Thursday, January 27, 2011
The Best $5 I've Ever Spent
Nate has been more into animals and animal sounds, so when I saw these farm animals in the $1 section at Target I knew we had to get some! He has had so much fun playing with them, moving them around and his favorite (as you can see in the 2nd video) lining them up and then knocking them down yelling "no, no, no!" I'm guessing this is something he's learned at school and I hope he's not terrorizing the other kids messing up their toys. But I can't really discipline him since he's just playing with himself.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Hands and Feet!
Nate's teachers love to do cute art with prints of his hands and feet. I still don't know how in the world they do it, but here are the two pieces he brought home this week. A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!
Cole is One Month Old!
It seems like Cole has been a part of our family for more than a month because he has transitioned in so seamlessly. Here are some highlights about him-
He weighs 9.5 pounds (from the doctor today, we were there checking on some reflux issues..more on that later).
He eats every 2-3 hours.
He wears size 1 diapers and newborn or smaller 0-3 month clothes.
He usually naps in his swing, but most of all likes to sleep on me. At night he sleeps in his bassinet and wakes every 3 hours to eat. However, after his 3:30/4 am feeding he has been very fussy and not wanting to go back to sleep. This along with some congestion/increased spitting up gave me reason to take him to the doctor today. We now have a prescription for Zantac and hopefully that will do the trick.
He still sleeps so much, so we haven't caught many glimpses of his personality. I have been trying harder to do his tummy time, and he can turn his head well from one side to the other. We still call him "floppy baby" though, since we were so used to Nate having real head control and core strength from birth. He does love to snuggle and we love that about him!
He weighs 9.5 pounds (from the doctor today, we were there checking on some reflux issues..more on that later).
He eats every 2-3 hours.
He wears size 1 diapers and newborn or smaller 0-3 month clothes.
He usually naps in his swing, but most of all likes to sleep on me. At night he sleeps in his bassinet and wakes every 3 hours to eat. However, after his 3:30/4 am feeding he has been very fussy and not wanting to go back to sleep. This along with some congestion/increased spitting up gave me reason to take him to the doctor today. We now have a prescription for Zantac and hopefully that will do the trick.
He still sleeps so much, so we haven't caught many glimpses of his personality. I have been trying harder to do his tummy time, and he can turn his head well from one side to the other. We still call him "floppy baby" though, since we were so used to Nate having real head control and core strength from birth. He does love to snuggle and we love that about him!
This modeling stuff is hard!
A Video featuring Nate and Cole
doing what they do best...Nate with a snotty face and mouth full of snacks and Cole napping away :-)
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Nate Update
Nate is 22 months old now! Crazy that he will be 2 in 2 months!
I really don't have any pictures from this month that aren't Christmas/snow related, so I thought I would post his silhouette. A childrens consignment store that I frequent often brought in a silhouette artist for a day and I jumped on the opportunity to take Nate. It was on a Tuesday (a school day) so I made a 5:00 appointment and prayed I wouldn't have to wake him up from his nap to make it. He did really well and did great playing with the puzzles and books she uses to keep them sitting still. It was also amazing to see how she just sat there and cut the silhouette by hand so quickly. I hope she comes back next year so I can get one of Cole. She does have a website and you can send her a picture to have one cut: http://www.silhouettesbylena.com/
Probably the only thing to note this month is that Nate's language skills are still developing. New words-- you can definitely tell what he loves from this list ;-)
Elmo, now pronounced properly
Barney
Woody
Mommy- no more mama. And for a while I thought he was just saying Barney.
Straw- for his beloved veggie straws
Bar- meaning a Nutragrain cereal bar
Cereal- sounds like "seer"
Apple- "pull"
He also still enjoys songs a lot. I forget that they sing at school and get surprised when I sing a song and he starts doing the hand motions and getting more excited...I don't sing that often. One of these is Wheels on the Bus. I wish I could see how much fun he has singing with his classmates.
So far Nate is being a great big brother. He pretty much ignores Cole, but will often say "baby" when he sees him. Some days (like today) I test him and bring Cole over to him and tell him to say hi. Today he laid a bunch of kisses and hugs on him and it was sooooo adorable. He really does love his little brother!
So far Nate is being a great big brother. He pretty much ignores Cole, but will often say "baby" when he sees him. Some days (like today) I test him and bring Cole over to him and tell him to say hi. Today he laid a bunch of kisses and hugs on him and it was sooooo adorable. He really does love his little brother!
Christmas 2010
The excitement surrounding Cole's birth led right into Christmas for us! It was fun to have a Christmas at home and to be able to have Nana, Papa and Aunt Lauren here too!
I had such fun dressing Cole up in fun little outfits! Since Nate was/is such a big boy, I don't think I could even find a "My First Christmas" outfit that would fit him last year!
We had the special privilege of attending our church's Christmas Eve Service. Each year our pastor holds the newest baby while he reads the Christmas story to the children. For weeks he kept telling me he really wanted me to have Cole in time (I believe the next youngest "baby" that would be able to attend was 7 months old). Even when I knew we had scheduled the induction I still wanted to play things by ear. But Cole was healthy and we were all feeling great and we didn't want to miss the opportunity to show off our sweet little guy to everyone!
We went home, opened up our Christmas jammies and then Santa's elves got to work on some assemblage :-)
On Christmas morning both of the boys slept in and the adults got to enjoy a leisurely breakfast...probably the last year of this happening.
Nate opened his stocking and was very excited about his "choo-choo" Thomas DVD and Buzz & Woody toys
We were able to snap a successful first family picture (half of Sammy included)
Nate received a play kitchen and a tricycle from Santa. And way too many gifts and toys from family. So much so that he wasn't able to open everything before he needed a nap!
We went home, opened up our Christmas jammies and then Santa's elves got to work on some assemblage :-)
On Christmas morning both of the boys slept in and the adults got to enjoy a leisurely breakfast...probably the last year of this happening.
Nate opened his stocking and was very excited about his "choo-choo" Thomas DVD and Buzz & Woody toys
We were able to snap a successful first family picture (half of Sammy included)
Cole just laid back and took everything in
I was able to capture a sweet moment with my boys
And then a very unsuccessful family picture!
We ended the day with a dinner of prime rib, twice baked potatoes, glazed carrots and salad...all while it was snowing!
Nate was able to play a little bit outside with Nana the next day, and I took Cole out for a minute to take a picture.
We had such a special Christmas...my very favorite that we have had!
Cole's Shower
I realized I never did a post on the fantastic baby shower that friends threw for me and Cole!
My good friend, Carla, who is an awesome hostess held the shower at her home with help from my other friends Jan and Rebecca. These awesome ladies are part of our church family and are really family to us here in Georgia. I know I can call on them for anything and cherish that so much.
We all thought it was a great idea to have a diaper shower, since I still have all of Nate's toys, clothes, etc. Here is the adorable invitation they came up with!
My good friend, Carla, who is an awesome hostess held the shower at her home with help from my other friends Jan and Rebecca. These awesome ladies are part of our church family and are really family to us here in Georgia. I know I can call on them for anything and cherish that so much.
Me with Jan, Rebecca and Carla
We all thought it was a great idea to have a diaper shower, since I still have all of Nate's toys, clothes, etc. Here is the adorable invitation they came up with!
(the invitation slid into the little "diaper"...too cute!)
I did receive a few non-diaper gifts, including this super cute onesie!
Snow Day!
I'm going to use this snow day to catch up on some blog posts!
We are covered in snow here (and a little ice too) and are enjoying being snowed in. Joel and Nate went out yesterday for a little fun in the snow. I need to get Nate's wardrobe a little more prepared with better gloves and boots, so they didn't stay out too long.
We are covered in snow here (and a little ice too) and are enjoying being snowed in. Joel and Nate went out yesterday for a little fun in the snow. I need to get Nate's wardrobe a little more prepared with better gloves and boots, so they didn't stay out too long.
Inside we're enjoying staying in our PJs, movies and snuggles on the couch!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Cole's Birth Story
So, I had scheduled my last OB appointment for Friday, Dec 17th. I was hoping to go in, get checked and have my induction scheduled for Monday. All that went as planned, except for when the doctor called over to L&D, they said they were all full on Monday! So we checked Sunday. Nope, full that day too! I jokingly asked if I just needed to go ahead over right then. Finally we found an "opening" on Saturday night- the next day!
On Saturday we took our last trip out as a family of three to Target and Costco for some last minute Christmas shopping. Nana and Papa Penny got in around lunchtime and we hung around the house for the afternoon. Our check-in time was 7pm, so we left around 6:15 and headed to the hospital.
We checked in and made it up to L&D. A nurse showed us to our room and said it might be a little while before they got to us, as they were putting someone in for a c-section and 2 women were close to delivering. So we settled in and relaxed for a bit...it was almost like being in a hotel!
Things really didn't get rolling until almost 11pm. A funny story here- one of the ladies that was delivering had been pushing for an hour and then put on the brakes demanding an epidural. Our nurse was covering her as well, so we had a fill in for a little bit- a hilarious woman who was French Canadian via Trinidad. She told us the story of the fully-dilated-epidural-woman and then encouraged me to go ahead and get my epidural since the anesthesiologist was already on the hall. So, I got my epidural before I even started the pitocin! I felt a little guilty, since I know a few moms who begged for epidurals and couldn't get them until a certain point.
When I was checked at 11, I was at 3cm. We tried to get some sleep, but that was hard with all the monitoring. I got rechecked at 4am I think and was still at 3cm. I started to freak a little bit, thinking maybe I got the epidural too soon, and hoping I wasn't stalled completely. When I was checked again at 7 or 8, I was still 3-4. I tried to stay calm, knowing that one way or another I just wanted to deliver a healthy baby. My nurse called the doctor and got the go ahead to up the pitocin. I really prayed that it would do the trick!
My doctor came at 11 to check me and break my water to get things going. I was 5-6 cm and she said it's normally 1cm per hour progression. So she left the hospital and Joel went out to get some lunch. I called Lauren, the photographer, to give her an update that it would be a few more hours. Then, I started to really feel the contractions and a lot of pressure. And hitting my epidural top-off button. I called Joel at 11:30 to make sure he was on his way back and he was in the elevator. I had him get the nurse when he got in because I was feeling like I needed to push. My nurse checked me at 11:30, and I was indeed completely dialated! Crazy! So she calls my doctor to come back and Joel calls the photographer. And I'm lying there, trying not to push! It was interesting to experience...with Nate I didn't feel ANYTHING.
My doctor got back and I started pushing at 12:30. Everyone took special care not to get my "pretty" gown dirty- but at 1:05, Cole Alexander was born and we enjoyed several minutes with him, before they took him to get cleaned up. It was wonderful and I can't wait to see more of the pictures Lauren captured of the birth--it will be so fun to see it again from a third party perspective!
On Saturday we took our last trip out as a family of three to Target and Costco for some last minute Christmas shopping. Nana and Papa Penny got in around lunchtime and we hung around the house for the afternoon. Our check-in time was 7pm, so we left around 6:15 and headed to the hospital.
One last picture of me and Nate as an only child!
We checked in and made it up to L&D. A nurse showed us to our room and said it might be a little while before they got to us, as they were putting someone in for a c-section and 2 women were close to delivering. So we settled in and relaxed for a bit...it was almost like being in a hotel!
Modeling my pretty delivery gown-a gift from Megan
Things really didn't get rolling until almost 11pm. A funny story here- one of the ladies that was delivering had been pushing for an hour and then put on the brakes demanding an epidural. Our nurse was covering her as well, so we had a fill in for a little bit- a hilarious woman who was French Canadian via Trinidad. She told us the story of the fully-dilated-epidural-woman and then encouraged me to go ahead and get my epidural since the anesthesiologist was already on the hall. So, I got my epidural before I even started the pitocin! I felt a little guilty, since I know a few moms who begged for epidurals and couldn't get them until a certain point.
When I was checked at 11, I was at 3cm. We tried to get some sleep, but that was hard with all the monitoring. I got rechecked at 4am I think and was still at 3cm. I started to freak a little bit, thinking maybe I got the epidural too soon, and hoping I wasn't stalled completely. When I was checked again at 7 or 8, I was still 3-4. I tried to stay calm, knowing that one way or another I just wanted to deliver a healthy baby. My nurse called the doctor and got the go ahead to up the pitocin. I really prayed that it would do the trick!
My doctor came at 11 to check me and break my water to get things going. I was 5-6 cm and she said it's normally 1cm per hour progression. So she left the hospital and Joel went out to get some lunch. I called Lauren, the photographer, to give her an update that it would be a few more hours. Then, I started to really feel the contractions and a lot of pressure. And hitting my epidural top-off button. I called Joel at 11:30 to make sure he was on his way back and he was in the elevator. I had him get the nurse when he got in because I was feeling like I needed to push. My nurse checked me at 11:30, and I was indeed completely dialated! Crazy! So she calls my doctor to come back and Joel calls the photographer. And I'm lying there, trying not to push! It was interesting to experience...with Nate I didn't feel ANYTHING.
My doctor got back and I started pushing at 12:30. Everyone took special care not to get my "pretty" gown dirty- but at 1:05, Cole Alexander was born and we enjoyed several minutes with him, before they took him to get cleaned up. It was wonderful and I can't wait to see more of the pictures Lauren captured of the birth--it will be so fun to see it again from a third party perspective!
Pregnancy/Baby Wish List
I love nothing more than to get my way and have things go exactly the way I want them. :-)
During my pregnancy with Cole, I made a mental wish list of how I wanted the pregnancy to be and preferred traits that Cole would have...and so far I've really gotten my way! Above all I really just wanted a healthy baby, but here are some things that were on my "list"
Pregnancy/Birth:
Gain the "normal" amount of weight: I ended up gaining 30 pounds. Much better than the 50+ pounds I gained with Nate.
Experience spontaneous labor: Although I had a scheduled induction, my hope was to really experience the excitement of going into labor. I didn't originally plan to have an induction, but when my due date was changed from Dec 18th to Dec 27th early in the pregnancy, I pushed for an induction so we could be sure to be home for Christmas. A few nights before the induction I could not go to sleep and thought I was maybe starting up labor. I ended up taking a bath to relax and that worked. It may have ended up being early labor, since I was actually contracting (without knowing it) when we started the induction.
Not feel (and look) like I was ran over by a truck for weeks after labor: I always see these women who look and feel fantastic after labor and really hoped that could happen for me. I guess the second time around you know a little more what to expect and how to take the time to brush your hair and put on makeup because you know it will make you feel a lot better. Gaining less weight probably helped with this. And knowing that a photographer was going to post pictures on the internet of me during/after labor. haha I have really felt great since Cole has arrived and look forward to getting my body back for myself after the last 3 years (~2 years of being pregnant and a whole year of struggling to get back to normal after Nate's birth).
Have a great nurse during my labor/birth: I was so happy with all of the nurses we had. With Nate we just had one, since I was laboring for less than 12 hours and didn't labor over a shift change. That nurse was an older Eastern European woman and while she was just fine, she wasn't someone I had much in common with. Since I labored overnight this time I had a few nurses at night, and then a new nurse that started at 7am and was with me through Cole's birth. You would have thought I handpicked her myself. She was 29, sweet as could be, laughed at my jokes and new how to reassure me with a pat on the leg and great coaching during pushing. And she hugged me and wished me luck when we moved to our postpartum room.
Cole:
A "little" baby: Nate was 8lb 7oz. He never seemed like a little baby to me. A few months ago a friend of mine had a little girl who was 7lb 7oz and I thought that was a perfect size, but definitely didn't think Cole would be that small...but he was 7lb 7oz!
A good eater: I never could get Nate to nurse and ended up pumping for 3 months. It was something I really wanted to experience and not have the added stress of pumping (cause I'm not sure I would be ok not being "fair" and just put Cole on formula.) Thankfully we had a great lactation consultant and Cole is eating like a champ!
No jaundice issues: We didn't escape this completely, but he only had 1 night in the bilibed and only 3 footpricks.
A snuggler: I think Nate was/is your typical independent first born. He always wanted to be sitting up, seeing what was going on. He wasn't a snuggler and screamed when I tried to wear him in a sling. Cole has been my little snuggle buddy and was happy as could be in the sling last night while we ate our New Year's Eve dinner. I hope Cole won't be too much of a momma's boy, but I'm enjoying it for now!
A good sleeper: Time will tell on this one, but for now Cole is doing two 4 hour stretches between feedings (roughly 3.25 hours of sleep) which I'm loving. Nate didn't sleep through the night til 5 months, so I'm hoping to beat that!
I know this probably sounds like a huge list of how I want Cole to be "better" than Nate. It is hard not to compare, but we love both of our boys so much. We look forward to them growing up together and enjoying their similarities and differences!
During my pregnancy with Cole, I made a mental wish list of how I wanted the pregnancy to be and preferred traits that Cole would have...and so far I've really gotten my way! Above all I really just wanted a healthy baby, but here are some things that were on my "list"
Pregnancy/Birth:
Gain the "normal" amount of weight: I ended up gaining 30 pounds. Much better than the 50+ pounds I gained with Nate.
Experience spontaneous labor: Although I had a scheduled induction, my hope was to really experience the excitement of going into labor. I didn't originally plan to have an induction, but when my due date was changed from Dec 18th to Dec 27th early in the pregnancy, I pushed for an induction so we could be sure to be home for Christmas. A few nights before the induction I could not go to sleep and thought I was maybe starting up labor. I ended up taking a bath to relax and that worked. It may have ended up being early labor, since I was actually contracting (without knowing it) when we started the induction.
Not feel (and look) like I was ran over by a truck for weeks after labor: I always see these women who look and feel fantastic after labor and really hoped that could happen for me. I guess the second time around you know a little more what to expect and how to take the time to brush your hair and put on makeup because you know it will make you feel a lot better. Gaining less weight probably helped with this. And knowing that a photographer was going to post pictures on the internet of me during/after labor. haha I have really felt great since Cole has arrived and look forward to getting my body back for myself after the last 3 years (~2 years of being pregnant and a whole year of struggling to get back to normal after Nate's birth).
Have a great nurse during my labor/birth: I was so happy with all of the nurses we had. With Nate we just had one, since I was laboring for less than 12 hours and didn't labor over a shift change. That nurse was an older Eastern European woman and while she was just fine, she wasn't someone I had much in common with. Since I labored overnight this time I had a few nurses at night, and then a new nurse that started at 7am and was with me through Cole's birth. You would have thought I handpicked her myself. She was 29, sweet as could be, laughed at my jokes and new how to reassure me with a pat on the leg and great coaching during pushing. And she hugged me and wished me luck when we moved to our postpartum room.
Cole:
A "little" baby: Nate was 8lb 7oz. He never seemed like a little baby to me. A few months ago a friend of mine had a little girl who was 7lb 7oz and I thought that was a perfect size, but definitely didn't think Cole would be that small...but he was 7lb 7oz!
A good eater: I never could get Nate to nurse and ended up pumping for 3 months. It was something I really wanted to experience and not have the added stress of pumping (cause I'm not sure I would be ok not being "fair" and just put Cole on formula.) Thankfully we had a great lactation consultant and Cole is eating like a champ!
No jaundice issues: We didn't escape this completely, but he only had 1 night in the bilibed and only 3 footpricks.
A snuggler: I think Nate was/is your typical independent first born. He always wanted to be sitting up, seeing what was going on. He wasn't a snuggler and screamed when I tried to wear him in a sling. Cole has been my little snuggle buddy and was happy as could be in the sling last night while we ate our New Year's Eve dinner. I hope Cole won't be too much of a momma's boy, but I'm enjoying it for now!
A good sleeper: Time will tell on this one, but for now Cole is doing two 4 hour stretches between feedings (roughly 3.25 hours of sleep) which I'm loving. Nate didn't sleep through the night til 5 months, so I'm hoping to beat that!
I know this probably sounds like a huge list of how I want Cole to be "better" than Nate. It is hard not to compare, but we love both of our boys so much. We look forward to them growing up together and enjoying their similarities and differences!
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