Adjusting

After having such a rough time on Friday, Friday night, and Saturday morning, and with William being sick, we decided that Ed and William would go to Ed's parents on Saturday after his nap and stay there overnight. That would give William some time to bond with Ed, and would give all of us a little break. I was a basket case when Ed and William left, but William seemed eager to go and left with Ed happily. And it turned out to be a great thing for everyone. I got to bond with Seth, which I really needed, and William got lots of attention at his grandparents and managed to sleep through the night (as did Ed, the lucky guy!), and we all got a needed breather. Ed and William didn't get back until after dinner on Sunday, and I was so anxious to see them that I was almost nervous. But William was great when he got home, he wanted to see Seth and he wasn't quite as clingy towards me.

So that was a relief! He still woke up twice last night, and the first time, I lay down with him for a bit, but I eventually left his room with him awake, and he didn't like it, but he didn't fall apart and went back to sleep. The second time was 5:45 a.m., and Ed went in and William didn't freak out. Ed went back to sleep with him and they slept until 7:30 a.m. That's never happened before so I'm hopeful.

We kept William home again today since he was sick, rather than take him to daycare, and overall, he did really well. My mom is still here, thank God, and she was able to hold Seth a lot so that I could spend lots of time with William. (She's holding Seth now, which is how I have time to blog!) Ed took him to Target this morning, and also spent time playing with him. I let him play in the sink with water and cups and that kept him occupied for quite a while this morning. His nap was cut a bit short because he woke up and wanted me but I had to nurse Seth. Such is life, we survived. Putting William to bed tonight was a bit of a challenge. He threw a fit and kept running after me to his door. I let him cry for 2 minutes and went back in and cuddled him a bit, then left him again. This time he cried for a minute or two but went to sleep. *Sigh* Who knows how tonight will go.

We had a good time today, though, and William's still showing no animosity or resentment towards Seth. He likes to show Seth everything he's doing, and our biggest problem is that William is too rough with Seth. He has no understanding that he could hurt Seth. So I have to be super vigilant when I leave Seth in the swing or bouncy seat. Today William showed Seth his balloon (and wanted to bounce it off of Seth's face) and his digger (which he wanted to shove into Seth's hand) and his lollipop (which he wanted to shove in Seth's mouth). Good times!

And speaking of Seth, he is a super-good baby so far. No excessive crying--really hardly any crying at all. He's nursing well (yay for good nursing this time!) and while he sleeps better when someone is holding him, we've had some good sleep runs in the swing, and last night he even slept for an hour in the bassinet. He's had a couple of long periods of awake time, just looking around and checking things out. He was content in his bouncy seat this morning for almost an hour! He seemed to know that I needed to give William all of my attention. So yay for that! He's also bonding with Ed a bit. He was up with Ed while I was lying down with William last night, and they both did well!

And finally, I have new pictures. Here's Seth:


And here's William checking out Seth's baby gear:


Tomorrow, the plan is to take William to daycare. We'll see how it goes and when we can get out of the house. Am I a terrible mother because I'm feeling so thankful that I can take William to daycare for the day? Probably, but such is life. At any rate, I think we're all adjusting, so life is good. It's amazing how it's hard to imagine you can love two people (well, really three, including Ed!) so incredibly much.

Off to check on Seth. He sure is happy in his Baba's arms! I think she's held him more than I have!

Getting Rougher

Not such a good night last night. William has a bad cold that started yesterday and woke up twice last night. And both times, Seth was also in needed to eat and be held. (Seth does not like to be put down!) William has progressively gotten more and more clingy towards me, which is understandable and totally what I expected, but it is so freakin' hard. And now I'm stressed about William being sick, and Seth possibly/probably getting sick. Yikes. I'm trying to reassure William as much as I can and tend to his needs first. Ed is doing an awesome job of keeping William distracted and entertained during the day, and my mom has become the official sleeping-Seth-holder. But I think things might get worse before they get better.

Ed is having a hard time with William's clinginess, too. He tends to see it as a discipline problem, rather than a natural reaction to the changed situation, and wants to dispense "tough love," which I know will make things worse for William. Hopefully Ed will see the light about that. Otherwise, I can't say enough how awesome he is with William in other ways, and how much slack he's picking up around the house. I know it's rough for him, too. Even though we're not first-time parents, this whole situation is new to us. But at least now, I know for a fact that we'll get through it and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Despite all of this, I'm managing to enjoy Seth quite a bit. He makes the cutest faces. He puts on like he's going to have these enormous poops, with sound effects and all, but then when I change his diaper, there's not much there. Makes me wonder where it's all going. He's eating well, and I'm confident that breastfeeding will be smoother sailing this time around. I can already nurse Seth and walk around. We had some nice bonding time at sunrise this morning, and it made me remember what it's all about.

Okay--time is up. Hope to have more pictures for the next post!

"Baby Sef"

I fear I will never have time for a long, proper post again. But we're home and doing well! William has been great so far. He's quite interested in "Baby Sef," as he calls him, and hasn't shown any animosity or jealousy towards him so far. He doesn't seem to mind when I nurse Seth or hold him. And fortunately, the weather has been beautiful, so he has gotten to spend lots of time outside. William came to the hospital to see Seth and Mommy on Tuesday, and did pretty well until he had to leave without Mommy. He cried the whole ride home. But once home, Ed said he was fine.

As for me, I'm doing pretty well, too. Just trying to figure Seth out! I will hopefully get to my delivery story one of these days, but the quick version is, my water broke around 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, we waited for Ed's sister to get to our house (I was having no contractions, btw), got to the hospital around 8:15, went to triage, I was 3 cent. dilated so they admitted me, started pitocin, I started having contractions almost right away, they stopped the pitocin after less than 5 minutes, after about 30 minutes of contractions, I got an epidural, and then within another half-hour to hour, I was ready to push. I pushed for about 5 minutes, and Seth made his grand entrance at 12:12 p.m. Other than the contractions for 30-45 minutes, it was pretty easy and painless.

Seth is a good nurser and loves to suck, but he falls asleep after about 3 minutes at the breast, so that's sort of a pain in the butt. He also tends to lose the good latch quickly, so my nipples are pretty sore. But I don't think it's as bad as it was with William. My milk has come in, and that wasn't a big deal at all. No real engorgement or pain like I remember with William. It's funny how a lot of the details of William's first few days are coming back to me. I'm meeting with a lactation consultant at Seth's doctor's appointment tomorrow, so hopefully, that will set us on the right track.

So I know what you really want are pictures, so here they are! Don't know when I'll check back in. Seth is a better sleeper than William, but it's still kind of early to know how good. Oh yeah--and here's something that sucks. Somehow, we managed to lose our car seat. We have the bases, but can find the seat. How weird is that. Ed had to buy a new one on his way to get us at the hospital yesterday. He got the same kind we had--the Snugride--but a cheaper version and I hate it. Anyway, pictures:

Earth Day Birth Day

This isn't Beth. It's her friend and guest blogger, MJ, here to share Beth's good news since she's still at the hospital and has her hands more than a little full.

It's a boy!
Baby Seth was born at 12:12 pm today.
He weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces.
He was 19 3/4 inches long.

Mother and baby are doing well. They got to the hospital around 8:00 am. She reported five minutes of pushing and said it was all pretty easy. She felt lucky that she had a full night of rest the night before so she's feeling pretty good now. Pictures will be coming soon. At the time we talked, the baby was sleeping and quiet. So sweet.

We're excited for you, Beth, and look forward to hearing about how you keep Working It Out with two little boys underfoot.
~MJ

Earth Day Baby???

My water broke this morning. It started around 5:30 a.m. Now it's 6:30 and we're waiting for Ed's sister to get here. No contractions yet, so I got to take a shower. But I don't like this whole water breaking thing. Yuck-o! Wish me luck! Here's a parting shot of William and me:

And the last belly shot. Holy low!

Still Waiting . . .

No baby yet, in case you were wondering. I've just been too tired to post. We had a good weekend, and my doctor's appointment was fine. I'm 70% effaced now, but still 1-2 centimeters dilated, so it could be two weeks, it could be tomorrow. My back is really bothering me today, and I had a hard time sleeping last night. But no real contractions to speak of, so I'm just hanging in there!

In William's world, there's not much to report. He tripped and fell against the side of the garage on Thursday evening and got a bad bump on his forehead. It broke the skin and bled, but not a lot. I took him inside to get ice and clean him up, and he threw an absolute fit. At first, I thought it was because he was really hurt, and I got a little scared. But then I realized he didn't want to go inside. As soon as we went back outside, he stopped crying. So now he has a boo-boo on his head, but he seems none the worse for wear. Thank goodness! Friday and Saturday were gorgeous weather-wise, so he got to play outside a lot. On Sunday, though, it rained ALL day--I mean rained and rained and rained. So we didn't do anything more exciting than watch Disney's Cars, which is a special treat for him. Overall, though, he's talking in sentences and phrases more now, which is fun. And we've been talking about the baby a lot, and about how Mommy will go to the hospital. He's been a lot better at daycare drop-offs, too. Sleep is the same as always--totally inconsistent. A couple of nights a week, he'll sleep through. Other nights he'll wake up once, and some nights, he might wake up twice and need me to lie down with him. I shouldn't complain, though. Don't know what will happen when the baby comes and I might not be quite as available. Ed insists he won't go in and lie down with William, that William will have to cry. We'll see.

So that's my report. Here's a meme for my blogger friends. What price will you pay for peace? As in, what will you let your child do to get 10 minute's peace in your day (or more!). I let William have at it with a brand new roll of toilet paper the other morning, just so I could dress, blow-dry my hair, and put on my makeup in peace. A roll of toilet paper and the ensuing mess was well worth the break it bought. I'm sure many people use videos and TV to buy their peace, but that doesn't really work with William. Maybe I just haven't found the right video! And it doesn't help that Ed is anti-TV/videos. Anyway, what's your price for peace?

Bucking Routine

Last night Ed went rock-climbing after work (he recently joined a rock-climbing gym), so William and I were on our own. I asked William if he wanted to go home and play outside, or if he wanted to go to Target. He immediately shouted, "TARGET!!!"

He sat in the cart while I did my shopping first, and every two minutes he asked, "digger?" If I haven't mentioned it before, William is obsessed with trucks--particularly construction trucks like backhoes, front loaders, dump trucks, bulldozers, excavators, etc. He also loves garbage trucks, and of course, fire trucks and ambulances. Anyway, I would respond, "Yes William, we're going to play with diggers, as soon as Mommy is done shopping." He waited patiently for me to finish gathering all of my odds and ends and then we finally got to the toy section and to the truck aisle. He played with the trucks for about 25 minutes, I found a $.99 Matchbox front loader that he could take home, and then we went to pay for our loot. After paying, we sat in the "cafe" area and ate pizza and yogurt, and finally headed home at 7:00.

At home, we decided to skip bath and instead, we sat on our bed and played with trucks and watched TV. This is WAY out of the routine for us. We almost never watch TV on weeknights. And we almost never skip bath. And we never change diapers and clothes on Mommy's bed. And we've never watched Jeopardy together. (As I called out the answers, William kept repeating what I said. It was pretty funny.) Of course, William had no problem with the change in routine, and when it was time to go to his room, we did the usual--brushed his teeth, read 3 books, and he went right to sleep. Routines are certainly important, and day-in and day-out, it would be pretty hard not to have them. But it's also quite liberating to buck the routine once in a while, and just see where it takes you.

"Daddy Home!"

Yesterday and today, Ed took the day off to get things done in the yard. He got estimates for a fence, removed our old fence, took out some dying trees, and got the yard looking fabulous. The best part of all of this, though, was coming home from work and having him be home. William was so excited to see his car in the garage when we got home from work, and the minute we got out of the car, he was out in the backyard, helping Daddy rake or sweep or just following Daddy around. I got to leisurely change my clothes, get something to drink, start dinner, even sit down and do the crossword puzzle. And it's amazing to see how much more attached to Ed William has become with just the weekend and these two evenings of spending time with him. It is reassuring, though, because I know that it's easy to get a new routine going, which is what will happen when the new baby arrives. I just wish we could have daddy home when we get home every day.

Weekend Report

We had a nice and uneventful weekend. William was great--no meltdowns or pitched fits or general orneriness. He was also less clingy to me, and got to spend quite a bit of time outside on Friday night and Saturday. He's sleeping well, going to sleep without any issues, both for naps and at night. He tries to argue a little when I turn out his light, but he always goes right to sleep. I think it's funny that he never gets out of his bed. When he wakes up, he just calls for me and waits until I come into his room. How's that for service?

I went to the doctor on Saturday and nothing has changed. I didn't gain any weight, and I'm still 1-2 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced. That's good news, as I could use the next week at least to "get ready," especially at work. We finally got the new dresser moved upstairs, so I can get the baby's things put away. I ordered a few baby things on-line, and I might order some more stuff from Target. I want to get the valances for William's room and have to order them, so I might as well just get whatever else I still need and save myself a trip to the store. On the other hand, who doesn't welcome a shopping trip to Target?

I took more pictures this weekend, so here are a few.


I'm feeling more confident this week that William is going to be fine with all of the changes coming his way. He's still a mamma's boy through and through, but he's tougher than I give him credit for. He does just fine when I'm not around. I think he's going to be a great big brother, and will enjoy the baby a lot as he or she gets older and starts to smile and laugh and play. In the meantime, I'm loving every minute of William and I'm just trying to soak him in as much as I can. He's getting so big and changing every day. It's so hard to articulate how much joy he brings to our lives, despite the challenges. I guess that's why people keep having kids, huh?

The Plan

As my due date and the impending delivery loom closer, the details of our "plan" for what to do when I go into labor are taking on more importance. Everyone says that the second child comes a lot faster than the first, which scares me slightly. So I'm trying to get as prepared as possible for the worst-case scenario. (I'm not even sure what that would be--there are probably lots of worst-case scenarios!) But in the back of my mind, I'm hoping it will go more like my delivery with William, which started with contractions during the night so that I didn't go into work the next day, and involved contractions sporadic enough that I had all day to prepare for the hospital. Ideally, my contractions will start at night, we won't go to work the next day, Ed's sister will come in the morning to watch William, we'll go to the hospital and have the baby the same day, and Ed will be able to go home in the evening in time to put William to bed.

So getting back to the PLAN, if I start having contractions at work or if my water breaks, two of my co-workers will go with me to get William at his daycare, which is about 2 blocks from my building. I park my car in the same building that houses the daycare, so one of my co-workers will drive my car, and the other will follow in her car (or his car). I will have called both Ed and Ed's sister, and we'll all either meet at my house, or at the hospital, depending on the severity of contractions. I'm hoping for our house. Ed's sister will then take care of William, and meanwhile, we will have called my mom, who will drive up from Charlotte, NC.

Here is what I hope doesn't happen:

I hope that we don't have to go to the hospital in the middle of the night, because I think William will have a hard time waking up to find Mommy and Daddy gone, and Aunt Meredith and Uncle Steve there (despite how much we will talk about it ahead of time, and have Aunt Mere and Uncle Steve babysit or come over a few times before delivery).

I hope that my water doesn't break at work. The doctor had to break mine when I delivered William, so I'm hoping that will be the case again.

I hope that we don't have to go straight to the hospital if I go into labor at work. I think it will be much easier on William if he can be home with babysitters when we leave, as opposed to having to leave me at the hospital.

The two most important things I have to do are to write out William's schedule and routine for whoever watches him, including the foods he eats and where everything is. And to pack my bag for the hospital and have it ready in the car.

So what am I forgetting? For my few readers who have more than one, share your stories--what worked, what didn't? What was your plan? What advice do you have for us? Lord knows I need all the help I can get!

My Time Has Come

No--I'm not in labor. I mean it's my time for the terrible twos. They're here. I think this latest round of sickness somehow triggered the switch that turned my reasonable, easy-going, pleasant child into a fit-throwing, demanding, whiney, and completely unreasonable 2-year-old. Just in time for the new baby, just as I predicted!

My fellow May moms--feel free to laugh at me now and say, "Ha ha!" I knew it was coming. But I do have to admit I was clinging to the hope that William was just not that kind of kid. But alas, he is. My patience has been severely tested these last couple of days. I better get a plan, because I'm going to lose it when I'm TOTALLY sleep deprived and emotional dealing with a newborn. I need to remember the lessons from my blogging friends, Jill, Laura, Megan, and Bridget, and many many others I've read along the way. This too shall pass. Keep your sense of humor. Walk away. Be consistent and firm, but calm and composed. Keep your sense of humor. Choose your battles. (Because EVERYTHING is a battle.)

I'm very afraid for the next couple of months. But I'm also so excited to meet this baby, and to see how William develops as a big brother. I have no idea what's in store for us, but I know that Ed and I will do the best we can.

I'll end this entry with a funny story that made me feel much better today. One of our daily battles has become changing William's shirt in the morning. He insists on keeping on his pajama shirt, or refuses to put on a new shirt if I've managed to take off his pajamas. This is not a battle I want to fight every morning, so I tend to let him wear his pajama top downstairs, and eventually, I'll get him to change it--whether it's downstairs before we leave, or in the car before we get to daycare, or at daycare. Yesterday, I decided he could wear his pajama top to daycare. What do I care? The other kids certainly don't care. Ed, however, feels like this is something that should be non-negotiable, and that we have to show William who is in charge. I see his point, so this morning, I fought the battle and won. When we got to William's daycare, his friend Jude had just arrived, and when he took off his jacket, his mom said, "Jude, do you want to put on your shirt now?" I looked over, and sure enough, Jude was wearing his pajama top. It seems that Jude is fighting the same battle as William and his mom and I shared a good laugh about it. As soon as I got to work, I called Ed to let him know we weren't the only ones. There's so much comfort in knowing that someone else is going through the exact same thing!

Weekend Report

It's Sunday night, the dishwasher is running, the house is picked up (for the most part), William is asleep, Ed is out with friends, and I am enjoying the peace for just a few moments.

William is better after a very rough Friday night and Saturday. His temperature spiked Friday night and off and on Saturday, and Ed took him to the doctor on Saturday morning. His cough had gotten worse on Friday and by Friday night, had turned into wheezing. It also turned out that he had fluid in both ears. We got a prescription for antibiotics, and were ordered to nebulize him every 3 hours on Saturday and Sunday and 3 times a day Monday and Tuesday. By late Saturday afternoon/early evening, his fever had broken and he was acting much more like his normal self. Saturday night he slept better, although I slept with him almost the whole night, so I think that helped. We'll see how he does tonight. Today he was fever-free, and other than a goopy nose, now, and yucky-sounding cough, and the fact that's he's hardly eating anything, he was his normal self today. He had his normal nap, and we did the normal bed-time routine and he went down with no fussing. So back to work and daycare tomorrow, God willing!

I also had a doctor's appointment on Saturday, and I am 1 and 1/2 cent. dilated and 50% effaced. The doctor said she thought this baby was a little smaller than average, but with 3 weeks to go, she or he could put on the ounces quickly. So we'll see. She also said it's likely that I'll deliver early with this baby (thought not too early), since I was a few days early with William. So I'm pretty much looking at 2-3 weeks here. That's a little scary. I've really got to get my butt in gear at work and get things organized for my leave. I also need to pack my hospital bag and get my ducks in a row at home.

We did manage to get a dresser today! Ed finally agreed to go with the Ikea dresser, since we don't want to spend a lot of money and aren't looking at this as something we'll necessarily have long-term. Ed drove to Ikea to get it, but took his Honda Civic instead of the van, not thinking about how he'd have to fit the dresser in his car. Somehow (with the help of a nice fellow Ikea customer), he managed to fit the two dresser boxes and a bookshelf in his car. Now he just has to put them together. Then I can get the baby's room in order.

So that's our weekend report. I'm sad to say I didn't do any laundry this weekend, and no cleaning. William was basically stuck to me all day Saturday, and after two nights of very little sleep, cleaning was the last thing I felt like doing. Hopefully we can make up for it this week. I'm suddenly thinking that a cleaning service to come clean before the baby gets here sounds like a really good idea, and will probably be money well spent. I'll have to look into that!

Never Pat Yourself on the Back When Your Child Appears to be Well while his Daycare Buddies All Have Runny Noses

It will come back to bite you in the ass. William is home today with Ed. He woke up at 2:00 a.m. with a barky cough (croup-like) and a slight temperature. This is a good reminder that I desperately need to perform a thorough cleaning of our house, complete with dousings of Clorox Anywhere and Lysol sanitizer spray, before the baby gets here. Guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend!

Mom Conversations

Yesterday we had a play date after work with one of William's good buddies from daycare. He no longer attends William's daycare, so it's been a while since we've seen him. William had a blast, although I have to say, he was kind of a brat while we were there. He wanted to play with whatever toy his buddy was playing with. You know--that kind of kid? I hope he won't always be like that.

While the kids played, his buddy's mom and I tried to catch up. She's one of my favorite people and I was really looking forward to chatting. But who were we kidding? With two two-year-olds to tend to, how much fluent conversation do you think we really had? It seems like we started a million disjointed thoughts that were interrupted by referee sessions, dinner preparation, language interpretation, etc. I loved seeing her, though, and only hope that I somehow managed to put together a complete thought and sentence, and that she doesn't think I've lost my mind. This is why I crave alone-time with my girlfriends--with no kids around to distract me. It's like heaven on earth to gab for one or two solid hours with a close girlfriend!