Transition from Three to Four

.........and Hudson makes Five.......

To my, perhaps limited, knowledge there is no illustrious guide documenting how to transition from life with one child to two; no definitive text describing how to prepare for the changes as parents or how to prepare the first child for their new role of older sibling while ensuring continued growth as an individual. For now I will put my faith in the same maternal and paternal instincts that got us through the first time and keep my ears out for any good advice out there. We'll surely make some great discoveries in both areas of success and things to learn from. Who knows, maybe I'll even document them and pass them on or maybe I'll just get caught up in experiencing the joys of every new day.

Photos of Birth and First Few Days

Sorry, but I have to redirect you. I've been unsuccessful in uploading photos to this blog, please check out my Picasa Web Albums for a whole mess of photos - from birth to today!

Also, check out Facebook (shouldn't need an account) for more photos:

Pictures of Nola
Pictures of Finn and others enjoying the Salt Lake Spring

Week One

Here we are at the one week mark. Nola continues to sleep away much of the day and the night, awaking to nurse every 2-3 hours now instead of the every 5 hours during her first few days. She definitely is a good eater.

We've run the range of good nights to long nights but as a whole she is a very calm, content baby. She squeaks, coos and sometimes grunts but doesn't cry much. Being the scientist I know that correlation does not always mean causation but the two most difficult nights spicy dinners - of course another discounting factor is that this is two nights out of a grand total of 7 nights so not exactly a significantly sound sample size/data set.

Our first round of help has come and gone. Finn reveled in the time with Grandma and Grandpa and we were so thankful for all the help with shopping, laundry, cooking, cleaning, baby holding, entertaining, school shuttles.

Life at home has been eventful yet pretty sedentary. A trip to the ER the day after we returned home from the hospital confirmed a blood clot in my left calf (thankfully superficial and needing nothing more than self-monitoring, heat, elevation and ibuprofen). Since I was dizzy upon arrival the doctor ordered a series of tests involving poking and prodding and even more waiting (blood draws, EKG, vitals, IV). The test results concluded my hematocrit/hemoglobin levels were extremely low (likely explains why I blacked-out the first time I got out of bed post delivery). So per ER doctor and midwife orders I have been taking it easy, seldom leaving the couch. Chris has been impressive taking on 98% of the diapers changes, swaddling, bedtime routine with Finn, playing with Finn, refilling my water, serving snacks/lunches/dinners couch-side and keeping the household running smoothly inside and out - all that and still managing to squeeze in a little more work on getting the basement closer to ready to move our bedroom into. Did I say impressive yet?

Nola's First Day

We're finally home with Nola! But before I get into how great it is to be in our own (very clean - thanks Donna, Matt, & Finn!) home, let me lay out the back story.

E and I wondered if Nola and I would be sharing a birthday, but that didn't come to pass. Instead, after mild to moderate contractions that evening (13th), E woke at ~2 am with fairly strong contractions. With the distant memory of E's 18-hour labor with Finn, we tried not to get too excited...timing contractions, packing, talking, etc. Pretty much ignoring our midwife's recommendation to not hang around the house too long, since labor with the second has a way of progressing more quickly compared to with the first. But over about 30 minutes E progressed from one stage to another, suddenly becoming very serious. A this point she was working incredibly hard, and then started feeling hot and sweaty, and felt like a bowl movement was coming on...uh oh. With contractions about 4 min apart and lasting over a minute, we quickly loaded up in the driving rain/sleet/snow and made way for the hospital. Later E told me that she was having serious self doubts right before leaving the house - a good sign that things were moving toward the end game! Upon check-in (~3am) she was 8cm dilated and expertly weathering strong contractions. Our awesome midwife showed up, E weathered a few more contractions, and then started pushing. About 20 min later, after a short, but very-intense (drug-free!) labor, Nola was born (4:05 a)!

We are so happy to report that she is happy, healthy, beautiful, and perfect in every way. Here are some photos from her first full day.

Finn finally getting to meet his baby sister. He was really cute - excited, cautious, and curious. He's going to be a great big brother.

E soaking up the Nola time. How special she is to both of us.

Nola. In DuRoss fashion nicknames to follow. So far, tossing out: Nol, Noly, Noler, Nellie.

She's a sleeper (at least during the day)

It was great to have so many visitors. Here Nola is meeting Chip, Audrey and cousins Ruby and Owen.

Mom and Matt. A special thanks to them for taking triple duty with meals, Finn-entertaining (and explaining, I'm sure), and house/basement details.

My special girl...can't seem to hold her enough.

Nola Mae DuRoss

We are excited to announce the birth of our beautiful, healthy daughter Nola Mae DuRoss! She was born this morning, April 14, at 4:05a, weighing 7 lb. 5 oz. E was absolutely amazing, induring a short, but intense labor (~2 hours). Both E and Nola are doing well. We can't wait for all of you to meet her!

Chris, Erika (and Finn)

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Winter Pics

You'll have to look here:

https://sites.google.com/site/durosswest/

Let us know what you think (we are still deciding whether to move the blog or not).

Chris

A Girl!

Ever since the day in early October when we told Finn I was pregnant he has been telling us with great conviction that he is going to have a baby sister. Our 20 week ultrasound confirmed that the new addition to our family this April will indeed be a girl! Finn was pretty adorable during the appointment. When asked if there was anything else he wanted to see in the ultrasound before we left he requested to see the tiny feet again. He was pretty enthralled with the "thumbs up" image and was excited to get sent home with his own 4 picture print-out (which he hung on the bulletin board in his bedroom).

Halloween 2010

Finn talked for months before Halloween arrived of how he was going to be a shark AND that the mailman was going to deliver the shark costume. Knowing that the mailman doesn't just deliver costumes magically (without someone ordering and paying for them) I was left with the one option of figuring out how to make him his very own shark costume. So, I pulled out an old sweatshirt of mine, bought some felt at the store and began cutting, gluing and sewing. Two hours later he had the perfect costume, complete with a fin on back (unfortunately we never got a side shot to show it). At least for all the effort he got to wear it three times: his school party Thursday, around the neighborhood trick-or-treating with friends Saturday, and then up to pot-luck Halloween Party Sunday in Summit Park, which Chris and I decided to scrape together costumes for. Can you tell what we were?

Nearly a year and a half after moving into our house we finally got inspired to put the patio back together thanks to a lot of help (experience, confidence, support and physical labor) from Dad. Finn loved helping his Daddy and Grandpa by carrying bricks from one pile to another.

Since the front yard, including the patio, was excavated to a depth of 9 feet for sewer repairs, two days after we arrived, we never got to know the joys of sitting out front. We have more work ahead to find the perfect furniture for the area but for now we've moved our Adirondack bench up from the backyard and are enjoying visiting with neighbors as they come and go.

Awake My Soul

That's right...Erika is pregnant! This is week 15 and we're all incredibly excited...even Finn, who remarked that he wanted both a brother and a sister. :)

BTW...title is from a band Chip turned me on to: Mumford & Sons.

First Day of Pre-school!

Wednesday/Thursday - Orcas Island

Saturday to Tuesday - Westernclan/Easternclan reunion

 
After a quick drive up the coast and visit to Ecola state park (last surfing destination...for those interested, the waves were small, but fun and provided a good chance to get used to my board...especially the fast quad fin setup) our trip shifted gears a bit as we pulled into a Victorian mansion come B&B.  This leg of the trip will be spent with my parents, which is especially fun for Finn, who might be getting just a little worn out.   

So far, we've really enjoyed their company and have exhausted ourselves with beach hikes, forest hikes, tide pool gazing, choosing just the right campsite, and thousands of questions: what is that starfish doing, why is it on the rock, what does it eat; why is the tide low, can waves get us here; why are barnacles on rocks; how deep can cormorants dive, is that an anemone; daddy you should surf here...why don't you just steer around the rocks; where are we going; where are Nana and Papa?...

The highlight though was definitely the long crazy drive from 0' to 5500' in the interior of Oly NP to gain the Deer Park campground set in a subalpine environment.  After a foggy 4 mile hike we enjoyed near solitude, another great meal, and the slow unveiling of one of the most beautiful views from a "front country" site...billows of white to gray fog enshrouding the thick forested foothills of the glacier carved and partially snow covered Olympic Mountains....wow.

We packed up quickly in the mist and rain, drove down the narrow winding road, shoveled down all a nearby Starbucks had to offer, and made our Port Townsend ferry with room to spare.  Our next stop is Orcas Island, where all of our thoroughly damp camping gear will stay neatly tucked away in the rocket box as we look forward to showers and maybe even a chance to break the newly formed rust off of our bike chains.

PS - for more photos, see previous post.

Saturday - Sunday

Thursday - Friday, Oregon

Thursday August 5

The last three days have been a whirlwind of checking surf breaks, wandering along random beaches, admiring the views (and fog!) at overlooks, and pushing up through the entire OR coast.  

Thursday we hit the last few beaches In northern CA, including crazy rough seas at the Del Norte coast.  Definitely no surf there.  We continued on to Gold beach...and thanks to a visitors center volunteer telling us about her son "wetsuit surfing" at the jetty, we investigated.  The current was strong and the two locals not very welcoming, but I managed to sneak a few waves in.  

Friday morning we explored more of the OR coast, and completely stumbled on nice waves at another jetty, this time at the Upqua lighthouse.  We carefully navigated Dune Fest craziness and found the break.  Again, me and two locals (this time welcoming); the waves were amazing, but getting outside was quite a battle.   We rounded out the day with tide pools at yachats, and great camping on the bay near Pacific City.    

   

Wednesday - Northern California

August 4
just a short jaunt up the coast today to meet up with another good friend.  Clara and I go back to college days of mucking around chasing frogs in the Missoula vicinity.  We figured it had been somewhere around ten years since we'd last seen each other so I was happy she, and her two kids, could make the 45 minute trip from inland to hang out.  Finn relished having a fellow three year old to play with (after nearly a week of being on the road with the two of us as his sole companions).  Our afternoon was spent at Trinidad State Beach together and then out for fish n'chips/clam chowder at the Trinidad Bay Eatery before parting ways.    

Chris, still on the prowl for an opportunity to get out and catch some waves on his new surf board, scouted every potential break with anticipation.  Moonstone beach was beautiful but too uneventful.  Hiking to down to Agate beach from our camp site at Patrick's Point State Park after dinner was an enjoyable scouting session for all.  The surf was deemed worth checking into again in the morning, Finn and I scoured the beach for perfect rocks and Chris inspected the banks to determine the origin of the sediments.