Welcome to our blog

One Month

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:29:21 -0700

Alexis and Jonathan were easy babies. There are lots of positive attributes to describe Natalie as a baby, but “easy” isn’t one of them. Right before Isaac was born, I told Robb I had a feeling he would be like his oldest sister.
Isaac had the entire delivery room cracking up when he was born with his unbelievably loud screaming. The doctor declared him the loudest baby she had ever delivered.
He wailed like that for an hour. Then he became calm, and he was your textbook perfect baby - cried only when wet or hungry, and slept the rest of the time. I thought I had misjudged him.
Then we came home.
That first night he screamed non-stop. He screamed so loud, and so hard, and so long that he lost his voice. That raspy cry was harder to hear than the ear piercing scream.
Thankfully, he doesn’t scream nonstop these days. But...
He wants to be held. Especially at night. He’ll scream until I pick him up, then he passes out only to wake screaming when I try to put him down in his bassinet. Each week he becomes a little more demanding (or is the lack of sleep that makes it seem harder?).
He’s not colicky. I’d describe him as particular. And he’s loud if his needs aren’t met. That’s a big difference in my book. I couldn’t stop Natalie’s screaming, but as long as Isaac is being held, he’s mellow.
We haven’t slept much around here. In a six hour period at night, it’s very common for me to be up with him 8-10 times: rocking him, replacing a paci, changing a diaper, or feeding him. I think exhausted is an understatement for how I feel.
He reached his one month milestone on the 15th. I heard him coo for the first time yesterday, and Robb swears he smiles at him (but this has not been confirmed :).
I took him to the doctor today to see if he had reflux. While I’m sad to hear he is indeed suffering, I was glad to get some medicine that will hopefully help him feel better. He weighed in at 10 pounds so I know he’s getting enough food!
Most people say he looks like Jonathan, but I think he looks more like Natalie as a baby.
Natalie:

Jonathan
Isaac:

Isaac is super serious during his wake times. He usually sports a frown for most of the day. But when he’s sleeping, he smiles non-stop and laughs quite a bit. I guess he’ll be like his mama - reserved :).

Soccer

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 21:01:52 -0700

We gave Natalie the choice of soccer or ballet for the Fall. Robb was hopeful she would choose soccer and sweetened the deal by telling her if she played, he would coach. Natalie has never shown interest in sports or displayed any natural athleticism (this is the child I took to the eye doctor because she ran into walls, tables, and many other stationary objects only to be told she saw perfect but was clumsy), so we weren’t sure if she would enjoy playing. The first few games were comical with all of the players on her team. Our first game the only goal scored for us was by the opposing team. But Robb was a patient and faithful coach, and he took the Tigers, a group of five five year olds, and transformed them into a team that could defend the goal, and a team that could score.
The first few games Natalie chased the crowd more than the ball, and while she enjoyed playing, she wasn’t competitive and she wasn’t interested in playing hard. By the end of the season, she had turned into one of the most competitive team members. At the last game, she scored 3 of the team’s 4 goals. We were all amazed at her transformation. She is more than excited to play next year, and Robb is ready to jump in and take the team to the next level.

Isaac William

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 22:18:05 -0700

I remember holding that test with the two pink lines in my hands trying not to completely lose it with a panic attack. We were planning on adopting. We were not planning another pregnancy.
Tonight I’m holding a reddish 8 lb baby boy, with dark hair, grey eyes, and his daddy’s chin. I look at his long fingers and his slender feet, and I remember the jabs and pokes that I felt a few weeks ago.
He’s two weeks old today. It’s impossible to believe.
Whenever I think back on my labor, the most vivid memory for me is the moment they laid him on me. He reached out and grabbed my finger and wouldn’t let go. We were connected.
God has given us so much to be thankful for, but tonight I’m especially thankful that I’m not in charge. I’m thankful that God gave us a blessing that we never thought to ask for, but absolutely needed.
Everyone is adjusting. Isaac is pretty mellow, but he likes to be touched. At night he only will fall asleep holding my hands as he is tucked safely in my arms. This makes it hard for me to sleep.
Natalie loves to hold him during the day.
He has three very big fans.

Labor story forthcoming.

The Waiting Game

Mon, 7 Nov 2011 13:50:09 -0700

If I were a betting person, I would have bet that last night was the night for our son’s birth. The contractions were regular, they were painful, and they lasted hours. This kind of thing has been happening for weeks, but something felt more “real” about last night. Around 4 AM the contractions ,which had been regular and constant since 11 PM, stopped without much warning.
Thankfully, I was waiting it out at home and we didn’t have to be sent home by the hospital.
False labor is a new thing for me. When I had painful contractions with the other two, I was in labor. It’s physically exhausting and emotionally trying to have the contractions but not the labor. I know that no matter what happens, in two weeks (give or take a day) I won’t be pregnant. Yet, I can feel overwhelmed and anxious during, and after false labor thinking that the pregnancy will never end.
My body has done what it needs to do (I was in active labor with my other two pregnancies when I was this dilated and effaced), the baby is low and engaged, my body had done this before and has been practicing for weeks, and yet labor alludes me.
I have no control. None.
I have no insight or hints as to exactly when. All the before stuff that needs to happen is done and has been for a while.
The craziest part of this story - it’s only a two week timetable. It’s not a month, or a year, or a decade - just two weeks! Two weeks is nothing. I just wish I could convince myself of that at 4 in the morning. :)
It’s not like I’m impatient to have our son born. I could wait two weeks. I’d actually prefer him to be a 40 weeker. I just want the false labor to stop. But it’s good for me. It’s good for me to not be in control and to know that when it’s the right time, the Lord will bring our son into the world.
Although I am going to buy some benydryl so I can sleep next time :).

Two Years Old Today

Sun, 9 Oct 2011 07:13:02 -0700

He’ll tell you he’s three when you ask him how old he is. When you tell him he’s two, he’ll say “Nooooooooo” with an impish smile.
He’s had plenty of female influence in this house so he’s watched countless princess movies, learned to twirl and he thinks doll houses and baby dolls are great. However, don’t let that fool you - he’s all boy. His current obsession is baseball. He always has a ball in hand and often a glove or bat to go along with it. He has to sleep with his bat (and hat, and ball, and glove some nights) - so we’re thankful it’s a soft one.
Watching baseball with his daddy, or going to see him play softball on Saturday nights are the highlights of Jonathan’s little life.
He adores his sisters. Wherever they are, he wants to be there too. It isn’t a rare scene to see them both belly laughing over something silly he is doing to entertain them.
He’s the most enthusiastic student in this house even though he’s technically not a student yet. When he sees me pull out Natalie’s homeschool stuff, he drops whatever he is doing and runs to the table yelling, “yay school time!” We are often surprised at what he can already do to participate.
When we ask him if he is a baby, he laughs and says “I no baby, I a big boy.” When we ask him where the baby is, he lifts up his shirt and responds, “In my tummy.”
I think it’s safe to say he doesn’t know what’s about to happen next month....
While he can say “I wuv you.” He usually tells us “I need you” when he gives big hugs or wants to express his affection.
We always respond by telling him we need him to.
And we do need him.
Our baby is two today. Seems like just yesterday we were meeting him for the first time.
The name Jonathan means gift from God, and that is exactly what he is.