Fat Baby Pig & Monkey

These are the new nicknames for the boys. Shaun, who is also referred to as Ziggy Piggy, got this name because all he does is EAT. I mean the kid had almost 10oz of milk the other night when we were out. We were only out for 5 and a half hours. Sheesh. I can already tell he is going to be bigger than his brother. Check out the double chin he is already sporting. His next weight check will be on the 24th.

Fat Baby Pig:


David is like a monkey. He just has to climb on everything, couches, stairs, me. Just today I found him sitting on the coffee table. I mean seriously.


Check out the monkey climbing the wall at the playground.

David's Big Boy Bed (well Futon!)

We had decided that since David would be 22 months when Shaun was born that we would transition him to a regular bed. We didn't want to have to buy another crib when we knew David wouldn't be using it for much longer anyway.

We were trying to decide what to get him when it dawned on us that we could just use our futon. He has done really well with the transition considering all the big changes the poor kid has gone through recently. He sometimes gives us a hard time, but for the most part he goes right to sleep. The only difference between his crib tantrums and his big boy tantrums is that he can get out of bed now and bang on the door instead of just shaking the railing on his crib.



That is David in his new bed with his new bedding that his Omi got for him. Can you believe he is going to be TWO in a month!?

Firsts!

We have been at our new place for a little over a week now and of course we're still trying to get organized! We'll get there though.

Our new place has some pros and cons. One of the cons being the airplanes that fly overhead but it hasn't been too bad. We lived on an ambulance route once and that was much worse!

One of the pros is that the beach is about a mile away! Steph came for a visit on Wednesday and we all went over to the beach and to eat at Kelly's! They have one of the best Roast Beef Sandwiches I have had as well as a pretty awesome Reuben. We ordered our food and then ate under the canopy that is set up with benches. David loved chasing the seagulls and dancing to the music from the passing cars.





After we ate we took David down to the water. He has been to the beach before but never stuck his toes in the ocean! The water was FREEZING and so after David put his feet in once he didn't want to do it again. He had fun running up and down the beach and using his toes to make designs in the sand.



Now that Shaun's belly button is all healed we decided to give him his first bath in the sink. I thought he was going to scream his head off, but he surprised me and only fussed a little.



I have decided to nickname him "Ziggy Piggy" because if he isn't sleeping then he is eating, and he'll let you know when he is hungry! You'd think I starved this kid the way he is constantly begging to be fed! Check out his "but Mommy I am SO hungry - please feed me" face!



Today is the Doc's first day as a Fellow. He is currently at his orientation and so this is my official first day as a full time Mommy. So far so good but it's only 8:15am. I can't believe he is in his last phase of training before he is finally done. It just seems like yesterday that we were at Dartmouth with Ben and Robyn. Ben starts his OB fellowship this week as well. They are leaving for NY tomorrow...good luck with your move!

Time to get the boys ready to go visit my nephew Scottie. He spent his weekend in the hospital with an infection resulting in an emergency surgery to have the infected cyst removed along with his appendix. Hopefully he gets to come home today.

Getting Settled:

We have been here for almost a week now and we're still unpacking. It's never ending. Don't know what we would have done without our family and friends to help us. Moving day was an adventure.

P. Bride and her man, my brother and his buddy all came to Philly last Friday night so that we could be up early to pack up the truck. We got Dunks for breakfast and started about 7:30ish. It was so hot and humid even for 8am. I felt so bad for the guys - but they toughed it out.

Here is my brother and his friend - they drove to Philly in Krystal's car and yes the license plate says Glmrous!!


P. Bride was nice enough to ride back to Boston with me. I figured I would need a hand with David and Shaun and I was right. Poor David got sick three times in the car ride home. It was so much fun. I attribute it to the heat and anxiety from the move.

So over-tried he fell asleep right on the couch:




We got to Boston at about 7:30 and MIL and SIL were waiting for us with food! We got the truck unloaded by 11pm. On Sunday we had more company. Brian came with the boys which was a great distraction for David. He and Brady had so much fun playing together while we kept on unpacking. My mom, sister, Pattie and Jodi also came by to help. My mom even stayed over to help me as the Doc had to go back to Philly for the closing on our house.

We are slowly making this house our home and are so grateful to have the best friends and family around! Thanks for all the help everyone we couldn't have done it without you all!!!

Don't Want to Pack Anymore So I'll Post!

The first thing that people say when they meet Shaun for the first time is:

"He looks just like David"

We noticed it too. Not so much at first but now he's David's "mini-me". Check out these two pictures. The one where I am asleep was taken when David was three weeks old. The other one is Shaun two days ago. It will be interesting to see if they continue to look alike as Shaun gets older.

It's Been One Week:

Well a week and a day - but I had to catch some zzz's last night so that I could wake up and watch the fourth quarter of the Celtics game. I mean let's face it, it's the fourth quarter that really decides games. Who knew the Celtics would have sealed the deal by half-time!

Things have been pretty hectic around here with the big move in three days. We have been packing, cleaning and purging. I don't know what I would have done had I not kept David in his daycare for the week. He just has way too much energy to let us get anything done around here. So the Doc and I have been trying to get it all done during the day in between nursing sessions when Shaun is napping.

Shaun is fairly good natured. He LOVES to eat. He's a great nurser and I am sure it's my confidence that has made the transition fairly painless. Shaun even allows Mommy to sleep for four hours straight - but it means going to sleep at 8pm. Hey, I'll take the sleep when I can get it. Shaun also loves to be swaddled and we have had to become a good swaddlers. David hated to be swaddled so it was no big deal that the Doc and I sucked at it! At first I thought they looked very different but looking at some old pictures of David made me realize that minus the dark hair they have the same exact features.

David is adjusting well to the baby. Before Shaun I would pick up David and think he's so little. Since Shaun, it seems that David weighs 100 pounds! He just seems so big now but I suppose an almost 8lb newborn will do that!

Here are some new pictures of the kiddos:

Asleep:


Awake:


David enjoying bath time:


Check out the size difference! Shaun wasn't happy to be out of his swaddle.




Tomorrow I am taking Shaun back to the Pediatrician for a weight check. He was born at 7lbs 15oz and dropped down to 7lbs 4oz when we left the hospital. On Monday he was still under his birth weight 7lbs 12oz. Since I am nursing they just like to make sure they are gaining weight appropriately but I can't imagine he's not past his birth rate the way this kid has been eating!

The Postpartum Adjustment:

It's been five days since Shaun joined us in the world and I wanted to share some new pictures and post an update on our adjustment.

I came home on Thursday June 12th around 11am. Shaun slept most of the day as most babies do. MIL was still here which was nice since the Doc had to go to his last clinic of the year. She ran some errands for us and then made us dinner. It was nice to just be able to relax. David came home from daycare at 4:30 - the second time he was going to see his new brother. He came to the hospital the first night but was more interested in the labor room equipment than seeing the baby. I wasn't sure how he would react but he was happy to see his Mommy was home. He came over and saw the baby and smiled.




Our first night was rough. Shaun had his days and nights mixed up and only me nursing him would calm him down. Shaun and I were up all night long. MIL came down about 3am to take him so I could get some rest. Needless to say, I was pretty tired on Friday and grateful that David was going to daycare so I could sleep when Shaun slept.

I thought for sure that this was going to be how things were for a while (and I hesitate even typing this right now fearing I may jinx myself) but Friday night was much better. Shaun slept in 3 hour intervals before waking up to be nursed. Last night was even better I got a good four hour stretch.

On Saturday we decided to take David to the playground. It has been pretty humid here so we haven't gone in a while, and we wanted to get out of the house and do something that David has fun doing. It was still humid but David had a good time and got to run around and release some energy. It was the first time we got to use our new double stroller.







Today was just as nice. We all got more sleep as David (as a nice Father's Day gift to Daddy) slept until 7am. We hung out at the house in the morning and watched the new Chipmunk movie which David really enjoyed. We headed out at 10:30 to go to the diner for lunch and promptly left when they said it would be about an hour wait. There was no way we could wait with a five day old and a 22 month old nearing his nap time. We drove up the street to the TGI-Friday's and had lunch there.

So here we are 10:30pm on Sunday night ready, watching the Celtics and waiting to see what night number four brings. David will finish his last week at his daycare and that will give the Doc and I plenty of time to rest and pack. Saturday is the big move and we couldn't be more excited!

Worth the Wait!

I am so elated to announce that Shaun is FINALLY here! He arrived with full force today June 10th at 6:21pm. He weighed 7lbs 15oz and is 21 inches long.





Shaun's birth story in timeline form:

8:00 am - we checked in and waited for our room.

9:45am - got to our room and waited for a while to be hooked up to IV.

11:30am - got the IV (after multiple sticks) in and waited patiently for the pitocin order.

12:40pm - Pitocin was started - game on!

3:00pm - I was ready for my epidural but had to wait due to some emergency c-sections.

4:15pm - The anestheologist came to my rescue.

5:00pm - Started to feel some relief!

5:15pm - The midwife came to check my progress. I was a good 5cm and she was happy that Shaun had moved down. She saw some decellerations in Shaun's heartrate and they decided to put a fetal scalp monitor on his head. I am set the nurse leaves and like 5 minutes later I felt so much pain that it brought tears to my eyes. It happend again and I was screaming. They may have heard me on the other side of the hospital.

Most likely when they put the monitor on his head they accidentally broke my water in the process. With my water now broken - in the span of 10 minutes I went from 5cm to fully dilated and ready to push this baby out!

5:30pm - they tell me I can start pushing. He was having more decellerations and they thought it had to do with a cord issues. They asked me to wait in between contractions and breath through them instead.

6:15pm - The doctor arrives to take over for the midwife because of the heart rate decellerations. The midwife left and three pushes later Shaun was out.

It was so surreal how fast it all went down - I was overwhelmed and not ready to say the least. Everything about the end stage was so different this time around. It was just me, Charlie, my nurse and the doctor in the room. With David's birth (due to the vaccum assist) we had an entourage of people in our room. Once he came out everything was so calm. Shaun was even peaceful in the warmer. I had no tears and feel so much better this time around.

11:00pm - I am finally in my room and ready to be a Mommy of two!

Eviction Eve: Last Night Out

Tomorrow is the big day. Shaun's days as a squater have come to an end. We gave him his chance to come out on his own terms (11 days to be exact) and so now we're smoking him out.

Tonight, thanks to Shaun's late arrival and MIL being in town, I was able to attend the Doc's graduation dinner at the brand new Comcast building. I was excited because I saw this building being constructed from my 40th floor office window. The food was great and the Doc enjoyed the bottomless glasses of wine and beer.

It was fun to get dressed up at 41+ weeks pregnant and have a nice night out.

Eviction Date: June 10th

Here another quick update on the saga that has been this pregnancy. Tomorrow we have a Non-Stress Test scheduled where they check the baby via ultrasound and monitor the heart rate. If all looks good to them then we wait for Tuesday June 10th for our scheduled induction.

I am still hopeful that I don't need to wait that long and maybe as soon as I hit post - labor begins! I won't be holding my breath though!

The Never Ending Pregnancy:

Today is 40 weeks and 3 days - we are officially in the "overdue" club. I was really hoping that the next post would be the announcement of Shaun's arrival. Apparently, he has a different plan. I know that everyone is anxiously awaiting his arrival as much as we are, so I wanted to post this quick update.

As of last Friday I am no longer a working girl. I also had my 40 week appointment, and I was really optimistic that I would go into labor that weekend when the midwife told me that I was 4cm dilated. Well here we are four days later still (somewhat) patiently waiting.

Physically, I feel great. I only put on 30lbs this time and don't have heartburn or nasty swelling like when I was 40 weeks pregnant with David. Mentally, however, I am pretty stressed. Since I had a scheduled induction with David, I had a plan. I have been having a hard time figuring out what is real and what is one of those fake Braxton-Hicks ones. There was a stretch on Saturday where we thought it could be the "real deal", but as you can see it wasn't.

We had some company over the last couple weeks. After Steph left on Monday we had a nice visit with the Mailloux's. Maddie and David just have so much fun together and we didn't even mind when they ran around the living room shrieking, because it was so darn cute. Check out their blog for some cute pictures of the two of them at the playground. Then Princess B came to town for the weekend. We had a great time hanging out on Sunday at the Manayunk Brewery. They were playing live music and we got to sit outside over looking the Schuylkill River. David loved the live band and danced to the music. They left yesterday to head Camden Yards to see the Sox play. Too bad they lost.

So now we just keep on waiting. My next appointment is on Thursday where we'll discuss induction. For now don't take it personal if I don't call, text or answer e-mails -if you get a call, email or text from me it means we're off to the hospital! There is only so many times you can hear "you haven't had that baby yet" before you want to start killing people!

39 Weeks: Any Day Now...I hope!!

As of yesterday I am 39 weeks. It is obvious that Shaun is quite content taking up residence in my belly. I had an appointment on Thursday and was happy to hear that I have made some progress but would have been happier with more. I have to be honest that since we were induced with David I am not sure what to expect this time around. When I had my first contractions with David I was hooked up to a monitor that showed me I was having one before I really felt it.

I joked with the Doc that I won't know I am in labor and he'll end up having to deliver Shaun at home!! I mean he did it a couple time back in Medical School - no sweat!

On the plus side I feel great! It helps that the weather is much nicer in May compared to August and that I am not carrying around an extra 20lbs of weight! I have had very little heartburn and no kankles! This time was a breeze in comparison but I am so over it and want to be done with this!!!

Steph is in town for the long weekend we decided to treat ourselves to pedicures! I thought that maybe the massage chair would spark some contractions. Obviously that didn't happen but now my toes are a nice bright blue and look nice and pretty! It was also very relaxing so even though it didn't work like I hoped it was still worth it!

David is having fun with his buddy Steph. She has a really cool Blackberry phone that he has commandeered. He has even figured out how to make phone calls and send text messages to her friends. I am pretty sure he had a nice conversation with the 411 operator! He has also figured out how to watch videos of her dog Cali.

Here are some new pictures of the handsome big brother to be:

Wearing my sandals and carrying my phone:


Enjoying a new "ride" at the park:

Little monkey!

Kisses from Steph and enjoying some tortillas!

38 Weeks: Doomed to be Pregnant FOREVER!

We survived the Doc's trip to NH on Thursday. He had to take care of getting his new MA drivers license and get the keys to our new place Revere. Since I was going to be 37 weeks and 5 days pregnant - I stayed behind. Thankfully my mom was able to fly down to help me out "just in case". It would have been just my luck that labor would start if I was all alone with David.

The Doc returned VERY late Friday night after a four hour delay. Apparently there was a cloud in Philadelphia and they couldn't land until the cloud moved. The trip was made extra special because MA doesn't actually issue you a real license but just a temporary paper license (that states "not valid for identification"), so he was deemed a "person of interest" and got the full pat down, bag searched and thoroughly checked for bombs and an identity check. I couldn't help but laugh and ask if he managed to escape a full cavity check!!

My mom decided to make a weekend of her trip to Philadelphia and so on Saturday we took David to the park in the morning. He just loves to go down the big wooden slide with Daddy. He also loves when Daddy pushes him on the swing. This time we took him inside to play with the tricycles and cars, proving just how much of a midget he really is - his feet, when stretched out, came no where near the pedals.




We decided to take advantage of Grammy being in town to go to the movies. We saw Ironman and it was awesome! I even got my big bucket 'o popcorn! Later that night we went out to eat at Nifty Fifty's. David enjoyed sharing a chocolate milk shake with Grammy! Grammy left today after a hearty breakfast at Perkins and a walk around the mall.

If you asked me on Monday I would have thought for sure that Shaun would make his arrival this week. I was feeling a lot of tightening and movement on Monday - since then however, I have felt pretty much nothing. I have decided that I am doomed to be pregnant forever. I haven't tried eating pineapple yet...maybe that is my problem. Note to self: Get some PINEAPPLE tomorrow!

Walk Hard

37 weeks and Shaun is considered fully baked. Yesterday we spent the morning walking around one of the local malls. It's a HUGE mall with four different sections. It takes more than an hour to walk the whole length. After David's nap we went to a different mall and walked around some more.

I am hoping that by walking and walking and walking - things will start moving in the right direction and we'll have this baby already.

It will be my luck that this baby is born in June. We have no plans for inducing this time around - we're just going to let it ride!

We're pretty much ready for Shaun. We have all the clothes leftover from David and until the move Shaun will bunk with Mommy and Daddy in the Pack N Play. After the move he will be using David's crib and David will move to the futon. The only item we don't have is the double stroller and we're just still trying to decide which one to get. The Doc and I are not seeing eye to eye on this issue.

As for David - he knows there is a baby in Mommy's belly but I am not sure he understands what that means for the future. The other day when I asked him if he wanted to say hi to the baby he waved to my belly. It was very cute.

If you feel like sending me some serious labor vibes - I will definitely take them. I read online that eating some pineapple can do the trick. Guess I will be getting me some pineapple for lunch tomorrow. There is a fresh fruit cart one block from my work. We'll see if it really works or not!

Going Green:

In an effort to go green we (or rather I) decided to use cloth diapers. It's not only better for the environment but it will also save us from shelling out the big bucks by having two in diapers. We started using them on Sunday. He still wears disposables during the week while at daycare but when he is at home he is in his brand new Fuzzi Bunz.



Tonight I ordered 6 new BumGenius diapers, which are a "one size fits all" cloth diaper. That way I can use the same diapers for both David and Shaun. I can't wait to get my order. They are so cute. While the Doc has been very skeptical of the whole concept...he has been surprisingly helpful. He only has one rule and that is that he will not clean off the poopy ones. I suppose that it's only fair - this was after all my big idea!

The Promised David Update:

This kid is a riot. He has become a sponge, so it's more important now than ever to watch what we say around him. Here are some examples of new things he's learned:

1. I nearly fell off my chair when I heard my little angle yelling down the hallway at my parents house "Pam, hey Pam". He had heard the other... loud... members of my family use that name, and I guess he was trying to get my attention. When I told him "No, I am Mommy" he just laughed and said "Pam". I have to admit it was a little funny!

2. He learned his first curse word when Daddy was changing his poopy diaper and said "Damn!" He, of course, repeated what Daddy said, which in turn made Daddy laugh. So David said it again, so Daddy laughed harder, and so on. Thankfully he hasn't said it again...let's hope it was just a fluke.

He had a great visit with family during our week in NH, and the Doc and I got a much needed break. Our first weekend he had a sleepover with his big cousin Scottie, and then the second weekend he spent the night with his Omi down on the Cape to visit his great Aunt and Uncle. I look forward to having these breaks more often once we relocate back to Boston!



David also got his first "real" haircut - not the butcher job his parents did around Christmas. We thought he might not like it but he was really good throughout...in fact he was so curious we had to give him his own comb so he could help.



We also spent a couple days at this great outdoor playground by the Kingston Fairgrounds. He loved the swing and the see-saw the best.



He is completely independent and does not like to be "tied" down. It makes going out now much more of challenge. It's especially become harder to go out to eat. After about 5 minutes in highchair he looks at us and says "All done, get down". He also does not like to be in the stroller or shopping car when we go to stores. We caved and bought a cute little Bear harness so that he can walk without running away from us. He is very fast and doesn't like to hold our hands. I like it because I don't have to slouch over to try and make him hold my hand.
It's amazing how much he learns and how much he remembers - he even likes to sing us his ABC's and dance to the music. I am most impressed by his pitch! We may have a future singer just like his Mommy!