Ian's birth

Ian, 

The night before you were born, our family was invited to Greg & Lori's house for dinner.  MooMoo and Papa John were sick, but Aunt D went with Daddy, Livvy, and me.  Daddy had to work late, so we arrived at the Lentz house about 6:45 pm.  We sat down for dinner at 7 pm and the contractions started at soon as I took my first bite.  We stayed at the Lentz's for almost two hours before we went home.  The contractions were about 7 minutes apart at that point.  When we got home at 9 pm, Daddy and I got Livvy ready for bed and kissed her good night.  After that, Daddy filled up the van with fuel and went to work.  I called Candy (our midwife) and let her know that my labor had begun.  She said to call her in an hour unless the contractions got harder (if they did, I was supposed to call sooner).  A little after 10 pm, I called Candy back and let her know I was still having contractions.  She said to come on in to the clinic in Harrison and we arrived there about 10:45 pm.  I was checked for progress and was about 5 cm dialated.  We filled up the jacuzzi tub and I hopped in.

Up till this point, it was just Daddy, Candy, and me at the clinic.  Candy called two helpers and they arrived about midnight.  MooMoo got there about 12:15 am (March 2) and I continued laboring in the tub.  I vomitted many many many times and Daddy said it looked like all I ate at dinner was green beans.  A little after 1 am, Candy suggested that I get out of the tub to see if changing positions would help speed up my labor.  At this point, the pains were about 2 minutes apart and very hard to breathe through.  I was checked for progress (8 cm) and moved to the bed, where I stayed for the duration of labor.  Less than an hour later, I was ready to push!  You were already so low down in my pelvis that my pushing time was very short (maybe twenty minutes?).  

You greeted us at 2:35 am on March 2, 2012.  You were 7 pounds 10 ounces, 21 1/8 inches long.  Your head was 13 inches around.  Your umbilical cord was very short.  You were very alert and very strong.  We had a hard time getting your footprints because you kept moving.  I was able to nurse you twice before we left for home and you nursed well.  We left shortly after we were cleaned up and was back at MooMoo and Papa John's house around 4:45 am, where we woke up Papa John and Aunt D to meet you.

Your first week was without any complications.  MooMoo stayed up with you at night and came to get me when you needed to be nursed.  You didn't like to sleep, especially at night.  When you were one week old, we took you to be circumcised, which you handled like a champ.  However, by the next week, when it was time to pull back a bit of skin, the skin around your circumcision had healed together.  MooMoo had to gently rip this back apart - and that made us stay in AR for another week instead of going home, just in case something went wrong.  As it turned out, nothing went wrong with this particular part of your circumcision, but you developed an infection in a lower section of your penis and we had to go to the doctor, who prescribed antibiotics.

Ian, you slept terrible for the first 3 weeks of your life, but once we got home, it was like a switch was flipped.  I don't know whether the trip home just wore you out or what, but you slept 5 straight hours the first night home.  You've kept up this good sleeping pattern since that night.

You are orally fixated.  You take a pacifier 1-2 times a day.  You smiled early - by four weeks - as well as started cooing at a month, too.  You have excellent head and neck control - you always have.  You're verrry strong (Candy mentioned it at your birth).  You love to hold our hands and stand.  You spend time every day in your new swing and your bouncer.  You like to grab at toys hanging down and talk at them.  You follow sound very well.


You respond to Livvy's voice and actions.  You smile when she talks to you and hugs/kisses you.  You occasionally will stop crying when she talks to you.


You're still doing very well, other than your ear infections (both ears).  You're currently on antibiotics but you take medicine like champ.  Your sleeping's a little off, but I think it'll go back to normal once your ear infection clears.


Baby boy, you are so sweet and I can't wait to get to know you better.

Two years old

Livvybaby,

You are two years old! I can't believe it's been that long since we met you. You've brightened our lives so much and I don't know how life could get any better. You are constantly talking, singing, and playing. There is rarely a day when you don't take a tumble, but you look at me, say "Safe!" and move on your merry little way. You have grown so independent and want to "do it by-self!"

This is what a normal day looks like for us right now:

7:30-8 am - wake up, diaper change, breakfast

8:30-12ish - we play. Usually, we just play with baby dolls, books, blocks, etc. You get to watch TV about once a week. When we do watch TV, you like Barney and Sesame Street (especially Elmo's Potty Time). You love your Curious George books (and we just found the shows!) and watching Thomas the Train mini-videos on your Leapster Explorer. You like to "pourk" things out of containers (ie, blocks or toys). You got a tea set for Christmas and you like to pretend to have hot tea with me. You also like to fix things with your wooden tool set.

If it's a pretty day, we might adventure to the park during this time. Since it's been winter, we haven't gotten to go too often, but when we do, we're there for hours. You love to slide and climb up stairs. You'll even roam over to the sandpit and play there, just stomping and jumping.

12ish-3:30 or 4 - nap time! You are down to one nap a day and it's length varies on how active you were during the morning. It's typically about 3 hours long and you'll be refreshed.

3:30 - Snack time! Although you snack all morning, when you get up from your nap, you're usually hungry. You'll eat something like chicken nuggets or yogurt or cereal and then occasionally you get a wacky (chocolate no-bake oatmeal cookie) or something similar.

4-5ish - Play some more. During the afternoon, I usually have to entertain you more (as opposed to the morning where you're content to play all by yourself) We wait for Daddy to get off work

5:45ish-8:15ish - We most often spend the evenings at Oma and Poppy's house. We'll have dinner there and play with Oma. We help with dishes and you like to play on Oma's iPad. You watch the cars go by outside the windows.

8:30-9ish - You get ready for bed: Check your diaper, change into pjs, brush your teeth, and pray. Then, you go to bed! You've been sleeping in a toddler bed for several months now (we found out trying to climb out of your crib) and you're doing very well in it. You've recently started to use a blanket to cover up and you like the pennant quilt Aunt D made for you. You still use your special blankets to chew on when you go to bed. You don't sleep very well without them, even if it's just a short catnap.

You are able to make LOTS of sentences and are usually able to get your point across, even if you don't know all the words. You have a good grasp of pronouns - you, me, ours, mine, etc. You can sing your alphabet, the 1234 Sesame Street song (by Feist), the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Walking After Midnight (by Patsy Cline), and pieces of other songs. You pick up words from conversations between other people so we all have to be careful about what we say when we're around you. You can count to 10 (when you want to) and can say what sounds the letters Q and P make. You can recognize the letter O and the letter I. You are so smart!

You're not a big fan of animals. You can name numerous animals, but you don't like to touch them. You're finally warming up to Sheba, and, just this past week, you played with baby goats at Aunt Jackie's house. You don't really like to pet cats or dogs, but you are very interested in watching them.

You are 25 pounds and currently still riding rear-facing in your carseat.

Baby girl, you have no idea how much I love you. I thank God that He gave you to us to be our daughter. I can't wait to see you grow up even more, but I'm cherishing every second I get to be with you.

I love you,

Mommy

Survey

How far along? 34 weeks, 5 days

Weight gain/loss: 15 ish?

Maternity clothes? In all shapes and sizes. So ready to be in "normal" clothes again

Stretch marks? I haven't noticed any new marks from this pregnancy *fingers crossed*

Sleep? Starting to get rocky. Waking up at least once to pee

Best moment this week? Seeing Livvy feel her brother's hand ("Wanna touch him again?" No Mommy)

Food cravings: Spiced dilly beans (spicy pickled green beans)

Gender: Boy

Belly button in or out? Out since like...12 wks

Movement? Tons. Ian Kennedy (as we've named him) is still moving quite a bit. Enough to kick his sissy around when she's on my lap. Just recently, he's starting to play with Daddy and let us touch and feel his hands and feet.

What I miss? Well, Dr Pepper, if you must know.

What I'm looking forward to: Baby shower this weekend and DELIVERY!

Weekly wisdom: I can't do it all. Relax, enjoy time with Livvy, and exercise!

Milestones: Baby boy's about 5 lbs!