Wednesday, August 27, 2008

4 weeks

Drew at 4 weeks

Not happy!



Pick me up, Mommy!



As you can see, Drew was not in the mood for the paparazzi on Monday when I was taking his 4 week pictures. His hair looks really red to me in those pictures. It's been looking more and more red lately. Trent's hair was red when he was a baby though, so who knows--it may just be a fluke and it will turn blonde later.

Drew has been much more alert lately during the day, which makes me so happy because I can interact with him a lot more and feel like we're carrying on a conversation...a one-sided one, but a conversation nonetheless! I cannot believe he is 4 weeks old already. He will be a whole month old tomorrow! How is that possible?!

Here he is the other day supporting our team!



Laying in the floor with Trent



And this is a great story. The other day when Aaron got home from work, Drew was fussy so Aaron was walking around the house with him. He couldn't get him to really stop crying, and Trent was begging to run races with his Daddy. They basically race each other from one end of the house to the other--this is a common occurrence in our house. So Aaron faced Drew to the front and (gently) started racing Trent. Obviously T was winning because he wasn't carrying a baby, so Aaron made him carry his stuffed animal Simba to make it a little more fair. Throughout all of this racing around the house, Drew was silent and wide awake--he loved it! They did this for several laps back and forth and Drew completely calmed down. So here's a picture and a video of the action.




On Monday, we took Trent for his 4 year checkup. I know, a little late, but he just had a checkup last September, so it's been about a year. He weighs 46 lbs, which is in the 90-95th percentile (he's been off the charts for about 2 or 3 years now), and he is 41 inches tall, which is th 25-50th percentile. He had to get 4 shots too, which of course he didn't like, but he took it like a champ. He cried a little, but I don't think he's scarred for life. I, on the other hand, got a little teary-eyed during the traumatic experience. It's different when they're babies because they cry for 2 seconds and then all is forgotten. But when they know what's going on and can say the words, "Ow!" and "It hurts, Mommy!", it's heartbreaking! I was glad Aaron was there to hold him down while the nurse gave him the shots. I just sat in the corner holding Drew and cried. After it was over, I pulled myself together and handed Drew off to Aaron so I could hold my other baby. Thank God he is done with shots until he's 12!

I think Drew and I are going to get ready and go do some shopping. After the racing around the house the other day, we realized we need to get one of those infant carriers that holds the baby where he can face forward and see the world since he loved it so much when Aaron was carrying him that way. So I think I'll go look for one!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

3 weeks

Trent has been wanting to hold Drew all the time lately, so we've been getting a lot of pictures of that because it's just so darn cute!

Aww!


All smiles


Watching some TV


And this is just hilarious. He has one of Aaron's t-shirts around his neck for a cape and he has Aaron's boots on. Thought of the whole ensemble all by himself.



And Baby Drew turned 3 weeks old yesterday!

Here he is in the recliner.


And this just shows how tiny he is in relation to the chair.


He's so handsome in red!


Sweet boy!


And the 3 weeks postpartum shot--yay!



Drew has been sleeping pretty well. Some nights it's hard to get him to go to sleep before 11 or 12, but once we get him down, he usually sleeps for about 4 hours before waking up to eat. Last night, he ate at about 9:30, went to sleep at about 11 and woke up at 1:30 to eat. Then he went back down and woke up at about 4:45 to eat, and then he was awake and fussy (or "fuzzy", as Trent says) for a little while so I nursed him for maybe 10 minutes and he was out so I got to sleep for a little while longer. He almost always falls asleep while breastfeeding.

He also seems to really like bathtime. He just lays there looking all relaxed in the warm water, then he usually pees in the warm water (a sure sign of relaxation!) so we have to drain it and fill it back up. I love cuddling with him after his bath because he's really alert and he's all warm and snuggly!

Trent starts his new preschool in a couple of weeks. I'm not sure if I've mentioned anything on here about it, but we got him signed up for a preschool at a Methodist church that is about a 2 minute drive from our house. Primrose is close too, but this is closer, and MUCH cheaper. We are sad to leave Primrose because Trent is learning so much there, but I am really excited about this preschool. I have heard wonderful things about it, and the director used to teach at an elementary school near us, so she knows what they need to know to be ready for kindergarten. Trent will be going Tuesday-Friday from 9:30-1:30, which I'm also excited about because at Primrose, they either have full day pre-k 5 days a week, or 1/2-day pre-k 5 days a week. And their 1/2 day ends at 11:30, and it's only $20 cheaper per week than the full day program. Not really worth it! We tried doing half days for a week, and Trent hated it because he wasn't there very long before I had to pick him up. So we went back to full days--but we can't afford full days on one salary, so we had to pursue other options. He starts on September 2. I will be sure and post pictures of his first day!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

2 weeks


I know I'm a couple of days late with this post, but I did take pictures on Monday when Drew was officially 2 weeks old. We went to the doctor yesterday for his 2 week well baby appointment. We had one last bilirubin test to make sure the jaundice is going away, and it is. He now weighs 8 lbs 11 ozs--not quite back up to his birth weight, which they like to see at the 2 week point, but the doctor wasn't too concerned about it and neither am I. He is eating well and has gained some weight, so he is just fine.


We made an appointment for his 2 month checkup, as well as an appointment for Trent's 4 year checkup and shots (ok, so I'm a little late with that one!) It really hit me when I was making these appointments that, wow, I am a mother of two children! I am making doctor's appointments for two kids. It still sounds weird to me!


Anyway, here are the pics of Drew at 2 weeks old. I thought I'd join the bandwagon and start doing the "chair picture". The first pic is of him lying on his changing table, the second is the chair pic of him in the recliner that we moved to his room, and the 3rd is the side view of me, 2 weeks postpartum. I have now lost 34 of the 42 lbs that I gained, but I would ideally like to lose about 8-10 more lbs on top of the 42, so by my count, I have about 16-18 more to go. But we'll see. Mainly, I just want to be healthy, but I definitely don't want to stay at my current weight.



And last but not least, it dawned on me that I could upload this video of Trent and Drew's first meeting. It's a pretty big file so I hope it works, and I hope I did it right!


Thursday, August 7, 2008

10 days and counting

Here we are, 10 days after the birth of our precious baby boy Drew. It has been a rollercoaster ride to say the least. I promised details of his birth day, so here goes, if you're interested. Just a warning, some of this may be too much information!

I woke up Monday, July 28 at about 5am, and lo and behold, I was having contractions--not huge ones that sent me into screaming fits; they were more uncomfortable than anything. I started thinking, well, maybe that Oscar performance won't be needed after all. I got up, took a shower, and we packed all the last minute stuff into the car. On the way to the hospital, we started timing my contractions (which were still not that intense)--they were about 2-3 minutes apart the whole way there! We walked into L&D at about 6:30, and the nurse at the desk took us to a birthing room where they checked how much I was dilated and such. I was only 1.5cm and about 50% effaced--no change since my OB appointment the Wednesday before. BUT since my contractions were steady and so close together, I was told, "We're not going to send you home." Music to my ears! They called Dr. Taylor, who got there about 7 or 7:30, checked me again and told me I was about 2cm dilated. A little while later, she went ahead and broke my water, which hurt like hell for a second, and then it was just really gross. With Trent, I already had my epidural before they broke my water, so I didn't feel a thing...this was quite different. I won't go into any further detail on that.

Probably about an hour later (I wasn't paying too close attention to the time), the anesthesiologist came to give me the epidural. That was the worst pain I have probably ever experienced. I was a bit shocked at this, as I didn't feel a thing when I got my epidural with Trent. Ouch, is all I have to say. But once it was over, it was smooth sailing. They gave me pitocin to make my contractions stronger, and I steadily dilated to about 5cm by 12:25pm. At this point, my nurse talked to Dr. Taylor on the phone. Dr. Taylor told her she expected to have this baby by 2:00. I thought, "You've got to be kidding me--I'm only 5cm, and that is in an hour and a half! There's no way!" Little do I know...

The nurse gave me another dose of pitocin, and wow. I went from 5 to 8cm by about 12:50. Two contractions later, I was 10cm (about 12:55 or 1:00--I don't know all these times for sure because I was a little busy at that point). All I know is that all of a sudden...something felt really different. I've always heard that women in labor feel the need to push at a certain point, but I never really felt that with Trent, but boy, did I feel it this time. It didn't necessarily hurt, it just felt like he was coming, and he was coming NOW! I started pushing a few minutes later, and 10 minutes after that, he was here, all 9 lbs. 2 ozs. of him. The rest is a bit of a blur, but my heart felt so full, I thought it might burst. I truly didn't know I could love another human being as much as I love Trent, but God truly does provide enough love in a mother's heart for as many kids as He sends your way.

One of the biggest struggles early on was with breastfeeding. I really wanted to breastfeed more than anything. I can't pinpoint the exact reason why, it's just something that I wanted to make work this time. Well, Drew had other plans. He just was not latching on in those first few days, and I'm pretty sure it was because I wasn't producing milk yet, and he is apparently one of those kids on whom the concept of delayed gratification is lost. He wanted it NOW, dammit! So after a couple of days of frustrating feedings at home, we decided to supplement with formula and I would use the breast pump. At least that way, we could give him whatever I had to give and fill in the blanks with formula. Things got much more relaxed around here after that. I did start making more milk and it got to the point that we did not have to even use formula. Every bottle he got was breast milk. Yay! And now that I am producing milk, he has even nursed a few times.

Another issue we have been dealing with is jaundice. Trent had jaundice too, but I don't remember it being as big a deal as it has been this time. We have had to go to the doctor every day since last Thursday (aside from Saturday and Sunday) to have his bilirubin level checked, and to do that, they have to prick his heel, which is getting quite old. His bilirubin level has slowly been coming down every day, and we actually got to skip going in today and we'll go back tomorrow. Hopefully that will be the last time. We have to keep him in a biliblanket, which is basically a blue light that we have to wrap around his midsection and keep on him as much as possible. It's a pain in the butt because I want to hold my baby, not a glowing little wiggly thing. I did not give birth to a Glo-Worm! Like I said, hopefully tomorrow will be the last time we have to go for that reason. We have to go on Tuesday for his 2 week well baby appointment. Oh--one other thing--he totally peed all over the doctor and the exam room yesterday! I've never seen so much pee in my entire life. Why the doctor didn't cover him with his diaper, I do not know, but there was a fountain of pee flying across the room, splattering on the floor! It was hilarious!

Other than that, he has been sleeping pretty well at night, or maybe I just knew what to expect this time and I'm not so surprised that he is awake at night. Last night, for example, I got to sleep from about midnight-3:30 (he was asleep from about 11-3, but I had to pump), and again from 4-7, and I woke him up at 7. Pretty good for a 10 day old baby!

Here are a few pics from the last week and a half:
Trent and Drew watching TV together--that glowing thing on Drew is the biliblanket.


First bath at home - 8/2/2008
This is cold!
Aaaahhh--that's better!

All warm and cozy

1 week postpartum
1 week old

Holding that head up--he's so strong!
He rolled over to his side by himself this morning!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Drew Thomas Landenberger

He's here! Drew was born Monday, July 28 at 1:22pm. He tipped the scale at 9 lbs. 2 oz., and measured 21 inches long. He is an absolute angel, and we are so happy to have him here. He has a ton of hair and he came out already needing his fingernails cut--all a result of those prenatal vitamins, I'm sure! I will post more about the big event later when I get a chance. I just wanted to go ahead and post pictures of our new baby boy! (By the way, I didn't think so at first, but now every day he looks more like Trent! Also, now every time I hug Trent or hold him, he seems really big in comparison to his little brother!)

Waiting for the arrival of the newest Landenberger


The obligatory post-epidural picture

Here he is! That's Nurse Heather holding our bundle of joy!

Whew!

Minutes old

Drew, meet your Mommy.

First glimpse

First meeting of Trent and Drew

Just the four of us

Grams holding her newest grandson

This is my favorite picture EVER!

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man! He does this a lot.

My three favorite guys in the world

Look at all that hair! He's got a fro!

This was Day 2, and Trent is excited because he was about to get to hold his brother. So sweet!

My two sons
Am I the ultimate multitasking mommy or what?
New in town
Mommy and Drew

In the car seat, ready to leave the hospital and go HOME!
In the car
I'm a happy girl!
We're home! (Doesn't the sky look gorgeous behind us?)
Snug as a bug!
I'll post more later!