Oh Hello, Sister

Hey there,

I've joined forces/voices with my  4 sisters and now will be blogging over there from now on. Check us out at Oh Hello, Sister ! We are each in different stages in life and are sharing all sorts of random goodness. See you over there!

Lindsay

Sister visits and a birthday.

My sister, Kianna, came to visit! This was cause for much celebration as it was her first meeting with Thomas. He instantly loved his "nana" (the name we've called her since childhood) and they took to each other like peanut butter and jelly. Or if you're us, chile sugar powder on watermelon lollipops (don't ask).

Sister bonding is good, good food for the soul. We talked our faces off all the while taking good care of the little dude, of course. Speaking of taking care, she's a natural. It got to the point where she'd walk in the room and Thomas would smile. Let me tell you, that's a true test and she passed with flying colors.

We went to visit our other sister, Kira, at CSU, and ate at the infamous mexican restaurant, The Rio Grande; infamous for their margs... based on experience. We also stopped by to see our brother, Cody, at CU Boulder where we perused Pearl Street and made an obligatory stop at Rocket Fizz where we indulged in the aforementioned chile watermelon lollipops.  We took walks and shopped and watched one too many episodes of Once (so dang good).

The last day of her visit happened to be my birthday! We celebrated with morning waffles at Waffle Brothers, followed by some thrifting/flea marketing at the Horseshoe Market. Later that evening, friends and family gathered for a special dinner at Tamayo. A perfect day, in my book.

Trip 29 around the sun is going to be grand. Thanks sis for coming to visit! We miss you!

Me, doing what I do. 

Kira, checking her Instagram "likes" because, duh, you have to check up on those things.

A very necessary margarita. Mangoberry style.

Uncle "Ody" being the coolest.

Birthday picture, family style. Also, very tired.

Picture stolen from Kira's IG. Thanks sis!

On finding a new norm.

Thomas is three months old. I feel like every other person that has once said, "where does the time go?", but seriously, where the heck did it go?

These last three months have been the hardest and most rewarding three months of my life so far. It beats out the time I moved to a different state the summer after my 7th grade year. It definitley beats out that time I was grounded in high school from running track for part of the season because my grades were sub par (my whole entire world collapsed, people). It beats out that time I decided to transfer colleges mid stream because I wanted a different experience (And boy, did I get one!). It beats out that time I decided to end my very serious, almost married, college relationship and move to a different state where I knew no one. In those moments from the past, I grew and learned a life lesson. At the time, when those events happened, they were the hardest thing for me to face and have lent a hand in shaping who I am.

Becoming a parent trumps it all. I'm realizing the kind of stuff I'm made of. I'm realizing, I'm pretty dang resilient (I mean, if I can't toot my own horn on my blog, then what the heck). I'm proud of myself and my husband. We've proved to be a pretty great team. I mean, I knew that, but now I KNOW it. We've also had to find a new norm.

I'm adjusting to a new pace of life. Pre-baby pace: lightning speed and getting a lot done in little time.  Current pace: painstakingly slow with little accomplishments.  Not because I'm sluggish, but because it takes much longer to get anything done now that we have a baby. I know it'll get better, but I'm still learning about what works and what doesn't and still trying to become efficent.  Some days, effienciency just isn't going to happen. In fact, some days, absolutely nothing gets accomplished. My problem, is that I have to learn to accept it. As someone who has been swept up by society's standards of "success" meaning, "faster, faster, faster, work, work, work, do, do, do" this whole, taking each day, no, each hour, at a time is alien to me.

"But Lindsay, you just had a baby." I know. I hear you. In fact, I just told my sister-in-law the same thing.

I want to be everything, do everything, and "change the world", but right now, I just need to be Thomas' mama. I'm learning that those little moments like when he started to hold his head up, and is falling into a sleeping pattern and he now loves taking baths are the huge accomplishments for me and for him. I'm learning that being mama is totally enough right now.

Friends and a wedding in Aspen!

We had never been to Aspen even though it's only 3 hours away.  Our friends, Amanda and Charlie, gave the best excuse to go and check it out. Talk about an absolutely Pinterestingly perfect wedding venue/backdrop. It was a gorgeous fall day. But not as gorgeous as the bride! 

It was so good to catch up with dear friends. As you can see below, Matt and his buddies love a good reason to play dress up. The other two are soon to be wed next year! Can't wait!

After the ceremony we took a quick jaunt to check out the Maroon Bells! They totally stood up to the hype. The Aspen's leaves were starting to turn yellow which made the whole event even more magical. 

Gosh, I love that man. And I mean, nothing is more sexy than when your husband is wearing your baby. 

One Year

Well folks, we made it. "We" as in me and Matt. On September 15, 2012, Matt and I said our "I do's forever" and we made our way down the aisle of marriage and life-partnership. On October, 8, 2012 we found out we were pregnant. On November 3, 2012 we adopted Fonzie, our furbaby. On June 29, 2013, we met said baby of said pregnancy.

Photo by Tyler Core

Photo by Leighellen Landskov

Just an average year... said no one. 

On our one year anniversary, we kept looking at each other and saying, "we made it!" Not meaning that we thought we weren't going to "make it" but just recognizing that this was a wild year to say the least. Talk about being in transition and learning new things. 

BUT GOSH DARN, HOLEY MOLEY, I am one happy/grateful/blessed/lucky woman to have Matt as my forever partner of lifetime. Best year ever...so far. Here's to the year "we made it" and the years to come, babe. I love you so hard, it hurts in the best way.

Welcome Thomas!: A Birth Story, Part 2

read part 1 here

By the time Jenna came to check on me, I could only lean over my ottoman and had to keep my eyes shut. I couldn't talk to anyone and I had to focus on getting through each contraction. After a couple minutes of watching me, Jenna said it was time to go to the hospital. Matt made the call to the midwife to inform them of our impending arrival. Sidenote: riding in the car, uneven roads and contractions are mortal enemies. Seriously uncomfortable.

We arrived at the hospital around 4:30 p.m. and were taken to triage where they assessed the stage of labor I was in. After the midwife checked my cervix, she annouces I'm 5 centimeters and 6 when in a contraction! I made my goal! She also said, "My dear, you're going to have a baby today, I'll call upstairs and have a room ready for you." The excitement of Thomas coming soon gave me a surge of energy and I felt renewed to go at it for another few hours. Contractions were still going strong at 2 minutes apart.

The first thing I wanted to do as soon as I got to the labor and delivery room was get in the whirlpool tub. After I was checked again and introduced to those who would be assisting me, I got in the tub. OH MY wonderful heavens. It felt  EXTREMELY GOOD to be surrounded in water. These tubs aren't like your tub at home (or at least my tub). It was much deeper and could be filled all the way to my chin. Having the water take some weight off my body really helped to manage the contractions. Jenna dimmed the lights and even set up LED tealights to help create a relaxing environment. For every contraction I went to my hands and knees and would breathe out a low "ooooohhhhhhhhhhh"  and would sit back down in between. Matt was on water patrol and would make sure I kept my fluids up. He was also a positive voice in my ear continuing to tell me I was strong and doing great. Jenna would talk me through every contraction and remind me I was made to do this. She would also slip me food when the midwife and nurse weren't looking (they don't like for you to eat in case there is an emergency, however I really needed the extra energy).  My mom was a quiet strength in the room and I could feel her prayers surround me.

I stayed in this posture the remainder of my laboring. I remember the midwife checking my cervix after having been there two hours declaring I was 8 centimeters! Jenna recommended I try to sit on the toilet since that's a place where one is used to relaxing to allow nature to take it's course. I gave it a try and soon after pronounced I was going to poop! If I hadn't already, I had officially lost all modesty and went about my business (Again, real life). That's truly a memory I'd like to forget, but don't think I will. I decided I better get back in the tub.

Another couple hours later the midwife checked me again. I was 10 centimeters and ready to push! I had to stay on the hospital bed where my mom and doula held my legs and I held onto a bar in front of me (awkward at first). They told me that when my contractions start to make me bear down, to go with it and really give it my all. It took a couple pushes to get the hang of where to focus my energy but once I figured it out, I could tell I was making progress because everyones faces would light up and Matt was saying, "I can see his head! You're doing it!"

The pain at this point was more than I could have ever prepared for. Admittedly, I was scared. I knew he was mere centimeters from being born, but the burning sensation (lovingly referred to as the "ring of fire") is a very real thing and I wanted to stop. After exclaiming "NO NO NO" I was told, "YES, YES, YES, only one more push!" I sat back and took a moment. I had to have a short mental conversation with myself that I had to do this. I had to. There was no other option. The goal was Thomas. I was going to meet Thomas.

I sat back up and with something animalistic I didn't know I had, I pushed very vocally and he came out! Thomas was here! Matt got to deliver him. My midwife allowed him to assist in "catching" Thomas as he entered the world. So amazing. So miraculous. I had done it. We had done it.

Thomas Harlan Melander was born June 29, 2013 at 9:06 p.m. He weighed 7lbs 3 oz. and cried and peed simultaneously upon arrival. That's my boy.

Vaccination

Vaccines are such a controversial subject these days. Having worked with kids with autism, I fall into the category of skeptics myself. As his mother, I want to protect him with all I have. So do I protect him from the crazy illness' he could contract or the potential of a mental disability? It's no easy choice. And one that's racked my brain years before I ever conceived. As you know already, I'm not exactly "Connie Conventional" and so I sought out a Pediatrician who isn't either. After a conversation about my worries and the pros and cons, he recommended I look into the Sears schedule for vaccines. Having already read a couple publications from the Sears family and mostly agreeing with their viewpoints, I went for it.

I have to say, now that I've read The Vaccine Book, I'm feeling better having all the facts- bad and good and I've decided upon the way I will go about it for my family. 

I feel very blessed to have a Ped doc who is open to these ideas and to be in a position where I can make alternative choices.

I highly recommend The Vaccine Book by Robert Sears. He offers more than one way to go about vaccines. Thomas' two month appointment came a lot quicker than I was ready for. He had his first vaccine today and he's currently sound asleep in my arms while I type this on my phone (hooray for the blogger app!). I'll hold him all day if I need to. And I just might need to, for my own sake.