2 Weeks & The First Tubby!

Evan is 2 weeks old! He is just the best baby ever. He has adapted very well to nights and days. Faster than both David and Shaun did. He has even established a consistent night time routine! He has been falling asleep between 9 and 10pm and sleeping for three hours before he is up for his first night time feeding (around 12 or 1am). Then he will sleep for another 2 to 2-1/2 hours before waking up for another feeding. Then his last night (or rather early morning!) feeding is around 5am before he wakes up for good around 6:45am.



On Friday night his "belly button" fell off and so last night we gave him his first tubby in the sink! He was very calm until I turned on the water to rinse him off. He didn't like the cold water that came out at first!




So things have been going exceptionally well! So well that I am often asked what the secret to my sanity is (I have been out and about since Evan came home)!! My answer is simply: ROUTINE! Since I already have a routine with the older boys, it was all about fitting Evan into that routine, and thankfully it was very easy! I do think it helps that he is such a good natured baby, though! And I won't lie, poor Evan has to cry more than I would like, but that is the nature of being the third child. There are still two other little boys in this house that need Mommy too! But, with that being said, I think we have found a good rhythm and so we're going to let it ride!

42 Weeks: Not Pregnant!

Just for fun I decided to take one last "belly" picture - the 42 week (or the postpartum) belly picture! I am SO happy to no be pregnant anymore (or ever again for that matter!). Our family is complete and Evan is fitting in perfectly! I know it is combination of my experience and confidence as a mother, and the fact that Evan is extremely good natured (knock on wood!). I can't believe that a week ago today we were getting ready to take Evan home. It has gone by so fast!

Our first week home was surprisingly a lot easier than I had anticipated. People said that going from two kids to three kids is a whole lot easier than going from one kid to two kids, but until now, I never believed it! I was especially proud of myself last Thursday. The Doc had to go back to work, unexpectedly, due to scheduling conflicts. That left me by myself with all three boys, as my mom wouldn't arrive until later on in the morning. I had to have all three kids ready and out the door for 8am and I did it! Evan had to fuss a bit while I got Shaun dressed but I was at David's school with plenty of time to spare!! While it is always nice to have help it was also nice to know that I could do it myself! I even survived a trip to the supermarket on Friday with all three boys! I had a very small list, but we all survived, and we survived without any tantrums or meltdowns! When we got home, I made lunch for the older boys, fed Evan and then we all took a nice two hour nap! I even managed to get a nice dinner on the table because we've been eating out WAY too much lately.

Everyone is adjusting so well, even Shaun is starting to warm up to his little brother! Just last night he came over and gave Evan a kiss on the head! I am just so happy, especially after the rough start we had, with the boil water order and the guilt trip from the Pediatric Attending. Evan has a weight check this morning and I will be surprised if he is less than 10lbs 8oz. He had his first growth spurt this weekend and he spent a good portion of it nursing non-stop! He is just the sweetest, fattest baby ever and I am so in love!

Check out those pinchable cheeks in the pictures below!

Bringing Evan Home!

It has been almost a week since Evan joined our family and the adjustment has been just amazing! We had a couple bumps along the way but we are getting into a good routine. Just this morning, since Charlie had to go back to work, I managed to get all three boys out the door in plenty of time to drop David off at school!

Bump number one post-delivery was that around 10am on Saturday morning, 9 hours after Evan was born, when a water main pipe burst in Weston, MA affecting the water supply for the Boston area. There was a boil water order issued and water was not to be used for cooking or drinking. They even went as far to advise people to use hand sanitizer after washing your hands. That made things interesting while at the hospital. Even though the water was "safe" for showers I decided it was better not to shower since I was doing so much skin to skin contact with Evan. I also couldn't drink my ice water, since all of the ice was "contaminated".

Bump number two was trying to get discharged on Monday. We arrived home around 4pm, but we were expecting to be discharged a lot earlier. The Pediatric department was concerned about the amount of weight Evan dropped. Newborns normally drop on average 7% of their birth weight but that morning Evan was weighed at 9lbs 1oz, which put him at a 10% loss of his birth weight. I was a little surprised by this because nursing was going so well and Evan was latching like a pro. They even had a lactation consultant come by to make sure. I was even more surprised when the Attending suggested that I pump in between feedings so that they could mix it with formula and feed him using a dropper. First of all, I was nursing him on demand, and the last thing I wanted to do in between frequent feeds was pump. Second, adding formula when my milk hadn't even come in was something I was just not going to do. I have nothing against formula feeding, but give my milk a chance to come in before you start suggesting that he needs formula. I said that I didn't want to do that, all I wanted to do was go home.

Thankfully I have the Doc around. He told the doctors that we were pretty much leaving, no mater what they said. I had been there since Friday night, I missed my other boys, and I just wanted to be back in the comfort of my own home. I knew that once my milk came in, Evan's weight issues would disappear so I just wanted that chance. Besides, as the Doc said, changes in weight of an ounce or two are within variation of the scale. They had scheduled an appointment at our pediatricians office for the following morning for a weight check and we told them that if there were still problems with his weight we would re-evaluate it at that time. Well, sure enough, my milk came in late that night and at his weight check the following morning he was weighed one ounce off from his birth weight.

Now that isn't to say I have Weight Gain 3000 in my breast milk, but more likely that there was a difference in the scales. Needless to say, it was pretty near impossible that he was continuing to lose weight, so that made me feel so much better and I didn't have to supplement!

Here is Evan ready to go home!


He is just such a good baby, he nurses well and he is starting to learn the difference between day and night, which means that I get a little more sleep at night instead of having our marathon nursing sessions like the first couple of nights.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, so we took the boys over to the park to play. We are trying to make sure not to disrupt the boys routine. While David loves his new brother, Shaun is taking a little longer to warm up to Evan. We felt that by keeping things business as usual, it would make the adjustment period easier on everyone! And so far so good!

Below are some pictures of the boys from the park yesterday!

And Evan Makes Five

We are so happy to finally be able to introduce the newest member to our clan, Evan Michael!


He was born May 1, 2010 at 1:00am weighing 9lbs 15oz and 21 inches long! Below is the story of Evan's journey to the outside world!

Evan Michael's Birth Story

April 30, 2010
7:00pm - 7:30pm: The doc and I arrive at L&D, register and get sent to our room. We met our nurse and she took all our information while I was hooked up to the monitors. Even though, we were a scheduled induction I had already started contracting about every 15 minutes on my own since 10am that morning. By the time we arrived at the hospital they were slighly stronger and closer together around 5 to 7 minutes apart.

8:45pm: The intern came in to do an exam to see how far dialted I was so that they could make a decision on which meds to give for the induction. She told me that if I was 3cm like my OB had told me I was the day before that she would go straight for the pitocin (and nix the cervidil). I was, and that was the plan that was set in action.

9:20pm: The nurse started the pitocin drip.

9:50pm: The nurse increased the pitocin from 1 to 3 and contractions were now coming every 2 to 3 minutes apart and they were definitely stronger!

10:30pm: The nurse increased the pitocon to 5, and after a few contractions at this stage, I was very READY for my epidural.

11:20pm: The anestesologist came in to do the epidural! HOORAY!

11:55pm: After the epidural was set I started to feel relief, but only on my left side. I was advised to roll over onto my right side to try and get the medicine over to that side. As soon as I rolled I felt wet, I told the nurse that either I just peed or my water broke. She checked and, thankfully, it wasn't pee! The resident came in to check me and I was now 100% effaced and 7cm. At this point I knew this is going to be over very quickly based on the last two experiences. Thankfully they had paged my OB to have him come in because I think they knew it too! Oh, and so much for that diamond on my mothers ring...Evan was going to be a May baby.

May 1, 2010
12:20pm: I started to feel like I might be ready to get this baby out and start pushing so the resident came to check me again and I was now 9cm

12:35pm: Ready to push!

1:00am: Enter Evan, the not quite 10 pounder prankster who caused his mommy so much grief! He was perfect, I was intact, and I couldn't believe that I actually got him out so quickly without any issues

Below are a few pictures:

I'm Here!


9lbs 15oz...HOLY MOLY!


Sleeping so far what he does best! Let us hope it continues!


One tired Mommy and her boy!

Cool Just Like Daddy!

Shaun is 5 weeks today! On Monday we moved him from the Pack 'N Play that was set up in our bedroom to his own room. Now we just have to figure out a way to prevent him from waking up David up at 6am.

Here are some new pictures - he may be "Cool Just Like Daddy" but his good looks come from Mommy!



Hi Mommy!


Starting to smile


Sticking out his tongue

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.

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.

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!

Our Peanut is 4 Months Old!

Hard to believe but it has really been four months since David joined our family! Everyone said it would go by fast but man! Just take a look how big he has gotten in the last four months:


David - on 8/16/06


David - One month old - 9/9/06


David - Four months old - 12/9/06

He is a giant now but I still call him my peanut! Tomorrow he goes in for his four month check up at the Pediatrician. My guess is that he will weigh 15lbs 2oz and that he will be 27 inches long! What's your guess!

Smiling to Fussy in 3.6 seconds:

It's been a week since our trip to NH and we are finally getting back to our routine. Our little David was spoiled rotten in NH! I think the only time David wasn't being held was when we were driving around or when he was sleeping. He was so spoiled he if we put him down he became what we refer to as Fussy McCrankypants.

On Monday I dropped him off to daycare and told the assitant director that he was spoiled by all the family and I have a funny feeling that he may be a fussy pants. Sure enough when I picked him up I heard a baby crying and said "That's my baby!" The teacher said he had been like that all day and nothing they did would console him.
They are not used to him being like that because usually he is such a happy baby at daycare!! Tuesday and Wednesday were better and by Friday he was back to his old self laughing and smiling! Thank goodness!

Our Week in NH - A Synopsis

Last week for the holiday we were in NH. It was a very busy week and we spent most of it running around so here it is our week in a nutshell:

Friday November 17, 2006: We leave for NH. We got on the road about 3pm and hit some fun traffic. It's always fun to travel in the busiest time of the year! We were going to be spending the weekend with Buttercup at their new townhouse. We got in about 9pm. Since David slept the entire car ride he was wide awake to play for another hour and a half.

Saturday November 18, 2006: We ate breakfast and headed to Boston for an afternoon at Faneuil Hall. You can read all about it on Buttercup's blog by clicking here. Later that night we headed out for dinner and we all agreed that Buttercup ordered the best meal as we all shared some of her Mushi Chicken.

Sunday November 19, 2006: With my new found love of cooking I decided to make breakfast for the crew. I whipped up an egg scrambler ala Sophia (with breakfast ham, sausage and bacon) and some home fried potatoes. It was very tasty if I do say so myself. Then we watched the Pats kick some butt shutting out the Green Bay Packers. After the game we left and headed to my parents house for a lovely dinner of Roast Beef and Spiral Ham. Dad told us that we should come home every weekend because it seems that Mom goes all out when we're in town!

Monday November 20, 2006: We headed to Lebanon, NH home to us while the Doc got his medical degree. We went to introduce David to the people of M.J. Hayward. He also got to meet Lula and Burke the M.J. Hayward mascots (a Weimaraner and a Springer Spaniel). We also drove around to see all the new construction that was done at and around the hospital. On our way back we went to visit Mimi at her work so she could introduce her grandson to her co-workers.

Tuesday November 21, 2006: Time to introduce David to more people first we went to visit Grampy at his new office and then we visited with Grammy at her work. After that we stopped by Sanborn Regional High School to get a tour of the new school by the new Assistant principal Mr. Stack! For lunch it was Chinese food (The Doc's reward for all the driving around) and then time to get ready for our night out in Boston. David was dropped off at Grammy and Papa's house where he went to meet more people at the bowling alley that Uncle David and Grammy bowl at. We headed to Boston and had a fabulous dinner at Laurel Grill & Bar. After dinner we went Fire and Ice (yes I finally went back!) for desert and drinks. The girls shared a Chocolate Fondu that consisted of strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, kiwi and pineapple. It was was really good and I would highly recommend it! It was a really fun night and I can't wait to be able to do it again!

Wednesday November 22, 2006: In the morning we picked up Scottie and headed to the mall to get pictures with Santa! David was on his best behavior and the picture came out great! Perfect for Christmas cards! We ate lunch at the food court and then headed back to do some more visiting and more showing off of the little guy! We stopped by the Pillbox where I used to work while I was still in school. That night we had Chinese food from Lucky Corner for dinner.

Thursday November 23, 2006: Thanksgiving! This day was spent with my family at my Aunt's house. The food was awesome and I stuffed my self until I couldn't eat anymore! David spent most of his day being passed around to the different family members. That night we headed over to the Stacks where Brian saved me a piece of his "brined" turkey. While I admit it was tasty I don't feel it was any tastier than my butter basted stuffed turkey!! I really enjoyed the cookies with Erica's homemade whipped cream! The boys looked so handsome in their Thanksgiving outfits as seen in the picture below:



Friday November 24, 2006: Thanksgiving Take II! How lucky am I that I got to have TWO turkey days!! This Thanksgiving was with the Doc's family down in Cape Cod. David's two Great Aunts took turns holding him and I wasn't sure if they were ever going to let me have him back!! He also got to play with Casey (a Bichon). I again ate so much I couldn't move but if I had to do it again...I would!

Saturday November 25, 2006: Went to the mall with my cousins and what was supposed to be window shopping turned into me carrying five bags of stuff! It was nice to get some shopping out of the way though especially with no sales tax! After shopping we went to lunch and then then the Doc came with David to pick me up and we introduced him to Moose and Alaska (Siberian Huskies). I think we're going to have to get a dog because he just loved them! Poor Trot and Drew. That night we met up with Steph for dinner at the China Blossom (we ate way too much Chinese food) then we headed over to the Bejing for drinks and some singing!

Sunday November 26, 2006: 8:00 am we hit the road home! We wanted to miss traffic and get home in time for the Pats game. Plus the Doc wanted to relax before starting his rotation in the MICU. As you can see it was a busy week and we did a ton of running around but it was fun and good seeing everyone!