What A Friday Night Looks Like

That's "Mr. D Man" To You...

I was holding out on sharing these photos until Dylan's birth announcements were sent out in the mail.  I had a little photo shoot with Dylan and Daddy's tie.  They didn't turn out exactly how I wanted but I still think they're pretty cute.

This is the one we used on his birth announcement

 A bad day at the office

 Uncle Fuzz came to visit his 1st nephew

So far I've survived 3 days at home with 2U2 by myself.  We have a nice little routine going on.  I even ventured out to the grocery store with both kids on my own on our first day, talk about ambitious. :)  It went surprisingly well!  

Dylan is doing great.  Last night he slept from 10:00 PM until 3:00 AM.  Talk about a happy momma!  We've been getting him in bed by 10 each night and that seems to be giving me the longest stretch of sleep if I go to bed right after he does.  He sometimes takes up to an hour to get back to sleep in the middle of the night by the time I change his diaper, feed him and get him settled back in bed.  He doesn't really cry, he just does a lot of grunting/fussing.  He grunts...a lot!  He must get that from his Daddy. :)  After the first night feeding I can pretty much expect him to wake again in 3 hours.  I know there's a 3 week growth spurt coming up so we'll see how that impacts his sleep.

Marissa is learning so much.  She is really good at pointing out animals and objects in her books and flash cards.  We're still working on getting her to say and pronounce her words but she is so smart.  She also loves stacking and using her building blocks.  Danny thinks she will be good at math and science...she certainly doesn't get that from me, good thing she has a computer scientist for a father.  

I can't believe Dylan will be 3 weeks old tomorrow.  Time is flying by so fast!  I'm really enjoying being home with my babies.  I get to play with Marissa, get dinner ready for when Danny gets home, the chores are (mostly) all done by the time he gets here and we get to spend quality time together.  Life is good. 

"D Man"

I've been trying to get some nice newborn pictures of Dylan on my camera (it's no easy task).  I need to learn how to use my Photoshop elements to edit the pictures, but in the mean time, here's a few of our squishy, grunty baby.

2 Weeks

Dylan is 2 weeks old today.  We took him for a weight check this morning and he is gaining weight perfectly!  He was down to 7 pounds 11 ounces a few days after birth, which is totally normal (most babies lose up to 10% of their body weight the first few days).  Today he was up 5 ounces from his birth weight and now weighs 8 pounds 6 ounces!  That means nursing is going well and our little boy is growing. :-D

Happy 2 Weeks, Dylan!

Surviving: Day 12

We're still alive...

Overall I think we're adjusting well to life with two under two (2U2).  I think we're settling into a nice routine.  I know the real test will be when Danny goes back to work next Tuesday and I'm home with both kids on my own.  I think I've got it under control though.  See how I'm using the term "I think" a lot?  Well, that's because I know we will have our good and bad days and there will be days when I have no idea what I'm doing, all routine and order will go out the window and chaos will consume our home.

Life with 2U2 is going better than I thought it would be.  I'm not sure that Danny is cut out for staying at home though.  It's been nice to have the company and extra helping hands but I can tell this just isn't his thing.  He will readily admit it, too.  It's tough, I won't lie...but it's going well.  I'm beyond exhausted by the end of the day, Marissa tests our patience at times, but she really is doing great.

Here's a quick overview of what we're up to:

Marissa now has 8 teeth.  I counted and felt around today and she has 8.  5 on the top and 3 on the bottom with another about to poke through.

Marissa adores her baby brother.  She loves giving him kisses, bringing him a toy or his pacifier and today she patted him on his back while I was burping him.  Such a sweet big sis.

The first few nights home Dylan had his days and nights mixed up.  One night (I believe it was our 2nd night home) he was awake from 10 PM until 3 AM.  Ouch.  Needless to say there were naps in our future and we kept Dylan awake the following evening and he slept much better!  We tried keeping him in the PNP bassinet in our room but he wasn't having that so he wound up in our bed.  By our 3rd night home we put him in his crib and he slept much better.

Nursing is going well.  He eats every 2 hours during the day and is giving me solid 3-4 hour stretches at night. He is eating really well so I hope he is back up to his birth weight at his 2 week check up on Friday.  We will introduce a bottle around 3-4 weeks old and continue to offer one at least every other day in hopes of avoiding the bottle strike like Marissa had.  I don't want to introduce the bottle too soon and cause nipple confusion and I also don't want to hurt my supply by offering a bottle too early.  People always assume you can just pump and give a bottle but it's not that easy.  Your body works on a supply and demand system and the baby is the best way to stimulate more milk production.  It's especially important during growth spurts that baby nurses on demand, otherwise you may be looking at supply issues.

Dylan's cord fell off on his 11th day.

We spend most of our days in PJs.  I know this is a big taboo to some people but at this point I don't care.

We had our first family outing and it went surprisingly well.  We went to Costco, the mall and Target.  I wore Dylan in the Beco Butterfly II and Marissa was in the stroller or the cart while we shopped.  We were in town for about 5 hours total and there were no major melt downs while we were out.  I call that a success.  I know it won't always be that easy but it was nice to get out of the house for a little bit.

Dylan is a paci boy.  Marissa never really took to the pacifier but Dylan seems to enjoy it in spurts.

....but he may be a thumb sucker like his big sister...time will tell!

I ordered Dylan's birth announcements today.  I can't wait until they come in and I can get them in the mail. 

Well, it's been a long day.  Time to enjoy a Guinness and relax.

Dylan's Birth Story: Part II

The triage nurse came in and hooked me up to the monitors to start timing my contractions.  Unlike my experience with Marissa, the contractions were actually showing up.  She checked me for dilation and lo and behold I was already at 5 cm.  We were being admitted!

We got set up in our room around 11:40 AM and met our L&D nurses, Ruth and Gerald.  Ruth was a nurse in training and Gerald would be overseeing her during our stay.  I expressed to them that I would be going sans epidural and that I wanted to go as natural as possible, i.e. no Pitocin.  Ruth was a mother of 3 and said that she had two of her children without the epidural and that she would do everything she could to help me to go naturally.

Next comes the needles, hospitals love to poke and prod at you.  First they did a blood draw and then tried to insert my IV for my antibiotics since I was GBS +.  The nurses ohh’ed and ahh’d over my “beautiful” veins…then they blew two, yes, two of my veins.  Third time was the charm and they finally got a good stick.  I have lovely bruising on both of my arms from the failed attempts.  Ruth brought me a cherry popsicle for my trouble.  They are lucky that I was so nice during the whole process and remained calm even through contractions.

I labored while I waited for the Doctor to come in and see me.   Unfortunately, the Doctor had specific orders that I stay hooked up to the monitors and have my blood pressure checked periodically.  This meant that my mobility was limited.  I walked between the hospital bed and the bathroom for the next hour, which was all of 4 feet from each other.  After each contraction I had the urge to go to the bathroom so Danny would wheel my antibiotics over to the bathroom and help me get situated.  He was a great nurse.  The monitors went between picking up my contractions and then losing them and then back to picking them up.  For some reason my contractions just don’t like to be monitored. 

The Doctor finally came in to see me around 1:00 PM and he said I was still 5 cm dilated, which meant I had made no progress since we checked in at the hospital.  This was a bit discouraging considering how fast Marissa was born.  We decided to let him break my water to get things moving.  I was having contractions regularly without the help of Pitocin and I had my water broken with Marissa at 5 cm so I figured we might as well go forward with it.  At 1:04 PM he broke my water and said he would see me when we were ready to have a baby.

I knew my contractions were going to increase in intensity, the same as they had with Marissa.  I labored off and on in bed and in the bathroom for the next hour.  Danny put cool wash cloths on my forehead and spoon fed me ice chips.  Those were the best ice chips I’ve ever had; they had just the right size and consistency.  Not too hard and they crushed with little effort.  It had only been a little over an hour since my water had been broken but I was beginning to feel very, very uncomfortable.  The contractions were no longer bearable, they were coming one on top of the other and I was feeling a huge urge to push.  I was in transition but the nurses didn’t suspect it.  The nurses were hesitant to check me since I was GBS + and had only had one round of antibiotics.  Ruth checked me and sure enough I was 9 cm dilated.  She couldn’t believe it.  Apparently neither could Gerald because he stated that he wanted to confirm Ruth’s measurements (since she was in training) and within a matter of minutes I had gone to a full 10 cm.  Danny took a quick shot of the clock; it was 2:13 PM.  The nurses called the Doctor and began breaking down the bed, getting the warming table out and preparing for Dylan’s arrival.

The next 20 minutes we waited…and waited…and waited.  The nurses stood around watching me labor in pain knowing that I needed to push but the Doctor was nowhere to be found.  I wasn’t exactly pushing but I wasn’t exactly holding back the urge either.  Without the epidural I was able to feel every contraction and my body involuntarily would push with each contraction.  I could tell that Danny and the nurses felt completely helpless to me.  I went in and out of a lucid state.  I remember telling them that I couldn’t hold it anymore but they just stood there looking at me.  Danny reminded me to breathe and continued feeding me ice chips.  My body was on fire and I felt so constricted with all of the belts and monitors on me.  I ripped off my blood pressure cuff, I felt like it was suffocating me, though it was nowhere near my airway.  We insisted that the Doctor be called again and he finally decided to show up at 2:33 PM. 

The doctor was rough with me, I told him to be easy when checking me but he didn’t listen.  I was ready to push but I felt like it was so out of control compared to my pushing experience with Marissa.  The nurses didn’t count to 10 like they did with her, they just told me to push when I felt the urge.  So I pushed and pushed and pushed until I couldn’t anymore.  The contractions were so close together that I just had to stop and take a breath every once in a while.  Everyone kept saying he was right there and to keep pushing.  I was exhausted, I needed to catch my breath but they just kept telling me to push.  8 minutes after the Doctor entered the L&D room, Dylan Anderson was born at 2:41 PM.  He was covered in vernix, had long finger nails and started to cry immediately.  They laid him on my chest while the Doctor gave me one stitch for my 1^st degree tear.   Danny cut the cord and gave me a kiss and possibly wiped a tear from his eye.  It was over, I had done it and I had the sweetest, most handsome little boy to show for it.

The nurses weighed him and cleaned him up a bit then gave him right back to me to nurse.  They administered Pitocin to help me deliver the placenta and help my uterus to contract.  He weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce, 18.5 inches long.  He scored a 9 on his 1 and 5 minute Apgar tests.  He was an A+ student already!  Dylan nursed for the next 30 minutes and then we finally got to reunite with Marissa and get our first pictures of a family of 4 together.

Dylan had an even faster entrance into the world than his big sister.  Apparently when my water is broken my body goes into full on let’s get this baby into the world mode.  Ruth said that if we decide to have any more children, I should really warn my nurses that when I get to a really painful state, that means I’m in transition.  She had no idea that I was progressing so quickly, she said it was quite the experience to witness and was incredibly proud at how well I dealt with the pain. 

Danny did some Kangaroo care with Dylan to get his temperature up while mommy ordered some food. Priorities. :)

We’re settling in at home and we’ve survived our first week of two under two.  My recovery has been much easier than with Marissa, even though my recovery with Marissa wasn’t that bad.  I’m not sure that Danny will want any more children, but I’m not sure that I can go through another hospital birth.  The care is mediocre at best.  I’ve been blessed with great nurses but having to wait to push for both of my deliveries has left a bad taste in my mouth.  While I know that modern medicine has its place and purpose, I really want to explore other options should we decide that we want to expand our family again.  

Dylan's Birth Story: Part I

This story isn't complete but I want to start documenting Dylan's journey into the world before I forget...

Dylan wanted to make an early appearance into the world.  I had December 30^th in my mind for a few days, thinking it would be neat for Marissa and Dylan to be exactly 16 months apart, to the day.  I knew I wanted to get past Christmas before he made his arrival but I had accepted that he may come before the New Year.  I was okay with that, I could compromise Christmas for New Year’s.  Ultimately, I had no decision in the matter. 

Thursday was a normal day.  I went to work, came home and was busy doing my Thursday cleaning routine.  I vacuumed, dusted, did laundry, washed diapers, did some sewing, wrapped a few last minute presents for our 3^rd Christmas with Danny’s brother (that we ended up missing most of due to Dylan’s arrival) and I tidied up around the house, just trying to keep busy.  Jokingly, I posted on Facebook that Dylan could arrive anytime because the house was clean.  A few friends commented that it must be nesting, but Danny said it’s not called nesting when you’re OCD.  Anyone who knows me knows that I need order in my home and keeping things running smoothly is just a part of me keeping a little bit of sanity.

Around 10 PM I decided that I better get in bed.  I had work the next morning, though I brought my laptop home with me just in case I should need it.  Around 11 PM I woke to go to the bathroom and started to have noticeable cramps with some contractions.  I brushed it off and went back to bed.  For the next 4 hours I woke almost on the hour to use the bathroom and my cramps were increasingly making me more uncomfortable.  Each time I woke up I would tell Danny I thought something may be going on.  Half awake, he would mumble something barely coherent and would roll over to dismiss my uneasiness.  Finally, at 3 AM I decided I couldn’t take it anymore.  I hopped in the shower and felt a little relief from the hot water.  I got dressed and got back in bed.  I opened my handy contraction timer on my cell phone and started timing my contractions; they were coming between 4 and 7 minutes apart, lasting 45 seconds to a minute long.  I would fall asleep in between contractions and at one point my cell phone said I had a six minute contraction, I guess I forgot to stop the timer before falling back asleep. 

By 4 AM I was pretty certain that this was it, I knew I had to call my mom since she had a 2.5 hour drive ahead of her but I was going to feel guilty if I called her at 4 AM for a false alarm.  Instead, I sent her a text to let her know that we may be heading to the hospital in the morning.  Of course, she decided she would be on her way as soon as possible.  I went out to the couch in the living room, blogged, tried to keep my mind occupied and finally drifted off to sleep around 5 AM.  I didn’t wake until almost 7 AM when my mom arrived. 

At that time my contractions were coming and going anywhere between 3 minutes to 10 minutes apart.  I was afraid I may have called my mom too early.  They weren’t as intense as they were in the early morning.  Danny woke and was a bit confused as to why my mom was at our house at 7 in the morning.  I had told him that I called my mom but I guess he didn’t comprehend that in his sleep. 

For the next few hours we piddled around the house.  We fed Marissa breakfast, watched Mickey Mouse, folded diapers, made a grocery store list, went over Marissa’s routine and where we keep everything for her, Danny showered and I called my OB’s office to see what we should do.  I wanted to get an appointment to see the doctor before going to Labor & Delivery at the hospital, but they didn’t have any openings for the day and said I should go to L&D if I felt the need.  With Marissa I was induced at 41 weeks so I didn’t really know if I should be going to L&D or not.  My mom was pretty certain that we should go, better safe than sorry mentality, I suppose.

We left the house around 10 and I was having contractions along the way.  I knew the hospital wouldn’t let me eat so we stopped at McDonald’s for a quick bite.  I had a sausage and egg burrito, Danny got a chicken biscuit and a mocha latte.  We then checked in to the 3^rd floor of the hospital at the Labor & Delivery triage where we waited to be seen and await to see if we would be admitted or sent home. 

Dylan is waking up, more to come soon!