She has arrived!

Lots more details to come but I didn't want too much time to pass before providing a little update for those (if any) who read this blog and are not family or follow my minuscule social media presence.

Ivy May Johnson arrived Sunday, May 17, 2020. Her birth was a beautiful and hopeful moment amid a time of crisis and we are grateful for her health and presence.

We've already had over a week with her company and she fits in like a piece we didn't know we were missing. My time is far more divided now but I'll do my best to continue to post here as much as I can. Birth story coming up next!

Peeks from the Week

It has felt like a long and stressful week. Last five days of work and the final week before the baby's arrival. I've wanted to soak it all in and have it done with quickly at the same time. Mixed emotions.

On Monday I really tried to focus on Kip and spending extra time with him. We played with the fake snow and snuggled together.

Tuesday I had my 38 week OB appointment and we've been packing the hospital bags in the car with us and saying goodbyes to Kip, just in case.

The appointment was at 8 am and for the first time since this entire pandemic started, we hit traffic getting into the city. I was stressed about being late and so my blood pressure was high when they took it at the office. That made the doctor worried so she took it a few minutes later and it was normal. Then I must have said something wrong about fetal movement because she suddenly wanted to do an ultrasound to check the fluid level. She could see that there was plenty but couldn't technically take a measurement because the umbilical cord was in the way. So she sent us to the hospital for monitoring. I was annoyed because I KNEW everything was fine and that I'd just get discharged and I did NOT want to go to the hospital unless we'd be leaving with the baby. But, I couldn't argue. So Dan drove me over to the hospital and I had to go in alone because he couldn't come in unless I was admitted.

I went up to the maternity ward and even though my doctor called ahead, the front desk people were confused by my presence and I had to explain everything. It was uncomfortable because everyone is suspicious of everyone and you have to repeatedly answer questions about any known Covid exposure. I had to get undressed and all hooked up and get a bed in triage. The nurse was at least nice and chatty so that helped. They took my blood pressure about 25 times and put the monitors on for the baby. They took a bunch of blood for labs and then left me to sit there for a couple of hours in a dark room stuffed behind my mask.

It was like Deja vu with Kip as I was in the exact same triage bed I was when I went in with him. Except it was worse because of the whole pandemic. Around 11 am the doctor on call came over to see me and said I could go. My labs were fine and my blood pressure was normal. Ugh. I knew that would happen. Then they ran through the whole list of scary things to look out for and I finally got to leave.

Back home and back to work. My doctor called later that day and moved the induction from Sunday at 6 am to Saturday at 10 pm...because I'm not dilated yet at all. So we'll be starting our sleepless nights early.

On Wednesday I had work calls seemingly all day. But my department surprised me with a few baby shower type games over our video call. Baby picture guessing and a game to guess how many spools of thread were in the jar. It was a sweet surprise during such a weird time.

Bonus of this weird time, mid-day snuggles!

Yes, he still has his pacifier. We're in the middle of a pandemic epicenter, people! Vices are embraced on the home front. I'll take the future orthodontic bill for a little peace right now.

Goodnight hugs!

Yesterday I was feeling so DONE with being pregnant and stressing about fetal movement and anticipation of delivery. Mandy went and got the last of our grocery shopping done so we are set for the week ahead. And I made my mom's rice pudding.

My mom always made Mandy and I rice pudding for our birthday and when Kip was born and she was here, she made it for when I got home from the hospital. It's a bummer that we can't have family visitors come for the baby's arrival but we know it's for the best and safest for everyone. The rice pudding was actually so easy to make! I'll have to share the recipe here the next time I make it.

Kip got a hold of my old phone yesterday and took, no lie, 235 photos that looked like this:

Getting lots of snuggles and pics with my first little babe until his baby sister arrives.

Even though things seems to be getting a little better day by day, there is still so much unknown and it's all pretty overwhelming to consider with a fragile newborn just days away. Trying to embrace all the things to be grateful for, especially her arrival on the downward swing and not right at the peak. And since I'm not sure I'll be thinking about this type of thing in a day or two, I figured I'd write a list of all the silver linings from the last 9 weeks that made this whole chaotic time more bearable.

- NO commute

- ZERO subway anxiety

- Extra time with Kip, Dan, and Mandy

- Being able to eat lunch and dinner together every day as a family

- New simplified routines

- Witnessing Kip's personality and speech explode on a daily basis

- Snuggles, any time I want

- Discovering Grady's cold brew coffee

- Technology that keeps us connected to family

- Continued employment and maternity leave ahead

Happy Friday everyone!

Return of My Flower Bull

April showers bring May flowers...and my little Flower Bull.

Nesting Projects

One thing I really look forward to during pregnancy is the nesting instinct. I had a lot of urges with Kip's pregnancy and we were able to do a ton of them...particularly his bedroom. This time around my urge didn't really appear until late February and, well, we know the world imploded in March and that really put a damper on a lot of ideas I had. Fortunately, I was still able to do a few.

The biggest task we got done was completed literally the weekend before everything shut down. We went to the Container Store and Target and picked-up some organizing essentials. Our front closet was a mess with just a giant tub that contained all our "back stock" cleaning supplies. It was hard to get stuff out and hard to even find things. So we got a shelf and baskets, got rid of a bunch of stuff, and organized everything.

Before:

After:

We also got some magnetic containers to organize papers on the fridge.

And put up a magnetic/push pin board to replace the unused chalkboard we had in its place previously.

A few weeks later we swapped some things in our hall around and put up a "family center" on the wall with two baskets and another magnetic board.

We purged Kip's closet and have plans for getting some storage drawers for his craft supplies and games to clear some bookshelf space...but we have to wait for the stores to reopen to finish that task.

We also did some decor updates in Kip's room. I'll share one picture here and will do a better room update post after the baby arrives.

And finally I did a bunch of online shopping for the memory keepsake things we had with Kip that I also want to do with baby sister. I'm a twin so I believe firmly in tit-for-tat and all things being "equal." Since the poor baby is being born in the middle of a pandemic, I want to make sure that doesn't prevent her from having a box of memory items and a baby book and all the other little special newborn projects we did with Kip. I couldn't get everything I wanted on Amazon but I got some things to get us started and I've got my list for when we are able to go back to stores like Hobby Lobby.

Weekending it

Happy Monday!

We had a mellow weekend. Saturday was chilly so we stayed inside the apartment and relaxed. We tried out the Belgian waffle iron my Dad sent and then piddled around the apartment all day. We did some coloring, cleaning, playing, and train building.

In the early evening we got a delivery of homemade pie that Dan ordered as part of my Mother's Day gift. Our friend opened her pie shop less than a year ago and the shut-down has really hurt her business, so we tried to support her a bit. It was delicious!

On Sunday, Dan and Mandy showered me with special treats all day for Mother's Day. First, Dan let Mandy I sleep in until 7 am! And that IS a treat. He also made eggs and bacon for breakfast. Then I opened my gifts from them which included handmade cards, a painting from Kip, some treat coupons from Dan, and some post-partum t-shirts from Mandy and a really cute insulated iced coffee cup. Afterwards, we headed to New Jersey for our weekly trip. We stopped at Mandy's apartment to check-in and let Kip play with the toys at her place. Then we got our picnic take-out and went to our abandoned parking lot. It was warmer than Saturday but really windy so not the best outing. Kip mainly enjoyed walking his scooter around the parking lot.

We ran to Target to get some last minute items for the week and then did the Sonic Drive-Thru for cool treats. When we got home, Mandy made delicious fajitas for dinner. It was a great day.

Now we are in the final countdown until the baby arrives and trying to get things done while also soaking-in the time with just Kip. He is looking forward to baby sister but I know he isn't quite prepared for the ultimate shake-up to the world as he knows it. 

Peeks from the Week

Big news this week!!! I've been schedule to induce delivery on May 17! That means we are in the less than 10-day countdown to the arrival! I'm equal parts excited and terrified but overall grateful to have a certain date and no more anxiety about going past my due date. And cheers to many answered prayers, things in the city have improved enough that partners are now allowed to return to the hospital during visiting hours while mom and baby are in recovery! There are still plenty of rules and what-not but I'm relieved to know I won't be alone in the hospital for two days.

This week I've been finishing-up stressful work projects, organizing things, and trying to catch-up on some blogging before next week when time will effectively disappear into endless sleepless nights and baby snugs.

On Monday I spent some one-on-one time with Kip. I saved a bunch of his yogurt pouch lids to do some water play. My idea was to have him scoop out by color but he was more into his own thing so I just let him have at it. He played with this set-up for over an hour!! We added shaving cream soap and that extended the play even longer.

On Tuesday it was Kip's little friend's birthday. She lives two floors above us so we dropped a gift at her door and then her mom came down later and dropped off some cupcakes at our door. Kip loved them! Strange little no-contact, no-sight birthday party. It's not like in other parts of the country where parents organize drive-by birthday parades. Here, it's doorbell ditching.

On Wednesday, Mandy and Kip made pumpkin bread for snack!

He really loves helping in the kitchen and we don't do it often so he had a good time.

Retail therapy is a real thing and I'll admit we've totally spoiled Kip during the last two months with extra train tracks and legos to entertain him. It's hard when it's just a click away and you have no other means of entertainment. But, Kip is very appreciative and we know these types of toys really keep his attention.

This weekend we are supposed to get a cold snap. Only 40s on Saturday so we'll probably stay inside the apartment and go for our weekly outing to New Jersey on Sunday.

Quarantine Crafts

We've gotten a little crafty during quarantine.

I did this little Hedgehog watercolor kit that Terri Mom got me and paired it on the wall with a Brooklyn Bridge embroidery kit I did that Mandy gave me.

Dan's Aunt sent us this idea she saw online. I adapted it for the four of us + baby and I added it to Kip's little memory album with all his finger/foot paint projects from his first year. It's uncomfortable to have to document this time but I'm glad we are all together and made the best of the circumstances as much as possible.

Mandy made Kip a little paper road which he has played with for several weeks now.

Kip and Dan made paper crowns one day.

We saved all of our toilet paper and paper towel rolls for a several weeks and had Kip paint a few one day. Never mind how long it took for these kid paints to come in the mail! Sheesh, I'll never take actual Prime Shipping for granted again.

My idea was to take the rolls and make a matchbox car ramp. It didn't really work very well and held Kip's attention for about 2 minutes.

Mandy adapted the rolls to make a ball run instead and used some felt balls she had. It worked much better and was played with for a good bit before we tossed it as junk.

Mandy made our rainbow heart window which has brought much cheer to me while I work and stare out the same window every day.

But our primary crafty entertainment during this time has been coloring books! Mandy brought her markers and coloring book collection with her when she came to stay with us. We've enjoyed many afternoons coloring and finished several books and bought several more. It really helped me to relax and not focus on the chaos and scary things around us. Kip even joined sometimes.

The markers we use are Crayola Pip Squeaks. Get yourself a box!