We're moving back home. Password is still the same for the time being. I can only handle one big change at a time. ;)

I've been remodeling a little and I'll be blogging on my original site exclusively very soon. I'll also be changing the password because I'm really tired (and a little creeped out) by certain anonymous commenters. (not the ones who just forget to login) I'll give everyone plenty of warning though! :)

This cracked me up.

C'mon. You know your neighborhood has one. Ours moved away, but she sure talked a lot while she was here!

Ben is in the kitchen arguing, I kid you not, with the Leapfrog Word Whammer.

Word Whammer: Find the letter "R"!
Ben: NO! I don't WANT to find the letter R!

Word Whammer: Let's spell the word "Cat"
Ben: NO! I don't WANT to spell the word cat. I want to spell the world Darth Vader!!"

(heavy sigh)

Fever going back up again!!! :( Also, the postpartum bleeding seems to be making a reappearance. Will this ever end?

These are all said in the most WHINY voice you can imagine. If you can't recreate it, just play a tape of fingernails on a chalkboard while you read.

"I don't like getting dressed"

"I don't like oatmeal"

"I don't like chicken"

"I don't like breakfast"

"I don't want to wear clothes"

"I don't like pajamas"

"I don't like taking my temperature"

"I don't want to wear underwear OR a Pullup"

"I don't like red sippy cups!!!"

"Not the blue cup! I want the RED cup!!"

"But I don't LIKE red sippy cups!!!"

"I don't WANT lunch"

"I don't want dinner"

"It's NOT morning, it's NIGHT!" (at 8a.m.)

"I don't WANT to go upstairs"

"I don't want to stay downstairs"

"I don't want to poop HERE, I want to go HOME and poop!!"

You get the point... my patience is being tapped TO THE MAX.

After sweating like CRAZY all night long, my fever FINALLY broke sometime this morning. It's actually a lovely and normal 98.2 after not going below 99.5 for three days. I feel HUMAN!

Today will be spent getting the house back in order (yes, slowly... I'm not going to overdo it) and tending as much as possible to me very neglected three-year-old.
Also, the baby REALLY needs a bath. He is quite stinky-poo and the whole once-over with a baby wipe isn't really working anymore.

In other news, not that you care, but I'M pretty excited. I got on the scale this morning and I'm at my pre-BEN weight. This means I still have about 12-13 pounds to go, but I'll get there eventually! Though the weight is coming off pretty quickly, my hips are taking their time going back into place, so it's still hard to get some of my regular shorts up. Every day, it gets a little better though. I keep reminding myself it took 13 weeks after Ben before everything was back where it should be. (and even then, my stomach was still quite squishy for awhile!)

And with that, I hear that Benjamin is awake, so I'm off to start the day. It will be nice to spend the day somewhere other than on the couch under six blankets. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh... :)

My mom and I managed to work as a team and get the kiddos to the pediatrician successfully this morning. The results:

Ben: Still has a slight fever. Otherwise? He's "fine". She told me to keep giving him Motrin for the fever and keep him on the Claritin for his allergies. He was weighed in at a WHOPPING 30 pounds. Heh. The nurse said, "Your little brother is going to quickly outpace you!"

Simon: My gosh. Could this child BE more laid back? He didn't even cry when I took his clothes off. He cooed and stared at the doctor the whole time she examined him. The only time he really cried was when she pricked his heel and hey, I'd have cried too. :( Ready for this? HE weighs in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces. 10-15th percentile for weight, 50th for height (20 inches still), 50th for head. (we make kids with gigantic heads) Anyway, this means, in the span of a week, he has gained almost a FULL pound. He is almost busting out of the newborn diapers. I told you all the kid can eat! I have to give him iron drops because he is getting mostly breastmilk still... does anyone have any comments on this? I have heard it's controversial and not especially necessary. And at what point is he eating enough formula to be getting the iron he needs? Yeah, I could ask the doctor, but frankly, I think the internet and other mothers are a better resource. So anyway, he is perfect and healthy, other than his freaky deaky belly button and a slight cold, which she just told me to use saline drops for. (He's going to LOVE that) We get to go back in two weeks for his 1-month visit.

Me: My doctor informed me when I got a hold of her today that the antibiotic can take up to 48 hours to start working. That makes me feel a LITTLE better. She said if I still keep spiking a fever by late tomorrow afternoon to call her and we'll try something stronger. I still say there is the distinct possibility that I have whatever Ben has just to a larger degree. Either way, I hope I kick it soon. My house is a total sty, Ben is neglected and Tom is irrated because he has to keep leaving work early. Bleh.

It seems the baby has a cold... he sniffled, gagged and coughed all night long. The only way he could sleep was on his tummy laying on one of us.

(what you didn't expect Simon to get in on the action?)

Also, I STILL have a 103 fever. Motrin brings it down to 99-something temporarily, but as soon as it wears off, it shoots right back up again. I'm starting to think the mastitis diagnosis was wrong, especially since I now have three doses of the antibiotic in me. Anyone who has had mastitis have any thoughts on this?

OH... and Ben had a 99.4 fever last night.

OH... and I have to get both boys to the doctor this morning. (thankfully, my mom is coming to help because I'm pretty sure I'd be a driving hazard right now)

I'm trying to decide if this qualifies as an "emergency" because my doctor's office isn't open yet and my only option is to page her. I'm guessing it's NOT.

Ben just fell asleep sitting up.

He looks sick still... reddish circles under his eyes and just SO not himself. I decided to call the pediatrician and see if I could get a two-for-one deal when I take Simon in tomorrow for his 2-week(almost) checkup. Thankfully, the nurse said it wasn't a problem. I'm starting to get a little worried about him... he usually bounces back so quickly from things.

Here's hoping it's just allergies...
:(

MASTITIS!

Hopefully an antibiotic will have me on the mend soon... but holy heck, what ELSE is going to happen around here?

I woke up this morning with a fever that quickly spiked to 101.5. Of course, to make matters difficult, Ben had his 102 fever two days ago, so now I don't know if I have what HE had or if my right umm.. milk maker is broken. (I woke up to it hurting quite a bit). Sigh.

Waiting impatiently (and freezing cold) until noon when my doctor gets in. :(

My mother-in-law always says how annoyed it made her when people would look at her brood of three boys and make the comments like, "Tried for the girl, huh?" She always said that wasn't the case... but I couldn't help having a bit of doubt about that. What mother wouldn't long for a little girl?

When we first started this whole baby thing back in 2003, I definitely had a preference. I wanted my first to be a girl more than anything. Then we found out he was a boy, and I slowly got used to the idea... then he was BORN and I couldn't even imagine him having been a girl.

When I got pregnant again, I pretty much knew I was having a boy from the start. (though people kept trying to tell me otherwise) When we went to the ultrasound, and she pointed out the boy parts (which I'm getting very good at spotting), I just started laughing. TWO boys... who would have ever thought I'd have TWO boys?! (besides my inlaws) That's when we decided to keep it a surprise. (which was really fun, just by the way)

I won't lie, there was a tiny part of me that was hoping for the little girl this time (at one point, I thought we saw the infamous "three lines" on the screen, but it turned out to be a kidney or something) ;) But once she told us we were having our Simon, I was so excited. Brothers! And they'd be close in age... I couldn't have planned it better! Plus I liked our boy name more than our girl name. ;)

I could never blog about this back when it was going on, for obvious reasons... but I wanted to: One of the best moments after we found out we were having another boy was getting Ben's baby clothes down from the attic. I washed them all and then, as I carefully folded and hung them up one by one, I remembered my first little guy wearing each gown, pair of pajamas and teeny tiny outfit and I cried. For awhile, I was making Tom look at each one and reminisce with me, but he quickly got bored...you know, Y-chromosome defect and all. (and to whoever I stole that term from, thanks!)

So now that I'm carting two boys around town, I'm constantly getting the question, "Soooo... you gonna try for the girl?"

Well, I'm going to try for three children (you'll remember it took us awhile to get Simon!), because that's what I've always wanted. If I "get the girl" next time, I'll be ecstatic. I still say it's natural for a mother to want a daughter. But I'd also LOVE to have three boys; and if that's what I end up with, I'm not going to spend the rest of my life wondering about the daughter I never had.

So now I'm finding myself annoyed at answering this presumptuous question over and over. We'll get whatever we're supposed to have. :) And if that's three boys? Well, then these little clothes are going to get a lot of milage, aren't they? ;)

Leslie had her baby boy, "Baby O", on Saturday! (prayers for a speedy coming home for the little guy, who made his debut a little earlier than scheduled)

And Valis playing the same game I did last week... going to the hospital and getting sent home and whatnot. So it's only a matter of time over there! :)

So exciting!

You can thank me later. ;)

Poor big brudder.

He spent Saturday miserable with a 102 fever.

He spent Sunday morning and afternoon on the couch after throwing up (but just the one time, thank goodness) Though a bit clingy and quiet, he was well enough to go to his uncle's birthday dinner in the evening.

Then, last night, after we put him to bed, he woke up screaming. Turns out his left eye was completely swollen shut. We don't know why. Though he was outside earlier, it was MUCH earlier and he had since had a bath... so whatever it was had to have been in his room/bed. NO CLUE. We put him in our bed to keep an eye on it (heh. no pun intended... really) He was up on and off all night screaming... and then at one point, when Tom had gotten up to get a drink, he rolled off the bed and hit his head on the corner of the nightstand. Really, the child is NOT having a good few days...

Benedryl didn't really bring the swelling down any and it's still pretty badly swollen this morning, though he isn't rubbing it or complaining about it as much. When I called the pediatrician last night, (while I was having an internal struggle as to whether or not we needed to take him, baby brudder and all the baby accoutrements to the emergency room) she said if it was still swollen in the morning, to call. (sigh) So I guess we are going BACK to the doctor today... and then again on Wednesday for Simon's 2-week appointment. I'm going to have to take out a home equity loan just to cover the copays if this keeps up.

During all this last night, I told Simon it was his turn next. What will he come up with to top big brudder? A full-body rash? Projectile vomiting? Crazy high fever? With my luck, probably all three.

One 9-day-old infant.

One puking three-year-old. (who actually seems okay now that he puked.. but he had a 102 fever all day yesterday)

Yeah... you might not hear from me for a little while.

And if *I* get it? Or Tom gets it? Well, let's just not go there. Say some strong immune system prayers for Tom and me!


**update** Ben still has a slight fever, but hasn't thrown up since the one time early this morning. We've given him sips of ginger ale, some Motrin and some crackers and so far, so good. Now... if the rest of us can just stay healthy... SHEESH.

I have been trying to get this picture for a week now. First, in the hospital, Simon spit up all over his. Then the next time I was going to try, Ben spilled dinner on HIS. Then they were both clean, but Ben, who suddenly cares about what he wears, wanted to wear something else instead. ;)

I caught a glimpse of the calendar this morning and remembered that today is er... was my due date! How weird... I thought for sure I'd still be pregnant (if I had decided against the induction on the 16th) by now, and even a few days after. Instead, Simon is a week old (and a day!) and we're settling into life with two children.

I spent part of this afternoon swapping out my maternity clothes for my regular clothes in the closet. It was like welcoming home old friends. Oh how I missed them. Some of them, I still can't wear, thanks to my temporary porn-star chest measurements... and I'm just in the last two days comfortably wearing my bigger size shorts and pants. But it feels SO good to say goodbye to the elastic and the panel pants. Whew. :)

Simon is more and more alert every day. He smiles at us (seems like it's for real, but yeah, yeah, it's probably gas) and reveals a dimple in each cheek. It's so darn cute. He's still eating well and sleeping well and just along for the ride in this crazy family.

Everyone keeps asking how Benjamin is doing with being a big brother.(And I do mean EVERYONE... even the lady at the deli counter in the grocery store.) I'm a little tired of answering the question because the fact is, he's doing GREAT with the baby. Doesn't seem to be annoyed with us holding him or giving him attention. He LOVES to hold his baby brother, talk to him and touch his little fingers and toes.

Tom and are making a huge effort to give Benjamin one-on-one special time with each of us, which I think hels. I've been giving him his bath at night, which he loves, and when I take a nap, he usually snuggles up with me and takes one too. Tom has been playing with him a ton and taking him outside a lot. None of this changes the fact that he is three years old, learning to be picky and opinionated, VERY whiny and on top of all that, he has HORRIBLE allergies and seems to feel pretty crappy most of the time lately. None of this seems to have anything to do with Simon being here though, so my answer to the original question is that he really is adjusting wonderfully.

I have some pictures to upload a little later... but for now? I'm off to go put the maternity clothes in the attic! Goodbye to them for another couple years, at least! :D

His belly button stump fell off this morning! (thank goodness... tthat thing was NASTY!) It's first bath time!!

Blurry, but sweet...


Bad framing, but also sweet...


He thought Simon needed to be wrapped back up...


Awake!


Closeup!


Off to empty my memory card so I can keep dumping. ;)

That's what Tom has started calling him. It's kinda hard to come up with a nickname for Simon... in case you've never tried. ;) Ben and I were calling him Simon Pieman too, but so far, that's all we have.

This baby just keeps surprising me. Last night? He slept from 9:30 - 2:30, ate three ounces and went back to sleep until almost 7. I guess it's my reward for paying my dues with the hard kid first. Seriously, he is the easiest baby EVER.

I do have to take him to the pediatrician this morning because he has a goopy eye. The nurse at the hospital, who called to check in yesterday, said she's 90% sure it's a clogged tear duct. No biggie... but I also want to have the doctor look at his belly button. I'm pretty sure he has an umbilical hernia, which is also not a big deal, (though if that's what it is it may eventually require a minor surgery to fix) but it's really kinda freaky looking.

I'm home alone this morning and slowly (very slowly) getting the hang of managing the two kids and the house. The first and biggest lesson I learned is that with #2, there isn't a whole lot of time to just sit around basking in the cuteness when he's sleeping. When Simon is sleeping, he's in one of the various baby holders we have around the house and I'm tending to Ben or getting things done. At the moment, he's in the bouncy seat and I just cleaned up the kitchen, got Ben's breakfast and prepared bottles for the day.

Bottles... holy cow. Literally... holy COW. Moo. The pumping is insane. I can now fill a 9 oz. bottle before an episode of Higglytown Heroes is over. And so far, I'm doing this about 3-4 times a day. I don't know much about breastfeeding or pumping or how much is a lot and frankly I'm kind of making this up as I go along, but DANG that seems like a lot of milk to me. I don't know how long it will last, but my goal is to keep it up for at least six weeks or so. I didn't even make any formula at all yesterday... and it's looking like today I won't need to either. Kinda cool! And obviously, it's filling him up and not affecting his ability to sleep long stretches. ;)

Okay, enough blogging. Time's a wastin'. I have to throw in the baby laundry and do a few other things before we attempt to leave the house for the doctor's office. (which will probably require at least three false starts because of poopy diapers)
I'm loving the insanity though! :) (did I mention Tom is at work for awhile today? I was at first kind of irritated, but I have to learn to fend for myself sometime, right?)

I was looking at Ben's Cabbage Patch Doll, Molly (formerly known as Reggie), this morning and realized that it was the same size, if not BIGGER than Simon. I had some extra time today because Tom took Ben out to get his haircut (whole other post, btw) and Simon was awake so.....

Size comparison:


I couldn't help myself... the pants fit, the shirt was a little out of proportion... but otherwise, not bad! ;) Can you believe this?!

So far, so good over here. Simon's still being very easy on us. We're getting very reasonable amounts of sleep... he's not crying and he's still eating like a champ.

My pumping idea seems to be working the way I thought it would. As with Benjamin, it seems I am a natural milk machine this time too... sheesh. I have four full bottles in the fridge, each of which is equivalent to two or three feedings and I've only actually been pumping since yesterday. Simon is getting a TON of milk that isn't formula, which I feel really good about... more so than I thought I would, actually. I also like the fact that I can leave that milk out or put it in the diaper bag for a few hours without worrying about how long it's been sitting. The formula has one'ish hour expiration, though I follow that kinda loosely most of the time. ;) Tom's still a little weirded out by the whole idea, but I think he's coming around, especially when he remembers how much those can of formula cost. Heh.

We've been out and about quite a bit... I still can't believe how normal I feel. I get a little tired in the afternoon and I usually take a short nap. But otherwise, I really feel amazing. I'm down about 13 pounds so far and I can button and zipper my fat shorts, but the result isn't especially pretty -- MAJOR muffin top and not very comfortable. ;) I think another week or two and they'll be okay though...

The whole postpartum hormone thing seems to be taking the form of being irritated with Tom, rather than randomly crying like last time. I'm sorry, but if I put a full garbage bag IN FRONT OF THE DOOR so you have to step over it to go outside and you don't take it out? That's annoying.

Also, the two child thing is really going to take some getting used to. Yesterday, Tom was out for a couple hours and I was literally stranded in my bedroom because Ben didn't want to do anything or go anywhere. (ohmahgah the whining... make it STOP) It took me the entire two hours almost to convince him to get dressed and brush his teeth and hair. The baby wasn't especially fond of being put down either which made things even MORE challenging, but mostly it was the uncooperative antics of the three-year-old. I'm trying to be ultra sensitive to him though... so I tried not to show how annoyed I was and instead just came to terms with the fact that nothing was going to get done and settled in with him to watch the Disney Channel most of the morning.

Here are a few pics from the last day or so...
Bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning...


Daddy and the boys


SOooooo tired!

I look like I've had a bad boob job. The kind people sue over or that lands them on Awfulplasticsurgery.com.

The newest addition to our family has a really cool upgrade from the last one. He eats. Seeing as I have no good basis for comparison, I can't decide if he eats A LOT or just more like a normal baby than our last attempt.

Formula-fed babies generally eat every three hours. Ben followed this rule, eating at 8, 11, 2 and 5, like clockwork. (not that the child ever finished a bottle, but he did get hungry every three hours)

This one? He wants to eat more like every 2 hours. Sometimes, he is even trying to devour his hands after an hour or so! I try to hold him off because I think, truly, can he be hungry after inhaling 2-1/2 or so ounces of formula just an hour before? (and yes, he makes it clear he's finished, so it's not that I'm not making him enough)

But then eventually he starts trying to nurse everything in sight -- fingers, noses, shirts, big brother... if you enter this house and have boobs, watch out! So I make another bottle and he eats again! Usually only an extra ounce and a half or so but GEEZ. I'm thinking this will be a good place to add in the milk I'm soon-to-be overflowing with... speaking of which, it's a good thing I'm not trying to exclusively breastfeed because DANG, he'd be attached to me 24/7! (going by the general rule that bf babies generally eat every TWO hours, I'm guessing he'd want to eat every half hour or something!!!) ;)

Is this normal? Or did I just give birth to a monster eater? Not that he can't use some extra poundage, if only so that he can actually fit into some of his clothing....

Right on schedule...

Each hour that passes, I look more and more like Dolly Parton. Starting to hurt too... Yes, I have tried my pumping strategy, but the actual MILK doesn't seem to have arrived yet, just colostrum. The milk seems like it's just building up, but not moving. So I guess I have to wait until it lets down before pumping will be of any help. Ow. Ow. Ow. I dreaded this WAY more than going through morning sickness or labor again.

Maybe I'll send Tom to the store for some cabbage. Cole slaw, anyone? ;)

I've been asked this question about a fazillion times since Friday.

Some people have asked with that sort of scrunched up critical look on their faces, others gush about the utter cute-osity of the name and then ask. We've gotten mixed reactions (though mostly very positive) which is what I expected. (hence part of the reason we didn't share the name in the first place)

Let me clear up ONE thing. He is NOT named after Simon Cowell. (though I do adore SC and his nasty insults) ;)

Simon, has in fact, been named since days after Benjamin was born. Tom and I were sitting around one evening talking about names for any other future boys we might have and I threw it out there. I'm a little embarassed to say I actually got attached to the name while being a loyal viewer of the show '7th Heaven.' I was honestly very surprised when Tom said he loved it. There is actually a post about this and a few other boy names we tossed around (that managed to escape my careful Too-secret editing) somewhere buried on my old blog.

I love the name because it makes me think of an adorable, precocious little boy with glasses. (probably because of the little chalk drawing "hello my name is simon" guy and the movie Simon Birch) It's not especially "cool" or "popular", which frankly, isn't something we wish on our kids since WE weren't particularly either and it kept us out of trouble. ;) I like that it's not an out there name, but it's still used rarely enough that he won't have to be Simon G. in his kindergarten class.

We got home yesterday around 11:30... would have been earlier, but the hospital is PAINFULLY slow with their discharge procedures. We waited 45 minutes just for wheelchair to take me to the car. I kept telling them I'd just walk down but blah blah blah procedure... blah blah.

I honestly do not know if it's Simon's personality or that I have a three-year-old and thus, some perspective on what "challenging" is, but MAN this newborn thing seems easy. He pretty much only cries (so far) when he wants to be fed... we feed him, he goes back to sleep. We put him down. He stays where we put him. I chase Ben. Sometimes we change a diaper or two.

And the part everyone is waiting to hear about... the first NIGHT. Umm... pretty much painless. We fed him at 10:00. He slept until 1:30. I got up and fed him and he was up and alert for a little while, so I checked my email and played on the computer for awhile. He went back to sleep until 5. Tom fed him. He went back to sleep in 15 minutes and we all slept until 8. I got more sleep last night than I got the whole last week I was pregnant. He DID spend a lot of the night sleeping next to me, which makes SUCH a huge difference. He sleeps so soundly and goes to sleep so quickly like that. Realllllly wish I'd known I could do that with Ben. I'm going out today to find something a cosleeper thing I know I've seen to put in the bed to keep him separated from the pillows and blankets and keep him safe from us rolling over on him. As his brother before him, he does NOT sleep well in the pack and play.

So, so far, so good! Tom left for a little while this morning and I had a trial run with the two boys all alone. It did take me five false starts to finally get the bed made, and the downstairs is trashed... but everyone is alive, fed and clothed and that's what matters, right?

I finally got around to uploading the few pictures I took with MY camera in the hospital. (the rest my mom took) Here's my favorite... Benjamin wanted to hold Simon's hand. :)

We did the whole official hospital picture thing this time. (somehow I missed it last time)... here's what we got. Some of them just make me laugh. ;) I'll probably order the one with both of them and one of the slightly less funny-looking individual shots with the hat on.







and my personal favorite... ;) (hehehehe)

Baby brother shirt!

It's still early, (3:30 a.m.) and thus, very quiet around the hospital right now. But I'm guessing this is a very cool day to be on the labor and delivery floor. :)

I don't know WHY I'm awake at 3:30 a.m. I sent Simon to the nursery around midnight... he had fallen asleep next to me in bed (Gosh, I was SO scared of that last time around!) and the nurse came to take his vitals, so I figured I'd take advantage of my last opportunity to get some uninterrupted sleep for awhile. So much for that, I'm up anyway!

I get to leave in less than 8 hours! Woohoo! I'm so excited to go home. And Tom and I have agreed, it feels so much different this time. We're not anxious about it at all... just ready to make our new little addition part of the routine.

I feel WONDERFUL. In fact, as long as I'm not in any sudden "chest pain" this evening, we're going over to his parents' house for Mother's Day dinner. I think I *might* have one more day before we have to throw the "Welcome Milk!" icepack party... we'll see.

Some random thoughts about Simon/having a second baby:
1) I am SO MUCH MORE RELAXED. From the diaper changes to the eating and sleeping... it's just a totally different experience.

2) I don't want to say TOO much about his tempermant yet, because Ben fooled us GOOD while we were in the hospital, only to show his true colors at home. But I do think we've got ourselves a laid back one this time. First off, he EATS. The kiddo sucks down his one-ounce feedings like a pro and usually wants more before three hours is up. That in itself is a nice change. :)

3) He is so tiny. I had to dress him today for his hospital picture and even the preemie outfit I brought is about five times too big. Ben was almost exactly the same size. But I thought I had the going home outfit problem solved this time with the preemie/newborn outfit. Apparently not. Sheesh.

4) I LOVE calling him by his name after all this time, though I have, on numerous occasions now, called him Benjamin. Duh duh duh. I have only called him "Too" twice, which is something I thought I'd do way more often. His name is turning out to be pretty popular with the nurses around here! Everyone who asks me his name comments on how cute it is and a couple people have said it's refreshing to hear he's not another "Jaden". (sorry to any Jadens out there!!) ;)

5) He got the big snip, snip today. I had been dreading that since the day I found out I was having another boy. BUT, he did great, it's over and he'll be all healed up in a couple days. :)

6) When I get home, I might try both pumping AND a little actual bf'ing. It's so tempting because after he sucks down his little one-ounce of a bottle, he buries his head in my shirt, sniffles around for a mintue, finds his target with amazing accuracy, and then starts sucking on my SHIRT. How can you turn down amazing instinct like that? He did this before he was 24 hours old even!! I'm fascinated.

Random Thoughts about This Whole Experience/Hospital Stay:

1) This relative ease of this delivery and recovery have really made it hit home for me just how BADLY things went last time around. I had no idea just what kind of horrible shape I was in with Ben. This time, other than a little muscle soreness in my arms and back from tensing up during pushing? I feel completely normal...

2) The fancy "east wing" that you may have seen Val and I discussing has a big downside this time that I don't remember from last time. Most of the rooms are right next to the helipad. Oh yes... the medicvac helicopter lands approximately thirty feet to the left of my window (though up two stories) several times a day. Good times. Sheesh. ;)

3) The "room service" dining is amusing. Yeeeeeah, I've had three meals now and it's really just hospital food, I've determined. But it's neat to be able to order what you want, when you want... and you can order AS MUCH as you want. Which reminds me, Val, they say you have to pay $5 for a guest tray (like for your husband), but yet they don't seem to care if you order say.... three entrees, two side dishes, and a bunch of desserts for yourself. So.... yeah, take that knowledge and run with it. ;) Also, it cracks me up that when they bring the tray, they knock on the door and say "room service!"

4) My OB is even more wonderful than I thought she was. I'm so disappointed that she's getting out of OB. :(

5) My stomach is deflating entirely too slowly. I look pretty much like my 24-week belly shot (at LEAST). It's looks and feels full of air and/or water. I'm not sure which it is... I just hope it goes down soon! I'd like to at least be able to get out my regular shirts, even if I have to wear them with elastic shorts for awhile.

6) Ow. I forgot how much afterpains can hurt. Where's my Motrin?

Ah well, I guess that's all for now. It's almost time for the annoying tech to come in and take my temperature and blood pressure for hopefully the last time. That whole routine gets really old... the nurse should be in soon too and I think I'm going to ask for Simon back, since I'm awake anyway. ;) I'm so going to pay for this tonight, aren't I?

Thanks to everyone who has posted comments the last two days. I am going to save all of them for the baby book. I can't believe so many people were invested in our adventure! :)

Hugs to all of you and Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies and mommies-to-be!

Size perspective...

Brothers...

Good morning world!

They callthis room service dining. Its not half bad!

Some pics....

click here

Greetings from postpartum land! :)

So, wanna hear how my day went? ;)

We arrived in L&D triage around 5:30 this morning... I was having WICKED contractions five minutes apart and was SURE it was the real thing this time. The nurses, however, were not. In fact, the nasty nurse who greeted me in triage actually said, "Wanna bet?" to me when I said, "I'm not going home today!" Boy would I like to say hi to HER right about now.

My doctor showed up and checked me... she wasn't sure I was in labor either, but told me to stay two hours and she'd come back. All signs pointed to going home again. It didn't help that for whatever reason, my contractions weren't registering on the monitors despite the fact that I was panting through them and hanging onto the bedrail for dear life during all of them.

Thankfully, the nurses changed shifts and I got Lindsay, the most awesome triage nurse EVER.

My doctor came back two hours later right as I was beginning the worst contraction I had had to that point... she took one look at me and immediately did an exam (DURING the contraction because apparently that yields more useful information?) It hurt like HECK, but as soon as she did it, she said, "You're in LABOR! We're admitting you!" and started barking orders to the nurses. I immediately started to cry... mostly out of relief that FINALLY someoone believed me.

At that point, it was 9:15 or so... at some point in there I got the epidural, which was heavenly.It worked SO well this time.

She came in at 11:00 to break my water, which was apparently unbreakable (more on that later) and decided to start some pitocin to get the contractions a little closer together and stronger. It worked... at 1:45, she came back and declared me to be 8 centimeters and fully effaced. The baby's heartrate was slowing with the contractions, so my doctor and the nurse were getting quietly frantic and it became apparent we needed to get this show on the road.

The room started to buzz with activity... one nurse came in to start readying the baby supplies, another was taking the bed apart and moving my legs around. My mom and Tom's mom came running in and barely had gotten there before they were starting to make me push.

I pushed for 15 minutes...through about five contractions (which I couldn't feel). Simon's head came out and it turned out he had the cord wrapped around his neck TWICE, his hand up by his head AND had meconium EVERYWHERE which they were unaware of until that point. Oh, and my water? Nowhere to be found. It never seemed to break. I never felt it... they started to suspect it had broken at home and his head had just plugged it enough that I didn't notice the leaking because it would have been such a small amount at a time. If that was the case, it's a really lucky thing they didn't send me home because it could have caused some major problems which I prefer not to think about, frankly... it's too scary.

I didn't get to hold him right away because of the meconium... they had to suction him for awhile to make sure he didn't aspirate any of it. He also had to have his vitals monitored for a long time. In the meantime, I was fixed up. Or NOT actually because get this, NO TEARING, NO EPISIOTOMY... NOTHING.

I feel great. I was up right away to use the bathroom and I've been up and around all day!

Simon is also doing wonderfully. I found out later that he weighed 6 pounds, 6.7 ounces and is 20 inches long -- long and skinny! He looks a lot like Benjamin in many ways, except that his eyes are currently blue whereas Ben's were dark brown from the start. His hair looks like it's going to be blonde and maybe curly and he has almost invisible blonde eyelashes and eyebrows. Oh! And the most adorable BIG dimple in his right cheek. :) Seriously cute.

Benjamin came to visit and thought Simon was pretty cool. ;) He gave baby brother kisses and touched his hands and feet. I can't wait to have both of them at home, though for the moment, I'm enjoying the peace and quiet of just the one kiddo. :)

I know some of you are SHOCKED he turned out to be a boy, aren't you? I'm pretty tricky, eh? ;) The pink socks in the nursery picture ages ago? Totally a plant. I bought them when we were in Disneyworld to try to throw off my inlaws. I left them laying out in the stroller basket while they were there in hopes someone would spot them. ;) I also bought a pair of blue ones that I kept hidden from everyone... ;) So someone will be getting pink Minnie Mouse socks as a gift at some point. :)

So that's all for now... I'm off to eat something and spend some time holding the kiddo. Thanks for following our little adventure today! I had so much fun bringing you all along for the ride!

Looks like big brother!

Did i post this yet? :)

6 pounds 8 ounces!

Simon is here and he is perfect! Details to come...

8 cm!

Got the laptop hooked up, but frankly, the phone blogging is way more fun! ;) Glad you all are enjoying the live blogging... I'm having fun doing it! So far, things are SO much better than last time. I have a GREAT epidural... I can feel my legs (mostly), but not my belly or anything else in between. I'm so much more comfortable in general... it helps that I don't have to lay on my left side the whole time.

The contractions are being augmented with pitocin, which has my contractions down to two minutes apart. They were a little concerned briefly because the baby's heartrate was going down with the contractions, which could mean Too was laying on the cord. But some shuffling around of my position seems to have cured that.

As I posted before, my doctor came in to try and break my water, but apparently I have a reallllllly strong waterbag or something because she couldn't do it! She's going to try again in a bit and hopefully (cross your fingers) that will get things going a little faster...

My mom, my brother and Tom's parents are here. They are in and out...

My nurse is awesome and SO sweet. She's here until 7, so hopefully, she'll be the one here for the delivery too. :)
She also said she had no problem with Tom's mom staying for the delivery, so she's pretty happy.

Stay tuned for more updates!! Woohoo!

p.s. Val, I did NOT get the corner room. It's CROWDED here.... and the nurse dodged my question about maybe ending up inthe dreaded West Wing. Shoot. I'll let you know. ;) OH! And they let you drink water during labor now! Woohoo!

Im a zero!

Added pitocin. Doc couldnt break water...she has tried twice!

Catholic hospital. Gotta love the chapel channel. Hehehe.

Contractions 3 minutes apart...but i cant even tell i am having them! God bless the epidural!

Nicest nurses ever!

Feelin goooood...got the epidural!

Admitted! Woohoo!

There is no tv or radio... But i have a control for them. Lame. I am so bored.

1 to 2 cm. A little more effaced. Checking again in 2 hours but most likely going home. On the bright side the nurses changed shifts. Nice now.

I hate this place. And i have the worlds dumbest nurse.

Here we go again.

Nope. Sorry all. I'm still here. The contractions subsided, but never entirely went away yesterday. I guess I had 1-2 an hour the rest of the day. I took Ben to his Gymbo class, then we went to grandmom's for awhile. After that, we came home and played outside until Tom got home for dinner. I went to bed early after a much needed warm bubble bath, which is why the lack of blogging. That, and my laptop is in my hospital bag in the van. (I'm using Tom's at the moment)

However... I was woken up out of a fairly sound and mostly contraction-free sleep around 11:30 with more contractions. Now they are lasting about 45 seconds to a minute. That HAS to mean something, right? They're still 8-10 minutes apart but they hurt badly enough that they are now making me sick to my stomach. I'm trying to hold off doing anything until a more humane hour and to see if they get closer together. But sleep? Yeah, I guess I'm done with that for the night.

This is ridiculous! If I find out these aren't doing anything I'm seriously going to cry. More later. :) I promise I won't leave you hanging!

So I learned a new pregnancy term this morning... Prodromal Labor. Let me impart my newfound knowledge upon you, my dear readers.

Prodromal Labor-
Contractions:
-May begin irregular and become regular
-Usually stay five or greater minutes apart
-May feel strong, but usually do not get closer together
-Lying down does not usually make them go away
-May last 24-36 hours without significant cervical changes
-Resting and sleeping may be challenging
-It is common proactice to be sent home to rest or to await stronger labor

See, I thought I knew everything about all this contraction nonsense. I at least knew enough to know they were not Braxton Hicks because OHMAHGAH THE PAIN. But one of the nurses actually had the NERVE to ask me at some point during all this if I had actually experienced contractions with my last labor. She's lucky I didn't rip the monitors off my belly and swing them at her head. Instead I chose to share my story of the amazing falling-out epidural and my accidental almost-natural childbirth.

Finally, around 7:15 this morning, after two trips to the hospital, being on monitors for almost four hours and having had three rather uncomfortable internal exams, it was determined that my contractions really weren't causing any progress and they had no choice but to send me home. Thankfully, the second midwife who checked me (my doctor doesn't come until I turn up in actual labor), was MUCH sweeter and more helpful than the one I had the rest of the night. She patted my hand and told me that either the contractions (which she acknowledged to be VERY real and obviously quite uncomfortable thankyouverymuch) would soon stop on their own or they'd go right into real labor at some point very soon. Either way, I wasn't going to have to deal with them every five minutes for the next week and a half.

So we're at home now. I'm still having them, but they are sporatic... I've had two in the last half hour. I'm hoping they just taper off and give me a break for awhile.

Prodromal labor... add that to your vocabulary today! ;)

Leaving again. This sucks.

Back. But probably going home again.

Hi yeah. Me again. It's 3a.m. The hospital sent me home because I'm "not in a labor pattern yet". Now it's 3a.m. and the contractions are five minutes apart, I actually have to breathe through them AND I've already had substantially more pain than I ever experienced with Benjamin during the first stage of labor. These things hurt like I dunno what. There are also the numerous bathroom runs mixed in there. And no, I haven't slept, and I don't think I will be sleeping anytime soon.

The nurse did say I'd probably be back later this morning and I'm pretty sure she is right...

Dr. Google certainly thinks this is it! Okay, so yeah, this is definitely a point in favor of scheduled inductions. With Ben, I didn't have to jump through all these hoops to convince them it ws time to admit me.

Sooo... let's see who has May 10th in the pool!!

Nope. Not it. Going home.

See subject. Could be it. Could be nothing. I guess we'll find out.

Contractions. And they hurt. Currently 7-8 minutes apart. NO clue if this is the real thing or not... but I am SO watching the new episode of Lost before I go thinking about calling the doctor!!! ;)

Thanks for your thoughts on the post that has now disappeared. I'm glad to see people seem to agree with me that the "issue" is just plain silly and really should be a non-issue. I took it down because I don't want to stir up trouble... just was curious what others thought and if I was totally off base in my rather cavalier attitude toward the situation. Those of you who missed it, don't worry about it... it was nothing important.

Update: For the record, that was my very first ever moblog/pix-flix post! (yeah, I'm a little behind the times on that one)I set it up so I can sneak in blog updates from my cell phone in the hospital when the nurses aren't looking.

So yeah, the doctor's appointment went well, as you can see.

I went in, got weighed... somehow didn't gain anything for the second week in a row. I think this calls for an extra Bergers cookie tonight after dinner, frankly.

After that it was the usual pee in a cup, listen to the heartbeat... for some reason, we skipped the tummy measuring and went right into the invasive stuff. Ouch. BUT... we discovered I am ONE CENTIMETER DILATED!! Hey, I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's a whole centimeter more than I was last week... which made me eligible for the early eviction program. ;) WOOHOO! It all happened very quickly. The nurse handed me a paper to sign, then gave me the other paper (shown above) with all the instructions on it. Then she told me to be there at 7a.m. next Wednesday! Yay! I was induced on a Wednesday with Ben too and I had THE most awesome L&D nurse for the whole day. She wasn't around for the delivery because I took too long, but I'm hoping I get her again this time. :)

She also added, "If you don't go before then!" which apparently she thinks there is a chance of. I had mentioned I've been having contractions all day and a ton of pressure and whatnot. So we'll see. As long as it's not Sunday or Monday, I don't really care if I go on my own or make it to the induction!

So that's that. There is now very bright light at the end of this acid reflux-filled tunnel. :D

Every once in awhile, I get a little mental flashback of my labor with Ben.

Then I realize I have to go through all of it again in a week or so and I have a mini panic attack.

That is all.

Hopefully there will be some progress! I'll update later! :)

See subject. Can't say I'm TOO disappointed. I'm still mostly hoping to hold out until at least this coming Tuesday. :)

I did it. I made and ate the famousScalini's Eggplant Parmesan. It didn't work with Benjamin... it just made me feel ill. Perhaps I'll have better luck with Too? I'll keep you posted. ;)

A sidenote: for something that takes two hours to put together and has about a zillion ingredients, almost all of which are required to be chopped and fresh? The EP is kinda blah in the flavor department...

Still here. Still pregnant. I did have a few more contractions yesterday, but nothing like I had the night before. So it seems things are just "getting ready" I guess. This is good. I still have a few more things to get done and a few more desserts to devour. ;)

We were out yesterday, so we stopped at Babies R Us and I test drove the Joovy Sit and Stand stroller. Benjamin loved riding on the back (sitting, strangely enough). The roof thingy kind of gets in the way, but it's manageable AND removable if need be) I think it'll be perfect for what we'll use it for (mostly the airport/Disney trips and the occasional mall run when Too gets too old for the Bjorn. So we're going to get it eventually, but not until we actually need it.

OH! One more thing! I locked my baby pool game, so I hope you all were confident in your guesses. ;)

Very VERY long night of very painful, strong contractions. They were at least as strong as the last ones I felt before I got my epidural with Ben. They never got regular though, in fact they ranged everywhere from 30 minutes apart to four minutes apart and back again. So no, no 2:30a.m. trip to L&D was in order even though I was in a TON of discomfort. I really would like to avoid the 2:30a.m. trip to L&D at all costs, so even if they WERE the real thing? I was holding out as long as I could...

This morning, I'm still having them on and off, though they aren't as strong. My lower back is a little uncomfortable... If it keeps up over the next few hours, I'm entertaining the idea of perhaps taking a ride over to the hospital just to get checked out. I don't want to set any Ben/parent/godmother/inlaw plans in motion though unless I'm sure something is going on... which I'm doubtful of since I had this kind of scenario happen at least three times with Ben. (check out this entry from almost 39 weeks with Ben)

I'm very proud of my track record of never having gone to the hospital and been sent home in false labor. ;) Though I suppose getting sent home in false labor once or twice is better than having a baby on the floor at home because you didn't go get checked out. ;) So we'll see...

p.s. To my neighbors who are keeping an eye on the status of our car in front of our house to determine if I'm in labor or not, if you see us load my hospital bag into it this morning it's "just in case". Don't panic... I will call or email with any news! ;)

**update** It's 8:30a.m and the contractions seem to have stopped. Oh well... back to your regularly scheduled program. We're going to clean upt he backyard today. You?

Oh yeah. I'm bringin' sexy back! ;)



Yes. I'm still here. And I think I will be for at least ONE more belly pic... but maybe even two. If three, the third one will not be the standard mirror shot, but will instead feature me and my belly rocking back and forth in a corner chewing my hair.

I think Too did some gymnastics last night because the hiccups this morning were up high. This kid is talented and oddly flexible, I tell you. A possible future in the circus, I'm thinking? There will be more flippage, I'm sure... so all is well... it's just annoying that he/she won't stay put! (but it also tells me I'm nowhere near going into labor if Too is still doing that) Sigh.

Here are the "Numbers" (drumroll please)...

Current weight: 143 (31 pounds gained... down one from last week! Woohoo!)
Days until my due date (5/19): 14!
Days until my wishful thinking due date (which I have now changed to the 15th): 10!
Days until Too can officially be evicted safely: 0!!
Days I have been pregnant: About a million
Comfort level (on a scale of 1(comfy)- 10(uncomfy): 5-6
Also, a new category--
The longest amount of time this could possibly continue: 28 days (NOOOO!)

Okay, so now my attention is turned to keeping this baby in until at least the 15th. Doable, I think, given my history with Ben and NEVER having any real signs of labor even the day before my due date and all. Also working in my favor, all of the dating ultrasounds have put my due date at May 21st, though I have kept it the 19th on all my tickers because I couldn't bear to move it up two days. And plus, it cooberates with the fertility chart I was keeping back in the day.

I don't have any signs that labor is imminent right now anyway... no major contractions, no mucus plug sightings (gag!!), none of that fun stuff.

I NEED for my doctor to be in town to deliver this baby because the doctor covering for her on the 13th and 14th? Is a MAN. I DO NOT WANT A MAN DOCTOR!!!! I went to great lengths to find a sole practioner who was NOT A MAN. Also, he's a doctor I've never heard of or met. Who wants that?

Some of Too's family will be out of town this coming week as well, so of course it'd be nice to hold off until they are home. (though, for the hundredth millionth time, it's fine if they aren't! They need one last vacation to gear themselves up for their own upcoming addition!!) :)

There is also Mother's Day, which, until I found out my doctor was going out of town, I thought would make a good day for a birthday. Now I just want to enjoy our usual Mother's Day plans that involve a yummy lunch and dinner out! :D

Too's movement picked up in the afternoon... the movements are still mostly really small and slow (probably the lack of room), but they are very regular and I have counted PLENTY to keep my mind at ease. :)

So I feel good about that. Otherwise? I feel like dog poo. I have a HUGE headache, I'm exhausted and I'm counting down the minutes until it's time to put Ben to bed. (since Tom won't be getting home in time to relieve me of parenting duty) He's not even being whiny or anything... I just can't give him my full attention because I feel so crappy. :( I just want this day to be overrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....

Commencing kick counting. Too is still uncharacteristicly sluggish... Gr. The kid's giving me grey hair already.

Don't move for an entire hour after mommy wakes up. In fact, don't respond to any stimuli... that includes mommy jumping up and down, jiggling her belly, shining lights on you and placing an ice pack on what she can only assume is your rearend. Don't even move when she breaks out big brother's bumble ball and jiggles the heck out of your head.

(in Too's defense, I WAS woken up by my baby daddy at the obscene hour of 4:50a.m. as he was leaving to go catch a train, so really this all pretty much fell during what is probably prime deep sleep time for the kiddo.)

Since then, I have felt a few small movements... which does not leave me entirely UNconcerned. I'm waiting until I can eat something though to see if that gets Too going. I realize there is not much room in there anyway, but c'mon, throw me a bone... some squirming and hiccups would be nice....

p.s. none of my paranoia is helped by the fact that I've had a couple of freaky baby dreams lately. Oh how I could SO do without my hormone-influenced subconscious!

p.p.s. a sugar-laden chocolate chip muffin seems to be slowly waking Too up as it currently feels like he/she is doing some intra-utero morning yoga moves.

So now we are rooting for Too to STAY IN for at least another 13 days... why? My mother is out of town for the next four days and my husband is going to New York tomorrow for the day. After that, my doctor is leaving town for two days (the 13th and 14th) I suppose it would be okay if I went into labor somewhere in between there, but at this point, I'd rather just hold off until closer to my due date.

And there seems to be a good chance of that. I'm only fingertip dilated (which, as I hypothesized LAST time I was pregnant, is the load of hooey the doctor gives you when you want to hear that SOMETHING is happening). Blood pressure totally normal, "beautiful" even. And get this, somehow, on a two dessert a day habit, I've lost a pound. (okay, so that's pretty cool) ;)

Back to waiting... and waiting...

Still here. :P

37-week appointment today. I think I'm going to tell her yes to the induction provided that things seem to be moving along at next week's appointment. Who knows, I could go all on my own in the meantime! That'd be nice. Please send me dilation and effacement dust! ;) Update later. :)

This was HIGHLY amusing. I especially like the first one:
"1. Boys invariably smell vaguely of pee and sunshine. Heavy on the pee. Stock up on Fabreeze."

I also liked:
"7. Your older children might be jealous of the attention given to the new baby; this is natural. Just tell them they're not as special anymore, and would they please move, daddy is trying to take a picture of the little princess."

I will not have to flip another calendar page before this baby is here! WOOHOO!!