5.31.2012

Chunky Monkey

We had this little guy's two week check-up on Tuesday.
Apparently he's not such a little guy after all.  He was 21 inches long and weighed 8 pounds 10 ounces.  He was 20 inches and 7 pounds 5 ounces at birth.  The pediatrician said they expect babies his age to gain about an ounce a day and Jacob had gained about two ounces per day since his last check-up at five days old.  I knew he was a good nurser, but I had no idea just how good.  The pediatrician also told us that is probably why he spits up so much.  He nurses so efficiently that he doesn't realize he needs to stop eating.  That is all good to know since one of the hard parts of breastfeeding is always wondering if the baby is getting enough.  No worries here :)
Jacob is such a good baby and we are trying to soak up all of the newborn yumminess that we can while also getting into a routine.  We decided to stop giving him a paci in bed {we still use it when he's out of his bed if he's really fired up or if we're out in public} and have started letting Jacob cry it out.  We check on him after five, then ten, then fifteen minutes if needed.  So far {knock on wood} we've only had to go all the way to the fifteen minute point one night.  He usually falls asleep within five to ten minutes if he even cries at all.  Since we started this he's been sleeping much more soundly and has put himself back to sleep if big brother wakes him up in the middle of a nap.

As for Miller, we've spent the last two weeks trying to entertain him indoors while we get on a schedule.  We've played outside some, but mostly we've been relaxing inside.  We've played with lots of play-doh, puzzles, trucks, and watched Curious George about a million times. 

One day, Daddy brought home chocolate popsicles.  Yum!
We said goodbye to Gran today and I'm not so sure we're going to make it without her.  I think both boys sensed my fear and graciously napped extra well for me after she left.  I'm anxious to see how tonight goes now that Jacob's roomie is gone.  I have a feeling I was getting a good bit of extra sleep as Gran held Jacob off between feedings and such.  We shall see...  I seriously don't know how people adjust to a new child without a mom to help them.  Seriously.  Thanks for all of your help, Mom!

5.27.2012

House Update 2

While we've been busy adjusting to life with two kids, our builder and his crew have been hard at work on our house!  A few days before we had Jacob we went by the house and they were completing the foundation and the safe room/pantry.
We've been by to check on things a few times since Jacob was born and when we went today this was the progress:
The first floor framing is finished and the upstairs framing is almost complete.  So exciting!  I have decided that I have the worst spatial sense ever.  There have been countless times when I've looked at a room thinking it was tiny or that there was no way a bathtub would fit somewhere, etc only to have Bryant measure and find out I am completely wrong.  I thought our garage was crazy small until we went today and the framing was up.  It looks much more spacious now.  You'd think walls would make it look smaller?  Oh well.  It's a good thing I'm not a builder :)

It is coming together quite nicely and I have been so glad that we made most of our decisions about materials, colors, etc before Jacob was born.  I'd be going crazy right now if I was having to find time to pick everything out.  I can't wait to see what's next!

5.26.2012

For my own records...

Warning:  This post will be boring to most readers and is really more for my own recollection if we have another baby :) Settle down, I said IF.  I've been trying to remember things about Miller that I didn't write down anywhere so I want to be better this time around.

Jacob eats every two and a half to three and a half hours during the day and usually makes two four hour stretches at night.  There have been a few nights where he made it five or five and a half hours. He has been pretty good about sleeping in his bed at night, but we are putting him down once he is already asleep.  Tomorrow he will be two weeks old and we are going to try getting on a more set schedule and start putting him down awake and letting him learn to self-soothe {aka, cry it out : / }.  It has been more difficult to stick to a strict schedule this time around since I have Miller to tend to also, but I'm determined to at least aim for a schedule since my mom is here to help for a few more days.  Right now it takes about an hour {sometimes more} to nurse, change, swaddle, and rock Jacob to sleep.  Since he takes several naps a day, there is no way I can do this once I'm on my own and care for Miller.  I really need to be able to put Jacob down in his bed for naps and know that he can fall asleep on his own most of the time.  Also, the past couple of days, we haven't been good about waking him to eat after three hours and I end up having to cram in feedings in the evening since they'd fall at weird times otherwise.  This isn't good for me or for him.  I end up having to get him to eat when he's not really that hungry and when he's super sleepy.  Plus I'm exhausted by the end of the day and would rather not nurse every two hours.  We are giving him a paci some, but sometimes I wonder if we're making it harder by doing this since Jacob can't really keep it in his mouth very well.  I bought a MAM paci today and it stays in a little better, but I still wonder if we'll be having to go back in his room every ten minutes because he's mad he lost it.  I'll take tips/advice if you have them :)  We haven't given him a bottle yet, but we are going to start in the next few days.  We decided that in order to keep taking turns tucking Miller in, it would help for Bryant to be able to give Jacob a bottle and put him to bed when I am with Miller.

Here's hoping we keep our sanity over the next few days! 

Oldie but goodie...

I came across this picture from a few months back and couldn't resist posting it.  Mom, Miller, and I were shopping at The Swanky Stork for something for me to wear in the hospital with Jacob.  Miller came across the pillow in the dressing room you can use to see what clothes will look like as your belly grows.  He thought it was hysterical to have a big tummy like mommy :)
I'm sure he will think this is super cool when he's sixteen :)

5.23.2012

Jacob's First Week

After coming home from the hospital we decided to have Miller stay with Nana for a couple of nights while we got Jacob settled at home.  While the house was quiet, we enjoyed as much snuggle time and as many naps as we could.
 
Kate and Malley were also at Nana's so they helped provide some entertainment for Miller Man.  Kate sent us this picture of Miller skinny dipping in a relative's pool.  Sorry about that Harolyn!  It looks like he had fun though :)
Miller came back to the "yellow house" as he calls our rental house on Friday afternoon and couldn't wait to see Jacob.


 Betty Jo also stopped by to meet her newest great-grandson.


Love that sweet face.  Miller has been so sweet with Jacob.  He loves to hold him and touch his feet.  We're still working on not touching his eyes since he likes to poke them out :)  We are also working on getting him to understand that he can't climb on top of me when I'm holding or nursing Jacob.  I'm pretty sure Jacob's first injury from his big brother will probably be from a rough snuggle as opposed to Miller being mean, but we'll see. 
On Sunday we realized that Miller, our child who is hardly ever sick, had Roseola.  Good timing.  After looking online and talking with the pediatrician, we discovered that by the time we knew he had it he had already been contagious.  So we tried, in vain, for a day or two to keep Miller away from Jacob, but finally gave up.  Jacob may get it and it will be fine if he does, but I'm just hoping he doesn't have it when we have his newborn pictures taken on Friday.  Somewhere I think a rash covering his entire body might be a little difficult to photoshop.

Even though Miller is really interested in Jacob and is sweet to him, he is still having a hard time getting adjusted to our new family of four.  He has kicked his mommy obsession into full gear and doesn't want anyone else to do anything for him.  Obviously this is a challenge when I have to devote about eight hours a day to nursing Jacob; a job no one else can help with.  I'm trying my best to be patient and understanding of how much his little world has changed, but I must admit it is very hard.  I think the "understanding" tactic will only be allowed a few more days and then he'll just have to deal with Daddy and grandparents occasionally.  We're also working on getting Jacob into a good schedule that allows me time to read to Miller before naps and bed some nights.  On Monday night, I was about to lose my mind after Miller had not napped and was therefore extra cranky, clingy, and just plain unreasonable.  He was going crazy from lack of sleep.  After feeding Jacob, passing him off while he was screaming to Gran, and trying to get Miller settled in bed I yelled down to Bryant that he was on duty.  I just really couldn't take anymore crying for the day.  After the crying had finally subsided I looked on Miller's monitor to see this...
Just another reason I love that man like crazy.

Monday we gave Jacob his first sponge bath at home.  I kind of feel bad we waited that long and I'm having a lot of "second child" guilt as I see how different things are when you have another child to take care of.
Gran has been sweet to help with Miller in the mornings so I can go back to sleep for an hour or two. They have found lots of fun, quiet activities to do while Jacob and I sleep.
This picture is blurry, but I had to include it.  Miller has tested out every baby apparatus we have.
Jacob is such a sweet, sweet baby {as if any newborn isn't}.  He is so cuddly and I can't help but wish he'd stay this little forever {maybe minus the nighttime feedings}.  He does seem to have a much more sensitive tummy than Miller did as a baby.  We have gone through lots of clothes, blankets, burp cloths, and Mylicon.  We've elevated the head of his bed and have learned that he has to stay upright for a while after he eats.  He also is really hard to burp and usually has to be burped like this:
All of these little "tricks" have made it easier for him to sleep in his bed, but right now he is usually pretty much asleep when we lay him down since we have to keep him upright for so long.  I have a feeling "crying it out" will be harder with Jacob because I think he really is hurting sometimes.  With Miller I knew without a doubt that he just wanted to be held so while it was hard and frustrating, I knew crying it out was exactly what he needed in order to learn to sleep on his own.  Hopefully his stomach will settle down as he gets older and we can tackle putting himself to sleep in the next few weeks.  I hate to jinx us, but he is already sleeping in his bed more than Miller was at this point so that's good at least.
We have had so much help and felt so loved as we've welcomed Jacob home.  A few shout-outs.  Thank you to Brad, Lauren, Gran & Pop for the beautiful flowers.  {Sorry I failed to get a picture while they were in their prim.  The irises were pretty much dead by the time I took one.}
Thanks to Poppy, Cissy, Nana, and Kate for all pitching in to keep Miller while we were in the hospital and for the first few days home.  Thank you Pop for FILLING our freezer with homemade meals that only need to be heated.  This will be a huge help in the months to come!  Thanks to everyone who has brought us a meal!  You will never know how much this really helps {well, I guess you might if you've ever had a newborn and can barely find the time to eat much less cook}.  And finally, thank you Gran for staying with us and helping in so many ways.  Gran has been so sweet to sleep on an air mattress in Jacob's nursery since we don't have a guest room in our rental house.  I'm not sure how she's functioning on such little sleep since she often takes Jacob from me and tells me to go back to bed.  She's changed diapers, washed dozens of loads of laundry, been to Walmart at least eight times I swear, played with Miller, rocked Jacob, and kept us all fed.  I'm really, really not sure how I will manage when she goes home.  Which we hope is not anytime soon :)
Alright, Miller is up from his "power nap" so I must run.  I do feel like I've won a Nobel Peace price since they both napped in their beds at the same time today.  It's the little things.  Just to leave you with some sweetness though...

5.20.2012

Our Hospital Stay

Prepare yourself for a lot of pictures...
 Miller was so excited to meet Jacob and he really "got" it more than we thought he might.
 Poppy and Cissy meeting Jacob
 Jacob gave Miller a caboose for his train set.  Miller was pretty pumped.
 Not loving his checkup
Miller really wanted to hold Jacob and did fairly well.  We're still working on the whole head support thing.
 Sweet big brother kisses
  Jessica and Sally Caroline came to visit
 Merrye Summers stopped by when she had a break from her internship
 Aunt Kate and Malley stopped by
Maggee and Andrew came by too
 Enola and Daniel - Enola was so excited to hold Jacob!
 Sweet Hannah
Kendall and Will drove all the way from Guntersville and brought us dinner from Brio.  Yummmm...
Jacob with Celia.  We failed to get a picture of them in the delivery room so we had to make due the date we got discharged.  Thanks for a great delivery, Celia!
Sarah Beth and Michael also came to see us, but we forgot to get a picture of them!  So sad :(

The day we left the hospital was crazy.  Absolutely crazy.  These are the best "going home" shots we got.  I must admit I was pretty upset about it even though it was a little silly I'll admit (of course in my defense my hormones are still a little out of whack).
This is a horrible, horrible picture, but it is literally the only picture we got the day we came home.  Can you tell I was a little upset about the less-than-perfect day I had imagined?  Miller was at Nana's house where he stayed for two nights while we got settled in with Jacob.
We are doing well and getting settled, but I must admit I'm not sure what I'm going to do when my mom goes home.  Be back soon with an update from our first few days home.  Jacob is one week old today, but it's almost time to nurse him again so that post will have to wait :)