Words

Lately, Little Miss has been doing something and then randomly saying, "viola".  It just seems random.  My mom finally put it together.  She was saying "voila!"  I haven't had the heart to correct her.  It's too cute.

Weekend Update - Memorial Day Weekend

During Memorial Day weekend, Little Miss had fifths disease.  The school made her see a physician even though she wasn't contagious anymore.  We used that forced home time to leave early for the parents' vacation house.  We got there on Friday evening after a leisurely drive out there with my dad.  Sister, Mom and nephew followed shortly after.

On Saturday, we went to Wal-Mart and just kind of hung out.  Then, on Sunday, we played miniature golf.  Little Miss, Nephew and my dad washed the car and then the kids went into the hot tub which was on a low temperature.  We had a little cook out and had a quiet evening.  

On Monday, we all got ready to head back and hit a ton of traffic, but we finally got home!  Husband didn't go with us because he got to see the New York Rangers in the playoffs.  They didn't win, but it's always fun seeing hockey live.

Weekend Update - Back to Routine

We are settling in finally.  Two weekends ago, we had a fairly normal weekend.  We are still getting family visiting and scattered friends, but things are eater thing down.

On Saturday, it was our turn to bring snack to Little Miss's baseball game.  Then, on Sunday, Little Miss, Baby and I went to the Taste of Arlington.  We tasted some good food and played some games.  It was a lot of fun and the weather was beautiful.  Then, we had skating practice.  In between, we had some napping and cleaning.  Husband has done a ton of laundry.  So, fairly normal weekend.

Movies Watched in April 2014

1. The Hangover III

It's been a pretty sad movie year so far. I watched The Hangover III on HBO Go. I actually liked it better than the second (though that second movie was a big old mess). It was fine for a quick movie before bed, but I'm glad I didn't go see it in the theater.

Books Read in April 2014

1. Shadow Spell by Nora Roberts (NOTE: This is part of her Cousins O'Dwyer series. The order of which can be found here.)
2. Taking Shots by Toni Aleo (NOTE: This is part of her Assassins series. The order of which can be found here in the Books tab.)
3. Hope Flames by Jaci Burton (NOTE: This is part of the Hope series. The order of which can be found here.)

Decent month full of quick reads. I didn't know how much I'd be able to read when the baby was born so I tried to pick some quick ones. It turns out, I'm able to read at only a slightly slower pace now that the baby is here. Either way, I'm back on the romance genre bandwagon which is nice. I have a few mainstream fiction books that I want to read, but it takes more brain power than I currently possess so I'm putting them on the back burner.

Cousins

Nephew has been very good with Baby.  He's getting the hang of holding him, but he's very friendly and helpful.  He's taken to Baby much faster than with Little Miss.  Food bonds all kids though.

Here are the two newest cousins side-by-side.  It was Baby's time to eat, and I'm embarrassed to say that he tried to eat his cousin's face.  Luckily, his cousin is pretty chill.  

Here are all 4 cousins on Husband's side of the family.  We are going to take pictures of the three cousins on my side of the family this coming up weekend.  It's so cute that I'm surprised the cameras didn't just break from the high level of adorbs.

Below is Little Miss with her new cousin, and Nephew with his new cousin.  Both have taken to their new roles as big sibling very well.  I'm so proud of them both.

Visitors!

My grandparents were in town last week so they came to visit during the week.  Then, later in the week, we went out to my parents' house to visit them again.  Baby was nice enough to be awake when they visited, and Little Miss really enjoyed the attention.  We saw them three times while they were in town which isn't as much as we'd like, but it was more than we usually see them during their visits just because of location.

Week Three

Baby turned 3 weeks this week.  I dressed him up in some little outfits my mom made.  The caterpillar one is a little big so he'll be wearing that one again.  He actually liked wearing them because the kid loves to be swaddled.

At three weeks, he now eats more and more often.  I'm doing my best to keep up with him.  This will probably be a trend from now on - me trying to keep up!  I'm not a big eater, and we don't have a lot of snack foods so that's probably hindering things as well.  I've been ok with keeping hydrated, but I could be better.  I've improved today so I hope to keep that up.  I just need to be better about eating. 

He loves being snuggled and held.  He loves his pacifier or his fist in his is mouth, much more than Little Miss ever did.  He needs to be swaddled.  He hates to have his food to be delayed.  He hates being naked or having his diaper changed.  Still, he's a good baby and settles down quickly no matter the circumstance which is nice.

Pediatrician visits have gone well.  He's just shy of his birth weight.  His surgeon appointment went ok. We need to backtrack the dilation and go back in a little over a month to talk about surgery perhaps in the Fall.  We just want him to have this all behind him (no pun intended).  Poor little guy has been through a lot!  No doctor appointments next week at least!  

I had my follow-up appointment today.  Everything is as it should be.  I'm one pound higher than my pre-pregnancy weight, and I'm close to being able to wear pants again.  In the meantime, I'm wearing a tight pair of maternity pants and all of my dresses.  I prefer to wear dresses anyway especially now that the weather is more mild.  They're comfy and better flatter and accommodate the post-baby body.  The last time, it took approximately 6 weeks to get back into pants and look somewhat normal again.  We'll see how this time goes.  It doesn't help that it's also close to bathing suit time.  Ugh.

There was measles exposure at the hospital, but there was little risk with any of us.  As of today, because none of us have had any symptoms, we are in the clear!

Weekend Update - Happy Mother's Day!

By the time the weekend rolled around, Baby had been home for 2 days so we were still trying to figure things out.  On Saturday, Little Miss had a 9am baseball game.  So, we did that and then, in the afternoon, my mom, sister, and nephew came over to see Baby.  As they left, friends came to see him. It was nice to show off our good little boy.

On Sunday, Little Miss gave me a classroom "cookbook" in which she and her classmates gave some "facts" about their mothers and how to cook their favorite meals.  Luckily, mine wasn't too embarrassing.  She also made me an apron and gave me a giant balloon and plant which is still alive miraculously.  In the afternoon, we got to go to the hospital because Sister-in-Law had a baby!  So, I officially only have nephews.  He is absolutely precious, and it will be so much fun to see the boys growing up together.  Little Miss is more excited than it looks like below.

Week Two

Week Two has been going well.  It is still a transition of course.  Baby has been sleeping well now that he can be swaddled.  He is a great eater though he gets the hiccups quite a bit.  He screams like he's being skinned alive every time we change his diaper, but other than that, he's quite a happy little baby.  

As with most babies, he sleeps most of the time and screams when he's hungry and then goes right back to sleep.  He's pretty flexible and nurses well, drinks from the bottle or drinks formula.  He's not too picky.  It's like he heard the doctor say she wanted him to put on some weight.

We have a nice week-long reprieve before he goes back to the pediatrician.  Then, we have a few other appointments to the eye doctor, cardiologist and nephrologist along with a follow up with the surgeon.  So, we all appreciate the break to find a routine.  

Tomorrow, Husband goes back to work so I'll have to go it alone during the day.  I've been trying to handle the nights to get into the practice.  This morning, we all accidentally overslept and only miraculously got Little Miss to the bus on time.  I only forgot her library books which is minor in the grand scheme of things.

Little Miss loves her brother.  She only wishes she could do more and that he loved her just as much so soon.  Hopefully, things continue to just get better and better!

9 Days

On Monday last week, we were told there was an outside chance that Baby could come home on Tuesday but there was no reason why he couldn't come on Wednesday.  He ended up coming home on Wednesday, and it has been fantastic having him home.

His first night went ok.  His second night, he wouldn't sleep at all.  We figured it was because he needs to be swaddled so yesterday, we ran out to buy a swaddle sack.  With it, he can sleep for 4 hours on average.  He was difficult to soothe after the second nightly feeding - he usually gets fed before I go to bed and then between 3-4 am and then around the time the rest of the house wakes up.  We will see if there is progress tonight.  

We are all in love with him, and he really is a good baby.  He eats well and only cries when you take his diaper off.  This is partially because of the home dilation and his diaper rash.  We are much more relaxed having him home now though.  

Weekend Update - Still Waiting on a Baby

Baby was still in the NICU.  So, we had a long weekend.  On Saturday, we dropped Little Miss to the In-Laws.  She enjoyed hanging out with them and then went to baseball.  We visited the Baby but made it to the last inning of the game in time to see Little Miss score a hit and a run.

On Sunday, we drove Little Miss to my parents.  My dad did public skating with Little Miss and then they watched her skating lesson.  We caught the last 10 minutes of that.  

Little Miss has been awesome about dealing with us being with the Baby all the time.  If anything, she's just jealous that we get to see him everyday and she does not.  

Baby has been doing well.  Each day, he meets all the goals set.  We were hoping to possibly being him home today, but it is looking like tomorrow so fingers crossed!  He has been a great eater and sleeper, but he hates being unswaddled.  He screams his head off until you swaddle again.  He's also loves to snuggle which is great.  I hope he transitions to home well.

Week One

Baby is one week old today.  He had a rough day,  but he's a trooper.  Today, we spent the most time with him.  He was such a cuddler and was a great eater.  He, so far, surpasses his sister when it comes to nursing and eating.  When he's awake, he is a fantastic eater.  It's just a matter of keeping him awake through it all.  Nothing is as big of an ego boost than having a boy fall asleep at your breast.  Like I wasn't already self-conscious enough about them.

After 9 months of anxiety over having 2 kids, we can't wait to get him home.  We have a good plan to try to balance everything.  If anything, things should get easier once he's home versus traveling to Fairfax everyday to visit the baby and still being here for Little Miss.  It won't be a walk in the park, but it will be a different kind of happy stress versus crazy frazzled stress.  So, it's been a roller coaster of a first week so it can only go up from here!

Baby

Well, we made it!  April 28, 2014, we woke up and walked Little Miss to the bus and drove to the hospital.  We checked in and went through the calm process of a scheduled c-section.  It was completely different from the last time.

The spinal was easier when inserted during a contraction versus this time, but the surgery went well or seemed to on my end.  My blood pressure dropped quite a bit the first time whereas it didn't this time during the operation.  The staff was great offering to take pictures and letting Husband know when to do what.  Baby was born at 12:44pm and was 7 pounds 5 ounces and 20 inches long.  

Moments after birth, Husband went over to take pictures, and I heard whispers involving the words NICU, but they bundled up the baby and brought him over.  Husband explained that his digestive tract was missing an exit.  He may need surgery.  We'd know more later.  In the meantime, we were able to have a moment with him in the OR.  

I went to recovery where my blood pressure was very low, but I recovered much faster than the last time.  It was weird to not have a baby in recovery or in my room though.  We were allowed to visit as much as possible.

Progress seemed slow where the staff was trying to determine if he needed surgery or not.  They tested pretty much everything from head to toe.  He was passing everything with flying colors.  He also had a skin tag or an extra ear lobe on one side of I his head, but it's cosmetic so we weren't worried about that.  

It's a week later.  He has responded well to everything.  They were able to dilate an exit strategy for his poop, and his system responded well.  Poor little guy has to go through that twice a day.  He's had a rough time of this thing called life so far.  In 24 hours, the hospital has done a lot and has really made a big push to get him home which is great.  We are anxious to get our little man home.  Fingers crossed that he can come home sooner rather than later!

Five Days Old

Guess what? Baby is five days old!

Baby!

I owe a longer post on the last week, but there is a baby.  He was born on Monday at 12:44pm.  He was 7 pounds and 5 ounces and 20 inches long.