Happy FIRST Birthday, My Sweet Channing

   I've said this countless times, but I really can't believe how fast this past year has gone. I told a friend just yesterday, I think my fast labor with him was predictive of the year to come! In honor of sweet Channing and for my own personal record, I thought I'd revisit that wonderful day that Channing made his memorable entrance into the world.
**Warning: If you are at all sensitive to talk of labor, birth or all that falls into those categories, read with caution.**
   For weeks leading up to his day of birth, I had been having on and off again contractions. Nothing really painful, just at times uncomfortable enough that I thought, "this is it!". I had postponed having my dilation checked until that week before he was born, for fear that I wouldn't be as far along as I had set in my head and that inturn would only have a negative affect on my progression. But on Thursday of that week, my midwife (Susan) and I discussed that it was time to see if anything was going on. To much surprise I was already 5cm! That was more than I could have hoped for! I always heard of women walking around dilated that much (or more) but never really believed it! There wasn't much more Susan could do except prescribe me some homeopathics and recommend the typical natural methods to bring on labor and just wait it out. So I went home encouraged, excited and very impatient. Nothing happened that night and I paid another visit to my midwife that Friday. Again, very surprised, I was now 6cm! How was Channing not being born? Again, some homeopathics were prescribed and more waiting. Though, I can't forget, that all along she was encouraging me to take a dose of Castor Oil for several days. I really didn't want to go that route but was desparate as Susan was leaving on Sunday for vacation and I really wanted her to deliver Channing. I had grabbed a Jamba Juice on my way to the appointment and I already had Castor Oil at home from my labor with Lucas. Why not, right? Susan told me all the tricks to get it down as painless as possible. So I went home and added a dose to the blender, along with my smoothie and forced it down.  My stomach immediately started churning and it brought on more mild contractions but after a few hours, everything stopped. I ended each of these two days with a call to Susan to report any progress but we both agreed that we'd wait until the next day to make a call on what to do next.
   So Saturday morning came, still with no signs for true labor. I was now texting my doula and she was giving me tips on positions to try to bring Channing down more into my pelvis in hopes that he would trigger labor. I also spoke with Susan and she told me to try another dose of Castor Oil. Oy, how I hate that stuff! I honestly can't remember if I did another dose. I don't think I did but maybe I sucked it up. Or rather, sucked it down. Ick! Anyway, I remember calling Susan later that evening, so, so frustrated that I was in this situation again (my midwife with Lucas was also due to leave on vacation. He was born one day before she left.) and not wanting to make a wrong decision. See, I believe my labor with Lucas was slightly forced and it led to a lot of complications that could have been avoided. I was naive and I wasn't encouraged to do what was best for everyone. I just wanted the pain to go away. So I made the decision that I thought would take it away the quickest. In the end, it probably led to the 26 hour labor. So because of this past experience, I was scared to intervene in anyway. But after a long conversation with my midwife, doula and Josh, we all agreed that it was ok to go ahead and intervene. Because I was already so far dilated, my body would most likely kick into high gear and Channing was most likely already in perfect position. So at 8pm on Saturday the 18th of June, we made the decision to go into The Birthing Inn. Our wonderful friend, Alyssa, came to our house to stay with Lucas. We left at 9:40pm and made the 45 minute drive to Tacoma. The drive was so surreal. It was weird that I wasn't in labor but knew that I'd be meeting my baby soon. It was unnerving to know that I would be very uncomfortable soon and not know when Channing would be born. I just wanted to be on the other side of it all. We arrived at The Birthing Inn and got settled into our room. This place is amazing. It has a comforting bed and breakfast feel. The color purple flows throughout and it's always quiet and relaxing, no matter what time of day you're there and even if a woman is in labor. I picked the room I wanted to labor in and Susan got right to work. By now, my contractions had almost faded completely. She began by checking my blood pressure and having me use my breast pump to hopefully get some contractions going. She wanted to break my water during a contraction. She checked my dilation and believe it or not, I was now 7cm! She felt a few light contractions so at 12:15am on June 19th, 2012 (Father's Day AND our 7 year wedding anniversary=) Susan broke my water. I moved to the toilet where I feld more comfortable. For some reason, I like to labor on the toilet. If you read a lot about labor, it's actually recommended. But it's also nice when you have amniotic fluid leaking out of you uncontrollably.=) It took a few minutes for the contractions to pick up and by 12:30am, I was in the thick of it and wondering how the heck I was going to get through this. I labored on the toilet until my bottom was sore from the hard seat and moved to the birthing ball. It was much more comfortable but at this point I could no longer move on my own or focus on anything during the contractions. Josh called in my Susan and my doula, Neva and they stood by me to help me through. It all went by so fast, the next thing I knew I felt like I was sitting on a bowling ball and my body was beginning to push on it's own. I've always wanted to do a water birth, but did not like it one bit during my labor with Lucas. I still wanted to try so I attempted to climb in the tub. I got onto my knees but that was as far as I could go. I was beginning to push full force, though uncontrollably. Susan was now firmly telling me I needed to either get all the way in the water (so Channing didn't breathe air and then fall in the water) or get out but I needed to do it fast. I didn't feel like I could sit in the water so I climbed out of the tub and into the bed. The next thing I knew, I was pushing with all that I had to get Channing out. I remember feeling extremely uncomfortable trying to prop myself up and my arms were getting tired so Josh climbed behind me so I could lean against him. It was amazing to know he was emotionally and physically supporting me and I had to amazing women looking out for me and my baby. Within a few pushes at 1:20am, Channing was out, water gushed everywhere and I was holding Channing. I remember Channing taking a moment to cry. I'm sure it was only seconds but it felt like an eternity. It didn't take long for Josh and I to start laughing at the fact that we were both sitting in fluid. There was a huge gush after Channing was fully born and we both got very wet. The clothes I had packed in the car, in case Josh had to come straight from work at the drop of a hat, came in handy.=) I was able to cut my own cord (not Josh's thing and I'm ok with that), look at my placenta and hold Channing the whole time. I can not say enough about having a birth outside of a hospital. Don't get me wrong, they're there for a reason and I needed one for my labor with Lucas. But if you have a healthy, normal pregnancy, it's one of the greatest treasures for healthy moms and babies. Channing was as healthy as can be and my mom even made it just in time to hear me delivering Channing. She came in a short time after Channing was born and the four of us spent the next 5 hours resting, eating, sleeping and staring at Channing. After many checks on both of us, we were given the ok to go home. We left The Birthing Inn in the wee hours of the morning and headed home to see our other baby. We got home just a few minutes after Lucas had woken up. I'm sure he was quite confused to find our friend Alyssa there and us walking in the door with this mini creature that he had no idea what it was. We greeted Lucas and introduced Channing to him and Alyssa. She just kept saying how odd it was that we left late the night before with Channing in my tummy and now we were back with him in our arms. It was quite odd for us too! Alyssa left and we gave Lucas a toy tool box from some dear friends who also had two boys and knew he might have a hard time adjusting. I don't remember most of that day except I remember taking a long nap with Channing (my most precious memories with both of my boys are napping together) and Josh took care of Lucas. It was an amazing day and the beginning of this whirlwind of a year with two sweet boys and my husband of now, 8 years. It was an emotional year with a lot of difficulties, ones that we're all trying to work through. But what a blessing it has been! God answered some big prayers through Channing. Many prayed my labor would be nothing like my first and boy was it quite the opposite...short and sweet! Many prayers were also said, asking that I would get a lot more sleep than I did my first time around and Channing started out sleeping in 4 hour blocks and within a few weeks was sleeping all night! Thank you, Jesus!
   Mr. Channing, you have brought so much joy to my life and how I wish we could repeat this year so I could soak up every second once again. But I look forward to watching you grow into the little boy that God created you to be. Your constant smile and sparkly blue eyes warm my heart each and every day. I love you sweet boy! Happy FIRST Birthday!

The monthly birth board at The Birthing Inn

Only an hour or so after he was born

Grammy & Channing

Lucas & Channing meeting for the first time

Sweet boys!

Resting after an exhausting day!

Channing's first birthday party

Happy 1st Birthday sweet boy!

My baby is 10 months old!

     How did this happen?! Ten months have passed and it's become a blur. Channing is close to walking, eating new foods every day and is so full of character. He is not a newborn, almost out of infancy and well on his way to becoming a toddler. He can now stand up on his own and today he started clapping once he's stable. I think he started doing this because Lucas and I would yell, "Yay!" and clap every time he stood on his own. Now he gets so excited himself and celebrates with us. He took two steps last week and is working on three. His food list is getting longer by the day and the only thing he has tried and didn't like is avacado. He's still the smiliest baby ever though he has been a bit fussier these past few days and drooling buckets so hopefully teeth will follow soon. I've already begun prepping for his big FIRST birthday party and admittedly, stressing out a little as it feels like it's right around the corner. But we have decided to go much smaller this time and hopefully will continue that trend for birthdays to come.

So wait no more, the adorable TEN month old Channing!



Showing off his standing skills

He loves Lucas' sippy cups. He has proven that younger siblings learn from the older ones. He has been stealing Lucas' sippy for months now. (FYI- It's pink because I ordered a set from Amazon and the picture did not have a pink cup. Oh well.)

He's becoming little boy! But still as smiley as ever!

Watching big brother outside

Sweet hands that will soon be covered in dirt and not baby soft



Channing is 9 months old!

Channing does have his moments but seriously, have you ever seen a happier baby?!

I love his silly faces. He likes to suck on his upper lip while sticking out his tongue. It's hilarious to watch!

Sweet baby toes! Pretty soon they won't be so kissable when he starts walking.

Love my boys' pure blue eyes. Josh and I both have hazel.

Channing had his 9month check up...17lbs 5oz and 27 inches. I weighed him at just over 18lbs at 8 months so either our scale is way off or he's lost some weight. I'm going with a little bit of both. Since 8 months he's gotten even more active so it would only make sense if he lost a little weight. He is 10% for both height and weight. I couldn't believe it! He's got rolls! Lots of rolls! His doctor said it's normal to plateau for growth at this age because babies start burning calories too fast for what they can eat. Lucas was the same, he was only 5% at this age. But he didn't have rolls like Channing. Despite the numbers, he's totally healthy. I'm being more proactive about feeding him solids. I'm still waiting several days between new foods, just to keep track of any eczema triggers. A plus is carrots don't seem to cause a reaction anymore and Josh didn't realize I was taking a break from peaches and gave Channing some a few days ago. So far, his skin remains the same...slightly dry and rough but no red awful eczema, yay! I've been giving him baby cereal puffs regularly and he's getting better about chewing them. He still forgets sometimes and then chokes on them. Thankfully they dissolve pretty quickly but it's still a scary sight for any Mama. Today I made him some homemade pear and apple puree so it was a little chunkier than the jarred baby food. My plan is to slowly add more texture and larger pieces of food so he learns to mash with his gums.
Channing is saying "Mama" and "Dada" quite often. He says "Dada" all the time and only says "Mama" when he's whining at my feet for me to pick him up. I'll take it though! He's also getting very brave and trying to stand on his own. I practice with him, propping him up where he can't grab anything and see how long he can stand. Last week he stood for about 10 seconds AND took a step! It was so exciting to see! He hasn't done that since but in no time at all he will be running around with Lucas. I'm really looking forward to those days, hoping it will bring more play time together and less of Lucas' jealousy towards Channing. I'm also sad for the day he will walk as I see my baby growing up in the blink of my eye. In no time at all, I will be chasing after TWO little boys!

Channing turns 8 months old!

My sweet boy is 8 months old! He has the best smile!

 

I just can't get over how fast my little baby is growing! The last eight months seem to be a blur of smiles, tears and joy. In his short little life he has learned to crawl, pull himself up to standing and eat fruits and veggies. This has been a slower start than expected has Channing seems to battle bouts of eczema. It flares up with certain foods, like peaches and carrots, so I've had to back track a lot in order to figure out exactly what makes it worse. For now, I'm giving him two weeks per new fruit or veggie so I can be sure I know just what sets his skin into a dry, red rash.

I love this picture! It looks like he's growling.

Channing is 7 months old!

I can't believe this sweet boy of mine is SEVEN months old! Every day brings us closer to celebrating his 1st birthday and I'm quite sad about this as I pack away precious little clothes and as he becomes more independent. The past few weeks have been huge for Mr. Channing! He went from a floppy worm crawl to up on his hands and knees and getting faster each day. Almost immediately, he began pulling himself up onto his knees, usually using Lucas' train table for support. Then just two days ago, Josh found him standing and holding onto the train table! He looks way too little to be able to do this, it's really unbelievable. I've been meaning to look up when Lucas first started pulling up on things, just for comparison. Maybe he is at the usual age for this but to me it seems early. The past week has been a rough one. In fact today, Channing was the grumpiest he has ever been. He absolutely refused to nap, even though he was so tired and I couldn't put him down.  At all. As soon as his little chubby toes hit the carpet, he'd get as stiff as a board and cry. It was quite frustrating after a week of similar behavior as well as a disobedient toddler in a bad mood. You can imagine, I got very little done. And no quiet time for this Mama. It's been a rough week for that. The boys' naps haven't been coordinating too well. Basically, I get one down and withing a few minutes, the other one is up and then a short time later, I get one down and the other one is awake again. Thankfully, I was able to break away last night for a few hours of much needed girl time. It was heavenly. But back to Channing. Here's some photos from his monthly photo shoot. It is almost impossible to keep him contained and happy on a small blanket that I use as a back drop. It's really quite comical how hard he tries to wiggle out of the spot I put him in. But I was still able to get some cute ones!



January In Review...

A rare moment, playing quietly together

Lucas setting up his new toy bin. I had nothing to do with his OCD organization. Well, maybe a little;-)

Peek-a-boo in the crib

So cute

Kisses

I love this picture because his chubby butt is peeking out=)

Wow, it's been a good month. Two getting along moments caught on camera.

Channing has been doing this since before he could crawl. I wondered if he'd skip crawling and go right to walking.

Beautiful eyes, beautiful smile

Lucas is so silly

Channing is such a cuddle bug!

I took Lucas out in the snow, his first time since last year and he had a lot more fun this time.

Making snowballs



He learned to go into a sitting position from crawling.

First time pulling up on something.