a whole new ballgame...

In my last posting on this blog, i was not yet officially a mommy....and today I write this as the mommy of a 2month old!

here are the highlights

-Arthur Alan Clough was born on 6/20 (1 week early)
5lbs 11oz, 20.5" long....yup, a long skinny guys!
-labor was just 8 hours--fast and intense.  Oof.  A little scary, too.  Arie's heart rate kept dropping with each contraction.  so alarms kept going off.  turns out, it was becuase his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck.  we didn't know this until the very end, so an emergency c-section team was on standby in my room in case Arie didn't tolerate the pushing well.  but he did.  Just 5 sets of pushes and he was out!

-the first 2 weeks of motherhood are quite the experience and adjustment.  week 3 felt better.  by week 6 i was starting to see how I'd be able to juggle being a mommy while also taking care of the house and getting back to work

-nursing takes a lot of time.  and breast fed babies like to eat a little several times a day.  even now that he's 2 months old, he's still eating about every 2-3 hours during the day time.  At night, he's starting to really do well.  I nurse him, then he gets a bath and then Daddy (Josh) gives him a bottle I've prepped.  so that really stuffs the kid.  Just this past week we're finally getting into a 5-6 hour stretch at night.  after his 1st wake up at 3 or 4am, though, he's up every 2 hours after that.  but I can handle that for the most part.  better than every 2 hours the whole night like it was for the first month...

-Arie loves going on walks in his stroller.  and he loves sitting in his little chair out in my workshop and watching me while I work.  fortunately, he likes the sound of the engraver (it's like white noise to him).  but he doesn't get to be out in the office when i'm soldering metal.  I do all that kind of work first think in the morning while he's still asleep.

-i would not say that arthur has colic--but he does get the grumps in the evening.  cuddles, eating, and walks outside seem to do the trick.  Oh and he loves bathtime :)

i love my little man more than I ever thought possible.  can't imagine life with out him!

Arie's Churching 3 weeks ago

almost like music

The sound of nearly10,000 little glass seed beads falling to the ground is almost soothing...and quite a pretty effect...Until you realized that you have to clean them all up.  and that while you were mesmerized by the waterfall effect of them, they bounced all over the woodfloor and scattered into a dozen different nooks and crannies. 

movin' that up a tad....

Sorry folks, I know I had said June 8th...however my increasing discomfort with all things pregnancy related have really been taking their toll.   June 3rd is the new cut off date.

My work doesn't stop on the 3rd...I have to finish making all the orders that I receive during this week. and based on the kinds of 'practice contractions', the massive heat wave the midwest is experiencing right now, my lack of sleep (so hard to get comfy!), and just all things needing to be done to get ready for baby, it's all just feeling a little overwhelming right now. and I need to limit my stress at the moment. and I would rather upset a few people now by moving up the cut off date than taking an order, but not being able to fill it. My very sincere apologies is my date change is going to inconvenience you in any way.

thanks for understanding!

Last Call!

THE LAST DAY to get your orders in before I start Maternity leave is June, 8th!!!

Once I finish up those last orders, then I will officially be on maternity leave until the end of July.

I hope to get back to work on August 1. NOTHING WILL SHIP WHILE I AM ON MATERNITY LEAVE. I will keep this website updated with all pertinent info. Please no phone calls during my leave. You are always welcome to continue emailing, and I will respond when I am able. I apologize in advance for any inconvenience my time away may cause. I appreciate your patience and understanding during this wonderful time in our lives. I promise to return to work as soon as I can.

My Due date is June 27th....so I'm just past 34 weeks along, but this kid is measuring in at 36 weeks along (for those of you who don't know, 40 weeks is "Full term").  and his current measurement does not necessarily mean that he'll be early..but it does show you just how uncomfortable I'm starting to get.  and Just plain exhausted.   No one would want me working on their crowns a full month from now, trust me!  Depending on the health of the baby and myself, I may shorten or extend my leave.  Keep checking back for updates on either this site, or the website.

winning streak

OK, i just have to tell "someone" out there about my winning streak in Scrabble. 

My husband and I love this game.  and Josh is a very, very intelligent guy.  He is my Rocket Scientist, after all.  But the last 3 games in a row (we have been playing almost every night, but some of these are multi-day games, otherwise we'd be up even later than we already are!), I've beaten him!!!  and in our 11 years together, I have NEVER beaten Josh in Scrabble before.  And I was finally able to do it 3 times in a row.  It's those little victories in life that keep us going. :)

We'll see what tonight's match brings.....

Oh, and my super cool nursing chair is going to be delivered on Friday.  And I just picked up the cradle sheets from Penney's today.   We had our first 'childbirth' class last night.  Having to do group activities made me remember how much I hated that kind of thing in school.  I already have issues with feeling "adult" enough to have a child of my own, and having to do group activities doesn't really help with that.  Yes, I'm a non-team player.  Just 1 of many reasons why I have my own business.