Road Trip

Today I had to get out of the house. I couldn't stand another minute just hanging around and I think Samuel was sick of it too. So I decided to load up everyone (including George) and head out for a road trip. I just wanted to drive around and I figured Samuel would like it and would enjoy watching a movie in the car also. We drove around for a little over an hour.

Now there is a big difference between Samuel and Joseph when it comes to car rides. Samuel could stand being in his car seat. He would scream and scream until we took him out. Now Joseph screams as soon as we put him in the car seat and he gets beat red. However, as soon as I start the car and start driving he passes out. It is so nice to have a baby that sleeps in the car and doesn't scream like crazy.

Now both boys are napping and I am trying to get lots of stuff done. I already cleaned all the dishes, made my grocery list, my to-do list, hung up most of my clothes in the closet and I am about to get my book and start reading. By the way, I am reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. It is so good. It is such an easy read and I got into it immediately. I have no idea how the book is going to end, which makes it a great fast read because I am wondering what is going to happen next. It is based in Jackson, Mississippi and it is written from the perspective of three women (one young white woman and two black maids (the help). All three women are very strong-willed and intelligent. They are each trying to change the racial lines and discriminatory views of the people around them. It is great so far and I have about a fourth of the book left to read.

Here are some pictures from the past few days:

Doesn't this picture just make you smile:

I left Joseph on the couch while I ran into the kitchen to get something to drink and I came back to this. Any opportunity Samuel has to snuggle with Joseph he does. Don't mind Samuel's outfit, he has decided this week to dress himself and he obviously isn't into matching.

Happy Thursday

It is Thursday and I have survived so far this week all alone. It actually hasn't been bad at all. Samuel has been absolutely wonderful. He checks on Joseph when he is sleeping. He brings me diapers when I need to change Joseph and always comes and sits by me when I am feeding Joseph. He is really loving to me and not really having tantrums at all. I think he is worn out after having the grandparents here for two weeks. I was so grateful to have help the first two weeks because I really needed that time to try to adjust to having two kids, but I think this week alone has been wonderful for us too. (Plus, luckily Samuel had Taylor to play with yesterday and then Jonathan and Laura brought us over a wonderful dinner. It was so nice to have a break in the middle of the week).

I am feeling more confident in my abilities as a parent of two. Today the three of us ventured out for the first time to Samuel's music class. It was much easier then I thought it would be. Samuel doesn't really like to hold hands in parking lots, so I decided that I would change it up and asked him just to hold my finger. Somehow it has worked. He holds my finger the entire time until I tell him he can run off. As soon as we got into music class he was trying to show off Joseph to everyone. Throughout the class he would get up and go check on Joseph and rock his pumpkin seat. I really can't describe how happy it makes me feel to see Samuel loving and interacting with Joseph. I love it.

So I think Samuel had a fever because his top 2 year molars are coming in. He has been complaining that his teeth hurt. He says his ear hurts too. Have you ever heard of kids getting ear infections when they are teething or could ear infections hurt your teeth? He hasn't complained about his ear today, but if he does later, I may call the doctor just to check him out. Mostly he is just complaining that his teeth hurt.

So my hormones are going nuts. My face is so broken out it is disgusting. I look and feel terrible. I think the new sleep schedule doesn't help much either. I am still trying to adjust to waking up every two to three hours at night. Since Joseph was born, I have been feeling emotional, but nothing crazy. I have only cried one time but I still feel unstable like I could cry at any moment, it just isn't coming out. I have been surprised that I haven't been super moody or pissy. I have some moments where I get frustrated and irritated, but overall I think I am doing okay. I worked out today on the treadmill for the first time. I walked 15 minutes and ran for 5 minutes. I am going to slowly try to get back into running. My body is completely out of shape. My legs feel like huge tree trunks and my ass is so huge it almost hurts to run. I have lost 18 pounds since I had Joseph. I would love to lose 25 more pounds. I am just going to go slowly for the next month or so. I don't want to do too much too fast, but after my 6 week appointment with the doctor I am going to try to get back into a really good workout schedule. We will see how that goes.

I have about 15 minutes until Samuel may wake up, so I am going to jump in the shower.

Back to being sick

I don't know what the deal is, but Samuel is sick again. Yesterday I picked him up from Mother's Day Out and they said he was great yesterday, but not acting like himself. They said he was really quiet. They said he helped them clean up all day and took a great nap. As soon as I saw him I could tell he wasn't feeling great. When he got home I felt his head and it was really hot. I took out the thermometer and he freaked out. We used to take his temperature rectally (when he was a baby) and he totally remembered. I could also use the same one for under his arm but he wouldn't let me come near him. So I called Dave and told him to pick up an ear thermometer on his way home.

Samuel was a mess. He eyes were glassy and he was so lethargic. He wouldn't walk down the stairs so I had to carry him and Joseph downstairs. Finally when Dave came home we took his temperature and it was 101 something. Later in the evening it was 102.8. Samuel wouldn't eat anything for dinner and actually put his head down on the table which he has never done. When Dave gave him a bath he started shivering. We got him all dressed for bed and he fell asleep in Dave's arms a little before 7 pm. Poor baby.

This morning his fever is down and he is acting better, but he won't get out of his pj's. We have been just hanging out and watching videos all morning. He is drinking juice now and eating goldfish, so I know he is feeling better.

Joseph on the other hand is taking a great nap in his crib right now. I laid him down while I was changing Samuel's diaper and he stayed asleep, so I figured I would leave him there and see how long he lasted. It has been about 30 minutes so far. He is a great sleeper thank goodness. I don't think Samuel took a nap at all until he was 6 months old. Let's hope Joseph's sleeping behavior continues.

I can't wait for Samuel's nap time, so I can actually shower. I am feeling pretty nasty right now.

Check up and hard goodbye

This morning went really well with me getting Samuel and Joseph ready for the day. I got up early around 6:30 to shower and get myself ready because I needed to run lots of errands today and take Joseph to his 2 week doctor appointment.

Samuel was not excited at all to go to Mother's Day Out. He kept saying no all morning long and then when we finally got in the car he cried the entire way (which is only 5 minutes). When I got him out of the car and gave him his back pack and lunch box (which he normally likes to hold), he said "no" and "back car". He wouldn't walk to his class like he normally does. He kept saying no and refused to walk. So I had to carry him, all of his school stuff (back pack, lunch sack and blanket) as well as Joseph in his pumpkin seat. Samuel screamed and cried the entire way in and then locked himself around my waist and neck. I had to pry him off of me. I felt terrible. He never cries or has a hard time going. I almost didn't want to leave him, but I knew that he would be fine within a few minutes after I left. It is 12:30 and I still haven't received a call from them, so I am sure he is doing fine.

After we left Samuel, Joseph and I headed to his doctor appointment.

Here are his stats:

Height: 21.25 in (69%)

Head Cir.: 36.5 cm (35%)

Weight: 8 lbs 12 oz (48%)

I was SHOCKED by his weight gain. A week ago he was only 6 lbs 14 oz. He gained almost 2 pounds in one week. I was thinking that he would maybe weigh 8 pounds. I guess my milk is really in and he is eating a ton.

I am going to try to get some things done around the house in the next few hours while Samuel is gone. So much to do and so little time.

Two Weeks Old

Today Joseph is two weeks old. I can't believe that two weeks have already gone by. I am still somewhat in shock that I actually had a baby. So far he seems to be pretty calm. He doesn't cry that often. I think he has been having stomach issues because he will cry and scream and then he makes a big poopy diaper. We are going to the doctor tomorrow for Joseph's two week check up.

I have been feeling pretty good. On Friday night my boobs started to hurt me pretty badly and I felt like I was getting a clogged milk duct in my left boob. Then by Saturday morning both of my boobs started hurting. Then last night I was in so much pain, I wanted to die. Joseph is a good eater, but he doesn't eat very much at a time. He was really only eating about 10 minutes on one boob and then a few minutes on the other. I never felt like he was emptying my boobs of the milk. I pumped about 3 times on Saturday to try to relieve my pain, but it didn't seem to help. By last night, my boobs were really really red and I was in so much pain. I think Joseph must have known something was up because he ate a ton last night and has continued to eat a ton today. I am still in pain, but it is starting to go away. I don't remember being in this much pain at one time with Samuel. I got lots of clogged milk ducts with Samuel, but it was always in one boob at a time. I just have so much milk and I really need Joseph to continue to eat a lot or I am going to continue to be in a lot of pain.

That is my only issue lately. Things have been going really well. I think it is because we have had so much help from our parents. I don't think I would have been able to survive the first two weeks if we didn't have our parents here.

This is our first week alone and hopefully things will go smoothly. I will let you all know.

Samuel is still doing really well with Joseph. He wants to hold him all the time. I got a picture of him yesterday and today holding Joseph:

Samuel loves hiding. He hides in the closets and now he loves to hide in the pantry. Here he is trying to run in the pantry and get away from us.

Here are a few pictures of Joseph today on his two week birthday:

Surviving

I can't believe it has been 11 days since Joseph was born. We have been really busy and trying to adjust to the new addition to the family. Joseph has been sleeping pretty well at night. He sleeps for about 2-3 hours and then usually has one time a night that he sleeps for a period of 4 hours. He isn't very consistent during the day. Like yesterday he slept most of the day and then was up for about 2-3 hours before we went to bed. Today he has been up all morning from about 8 to 12:30 when he finally fell asleep.

I am pretty tired and trying to get lost of things done while I have help. The first 8 days Dave's parents were here to help out, which was wonderful because Samuel was really sick with croup. Dave slept with him for about three nights, which completely wore Dave out. Now my parents are here for the week and I am trying to get as much stuff done and caught up on as possible before they leave on Sunday.

I am a little nervous about being alone for the first time next week. Hopefully things will go okay.

So on Monday we had Joseph's bris. It was super emotional again. I thought I would be able to handle it better since I have already been through it once with Samuel, but I think it freaked me out even more because I knew what was coming. He did really well and it was wonderful to have family and friends to help celebrate this very spiritual and unforgettable milestone in Joseph's life.

So here are some more pictures:

Here is what Samuel looked like when he was 8 days old and this is Joseph at 9 days old:

Here are some more pictures:

Got him smiling

His second bath at home:

Samuel helping to rock Joseph:

Some more pictures of Joseph:

More pictures of family the day of Joseph's bris:

Short Video and Doctor Appointment

Here is a short video I took yesterday.

(I am trying to repost the video, see below).

Joseph had his first doctor's appointment today. He did really well. He loves being in the car, so it makes the car rides much more enjoyable. Samuel used to just scream his head off.

Joseph lost only 1 oz since he came home from the hospital. He weighs 6 pounds 15 oz. I can't believe how tiny he is. He didn't cry at all when they looked in his ears and shoved the stick down his throat to look. He is really so laid back (at least for now). I am really enjoying these past few days because he is just really really good. Not took much crying. I hope this continues.

Not only did we have to take Joseph to the doctor, but we took Samuel too. Last night he was coughing in the middle of the night and I thought he wasn't breathing so great, so I called the doctor and asked if I could bring Samuel in too. Turns out, he had a fever this morning and has croup. He is on meds for the next three days and then hopefully he will be better. He is super contagious right now and the doctor said that I needed to keep the boys apart as much as possible. This is really difficult because Samuel wants to be by Joseph all the time. We also have to make sure that we wash our hands constantly. We can't touch Joseph if we have had any contact with Samuel. Terrible timing for Samuel getting sick.

I am off to relax a little bit while Samuel is sleeping and Joseph is rocking in his swing.