flower power

Ed seems to really like flowers. Just about since they started blooming this year, Ed has been picking bouquets of flowers for his mama. It's sweet really. I get everything from dandelions to azeleas and some that I don't want to know from whose yard they were plucked.

G'parents Wisc. (well Ohio too) are in love with the azeleas we have this time of year and really just flowers in general. So when she came upon this display of petals, she wanted her grandchildren photographed. Unfortunately, they don't always cooperate. Ed went at first because Josie was otherwise occupied. Then Josie went and Eddie was not interested in going. Oh well.

I am still having difficulty recovering from when I overdid it last week, so I stayed home while the rest of the gang walked down the street for the photos, here's what they brought back.

Oh Shoot!

I am apt to utter the ocassional profanity and Dennis has been certain that I am going to utter something that we will hear like a broken record from Ed.

Turns out Den was the one Ed would repeat. Granted it wasn't the level of word that I use, but hearing your son imitate your inflection in saying 'Oh shoot' is pretty funny.
Other words Ed learned today were asparagus and garden. Although he is planting green beans in this picture with g'ma Wisc.

We (or they, as I reclined on the couch) planted the vegetable garden this year. We have 3 kinds of tomatos, 3 kinds of peppers, 2 kinds of lettuce, eggplant, green beans, and basil.
Here are a couple snaps of Josie. They are actually out of order, as she had her hand above her head until the flash went off and then made the face.
She had us up from just before 3am to eat and wouldn't fall asleep until 6:30am. Now she has slept all day and I'm a little worried about this evening...

One Speed Reader and One 3-week-old!

The relief pitchers have come to town in the form of g'parents Wisc. Eddie didn't seem as anxious about meeting them this time (he only sees them every 3 months compared with every month with g'parents Ohio). In fact, he had a pretty decent grin and began hauling out the animals right away.

Here's Ed mowing the lawn. Mostly he just likes to have the mower put on the grass, and doesn't usually mow the grass. We were trying really hard to get him to pose for a family photo--and we did get one shot where nobody has a goofy face and we're mostly looking towards the camera.

These other pictures are pretty self-explainatory. Josie was three weeks old yesterday, when these were taken. I know we've been busy and time flies when you have a toddler, but does it keep going at this rate?

Nothing new in an obvious way on Josie's development, but I'm sure all kinds of behind the scenes stuff is going on. She seems to recognize me and seems to calm down when it is apparent she is about to be fed. Eddie is doing well. G'parents Wisc. brought some loot for the kids and Ed pounced on a book with animals in Spanish and number flash cards. He read the book as fast as he could possibly talk, almost sounding like one long word of animals, as he pointed to and named each one. He then moved onto the flashcards, announcing the number and whatever picture was on the cards. He knows 1-7 reliably and after that it gets a little fuzzy. 8 is often 6, as is number 9. 10 and up are known as 1 and 0.

Cookie asks him questions in Spanish and he answers in English (and sometimes Spanish). Really wish he could continue this language development in elementary school.

When Feeling Good is a Bad Thing

G'parents Ohio came out for the weekend to help out and visit with the g'kids.

I thought it would be a great opportunity to do some shopping and get some stuff done. After my week of headaches, I was feeling great, virtually no pain, but I couldn't drive and hadn't really left the house much.

So I overdid it and wound up in the ER on Friday night. I'll spare the details, except to say that Josie got to try yet another drug and I had to sit around the house doing nothing all weekend. Most people and most times this would be a good thing, but when you are itching to do stuff and can't, it sure sucks. Guess I set myself back several days in recovery. Everything will apparently be fine.

I didn't really get any pictures of the g'parents with the kids, as we were too busy working them hard. Josie isn't doing much besides sleeping and eating and getting "loved" by her brother.

We bought Ed a little t-ball set and he loves it. Funny thing is that he uses the wrong end of the bat to hit the ball--he uses the smaller end and manages to nail the ball pretty nicely. In the picture, Den is showing him the correct end of the bat to use. Didn't matter how many times he showed Eddie, the boy still fliped the bat around the other direction.

The other picture is the coveted animals. Sometimes I think I should buy another set, lest something happen to these.

In this picture of Josie, you can see that she indeed has a larger nose than Eddie. Doctor says it takes babies about 4 months to get all their pooping mechanisms functioning properly. I found this interesting. She makes some great faces (and I don't mean the ones when she is trying to poop), the challenge is in catching these on camera. I'd love to get her eyelashes, but haven't figured out yet how to do that. Here she is stretching to wake up and let me know she is hungry.

2 week check up--growing like a weed

Eddie's buddy Eli's dad took both of them to the park on Saturday so we could have some time. Den says this photo looks like an album cover.
Cookie and Eddie started to work on a craft project--Eddie is putting glue on a shoebox. I must have taken too many pictures because Ed finally came running over to me and didn't want to finish the project.
So far it's been fine to be around all the time when Cookie is here, but I bet she'll be happy to have me go back to work.

Visited the Doctor today for Josie's 2 week check up. In a nutshell, she's doing great. She weighed in at a whopping 7.64 pounds, which is almost a full pound more than her birthweight. And we didn't even cheat by feeding her right before her weigh-in. By two weeks they want you to have regained your birthweight. Dr. was extremely pleased--based on our imprecise weighing at home, we thought she might be about 7.5 pounds, but they always seem to weigh more at home than at the Doctor's. This put her at about 25% for weight.

She had grown 1 and 1/3 inches in 2 weeks to measure 20 and 1/3 inch, which is 50th%. Her head is growing and measured 13.5 inches, for 25%. Doctor felt they were good measurements.

He reassured us that her big brother can be pretty rough with her and short of dropping her on her head on a tile floor, she should be okay. Ed has been great--extremely gentle, but sometimes I can't tell how hard he is squeezing a hand or foot, or how hard he is pushing on her head. She never protests, so I guess that will be my guide.

She's been getting a little gasey, so I'm crossing my fingers it's just something I need to alter with my diet. I just have to figure out what that would be causing her to be awake from 11pm -2am every night with a combination of gas and hunger pains.

2 weeks today

Thoughts and Observations:

She may be the 2nd child--but I still worry about whether she is breathing okay. Nurse described classic infant breathing that may seem odd in anyone except a newborn and Josie was a textbook description.

I always wonder if the force with which she poops could actually propel her across the room. I'd forgotten that part. Josie is kind enough to save her propulsion poops for the middle of the night, when the light is low and Den is groggy.

When you get really close to a sleeping baby and then use the flash on your camera, they do startle. I have a friend who will take flash pictures of her kids when they are asleep. She clearly has never had a baby who didn't sleep well.

We're 2 calendar weeks past her birthday. She tracks objects and has a definite preference for turning her head to the left.

She can squeal like a pig--don't remember Eddie making those noises.

Ed seems very protective of her and thinks she has some cool toys. He especially likes her activity mat (that used to be his) and tried to climb through the tunnel of toys on his belly. We didn't get the camera out in time to catch this latest game.

I'd forgotten about the timing issue when trying to shower with an infant. I kept thinking she was going to wake and so held off, and now I 'KNOW' she is going to wake any minute, so 1.5 hours later, still no shower. This is why you are supposed to feel accomplished if you are showered, dressed, and fed and the infant is alive and well when your spouse gets home from work.

Ed continues to be doing well and adjusting to life with his baby sister. I was reading him a book yesterday and there was a page where you are to count the ducks. Under the wing of each duck is a number and they are not in sequential order. He lifted the flap of each wing and announced the correct number, 1 through 6. I am continually amazed at what he learns.

He is learning his manners in both English and Spanish--with please, thank you, etc. He sings (with loose interpretation) the ABC song.

One of the biggest changes for us has been how huge Eddie seems when compared to his sister. Before she was born, he just seemed like a regular toddler, but now he seems positively huge to us. He's about 26.5 pounds, which I understand is pretty standard.

Week in Review Part 2

I know I'm posting a lot of pictures, but assume the g'parents are eating it up.

Josie is now 10 days old and tomorrow (Sat) we will have been home from the hospital for a week (!).

Eddie seems to love saying 'Baby Josephine' and has pretty darn good pronounciation when he does. He often asks to touch her and at night say good night to her. Today we were playing a game where he says one of our names (or his) and we take turns say someone else's. So "Eddie"/ "Mommy"/ "Daddy"/ "G'pa" and today Ed through in "Baby Josephine". Melted us.

He likes picking flowers from around the yard. The swing picture cracks me up--he is in a blue coat, with a blue fleece, in a blue swing, with blue shoes, 2 blue balls, and blue socks. I think it's safe to say blue is his favorite color.

This other picture was taken tonight after Ed asked specifically to hold baby Josephine. Now how could we pass that up?

Today we took Josie to the doctor because she had lime green gunk in her eyes. Now I have heard of yellow or brown gunk from blocked tear ducks, but lime green (!). Dr. gave us an antibiotic and said she looked fine otherwise.

From just about day one Josie has been good about holding her own head up on ocassion. Well, it's 10pm and I"m crashing...
Till I have more pictures...

Week in review --Part 1 of 2

We can't get over the similarities between Eddie and Josephine. This is a stretch Ed did that I never could seem to capture and the photo below was one of my favorites of him--only this is Josie.

We managed her first bath at home this week. I'd forgotten how wobbly an infant head can be. Had planned to take more pictures but spent a good deal of time helping Den keep her head out of the water. Cookie and Eddie looked on, Ed oftentimes horrified when she cried. He genuinesly seems very upset when she cries as if he doesn't understand why we would let her cry or why she would be crying. Guess this is a really good sign.

Oddly, she had virtually no reacation when we first put her in. It was when we started putting water all over her that she kind of freaked. Hard to transition from bathing a 2 year old to a 8 day old.

I know I'm jynxing myself, but Eddie has been FANTASTIC with Josie. Today he asked to hold her and then at bedtime has to give her a kiss and a hug. We just about fell over. When I'm feeding her, he just wants to stand next to me on the couch and touch my neck, like he often does. He'll touch her face, or hair, or whatever.

Here Den is giving her very first bottle (if you don't count the one she was erronously given in the hospital nursery by a tech who was trying to be helpful). She took the first, but not subsequent bottles. Why, you might ask were we giving her a bottle so early--and one filled with 1/2 formula and 1/2 breastmilk? Why Valium of course.

To make a potentially long story shorter, I had some form of a headache from mirgraine to sharp piercing pain from Sat. through Thurs. These were accompanied by neck, shoulder, and upper back pain that together left me with a very limited range of motion and in intense pain. 4-5 doctors later we had ruled out things such as leaking spinal fluid from the spinal I was given for the c-section, and post partum pre-eclampsia. In the end, was likely due to a whole host of issues that compounded and got worse with each passing day to the point that I was basically unable to function. The valium worked wonders. The flexeril did nothing and the massage I got on Thurs. helped so much I'm going back next week for another.

So...after the nurses at the peds office were freaked about me taking Valium and nursing, I decided we'd better try some alternatives. Today talked to the pediatrician to find that Valium is fine, as long as I don't plan to take it for the next 6 months.

She's Got Personality

I've got two other posts that are below the 'it's a girl' post that are hospital pictures in case anyone is clamoring for more photos.

Den is getting Josie dressed to go home from the hospital and she is sticking her tongue out at me. She does that a lot.

Her feet seem so large and her fingers and toes seem exceedingly long. She looks like she's already well on her way to fitting into my size 5s. I had to get a photo.

On Saturday, the day we brought her home, the nurse came in and perkily told us that her umbilical cord had fallen off (they leave a certain amount on after they tie it off so they can attach what I affectionally refer to as the anti-theft device). Usually it takes at least a little while for the cord to fall off after you get home from the hospital. The anti-theft device is an electronic sensor that when someone gets too close to the exit doors of the ward major sirens, alarms and excitement happens, with nurses flying around.

Well, low and behold, the alarm went off, and we had a nurse come burst into our room, just as I was getting ready for my shower to make sure our baby was okay. Over the next 20 minutes the alarm kept going off about once/minute.

Finally they deduced that I had rolled the bassinet to a place in our room that was causing the alarm to activiate. They had Dennis, Josie, and a nurse escort them down the hall, passing the security guards stationed at all the doors. Good to know they are serious about this kind of thing.

Like with Eddie, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but Josie has been a very mellow baby (could be all the drugs I've been taking, but I'll save that for another post). She sleeps during the day in the living room while Eddie actively (and I do mean actively) plays with all his loudest toys. She is a reasonably good sleeper, ususally going 3 hours at a time, which a change from Ed's hourly sleep cycles.

She is incredibly quiet. Sometimes we forget where she is--bassinet, bouncy chair, etc. One of the nurses suspects she sucked her thumb/fingers in utereo because she continues that today. Little smiles creep out the corner of her mouth, typically when her eyes are closed. When she is alert and awake, her eyes dart around, taking in the blurry forms around her. She's a great baby!

It's a Girl!

Josephine Lois, born Tuesday, April 3, 2007 at 8:55AM. Weighed in at 6 pounds, 10.8 ounces and measured 19 inches long (Ed was 7.97 pounds, 20 inches).

The night before, Den and I had guessed she might weigh about 6.5 pounds and I'd been thinking lately it was a girl--maybe we should head to Vegas?

Just like it took a while to get accustomed to Eddie, it took a while to realize we'd had a girl. We kept saying 'he'. However, diaper changes cleared that right up. I maintain that a boy's diaper is easier to change, but when they are this small and don't want to stretch their legs out, either can be a challenge.

More posts (and pictures to follow).

Life in the Maternity Ward

Everyone speaks disparingly about hospital food. I had encountered many good meals during my stays for the births of Eddie and Josie. This by far was worst. Someone had written 'vegetarian' on our menu and we thought it was an option one could chose. Unfortunately, we wound up with what could losely be termed a veggie burger. I tried to eat it, but just couldn't. Other than a couple disappointing parts of meals, I ate pretty well.

Some of the things I will miss include: (although some are sarcastic, some I really will miss).

1. 2 medical staff at your beck and call (with their direct lines even)
2. The nursery--on demind childcare
3. The TV remote. One button does it all, including calling the nurses station. Imagine my surprise when trying to turn off the TV, I had been pressing the nurse call button.
4.Responsiveness of the nurses when you use the on call button.
5. G'parents to help with baby Josie and her brother.
6. Eating meals with Ed
7. While I came with a couple thngs, there being no expectation of chores to do--except get well and pace the halls.
8. The hospital gowns, really a bathrobe was a plus.
9. Knowing my vital signs every day, several times a day
10. The constant stream of doctors and nurses that wander though mostly in a short period of time. It's like a revolving door. At some points, there will be a line of people waiting to talk with you, poke and prod. You're a prisioner in your room because you don't want to miss the morning rounds.

Couple things we learned about the OB ward:
1. Nice to have several nurses available when you try trimming babies' nails and instead "shorten" her finger.
2. Even though they given you extra pillows, bring yours from home.

Meeting Josie

G'pa Ohio came out on Monday to hang with Eddie while we had the surgery on Tuesday. He spent the WHOLE day with Ed, then G'ma Ohio flew in after classes on Wed.

During their initial visit on Wed., I was still taking two Percocet and being as small as I am, its effects can be pretty comical. I fall asleep mid-sentence and combine subconscious thoughts that happen to float through with the conversation I am currently having. I think at first it's funny and after answering the same question multiple times, gets annoying.

Apparently this gave G'ma Ohio some pause.

We can't get over how similar Josie is to Ed--the same stretches and expressions--we even have some pictures from Ed when he was a newborn in the hospital where you can't tell the difference between the 2 of them. Someday I'll find and post. So far anyway, Josie is just as mellow as Eddie, including when he manhandles her.

I had really debated about the right time for Ed to visit--or even if he should visit at all. In the end, he came on Thurs, once I was down to one Percocet (still quite talkative with that one dose). Getting a hosptial room prepared for a 2 year old was interesting, as there is a general lack of places to stash stuff, but we chuckled to ourselves as we spun the bassinet around so Eddie wouldn't see all the diapers and other temptations, cleared the bedside table and removed all possible diversions. Cookie and the g'parents came. This first picture is from that visit. We tried to downplay the baby, and had her in her bassinet when he arrived and I got out of my hospital garb, as comfortable as it is to have that breeze from behind.

Once we did pick up the baby for others to hold and then have Eddie meet, he wanted to see her up close, pointing out all her body parts, and grabbing at her. It was kind of funny, but he responded really well to her. Ultimately tho', he requested, 'baby back in bed' and we complied.

These last two pictures are of Eddie when he came to visit on Friday. He helped Mom eat her lunch and then at dinner, he came prepared with a bib and a little of his own food. I don't know which picture will show up on top, but the one of him holding Josie really surprised me.

I didn't think he'd really want to hold her and be so happy about it. She looks a little funny in her positioning, but I sure wasn't going to step in and ruin the moment to adjust her head. Den and I are hovering on each side, ready for anything. He did great.

The other picture is when Ed came at lunch. He wanted some milk, so we gave him a washcloth for a bib. It became a game, with him wanting washclothes all over. He was so proud to be drinking from a cup.

I didn't realize how much I missed him until he came, and was happy he was able to come again that night.

I thought I lightened this picture of the 4 of us--hopefully it looks okay.

Happy Birthday Baby

This is the last you’re going to hear from me for a little while. Tomorrow we go in to have the baby. Assuming I don’t die during the birth (always a chance), I’ll write again when I’m still too sleep deprived to make much sense, but off the really good drugs that could result in some fun-to-read posts.

Took a couple last pictures of us as a family of three. Ed wanted to have his picture taken with his cats. After that, he wasn't much up for the photo ops.

He definitely knows something is up. He knows G'pa Ohio was coming today and that tomorrow mama and dada are going to the hospital to have a baby. He told Cookie we'd be having a baby duck, so he could be in for a bit of a surprise. Tonight when we read him stories, there was an airplane. He knows when dada goes away, he goes on an airplane, so he asked if mama was going on an airplane. I hope it didn't freak him out that I said I wasn't going on an airplane, because I would be closer.

So he definitely knows and comprehends I'm going away, which is good. We told him g'pa would be getting him when he woke up tomorrow. I'm so curious as to what his brain is thinking and processing.