Merry Christmas from the Gills!

Merry Christmas! 

Just a bit of what I've learned in the first 5 months with baby Z

Hey Friend!
It's been 4 months ish since I last posted.
Things have been busy but beautiful.

Zephaniah is such a wonderful addition and blessing to our family.

Zeph and Daddy at the Pumpkin Patch

Its been so fun to watch him grow and change.
And to see how we are changing because of him! Michael and I have totally different priorities now that Zeph is here, but we love our lives and couldn't go back.
Zephaniah is so much fun. He'll be 6 months old on December 28th, while we are in Michigan celebrating my sister and her fiance's wedding!
He's starting laughing and smiling, and really noticing the people (and dogs) around him. He LOVES Bosley and thinks that when the dog whines its the funniest thing ever!

Zephaniah has started to sit up on his own and is really into playing with his toys....and by playing either eating them OR banging them against the table or floor to make loud noises. 

Its so crazy though because even 12 weeks ago he was just starting to smile and now he's so entertaining and into talking to people. He loves Facetime with my family, and likes to 'talk' to them and show off his new skills.

He recognizes voices from the phone too. 

1 week old Zeph with Mom and Grandma 

Grandparents!

Most parents already know this but it truly is amazing how fast things change. 

I'm so thankful that we have the means and technology to easily capture these wonderful stages he's been going through because it seems like a blink and he's learned something new.

So happy with our cloth diaper and handmade booties!

We're cloth diapering, but usually only at home. It has been going well. I really love our FuzziBunz and the routine of washing and what not is pretty easy, especially since I only work one or two days a week. We have a HE washer so it took a little trial and error to get the right system down for us. If you have questions at all about that let me know in the comments and I can answer you there!

They are so soft and his fluffy bum is so stinkin' cute with those colorful diapers!

I would totally recommend for a mom to try cloth.

This is Zeph's 'really Mom?' face

I feel like recently we've really been getting into a good rhythm with being parents. Don't get me wrong, sometimes that boy cries and we have NO IDEA why and have to just try to calm him down.

Those times are getting less frequent because we've reached the place where we see what he likes, when he's getting tired, how to talk to and soothe him, how to make him laugh or distract him....and because Zeph is a little older and probably a little more used to being out in this big world. 

He's started taking longer, more restful naps....thank God! And really I think it was my not reading his cues properly that took us so long to get to this place where he's sleeping well. 

Now though he gets sleep-I can usually shower during the day (hurray!) and work on some other projects!

Its really so much fun to get to know this little guy.

Here's just a little list of the things we've learned over the that 5 1/2 months.

*when the baby is a newborn, sleep when he sleeps. For real-your house will be messy but baby doesn't care. Sleep!

You'll be happier and have more patience with that sweet hysterically crying baby when you've had an hour nap!

*Freeze up some meals-more than you think. Even after you've recovered from birth, having a quick meal is great for days when the baby has been a hot mess and is having an epic meltdown....right at dinner time....read: the first 3 months of sweet baby Z's life

.

*Swings are life savers. At least for us it was. Babies love to rock and sway, and a swing can keep going for hours after your arms would give out. Craigslist has them for 1/2 off! Get the cradle swing that is soft and you can wash the lining!

*Use that smart phone to your advantage. Track feedings w/apps, take photos and make movies of your little bundle of joy....even when all they do is lay there and stare at their own hand. Because in just a couple of weeks it will be so hard to remember those days where all they did was lay and look at their own hand. Plus grandparents love that stuff. Create a YouTube channel and load that puppy up!

*Baby-wearing is awesome! There are a ton of places that list all the benefits of babywearing.

We were fortunate enough to have my cousin gift us a Moby wrap and we used gift cards to purchase an Ergo! So great for handsfree baby-soothing. If Zeph was having a rough time I'd throw him on and walk around in circles around the house if I couldn't leave-taking big exaggerated steps (think lunges) and all the swaying would put him to sleep. The dog though was a little confused and followed us around....so we had a parade of three going on for a while! 

*People have opinions about every aspect of baby raising, from diapers to sleep training, to clothing....seriously like almost everything. But, these opinions are always super strong and it's not "oh we disagree, ok" its more like "we disagree and if you don't change your mind you will damage your baby for life!" 

Its craziness. Ask the opinions of people you respect and that won't be haters if you don't take it. 

And find a pediatrician you can ask questions and get honest responses. I asked my Dr. about vaccines and she sent me home w/her copy of a book to read to make an informed choice. I respect that.

Newborn baby love

I make no promises of posting on a regular basis, but I'd like to so keep an eye open for some more updates! 

so I had a baby

So about two months ago I had a baby!
Ta Da!
Isn't he beautiful?
Ohmigoodness.
So....I thought I would write out my birth experience, for you to read.....and in all honesty for me to remember.
I'll try to not make it too gross.

So Baby Gill was over due by 5 days, and I was not very happy about that...it was HOT HOT HOT in Boise and I was super swollen and grumpy pants.
Mr. Gill, Bosley and I had been taking lots of walks trying to get things started to no avail.
At my post-due date appointment with my midwife I was told I needed to have an ultrasound to make sure he was doing ok-that it was very routine.
The appointment was on Thursday June 27th at 12:15pm.
At the ultrasound the tech was telling Mr. Gill and I that the baby looked really good, but that we would probably be having the baby that day or the next because she couldn't see any amniotic fluid....which is bad fyi.
So we went straight to Labor and Delivery where we were admitted and I got hooked up the saline fluids, a Penicillin drip and continuous monitoring.....because its high risk to have "no amniotic fluid" so I had to wear a strap around my *HUGE* belly the entire time until the baby was born.
Mr. Gill and his sister Heather were at the hospital with me from pretty much the beginning of the process.
We decided to try to manually induce labor, by inserting a balloon to mimic the head pushing on the cervix....and that started some contractions BUT they went away after a couple of hours.
They make you wait 12 hours after the balloon to try something new so we spent the night at the hospital all hooked up but going nowhere.
The next morning (Friday) at about 6 am they started the Pitocin drip. I don't remember the name of my nurse that day but she was awesome. She had three kids (a set of twin she delivered on Pitocin w/out pain relief) and we knew mutual people. She is a believer and was just very encouraging.
Everything was going well, I was having contractions but not really feeling much of anything. The baby was looking really good on the monitor but my belly was so big that it felt like every time I moved the nurse had to come in and adjust the do-dads.
I had lunch, we watched videos, took walks and around 4 or so in the afternoon I started "feeling" the contractions. I was checked and dilated to about 4 1/2 cm.
So we kept walking and trying to get things going. A couple of hours later they checked me again and I was at 6 cm and as they were checking I had a big contraction and my water broke....even though I had "no" amniotic fluid....explain that one to me.
Anyway after that things got VERY real. It was like in an instant I felt like my entire body was contracting.
I'm pretty sure I told Mr. Gill and Heather I was going to die several times.
So-here's where I'm going to skip over some kinda gross details about what my body was doing for the sake of people like-my Dad. If you want details of the crazy things that were coming out of my body let me know-if you've had a baby you can relate.
Mr. Gill and Heather were awesome though during the rough contractions, helping me stay focused and not screaming like a crazy woman the whole time....I only did that at the end.
I'm so thankful to have had them both there with me to get me through those crazy intense couple of hours.
I was in BIG labor from about 6pm (I think) until 11pm when Baby Z made his arrival.
I pushed for about 20 minutes and almost broke Mr. Gill's arm in half. He was up by my head-thank goodness. Those last couple of pushes I remember screaming like a crazy woman. I hope the other moms to be in the rooms next to me weren't scared!

Moments after being born 

I was on my hands and knees on the bed-so it required acrobatics to get turned around the see my baby boy, but it was like instant relief once he was out!










Mr. Gill cut the cord (even though he wasn't planning on it-the Midwife kinda just made him)....and he was fine. It felt like almost right after he was born I got the shakes, and had them for at least an hour. They said it was from all the adrenaline in my system after delivery....I believe it because that whole thing was the most intense/physical process I'd EVER been through.

about 12 hours after being born

Baby Z wasn't too vocal right away so they had to get him stimulated into crying, but I did get to hold him right away. He was just so beautiful. He also had a low temperature so he had to be under the heat lamp for a while too.
He was super chill the first couple days after coming into the world.
I think he was just taking it all in.

Mom get me out of here!

He no longer has that problem. This boy gets LOUD!

The rest of these pictures are from a *photo shoot* I did in when he was about 5 weeks old. 

Which is when he started SMILING!

So far being a Mom has been so fun. Exhausting but fun.
I'd trade sleep for his sweet face any day!

I'm sure my posting will be just as sporadic but hopefully more fun as I give updates about baby Z, being parents and all the fun that follows!
:)

*Jenny

5 Days and Counting

Hello Blog friends! Its been a while. 

We're here in the home stretch of baby-making. My due date is this coming Saturday!!! The means baby Gill could come tomorrow.....or, he could come on the 4th of July. Here's hoping he comes a little bit before Independence Day. 

37 weeks

Today also marks the second week I've been home from work. I think the wonderful women I work with could tell that my swollen ankles and painful wrists needed an early break so they let me start my 'maternity leave' early. And can I tell you how WONDERFUL it is to not be working right now? 

I am just not sure how women work up until the day they deliver. I wasn't getting anything done in preparation for baby when I was working-I'd come home so tired, and our evenings tend to be a little bit over-scheduled.....so sleep was always the priority. 

Anyway while I was working all the time-Bosley started to have a hard time. I think a large part of the problem was the fact we were gone all day and so tired at night he didn't get much exercise OR attention....and then there was the issue of all these new things coming into our home, that from his little puppy eyes-looked like they should be toys for him.

So, he took it upon himself to "play" with these new toys one afternoon while I was at work.

Bosley the Destroyer of worlds

Yea-that is a picture of the destruction. In case you can't tell what's shredded there its a WHOLE package of disposable diapers, an outfit including shoes, linky toys, a blanket and a stuffed animal.
This wasn't the first time either although it was the largest massacre of baby stuff.
I came home from work tired, swollen and hungry. I waddled into the living room to see the Boz, sitting there amongst the carnage, wagging his tail all ready to play.
I just started crying.....called Mr. Gill and told him I think we might have to give Bosley up because his hunger for diapers has become too much for me to handle.
I'm pretty sure Mr. Gill rolled his eyes and thought to himself-seriously? But he could tell I was very upset because of the angry/crying/yelling at the dog on the other end of the phone and tried to logically talk to me about how Boz behaves when people are actually around, which is slightly sneaky-but not malicious or even really very naughty.
Which was needed because I wasn't being fair to the dog and I may have been a *little* hormonal.
These last few weeks have been MUCH better with Boz though.

Happy Dog

We've been spending our mornings outside in the backyard, and taking lots of walks around the neighborhood. 

We've also been hanging out at a local park that has foothills and a pond, so Bosley can swim and I can climb up and down flights of stairs (rumor has it that helps the baby move into the right position for labor). He's been happier, and so have I. 

We aren't scared of how he'll react to the baby, although we are for sure anticipating a little bit of jealousy.....maybe a couple more chewings of baby things. 

But like my mom mentioned to me after that last massacre.....its only a matter of time before Bosley and baby Gill are a team; tearing up all my stuff. ;)

So here we are just waiting. I'll try to keep taking pictures of how things go and maybe even post pictures of the nursery before the baby comes!

*Jenny

Photo Dump!

So it's been several months since I've posted. Um, 3 months to be exact. And, I'd say I'm sorry but-ya know....we're just living life. Here is a just a quick photo run-down of what's been happening the last 3 months.

In late Janurary we found out we're having a boy!

Our lemon tree produced several big lemons-and I made Lemon Bars!

The recipe is on my Pinterest page-OHMIGOODNESS! SO GOOD!

Bosley got a cut on his little paw and then had to wear the cone of shame until it healed....since he spent all day licking the cut and making it worse....poor puppy. Except his bumbling around w/the cone was SO funny. I mean, SO funny. hehe




This is some fabric I picked out for baby. How stinkin' cute is that? I haven't actually MADE anything with it but, its going to be something beautiful.
























This photo is from the very end of March. I was only 27 weeks-but guess what? I was measuring more like I was 33 weeks. He's going to be a BIG baby.

My parents bought us a BEAUTIFUL crib that I adore. Bosley has been practicing protectively watching over the crib like a big brother should.
Actually he just wanted to be w/Michael as he was putting it together which meant he was practically in the crib as it was being assembled.

And last but not least the Michael Gill and Friends Band had a show just last week! It was super fun and they are going to start recording!

That's a mini-glimpse into what's been going on w/the Gills.
Have a good Wednesday friends!

Hello friend

Hello Blog Friends! Happy 2013! So, it's been over 2 months since I've honestly even thought about putting a post up here....but I have a very reasonable excuse. I'm PREGNANT! I'm a little over 4 months along, and so super excited it's kinda crazy. Let me tell you though, they aren't joking about mind-numbing fatigue that accompanies the first trimester or so. I still sleep like 8-9...or 10 hours a night and then take a nap most afternoons. Making a baby is apparently tiring work. So, there's that. I'll be sure to give updates regularly about how things are going. So far, so good....the baby is about the size of an avocado and is apparently hungry because in the last week or so I can't seem to stop eating. We have a few adventures ahead of us this year. Mr. Gill and I have made a resolution to work on the house. Well, mostly Mr. Gill has made that resolution since he'll be doing most of the work, but I totally support him in that choice. The first project is to put a light/vent into the ceiling of the bathroom. I don't think I've posted any pictures of the bathroom on the blog....and for a good reason....it's totally gross. It has safety handles in the shower, molding caulk all round the tub and a general sense of grodiness that I can't get rid of no matter how much I scrub that room. This was supposed to be a simple project, but apparently our house has crazy wiring and tall attic that has made this project a little more, um....let's say delicate than we anticipated. So, we've been living with a hole in the ceiling for about a week, with hopes that this weekend we'll (we being Mr. Gill and Mr. Gill Senior) knock it out. I'll try to take pictures of the process just so y'all can join in the fun. Anyone else working on any fun projects for the new year? I actually have a couple of things I'll be trying....like getting a handle of our out of control budget/non-budget, prepping our spare bedroom for baby-land and being more purposeful with my interactions...(with friends, co-workers, etc). I also want to read some good books. I feel like it's been years since I've read a really good book. Any suggestions? My library card has only seen baby books the last 4 months...we need a change of pace! Here's to a new year and the clean slate! *Jenny G

EmWrites about Hospitality

Hey Friends!
I was invited to guest post over at my good friend Emily Miller's blog today!
Emily is a close friend I made while living in the great city of Chicago, and has taught me many things including a reverance for Patron Saints.
She is a newlywed that blogs over at EmMillerWrites, writes for Start Marriage Right and The Chicago Sun-times! 
Over on her blog she has been doing a FANTASTIC series on Hospitality called You're Welcome.
This series has a lot of awesome stuff about being hospitable and why being hospitable is important so go check it out!
Also-Emily is in general really fun and witty....so take some time to check out her blog in full.
Don't worry-she gave me permission to let you blog stalk her!

Have a good weekend!