Clara Jane arrived on April 30, 2010 at 4:20 pm, five days past her due date. I was scheduled for induction on May 3 but since there was a slight deceleration in Clara’s heart rate during my non-stress test on Friday morning, the doctors decided it would be better to induce me then rather than let me go home.

So, I was induced to get things rolling and within four hours Clara was born. Luckily, Ian decided not to eat his lunch in the cafeteria or he might have missed the whole thing! My obgyn wasn’t the doctor working the floor that day but she happened to come down to see how I was doing right at the time when Clara was ready to come out, so she was there for the delivery. It only took about three pushes and then Clara was born.

I spent 24 hours in the hospital, which felt like an eternity since I wasn’t in pain and I wasn’t tired and I just wanted to get home with Clara and see Amelia.

*Congrats to my teammate Julie who correctly guessed April 30!

Today I think both Amelia and Ian felt like Alexander. Ian started feeling sick in the middle of the night and it continued throughout today. Amelia seemed to have a fitful sleep, woke up by 6 am and then threw up her breakfast. Admittedly she has a sensitive gag reflex and it seems that when she is teething she has more difficulty keeping food or water down first thing in the morning. But she seemed to be feeling out of sorts most of the day and needed a nap by 10:30 am.

Of course, naptime this afternoon was a no-show even though I pushed it until about 2:30-3 pm. I very rarely go into her room after I put her down even if she’s fussing a little bit as she is very good at settling herself. But today she managed to work herself up into a huge crying fit within minutes of putting her down. I went back in and sat with her in the rocking chair and it took her a good 10 minutes to be able to stop sobbing. It was heartwrenching.

We then tried going for a drive, to no avail. Having a day like today makes me appreciate how amazing and good and happy Amelia is 98 percent of the time. And how lucky we are for that.

It was a terrible, horrible, No good, Very bad day. There were lima beans for dinner, and I HATE limas. There was kissing on TV, and I HATE kissing. My bath was too hot, I got soap in my eyes, my marble went down the drain, and I had to wear my railroad-train pajamas. I hate my railroad-train pajamas. When I went to bed Nick took back the pillow he said I could keep and the Mickey Mouse night-light burned out and I bit my tongue. The cat wants to sleep with Anthony, not with me.

My mom says some days are like that. Even in Australia.

I put her down at 1 pm today, went back around 2 pm and took her out of the crib and we read books for 30 minutes and then tried napping again. She was asleep very quickly and slept for about 90 minutes. Is it possible she can last from 6:30 am until 2 pm or 2:30 pm before napping? I don’t know. I guess we’ll try a few things and see what works best for her.

PS: Don’t forget about the book giveaway. Last day to comment is Friday!

Nonetheless, I enjoyed it both times I read it. Here’s a brief description from Publisher’s Weekly:

The last words of this haunting novel resonate like a pealing bell. “He fell in love. It was his life.” This is the unofficial obituary of octogenarian Leo Gursky, a character whose mordant wit, gallows humor and searching heart create an unforgettable portrait. Born in Poland and a WWII refugee in New York, Leo has become invisible to the world. When he leaves his tiny apartment, he deliberately draws attention to himself to be sure he exists. What’s really missing in his life is the woman he has always loved, the son who doesn’t know that Leo is his father, and his lost novel, called The History of Love, which, unbeknownst to Leo, was published years ago in Chile under a different man’s name.

So if you haven’t read it but you’d like to, leave a comment letting me know your favourite love story. Winner will be chosen at random next Friday, February 19. Good luck!

Because there are too many textbooks and not enough “literature for leisure” type books on my bookshelf. :)

BTW I loved going to the library growing up. Hope you girls have fun! xo

Congrats, Bre! Assuming you haven’t read Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett, it’ll be in the mail to you shortly.

As for the rest of you who commented, thanks for playing along. This has inspired me to start a monthly book giveaway. I supposed I’ll have to find a love-themed book to give away this month. Stay tuned!

I also aim to have reviews of some recent books sent by Penguin posted shortly.

I am also going to make a donation to an organization called Project Night Night that gives homeless kids staying in a shelter a stuffed animal, a blanket and a book for free (read about it on coolmompicks).

Furthermore, I went to the bookstore this morning and purchased several of my favourite titles. Do you need a new book? If so, tell me why in the comments. I’ll pick a winner at random and you’ll get a book in the mail!

Happy Reading.

While in Vermont, I read Home by Marilynne Robinson who won the Pulitzer for Gilead a few years ago. Home is, in a word, depressing. The writing is good. And the characters are well drawn. But it’s a sad story from the get go for all involved. Not something to read when you are feeling down.

The second book I read in Vermont (two in two days. I was on a roll) was Still Alice. The nurse at my obgyn’s office recommended it so I thought I’d give it a try. Again, the story is not particularly a happy one, as it is about a 50ish woman who is suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s. But it was fascinating. Even though it was a novel, it seemed an honest and realistic portrait of what it would be like to live with the disease. And it was funny. And the main character was not hopeless, despite being in more and more need of help as the story progressed.

Now I’m reading The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. It’s a vampire tale, but combines numerous genres to make it a little more interesting (to me) than standard blood and fangs fare. It definitely makes heavy use of the the story within a story structure in the first 100 pages (as far as I’ve gotten), but the writing is good so I am enjoying it.

I’m saving what I hope will be the best of the four books I bought, Barbara Kingsolver’s The Lacuna, for last.