Here's a link to our new blog. Hope to see you there!

http://danielandemile.blogspot.com

Due to the fact that I can't get anything to work with this blog, I tried opening a new one. Guess what! that one seems to work fine.

So here's where we're blogging from now on: danielandemile.blogspot.com

See you there!

I know it's a little late....

But here are our meals from this week.

Monday: Corn Chowder

Tuesday: Chicken fajitas

Wednesday: Orange rolls and scrambled eggs

Thursday: Moroccan spice vegetables and quinoa (the flavor was great, but it had no texture...)

Friday: Homemade tomato soup

Saturday: Spinach salad with bacon, honey, and cracked pepper (this is such a good, fast, and easy recipe)

And next week we're having...

Monday: Roast chicken, acorn squash, quinoa/rice medley

Tuesday: Chicken pot pie, spinach salad

Wednesday: Savory potato supper cake, applesauce, rolls

Thursday: Meatloaf, roasted red potatoes, buttered bread twists

Friday: Top sirloin steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, baked carrots, rolls

Saturday: Penne carbonara and fresh tomato slices

This week's menu

I recently went to a Menu Planning lesson (as part of a mother's learning group with some ladies in my ward) and found out that I'm actually doing almost exactly what I should with my meal planning as far as saving the most money and incorporating all the food groups. So anyway, here's our dinners for this week:

Monday: Turkey and rice soup

Tuesday: Gazpacho, crusty bread

Wednesday: Turkey manicotti, garlic breadsticks, spinach salad

Thursday: Top sirloin steak, twice-baked potatoes, steamed carrots

Friday: Fried chicken, bakes sweet potato fries, onion rings

Saturday: Penne Carbonara (We skip the spaghetti cus I don't like long noodles)

Sunday: Leftovers (if we don't eat them all for our lunches during the week)

My two kids

George Smith

George Smith Gibson made his grand appearance Monday night at 10:40 pm. I was scheduled to go in the next morning for an elective induction, but I was still trying to decide whether or not I really wanted to be induced. I had my regular checkup Monday morning and had been having small, irregular contractions since. When Daniel got home from work we decided to go walk around Costco to see if we could get them to even out and increase. And it worked!

Within half an hour I was having to concentrate on breathing through the contractions and we decided to go to the hospital to get checked out. They confirmed I was actually in labor and started my IV for the Group B strep antibiotics. (That was the reason they decided to let me be induced--to ensure that I got a full round of the antibiotics. With my history of short labor (three hours with Lynny), it was a concern.)

Most of my laboring was spent in the bathroom, with Daniel and Jessica (my good friend and doula) by my side. I knew what to expect this time around, and I used pretty much the same coping methods as I did with Lynny. Unfortunately for everyone else, I needed it as quiet as possible during contractions so everyone was walking around on tiptoes the entire time. But I really appreciate they're accomodating me.

Unfortunately it didn't matter that they started my IV as soon as possible. After about two hours I was ready to push. I pushed for about thirty-five minutes before I realized that he wasn't really moving and I decided to change positions. Once I was in a side-lying position he was much more accomodating. After one big push, his head came out. He was still in the amniotic sack, and my midwife was just about to break it when she realized it would burst on its own. And it certainly did...all over Daniel. (I still laugh when I think about it.)

And after one more big push he slid out and I was able to hold him skin-to-skin. It was amazing. I don't know if it's because I'm already a mom and have that maternal mindset, or for some other reason, but I felt immediately close to him. With Lynny it took me a little bit to really feel like she was mine. But with George, he was definitely mine and I was definitely his, right from the start.

He weighed in at 7 pounds, 10.9 ounces and 20.5 inches long. He weighs a tiny bit more than Lynny did, but he's also a little shorter than she was. He isn't sporting the sasquatch feet that Lynny had, which is surprisingly taking some adjusting to. All in all, though, he's about the same size she was. I don't remember her being that small, though. I swear she's always weighed 25 pounds and come up past my knee.

I was able to nurse George right off, and he took to it immediately. Where I had weeks of struggling to get Lynny to latch on correctly, George latched perfectly the first time and ate for at least ten minutes before stopping. And he's continued to eat well. I have really missed nursing since I weaned Lynny at 13 months, and I'm glad I was able to start again with such ease.

I'm really happy that everything went so well with the birth. I was dreading the idea of not having another natural birth. I loved my experience with Lynny and can honestly say I'm one of those freaks who enjoys labor and delivery. I am so glad know that everything went the way it was supposed to and that I didn't interfere with my body's processes. (Although I completely understand why someone would be induced. It would be wonderful knowing when labor is going to start.) All in all, I wouldn't have changed a thing, except maybe had him sooner. I was SO impatient towards the end.

Due to the dumbness that is blogger, I'm only able to post the one picture. See facebook for more!