Heat induced delirium

I have think we have really gone insane. And I blame it completely on this heat.

In case you haven't heard, Maine is suffering through a heat wave (along with the rest of the country).

We have no AC. Really, here in Maine, there is no need, and living in Maine on the water, there haven't been many times where we wished we had AC. We usually have a great sea breeze and our home is usually very comfortable.

Except for today.

The highs hit at least 88 degrees.

Inside of our house.


It hasn't been fun. We've been dripping with sweat all day. I feel bad for Callum because he's like a heat box, and putting him near me makes me sweat even more. It's tough. I've taken two showers, soon to be three, and a few dips in the kiddie pool!

Tonight, we went lobstering out in Casco Bay with some friends. When we arrived to Portland, it was a balmy 102 degrees. HOT. Thankfully, there was a nice breeze out on the water which made our trip tolerable and a lot of fun! The beer made it more tolerable, too. After dinner, we headed out to dinner with friends and suffered through some more beers!

As we were driving home, we were dreading walking into our house.

We walk in. Look at the thermometer and once again.....86 degrees. It was hot.

I told the girls to take their clothes off and head outside to take a dip in the waterslide pool. They stripped so fast and before we knew it, we had three n aked girls swimming in the pool. They thought it was the coolest to be swimming in the dark.

I went outside to dip my feet and before I knew it, the delirium set in.

I look up and there is my husband coming outside. N aked. 


Don't worry, our backyard is secluded by trees. So no one was scared.

Then before I knew it....

I was n aked.


And then finally, Callum was n aked. 


Yep, you read that right, all six of us were sitting in a kiddie pool n aked. 


And it felt ohhhhh so good! And I blame it all on the heat!

Would you like some iron with your breastmilk?

Today, Callum had his 4 month check up at 3.5 months. Since we are moving next week, I wanted to get Callum's well visit in now so I wouldn't have to find a pediatrician right away - I'd prefer to have time to find a pediatrician that fits our parenting style.

Anywho, we had to see a different doctor (ended up to be a pediatric nurse practitioner), since ours was on maternity leave :( She was very pleased with Callum's growth and development. He is now weighing in at a whopping 12lbs (10%) and 22'' long. It's hard to believe he has DOUBLED his weight since coming home from the NICU. For being 3.5 months and being 4 weeks early and having such a rough start, he is developing normally - smiling, cooing, starting to laugh, starting to grasp at things, etc. It was like music to my ears. Of course, I still worry about what is in store for Callum down the road, but for now, we will rejoice in the things he is doing normally and only hope things continue this way!

We talked about his demeanor and his home-life, etc, and then I got the big question....

"So, have you thought about starting solid foods?" 


The question caught me off guard because our regular pediatrician knows I don't feed our children solids at such a young age and has always been 100% on board with this. I told her with the girls we did not start solids regularly until about seven months. She then started to tell me about the research done and how infants should be given food at an earlier age, particularly breastfed babies, because of iron stores. I was cringing because there was no way in hell that I would be giving my infant - who can barely hold his head up, or grab at a toy, or know what solid food is - something other than breastmilk. She then said, well you can give him an iron supplement (hmmmm, a possibility, I thought), and then......the kicker!

"Well, a side effect of iron could be hard poops for the baby to pass. So, you may want to give him some juice, or water. 

Great, thanks. So, tonight, I'll just puree some fish or chicken or beef, and give it to him by spoon, then I'll follow his big meal with a bottle of apple juice. Yep.

I also tend to follow the lead of Dr. Sears, and this is what he has to say about babies and iron. Now, maybe there is some other, more cutting edge research than what he says, but to me, if our bodies were meant to make breastmilk, and meant for our babies to receive breastmilk, then there should be plenty of iron in our milk to support our babies and need for sufficient iron. Don't get me wrong, there are reasons some babies should receive supplemental iron, but I don't think our children qualify for any of those reasons.

None of our girls have ever had food any earlier than 6 months. I tend to follow the baby led approach with our children. Meaning, they don't get pureed foods, other than yogurt, and start pretty much with table food. I was a bit peeved at the appointment and thankful we have had such an awesome pediatrician for our family, who has been 100% supportive of our parenting decisions thus far. Our girls are happy, healthy and normally developed children, and I won't change anything for Callum - unless of course, something different presents itself.

I tend to think about first time mothers who don't have the education on breastfeeding and think about why they may choose not to breastfeed, or wean early, or give their young babies solid foods (which puts your milk supply at risk, too!) or other things. Giving my young infant juice or water or anything other than breastmilk at this stage is just not needed - no way, no how. Yeah, maybe an iron supplement may benefit, but for now, we will not be giving my 12lb infant chicken or beef. That will come, but for now, he will continue to receive breastmilk and breastmilk only. Obviously, he is having no problems growing and thriving on just that, and I intend to keep it that way until he is developmentally ready for something else.

GUM

I hate gum. I will chew a piece of gum every now and then, but overall, I hate gum. I hate that it sticks to everything. And it makes me cringe that my lovely husband introduced our oldest girls to gum. Thank you, honey.

To  me:
kids + gum = disaster.

Tonight, Kevin and I took the kids out for ice cream. He is finished with work until we move to Washington DC (which is in less than two weeks - cringe!). So, until we move to DC next week, we are enjoying our last days here in Maine by doing the things we love to do!


On our way home, Mairead starts crying and yelling at Lilah. After ignoring it for a few minutes, praying they will work it out themselves, it was clear that was not happening. Kevin finally asked what was going on...

"Lilah threw gum at me and it landed in my hair" says Mairead.

"HUH???" (how the *@$! did she get gym?) "LILAH where did you get gum???" thinking she had saved it from a time she's had gum...

"I picked it up off the ground" says Lilah

"At the ice cream place???" I ask

"YES" (lilah)

"Did you chew it???" I ask, praying she would say no.

Lilah........"YES"



Can I also mention that I had the honor of pulling the already chewed gum by some stranger out of my daughters hair???? GROSS.

She may be rough and tough...

...but, she's still a baby.

And she still loves to nurse.

I don't talk about tandem nursing our children nearly enough. It's been a huge part of my life, and our children's life. I never thought I'd turn into this earthy crunchy mamma who breastfeeds her children until  they are over two, cloth diapers, tandem nurses, homeschools and all the fun little things that go with it - though, I admit, I will always like a little glamour with my crunch. Always. 

It's hard to look at Clara and think of her as a baby. I don't know what it is, but the moment you give a child a sibling, it seems like they grow up instantly. I remember seeing Clara after I had Callum, and she looked so grown up, but yet, she was barely 19 months old. A baby. She is a baby, and I try to remind myself of this daily.

I don't nurse Clara that often in a 24 hour period, she is too busy for that, but come bed time, she will grab her lovey and her blanket, say "rock" and we'll snuggle together. I'll cradle her in my arms and then she'll say "Moot...moot", meaning milk. I'll let her nurse, and while she enjoys rocking and nursing with her mamma, I will sing her favorite song, 'The A,B,C's' , she will come off of my breast, and say "C,D" asking me to repeat the song. I will sing again, and maybe again, but almost always, I will finish the night off with 'You are My Sunshine". We will talk about our day, and enjoy some quiet time together.

I usually do not nurse Clara and Callum together. For some reason, I have never enjoyed nursing my children together. I feel like it is their own special time with me, so whenever possible, they nurse separately. On occasion, Callum will be fussy while I am putting Clara to bed, so I will nurse both of my babies together while I rock and sing to them. It's special because I really think Clara enjoys rocking and nursing with her baby brother. She will hold his hand, touch his head, and be really, really sweet. I love seeing her love on her brother so gently because usually, she is so excited about Callum, that she can be quite rough with him.

Sometimes Clara will ask to nurse at nap time, and sometimes I will let her, and sometimes I will say "not today", and she's okay with it. When she's sick, she can nurse whenever she wants. I love that I still nurse her, she is still a baby, and it is still a very important part of her life. I feel so lucky that I have been able to nurse all of our children together.......Mairead and Lilah....Lilah and Clara and now Clara and Callum. It's something I never thought I would ever consider, but now, I couldn't imagine doing it any other way. It is something they can share together right from the very start.

Mammas just wanna have fun!

Tonight we ordered pizzas and roasted s'mores at our house with friends.

The kids had lemonade.

The adults had strawberry mojitos.

Kristen had this grandiose idea of jumping into the marsh up the street from our house. At first, it sounded crazy. After some mojitos, it sounded fun!

Me and Kristen threw our bathing suits on, and our hubby's and all of the kids walked down to the water.

The kids were crying because they wanted to go swimming, too.

But....it was time for the mammas to have some fun and for the kids to watch for a change!!!

This is what we looked like:

Just another night...

With four small children 5 and under, there generally is never a dull moment.

On Friday afternoon, we set out for an evening in downtown Portland. We had to make a stop at a local children's boutique as they carried pediped shoes for the girls. Clara was in desperate need for another pair of shoes, and being the shoe connoisseur she is and only wanting to wear pedipeds, we had to make a stop!

Of course, as the six of us enter this little boutique, the silence ends. We are instantly noticed and recognized by the owner. Clara, almost immediately, notices these pair of shoes. Kevin lets her put them on, and as soon as she gets up to prance around the store we hear something....

"Squeak! Squeak"

What the ............... Kevin says.

The shoes squeak. LOUD. 


Of course, the shoes were on sale, and thank God for that as I am pretty sure there was no way Clara was going to take the damn shoes off. Thankfully, the owner told us the squeaks can be removed from the shoe. So, on they went, and Clara was a happy girl!

After our mission was completed, we met friends for dinner at Flatbread pizza.....an awesome pizza place! Nothing like fresh, organic flatbread pizza and beer, of course!

Clara would run around, and the squeaks from her shoes were quite obnoxious. Everyone noticed them, and laughed. It was hysterical, but I am sure everyone thought it was even funnier because it wasn't their child.

At the end of dinner, we all left and gathered outside. Clara came to me telling me she had had an accident. I took her to the bathroom, removed her pants and underwear (she's been in underwear for a few weeks now!) and took her back outside. Pant-less. Yeah, I surely am not getting mother of the year award for forgetting an extra pair of clothes.....but whatever.

So, we said our good-byes to our friends and make our trek back to our car. Poor Clara had to walk back to the car with her bare bottom and squeaky shoes. A perfect combination for lots of attention from others walking in downtown Portland! It was hilarious! I am sure people were thinking "what the hell????"

Three months.

Happy three months to the sweetest baby boy we know.

Three months seems like it was so long ago. I find it hard to believe that three months has gone by since our sweet baby boy came into our lives. While the first 11 days of his life hit us like a ton of bricks, and brought emotions that we prayed we'd never have to deal with in our lifetime, he showed us what is important in life, and just how strong a newborn can actually be.

I can barely remember what our life was without Callum. I look at my belly and am still in awe that he was inside of me just three months ago. It just seems so long ago. Callum is the sweetest baby. He is so good and we are so lucky to have him in our life. He is the easiest baby, so content and lovable. He is an awesome sleeper. He still sleeps a lot of the day, with times of wakefulness for about an hour or so. Those hours are generally full of smiles and him starting to really come into himself. He's starting to make those sweet baby sounds and recognizing familiar faces. His sisters light up when he looks at them and smiles. It truly makes their day. He is starting to enjoy time under the play mat, that is, when none of his sisters are around to sit on him, smother him, and interrupt his time to just play quietly!

As far as sleeping goes, he generally goes down for the night between 10-11pm and will wake up anywhere between 4-6am, generally more towards the 6am time. There are times, like today, that I will wake him up at 6am to nurse because my boobs feel like they are going to burst open! I will bring him into bed when he first awakes, we will snuggle, he will nurse, and we'll go back to sleep. Most mornings I am up before he is, and he'll stay asleep in our bed until 9-930am. It's like a gift! As it gives me time to give the girls breakfast, prepare for the beach or whatever it is that needs to be done.

As a mother to four children, 5 and under, I have to say having a baby who is so easy is like a gift from God. He makes my life easy. All those days I was worried sick about how I would handle four small children, little did I know, it would be like this. We are so unbelievably lucky. But, I am sure once he is mobile, payback will surely be a bitch! That's okay, I'd rather him be easy now :)

So, as I sit here and he is snuggled tightly into boppy against my skin, nursing, I will enjoy every precious moment I have. He is such an easy baby, loves to nurse, and is starting to show signs of "excitement" as he begins to nurse. I love it.

What joy he has brought to our family. I cannot wait to see what this little prince brings to our house full of princesses. We love you, Callum John.

I LOVE SUMMER

You've probably heard me mention how much I love summer, especially New England summers a million times. Well, you're about to hear about how much I love summer even more.

The last few weeks have been filled with so much outdoor time, beach time, family time, fun time that I can hardly keep up with myself. The girls have been dead tired by the end of the days, but each day, wake up ready for more fun. I guess it's the fact that we are about to leave Maine in a few weeks that has me on overdrive trying to enjoy Maine as much as we possibly can while we are here.

The 4th of July weekend was no different. The weather was beautiful. On Friday night, we grilled pizzas and had a fire with S'Mores with some good friends of ours. The kids were up until 1030pm and having a blast together. Saturday we spent the day at Scarborough beach playing in the sand and catching up with some friends. We had a nice dinner outside as a family and enjoyed the evening together! Sunday was a bit cloudy with some showers, so we headed to LL Bean for some shopping and fun. The girls got their faces painted and we did some shopping! Monday was the 4th, my friend from high school and her family came for a visit. She has three girls pretty much the same ages as our girls, so it was an instant hit. We headed to the beach, along with my parents, for a beautiful start to the 4th of July. The kids had so much fun and the ocean was a HOT 63 degrees! Unheard of in July! Mairead body surfed, rode the waves with me and had a blast! It was awesome catching up with my girlfriend and getting to know her husband and family. We all grilled out and headed downtown Portland for the fireworks. All the kids (there were 11 kids in all - a few friends of ours joined us) had a blast, running around, eating, waving sparklers all around and eventually watching the fireworks. It was a perfect end to the perfect weekend!

Me & Molly with our 7 beautiful children! Times sure have changed :)

Today, we were invited to a friends camp for the day. They were spending the week on Long Lake here in Maine for the week. So, I thought it would be fun to take everyone there for the day. I got everything ready last night in preparation to leave here by 9am. I couldn't believe we were actually out of the house, on our way, at 910am! It took us over an hour to get there, but, it was totally worth it. The girls had an absolute blast! They swam. They fished. We went for a few boat rides. They went on a canoe. Jumped off the dock. And absolutely wore themselves out! It was so much fun for everyone, including myself. The ride home was great, too. Clara passed out in minutes, so me and the big girls stopped for an ice cream treat. It really was one of the best days yet this summer, except Kevin wasn't there with us. I wish he could have been there to see how much fun the girls had on the boat. It makes me so excited for the future when we can do things like this all the time!

I have so many things I still want to do with the girls before we leave Maine that I am not so sure we will be able to fit it all in! And these aren't new things, just all the things we love to do together in the summer.

Toddler $trip Tease

Clara wouldn't be a "Fairy" girl if she didn't like to prance around n aked. Any chance our girls get, they $trip. We are constantly telling our girls to "put underwear on" or "get dressed" or "leave your clothes on".

Saturday at the beach was no different.

One minute Clara was walking down to the water. The next minute, she was walking away from the water...

Thankfully, she stopped there...

Balls

I've mentioned before how I try to be pretty open as far as our bodies are concerned with our children, especially when it comes to childbirth.

Well, tonight, it stepped up a notch. Unexpectedly. All because of one word.

Balls. Thank you, Callum. 


We all (me and the kids, all four of them) were showering together. I had Callum in my arms, washing him. I get down to his penis and say "let's wash your balls...." I've said it before to be funny, just being funny, but no one had ever caught on. Except for tonight.

Mairead says "What are balls?"

I didn't know what to say, so she asked again. So, I said "It's part of a penis, called the testicles"

Mairead: "Do the balls hold up the doody?" (She calls the penis a doody, don't ask me why, it's a name she came up with when she was really little, not me)

Now, how the hell do you answer that question???

I may be good about talking about OUR female body, but the males....Not so good.

My response: "Uhhh, no"

Mairead: "Welllllll, what do they do?"

By this point, Kevin was snickering and I was trying to keep my laughter hidden.

Me: "Ummmmm......well, it keeps the sperm inside"

Yeah. Yeah. You know where this is going.

Mairead: "What's sperm?"

Here we go.....

Me: "It helps to make a baby" trying to be as general as possible. She may have seen her baby brother's birth, but she still hadn't a clue as to HOW the baby got inside of mommy except for the fact that when a mommy and a daddy love each other, they make a baby.

Mairead: "Inside of the daddy?"

Me: "No"

Mairead: "Well, how does the sperm make a baby?"

Me: "Well, we have ovaries and they are right *here*. They have eggs inside of them. So the sperm goes inside of the mommy, goes inside of the egg, and that makes a baby."

You could see Mairead's mind spinning fast trying to process that bit of information. I was anxious to see where the rest of the conversation would go next, but thankfully, that was enough. She then proceeded on to the topic of birth, a topic I am much more comfortable talking about with my 5 year old.

Ice Cream Man

So far, summer seems to come.....and go.....come and go, but we've managed to snag the ice cream man a few times already this season!

Tonight we were having dinner outside. Kevin and I heard the ice cream man, snickered and waited for the girls to notice it, too. Within a few minutes, they heard it. Of course, they wanted an ice cream. So, like the good parents we are, we bribed our children. Mairead, Lilah, Clara...if you eat your dinner, and you better eat it quick, you can get an ice cream. Within seconds, the girls mouths were full of food and they were making a mad dash out to the street, down our long driveway.

One in a dress.
One in a jacket.
One n aked.

The girls stood anxiously at the end of the driveway awaiting the ice cream man to stop in front of them. Clara stood in the middle of the road. Waiting. N aked.

As he came closer, the girls were jumping up and down with excitement. The truck stopped at our driveway and the girls made their choices.

It's times like these that make me remember my childhood and getting excited over the simplicities of summer life. Hearing the jingle of the ice cream truck make its way around the neighborhoods wondering when your street would be next. I love enjoying these moments with our children. 

Keep Calm & Carry On...

I should have known that after Lilah puked in the pool (hopefully from downing too much water) during swim school this morning that it probably would have been wise to just go home afterwards, but no, I had errands to run, so off to Target with my four in tow.

We pull in to the parking lot and Mairead sees the big cart with the extra seats. I put Lilah in, and Clara next. Then, Mairead melts down screaming that she wanted in, too. I had no warning of this full blown fit, so I couldn't do damage control. Here I am, in the middle of the Target parking lot, with an almost 11 week old strapped to my chest, a 5 year old flailing trying to push her 21 month old sister OUT of the seat so she can get in, and a 3.5 year old trying to remain in the cart, too. I pull Mairead out, which makes her even more feisty. We enter Target with a kicking, screaming, crying 5 year old. Yeah. Fun.

I attempt to speak to her, but it doesn't help. I see people staring at me - as if I was doing something to my kid. Did they feel bad for me? Wonder why I have so many children? I quickly remember the sign I have in our kitchen:

I took a deep breath, and took Mairead by the hand. She continued to cry. People continued to stare, snicker. I just looked at them, calmly, smiled and carried on. I stop by the athletic wear department, and Mairead is still carrying on, then an angel, oops, I mean a Target employee comes by and says:

"You know, you should be nice to your mommy. If you can't behave in the store, I'll have to ask you to leave the store, is that what you want?"  (In a very nice, life-saving tone, actually)

Mairead looked at the man and shook her head intently, No. She immediately stopped crying and tried to compose herself.

Then, Lilah and Clara decided that if Mairead wasn't behaving, they didn't have to either. Lilah was in the cart and out of the cart....in......out.......in......out......I kept repeating myself. "Get IN THE CART" and Clara would stand on the little seat, sit down, stand, sit down. I'd buckle her in, she'd get out of the buckle. I swear, I wanted to just crawl inside a hole and not come out.

Then, Clara pushes Lilah out of the cart. Sweet! Another crying kid. I buckle Clara in even tighter...she starts to scream with frustration because she can't escape. But wait! Give her a minute and our little Houdini is now unbuckled. All I needed to do was to pinch Callum to make him cry and I would have successfully had all four children cry (not simultaneously, thank GOD) in Target.

Finally, we survived check-out, without any major meltdowns, and made our way to the car. I told the girls how disappointed I was in their behavior and for punishment they had to:

*make their toy room spotless - which is always like pulling teeth.
*clean our kitchen floors with a rag - unfortunately, they thought this was the COOLEST idea ever, and asked if they could do this instead of time out in the future.
*they didn't get to choose what they wanted for lunch - because if they act like babies, then, they aren't old enough to tell me what they want for lunch.
*lilah was made to nap and Mairead had to rest in her bed without toys and no lights for a while.

Not sure what else I could do - not much I can take away on a rainy day that won't let me keep my sanity, too!

Everything else can wait...

As I sit here typing, I am looking and thinking about all I need to accomplish around our home. There is laundry to be done. A dishwasher needing to be emptied. Sandy towels and bathing suits on our front lawn from our quick trip to the beach, and countless other things that are making me cringe. But, I have decided that for now, I will just sit here. And enjoy. No TV on. A slight breeze brushing through the trees in our backyard, birds chirping....and a sweet little boy sleeping peacefully on my chest. I listen to him breathing. In. and. Out. In. and Out. I do not do this nearly enough.

All sorts of things going through my head. I am in amazement at how much our sweet little boy is changing. He no longer has the look of a newborn. His face is getting chunky. His personality is shining through. As I listen to him breathe, I think about his first week in the NICU, the memories still very fresh inside of me. I remember what his breathing used to be like, and now, it is perfectly normal. As I caress his head, he smiles in his sleep. This is the life.

Yeah. I could be cleaning and doing things around the house while the girls are napping/resting upstairs, but instead, I will sit here. Enjoy my baby boy, for tomorrow he will be even bigger, and all too soon, he will be big like his sisters, and not need his mommy so much. I love this time with our babies. It's the one time I can sit down and enjoy without the interruptions from the others. Life goes by way too fast and today, I am going to enjoy him. Everything else can wait.

Daddy's Day

Happy Father's Day to the sweetest, most amazing daddy we know!

It wasn't until I snapped these photos that I realized just how awesome Kevin and I have it. We are so lucky to have such beautiful little girls and a beautifully sweet little prince. Yeah, there are a lot of days when I know Kevin may doubt himself, and think, "what the F...... have I got myself into" and I know there are days where he thinks the complete opposite, but really, we are so lucky to have what we have. It isn't easy and most days it is filled with controlled chaos, but nothing a glass of wine can't cure.

My dad & Kevin with our crazy crew

Our children are so lucky to have such an awesome daddy who works so hard for all of us. To watch him look at our children with so much love and devotion is such a gift. I feel so lucky to have found such an amazing father and husband. I know in the last year we have been faced with different challenges from Kevin's deployment to Alabama for the Deepwater Horizon spill to my 4th high risk pregnancy to our upcoming move to Washington DC to Callum's birth and subsequent NICU stay.....but, we have partnered up and continue to come out alive, if not, stronger as a family and as a couple. While Kevin and I may not always be "happy" with each other, we always come back to each other...stronger with more respect towards each other.

I love that our children have a daddy who wants to be a part of their lives. Who loves to participate in their life. Someone who gets excited about life as much as our girls do. I know that our life isn't perfect, but the one thing I do know is perfect is the love and devotion Kevin has for his children and family.

Happy Father's Day, baby...We love you so much...

The Ocean

Growing up in New England, I've spent a lot of time on the beach. Building sand castles. Rolling in the sand. Making childhood memories last forever. Since moving to Maine three years ago, I have made sure our children have had the same chances to make childhood memories at the beach. There is just something about sandy toes and salty kisses from my girls that I just love so much.

Living just a short two miles from several beaches, our girls have grown to love and adore the beach. Building sand castles, catching hermit crabs on the shore, making sand angels and eating too many peanut butter & fluff sandwiches to count. Kevin and I are true water lovers so watching the joy on our children's faces as they develop a love for the water just makes Kevin and I excited for our future together as a family.

Moving away from the open water and ocean air later this summer is something I do not look forward to. While we will have access to a pool, it just isn't the same as spending the day at the beach. The salty air just does something a pool cannot. I love watching our girls make new friends and use their imagination as they build castles in the sand. Until we move, I have promised myself to spend as much time at the beach as humanly possible. This past week, we spent five lovely days at the beach. Building sand castles, playing with friends, collecting hermit crabs, and for Clara, exploring the beach, n aked. Yes, n aked.

I love the many memories the ocean has made for me in my life and I look forward to making even more memories with our sweet children. Here's to life with an abundance of sandy toes and salty kisses...