Rubix Cubes and loves

My husband and I have entered a spot in life that I, as a teenager, said I would never be in. We have two children under the age of two. My boys are almost exactly 19 months apart. We didn't exactly plan it that way, but that is where we are in life. While I was pregnant, I worried about how Logan would adjust to having to share our attention. Turns out my worry was somewhat justified. He is not too fond of the idea.

Logan, who is currently 21 months old, has begun to enter the terrible two phase of life. He likes to throw things. Most often his intended target is his little brother. If they were two years older I probably wouldn't give it much thought, but when your almost two year old chucks a rubix cube at your newborn's head, it gives you a moments pause. In reality, it infuriates me. I have tried everything in the book to get him to stop hitting and/or throwing things at his brother.

People have told me that I should focus more on the positive behaviors he is exibiting. That's a great plan if he would actually do something positive. People say to ignore the behavior. Again, difficult when your other child's soft spot is in jeopardy. Yes, my nearly two has impeccable aim. Others have said that I should include my eldest and encourage him to help with the baby. I tried that. It usually looks something like tickle, tickle, squeeze, *smack* *smack*. Aarg!

To be fair, in the midst of this chaos, there are glimpses of love and protection that shine through Logan's demeanor toward his brother. He is slowly getting used to the idea of having Gavin in the house. Gavin seems to be adjusting into a happy, smiley baby. I keep telling myself that the first nine months are the hardest. When this phase is over, I know they will be the best of friends. At least that is what people tell me and I repeat it to myself daily.

For now, we are trying to spend as much valuable time with Logan, one on one, as we can. Hopefully, he will not feel jilted when this phase of life is over. It is my hope that, as time passes, my boys will feel equally loved and cherished. They truly are blessings from God even when they stretch me to my limits.

Gavin's Birth story

Gavin's birth story really is not all that spectacular. They say that second births are easier than the first, and that was definitely the case for me. The pregnancy, on the other hand, was filled with adventures. Between having a dislocated pelvis for five months and having cellulitus from a root canal gone wrong, labor seemed like a piece of cake.

On June 25, 2010, after close to two weeks of labor, my doctor finally decided it was time to intervene. I was at 5 cm and 80% effaced but not going into transitional labor. I reported to the hospital at 7:00 am and they hooked me up to several monitoring devices. The doctor broke my water around 8:00 am. My contractions continued to get worse. Around 10:30 or 11:00 my contractions hit hard and fast. I went from uncomfortable yet tolerable to completely overwhelmed with labor in about two seconds. Before we knew it my contractions were about a minute apart and lasting about 45 seconds, and they were STRONG.

Around 12:30 I was able to get an epidural. The process of receiving an epidural was touchy due to the fact that my contractions were so close together and incredibly intense. After that it was pretty smooth sailing. The nurse had me do a practice push at 4:00 at which time we decided I was ready. Once the doctor got there I pushed through 2 1/2 contractions and Gavin was here. The only complication with this point of delivery was that Gavin was born with the umbilical cord around his neck. We anticipated that some as every time I had a contraction his heart rate would drop.