Eamon has arrived!

Two Thursdays ago I asked Miryam "when will our baby be born?" to which she replied quickly "in five days". Well, five days later Andy came home from school early and so we decided to enjoy the spring day and go for a walk. We had trouble finding an adapter to fit the hose to the sink so we could fill up the tub I was planning on birthing in (the same tub that Miryam and some of her friends were born in) so we headed down the bike path towards the hardware store. After that, a quick stop at the bank (and a quick rest for me on the nice soft chairs) and then off to a local diner for some lunch.

Once our belly's were full we sent Andy home on foot for the car and Miryam and I headed up the (seemingly infinite) hill to a playground. I was starting to feel tired and spacey so was happy to see Andy with the car after not too long. We went home and I took a nap. I woke up to some contractions and so I walked around tidying the house for a bit but before an hour was up the contractions were about 3 minutes apart. I called the midwives (the midwife I apprenticed with and my midwifery partner - both dear friends) and told them it was time.

Miryam played around for a couple of hours and then went to bed around nine. I thought for sure that would be difficult, with all the excitement, but some books and a snuggle from papa and she was out. I think the walk helped! A couple more hours of labor and we met our big baby boy weighing in at 9 pound 8 ounces. More than a pound more than his sister was! We woke a very confused Miryam to meet her brother, had a snack and all got in bed together to snuggle.


The next morning Miryam got some serious snuggle time with her brother. Throughout my pregnancy she was sure that it was a sister in my belly but once she met Eamon and kissed his chubby cheeks she didn't seem to mind the change in plans. She is really fantastic with him, very thoughtful and sweet. She fetches diapers, lets him suck on her finger when he is sad during diaper changes and gives him endless kisses. It's so wonderful (and tear provoking) to see my family together welcoming its newest member. I think we all feel like we were holding a space for Eamon even before we knew him.


We're enjoying our babymoon in the beautiful spring weather. Andy has two weeks of from teaching which is wonderful! The weather has been warm enough to bring out Miryam's little pool so we have spent much of out time porch-sitting, blowing bubbles and drawing with sidewalk chalk. I've got my family, a cold drink a sunhat and an adarondack chair. Now, really, is there anything better than that?

Any day now...

Sunday was my due date so we are officially in the "any day now" place. Miryam was born ten days after her due date and so the idea that this baby would be born earlier than 40 weeks didn't really occur to me. I think my babies like to bake a little longer. I also know I would have had a big shock (and very few diapers) had this baby arrived early.

To relive the sweet days before Miryam's birth, we decided to take advantage of the sun this weekend and go for a walk at Fitzgerald Lake just like we did to clear our heads and try and get ready for Miryam to join our family. It, apparently, was a farm in the past that was given to the state and flooded to provide some protected habitat. You can still find some old gnarly apple trees left where the orchard once was.


It was so nice to be outside again with some fresh air. We finally had a proper New England winter this year with plenty of snow but that also meant it was long. We spent lots of time listening to the red winged black birds and just playing. It was wonderful.


So no baby yet, but the spring days are just getting better and better and it can't be much longer!

possibly a busy time to start a blog

As you can see there is a serious belly going on here (and I hesitate the mention that this photo was taken over a month ago - you should see me know). It seems like a busy time to start a blog but I have wanted to get this in motion for a long time and the double motivations of nesting and wanting to do a better job of chronicling those early months combine to make this the moment.

This last bit of pregnancy has been a crazy time of crafting, organizing and taking stock of my life and daily rhythms to see what needs to be changed. We did an amazing spring cleaning and got rid of so much stuff. It felt great and now our small apartment feels more live-able. I've been crafting a lot in the evenings, and some during the day with Miryam's assistance - she especially likes to hand me pins and arrange them just so on the pin cushion.


We spend easter at my mom's house and every year Miryam get's a cute spring dress to wear. I had made her an autumn bonnet from the mailorder pattern last year and so decided to go for a matching spring bonnet/dress for this easter. I am so pleased at how it came out but this dress almost killed me. Apparently my daughter has a big head because the first version would not fit over it at all..even though it was a 4T size. Even after making the key-hole in the back quite a bit larger it is still a bit snug going over the head. Ah well. The adorableness of her in it made up for the pain and she loved it so it was worth it.

I think we'll get a lot of use out of both the dress and bonnet this year - the dress fits great for play and the bonnet is just deep enough to keep the spring sun out of your eyes but not so much that it gets in the way. Here's to sunny spring days coming our way!