One Year Ago

What a difference a year makes....one year ago today we were sitting in the Doctor's office wondering if the IUI we were about to have would be "the one".....9 days later we saw those lovely 2 pink lines and now we have an amazing 3 1/2 month old. Happy Conception Day, Little Man!

Wordless Wednesday

 

THREE MONTHS - JACK

Jack,

You are three months old.  One quarter of your first year has flown by already.  We had a MUCH better month this month than your first two!  You are finally feeling better and because of that you are a much happier baby.

This month was spent getting you feeling better.  After two trips and three phone calls to your pediatrician and a visit to a pediatric gastroenterologist we finally have you in a good place.  You have reflux as well as a milk/soy protein intolerance.  That means that you take medicine three times a day and Mama has to avoid eating anything with dairy, soy, nuts or eggs.  We think this has been the trick though as you are no longer screaming, sweating through your clothes, gulping when you eat and being just plain miserable.

This month you have been full of smiles and coos.  It has been so nice to interact with our happy baby.  You flash your smile to anyone who will make of you and it melts our hearts every time we see it.  You have really started "talking" a lot too and boy do you have lots of stories to tell.

You have really started to take an interest in toys and you are beginning to be able to hold on to them.  Of course, everything goes right for your mouth and you have mastered getting your fingers/fist right to your mouth when you want to.  You love to be over someone's shoulder so you can suck on your fist.

You have also started sleeping much better this month.  You generally are asleep for the night by 10 and sleep until 5:30.  This has been made so much better now that you have medicine for your reflux.  There are a number of nights that you fall asleep by 8 and we "dream feed" you at 10 and then you are out for the night!

You celebrated your first Halloween this month.  Your brother was a pirate and you dressed as his parrot.  The two of you were very cute together!  We enjoyed a storybook hayride and went trick or treating at Nana's office.  We can't wait until you can run around next year for Trick or Treat!

This month you also went to daycare as Mama's maternity leave was up.  You have made the transition as smoothly as we could have hoped for.  Lisa takes such good care of both of you and we are so happy that you are with her while we have to work.

You wore 3-6 month clothing and size 2 diapers for the entire month.  We know you grew at least an inch and you are still around 13 pounds. 

You are an amazing little boy and we can't wait to celebrate the holidays with you!

All our love,
Mom and Mama

Wordless Wednesday

 

Three Years Old

Drew -

You are THREE years old.  Three years ago we welcomed you into the world and you have brought immeasurable joy into our lives ever since.  It is amazing how much you grow and change each year and this year was no exception.

This year you really understood holidays and so that made Christmas and Easter so much fun.  For Christmas, your Elf on the Shelf, Jingle, came to visit our family.  You really enjoyed seeing the funny things that Jingle did each night while you were sleeping.  When we went to visit Grandmas for Christmas, you were convinced that Santa and his reindeer were flying our plane.

We took a road trip to Grandma's in the summer and you were a champ about spending 4 days each way in the car.  Each night we stayed at a campground and you had tons of fun roasting marshmallows and playing outside.  It was the perfect way to end each day after being cooped up in the car.  When we were in Minnesota we visited the Zoo.  We had a great time visiting Mom's family and had some nice cookouts and also enjoyed spending a day on Uncle Jim's boat.

We had lots of other adventures this year including a short vacation to the Cape, a couple of trips to the "froggy waterslide" and a trip to Pittsburgh with Mama's family.  We had fun raspberry picking in the summer and apple picking in the fall.   We took a ride on Thomas the Train - you still love your trains.

The most exciting thing for you this year was becoming a big brother.   Your brother Jack was born in August and from the very beginning you have loved him.  You are an amazing big brother.  You make sure he is ok when he is crying and you can't wait to show him lots of fun things to do.  We can't wait to see how your relationship with him will grow and change.  We are sure it will be an amazing bond that the two of you will share.

This year you enjoyed two different toddler "classes."  On Saturday mornings we went to Tumble Time.  You absolutely LOVE doing this.  Mr. Bill is your teacher and he is great at finding activities that you all loce.  You always choose the end spot to sit on and you have done a great job learning to follow directions.  Each week you roll balls, make "shapes" with your legs, complete stations, play in an obstacle course and get a ride from bill.  Mom and Mama have fun participating with you.

We also enjoyed an Art class at Twice the Fun.  Miss Marcey was your art teacher and you loved doing all of the projects.  You colored with oil pastels, painted with water colors, made an egg carton caterpillar, and enjoyed gluing tissue paper and cotton balls to paper.  After Art class we enjoyed playing at Twice the Fun and we met some other Moms and kids to play with while we were there.

You continue to love anything with wheels just like you did when you were a baby.  You love trains, cars, cranes, your cement mixer, dump truck and any other construction vehicle.  You LOVE to play with chip clips, tongs, and anything else that you can use to "clip" things.  You enjoy playing with your tools to fix things and do a great job cooking meals and snacks in your kitchen.  You love to do puzzles and you are getting really good at putting the pieces together.

You absolutely LOVE books and love to be read to.  We have enjoyed the Old Lady books as well as Pete the Cat and Clifford.  You still enjoy Curious George and your Thomas stories.  WE love reading books before bed and naps.  Speaking of naps, you decided to give those up right around the same time that Jack was born.

You are such a curious and inquisitive little boy.  We often comment that you will not be someone with a desk job because you are too busy and into "tinkering" with things.  You love to be a helper.  You help when we bake and always make sure we let you lick the beaters.    You are so kind and compassionate and always make sure that everyone is OK.  You are very sensitive and we love that about you.

You give the best high fives and knucks and even better hugs and kisses.  You have learned to blow raspberries and you have the best laugh in the world.  Your smile melts us every time and you are one of the funniest little people we know.  Your vocabulary is amazing and we sometimes have no idea where you come up with some of the things that you say!

You are our firstborn, compassionate, kind, caring, and silly boy.  You are an amazing big brother.  Your love for life and excitement about the little things make us learn to enjoy each day to its fullest.  You bring a smile to our face each and every day and we are so blessed to call you our son.    We love you more than life itself and we can't wait to see what new advenutures are in store for the next year.

All our love,

Mom and Mama

TWO MONTHS - Jack

Jack -

You are two months old!  We can't believe that two whole months have passed and the amount that you have grown and changed is just amazing.  You are definitely no longer a newborn!

This month was filled with fun fall activities.  We went apple picking, had an apple cider pressing party with family, went to an Octoberfest at a local farm, went on a hayride, enjoyed a Storybook trick or treat and much more.  Fall is so wonderful and it has been so much fun for your brother to "introduce" you to these activities.

You had a tough month as well.  You spent the majority of your days crying and don't sleep very well.  At the end of the month, we finally realized that you have reflux as well as a milk protein intolerance.  Mama is eating very healthy now (no dairy, soy, nuts, eggs) in order to help make you better and Dr. Claire gave you some medicine for the reflux.  Hopefully month 3 will have you being happier!

We saw your first smiles this month and boy do they melt our hearts!  You have also begun the very beginnings of babbling and making noises.  You still LOVE your big brother.  When he is near, you will calm down and he really tries to take care of you.

You have changed so much this month and you are definitely not a newborn anymore.  You have chubby cheeks and thighs, and everything else.  It is so cute!  You have been more alert as well and it is so much fun to interact with you.

You wore 0 - 3 month clothes and Size 1 diapers for a little bit of the month and then for anything one piece we had to switch you to 3-6 month and you definitely needed the size 2 diapers!.  At your two month pediatricians appointment, you weighed 12 pounds 15 ounces and were 24 inches long. You are in the 85th percentile for height and the 79th percentile for weight.

We love you, Peanut, with all of our hearts!

Love,
Mom and Mama

Fall Foto Friday

The leaves here have been spectacular this fall.....these were just a few snaps while out playing in the yard...

We are just about at peak color where we live and there has been a lot of red and orange this year - driving around there are some breathtaking colors to be seen.

There really is nothing better than fall in New England!

{this moment}

 

  {this moment} – A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama.
A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Announcement and Thank You Cards

Just wanted to take a moment to share the Thank You Card and Birth announcements we whipped up for Peanut's arrival:

Fall Things....

We are having such a gorgeous fall here in New England!  Some things to say on this Fall Day....

**We had a great time at a local apple orchard yesterday.  We went on tractor rides, painted faces, painted pumpkins, picked apples and danced with Nana and Opa.  We also finally got a family picture of the 4 of us.  Hence the changed blog pic!

**I only have 2 weeks and 5 days left of Maternity Leave - entirely too short of a time.  Though it has been a bit of a challenge, I have loved being home with the boys.

**We are so happy today is a bonus day with MJ - it is so nice to have all 4 of us home and Drew has really enjoyed some extra time with Mom!

**Drew continues to be amazing - he is so patient and understanding when it comes to having an infant in the house.

**Jack is a bit of a tough baby - he spends a lot of time crying and doesn't like to be put down without creating a screaming fit.  He IS getting better, but it definitely consumes you!

**Then we think about the fact that even though Jack is tough, we probably notice it more because there is a toddler in the house that needs attention as well.  When it is just you and a baby, there isn't anything better to do than tend to their needs.

**How in the world are our boys growing so quickly - in just a few short weeks Jack will already be 2 months old and Drew will be 3 - time needs to slow down!

**Even with an infant, we have managed to put up a dozen jars of applesauce and a dozen of salsa for the winter - not bad if I do say so myself!

Life is good as a family of 4!

Fall Foto Friday

Our Little Pumpkin....

Big Brother

Since all of the attention has been on the new baby as of late, I want to take a moment and give the Big Brother his own blog post!  Drew has adjusted amazingly well to having a baby in the house.  Other than the fact that he has decided that it is time to boycott napping, the transition really has gone incredibly smoothly.  He absolutely loves his role as big brother and is already VERY protective of HIS baby.  It is amazing to see the bond that Drew has with Jack already and I can only hope that it continues to be strong as they grow up.

Some snippets of some of the fun things Drew has said and done in his new big brother role:

**When Jack was first born he saw the umbilical cord and asked about it - I reminded him that it was how babies are "hooked" to their Mamas so that they can live inside their tummy.  For days, Drew kept asking if Jacks hook had fallen off yet.  It was too cute!

**Drew was quite upset that we didn't choose Namey for the baby's name.  He still brings it up now and again that Peanut should be called Namey.

**He still calls him Peanut and it is the cutest thing ever.

**Whenever Jack is crying he immediately goes over and tries to soothe him.  He will pat him and say "There, there" which is interesting because that isn't anything that MJ and I do to soothe him.  Drew will also sing to Jack and even gives him one of his own prized blankies to try to make him stop crying.

**The other night, Drew decided it would be a good idea to sing Jack a lullaby to calm him down.  When Jack continued to cry Drew said to me, "He is not being a very good listener."  Can you tell this is something we have been working on with Drew?  He then proceeded to sing VERY loud so that maybe Jack would be a better listener.

I could go on and on with stories, but suffice it to say that we are thrilled with our two boys and we are so excited to see how their relationship will grow and strengthen as they get older.

Wheels on the Bus

When Drew was infant, MJ would take him every night while I pumped and put him to bed.  She would sit on the edge of our cedar chest with our swaddled little baby, rock him and sing Wheels on the Bus to him.  Why she picked that song is a mystery, but it stuck and she (we) sang it to him every night for the longest time.  We even made up our own verses such as "The Opas on the bus say let's ride the tractor; The Grandmas on the bus say see you at Christmas, etc."

Wheels on the Bus became THE song that would put him to sleep and calm him almost instantly.  I remember taking him to daycare at 4 months old when my leave was over and telling the babysitter that a rousing rendition of Wheels on the Bus would calm him almost instantly.  It has worked through tantrums, toddler meltdowns, just to be silly, and everything in between.  Many times mid tearful meltdown, Drew would stop crying long enough to request a certain verse that he wanted sung to him!  Like magic, singing that darn song has worked to solve many problems.

I can't tell you the last time we have actually needed to use it to calm Drew and lately we only seem to sing it for the fun of it.  Well, we have a sick little man on our hands and last night he was just miserable.  Couldn't fall asleep because he couldn't breathe, choked/coughed when he took some cold medicine (cue meltdown), sore throat, just plain miserable.  It seemed like every time he just fell asleep, he would wake back up and just sob.

I had finished nursing Jack, so the rocking chair was free.  I asked Drew if he would like to go into Jack's room and rock (I can't tell you the last time we rocked in that chair).  He quickly agreed so in we went.  We sat down and he snuggled in and looked up at me and said, "I need you to sing me a song."  When I asked what song he would like me to sing, he quickly replied, "Wheels on the Bus."  Wouldn't you know that within minutes I had a snoring boy laying on my chest (or my whole body cause he is so big! - how in the world did that happen?)

The song is MAGIC I tell ya!

{this moment}

  {this moment} – A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama.
A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Wordless Wednesday

Flying Solo

MJ went back to work this morning....booo hooo!  We were so fortunate that she was able to take 5 weeks off and that we could be together as a family for that time.  I have another 5 weeks still which will be lovely.

I currently have 2 sleeping boys, I am showered, the dishwasher is unloaded, dinner is in the crockpot, and I have had breakfast.  Hopefully the day continues to go as smoothly!

I have to laugh because when Drew was an infant MJ would head of to work and leave us in bed snuggling until 8 or 8:30 in the morning and it was lovely.  Not so with 2 kids!  I was up with Jack at 6 and made sure I pumped and showered before she left.  There is no way with 2 kids that I would be able to leave them alone and shower!  Drew is too helpful :) and Jack would scream the whole time.  Oh how different life is with two.  I wouldn't change it for the world, though!

We had a fantastic "last hurrah" over the weekend before MJ went back to work today.  We enjoyed an art class and playing at a local indoor play place, had lots of fun at a local fair, went to Tumble Time, celebrated with some friends as they officially adopted their 20 month old son who they brought home from the hospital and went apple picking with our local family equality group.  The weather here has been gorgeous and the leaves are turning their beautiful hues of orange, red, and yellow.

I'll leave you with a couple of fun pics from our weekend...

Fall Foto Friday

S and Jackie teamed up to create the Fall Foto Fridays challenge.  I love these and look forward to taking photos with a challenge!

 

We went to a local fair today and so I will go with the sweet treat side of the challenge.  Drew is enjoying an ice cream with Nana at the fair!

 



Wordless Wednesday

One Month

Jack -

You are ONE month old today. It seems like just yesterday that we were waiting to meet you and now you have been here for a whole month.  You truly have completed our family and we are over the moon excited to be the Moms of two boys.  We are thankful each and every day that you are a part of our family.

This month we enjoyed all of the wonderful end of Summer and beginning of Fall activities that living in New England gives us.  You made your first trip peach and blackberry picking, took an overnight getaway, went to the beach, and celebrated Aunt Becky's and Mama's birthdays.  You were busy in your first month of life!

Your big brother Drew absolutely adores you.  He loves to hug and kiss you and sing Rock a bye Baby to you.  When you are crying, he is right there to tell you that everything is OK.  Drew also makes sure he supervises your diaper changes, baths and clothing changes.  He already sticks up for you like a big brother should.  We can't wait to see how your relationship as brothers grows and develops.

You are starting to really recognize voices and you do a great job listening to people talk to you.  You like to watch the leaves on the trees blow in the wind and you seem fascinated with shadows on the wall.  You have shown us that you have a bit of a temper and can be a bit fussy, but we work hard to soothe you in any way we can. 
You eat a TON and you are growing like a weed to prove it!

You wore newborn clothes and diapers for about 2 weeks.  You grew so fast that we moved quickly to size 1 diapers and 0 - 3 month clothes.  At your one month pediatricians appointment, you weighed 10 pounds 6 ounces and were 23 inches long. You are in the 95th percentile for height and the 75th percentile for weight.

We love you more than we know, Peanut, and we are so very glad that you are part of our family.  Happy One Month Birthday!

All Our Love,
Mom, Mama and Drew

{this moment}

{this moment}
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember 

Birth Story

Here it is....Jack's birth story....

We went to our 39 week apt and I was DONE!  I knew that they would not let me go past my due date due to a history of high blood pressure as well as my "advanced maternal age"!  So, at the appointment that day I begged for an induction SOON!  The midwife called the Birth Center and they put me on the books for the next day (Thurs 8/22). 

We were instructed to call the Birth Center around 6:30 in the morning and we did - they told us to call back at 10 AM and talk to the day shift.  So, we called back and they told us to arrive at 3PM - boy it was a long day and a long wait until 3!  My mom took Drew and we went out to lunch and made our way to the hospital.  When we checked in, the girl remembered us and the "Hatched by 2 Chicks" shirt that we took Drew home in!  We got to our room and waited and waited....finally around 5:30 the back up to the back up on call Doc came in and excused her water park attire as she was called in from there, and go me officially admitted! 

We did two rounds of "ripening" and monitoring on Thursday night and then decided to get some sleep.  At about 2:45 in the morning I was woken up by a contraction and they continued through the rest of the night.  Not too painful, but enough to wake me up each time.  At 6:30 in the morning I coughed and thought I pee'd myself a bit.  Went to the bathroom and then when I stood up from the toilet had more leaking - I realized then that it was most likely that my water broke.  Called the nurse and she confirmed that my water had indeed broken!

Contractions got steadily stronger throughout the morning and I definitely had to stop and breathe through them.  My parents arrived at the hospital, my brother and sister in law were on Drew duty and we were ready to have a baby!  After noon time, the contractions definitely got a LOT stronger and more painful.  My nurse asked if I would like a popsicle and I said sure - she gave it to me, I remember it tasting really good, looking at the clock and seeing that it was around 1:45 and handing the popsicle to my Dad to hold as I had another contraction coming on.  At that point my labor was fast and furious and I never finished that darn popsicle! :)

Here is where things get hairy...I am going on what I can remember (I was quite in the zone) and what has also been told to me.

We were having trouble keeping Jack on the monitor so they placed an internal monitor to watch his heartbeat - which had to be replaced twice as it fell off as I contracted.  His heartbeat was dropping dangerously as I was contracting.  My nurse called the midwife in as well as two other nurses.  At this point they decided they needed to start an IV to get some fluids into me and the baby.  That is super fun to keep your hand still while they insert an IV - which took three tries and 2 nurses. As soon as they got the IV in, one of the nurses told me I needed to get up on my knees and over the back of the bed to work on getting the baby down.  They also gave me oxygen at this time. 

At this point the contractions were completely unbearable - I didn't remember them being that painful with Drew and I was pleading for some relief.  They gave me a shot of something in my IV to take the edge off - which I promptly told them didn't help (it probably did, but I was in agony!  I found out later that they had started Pitocin because they needed my to deliver due to the stress on Jack and that is why the contractions were so crazy and painful.

The midwife also called a Doctor in at this point - 3 nurses and midwife and a doctor - I knew the baby was in distress and things were not good when there were this many people in the room.  The midwife's exact words to the Doc were, "I want you in the room so I have your hands available and not somewhere down the hall."  Yikes!  Just about when I thought I was going to go crazy, the midwife told me that I only had a lip of cervix left (which she stretched for me) and we were going to start pushing.  I was elated to hear that as I feel that even though pushing hurts - it is productive and doesn't seem as bad to me as just working through contractions.

After only a couple of pushes, the midwife told me that if I didn't get the baby out they were going to have to vacuum it out - I told her that I would get my baby out!  On the next contraction I delivered his head and then one more push and out he came.  Jack was born at 2:49 - only an hour after crazy labor had begun.  They placed him on my belly, I asked what it was  and then all of a sudden they cut his cord and took him across the room - Jack was not breathing.  They assured us that he had a heartbeat but was "stunned" and forgot to breathe.  MJ quickly went to be at his side while the nurses worked on him and I kept asking if he was OK - it was the scariest time of my life!  It seemed like an eternity to us, but we were told that it only took about a minute to get him breathing on his own.  Longest minute of our lives!  I was also told later that I pushed for less than 10 minutes to get him out!  Jack's APGAR scores were 3 and 9.  Scary at first, but no problems from then on - we were so thankful.

After he was breathing and pinked up - they brought him right to me for some wonderful skin to skin time - after about an hour and a half, they weighed and measured him and everything checked out perfectly.  I took a shower and Drew came to meet his little brother.  He was a bit hesitant at first, but was awesome by the next day!  Jack was a champion nurser and was nursing by late evening!  We've had a few hiccups with nursing, but for the most part, it has gone incredibly well.

We are so thankful to have our two boys and our family truly is complete-  we can't imagine life any other way!

{this moment}

{this moment}
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember .

Some Things

Just some thoughts swirling around...

*Holy Cow....2 kids is about 10 times the work!  It is amazing and worth it, but nothing gets done in a timely manner!

*Big Brother really loves his Baby, but he is also 2 1/2 and we have the lovely screaming meltdowns about something trivial once a day.....sometimes we are even lucky enough for it to coincide with Jack needed to be fed or having his own fussy time.

*I love being on leave during the Fall - it is my favorite time of year!  The bonus is that MJ took a month off too so we are just loving being together as a family for an extra month. 

*Jack is becoming more and more alert and interactive.  I love watching him grow and change every day.  Speaking of growing and changing - at his 2 week peds appt.  he had already grown an inch and gained a pound.

*I can't believe Drew is on the verge of turning 3!  How has the time slipped away???  He really is a joy and so much fun.  I love experiencing things with him and seeing the excitement and wonder through the eyes of a child.

*I will get the birth story written down soon!

*A couple of pics of the handsome dudes -

Wordless Wednesday

Brothers

Holy Cow!  There is absolutely no denying that these boys are brothers!  When they laid Jack on my chest I was immediately struck by the amazing resemblance to Drew as a newborn.  I would expect that they would look alike, but not like twins born a few years apart!  Check out the side by sides below!

Jack left, Drew right

 

 

Drew left, Jack right



 

 

Wordless Wednesday

Introducing Jack

 He is absolutely perfect and we are totally in LOVE!!!  Big brother is absolutely amazing with him and is so proud of his baby!  We are home and settling in as a family of 4!  Life simply can't get any better!