Stinker is 2 Months Old!

As I sit here at 5:45am typing away I realize how I can keep up with this memory blog and still have a toddler happily living in this house.  I have to write at 5am when hopefully he's still sleeping.  Joy.  But nevertheless, I am taking advantage of this rare moment when Ben is finally asleep again, Sam is still passed out, and I'm freakishly wide awake.

Yesterday, well I guess it's not yesterday anymore...it's two days ago...anyway, let us start again.

Two days ago Benedict turned 2 months old!  I continue to be surprised at how expressive and active he is.  He smiles at everything and everyone.  He loves to watch what Sam is doing with intense focus.  On the nights that Morgan has Ben duty (responsible for feeding and cuddling when he wakes) I am greeted in the morning with the biggest smiles and coo's that melt my heart because I know he missed me!  Oh, and he is totally going to be a full on ginger.  That hair looks like it turns a bit redder every day.  His eyebrows too.  Love it!

My 2 Month Old Likes to Party All The Time and:
~  Eats 3 ounces at a time.  Still getting some breastmilk, but mostly formula.
~  Like clockwork, 12 hours after getting breastmilk has a period of hardcore fussiness.  So really not feeling bad about planning to switch him to all formula soon.
~  Has 2 or 3 periods of awake time every day.  They usually last 3-4 hours.  If he throws in that 3rd one then it's usually only an hour (or so) long.  But LOTS of awake time!
~  Sleeps okay at night.  Most nights he has a "fake out" about 45 minutes after he goes down where he wakes back up and wants more to eat before agreeing to sleep for another 3-4 hours.  But I think the fake outs are slowly being phased out.  Which we are thankful for.
~  Sam was doing sooooo good with Ben.  Being gentle, helpful, loving.  That has turned to outright attacking Ben.  He wants to climb all over him, grab Ben's fist and make him punch himself in the face, yank on his feet, etc.  And when Sam is mad at me he will run over and slap Ben.  Hopefully this behavior can be fixed soon.  Very soon.  Not holding my breath.  Sam is just as stubborn as I am.
~  Has rolled over from his belly to his back several times.  He did this a couple times in his first month as well, but I thought it was a fluke.  Now he's doing it with more frequency, so I'm counting it as a skill.
~  Has a girlfriend.  Her name is Julie and she's 3 weeks younger than Ben.  They lay next to each other on a blanket at library and talk during circle time.  It's kinda ridiculously cute.  And Julie is the little sister of Evie, who used to be Sam's girlfriend.  But ever since Sam got his hair cut I don't think Evie is very interested anymore.  Sigh.

Dr Stats!
          Length - 24.75 inches, 98%
          Weight - 13 pounds 13 ounces, 82%
          Head Size - didn't tell me, but did say 96%

And, just because I can, here's a picture of Sam at 3 months!  I love seeing them wearing the same outfits!  It pleases me deep in my mommy heart.

We Remembered

The tradition continues.  December 7th was Lincoln's 7th birthday.  Our yearly excuse for pie.  Happy Birthday, you annoying bag of fur.  Love.

14 Days Ago Ben Turned 1 Month Old...Oops

I really dropped the ball here.  I mean, damn.  Two weeks ago this would have been posted if it were Sam because I would've had plenty of time to organize photos, thoughts, and sit peacefully with the laptop.  Oh my geez.  Having a not quite 2 year old running around, plus an infant, makes for some crazy days.  It also doesn't help that I can only get the laptop out when Sam is napping because he's really good at ripping keys off.

Anywho...my little kabuki boy is one month old!  Plus a little.

What he's like at this stage:

~  He sleeps around 2 hours at a time overnight.  Sometimes he stretches that to 3 hours.

~  Eats 2 ounces per feeding.  If getting breast milk can take as much as 3.

~  Has two periods of awake time each day that can last up to 3 hours each.  I don't remember Sam being this alert.  Maybe he was.

~  He is VERY expressive!  The range of smiles, pouts, frowns, goofy spaz, and alert observing faces is wonderful to watch.  Again, I don't remember Sam having more going on than content or screaming at this point.

~  At a week and a half old Ben was sleeping in the other room when Morgan and I heard a tiny roaring laugh.  We both swear it was him, not the tv.  It must have been a really good baby dream.  His next laugh happened on Thanksgiving at 5 weeks old.  I was holding Ben in my arms all milk drunk and half asleep.  I kissed him on his cheek and he smiled and let out a soft laugh.  I melted.  Now we anxiously await the next one!

~  Ben and Sam have already bonded and I love it!  Sam loves him.  Brings him things.  Pats him on the back when he helps to burp Ben.  And Ben likes to watch whatever Sam is doing.  Smiles when Sam comes over to say hi or touch their foreheads together.  It's all so adorable and so much more than what I had expected.  I had hoped they would be best buds forever, but didn't really expect that bond to happen till Ben was old enough to pal around on the floor along side Sam.  The sibling love is amazing.

Dr Stats:          (gotta update when I find the paper from Dr)

Weight - 11 pounds 12 ounces, 88%

Length - 23 inches, 96%

Head Size - 15.5 inches, 95%

And now, just to round things out and make up for being so late with posting this, PHOTOS!

Goodbye to the Curls

As I said, it was time for Sam to get his big boy haircut.  I mean, he is almost 21 months old.  And those lovely curls kept getting knotted up and smeared with food.  Yesterday we took him to Cartoon Cuts to get his first REAL haircut.  I managed to not cry.  Can't say the same for Sam.

Now I'm gonna pause and say we took him to this place because they are completely kid themed and even have tv's in front of each chair so the kid can watch their favorite cartoons while getting their haircut.  Did this work for Sam?  NO.  Please note in the following photo that I put our ipad in front of the tv and played him Ok Go music videos instead of him watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  It's the only thing that would calm him down.  This means a few things.  One, I rock because I had the forethought to bring the ipad.  Two, Sam rocks because he has good taste in entertainment.

It's done!  I'm not gonna lie, I miss the curls like crazy.  Last night when holding Sam on my lap before bed (a nightly routine) I got really sad because I would always play with his hair while had some relax time before bed.  But Sam doesn't seem to care and that's all that really matters.  My little surprisingly blonde boy.

Photo Heavy Baby Free For All

Okay.  Yes, Ben is now 3 weeks old and Sam has officially accepted him.  How do I know this from a kid who doesn't talk yet?  When Ben cries Sam runs around trying to find him.  If Ben is upstairs crying Sam will stand at the bottom of the stairs grunting to get someones attention that his little brother needs help.  It's five kinds of adorable.  Now if only Sam would stop throwing temper tantrums when Ben is being too needy.  (Yeah, I know that's not gonna happen.  But a girl can dream.)

In true Christa fashion, I have been taking at home photos of the kids because I am too cheap to take them to a real photography studio.  I mean, the one time I did take Sam to a photographer for Easter photos with live bunnies I was more than a little disappointed in what we got.  I expect a professional to give me professional results.  I don't think that's too much to ask.  ANYWAY, here are some of what I've been doing.

Birth announcement photos - 5 days old.  Can you believe the biggest pumpkin we could find at the pumpkin patch simply wasn't big enough for Ben?  I can't.

Halloween Photos! - Ben was Robin.  Sam was a lawn gnome.  We had a grand ol' time!

Of course I had to put him in the Tonka truck.  He fits in it!

Sibling Photos - Confession time.  My bestie (Hiya, Aud!) was hired by us to take sibling photos.  She is a photographer, and a damn good one.  But the fates conspired against us and for a variety of reasons every time we tried to get together it fell through.  So here, at 3 weeks old, is my fumbling attempt to get two kids in one photo and have it look semi decent.  Turns out putting a Cheerio on the baby works wonders for creating a fake tender moment.

But the tantrumy photos are still my favorite!

And Ben was passed out the ENTIRE time.

Also, can we take a moment to love on Sam's curls?

Seriously.  I love those curls so much.  They are soft and bouncy and it makes me grin from ear to ear to see him running around the house with those ringlets springing about.  But it's too much now.  When I trim him he looks like he's the Mullet King.  And far too often he looks like a girl.  So last night we had some fun at Sam's expense as a fond farewell to the lovely curls.  Soon they will be gone and he will have a big boy haircut.  (I really hope I can make it through taking him to the salon without sobbing like an idiot.)

Yup.  Some day he will be really pissed over these photos.

October 18th @ 12:10am

Introducing Benedict Ethan!

9 pounds 13 ounces, 21.5 inches long

Labor was pretty textbook and much easier than what I went through with Sam.  From the time I was given meds to thin my cervix till he was born was about 13 hours.  Much better than 30!  And this kid broke my water for me in the most interesting of ways.  I was sitting up in the hospital bed reading when he bucked HARD like a horse inside of me and I heard a pop.  It shocked me so much that I yelped and scared the crap out of Morgan.  A few seconds later I noticed that I was leaking and then flooded the bed.  TMI, I know. But it was so freaky!

Ben is 10 kinds of awesome!  He looks almost EXACTLY like newborn Sam.  I mean, carbon copy likeness.  To the point that both Morgan and I keep catching ourselves calling him Sam.  He's a very good natured baby unless he is hungry.  Then watch out!  His appetite is pretty amazing.

We are home now.  Everyone is happy and healthy.  Ben didn't get named till Sunday, the day we were leaving the hospital, and we actually ended up filling out two sets of birth certificate forms because we weren't sure which name we were going to turn in when the paperwork lady came around to make things official.  Things are going pretty good except for a rough patch here and there as we adjust to our new family unit.  Really, we couldn't be happier!

38 Weeks

Right now I am 38 weeks 3 days pregnant with Jaba the Hutt.  Sam came on his own accord at 38 weeks 6 days.  Whereas I know that means nothing, I'm using it to keep hope alive that I will naturally start labor in the coming days.  But no matter what I'm getting induced in the wee hours of the 17th.  The end is near!

A couple weeks ago (36 weeks) I had a second growth ultrasound which revealed an estimated 8 pounds 8 ounce child within me.  Can I get an Amen and an Oof?  Which is why at 37.5 weeks my Dr did a membrane sweep to try to get things moving and went ahead and scheduled my induction for the day I turn 39 weeks just in case.  That first membrane sweep didn't bring on labor, but hopefully the one I will get tomorrow morning will.  I'm nervous about being able to fit Jaba out since I was barely able to get Sam out.  I'm also nervous about induction because I know Pitocin causes more painful contractions.  I labored with Sam for 30 hours. . . umm. . . .yeah.  That sounds awesome.

In other kid news, Sam has gone through two back to back growth spurts which have led to a kid who's sense of balance is way off!  As in his face is a magnet to all things sharp or hard.  So many bruises, scratches, and bumps.  Poor kid looks like an abused orphan.

Say what, Momma?

Anxiety lives here full time right now.  I'm nervous about my mom (who keeps saying she's going to cut his hair and I will cause her bodily harm if she does) staying with Sam for a few days while I'm in the hospital, anxiety over breastfeeding, anxious about when labor will start and how things will go, and I'm trying like hell to keep my house at some acceptable level of clean while being so huge I can barely move.  And of course the government shutdown.  Can't forget that.  Morgan is the only bread winner in this family and he's been off work for 2 weeks unpaid at this point.  Awesome.  But at least him being off work has made the tail end of my pregnancy a little easier since he can chase the kid and help clean/nest!  Silver lining, people.  Silver lining.

I love Daddy more 'cause he can still run and chase me!

The end is near.  So near.  Wish us luck as our family grows yet again and most likely for the last time!  I can't wait to see this little boy.  I know he has a full head of hair since you can see it in the ultrasound photos, but what color is it?  How pudgy will those cheeks be?  How will Sam react?  It's gonna be exciting, stressful, and wonderful!

Everything: A Final Countdown

Again, I continue the trend of not making the blog posts on a regular basis.  I just haven't been too interested lately.  But here it is.  Everything.

Baby #2, aka Jaba the Hut, is a giant.  At 32 weeks he weighed an estimated 6 pounds 1 ounces.  Which is trending quite bigger than Sam did.  And Sam was 9 pounds 5 ounces when born!  Translation - I might be in trouble.  I have another ultrasound (36 weeks) this coming Tuesday to see just how big he is at this stage.  No matter what, go time is getting nearer every day.

Sam got VERY sick while Morgan was on a beach trip with his friends.  Fever of 103.3, cold chills, vomiting, lethargic, fever rash, not eating, etc.  It was scary.  We ended up taking him back to the Dr, or actually the ER this time, once Morgan got home from his trip because his symptoms just kept getting worse.  Turned out he had a viral infection with rash and a bacterial ear infection all at the same time.  Poor kid.  And the next day Morgan came down with strep throat.  Oh the joy.  By some miracle I managed to not get sick.

Thankfully it wasn't long till he was feeling a bit better and getting back to his quirky self.  Seeing him all lethargic and miserable was really hard.  

My delightful spaz.

We went on our annual scenic train ride last weekend!  A bit early this year since I don't feel comfortable going on trips closer to my due date, so no fall leaves this time.  But it was a great operation and Sam had a great time!  They even had a local children's author on the train reading her book to the kids.

And as usual, Karen just loves to spend time with Sam so much that it made the day pretty easy on me.  She was more than happy to hold him on her lap (which is good since most of my lap is belly right now) and tell him stories.  And Sam was happy to have her lap and easy access to her camera.  Hmmm. . .buttons.

Other than that this little monkey has been getting into everything and enjoying the last of the "no pants" weather.  We go to the zoo, library, and anything else I have the stamina for while we can and the weather is great.  Hopefully we can get another zoo trip in before his brother is born.

And that brings us up to yesterday.  He is now 19 months old, refuses to sit nicely for photos, and in less than a month will no longer be an only child!  He still has no clue that there is a baby on the way.  But he does love to sit on the couch with me and look at pictures of the newborns on my BabyCenter Oct birth club.  He smiles and says "baby" and wants to touch the pictures.  Hopefully he will be just as happy to have a screamer come live with us.

Of course, he himself is quite a drama queen screamer as of late.  Yes, the terrible twos have come a bit early.  Oi.