A Day in the Life

Not much happening here except for "daily" life....Mom's of little ones know what I mean!!

Ben is almost 8 weeks old now and we love it when he smiles! He is stretching his nighttime sleep to 5-6 hours most nights - I am sooooo hopeful for 7-8 hours sometime soon!! Am not usually a coffee drinker, but lately caffeine has become my friend for sure! Ben still has reflux issues and is now on Prevacid to make him more comfortable. I'm told it will likely be 6-7 months before it's resolved totally, since he'll be able to sit up by that time. We moved Ben to his own room about a week ago - YEY! He follows Little Miss "C" around with his eyes and she hugs on him a lot. His favorite time of the evening seems to be his bath - smiles, coos and lots of fun moving his arms and legs freely.


Little Miss "C" never ceases to amaze....and challenge....me. We're working on her colors and identifying shapes and numbers. Lots of times I think she's teasing me when we play "games" with her flashcards and she purposely points out the wrong things. Here are some funny stories from the past week:

• Getting out of the bathtub one night when Ben was screaming/crying in his crib: "Calm Down, Ben" (she said very slowly...). What???? She repeated several times, "Calm Down!" It was hysterical how she said it....and where did she pick that one up? Her Daddy later owned up to it!
• She'll do something, move something, put a toy in a certain place, etc. and ask, "That better?"
• She walks around "talking" to her cousins or her grandparents on the play telephone. Her conversations get more detailed the older she gets, and usually include a report about what Ben is doing at the time. "Hi....yep....Ben sleeping....ok....bye"
• The terrible two's habit of saying "no" to Mommy has started - not fun!
• She loves taking her vitamin ("medicine") each day and wants to take 2-3...not one.
• I figured out that she has the Barney Goes to the Farm video practically memorized

Many Moms probably have a photo like the one below - so typical of the "staying at home" life. Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich, sippy cup of milk, "Baby" (which she sleeps with) and a child who has fallen asleep while eating lunch!!

Time Flies

What a busy few weeks!! Baby Ben will be 6 weeks old on Tuesday and we're finally seeing a few smiles out of the boy! He's weighing in around 10.5 pounds now and is more alert to what is going on around him. He's lost some of his hair - which is so different from our experience with Little Miss "C"'s full head of hair from Day 1....and his eyes are still very blue.


Little Miss "C" turned 2 today (Aug. 9th) and we had a family birthday party for her yesterday. She has turned into quite a chatterbox and a singer. She walks around the house and lies in in her bed singing "Happy Birthday to You", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "ABC's" and "Jesus Loves the Little Children"....among others. Our parents say that she knows where everything is in the house, and she'll point out if something is missing or moved. Many times now she doesn't want her hand held as she tries walking down the stairs (but Mommy insists on standing beside her even if she won't hold my hand!) and she has to "do" everything on her own. She loves seeing her grandparents and especially going to the pool when they visit. Mommy is very happy that she loves her little brother and doesn't seem to be too jealous over him - although sharing "her" things has been a challenge. For example, I can't put any of her old bibs on him without a fight! Anyway, enjoy the birthday pics...



Her cousins came to celebrate with us!

Finally, Mommy gets in a picture!

Oh, if they'd only be this sweet to each other for the rest of their little lives.....


A little Dawg cheerleader in the making....she see's the Georgia "G" on the baby's pacifier and says, "sick 'em....woof, woof!" Her daddy and grandpa are training her well!


Our big boy gained almost a pound from Week 1 to Week 2, breaking the 8lb mark during that time. It's amazing how much babies change during the first weeks of life.

It's been a whirlwind week for us. Daryl went back to work full-time and is feeling good - praises! Because of his work schedule he's been doing "baby duty" at night, allowing me to get a good night's sleep...ahhh. And his wonderful mother blessed us by coming to help with the children for a few days, giving me some time to get groceries and catch up with "things" around the house. Our parents have so unselfishly given their time and energy to us many times this year -- we are deeply humbled and grateful for their unending love.

Unfortunately we've had friends and extended family facing the loss of loved ones this week, so we'll be attending two memorial services this weekend. While we celebrate new life, others are mourning and our hearts go out to them in their grief. Just a reminder for us to enjoy every moment we're given and to take nothing for granted...a lesson that I seem to too quickly forget amidst day-to-day duties that seem so all-consuming. We're supposed to be in for a cooler, dryer weekend - take advantage of it and savor a few special moments with friends and family.

Some Pictures for You

Enjoy!

Home At Last!

WARNING: Don't put a vase of flowers (which are supported with water) near a laptop at the hospital. People pushing baby carriers around might knock down said vase and spill water onto nearby laptop - flooding the keyboard and causing technical difficulties!

Sorry for the delayed news!
We came home on Saturday July 4th. The baby was allowed to leave the Transitional Nursery on July 3rd and our pediatrician thought he looked really good on Saturday so we all were released home.

The baby is in his "eat, sleep, poop" stage and he's mostly quiet and sleeping. Little Miss "C" has been fantastic with him and enjoys "holding" him in her lap, checking out all his parts and this morning trying to help with his bottle. Of course, she's inundated with attention from all of her Grandparents, so she's in heaven right now and not feeling at all de-throned (yet). Some dear friends even sent her a new baby doll that coos and sucks on a bottle and makes baby noises, so she's had her own baby to look after since yesterday.

Wendy's parents are here for the week to help us transition, and Daryl's dad Jerry & his wife Carolyn came up Saturday and were with us overnight too. We were blessed with two meals from friends yesterday, which we've thoroughly enjoyed - and which have eliminated the hassles of trying to cook AND settle everyone back in at the same time.

Can't wait to post new photos. Upon returning home and looking at our own newborn photos, the Baby is a spitting image of Wendy's newborn photo (without the 1960's requisite mohawk hairstyle). It's amazing how much we look alike - so world, watch out!!!

With Mom & Dad

Our boy has been released to stay with us! He is doing much better and has had a busy Friday morning so far, including a little "snip snip" if you know what I mean.

Little Miss "C" visited with little brother yesterday afternoon in the NICU briefly and she was so sweet. She wanted to kiss and hold him right away and enjoyed pointing out his nose, ears, eyes, etc. She'll be back this afternoon for another visit in our room and we'll probably be going home tomorrow.

Here are a few photos of our two kiddos together for the first time:

On a side note, as I sit here and type a lovely young lady (whom I used to babysit for starting when she was 6 months old) is on HER way to the hospital to give birth to her 1st child - a baby girl. Praying for her and must begin negotiations about an arranged marriage for our two little ones...ha, ha, ha!! Love you, Linds!

NICU Day #2

(It's Wendy typing this time...) "Here we go again"...it's the way that I feel right now! More blog posts about the ups and downs of days in a hospital. Is this my new calling in life?

Ben seemed to be doing very well today, so he came back to "live" in our room -but within 2 hours he was back in the NICU. I was nervous because the poor guy was breathing so quickly and "shallow" and his oxygen saturations were borderline again. Not being in the medical field, I wasn't sure how to handle it. Our wonderful nurse watched him closely and through great teamwork it was decided he would be better off with more one-on-one care tonight back in NICU. Hopefully he'll continue to strengthen and be back with us tomorrow.

So since I finally got to spend some time with Ben in NICU earlier in the day, Daryl was able to capture a few more photos for you.

We covet your prayers, as usual, and will post an update tomorrow!!!