our adventures

way too long

2010-07-26T07:57:00.001-07:00

i have tried my hand using the blog feature via apple. and for some reason we are no longer on line. it turns my noggin to knots trying to fix it so we will be back here for a bit!

sorry we've been away but new fun things to come.

xoxo,

what a lovely valentine's day gift...

2010-02-03T17:51:00.000-08:00

our next adventure.

2009-09-15T12:59:00.000-07:00

what a tough decision that we've made. we are leaving our home of five years to head west. sometime soon (so many things up in the air) we will be moving to durango, colorado.

dave has accepted a great job as an hospitialist in farmington, new mexico (about 45 minutes south of durango). our good friends the ziercher's live in durango and brett is an er doc at the same hospital. after years of discussion we have been successfully lured.

our house when on the market today, and with any luck it will sell soon. i think it looks great. so great it makes me really sad to leave it. sniff. if you know anyone that is interested send them our way.

more updates soon.

much love,

solid

2009-08-28T07:19:00.000-07:00

we have ventured into the world of solids. although the food doesn't look very solid. here is a peak at dante's first experience with food.

community

2009-08-04T12:23:00.000-07:00

recently we made the decision to baptize dante. for most that know us, especially me, this is probably viewed as odd. oh, and we baptized him catholic. which makes things increasingly strange. so a few sundays ago dante was dunked into water and was blessed by a small gathering of family and friends.

the transfor

mation that he has caused in our life, is amazing. i've always known that there is something else out there other than just us here on earth but when you have a baby it becomes abundantly clear. i'm still not sure what that 'something else' is however the closest i've come to understand (recently) is father gary at the CSC. he is an extremely passionate, liberal, intelligent human that happens to be a priest. in a time when the american catholic system is rightfully under scrutiny it feels odd to find solace there. yet when you go to the csc, it's different. the community is such that it is truly a diverse group in mind, race, heritage, sexual orientation and partnership. everyone believes in something bigger than themselves and living kindly. when we go on sundays (not every week but better than never) father gary brings such awareness and candor to very difficult questions and situations by referencing Obama, the NYT, the bible, life experience, college students; and helps me to make sense of what is happening in the world and in our own little house. for someone that has never been married, or had kids he is keenly aware and in-touch with the hurdles that we are at times gracefully (other times not), jumping (or limping) over.

we are so happy to have a community that will help us raise dante to be a positive, guilt-free, intellectual, worldly, moral, interesting human.

xoxo

ps. thanks to auntie laura for capturing such amazing shots of the weekend!

take baby to work day OR chunkalicious goes to work

2009-06-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

yesterday we went to visit Papa at work. most of his office refers to themselves as Dante's Auntie or Uncle... so it was about time.

seeing dave at work is an inspiration. he works in a pretty beat-up place but the people their are wonderful and they LOVE Dr. D. all of his aunties' were swarming around him and he loved every moment. winking, giggling. when we arrived dave was with a patient but as soon as he saw him he scooped him out of my hands and proudly took him on a tour. it was very touching to see dave so proud and happy.

one of the security officers stopped me to tell me that Dr. D was her father's doctor and that he was amazing with him. with a tear in her eye she told me what a great doctor dave is and the first doctor that her father has ever listened to. based on her age, i think her dad would be in his 60s-70s so to listen to some young doc is pretty good. i am so very proud of my husband.

another bonus of the clinic is we were able to weigh and measure dante. thankfully we had the help of about six nurses and two docs. as you see from the photos he is about 15.5 ounces in the photo with clothes/diaper, so we think he is probably 15 pounds. we now refer to him as chunk-a-licious.

dante's favorite by far was mrs. robinson, dave's nurse. she is a really tough woman but melted with dante. she holds a special place in my heart. she keeps dave in line and when he doesn't do what she says, she has been known to give him a little slap on the head.

much love.

my cheeks are so heavy

2009-06-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

... they almost don't fit in my hat.

rainy day

2009-06-15T07:41:00.001-07:00

today is a great day to blog. it is pouring down rain. the baby is asleep to the rain with ogi standing guard at his crib to protect him from the thunder and lighting. tuk is snoring underfoot.

i measured dante this morning and he is over 25 inches long. he was born 21.5 inches, so within a month he has stretched almost four more inches. we are going to papa's office on wednesday to be weighed and measured. i'll update you on the real stats then.

the baby announcement will finally be in the mail next week, thanks to our friend chris. we love it and his work.

dante took his first plane ride, and was amazing. if he wasn't feeding or sleeping he was smiling. we went to durango, co to visit our friends the Z's and for a potential job opportunity for dave (more details soon). the second plane was a propellor plane. dave was the only one that didn't fair too well on the prop flight.

we've had heaps of storms hit our area this season. and we lost a huge tree. thankfully no one was hurt and the tree fell directly into our neighbors front yard. they had a few bumps to their car but luckily all was ok.

parenting continues to be amazing, challenging and very rewarding. i can't imagine really doing anything else. all of the cards that you all have sent, saying 'savor every moment' 'it goes by so fast' are very true. so we are heeding your advice and savoring every moment. as one friend said last night, 'pretty soon they will hate us, and when we pick them up from school they'll pretend they don't know who we are.' i remember those days, so now off to gaze into our baby's eyes.

also we are in MI for dante's namesakes 100th birthday. june 27 - july 7, would love to see everyone!

i hear a little boy starting to rumble.

much love.

magic new world.

2009-05-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

weighing in at 13.5 pounds at 9 weeks, we are doing something right. papa is still of the thinking this size will make dante a rockstar on skates. hopefully i will succeed in keeping him in a bubble and that won't happen.

as i write he is on his 'activity mat' otherwise know as chaotic cluster of over-stimulus, squealing away. everyday he chats a bit more, has a new expression and overall is truly amazing. for us, it really is like seeing the world for the first time all over again. we forget, as we grow what an amazing place we live in. can you imagine seeing the color red for the first time? better yet, black and white? dante's fave book at the moment is a book of black and white animals. sheep, pig, dog, cat and duck. in that order, specifically. we've read it A LOT. so as he approaches everything new, we are trying to do the same.

must go. just noticed a large spray coming up and over the activity mat... raining is not an element we purchased with this mat, just a function of little boys.

much love.

tidbits

2009-04-26T18:19:00.000-07:00

for the last time (as I fear I will have to start every post with an apology), sorry. my new life as mama has taken it's toll on scheduling and all things pre-baby.

a few updates. we've hit a few milestones... most important dante smiled. : ) he smiled. not a smile of relief. a patterning smile. i smiled, he smiled. what an amazing feeling. i think this is his first foray into socializing... and it is a great feeling. i've tried to capture it on camera, i'll keep trying. the next milestone is that he slept for five hours. well five hours between feedings, meaning i slept for four hours. i felt like a rockstar.

we had a surprise visit from dante's uncle david on wednesday. my brother flew in for the day to meet his nephew and see us. dante and david made their first trip to the arch, met dave for lunch and made a quick tour of our neighborhood... then we had to rush to the airport to make david's flight. it was a great day and wonderful to see my brother with dante. it's funny to be trading parenting tips with my bro.

things are progressing in the right direction... we'll keep you posted.

Love,

the new us

2009-04-21T09:07:00.001-07:00

cheeks you could eat with a spoon.

2009-04-04T13:40:00.001-07:00

delicious dante

2009-04-04T13:19:00.001-07:00

my apologies for being away from the blog. we've had a lot happening here adjusting to all things baby. mostly we've been gazing at the delicious dante (please

see above and below). it has been a truly amazing few weeks. today, dante is twenty days old. and in the past twenty days he has taught us more about ourselves than we knew possible. we have really taken these twenty days to hibernate and start our family. the days of me thinking it wasn't possible to love anything more than our little family has changed, i look at our baby and it makes my heart hurt, i love him so much. and as my friend kelly says, it really is exhausting just feeling so much love. it really is.

after an intense twenty-three hours we delivered dante. dave was amazing during the entire process, i was so proud of him. i am still trying to process the whole natural childbirth process myself, and if you are interested i would be happy to share the story(ies). parts of which are rather humorous. but not in a public form. we spent two days in the hospital, which was really nice. i never thought i would say that but i really did enjoy this time under supervision. we were sent home to fend for ourselves. thankfully my mom was still here and able to jump in and take care of everything else while dave and i sorted out our first few nights of sleepless parenting. we are breast-feeding, and it has had a few bumps including mastitis. i think we have turned the corner and are on our way to b

ecoming champs in this category. we made it to the pediatrician, and learned that he is a butterball and close to perfect. we've begun the transition back to a new normal... meaning dave went back to work. i had a vision of myself waving goodbye on the front steps holding the baby, hysterically crying, with milk leaking everywhere. alas that daydream did not come true but i think mostly because my mom was still here. this morning my mom left, and a lot of tears were shed. a lot. she has been amazing this past week. thanks, mom. but we are now on to our new adventure of doing it on our own, being parents. this time i feel like we are ready...

stay tuned.

a few photos of our babe!

GO STATE!

luck of the irish

2009-03-19T21:15:00.001-07:00

DANTE NEVAN DEVITRE

2.28P MARCH 17. 2009

8 pounds, 9 ounces

21.5 inches long

we are in awe.

thank you all for your wishes.

taking a few days to enjoy being us, we'll be in touch soon.

love,

dave, sarah, dante, tuk + ogi

is it that time?

2009-03-12T17:05:00.000-07:00

so many phone calls and well wishes... its wonderful. sorry if we haven't been so quick to respond. doing the last bit of nesting, and really hoping to celebrate a birthday soon.

i went to lunch with our friends tracy + stacey today. we did our yoga teacher training together and it has been way too long since we've seen each other. tracy is just back from a few weeks in central america and did a reiki training while there. now, tracy is not someone you would think of as a reiki worker. she is a wedding photographer and a very down-to-earth yogini. but whatever she learned works. and with a few moments of hands on body and big baby belly... i think we are at the beginning of labor! (i think, not totally sure but this feels different than normal)

we'll keep you posted.

7

2009-03-06T09:07:00.000-08:00

here we sit. seven more days until the official due date. unbelievable. i can remember this past summer thinking, march. wow. when march arrives things start to sprout and turn green after a long winter. in st louis our winters aren't that long nor are they covered with snow for more than a few days. but today is a beautiful tease of 72 degrees, sunny and not a cloud in the sky. what is left of our backyard (thanks to the dogs) is starting to turn a hue of green and i can see the potential of our garden for this year. along with spring comes our baby. it's a great time of year, i think, to have a baby. as soon as things warm up more we'll be outside strolling around. windows and doors open letting in the fresh air.

so now that march has rolled around, everyone has started to answer my phone calls on the first ring, has a louder than normal hello voice and is generally wondering... are you in labor? i am still finding this response cute, i wonder if i will feel the same in a few more days? our doula says not to count, but with little else to do it's difficult. we are ready as we are going to be... so i have started to take more walks, squats, hip openers... come on baby. every morning we have a chat about today being a good day for a baby... like today for instance, it's a good day. 3.6.9. 3+6=9 and we were married on 9.3.6... so today would be a good day.

sew fro

2009-03-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

my mom is a multi-talented woman. most of her talents that she has shared are about gardening, life, counseling, listening, organizing, throwing things away (like at last count at least three tv remotes to the same tv).

until last weekend i thought most of her talents were focused on the non-domestic type. i.e. she prides herself on making most foods from a box. therefore most of my 'martha' skills are self taught or by mrs. frevel (my kind of grandmother growing up). however, i and the ladies aide society (my mom's hysterical friend group) were amazed to learn she knew how to sew. not only does she know how to sew but we bought a sewing machine, fabric and made a crib skirt. amazing. my lovely husband was shocked to hear that both of us were sewing and could actually produce something. so much so that he posted this very unflattering photo of me on FB. it was like an episode of little house on the prairie.

as you can see i was VERY focused. my sewing skills have NOT improved, but i am really enjoying it. here is an ok pic of the bed skirt:

i have moved on to making a pin cushion, an Olivia lovey for cousin James and now I am on to a hooter hider aka nursing cover. Sewing really makes me work another part of my brain that hasn't really been activated, I am really enjoying it.

thanks to Mom and her sleeping sewing talents.

march 1

2009-03-01T13:05:00.000-08:00

we are ready. the baby now has a place to lay it's little head once it arrives.

thanks to our good friends the Laura and Di - our baby has a bassinet! after a recent scary experience for Dave in the ER we reminded ourselves that co-sleeping is not the way to go. which sent me into a hunt for a replacement.

along these lines, one thing that has become very apparent in becoming parents is that one of the initial steps is to spend a lot of money. a lot. i am starting to realize the sacrifices our parents made for us. so i have come to accept offers from friends that are loaning or donating their used things. so thanks to Diana and Laura for sharing the bassinet.

ps. the elephant will be taken out before the baby arrives.

tick tock

2009-02-25T08:32:00.001-08:00

we are hanging out between week 37 (swiss chard) and 38 (leeks). we had a routine doctor visit today in which we learned, not much is new. baby is moving, belly is big, 1cm. we are now 75% effaced. so that is progress from last week at 50%. other than that here we are, passing the time.

i have started to set up at least one event a day... mostly things that revolve around food. like lunch, coffee, cupcakes, dinner. tick tock. i feel this is one of those times i must cherish, because in the near future this will not be the case. yet it's hard to watch the minutes pass and not focus on the looming labor.

the baby will not be coming this weekend because Dr. K is in New Orleans, and she is a big piece of our labor puzzle.

after hearing Obama last night, it makes me hopeful and happy to be having our baby in this new administration.

so happy

2009-02-20T10:40:00.000-08:00

i am so happy today. i woke up to a very cute husband and big hairy babies all snuggling in our bed. i'm cherishing the waking up on my own to silence as much as i can.

just as one eye opened, i remembered our purchase last night - the Quinny Buzz stroller. i heart it so much i wish i could have slept with it in our bed but there is no room with afore mentioned bed-mates. i have a history of bringing things to bed with me when i love them (mind out of gutter), a few quick examples: elementary school: navy blue rain boots, slept with them on or in my bed for a few weeks. my favorite white tights with little pale pink hearts on them, wore them every where including bed until they had a serious hole in the bum, which i just cut off the top part and taped them to my legs. and continued to wear to bed or under pillow. most recently, my marc jacobs bag. and last night it could have been the quinny alas, i had to run downstairs and just stare this am. i can't wait to roll it around the hood!

then i turned on the TV to see that matt lauer AND brian williams were on the Today show. seriously? did anyone know about this? yummy.

and then because we were out of coffee, i had to meet my pregalinas for breakie and Karin and her beyond cute sister who was just in from MI. puts everything at ease.

off to get my hair done for the last time pre-babe... then just in time to rush home to meet my mom who is coming in this weekend.

oh, yea. and i'm 1cm dilated - whatever that means.

happy week 37!

lucky 13

2009-02-13T12:50:00.001-08:00

As I've mentioned in past posts, Friday the 13th is a lucky day for us. we met on a friday the 13 in june. and our baby is due on friday the 13th. Officially, one month away from our due date, things are coming together. Last week I didn't feel the same way but it's amazing what a few days will do...

we are 36 weeks. the baby weighs approximately six pounds, the size of a crenshaw melon. we are clearly running low on fruit and veg options. back to the six pounds - that's huge. that is a lot of weight to be toting. the back ache, no sleep or motivation are constituted. we are at the point now when we see Dr. K every week. Wednesday is our doctor day and i actually get really excited going and feel so much better after our visits. this week everything is measuring as it should and the baby's head is down. apparently there has been a rash of breech babies so Dr. K did an u/s to make sure that yes, in fact, the head is down. and it is one really big noggin. according to Dave, my family has rather large melons. i had no idea. truly, i never thought my head was big. but now it makes sense why his hats are always to small for me. thank you to everyone for never mentioning the size of my head.

this week has been good!

a. i was able to lay on my belly for the first time in six months! i had a prenatal massage with a woman that has a pregnancy table - meaning there is a hole for your belly. even if she hadn't rubbed at all, i would have still been happy just laying on my belly.

b. my diaper bag is ordered and arrived today! i may start carrying it sooner rather than later.

c. i taught my last group yoga class for awhile. i am very happy i made it to week 36, but very sad that i won't see my students every week. but really looking forward to getting back into my own practice!

d. the first couple in our birth class, Kelly and Nick, had their baby on Monday. william finnegan, a very healthy cute boy! one down, two to go.

e. we are having a date night to celebrate our anniversary (yes, after five years we still mention every month and sometimes celebrate), valentine's and one month until our baby is here

f. our yoga friends and students are giving Mandi and I a shower... it's going to be so fun!

Hope you all had a wonderful week, happy friday the 13th!

contraction contradiction

2009-02-05T12:16:00.000-08:00

The other title option was: my momma went to the hospital and all she brought home was this jug.

Tuesday started out like any other day... breakfast, walk the dogs, see what needed to be done, etc. And once I fully woke I remembered my multiple stumbles to the b-room, I'm averaging about once every two hours at this point, that something didn't feel right. Not sure if my water broke, or what. And then around 10a it happened again. This time I thought I should give the doc a call. Usually in this case I just call Dave but for some reason, I thought it wasn't a big deal so I called Dr. K and talked to our nurse Terry (love her). She thought we should come in. Really? Apparently at this point (almost 35 weeks) they don't mess around. My first reaction was my chin started to quiver, while I dialed Dave. No answer. No answer at his clinic. Called our Doula, no answer. Mom, no answer. Dad, no answer. etc. etc. etc. Then I burst into tears. I just needed to tell someone else, and remind myself it wasn't an emergency or they would have sent me straight to Labor and Delivery. So I had Dave paged... no response. I went from nice Sarah to not so nice. Some of you have met her, she's not so nice but she gets the job done in these situations and doesn't take no for an answer.

Made it through Dave's exchange and once he answered, fell into a heap of tears and all I could say was contractions, Dr. K. We made it through and Dave cleared most of his day and headed home to pick me up. I ran, well waddled really, upstairs remained calm and started to pack the bag. I know that I said I was going to do this the other day, but now it's done. I didn't know what to expect, and really didn't want to touch my feet on a hospital floor. Or hospital socks.

We drove to the doctor's office, which is really the hospital. And apparently it was a day of emergency pregalina's. The office was full of pregnant women, but I was the furthest along. In we went. What I thought to be water breaking, was not the case just normal for this point. No dilation things were looking good. Last, 'Sarah, is the baby moving?'. Me: 'not as much as normal'. Apparently that is a ticket straight to Labor and Delivery. Off we went to be 'monitored'. It was scary, and I knew by the pace with which Dave walked ahead of me he was nervous as well. He may have made it upstairs to the 3rd floor without me wondering where I was if I hadn't slowed him down...

We were put on the Toco machine to monitor contractions and the baby's heart rate. The heart rate was great between 130-150 the entire time, a few bouts of hiccups and I wasn't having contractions. About thirty minutes into it, Dave went to get a coffee. The minute he left the room, they started. The door busted open and our nurse Jo, said are you feeling what I am seeing? Yes, I definitely was. Contractions every 5 - 10 minutes. They weren't fun, but tolerable and something I could easily handle it. With every contraction the baby's heart rate increased, apparently a good thing. Jo said I'm going to call Dr. Krasnoff and see about getting a shot of something... A shot? What the hell? Called Dave and he answered (thankfully) asking if I wanted a strawberry or raspberry smoothie? Seriously? Now is NOT the time for a smoothie, drop everything and shake it on up here. He was back within minutes. Jo came back with the shot of something to stop contractions.

I don't want a medicated birth, but I really didn't want to have this baby so early. It would have been ok, but not ideal. The option was to spend the night in hospital or take the shot. They could have thread through my eye as that point... So we decided to have the shot. And the contractions went away.

We were free to go.

I just have to take it easy, very easy. And not stress about anything! Now I know what it's like to be in the hospital enough to know I would like to be there as little as possible.

Now I just have to drink way more water than I was drinking (already 100 oz.), so I'm hopeful I will have time to drink between bathroom breaks.

spring is trying at 626

2009-01-30T08:20:00.001-08:00

we are tired of snow, and it's only been here for about three days this year. ready for Spring and all that is to come this Spring in particular. here is what we've been growing...

i like the juxtaposition of the flowers with the snowy backyard.

go away snow, go away.

where are my toes?

2009-01-30T08:12:00.001-08:00

if Tuk could talk, and some days I swear he does... he would be asking: 'Momma, where are your toes?'

week 34 on saturday, wow.

pack your bags

2009-01-28T13:57:00.000-08:00

The hospital is 8.8 miles from our house, door-to-door. And now that the highway is open it takes about 15 minutes to get there, maybe less in times of chaos. Over the last few days Dave and I have both had the same feeling that this baby is going to be here before said due date (March 13). At this point I am almost 34 weeks, so really only six more weeks to go. That said, my Mom mentioned today that first baby’s tend to come early in our family. Really? Or is that Donoghue drama? As my husband would say, my Mom adds at least 300ft, and Sarah ups it to about 3000ft. I just say, if it makes the story better, who really cares? But I need to research to make sure that this is truth not fiction.

At the OB this AM, we both realized that we could have this baby any day now. And I am not panicking.

Anyways after lots of nagging from Mom and Karin, it is time to pack my bag and make sure the car has gas at all times. I haven't really started to pack, but the list is forming in my head, so I thought I would share. So here is the list thus far, I am pretty sure it can all make it into one bag… Please send additions!

PACKING LIST FOR HOSPITAL BAG:

1. one bottle, vueve clicquot

2. gownie (see previous post)

3. birth plan. Want to make sure we are all on the same sheet o’ music.

4. iPod, with speakers, right? Need to make that playlist.

5. flip flops . hospitals weird me out. And I don’t think I have ever spent the night in one, so I would rather not touch the floor.

6. Essential oil

7. Birthing ball

8. pillow, or at least a pillow case from home that is of a nice thread count

9. fun new sun dresses/nursing gowns, so maybe I will feel somewhat cute

10. pretty robe, so the in-laws and I don’t feel uncomfortable

11. camera, where is that camera?

12. phone charger, lots of phone calls to be made

13. extremely yummy fuzzy baby bunting outfit. Just in case it is cold outside.

14. gender neutral baby gown

15. boy baby gown

16. very pink girl baby gown

17. blanket to wrap the baby, to later use to acclimate the boys

18. snacks and drinks to have during labor. Do they have veg food at the hospital? Will have to suss this out on our tour.

19. Unmentionables, that the doula baby group keeps mentioning that makes me uncomfortable

20. An outfit for me to come home, so we are all comfortable

Please note, I would like to not be at this joint for longer than 24hours. Send additions my way!

Off to find a really big bag,
Sarah