Adelaide is here!

So I'll start with stats, then get into the story:).

Her full name is Adelaide Elizabeth Jane Koch.

She weighs 6 pounds and 10 ounces and is 20 inches long.

She arrived at 3:00 am on the dot, this morning, September 1st, 2010.

Yesterday (August 31st), I started to have some contractions in the early evening. At first I thought they were just braxton hicks contractions, even though they were sort of patterned. At around 8pm or so, I had my first more painful contraction that I had to actually work through. After that I told my mom, "it's probably nothing, but it's not entirely impossible that I'm in labor right now." I was in denial for quite awhile. My husband is deployed and should be home for his R&R in the very near future, so I was really hoping she'd hang on another week or more.

Around 9pm, I decided to get in the tub at my house. I mean there was no way I was in real labor (haha :P,) and they say that a nice warm bath will usually stop contractions, if it's not the real deal. I stayed in for about half an hour and didn't have any contractions... or at least I didn't feel any contractions. I get out of the tub and a few minutes later have another contraction. At this point I decide it'd be a good idea to start timing them. They all lasted 1-1.5 minutes and for awhile were around 8-10 minutes apart.

I started packing my bag around 11:45, since that was something I hadn't planned on doing until this week (I know, I'm a total procrastinator.) As I was packing my bag they became closer to 5 minutes apart. That's when I decided to call The Birth Center's answering service. They connected me with the midwife on call and we started to talk about what had been going on. While we were on the phone I had two contractions about 3 minutes apart, so we decided that I definitely needed to go in, and agreed to meet at 1:15, since I'm about an hour away.

We finished getting ready, and I went with my mom and McKaleigh in one car, with my brother following us in the Cobalt. The drive was pretty long, but giving my mom directions was a nice distraction and she was very encouraging as I worked through each contraction. They remained about 3 minutes apart for the entire car ride. We arrived to the birth center right on time. I went in and as soon as the midwife checked me, she said "well it's a good thing you came in," which was great to hear. Then she totally surprised me and told me I was already 8 centimeters dilated!

To be honest, I prepared myself for much, much worse than what I experienced as far as pain. I thought for sure that I had so much worse ahead of me, since I was at an 8. I labored the last bit in the tub, so that may have helped, but even when she told me I could push whenever I was ready, I just couldn't believe that I was done dilating and that part was over! I had no pain medication whatsoever, and really never felt like I needed it. It's amazing the difference breathing and moving WITH your contractions instead of against them, can make.

After trying to push a few times in the tub, I decided that delivering in the tub just wasn't going to work for me. Half of my pushing I did leaned over a big ball and on my knees. Eventually my thighs got pretty tired, so I turned over and delivered her in a semi-sitting position.

When I first got set up in the birthing room, my brother set up his computer for me. Michael wasn't online, as I assumed would happen, but luckily I got a hold of someone he works with and they got him for me. Michael then got on skype and got to witness pretty much the entire thing. Well... except for the most important part! He got up to do something, thinking I still had quite a bit of pushing left to do. The second he was gone, the big push came, the one that you can't stop from happening, you just have to give into it. Within a minute or two of him getting up, I had a baby in my lap and he walked back in to a crying baby girl:).

The entire experience was amazing! After she was born she was brought up onto my chest and her cord was left alone until it was done pulsing. My mom cut the cord, which is funny, since I don't think our cord has been cut yet;). After a few minutes, I put Adelaide near the breast and she just knew what to do right away. She nursed so well, it was really great, plus the fact that I'm tandem nursing and already had my colostrum in means no sore boobies for mommy:), at least not yet, lol. Adelaide was never "taken" from me, when I decided that I was ready to get cleaned up, that's when she went to be weighed and measured. Everything was on my time, I love the birth center!

McKaleigh was present for the birth, and was very interested in her new baby sister. I can already tell that she's going to be a great big sister. I can't wait to see her interact with Adelaide more in the days and weeks to come, as she gets used to her.

I'll get to go home today, yet another thing that I love about the birth center:). Just waiting for a while until then.

It's been far too long!

Wow! I can't believe how long it has been since I blogged. I'm pretty much a failure:P, lol! I didn't stick to my schedule, surprise, surprise. I have been generally doing better about getting stuff done. I'm just too much of a "go with the flow" kind of person, and although I thrive on a schedule, I can never stick to one. Oh well, I just need to accept that that is who I am!

I'm halfway through my 3rd trimester! Less than two months left to go, yay! I can't believe how big I am... and how much bigger I'm probably going to get! I just feel like I can't get any bigger than this, haha.

It's so different being pregnant when you already have a toddler. Last pregnancy I could lie around all day, sleep whenever I wanted to, hop in the car to get food without needing to put anyone in and out of a carseat. This time is not so luxurious;). I am so much achier than I was last pregnancy, seeing that I have a toddler who needs to be picked up on a semi-regular basis. This pretty much reassures me that I really am ready to be done having kids. I couldn't imagine doing this again, with two kids! Seriously, you women with three or more kids are amazing! My husband and I both feel pretty certain though, that two is the perfect number of children for us:).

Not sure what else I should add into this little update. The Georgia heat is killing me... and my electricity bill, ahhh! I am so ready for summer to be over! Now that I'm not in school, summer is totally overrated, lol.

Well, that's all I got for now... a totally random, not very well written post... but hey, it's better than nothing, right?

Week one, day two

I've decided that maybe blogging frequently about this new method of staying productive will help me be successful. It will help me figure out what about my system works and what needs tweaking. Right now I am finding that one aspect of my "plan" is definitely going to help me stick to it.

This one thing that I think will help me a lot is that I don't have a set task for every single morning. I purposely left half of my mornings open so that we would have time for walks, playdates, appointments, etc. Well, it will also help for when I have an off night, like tonight. Let me explain...

Today during McKaleigh's nap, her diaper leaked. I stripped the bed to wash everything. Had the mattress cover in the dryer and the sheets in the wash and then totally forgot about it! Bedtime rolls around and then I remember... CRAP! So bedtime gets delayed by almost two hours because they need to be dried on low heat and it takes for-ev-er. Also, today I vacuumed half of the house, and since it's been awhile, I moved all of the furniture. As a result of this, my back is killing me! So now there are dishes on the counter, McKaleigh's toys are everywhere, and I just don't think I can bear to be on my feet anymore than is necessary.

But it's okay, really it is. The reason this system will work is that I'm allowed to have an off night. Tomorrow morning I will clear all the dishes and tidy up the play area. I won't let this one slip up ruin everything, because really it doesn't have to. I've done so great in just these two days, and not in the way I usually do. Normally I have a few days where I get so much stuff done and then I'm just so exhausted and get bored with it. I haven't gotten all that much done, just regular stuff, and only what I have scheduled to do. I think that makes such a big difference. I am making my expectations much more reasonable. Now I will end this post with a cleaning tip:).

Carpet spot/stain removal: This is for stains that have been around for awhile, not sure what to do when a stain is happening.

-First, I vacuumed over the area(necessary around here with all the dog hair.)

-Second, I sprayed with a solution of one part water and one part white distilled vinegar, then went and did some other stuff and let it set.

-Third, I scrubbed with a brush and a solution of warm water and Dr B's (I think the real key here is using a scrub brush and not trying to use a rag or sponge.)

-Then I just let it dry! I had these weird dark dirt spots in the middle of my living room that wouldn't come up from vacuuming alone, and then also had some bigger spots in the hallway from where the chihuahua likes to pee. These steps totally removed the stains! I'm going to be doing this on all of the spots in my carpet from now on:).

I think I finally got it!

It's only been one day since developing my new strategy for productivity, but I think I'm really onto something this time. The key this time? Having a WRITTEN plan!

I love all things google, so I opened up a google spreadsheet and got to work.

The first thing I did was make a section for tasks I want to do everyday. I broke it down by room, and each room has what time of day I should get those things done in. For example, I want to keep the dishes put away, either washed or in the dishwasher, NOT sitting on the counters. So I wrote it under "kitchen" and underneath wrote "after every meal," because if I let it build up, it just gets ridiculous! Another thing on my everyday tasks is simply tidying up. If you have small children you know that it feels like a never-ending battle. My solution to this? Twice a day I put everything away, during naptime and after bedtime. This keeps things tidy enough for my liking, but I don't go crazy trying to keep up with McKaleigh throughout the day, because I know I'll get to it a little later. Those are probably my two biggest things. If I can keep those done, seriously that alone will make me happy.

After I finished with the everyday tasks, I made another section of things I wanted to do every week. Split everything up by day and two different "time slots" in the day: "before lunch" and "after naptime." In these slots there's only ONE task. Some places have bigger tasks, some have smaller ones, or nothing at all. I'll vacuum one half of the house twice a week and the other half of the house two other times a week, sweep/mop the kitchen two times a week, and once a week I'll clean the bathrooms, always "after naptime." That's one area for everyday. It's enough to keep my house clean, but not too much that I will feel overwhelmed or over-exerted. "Before lunch" is saved for grocery trips, non-diaper laundry, and play dates.

I have a feeling that I will figure out more things to add over time, and perhaps will add monthly tasks, too. It's definitely a living document that will change and evolve. I had to start with something, though! I've been getting so annoyed with myself, not getting anything done. What I think will make this different than what I posted a few weeks ago, is that I do not have the energy to be doing as much as I expected myself to do with my other plan. This set up gives me plenty of time to get things done, so I can take breaks when I start to get too tired, but still get everything done.

It's definitely more realistic, for me.

I'll update later this week so we can see how week one went:).

Time and time again...

I disappoint myself, *sigh*...

I always start with the best of intentions, but my follow through is just awful! Honestly though, I'm really getting to the point where if I'm up doing things for more than half an hour, I become completely exhausted and my body aches all over! Plus for the greater part of the last two weeks, McKaleigh and I have both had colds. This has resulted in a huge increase in our TV watching time and internet using time.

I don't really know what the solution is. I mean, I know that I'm happier when I'm productive. Without fail, anytime I have a day where I get a lot done, it's always a good day, and I always feel good about it. So what drives me to being lazy? I feel like crap when I'm lazy! What's the payoff for me to continue this behavior? There isn't one! So why can't I just do the things I want to do? Have a clean house, spend more time playing with my daughter, and spend more time discovering new things that will make me happy, other than the internet and TV.

If you figure it out, will you let me know? There has to be something I'm missing.

I love my mom:)

This was posted on today's Sunday Secrets on postsecret.com. It spoke to me as soon as I saw it and I even teared up a little. People always act like turning into their mother or father is the worst thing in the world. I can honestly say that I don't feel that way. I think my mother is an amazing woman, and I would be proud to be like her. I can only hope that my daughters will be as close to me, as I am to my mother.

Are we still in the honeymoon phase?

My husband and I were wed on November 1st, 2007. It has been 2 years, 6 months, and 1 week. Would you believe me if I told you that we've never really had a fight? Sure there are times when I've been mad at him, or he has been mad at me. In these instances though, the other person knows and admits to being in the wrong, and it is always resolved quickly. We have never had even one of these instances last an entire 24 hour period. I always hear people say that the beginning of marriage is one of the hardest times, and one of the periods when you are very likely to divorce. So it has been making me think about why marriage comes so easily to my husband and I, and what sets us apart from the typical young married couple in America.

First and foremost, and something that makes us really just lucky... We have practically identical expectations of each other. Our thoughts on what is okay and isn't okay are the same in almost every instance. I think that being so like-minded is the main thing that has made our marriage easy.

Secondly, neither of us is irrational, and in the rare case that one of us does behave irrationally the other never responds irrationally. When conflict arises between the two of us, it is a one sided event. One person is mad at the other person. Neither of us brings anything up upon first thinking of it. We both sit on a subject for quite awhile and think it through very thoroughly, before we'll bring it up. I think this gives us a more realistic view of the situation at hand. When I think something through first, it lets me think about how I want the events to play out. Thinking alone first, may help me calm myself down, so as not to attack my husband and make him defensive. Many times this makes me realize that what I'm mad about is a little silly. I still bring up whatever I had been thinking about, even if I realize that I was being irrational, just to get it off my chest. Almost immediately after something is brought up, it is resolved. I think part of that goes back to point number one, we have similar ideas of what is wrong and right, so if one of us is mad, the other person totally understands and apologizes.

Neither of us is too proud, nor too stubborn to admit they are wrong or say they are sorry. I don't care how proud or stubborn you are with every other person in the world; with your spouse, there should always be room for submission, from both parties. Neither of us feels inferior or weaker for saying we're wrong or sorry. I think, if anything, it makes us respect each other more. Of course it's not always easy, and I may delay a minute or two, but once I realize that I am wrong, I admit it very soon after, as does he.

So these are just a few of the main things that I think make my marriage so successful and easy. I didn't write this to show off and say "look at how awesome we are," although we are pretty awesome, if I do say so myself;). I just think that in a society plagued with divorce, it's important for me to share what helps to keep my marriage a happy one. I know two and a half years isn't long, but most people who get married at the age that we married, have already divorced before the two year point, so I think we're doing pretty well. I have trouble believing that two people who have been as happy as we have been for these last two and half years will ever split up. I know anything can happen, but for now I'm sticking with saying that it won't happen to me;).