the definition of ornery

(Note: Man, that bug was nasty. But at least it was short lived. We're all recovered now and it mercifully missed Brian and David. Moving on...)

(Another Note: It takes me 3 or 4 days to complete a blog post these days. I just don't have time to finish one in one sitting. So my apologies...)

I don't know if it's because I can't pay as much attention to her these days, or if it's her rapidly approaching 2nd birthday, but Katy is such. a. stinker. Seriously.



-While I was nursing David in the living room, Katy was in the kitchen and it got quiet. Then I heard a familiar ticking sound that scared me into putting down the baby and running into the kitchen. Katy had stretched to reach the toaster oven on the counter and had turned it on to toast something. I asked her, "What are you doing?" and she said, "I cookin'!!"


-David was asleep in his swing and I was in and out of the room doing something while Katy played. I glanced over at him at one point and noticed this (photo below). I asked Katy, "What's this?" and she said, "Dat's David's toy." Apparently he looked bored to her.




-On another occasion I went upstairs to use the restroom. I took David and laid him in his crib and left Katy downstairs. Normally she is protected from coming upstairs (and possibly falling back down) by this gate:




So while I was in the bathroom, it seemed like I was could hear her, and it sounded like she was upstairs. But then it sounded like she went back down (which she can do safely probably 3/4 times). When I came out, I went downstairs and found the gate like this, with Katy attempting to put it back. She had a very guilty and scared look on her face, and I think my reaction scared her, because she hasn't done it since.




---------------------



My mom and Greg came to visit this weekend and took Katy to get a sandbox as an early birthday present. I didn't realize that sand came in different colors, but Katy chose pink. And our yard is even more full of plastic stuff. But she loves it.






Oh, and David is one month old today. We decided he was now big enough for his own chair.

You also may have noticed that I updated the name of the blog. I'm sad to say goodbye to Katydid, but I just wasn't able to make it work, even with professional help. So I went with something different, we'll see how it goes. It kinda represents this new era in our lives anyway...

know what I could do without?

The stomach flu with a toddler and a newborn.

Katy and I have had some sort of stomach bug, but things are looking up - in 24 hours I've gone from crying on the bathroom floor to sitting here typing about it. So hopefully we're on the mend. Brian was able to stay home for part of the day today and let me sleep. Now I'm just hoping he doesn't get it...

Hopefully I'll be back to post a more positive entry by the end of the week.

It all started with a hand towel...

Last fall sometime when my mom came to visit, she handed me a Kohl's bag and said, "I got you some new hand towels for the guest bathroom. You really need new hand towels." Hmm...she's right, I needed new hand towels. And come to think of it, even though this was the bathroom that everyone uses and is closest to the main floor, it was the only room in the house that we haven't touched since Brian bought this place.

So I asked for a new shower curtain for Christmas, started keeping an eye out for accessories, and Brian has replaced the toilet, the sink, and the floor. So after this week's urge to complete it, it's now finished. Behold...


Before...



After...

on my own

(edited to add: Katy's fever broke on Wednesday, and Brian finished the bathroom before returning to work. I'll post pictures later...)

Today is Day 2 of making it On My Own. And you know what? We're doing ok. Of course, there are stressful moments when both kids are crying or I need to do 2 (or 3) things at once and I can't figure how to do it. But we're getting by, and I'm feeling much better about the whole thing.




Of course, so many people have brought us food that I haven't had to worry about dinner yet. And I'm still not sure how in the world I will ever run errands with the 2 of them. But as far as getting through the day, we've done it twice.




I have 2 goals on these days On My Own:


1) Get a shower.


2) Get both children to nap at the same time.


My biggest challenge to goal number 1 is that I'm very tired, so it is difficult to get up before the little ones and get that done. David still has trouble sleeping at night. (DUH. He's 3 weeks old. Of course he does.) It takes me an hour or two to get him to go to sleep and stay that way in the bassinet, and then of course he wakes up 2-3 hours later to start the process over again. Then when he wakes up at 6, I'm thinking, is it ok to put him back down as if it's still nighttime? Because in my mind, 6:00am is still the middle of the night. But by the time I get him back down, it isn't long before Katy wakes up for the day - so what's the point?





But here's the (cautious) good news: David is 3 weeks old. Since the moment I found out I was expecting him, I've been nervous about the 3 week mark. By the time Katy was 3 weeks old, I had read every article I could find on colic, and was trying to figure out why my baby was so miserable. So far (knock the crap out of some wood - will ya?), David doesn't seem to be headed down that road. We haven't had those evenings of non-stop inconsolable crying yet. He gets a little fussy here and there, and definitely wants to be held after 5pm, but we are able to comfort him and keep him from losing his mind. And for this I am so thankful.




And the weather. Oh, this blessed weather. If you have ever had a baby in the middle of the winter - major props to you because I don't know what I would do without this sunshine and warmth. It makes all the difference in the world.




Oh, and you know what's fun to say? "The kids." It just flows off of the tongue, like, "I'm going to give the kids a bath," or "Let's take the kids to see Grandma." I'm sure the novelty will wear off, but I giggle a little to myself every time I have the opportunity to say it. The kids. The kids. The kids.


Maybe we're getting by on adrenaline. Hopefully, I won't be back next week to eat my words...

yesterday

9:00am: Call the pediatrician to describe the condition of David's belly button (i.e. "not so pretty"). They ask me to bring him in later.

9:45am: Discover that I have 2 children who enjoy a good "bideo."

10:45am: Take David to the women's center to make sure he's gaining weight. He is. He weighs 10 lbs. 6 oz., which means he gained almost a whole pound in a week. Check "low milk supply" off of my "things to worry about" list.

12:00pm: Have lunch at home and play outside for a bit. Katy seems particularly whiny, even outside.

1:45pm: Brian puts Katy down for a nap and I take David to the doctor.

2:30pm: David's cord stump is not infected, but they do a "chemical burn" to dry up the mess. Yuck.

3:15pm: Wait in line 15 minutes to pay $3.19/gallon for gas because the first 3 place I went were charging $3.45.

3:45pm: Come home to find that Brian has torn out the bathroom sink, which we have been talking about replacing with a vanity for quite a while. Discuss and decide to use his last 2 days off of work to "do it right" and take out the toilet and re-tile the floor. He begins destruction.

4:00pm: Katy wakes up from her nap and won't stop crying. She feels warm. Taking temperature reveals 102.5 fever. Administer ibuprofen and allow her to watch Dora again to get her to stop crying.

4:15pm: Cancel plans to have dinner with our friends from church. Feel bummed.

6:30pm: Leave to get Chinese food for dinner, with Brian at home with 2 kids.

7:15pm: Return to find Katy in screaming tears. Fever is back up to 102.5, even on the meds. Look up dosage chart and discover that we should've given her almost twice as much, because she's grown since we gave it to her last. Supplement with acetaminophen until the next dose is due.

7:15-8:00pm: Hold a screaming toddler who refuses to eat and can't tell us what hurts. Finally convince her to go night-night, and she mercifully collapses into bed.

8:00pm: Reheat and finish eating my dinner.

8:30pm: While Brian works into the late hours of the night trying to get our bathroom functional again, try to keep David happy and search the internet for some reassurance that my infant won't catch the raging fever that my toddler has. Find nothing.

9:30pm: Fold laundry that Brian washed earlier in the day.

10:30pm: Start the process of getting David to bed. For some reason he's not in the mood, and I am not able to lay him down until 11:33pm.

11:58pm: Collapse into bed.

11:59pm: Brian collapses into bed.

healing

So Friday's post came at a good time. My husband knows me and knows what I need to hear and when I need to hear it. I've been kind of flipping my lid thinking about his return to work this Thursday. My confidence in my ability to do this on my own is waning. I feel like Brian has done more than his fair share in the past couple of weeks, and I'm really not sure how I'm going to make it on my own. One of the best things he has done has been keeping Katy entertained 24/7 with things like this:

But all the extra help has allowed me to get some rest, so that I'm feeling so much better these days. I feel like myself again, with a few aches and pains and a little fatigue, but myself, nonetheless. We've still had quite a few visitors this week, which I thoroughly enjoy. It's so nice to have people to talk to, and there's something special about Great Grandparents:

So I'm going to soak up these last 3 days that we get to spend learning to be a family of four, and try to accept that daily showers and to-do lists may be a greater challenge starting on Thursday.

Out with the snow ... in with the bubbles

(this post is coming to you by Brian ... aka Emily's husband --- shhhh don't tell Emily)

Katy still seems to think sledding is an option. I was taking her sled inside to put away for the summer and the tears were too much for me to bear. So I had to give her one more ride. Surprisingly enough these things move pretty well on grass, a little noisy on the concrete, but she did not seem to mind.
Since the sled is put away and spring is trying to sprung, Katy has moved her attention to bubble making. Now every time we step outside and usually several hours before we go outside she is requesting bubbles (thank you Dora video). Grammy was nice enough to send a care package to Katy which included an automatic bubble maker. The package says 3 and up, but Katy had it mastered within minutes. Thank you Grammy!!! I think I am going to look into buying "bubble juice" (as Katy refers to it) stock...


One last thing before I stop blogging and Emily discovers I know her password. :) I just have to say that I am one lucky guy. Not only do I have two beautiful children, I have one beautiful, incredible wife. Emily’s ability to put up with me would be enough not to mention her tender loving heart, money saving savvy (can you say ECB), and I’m not sure the word for being an absolutely incredible mother. I really don't know how she does it most of the time but I thank God for her daily.

So, thank you Emily… I love you!

how we're doing

We've been home for over a week now. Time for some updates...


Baby update:

We had our first well visit today, and David is HUGE (no surprise). He weighs 9 lbs., 8 oz now, which is 95%'ile, and is 21 inches, which is 90%'ile. This is so different, I'm used to Katy being such a peanut, it's weird to have such a chunk of a baby! But the doctor said he looks really good, and I got some paranoid mom questions answered, which is always reassuring. But I hate to even say it, for fear of jenxing myself, but so far David seems pretty laid back in temperament. He doesn't cry except when he needs something obvious, and even then he doesn't cry hard. And he will (sometimes) sit contentedly awake and watch the activity around him. But I also know that these first few weeks are the honeymoon stage, and there could very easily be extreme fussiness ahead.





Sleep update:


After several nights of day/night confusion and being up until 4am, we finally figured out how to get the little guy to sleep in his bassinet. Now he's doing 2-3 hour stretches all swaddled up and warm. It's amazing how good it feels to be woken up every 2 hours after a few nights of sleeplessness. So I'm tired, of course, but we're getting there.


Feeding update:


This kid is one hungry boy. He wants to eat constantly. While breastfeeding is definitely easier this time around, it still hurts like crazy. He's 11 days old today - does anyone remember how long the soreness lasts? But it's not stressful, just a lot of work and kind of painful.



Big sister update:


The good news: Katy is extremely sweet with David. She gives him kisses and says, "Ahhhh..." when he makes a noise and calls him, "my Dabid." The bad news: with the total loss of our routine and lots of extra visitors and indulgance, Katy has been a bit whiny and demanding. And who can blame her? I feel so sad that I don't have the time and energy right now to spend with her that I usually do. So there's gonna be an adjustment period for sure, for both of us.



Mommy update:


I'm feeling better everyday. We've had a couple of small outings, and those usually wear me out pretty well. And I have had more pain this time around, I think. It's hard for me to imagine getting to the point where I could take them both out by myself, since I can't lift Katy or David in his car seat. But we'll get there.



Last week my mom was here, which was so incredibly helpful. And the great news is that Brian gets an incredible 3 weeks off of work, so he is still home with me. I know I am completely spoiled with this, and I will probably have a meltdown when he has to go back. But for now, we're enjoying the time to get used to being a family of four.



Weather update:

It's finally spring! This makes the biggest difference - Katy is significantly happier the more time she gets to spend outside, and it helps everyone's mood, I think!

David meets his 3 cousins - poor little guy among all these women!

So overall, we're doing well. Making progress, adjusting, and getting used to a new normal.

Cute Baby Stuff Contest!

Quickly, one of the other blogs that I read is having a contest to win some really cute baby gifts. I really like the girls over at Mommin' It Up, they make me laugh and started me on the whole CVS bargain-hunting thing. So check out the contest if you are interested here.

The Story of David's Birth

For those who are interested...


I was very curious to compare my 2 birthing experiences. Many people, including my doctor, assured me that 2nd labors almost always go more quickly and that I was very unlikely to have days and days of early contractions with no progress like last time. So I think I was pretty optimistic that this experience would be, overall, easier. Now that it's over, I don't think I can say that. Every delivery is different, and this one had different challenges than last time. So here's a timeline of David's arrival into the world:


Tuesday, 11:30am:


I had my last doctor's appointment, was 3 cm dilated, and asked the doc if he could help move things along a little bit by stripping my membranes (this seemed to work last time). He did, and we scheduled an induction for the following Monday just in case.


Tuesday, late afternoon:


I began having contractions, small to medium in size, about 15-20 minutes apart. Luckily I was able to sleep Tuesday night with just a few interruptions.


Wednesday morning - late afternoon:


I continued to have contractions 15-20 minutes apart, and started to panic that this was going to continue until Monday when they induced me. Mentally, I made a plan to go to the OB clinic on Friday and insist on being induced if I didn't go into labor on my own before then.


Wednesday, 5:00pm:


Brian came home from work and we went on a long walk (as long as we could all tolerate). We went out to dinner and walked around the stores for an hour, all in an attempt to make the contractions progress.


Wednesday, 8:30pm - 11:00pm:


My contractions began to come about 9-10 minutes apart consistently and were getting much harder. I was cautiously optimistic that perhaps tonight would be the night. We called my Dad to come and stay at the house overnight in case we went in to the hospital.


Wednesday, 11:30pm:


I called the doctor on call and asked him at what point I should come in. He said to wait until they were 5-6 minutes apart and stronger. I felt like I would never get that close, and felt discouraged.


Thursday, 12:00am:


Brian made me come to bed, and I protested, "I don't want to go to bed, I want to go to the hospital and have this baby." So Brian got in bed and I sat and read a book.


12:00am-12:30am:

In this half hour period, the contractions went very quickly from 10 minutes apart to 4 minutes apart, and they were very strong. Because this happened so quickly, we panicked and jumped up to get dressed and grab last minute items, rushing to the hospital. I'm embarrassed to say this now, when you note the time of the birth.

1:15am:


We arrived at the hospital and got put in triage. I was 4cm, and they said that since my water hadn't broken, they would monitor me for an hour to see if I progressed.


3:00am:


I was 5cm, with contractions consistently 4 minutes apart, so they said I could stay. I celebrated with a happy dance. They asked if I wanted an epidural, and I said, "yes, please."


5:00am:


They come in to administer the epidural. (I don't know why things take so long in hospitals, but they really do. It didn't seem like 2 hours, actually.) As a side note, my epidural last time was perfect: I hardly felt a thing while they put it in, it was quick, and then I felt almost instant, significant relief. So this time, the nurse anesthiestist asked me the usual questions and set up to put it in. But right from the start, it was weird, I could feel it, it really hurt, and it was taking forever. Then I felt a sharp twinge across one side of my back, and grabbed onto Brian as I felt the blood rush from my head. Once I said I was feeling faint, he took all the needles out, took my blood pressure, and found that it was 65/20 something. They laid me down.


5:00am-5:30am:


A blur of panic (mine). They shoved a number of drugs into my IV in an attempt to get my blood pressure back to normal, but I was hanging out in the 90/50 range. They explained that this wasn't dangerously low, but just uncomfortable. At one point I attempted to sit up again, but immediately felt like I would pass out again. Because the baby was not responding negatively at all to my low blood pressure, the NA said he could attempt to put the epidural in with me laying down. But he kept using words like, "not ideal" and "difficult to do." But he felt that this would be our only shot if I still wanted one, so we decided to try.


5:30am:


Epidural attempt #2. Inserted laying down. Within a few minutes, it became apparent that it had not been inserted correctly, because I was not having any pain relief.


5:45am:


The NA called in Dr. Big Britches to help out. This guy seemed completely confident in his ability to insert the epidural again laying down. He did, and it was just like I remembered last time: I hardly felt a thing, it was really quick, and it started working within minutes. Ahhh...sweet relief. The doc responded, "I knew it would work this time." I'm telling you: Dr. Big. Britches. They checked my progress and I had dilated to a whopping 7cm in the 3 hours it took to get the epidural right.

6:00am - 7:00am:

Felt like hell. The contractions were gone but my blood pressure was still low and my body was reacting to all the drugs they had pumped into me during the whole fiasco. I started to wonder if they edidural was worth it.

7:30am:

Finally everything evened out and I was feeling much better. I decided the epidural was worth it after all. I was able to sleep for a bit, which felt heavenly.

10:30am:

Still blasted 7cm. Because of the whole blood pressure thing, I wasn't able to sit up at all after the epidural. This really slowed things down. They broke my water to see if that would move things along.

11:30am:

It didn't move things along. So they started pitocin.

1:00pm:

The contractions were so strong that I was still breathing through them, even with the pain relief. They fooled around with the levels to help me out. I had progressed to a 9.

2:00pm:

The epidural wore off just as I hit completion and felt ready to push. They had called the doctor, who said he would be there in 20 minutes. They wanted me to wait. I was in a kind of pain that I had never experience before, I literally thought I was going to split in 2. The nurse literally ran to get the NA to come and top off my epidural before I "lost it." Once again, sweet relief, not a moment too soon.

2:40pm:

The doctor arrived. He's the same doc that I saw in the office on Tuesday, and I really liked him. He was so so great. And poetically, his name is David.

3:11pm:

After just 20 minutes of pushing (which felt like 5), David was born. I felt such relief and couldn't wait to see him. I was shocked at his hair. As he came out, the doctor yelled, "Oh my WORD. He's HUGE. I bet he weighs 8.14, maybe 9.2." I looked at him like he was crazy. David looked so tiny. How could he be huge? But sure enough, he topped the scales at 9 lbs, 3.7 oz. I was glad I didn't know that going in, because I likely would've psyched myself out.

3:15-3:30pm:

A blur of discussion amoung the medical staff about whether David could stay in the room with me and try to breastfeed or if they needed to take him upstairs immediately due to his labored breathing. They ended up deciding to take him, and Brian left to go with them. I was pretty disappointed that I didn't get that first hour to bond with him. But they kept assuring me that he would be fine. Luckily, he was.

5:30pm:

Up in postpartum, I was finally able to be with my son. Brian and I agreed that we got all choked up when he latched on right away, because it was such a relief to be able to feed him easily. He was so beautiful, and this time, rather than feeling more overwhelmed and anxious than anything, I was really able to enjoy him. Babies are pretty incredible.

Be back soon with more pics and an update from home...