Morning Calisthenics

Apologies for the orientation of this video; we keep forgetting that we shouldn't take video with the camera in the "long" position because the video can't be rotated for viewing. Still, this is fun to watch.

gordita

Our little girl is getting so plump! It is amazing to watch her transformation since Rivers was such a skinny baby, and Fern has the same diet from the same source but her body is looking much more filled-out.

These first two months have been challenging but surprisingly do-able for our little family. Fern can be a cranky baby at times, but she also is a pretty good sleeper, so on balance I'd say she's a pretty sweet babe. Most nights she sleeps a five hour stretch, which means one feeding in the wee hours and then another in the early morning, after both of which she usually goes back to sleep, so we're getting pretty good rest. She's also smiling and cooing, so we have little conversations in baby talk, and that is very sweet.

Rivers has had some ups and downs with the transition to being a big brother. He's had his fair share of tantrums and ornery behavior over the past couple months, and it's a challenge to know how to parent him well during some of those. We're trying to find the balance of assuring him that we love him and want to give him plenty of attention with the reality that sometimes he will just have to wait his turn because there are two kids in this family now.

There have been some exciting things happening for Rivers, however. He had his first visit to the dentist (see photo). He would not let her do a cleaning or even much of an exam, but finally after bribing him with the promise of a cookie (oh the irony...) he did allow her to "count" his teeth and thus she was able to see that there were no obvious cavities. An even bigger development is that Rivers has started preschool! We've joined a group of six other families that have created a co-op and use a Waldorf curriculum (Rivers already knew most of the kids). We rent a basement space that they have converted to a cheery preschool space, and the parents take turns teaching on a rotation. He goes two mornings a week, and he loves it. It's nice to have something for him to look forward to that is just for him right now.

Welcome, Fern.

Rain is falling on my windows, the temps are in the 50s, and the birds are singing spring-- which means, of course, that our little spring babe has arrived at last. Last Thursday evening I started having contractions that would come and go, indicating early labor, which lasted for two days. Usually when I lay down to sleep, they subsided but on Saturday night they stopped letting up and began to intensify. Around midnight our team of three midwives and friend, Cindy, assembled as I rode out the contractions in our bathtub. It was a beautiful and challenging progression through the night-- getting out of the tub and trying different positions to help my body open up and move the baby down. Jason and the women were wonderful supports, and I was able to really focus myself on yielding to my body's rushes and meditating on helpful mantras ("I am opening like a flower" and "breathe the baby down," etc.)

A bit before 4 am the contractions were easing up a bit and my body seemed to want to give me a little break, so I was lying on my bed receiving a massage when my water broke. Things started to build again from there, and soon I had the urge to push. I got up on my hands and knees on the bed, and after 18 minutes (!) of serious work our little girl plopped down on the bed (Jason and I were confused about who was supposed to catch her, so neither of us did! But she didn't have far to fall onto the soft bed). She cried heartily and latched onto my breast almost immediately. It was a great relief to have finished the work and to have our little babe finally with us. It was Sunday morning, April 3 at 4:45 am. She weighed 6 lbs 14 oz, was 18.5 inches long, and we named her Fern Ingrid Gill-Bloyer.

Since then, we've been focused on resting up, nursing, and adjusting to our new life as a family of four. Rivers has been very loving toward his much-anticipated Baby Sister. Always the cautious child, he was hesitant at first to come near or touch her, but has warmed up quickly and now enjoys holding her and looking at her. We have seen some signs of him having difficulty adjusting to the changes in our house, though-- mostly in a few emotional breakdowns over issues that would normally be small frustrations. We're taking special care to keep his daily routine as close to normal as possible and to provide him as much affection and care as we can. It helps a lot that Jason is taking two weeks off from work-- Rivers is loving his special time with Daddy.

And we are also being cared for well by members of our church community and other friends who have been bringing daily meals, offers of practical help, and play dates for Rivers. Thanks to all for the love offered and sent to us.

A note on her name: Last summer Rivers and I watched the movie Charlotte's Web, in which the little girl's name is Fern. I was drawn to it's old-fashioned charm and its evocation of ancient natural beauty (ferns first appear in the fossil record 360 million years ago!). Jason chose Ingrid, which means "Ing's Beauty." Ing is the Norse god of earth's fertility who rides the land each year to prepare it for spring planting.

Our new babes

Spring has begun, and we have spring CHICKS to prove it! That's right, our little fam and our friends downstairs, the Peebles, are raising urban chickens. Just yesterday afternoon Rivers and I ran down to a local bird store where a new batch of chicks had just arrived from a hatchery in Michigan. We picked out our six Rhode Island Reds and brought the girls home, cheeping away in a little box. We lovingly placed them in their brooder, where they must stay for about six weeks under a heat lamp until they grow a bit bigger and the weather gets warmer outside. Jason and a friend spent the past Saturday working on constructing their coop, and it will probably take at least another full day to complete the project. Rivers is thrilled about our chicks, but he was very concerned about where their mommy and daddy were and why we weren't bringing them home too. I guess we're their mommy and daddy now.

And oh yes, of course there is still that other babe coming. In fact, now that I have passed the 37 week mark, she could come any day now! I'd still appreciate another week or two before the birth to get a few more things squared away, but we're pretty excited for her arrival. Rivers has decided that we should name her Radiator Gill-Bloyer. He says he just likes that name.

Baby Girl Wish List

As many of you out there know, another Baby Gill-Bloyer is on the way: a little girl due in early/mid-April. In taking stock of our baby supplies, we are very pleased to find that there is not really too much that we need that we don't already have. If you are of the gift-giving inclination, the few items that we have identified which would be helpful for Baby Sister are:

-girl clothes (preferably second-hand, preferably not too much pink! and we need all sizes, not just newborn)[UPDATE: We've received a lot of clothes as gifts and at this time don't need much more. Please consider one of the items below.]
-money to cover the cost of a second-hand double stroller (already purchased)
-an Ergo Baby carrier or money to purchase one second-hand
-offers of babysitting for one or both of our children

Thanks for thinking of us!

Christmas in our new house!

On December 18 we moved into our beautiful old two-flat. It was built in 1908 and was most recently owned by three adult siblings from a family that grew up here forty years ago. It had fallen into pretty awful disrepair, so after keeping an eye on the building for several months we approached the owners about selling. It took almost a year, but we bought it in November with our good friends, the Peebles, and began a major rehab that was finished in a remarkable six weeks.



We live upstairs and the Peebles live downstairs. It's just around the corner from the building where we lived before. Rivers loves his new house and his new room. He wants to show all of our visitors his big boy bed and his blue rug. The place feels like a mansion to us with its four bedrooms and spacious living room, dining room, and kitchen. There is plenty of work still to do, and lots of settling in as well, but it has started to feel like home.



We had a wonderful Christmas in our new home. We got a nice snow storm on Christmas Eve and a bit more on Christmas Day, so Rivers and Jason took the opportunity to build a fort out of sticks and branches in the front yard and have a snow ball fight. Rivers dressed up in a pretty hilarious sheep costume for our Christmas Eve service. When we were putting up stockings that evening, he insisted we put one up for his baby sister also. She got clementines and chocolates just like the rest of us. On Christmas morning Rivers found the baby Jesus in his Advent calendar and placed him lovingly in the manger with Mary and Joseph. There was a little bit of confusion for Rivers as to who was born (baby sister? where is she?), but we cleared it up pretty easily. We ate a few of our treats and later went downstairs to the Peebles' for a lovely brunch with a number of friends from church.



Now we continue to celebrate Christmastide, moving the magi and their camels around the living room, each day a little closer to finding the baby Jesus. On Epiphany (January 6) they will discover him and we will celebrate his being revealed to the world.

Halloween

Rivers had a great Halloween with his friends Edie and Calvin, playing at a neighborhood party and trick-or-treating for the first time.