Bah Humbug

Last night, Caleb ruined Christmas for 4 young kids who came over for dinner by asking, "So, who made up the idea of Santa Clause? Was it Coca Cola?" The look on the parents' faces was priceless. Then he ruined his brother's Christmas by accidentally mentioning what his parents were getting him. He felt so bad that he sang this song all night long (Sung to Faith Hill's song from The Grinch):

Where are you Christmas?
Caleb has killed you
The magic's gone today
His words are poison
He hates the children
Why must he chase Christmas away...

Alaina Funnies

"Alaina, what are you doing?"

"I'm feeding my bear milk."

Ear Candy for a Mommy

I want it that way...

There are some days when happiness lies in iced pumpkin bars and your Backstreet Boys Pandora station. Sometimes I miss the '90s.

Oh, and snuggling with my babies makes me pretty happy too.

Jesse's Birth Story

He's here! Jesse Caleb Miskin was born on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 8:33pm. He was 8 lbs 15 oz, and 21 inches long. Here's how the labor and delivery went...

 

I had been having regular Braxton-Hicks contractions all of friday, which was very unusual for me. They continued the next morning, but then became more like real contractions by about noon. I was still a little in denial, because I was expecting this baby to be a week late like Alaina was. But by about 4pm I couldn't avoid the cold hard facts that I was in labor. This is when Caleb became frantic. He did what any husband would do in the same situation: he started cleaning the garage. I guess it's the male version of nesting. Our plan was to take Alaina to the neighbor's around her bedtime, and then drive to the hospital, assuming that things went similarly to my last labor. Well, they didn't. Things went much faster, and by 6pm it was time to get going. Brief interjection about my contractions: They were much more manageable this time around. I'm attributing it to my faithfulness in walking 3-4 miles every day of my pregnancy up until the end. My body felt much more "fit" for delivery for some reason.

So anyway, my dear sweet irrational husband refuses to go to the hospital at this point because, and I quote, "the dishes aren't done, and we will get fruit flies!" So here I am, suffering through contractions every 3 minutes while Caleb frantically throws dishware around the sink. Since the pain wasn't unbearable, I let him clean. We left for the hospital at 7:15, and made one more quick stop on the way there.

And now here's when things pick up:

7:50pm-arrive at hospital

8pm-walk into delivery room. About 6 nurses were waiting to poke/prod/measure/monitor/fill the birthing tub. I was already at an 8, 100% effaced. At first I thought the midwife was joking. I was expecting to be a 4 or 5.

8:10-I have to push! The tub isn't full quite yet, but I hopped in anyway.

8:11-8:32-Excruciating pushing and searing pain that seemed to last for hours, but apparently only lasted like 20 minutes. For those of you who haven't experienced natural childbirth, think of your insides being torn in half while pushing out an infant Edward Scissorhands.

8:33-Jesse was born.

For those of you doing the math, I spent a grand total of 43 minutes in the hospital before delivery.

A lot of people have asked what I thought about the water birth experience. These are my thoughts:

It is THE BEST way to go if you are planning on a natural childbirth. Being weightless in the water made it so much easier to squat and push. Being reclined in a bed makes it so much harder to figure out which muscles to push with. It was also very relaxing to be in warm water, and I was able to rest between contractions by leaning over the side of the pool. The best part of all was being able to essentially deliver my own child. As soon as I pushed him out the midwife helped me pick him up out of the water and rest him on my own chest. It was so cool to just chill in the tub for a few minutes with my newborn son. After Caleb cut the cord I got out of the pool and onto the bed for placenta delivery/stitches/etc. That part isn't so fun...

As far as addressing some concerns people may have about a water birth:

People may worry that a water birth is more risky than a regular delivery. I did some research on this, and although there hasn't been much research done yet, the 2 major studies I looked at concluded that it is just as safe as non-water births. You can read up here if you are interested.

Other people may be deterred by being in the water with all the "ickiness" of a delivery. To be honest, that's never bothered me, and I was only in there with all that stuff for maybe 5 minutes. I do feel sorry for whoever had to clean everything up though. And no, Caleb did not get in the birthing tub with me. I'm not that much of a hippie.

The recovery has been 100 times better than the last time. It took me 6 weeks to feel this good. Jesse is a cute little thing. He did get a cephalohematoma on his head from delivery (the pediatrician thinks he hit my pubic bone on the way out). But it just a fancy name for a bruise/lump, and will go away in a few weeks. Until then we keep a hat on when he has visitors, because it looks much scarier than it is. I promise he doesn't have a tumor. 

Some pictures!

Here he is.

This is Alaina as a newborn. I think they look very similar. Those Miskin genes are overwhelmingly strong. Also, someday it would be nice to have a small baby. Even like 7.5 lbs would be great. Is that too much to ask?

 Proud father

 Happy (& exhausted) mommy

 The lump.

Our family

We are all a little sleep deprived, but very happy to have him here!

Somebody knows me well...

I'm not on twitter, so the whole hashtag thing still confuses me. But if I was, I'd write something like #mightnamehimcosmo, or #futurecougar.

September recap

2 weeks to D-Day, and here's what the Miskins have been up to:

1. Introducing Alaina to the Potty. She has only gone twice--both when Caleb put her on. I can tell this will be a long process...

2. Planning/executing the best ward party ever, complete with Mexican food, a kid fishing pond, pinatas, and some pie-throwing at the bishopric. Caleb was in charge, and I have to brag about the banner he made. Everyone thought I made it because it was too good to be made by a male engineer. Turns out he uses both sides of his brain! The party was called "La Fayestta," a play on words because we are the Lafayette 2nd ward, and it was a Fiesta. Get it?

3. Alaina is getting excited for her new brother! (Although I suspect she will not be too happy to share her mommy when he gets here. She likes him just where he is.)

August

I'm back! August was a really fun month for the Miskins. At least the first half. Then Caleb left out of town for the second half, which was not so fun. But let's look at the full half of the glass first:

My mom, dad, and Corrie came to visit! We spent 3 days in Chicago, and then a week back in West Lafayette. Get ready for picture overload:

 We went to the Chicago temple first. The best picture we got was from across the street.

 We went to the top of the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower.

 They have these clear extensions on the top level so you can go out and see straight down. Scary! I love this picture of Alaina.

 The best family pic we got up there.

By this point Alaina is ready for bed.

We made a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo.

 This monkey took a liking to Corrie.

 The petting zoo. Quite frankly, our local zoo was better than this part.

The kids got to climb up in a huge John Deere tractor.

 We of course had to stop by a park because both of these girls LOVE the swings.

Other places we visited:

The Shedd Aquarium

The Field Museum of Natural History

 The Museum of Science and Industry (A highlight for everybody. We could have spent hours more there.)

Other Attractions not pictured: Giordonno's Famous Deepdish Pizza,  The Adler Planetarium, an architecture river cruise, and the Chicago History museum. It was a jam-packed 3 days. So stressful, but so fun.

 What is a trip to Chicago without a stop at Albanese Candy Factory on the way home? Free samples, anyone?

 Alaina obviously had her fill.

We also went to the Fair Oaks Farm Dairy Farm. We went on a really interesting bus tour, played on some fun rides, and even saw a cow birth. (I didn't get any pictures of that.)

We took my parents (or rather they took us. My dad paid) to our favorite restaurant in West Lafayette: Mountain Jacks. 

My mom and I redecorated our guest bedroom. I am going to brag about the comforter. I made it out of a bed sheet via pinterest. I am so proud of it. The rest of the decor we either made or found at garage sales/Goodwill. We love designing on a dime.

 

Other fun included a tour of Caleb's lab at school, an intense game of Password, a repaired kitchen sink, aerobic dance for the ladies, and golf for the men.

Some pics with the fam before they left:

 

Caleb left for what I like to call "Summer camp for PhD nerds" the day after my family left. That left Alaina and I alone for just over 2 weeks. It was lonely, but I was very productive. I read 3 books, made Alaina and I matching skirts, deep cleaned the house and the car, and still found time to watch the BBC Miniseries "Bleak House" on Netflix.

And here's a belly pic just for fun.

7 weeks to go!

Fun on a Grad Student budget

I very willingly admit that I am one of those people who will do just about anything for a free meal. This includes shamelessly dressing myself and daughter like livestock.

ChickFilA Cow Appreciation Day: it should be a national holiday.

Actually, I love anything free, which is why I also dragged my family to the Wabash Riverfest on Saturday for free pony rides, face painting, bounce houses, etc. Sure, it was for the kids, but Caleb had just as much fun as Alaina.

A mastercard slogan comes to mind at this point. Something like 

Fast food meal: $0

Pony ride: $0

Face painting: $0

Organic lollipop: $0

An unforgettable day with your family: Priceless.

There are somethings money can't buy... And Lindsey finds them all.