twenty-somethinglife

[twenty-somethinglife]

Birth Story: Ezra Thomas Cole

This beautiful baby boy was born on April 22, 2016 at 6:04am. He weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces and 20 inches long. And he officially has one of the craziest birth stories out there! In the weeks leading up to his birth I was just not feeling right. I was so swollen, tired and just not feeling well. So after lots of talking with the midwives, one of them finally understood that these weren't just normal complaints. I developed preeclampsia again, as I did with Jack, and had to be closely monitored. I spent a few nights in the hospital without the doctors deciding to induce me. On April 21st I went in for my usual Non-Stress-Test and was supposed to meet with the high risk doctors to discuss when I would be induced. That morning I really felt awful and was throwing up, so Mom decided she would come with me and Hope said she would watch Jack, which all turned out to be completely necessary. After checking my blood pressure, I was immediately sent upstairs to triage to be induced. My cervix was actually soft and I was slightly dilated. Ben rushed to the hospital and was by my side to care for me and the baby. Dad, Hope and Ron also came to the hospital, while Jody and Lizzy watched Jack. I am so thankful that I had such a strong supportive family with me! Induction started and I was very awake and active for it. I was put on magnesium which immediately felt like I was put inside an oven. But other than that while we waited for the pitocin to kick in and start labor, I was feeling pretty good. I was able to joke around and talk with everyone. The turning point was when the midwives tried to insert a foley balloon. Hope stayed in the room because we thought it would be no big deal, but the midwives had trouble with it. I ended up in so much pain that I started throwing up. Hope may be scarred for life and not want to ever have a baby, haha! I did get an epidural. I always wanted a natural birth but the magnesium kept me confined to the bed and it was just impossible for me to cope with the pain on my own without being able to move. After all night with pitocen I finally became dilated and ready to give birth. Everyone was sleeping in the lobby, except for Ben who was in my room. He was so great, getting me drinks, keeping me calm and I know he was so tired. He slept for a bit but I had to wake him up because I knew it was time. He got my mom and the midwives and we started. After a few pushes we were getting there, and that's when the real craziness started. I remember looking at Ben and locking eyes and just smiling at each other. Then everyone turned to look at the monitor for the contraction and I heard everyone start shouting. Ben passed out. He just fell right down, hitting his head off of the linoleum floor. A midwife turned to me and said, "Don't be scared but there are going to be a lot of people in here". I had to stop pushing and the room was rushed with nurses and doctors asking me if Ben was prone to seizures. I was so overwhelmed and scared. He finally woke up after a few minutes and was so upset. He didn't want to leave the room, but he had to be taken to the emergency room. He wouldn't get up so a nurse had to get his dad to help him and convince him to go. It was so sweet that he didn't want to leave me. He left and I yelled to him that everything would be alright. Two pushes later and I pushed out our baby. Ben just missed it by two pushes. The contractions were so painful, but that last push was incredible. I felt so proud of my body for doing this and it was an experience I'll never forget. I didn't even tear, so no stitches for later (HALLELUJAH!). The pediatric doctors were brought in because I had gestational diabetes so they had to check the baby immediately. As the midwives pulled the baby out and set him on my stomach to cut the cord, one of the pediatric nurses walked by and said "What a beautiful baby boy" and my mom, the midwives and I all said in unison, "No, it's a girl!" as the midwife was cutting the cord. I think that shocked her and she jerked her hand, causing the cord to spray cord blood all over my nurse, who was holding the baby. She was covered in blood and said "Just keep going" while they finished up with the baby. She had to go to the emergency room because blood got in her eye! So that's two people from my birth room to go to the emergency room! Then I had a moment to fully realize I had a BOY! I was in total shock, but complete joy that this little baby was mine! They checked him out and then brought him to me. I got to hold him on my chest and then breast feed him right away. Even though Ezra is not who I was expecting, I fell instantly in love and connected to this surprise boy!

We got to spend several hours together as everyone settled down. But Ben was still in the emergency room and was having a hard time. He lost his memory of most of the previous day. He was so confused that we had a boy and kept asking if this was his first. In fact, Ron didn't even believe it when he heard it was a boy. He thought my dad was joking and had to remind him that Ben was really confused and not to joke around! My dad had to tell them repeatedly that it really was a boy! By about 3pm we were able to go down to the emergency room so that Ben could meet his new son. Because I was on magnesium I couldn't get out of bed, so I was wheeled down, with Ezra being wheeled down in a bassinet! Finally Ben got to hold his boy and we confirmed that he was our Ezra Thomas. I didn't want to say the name until I knew that we both were sure it was perfect!

After our visit, Ben was released to a room so we were all wheeled in our beds to our respective rooms! It was so funny, a train of Coles! Later that night, Jack came to visit and got to meet his new brother. It was one of the sweetest moments. He was so excited and thrilled to see the baby. He was afraid to get on my hospital bed, but kept going to see the baby. Over the next few days, it was clear that Jack was meant to be a brother. It was so natural to him and he had such an instant connection to Ezra. I'm so thankful for my boys and their obvious love for each other!

We ended up being the talk of the hospital with that wild birth! As crazy as it was, we were all safe and mostly healthy ( a concussion for Ben). My heart was so full and I couldn't stop smiling the whole hospital stay. I honestly felt guilty about smiling because of poor Ben's condition, but adding Ezra to our family was just too exciting to not smile!

[twenty-somethinglife]

My Growing Bump

I wasn't one to take those perfectly staged photos with the month number on my belly, but I did try to take more bump photos during this pregnancy. I seemed to have a theme with my pregnancy style: stripes and denim! I really loved my body during pregnancy, despite some of the harder moments with swelling and some pain. I was so proud of my body for growing this baby! I loved as I got bigger because I knew that meant my baby was gaining weight! I'm so thankful that I was able to carry my babies and I will never forget what it was like to have them in my belly!

[twenty-somethinglife]

Emailing My Toddler

Before Jack was born I remember seeing a commercial for Google that showed a parent emailing his child throughout it’s life. I know it’s just a commercial but it really stuck with me and I always said I would do that when I became a mom. And that’s just what I did! I started an email account for Jack and have been “talking” to him as often as I can remember to send something! 

I hope it will mean something to him someday. My dad has saved so many little mementos from when he was a kid, teenager, twenty-something and I always get a kick out of seeing them and imagining him at that time. I hope this gives Jack a glimpse of who I am right now and also shows him his childhood in a different way from just a scrapbook. 

And actually when I think about this, I started doing this before the Google commercial. I used to have these red notebooks in middle, then high school that I would write in and I always started it “Dear Kids”. It was definitely just my journal, but I pretended to be telling my kids what was going on in my life because a journal felt too impersonal. I wish I had those notebooks now. I remember spilling pop on one and ruining it, but I know I had more. I can’t believe I forgot about them until right now! Thankfully I can’t spill Coke on an email! 

[twenty-somethinglife]

THIS WEEKEND I...

Watched: The Big Short Listened: to several directors on headset at work Learned: that I still get swollen while pregnant, high blood pressure or not Ate: a PBJ because all I want is peanut butter Read: several books to Jack Drank: milk because I'm craving it too! Thought: and thought and thought about the economy after watching The Big Short Wished: I could take a really long nap Realized: that I was this tired last pregnancy and that I'm not just lazy Bought: a new wardrobe at IKEA

[twenty-somethinglife]

This Moment

[twenty-somethinglife]

We had such a great day today! I'm glad I documented some of it for SnapChat. I usually do this when we go somewhere fun and I want my sister to share in it while she's in Chicago. But now I'm glad to have this morning till night glimpse of a day with Jack. I know in 10 years I'll be overjoyed to see my little guy as a toddler! It was an average day but we did a lot and that made it so awesome! We woke up easily with no alarm and headed out for a Hip Mama play date at the trampoline park. It was Jack's first time there. He is a relatively shy kid and I really notice his attachment to me when we're with other kids. But today I was thrilled to see his interest in the other kids and parents. He's definitely learning and I think day care is helping with that. Then we ran to the store for some groceries and it started snowing a ton! Instead of freaking out about the snow like a normal Perri or even Pittsburgher, for that matter, I decided we needed a sled for Jack. So we ran by Toys R Us to buy one with a gift card from Christmas! It was perfect! I put it right to use and dragged Jack to the house while I carried in the groceries! Then we bundled right back up into his snowsuit and headed outside for a few more rides on the sled. He loved it! Our evening was easy at home and I even prepped healthy meals for the week and made smoothie bags for the freezer. I felt like a Pinterest SAHM today! Ha! Honestly though I'm glad I was so productive! Not every day is this action packed but I do feel great when it happens. Plus it helps on the days that Jack watches like 3 hours of Daniel Tiger while I lay on the couch because I'm too tired to move (I don't snapchat those days). I can remind myself that's sometimes it all comes together and I know that I'm not terrible at this parenting thing!

[twenty-somethinglife]

Painting with trucks at Tot Time this week! I’m so excited about our membership to the Children’s Museum so we can make this a regular thing! <\p>

[twenty-somethinglife]

30 Before 30: #11

So I did it! I hit the five year mark of full time employment at KDKA-TV! I began part time while a sophomore in college working a few hours a week to run audio for a very (VERY) simple call-in show. But it was my start! From there I interned with a reporter and a newscast director, then was hired in the Operations and Engineering Department as a part time employee. After a year in Operations I was finally hired full time! I can’t believe how fast it has gone and that I’ve been at the station almost a decade total! 2017 will mark that milestone! 

I feel really proud of myself for setting a goal in TV and sticking to it. I went to college knowing that this is what I wanted to do with my life and I made it happen, with the help of so many mentors and great colleagues. It’s not my perfect job, but it’s TV and I’m happy that I get to do it. It lacks in creativity and sometimes that frustrates me, but I’m thrilled I have a chance to freelance in addition to this work. Shooting and editing, working with a big crew on a live event are some of my favorite parts about freelancing and TV. But I’m glad I have a stable TV home (watch, a week from now I’ll be laid off because I told myself this job is stable) where I know what I’m doing and can work in the field I chose.

[twenty-somethinglife]

Document

I know a lot of bloggers out there choose a word for the new year. I’m new to doing that but I’m going to try this year. My word is an action, DOCUMENT. 

I want to document as much of my life as possible. I tend to dwell on the negative and when I blog I seem to focus on all the good things in my life and I realize what a great tool that is. I don’t want to sugar coat my life here on the blog, but by making posts about life right now I can really focus on all the details and not let negative moments or thoughts overtake the good ones. Does that make sense? I hope it helps me! 

I also got a five year journal for Christmas. I am looking forward to writing a few blurbs every day and to be able to see progress, changes, differences between the years. 

Another big undertaking with this goal word, Document, is to organize all of the family photos. I’m pretty good at doing my own scrapbooks but my mom’s photos are a mess and those are all my childhood photos. I really want to get them all scanned and at least organized by year in the computer. If I’m lucky I’ll even get them put into books. But that’s a big goal. 

I feel really confident that with a plan I can put this word into action in 2016! 

[twenty-somethinglife]

Our Christmas

I love the Christmas season and this year was great. It started out a little rough for me because I love decorating the house for the holidays. We’re living with my parents to save money and I sort of broke down when we pulled out the holiday decorations. I had a place for everything last year in our big Lawrenceville rowhouse and I loved it. I miss that place so much but I know that we’ve got a good plan in place to set ourselves up for the future. Plus, the best part is that we are totally surrounded by family. That’s what really matters. 

We certainly had a lot of family time this year. On Christmas day both sets of grandparents and aunts were there to watch Jack open presents. Then we had a lovely, fancy breakfast. Afterwards we visited Nona & Papap before I had to leave for work, but everyone else stayed for a lamb dinner. 

On Christmas Eve we visited with the McCaffrey family at Becki’s house. It’s one of my favorite traditions. We always take a big cousin photo, have a fun grab bag and enjoy gabbing with everyone! 

And on the weekend between Christmas and New Years we always have Weber Christmas. I always love seeing the whole big clan. This year I suggested an Ugly Festive Sweater Contest. So many people got into it! Uncle Ricky was the judge and awarded Mark the prize hat! I hope we can pass on the hat over the years and start a new tradition! 

I love spending this season with all of these amazing people in my life. I can’t believe how lucky I am to be related to them! 

[twenty-somethinglife]

It’s a....

...GIRL!! 

We are going to welcome a little girl to our family in May!! We waited to tell the family on Christmas day! We wrapped up a Christmas dress for our baby girl and had our whole family open it, not knowing whether is was a suit or dress inside! We made everyone tell us their guess before opening it and the unanimous thought was a girl! Everyone was right and we couldn’t be more excited to add to our family!  

[twenty-somethinglife]

Big Brother Daniel

We are so happy to share that, like Daniel Tiger, we will be welcoming a baby into our family in May 2016! We shared the news with our family and friends at Jack’s 2nd birthday party! He opened this sweet book about Daniel Tiger becoming a big brother. It was perfect since Jack is our own little tiger. 

He doesn’t really understand what this all means, but he is saying “baby” a lot more and loves pointing out Baby Margaret in the book! We’re so excited to grow our family, but I’m always aware that this will all be so new to Jack and I want to be sure he understands that he’s not going to be neglected or forgotten. 

[twenty-somethinglife]

What a Wonderful World: 5 Years Married!

This October 1st marked my five year wedding anniversary with the Ginger. Cliche to say, but I can’t believe how fast it went by! The last five years have been filled with so many important and also mundane moments, but it all happened in a blink! 

Our wedding day was so special and I remember so many of the details, as if it all just happened. We really wanted to celebrate the day in the city, not a suburb. We started our relationship while in school, right in the middle of Downtown Pittsburgh and in those dating years we explored so many parts of the city. It felt only right that we celebrate our love (sappy much?) in the city that helped it grow. One of our favorite walks was from our campus on Wood Street over to the North Shore, crossing one of the three sister bridges, the Clemente, the Warhol or the Rachel Carson, and wander in the North Side then back along the water. We were thrilled to find the perfect place for our reception in The Grand Hall at the Priory, and then have our wedding night at the Priory’s Hotel. It’s located right in the Deutschtown section of the North Side, within walking distance of our favorite bridges. Our reception was beautiful and full of so much fun! We danced all night long and laughed with our friends and family! I wouldn’t change a thing about it!

That year, in 2010, we planned on returning to the Priory for our five year anniversary. Back then it seemed so far off! But this was the year and we booked a room with a view of the quaint North Side streets and enjoyed reminiscing about one of the best days of our lives together!  We snuck into the Grand Hall to take a look at the dance floor and then we posed for pictures outside of the garden that our photographer set us up in with our bridal party! 

We made a short list of future destinations for anniversaries and for year 15 we hope to stay at the Priory again! I can’t imagine all that will happen in the next 10 years, but if it’s anything like the last 5 with the Ginger then it will be amazing! 

[twenty-somethinglife]

This Moment

I’m so glad the Ginger snapped this picture of me and Jack during nap time. Our living room couches are tiny, but comfortable and we’ve been hanging out there for Jack’s nap since it get’s pretty dark in that room. We co-sleep but he’s been doing so well napping on his own lately. (It’s clearly not stopped me from napping too!)

[twenty-somethinglife]

Summer at the Zoo

The Ginger has loved the Pittsburgh Zoo since he was Jack’s age and started going to Zoo Camp every summer. To share that love with Jack we’ve gone to the Zoo as much as possible this summer! My father-in-law gave us a Zoo Pass as a gift and what a gift it has been! The pass gets our little family into the zoo for free and we can bring a guest if both parents are not there. We actually live just a mile or so down the street from the Zoo so we really get there quite often.

For us it’s been great, because when you buy a ticket for the day you feel like you really have to see everything to get your money’s worth. With so many zoo trips this summer we definitely exceeded the worth of the pass but could do it on our terms with many short trips. I used to hate the zoo as a kid because it was always so hot and it felt like we never stopped walking.  It’s so nice to run in for a couple hours, let Jack play in the Kids Kingdom, see a few of the animals or walk through the PPG Aquarium then go home for lunch and a nap. 

Another perk about the pass is that you are invited to Member’s Only Nights. We got to experience the Zoo in the evening after it closed. It was so much cooler once the sun set a bit and we didn’t have to deal with huge crowds. There were food deals, with cheap hot dogs, boxes of popcorn and drinks. 

Jack even got his face painted! There were face painting stations all over and after seeing a few young kids getting it done we thought we’d try it with our 21-month old! He did so great! He sat on my lap and the artist moved so quickly! He became our own little tiger! It was so cute...until we had to wash his face. I’ll leave that photo there for a laugh.

We always have such a blast at the Zoo and I’m so thankful for our membership! Next, I’m looking forward to the Zoo Boo in October! 

[twenty-somethinglife]

This Moment

This kid is the King of Selfies. I’m not sure if I should be proud or ashamed. Total millennial...or I guess he’ll be called something else. I need to look that up. Can you imagine anything worse than a Millennial? *Basically no, because we’re the worst, right?

*Note the sarcasm. I really hate all the Millennial bashing that goes on! 

[twenty-somethinglife]

So Much Stuff

Have you seen this ad on TV? 

It makes me so angry. SO ANGRY. 

This may have to do with the fact that I’m packing up all my STUFF and moving in with my parents because I charged too much of that aforementioned STUFF. But it could also be the fact that it totally shows how we are constantly told over and over that STUFF is good. “Keep buying more and more STUFF. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have room for it. It doesn’t matter if you don’t need it. It doesn’t matter if you can’t afford it. Just get more and more of it. Look how perfect life will look from this very stylized and perfect commercial.”

I’ve been so susceptible to this kind of advertising (including the very cleverly disguised ads called blogs and Pinterest). I know and have known since college that I need to pay off my student loans. That should be priority #1. But it has never totally convinced me that my money should go to those (justifiable?) loans. I always wanted STUFF. New clothes, every Apple device ever created, make up, shoes. As I got older that STUFF became weirder and weirder (which I’m attributing to blogs): recycled organic toilet paper that I special ordered from Amazon, a top of the line juicer, body soap made from organic olive oil, a baby bathtub that is actually the size of our real bathtub. WTF??? Seriously, WTF is wrong with me? Then I see ads like this and it’s like “DOH!”. 

I have to retrain my way of thinking. Everyday I need to practice minimalism and think about simplifying life. I need to constantly think about how much better life will be without the burden of stuff (=debt).