Tick tock, tick tock

Holy &#!*, where is the time going?  It feels like this year is speeding by... glad the holidays are here and I will have some time off.  Blog posts coming soon...

Owen thinks months are for slowpokes

Owen has been on the weekly growth plan since moving into 6 month clothes at 6 weeks... 9 month at 9 weeks, 12 month...etc...it was odd how the timing worked out perfectly.  Now, he's 6 months old and his 18 month stuff is getting a little tight in the crotch.  I have so many things he never wore.  He is not going to be a child I can buy things for in advance.

I never thought I would have a blond haired, blue eyed baby, but here he is.  At first, I remember thinking he looked nothing like I imagined, since I was expecting dark hair like Shae.  Now I wonder how I could think of him looking any other way.  He's happy, and healthy, and perfect.

A 'Dot' of his very own

My last post couldn't have been more timely... the following week, my Aunt Donna sent a lovey blanket and some other handmade goodies for Owen.  No one was more excited than Shae, yelling "Owen, you have your own Dot!".  I don't think he'll ever get a chance to name it something else, but that's ok, because his has polka dots too.  It is just beautiful, and my aunt is so talented.

Aunt Donna, he loves it already. Thank you SO much, I have a feeling his will be just as special to him.

Dot to the rescue

'Dot' is Shae's little lovey blanket.  My Aunt Donna made it for her when she was born, and she has loved it since the first time she held it.  It has cute little polka dots, hence then name Dot.

Over the past two years, Dot has seen a lot of action.  Some of the ribbons have been rubbed of their patterns and are now blank.  No matter, those are the favorite ribbons and she seeks them out to rub some more. When Shae goes to sleep, she holds Dot.  When she gets hurt or upset, she asks for Dot.  When Owen cries, she shares her Dot with him.

We now have a rule that Dot does not leave the house.  If she were ever to get lost, we would be in big trouble.  I had to make another, which did not come out nearly as nice, so she could take one to school (she calls it her 'school Dot').

The other day I noticed her holding Dot on her foot and asked her what she was doing.  She said Dot was fixing her boo boo.  She really believes Dot is magic, and with all of the comfort it brings my child, so do I.

Sleeping with Dot when she was about 6 months old.

Dot with Shae on her first flight.

Sharing Dot with Owen.

Dear Owen,

my sweet little boy.   I didn't even know you were possible a year ago, so it's amazing you are here and such a big part of our lives.  The last three months have been a tough adjustment on all of us since you've spent much of it crying, but I love you.  I really do.  I try my best not to get frustrated, because I know it's not your fault you feel crummy.  I sing to you.  I walk with you until you stop crying and fall asleep.  I've changed my diet to eat what you can tolerate.  I've given up coffee, bread, ice cream, cheese, and chocolate.  That's how much I love you.  You are starting to feel better, and are turning into a happy baby.  I promise to try and never take the little things for granted.  I cherish every smile, every coo.

I wonder what you will choose to do with your life, where you will go. No matter what it is, I hope you are happy.  I look at your chubby little hands and I think one day they will throw a ball.  One day they will build something. One day they will hold the hand of the person you will marry.  One day those hands will hold your own child.  Only then, will you truly understand how much I love you.

Crying.

Owen cries.  A lot.  He is colicky, and has food 'sensitivities' from what I eat, which cause him some digestive issues.  Poor little guy didn't even smile until he was 7 weeks, and that was after I was on an elimination diet for a week.  We can tell he is so uncomfortable.  We have an appointment with a pediatric GI to see if they have any suggestions.  I am actually terrified they are going to tell me I can't nurse him anymore and have to switch to formula.  It's very hard to explain why, but I feel like that is the best thing I can do to nurture my baby.  Oddly enough, he's still gaining weight steadily, and is up to 15 lbs at 8 weeks old.


Shae has been great and loves her brother.  She wants to help do everything for him.  The crying doesn't seem to bother her much, just that I have to hold him all the time.  When he cries during the night, she puts her head under the pillow and goes back to sleep (yes, she's in our 'family' bed).  She is always kissing him, laying next to him, and tells him "it's ok buddy" when he cries.  She has gone from telling him "Mommy is coming" to now saying "I'm coming", because she is good at calming him down.  It's really very sweet.


The downside?  She wants to be babied.  She asks me to hold her and rock her.  She has stopped using the potty.  She never, not once, used a pacifier as a baby, but is now stealing his.  She doesn't even like it, just wants it because he has it.

Two kids and an Easter egg hunt

We've all had a hard time adjusting to having Owen at home, mostly because he cries so much.  I know Shae is a little jealous lately, so I spent a lot of time with her and tried to make Easter a special day.  We learned she does not know moderation.  She opened every egg and ate the candy as soon as she found it.

Eating jelly beans for the first time.  She LOVED them.

This was the face she gave me when I suggested she save some for later.

Shae helped make the bunny cake this year.  She really enjoyed the mixing and measuring, but her favorite part was the arranging and icing.  

I wonder why we needed twice as much icing this year. :) 

Sprinkling on the coconut 'fur'

She was so proud of the finished product!

Welcome Owen Matthew

Our little boy arrived on February 22, 2012, at 12:58pm.  He was 8lbs 9oz, 21.5 inches.

It's no wonder I craved beer my whole pregnancy, I had a little red-headed Irishman in my belly.  We were surprised by the red hair and by how small he seems even though he was a pound heavier than Shae.  My great-grandfather had red hair, and Matt thinks he has someone in his family too.  He does look a lot like Shae did as a baby though, just different coloring.  I am so in love with him already.

I hated every minute of the c-section, it felt so unnatural to have a baby that way.  I think I cried through the entire thing.  Even though Shae's delivery was tough, it was a very natural process.  But somehow, once they gave him to me, none of it mattered anymore.  So far, he is perfect and gaining weight like a champ.  We had his 2-week check-up and he is up to 9lbs 11.5oz.

Shae is amazingly maternal, helps to diaper him, burp him, and wants to hold, hug, and kiss him constantly.  The first time she held him, she kissed his head and said "it's ok baby, Shae's here".  That made me so happy.  We are making an effort to spend a lot of alone time with her too, so have not had many jealous moments.  She's really good about asking me to put him down if she wants me to do something with her.  She'll either say, 'put Owen in swing', or 'Daddy take Owen'.  She's a great little communicator.

Welcome to this crazy world little guy.  We are so happy to have you as a part of our family, and are looking forward to sharing our lives with you.

Matt ready for surgery.

Shae helping to feed her baby brother.

He looks so peaceful.

Goodbye pregnancy.

Today was my very last day of being pregnant.  Ever.  The idea makes me so sad.  I will never again feel the fullness of a belly with a little life inside, squirming and kicking.  So I spent the day making an extra effort to recognize everything about the way my body feels and moves with this baby inside.  I touched my belly constantly and keep asking him if he's ready, because I don't know if I am.  But I do know I want to remember what this feels like.

Tomorrow morning I will check into the hospital, and before I know it, I will have a beautiful little boy to hold.

I take it back.

As much as I loved being pregnant before, I can't say I do now.  We had a measurement of the baby this past Monday, and he is now 8lbs 6oz.  Average for this age is 6lbs.  I'm not due for 4 weeks.

Why so big?  Who knows.  Could be the daily serving of peanut M&Ms I allowed myself, or the generous amount of cookies, or maybe he just has big genes.  Although, I was a heavier baby than Matt, so I can't really blame him.  The doctor said I'm a good oven.  Unfortunately, I'm not nearly as good at delivery, with these narrow hips.  Darn them, they just won't spread.  I am scheduled for a c-section on February 22.  At least it's not Leap Day, and he'll have a pretty cool birthday;  2/22/12.

I have two fat little feet kicking my ribs and stretching my stomach so much the entire front alternates between numbness and stinging like it's on fire, which is apparently normal (doctor said it's the nerves stretching).  On Monday, the ultrasound tech actually told me she felt sorry for me, because he kicks so hard.  And top it off with a good dose of mama guilt for feeling this way and for not enjoying even the uncomfortable parts.  I should be grateful, because I am very, very lucky to have this pregnancy, and this healthy (albeit overfed) little boy.  Now let's get this fatso out and see his sweet little face.

Leap Day, here we come (and hopefully go)

My doctor would like to induce labor a few weeks early to give me the best chance of delivering naturally.  We scheduled for February 22, but Christine will be in Costa Rica at that time and can't come stay with Shae. 

Sooooo, we have opted for February 29 (apparently my doctor only has scheduled hospital hours on Wednesdays).  I really, really, don't want a Leap Day baby.  That was one of my first thoughts when I found out my due date.  Birthdays are a big deal to kids, and no matter how much you try to sell the idea of it being 'unique', I don't think it would take long for him to realize it sucks.

Luckily, my doctor is understanding and willing to induce late in the day, with the intention of my labor going past midnight.  I never thought I'd say this, but I hope for a long labor so he can be born March 1.  If it goes quickly, he can blame his Aunt Chrissy for the fact that he only gets a real birthday every four years.  When I asked my doctor what my chances were of going faster, he said 'not likely'.  This baby is big, and I am not.  He said if he measures Shae's size or larger (7lbs 10oz), they won't even let me try, it's an automatic c-section, so we can avoid the traumatic labor she had. 

Help me wish for a smaller, healthy, baby that will deliver easily.  And not on Leap Day.  Please and thank you.

Shae's 2nd Birthday

I made the mistake of telling Shae her birthday was coming just before Christmas. She was so surprised to find out she gets one.  We had to sing Happy Birthday in the car every day for three weeks.  She still didn't really get the Christmas thing, but she is well aware of birthdays from her friends parties, so that became her focus.  She kept saying "Shae's birthday coming?" every day, so we created a calendar to check off the days.  We had a small party at home and she had so much fun.  She woke up at about 2am the night after, yelling 'Mommy!'.  When I went in, she just wanted to talk about the day and who came to her party.  She was that excited about it.  So sweet.

I'm 2!!

She was testing it first to see if she liked it.

The swingset was a big hit.

Mmmm, carrot 'icecakes' as Shae calls them (because all she really likes is the icing).

We made a banner with monthly photos from 1-2 years.
I loved to see how she's changed and so did she.

Exhausted at the end of a great birthday.

Pregnancy: The good, and the really good

Is it weird that I love being pregnant?  Most women I know were miserable, so maybe I'm just lucky and have easy, healthy pregnancies.  I had no morning sickness and I'm not very tired.  I love the feeling of carrying around this little life inside me.  I know he is warm, safe, well fed, and healthy.  I think I'm good at this.

I'm not at an uncomfortable stage yet and enjoy the little squirms, turns, and pokes.  He now gets the hiccups frequently, just like Shae did.  Other than that, the pregnancy itself is very different.  I've never understood before when women talk about carrying like it's a boy or girl, but with Shae, I carried more around the waist, hips, and legs (everywhere really).  This one is all out front like a ball. 

People are just plain nicer to you.  They hold doors, ask if you need help carrying things, and strangers actually start conversations (especially the women who want to guess if you are having a boy or girl).  It's almost like walking a puppy. 

I don't have to wash my hair.  Seriously, this may be the best perk of all because I've always hated washing it.  What a waste of time.  Luckily, my body seems to think it has more important things to do than lubricate my scalp, so if I wash my hair once or twice a week, it is more than enough.  Same goes for shaving my legs, but I can't really reach or see down there anymore, so who cares.

I'm still craving beer, and my doctor has said I can have them now (but only one a day he warned, as if I thought he was giving the go-ahead for partying).  I've never been much of a beer person unless it's a hot summer day, but boy does it taste delicious now.  The dark winter lagers are my favorite.

Shae likes to yell 'hi baby' into my belly and pat it.  She keeps saying 'baby come out soon' too.  I'm not sure if it's a question or an order.  We're trying our best to prepare her for a sibling but I worry about how she will handle it.