The Cultivating Foodies family would like to announce our new addition, Little Sous Chef Natalie Rose.
Natalie was born April 16, 2016 and we are very madly in love with her.
The morning of the 16th I woke up sore and tired and very done being pregnant. I went in to town to my prenatal yoga class that I had been attending since about 20 weeks. When I arrived the teacher asked if I was ok, and I was pretty honest and told her I was so done and needed baby out ASAP. The other women in the class must hate me because we did a LOT of squats that class to help baby move down.
After yoga I went out to visit my sister Lexi and her rowdy boys. Little Chef was stoked to see them and they ripped around playing hokey and riding bikes and being general hooligans. Little Chef and his cousin Felix are 6 months apart and really getting to the age that they play very happily together. Their favourite sport at the moment is hockey and they like to do epic slap shots and yell “Hottey!” and “Score!” very loudly. It is wildly entertaining and mildly dangerous.
Before supper we took the boys to the park and they climbed and ran and jumped and frolicked. Grand fun. We walked back to the house and made some pretty exquisite chicken Alfredo (Little Chef of course was the sauce taster) and bathed the grubby boys. During supper I had a few strong contractions, but I really didn’t think much of them. I had been having contractions every night for two weeks already, exactly the same as before Little Chef was born.
By the time I was driving home the contractions started to become more consistent. Of course, James was working late at a restaurant he consults for, so when I got home I text him and told him they were getting closer together, but were still very manageable and not to rush home or anything. I hauled Little Chef out of the Jeep and brought him to his bed, gave him a nice big snuggle and put him to bed. I then of course got the urge to clean the whole house and kept and eye on the clock timing my contractions as I went. James text me that he was heading home, it was about 8pm. I tried to have a bath, but got out after about 2 minutes because it didn’t feel right. James got home at about 8:30 and I was having contractions about 5 minutes apart and by now they started becoming more intense. I now had to stop and concentrate on them. James in the casual cool way he is, came in cracked a beer and put on snoop dog. He clearly realized I was serious about this baby having business when I made him put on my birth playlist instead.
By 9:00 we called the midwives, and James told them I was having regular contractions, but dealing with them well so no rush. Thankfully they decided to head out. I was sitting on my birth ball for the contractions, but then they became more intense and I switched to holding on to the back of the couch and squatting and breathing through them. James was pushing on my back using counter pressure to help the pain in my hips. I was very in the zone and barely realized when the midwives arrived at 10:15. The only thing I could focus on was my breathing, and listening to James tell me I was doing a good job. When my breathing would speed up too much he reminded me to slow it down and that helped so much. Shortly after, the midwives realized by my change in breathing that I was starting to push and they laid out a drop cloth and told me to listen to my body and giver. I roared like an epic lioness and in 4 minutes pushed our wiggly little girl out. James caught her and handed her to me. I was so deeply in the zone and when she was born it was like I burst through a cloud and everything was crystal clear. She was born at 10:39. We walked the few steps to my bed and I sat down with my sweet babe. It was a beautiful sweet and magical moment. She nursed before I even delivered the placenta. 6 minutes after she was born my sister Lexi arrived, she was supposed to be my labour support, but little Natalie decided to arrive on her own time.
We snuggled up and just soaked her beautiful little face in. After a while I had a nice shower and the midwives tucked me in to bed and cleaned the house {score!} and we fell asleep for our first night as a family of 4. And Little Chef? He was in the next room, not 10 feet from where his sister was born sleeping like a husband through the whole thing.
In the morning when he woke up James brought him in to our room and showed him his new sister. Right away he said “baby!” and then shortly afterwards was demanding cheerios. Nothing can get between him and his breakfast.
Natalie has been such a blissed out sweet tempered little thing. And Little Chef is warming up to her more and more each day. He requests her for story time and wants to kiss her a lot and sing her songs. I think he will be an excellent big brother. He is a bit confused about why she does not eat real food, and I am sure he will be very excited when she is ready to start eating solids.
My recovery this time around has been much easier, and I feel human again {I’m wearing pants with a zipper! Done up!!}. I truly am better at being a mom than a pregnant woman. I feel at ease with her in my arms, and so far very at ease with two kids. I am sure that very soon they will make a big fat liar out of me and I will wonder how the heck I am going to parent two children. But for now, its all roses. Little Natalie Roses.
-Stephanie
