One month pictures

Here are some pictures of Brian and Mumble. I'd like to do growth pictures with him and an animal or something like we did with Kayleigh, and since he doesn't have a big stuffed animal like Mumble, I think we'll just take pictures of the two of them. I put the picture of Kayleigh and Mumble when she was a month old. It seems to me that Brian is much bigger--more like Kayleigh when she was two months old.

I might seem unbelievable, but I promise Brian is going to be holding his head up on his own soon. He can hold it up and keep it still for a little bit at a time. I'll have to get another video when I'm holding him so you can see what I mean. His chin doesn't immediately flop to his chest, nor does his head fall backward right away.

Yes, this month has gone by quickly. Has it been easier than with Kayleigh? I can't tell. I am able to put him down more, and don't feel like I can't do anything when he's awake. I remember with Kayleigh I was nervous to even give myself time in the bathroom because I feared she would start crying. While Brian doesn't like to be in his chair or even the swing for long periods of time, at least I'll let him stay there until I have free hands to pick him up again. I am surprised that I am able to keep up with Kayleigh and a newborn. Thankfully, they are both taking afternoon naps at the same time. I've had to adjust Kayleigh's nap time to allow for this, but I need it for my sanity as well.

Kayleigh made me laugh for a couple of reasons. 1.) She saw Mumble on the blanket on the floor and wrapped him up like her baby. 2.) She heard Erik say that he left his food at work today. Later, while she was playing with Mumble, she started saying that she left her food at school today! I'm not kidding when I say you need to watch what you say around this girl. She hears EVERYTHING, and will repeat it!

This isn't a super exciting video, but it's for those of you who want to see more than just pictures of Brian.

A month has passed

Can you believe Brian is a month old today? Where has the time gone? Kayleigh and I didn't help him celebrate this morning. Instead, we left him at Jim and Shirley's house and went to Kayleigh's day care to see her friends. (We're so lucky that they are willing to help!) She has been asking to see her friends for well over a week now, so we finally made the trip out there. She had a good time with all of her friends, but I think she was a little bummed out that she didn't get to sing her favorite Good Morning song. She talked about it this morning before we went to school and on the way home. But, little did we know, they were having their Fall Festival. We got right in there and joined in on the fun. Kayleigh's favorite part was the bouncing castle that she jumped around in.
Everything about Brian is going well. He's eating well and sleeping well, and is an all around easy baby. Kayleigh was the same way. I'm glad they're similar in that aspect.
I know these aren't great pictures of Brian, but I'll try to do better later on when he's awake. I didn't want to let the day get away from me without saying anything or taking pictures of Brian's one month birthday.

The Pumpkin Patch and more

First, we were brought dinner last night from a couple in our Sunday School class. (Random side note: the church now calls it Sunday Morning Bible Study, but I don't think I can bring myself to say that! It's Sunday School, people!) Anyway, the wife made an awesome cake for Brian. Too bad he slept through the visit and the eating of it...Kayleigh kept calling it birthday cake, and I promise you said, "Daddy's looking for candles in the kitchen!" Since she was so adamant about it, I put a candle in the cake and we sang Happy Birthday to Brian. Then, the three of us enjoyed his cake. It was delicious, although the fondant was a little too sweet for me. I must be getting old, because I never used to say things like that!

I finally found a double stroller on Craigslist that wasn't too expensive. I didn't want to buy a new one, because usually used is just as good, and I don't know how much we'll use it. The man that I bought it from actually delivered it to the house last night! He was going to come this morning, but I'm fairly certain he knew how dirty the stroller was and didn't want to clean it, so came when the light wasn't so good. Erik and I took it apart last night and washed everything we could. It smelled like gasoline--yuck! I wiped down the frame, and I think once it's all put back together it'll be as good as new.



Today is Erik's day off, so we made plans to go to the pumpkin patch that one of the churches close by hosts every year. The money from sales goes toward their missions fund, so we figure it's a great place to spend money. Kayleigh has a cute fall dress that I thought would be perfect for the pumpkin patch, and my friend, Jenna, bought a Halloween outfit for Brian. Once again, Brian slept through the excitement, but Kayleigh was nice enough to stay awake and let us take some pictures of her. I think she was annoyed with me because I kept telling her to look at the camera instead of away from me! (If I had an SLR camera, I'm sure I could have gotten better shots! Hint! Hint!) We have to work on getting her to give a nice smile and look at the camera at the same time. Maybe next year...Either way, it was fun to get out there. We bought two pumpkins for Erik to carve this year. Hopefully they won't rot in the garage like the one did last year. I'll post pictures when he's done. He bought a book this year of patterns that have a front and back, so you'll see the front of the pumpkin like you normally would, and then the back is carved out, too, so it'll cast a shadow on the wall. Cross your fingers that it'll work!

Thank you Magic Eraser!

I'm sure most of you have had someone tell you what a wonderful thing the Magic Erasers are. I know I have used one once before, but I can't remember what I cleaned up with it. I used my second one tonight. I was talking to my Mom on the phone, and as soon as I hung up Kayleigh says, "Mommy!" "What?" "I'm drawing on the chair!" Ugh! I had been writing thank you notes, and Kayleigh was using one side to draw pictures. I had literally been away for about 5 minutes, and in that time she decided that drawing on paper wasn't so much fun anymore. The chair is leather, and she got 5 good drawings on there before admitting what she did. The Magic Eraser got it all cleaned up. Erik said I should have taken a picture of the chair, but I didn't know if he would find it amusing enough to keep a record of it.
So, if you have ever wondered how to clean something up, go and get some Magic Erasers to keep on hand. I heard about their magical powers from my sister-in-law, Chat, and am now bestowing my knowledge on to you! :)

Dora jammies

Kayleigh's favorite show right now is Dora the Explorer. Last night, we had to go to Walmart to get a few things, and Erik found these cute Dora pajamas. He asked Kayleigh if she would like them, and of course she said yes. I washed them last night so that she would have them tonight to sleep in. After dinner I called her into my bedroom and we quietly put them on so she could surprise Erik. I'm pretty sure he could hear us talking, because Kayleigh doesn't always have a good quiet voice, but he acted surprised to see her. She was so excited to wear them, and I know they will be nice to have on these cold nights.

We did it!

Yesterday was my first day home alone with our two kids. I was definitely nervous about what the day would be like, but it went by quickly, and without many problems. think the hardest part is trying to feed Brian and give him what he needs as well as pay attention to Kayleigh and meet her needs at the same time. Luckily, she is so easy going, so we managed just fine. We even tried to go on a little walk yesterday, but it started to rain on us, so we had to come back to the house. We'll try again today if the weather will hold up for us. Sometimes I feel bad that Kayleigh is stuck at the house all the time, but I'm not ready to take the two of them out by myself just yet.


Little Mommy feeding her baby using the Boppy and Udder Cover!

Thursday

Am I the only one who can't believe that it's Thursday already?? Where has the week gone? I figured I should post some more pictures so people can see how much Brian is changing. Really, how much can a baby change in a week??? Not much, in my humble opinion. Today is also his due date, so what better day to post?
Erik and I took Brian to the doctor yesterday to be checked out by his pediatrician. He just did a once over, weighed him and took his length and head circumference. Actually, the nurse that I don't like (the only one at the doctor's office) did the weighing, and other measurements. Brian weighed 9 lbs, 1 oz. I finally got my 9 pound baby!! The nurse also tried to tell us that Brian is 21 7/8 inches long. Erik and I both noticed that she started her measurement at the 1 inch mark, rather than the beginning of the tape measure. After she left the room, Erik re-measured, and not surprisingly, it came out to 20 7/8 inches! We go back sometime in November for his 1 month check up.
Overall, I'm feeling really good. My stomach hardly hurts at all, and I've stopped taking my pain medicine. I know I'm doing better with this recovery than with Kayleigh's since I won't have to refill my medicine like I did with her.

Sunday afternoon

It's been a busy few days, but at some point, I guess our guests would have to leave. Valerie, Matt and Dad all left around 1:00 since they will have to go to work tomorrow. Kayleigh was definitely sad to see them go. It's going to be much quieter around here, especially for her without so many people giving her attention.
Brian slept better last night, so we're thankful for that. I'm still tired, though, and might try to take a nap. Hopefully Kayleigh can also get back into her regular routine this week. I have a feeling I'll be taking a lot of naps while she's napping.
Erik will have the day off tomorrow. I need to call the pediatrician to make an appointment for Brian this week. It would be really nice if we could do it tomorrow while Erik is still off of work and could drive us there. Otherwise, I know Mom could take us.
I think I'm going to take advantage of the quiet time and read until my eyes close. :)

Home

We're still home and still doing well. Brian was up a lot last night, but I'm pretty sure that's how it was the first night home with Kayleigh. Erik helped get Brian out of the pack & play and into the bed. Around 4:15 AM, Erik told Brian that he needed to sleep for at least 3 hours. I think poor Brian was afraid to cry this morning. I heard him around 7:30 moving around, and eventually he found a finger or two to suck on so that he didn't get up too early.
Valerie and Matt got here around 11 this morning. I don't think either of them have had much Brian time. Kayleigh is taking up most of their attention. I do think they snagged him while Kayleigh was upstairs taking a nap. The two of them, plus Erik, Dad and Kayleigh all went to a local place for some smoked sausage that Dad likes. There are some cows out there, so they made sure Kayleigh got to see them. She loves to see them.
One of our neighbors brought over some delicious quiche for dinner tonight. Of course, Brian was hungry as soon as dinner was ready, so I ate during the second shift. The boys are watching some football now. Valerie and Matt have Kayleigh outside, and Mom and I are looking at pictures and playing on the internet.
Valerie, Matt and Dad all have to leave tomorrow so they can go to work on Monday. Erik has off on Monday, but will work the rest of the week. Mom is here for the week, and is working on getting meals ready for us. Yum! Gotta love Mom's cooking!

Update

We're still here at the hospital, although Erik was able to go home last night and post the pictures that are up. Brian's blood sugar regulated itself during the night. The poor baby was poked more times than I can count as the nurse checked his levels.
Yesterday was a nice and quiet day. We had just a couple of visitors besides family. We slept better last night, although it will be nice when we're not forced awake by nurses coming to check on us.
We are still waiting for the doctor to come and do Brian's circumcision. The nurse told us a little while ago that he is ready to be discharged. I'll just need a doctor to discharge me and we should be ready to go home this afternoon or evening. I said that pizza really sounds good for dinner tonight. Hospital food is okay, but it's not the good greasy stuff you can get from a pizza! :)
I feel great today! The only pain I have is when I get up or down. Getting out of the bed is the hardest thing to do, but once I'm up or down I don't feel any pain.
Kayleigh still loves her baby brother and wants to hold him while she's here. I think she's going to be surprised when he actually comes home with us. She's been to so many doctor's appointments with me and knows that she would see or hear him there, but then she got to go back home and be an only child again.
We'll let you know how it's going once we get home.

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