Trying Not to FREAK OUT!

Doesn't our boy have the most fabulous smile? He really is a good looking kid.

What? Does he look a little swollen? That's because he is!

He was running to give the statue of Curious George a hug at Strong Museum and tripped and face planted into George instead. He cut his lip in several places and pushed two of his teeth back. Scott brought him home and we called the pediatrician. We were told to take him to the dentist. The problem is that the pediatric dentist at our practice was out of the office for the day. So, we got the distinct privilege of going to the emergency pediatric dentist at the hospital. That's another whole experience.

They took X-rays and basically scarred my son so that he will never willingly go to the dentist. Three different dentists looked at him (traumatizing him each time) only to tell us that they disagree, but that the decision was to not pull the tooth (thank goodness). They told us that, best case, the teeth will resume their original position and heal fine or, worst case, his front tooth will "fail" and eventually discolor and/or fall out. So, is it vain to want to know if there is such a thing as cosmetic dentistry for kids? I can't imagine my child walking around for years without a front tooth. I've seen kids like that...and I totally judged their parents. So, try not to gasp, but this was what Adam looked like before bed:


The dentist warned us that he will probably look worse tomorrow. Oh, and he also said that Adam had "an impressive hematoma" (you can't see that it is dark purple and really swollen on the underside of his upper lip). So, when you see us out and about, don't judge me. My child brushes his teeth, I don't put him to bed with a bottle of juice, we're not white trash. We just look that way.

Another Scottism

Remember when I found that Scott was researching "pork rind nutrition"? Well, when I sat down to his computer to check my e-mail, I found this. While it looks like heart attack waiting to happen, I have to admit I'm a little intrigued...

The Best Big Brother

I'll admit I was worried about how Adam would react to having a new baby in the house and, therefore, competition for his parent's time and attention. I am happy to report that, "so far, so good". He really doesn't see her as competition, more as a new plaything, or a pet. He loves to give her kisses and we will often find him with his head resting on her in a very sweet non-crushing way.

The other day he grabbed one of his books and said to me, "Share book, Jane?" I said that he could certainly share his book with Jane. He then took it to her, laid it on her and proceeded to "read" it to her.

Another "pro" of pumping that I didn't anticipate was that Adam can be an active participant in feeding his sister. This is an improvement from when I was nursing and he would try to crawl onto my lap while I was trying to feed Jane, not comfortable.

So, all in all, I'm happy with his adjustment to his new sister. He loves her dearly. And honestly? Who wouldn't:

Pumping vs. Nursing

As many of you know, I pumped exclusively with Adam from the time he was about three weeks until he was 8 months. Nursing does not come easily for me. You know you're in a tight spot when the lactation nurse, after looking at you breasts, says, "Hmm, this is going to be difficult."

Despite all that, I decided to give it the ol' college try with Jane, mostly because I like the idea of nursing. I love having her close to me, knowing that I'm all that she needs. It just seems natural to me. I've been thinking a lot about what's important and have come up with some lists. So here is my "pros" list of each pumping and nursing.

Nursing:
1. Convenience- It's there, it's the right temperature.
2. No bottles to wash.
3. Bonding and closeness (although this is negated when I'm in pain)
4. I am told that once they get the hang of it, it is pretty fast. I nursed Adam for 3 weeks and we never got to that point.

Pumping:
1. It's not painful
2. I know she's getting enough.
3. In a month I will only have to pump 3x/day to keep up with her.
4. I can spend time holding/snuggling her instead of both of us crying while she's trying to latch on.
5. Scott can feed her (he really likes to do this).
6. I can more easily leave her with others.

After considering all of the pros and cons, I made a decision. I decided to pump. I took a shower, put on a shirt (I'd been walking around topless for a week) and felt like a new person. I won't make the assumption that nursing is harder for me than for everyone else, but seriously pictures like this make me wonder:

Because, when I am nursing, my eyes are squeezed tight and my toes curled in pain. Oh, and when she's done nursing I have a nice blood blister to show for it (and don't give me the "latch" stuff, the lactation nurse said, "Yup, that's a good latch."). So, I guess I just needed to justify my decision to all of my friends who have been so supportive of me since I had Jane and started nursing. I didn't try it for 3 weeks like I said I would, but since I made the decision to pump, I have felt very peaceful about that decision. Feeding Jane is a joy and pumping isn't half bad either when you can play Settlers of Catan online:)

Oh, and sorry to Wade and Conrad and any other men who read this blog. I promise not to talk about breasts anymore.

Birth Announcement

We did one of these when we had Adam. I still pull his up occasionally to watch. Scott just finished Jane's . Enjoy...



In case you never saw Adam's, here is his as well:

We're Home!

We left the hospital at around 2 p.m. today. We could've stayed until Friday morning, but Jane was doing well and I was feeling good, so we decided to come home.

I fed Jane right before we left, so she was pretty content to be bundled in her carseat.

Our friend, Deborah was watching Adam for us and was ready with her camera when we walked in the door.

I was more than happy to cut off our hospital bands. I hate wearing them and Jane's legs were all scratched up from hers.
Deborah did an impromptu photo shoot of Jane's first day home. I think she got some winners...

Jane will be sleeping in our room until she's ready to share a room with her brother. Our friend, Suzy, gave us this bedside bassinnette when I had Adam and I love it. All the convenience of her sleeping in the bed with you, but you don't have to worry about squashing her.

Adam was very sweet with his new sister. It could have something to do with the fact that Jane had a package of fruit snacks in her bed to give him as a peace offering. Or it could just be that he's a sweetie. He kept getting really close to her face and saying "Hi Jane!"

My happy little family...

She's Here!

Jane arrived at 2:50 this morning (December 3rd). She made an abrupt entrance after only about 10 minutes of pushing! She weighed in at 7 pounds 14.6 ounces and 20.5 inches long. She has big, juicy cheeks and a head of fuzzy/curly dark hair.

She's a champion nurser. I fed her shortly after she was born and...

after a bath and a stay under the warmer, she promptly fell asleep for 5 hours. She then woke up, ate and is sleeping like the proverbial baby.

Look at these cheeks!

Non-Christmas Miracle, continued...

My water broke this morning at 4 a.m. We went into the doctor and after a non-stress test and much conferring, it was determined that I would go in to be induced tonight. I am not having any contractions on my own, so we'll go the Pitocin route again. Check back soon to meet Jane!

Not Yet!

I think my last post was a little confusing. I haven't had the baby yet. I was just sharing how excited I was that my body was actually progressing, unlike last time. Sorry if I gave any of you a false alarm!

A (Non) Christmas Miracle!!

Adam was two weeks late. I went into the hospital with absolutely no dilation or effacement. Luckily, I responded well to the induction. So, imagine my surprise when I found out at my appointment today that I am 1 1/4 cm dilated and measuring a little big (38 weeks at 36 weeks). I know women walk around dilated like this for months, but having never heard a doctor speak those words to me at a regular appointment, I was pretty stoked.

So, if you can't tell already, this blog will probably revolve around the condition of my cervix until this baby is born. If that bothers you, stay away 'til mid-December. If not, come back for weekly updates and phrases like "cervical mucus" and "stripped membranes". Never a dull moment...

*The title of this post refers to Jane's due date. If she came as late as Adam, she would be born on Christmas day. My doctor has assured me he won't let this happen.

Photo Contest

So, the website, www. 5minutesformom.com is having a photo contest. You just post your favorite "fun with food" photo to your blog and give them the link. If you win, you get a $500 grocery gift certificate. This is Adam on his 2/3rds birthday (8 months). He attacked the cake with vigor. I really miss the fat rolls on his arms...

Scott's Baby

So Scott woke up at about 3 a.m. Tuesday morning in immense pain. I woke up to the sound of him throwing up at about 4:30. Scott has a pretty high tolerance for pain, so when he was half screaming, "It really hurts!", we decided to go to the ER. Turns out Scott had a kidney stone. Several of the doctors commented that it is "the worst pain that there is" and compared it to childbirth. Seeing Scott writhe in pain, I'm inclined to believe them. It made me think of this episode of friends:

Thank You PBS Kids

So I was trying to check my e-mail when Adam dumped his alphabet puzzle in the hallway. He brought it to me and said, "fix it". Being the lazy the Mom that I am, I told him to bring me the pieces. He began bringing them to me one at a time...and naming them. My 19-month-old son knows 10 letters, completely unprompted. Just so you know, this is no reflection on my parenting. I have no idea where this boy came from. In case your curious, the letters he knows are z, s, t, o, b, p, f, x, e, a. As I was typing he just handed me the "q" while naming it. That's 11.

Halloween 2008: Part 2

On Thursday we went to get our pumpkin, Adam was pleased with his Dad's choice.

He was even more pleased with the chickens. He kept getting really close to the cage and screaming, "Hi chickens!"


We were close to a community Halloween party (not our community), so we decided to stop in and crash it. It wasn't great but Adam was entertained. We especially liked the musician playing childrens' songs. That is, until a gaggle of scantily clad 11 year-old girls showed up and started dancing provocatively. You may not think you could pole dance to "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain", but believe me, you can. You can see the girl to the right of me in the pink. Her skirt was extremely short and she was wearing black fishnet nylons. So seriously, what was she supposed to be? A whore?


I wouldn't have even noticed them except they stood right in front of Adam, so he couldn't see. Plus they danced like they were strippers at a bachelor party. The worst part of all of this is that one of the girls' mothers was taking pictures...like this was "cute" behavior. Grrrr...

Scott took this picture and I love it because it catches one of the many dirty looks I gave.

Halloween 2008: Part 1

We had a great Halloween week with lots of parties and activities for Adam. We started off with a pumpkin carving party at a friend's house. Adam really wanted a moon and stars on his pumpkin. It was only afterward that a friend informed me that it looked like a Turkish flag.



Adam got the hang of Trick-or-Treating pretty quickly. He knew to say "trick-or-treat" when the people showed up at the door with candy and "thank-you" after they put some in his bag. He insisted on opening the first sucker he got. At one point we thought we'd lost it...

Thank goodness for his furry monster costume.

We borrowed a couple of costumes this year so Adam had his pick every time we went to a party. He was a little afraid of the monster costume at first, so he was Kermit the Frog for the first couple of festivities.



Pretty dang cute, if you ask me.

"Bapes"

We went to Walmart a few weeks ago and I put grapes in the cart. Adam insisted on eating some as we shopped. By the time we got to the register he had probably eaten about half the bag. I told the check-out lady that he had eaten a lot of grapes and asked her to charge us accordingly. She just joked with Adam and said how cute he was. I'm sure that, had she realized the extent of our grape theft, we would have been escorted from the store by security.

Last week we went to Wegman's to shop and they have scales that allow you to weigh your produce and put a price sticker on it, which saves us from the deadly sin of greed, if not gluttony.


They also have these awesome shopping carts with little cars attached. So Adam had a fine time chillin' in his ride with his bag full of "bapes", as he calls them.

Elves

This little boy, D, is a friend of the family. Ever since he realized that he and Adam had matching pajamas, he has been trying to maneuver getting them to wear them at the same time.

He showed up to our house one night wearing the pajamas and I just so happened to be putting Adam in the same ones. He was thrilled. We had to snap a few pictures.

D has said that he hopes when Adam is older they can wrestle. He's really looking forward to that.

I have a feeling Adam will like that too.

Family Photos

Every year our church sponsors a "Spaghetti Dinner and Auction" to raise money for the Boy Scout Troop. This year we bought a photo shoot. Money well spent. We have some beautiful pictures of our family while we are still just "3"; although Jane does make some appearances. Thanks to Lisa for the great pictures!!





I specifically asked Lisa to get a picture of Adam's sneakers. These have replaced his boots as his "everyday wear" shoes. I just love how they capture his personality.


Don't be surprised if you see this next one in our Christmas card this year...





Here comes Jane! Ready...