What's wrong with this picture??

A couple of weeks ago, I went into the kids' rooms to check on them before heading to bed like I do every night. Imagine my surprise when I opened Jacob's bedroom door and he was GONE.

Panic immediately set in as a million thoughts raced through my brain. His AC is still in the window so nobody came in through there....did someone seriously sneak past me downstairs and kidnap my child right under my nose....did he figure out how to get the child safety lock off the doorknob and escape himself.....and then I saw it. Do you see it?


Here....let me help:

That is my child sleeping UNDER his bed. He can barely squeeze under there and I don't know what his fascination is with being under the bed and not on it, but there have only been two nights the past two weeks that we have gone in to check on him and actually found him IN his bed and not UNDER it.

One Month!

Eli, you are one month old today!

We took you to the Pediatrician this afternoon for your one month visit and you are quite the growing boy! You weighed in at 9 lbs 9 oz and you are 21 inches long! You are wearing size 1 diapers and all of your newborn clothes are too small. It is time to pack them away and haul them off to Goodwill! Here are your stats and percentiles:

Weight: 9 lbs 9 oz 18%
Height: 20.9 inches 21%
Head: 38.0 cm 72%

We also saw your very first smile this morning and my heart just melted. You are growing up so quickly and I feel like the newborn days will be over in a flash. At night, after your big sister and big brother have gone to bed, I head up to our bedroom with you to snuggle until it is time to go to bed. I could lay with you on my chest all day long if I had the time.

I was finally able to wean off the pump when you were three weeks old and you are nursing exclusively now. You eat every 3 hours during the day with an occasional 4 hour gap. You are doing great at night and typically get up once between 2:30 and 5 AM to nurse depending on when you last ate before bed. A few nights you have even slept for almost 6 hours straight from 11 to 5!!

You don't seem to be a big fan of your swing or bouncy seat unless we put you in them when you are sound asleep, but you do love your PnP which is currently being used as a bassinet. You love to watch the animals and lounge on your Boppy Newborn Lounger. That was definitely a wise investment!

You also seem to love giving us the side eye:


I can't wait (but actually I can!) for your first birthday so that I can look back at all these pictures, like I did with Jacob and Grace, and see how much you've grown and changed over 12 months. Many people have said you looked like Jacob on the day you were born, but more and more people are starting to say they see me in you. I definitely think you will have brown eyes just like me. They seem to get darker every day!

We love you so much and Jacob and Grace adore you. When you cry they say, "It's okay, Baby Eli" and they tell everyone who asks that you are "Baby Eli". We're wondering if they will ever call you plain, old Eli. Grace likes to tell me she is "helping" and give you your pacifier and she has even helped bottle feed you a couple of times when I was pumping. Jacob loves to climb up on our bed when you are on there with me and put his head next to yours and say, "Awwwww". They both love to give you hugs and kisses all the time.

I know in a matter of minutes we will be celebrating your first birthday and I will wonder how the time flew by so fast so I am trying to soak up every second I have with you. We love you sweet boy!

Splash Pad

The Summer is quickly coming to a close and we are trying to squeeze in as many family activities as we can before school starts. Since I was an invalid all Summer long we didn't get to do as much as we did last year like the Aquarium or Sesame Place. We had hoped to squeeze in a quick trip to Storyland in NH since it's so close, but there is just too much on our plate these days.

Ian had an unexpected day off today so we headed out to our local Splash Pad at Nelson Park. Since we live in my hometown, I have so many childhood memories of this place. This particular park is where I played Youth Soccer.

The park was recently renovated and, unfortunately, my childhood soccer field is now a parking lot, but it was worth it for the amenities that they added. Besides the Splash Pad, they have also added covered benches, a walking path and better access to the beach. There are two playgrounds next to the Splash Pad, one for older kids and one for toddlers, and a snack bar that serves ice cream. There are also restrooms which always seem to come in handy with toddlers!

Jacob ran around screaming like a banshee the whole time we were there and trying to make friends. He goes right up to other kids, squats down in front of them and stares up at them smiling like, "Hey? Wanna be my friend? Let's go play!", but since he doesn't really talk yet most kids just look at him funny and walk away. Someday buddy....




Grace wasn't really into the fountains and preferred splashing in the puddles and following her brother around like a little puppy dog. This girl ADORES her big brother and I just hope they remain this close as they get older.

After the Splash Pad we sat at the picnic tables and decided to buy the kids an ice cream. This was their first experience with an ice cream since they have only really had bites of ours. Jacob isn't a big fan of sweets and proceeded to dump his on the sidewalk as soon as I handed it to him. That was $2.25 in the trash. Grace absolutely LOVED hers and devoured it. I am not sure if it was the ice cream itself or if it was the fact that it was a DORA ice cream bar, but she was covered from head to toe when she was done. Ian had to take her back to the fountains to wash it all off her legs!


We're hoping to squeeze a few more outings in before Fall like the Zoo and maybe another day at the Splash Pad if there is a warm day in September. Jacob goes back to school the 6th, but only goes Tuesday, Thursday and Friday so maybe we can catch a warm day on a Monday or Wednesday when all the other kids are back in school and it isn't as busy!

We're off to the Pediatrician tomorrow (AGAIN!) for Eli's one month appointment and flu shots for Jacob and Grace. With Jacob in Pre-K now, and a newborn in the house, I am not taking any chances this Winter! I can't wait to see how much Eli weighs and I know for a fact he is much bigger. His face is filling out and he is starting to get some chub on him! I will try and update tomorrow on how the appointment went. After that it is bracing for Hurricane Irene and hoping she misses us!

I leave you with a couple pics of Eli and one last pic of Jacob and Grace. Ignore the scabs on Eli's face. I cut his nails every few days, but when this kid is hungry he takes it out on his face!!!


First Bath:

"CHEESE!"

Transitioning

The verdict is in.

Going from two kids to three kids has been a much easier transition (for me) than going from one kid to two kids.

Maybe it is because when I had Grace I essentially had two babies. Jacob was 16 months old, but due to his extreme prematurity he was only 12.5 months adjusted when she was born. He wasn't walking or talking. He wasn't feeding himself or dressing himself. Even simple tasks like walking to the car involved me having to carry two kids separately out to the car and load them in. If I wanted to run into the store for just a gallon of milk I had to carry them simultaneously or drag out the double stroller and get them both loaded and unloaded.

I am not sure if I ever shared this story on here or not, but the first day I was home alone with Jacob and Grace we had to be at Grace's 2 week Pediatrician appointment. I was feeling on top of the world when I managed to get both kids dressed, out the door and to the office with 15 minutes to spare. Unfortunately, things didn't go as smoothly when we left the office. At the time, I was driving my Ford Escape which had an automatic starter (thankfully!). I had started the car before loading the kids and had the AC going full blast since it was the first week of August and 85 degrees. I loaded Grace in her infant seat, shut the door and walked around to put Jacob in on his side. The door was locked. I tried my driver's side door. Locked. Panic started to sink in as I realized I just locked my 2 week old infant in my car in the blazing hot sun of August. I ran in to the office (hysterical and in tears) and the doctor called 911. To make a long story short, the town's entire emergency response unit showed up (two cops, a fire truck and an ambulance) and the firefighter tried to reassure me that since the AC was on and Grace was sleeping soundly that she would be fine. Truth is, I wasn't even worried about her. I knew SHE was going to be fine. I, on the other hand, was anticipating an arrival from child services. Luckily, they never showed.....

Ironically, the first day home alone this time, with THREE kids, we coincidentally had a Pediatrician appointment for Grace and Eli. Hoping not to have a repeat performance I planned on bringing reinforcements. Ian arranged his schedule so he could be home to help me on Wednesday afternoon. Well, guess who called at 2:40 to let me know he was still 45 minutes away when he was supposed to be home at 3?! I hadn't even started getting kids up from naps and dressed because I thought I would have help so of course I was pretty sure this day was going to be an epic fail as well. Surprisingly, I managed to get all three kids up, dressed, give them a snack and we were out the door by 3:30. I met Ian somewhere halfway and he jumped in and we were off. We arrived 10 minutes early!! SUCCESS!!

Needless to say, this time around we are off to a better start! It is much easier when you have two walking, talking toddlers who are able to fetch you a diaper or a burp cloth when you need it. It helps when they can semi-dress themselves and feed themselves (when they aren't flinging applesauce off their spoons at each other). It also helps when they still nap for up to three hours a day giving me a break and a midday nap of my own (as long as Eli isn't due to eat).

The real test will come September 6th when Jacob goes back to preschool and I have to get three kids up, dressed, fed and out the door by 8:30 AM every morning. Especially with Winter coming, I am not looking forward to having to bundle the kids up twice a day, three days a week, but you do what you have to do. Right?

And because all blog posts without pictures are boring I give you Baby Eli via my camera phone:


I have so many pictures to upload and so many blog posts to write. Jacob and Grace are at really great ages right now and I have so many things I want to get down on paper (or computer screen) before I forget so hopefully I will get some blogging done this weekend.

Eli's Birth Story

I have to say that of all three of my pregnancies and births, Eli's was the most uneventful. Considering Jacob's dramatic entrance to this world and Grace's nightmare pregnancy and delivery this was a very welcome change.

Cesarean section deliveries are typically boring and uneventful, but it was so different to experience a hospital visit that was SCHEDULED and went smoothly with no complications. Eli's birth story deserves its own post so that someday I can reflect on just how blessed we are to have brought a baby into this world with so few difficulties.

My c-section was scheduled for July 26, 2011 @ 7:30 AM. We received a call the night before telling us to report to the BirthPlace at our local hospital bright and early at 5:30 AM. I had gone in the day before for pre-admission testing which consisted of blood work and a consult with the Anesthesiologist.

Our alarm went off at 4:30 AM and we threw together a few last minute things and packed the car as we waited for my mother-in-law to arrive to watch the kids. She arrived promptly at 5 AM and we were off! We reported to the BirthPlace where I changed into a gown and a nurse got my IV started. Once that was in place it was all a waiting game. Luckily, my OB was scheduled in her office at 9 AM that morning so I knew there would be no major delays seeing as they had to ship her off to the office. At 7:20 AM they came down to wheel me into the OR. Every time I have had a pregnancy procedure done (2 cerclages and 3 c-sections) the anxiety and anticipation of the surgery always get the best of me so I was feeling pretty nervous. I said a quick prayer that everything would go smoothly and that we would be meeting our healthy baby boy very soon.

They took Ian to the holding area where he dressed in his scrubs and I was wheeled into the OR to receive my spinal. The Anesthesiologist who did my spinal also did the spinal for my cerclage in March and he remembered me so we chatted about our kids (we both have three year old boys) and it helped to ease my mind during the whole process. After the spinal was done, they laid me down on the table and got to work. By the time they let Ian in to the OR we were well into the surgery. It was 7:50 AM. From there it is all a blur. It felt like seconds and just as Ian and I were debating how big he would be (I guessed 7.12 and he guessed 7.13) I heard Eli's first whimpers. I looked at Ian in disbelief. Was that our baby?! I couldn't believe he was already out! Then the wails started. If there was ever any question about his lung maturity it was very evident that his lungs were more than mature. He proceeded to scream at the top of his lungs the whole 10 minutes they cleaned him up. We were very blessed to have a very easy and uneventful pregnancy and delivery. My OB said my incision, which she repaired at my last delivery, held up beautifully and there were absolutely no issues whatsoever!


Eli James was born at 8:02 AM on 7/26/11 weighing 6 lbs 12 oz and 19.25 inches long. We were shocked he was so small! Eli was exactly 37 weeks and Grace was born at 36w3d and weighed 7 lb 7 oz. Typically, girls are more mature at birth, but the boys tend to be larger so we expected him to weigh as much if not more than Grace did. Looking back, it should've been obvious he wouldn't be as big as Grace since I only gained 25 pounds with Eli and I gained 43 pounds with Grace. I did have some MAJOR swelling with Grace and none with Eli so I just figured the weight difference was fluid, but apparently we just had a peanut this time around.

I have had some major latch issues with Eli due to his incredibly strong suck, but fortunately I am doing great with the pumping and I only had to supplement him once with 2 oz of formula in the hospital. I do, unfortunately, have mastitis from the cracking and bleeding that resulted from his bad latch, but so far I only have swollen lymph nodes. I did have Mastitis with Jacob about a month after he was born that resulted in a temperature of 102.5 for 4 days and feeling like I was on death's door so I will take swollen lymph nodes over that any day! Hopefully, it doesn't progress any further and my body will fight it off before I need to go on any medication. I am hoping to transition back to breastfeeding and wean from the pump in the next couple of days.

Other than that and the first night at home where he was up every.single.hour it has been smooth sailing. Last night was Eli's first 5 hour stretch from 11 PM to 4 AM at only 6 days old so I am definitely not complaining!

Eli is the perfect compliment to our family and Jacob and Grace have taken to him very nicely. Grace even helped me feed him a bottle today and they constantly hug, kiss and ask for him. I am hoping this is a trend that continues! God has blessed our family with another healthy baby and for that we are extremely grateful.