And then there were two kids!

         I can't believe it has been more than a year since my last blog post. I can explain! Ironically as I wrote my last post on my reflections on the first year of motherhood, I was already one week pregnant with baby # 2. I am so glad I already trusted that God would give me strength to endure any challenges prior to that pregnancy because being pregnant while chasing a toddler and working four days a week was no cake walk. My second pregnancy was easier in that I had slightly less nausea and less fatigue thankfully. I had new challenges in that I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at 28 weeks. Thankfully my job as a Degreed Nutritionsit allowed me to understand and implement a diet that controlled my blood sugar and I did not require medication or special monitoring for my baby. At 34 weeks I was driving to work and noticed I had 3 contractions in 15 minutes. They never stopped. I was put on bed rest and tried to take it easy until 36-37 weeks but little Giovanni Paul Barbeau stayed in until 38 wks 6 days just like his sister! I couldn't even coax him out while his grandparents were visiting from Washington. Overall my second pregnancy was easier because I had Gianna to remind me how worth it everything was going to be. And I was so excited to see how she would be as a big sister!

          The day before Giovanni was finally born I came to the conclusion that the reason my labor was starting and stopping was that he was not in the correct position and couldn't descend further. Luckily I had copied directions for the "Adominal lift and tuck" from Hypnobabies which is a technique for getting baby to rotate when you are experiencing back labor from a baby facing the wrong direction. Tim and I had been sent home from triage early Friday morning because I was not progressing. I was so tired of having painful contractions that weren't making and progress! So after we got a few hours of sleep and ate breakfast I told him that he was either going to help me try to rotate baby or I was going to a chiropractor! Well we started around 930 and did the technique during contractions (it is kind of like the Heimlich!), It was extremely uncomfortable but I could tell it was working. They recommend trying 10 contractions but it only took about 8 before I felt the pressure shift and we were in active labor! After that my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and I was screaming at Tim so we knew this was really time to head to the hospital. I survived the 30 minute drive to the hospital which I had been afraid of, it definitely wasn't easy though. I kept telling myself "I can do this, I don't have a choice!" and by the time I got checked out in triage and was 6.5-7 cm I was all about the epidural. I think I finally got into my room and had the epidural placed around 1:30. I remember texting Melissa, who would be his godmother at 3 pm that they were just waiting for me to dilate fully and I would probably push in 1-2 hours. Well Giovanni was born 7 minutes later. Hearing the time he was born and then seeing what time I had texted her, I couldn't believe it. Basically right after the text was send the Doctor came in to see how I was feeling and decided to check me super fast. Well he saw Giovanni's head called everyone into the room and I think I pushed 3 times and he was born! So much easier than my 2 hours of pushing Gianna out. And my recovery was way easier as a result as well.

          Giovanni came out looking like a grumpy old man and he was hungry! Within 15 minutes of being born he was sucking on his thumb and ready to nurse. Thankfully he latched well and ate for forty minutes and then ate every hour for the first 24 hours of his life. That was definitely a heads up to me that he was going to be a frequent nurser. Six months later he is still nursing every 2 hours mostly around the clock ! I am so grateful that I am able to nurse him and provide the milk he needs to grow. I plan to write more in a future post to encourage other moms who had difficulty nursing their first baby!

         Fast forward six months and I LOVE having two kids! Aside from pretty much never getting enough sleep to function (which is now 5 hours for me) it is going really well and I am happier than ever. I still have my dark days when I am up with him every hour and super exhausted but overall I find so much joy in watching my children grow and develop their sibling relationship. It does not surprise me that Gianna loves her brother so much and tries to take care of him but I have been surprised that Giovanni has been so interested in her since the beginning. He has been laughing at her since he was two months old! Gianna is legitimately good at helping me with him. She will tell me when he is crawling towards something he isn't supposed to have and she is good at entertaining him while I try to cook. Having two kids is definitely easier than just having Gianna and it is such a wonderful blessing. I will say having them closer together helps because Gianna still naps around 3 hours so it guarantees that I at least get to lay down with Giovanni. I also only went back to work two days a week so that has made things easier as well. I plan to share more in the future but I want to encourage anyone contemplating having a second child that it is definitely easier than your first!