Nana & Papa in Norway - Summer 2014

6 weeks ago we arrived home from the hospital, newly a family of 3. Arthur and I were both overjoyed and overwhelmed with our recent promotion to parenthood. That same day my parents arrived in Norway. Nana Liza and Papa Kent were jet-lagged but ecstatic to meet their new grandson.

I was cautiously excited about the idea of my parents living with us for most of the summer. While I was really looking forward to having extra help around the house with a newborn, I worried that we might have a little too much family togetherness time. To put it briefly, I was afraid we would get really tired of each other.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

The time my parents spent here has been nothing short of perfect. I am incredibly thankful for my mom doing all the laundry, cleaning, and most of the cooking. I appreciate my dad for working hours in the yard growing precious peppers and okra, and cleaning up our messy kitchen. I love them for never complaining about their miniature shower (no room for a sneeze!), or the high prices, or the fact that my hips are still so bad we didn’t get out of the house for much else than doctor’s appointments.

However, it was the support, and love, and encouragement that meant the most to me. My parents were constantly saying what a great job we were doing, how healthy and happy Xander is. And when I got worried about things, I had them there to tell me that everything was OK. I love them for giving us space when we needed it and always being in a good mood and seeing the bright side of things! Thanks to them, Arthur and I have had little else to worry about besides taking care of, and loving on our son. What an incredible gift that has been.

Seeing my son love on his grandparents has been wonderful to watch. He loves his Papa Kent’s deep voice and scratchy kisses. He adores dancing with his Nana Liza and falls into a deep sleep in her arms. In return, they have filled him up with so much love and tenderness! He is a lucky boy to have such incredible grandparents.

It’s true that you can’t fully appreciate your own parents until you have children of your own. I can’t help but think about my parents as I lay awake in the early morning hours, patting my son back to sleep. I am overcome with an enormous amount of gratitude for my parents in a way I could only truly experience by becoming a parent myself.

Dropping them off at the airport was heartbreaking. Perhaps Xander sensed our gloomy mood and cried the whole way (or maybe it was just because he hadn't pooped in 24 hrs!) Either way, quite a few tears were shed while saying goodbye. We will see them soon though when we take Xander to visit Texas for the first time. He will be reunited with his Nana and Papa and get to meet the rest of his amazing family that is SO EXCITED to meet him. Bring on October! I’m ready for you to be here!

Life Lately

Another life lately post...

A dear friend of mine sent a gift to Alexander all the way from the states! It is absolutely beautiful and the only personalized item we have for him so far. I'm not gonna lie...I may have shed a few tears when I opened it! Thank you Molly!

It's been unseasonably warm this summer, and especially the past few weeks, so I decided to take advantage of the weather and give Alexander some "naked baby" time on our deck. He seemed to enjoy the warm sun and we spent our time making sure we were out of the "splash zone."

We went to Gladmat, Scandinavia's largest food festival, in downtown Stavanger this weekend. As usual, Alexander was the perfect baby. He slept for several hours while we chowed down on Norsk strawberries, brisket tacos, gourmet burger bites, BBQ Thai chicken, and fiskeboller. Then he woke up just in time to watch us chow down some more...ice cream, churros, and some wine to wash it all down. I can't believe how chill he is when we are out. I'm so proud to be his mama :) (Sorry no food pics, we were too busy stuffing our faces!)

We went to a party this weekend with the couples we met at our birthing class. We all had boys within 2 weeks of each other and we all chose the name Alexander. However, it must be said that OUR Alexander was first born and hands down the cutest! It was an international mix of people (as most social events are here)...people from Australia, England, Scotland. Bulgaria, Portugal, and of course Norway and the US, My parents and Arthur enjoyed Ivar's (our host) home brewed "baby beer" for the occasion!

Alexander - One Month

Today Alexander is one month old! It's hard to believe that a month ago, those strong little legs I see were kicking me from the inside. It was a really rough pregnancy for me, especially the last few months, and I'm so glad that he is here!

Thank you Alexander, for making us take life a little slower, for making us melt with your sweet coos, and for making us so very excited about what the future holds for you and for us as a family!

• We spent three days in the hospital hotel after you were born. Three quiet, restful, lovely days. Although we missed sharing your birth with all our loved ones in the states, it was a beautiful thing to just be us for those days. We spent that time snuggling with you when you were awake and watching you (in awe) while you slept. It was a beautiful time!
  
  
  
  
• My parents flew into Norway on the day that we came home and it was such a special moment introducing you to them for the first time! Nana Liza and Papa Kent (your namesake) were so excited to meet you and I know it was love at first sight for them :) 
  
   
  
• We had our first visitor when you were 4 days old. Liz and her baby Adeline came by to bring us dinner and a sweet little toy. We've had many friends since, bringing meals, and it has been a lifesaver!
  
• We moved to a new house when you were a week old! Yes, we were crazy! But we were also crazy ready to get to the new house! We now have an even bigger yard, tons of space, and Arthur is a 5 minute walk to work which means he spends A LOT more time at home. 
  
• One of the first things I noticed when you were born was how long and skinny you were! You have pretty big hands and feet for a newborn too and we have a feeling that you're going to be a very tall boy! Although you are gaining weight (you're over 9 lbs now) you're gaining length too so you still look skinny. But I know that breastfeed babies are lean and the midwife says you're healthy. We call you a "banana baby"
  
  
  
  
• You are such a good baby! You don't cry except when you need something...which is how it should be! You let us calm you down when you get upset. You love to snuggle and look around. You LOVE tummy time with your dad. He lays you down on his chest in the afternoons for a least an hour or two and you are so happy! Sometimes you have baby work-out time on his chest and sometimes you completely conk out! It is so sweet to watch you two spend time together. 
  
• You are IN LOVE with blinds! It's a good thing that we moved because our old house didn't have mini-blinds and then what in the world would you look at!?
• You have really great head control for a newborn and (especially during tummy time with dad) you love to look around! You have even stronger legs and you often "bull-doze" whoever you are laying on. 
  
• You are a really great sleeper. You've already gotten into a schedule at night. You eat around 9pm, 1am, 5am, and 10am. Arthur gets up and changes your diaper then bring you to me to eat...then we all fall back asleep (such a great daddy!) Not every night goes that smoothly, but most do and we are so thankful for those stretches of sleep!
  
  
  
  
• You are a thumb sucker (like I was!) Although you get very frustrated because you don't have good enough control of your hands to get your thumb to your mouth. You went through a period of about 2 weeks where you would get REALLY upset trying to get to your thumb and wind up scratching your face up in the process. We did not want to give you a pacifier until you were at least 4 weeks old but we finally gave in and I'm so glad that we did. We now only give it to you when we know you're not hungry. I'm so glad that we gave in and let you have a paci as it makes you very happy. I might not love it so much when it's time to wean you off though!
  
  
  
  
• You gave me a real smile a few days ago (not while sleeping or pooping lol) and it totally melted my heart. I'm so looking forward to more smiles!
• Next month we will take our first trip together as a family to the American embassy in Oslo to get your passport. We are so excited to start traveling with you!!
  

Baby Pictures

Thank you (again!) to Theresia Pauls for her fabulous pictures of Alexander.

 

Life Lately

I'm going on goodness knows how many hours of sleep right now (thanks a lot kid...I still love you!) so this update will have to be in list form.

1. We took (not so) newborn pictures this weekend with Theresia (she also did our incredible maternity pictures.) She got some beautiful shots of Xander with Arthur and I and with his Nana and Papa.

She also took this spur of the moment picture of my parents that we all teared up at. Aren't they just the cutest couple you've ever seen!!

2. The expat community here has taken such great care of us since Xander was born! We had delicious home-cooked meals delivered for 2 weeks. I've borrowed tons of baby and nursing gear. They're even throwing us a baby shower in August to celebrate his birth. All of this is being organized by women that I've only known for a few months. Its incredible. It makes my small Grinch heart grow three sizes :)

3. I'm continuing to have serious problems with my hips and pelvis. I'm pretty down about it because I had hoped once he was born I could get back to being active and enjoy the rest of the summer. I don't like admitting weakness but I would greatly appreciate prayers and good vibes for a speedy recovery! I'm so over this "hobbling around" crap!

4. My kid has a drinking problem. Go home Xander...you're (milk) drunk!

Alexander's Birth Story - Part 2

Once we got into our room the "fun" really started. While preparing for labor, I had read about a woman who put a positive spin on her contractions saying "Here comes a good one!" whenever she had a really rough contraction. The idea was that every contraction, and especially the very strong ones, were getting you closer and closer to meeting your baby. So I tried my darnest to say "That was a good one"...and not gobs of obscenities like I really wanted to say!

Part of our birth plan was for me to labor without medical intervention. It was important to me both for the health of our baby but also to manage and not cause any more damage to my hips and pelvis. The recommendation of my chiropractor, physical therapist, and midwife was for me to do my best to labor without an epidural in order to prevent myself from being put in positions that could cause lasting damage. Also, in Norway, it is much more common to have alternative methods of pain relief (i.e. birthing tub, gas and air, changing positions, massage, etc.)

I had been dreaming about the birthing tub for the last few weeks of pregnancy and as soon as the midwife said it was ready I jumped in! I guess I had expected it to totally take the pain away of the contractions...it did not. But it did help me relax a lot! After an hour in the tub I crawled into the bed (a real bed...not a small lumpy hospital bed!) It was large enough that Arthur could lay next to me and give me encouragement every time I had a contraction.

At this point things start to get fuzzy for me. I completely lost track of time and was just trying to deal with the contractions. I felt the urge to push around the same time as a midwife shift change. I could have really cared less about the shift change...I was really to get this baby out! But it was a really good thing because the midwife we had was NOT very helpful or attentive. The one that came after the shift change was incredible.

I began pushing around 9pm...my body was ready! I had Arthur in one ear and the midwife in the other. Both were softly encouraging me through each contraction. It wasn't like you see in the movies with screaming and bright florescent lights. My room was dark and everyone was calm and speaking quietly...I would almost describe it as cozy! I think Arthur must have told me he loved me a hundred times. It felt like I pushed for days...I really didn't know. I do know it HURT! Holy Moly!

And then he was born.

That moment of seeing him for the first time, seeing and hearing Arthur's reaction. I can't put it into words. 

I remember thinking he was so long! They put him on my chest and I had this overwhelming feeling that the three of us had just accomplished something incredible. Everyone left the room for a while and we had this gift of time and privacy with our son. We laid in bed and just marveled at how perfect he was. Arthur said a prayer over our new family. I knew these were moments that had just changed us for the rest of our lives.

Later on they told us that the cord had been wrapped around his neck four times but they weren't worried because they were able to unwrap it super fast before he was even out. The wonderful midwife brought us some cookies, sandwiches, and juice (in champagne glasses to celebrate) and was in and out, quietly, for the next hour or so. She weighed and measured Alexander and told me I could take a shower.

Around 1am, when we were ready, she walked us the short walk to the hospital hotel (connected to the hospital) and we checked into a room on the second floor. It's a floor dedicated to new moms and staffed with midwifes, lactation consultants, and nurses. They made sure we had what we needed for the night...talked to us briefly about what we needed to do as far as feeding and diaper changes and then told us if we needed anything just to call. We were able to stay there for 3 days...what a wonderful experience!

The only one that slept that night was Alexander. We were both too excited and still processing everything that had just happened. We had a son! We were parents! Wow!

Bath Time

Alexander absolutely loved his first bath at home. He does not like it when we change his clothes because he gets so cold, so we thought bath time was going to be a nightmare. But as soon as we lowered him into the water he went completely limp. 

Arthur did a great job washing him.

 Nana and Papa enjoyed the show too.

Just chillin' in the tub yo!

 Alexander loves looking at his Dad!

 In the bath...fast asleep!