No babies were harmed...

...in the making of these photos. :) Yesterday L was 4 weeks old! Wow. Can't believe how the days are just flying by. We are really enjoying our newest addition. He seems to take everything in stride so far. Before he got too big to wear it, we decided to take pictures of he and big brother in their "I'm the Big Brother" & "I'm the Little Brother" t-shirts. You can't tell, but L really does like to be held by J. He gets oddly calm - MOST of the time!

Maybe not?

I think that "maybe" L was suffering from his first cold last week, but "maybe not." He got better and now the sniffles are back. In my EXPERT opinion I think it's all the crap in the air. I know, I know - according to the docs L is way too young to have allergies. So is it just a coincidence then that he is sneezing and has a stuffy nose when certain allergens are at their highest? (I think mold is super high right now, and it really bothers his big brother too.) J has suffered with allergies from a young age as well, and it doesn't help that we live in one of the worst places in the U.S. for allergies. I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

I also have lots of fun pictures from the first few days of L's life. Here is one of my favorites - L asleep on the floor with his two cousins - so peaceful.

Three Weeks Old & A Cold

Well, it didn't take long for L to get his first cold. And here I thought having a summer baby would eliminate the danger in him getting the sniffles this early! Unfortunately, he started sounding snarky Sunday evening, and by Monday night, he could not lay down in his cradle, even on his little incline b/c he couldn't breathe through his nose. :( I held him in my arms, propped up in bed for most of the night, and then my FAB Hubby decided to go in late to work so I could get a couple of hours of "real" sleep in the early a.m. hours. Luckily for us, this only lasted a couple of nights, and by Wed evening, he was back to sleeping in his cradle.

My pediatrician decided he wanted to see L to make sure he wasn't having any ear issues. So off to the pediatrician's office we went. Luckily, no ear infections (please don't let him have his daddy & big brother's ears!) Dr. H said it was just a basic cold - we could use saline in his nose and the bulb syringe to suction. Fun. They also weighed him again. This was exactly a week after his 2 week appt. He went from 7lbs 15ozs at 2 weeks to 8lbs 11ozs at 3 weeks. WHOA! Almost two whole pounds in his short three weeks of life. Guess I don't have to worry about him getting enough from his mama!

For fun, I found a picture of J that I took at the same point as one I took of L yesterday. They are both 3 weeks 1 day in these pictures. J's little face was definitely much rounder than L's is, but if this baby keeps gaining weight at this rate, he'll be catching up soon!




And here's another one of L from yesterday...b/c he looked so cute!

Projectile Poop Anyone?

Even though we think L looks a lot like his big brother J, there are other things that are much different this time around. Some good, some bad. I don't want to jinx the good by saying anything about them just yet, but we have had some laughs about some of the "bad" differences. Like projectile poop. We never knew poop could shoot out of a newborn's bottom with such force. And the distance...let's just say we're pretty impressed. Disgusted, but impressed. I can honestly say J never did this to us once in his life. Well, except for when he had Rotovirus, but he couldn't help himself. :(

On the 4th day of L's life, shortly after most of our guests had left for the day, L decided to fill his diaper with poop. Luckily, Hubby was still on point for diaper duty. I handed L to his dear ol' dad and off to the changing pad they went. As Hubby started wiping L's hiney, we could hear some toots coming out. All of the sudden, Hubby screamed. Yes, screamed. Not like a girl or anything, but loud enough that I thought he had either dropped the baby or L was hurt in some way. After my fingers and toes stopped tingling, I ran over to the changing table and found this --




Yes, that is baby poo on Daddy's shorts. AHHHHAHAHAHAHA! Luckily, Grammy & Papa were still around to witness this HYSTERICAL event. Hubby also had it on his hand and arm. We could not stop laughing. Well, Hubby wasn't laughing, but the rest of us were. I did assist with some wipies - I even had to wipe it off the floor! It's amazing so much poo was in such a little baby.

Since this picture was taken, L has succeeded in pooping on both his mommy & daddy on a regular basis. Just when we think he is finished, and has filled not one, but two or three diapers with poo, he'll shoot some more out. It's a talent. He also likes to pee when the diaper comes off, so Grammy bought us "Wee Covers" to protect ourselves. They actually say "Tinkle, Tinkle Little Star" on them. Funny until the tinkle is on YOU!

First Bath

L was able to take his first "real" bath on Thursday evening. Very exciting. We decided to bathe both boys together to save some time, and it ended up being lots of fun. J was excited to help out with L's bath. And L wasn't sure about any of it - but barely cried so that was a good thing!

The last picture shows how L's hair curls when wet. We are curious to see if it will keep the curls as he gets older. J's hair is more of a frizzy curl...which is why we keep it so short. :P

New pics of the boys

Teaser pics from Robin Winkles photo shoot.

Well if all else fails, we got two great pictures!

We Survived...

...newborn photos. Barely. L decided to pee all over his cute outfit right before we headed out the door. I was so proud of myself too, because we were right on time. Until the pee incident. Sigh. So he ended up in the first onesie I could grab from the clean laundry pile. No big deal since most of the pictures were of him in either a diaper or the buff. Then, my little pill bug, who only cries when we change his diaper and occasionally when he is gassy, decided he needed to scream a little as soon as the photo session started. We had to take two nursing breaks and ended with a poopy diaper. At least for the last 15 minutes or so he was awake and content. I think our photographer was able to get some good shots - we'll find out in a few days.

The real stink of it all is that L's umbilical cord was still pretty attached during the photo shoot. No big deal - I'll just pick out pictures where it doesn't show for his birth announcement. Well, as I was getting him dressed to leave, I noticed it was hanging on by just one side. Great. AFTER the shoot is over it decides to come loose. And wouldn't you know it, not more than an hour after getting home, that darned little stub fell right off! AHHHHHH! Really, it couldn't have fallen off 3 hours earlier? His tummy looks so much cuter now. Hmph.


Another picture of the boys. Because I know you haven't seen enough yet. :) (Plus, this is L's "serious" look. Very funny, and he's made this face since day 1.)

L's Two Week Check Up

L will officially be two weeks old tomorrow, but since our beloved pediatrician does not work on Wednesday's, we had his two week check up today. At first, big brother J wasn't too sure about sharing "his doctor" with L, but finally decided it would be o.k.

First order of business, height and weight check. L is up 1/4 of an inch to 20 1/2 inches long, and up a WHOLE POUND to 7 lbs 15 ozs! No surprise...this kid likes to eat. Dr. H commented on how it didn't seem like L was missing any meals. LOL!

Of course, as soon as his diaper came off for the weight check, the pee-pee came out. J only peed on me twice the entire time he was a baby, no kidding. L pees or poops just about every time we take a diaper off of him. And he sure did mark his territory at the doctor's office today! Thank goodness Grammy drove in for the day to help out - I needed wipey assistance and of course, someone to make sure J wasn't getting into anything during the chaos. (Daddy went back to work yesterday AND is super sick today. He had to take himself to the doctor so he couldn't come with us.)

L got a clean bill of health from Dr. H and we will go back in a couple of weeks for his one month check. J had fun because not only did he get a sticker today, he also helped Dr. H with baby brother's exam. And took the opportunity to make mommy blush. When asked by Dr. H if J was feeding his baby brother pizza, J said, "Nope. Just milk." Dr. H said, "Are you sure? No chocolate milk or anything?" J said, "Nope, just regular milk from Mommy's chi-chi's!!!!" Dr. H didn't skip a beat, and just asked J another question. Guess he hears things like this all the time...but I am pretty sure I was a bright shade of red at that point! At least these fun comments from J will give me more to blog about!

Here we are after our big outing to the doctor's office. Do we have cute boys or what? I'm so in love!



And here is sweet L, very, very sleepy after his big day. Luckily, he only got a heel stick today for a blood draw. No shots until next time.

The Sixth Element

So I am sure many of you remember the movie with Bruce Willis called "The Fifth Element." Well, the morning after L was born, he was hooked up to some lights that made us think of that movie! We noticed early that morning (July 3rd) that L was looking mighty yellow. No surprise. We had been down this road with J. One of the pediatricians came over and ordered bloodwork to test his bilirubin levels. We weren't too worried. With J, we just took a biliblanket home and had to keep it on him for the first week or so of his life. Easy breezy. Not the case here. The nurse came into our room around 11 a.m., said his bilirubin levels were way too high for a baby that wasn't even 24 hours old yet, and proceeded to take him out of my arms and tell us he had to be put under light therapy in the nursery. It all happened so quickly. And honestly, with a little more urgency than J's situation, so it did make our heads spin a little. JMcD and I headed down to the nursery with L - watched as they put him in a warming bed under blue stadium-like lights and attached the alien eye-protection contraption to his head. For the next couple of hours, JMcD and I took turns sitting with L in the nursery, until one nurse walked in, saw us standing there by his bed and said, "You know we can put that bed and the lights in your room?" WHAT? Yes, please, now. By 3 p.m. JMcD had completely rearranged our teeny tiny post-partum room so the nurses could wheel the whole bed, bililights, etc., down and put L in our room. What a WONDERFUL thing! Of course, we had to leave L in the bed except for a feeding every 2-3 hours, but having him in the room with us was what mattered most. And the super-duper new stadium bililights they used made his levels drop enough that we were able to take him home the next day. Whew - we were so ready to leave the hospital and get home to an anxious big brother!

Free hands = another post

Since Hubby is heading back to work tomorrow, he is soaking up some snuggle time with L right now. Perfect time to pop back on and share some more pictures...especially since I am SURE this week will be an adjustment and I doubt I'll have much free time during the day when I am home alone with both boys. So don't be surprised if you check back in and I haven't been on here for a few days.

This picture is one of the MANY we have taken of J holding L. He is so proud of his little brother. He ignores him a lot, don't get me wrong, but asks to hold him at least 5 or 6 times a day. You will see MANY pictures like this here. I apologize in advance if they get repetitive.

So after a slow morning and getting the boys out of their pajamas, we actually went on a family outing on Friday. We had not had a great night, but I was at my "cabin-fever" breaking point. I think because the recovery has been easier for me this time around, I have been much more anxious to be out and about. Plus, my body was starving for some sunshine. I knew that I was still tired, so didn't want to overdo it. The logical choice - Target. :) We loaded the boys up and off we went. J was so excited because it was the first time all four of us were together in the car. We only shopped for about 45 minutes, and L was covered by his carseat shade AND stroller shade so no one could even see him at the store. (Eliminates the urge for strangers to pinch a cheek or touch his hands. WHY DO PEOPLE TOUCH BABY'S HANDS??? Even people that I know. It drives me crazy. That's a whole other post.) L slept the whole time, J sat on his "jump seat" in the back of the stroller and I enjoyed stretching my legs. Of course, by the time we left, I was exhausted, but it felt good to get out. Here is L getting ready for his first big outing -

Our next outing will be going to the pediatrician on Tuesday for L's two week check-up (he'll actually be a day shy of two weeks, but his doc isn't in on Wednesday's). It will be nice to get out again, and J is looking forward to seeing Dr. H - especially since he knows he won't be getting any shots! I'm sure he'll still ask for a sticker though. :)

One final shot for the day. You can sort of get an idea of what L's hair looks like in this picture. It is long on the top in the middle, down past the tops of his ears on the sides and he is starting to rock a mullet in the back. Some of it appears darker than other spots, but overall, it's pretty blond. In fact, his eyebrows and eyelashes are so blond it's difficult to even see them in person. I am anxious to see what his hair will do over the next few months. J's kept getting lighter and lighter. If L's does the same, we may have a cotton-top!

Liam's Birth Day

Our sweet L&D nurse, Jamie, came in to wake Hubby and I up around 5 a.m. She did a quick check on my progress, and sadly, I had barely changed over night. Oh well, on to the pitocin. She told us she would be back to start it around 6 a.m., so we could take a quick shower and get "ready". I was so glad to take a shower. It was just what I need to calm my nerves, although I think the Ambien was still mellowing me out. :) At 6 a.m., Jamie came back, started the pitocin, and handed us off to our day L&D nurse, Dora. Within an hour, I could feel my contractions increasing in strength. I knew that longer I could wait for my epidural, the better, but also knew that Dr. Reich wanted me to have it to help keep me relaxed and to keep my heart from racing. Dr. Reich came in at 7:45 a.m. to check on me, and decided it was time to break my water. Yowzers! I don't really remember this with J, b/c I was in such hard labor when they did it, but this time. Let's just say it was NOT pleasant. It did help those contractions to ramp up even more though. By 9 a.m. the pain was getting to be enough that I figured I better play it safe and get my epidural. Here is the WONDERFUL anesthiologist that administered "Mr. Epidural" as I lovinginly refer to it:

Kinda ironic that a fellow preggo was helping to take the pain away. I loved her! She was super nice too. The relief was pretty much immediate, and from that point until about 1 p.m., I just slept off and on and enjoyed not feeling much of anything. Here is a picture to prove that I was feeling pretty darn good at this point!

Well, the joy of not feeling anything wore off around 1 p.m. when I started to feel the pressure. The nurse let me take little "hits" of more epi medicine but it didn't seem to do much at this point. I think it ended up being a blessing in disguise - at 2:30 p.m. I was 10 cm and ready to push. The nurse predicted it would take me 15 minutes to get L out. Ummm, wrong. Apparently, L was stuck behind my pelvic bone (playing hide-n-seek already, little toot) and so it took me almost 45 minutes to get him out. I hear I had a great L&D nurse at this time, Charlotte, even though I don't remember much about her (I think I had a total of 5 or 6 nurses by the time I left L&D!) Even though this part really hurt (sorry to those of you who have yet to experience this...just no way to sugar-coat it) it was over before I knew it and out popped this PERFECT, BEAUTIFUL baby boy!!!! It was everything my L&D with J wasn't - they couldn't put J on my tummy b/c he had a bowel movement in utero prior to birth so they had to whisk him away to check/clear his lungs. With L, they put him right on me, goo and all. Also, Hubby was able to cut L's cord - again, not possible with J. It was just a much calmer, less anxious situation. Here is the end result:

No, I'm not totally in the buff here...my gown was off my shoulders due to L's first nursing session. It does look a little National Geographic, but these are the very first pictures of J with his baby brother. The look on his face when he saw L for the first time was priceless. I know I had tears in my eyes and I'm sure Hubby did too.

LJM
Born July 2nd at 3:13 p.m.
6lbs 15ozs, 20 1/4 inches long

The Day Before

For now, the main focus of this blog will be our two boys. I am starting this blog from July 1st - the day before our family grew from three to four. It was an exciting day, since we knew L would be arriving in just 24 short hours. My OB decided that day she wanted us to check into the hospital that evening, to get me "ready" for the induction the next morning. The funny thing was that I was starting to contract on my own, and by the time JMcD and I checked into SMC that evening, I was dilating and effacing and was having contractions every 2-3 minutes! Luckily, they didn't hurt at that point, so instead of giving me any medicine, they decided to let me go on my own through the night, and gave me an Ambien to help me sleep. I loved that pill. I slept like a baby that night - looking back, I was probably so excited because I knew it would be my last night of solid sleep for a long, long time!

Here are some pictures from July 1st. I will come back and post more about the day of L's birth and photos from the blessed event. In the meantime, here we are with J, on his last day of being an only child, right before we left for the hospital --

YUMMMMM - my FAVORITE treat during this pregnancy - cupcakes! This batch was one I made myself about 3 days before our scheduled induction. I was nice enough to share with J. :) They were so yummy - think I need to go make some more.

And finally, here are a couple of pictures of me getting settled at the hospital the night of July 1st. It was SUCH a different experience going in and NOT being in hard, painful labor. I was so unaware of my surroundings and such when I got to the hospital to have J, that this time, it almost seemed like we were checking into a hotel. Of course, we left with the best souvenir of all!

It took long enough...

Well, I've been thinking about starting a blog for about 2 years now, and what better time than after a life changing event. In our case, that was the birth of our second sweet baby boy - LMcD. JMcD and I decided this would be a perfect way to keep in touch with family and friends without flooding email boxes with endless pictures of our two cutie pies. This way, you can just skip over the boring parts - but there shouldn't be too many of those, because we are such interesting people! And with a 3 year old in the house, there aren't too many calm moments. Let the blogfest begin!