Tummy Time

While Gwen was sleeping almost 2 weeks ago, Nate would not nap, so being the kind and not cranky Mom that I am I made him do tummy time. Seriously, I am embarrassed to say these pictures were taken on the 20th! I can say with certainty that poor Nate is not getting as many pictures taken of him as we have from Gwen's first weeks. Poor kid!

Nate can totally hold his head up on his own, I of course didn't get a shot of that. He is getting pretty strong and he is a pretty good boy, I won't tell you what his issues seem to be, but then what I talk to Eric about when he gets home from work?

I think Eric and I are much saner at this point than we were almost 2 years ago (side note: can you believe Gwen will be 2 in less than 2 weeks! AHH!). We were at IKEA yesterday, which is about a 45 minute drive, and this woman randomly started talking to us (this happens to me a lot, Eric notices) asking about how old our kids were and commenting on how good we looked and couldn't believe we were out with a 2.5 week old. I realized that is pretty amazing, we would not have attempted anything like that before, oh and did I mention we also went out to dinner! I have realized that this time around, even though I spend most of my day running around like a chicken with my head cut off, I am able to run around like a chicken with my head cut off. I think Eric would agree it is a nice change from what it was like after Gwen.

In Gwen news, she has so many words we can hardly understand her. Sometimes she says things we can't even believe and yesterday's car ride proved that Eric and I won't be talking to each other much anymore, because we won't be able to get a word in edgewise!

First bath!

I thought maybe I would post Nate's first bath pictures. It is amazing how different it is with the second. Yesterday was Nate's second bath and I did it by myself, while Eric was bathing Gwen; I know I would not have attempted such a thing without someone waiting in the wings. And, I am sure Gwen had been washed several times by now. As you can see, he doesn't like to be naked!

All clean and sound asleep!

Status update

You are probably wondering how it is going here. I would love to say everything is peachy-keen, but I can't lie! Nathan is proving to be difficult, like Gwen, but also different than Gwen. Like many babies, Nathan has chosen the early evening to drive Momma crazy, I think it could be a combination of many factors. I think it is a chain of events starting with, Gwen is riddled up because she knows Daddy is on his way home, and she is excited and starting to drive Momma crazy, Nathan senses all of this and starts acting crazy and then we are all crying simultaneously, ok not all of us, but Gwen and Nathan are. I also wonder if Nathan by the end of the day has had enough of me and wants some bonding time with Eric. Last night Eric went to bed early and told me to take Nathan for a walk outside, I did, whereas with Eric, Nathan would be asleep in 10 minutes, I walked for a mile (rather slowly 'cause I am still recovering) and he cried intermittently the whole way. It makes you doubt yourself when you can't get your child to chill out and fall asleep no matter what else happened all day.

Nathan is a pretty good sleeper, and a good eater. He sleeps 3-4 hour blocks at night (which we know could change at any minute) and during the day he wants to eat every 2 hours. He often falls asleep while eating, I am too busy paying attention to his sister and then he gets mad when I remove him. And, does he ever get mad!! He gets red all over and turns to purple quite easily when he is angry.

I wrote this post last night and wouldn't you know it things were lovely around here last night. I had called the doula and asked her to come over and hang with us, Eric apparently has a meeting every Mon night at 6p. I thought I would be insane by the time he got home close to 7p. The doula feels that it would be bad for one of her clients to go insane and the time when I need the most help is early evening and all my friends are busy during that time also. Today was a much better day than we have been having around here. I was able to get a nap and last night Eric had the kids in bed by 8p, so I was able to get to sleep 9:30. It is amazing what a good night of sleep can do for your attitude. But, I was able to put Nathan to sleep today and I am hoping that we can get to sleep earlier around here. I have a backlog of pictures that I need to post, but I would imagine that one day I will get to posting pictures again when I am not beaten down by 2 children! I will leave you with a couple pictures from today. This one is from Gwen today, I thought I was going to bust up laughing when I came into her bedroom and found her like this:

(and yes she did this by herself, I don't know how she got the stocking and that attitude was all her own!) Here are pictures I took waiting for Nathan to wake up so he could finish eating.

He is beginning to look more like a little man, than like an old man, less wrinkly.

I thought you would like to see pictures of the kids (wow that is weird to write!) side-by-side. I think it is easy to tell which is which, but there are definitely similarities!
In other news, we had a low key Father's day around here, we made Eric breakfast and let him sleep in. Then he got to do whatever he wanted to do and pick whatever he wanted for dinner. I think all and all a day he enjoyed! He didn't even have to take the night shift last night! Love you babe! Thanks for being such a great Daddy!

Obsessed

I know that many of you have been wondering how Gwen feels about Nate. As far as we can tell, up to this point, Gwen is obsessed! When ever anyone goes to get her from her crib she says "baby", before she even says Daddy! I know you know what that means, Eric has been dethroned, and I have moved to #3.
This is not to say that everything around here is running smoothly, Gwen is having some difficulties adjusting and yesterday she spent most of the morning baiting me (it was just the 3 of us making breakfast for Daddy), she just wants to hug and hold "baby Nate" and doesn't understand much about being gentle, but then again she is 2. I have heard the story of some older siblings that put their younger brother in the trash because they wanted a sister.
But Gwen has a genuine love for Nathan and that is good, we have some videos taken by Mom so you can see just how much she adores him...we try to no longer talk about his eyes, since she poked him in the eye already, bad Mommy, who knew she was so fast on the draw!

Demand much?

I received a phone call this morning demanding a picture of Nate so people can see his face. If you click on a picture on the website it will enlarge the pictures so you can see them larger than life. Here are pictures of just him you can enlarge. Do you see that his hair is lighter than Gwen's? Well, I guess you might not remember what Gwen looked like as a baby, but take my word for it, his hair is lighter.

I have arrived!

So, I thought you would like an update of the fun and exciting things going on around here. As you may or may not have guessed, I had a baby yesterday, a happy, healthy, sleepy baby, who I have to wake up to feed every 4 hours. Gosh do I feel lucky. I know it won't last, so I am doing my best to indulge as best I can, which included my free hospital neck message this morning. I do not think it is possible to sleep very late in the hospital in the mornings, boy it is one person after the other around here. But, I guess you probably don't care about that you want to know more about this:

Yesterday as I mentioned in the blog, I was induced by the Dr breaking my water. Unfortunately, I arrived at the hospital at 7:45 and didn't actually get my water broken until 11:00am, the fluid was clear thank goodness and apparently I had been having contractions, but couldn't feel them, I was at 4cm when they broke my water. Do you know that it took an hour to get the antibiotic that was necessary to get 2 doses in before they could break my water. I should have known then that anytime our nurse said 15 minutes she meant a lot longer. Apparently they got very busy shortly after we arrived. When the Dr B broke my water that is the only time we saw him. We finally were able to get up and walk around. I received my next antibiotic dose and finally at 3:30 I was checked again, 4.5cm and we were allowed to walk again. Alleluia. By this point, I was done with this pregnancy and started doing anything the doula would suggest to get the baby down and out. Different swaying techniques and what-not. At about 5 we went back to the room so I could rest, we weren't really timing contractions, they seemed to still be about 5 min or so apart. I got into the shower and I felt like the contractions were coming closer together and I was getting the urge to bear down, the doula said since I was 5cm and we knew Gwen was stuck there for a long time I could bear down a little (I took that to mean, just bear down as much as I wanted). The nurse came back in she said my next dose of antibiotics had arrived, they wanted to monitor the baby for a little bit and so we got out of the shower and into the bed. She just finished hooking me up to the monitors and I said, I feel burning. The nurse said let me check you and the head was crowning. Now, if you want to see a flurry of activity you should probably wait until about 6 to have a baby (the nurses change out at 7, my favorite Dr rotated in at 5:30!) and already be crowning. I was told not to push and a flurry of activity ensued. I think I now know what it feels like to be a car/driver at the Indy 500. Eric says there was no one in our room and about 5 sce later there was about 5 nurses and our Dr ran in, she hadn't even put on scrubs yet for her shift. Two pushes later we were staring at this handsome little guy:
That's right, we had a boy! Nathan Quinn, 8lb 10oz 22.25in. at 6:12pm. It is amazing how 1.25in and 5.5 oz can make in appearance. Nathan seems so long and lean compared to Gwen. One day I might show comparison pictures. (Please ignore the double chin in this picture it is the only one I have of the 3 of us)
Here are some more pictures, mostly of Gwen and Nathan, here she is with her first look!

She leaned in to look at him so I asked her if she wanted to kiss him, and you see she did! Mom and Gwen were able to make it to visit after he was born, even though it was past her bedtime. But, Grandma was watching her, so I am sure she is having a super fun time and they are breaking all our "rules".


Here is the proud Papa again. Eric stayed the night, but he had an appt this morning and he stopped by the house and then he came back here and wouldn't stop holding Nathan, I would complain, but Gwen will be here this afternoon and I know she is going to have to be in Eric's lap the whole time she is here, so I can't blame him.

I might be able to get out of here tomorrow mid-day, it apparently depends on the pediatrician and how much of a stickler they are about the Strep B and monitoring. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers, they are much appreciated and I know that is why everything worked out so well.

Well, it seems my little man is starting to fuss, so it is my turn to hold the baby. Did anyone get all the predictions true from the poll?

Oh and just in case you are wondering the significance of the name, Nathan has no significance, something we could agree on, but Quinn is Eric's father's name.

23 Months

So, today Gwen is 23 months, and 23 months she definitely is! She has her moments when she is definitely 2, but overall she is still a lot of fun. She is definitely learning so much so quickly. As I have said her vocabulary is expanding not only in quantity of words, but also in phrases. She is putting 2 words together, maybe even 3. We don't have sentences, but Gwen definitely believes she is talking to us in sentences. It is unfortunate that we have no idea what she is saying, except for the last word, which is not really helpful.
This is the scene when Daddy leaves. Saddening, isn't it?

The 2-ness is going to hit us hard in the next couple of months I am sure, but she isn't so terrible and as of yet we don't have tantrums, so to speak. We have a lot of pouting and "No's". Apparently the pouting is directly from me, my Mom says it is very familiar.
Gwen's dancing technique has changed so much, we need to try and get it on tape, which I think is my Mom's mission while she is here. She still LOVES listening to music and I just got her a CD off iTunes that she can't help "grooving" to. Sometimes I wonder if she is singing, but she doesn't use any words, but she does this high pitched humming.
Gwen is really into her baby dolls. She loves them and carries them around the house, we don't really take them out in public, they often get taken to the car, but in our excitement to get out of the car we throw them down into floorboards. We have even started feeding our babies and we love to swing them in baby #2's swing.
I am certainly impressed with Gwen' s memory she remembers and comprehends more than we realize, and unfortunately that can be a detriment to me, because at 9mon pregnant I can't remember everything. Gwen will put stuff back and do certain tasks that I have done and I wonder where she got the stuff she is doing and then I remember she is mimicking something we have done.
It is going to be an interesting change around here to see how Gwen reacts to the new baby, consensus is that Gwen will be a good big sister, which I am sure she will be, but I do worry about her wanting to squeeze the baby when she "'ug"s it. She loves hugging babies! Then there will probably be Mommy lap issues!

It might be a while before I get the new baby post up, so, I hope you will have some patience with us. I guess the decision was made easy for me about what to do since Mom's window of visit is dwindling and I didn't want to push the baby out unless it is necessary. I am not the kind of person that takes pills, you would be hard pressed to find pain relievers and such that aren't expired, so chemical inductions are not high on my list of things to do. I am hoping that the baby is happy and healthy and not such a cry baby...like his/her big sister, and once the eviction notice is received s/he will take the hint and get out! I don't want to be in labor forever, like last time. (ok so it was 24 hrs, but when you are in labor without sustenance for that long, it is forever!) Have a great Wed...oh and on a crazy sidenote in Gwen's Mother Goose book it says Wednesday's baby is full of woe! I should have researched that also before I picked my induction. (Monday's baby is fair of face...Gwen was born on Monday)

Dr. appt update

No Liesa I have not had this stubborn baby, stop trying to spread rumors! (the good thing about knowing someone for a decade and more is you can tease without worry about hurting feelings, 'cause they know you are kidding!)
So we had our last Dr's appointment today, it is with mixed feelings that I write this post; I am going to be induced tomorrow. When we did the u/s this morning it appears that we had some stuff in the amniotic fluid that could be merconium, the Dr felt it was safer to get the baby out sooner than later, like before the weekend. I elected for tomorrow because I like the on call Dr's scheduled for tomorrow, the guy we saw today and the woman who delivered Gwen comes in in the evening. (It was the first question I asked when he gave me the dates, I think the Dr thought I was crazy, but dude, if I can pick then who delivers should be one of my options, yes!?) They are going to break my water and see what happens. The speculation is that I won't go long because I am mostly ready to go, we just apparently need a jump start. My doula suggests I rest today and try to do things that keep my mind off tomorrow's induction, which means I won't be taken out for my nightly walk...thank goodness! So, send up a good thought, we are still hoping for a drug free no complication delivery! Hopefully sometime in the next couple days you will learn more about the newest addition to our family!

Happy Birthday

Ha ha, not my newborn, just a friend. I am still home, thinking this baby is coming on Friday the 13th, mostly because that is my FIL's birthday and really the next birthday after my friend Liesa, whose birthday is today. I know she said that the 9th is a good day for a birthday and she said she didn't want me to wait that long, but secretly she could have wished I waited that long! But if that was her plan, it appears to not be working, because I still have no baby in my arms! Tomorrow we have a Dr's appt and they are going to do an u/s to check the fluid around the baby and possibly something else. Just want to make sure everything is still ok in there, before they allow me to go another week. So, we will see how that goes and keep you posted, since it is looking less and less likely that I will be having this baby soon, at least that is how I am feeling now. I am seriously people, I actually have been participating in exercise class, like really participating, "running" and all the other stuff still no contractions. I am really torn, I don't want to get this baby out before s/he is ready, but my Mom is here to help with Gwen and the longer this baby waits the less help after I get.

But, besides Gwen being 2 and it being seriously hot outside, we have been spending far too much time inside and the walking, even though I am out there at least 2x a day, the other day I did 2mi in the evening! Gwen has been entertaining us with her ever expanding vocabulary and crazy mimicking abilities. Grandma has been snapping photos, I know you have probably been going through withdraw, since no new pictures of Gwen have been posted.

Happy Birthday Liesa, for real! I hope that you have a wonderful day!

Still home

Eric needs to use the computer, but wanted to give you the daily update, that I am still at home, no contractions, but the lady at the liquor store told me soon. Apparently something about large calves, I didn't notice any difference, but I am not sure I am the best person to be viewing my calves at this point.

Surprised?

Still no baby. I guess I am a late baby factory; at least now I know. There are some nice things about being late, ok, maybe nice and things is stretching it, but something fun about being late is when people ask you when you are due and you can say last Wed. The shock on their face that I still look "normal" and aren't complaining about the heat. But then you have to listen to people tell you all kinds of crazy things you don't want to hear. It is pretty hot here, we are under a heat advisory, so the walking thing is not as cool as one might think, literally. I do sort of feel like a dog, that needs to be walked, but I guess that is better than being an elephant since I would be carrying this baby for another 13 months. Although, I feel like an elephant, esp after looking at some pictures of me from almost a week ago. Suffice it to say I will not be posting anymore pregnant Melanie pictures!
Gwen is being "very 2" as my Mom keeps saying. She warmed up to my Mom very quickly, but now she doesn't really want anything to do with her, she doesn't want her to leave, but she doesn't want her to touch her either! We are wondering if it is because she is cutting 2 yr molars, or she senses our impatience of waiting for her brother or sister to be born or she senses the birth is imminent and she is freaking out! Sadly, the thing that makes Gwen most even keel and happy, taking her outside is not such a good idea, poor kid has been red-cheeked all day!

Thoughts

Last night Eric and I finally hashed out/decided on the middle name if we are having a girl. It has come to my attention lately that people think Eric and I already found out the sex of the baby and haven't told anyone. I guess because we are such good secret keepers you could believe that, but honestly we have no idea. We will be just as surprised as the rest of you.
I am also beginning to wonder about people that want me to call them when I go into labor, do people actually call people when they are in labor? Seriously, although I love most of them dearly, as I remember from last time, the last thing on my mind when I am in labor is to start making the phone calls and being like, "hey, I am in labor". I am mostly thinking about contractions. Not especially want to be on the phone, but that is just me. Maybe I would send out an email, cause then I wouldn't have to talk to people, but I can't guarantee a phone call.
The rest of this post, I am not sure men/older readers will want to read...might be too much information, if you are the sensitive sort, don't read the next paragraph!
As I ponder the things the Dr and the doula said to me yesterday about what can get labor started, I am really beginning to wonder if the main thing they suggest, (which BTW is really funny to listen to your Dr try to suggest what we should do, but not wanting to come out and say it, because my Mom is in the room!) is not something that actually helps labor, but is something the men Dr's cooked up because they feel bad that it will be a while before relations will likely happen again, with the newborn and lack of sleep. Scientifically, of course, I do understand that the stuff that softens the cervix is also present in the juice, but in minuscule amounts, so really what does that mean for the amount of relations! Just a thought!
Walking, now that is something that I would like to get on board with, but as much as I already walk I am just having a problem walking with this baby. Eric and I went to the local mall and walked around last night, I made it maybe an hour, we only made one pass (if you saw a crappy mall you know that isn't very much) and I was getting back pain and leg pain, so we sat down for a while, no real contractions. I am still convinced this is a when baby is ready baby will come, and that the rest of it is hokey, but that could also be why baby is not coming, I am so not convinced that any of the "methods" work, and if I had a little faith in the "methods" of ejecting baby from the womb, then baby would come out. Maybe if I really believed that spicy foods, lobster, or fish sandwiches really had an effect on labor, I would have the baby. So I have decided to take it one step further and have been saying a lot of Hail Mary's I figure if anyone can help us get the baby out it would be Mary! We will see how that works out. I think this all boils down to me, which I think is why the praying will work the best, it is me that needs to relax, once I do that the baby will come and that is why I think that the rosary is the best way to go, if I can get myself to a zen like state of peace then hopefully I can go into labor. I know that when Gwen was ready to come it was me that caused my labor to extend. I wasn't ready and until that was brought to my attention, I wasn't able to have Gwen. Seriously, after I was told by my doula that I needed to figure out what was mentally causing me to block the birth, I got serious and dilated the rest of the way and had Gwen in 2 hrs. And, none of this would matter if my Mom wasn't here to help, we are running out of Grandma help time, so we need to kick it into high gear! Have a Happy Friday!

Brief update & Dr.s appt

Mom arrived successfully yesterday, we have been very busy since she got here, excepting that 30min+ where we waited for BWI to open back up because of the severe weather. Mom had arrived safely, but her luggage could not be brought in. So, probably won't get much posting in while Mom is here, before the baby comes. Went to the Dr today and it appears that we have had some more dilation and that everyone is hoping that I go soon! The Dr said she doesn't expect me to go another week, but I told her she said that before, so why should I believe her now? She didn't appear to be to offended by my comment, so I guess she is used to hearing that stuff from 9+mon pregnant women. I guess the baby still hasn't gotten the memo, that now would be a good time to escape the premises, wonder how you get that message across. The Dr told me to try all that stuff that supposedly helps induce labor (not the McD's fish sandwich, the walking and stuff like that). I will try to give a yes I am still at home update, but really we want this baby out soon. I won't have any pictures to post, I have already put the camera upstairs near the bag, so we don't forget that. I appear to have a little Gwen next to me now so I best get going before she breaks something!

A letter

Hi baby #2,
Just wanted to let you know that we are all ready and waiting for your arrival. Mommy has almost completely packed her bag. We have the double stroller ready for you and the carseat. We also have the carseat in the car. We have all the neutral clothes washed and Gwen's baby stuff out. Is there something else you are waiting for Mommy and Daddy to do? Please let me know, I know things don't happen until they are supposed to, I obviously don't know the plan. Grandma is on a plane and we are going to pick her up soon, are you also waiting for her arrival? Today as you may or may not know is your due date. We all know that your big sister though that was a joke, the due date, and now as we have gotten to know her we understand why she didn't care. I hope that you aren't secretly harboring my stubborn personality traits, could you bring some of your Daddy's personality out in to the world. I promise you won't be sorry.
Now please don't assume that I write this because I am frustrated with having you in utero, I don't mind at all, I just don't want you to overstay your welcome. I want you to stay in as long as you are comfortable, I am not sure that you are all that comfortable anymore, in the evenings your movements can be quite painful to Mommy. I was just hoping that you could either come out or stop trying to stretch out Mommy more than you already have. I didn't think I could get much bigger after your sister, but you have proven me wrong, as I am sure you and Gwen will continue to do for many years to come.
Your Daddy, Gwen and I are all looking forward to meeting you, as well as many other family and friends. People are very excited to learn your name and if you will be a boy or a girl. Don't fret, we have had your names picked out for a while, but as you listen to every conversation I have you already know your name.
We look forward to meeting you, and hope that you grace us with your presence very soon. We are ready and we are excited! See you soon, I hope!
Love,
Momma

Update on our busy weekend...

that doesn't include a new family member! So you know when you have a weekend and you look back and you think, that was a busy weekend, but it only seemed busy because you squeezed so much into Sunday that you feel like you were busy. And yet, you still don't have anything to show for it, like a new baby, but more stuff. We had visitors on Saturday, my Aunt & Uncle from MN were visiting Baltimore so they stopped by, hoping to catch a glimpse of the new baby. Obviously, that didn't work out, but Gwen was charming, although what else would expect from our little sweetheart. So much new stuff is going on with her, it seems, but I don't have time to tell you about that now. Suffice it to say, she talks our ear off, if we could only understand what she said before the last word of her sentences.

Gwen is now in the phase where we can get her to hug and kiss people when they leave. I missed the hug and the kiss pictures, but I did get Gwen smiling, while no one else was paying attention.
It takes the poor girl a while to warm up, but when she does, she doesn't want you to leave and she will get upset. And, when she realizes that she can be picked up by suckers, I mean our visitors she really enjoys your visit. Actually Aunt Mary pushed her on the swing, one of her favorite activities, so that made Aunt Mary a shoe-in. I can't promise that pushing Gwen on the swing will make her like you forever, I am just saying that is what is working now!
Gwen actually had the desire to sit on her potty this weekend, although she did not pee, she did not scream either. We are not actively potty training, but I did see some panties on sale this weekend and purchased them, so I am ready, when ever we do decide to pee on the potty.
Sunday was very busy. We drove to IKEA, which is not next door, Gwen did not nap, she was so overtired, but she refused to let herself sleep, just chatted up a storm. We also went to BBB, Target, Lowe's and HD. Now that Eric has finished all the inside heavy lifting/projects, we are now on fire to decorate, apparently. We (by we I mean Eric) put the carseat in the car. Gwen feels that she should now climb from her car seat to the new babies car seat. Great! More of a challenge to get her out of the car. She loves playing in the car, I don't know why.
Two more days to my due date, not feeling like it will happen at this point, we have started piling clothes on top of the bag, but not actually putting the clothes and stuff in the hospital bag. One day soon, I promise we will get that bag packed.