Week of Life 1

Jon and I have been looking forward to our maternity/paternity leaves for quite some time now.  I couldn't wait to relax, enjoy my new baby, and spend some time with the boys without being interrupted by the phone or without having to divide my attention between the laptop and the trucks driving across my legs.  And Jon had an ever-growing list of house projects he was just waiting to find time for.  And we both were looking forward to Marmie and Poppa's visit that would make all this possible!

Ironically, our little girl's first week of life ended up being one of the most productive and eventful weeks of our year!  Marmie made all the meals, Jon kept the house clean and Poppa kept the little guys occupied with bike rides, the playground and soccer games.  So I had ample time to rest and hold my precious baby girl. 

The first few days we laid low since I was still recovering.  Uncle Jared came down after work for Marmie's good cooking and some Julia snuggles.  And Uncle Micah came the next night to lend a hand as well. 

The weather has been just beautiful.  Cool enough to keep the windows open and to dress the boys in jeans.  And ideal for bonfires and ooey-gooey s'mores.

And perfect for teaching little boys how to ride their bikes.  Marmie was all excited about Jack's new skill and wanted me to take a video.  Naturally, he suddenly loses interest once the camera comes out.  His seriousness is overwhelming.



On Friday, Marmie and I took Julia on her first girls' shopping trip.  After being cooped up in the house for a few days I was more than ready to get out and walk around.  And the mall was calling our name!  Except for the time I nursed her in the Sears dressing room, Julia slept the whole time.  Sometimes I forget how easy newborns are ... at least, compared to older babies and toddlers.  You can lug 'em anywhere and they barely flutter an eyelash.  Like any woman who has spent the last 9 months confined to a limited wardrobe, I really wanted to buy some new clothes.  Because that always makes me happy.  But this isn't exactly a good time for me to be adding to my wardrobe.  So I settled for two forgiving tops from the clearance rack and lots of tasty mall treats to keep my caloric intake up.  By the time we got home the men had both boys fed and down for a nap and were busy painting the back deck.  Well done Daddy and Poppa!

I think my favorite event of the week was the Fall Festival at a local farm.  I slipped the little lady into the Moby and, again, other than some lunch under a shady tree, she peacefully slept the entire time.  These Moby wraps are confusing and hot, but I do love them for newborns.  It reminds me of being pregnant again, so I can only imagine what it feels like for the baby. 

We had fun visiting all the craft stands and picking up a few local wares.  There were plenty of animals to see and pet, and lots of games to test out.

Jude loved petting the llama...

... until it head-butted him.

Our crazy man.  I think he was trying to walk like Poppa.

Fearless.

Shooting corn cobs.  Check out that intense focus!

The kind of games where everyone's a winner!

Trying his hand at milking a cow.

Oh, here's another big event - Julia's first bath.  I will not tell you how old she is in this picture.  But according to the nurse "it's not like she's been crawling around in dirt or anything."  So yeah, "several days" after arriving in this world, Julia had her first tubby.  And other than an initial squawk, she really enjoyed it.  Don't let the disgruntled look fool you, I believe she takes after her oldest brother and his "serious face."



Sunday was church.  I was determined to get there early so we could get the boys settled into Sunday School and I could maybe nurse the baby right away.  Surely with 4 adults in the house we could do it!  Nope.  Instead Julia got hungry before I could even finish getting ready.  And then after she ate she spit up all down my dress and hair.  After a quick change I ended up doing my make-up in the car at each stoplight, and we rolled in to church 5 minutes late.  Better luck next time.

As you can guess, Baby Girl slept through the entire service.  Since she's such a tiny little thing, she doesn't fit in any of her 0-3 clothes yet and I hardly have any newborn clothes.  Thankfully, Marmie just happened to have one dressy/non-sleeper newborn outfit in her latest yard sale goody box, so I made it a point to pull Julia out of her carseat for the second half of the church service just so people could see how cute she was.  And then the pastor announced from the pulpit that we were there with our new baby and that the story of her arrival was "very interesting" and that you "have to hear it."  So she got a little more attention after the service.  And I feel a little better that at least a few people saw her in her cute clothes since they probably won't fit her by next week.

Ugh newborn pictures.  She's always either sleeping, looking out of the corner of her eyes, or yawning.

We have a tradition in this family that involves taking our newborns out to waterfront restaurants during their first week of life.  Okay, not really.  But it has worked out that way in the past.  And we didn't want our daughter to feel left out.  So I did some digging on Tripadvisor and found a place that reminded me of our favorite restaurant in Virginia Beach. 
 

So many options, what do I choose?!

 

We have another tradition, it's called "Jon grows his beard out during paternity leave because he can."

Jon and I rarely take our kids to nice restaurants anymore.  The mess and noise is one thing, but we spend so much time trying to feed and settle the small fry that we don't really get to enjoy our own meals.  But Marmie and Poppa were along to assist in that area, so we just made sure we chose a casual setting with outdoor seating.  It ended up being perfect.  We ate along the water and, while waiting for food, took turns walking the boys around the docks and showing them the boats, fish, moon, etc. 
 

 

 
We also had a great server who, when she saw that we were teaching Jude sign language, started "talking" to him with her hands.  She was way more advanced than we are, but Jude was thoroughly impressed.

Like most parents, we like to feed our kids lemons and then take pictures of the process:

He took that too well.

Oh, and Julia slept.

Next stop, the BO Train Museum.  Tuesday was our last day together when Jack didn't have preschool, so I wanted to do something fun as a family.  We decided over breakfast to check out the BO museum and didn't know until after we got there that it was Fall Free Day.  Score!  It's a great museum and very kid-friendly, but I probably wouldn't have wanted to pay full-price for it myself.  Then again, I'm not that much in to trains.

And Julia, well you know ...

Wednesday was our final day with the grandparents. Jack's preschool had a field trip to the local pumpkin patch so Marmie and Poppa took both boys with strict instructions from Mama to find some nice pumpkins for our front stoop.  Besides pumpkins there were animals, tractors and a hay ride!  Meanwhile I enjoyed some quiet time with my daughter. 

After the field trip, and after emptying the dishwasher, scrubbing the rug and doing all the ironing ... Marmie and Poppa left. It was a sad goodbye, one that left Jack chanting over and over, "They come back, Marmie and Poppa come back."  Oh yes, I'm sure they will.  But in the meantime we need to get through the school of hard knocks, the parenting 3 kids 3 and under bootcamp.  And I'm just a little nervous about that whole experience.  But for now, we're just thankful for Marmie and Poppa getting us off to a good start ... and leaving us with a freezer full of meals!

Happy Birthday Jack!

Today my eldest turns 3!

Despite the fact that we've added two additional siblings and lived in three different houses during his lifetime, it still seems like he arrived only yesterday.

I'll never forget the moment I first held him ... and how he instantly changed our lives for the better.

Three years later he's still changing us.  Helping us to view life from a different vantage point.  Challenging us to make self improvements because little ones are watching.  Motivating us to create a better world for our kids to grow up in.  Compelling us to stop and enjoy the little things that make life so grand.

We had a low-key birthday this year.  Thankfully Marmie and Poppa were around to celebrate earlier this week.  And thankfully Sister decided to arrive early and not encroach on the festivities.  Now it's just up to me to make sure one October's birthday never overshadows the other for the next 70-some years ...

Marmie just whipped up this ice cream roll cake one afternoon.  Jack's in to bugs lately.  He named this one "Fred."

And of course Jon had to make a big deal about the first slice of cake and who wanted to eat "Fred's butt."  So now Jack likes to walk around saying, "I eat Fred's butt" all day. 

At 3 years old Jack's just starting to realize that a birthday is a very cool thing.  And that it means celebrating YOU.  By the time we got to singing the birthday song and bringing out the candles, he was a pretty proud little guy.



Of course, on the other side of the table we had another little boy who was starting to feel a bit left out. 

We took pity on him and gave him his own candle to blow.  Well, instead of putting it out he just kept pointing and waving his hands saying, "Hot, hot!" 

And then there were the presents.  Oh, the presents!  A lawnmower so he can help Daddy out in the yard.

A giant puzzle.

Legos, a book, and "The Lion King."

Which he held to us chest and, swaying back and forth, said, "I so, so love it!"

From that point on nothing else mattered except for the promised movie night with "popcorn!"  Which is exactly how we ended our day.

We're so proud of our little guy and all that he's become these past 3 years.  And we eagerly anticipate the many years to come.  Jack, I "so, so love" being your mom!

Bringing Home Baby

This post is brought to you by my left hand, as my right hand is currently cradling the sweetest little lump of baby girlness you've ever seen.  I love that I can hold all of her with just one hand.  And if I angle my back just right, she can perfectly rest on my chest with no hands.  Which means I can get loads of things done ... as long as they don't require moving at the torso.

Photo Credit: Uncle Micah

But I'm not complaining.  This phase is so short-lived, so fleeting.  I want to soak up every bit of snuggly, sleepy, brand new baby-ism she has to offer.  And since she's already gained 11 ounces this week and is stretching out her newborn clothes, it doesn't appear that this one-handed chest-snoozing is going to last very much longer.

Five hours old and happy as a lark!

But back to where I left off, exactly one week ago today.  We got home a little after 5:30am and made sure we made enough noise coming in the house to "accidentally" wake up Marmie and Poppa.  Jon was exhausted and ready for a nap.  But after a long night of labor I was ready for some breakfast.  So I chowed down some oatmeal while Julia got passed around and Jon shared his version of the birth story, which continues to get more and more funny as the days go by.

Poor Jon, it was a rough night!

I think my favorite aspect of using a birth center is that you are allowed to leave so soon.  I know many mamas like to stay in the hospital and relax, but I'm just not one of them.  I hated staying in the hospital when I had my two boys.  Being able to spend our first night as a family of five in our own beds was so wonderful!  Nobody is waking me up every few hours and push on my gut, or check my blood pressure, or give me a cup of pills.  And the meals that Marmie has been cooking up in the kitchen are ten times better than any "celebration" meal the hospital serves.

Jon and I just got up from our nap.  This photo describes Jude's sentiments exactly (but more on that later).

Of course, being home so soon has its disadvantages too.  I couldn't figure out why I was so much more tired and uncomfortable this time around than in the past.  But then I would remember that I was still laying in a hospital bed at this point, with no little boys begging to be carried, no laundry baskets that I would forget I shouldn't be carrying, no steps to climb up and down.

Bright-eyed and busy-tailed.

The first few days were a little rough.  What they say about the after-pains is true: it definitely gets much worse with each baby.  The two days following Julia's birth felt very much like labor.  And with each "contraction" I'd get an intense pain in my hip that made it almost impossible to stand.  But by Day 3 things were much, much better.  And now a week later I feel almost completely normal, except for that whole just-got-punched-in-the-gut feeling.  But that is getting better too.

Photo Credit: Uncle Micah

A few hours after we got home we had to take Julia to a pediatrician.  Because I had tested positive for Group B Strep prior to delivery, and because there wasn't any time to give me antibiotics before she was born, Julia was at risk for contracting GBS as well.  The pediatrician wanted to take a blood sample to test for Strep, but after a horrific experience in which I ended up crying in the hall while Jon took over with the baby ... we decided to forego the blood draw and just watch for respiratory distress over the next few weeks.  It has me just a little nervous.  The chances of her actually having GBS are quite low, but enough to have me worrying over every little sigh, breath and long span of quiet from our tiny sweetie.  When she's not sleeping on my chest she's in her bassinet, an arm's length away.  And I spend a good portion of the night with my hand on her chest just to make sure she's breathing.  Perhaps I'm a little paranoid.

Unfortunately, the three kids and I all caught colds this week.  Actually, Jack ended up with croup on Wednesday night and had to be taken to the emergency room.  It was a little scary.  It was 10pm, I was nursing the baby, Marmie was holding a scared-awake-and-crying Jude and Jon was trying to calm a panicking Jack who woke up with a cough that quickly progressed to wheezing.  Soon he was having trouble getting his breath.  Two and a half hours, a breathing treatment and some steroids later he was home and we all were in bed.  But neither Jon nor I slept well that night.  Thankfully, Jude and Julia only have colds and we haven't had any more of this croup stuff in the house.  Poor Baby Girl though, less than a week old and already dealing with a snotty nose. And so in addition to listening for her every breath all night, Jon and I also got to spend an entire evening sucking out her teeny, tiny nostrils and checking on her every cough and sneeze.

Photo Credit: Uncle Micah

Other than the cold and GBS she's just perfect.  She's my best nurser and best burper so far.  And while she started out more like a Jack than a Jude when it comes to night-time sleep, things are progressively getting better.  For the first few days Julia would only sleep if she was being held or nursed ... which meant some long nights for me and a sore back, neck, shoulders, arms, etc. for a few days.  But she's spent the past two nights sleeping soundly in her bassinet.  And while she is often up to eat every 2-3 hours, she's a fairly efficient eater.  Now if only my body could start regulating its temperature better and put an end to these crazy hot flashes, I (and my poor hubby) might start getting better sleep too!

So we are one week into this whole family of 5 thing and it's going really well... but we've also had lots of help.  I'm trying not to think about the fact that there are currently 4 (sometimes 5) adults doing what I will have to do by myself in a few days.  For now, I'm just enjoying the extra help and trying to take it easy.  We've been having loads of fun too though, taking full advantage of maternity and paternity leave.  But I'll save those stories and pictures for another time, when I get at least one hand free again.