Adjusting to the Changes

We've been home from the hospital since Wednesday afternoon and everyone seems to be adjusting really well. Hayden, especially! He's nursing great, sleeping fairly well at night, and overall comfy in his new environment. I find it amazing how noises don't disturb him (and his hearing is just fine). I know they say that babies get used to sounds in the womb, but this is just astonishing! Lauren can scream loudly, the dog can bark, Carter can bang on toys -- Hayden doesn't even flinch! But trust me... if I talk he looks for me. When Matt talks while holding him, he turns his gaze to Matt's face. He hears just fine. :)

When we left the hospital, Hayden was 8 lbs 15 oz -- losing weight is normal, esp since my milk isn't in yet (it did come in the day we left the hospital). I took him to the doctor Saturday morning for the usual first checkup and he was already back up to 9 lbs 2 oz. The goal is for him to be at birth weight by the 2-week checkup -- I think he'll make it. Especially the way he eats! :)

I am finding it easy to transition from two to three kids. Of course, I've only been home alone with all three for a couple hours so far! But overall I'm less stressed about having a new baby and I think that comes with experience. Either that, or I just don't have the time to be! :P Lauren seems so big to me now. She's communicating so much better and sleeping in a toddler bed -- it just seems like she's so much older than 18 months! I just hope that having them close together won't make me lose those little "baby" moments with her. She has stepped into the role of big sister -- looking after baby, giving him plenty of pats and kisses, and watching him while he sleeps. And she loves being Mommy's little helper.

Carter has also stepped up his role as big brother. He's fascinated with Hayden and is always asking if he can hold him. He eagerly awaits for Hayden's eyes to be open so he can talk to him, and Hayden just watches Carter when he's around. Carter not only helps with the baby, but helps a lot more with Lauren -- especially when I'm nursing!

I've got a wonderful family and feel truly blessed. I'm looking forward to all the new moments that await us, and how our lives will change with each one.

An Update...

I had a dr appt this past Monday (36 weeks) and still haven't posted about it! I was a little more than 3 cm dilated and dr was pleased with my progress. He said I basically just have to actually go into labor! Oh, but when I do... don't mess around -- just get to the hospital! I think because of the way I'm progressing now, he thinks it will be a quick labor. We'll see, as you never know. The plan is to still induce on Nov 25th, if I make it that far (and that's according to doc). This week I have been having more Braxton Hicks contractions with my stomach "balling up". I've also started losing my mucous plug, but that could be due to the dilation.

Other news from the appt... Dr doesn't think he'll be bigger than Carter, but he could be as big (9 lbs 12 oz). They don't want him to get too big, but know that I delivered Carter easily. My strep test came back negative, my blood pressure is great, and I lost 1/2 lb this week (up 27.5 lbs overall). All great news! I'll go back on Monday morning for another check.

Matt has been in California since last Saturday so it's been a little rough on me this week. Of course, this is the week that I got super uncomfortable walking, lifting, bending over... The kids and I were in Cincinnati for Amber & Eric's engagement party on Saturday, then my parents came home with me. They helped me (like crazy!) around the house Sunday-Tuesday. It was really nice having them here, and we got so much done! It all makes it very real that baby could be here anyday.

Lauren and Carter are now all moved into Lauren's room. Lauren has adjusted very well to her toddler bed -- we moved her on Nov 2nd. Carter is actually excited to sleep in the same room too! I'm still getting all the clothes and toys situated, but at least the priority stuff got done. Carter's room is set back up like a nursery and it made me a little sad that it wasn't his room anymore. But we'll have a new little guy in there, and that's exciting!

I feel like I've been doing non-stop laundry all week too. All the baby's clothes are washed and (almost) put away. I also pretty much finished buying Carter's and Lauren's winter clothes. Plus the normal laundry, towels, sheets... It never ends!

Matt will be home very early Saturday morning (closer to Friday night). It'll be nice having him home, and will let me worry less about going into labor! Luckily, I have so many great friends "on call" should something happen before he gets here. They've also been keeping me busy and company while he's away. We're headed to one's house for dinner tonight, and another's for dinner tomorrow. It's so nice having company and not having to worry about it! I think I would've gone crazy without my parents and friends this week -- thanks, everyone!

Gotta Love Kids

I love my kids... they provide me with so much humor! Last night after dinner, Lauren was trying to get something she wasn't supposed to have. Matt smacked her hand slightly and told her no (after not listening to just no). She gets rather upset and comes running into the kitchen where I'm doing dishes. Matt tells me not to comfort her because she had gotten into trouble -- which I knew, and wasn't going to comfort her. She walks around the cabinets and starts yelling at me with her right arm held out. Then she points to it, like she's telling me that Daddy smacked her hand! She didn't want comfort... she wanted to tell on Daddy! :D

Lauren's 15 months!

Wow... 15 months already! Lauren is growing so quickly. She had her routine checkup today, and the doctor said she looks wonderful. She measured 32.25" (95th%) and 24 lbs 10 oz (75th%). She got three vaccines -- Hep A, Varivax (chicken pox), and MMR -- and did very well both during and after. Developmentally she is around 22 months. She is doing so much these days, most recently learning to climb! In the pic above, she got herself on top of the toy box. I've also walked in to find her on the coffee table, which we're trying to teach is a no-no. So hard to do while not discouraging her to do new things! Another new thing is singing -- she will sing "Row Your Boat", and now I'm working on "Twinkle Twinkle".

Lauren and Carter play so well together, for the most part. They both like to pick on each other -- especially Lauren tackling Carter. She's also become quite the talker. While she knows a lot of words, for the most part she's still just gibbering. She'll also nod her head at you, usually at appropriate times. Like at breakfast the other day I asked her if she wanted more cereal and she shook her head yes. :) Some words she knows and uses are mama, dada, Carter, Lauren, Orion, juice, wow, book, ball, this, here, up, bath, no, dog, cheese (taking picture). She also recognizes hungry, nap, change diaper, eat, drink, jump, phone, and many more.

We're in the process of learning body parts and so far she knows head/hair, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, belly, toes. I think she knows a few more, but these are the ones she's consistent with. We're also working on animals and their sounds. She knows dog, elephant, and owl. I'm hoping to start doing other things with her, like shapes and colors, now that I'll have a little more one-on-one time some mornings while Carter's at school. I have no high expectations, we just like introducing things and letting her pick them up. It was the same way with Carter, and he's doing wonderfully.

Lauren is a great eater, hardly picky at all. She eats very well with a fork, and can use a spoon for thicker foods like mashed potatoes. Her fingers are still her main "utensils", but that's to be expected. She also loves her milk! She's also become a skilled runner -- no, not walker anymore! Lauren also tries to jump while standing and will do a somersault.

Many, many teeth are on their way in! She's had her front eight teeth since nine months, and now four more front teeth (the cuspids) and one molar have already broke through. The other molars aren't much further behind! Luckily, this hasn't caused a lot of pain for her -- at least not noticeably -- thank goodness!

I could probably go on and on about what Lauren is up to these days, but that's a pretty good summary. She's just a happy little girl, always smiling or giggling. Especially when she wants your attention. ;) I'll try and blog more often about the kids so you can learn even more about what they're doing.

A Busy Day!

We had a busy day around here! Carter started preschool this morning, Lauren had her 15-month checkup this afternoon, and Matt left for a hiking/camping trip in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park this evening. When I have a little more time, I'll post more detailed blogs about the first two events. :)

Lauren's a Baby Boomlet!

Baby Boomlet Sets Yearly Birth Record

WASHINGTON -- More babies were born in the United States last year than ever before, according to preliminary data, but it's not another baby boom just yet.

About 4,315,000 children were born in 2007, about 15,000 more births than the peak time of the baby boom in 1957, said Stephanie Ventura, a demographer at the National Center for Health Statistics, which compiled the data from provisional birth certificate registrations at state health departments.

"According to our provisional data, we had the highest number of births ever reported in 2007," she said.

But this doesn't mean there's a baby boom under way. In the mid-'50s about as many babies were being born from a lot fewer women.

"What this really reflects is that the population has grown so much in the United States, so you naturally expect more births," Ventura said. "It's hard to call this a baby boom at this point."

Years leading up to 2007 showed slight increases in the number of births, not the substantial growth of the baby boom years, which were 1946 through 1964, Ventura said.

Lauren's First Trip to the Dentist

Lauren went to the dentist for the first time today. I know, a lot of you are saying, "Already?!?" Yep... they actually recommend going at one year, or when they have their first teeth (if that's later). Since Lauren's teeth popped through pretty early, I'd rather be sure to have great dental care and monitoring. She now has 10 teeth! Her top cuspids (on either side of top four teeth) have popped through, and at least three of her molars are on the cusp! It doesn't look like her bottom cuspids are far behind either... :) She does have a hematoma by her top left molar, which is just some bleeding in the tooth sac under the gums. The dentist said it's nothing to worry about though. It just makes it look blue! He said everything looks great, and Lauren already likes brushing her teeth. A benefit of starting early! We have been brushing her teeth for some time. :)

Playing Chase

This video was taken a while ago (June 16th), but I just got it uploaded to YouTube. Sam came over to play, and he'd crawl around while Lauren "chased" him. It was so fun to watch! The video is a bit long...

Our Little CopyCat

Lauren likes to mimic things she hears -- motorcycles going by, noises or faces we make, songs we sing, or words we say. Here is her latest...

Shoes

I have been looking for shoes for Lauren for quite some time now. The problem is finding some with soft enough soles to be flexible when she walks. You'd think it'd be a little easier, seeing as how all kids her age need those! But... everytime I tried a pair of shoes or sandals on her, she wouldn't walk or even try to walk (and she's quite the walker!). So I found a pair of Keen sandals -- they have toe protection, but will be cool in the summer. Plus, they're waterproof and are machine washable! We got them today and I put them on her to try around the house. After a very short hesitation she was walking all around with no problem. She can even stand back up on her own when she does go down. I'm very pleased! :)

Vote for Lauren!

At the encouragement of Mandy, I entered Lauren in a cover model photo contest for Parents Magazine. I found out about it yesterday and had to submit photos by today, so hopefully I got some cute enough ones! Check her pictures out and be sure and rate her as high as you feel she deserves! I, of course, will be giving her all fives! :) You should also click the "recommend" to the right of the star ratings. None of this actually affects the judging, but it probably looks good to have been rated high and been recommended. Be sure to click all four photos. Thanks, and good luck, Lauren!

http://www.parents.com/app/sharemy/photoDetails.jsp?photoId=218100919

I'm not really expecting to win, as there are over 75,000 entries -- but I think Lauren is cute enough! :)

Something New!

Lauren's birthday present from Grandma Robin and Grandpa Norm finally arrived yesterday (after being on backorder for a month!). She was very excited about her new chair, as she loves climbing on Carter's (whose was also a first birthday gift!). I put it together and let her explore. See how much fun she had?!

Splish, Splash!

We took Lauren and Carter to the Bryan Park Pool this past Friday. It was Lauren's first time in a swimming pool! She absolutely loves baths, so we figured she'd just be another water bug like Carter. Sure enough, she loved it! Matt took some pictures when we first got into the water -- you can see them here. (Don't look to closely at the unflattering images of myself!) The pics just show her getting acquainted with the water, the first couple of minutes. Then Matt and Carter took off to the big pool with the water slides. :) Lauren found a friend, or rather a little girl found her! She splashed around, crawled and walked in the water, squealed with glee, was intrigued by the waterfall, and had a blast! This will definitely be a favorite summertime activity.

Lauren at One Year

Lauren had her one-year checkup today. Still hard to believe that she's one year old!! Dr. Malone said she's doing fantastic, and everyone commented on how happy she is. She started conversations and giggled with everyone she saw! :) Looking back on past blogs, I haven't done a doctor appt update for Lauren since she was two months old, and no formal update since three months old! My, my, my... how slack I've been! So, here's her growth development since birth:

Birth: 8 lbs 3 oz; 20 in (left hospital at 7 lbs 13 oz)
5 Days: 7 lbs 15 oz
2 Weeks: 9 lbs 2 oz (95%); 20 in (25%, which I think was mismeasured)
2 months: 13 lbs 4 oz (95-97%); 24.5 in (>97%)
4 months: 14 lbs 8 oz (75%); 25.5 in (95%)
6 months: 17 lbs (75%); 27.5 in (90-95%)
9 months: 19 lbs 4 oz (60%); 29.75 in (97%) [she had an infection then, and weighed just over 20 lbs two days before this appt]
12 months: 22 lbs 8 oz (75%); 31 in (95%)

You can see she's growing very well, pretty much staying in the 75% for weight and 95% for height. She's a great eater, which I know contributes to her excellent growth. Lauren hasn't eaten baby food in probably almost two months -- she just didn't want it anymore! She's had eight teeth since the end of February so has been able to eat solid foods for a bit (by solid, I mean our food). It's been nice basically feeding her our meals, with the exception of the no-no foods for babies! She's also made the transition to whole milk instead of formula (she nursed until 10.5 months, when she weaned herself much to my surprise; it was about five days later I found out that I was pregnant!). Now, she gets milk at every meal (in a cup... no bottles after one year!) and one diluted juice cup a day. Since her birthday she's also eaten eggs and is fine with them. :)

Developmentally, Lauren measured about 16 months. There were some questions I could've answered after we got our three no's on the questionnaire though. I'll take you through some developmental milestones since three months, since we haven't updated since then! She put herself to sleep at three months and was pretty much sleeping through the night. She started eating solids (cereal) just after four months, added veggies three weeks later, and fruit another two and a half weeks later. The first tooth sprouted on Oct 3, a week before she was five months old, with the second one coming five days later (both bottom front). The third one (bottom second left) was Dec 22, fourth (top right) was Jan 3, fifth (top left) on Jan 8, sixth (top second right) on Jan 15, seventh (top second left) on Jan 22), and eighth (bottom second right) on Feb 26.

Continuing on with milestones... Lauren sat alone at five and half month. At six months she drank from a cup, says mama (her first word!), waves bye-bye, ate our food (Thanksgiving dinner, yum!), says dada, says nigh-night, and crawled. At seven months she pulled herself up to kneeling and then standing, started sitting herself up from crawling, gives kisses. At eight months Lauren started cruising along furniture, claps hands, stood alone for a few seconds, signed "all done", blew kisses. At nine months she said Carter and stood alone for longer. At ten months she took her first steps! Since then she's just been improving on everything -- standing for longer, taking more steps, saying more words... As for her words, she understands much more than she can say. Words she can say include mama, dada, baby, Carter, nigh-night, bye-bye, hi, bath, uh-oh (her fave), no, uh-uh, dog, grandpa (ba-pa), this, that... She isn't walking all of the time yet, but has taken as many as twelve steps by herself and will walk with us holding one hand (and walking with her). She just knows she can get there much quicker if she crawls! I'm sure it won't be long though. :)

Lauren loves to give hugs and kisses and is such a sweetie! But when Carter's picking on her, she's learning to pick back! She plays very well independently and loves to just have her freedom to roam. She loves being outside and playing at the park, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she likes the pool this summer. She absolutely loves her baths!

What else can I say about Lauren... She's just pure joy to have around. She's such a happy little girl, almost always has a smile on her face! Watching her grow up is amazing -- it's just been way to fast!

Lauren Turned One!

My, how the time flies... I can't believe my baby is one already! We celebrated with a big party on her birthday yesterday with lots of friends and family. It seems that she had lots of fun... especially when she caught on that she could actually eat her cake and make a mess! :) Thank you to everyone who made it such a special day!

Look what Lauren can do!!

Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLxno5mOXAw

Caught!

Lauren was caught playing with -- no, in -- her toys! :D