Half-Birthday

Six months have gone by since my sweet boy came into this world. The days have passed in a blur of sunshine and smiles.

He is sitting on his own now, and will contentedly amuse himself with the new noises he can make and his ability to grasp his toys.

He is ticklish! We love to tickle his tummy and the back of his neck and hear him squeal with giggles.

He is not interested in "real food". We have tried multiple times to offer foods like butternut squash and sweet potatoes and after tasting them, he gets an offended/disgusted look on his face. I've decided to wait awhile longer before offering them again.

He is extremely excited by Papa's triumphant return from work each day.

He is down to two naps a day (give or take) and is beginning to sleep better at night. We are still having a rough time with tummy trouble, though.

He is now able to sit in a high chair when we go out to eat and he loves to be worn in the Ergo. He will sit on my back contentedly for hours while I get things done.

In the near future, I am excited to:

Take him to the park and push him in a swing.

Take him to the beach, and on hikes.

Introduce him to different flavors and textures.

Introduce him to the wonderful world of bath-taking and water-splashing. (We take showers with him currently.)

Watch him become more mobile each day. I can tell he is eager to crawl and I do not doubt he will be walking soon.

                                                                  a half-birthday cake

                                                                  my handsome guys

I feel so very blessed to be wife to such a wonderful man and mama to such a sweet boy.

Love,

Margaret

How Our World Was Forever Changed; or The Birth of Walter Gerard

I return to this blog at long-last...transformed from girl to woman, from daughter to mother. The birth of our son has been such an amazing and permanent change in our quiet lives.

Warning: Birth Story to follow. If you are squeamish about the intricate details of how we enter this world, feel free to close your eyes and click the X in the corner of your screen to close this page. There will be other blog posts in time, better suited to all audiences.

Still with me? Very well...

Walter's due date had come and gone, and I was excited and anxious for labor to begin. On October 11th, Matthew and I fell into bed, weary with birth preparations. Matthew lay pressed up against my back, his arm cradling my enormous belly. We were talking quietly in the darkness, when I felt the strangest sensation in my depths, as though something in my belly had gently popped. I asked Matthew to get me a small towel, and--sure enough--when I moved, I found my water had broken. I got up, ran for the bathroom, and barely beat the ocean that came rushing out of me. Matthew and I were laughing, giddy with excitement and nervousness, as we used every towel we owned to try to dry me off. 

Because our midwife had told us it was safe to wait until morning as long as the water was clear, we returned to bed. I felt a few gentle contractions, but soon fell asleep, knowing I would need my strength the next day.

In the morning, we decided to go to the grocery store and to the laundromat, since we probably wouldn't be going out again for a while. We went to Starbucks and Home Depot as well, just to walk around in hopes of ramping up the contractions I'd been having all morning. We called the midwife to give her fair warning, and she told us to call her as soon as we were ready for her to come over.

We went to the nearby park and walked until the contractions were coming more quickly and I was too uncomfortable to continue. We returned home, and I decided I wanted to bake cinnamon rolls to pass the time. However, I'm afraid Matthew ended up doing most of work on that project as I wimped out and went to sit on the floor in our living room. I tried to watch a movie (Nine Months, with Hugh Grant; terrible choice) but couldn't pay attention. 

As the contractions came faster and harder, I took to kneeling in front of our couch and burying my face in it, moaning long and low. It was actually a very comfortable position for laboring--anything else was torture, particularly lying down.

At 5:30, I told Matthew to call the midwives. E came over first. She checked my blood pressure and the baby's heartbeat, and then she sat down near me and waited. I remember hazily how cozy the room felt, with the darkness outside, and the golden light of the living room lamps inside. Matthew put a playlist together for me, composed of song titles I had scribbled in a notebook a week before. Although Walter was past due, I knew we were still unready--barely able to grasp that we would soon go from a couple to a trio.

The laboring was not what I had imagined. It felt like a hot ring of aching muscles had settled low around my waist, and after a while I could feel Walter's body descending. I went through the transitional phase without even noticing it, and I was still in good humor all throughout. My midwife couldn't believe I had reached completion of active labor so quickly, which made me feel relieved and happy.

"How much longer now?" I remember asking, seated on the birthing stool upstairs in my bedroom.

"It's hard to say," she answered, "It could be fifteen minutes, it could be half an hour, or maybe an hour." (It turned out to be two and half hours...sigh.)

I felt excited and scared that our baby would be joining us so soon. I felt like I was still a little emotionally unprepared to welcome a child--my child--into our home that night. I wasn't making much progress upstairs, so I asked if I could move downstairs and get into the birth tub. My midwife was afraid I was going to have Walter right on the stairs, but she agreed reluctantly and went down ahead of me, so as to catch him if he should decide to emerge.

However, Walter was not so quick to arrive. I climbed into the birth tub, which was deliciously warm and welcoming (I wish I'd gotten in sooner) and Matthew climbed in with me. Feeling his strong arms around my shoulders gave me courage and the will to persevere. However, I felt I couldn't get the kind of traction I needed to push properly in the tub, so I soon climbed out. I clutched the doorframe of the kitchen bathroom for support, with Bright Eyes' lyrics running through my mind, "Swear I was born right in the doorway..." After what seemed like an agonizing eternity, my son Walter came earth-side.

I was so shocked and overwhelmed when K, our second midwife, handed me my screaming son, I can hardly recall what happened afterwards. I remember she had wrapped him in a towel and put him directly in my arms--he was very white with red spots all over his body, and his strange, cone-shaped head was covered with dark hair. I didn't know what to do, and I just wanted to be alone for five minutes while I came to terms with what had just happened. He rapidly changed from white to bright red, still screaming--it must be shocking to come from darkness into light, from warmth into cold.

They cut the cord and handed him to Matthew. I decided to get back into the tub (I couldn't imagine sitting anywhere else!), and Matthew and Walter joined me. Walter immediately quieted, opening his deep blue eyes. We gazed at him, in awe of this little person who was at once so strange and yet so familiar. When the water began to cool, we were helped out and toweled off. We dressed Walter and went to sit in the living room. He began breastfeeding immediately, and soon grew sleepy. We were all exhausted. Our midwives (after examining me) tucked us into bed and went downstairs to return our home to normal.

It was so peaceful, falling asleep with our son between us. We knew our lives would never be the same, and we felt more love inside ourselves than ever before.

Here he is today, at over three and half months...

What can I say? I'm just the luckiest mama alive.

Past Due

This baby is not the only one who's past due---this blog post is also overdue.

Yesterday was my due date, and we watched it come and go. I feel enormous. Thankfully, I've been having quite a few contractions, which reminds me that this baby WILL eventually come out. He likes to sit right under my ribs, and I often feel like I will just pop. As my dear husband said the other day, "It's like you're exploding...in slow motion." Hmm. 

Here's a picture of Baby Newhall poking out of my belly. He happens to have the hiccups right now. 

So what have we up to this last week?

Well, I made a delicious sweet potato curry soup, and a loaf of oatmeal bread to go with that.

I took a walk and discovered a park near my home---with actual green grass. That's pretty rare for California. I'd love to take a picnic there someday.

We went to Goodwill and bought a gorgeous chair to match our living room theme--(I call it college-kid-coffeeshop-chic). Only $30, thank you very much.

We went to Costco and walked around...for amusement. We enjoy window-shopping a little too much.

Here's a picture of my very handsome man and some pasta, which we plan to buy, if we ever feel like spending $8 all in one place. Like I said, we were strictly window-shopping.

We also bought a pumpkin, baked it, and transformed it into a quickly-vanishing pumpkin pie.

We grow more impatient with every passing day (particularly me) and hope that Walter will soon be here. I can't wait to see what he looks like! I imagine he will have blue eyes, but have also thought it would be neat if he had grey eyes. His daddy's eyes are a gorgeous blue-grey mix--so there's a chance. 

Let's hope that the next time I post, Walter will be out in the world with me!

Love,

Margaret

New Apartment

Welcome, everyone. Please remember the buddy system. 

Hold hands and don't touch anything!

We begin this tour at the front door (left). 

Yes, come right in. Take a seat on this couch, covered in papers...ahem!

In fact, come right in to the kitchen. 

Door A holds a miniature bathroom. 

Door B holds the pantry. 

View A of the kitchen. Pay close attention to the curtains which I hung myself. 

Also take note of the cute little bran muffins on the counter. 

And the fact that all the dishes are clean. 

This is a memorable moment.

View B of the kitchen. 

A very large refrigerator and a dirty kitchen floor.

Here's our backyard! 

We can't wait to grow tomatoes and peppers and beans 

and goodness knows what else next year.

Second shot of backyard--complete with bicycles. 

You can take us out of Portland, 

but you can't take Portland out of us.

Here's a gorgeous tree which keeps our house so shady and cool. 

When I opened the back door to take these shots, 

I was hit by a wave of dry, dusty heat. 

It was a relief to close the door and have a cool house.

Artsy shot of my pantry. Isn't it beautiful?

Okay, upstairs we go. Here's the bathroom. 

Large linen closet (left) and a shower/tub inside that doorway.

Our bedroom, complete with Pack n' Play! 

The shades are closed due to the heat, 

but we're lucky to have a view of a wall instead of a parking lot. 

Added privacy.

Other side of my bedroom. 

I think my dresser looks a lot cuter in this picture than in real life.

 Never mind the mess.

Close-up of the crib! 

I'm thinking I need to claim the "bunny-guys" and 

hang them instead of those sad little stars. 

Love the plaid, though.

Oh yes...the second bedroom. 

The sorting room. 

Well, actually, more like the "Where can I hide this?" room. 

I'll clean it up...one of these days...

Yours truly, a beach-ball with legs.

Artsy photo of a chocolate cake I made the other night. It's quite tasty. 

Though truth be told, it's made with honey and yoghurt instead of sugar and milk.

Alright! Now you've seen it. Please drop by for tea again soon.

Love, Margaret                                                                          

October

This is the first day of my life.
'Swear I was born right in the doorway.
Yours is the first face that I saw.
'Think I was blind before I met you.
-Bright Eyes

We didn't know if this would be our last weekend with just the two of us. We spent the hours as only lovers can--laughing and holding hands. We went downtown on Saturday, and walked along the little creek by the mission.

We went to the library, and signed up for membership cards. Next, we went to a coffeeshop, where we shared a much-too-sweet pumpkin latte, and later we walked to the local cinema to see the movie, 'Looper'.
After the movie, we toured a local soap shop (Matthew bought me a lovely bar of Lavender-Rosemary soap). We went to Eureka Burger for lunch, which was absolutely delicious. Then, tired and happy, we drove home.

Sunday morning, we woke early and drove out to Pismo beach. We went to Mass at Saint Paul the Apostle. Afterwards, we went to a little local coffeeshop, "The Steamed Bean", and walked down Shell Beach.

It was high tide and we just stood and watched the waves crash onto the rocks and smelled the salty air. It was so foggy when we arrived, but the sun eventually made its way through the clouds and burned off the fog. After we went home, we spent a quiet and relaxing afternoon at home, and went to our friends' house for dinner. We stayed out much too late and crashed into bed last night.

And now it is Monday morning, the first day of October, and I am at home waiting for my love...

Love,

Margaret

Settling In

38 weeks pregnant already! We are too excited to meet our baby boy. 

We're finally beginning to feel at home in this town. We've been to sandwich shops and coffee houses, grocery stores and libraries. We've met quite a variety of people. 

These days, I'm busying myself with mountains of laundry, unpacking boxes and cooking and freezing meals. 

I made some pumpkin muffins earlier this week. I highly recommend you make them. 

Love,

Margaret

New Beginnings

Hello.

I've created this blog to chronicle our adventures in a new city. Last week, we packed up and moved a thousand miles away from all we knew and loved.

Things we said goodbye to:

Family

Frequent rain

Cozy coffee shops

Things we've said hello to:

Sunshine

Palm trees

Ocean beaches

A new hometown, a new apartment, and a new job for Matthew is quite a lot to adjust to.

We're also expecting one bouncing baby boy in early October.

A great deal of change in our quiet lives...

Love,

Margaret