In which Helena finds her voice, Harper suggests a little natural family planning, and Hudson vacuums

Helena is extremely pleasant for approximately 23 hours a day. Mostly still just sleeping and eating and then, more sleeping. Around 5 days ago she decided that she needed to do a little crying. It is loud. So loud, in fact, that when she tried it out at 3:30 am she actually managed to summon a feral cat who crouched outside our bedroom window and joined Helena in her lament. When they get worked up, it's uncanny how much cat can sound like a baby. In fact I was so groggy I got a little confused and was concerned at one point that Helena was actually out in the shrubbery. A few other details I'll chronicle here in case this ends up becoming her baby book. So far she isn't crazy about the sling, the swing, the pacifier, the Miracle Blanket, or sleeping on her back. She likes being held, sleeping on her tummy, eating her hands, being swaddled NOT in the Miracle Blanket (I am not giving up on it because it cost $30--it looks like a baby straight jacket), and Daddy rubbing her back while she reclines in the Boppy.

Two days ago at breakfast, Harper said this: "If we took one baby away, we would only have two children in our family." She then cut her eyes to the right where her brother sat happily eating his oatmeal, oblivious that in this little equation, he had just been canceled out. I commended her on her math skills, but assured her that none of our babies were going anywhere. Then she segued into this:
Harper: Mommy, WHAT is making you have a baby so much?
me: (panic, panic, is she asking what I think she is asking??! I won't answer her and she will forget the question!)
Harper: (not bothered at all by my silent panic, eyeing my English muffin with Great Suspicion) You need to stop eating so much. So you will STOP having so many babies.

And we moved on.

The firefly has landed

Actually 'alighted' might be a better term. She is teeny. And it makes a pun. We have actually been home a week. Here are some stats:

Hours of labor: approximately 4 1/2--we arrived at the hospital at 11:15 pm and Helena was born at 3:45 am.

Hours of labor without epidural: approximately 2. I am officially a w.i.m.p.

Last meal before labor began: La Madeline petite Caesar salad and potato soup. I do NOT recommend this particular combination because tangy Caesar dressing will not serve you well when you are trying not to throw up during your contractions. Enough said.

Number of minutes spent pushing: approximately ZERO. It was a little surprising for everyone, including my doctor, who barely had time to perch on the end of the bed to catch her.

Percentile of Helena's teeny head: tenth (same as Harper and Hudson--we are a wee headed family, apparently)

Number of total hours spent in hospital: 36

So far Helena is proving to be that Mythical Creature known as The Easy Baby. The husband and I had heard told of these magical sleeping infants and had yet to experience one ourselves. It's probably a good thing because if Harper had been this easy, our heads would have swelled to epic proportions and we would have thought it had something to do with our Superior Parenting and would have been unbearable to be around. She sleeps around 23 hours a day, is nursing really well, and doesn't seem to be at all bothered by the general hullabaloo going on around her. Harper and Hudson are both adapting well. When he first saw her, Hudson got a big smile, held out his chubby hands palms up and proclaimed, "I HOLD it! I HOLD it?" then he went happily back to lining up his fleet of matchbox cars. About twice a day he will notice her and repeat the initial request. We have yet to comply, but he doesn't really seem to mind. Harper was giddy with excitement the first couple of days. She would wake up and sprint into our room to see what Helena was up to. Some of the enthusiasm has waned, but she has been really willing to help, and said last night, "I like Helena! I REALLY like Helena.. I like her so much I even LOVE her!" Effusive praise indeed.

Today is my first day to be all by myself. My mom has been here, bless her, helping in the big and small ways that she always does. It's going pretty well so far, and I actually have all 3 of them sleeping in unison which means I should definitely follow suit. Let's see if I can attach pictures first. Here she is sunbathing to help resolve a little jaundice:

Helena Jane is here!

Helena Jane is here and she weighs 6 pounds and 12 ounces.

February 3, 2009, Perhaps?

Helena is on her way. We are at the hospital. Getting an IV. Epidural is needed. Will post more. ( Actually, I am sitting here while they put the IV in my wife's arm so I don't VOMIT at the sight. Much Pain is here too. I figured I would guest post as she is not available for comment (oh there is some commentary; but not appropriate for the PG rating).

This boy I love...

is two years old today. He loves his Daddy, his sister, puppies, cars, the letter 'G', Elmo, coloring, sliding by himself at the park, horses, dancing when no one is looking, his grandparents, bananas, books, and his blue blanket. He is also fond of me in a sweet, consuming way that I never would have been able to imagine when I first held him on this date 730 days ago. He has a gentle, tender spirit. He wants to please us and is extremely sensitive to tone, making discipline a fairly straightforward endeavor at this point. He is not fond of having his picture taken and while he is generally a smiley little fellow, it is very hard to capture. The only other things that displease him in any consistent way are having his sleeves pushed up and not having food instantaneously appear at the very moment he decides he is hungry.

His favored place of repose:
His favored playmate:

I am thankful beyond measure for this son I adore. Happy second birthday Hudson John.

8 days a week

Helena Jane is right at this moment doing the splits in my uterus. Looks weird, feels extremely uncomfortable. So, eight days until D-Day. I've been having some contractions in the evenings but they are mild and without pattern. The wave of utter exhaustion that hits at around 5:15 pm is fairly incapacitating, which is unfortunate timing all around, considering that is really the part of our day when I am least expendable.

Harper has for a while now been uncomfortable with the idea of extinction. Specifically in reference to dinosaurs. So after we saw the dinosaur bones at the museum last week she began to work out a little revisionist history. It goes something like this:

Joshua the dinosaur is NOT extinct. Joshua the dinosaur lives in Colorado.
In the woods of Colorado. He doesn't bite. In fact, he's rather friendly.
He doesn't eat robins and stuff. He doesn't eat THOSE kinds of birds.
He eats crows. He's a farm animal.

At that point in the story I had to stop transcribing because the pasta was boiling over, but the important conclusion was that Joshua the Dinosaur is NOT just bones. He has skin and muscles and he is decidedly still alive right this minute. In the woods of Colorado. Eating up those crows.

Frankenblanket

This is not a political post about politics in Minnesota. Although that IS wacky, right? It seems like if anything should preempt a person from running for public office, it should be a stint on Saturday Night Live. Alas. I wanted to show you a picture but I'm on the husband's computer and can't figure out how to find the one I'm looking for. The picture I wanted to show you is of Harper's Special Blanket. It is green and she began to favor it very particularly when she was around 7 months old, precisely the point at which it begin to unravel. By the minute. I actually tried to replace it soon thereafter and, of course, she would have nothing to do with the identical, ravel-free replacement. Special Green Blanket is now approximately 1/8th its original size and we spend a few minutes just about every evening trimming off yarn straggles so they don't strangle her in her sleep. Because this is how Special Green Blanket spends his nights: wrapped around her neck like a scarf. I've been promising for awhile now to somehow fix SGB so that he would stop this unraveling nonsense, and Harper decided to hold me to it today. So I let her pick the thread color (red, and yes I just used thread instead of yarn--did you think I'd really have yarn lying around?) and got to work. Harper sat on my (almost nonexistent) lap and lovingly caressed SGB while I attempted some semblance of a running whip stitch? I just made that up--I have no idea what stitch I used and it looks really terrible. But Harper seems pleased and perhaps the remaining three inches of SGB will be with us a few more months.

The husband had to leave really early this morning and forgot his phone. Which I thought for sure would prompt me to go into immediate labor and deliver Helena Jane on the bathroom floor with only Harper and Hudson to assist. Nope.