a tied tongue. My milk supply never increased much because my breasts were never emptied fully, only the "easy" milk came out, so since it's a supply and demand situation, I didn't get enough demand to supply. So, once we decided that this was a problem we quickly made an appt. with the pediatrician in Hutchinson. I should note our disgust that the doctor who delivered Fredrik didn't check his tongue, nor did the 2 lactation consultants we met. We were fully discouraged when the ped. refused to snip his fraenulum. Instead she told us that it would probably stretch over the first years of life and if he could take a bottle it was fine (not much of an advocate for nursing). They told us to meet with a speech pathologist (what?!) and if he/she recommended we get him snipped, we would then need to anesthetize him for the procedure. Today we went to Litchfield to my family doctor growing up, Dr. Deb Peterson. She snipped his tongue without a doubt that it was contributing to the nursing difficulties. The procedure lasted a couple seconds and he hardly cried. He was upset that we woke him from his nap, but the numbing agent did the job and he hardly bled-just a few drops. Now we have the task at hand of getting the nursing to work. He's been nursing/bottle feeding for the past 5 weeks, so he is pretty accustomed to the nipple on a bottle. I'm attending a La Leche League meeting tonight-they are the ones that told me to see Dr. Deb and I hope they can help us figure out how to transition to boob alone.

Easter! 1 month old! Smiles!

2008-03-23T18:35:00.001-07:00

We took our first trip this weekend, all the way to IOWA! We packed the car full of diapers, clothes, and all of the other baby paraphernalia that we thought we would need for the weekend. We actually didn't bring enough, so we are glad that Peter's mom had a good washing machine. Jessa is also using cloth diapers, so we went through tens of thousands of diaper changes over the weekend, feeling the bucket endlessly. Fredrik prefers to poop into a diaper that has been wrapped around his bum in the past five minutes. And then there's the peeing on the changing table... Thinking back on the weekend on this Sunday night I can't help but think mostly of diapers and feeding. It is what takes up most of my brain right now.
It was really fun to see Peter's sister Anna from Boston and our two nephews Lachen and Aksel. Anna had a lot of good advice about babyhood (and motherhood...one in the same). She nearly took Fredrik with her back to Boston.
Jessa, Jonah, and the Hemberger Foreign Exchange brother Christopher (in the US of a visit) also were around this weekend. It was great. Christopher brought Fredrik some "foreign" clothing that is darling. We made our way back north on Saturday after a fun baby shower in Forest City. Today Fredrik and I went to Buffalo for Easter dinner. It was our first outing alone without the father figure who stayed home to work on seedlings. I think the outing went well thanks to a little mirror in the back window that allows me to see the baby while I drive and lots of family members to help out.

Here are the four Hemberger cousins, Lachen and Aksel are the big boys, Fredrik and Jonah are the babies. All the boys are wearing matching outfits from Gymboree.

Fredrik can sort of hold his head up!

Grandpa Jim and Freddy.

Jessa, Jonah, Christopher, and Fredrik

The official Easter picture.
Fredrik was all smiles for Great Grandma June

Pictured here are males in the family...for no particular reason but that there are suddenly more of them.

There were many pictures taken of Fredrik over the weekend.

Baby feet are cute.
Fredrik spent many hours with Auntie Anna!

Three Weeks Old

2008-03-15T08:24:00.001-07:00

Fredrik was born 3 weeks ago already! I must say that the last 3 weeks went quite a bit quicker than the 3 weeks before he was born. We haven't really settled into a routine yet. It's mostly just feeding all day and night still at this point. There is no real distinction between day and night, or one day to the next. He's snoozing right now, so I really should be snoozing as well, but I had to post some new pictures. In the second picture Fred is studying some black and white designs that Aunt Jessa sent to us, he loves them and will stare at them wide-eyed for up to 1/2 hour at time while flailing his limbs about.

2008-03-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

9 Days Old

2008-03-02T19:35:00.000-08:00

Fredrik is starting to get chubby! We like to see his cheeks filling out and little rolls starting to form on his legs and arms. He eats A LOT. He enjoys sitting in this bouncy seat when we're in the kitchen preparing meals and cleaning up.

For a few minutes between sleeping and eating Peter showed Fredrik the guitar. He loved it, wiggling and wide eyed he listened to Peter play.

Fred had some gas bubbles in his belly and was not liking it. It calmed him down to get back in the womb for awhile. Wow, I can't believe he fit inside of me only a week ago.

Great Grandma June came over for a visit.

2008-02-28T18:53:00.000-08:00

Fredrik got these cute booties from his Auntie Anna. He also received a "Lucky Bamboo" live plant in the mail today from Auntie Anna, Uncle Shawn, and cousins Lachen and Aksel. What a great gift! Thanks guys!

Cute.

Everyone was pretty glad to see Fredrik.

Fredrik is a fan of his monkey blanket.

We saw the play Peer Gynt a month ago, and this pose reminds me of Ol' Peer. Thanks for the cute outfit Jeanne!

More Fredrik Gideon

2008-02-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

Fredrik has a huge bum!

Fredrik's "going home" outfit was a sweater and brown corduroy ensemble from Hanna Anderssen.

We brought the little guy into the greenhouse for some sunshine.

Labor was painful.

I thought this was a great "new mom" shot. Cute little bloody head...

Fredrik and Company II

2008-02-28T16:36:00.000-08:00

Grandma Barb with the two cousins, Madeline and Fredrik

Grandma Roz

Jessa, Bethay, and I shortly after the birth

Cousins Madeline and Fredrik

Fredrik and Company

2008-02-28T16:17:00.000-08:00

Aunt "B" and little Freddy. She spoils him dearly.

Grandpa Richard

Great Aunt Bev

Katy's Godmother Wendy (she's getting a cold)

Cousins Jonah and Fredrik

Fredrik Gideon Hemberger

2008-02-25T11:39:00.000-08:00

Suddenly, we are parents! Fredrik Gideon was born on Friday, February 22 at 8:41 PM. He is the cutest baby that has ever existed. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 9 oz. and measured 20" in length. We are really tired right now, so I will try to get some more pictures on the blog later in the week.

Gross but Good

2008-02-20T15:43:00.000-08:00

It is two days past my due date and there was a good sign today, lots of mucus. I never thought I would get so excited over a bodily fluid. What does this mean? It means my mucus plug is out, and for that to happen, I must finally be dilating. Others have told me that they went into labor a day or so after this happened, so I'm pretty excited. If nothing happens tonight or tomorrow, at least I know that labor is progressing on its own. I was starting to get worried about never going into labor since there's been no real change for about 4 or 5 weeks. Induction methods don't particularly interest me. I was thinking about having a prostaglandin gel applied to my cervix, but then I read that it is derived from pig semen. YUCK! I would rather not... Another reason I decided not to use the gel (which is supposed to help the cervix ripen) is that I thought I may go down a road of multiple medical interventions. To "get" the gel, I would have to be in the hospital hooked up to a monitor for at least 5 hours, then, if anything did start to happen, my body wouldn't necessarily be ready for it and I might need additional drugs to get things going, and after that, probably pain medication because being induced can lead to a harder labor with more frequent/painful contractions. If all of these failed, I would probably get a C-section. I haven't spent 10 months reading pregnancy books and websites about natural birth just to throw in the towel the day after my due date! Hence, the mucus was a joy to see.
I'm still holding strong on my full-moon prediction, which is tomorrow. My cycle has always coincided with the moon's cycle. I think it's because I work outside most of the year and even in the winter we sleep without shades or curtains on our windows. It would only make sense that my body and baby will be ready when the cycle is complete. To top it off, there is a lunar eclipse tonight from 7:30-9:00 or so. That's only an hour away, so we probably won't be naming the baby "Eclipse". We have been looking up lunar related names for a middle name, just in case.
Today more than other days I am waiting for labor to happen. It's cold outside so there will be no nature walks, but I am bouncing on my big exercise ball, taking naps, eating simple foods, and drinking plenty of liquids. It's amazing how the hours pass and I'm really not getting anything accomplished. Yesterday I made quite a few meals for the freezer and I was thinking about making something else tonight.
Peter kicked it into high gear today and finished our Organic Certification paperwork, cleaned, ran errands, had a crown put on his front tooth, and now he is teaching guitar lessons downtown.
Come on Baby!

Due Date Looming

2008-02-17T09:01:00.001-08:00

My due date is tomorrow! That went fast...NOT!
As you can all see, I am HUGE. The Herbal Pumpkin Patch lost out on the birth prediction, as have many others. I know someone predicted the 22nd, and I thought that was just ridiculous...I eat my words. The days come and go without much happening. It is mid February in Minnesota. Everyone I talk to seems pretty bored, so it's not just Peter and I. On the other hand, I think we are extra bored since we are nearing the end of our off season for the CSA. Once the baby is born we will start to get busy with greenhouse planting, but right now, we are going pretty stir crazy. I went for a nice walk yesterday outside since the temp reached 30 degrees. It was a workout, in some places on our "trail" I sunk past my knees in hard crusty snow. It was a struggle to get out, I thought it might put me into labor, but no.
I've read everything about labor induction, and it seems to be the general consensus that the baby is ready when he is ready, and nothing is going to change that. One source even talked about some studies that have been done that show the baby releases cortisol when his brain is fully developed which signals the mother's body to start pushing the baby out. Another source said the same thing, but it was the fully functioning lungs that send out signal. Yet another source told me that it was OK for babies to remain in the womb for 46-48 weeks. Ah, no. That was one source out of many.
I go to see the Nurse Midwife tomorrow and then we will talk about what to do next. I want to make sure the baby is still in the right position, he's been very active lately. I think she will try to strip my membranes again as well.

39 Weeks

2008-02-13T14:33:00.000-08:00

I am 39 weeks and 3 days pregnant...and there is not much happening in my nether regions. I am stalled out around 1 cm and about the same amount of effacement has occurred. Today our midwife even uttered the word, "induction" which made me feel quite discouraged. Though I would like be induced today, I won't, I guess my body and baby just aren't ready yet. I am not even to my due date yet, so I'm trying to just enjoy my relaxing time. I went to the Herbal Pumpkin Patch to check out some natural labor promoters. A friend had recommended alternating black cohosh and blue cohosh in tincture form to get things moving along. They had both, but the owner of the store did an "assessment" of my situation and told me that it would be 2 or 3 days more, and that I don't need to buy $40 worth of capsules. How does she predict this you ask? Well, good question. She was just going to show me a pressure point to rub around my ankle when she asked if she could feel my baby. OK, I said, removing my coat. Oh, you can leave your coat on she said. So I did. Then she felt the energy around me (waved her hands in the air, I'm not sure exactly what she was doing), and asked me if I was having a boy. Yes, I said. She then "felt" the baby more and told me that he was close to being born, it would be just 2 or 3 days. So, Peter and I left without the herbs and without spending any money. Back home Peter rubbed my ankles quite a bit and then took off for guitar lessons. I'm thinking about going back to work tomorrow. I did decide to take my Gentle Birth tincture more often to help things. It contains some cohosh, so I am doing SOMETHING.

Each day I am convinced he will be born. Yesterday I was going a little nutty cleaning and working out at a turbo pace. The baby was also quite a bit calmer, so I went to bed just knowing that I would wake up with wild contractions. I did wake up quite a few times but it was "false" labor. It's gotten hard to lay down, too. I wake up and the baby is pushing on me in very uncomfortable ways. Also, my pulse seems to be racing when I wake up. Tonight I am going to try sleeping in a recliner. My midwife assures that it's fine if my pulse races like that, as long as it normalizes when I change positions. Still, I can't help but feel it is harming the baby in some way.

So, everyone that is waiting for this baby to be born, check with me in 2-3 days! That's Friday or Saturday, the 15th or 16th. We'll see...

On With Life...

2008-02-08T08:26:00.000-08:00

I went in for my 38 week checkup on Wednesday. Everything is fine for the baby, who apparently wants to ripen a little further. It's like waiting for the first truly red tomato to ripen on the vine in the summer. It's always tempting to pluck the tomato off as soon as it turns slightly orange, but then you need to let it sit for about a week in the windowsill before it's edible, and even then it's not as good as if it were ripened on the vine. I've decided that I will go into labor on the 21st, which is the full moon. We will name him Moon. Not really. That's less than two weeks away. My midwife said that I will have this baby eventually, that is most certainly true.

So, Peter and I have decided to just go on with life as usual until I go into labor. I started to do "everyday"things until I realized that being hugely pregnant is a physical limitation to business as usual! Well, I at least feel better emotionally now that I'm not waiting for labor pains constantly.

It's our off-season, and we are REALLY BORED to top off this waiting game. We are both delegates for the county DFL caucus this Sunday. That's something to do. I've been visiting my sister and her cute-as-a-button baby about two times/week. Peter brewed a batch of beer yesterday. I made a flannel swaddle blanket, blue with monkeys on it, it's a little kattywhompis, but still snuggable. Today Peter is cleaning out some of the out buildings, taking advantage of the balmy 30 degree weather, I am thinking about getting my book making gear out, and we will go to Snap Fitness and run some errands after lunch. We recently say "Charlie Wilson's War." It was good. Philip Seymore Hoffman saved the show with his witty one liners. I need to get another book at the library today. I've rented every movie that I want to see. We have most of our CSA members, only 4 spots remaining, so that's taken care of for the most part. Everything is ready to go!

Going Crazy

2008-02-04T18:34:00.000-08:00

OK!
I am ready to go. Today I started to wonder why I decided that I would be early going in to labor. I thought, if I can make it to 37 weeks, what's a few more weeks until my due date? Wow, was I underestimating what it is like to wait.
I had my last day at work (my winter job at the Clay Coyote Gallery), which I am glad for. Despite the fact that I feel stir-crazy, I really do not feel well enough to be at work. I take one or two naps a day and my braxton-hicks contractions last longer and hurt more. I'm really in no shape for customer service. What am I doing? Well, I am trying to make labor happen. This is how:
1. I am taking a "Gentle Birth" tincture to speed things along and make for an easier labor when it does come. It's an herbal tincture with raspberry leaf and all sorts of things in it.
2. I am going to Snap Fitness every day. Today I tried the stairmaster since a cashier at IKEA told me recently that steps help. It was hard. I only lasted 3 minutes, but I stayed on the eliptical for 30 minutes.
3. I am napping and taking relaxing baths.
4. I'm eating spicy foods, greasy foods, lots of fruit, drinking milk...all things that have been recommended to me.
5. Drinking lots and lots of water. My midwife told me that dehydration slows things up.
6. I am going into public with hopes that I will break my water and be in a predicament (labor bait).
7. I am doing yoga, which gets more limited each day.
8. I am continuing to listen to pregnancy podcasts and reviewing my labor notes.
9. I am nesting, I recovered a chair and ottoman today.
I don't know what I am going to do tomorrow. It's humorous how crazy this is.

37 Week Ups and Downs

2008-01-30T13:58:00.000-08:00

What was possibly our last outing as a childless couple, Peter and I went to Peer Gynt last Saturday at the Guthrie. It was a great story, originally written by Ibsen and translated into a play by Robert Bly. The acting was great and it was fun to finally see the new building. It was also a great distraction from pregnancy.

OK, I cut my head off of this picture because suddenly, I just don't care what I look like and the photo reflects this attitude. Yesterday someone came to the door and I was wearing these same flannel pants and a non-maternity shirt that barely even began to cover my belly. It was very embarrassing. The baby officially engaged 2 days ago and now I have stretch marks. GRRRREAT. While "dropping" I had many braxton hicks contractions, some of them were even painful. I continued to have them during the night and they were strong enough to wake me up. I was hopeful that I was in labor, but after a warm bath and a few glasses of water they stopped. I was depressed for the next couple of days.
Today Peter and I went to my 37 week appt. with our midwife Lynn. There was good news and bad, first of all the good news, the baby is healthy and I am 1 cm dilated. The bad news, I gained 5 pounds in one week because of water retention. Yikes. I also found out that I am positive for group B strep which necessitates an IV of antibiotics during labor. Nothing major, but I'm still disappointed.

Jonah at 6 weeks

2008-01-28T19:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a new picture of our nephew Jonah after a bath. He's getting to be so big!

Still Pregnant

2008-01-28T14:18:00.000-08:00

This is honestly what I see when I look straight down.
OK! Full term! Time to move on out!
Peter and I are going CRAZY waiting for all this to happen. We're hoping for early next week (Super Tuesday would be good), but my due date is actually 3 weeks away-Feb. 18.
How do women handle waiting this long?!?

More Madeline Ann

2008-01-22T15:46:00.001-08:00

The new family, Curt, Amy, and Madeline

Great Grandma June and Madeline:

Cute little cap:

Madeline and I:

Aunt B and Madeline:

Peter and Madeline:

This tiny doll-like dress was Amy's:

Madeline Ann Jacobson

2008-01-19T14:10:00.001-08:00

Here she is! Madeline Ann Jacobson, the proud daughter of my sister Amy and her husband Curt. What a cutie pie! She weighed in at 7 pounds and 6 ounces and measured 20.5 inches in length. In the picture she is about 4 or 5 hours old. Mom and baby are healthy and little Maddie (Maddy?) is a pro at breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding 101 and Newfangled Cloth Diapers

2008-01-17T14:35:00.000-08:00

Being an advocate of all things organic, natural, earth-friendly, non-toxic, etc. has lead me to choose to breastfeed and use cloth diapers. Since starting to live green, I have associated all of my lifestyle choices with being a fringe or alternative way to live. This is apparently NOT the case with breastfeeding, but it still IS the case with cloth diapering. Let me expand. Breastfeeding. Wow, the benefits of breastfeeding are widely known. I think most people are now aware, in fact, I recently attended a main-stream hospital class about breastfeeding, and there I learned that most, if not all, doctors now not only RECOMMEND breastfeeding but they insist that it is THE best thing to do for any baby, especially in the first 7 months of life. Almost every person for our childbirth class also attended the breastfeeding class. Apparently around 60% of women breastfeed when they are in the hospital, and around 30% breastfeed for the first 6 months or so. That's impressive! Considering the fact that doctors (not just midwives and nurse-midwives) are advocating for breastfed babies is a good sign that these percentages will keep going up. It is amazing to see the medical community support a practice that does not involve pharmaceutical companies and, even more corrupt, the food industry that promotes infant formula as necessary and (historically) as the better option to feed infants. Way to go medical community! I see a correlation with the ever-increasing demand for organic food, which, I think, is mostly due to the fact that people are looking for a way to be healthier. There are many other reasons to buy organic that aren't as popular as the health benefits, reducing pollution and supporting sustainable systems being two of those, and that is reflected in the lack of parents who use cloth diapers but instead fill the landfills with disposable diapers. I don't know of many people who use cloth diapers. It became real evident that it is a great minority of parents when I failed to find modernized cloth diapers, diaper pins, or even a diaper pail for non-disposables in any of the major baby retailers like Target and Babies R Us. There are differences between breastfeeding and cloth diapering. Breastfeeding is easier, safer, and much cheaper than formula feeding. Pair these things with the health benefits of colostrum and mother's milk and you have an obvious winning choice. Cloth diapering is not as convenient as disposables and the really cool cloth diapers are a bit of investment. Of course, disposables add up to crazy amounts of money spent over the 2-3 years that little humans poop there pants, but he idea of spending $10-$20 per diaper sounds crazy. Plus, it's gross. I can see why you would want to toss those dirty poopy diapers in the garbage. Peter replied to this idea with the quick quip, "It's a lot grosser when you notice the extinction of entire species because our landfills, which are full of diapers, leach toxic materials, and take over natural habitats." Well, he said something along those lines. He's a bit of a radical, but, he's right. I have researched the cloth diapers available online and have accumulated some really great options. We're going to try the bumGenius diapers, the one size (fits 7-35 lb. babies) with removable fleece and microfiber inserts. Check them out at cottonbabies.com. Very cool. We are also trying the G Diaper, a cloth cover with a plastic liner that you can put either a cloth insert or a flushable/biodegradable liner in, and hopefully reuse the cover a few times before needing a wash, some of the standard prefold flat diapers, and the Seventh Generation biodegradable disposable diapers. We'll have to announce how each performs. It's easy to be on a soap box now before I've even changed one diaper! Ahhh...having time to do endless research on baby things...paradise while hugely pregnant...

Double Baby Shower

2008-01-16T20:40:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I experienced my first baby shower. It was a lot of fun! It was a joint shower with my sister Amy. She's about 3 weeks more pregnant than I. We literally sat and opened presents for hours. It was very overwhelming. I received so many wonderful things! The shower was put on my Aunt Bev, sister Beth, and family friend Lexi. Thanks a million! I appreciate the yummy little treats and all the decorations! Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful gifts as well!

Amy obviously has three-third-trimester-weeks on me.

This little cap was once upon my dad's head! Cute! I also got his booties and baby blankets. How antique.

Let the Nesting Begin

2008-01-10T19:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was suddenly in a tizzy about all the things that need to be done before the baby is born. Knowing that the nesting instinct is a sign of upcoming labor, I feel even more excited about having this baby, and having him soon. I am almost 35 weeks along, so really, I have between 2 and 7 weeks to go. I'm pretty large, so I can't do that much work in a day, so I need to get busy. I made a huge list of all the things I would like to get done, from installing a bathtub upstairs to making sure I have enough diapers and packing my hospital bag. This first picture is of the baby's room. We chose the colors before we even knew the sex, but it does seem more masculine than feminine to me. Most of the baby furniture came from IKEA. The blue dresser and crib are both from there. The rug is actually a Menards find. It's pretty cute and matches well.

Here is the other side of the nursery. My mom found the diaper changing table at a garage sale, it's nice. I have purchased some Seventh Generation diapers, some G diapers (a washable outer diaper with disposable/flushable/biodegradable inserts), and I have registered for some other all cloth diapers. I don't know which we will prefer, so I thought it best to start with a bit of an assortment. Not shown is my wonderful recliner/glider from Babies R Us. It was a splurge but it is by far the most comfortable chair in the house. The other glider in the room will be recovered (another task to work on) and be moved down to the living room.

This is another IKEA find. The cube totes hold about 100 items of baby clothes each, it's amazing. This is our collection of hand-me-downs, from age 3 months-2 years.

Roz, Peter's mom, made this adorable fleece outfit. My grandma embroidered the cute little bib.

My mom brought this bassinet over tonight, it will live downstairs. I prefer it. We're thinking of having a "baby area" downstairs as well so we don't have to run upstairs for every diaper change.

Pregtastic

2008-01-08T16:59:00.000-08:00

I have discovered a wonderful podcast called "Pregtastic." It's a free podcast that I found on itunes. Each podcast is about 45 min-hour, which is good, I don't like podcasts that only last 15-20 minutes. Each podcast starts out with a few pregnant women introducing themselves by giving their names, professions, how far along they are in their pregnancies, and 2 ups and 2 downs in their pregnant life so far. For some reason, I just can't get enough of this. I think it's a pregnancy thing to be paranoid and worried about everything-it's all so weird-so hearing someone else have the same concerns and questions is such a relief. Each show also has one or two guests, the one I listened to today had someone from that show Notes from The Underbelly. I've never seen the show, but is was interesting. The second guest was a certified midwife and expert of Lamaze. It turns out Lamaze isn't what we all think Lamaze is. It is a philosophy that means, "birth is normal." Breathing is a part of it, but no specific techniques, lamaze is more individual, each woman needs to figure out what it is that relaxes and distracts her. It is ridiculous to think that all women would be soothed by structured breathing exercises (hee hee hoo hoo...). Anyway, it's a decent podcast. Now that I only have 5 or so weeks left to go I better stay on task. There are about 100 Pregtastics backlogged.

Childbirth Class #1

2008-01-05T19:36:00.000-08:00

Peter and I attended our first of two childbirth classes today at the hospital in Hutchinson. There were some good things, some disagreeable things, and lots and lots of information. The biggest shock to me was how big of a role the coach plays during childbirth. I (almost) was glad that I was going to be going through the physical birth with all the pain and exhaustion rather than being the coach, who is pretty much in charge of keeping the mom focused during some crazy times. We watched a few videos, one of them showed 5 different births, a c-section, an epidural birth, a completely natural birth, and 2 birth where other pain meds were administered. During all of the births, the coach, be it the husband, boyfriend, mother, sister, doula, or whomever was up and totally supportive throughout the labor, which in every case seemed to last FOREVER. In every case, except the one were the woman got an epidural nearly immediately, the woman in labor was at her wits end at some point. It was at this point that the coach had to step it up with encouragement, massage, breathing exercises, and whatever else. It really does take some major support to give birth.
We had our first exposure to lamaze breathing. It is not easy. As well as making sure the mom gets oxygen during each contraction, the exercises are also a distraction-they take a lot of concentration. Peter and I were told to sit across from each other and do the breathing patterns together while making eye contact. We weren't very good at it. We will have to practice quite a bit if it's going to help at all.
We're going the natural route- no drugs- and this class was mostly about taking drugs, so it wasn't all that useful. The instructor made it sound ridiculous to want a birth without an epidural. To me, it seems an epidural is all great, except for the fact that you are then confined to lying on a bed hooked up to quite a few monitors. I would rather be walking around, in the tub, on the birthing ball, etc. Of course, it became quite evident today that if I'm not going to have an epidural, Peter and I will need to really work together to execute this birth. The main thing an epidural does to have such a high success rate is to relax the mom during the heightened contractions that come right before you push. With all the pain, it's (probably) really hard to relax your legs (tightening them will only tighten up your nether regions), and just plain let your uterus and cervix do their thing and not get worked up as your organs and bones get pushed all over the place. The task at hand is to practice relaxing and I guess do some visualization. That whole mind over matter bit. Yikes. A month or two ago I had a real "bring it on" attitude about birth. This was before I had trouble sleeping every night (either my hips ache, my back hurts, or pressure on my stomach makes me feel like I'm going to barf) and pretty much got winded and worn out doing ANYTHING at any time of the day. So, now, I am a little discouraged about being able to find the energy for labor. Rumor has it that I will feel more emotionally charged up and ready as my delivery date approaches.
Interesting birth-related factoids from the day:
1. A girl baby has her first period the week of her birth, it's caused by hormones passed from the mother.
2. Babies can look a lot like Darth Vader when they come out (really white and veiny and just pretty scary).
3. The baby's skull plates actually overlap as he passes through the pelvis. Poor little brain.

Short Days/Long Days

2007-12-31T13:43:00.000-08:00

Though the days are at their shortest for the year, I am feeling like they are taking much too long to pass. A nice walk outside would be nice, but there's ice everywhere and it's cold. I wanted a few days to take it easy after the holidays and I got them. It's a shock! I finished Ina May's book about home births a couple days ago and I finished A"Diary" by Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club) today. I couldn't put Diary down so I read most of the day today. The first book was obviously about pregnancy/birth. The second wasn't, though there were some chapters (diary entries, rather) about birth control,pregnancy,motherhood...It seems that every book and movie has some plot twist that involves procreation. Even "The Godfather II", which we watched the first half of last night has a climactic scene in which Michael's wife Kay admits that she didn't have a miscarriage, she had (gasp) an abortion-then Michael (Al Pacino) whacks her across the face and gives her the look of death which is not a look you want to get from him. We stopped the movie shortly after this scene, so I don't know if Kay meets her demise or what. I hope not, I like Diane Keaton. We rented the 5 disc set for .99 at Cash Wise. These movies are soooo long. Neither Peter nor I have seen any of the movies (another gasp). Another one we saw recently was The Golden Compass. Peter's read it, I was about 3/4 done when I stopped reading it about 6 months ago. It was good. I think it would be confusing to someone who has not read the book. They give away the final chapter in the first or second scene about "Dust." Since I never finished the book, I was a little taken aback by this giveaway, but I liked the movie nonetheless. Tonight we are going to National Treasure, which will make it 2 theater movies this week, plus all the Godfathers, and also another rental...I can't remember the name...it was about Russian mobsters in London clashing with a (get this) nurse midwife. I've been getting tired and light headed all the time so it limits what I feel like doing, hence all the lazy activities. I think I'm fighting a cold, too. Pleasantries. I bought another puzzle today and I have numerous baby books to read and will continue with "The New Kings of Nonfiction," edited by Ira Glass. Oh, and of course finish the Godfather series.

Happy New Year! We aren't planning on staying up to see the ball drop. Maybe we'll have a party next year in our "urban cabin" when I'm a real functional person again.

Our driveway after a beautiful snowfall.

Elphaba looking rather goofy.

Registry

2007-12-27T19:08:00.000-08:00

I have had a few people ask me where Peter and I have registered for all of our baby gear, so here goes:
Babies R Us
Target
cottonbabies.com

32 Week Shot

2007-12-26T19:00:00.000-08:00

Sphincters and Other Cute Baby Things

2007-12-26T18:13:00.000-08:00

I just finished the chapter in Ina May's Guide to Childbirth about Sphincters.
Apparently, the cervix and vagina are sphincters. I was not aware of this.
"Who cares?"
Well, it turns out that sphincter muscles are quite crucial to labor and delivery. That sounds obvious, so I must again ask,
"Yeah, so?"
Well, sphincter muscles are very connected to a persons emotional state, particularly the state of relaxation. Ina May's argument is to get women out of the hospitals and into their own bedrooms for birth. I am quite comfortable with my hospital and nurse-midwives, so I will not be at home, but I think her sphincter lesson is still a useful one to anyone about to experience childbirth. She compares the relaxation and opening of the birth sphincters to the other more commonly talked about sphincter. Think of how most people feel uncomfortable using public restrooms, and they even have private stalls and locks on the doors. Now think of laying on a table with strangers staring at your nether regions and telling you to relax. Her advice on the promotion of sphincter relaxation boils down to a few tips. I'm not sure how possible they will be, but it will be worth a try:
1. Do not feel startled or frightened.
2. Laugh. Laughter not only releases natural pain-relieving endorphins, but it also allows the sphincter to open. Does anyone know a good joke for a woman in labor that will surely distract her enough from the intense pain to laugh? I am up for suggestions. I will write the jokes on a piece of a paper for Peter to bring into the delivery room. I can just hear him say "So what's up with this thing," in a Jerry Seinfeld voice as he picks up a random birthing prop. I wouldn't laugh at that now, but I do laugh at the visual image of the look I would give him after he said it. OK, that will go on the list. I wonder if hysterical laughter would help. I bet it would. I bet I would freak people out if I did that. On with the list.
3. Deep Breathing. I can handle that.
4. Water Baths. Also one that I can see helping.
5. Sing. I just don't know what song would be appropriate.
6. Moo.
7. Make "raspberries" with your lips, like a horse.
8. Speak aloud positive thoughts. That whole quantum physics deal.
9. Speak aloud of your greatest fears. Vocalizing your fears may help you dilate, they may be bottling you up.

Holiday Exhaustion

2007-12-26T16:34:00.000-08:00

We just finished a Christmas marathon. Phew. It was fun, but, wow, very tiring. The usual hustle and bustle of getting packages together and concocting some special holiday fare (ths year Peter and I made our first loaf of pate),was extra crazy since I am pregnant, still working at the Clay Coyote (which is very busy this time of year), and encroaching on a few life changes very soon.

First to discuss; pregnancy. I am so tired. My back hurts. Thankfully, I have read that this is the hardest part of pregnancy in terms of the baby moving around. He is about 4 pounds now and has a lot of force compared to before. But, soon, he will be too big to kick, he'll be so squished in the womb. I feel bad for the little bugger, having to have his feet contorted up to his head pretty much. The other day I was riding in the car as Peter was driving and couldn't stop laughing at the insane feeling in my torso, this little guy was stretching out with his head (I presume) slamming against my bladder, and his back, (or butt) pressing outwards so as to create a bone-hard round lump of baby sticking out of my side. The feet (again, I think that's what was going on) were shoving up to my ribs. It just kept getting stronger and stronger until he relaxed. At that point I was able to breathe again and sit in a normal position. What da???? This is so weird.

Next issue; life changes.
Peter has decided to go to Law School. This will be a definite change from our current lifestyle of running an organic vegetable farm outside of Hutchinson. We have come up with a kick-ass plan that makes us both happy. Here goes.
We will continue to have a vegetable CSA, at least for this coming season. We will drop over half of our membership and all wholesale orders and say bye bye to all livestock. Peter leaves for school in mid-August, so we will also start the season a little early to minimize the number of weeks I will be solely responsible for the farm. Peter will move into an apartment in St. Paul, start school, study during the week, and come back home on the weekends to help out. Then, come November, when the season is long done, the baby and I will live partially here at the farm and in St. Paul in the apt, or, as we are choosing to call it, our urban cabin.
Some things to take into consideration with this plan:
1. I will be the full-time caregiver of a 6 month old baby and running a CSA by myself.
2. We need a car that fits me, a baby, which means a backseat, vegetables or other farmy things, possibly two retrievers, and the generals like diapers and the 560 other baby things every baby magazine and website are telling me are necessary.

I have a "bring it on" attitude about item 1. I much prefer to be challenged than to be bored and stir-crazy. I'm not saying my baby will bore me, but rather that I need something else in order to lead a satisfactory life. It's something that is crucial to my sanity.

I have a "let's go into debt" attitude about item 2. I'm thinking a wagon. I love station wagons.

Well, the moral of the story is that I am tired. Come to think of it, everyone seems a little tired on Dec. 26th. It was a great Christmas. We had an excellent time and thanks to everyone that put on parties and celebrations!

Jonah Arthur Mittman

2007-12-19T07:42:00.000-08:00

Weighing in at 8 pounds and 1 oz and measuring 20 inches in length, it's Baby Mittman! I love the name. He looks like a Jonah.

Baby Mittman!

2007-12-17T06:55:00.000-08:00

Baby Mittman has arrived!
It's a boy!
Way to go Jessa! Peter and I are so proud of you!
We still haven't heard the details of the birth, and we still don't know what his name is, but we do know that 37 hours after her water broke Jessa gave birth at about 2:00 a.m. on December 17th to a healthy baby boy. Throughout the days we got the play-by-play from Roz, Peter's mom, who was at the birth. Jessa delivered at home with her husband Eric and her Midwife. Lil' Mittman was in the posterior position, (head down, but facing backwards), so I think that Jessa endured a lot of pain.
She did it all with natural herbs and relaxation techniques. Both mama and baby are doing great. We can't wait to visit!

Lately I've been reading A LOT about labor and delivery. Currently I'm reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth (loaned from Jessa). She is the head midwife at The Farm, a birthing center/commune formed in the hippie era and still going strong today. Still, when hearing about Jessa's birth as it was going on, I felt really scared as the reality set in a little deeper about what labor is actually going to be like. As Peter and I went to bed on Saturday night, and then Sunday night, we knew that Jessa was still at work. I mean, THIRTY SEVEN hours. I don't know if I can handle that. Then, we we got the call around 2:30 this morning and it all seemed possible. Once we see the baby I think it will seem even more possible. Crazy stuff.

30 weeks along...10 to go

2007-12-12T08:42:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted on my blog for awhile because I've been in a bit of a pregnancy funk. I've felt a little panicky at times, thinking I haven't felt the baby move for awhile and that something must be wrong, of course everytime I lay down to count kicks, he kicks away. Then, I will suddenly feel down and out. Next I will be tired and clumsy, wanting only to go to bed since it is the most comfortable place to be (sitting doesn't feel great, and standing is tiring). More than half of my maternity shirts are too short now, either my flesh or unattractive stretchy maternity pants waist band show. It seems like a waste to buy new ones with only 2 weeks left to wear them. I think I'm feeling blue because I am uncomfortable and I still have over 2 months to go. Thankfully I have some things to look forward to in the meantime. I'm breaking the time up with these milestones: Jessa will have her baby in mid-December, then Christmas, then New Years, next comes a baby shower for Amy and I, birthing classes, then my birthday, shortly after that another baby shower, then Amy will have her baby, at which point, I will nearly be due. So really, it won't be THAT boring of a wait. Perhaps I will get more jigsaw puzzles for Christmas for those days that do drag on.

I had my 30 week appt. today, everything was normal. My uterus measured 31 cm and I gained another 1.6 pounds. The baby's heartbeat was around 150 and she could feel that his head was down and his back along my left side. I had been feeling a fluttering feeling by the head and that was probably the baby putting his hands up by his face. Ahhhhh... I go in at 32 and 34 weeks for the same kind of check-up, then in 6 weeks I get a full exam and more blood tests to prep me for labor. Wow! That's pretty crazy. Wait! I'm not ready! Hopefully I can post some pictures of our niece/nephew to be soon. The picture that Peter just took of me is way to ugly for anyone to view.

Thanksgiving Preggos

2007-11-28T09:01:00.000-08:00

We had quite the Thanksgiving tour this year! We started in Buffalo, MN with a good Thanksgiving meal at my aunt's house. Here's a picture of the three sisters, Amy (due Jan. 28th), Bethany (not pregnant, hence the waist), and me.

We headed south to Forest City, IA Thursday night where we crashed at Jim and Roz's house. We were resting up for the trek to Iowa City on Friday morning, where we had a wonderful "Locavore" Thanksgiving at Peter's little sister, Jessa's house. Jessa and Eric are going to be parents for the first time really soon. We usually head up to the cabin in Hayward, WI for Thanksgiving, but that would be nearly a 10 hour drive for the Mittmans, a little far to travel when childbirth could happen any moment. Jessa is due Dec. 18th, exactly 2 months before our baby. I didn't feel quite so pregnant when I stood up next to Jessa!

I think this picture says it all. OK, it was a little staged, but still...that is a baby ready to be born!

Peter and I just got back from my 28 week checkup. It was a great checkup and everything is just as it is supposed to be. Every time I go in, I have gained exactly one pound for each week it has been since my last appt. This is normal, but I still hope the weight gain slows up a bit. I'm still working out at Snap Fitness 3-4 times/week and I am eating good nutritious foods every day, so I don't think I will start "watching it." Also, in the last week my upper back pain has vanished. I was suffering with that for about 2 months and I was beginning to think it was my gallbladder. Either it was tension and my sister Beth cured me with a really good back massage, or the baby moved and released some nerves he was pinching. Suddenly, I feel the little guy up by my ribs. It was pretty startling the first time I rubbed my stomach and felt an arm (or leg?) move. Now it feels like he's romping around all over, especially at night. I've been waking up with rhythmic kicks.
"He's gonna be a soccer playa...he is...HE IS!"

Officially Starting the Third Trimester

2007-11-17T20:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's official. I am getting large.
Someone at work the other day (a customer) said to me, "Wow, you must be expecting a Christmas present baby." I replied, "Uh...try Valentines Day." Someone else said (Oh wait, like 10 people) ,"When are you do?"
"February."
"You're HUGE!."
My mom reassures me that I don't look like I am nearing full term, and I trust her opinion more than some old guy. I have decided that I am in the third trimester. It is never quite clear how to calculate where I am in gestation, there are 40 weeks in pregnancy, and that somehow equals nine months which somehow also equals three trimesters. How does that work? Am I six months pregnant? Seven? In the seventh? I'm 27 weeks, so if each trimester is 13 1/2 weeks, then I am entering the third on Tuesday, or so. No, last Thursday. I've been paying so much attention to the passing of each week that I really don't know how to comprehend the idea of having the baby early, which apparently is normal to be up to 3 weeks early (37 weeks), or worse, to have the baby late, which is also normal (up to 42 weeks). What??? My due date could actually be January 28th or March 3. My sister Amy is due January 28th! What if she's late and I am early! Oh, the zany nature of procreation. I can hardly stand it. What's the point of even trying to keep track. It's apparent, anyhow, that I am bigger today than I was yesterday so I AM moving forward in time.

26 Week Checkup

2007-11-13T18:56:00.000-08:00

OK, this ultrasound photo is from 6 weeks ago, but I thought I should include it at some point, since I just started the blog, that time is now. He is so cute.
Today I went in for my 26 week checkup with Lynn Artibee NM (Nurse Midwife). It was a successful and positive appointment. I took the glucose test which consisted of me drinking a 1/2 cup of really really sweet orange soda-esque glucose then having my blood drawn 1 hour later. The idea is to see if my blood responds correctly to sugar, if not, I need to go in for a 3 hour test that will determine whether or not I am at risk for gestational diabetes. I must have passed the test because I haven't heard anyting from the Medical Center.
Baby's heartbeat was around 155-normal. Besides these two tests we were able to ask the Nurse Midwife quite a few questions about the birth. We have been working on our birth plan and needed to know what and who we are dealing with. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the standard protocol with the N.M.s is just what we hoped. For one, they have birthing rooms equipped with aromatherapy, dimmed lights, soothing music, birthing tubs, birthing (exercise) balls along with the other stuff, like a birthing bed... They also encourage the mom to deliver the baby herself (after the head is out) so she can immediately bring the baby to her belly, then the partner is encouraged to cut the cord once the placenta is out, then they rip my gown off and I move the baby up for his first feeding. Apparently the baby is ready to feed immediately, and if he waits longer, he will already be so exhausted for the next 24 hours that it will be more difficult for him to get a good first feeding. With that first feeding under his belt the baby is more likely to be a good breast feeder throughout babyhood. It was a good appointment. Now I start going every 2 weeks to get checked out.

Democratic Offspring

2007-11-11T16:19:00.000-08:00

Peter and I (and baby) made a trek down to Iowa last weekend for the annual Jefferson Jackson Dinner, a big political event where all the big democrats stand on a stump to woo the Iowa voters before the caucus in January. We are big-time Obama supporters, and he didn't let us down! His speech was the most rousing and original, the 42 busloads of supporters from Chicago didn't hurt either to create a very Obamaish environment. The baby was kicking like crazy during Hillary's speech. Ha Ha.

We traveled from Hutchinson to Forest City where we jumped in the car with Peter's parents, Jim and Roz. Here we are all ready for the big event. Peter and I didn't dress up all fancy-pants, we thought we were going to be in the cheap seats, but it turned out we got to use some of the floor tickets after all, oh well, we were a little underdressed but no one seemed to mind.

Below is a picture of Peter's aunt and uncle Liz and Scott Brennan. Scott is the president of the Iowa Democrats, and he was in charge of this event. It was fun to see the two of them on the stage with all the big names-Nancy Pelosi, John Edwards, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Biden, Dodd, Harkin, Bill Richardson... There were many speeches...we didn't leave until after midnight.

It was a difficult trip for a mama-to-be, it's become really hard to sit for long periods of time, and we spent most of the weekend in the car, sitting and chatting with family, and sitting at this event. Nevertheless, it was a great oppurtunity and I'm glad we went.

23 Weeks

2007-11-08T07:16:00.001-08:00

Wow, I don't feel like my belly looks NEARLY as large as it feels. This is my first pregnancy, it has been an adventure so far-both for me and for Peter. Since we are organic vegetable farmers, we do a lot of manual labor, and that was not in the picture for me in the first trimester. I had morning sickness about 1/2 of the time, morning, noon, night, it didn't matter what time of the day it was, I felt like death. Now I am feeling pretty energetic (though sleep is deep and wonderful when I get the chance) and the baby is pretty energetic, too. Peter successfully felt his first kick last week, at about 24 weeks. I am feeling movement throughout the day, and especially as soon as I sit down in bed to read at night, that's when the gymnastics start. I have a feeling this kid is going to be pretty wild, every time we have had the heartbeat checked with our nurse midwife she has a hard time finding him because he's moving back and forth within the womb constantly. The same thing happened during the ultrasound. Coincidence? I think he is always like that. I attribute it to raw milk from our organic dairy farm neighbor and all the organic produce this baby is growing on. Plus, Peter is always trying to force feed me chocolate, "Chocolate makes for a happier baby," he says.