Polka Dots

Getting used to being a mom...

Taking care of Mom was under-rated! I have a wonderful family and husband but I didn't realize how slow I would be in the days following delivery.

Breastfeeding isn't as easy as it sounds...Everyone has different experiences and I was pretty relaxed about things. Nurses and Drs kept saying feed him when he is hungry probably 2-4 hours apart. After a few days he started to sleep quite a bit...but then my supply started to drop very quickly. I think I would have been better off to just feed him every 2 hours during the day even though he wasn't demanding it...he would have taken it. I ended up having to pump after every feed for two weeks to build up my supply. Lots of fun! Oh well! Live and learn.

I am usually pretty confident that I know what is "right" in most parts of ny like. Confident in my relationship with my hubby! Pretty confident at work (after 9 years I otta be!), but this whole baby thing - not so confident. I found myself feeling more unsure about myself than I ever have before. I didn't know if I should take advice or follow my gut or read a book! It was interesting. It wasn't too bad but it took about 2 months before I got my feet under me. 

Now I feel like I am rolling with it. It has started to humble me in ways nothing has before. I think I have learned not to have expectations and enjoy everything - including the bumps in the road. Blessing!

 

A bittersweet January

January 2011 was a pretty pivotal month in our lives. In a matter of a few weeks we found out we were going to be blessed with a baby and Dave's father passed away.

There really is no way to explain the feelings we experienced over the spand of 3 weeks. As I sat on the couch just after finding out were were going to have a baby I remember having this feeling that life really could not get any better. We were surrounded by the peope we loved and now we were going to be starting a new phase in our lives. I cherished that moment...

On a warm Sunday afternoon - January 23rd 2011- things changed forever. We were planning to have the family over for dinner and let them know we were having a baby! Lori had called earlier in the day to say Rick wasn't feeling well so they were going to lay low. Around 4 that afternoon we got a call that they were headed to the hospital and by the time we made it there he had passed away...So quickly the bliss of that perfect feeling was taken from us.  I can't speak for my husband because the pain he feels is different and deeper. But I am not sure why I thought it could never happen to us. Our parents are such an important part of our lives and we take for granted that they will be with us forever. To say Rick was an amazing father is a giant understatement. He raised some of the most wonderful children into awesome adults! He had kids inthe house for the last 33 years of his life! He was never the loudest in the room but his impact was greater than anyone elses. I will miss Rick everyday but I KNOW he is actually always with us.

On September 17, 2011 we were blessed with a perfect little man - Richard William Grammier - in honor of both of his grandfathers. Ricky has brought so much joy to us already - even after only a month! As our family grows and changes I can only hope to cherish each moment and memory for what it is. Life is so fragile and precious. 

On the shelf in Ricky's room sits a photo of his grandfather Rick. We will tell many stories and know know he is with us everyday.

 

The story of Ricky's arrival...it is kinda funny!

At my 36 week check up the doctor said things looked like they were really progressing and if my body kept going Ricky would come early. He was in position and my you know what was soft and ready to go!

Then at 37 wks - no change...

Then 38 wks no change...but I made this my last week of work! Yeah!!!

Then 39 wks no change...

Then 40 wks ...Y doctor actually said "I think he went further up inside of you!" I had to laugh because I was still feeling good. I did all the things you read about doing...lots of loving your husband (whoo hooo!), lots of walking, spicy food, this salad dressing that is supposed to work...etc...

Sept 15th -

As the days went buy and I had no signs of labor I was starting to get a little nervous. The  doctor talked to me about induction and we were going to book one for late in my 41st week - but then just 2 days past my due date after a LONG walk and a hot shower...I felt something kind of funny. It was late in the afternoon so I laid down in bed and turned on the TV. It was the evening news so every time I had that funny tight feeling I looked at the time on the TV...sure enough it was about ever 6-7 minutes. Wow am I really having contractions...??? Not sure why I was so surprised but I was really EXCITED!!! Then Dave pulled in the garage. Before he could even get in the house I was shouting out the window "I think it is starting!" He also seemed a little surprised - "Really???" Then he said, "I have a few things for work I should finish up if this is going to happen." At this point I downloaded an app on my iphone to track the start and stop time of the contractions because I thought that seemed like a good idea.

After an hour or so I was looking for things to pass the time and remembered that I had wanted to make zucchini bread to take to the nurses in the labor and delivery. I figured those nurses should be well fed if they are going to help me through this and a little buttering up might help me when I really need it :-) So Dave, Bermuda and I walk to the grocery store to get some zucchini. Dave waited outside while I ran in (without a cart). I decided that I also wanted some yogurt and a few other things. So now my hands are full as a pretty strong contraction approaches as I am walking up to the check out counter. I try to hold on to everything but a few of the yogurts bite the dust. A nice man picks them up for me while I grit my teeth and breathe deeply. I didn't want him to know I was in labor and freak out  - so I tried to put on a smile and get out of there as quick as possible.

After the walk home I get into baking - after about 30 minutes I start to get cranky. Dave was still working a little and so I walk into the office giving him a piece of my mind about how he should be helping me bake. Then I realize the contractions were closer and more intense. Dave decided he should finish the bread...

Sept 16th -

As Sept 15th turned to Sept 16th I can't sleep so I call my Dr to let her know how things are going. She said she would let the hospital know that they might see me but I should stay home as long as I could or until my water broke. I also called my Mom and Dad in Northern CA to let them know so they could make their way down to LA. Then Dave tried to catch some ZZZ's. The contractions were still bear-able but I was too excited to sleep. I showered - then took a bath - then tried to relax - then read my book. For most of the night I was just using a cleansing breath and basic breathing to get through each contraction but then by about 3am I started using some he he he - whoo's. (see Reflecting on Pregancy post for our hilarious prep). Now it had been 12 hours of contracts about 5 minutes apart so I woke Dave around 4am and suggested we go into the hospital to get checked out.

I was still getting through each contraction ok but I was starting to get pretty tired...keeping track all along on my cool little iPhone app...oh yeah and I also texted my Mom to let her know we were headed to the hospital.

The hospital we went to is pretty small and relaxed (and has great 80's wallpaper you will see in the pics below) - so they got me checked in quick and did an exam - just to report baby's heartbeat was fine and I was having consistent contractions every 5 minutes but I was only 1 cm dilated. Well - there is a long way to go until a 10! We decided we would go home. I left a message for my Mom letting her know we were headed home at around 7am.

Hilarous Side Bar: When my Mom and Dad landed and got their rental car - they went directly to the hospital rather than listening to their phone messages. They got to the hospital about 9am and the nurse at the reception desk asked who they were there for - and when they said Christine Grammier - she proceeded to tell them Christine did a GREAT JOB and it was a very fast delivery AND the baby was big and healthy! My mom was in shock. She said "that can't be" - she was only at a 1. But the nurse directed them to a room number - then a different nurse came running down the hall saying - "I think you are looking for someone else. We sent her home. Don't bother her she needs to sleep!" We later found out that there was another Christine who delivered earlier that day! :-)

Back to the story - when the nurses send me home they say - PLEASE TRY TO SLEEP! So I tried but had no success. Dave got another hour or so. Since I couldn't sleep I decided it was time to get thing moving. I did stretches that should help move him along. Then Dave and I did a long walk around the block stopping to breathe through each contraction. I am trying to start and stop the timer on my fancy contracton app each time, but that gets too hard to so I make Dave do it. After each contraction I am asking...Are they closer????? Just hoping that the contractions are getting closer together but NOPE! Still 5 minutes - at this point I have been having contractions 5 minutes apart for almost a day!!!!  I start texting my girlfriends with some updates on my progress - pointing out that as we are going on 24 hours it is getting a bit nutz.

At home Dave is coaching me through each contraction very well. Then he gets a wild idea to take care of a few things around the house and steps away from me for a few minutes. As the next contraction approaches I am hollering thorugh the house for him to find my phone and start the timer on the app while trying to breathe through it. He can't find the phone and then I proceed to "scold" him for walking away from me...Looking back it this - we laugh now!

I finally was so tired I sleep - more like pass out. All I remember is a haze of growning and rolling around. I think I did this for about an hour before I just couldn't take it anymore. I stood up feeling like a fussy 3 year old...Starting crying on Dave's shoulder as a contraction began and then I proceeded to pee all over the floor. Now - I really felt like a 3 year old!!! I showered while Dave cleaned and we decided to call my doctor back and ask for advice. She met us at the hospital about an hour later. The exam showed that I was at a 4! After 24 hours of contractions five minutes apart I was at a 4...Ladies and gentleman  you do the math! It would have taken me another 2 days to get this baby out at this pace. So the doctor gave me a couple of options: Do nothing and keep going for it, epidural, break water or epidural & break water...We opted to have the epidural so I could rest. This was about 6pm.

It's the "I love EPIDURAL!!!" face

This felt like a little piece of heaven. No I couldn't feel the contractions at all any more and after 24 hours of feeling them this was blissful. Dave asked me if I would marry the man who made the epidural if he walked in - I said OF COURSE NOT, but I would give him all our money!!! :) Then about an hour later I hadn't made much progress but so she broke my water. Again not much progress over the next couple of hours - so they gave me a little pitocin at about 9pm. This kicked things into action and by 11 I was completely dilated and Ricky had dropped into position so I was ready to push! Strange that I could feel these contractions again so I would know when and how to push...I won't go into detail but amazing.

Another sidebar: Most of your probably know I have wonderful family support. I have an awesome mom and 2 wonderful mother-in-laws...plus a very supportive Dad. The 4 of them waited patiently in the very small waiting room from about 5pm on. My Dad went out to get food and coffee to escape the hours of labor stories they each told about their various deliveries. Then at one point he said: "I'm going to the chapel downstairs." To which my mom responds, "why are you going there?" Dad calmly replies, "because they have some long benches I can sleep on." I thought this was hilarious!!! Oh and as things got moving along the Mom's found a window they could peak through into our room. They couldn't see me but the nurses were giving them reports via hand signals on how far dilated I was and the progress as I pushed. Captured on film:

September 17th: Just after midnight Ricky arrives. They placed him on my chest and Dave cut the umbilical cord. At fist he looked blue and slimy but in the matter of a few seconds he was whimpering and looked like our little boy!!! I couldn't believe the overwhelming rush of emotions we were feeling. He was beautiful and perfect. Tired, excited, relieved, joy, peace,...

By the time we settled into our room it was 2am and I had been awake for about 45 hours. The nurses tried to explain something to me about stiches - but I could not comprehend anyting at this point!!! "Save it for the morning!" - I said. We all drifted off to sleep as a family...(well almost! Dave had a very uncomfortable bed).

Reflecting on the Pregnancy!

Alright - I am catching up on blogging - I will get there soon. Wrote this post back in September...

I really enjoyed being pregnant. I feel very lucky because sooo many women shared stories with me of terrible morning sickness or water retention. God bless all of you! Dave and I tried to enjoy the time as our months of "only two" dwindiled.

Dave was such a good sport and went to both a "childcare prep" series of classes and lamaze. I have read several different books through the pregnancy. My nightly ritual involves a long hot bath (as far as I can tell the hot bath's didn't harm Ricky in the slightest) in which I read out excerpts from the books I think are important to Dave reading his (non preganancy related) book in the other room. This has become an ongoing joke becasue he never gets through more than a few pages of his own book before I am reading out some silly comment from the pregancy book about gas or hemrroids...I find it hilarious - him not so much!

As we near the end I really love this book - Birthing From Within. My aunt gave it to me and it has been helpful in eliminating the fear of trying to do this as naturally as possible. This book includes tips for practicing pain management such as holding ice cubes to simulate a contractions while you practice your breathing techniques. We added this to part of our nighttime ritual... I hold the ice cubes (while in the bath tub) and Dave times the contractions and coaches me breathing. He-he-he-whoooooo!!! A fly on the wall in our house would have some good stories to tell. Hope all the prep helps!

Overall we kept the year of 2011 pretty low key staying close to home. We ate out at lots of good local restaurants and had visitors come to us. Lots of visits to the Dr towatch Ricky grow! I found it so very amazing how much they could see. At one point we saw his little wisps of hair!

Family and Friends spolied us with showers and gifts! TWICE! Ricky is such a lucky boy!

Lea and Paul made a visit from NYC to play in LA. We got to act like tourists in our own city - The Getty, Hollywood TMZ tour, Dresden Room, Lunch at the Ivy, lots of laughs!

 

(Whatever it was we were debating here - I am sure I was right!)

Sarah, a dear friend of mine go married (in a beautiful ittle celebration). I got to see my wonderful girly-friends! We even had some fun at the beach the day after.

 

(Yes, they dug my belly a hole)

I had lots of fun putting together a nursery that was ready for his arrival!

  

  

Final days...Having way too much fun! For some reason as the months have gone by I have started to have no control over my laughter. Dave loves it because he says I usually don't laugh at his jokes enough. On almost a daily basis now I end up with one of those laughting fits where you laugh so hard you are crying and you think you are about to peee all over yourself. It has reminded me how important a true outta control laugh really is.

I am getting a little anxious now that it is very near the end - ready to have the baby and wanting to avoid an induction...So we are trying EVERYTHING to get him moving. Even went so far as to reserach this - a labor inducing salad...going to try to go to lunch there this next week!

 

2010 Year In Review

Let's see if I can re-cap 2010 in a few paragraphs :-) It was a busy one. You might say we were trying to fit a lot in before we got a little more tied down. Not sure this will be soo fun to read but I have to get it documented so I don't forget!!!!

Fun trip to Vegas with Family in March - just to get some sun! It's always HOT in Vegas. Girls came to visit in April! We missed Kerri and Melinda is just barely preg-o!

Trips to Nor Cal for baby showers - Kerri and Melinda two of my best-ies from growing up had babies! This must be a sign that life is about to change. TJ and Beckett are two of the most adorable little gentlemen! I follow along via blogs and facebook to keep up with them. Couldnt find any pics of Kerri's shower ;) but here is Melinda's!

More than I bargained for - I opened an office in LA. When we moved to CA the goal was to slow down at work. I would be remote so I assumed that I would slow down...the reverse happened. I got to focus on a client here in LA and we won a bunch of business. That meant that the company I work for wanted to open an office here...the idea spawned in February, by April I was looking for office space and I think we opened the doors in May.

Memorial Day in Florida with our Army Friends - was a blast! We are going to have to make this a tradition!

 

 

SOUTH AFRICA for World Cup and wrapping up the trip with stay in Rome, Italy - This 3 week getaway was an amazing adventure. We saw so much and enjoyed each other everyday. We made some great memories. Everyone should go on a safari in their life and stay at this very special hotel in Rome. Special Tip - That hotel is a Waldorf which is part of the Hilton family and if you are a hilton honors member and can save enough points you can stay for FREE!

 

 

Random 3-day trip to Prauge for work - Mandarin Oriental and First Class Round Trip - Not usually how I get to travel but totally spoiled me on flying coach in the future.

Thanksgiving in NorCal again...brisk fall mornings in Tomales are a sweet reminder of growing up. We so enjoyed spending time with family and friends.

ALOHA!!! Everyone should try a Christmas in Hawaii! When I joined the Grammier family I didn't really understand the tradition of going away for some holidays...but now I GET IT! This two weeks stay on the Big Island was such a wonderful way to enjoy the holiday. The temperature was perfect and there was none of the hustle and bustle stress that comes with Christmas so many times. After a very busy year...we might have had some "dreams" of adding to the Grammier family while on this vacation.

In between all of that we checked out the local scene a litte: La Brea Tar Pits, spent an afternoon at the Griffith Observatory, visited the Getty Villa and Getty Center.

Whew - I'm outta breath! When I take the time to reflect like this I realize how lucky we are. We really have been able to enjoy life as a couple...and are ready for the new adventures of 2011.

A post I wrote and never finished - 2009 A Year in Review

This post was mostly written on Jan 3rd 2009!

I know I have been lagging on the blog for most of 2009 (and as you will see 2010 and most of 2011). As I have mentioned before blogging was a type of therapy for me while Dave was gone. Now it has changed a little bit. Now it is more about documenting our path to share with those who we can't be with everyday. Here is how 2009 ended for us...

Hanging with the in-laws while we transitioned...Yes! I didn't think we would ever move back in with the parents but it was an amazing time. We lived with Dave's Dad and Stepmom Lori from March-November. We had many long dinners just talking about our days. We enjoyed Friday afternoon's around the pool and trips to Sporty's (the local dive bar) to celebrate the end of the week. We watched many movies together with the fire crackling and the dogs cozied up next to it.

Getting married again...We had an amazing celebration to renew our vows in my hometown - Tomales, CA. Our original wedding was very special to us but only included our immediate families. We were married between two deployments that were only about 8 months apart so we didn't have time to do it up "right" the first time. We are still waiting on the photos from this event but that is a whole different story...

Trips to visit friends...With all our freedom we had some great trips in 2009. We made it to Seattle to visit Jess and Blake where Jenn and Brent (who I often refer to as Jent and Brenn) joined us for the 22nd Infantry reunion. Too many work trips to NYC has the main benefit of getting to see Lea and Paul!

Buying the house...Pasadena here we come! After a few weeks of searching we became HOMEOWNERS! This process taught us a lot and we are very happy in our new home!

Thanksgiving up North...We spent a few days back in Tomales for Thanksgiving. This year included Dave's first Duck Hunt with the Jensen Family.

Christmas in SoCal...Our first Christmas in our new home! The Dave and Christine Christmas Tradition is lobster on Christmas Eve to celebrate the night we were engaged in 2006. It was delicious.

We were blessed in 2009 and now have 2010 underway! Sure to be full of lots of do it yourself projects in the house. Travels to South Africa for World Cup! And last but not least getting to know LA.

Wedding Reflection - Part 2

Starting at the very very end of the wedding....

We are planning a honeymoon to South Africa next summer for the World Cup. Does anyone know anyone from South Africa that could help us with some good references to neighborhoods or hotels?

Then one step before that honeymoon is our current house hunting project. We are very excited about house hunting but my goodness is it work. Does anyone have good tips for your first home buying experience? Buy a fixer v. don't buy a fixer? Neighborhood v. size of house? Gosh!?!?! There is so much to think about.

 Anyway our house hunting efforts were suspended this weekend because of the Station Fire (seen below). That is the campus of JPL (where Dave works) with the flames looming behind it. Needless to say JPL is safe but Dave doesn't have to report to work tomorrow because the smoke is so bad they have closed for the day. It has destroyed a few homes but most of the larger communities have been protected. The summer fire crews are amazing. I can't believe how they can save homes. Most of you know my lil' bro kicks these fires butts for most of the summer. He is in Yosemite right now fighting a smaller one. This area apparently needed a good burn but it is near where we have been looking to buy. I hope this means they get all the brush out of the way. You can bet Jim will be fire-safeing our home as soon as we buy it!

Wedding Reflection - Part 1

Even though I didn't get too tipsy at the wedding, I am suffering a bit of a hangover. The event was so very wonderful, now slowing down from the excitement is a gradual unwinding.

The party planning consumed much of my life and now I am wondering how to fill the rest of these available hours (not working). Hanging with the Hubby! Exercise! House-hunting! Then it dawned on me...remember the blog! I didn't blog through most of the the wedding planning because I barely had time to just get stuff done. I couldn't imagine writing about it too. I had lots of fun with all the ideas and little details. I wanted all our friends and family to feel like it was a party created for them by us (really me...more on that in a minute) to experience our love. Someone at the party asked me "What would you call this style?...Vintage...Country...Tuscan..." I laughed and responded "I am not sure...it is just my style!"

My hubby really didn't know what to expect and over the past few months he couldn't understand why it was taking so much time. He got involved in some specific parts of planning that were important to him but other than that he was pretty hands off. Then the night before when he saw it all come together he said, "Wow babe, you have outdone yourself. This is amazing. You have done such a good job." That was the best feeling!

So here it goes...I think we will work backwards. From the day of back through the decisions about the details along the way.

As most of you know this was our re-wedding. We were officially married two years ago between Dave's two deployments to Iraq. Check our the memories from our little ceremony in 2007 here. We had been together for 6 years and knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together  but we didn't want to wait through another 15 month deployment to seal the deal. This past weekend we re-newed our vows in front of our friends and family on my family's ranch in Northern California and then threw a big ole' party to celebrate a fresh start to things here on the west coast!

The day was everything I could have hoped for. The biggest surprise was how important re-newing our vows in the presence of so many important people became to me. All along the way I felt kind of silly creating a ceremony to repeat something we just did two years ago. In the end it was just what we needed. We asked our fathers to do us the honor of re-newing our vows. As we stood up there listening to advice from our dad's and re-affirming the commitment we made to each other two years ago it was so clear to me that we are stronger than we have ever been. The challenges we have faced with the support of all the people around us made the day sweeter than I could have imagined. Here is a sneak peak...more to come...

I didn't become a stowaway...

After that last post you might have thought that I just never came back from Mexico. Well I did and life has been full since then.

I used to crave sitting down to draft a post for Polka Dots but in the last few months it just didn't fit.  I used to use this place as a friend. Late at night just me and Polka Dots before I fell asleep. Now that Dave is home, the time I used to spend writing goes directly to hanging out with him. As we get into a routine I am feeling a little more like writing again.

It is crazy to think that we were in the army as recently as March. It feels miles and miles away right now. I will never forget those feelings but they seem to be part of our history now. I still send packages to our dear friend in Afghanistan now but it feels different. I think before sending the packages was as much for me as it was for Dave. We miss you Marc!

The transition has been full of interesting twists. Everyday I have to remind myself how lucky we are to be where we are. We are still staying with my in-laws, we bought a new car, we are house hunting, job hunting, and planning a re-wedding party (aka: We got married in a tiny ceremony with our immediate family the first time so now we are doing it up again for all the friends and family) for 250+ people. We are so happy to be back near our families to be part of their lives.

The tone of Polka Dots is sure to change over the next few months as yet again our lives evolve into something new.

I used to know a girl who wrote a blog...

...then she got silly busy! I will catch up with all of you after our cruise! Yep that's right we leave on Sunday for a cruise to Mexico. I was thinking I might just stow away and disappear for a while. What do you think?