The low down

So here I am saying I am going to start posting again and I don't follow up on my word. It's hard to get things going again. You want to have the perfect post, with the perfect picture. So I put off and put off and nothing gets done. The point of this blog is to keep friends and family up to date with the Stecker household. So let's do just that...

Frank:

Frank the Tank is a big boy. He is just shy of 9 mo and already almost 24lbs. He has been crawling for a month or so. Has two bottom teeth. And just started eating some finger food by himself. Hi is all around a cutie patootie.

Evelyn:

This two and a half year old pistol is awesome. She is getting so big. She is sleeping in a big girl bed. She is officially potty trained (including pooping in the potty). Now if we can just get her off the gummy bears (the treat she gets for peeing in the potty).

Ev says she is ready to go to school. She is obsessed. However, she is not old enough yet. She needs to be 3 to start preschool. I am not ready for her to start school yet. But I know she will love it. I have her signed up for a toddler tumbling class this winter. She will love it as she is always bouncing and jumping off EVERYTHING!

Daddy Stecker:

Dan has been busy working as an electrician for a commercial electrical company. He is in his last year of apprenticeship and will finish in May 2011. In June, he has his big test that will make him an official Journeyman Electrician.

He is bartending very part time at the Bulldog N.E. It is a great bar with awesome food.

Dan has been spending his extra time skateboarding. Hanging out at old man skate night at the local skate park or when the weather was nice, at one of the awesome outdoor skateparks that the Twin Cities has to offer. Now that winter is here, he has brought the skatepark into our garage. Check this out,

Mamastecker:

I have been a busy bee. I absolutely have no regrets of leaving the corporate world. It is the best decision I ever made. I am enjoying being a birth advocate, birth doula, serving on the board of the wonderful Childbirth Collective, teaching BYOB (Bring Your Own Baby) yoga at Blooma, going to school for nursing pre-reqs, and waiting tables at Psycho Suzis. Life is good.

So that is the low down on the Stecker family. I hope to fulfill my obligations of a blogger and continue to update you all.

Be well.

I'm BAAAAACK

I decided to start blogging again...again. I have such a fantastic life and I want to share it. And the best way to share it is to tell the internet. I do have friends that follow me, so I am sorry if you hear this stuff too much. OR if I sound conceded. I am really just telling my story to an alternate universe. I don't care if anyone ever reads this. I just want to tell my thoughts and experience.

Update:

I have found true happiness. In July, I officially left the corporate software world. I was so unhappy at ESRI. I really want to be here for my kiddos, and and I found a true passion working with mamas as a doula, yoga instructor and eventual midwife. Life is grand.

So, I hope to share with blog world my experiences on this new journey, it's an awesome but bumpy ride.

Stay tuned.

Still on a birth high

My friends and photographer put together a slideshow of some of the highlights from Frank's pregnancy and birth. I have watched it a million times. I love it. It was such an amazing experience and I think the video really captures the experience. Dan picked the song (Soul and Body, by Death Cab for Cutie) and I think it is a perfect fit. I am still reeling from the experience. I would do it all over again. Having both a hospital birth and now a home birth, I can definitely say..."Do it at home people!!!!!!!" It takes away so much of the fear in birth which turns into pain. Of course, by choosing a home birth, you are hopefully more informed than the average woman, so that takes away the fear/pain too. I was laughing and smiling up until the end. I am so proud of myself and my body and of course Frank.

On another note, I forgot how tiring a newborn is. I was trying to prepare myself, but whew it is tough and I am only two weeks in. That being said, it is a little different this time. I am trying with all my might to breast feed Frankie. Breast is BEST! But I had a breast reduction 14 years ago, and this adds some challenges my way. With a reduction, my milk glands were cut and this can cause me to not make enough milk. I am planning on writing a whole post detailing my BFAR (Breast Feeding After Reduction) experience. But in the meantime, I am feeding every two hours or less. The first week I was supplementing with some donated breast milk but when Frankie was gaining a ton, we backed up off the supplements. Then he lost a ton so we are back to supplementing. We will find our groove I know, but it is hard work I tell you. I'm tired and my boobies are sore.

But I am in love...

Frank James is HERE

I want to start blogging again. Although I am not sure when I will find the time. I can only seem to access the internet via my phone these days, and it is hard to blog with it.

Our son, Frank James, is finally here. He was born at home on Sat March 13th. It was a purely magical and amazing experience. I will be posting my birth story very soon. It was everything that I ever wanted. I had the best support team. My amazing midwifes, Emme Corbeil and Clare Welters. My amazing Doula, Judith Nylander. And my amazing doula photographers Emily Rumsey and Alisa Blackwood.

Till then, here is a little pic of the guy getting his newborn examine.

Crazy Baby Lady

So I got RAGING mad at hubbypants this morning. This has been happening a lot lately. My hormones or something. I will even realize that I am getting way madder than necessary, but can’t stop myself.

Dan took my car in for an oil change. I scheduled it because of a $5 coupon I had. I accidentally left the coupon at work yesterday. So, this morning I emailed the coupon to Dan and told him to tell them when he dropped off the car about it. He got the oil changed and when I asked him if he had any problems with the coupon, he said that he forgot to tell them when he dropped it off, and when he went to pay, they wouldn’t take it. I got so mad. So mad. Over 5 freakin dollars. Or the fact that he didn’t follow directions. Or the fact that he wasn’t persistent that they take the stupid coupon. Or the fact that a baby is eating my brain.

Anyway, I know I was/am being ridiculous, but I seriously considered divorce for a minute.

Signed,
crazy pregnant lady

Doula-ing #12

Today I attended an amazing birth. My last few births had been tough and left me asking myself if I was really meant to be a birth doula.

The answer is YES.

The look of accomplishment on my mama's face says it all. The gratitude she gave for "getting her through it" and "not letting her get an epidural." She was giving me WAY too much credit. She got herself through it. She did such an amazing job. Breathing through each contraction calmly and letting her body work hard for her. She made it look easy. And as for not letting her get an epidural...well I just did what a doula does, offer alternatives, suggestions and distract.

It was a great way to start my maternity leave from doulaing. And it inspired me for my own birth.

Thank you.

Daycare Drama

Evelyn started a new daycare on Thursday. It was a very sudden decision. This is Ev's 4th daycare in her short 18mo. Our in-home daycare, just became too unreliable. We were missing alot of days of work and had run out of PTO. Its a L-O-N-G story, but we will take the blame for biting off more than we could chew. Home daycare is cheaper, but in return, you aren't guaranteed care 365 days a year (minus holidays). The home provider gets 2 weeks vacation and 1 week sick leave, all paid. That results in paying double daycare those weeks. We had just bit off more than we could chew.

I think it is going to be harder on us than Evi. She has been adjusting well and drop off has been pretty easy. I am going to California for work next week, so I am nervous that it is alot of change for Evi all at once. But hey...kids are resilient right?

3 more months and we won't have to worry about daycare.

till then....