Christmas Revisited

One last post celebrating Christmas ...

Alma wearing the Christmas outfit I wore as a toddler.

First year of the Chisholm children posing in front of the Christmas tree

And the first year of them tiring of posing in front of the Christmas tree

A Christmas to Remember: James's Birth Day

I woke up at 3:30 a.m. with a contraction.  After monitoring the contractions for over an hour, which were coming every five minutes and were intense but manageable, I got up and packed last minute supplies in my hospital bag, ate a bowl of cereal and called the doctor.  Around 5:30, after only three hours of sleeping in bed (he fell asleep in front of the tv), Joshua popped out of bed and packed up his things while I woke my parents to tell them that we were heading off to the hospital.  I may have inundated them with a bunch of information (i.e. which presents Alma could open from Santa) that I had been mulling over.  It was exciting but we were a little unsure if we really were in labor or not.  With Alma, my water broke at 4 a.m. and there was no denying that labor had started.

We got to the hospital at 6am and had to enter through the ER because the main doors were locked.  Not wanting to be separated from Joshua, we parked in the garage and walked around the hospital to the ER, which was refreshing in the cold air.  Joshua thought it was hilarious that I would pause (both walking and talking) for a contraction and then once it was over quickly return to my chatter again.  He teased that they wouldn't need to put a contraction monitor on me, they could simply listen to when I paused my endless banter.

Once we got  to the ER at 6 a.m., we were told that someone from the Labor and Delivery floor would be there shortly to escort us up.   After a half an hour of steadily increasing contractions and a very nervous looking front desk attendant who was constantly calling up to L&D to see when the escort would get there, we walked through the winding hospital up to the L&D floor.  In the triage room, I was found to be between 5-6 cm dilated and was official admitted to the hospital.  

 

One last photo of the baby bump while in the ER watching It's A Wonderful Life

We were moved to a labor room around 8 a.m. were we hung out -- I was mostly on a yoga ball and Joshua was by my side massaging my neck -- for a relatively painless laboring process until 9:30 a.m. when the doctor arrived.  She checked me and found that I was 9cm dilated.  With her guidance, I broke my own water with a push around 9:45 a.m. and began pushing the baby shortly after.  Pushing this baby was a bit more intense than with Alma and lasted a little longer.  He decided to twist on the way out, which ... well, wasn't the most pleasant.


As soon as James came into the world at 10:22 a.m., they handed him to me bum-first so that I could see that he was a boy -- yeah, a little weird, I would have been okay with them just telling me -- before I got to hug him and snuggle with him.  I couldn't stop repeating "Hello, Baby."  I will always remember the excited look on Joshua's face as he kissed me and congratulated me on doing a good job.  It was a very happy moment.

An hour later, my parents brought Alma to meet her little brother.  Joshua went to the lobby to bring her back to the labor room and we had some time together as the new family of four. She was excited not only to meet James but also because she had been given a "Big Sister" sticker by the hospital staff.

Comically, when we asked Alma if Santa came that morning she said, "No."  While we were confused at first, we realized that when we explained that Santa was going to come at night while she was sleeping, we forgot to mention that he would also leave at night before she woke up.  She had been expecting to see him in the morning.  Sure, he ate the cookies, drank the milk and left presents, but he didn't officially visit because she didn't see him herself!

Then my parents joined us and we had a nice visit while Alma snacked on pretzels.  We were so blessed that my parents were visiting and they could watch Alma and celebrate Christmas with her while we were in the hospital.  It was nice to not have to worry about her or juggle her around between friends while my parents drove out to Bethlehem from their house, as they were planning to do if we went into labor before their visit.  Also, my brother's family, who were already planning on joining us at our house on Christmas for a feast, still came so Alma got to enjoy the holiday with her cousins. 

Twas the Night Before Christmas

 In telling the birth story of both our children, it seems that starting the day before seems best.  We spent Christmas Eve in a flurry of baking (Joshua), cleaning (Joshua again) and resting (Laura).  Along with cleaning the entire house, Joshua baked all the holiday cookies (anise, biscotti, orange shortbread) and an amazing povitisia well into the night on Christmas Eve's Eve and Christmas Eve.  He was an animal of productivity ... and probably a little sleep deprived.

Late in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, my parents arrived much to all our delight.  We attended the 4pm Christmas Mass and luckily someone gave up their seat for me because I don't think I could have endured the crowded standing-room only section along the pews.  After Mass we came home to a fantastic meal of Omaha steaks and all the fixings.  Before Alma went to bed, we put out cookies, milk and carrots for Santa and his reindeer.  The adults spent the evening watching the Sound of Music.  It was ideal.

 We also spent some time dressing Alma up in her Halloween costume and taking silly photos of "Mary" (Laura) riding her "donkey" (Alma).

All of this was just a set up for the 3:30am-Christmas-morning-dream-ending contraction that started James's labor process.

The rest of the birth story will follow tomorrow...

Merry Christmas!

Baby James Anchor Chisholm joined our family this morning at 10:30am, weighing in at 8 lbs, 10 oz and 21 inches.  We couldn't be happier!

Santa "Visit"

Yesterday morning were planning on going to see Santa at the mall but at Mass they announced that the Knights of Columbus were having a breakfast fundraiser with Santa. So we adjusted plans and went to that instead. 

Alma was shocked to see Santa in the auditorium.  Even though we sat at the furthest table from him, she still wanted to just stay in Joshua's arms, especially after Santa waved at her. Eventually she ate some breakfast (still on Joshua's lap) and stared at Santa the whole time. After we were done eating and beginning to pack up, Santa came over with a little present for Alma (a tiny stuffed bear and candy cane) which he gave to me while she clung in Joshua's arms and sucked her thumb. She was really impressed that I gave Santa a hug. 

It made me happy that we didn't have to brave the craziness of the mall to have her avoid the big guy.  She has spent the day talking about how the stuffed bear came from Santa, like it is the most magical thing in the world.  She is such a sweetie.

Decorating

Last weekend we pulled out a few decorations but I'm looking forward to going all out this weekend.

Days of Christmas: Travel

 Alma was a champ during our travel to and from Oregon for Christmas.

During a long layover, Alma charmed some flight attendants who were also waiting.

Days of Christmas: Silly Photos

Photos of sleepers is always fun -- Alma snoozing during a walk in Bend and Joshua napping on the couch while Alma played with old school Fischer Price toys. 

And who doesn't love photos of babies and alcohol (for eggnog) and flasks (Henry's gift from Emily)?!

Days of Christmas: Special Foods

 Smarker family special: Povaticia (Alma loves it!)

Grandma Chisholm's special: Gingerbread men!

Cookies for Santa!

Days of Christmas: Snow

 

 

The last photo was snapped at the High Desert Museum.  We were trying to document (for all the East Coasters who don't quite believe us) that where Joshua grew up -- even though the terrain is called the high desert -- has snow.  In fact, many of the mountains near his house have snow on them year round ... with glaciers.  How's that for a desert climate?

Days of Christmas: Walking

We had a great visit to Oregon for Christmas.  Since I snapped so many photos (336!) and want to share some of the good ones that summarize our trip, I'm going to spread them out over the next week.  Enjoy!

Beyond the wonderful visiting with family, one of the most notable events of the trip was Alma learning to walk.  Sure, she has done tons of first steps, but on Christmas Eve she decided to walk across the room. 

It was so exciting and I'm thrilled that we were able to experience this first with the Chisholm side of the family.  I will always remember Vickie's screams of excitement and encouragement. 

Merry (Fake) Christmas!

Since we went to Oregon for Christmas, we exchanged gifts with one another before we left.  Simon enjoyed hiding his new bone throughout the backyard. 

 We also went to the Christmas market in Bethlehem to meet St. Nick. Alma wasn't too pleased and clung to me as never before.