What???

Blogger has a mind of its own....see the jacked up layout of the previous post?! I don't have the time or energy to troubleshoot the issue though so it will just have to stay that way!!

Pics from our weekend

Ethan is 3 weeks old today! Jenny came up on Saturday to take his newborn pics and we got some really cute ones even though he was not a fan of the naked poses! Ayden had a great time with Finleigh, she is such a cutie!! I will upload Ethan's pics as soon as Jenny sends them!

2 week check-up!

Today was Ethan's 2 week check-up at the pediatrician. He weighed 7 pounds even (exactly the same as Ayden @ 2 weeks!) and is 21 and 1/4 inches long. The doctor said he looked great and even pointed out his new double chin :)! I'm so thankful for our healthy, growing boy! He is a great breastfeeder and will also take a bottle very easily, but he definetely prefers the breast :) I have started pumping a couple of times a day and then going to bed around 9 and letting Chris do one late night feeding, then I get up around midnight or 1am to nurse him, and then again around 4 or 5. So I am getting two 3-4 hour stretches of sleep and I can totally handle that! I am so very blessed with my sweet boys!

Updates and Pics!

Another week has already flown by! Chris does not think time is flying, but I do! Maybe it's because I am on a very definitive timeline, always very aware of how many weeks I have left until I have to go back to work! (9 weeks and 2 days, by the way) I am VERY excited though because my boss e-mailed me yesterday and has a PRN position open for me to go into! I was PRN before I got pregnant and switched to part-time for the benefits, and really wanted to switch back after the baby was born, but there was no guarantee that a position would be open. I was so relieved! Being PRN gives me a lot more flexibility, I can work as little or as much as I want, but am only obligated to 4 shifts per month. My plan is to start back working Fri/Sat nights, maybe just one night a week at first until we see how well we are going to transition as a family when mommy goes back to work at night, leaving daddy with 2 kids! Anyway, enough about that for now, I don't really want to think about work until I have to and I know those of you reading want to know about my sweet boys, not my work schedule!

Ethan is a wonderful baby!! I hate to speak too soon, but I think he is going to be much calmer and more chilled than Ayden was as a baby! (But as my mom pointed out, maybe Ethan will be more relaxed because I am more relaxed than I was with Ayden!) He only cries when he wants to eat and as soon as he is fed, he is happy! He still sleeps the majority of the day, with about 2-3 alert periods lasting about an hour each. During his alert time, he just looks around and kicks his little arms and legs...no fussing, no crying, he just chills! He does like to be held but doesn't insist on it and he takes a binky from time to time but doesn't have to have one at all times. He nurses almost exactly every 2 hours during the day and every 3, sometimes 4 hours at night. He sleeps about an hour at a time in his co-sleeper and then ends up snuggled next to mommy...just like Ayden :) He is so super sweet! He has a doctor appointment on Thursday so I will update with his latest stats then.

Big brother still loves Ethan to pieces! Ayden's behavior issues are much better too! In fact, last week when I picked him up from MDO the teachers and director all met me at the door bragging on his improvement in behavior! Mommy rewarded him with a trip to Cold Stone Creamery for some Oreo ice cream! Now we're just hoping he keeps it up! He loves to help us with anything he can and of course still loves to hold him! He is still sleeping all night in his own bed with no complaints!

I am feeling pretty well, my body is still adjusting to not getting my 10 uninterrupted hours of sleep that I had become accustomed to, but a cup of coffee after the 6 am nursing session helps quite a bit! (And also an afternoon nap!) Otherwise my recovery is going well, I have already lost the 25 pounds I gained during pregnancy, and actually have been trying to focus on getting more calories in my diet to help with my breastmilk supply. Never thought getting enough calories would be an issue for me!

Anyway, Chris is home with me this week and then Monday will be my first day to be alone with 2 kids! I know I have been spoiled to have 3 weeks of help after an uncomplicated vaginal delivery...but I'll take it!

Here are some pics of our sweet boys (in random blogger order!)

snuggles with daddy

big brother helping mommy make cookies!

showing some brotherly love!

Ethan meeting Mimi and Pappaw Wayne

Just chillin'!

If you look very closely, you can see Ayden's brown hair poking up

by the dinosaur's foot! He sleeps with as many toys as he can squeeze into the bed!

Ready for the game!

My cute boys!!

snugglin' with momma :)

Ethan's First Week!

Well, I can't believe that today marks one week since Ethan came into this world! The past week has flown by and quite frankly been a bit of a blur! I have taken lots of pics I want to share and also update on how things are going. I have been feeling pretty good, aside from some pretty serious sleep deprivation! Ethan nurses every hour to hour and half around-the-clock. He is a great breastfeeder, and my milk supply is so much better this time and I am so super grateful for that! He is such a sweet, cuddly little baby! I just love him so much!

Ayden's adjustment to Ethan has been, for the most part, smooth sailing. He has had no blatant signs of jealousy or resentment, in fact he just seems to adore his baby brother! His first couple of days home we had "big brother time" several times a day where he got to sit in the rocker and hold the baby for a little while (supervised of course!) But then around Thursday he came down with a cough and snotty nose and we haven't let him touch the baby since! I feel so bad because he just loves him so much and wants to hug and kiss him...but the snot dripping out of his nose and hacking cough pretty much rules those things out! He is having some behavior issues (screaming NO, not following directions, throwing toys) at MDO that we all feel sure are related to the big life change. He is acting out at home too, but again, never in direct response to Ethan, although we know it's related. We have started being more strict with him and having a "zero-tolerance" policy for disobeying and telling us No, and we seem to be making some improvement! We're hoping for a better report card from MDO this week!

The biggest change in Ayden that we still cannot believe is that he is sleeping in his own bed! We started trying to get him to do this several months back with absolutely NO luck, so we finally decided to just let it be and hope it would work itself out...and it did! The night we went into the hospital to be induced, Ayden decided on his own to sleep in his bed. And he has ever since! He asks us to check for monsters and leave his closet light on, but otherwise goes to bed around 9pm every night and sleeps all night in his room! Chris and I have had a harder time adjusting than he has! In fact, our first night home from the hospital, we stood together in his doorway watching him sleep...I was crying over how grown-up he was, and Chris was debating on whether or not to just scoop him up and go put him in our bed! We are so proud of what a big boy he is but it just kina snuck up on us!!

Anyway, I can't believe how different life already is with 2 kids in the house. I have been so lucky to have help every minute since we've been home...Chris was with me all last week, Mom is with me this week, and Chris will be with me again next week. So the actual reality of it all won't hit for a couple more weeks when I am ALONE! Here are some pics from our first week home!


Snuggles before leaving the hospital

Proud Memaw!

buckled up and ready to go!

Home sweet home!

Sweet big brother!

Testing out the swing

I just had to include this one!!

Ethan's 1st bath!

He loved having his hair washed!

1st trip to the pediatrician!

Already tired of the camera!

wide awake after his bath

A week old today! Snuggles with Memaw

Ethan's Birth Pictures!

Here are a few of my favorites of the many, many pics from Ethan's birthday! I am not even going to try to attempt to upload them all on blogger, it would take forever! I want a few on here since this is our virtual scrapbook, but I plan on printing the rest and putting them in an album. I love blogging, but I am going to have my work cut out for me keeping up the blog with 2 cute kiddos to write about! I am already behind! I think I'm up to the challenge though! :)

Meeting my angel!

Proud daddy!

Meeting Memaw!Meeting Pappaw!

Here comes big brother!

Possibly my FAVORITE pic ever!

Family of Four!

Meeting Uncle Nick and Aunt Brandy!

Favorite pic #2!

My sweet family!

After his bath