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.