Two Months, Part III

Samuel turned two months old on Christmas.  He is full of smiles, and we think, on the verge of his first giggle.  At night he sleeps anywhere from 3-6 hours at a time.  He loves to be held, and often isn't happy to be left alone in his bed.  He hates tummy time and refuses to even try to roll over or lift his head up.  But really, why would he ever need to when he's got two older siblings to do everything for him:)

Samuel at 2 months: 13.5 lbs

Amelia at 2 months: 11.5 lbs

Marley at 2 months: 7.75 lbs

Merry Christmas!

From The Franklins

Potty Talk

Amelia switched from diapers to undies right around her second birthday. But, she's still in the stage where many conversations revolve around going to the bathroom. Come to think of it, so is Marley. And Jeff. Hmm...when, exactly, does this stage end?

Anyway, here are some of Amelia's recent mots de toilette.

The other day Amelia was dressed up like a princess, and Jeff was trying to get her to take a potty break.

Jeff: Time for the princess to go pee on the potty.
Amelia: No, princesses don't go pee on potties.
Jeff: They don't? Where do princesses pee, then?
Amelia: (thinks for a while) On snowflakes!

Jeff was reading to the kids before bed one night, when Amelia mused, "It's so easy to pee in my night time diaper."

Amelia: (randomly announced while coloring) I'm not pooping.
Me: Do you need to go poop?
Amelia: No.
Me: Are you sure?
Amelia: I said I'm not pooping.
Me: (skeptically) Okay.
Amelia: (one minute later) I'm pooping!

We often tell her to 'listen' to her bladder to know when it's time to use the bathroom. I guess we haven't been very clear on what a bladder is, because the other day she told us, "My bladder is telling me I have to go poop."

At first Amelia wasn't too keen on pooping on the potty, so she would ask for a 'poop diaper'. Her favorite place to poop was in front of her dollhouse. I think, because it put her in a squat position that was
perfect for pooping. Thankfully, it wasn't long before she transitioned out of the poop diaper and onto her little potty. Unfortunately, the poop location remained the same.

Now she's about 50/50 with the little potty/regular potty, when it comes to pooping. But, when we're out and about and she has to go, her first question is always, "Do they have a doll house here?"

Now, off to print a copy of this post and stick it in her 'to-be-read-at-graduation' file.

The Big Oh-Five!

Stay tuned for more about five-year-old Marley. In the meantime, here he is growing up WAY too fast!

Grammy and Grumpy

We just finished a lovely week-long visit from my parents.  Now, it's back to watching my own kids. And doing my own laundry.  And making my own food.  And taking out my own trash.  And wrapping my own Christmas gifts.

We miss you already, Grandma and Grandpa!

Gummy Grin

Milestone: First Social Smile
How Old: 5 weeks
Who: At Daddy
Where: On the plane to San Diego

Just in time, too. He's going through that awkward baby acne stage, and the smile really goes a long way toward helping him out in the looks department.

Burp!

I tend to be a really lazy baby burper. Honestly, I thought burping your baby after a feeding was mainly a formality anyway. With Marley and Amelia I would give a few pats on the back (if that) and call it good. They would be asleep by the end of the feeding half the time anyway, and I never wanted to disturb them too much.

Samuel, however, actually needs to be burped. I may have mentioned before that he is a very aggressive eater. He gulps down his meal, along with LOTS of air. And he hardly ever falls asleep while nursing. Seriously, what newborn doesn't fall asleep at the boob?? He is generally really fussy and uncomfortable after a feeding. This is SO not what I'm used to!

Not only does he actually need to be burped, he's also kind of difficult to burp. It takes almost as much time to burp him as it does to feed him. Plus, I can never get the patting on the back thing to produce a burp. So, I've developed my own method that involves sandwiching him between the palms of my hands and bouncing him on my lap. It sometimes works. Of course, if it doesn't, there's always the other method, where I wait for the 'burp' to make its way out the other end.

Dinner Hour

Sometimes, while I'm making dinner in the evening, everyone is contentedly doing their own thing. I might even have a chance to sit down at the kitchen table with a magazine and a cup of tea. On those nights the house looks something like this:



Other times, however, things get a little more chaotic. They usually start off well enough. Samuel's upstairs sleeping, Jeff's on his way home from work, the big kids are coloring at the kitchen table. Then, things begin to go downhill. Sam wakes up. I go up to change him and put him in a carrier (I've been practicing my back carry just for this purpose!). By the time I get back to the kitchen the food is usually burning and the big kids have managed to get into some sort of trouble. On those nights, it looks something like this:

Fall

I finally cleared out my Picasa album, so I have room to publish these from my phone. They are from mid-October.

Samuel's First Bath

He was about a week old here. Since then, he's joined us in the shower a couple times a week. He finds both scenarios pretty enjoyable:)

One Month, Part III

Sam turned one month old this week. He is growing like a weed. As evidenced by this:

11 lbs 12 oz

Click here to remember back to parts I and II.

Sick

Just when we were starting to feel human again, illness hit. At first, it seemed like it was only going to be a minor cold. But, then the coughing started. Horrible, hacking, body-wracking coughs. Jeff, Amelia, and I all got hit hard. Samuel got sick in his little baby way: goopy eyes and extra crankiness (or maybe he was just being a baby). Marley has, so far, been fine.

I'm reminded of one of my favorite blog entries about being sick with kids. If you haven't read Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures, you should.

We're starting to get better, though I think my body is refusing to make a full recovery until I give it more than two consecutive hours of sleep. I'm hoping to do that this weekend. Unless Jeff gets a stronger mutated version of the virus, that is.

Two weeks

Editor's note: I've been writing this post on my phone in 5 minute intervals over the last four days. Excuse me if it sounds a bit rambling.

"You look so well-rested!" I've heard that comment a lot over the last week as I've gotten out more. I'm not sure what mom's of two-week-olds are expected to look like, but apparently, I look better than that, so yay!

I certainly don't feel well-rested. I feel like I've only slept in 2-3 hour chunks of time for the last two weeks. But, I try to have a mind-over-matter approach to it, which sometimes works to actually make me feel better. I guess it's still worth it if it only makes me look better.

I survived Jeff's first week back at work (only three days, really). And to be fair, I had LOTS of help for two of those days (big shouts out to Nai Nai, Katie J, Nancy, and Katie H!). People shuttling kids back and forth to preschool, bringing me lunch and coffee, and entertaining my big kids while I put my feet up and snuggled my baby.

But, on Thursday, I decided to call off my helpers and try it alone. Thursday is both the easiest and hardest day for us (big shout out to Kristie W for agreeing to come help out next, by the way). Both kids have preschool = Easy. I have to get both kids ready, and to and from preschool = Hard.

Thursday morning went mostly well. I got myself, Marley, and Amelia ready while Samuel slept. Then, I scooped him up at the last second, and put him directly into his car seat, hoping he would stay asleep. No such luck. He cried pretty much the whole time until we got back home.

I nursed Sam and played with Marley until it was time to get Amelia. This time everyone was happy in the car.

All year I'd had the idea that rather than go home for an hour (in and out of the car twice) we could just stay down there for lunch. I briefly considered packing a picnic lunch, but Thursday was really cold. So, I went for the next best option: walking four blocks to the beach. Still really cold, but at least we were moving. And there was hot cocoa/coffee at the end.

We made it to Beachside Cafe with just enough time to eat a couple scones and finish our drinks before we had to walk Marley back to school. I wasn't sure at first, as there were SO many interesting things to see along the way. Like two construction sites, a hammock, a friendly cat, and countless leaves, rocks, and flowers. It felt a little rushed, but so does going home in between. And, I have to say, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment going out by myself with all three of them!

Side note: I do have lots of carpool offers from preschool friends. I just need to figure out who's coming on which days.

What else do you need to know? Sam was 9lb 3oz (80th percentile) at his two-week check up. Breastfeeding's going better. Not perfect yet, but better. If I had to rank everyone from easiest to most difficult, it would go: newborn, 4-year-old, 2-year-old.

So, in conclusion, uh...we survived the first two weeks. Hooray!

Where's Sam?

Can you find the baby in this picture? 

I'm pretty sure we never lost Marley or Amelia in a room full of laundry, toys, books, and games.  And I thought the second child had it bad.

Post Partum

Well, here we are a week and a half later. Let's have a little check in on me, shall we?

Current state? It's 6 am, I'm nursing Sam in the rocker, while I munch on graham crackers and sip water. Ahh, the wee hours. My most peaceful time.

Physically? I think (hope) things are on the way up at this point. This was definitely my roughest delivery. I'm working on the birth story, but for those of you who don't know, Sam came out sunny side up with his arm over his head. Plus, he was my biggest baby by a pound and a half. While I've required stitches with all of them (yup, even tiny, little Marley), this has been my slowest recovery. I, also, still feel quite a bit of tenderness in my abdominal region.

Speaking of tenderness, how's breastfeeding? For a moment there, I thought Samuel was going to be my champion nursling. From the start, he's gone about eating with plenty of gusto. It turns out, though, that he had a tongue tie even worse than Amelia's. I called to schedule an appointment with Dr. Maryann O'Hara first thing Monday morning, but they couldn't get us in until Friday afternoon. Longest. Week. Ever.

The good news is that Samuel had no problem latching on and taking in plenty of milk. He surpassed his birth weight within a week! The bad news is that he tortured me in the process. Seriously. It was bad. I made at least three different Lactation Consultants gasp in horror this week after seeing what my little piranha did to my nipples. Now that Sam has been freed of his evil frenulum, I think (hope) I will begin to heal.

Emotionally? Hard to say. We're still in the honeymoon phase. Jeff returns to work on Tuesday. Even though he'll only be working three days a week until January, I'm still kind of dreading being alone with all three kids.

I'm also finding it really difficult to take care of myself, even with Jeff around. I really want a shower. And a nap. I know I'm not staying hydrated like I should, or taking care of my owies as well as I could be, which just makes everything seem worse.

I made the mistake of trying on some pre-pregnancy jeans the other day. My biggest, stretchiest pair. Not even close. I know it's still early, but wearing maternity clothes when you're not pregnant is seriously depressing (though admittedly quite comfy).

Well, I guess I'd better see if I can squeeze in a little more sleep before the big kids wake up all well-rested and ready to party.

I love my crazy life.

Boo!

We had a brief sun break this afternoon, and Jeff had the big kids out of the house. I used the opportunity to try and get a good photo of Sam in his Very Hungry Caterpillar costume (crocheted by my mom!). Photographing newborns is hard!

Birth Photos

Check out Samuel's hospital birth photos here. Use the password: nten1025franklin

Brotherly Love

Samuel Peter Franklin

Baby Samuel was born yesterday, October 25th, at 10:53 pm, weighing 8lbs 13oz, and measuring 20" long.

Welcome to the world, little guy.

The Dealership

You know that episode of Seinfeld where Kramer tests drives a car, and he and the salesman decide to keep driving to see how far they can get before running out of gas?*  That's kind of how I feel right now.  I made it to 39 weeks.  39 weeks!  What if I could get to 40?!?  What if he isn't born until November?!?  I mean, I know this baby has to come out some time.  And it's not like I have much of a choice in the matter.  But, the excitement is definitely building with each passing day.  My doctor told me that she had no problem letting me go all the way to 42 weeks.  That's November 10th!  Hopefully, he'll come on his own before that.  I REALLY don't want to have be induced.  Plus, I'd always wonder how far we could have made it.

*No?  Really?  Alright, here it is.

Countdown to Baby 2012: 38.5 weeks

If Eyeball isn't born in the next 24 hours, I will have officially crossed the line into the-most-pregnant-I-have-ever-been-hood. This is completely fine by me. In fact, it would be super if he could wait until the weekend to be born, ya know, when Jeff is around. But not next weekend. Next weekend, I want to go trick-or-treating with my big kids.

Just in case Eyeball decides to be inconvenient, I've made sure to schedule myself some childcare providers/hospital drivers/emergency midwives.  Diane spent the day with us today, and will be back on Thursday.  Nancy will be hanging out tomorrow.  Then, Jeff will be home on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  It feels a little bit like we're sitting around watching a ticking time bomb.  But, it's definitely nice to have the extra set of hands at this point.  Funny how pregnancy hasn't slowed down Marley or Amelia one bit:)

Here's our attempt at finally taking some pregnancy photos of me the other day, at 38 weeks.  The kids (particularly Marley) were really offended that we were trying to take pictures that didn't include them.  Most of these were taken in between being climbed and jumped on.  I'm impressed by my relative look of calm.

I'm not sure why Marley looks so bored in this next photo.

This one of him showing his unhappiness at being left out was taken about two seconds before.

The Waiting Game

We're rounding the bend to 38 weeks, and no signs yet of baby. Jeff and I were reminiscing about being blissfully ignorant in the days leading up to Amelia's speedy birth. My worries then were all work-related. Would I be there to administer the state standardized test to my students? (No.) Would I be able to get all my report cards done before I had the baby? (No.) Would my long-term sub be available to start when I needed her? (No.)

This time it's all about the birth. Will I make it to the hospital in time? Will Jeff make it to the hospital in time? Will I give birth in the car on the West Seattle Bridge? (Hopefully, the answers to those questions are yes, yes, and no.) But, just like last time, I know that the answers to those questions won't really matter once I have my beautiful baby in my arms. Or at least, it'll mean we have a really good story to tell.

In the meantime, all I can do is focus on something that I do have control over. No, not my other children (most definitely don't have any control over them).  My room!

This is what our "closet" has looked like for the last eight years, except that it was filled with stuff. 

Don't ask me why some parts were never painted. Or why there's a big pole in the middle.

I imagine someone had plans for the big empty "box".

I painted and added shelves to the box.

It doesn't look that different, but it's WAY better already.

I'm not sure what else I can do to make the space more closet-like.  Maybe add some wire shelves?  The big pipe right in the middle doesn't help.  Neither do the sloped ceilings.  I guess it'll have to do for now.

Here's what the rest of the room looks like right now.  From left to right: Marley's old dresser containing some of my clothes, a tiny build-in book shelf holding board books, some big bins holding a variety of toys, my rocking chair, yoga ball (behind chair) for bouncing babies to sleep, gate at the top of the stairs.

Here you see: The edge of the changing table, another dresser containing my clothes (topped with wipes and diapers), a built-in shelf holding more diapers and wipes, garbage can, cupboard containing baby clothes, labor and delivery bags all packed and ready to go!

Here is the changing table holding mostly diapers, diaper covers, and diaper accessories in bins below. In the background, you can see our bed and baby's bed.

Here's what it looks like from the other side.  Our bed is tightly bungeed to the crib for easy nighttime nursing.  We didn't figure this out until Marley was over a year old, but used it from the start with Amelia, and LOVED it!!

There you have it!  Ready as we'll ever be, I suppose.  Now, back to the waiting.

Pumpkin Time!

We had beautiful weather on Sunday, so decided to head up to Edmonds to our favorite pumpkin patch, Fairbank Farm. Going up that way was also an excuse to visit our friends, Dustin and Cecily.  We hadn't seen them in quite a while, and it was nice to catch up.  On the way in, Marley noticed a tree in their neighbor's yard that had a little red door in the middle.  He was excited to go over and "knock on the door to see who lived there."  No one answered the tree door, but he and Jeff did get to meet the neighbors:)  Marley's other favorite part of the visit was watching Dustin set up "the robot" to vacuum the room.  When it was time to go, Marley didn't want to leave, and said he wanted to stay at Dustin and Cecily's forever.

Amelia spent the entire visit trying to poop.  The poor girl had been constipated for the last couple days, and was clearly uncomfortable.  Luckily, we're talking about Cecily here, so she produced inspiration in the form of the Potty book and a number two pencil.  And finally, right before we had to leave - success.  What a relief! 

We grabbed a bite to eat, then headed over to the farm to meet Troy, Jada, and Miles.  I don't know how they do it, but this place always has zillions of baby animals.  The two-day-old piglets were so cute and tiny.  Their mama snored loudly while they nursed.  She didn't even stir!  Their other sow was in labor and we watched her building her nest.  Jeff and I were really hoping that she would give birth while we were there, but no such luck.

Two day old piglets

There were baby goats to pet, too.

Jada pets a duckling

I like how Jada's the only one posing.  The rest of them are "driving".

2012

The kids also got to pet a bunny, see chicks hatching out of eggs, jump in a pile of hay, feed chickens, and run through a corn maze. I can't wait to go back to this place next year!

Oh and, just for comparison, here are our little pumpkin and scarecrow from years past.

2010

2011