Kids Change Everything

People ask, "what is it like being a parent?"  Well... let me try to tell you.  I was never an emotional person.  Before children, if I were caught crying then there was definitely something wrong, but kids change everything!  Now, every news story is not just a story filled with crazy people, or sick people, or unfortunate people.  Now it is filled with kids.  That guy who went crazy and ran naked into a car, that's someone's son, and the girls who were found trapped in a grown man's house for years, those are someone's daughters.  The boy who fell into the gorilla enclosure made my heart skip a beat.  I can't even watch the video.  What if that had been my son?  And may God have mercy on them, the boy who was taken by an alligator right in front of his parents!  My heart just can't take the tragedy.  I can't even fathom a life without my babies.  My heart will not even let my mind imagine a life without them!

Recently, an old friend whose son (who was just a month older than my Naveed) passed away suddenly.  The heartbreak I felt for her and her family was like no heartache I would have ever felt before having kids.  I hug and kiss my babies more often each time I am reminded of how precious their life is.  I miss my babies even while they're sleeping at night and have to check on them often.  I have never seen more danger in everyday life, than I do now as a mom.  There is truly no more vulnerable position than being a parent!

However, there is also not a more joy filled day than one spent with my children.  They are the light in this world.  They make the ordinary extraordinary.  Even though they make me the most vulnerable emotional wreck in town, I wouldn't trade a second of it for the world!

Helena Rose is One Month Old!

Baby Helena Rose is one month old today!  Time goes by so quickly.  She is sleeping in 3.5 hour stretches at night in her pack'n'play and is awake more and more during the day.  Naveed loves his little sister and has already started trying to play with her.  He talks to her all the time, though I have no idea what he's saying (hopefully, not telling her any of his new "tricks" like how to unplug cords).  She's a very sweet and content baby.  Helena loves to eat and be held, but she's okay if you set her down.  She likes to relax in the baby tub and can hold her chest and head up off the ground for 30+ seconds at a time.

I now weigh 10 lbs. 3 oz. and I am 22 in. long

I still have blue eyes!

Surviving Week One Solo

Day 3 of taking care of my precious two under two solo:

Naveed took an awesome first nap, which gave me just enough time to do some cleaning up, but he refused his second nap for a record breaking 1hr and 22mins!  Momma held out though and finally got him down.  Is it normal that I mentally countdown to the time Baba comes home?!  

This morning, Naveed "rocked" Helena in her pack'n'play so that she would wake up and then he giggled as she moved her arms about... This kid.  Both kiddos were down for a nap at the same time, winning!

Day 4:

Nothing too exciting to report.  Naveed did enjoy wearing his sister's beanie for a bit.

And he loved sheet wrestling and kept saying "again", which is one of the first times he has really started using this word.

Day 5:

So far, so good.  It may have taken me an hour of going back and forth between two tired kiddos, but I got them down for their first nap at the same time!  

Naveedi loves his baby sister!

The above picture was taken just before Naveed gave his little sister his favorite hot wheel to play with.  He is such an awesome big brother!

The Grocery Store: We Survived!

Being a stay-at-home mama to two under two is certainly challenging!  The first day I was a little nervous, but things turned out alright.  Day two I was determined to be in the race for mother of the year so I took both kiddos to the grocery store by myself for the first time, and you know what?!?  It went really smoothly!  I may have come home with more sweets than I need, and possibly a little soda (which I committed not to drink anymore), but there was no crying, no fits were thrown, and I managed to push the stroller and pull the cart behind me like a pro (is there such a thing as a pro shopper?!?  If so, that is one job I would really love to have!).  *Side note: Naveed may have found a sharpie marker and added some new decorations to our bedroom wall...  His first permanent artwork!

Being a parent is certainly the most rewarding, tiring, joyous, frustrating, and selfless job out there.  There is nothing more important in this world than raising children!  

Ramadan Mubarak!

Our Precious New Adventure: Helena Rose

It was early Monday morning and Mohammad was about to leave for work when we decided I better head up to the hospital.  I had felt some contractions throughout the previous day, but that morning I wasn't feeling anything!  I only felt very small movements, and I wanted to be sure everything was okay.

We woke up Auntie Kat, who had arrived over the weekend, and left Naveed with her and my Mom.  Less than an hour later the hospital's on-call OBGYN was telling us that everything looked great and that I was in labor with contractions every five minutes!  What?!?!  I didn't even know I was having contractions!  We were admitted, given the same room that we labored with Naveed in, and were well on our way to having a baby.  

We were settling in for a long day of laboring (between switching rooms and walking down the hallway, my contractions had slowed down) when the nurse came to check on us.  I turned down the epidural and  asked how far along I was.  My OB happened to be there assisting with a surgery, so she went ahead and checked me, and I was already 7 cm dilated!  I quickly decided that I would in fact like an epidural, and an hour later my OB stopped by again on her way back to her clinic and decided to check me again.  To our surprise I was fully dilated and ready to push!  After 5 pushes, and before we had time to get any cameras ready, Helena Rose Tabatabaei entered this world at 12:24 pm, weighing 8lbs 5oz and 20 inches long.  

Helena had a very healthy set of lungs and latched on right away.  I was feeling great and ready to eat some food myself.  Later that afternoon Naveed, Grandma, and Auntie came by for a visit.  It was an amazing day that could only have been orchestrated so graciously by The Big Man.  Further evidence of The Big Man's hand in all of this, our nurse's name was Lauren Helena!  How amazing is that?!?