Teething necklaces

Every mom knows the complaint - I cannot wear nice jewelry because my kids pulls/tugs/teethes/bites (insert your choice of verb here) on it. In fact, my son broke my favorite necklace when he was in the teething stage. I learned after that one. However, you also have to give up dangling earrings and some bracelets. I had to give up bracelets because my son always wanted to wear them - who wouldn't want to wear mom's jewelry. If mom is wearing it, it must be cool.

As I flashed forward to Abby going through this stage, and since I was looking for something Jon could get me and put in my stocking, I remembered hearing something about teething necklaces.

As I will do when I am trying to find something, I googled it (teething necklaces for mom). I got three types of results:

1. Actual necklaces that can double as teethers (which is what I wanted).

2. Something called a "nursing necklace" - which is a necklace made of colorful and tactile beads for a baby to hold while nursing - but not for teething on (which I did not want).

3. Amber necklaces - which the makers claim helps pain relief for teething babies when they wear it close to their skin.

So I picked out a few websites that had option number one and I was in love!

Smart Mom Jewelry makes a variety of necklaces (and matching bracelets) that can be teethed on. These come in donut shapes (a latex-free string with a donut pendant on the end) in multiple colors.

Uncommon Goods has the chunky bead-like necklaces that are made in three colors (blue, black and clear) for babies to chew on. These can go in the dishwasher when they need to be sanitized.

And then there is the Oh Plah! teething cuff - for those of you who like to wear bracelets and have babies who like to chew on them.

Anyways, I thought I would do other moms the favor of posting this here.

The second child

I was the first child for my mom. There are lots of pictures of me as a baby doing everything from sitting up to laying down. There are pictures of me with my eyes closed and open. There are pictures of me that seem to have been taken because there was simply nothing better to do. And then there is my sister - there are fewer pictures of her, much fewer. But she's the second child.

So I told myself, I would take as many pictures of Abby as I did of Nicholas. Nope. Not even close. I didn't even have the camera around today when Nicholas did the cutest thing - gave Abby a series of kisses on her head. Now I am going to have to account for the lack of pictures of Abby to her when she is an adult. And here I was going to be so much better at this than my mom.

Speaking of Nicholas - he's doing great. After a few days of being a total pain in the butt he seems to have adjusted. It helps that we have adjusted too. We have been making him a bigger priority when Abby is sleeping and dividing the Abby duties when she is awake so Nicholas gets a lot of attention. And we will read to Abby, but let Nicholas sit on the rocker too and pick the book. We also have Abby cheer on Nicholas while he is playing golf outside, riding his bike, or simply being "Super Nicholas!" This has helped Nicholas feel much better about his little sister. He even said "I love Abby" today. It was very cute.

I am recovering well. Not fabulously, but well. The thing about the second c-section is that it is much easier. You already know what to expect and you don't have to recover from 28 hours of labor plus the c-section. I have also avoided a serious staph infection this time, which helps recovery. I feel better because we caught the allergic reaction early so it wasn't as strong and I don't have a multitude of infections at the same time as I am trying to recover from major abdominal surgery. Amazing what a difference that makes.

The stairs in our house are the big problem; along with picking things up. You never realize how much you have to bend over to pick up until you cannot do it any longer. I can finally see the bones in my feet again (the swelling is down) and I cannot bend over to get socks on. I finally could get down on the floor to play with Nicholas, except not really. This is the problem with a c-section. For 6 weeks you don't get to bend down and pick things up. Things like your other child. But we find ways around it. We cuddle, we hug, he sits next to me on the sofa........

All in all the Wunderlich household is adjusting nicely. Now, if only they would synchronize nap schedules. Then we would be great.

What we have learned in a week

So, today is Tuesday. Abby has been alive for one week, and boy have we learned a lot. It is surprising how many things you learn about a baby in a week.

1. She smiles when she wets her diaper. This is a key indicator that a spout of crying is about to begin because she doesn't like being wet.

2. She wakes up and searches for Nicholas when she hears his voice. She can be dead asleep in my arms, but if Nicholas comes into the room and starts talking, she wakes right up and starts moving her head as if she is going to find him (good luck, since her eye sight is really bad right now).

3. She likes to eat - a lot. When in doubt about why she wakes up, it is probably because she needs to eat. Especially if she has a dirty diaper - then she really wants to eat.

4. She smells great - just like a baby should.

5. She knows who her mom is and loves to cuddle with me.

6. She has a Pavlovian response to hearing a bottle being shaken near her. Her father can bring out the bottle to feed her and she can hear it being shaken, then she calms down and opens her mouth and give you this look that says "You are taking too long to get me my food."

7. She eats her hands. All the time.

8. She much prefers to be held and cuddled than sleep on her own. And she will let you know this as well.

9. Her lungs are just fine. Ask anyone within a mile of our house.

10. She doesn't like hats and will push them off her head.

These are just some of the things we have learned about her in this week. Isn't having a new baby a wonderful journey of discovery and fun?

Breastfeeding trials

Breastfeeding.

The bane of my existance.

It didn't work well with Nicholas and I was very upset about it. Although I think the nurses at the hospital made me more frustrated and upset than I would have been if it hadn't worked and everyone had been supportive about using bottles, instead of focusing on giving me more "help" to breastfeed.

So going into it this time I was very laid back. If it worked, great. If it didn't work, fine. But it turns out I have to remind myself of this attitude.

Abby latched on great at the beginning, but wasn't getting anything. Then, within 18 hours of being born, she still hadn't pooped. For those who are unfamiliar with hospitals, if you child hasn't pooped within 18 hours of being born they want you to switch to include bottles to prevent jaundice. Jaundice means that your child goes to the NICU and sits under lights until the bilirubin - the stuff turning them yellow- is processed out of their system. Nicholas had to do this and I didn't want to leave Abby there, so we added a bottle.

I was fine. We did bottle and breastfeeding, with the breastfeeding just not going well. It wasn't Abby's fault, she tried. I just had no milk. So we started the pump.

Let no one tell you that pumping is easier. It stinks.

All I am saying is breastfeeding is a trial. It's not the "most natural thing in the world" - no matter what the La Leche League or hospital nurses say.

Some people do it well and great, others struggle, some quit, and most people are somewhere in between. It is the dirty little secret that no one talks about with pregnant women.

But I want to make it clear - there is nothing wrong with bottle feeding or breastfeeding. You do what you can, when you can, and the child will grow up great so long as there is lots of love. To all the new moms out there, or my friends who are about to become new moms, take heart if you have breastfeeding problems. You are not the only one!

Things you forget about babies

Abby is the second baby in the Wunderlich household. We made it through Nicholas, and so we assumed certain things about Abby based on our experience. We also decided that we knew what we were getting into this time. But there are things you forget.

1) How much laundry is there? We forgot how much laundry there is for a newborn. Between spitting up and all the other bodily functions that get all over clothes and blankets and hats and socks, laundry piles up.

2)What does sleep feel like? Nicholas was such a good sleeper and knew the difference between day and night from the beginning. Even though he would wake up frequently to eat at night (for the first few weeks) he would go right back to sleep. Abby has a witching hour about midnight - she desperately needs to eat but won't go back to sleep. She wants to he held and talked to and cuddled. Then, about 2:30 am, she will go back to sleep. Which means she's up again at 3-ish to eat.

3) Where do I get to go? I had forgotten that I don't get to go anywhere. Between feedings and pumpings I am tied to Abby about every 2 hours for 30+ minutes for feedings. Not to mention the cuddling and then the holding while Jon deals with Nicholas. So really, I get to do nothing. Nothing at all but bond with my cute little girl. And while I enjoy that, it is sometimes nice to get to do things like type a blog (which I am squeezing in) or have a few moments to myself.

We have just forgotten some things. But having Abby reminded us of them. The most important thing of all we haven't forgotten:

All children are loved in this household and there is always room for more love.

Abby is here!

Abigail Scarlett Wunderlich was born on 11/8 at 6:36 am. She is 6 lbs, 12 oz, 20 inches and has red hair. She really looks like her father. As soon as I upload pictures, I will post some here so everyone can see her. But she's adorable!

She slept her whole first day in this world. Slept and cuddled - with me, with her father, with the grandmother and grandfather, and even Nicholas got in on the holding action (his dad helped him).

My water broke at 3:03 am so we headed into the hospital. We were going anyways because the contractions were 10 minutes apart, but we assumed they would stop and they would send us home. Then my water broke. I found this a hilarious experience and was laughing super hard while it was happening and standing in the tub so it didn't get everywhere. Funny thing is, no one ever tells you what to do once your water breaks. I mean, how do you get new clothes on without getting everything all over? What about walking to the car?

Jon was a great driver, going as fast as he could. Which was perfect because the contractions were super strong and every 3 minutes. And getting stronger. Who knew things happened so fast? I was induced last time, so this time was totally different.

Kudos to Kaiser for having me in the operating room with the spinal in place by 6:15am. Then Abby was born. And since I kept complaining about pain, they knocked me out and put me to sleep. When I came to, it was 8-ish and no one had held Abby yet because her temperature was super low. Finally everyone got to hold her. Dad first, then grandfather, then grandmother. Then me.

She spent most of her first day sleeping. She occasionally opened her eyes to see the world. But she was basically asleep - and not really eating. So we shall see how the eating goes on day two.

I am doing great - I am feeling amazing. This time is so much better than the last. And the swelling is going down, the headaches are gone, the kidneys are functioning.....everything that was going wrong is much better. My blood pressure is back down nice and low. It is really going great.

Abby is such a love. It is a good thing that Jon and I love her so much. Jon is great with her, holding her and looking at her with such love.

We are so blessed to have her and we are super excited that she is with us.

Going to church

We go to church on Sundays. Well, recently I don't, but Jon and Nicholas do. And we have discovered the way to not have to fight about church clothes (since it generally means changing out of comfy Elmo pajamas, airplane pajamas, or dinosaur pajamas)...........simply let him choose clothes. He wants to dress like his dad. So since his dad wears a shirt and tie, so does Nicholas. When his dad wants to wear a sweater, so does Nicholas. So he picks out his own church clothes and we help him get dressed. And then we are treated to a round of statements about how he looks just like daddy because they are in white shirts, black (or whatever color) pants, sweaters (or vests), and ties. So it makes my day!

The recliner

My mother and grandmother got Nicholas a child sized recliner. It came in today. I told him he had a present from grandma and great-grandma. He was super excited, ate all his dinner (including veggies) and was jumping up and down to get his present. So Jon and I abandoned our dinner and Jon got the box. It was a huge box and the first request was to "please add another room to my fort." The box is going in the recycling because the fort is big enough. But he loves his chair. He got in it right away. Then he saw the cup holder, ran and got his water bottle, put his water bottle in the cup holder, sat down - and didn't move for 15 minutes. He had us get him books and sat in his chair, reading. I told him I wanted to sit in it and he said "No. It's for me, Nicholas, only." And when his dad accidentally brushed by it, he got very offended and told his dad "No touch my chair."

So he loves it. Another successful present from grandma and great-grandma. I can never get him presents this good.