Delphine Pearl

Delphine Pearl was born at 10:16 pm on Wednesday, November 13th, the day after her due date.  She was 8 lbs 8 oz and 20.5 inches long.  She looks a lot like her big sister but she has super light hair, it may even be red like Daddy's beard.

Long birth story to come, but in short I was only in active labor for 5.5-6 hours, arrived at the birth center a little over an hour before she was born, and pushed for 13 minutes!  She came fast and furious and it was intense but everything I wanted it to be!  I loved my experience at the birth center and it was great going home the next morning and figuring everything out in our own space instead of a hospital room.

Delphine has spoiled us with amazing sleep from the beginning.  She started sleeping 3 hour stretches in the crib from the second night we were home!  Within a week she was consistently giving us two long chunks of sleep every night and at two weeks she shocked us with over 8 hours in a row.  I didn't even know a two week old could sleep that long.  I woke up well before her and hovered over her crib, poking her, making sure she was alive.  She tends to clusterfeed in the evening and I always wake up with crazy full uncomfortable milk boobs, but I am surprisingly well rested and it's awesome!

Everyone keeps asking me how we picked her name and I honestly can't even remember where exactly I found it.  I did spend a lot of time on Nameberry.com so it probably popped up as a suggested name similar to something I liked.  We were looking for something unique, that didn't end in an A sound, and the European flair was a bonus.  We debated if it was too weird, but in the end decided it was beautiful and we had to go for it!  From Nameberry: Delphine is a sleek, chic French name with two nature associations—the dolphin and the delphinium, a bluebell-like flower, a well as to the ancient city of Delphi, which the Greeks believed to be the womb of the earth.

Vienna is doing well.  She was pretty uninterested at first but she has warmed up to her sister, who she has nicknamed Phine (even though she can say her full name haha).  She doesn't seem bothered by her crying or even sharing our attention and will bring her the little Minnie our awesome daycare woman got Delphine to comfort her.  She'll also kiss her goodnight on the top of her head and it makes my heart melt.

I cannot believe it has already been almost a month.  Time with a newborn is so weird, it feels like she's been here forever but also like I just gave birth.  The transition from 1 to 2 kids has been much easier than 0 to 1.  Sure there are times when I just can't believe I have to change another diaper or the baby starts crying right when we're sitting down to dinner.  But overall things are so wonderful as a family of four.

We are blessed.

Baby #2: Week 39

Another week, another Tuesday morning gym session.  The strength was overhead squats, which I thought I kept light but I did make it up to 80# and my quads were definitely sore afterwards.

The WOD was more OH squats (I used 55#), rowing (I did the bike), and pull ups (I did ring rows).  The workout was challenging, but I felt good afterwards.  I rewarded myself by getting a big breakfast from Chick-fil-A after doing my civic duty and dropping V off.

Hit play twice.

I had my 39 week appointment on Wednesday and it was really great.  Once again, everything was normal with my BP, baby's heartbeat, and they guessed 7.5 lbs so right on track.  I had a wonderful discussion with the student and the midwife about how I was looking forward to birth and how good it feels to fully trust my provider.  The midwife told me she wished she could be at my birth.  I left feeling really positive and excited.

I made it back to the gym on Friday thinking it would probably be my last time before birth.  The workout was a lot of wall balls and rowing (aka bike for me) but I didn't want to cook my quads again since they were still a tiny bit sore from Tuesday, so I mixed in some L sit dumbbell presses and ring rows.  The workout was 20 minutes long and I did 7 rounds of 4 cals on the bike, 6 wall balls, 8 ring rows, and 10 presses, plus made it through round 8 of the bike + 4 wall balls.  Everything felt great!

No footage, just a selfie.

I worked from home all week and it was just so nice to be able to be in my PJs and to be able to get into whatever position I could find some comfort in.  I am so glad my work is family friendly.

The weekend was nice.  On Friday I got a serious nesting urge to scrub our master shower, so I was legit on my hands and knees scrubbing the crap out of the grout (pro tip, never get white grout on the floor of a shower, seriously don't do it).  The rest of the weekend was mostly about hibernating and relaxing, but on Saturday Shayna and Kimber came over with Chipotle, laundry folding hands, and lots of laughs.  On Sunday I got dressed in real clothes for the first time all week to meet Leah for lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings for the Giants game.  I tried to spice the baby out with some mango habanero sauce.  We also got some really nice mani pedis afterwards.  It was super relaxing, but I'd be lying if I wasn't also hoping that the foot massage wasn't going to hit some acupressure points and get things going.

I'm finally over being pregnant!   Last time I had basically accepted the fact that I would be a week late and was super surprised when my labor slowly started at 39w+5d... But this time I can't get that timing out of my head.  I know every pregnancy is different and I know that baby will come when she is ready but dang it I am uncomfortable and every little cramping feeling has me thinking please God let this be it.  And then nothing!

I guess I can't really complain, I'm still only waking up once to pee.  My ankles aren't swollen.  I was experiencing some painful carpel tunnel symptoms last time and that's not a thing.  I know she will come when she's ready.  But I am just SO ready to not be pregnant anymore!!!!

This post from Motherly really sums it up:

We wait for this special, life-changing moment to happen.

But with waiting can come frustration, impatience and worry.

At this stage of pregnancy, the waiting seems like f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

It feels like the lower back pain will never go away. Like the discomfort of getting in and out of bed because of our large bellies and sore pelvic bones will always be part of our lives.

Like we will never fit into our clothes again because the baby will just set up shop inside of us for all of eternity and we'll just have to forgo clothes and only wear sports bras and sweatpants for life.

But we’ve got this, mamas.

Baby #2: Week 38

Started the week off with a bunch of jerks!  Push jerks, that is.  The olympic lifting was 3 push jerks, every 2 minutes x 5.  I did 65#, 70#, 75#, and then 80# twice.  It felt relatively easy.

Hi Heather :)

The WOD was a 12 minute AMRAP of 15 push jerks (I did 55#), 30 air squats (I decided on 20), and 60 dubs (which I replaced with 7 cals on the bike).  I got through 3 rounds + the jerks, squats, and 5 cals.  Working out still feels good, so I'll probably shoot to go till the end like last time.  My last workout was at 39 weeks + 1 day, we'll see!

On Tuesday night we blew up the kitchen and made 3 loaded lasagnas!  We made one to eat for dinner on Wednesday and two for the freezer.  They were super easy to make since we used jarred sauce, no boil noodles, etc., but the kitchen was a total mess at the end.  Dave was amazing because I was super exhausted and he cleaned up everything!

On Wednesday I had my 38 week appointment at Lifecycle.  While I was driving there, I had the thought that I hadn't really felt the baby much that day, so I figured I'd mention it to the midwife.  She listened to the heartbeat and felt some movement, but just to be sure she hooked me up with some monitoring for a non stress test.  I sat in a recliner for 30 minutes while we listened to the baby's heartbeat.  Of course as soon as we started she began moving a ton and passed with flying colors before we were even 10 minutes into the test.  I'm usually so laid back about baby and what she's doing in there, but it felt good to have the reassurance because decreased fetal movement can definitely be a bad sign.

I finally got my flu shot while I was there!  My BP was perfect.  The midwife thinks the baby is a little over 7 lbs.  I'm 5 lbs under my weight from this time last time and I officially weigh more than Dave lol!

Halloween was Thursday so we rushed off after work to take Vienna for her first trick or treating experience at Leah's sister's neighborhood.  She was a little overwhelmed when we first got there, but once she got into the groove she loved it.  I don't know how far we walked, but we were out for about an hour and a half and it was definitely more walking than I had done in a while.

I felt pretty crappy for the rest of the night and decided I would skip the gym Friday morning, which ended up being a good plan since a crazy storm rolled through and knocked our power out around 11:30 pm.  In the morning Dave couldn't get our generator to start, so we got ready in the dark and packed up all our food to take to my in-laws.  I was NOT losing any of the freezer meals, including those delicious lasagnas!  Thankfully our power came back on around noon.

My weekend was low key, which was good because I am finally pretty dang uncomfortable.  Rachel stayed with us Friday and Saturday night and was an excellent house guest, tidying up and playing with Vienna.

Don't take my picture Mom!  Oh wait, I'm happy now because I have snacks.

And her stay forced me to FINALLY pack my birth center bag since the contents were all over the spare bed.  Huzzah!  I also put together this snack basket as a thank you for the nurses and midwives at the birth center.

I'm officially working from home now, thank goodness.  I'm spending a lot of time on my birth ball, sitting on the floor, learning over my ottoman, just trying to find some comfortable position and I'm really enjoying being in my PJs.  I'm trying really hard to be patient, I haven't really had any signs that birth is coming.  It's such a weird feeling to know I could give birth tomorrow or it could be two weeks from now.  I'm ready to not be pregnant, but I'm also somehow still sleeping really well so I'm trying to enjoy that.  Baby will come when she's ready!

Baby #2: Week 37

First of all, we got our photos from our family/maternity mini session with my roommate from college (C. Orkin Photography) and they came out great (especially considering Vienna wasn't having it at all).  I'm definitely going to put together some kind of photo collage to hang in the house. These photos aren't even really my favorites... going to post them on Facebook later in the week haha.

Vienna legit took this picture!

I had my 37 week appointment on Wednesday and it was very positive.  My BP was normal, baby's heart rate was 150 bmp, and my Group B Strep test came back negative, so I do not need antibiotics during labor yay!  The nurse practitioner said she thinks baby girl is about 7 lbs right now and will be in the low to mid 8s when she is born.  Vienna was 8 lbs 2 oz, so that sounds about right.  I was supposed to get my flu shot, which I deferred the week before since I was still feeling kind of rundown, but the NP didn't mention it and I totally forgot.  So I'll be writing FLU SHOT on my forehead before I head in for my appointment this week.

I know, I'm such a dork.

I'm feeling very laid back and confident about birth.  The birth center wanted me to put together my "birthing hopes and dreams" and I was having some trouble getting started because my "birth preferences" from last time were basically a list of things I didn't want the OB to do (break my water without my consent, force me to push on my back, etc.)  I feel a lot more at ease this time, fully trusting my provider and knowing that most of my "preferences" are just standard care.

Some of the things I did include:

• I will be using self-hypnosis to manage my birthing time (speaking of which, Vienna's birth was just featured on the Hypnobabies website and when I shared it on FB, I tricked a few people into thinking I had given birth to baby #2... not yet!)
• I would like minimal vaginal exams and do not want to be informed of my number of dilation (this is something that saved me last time because I think I would've had a breakdown if they told me I was only at 4 cms after being in labor for 24 hours)
• I included some affirmations I enjoy (you are strong, you are making progress, you are doing it!)
• I listed some fears I have based on last time (a long labor, high blood pressure, having the urge to push before I am fully dilated)
• And some things I am visualizing and hoping for (being more mobile to speed up labor, enjoying relief in the tub, normal blood pressure, and being able to push whenever and however it feels natural to me)
• I also mentioned that I'm hoping for a lot of breastfeeding support, since getting a good latch was a huge struggle with Vienna when we first started

After a 3 week hiatus, I finally made it back to the gym on Friday!  CrossFit moved the worldwide Open competition to the fall this year (it's usually held in March and April) and this week's workout was a repeat from 2018, so I was feeling a little sad not to be busting out some handstand push ups and trying to beat my score.  I did a 9 minute workout of 85# deadlifts and L sit overhead presses with 15# dumbbells.  I also did a mile on the assault bike just for fun.  I was happy just to be there, get moving, and cheer everyone else on.

Saturday night I randomly felt super crappy and nauseous.  I did eat wings and pizza at a bar for lunch, so maybe that had something to do with it, but this seemed different.  Looking back, I had a night of nausea and some cramping at 38 weeks last time, so maybe this is just something my body does to prep for labor.  I'm definitely at the point where every odd feeling in my body has me pondering if it could be time, but I also still feel like baby girl is super high and comfy, so I'm not counting on anything actually happening yet.

Our to do list is dwindling... I think pretty much all of the baby laundry is done, the last few things were the car seat covers, nursing pillow covers, some blankets, and random odds and ends like that.  Dave rearranged our furniture into last year's Christmas configuration and set up the pack and play in the living room to utilize as our changing station.  We also finally got out all the pump bottles and nipple shields and sanitized them, just in case I end up pumping immediately like last time.

I'm still dragging my feet on actually packing my birth center bag.  I have almost everything laid out on the spare bed, I just need to jam it all in a bag!  I'm really trying not to over pack, but that's not exactly my strong suit.  I also need to pack a little overnight bag for V since my in-laws will be watching her whenever things go down.

Random thoughts:

• I had a great week of sleep!  I've been getting up once to pee, but otherwise sleeping through the night.
• Turns out my MIL did not have the flu, hallelujah.  I have been randomly stuffy, but I don't think it could still be my cold, so it may just be a pregnancy side effect at this point.
• I ordered a personalized hat for baby girl and it came in the mail today!  I also finally ordered a big wooden letter to match the one we made for Vienna.  Guess our name choice is really set in stone now!
• This is my last full week in the office.  I was debating coming in on Monday and possibly Tuesday, but I may just call Friday my last day.  I am so grateful to be able to work from home.  This mama is done putting on real clothing and looking presentable.

Almost there...

Baby #2: Weeks 35 & 36

Week 35

I forget why I skipped the gym Tuesday morning, but maybe it was because I was already feeling a little rundown.  Halfway through my workday, I started to feel a little tickle in my throat and thought... am I getting sick?!  Yup.  I decided to work from home on Wednesday to take it easy and keep my germs to myself.  I didn't feel terrible, just had some phlegm hanging out behind my nose and felt kind blah.  Unfortunately Vienna woke up Thursday super snotty, so the two of us stayed home the rest of the week.  Dave was somehow spared!

Vienna fully recovered over the weekend but my cold is somehow still lingering almost 2 weeks later.  Despite feeling kind of crummy, I was able to be pretty productive when Robin took V for the day Saturday.  I finally took care of the task I had been avoiding for a while: scrubbing Vienna's closet, organizing the nursery closet, and moving her stuff over.  I did a bunch of laundry including all my nursing bras and tops, organized all the diapers and gift bags that were still in a big pile from the sprinkle, and kicked V's summer clothes out of her drawers and started a 2T storage bin.  We also finally hung some stuff on Vienna's walls.  And I started gathering stuff for my birth center bag and postpartum supplies.

Week 36

I had my 36 week appointment and it was uneventful and easy.  I did get swabbed for my Group B Strep test so I'll know the results for that next week.   GBS is a type of bacterial infection that occurs in 25% of healthy, adult women and would just mean some antibiotics during labor to protect the baby.  I was negative last time, so we'll see.  Otherwise my blood pressure was good, baby's heartbeat was normal, and I turned in some routine paperwork (a home visit worksheet, a hospital registration form just in case, and paperwork for baby's birth certificate).  I decided to delay my flu shot until next week since I was already feeling rundown from my never ending cold.

Otherwise most of the week was the worst.  It was just really stressful and exhausting and that's all I'm going to say about it.

On the bright side, my fairy godmother aka my MIL came over again and did more laundry, cleaned a bunch (including my bathrooms!), and helped with V.  And then my parents and Tom came over on Sunday bearing gifts of food, more laundry and bed making assistance, and helped us take care of a few more things on our to do list.  I'm feeling a lot more ready nesting wise.

We also attended two fun parties Saturday and Vienna had a blast!  The first was a second birthday party where I got to hang with some buddies from the gym and Vienna learned how to climb a ladder!

And the second was a Halloween party where Vienna was obsessed with her new ladder climbing skills and flying down the slide over and over!  We had tons of fun but mama was exhausted by the end.

I feel like everyone in my online bump group is sharing tips on how to get labor started asap or is eager to set an end date via induction... But I'm feeling totally opposite.  My due guess date isn't for another 3 weeks but in the back of my mind, based on the day I know I ovulated via tracking my temps, it could really be the 16th instead of the 12th.  I want the baby to keep developing and get all those final touches on the inside.  I still have random things I want to clean and organize.  I could be happy putting a few more meals in the freezer.

I guess I'm lucky because I'm feeling pretty good physically so that helps me not to be in a rush.  My feet and ankles aren't swollen (just my face lol), my back and pelvis are somehow feeling pretty good, and I'm actually still getting decent sleep.  Plus I'm not having any Braxton Hicks contractions or prodromal labor (or if I am, nothing that is occurring to me as such).  Don't get me wrong... being this pregnant is really hard!  And my bump is huge and definitely uncomfortable.  I just know everything is about to change and I'm really trying to soak up our last few weeks as a family of 3.

Baby #2: Week 34

Another week, another Tuesday workout.  The Olympic lifting was 1 power clean + 1 low hang power clean (every 90s x 6).  I did 65#, 75#, 85#, 105#, 115#, and finished with 120#.  When I got up over 100# I quit the hang position and just did 2 power cleans.  I love lifting heavy.

(Press play twice)

The WOD was 3 rounds of 4 minutes of: 6 burpee box jump overs (I did 6 dumbbell curl and presses with 15# DBs), 12 power cleans (I used #65), and 14 calorie row (I did 6 cals on the bike), with a 4 minute rest between each round.  I finished 96 total reps.

On Tuesday I also finally put together a big amazon order with a bunch of random things we still needed.  I ordered a second monitor camera, another sound machine, a crib mattress pad cover, a few changing pad liners, some nursing pads, NB and size 1 diapers.  I had $105 credit from my amazon credit card that I was saving for a rainy day, so that helped!  And I finally started sorting and putting away all that laundry my mom did for us.

Someone is super into testing all the baby equipment out.

On Thursday we had Vienna's 2 year check up and found out she is in the 87th percentile for height and the 84th percentile for weight!  Big girl!  Her appointment was all positive and uneventful, yay.  We also went over some paperwork from the birth center and discussed the pediatrician's preferences regarding the first few days since we will go home from the birth center 4-12 hours after birth.  Our doctor wants to see the baby the next day since they won't be visiting us multiple times like they would in the hospital and then the baby will also be evaluated by the nurse from Lifecycle at our home visit ~48 hours after birth and we'll go from there.  The pediatrician didn't seem to have any major concerns with the plan.

Thursday night I made it back to the gym.  It was a 25 minute AMRAP and I made a lot of subs.  I did 15 wallballs (10#), 7 cals on bike, 15 kettlebell swings (16 kg), 7 cals on bike, 5 pull ups(!) + 10 ring rows, 7 cals on bike, 15 incline push ups on racked barbell, 7 cals on bike.  I made it through 2 rounds + through the pull ups and ring rows on the 3rd round.  I wasn't sure I still had my pulls up since I hadn't done any since August when my pelvis was bothering me, but I hopped up and tried one and it felt totally fine, so I figured I'd do a few in the workout.  I felt really good during, but woke up and definitely felt sore the next day.  My pecs and shoulders were feeling it from the push ups and pull ups!

I also think I rolled over in bed weird or something because my right hip flexor did not feel good on Friday.  I didn't think it was from CF because everything I did was so symmetrical, so I feel like I would've been sore on both sides if it was that.  Walking kind of hurt and I felt like I was finally doing some kind of pregnant waddle.  The feeling went away by the end of the day and I woke up Saturday feeling totally fine.

Saturday was mostly relaxing.  We started the day with a breakfast date with Gwen and Denny at Ruby's, a 50s style diner.  My breakfast grilled cheese was delicious and the kids were really well behaved.

In the afternoon I met Leah for a pedicure.  It was great getting pampered, but also I really can't reach my toe nails to clip them lol.  It's always wonderful catching up with Leah and she also gave me some hand me downs for Vienna so that was great too.  After I met Dave, V, and Mela at the park and tried to be a chill non-helicopter parent when V was whipping down the big slides sideways and Dave was taking the dog for a lap.  When we got home I threw together a delicious butternut squash soup and put a container in the freezer for postpartum.

I also got this awesome package in the mail from Nancy, a woman I used to coach with!  The clothes are adorable and what a wonderful cause.

On Sunday I headed to NJ for my cousin's son's baptism.  Dave stayed home to study and get some things done around the house, so I picked up my parents and Tom at an exit right off the turnpike, so I wasn't making the trip solo with V at almost 35 weeks pregnant.  Vienna was a total a-hole at the church and I was super embarrassed and really just a pregnant emotional mess.  So that was super fun.  Thank God my dad stepped in and she behaved for him.  The reception was great though.  My whole family was telling me how great I looked and how excited they are to meet the baby.  And everyone helped tag team watch Vienna who had a blast doing laps around the hall, running around with her cousins, and eating a big piece of cake.  She was really pleasant considering she totally skipped her nap and then slept for most of the car ride home.

While I was gone Dave knocked a few things off our to do list.  My car was so dirty and cluttered, so he cleaned it out and took it to get detailed.  Now it's super clean and he installed the infant car seat base too!  He also took a huge box of donations out of the basement and did some organizing in the nursery, as well as setting up appointments for a dying tree in our backyard to get cut down, some wood stove maintenance, and an afternoon of firewood chopping.  The manly side of nesting.

Random stuff:

• I'm definitely feeling uncomfortable, especially by the end of the day.  Even sitting on the couch can be awful and I'm doing a lot more leaning on my side or just full out laying down with a pillow between my knees.
• I also get super winded walking up the stairs in our house.  Showering and then getting ready is honestly exhausting and I have to sit down and rest.
• My ankles and feet aren't swollen at all.  It's a pregnancy miracle.
• I'm having small bursts of heartburn pretty often, it's not too bad though, mostly just annoying.  Hoping that means baby girl is growing some hair.
• I feel like a body part is always poking out of me.  Sometimes the big kicks are actually painful.  She's definitely running out of room in there.
• My face is getting fat, same timing as last time.  Only a month more of that getting worse.

Baby #2: Week 33 and V's Birthday

Another week, another Tuesday workout!  The workout was a lot of stuff that I'm not currently doing, so I sort of made up my own.  Part A was supposed to be 35 calories on the rower + 50 handstand push-ups.  I did 2 minutes on the assault bike and then did 50 L sit presses with 20# dumbbells.  Part B was wall walks and sit-ups, both a definite no for me, so I did the workout from the day before: 4 rounds of 12 deadlifts, 9 overhead squats, and 6 hang power snatches at 55#.

Part C was running and burpees, so I did 3 rounds of 300m row and 15 medicine ball cleans.  I think I'm getting some coning in my abs when I row, so I'm going to cut that out from now on.  But everything else felt really good and I got a great workout in.

I also had my 33 week appointment at Lifecycle on Tuesday with a midwife I hadn't met yet.  I really liked her and the appointment was great.  My BP was normal, my belly is on track, and since I'm a second time mom with a low risk pregnancy she told me I didn't have to come back for 3 weeks (which is nice because last time I was coming in every 2 weeks after 28).  Then I'll be 36 weeks and coming in weekly... almost there!  I asked the midwife about drinking red raspberry leaf tea, which is supposed to help tone the uterus and speed up labor, and she recommended I start with a cup a day.  This was a stark difference from my OB experience last time when she told me "do not drink anything like that because you will go into premature labor, have the baby at 30 weeks, and she will go into the NICU, and you'll be going home without her."  Seriously who says that?  Add it to the list of reasons why I'm so happy I switched over to the birth center!

I intended on going to the gym on Friday morning, but I had a crappy night of sleep and when my alarm went off at 5:10 am I had a bit of a headache so I picked another 1.5 hours of sleep instead!  No regrets.  Sleep has been pretty decent otherwise, I typically wake up once to pee and then maybe once more to roll over (which is an event).

We are pretty close to settling on a name!  We were between two or three, but I'm kind of stuck on the one.  I said it casually to Vienna on Friday night when we were in the nursery and then she proceeded to yell the name over and over all night.  Dave was convinced I had done some serious coaching, but I swear I only said it one time.  She was super silly and the more we told her to stop, the more enthusiastic she would get.  Dave and I were convinced that she was going to reveal the name to our whole family on Sunday, but thankfully it didn't happen.

The weekend was all about Vienna!  We kept things pretty low key on Saturday since we were having family over on Sunday, but she got to open some gifts from us, we met some friends at the park where she had a blast on the playground, and we headed to Handel's to get some ice cream.

When the birthday girl skips her nap.

On Sunday we had our immediate family over to celebrate with pizza and cake!  I knew I didn't want to throw a big party, so this was an easy and stress free option and we had a really nice day.  She did not love everyone singing Happy Birthday at the top of their lungs, but seemed to recover just fine when she got to try both of her cakes (I ordered 2 to get 2 different flavors, but when we cut into them they were both chocolate)!  She got some nice gifts that she played with the rest of the day and was super pleasant all afternoon even though she skipped her nap for the second day in a row.  When everyone left, she snuggled up with me and passed out on the couch eating some goldfish.

I still cannot believe 2 years have gone by so quickly!

And soon we will have another tiny babe!