Memorial Day weekend

The proof is in the pudding-we need to stay @ G&G's more often. When A was about 4 weeks old, we went there for a Labor Day party. He slept an extraordinarily long time-i don't remember how long it was. At almost 6 weeks old, E stayed over after going down for Memorial Day. He slept until 4am. That's 6 hours. Yes, I checked to make sure he was still breathing before 4 am.

Our return home also meant sitting in traffic on the GSP. Of course, we had a screaming E on our hands when we stopped going at sufficient speeds. A took care of it for us, though, saying, "Shhh, E! Big brother is here!". Awww.

Big, bad, umbi

That stinky (literally and figuratively) umbi is gone! M played with it a bit, and during a diaper change, I decided to just yank on it till it came off. It took some tugging, but it did! It lasted almost 6 weeks, but it is no more!

As an aside, a mom at a party this weekend saw E's still attached and told me she saved her kid's. I now know what a 6 week old umbi looks and smells like, and can only imagine how gross one that's been saved would be!

I wish I could bottle it up.

Jim Croce famously sang about wanting to put time in a bottle. While that would be nice (21 sounds like a good age to me! Err, but give me a little bit more wisdom, mkay?), I really wish I could put certain things in a bottle. Sure, we have wonderful technology that allows us to capture a smile or even a sound, but that never seems to be just right. I keep trying to capture E smiling, yet he doesn't look the SAME in a picture as he does in real life. And, when he's smiling at me, I can't get the camera in the right place to really get his sweet expression. I wish I could bottle the sound of him cooing. I wish I could capture the way A is with E. I wish I could get that perfect and adorable giggle that A makes. Of course, you just never have the camera ready when these things happen, and also, could you really enjoy them if you're busy getting just the right shot?

The umbi that just won't quit.

E still has his umbilical stump. A lost his right around 3 weeks, but yet E's is hanging on as we approach the 6 week mark. I was moving it around a bit yesterday when I caught a whiff of yuckiness. So, I called the doctor (who had advised me at his 4 week appointment to call if it was still there by Friday--tomorrow) and made an appointment. It's not infected and there's no problem, but she said to call again if it was still around by Tuesday or Wednesday. She also gave me some iodine swabs to stop it from getting infected.

He also has a decent case of heat rash.

But, he was weighed and continues to gain weight. Today, he was 9.9 lbs.

(This was Thursday)

One month stats

Today was E's first official visit to the pediatrician. It went really well! She's a tiny bit concerned that he still has his umbilical stump and said to give a call if it's still sticking around in a week.

His length has been...inconsistent, but hopefully now using the same standards and tools, things should be better.
He was 21" at birth.
He was 19.29" at 6 days.
He was 21.06" today.

Hmm. Makes me wonder about the weight issues we had in the hospital.

At 6 days, he weight 7.04lbs. Today, he weight 9.11lbs. YAY, he's bigger than A was at birth!

At 6 days, he was in the 10th percentile for height and weight. Today, he's in the 25th. His growth is perfectly on the curve.

No shots today; that comes next month....

Unfortunately for me, I was unable to schedule early August appointments for both boys, since E doesn't get a 3 month appointment but A does need a 3 year appointment. Hooray for multiple trips.

"How does the baby sleep?"

The parenting experts tell us not to instruct our children to "be good," because what on EARTH does that mean?

Yet, I am frequently asked if my 4 week old is a "good" baby. How could he be a bad baby? I want to reply, "Well, he hasn't used the f bomb yet, but he's given me a few good punches...."

On a related note, pretty much everyone asks how he's sleeping. I'm not answering this one anymore. I know it (generally) comes from a place of concern--people know the newborn months are tough, and wonder if Mom is sleeping (even though before 6 weeks, odds are good she's home and napping when the baby does)--but I went ahead and answered it, twice, yesterday only to have the roughest night with E yet. This, of course, is by no means a comparison to those poor souls whose children "never sleep," but it was not what we're used to.

He woke at 1:30, and M asked me if it was time to feed him. I said, no, I just fed him.... although I had no idea what time that was (he generally has his first waking at 1:30, but I was positive I had gotten up and fed him before then). So M went in and soothed him back to sleep. He woke again around 2:30, at which point I went in and fed him. I came back, laid down and he started to cry again. M asked me when I had last fed him, to which I replied, "I just got back; I have been in bed for five minutes." Around 4:30, A woke up--M got this one and was able to get him back to sleep, only to lay in bed for 10 minutes before his alarm. I don't envy him. I'm not sure when I next fed E after that 2:30ish feeding, but there was a pretty consistent pattern of hourly.

And then, we got in the car. I needed to actually go to Trenton to pick up his birth certificate, because I needed it quickly for another form, but also because getting a money order is a PITA when cash and a not so bad drive will do just fine. I fed and changed him before we left, we ran errands, etc etc, we were gone around 3 hours, and he only fussed once. YAY, CAR!

So, I jinxed myself on the sleep thing (DESPITE KNOCKING ON WOOD!).

I know what comes next, because these things are always cyclical (I once asked a friend, "When do they stop asking how married life is?" and her response is "Around the time they start asking when you're going to have kids." Sure enough...)... next comes, "Is he sleeping through the night?" Ahh, that badge of honor, to have your child sleep through the night. When your child ISN'T, this question sure does make it feel like a competition (even, again, if it's meant with the best of intentions and concern for Mom).

So, into the mental bucket of things to do or not do for/to a new mom this goes!

3 weeks...

E is quite a little sleeper. We put him down in his crib between 9:30 and 10, and his usual wakings after that are around 1:30, around 4:30, around 7:30, and around 9. How lucky am I!

A continues to love his baby brother. The other day, he woke as I was getting back into bed. When I went in to him, he asked me, "Where's the baby?" I'm back to reading his bedtime stories, and love that cuddle time with both boys.

M commented yesterday that we are starting to see what E will look like as a little boy. I don't know how true that is, but he then went on to say that it looks like we each have "our" own boy... As I've probably said before, A definitely favors him (although definitely has parts of me too) while E favors me/my family. We keep wondering if E's blue eyes will stay, but the boys even have "their" parents' blood type. I don't know about temperamentwise, as E is the most contented, easy-going baby I think I've ever met---that's not to say he doesnt have a temper, because boy he sure does get mad--but on a regular everyday basis, he's very content!

Meeting E.

A lot of mothers get pictures of the moments they meet their newborns. No one took pictures of that for me--being knocked out when he was born, dazed when I first met him (they apparently brought him to me when I was in recovery and even tried getting him to nurse), and no one was around when I was finally cognizant and they first brought him to me to take that picture. I do remember being awed at this teensy tiny little boy of mine. It was clear to me immediately that while he was so similar to his big brother, he was very different too. His nature is also so similar but yet so different too. His cry is very different.

I feel so fortunate to again have this time to be home with E, like I had with A.

Life with 2

Things around here continue to go well, as we motor toward E's three week...mark? birthday? anniversary? E's eyes continue to be greyish-blue... I read online that that could mean they'll be pretty much any color and may not be "set" until his first birthday.

Everyone wants to know how A is doing. He's really doing GREAT! He's pretty fascinated by his little brother, and loves to give him a kiss and a "head hug," as I like to call them. He gets plenty of attention, probably because he's still going to daycare so his routine isn't really all the different from before E arrived, although now Daddy drops him off and picks him up much more frequently than Mommy does.

He does sometimes shy away from Mommy. I think he's a little mad at me, simply because I haven't been able to be as involved in his routine--I used to give him his baths and for awhile, M had to do them... I used to read him his bedtime story, and Daddy had to take that one over for awhile too. It's amazing how much life changes when you can only go up and down the stairs once a day. But, now that I CAN do the steps, I'm trying to get myself back into his routine and things have been much better.

Of course, when a new baby arrives, everyone comments on or wants to know who the baby looks like. In the beginning, pretty much everyone thought he looked like A, and a lot of the nurses at the hospital said he looked like me. M, however, thought he really DIDN'T look like A, that is, not until he looked at A's baby books again. Now, he definitely resembles A, but certainly looks like his own self!

E loves to be held. If I put him down, I generally get about 5 minutes to do something before he's crying. Sometimes, he'll stay asleep a little bit longer, and sometimes he'll just hang out and be content. Most times, though, he's screaming bloody murder. He's a great sleeper... a typical night involves getting him ready for bed around 9:30, him waking around 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and then getting up for the day. Which means that I get a good amount of sleep, waking around 7, showering, eating, pumping.

He's had a pretty bad diaper rash. When we saw the pediatrician at one week, he suggested using wet washcloths instead of baby wipes. That hasn't helped. We had some size one Huggies Pure and Natural diapers around... I started using those, wondering if maybe he had an allergy to the Pampers we were using. They're too big, and we've had some leakage issues, but it looks like the rash is finally getting better. Yes, two days after I bought a big box of Pampers.

We've had quite a few nights of just me and the two boys... the other night, I was alone and had to give A a bath. That was quite an adventure, and I was plenty exhausted after that (I am still recovering from major surgery). I'm somehow managing to keep the house not completely disgusting, although some days it's much worse than others (of course, this is the downstairs, which is where I spend most of my time and which Mom did a great job of keeping clean and straight while she was here--the upstairs, however, needs some tlc... when there's time, someone to watch the boys and/or E will let me put him down).

2 weeks

We are now two weeks into E's young life! I had my two week incision check today, and all looks well. My labor with E was a very different experience than labor with A, but it turned out to be very similar too in that both boys were in the posterior position (spine to my spine) and had to come out via c section. I'm really proud for having tried, though, and now the picture of A's birth is a little bit clearer too.

E is a good little eater, and sleeps well at night too. I wish I could bottle his smell! As of right now, he has blue gray eyes, and is long and thin! He loves to be held, which can make getting things done around the house tough.

A has been so very good with E--he loves to play with him, give him hugs and kisses, and if E is in the swing, we can be pretty certain he's also holding one of A's toys. Usually, A calls E "Baby," as in "Here, Baby, play with this," and we keep trying to get him to call E by name. He hasn't, however, been so keen on Mommy. I guess it's understandable, since I was in the hospital for several days and haven't been able to do a lot of our usual routines.

But, things have been great in the S household!! Pictures coming soon!