Dear Callan -you're TWO!

Dear Callan-
This is of course late, but there originally was a good reason for it. Your birthday was last Monday, but we were supposed to have your party on Saturday (yesterday) and I was planning on including some pictures/anecdotes from it but, unfortunately we had to cancel because you came down with some bug that left you feverish and cranky. It's kind of funny because you rarely ever get sick and you did for your birthday party. Boo. 

Anyway, you're officially TWO. That's crazy. When you're not driving me completely crazy with your independence, you're actually really entertaining and it's been so fun to see the kind of person you're becoming. You're this whole little person full of personality and your own ideas about E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G! 

It still seems like yesterday you were this tiny peanut and now you're this kid that's funny, stubborn and so loving. This past year has brought about many changes -the biggest of course coming most recently with the arrival of your baby sister and seeing you with her and interacting with her reinforces how far you are from that peanut we first got to meet in 2011. 

Happy second birthday munchkin. You continually amaze me and prove that a person's love can continue to grow exponentially. I love you and can't wait to see what this next year has in store for us!

Love, 
Mama

Already a week

Wow, time has flown by. I really meant to post a birth announcement on here, but you know how things go (and my track record for posting in a timely manner is pretty poor)... but, I thought I'd give a quick update on how things went and how they've gone this past week.

I decided last Tuesday to go ahead with the scheduled induction and was given a 5:30 am call time for Wednesday, April 27th. So after putting Callan to bed and telling him when he woke up the next morning I would be gone to go get his baby sister, we went off to bed (after doing things like setting up the bassinet, packing a bag, etc. Nothing like waiting until the last minute). Huge and I got up and headed to the hospital before everyone was up, but it seems like many other people had headed there the night before as well and lots of babies were being born. After waiting for 2 hours, we were told we'd have to come back later that day once things quieted down. I guess having a non-emergency induction really bumps you to the end of the line! So off we went to grab some food and run some errands before baby #2 arrived. We finally got the call that afternoon and headed back to the hospital around 2. By 2:30 I was checked in, hooked up and ready to go. And then that's when the waiting happened... Getting induced is B-O-R-I-N-G! Huge took lots of naps and I caught up on facebook and emails. After a few hours of pitocin, I got an epidural as my doctor figured I'd progress pretty quickly after I got my bag of water broken. It was definitely a little odd to get the epidural before I needed it, but I wasn't going to chance not getting one in time. Unfortunately, that may have slowed down my labor a little bit. I was having pretty regular contractions before that and then once I had the epidural, they started to space out or become uneven. Speaking of uneven, I had absolutely no feeling in my right leg (and found out later that I had lots of it on my left side!). Anyway, after the contractions picked up and I got my epidural fixed we just waited until I was ready to push. At around 1:15 am, it was time and after a few minutes of pushing Nora Kensie was born -all 7 pounds, 8 ounces and 19 inches of her. 

And the first immediate thing we all said was, wow, she looks like Callan! Poor baby girl already has fallen into her big brother's shadow.
But I mean seriously, this is Nora:

And this is Callan. Clearly a strong family resemblance.

Callan came on Thursday to see her (and me) and the first thing he wanted to do was hold Nora and give her a big kiss. He's been unbelievably sweet to her. Of course, he was just as excited about the fries from the cafeteria that he got to eat at 10 am!

Unfortunately, Nora's stay at Prentice (Northwestern) wasn't as smooth as I'd have liked. She was fine during the day, but during that first night the nurses detected some breathing issues. They were finding that her oxygen levels were dropping and that she was having problems breathing. We had noticed that she was kind of wheezy, but were told that it was pretty common for babies that don't spend a lot of time in the birth canal to have excess amniotic fluid that isn't squeezed out, but it should clear on its own. Unfortunately after having a couple of desaturation episodes, she was admitted into the NICU for observation. As hard as it was to have her down there, I'm glad she was able to get the extra monitoring and care (the NICU nurses are fantastic. The post-partum nurses are too, but I just loved our NICU ones). After a few days (and an extra day at the hospital), it was determined that it is feeding related, so we just need to take extra care to watch her when she's eating and immediately after -make sure she burps properly and doesn't have too much reflux. It isn't the end of the world, but it makes those middle of the night feedings that much harder since we can't just lay her back down after she eats (thankfully she's a quick eater!) and we need to stay up with her for another 30-60 minutes after.

Other than that, things have been pretty smooth sailing. We are doing great. Physically I feel so much better than I remember the first time around (and I thought I had a really easy recovery then). Nursing has also been so much easier than last time and since we're not starving the baby she's been really content. My milk came in around day 2 (?) and Miss Nora has been a little piggy. She got discharged from NICU on Sunday and we had a pediatrician appointment on Monday and she had already surpassed her birth weight! With Callan it had taken him a couple weeks, but Nora was able to do it in just a couple of days.

I don't know if it's because we've already gone through this or if our expectations were lowered substantially, but (knock on wood) it really hasn't been too bad so far. I have also been really lucky to have Huge not travel for awhile. Huge's mom was also in town and she cleaned the house, organized and cooked and of course, Adelia has been an enormous help. I think it's helped Callan's transition as his routine stayed mostly in tact and he still gets that one-on-one time with her. Of course, it also helps that Callan pretty much loves on Nora all the time. He's already trying to teach her to high five, likes to rock and push her on the swing and of course always wants to hold her.

The sight of these two just melts my heart -there's just too much cuteness. I can't wait to watch them grow up together.

The End

I know you've all come here to see pictures of the new baby, but I'm tricking you in posting just another pregnancy update. This is odd because I'm almost 95% sure that this will be the last one I ever write. 

Weight: I gained 1 pound according to the doctor's scale. So overall this pregnancy I gained 42ish pounds, which compared to the 55 pounds last time, that's pretty amazing. And I started about 7-8 pounds lighter this time around too.

Maternity Clothes: I am waiting to put away these maternity clothes once and for all. I will say that wearing maternity clothes is pretty limiting and I would recommend opting to splurge a bit and buy some cute ones. Hindsight is 20/20.

Stretch marks/belly button: Same -No stretch marks and the belly button is still not permanently out.

Baby Movements: Lots of them. And she loves kicking my right ribs with her foot. It also feels like she's punching my pelvis at times, which is just as comfortable and lovely as that sounds.

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing. I'm getting heartburn again -mostly when I'm too full. But it's hard to prevent it because my appetite is so much smaller so the quantity of food I am able to consume is much less than I'm used to.

What I miss: Being able to stand on one foot! I have a lot of pelvic pressure and climbing in and out of bed (mostly Callan's) has proven to be challenging since standing on one foot straddling the bed rail is pretty painful.

Other: I am supposed to be getting induced today (actually as we speak), but I've been turned away! Well, not really, that was just my very dramatic way of saying that it hasn't happened yet. We got a nice early time

slot (5:30 AM) and at 7:30 they told us to go home. Sigh, now we're just waiting for a call back. What the heck, isn't the whole point of scheduling this so you know when it's going to happen? Guess not... maybe nature will take over and I'll have to go in and be admitted.

The (hopefully) last picture taken of the belly... this is what 40+ lbs looks like!

Dear Callan: Month 23

Dear Callan-

This month you are 23 months old. That means next month you turn TWO! What, the what? I still remember finding out I was pregnant with you like it was yesterday... and then you turning ONE just a hot minute ago. Sigh.

This month was just as amazing as the last. Although, let's be honest, you've got your toddler moments where you L-O-V-E to stomp your feet and scream, but when those pass you're back to your usual self. You are chatting up a storm (although, seriously, where are those sentences?!?) and you comprehend an amazing amount of stuff. You know your A-B-Cs and numbers (or as much as an almost 2 year old can), colors and you've started potty training. This is obviously all Adelia's doing, but I'll take credit for the genes :)

You LOVE the ipad, watching Elmo and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I know we need to get better about limiting your screen time, but I like to pretend it's "educational" and it sometimes gives mama a few minutes to get ready for work (when you've decided to start your day at 5 am!). You still love books (current favorites are Dr. Seuss' Cat and the Hat and One Fish, Two Fish, which are REALLY long to have as bedtime stories!) and your play kitchen (you especially like to "mix" and "flip"). You also learn lots of "tricks" during your day home with dad. He's teaching you "karate" and it is so flipping cute.

Your bedtime antics are still in full force, with some days being better than others, but at this point I figure you were just prepping us for the baby and you'll eventually (hopefully) go back to your good sleep ways.

Playing the '"lay-lee", one of your favorite things.

On one of your many McDonald's dates with Adelia.

Getting ready for baby -testing out the chair to make sure it's safe.

So happy eating breakfast.

And your favorite past time -BATH TIME!

What else? I'm not sure. This month has been kind of a blur. I can't believe you're almost TWO. This month is a special one as it is the last one as an only child. I know you're going to love being a big brother and you're already so excited to see/meet/hold your baby sister, but I also know that you're going to be a little mad at me since all my energy and focus won't be on you. You are such a mama's boy and I am by far and large your favorite person (although you never name me as your best friend when asked). But no matter what, no matter how you might feel, whether this week, next or in 10 years, you are always my number one little man and I will always love you to the moon and back. 

You are an amazing little man and I have loved every minute of being your mama.

Love,

Mama

Week 38 -the end (ish)

Weight: I didn't gain anything since last week and may have even lost a little. I haven't been super hungry recently, so other than the gallon of orange juice I've been drinking a week, I actually have a fairly normal diet.

Maternity Clothes: Yes and I am getting sick of them. I see all the cute clothes around me and I can't wait to dress like a normal person again.

Stretch marks/belly button: Same -No stretch marks, but the belly button threatens to pop out permanently. Right now it still wavers.

Baby Movements: She seems to have a decent amount of room in there or at least it seems that way based on her movements. Towards the end it's supposed to get less agitated, but she's still bouncing around.

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing new to report. Same as last week. My appetite has definitely diminished and I'm not having full out aversions, but something that sounded delicious to me a minute ago now is the furthest thing from what I want.

What I miss: Lying on my stomach! I've been lying in bed to read Callan's books and I gravitate towards lying on my stomach and that is a definite no go.

Other: The swelling seems to have calmed down a bit (probably helps that I'm not eating as much) and I've decided to become a sensible person and stop wearing heels. I'm still working (and commuting on the train), but those days are definitely numbered. We are actually contemplating an induction next Wednesday (when I would be 39 weeks). I technically am a good candidate since I've already started dilating and effacing (funnily enough, I'm at the same point I was last pregnancy. Between the last 2 appointments I didn't gain any weight and I didn't dilate any more, but I'm slightly more effaced --just like last time!) and I had pitocin last time so I know I won't have a crazy reaction to it. And it makes sense. We could get someone to come in and help for a bit, we wouldn't have to worry about Callan and Huge's work schedule is perfectly aligned as he'd be home for 2 weeks straight. So it seems like the best thing to do, but for some reason I'm really hesitating. Part of it is knowing that life as we know it is about to totally change (which, I get logically was going to happen anyway, but maybe knowing that there's a deadline now makes it different? Who knows -can you really reason with a pregnant lady?) or having to really acknowledge it's about to happen with a finite countdown -like this could be Callan's last week as an only child... The good news is technically I don't have to decide until next Tuesday, but in reality if this is going to happen we've got to decide a heck of a lot sooner so we can get our ducks in a row. And in other news, Huge is away again this weekend... Can a 9 month pregnant lady and an almost 2 year old assemble a crib and put together a baby's room on their own?!? haha. And if we schedule this induction is it going to be Murphy's law where the baby is going to come even earlier because I am having some serious Braxton-Hicks today!

Of course, here's today's picture... Don't be alarmed by the giant-ness!

Week 37 -full term (already?!?)

Wowsers, I'm full term already. How did that happen?

Weight: I've hit 40 lbs... I've always been an overachiever (at least when it comes to weight).

Maternity Clothes: Yup and the shirts are getting s-h-o-r-t. You'll see in the picture below that unless my pants have a full belly panel, there's a possibility of feeling a draft on the bottom of my belly. I'm still in my puffy coat though. Good thing I decided this was the last year for it because the zipper is getting tested on a daily basis.

 

Stretch marks/belly button: No stretch marks, but the belly button threatens to pop out permanently. Right now it still wavers.

 

Baby Movements: She has gotten into a nice comfy head down, spine out position (perfect for delivery). She's still pretty active and lots of kicks to the ribs.

 

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing new to report. Although my appetite has definitely diminished. I used to eat like a truck driver (or a high school football player), but recently I've had to remind myself to eat a proper meal (somehow I don't forget to eat my daily share of candy).

What I miss: I miss being able to walk briskly for long periods of time. Going to the store seems like a long trek. There's also lots of Braxton Hicks and pelvic pressure which make walking briskly somewhat challenging.

 

Other: We had our 36 week ultrasound, which confirmed baby G's head down position. She also was measuring at an estimated size of 6 lbs 11 oz (about 70th percentile). Interestingly enough, Callan was 6 lbs 8 oz at his growth ultrasound appointment (I also wore the same shirt in that week's picture and I'm definitely more giant this time around). It also looks like I've dropped and the swelling has started. It's not too terrible, but it's definitely starting. I'm also slightly dilated (almost 2cm) and slightly effaced (50%), which was again where I was last time around so we are right on track.