And Then There Were Two

Chiara Valentina Torre was born at home in a water birth at 6:36am on Sunday, April 18th. Weighing in at 7 lbs, 12 oz and 21.5 inches long.

Four Short Years Ago

Four years ago today Marco was born. I never wrote down his birth story and with the second little one due any day now, I wanted to tell his story first.

First, Marco was born at home. This was a planned home birth and and wonderful choice. Mary Lou O'Brien was (and once again will be) our midwife. Her assistant is a great doula named Elena.

On the afternoon of April 4, 2006, I had an appointment with Mary Lou. My due date was April 5. She was going on vacation that weekend for a week and I remember being very upset at the thought of her leaving before I gave birth, but what could we do. He would come when he was good and ready, with or without Mary Lou. That evening, I went to a breastfeeding class at the home of our childbirth instructor, Jana. I think that was the first time I met Jennifer, another expectant mother who was planning a home birth with Mary Lou. She and her family have become a permanent part of ours. One the way to Jana's, I stopped by Jack in the Box and got a oreo cookie milkshake. :-)

The session went quite late, and I remember Alessandro was a little worried. I think he even called at Jana's to check on me. Through the later part of my pregnancy with Marco, I had Braxton-Hicks contractions all the time, but primarily at night. As I was driving home, it was pouring and I was having contractions that felt a little bit different, but since I was so used to contractions, I wasn't sure. I got home and Alessandro peeled and cut up an apple for me and then we got in bed. The contractions continued and I was getting pretty sure that they were different and this was it. I started timing them. Around 11:30 or midnight, I woke Alessandro up and told him I was in labor. It was time to prepare.

With a planned home birth you have to do more than just have a suitcase packed to take to the hospital. You need to have your supplies ready and then once in labor, actually prep the house a little. This job fell on Alessandro and my mom. One of the first things Alessandro did was prepare the bed. This entails putting on a set of sheets, then a plastic sheet or shower curtain or something, then another set of sheets. This way you can just pull the first set off and get into the second set after the birth. I was in the family room and Alessandro was taking care of the bed. I heard a thud and immediately knew what had happened and yelled "Piper!" Piper was all cozy, snug at the bottom of the bed and Alessandro had just thrown all the bedding and Piper onto the floor. Poor little kitty, what a terrible way to wake up. I think all the commotion this caused was when my mom woke up.

The next thing was the birthing tub. I think that the main body of the tub had already been prepared, but the liner had to go in, and the heaters set up, and of course the hose to put water into it. All I remember about this was Alessandro asking me questions while I was having contractions and me not reacting to this very well. I am at times reminded by him that some where in all this my mom told Alessandro not to take it personally.

I am not sure when, somewhere between 1 and 3AM, Alessandro or I called Mary Lou and told her I was in labor, but she didn't need to come yet. I think it was around 6:30AM or so that I decided it was time for her to come and that I wanted the pool filled with water NOW! The birthing pool does help relieve some of the pain. It relieves some of the pressures felt by gravity. Mary Lou and Elena arrived around 7:30 and I believe I was 8cm dialated. Around 10:15, Mary Lou checked me and then broke my water. After this, we waddled back to the tub and Marco was born in the birthing pool set up in our family room at 10:41AM.

Additional notes: during the night of my labor, it poured heavy, heavy rain, but by the time Marco was born, the sun had come out and it was a beautiful day. Also, my mom and Alessandro planted a plum tree the day Marco was born.

Happy birthday little boy. We love you more than you know.

Happy New Year

Go Ducks!

Yes, we are lame. We brought in the New Year in bed. Marco and I have colds and Alessandro had to work this morning at 6:30.

Christmas was great. Marco had the best time. He passed out presents both on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. He would very generously bring you your gift and then "help" you open it.

On Christmas morning he sort of woke up and then slumped back down into bed. I said "Merry Christmas" and well, have you seen the scene in Pulp Fiction where they give the shot of adrenaline? It was kind of like that. He immediately bolted up and slithered off the bed to go see if Santa had come. Santa had come and brought him the coveted Optimus Prime. Which took the adults approximately 8 hours to successfully change into a truck. Alessandro says Marco now just has a truck.

Marco had a great time with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and dogs. I barely saw him on Christmas, which was a gift in itself :-) I kept hearing things like "Come on, Uncle ___fill in the blank___. Let's play."

We had the fortune and misfortune of experiencing a bit of snow. The unfortunate aspect was that we were across town when it started and while it had taken it 30 minutes to get to that location, it took us 4 hours to return home. Over two hours were spent within 5 miles of home. The fun part was playing in the snow the next morning. It was starting to melt, so perfect for making snowballs.

The morning we left, Marco cried for 10 minutes because he didn't want to come home. He wanted to stay in Portland. On the plane, he cried prior to landing because he didn't want to land.

Happy Halloween

Twelve Weeks

It appears that it's official. Marco is going to have a little brother or sister. This picture is from 10 weeks, but today I am 12 weeks. Due date is a week after Marco turns four.

A notable quotable...

Me: "Mommy's tummy is going to get really, really big."
Marco: "Like daddy's?"

Marco has also decided he would like it to be a girl and we can name her Breauncie. He told me that if the baby cries, he will crawl into my tummy and hold her. He has been very sweet to me. It has been a rough go, I feel nauseous all the time. One day when I was in bed feeling miserable, he was jumping on the bed, throwing pillows at me. I finally told him I was sick and he stopped and asked if I wanted him to cover me up. So he did. Then he told me to close my eyes, no peeking! As he was shutting the door to leave, he stopped and said "Mommy, are you thirsty? Daddy can get you some orange juice. Or he can make you a hot dog."

In other random Marco sayings, one day recently when we were walking to school he told me "Mommy, walking is so boring." The next day he told me "Cleaning is so boring." Where did this teenage attitude come from? Another time he was reading some numbers off backwards and said "Sixteen, Fourteen, Twoteen." Too cute.

Happy Birthday Grammy!

Words

This weekend we were at Disney California Adventure with Zio Massimiliano, Zia Pina, and Marco's cousins Alessandro and Andrea. We were watching the Pixar Play Parade and the first part had passed us and we were waiting for the next float and I said to Marco "Do you like the parade so far?" And he said No. I paused thinking of how to respond and after a bit he adds, "I like it so close."

A Really, Really White Christmas

We went to Portland for Christmas again this year and were a little afraid we might not even make it because of the storm. Luckily we made it and Grandpa even managed to get through all the ice and snow to pick us up from the airport.

I love this next series of pictures...

Zio Alberto & Zia Angela

Zio Alberto and Zia Angela stopped in Los Angeles for a few days for a visit. Yesterday we took them to Disneyland.

Goodbye Old Friend

Happy Birthday Aunt Heather

Love, Marco

Wedding Bells

The wedding was great, the bride looked beautiful and Marco did a great job being the ring-bearer.

Buon Compleanno Nonno Cesare

Letterboxing and a Homecoming

This past weekend, I went away... all by myself. Marco & Alessandro had a boy's weekend and I had one long mommy playdate. I went to Oregon for the We Live and Breathe Letterboxing gathering. I flew into Portland Thursday night and Friday morning, my mom and I drove down to Colton, Oregon to Camp Adams for three days of tromping around in the woods, looking for tupperware.

If you don't know what letterboxing is you can find out more here and here, but basically it is a type of treasure hunt. Over 200 letterboxes were hidden at this 210-acre campground. I hiked so much, every muscle in my legs hurt. I met so many wonderful people. In particular, Smiley and Lexi-Bug, with whom my mom and I letterboxed with almost all weekend. On Saturday evening, there was a masquerade ball and I dressed up like a tiger. We then went out night boxing, so imagine me dressed like a tiger, wandering around the woods with a flashlight, looking for tupperware. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but you have no idea how much fun I had.

And now for the homecoming. I arrived home Monday morning and went directly to work. In the afternoon, I picked Marco up from school. He saw me right away and started screaming for me. He ran to me and jumped in my arms, hugging me so so tight. He held my face in his hands. He was just so happy. When we got home, he kept saying we're home, but I think he meant "you're home." He wanted to show me all his toys. That evening, I needed to go to the store and he seemed a little concerned that I was leaving again, but I assured him I would be right back and he was just fine. This morning, he woke up and was in such a great mood. He brought me a photo album and showed me pictures of myself and said "you're home." I was worried he might not want to go to school after he got me back, but we had no problems. He just wanted to make sure he got a hug and a kiss before saying good bye.

Marco's reaction to my being gone all weekend was the icing on the cake. He had a great weekend with Daddy, asking about me occasionally, but not at all upset. He was thrilled to see me come back. And he fell right back into our normal routine. I really had a wonderful weekend!

Grandparent Magic

Marco doesn't have school this week and Grammy & Grandpa came to visit and take care of him while we are at work. Grammy called around 2:45 saying Marco hadn't napped yet and she would maybe take him back to our place around 3:30 or 4 and see if he fell asleep in the car.

She sent this at 3:10.

At home, he'll never just take a nap. We always have to drive him in the car. Apparently Grandpa has the touch.

************* Update ****************

I was later informed that Grandpa was asleep when the magic occurred and that it is Grammy with the magic touch.

Travel, But No Vacation

We went to Portland for the 4th and I have some advice for those of you considering traveling with a two year old. Don't.

If you insist on not following my advice then at least buy a sticker book. We had one of these for the plane trip back and they are very useful.

Marco had a great time with the Grandparents and Uncle Joey and Uncle Brian and Uncle Dan and Uncle Ben and Aunt Becky. We may have pictures, I don't even know. I didn't take any, but I think Alessandro had the camera.

I also enjoyed seeing everyone, but I do not enjoy sleeping in a bed with Marco. I never did get a good night sleep, so I came home more tired than when I left and my back hurts. (Bitch and moan, I know.)

Alessandro and I did get to have breakfast together at Elmer's on Friday and went letterboxing on Saturday.

One funny tidbit, the last time we were in Portland, it snowed on Christmas. We went out the front door of my dad's house to play in the snow (usually we go in and out of the side door). When we got to my dad's on Friday, Marco went to the front door and "Go outside, play in the snow?" We were all stunned by his memory of this.

Zia Luciana

(Gianluca, Zia Luciana, Francesco, Zio Vincenzo)

Friday we went to Zia Luciana's for dinner. Marco had a blast. First, he played with Zio Vincenzo.

Then he met Blu. At one point, Blu knocked up against a box. Marco said he was hurt and tried to give him a kiss to make it ok.

Later his best buddy, Gianluca came over.

I Cugini

It seems like every time we get in the car, Marco asks for his cousins. He has a special fondness for Alessandro. I think this is because he likes older kids in general and Alessandro is really great with him. Marco laughs and laughs when he plays with Alessandro.

He also enjoys playing with Andrea, but they are not quite as good at sharing with each other (especially when it comes to Nonno Cesare).

Here is a random picture of Marco being patriotic in Rome.

Buon Compleanno Marco!

Saturday, Marco turned two. Zio Massi and Zia Pina hosted a wonderful party with lots of family. As soon as we arrived, he saw the other kids and took off running. He was welcomed by cousins Alessandro and Andrea and "cousins" Leonardo, Valerio, Federica, and Riccardo.

(Leonardo, Andrea, Marco & Alessandro)

He blew out the candle on his cake about 5 times. ("More, more!") Then Irene showed him what to do.

He quickly understood.

The Arrival

We got to Rome on Friday. Marco was very good on the flight. He jumped around a bit on the first flight, but never really cried (except the time he got hurt). He enjoyed watching the cartoons, we colored, played with some puzzles and some animals. He fell asleep around 10pm Los Angeles time and pretty much slept the rest of the flight (about 5 hours). We had a four hour lay over in Frankfurt (ugh). Marco was still pretty tired, so didn't run around too much. Mostly sat and played. On the second flight, he had a mini-tantrum right before we took off, but then fell asleep during take off, so it was just exhaustion. He slept the entire second flight waking only when I had to pick him up for landing.

When we arrived, Marco and I went out to great 'la famiglia' while Alessandro waited for our luggage. Marco was a bit overwhelmed. He was tired and there were a lot of people grabbing and kissing him. Nonna, Zio Massi, Luciana and Vicenzo greeted us at the airport.

After what seemed like forever in Friday evening traffic, we finally got to the house and some good food and a nice bed. Nonno was there waiting for us. Marco quickly made himself at home in Nonno's hat and slippers.