Ian's First Trip to Sears

Well we finally took Ian for his first pictures at Sears - four weeks later than originally planned. Every appointment had been for 5pm because I figured that was the latest Nadia could handle. In the past we've always gone in the morning or afternoon. I think our latest appointment has been 3pm, but most of the time I took Nadia myself. Paul came along for her first photos (8-1-08) and both Christmas photos (November 08 & 09). The November photos were both taken during his Thanksgiving break. I knew he wanted this appointment to be as late as possible so that he could stay at school as long as possible. I figured he'd have to leave by about 3:00 to make a 5:00 appt. He usually stays until 4:30 and gets home at 6:00. Well he ended up staying home yesterday so it probably would have been better to have made the appointment earlier in the day as Nadia was AWFUL. Her behavior was just plain terrible. We didn't get any pictures of her with Ian, and I really wanted to buy a few sheets of that pose.

 

We also didn't purchase any family photos, and I really wanted to buy that one also. I will say that the problems with the family pose weren't limited to Nadia. Ian was screaming in one and my eyes were closed in one. I kept tickling her to try to get a smile, and we did get two where she was smiling. I didn't want doggie in the picture. We won't bring him in the future. Paul had brought doggie along for her to play with while Ian was having his picture taken as we planned on most of the shots being of just him. There were two family shots worth consideration. The one (above) I preferred how I looked but Nadia's skirt is hiked up a bit (my fault), you can't see Ian's face very well, and the frame we have for our family photo is for a horizontal pose. The other family pose I put in yesterday's post. Both kids look good in that one. The problems with that one were that I don't like how I look (the way the shirt is pulling across my chest) and the fact that it also was oriented vertically. I think Paul wanted to buy one of that one, but I knew I'd hate looking at that picture in our family room as I'd feel very fat every time I saw it. The irony is that the reason I wore a pink turtleneck and black skirt was to coordinate my outfit with Nadia's when in fact we didn't buy any picture that Nadia was in. I should just have worn whatever I thought I would have looked good in as pretty much anything would have gone okay with what Ian was wearing. Well we'll be seeing my sister in a few weeks in Maryland (who takes very good pictures). Maybe she'll have time to get two good photos for us - one of Nadia & Ian together (vertical) and one of the four of us (horizontal). When we left my feeling was I didn't want to go back until June (for Nadia's 2nd birthday), but I am sure that once Ian grows into size 0-3 month clothing and starts smiling more often, I'll want to take him back for pictures again. It wouldn't be very nice to the second born child to take him drastically less often for photos than we took Nadia just because his big sister didn't cooperate. Hopefully she'll be better behaved next time. I won't try a 5pm appt again that's for sure!

She had been pretty well behaved at home all day so it really wasn't expected that she'd be so difficult at Sears. I guess you just can't predict the behavior of a 19 month old. They didn't stop at McD's as that had been promised as a reward for good behavior.

I assumed that the poses they would do with a newborn were standard, but I guess they aren't. I liked the ones we got with her better in terms of how they had us posed and also the shots of her hands and feet and such. Those were taken at a different Sears; maybe that's the difference? Well the good news is we did get a few good pics, and we only spent $26 including tax. I bought 16 wallets of the first photo in this post, one 10x13 of the third photo, four 5x7s of Paul & Ian, and four 5x7s of myself & Ian. Paul doesn't like the one of himself & Ian so I won't put it on display around our house. I plan to put one in my office, give one to his parents, etc. I think it's a great shot especially as we can see Ian's eyes. The only complaint I have with that one was that since I wasn't in the room while it was taken, Ian's shirt was untucked and his one sock is sticking out. My chief complaint about the one photo of Nadia & Ian (see post below) is that we can't see either of their eyes. Nadia was kissing Ian, and that could have been a great pose, but it didn't turn out well at all. I don't have a problem with how I look in the pose with Ian except for the water spot on my shirt as I had just taken Nadia to the water fountain while Paul was having his picture taken with Ian (note to self - don't do that again!). The bag under my eye is pretty large, but considering how little sleep I've been getting - nothing could be done about that, LOL! I wish Ian's face was shown a bit more in that pose, but I thought it was a decent picture so we got some of it.

Hopefully when the pictures come in I'll feel better about this whole experience. It was exhausting that is for certain. I gave Nadia a bath the previous night and gave Ian one yesterday afternoon. Nadia LOVES her baths - she stayed in the tub for an hour on Wednesday night! Ian HATES his baths, but I imagine that will change in time. Someone this week suggested I give him a bath at night to help him sleep better. That may work for some, but that would definitely not work for him. It takes a long time to calm him down after a bath. He gets so worked up sometimes I think he might jump right out of the sink! Anyhow to get the four of us ready to go was no small undertaking. At least the next time we go to Sears I'll only be trying to get pictures of Ian and Nadia. Maybe I'll go in April for an Easter photo. And hopefully my sister can get the other two poses that I wanted to buy yesterday but didn't. She does a great job and it's much cheaper to buy prints of photos she's taken! I love this dress on Nadia. Can you believe it's size 24 month and just comes below her knee? I also love this little suit on Ian although I ended up taking off his tie. I'm not good at putting on clip on ties. Hopefully my skills will improve. :-)

When I got home I took a few pictures of Nadia and then ate dinner (SUPER late for me) while nursing Ian. While Paul was getting Nadia ready for bed and I was nursing Ian, I was using my laptop. I discovered a woman who was a student in my 5th grade class in 1995-96 had requested to become a Facebook friend. The message she sent me was really encouraging and just what I needed. Why is it that taking the family for pictures is such an emotional experience for me? There have been a couple of times that I was thrilled  with the outcome, but there have also been times where it was super frustrating. Here is a portion of the message she sent me. What an encouragement! "You were my 5th grade teacher and I just came across my yearbook and really wanted to find you. You have a beautiful family and you seem to be doing great. I have thought of you periodically and really wanted to thank you for being such an inspiration. You were an amazing teacher and I just wanted to let you know how great you were and I'm sure you still are. Thank you so much for what you do....I never have forgotten you and never will."

Playing my Piccolo

The instrument I chose to learn to play in order to join the band in elementary school was the flute. I took private lessons through the end of high school and during that time span also learned to play the piccolo. In college I played my piccolo in the pep band at home basketball games. Since I graduated from college in 1992 I've periodically made use of my flute at church but haven't had the opportunity to use the piccolo. I just played flute solos until 2004. I played my flute even more at the church I attended from 2004-2008 as the choir director and handbell choir director both selected music for their groups that incorporated a flute part on a fairly frequent basis. I hadn't found a way to let it be known at the church I've attended the past year that I play the flute. Another woman in the choir plays the flute. Recently they had announced they were looking for volunteers for a "Night of Praise." I volunteered to play a flute solo, and I asked the choir director to be my accompaniest.

Last night I went to church to rehearse with her as the Night of Praise is this coming Sunday night. She was very excited to find out that I can play challenging flute music. She asked if I majored in the flute in college (no). I mentioned that I had continued to play my flute at church but hadn't used my piccolo since college. She said that there is a piccolo part for a song the choir is singing in the near future. They were going to sing it on March 7, when we'll be in Maryland as Wendy (and two of her three kids) will be in town from Chicago; so the choir director said she'd rearrange the schedule so that they will sing this song when I can be there. She also asked me to sing with the choir this Sunday as they're doing a song I've rehearsed. I haven't sung with the choir since December 6. I am excited about getting back involved with the music ministry although I'm not ready to resume going to choir rehearsals on Wednesday nights yet, and I'm really excited that I get to use my piccolo for the first time in many years!

Last night Ian had his longest stretch in the Nap Nanny - ever. I put him down a little before 8pm and he slept there until 12:50am - almost 5 hours. WOOHOO! He cried briefly at 11pm, but by the time I went downstairs to nurse him, he had fallen back asleep. I had a hard time going back to sleep since I was feeling very full (in terms of milk) and also had to make many trips to the bathroom. Unfortunately he wouldn't sleep in there the rest of the night. This has been the pattern the past 3 nights. The first stretch is in the Nap Nanny, and the rest of the night he's been in my arms. At least the first stretch was much longer last night.

Nadia definitely is in a growth spurt. She is a bottomless pit. I am hoping Ian follows suit. :-) We put her to bed at 7:30pm last night. She woke up a couple of times during the night (9pm and 4:30am), but thankfully didn't get up until 6:05am.

February 17, 2010

Outside my window I see a snow covered backyard and deck. It's been that way for over a week now. 

I am thankful that Nadia took a MUCH longer nap today (almost twice as long as she has been napping lately), that I was able to take a nap (while holding Ian) during part of her nap (also did that on Monday!), and that aside from rehearsing my flute solo with my accompaniest (my choir director) at church tonight, I am staying home all day today. Between the hours of 8:30am and 8:00pm I was home for less than 90 minutes yesterday. I'm glad I'll be away from home less than 60 minutes today. Whew...

I am wearing brown pants and a multi-colored tunic style sweater. I changed into this outfit at about 5:30am because as I was attempting to burp Ian, he threw up all over me - doused the left sleeve and front of my turtleneck, etc. I didn't know his stomach could hold that much at once. I was encouraged by the fact that he had definitely consumed a LOT of milk from me but discouraged that I was now wearing it. I've been playing rough house with Nadia more lately (such as giving her airplane rides) in an effort to burn more calories. I also need to start doing some traditional aerobic exercises. I just don't know when to fit that into my daily routine. It won't be possible until Ian starts spending more time somewhere other than my arms. I really need to lose more weight though as I only have a few clothes that fit right now. I find it depressing to look into the mirror or to see a picture of myself right now. It would do me a world of good to lose more weight, but I want to be sure my weight loss doesn't interfere with my milk supply for Ian.

I am going to be home a lot more the rest of the week than I was Monday or especially Tuesday. Tomorrow we are hopefully going to Sears for Ian's first pictures. We've cancelled several appointments over the past 4 weeks. I might go to ladies Bible study tomorrow night. If I go, I'll bring Ian along. I don't have plans to go anywhere on Friday. 
I am hoping to get a lot more sleep tonight without Ian in my arms as last night I only got about 2 1/2 hours. The only time he was in the Nap Nanny last night was also when Paul was still up. That does me no good. I am also hoping that we get some really good pictures at Sears tomorrow.

I am hearing nothing aside from the fan of my laptop as I nurse Ian while Nadia is napping. If I wasn't so tired, I'd turn on the radio, but right now silence is very appealing.

Around the house there are many toys and books on the floor. I did clean some up this morning, but rarely are they all put away. This morning Nadia and I did 9 puzzles together (while I was holding Ian), and I did put 8 of them back in the puzzle rack where they belong. I try not to let the house get too messy, but it's definitely more of a challenge! There are also dishes that need to be put away in the kitchen. As it was, I didn't get to bed until after 9pm (an hour later than I have been going to bed lately), and I wasn't going to sacrifice sleep for doing the dishes. I need to strap on the baby wrap, put Ian in it, and clean up the kitchen this afternoon.

One of my favorite things is to see Ian's smiles. His first social smiles were on February 7, and then I didn't see any more for several days because the poor guy was rather sick. Thankfully I saw a few smiles again on the 14th (Grandma got to see some of them as well!) and at Bible study yesterday morning (my firiend, Cheri, saw them too!). He smiled some at home yesterday evening (which I thought was impressive given he had all those shots yesterday), but Paul didn't get to see any (even though he was in the same room). I also love to hear Nadia's laughter. I enjoyed tickling her some this morning. :-)

A few plans for the rest of the week... Aside from the trip to Sears tomorrow evening, the only other event on my calendar for the rest of the week is to go to a dessert social for married couples at my church on Saturday night. A neighbor will watch Nadia (she should be sleeping almost the whole time we'll be gone), and I haven't decided whether I'll bring Ian with us or leave him at home with the babysitter.

Here is picture I am sharing of Ian sleeping for a few minutes in his swing today. I hope he'll start spending even more time in here so that I can have more time to play with Nadia, do housework, do schoolwork (I have some papers I need to grade already), and exercise. The sleeper he is wearing in this photo is labeled size 0-3 months. It's the first he's worn of that size, but it's much smaller than the other sleepers labeled that size. It really seems to be the size of "newborn." I bought this sleeper 5 years ago for the child I thought we'd adopt. Both Nadia and Ian have worn it. :-)
 

Busy Day!

The roads were snow covered as I came home last night. I had to drive below the speed limit, but I got home safely. I pumped for a few minutes before class and wore pads for the first time since I've had Ian. I was so scared I'd have spots on my sweater although the only time I've leaked the last 2 months has been during the night. He had 4.5 ounces while I was gone, and I only pumped 2.5 ounces. I nursed him right before I left and nursed him right when I got home. I was gone for 5 hours - it was the longest I was separated from him since we came home from the hospital.

I thought Bible study might be cancelled this morning because of the snow, but it wasn't; so I went for the first time in three weeks. I didn't stay for the small group time after the DVD because if I had, Nadia wouldn't have gotten a nap. I kept Ian with me and put Nadia in the nursery. It didn't go as well as it did 3 weeks ago. I did find success with keeping her awake during the car ride home by handing her pretzels one by one. As soon as we got home I put her down as we had to leave at 1pm for Ian's doctor appointment. We didn't get home until 11:20 so that didn't allow for a very long nap although lately she's only been taking a 90 minute nap, which doesn't seem long enough since it's her only nap and she's sleeping about 10 hours at the most at night. I am open to suggestions regarding what to do to get her to sleep more!

We were at the doctor's office for about an hour total today. It was an exhausting hour as it's hard to entertain Nadia in an examination room especially while caring for a screaming 2 month old simultaneously. Ian wasn't a happy camper. He didn't like his temperature being taken, head circumference being measured, etc. and of course didn't like the shots. I find immunizations to be very hard emotionally. Thank goodness we get a break from those for a few years with Nadia. I look forward to getting to that stage with Ian as well. The doctor he saw last week told me to give Ian .6ml of Tylenol every 4 hours, but the doctor today said .4ml. I looked it up online this evening, and the doctor today gave the correct dosage considering Ian is only 7lbs. This office is just as inconsistent in weighing a baby as the last one was. The NICU is consistent - either weigh naked or weigh with a dry diaper and subtract the weight of the diaper. Last week the nurse weighed him with a (wet) diaper on and today he was weighed without a diaper. When I had weighed him this morning at home he weighed 7lb 5oz with a dry diaper. Without a diaper he weighed 7lb 3oz. A dry diaper doesn't weigh 2 ounces, but I know there will be little fluxuations in weight over the course of the day depending on how full his belly is at the moment, etc. Still since they weighed him differently last Tuesday compared to this Tuesday, it made it seem like he only gained 2.5 ounces in a week, and I know he gained a little more than that. The doctor said he should be gaining 1/2 to 1 ounce a day. With adding in the difference of the diaper, he figured that Ian had gained at least 1/2 ounce a day last week.

Ian's weight today was 7lb 3oz which is the .3% (less than 1 percentile). At her two month appointment, Nadia weighed 8lb 15 1/4 oz (and his birth weight was only 1 ounce less than hers). Ian was 21.5 inches today (7.5%) compared to Nadia's length of 22 inches at 2 months. His head circumference was 37cm (4.1%). All of Nadia's measurements at 2 months put her at less than the 10th percentile, but by her 4 month appointment she was at 21% for weight and 35% for length. I hope something similar happens with Ian! Of course if he had stayed in the womb 5 more weeks, I am sure these numbers would be very different.

After getting home from Ian's appointment, I tried to nurse him, but he was out of it. I only had 10 minutes anyhow. It was too hectic of a day. I spent 2.75 hours on the road today, and Ian screamed during a large portion of the time he was with me in the car. I know most babies sleep in their carseat, but neither of my children slept much in the car when they were very young. Since the last time I nursed him was around 12:50pm (compared to 2:30pm yesterday), I pumped at an earlier time in my office. I pumped 4.5 total ounces today but part of that was when I got home as he didn't nurse well At All when I tried to nurse him at 8pm. He was still pretty out of it from the shots. If I hadn't given him 1.5 ounces by bottle at the doctor's office, then I would have pumped enough as Paul gave him 4 ounces during the time period he watched the kids (3-8pm). Usually I don't give Ian a bottle, but I thought it would be too hard to try to nurse Ian at the doctor's office while also keeping track of Nadia. I have to say I really don't like pumping. It makes me concerned about whether my supply is adequate. I wasn't concerned about that during the 2 weeks that Ian gained 12 ounces, but now I'm stressed out about it again because of his slower weight gain (which is understandable given his illness considering Nadia lost 1 lb the first week she had the same bug). How much should I expect to get when pumping? I know that the baby is able to get more from you than you get from a pump (at least that's what I've read and been told by nurses). Both days the first time I pumped I got 2 ounces total (probably 2/3 of that from the left side and 1/3 from the right), and then both days I got less than that the 2nd time I pumped. I pumped three times today and only got 4 ounces total. I will say that each time I pumped 10 minutes at the most (sometimes less) and less than one hour passed in between my 1st and 2nd pumping sessions today. Well if Ian goes back to gaining 6 ounces a week then my confidence will increase and my stress will decrease.

I was only stressed out about nursing with Nadia during the first month. Things went smoothly with her months two through five and then got stressful again during the 6th month when she started weaning herself off of me. She was totally weaned (her choice, not mine) by the 7th month. Maybe my supply is fine or maybe the shield is causing a problem? I know it can interfere with your supply. I guess I need to try to wean him off of it in the near future if at all possible. He's fine once he's latched on (with the shield), but I have to say that even with the shield getting started takes WAY more time and energy than it did for Nadia when she was this age. I am still nervous that it will be much worse without the shield.

Back to School

I'm headed back to work this afternoon; I'll be teaching on Monday and Tuesday nights the rest of the semester. This means I need to start pumping today. My goal is to pump as much as he consumes by bottle so that my milk supply will stay at the level he needs it to be right now. Our neighbor will be watching Ian & Nadia from 3-6pm one day a week. Paul will take care of them from 6-8pm that day and 3-8pm the other day. This week Beth is watching them today, and Paul will come home early tomorrow. Paul's parents will probably watch them one Friday afternoon a month when I have faculty meeting. I'm not a big fan of cold weather, but even more than that I dread driving in the snow. We're supposed to get 2-4 inches tonight. I hope it doesn't start until after 8pm. A pleasant thought is that in 3 months we'll be going to Florida for a week with my parents, and in 11 months we'll be going on our first cruise (Western Carribean) with Paul's parents. Also it's just about one more month until spring!

I went to the eye doctor at 8am. I hadn't been in 3 years, My right eye was the same, and my left eye got a little worse. I still have quite a few contacts left. It's been a longer time since I got new glasses; the eye doctor recommended getting new glasses. I'll do so, but I will go elsewhere as Paul got his there last week, and they cost $496! That seems way over priced to me even though he gets some extra features that I don't since I usually wear contacts. Our insurance pays about $235 for glasses. I'll try to buy a pair that is close to that price.

Ian weighs 7lb 3.5oz. Hopefully he'll get back on track with gaining at least 6 ounces this week. He has his 2 month appointment tomorrow afternoon. I called this morning to ask if it should be postponed since he is still coughing up phlegm, and they said we should keep the appointment. If he has a fever tomorrow then they'll give us an additional appointment 2 weeks from now just to have the shots. I doubt he'll have a fever so I expect tomorrow will be his first big day of shots. So far he's just had the one they gave in the hospital. I am curious to see what his length measurement will be, even though I don't find them to be very accurate. I can tell he's really grown based on how his newborn size clothes fit now compared to when he was in the NICU.

Some of the words which Nadia says crack me up in terms of them not being words that are usually learned at this age. For example as I got my electric pump out so I wouldn't forget to take it to work this afternoon, Nadia said "pump." LOL! When I was taking her to the sink to wash her face today, she said "all clean." She also knows several names of VeggieTale characters - she says "Larry," "Bob," "Lunt" (for Mr. Lunt), "Junior" (Junior Asparagus) and "peas" (French peas). I didn't even know the name Mr. Lunt until the last couple of months, LOL. This morning she kept saying "Crunch" as she wanted to eat some Captain Crunch cereal (which her Daddy was having for breakfast). It's fun to hear her vocabulary expand each day! While I was nursing Ian at church yesterday I heard her say "thank you" many times. The room for nursing mothers is right next to the nursery. The nursery worker commented on how polite Nadia is. Of course this was music to my ears! You can see from the pictures that I took out one section of the Swiffer's pole to make it more Nadia's height. She loves to be Mommy's little helper!

Last night was a little better with Ian. He spent about 6.5 hours in the Nap Nanny between 8:15pm and 6:00am. He was only in our bed for about 1 hour. I've had him spend at least a little time in the Nap Nanny and a little time in his gym this morning. It really does me a world of good to have some time where I am not holding him - both in terms of caring for Nadia and also getting housework done. Of course I do love holding the little guy, but I just don't want to hold him 21 hours a day like I was for several weeks. Well we are making progress that is for sure.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yesterday morning I took Nadia to Walmart as a keyboard bench I had ordered online for her red piano was ready to be picked up. She wanted a burger from McD's, and since I hadn't agreed to her request on Tuesday, I decided to get her a happy meal. For the first time ever, she ate the entire burger (before we even got home!). Her appetite definitely returned yesterday. She fed herself oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast and then wanted a banana an hour later, and she ate the entire banana. Maybe she's in a growth spurt? As I went through the drive-thru at McD's, she asked for ice cream. I was impressed that she remembered that the last time Grandma & PopPop took her there that she had an ice cream cone. Paul's parents came to visit us this afternoon, and they brought her a burger from Burger King. This was bigger than the one at McD's, and she ate almost the whole thing (all except for a couple of bites of bun).

Nadia and Ian made out like bandits for Valentine's Day. Paul got each of them a card. Paul's parents got each of them a little teddy bear and a card. Nadia also got Elmo stickers and some marshmallows. Both kids also got some new clothes (size 2T for Nadia and 0-3 month for Ian). Their grandparents love them very much! Speaking of Elmo, I bought Nadia her first pack of underwear yesterday. I let her pick, and she chose the Elmo ones. She carried them around yesterday. A few times last week she pointed to the toilet and said "pee pee" and asked me to put her on it. She didn't actually go, but this was the first sign of interest. I am thinking of trying to potty train her during my spring break (in 3 weeks). I welcome any tips anyone has for potty training a little girl! She'll be 20 months old at that point.

Hopefully by then Ian will not need to be held quite so much so that I can devote more time and energy to Nadia. It's been awhile since he's taken a nap in the Nap Nanny during the day. Last night was a rough night. He was in my arms from 10:45pm until 5:50am when Nadia woke up. Prior to that he had slept 90 minutes in the Nap Nanny and 90 minutes in Paul's arms. I did get a 45 minute nap today while Paul's parents were here. It was my first nap in 8 days. It would be a lot easier to function on less sleep at night if I could at least get one nap a day. I'm taking Tylenol or Advil every morning as I have a splitting headache in the morning. I have considered trying tea and coffee again to see if I drinking some caffeine each morning would help.

Last night Paul and I thought we were going to Red Lobster, but when we got there we found out there was a 100 minute wait for a table for two. We went down the road a couple of blocks and found the situation was identical at Olive Garden. I had only brought my Darden gift cards (the company that owns both of those restaurants) so last night was definitely a splurge as we paid for dinner plus the babysitter. We picked where to go based on which one had the fewest cars in the parking lot. Our wait at Ruby Tuesday was only 20 minutes. Usually I only get an entree and Paul gets an entree plus a soda. We never get an appetizer unless it's free. Every once in a long while I'll splurge and get a dessert. Last night was the first time in the 13 years we've gone out to eat together that we bought an appetizer. It was nice to have an adult conversation with my hubby without needing to divide my attention. I will admit though that I still have a hard time understanding his work when he tries to explain the computer program he's working on for his research. I didn't date when I was in high school or college. Paul was my first boyfriend, and I was 25 years old when we started dating. Prior to that point I used to dread Valentine's Day. I am very happy that I now have a Valentine. :-)

At first I wasn't sure I was going to go to church this morning considering how little sleep I got last night and also the fact that Ian is still sick, but I did end up taking the kids to church. We were 5 minutes late for Sunday School, which I thought wasn't too bad considering I gave both kids a bath before dressing them in their Sunday clothes. Unfortunately, Abby has an ear infection so she wasn't at church. Nadia was very disappointed. I forgot to bring my flute to rehearse with my choir director who will be my pianist next Sunday night when I'm playing a flute solo. So I will be heading to church on Wednesday night at 6:30 to rehearse with her then. I haven't played my flute in over a year. It will be good to play it again. Nadia wanted to hold my flute. I let her hold my piccolo while I was playing the flute (selecting which song to play next Sunday). I picked "Heaven Came Down." There's another lady in the church who plays the flute. Maybe we'll play a duet sometime this summer. I have some nice flute duet music. I wonder what instruments Ian and Nadia might want to play some day? I plan to teach both of them to play the piano, but I'm hoping they'll also want to play in their school band. We shall see what sports or musical instruments they'll be interested in.

Date Night!

Aside from the time spent together during the hospital stay in December, the last date Paul and I had was October 4 (a concert while his parents watched Nadia) and our last dinner date was August 11 (Watson Inn  while the neighbor girl watched Nadia). Paul's parents did suggest that we go out to eat when they were up at our house once last month, but getting a nap was a higher priority to me at that point. Although I still really appreciate a nap, I also am looking forward to a couple of hours of time spent just with Paul this evening in celebration of Valentine's Day. The neighbors are babysitting while we head to Red Lobster. The last time we went to Red Lobster was October 17 (with Nadia), and it's Paul's favorite place to go. Thankfully they always have at least one chicken entree on the menu for me.

I got an email yesterday from a professor in Taiwan. He started his email by saying, "Your research paper (and then he quoted the title of my most recent article) is very impressive and profound. In order to make more people aware of your research achievements, we sincerely invite you to submit a new research paper to" the journal he is the editor of. This article certainly has generated more international feedback than any other article I've had published! It almost inspired me to write another article this year, but I am sure that won't be happening. Writing articles isn't my priority right now; Ian and Nadia are!

Ian still has a cough, but he's not coughing as often. He slept much better yesterday. Today is his 6th day of being sick, but I think he's on the mend. Last night I got 7.5 hours of sleep. WOOHOO! He slept 6 hours in the Nap Nanny between 8:15pm and 5:40am and also spent 90 minutes in Paul's arms (10:15-11:45); he spent NO time in our bed last night!! Nadia woke up when Ian started crying at 5:40am.

Two Months Old!

Can you believe that Ian is 2 months old already? Last night he had his longest stretch of sleeping in the Nap Nanny - almost four hours! WOOHOO! I woke up at 2am (two hours after I had put him down), but then I decided to wait for him to wake up, and he didn't wake up until 3:45! Unfortunately I couldn't get him back down after that so I brought him up with me at 4:45am. I got about 6 hours of sleep last night which is an improvement (8-10pm and 12-3:45am), but I'm still tired. Hopefully I'll be able to take a nap this afternoon when Nadia naps. I am looking forward to the day when I get up in the morning and my head isn't pounding. Still this represents a big improvement compared to 3 weeks ago when he wasn't sleeping anywhere but someone's arms. By the time he turns 3 months old, I hope he is sleeping in the Nap Nanny the whole night (in between feedings), that those late night feedings last no longer than an hour (including the time it takes to change his diaper and get him to go back to sleep), and that he's also sleeping in the Nap Nanny for his daytime naps.

One month ago he weighed 5lb 14.5oz. This morning he weighed 7lb 3oz. I'm hoping he'll be 9lb by the time he turns 3 months old. His weight gain has been slower this week (1/2 ounce a day instead of 1 ounce a day), but I guess that's to be expected considering he's sick and is regurgitating so much these days. In his 1 month pictures he was wearing preemie size clothing. Newborn size clothing now fits him very nicely. Maybe by the time he turns 3 months old, he can start wearing 0-3 month clothing. :-) Just to be safe, I scheduled his baby dedication for April 18 since the suit I want him to wear for that is size 0-3 month. I've been wanting to have his picture taken at Sears in the newborn size suit since he was 5 weeks old as that's how old Nadia was in her first pictures. However I was in the hospital that week, the next week didn't work for Paul due to his advisor being at school that week, last week Nadia was sick, and I had to cancel yesterday's appointment because Ian was sick. Hopefully we'll get his taken next week before he turns 10 weeks old.

He can nurse without the shield, but we still use it most of the time. Latching on even with the shield is still a huge struggle at times. One article I read said that you shouldn't try to wean them off until they're at least 12 weeks old and that many do so easily between 16-20 weeks old. Of course many other articles say that you must wean off of it ASAP. I'm hoping he'll be off of it by the time he's 3 months old, but the main thing is that he is nursing. I'd rather have him nurse with a shield than not nurse at all! I have not been pumping, but I'll have to pump at least on Mondays and Tuesdays starting next week since I'm going back to work.

Ian has a really tight grip. I noticed this the very first day he was born as I reached out toward him while lying in my hospital bed. One time in the NICU he squeezed my finger so much that it actually hurt, lol! He often squeezes my finger so tightly that his knuckles turn white. When he's sleeping on my chest, he's usually holding my shirt or necklace with his left hand. At the doctor's office on Tuesday the nurse found it rather humorous how he grabbed onto the sleeve of his long sleeved onesie so tightly while I was trying to take it off. Once I pried his fingers off the sleeve, he grabbed on to the bracelet on my wrist. It was a challenge to get that onesie off of him!

We three are very glad that Ian has joined our family. I couldn't say that about Nadia in the beginning, but she definitely shows love for the little guy these days. I can't wait to learn about his personality, see more of his beautiful smiles, and watch him learn and grow in the coming weeks and months.

First Fever

Ian had his first fever a lot sooner than Nadia did. She was 13 months old before she had her first fever (and ear infection). When we discovered his temp was over 99, I called the Pediatrician's office as instructed to do. They were closed because of the snow (we got 9 more inches yesterday although that was far less than many others got not that far from us). The doctor on call was the one who saw him on Tues. She said to give him .6ml of Tylenol every 4 hours and to call back if his temp went over 101. The poor guy is just plain miserable. If he's not nursing or sleeping, then he's most likely crying, which is not like him. Normally if he's held and has a full belly, he's content. He hasn't spit up as much lately although that was a problem this morning as he had so much phlegm he couldn't nurse. He just kept gagging. Thankfully he did cough up some phlegm and then was able to nurse. It's so hard to hear and see him coughing - such a little guy! I am going to weigh him today as I was already concerned that he didn't gain any weight on Sunday or Monday. I hope he gained some the last two days.

Last night he slept about 3 1/2 hours in the Nap Nanny and then from 2:30am onward he was with me. Nadia woke up a little before 5am. I haven't gotten any naps the past few days so I am rather tired. Paul napped yesterday and today. I am feeling a little jealous, but I guess that's the price you pay when you choose to nurse rather than bottle feed. Paul always makes sure I get at least 2 hours of sleep (without Ian) before he goes to bed. Sometimes this is easy for him as Ian is in the Nap Nanny, and other times he holds Ian the whole time. Sometimes he gives him a little bottle. Over the last 6 days, the most he's ever given Ian in a day by bottle was one ounce. Some days none (like yesterday), and other days (like Tuesday) 1/2 an ounce.

Here are a few random things Nadia has said which I have been meaning to mention. On Tuesday as we were driving home from the doctor's office, she started asking for a hamburger. I wondered what brought that on (since it was 3:15), and then she made an attempt at saying McDonald's (she said hamburger perfectly clearly). We had just passed a McD's. I guess that's what prompted her to request a hamburger. She's definitely in the environmental print stage of literacy development. She's gone from calling ice cream "ice" to something that sounds like "Imream." Instead of saying "okay" 5 million times a day - now we hear "yeah." I'm trying to get her to say "yes" instead of "yeah." Another word she says a lot is "oops," but for some reason she pronounces it "ups." A temporary quirk (just like for a while she called milk "book") would be that she calls her slide "that." She is using many more adjectives these days such as yesterday she said "Mommy's phone" in reference to my cell phone. My favorite is that she says "thank you" many, many times a day. It's so sweet! She even says it when she hands me something, lol. She also is getting good at saying "please" (pease) although she still needs some prompting for that one.

Big Sister

Nadia is definitely growing into her role of big sister. She hasn't been acting jealous lately, and she's been showing Ian affection in several ways. It was 100% her idea to give him kisses and to give him blankets last week. She likes to hold him and she often waves to him and says "hi" to him throughout the day. Yesterday on more the one occasion when he was crying, she tried to console him. When he was screaming in his car seat on the way to the doctor's office, she was leaning in his direction and saying very sweetly "Ian, Ian, Ian." Awwww it just melts my heart to see her being loving to her baby brother!!!

Yesterday was my first visit to the Pediatrician's office that as of February 1st is Nadia and Ian's PCP. They have 5 doctors. I was pleased that we were walking out of the building at 3:05 (considering our appointment was at 2:35). They didn't have any books or toys in the exam room (which they did at the clinic we used to go to) so I need to remember to bring something in there for Nadia. I thought the nurse and the doctor were both very nice. I was thrilled that they were both pleased with Ian's weight. I had weighed him at home and knew he hadn't gained any weight on Sunday or Monday as he was still weighing 7lb 1/2 oz. I wasn't shocked since so much milk was coming out of him after most feedings the last couple of days (along with a lot of mucus). I had my whole speech prepared about how he weighed 6lb 2.5oz on January 22nd so he had gained almost 1 lb in a little over 2 weeks, but it wasn't necessary. They were pleased he had gone from 5lb 8oz to 7lb .5oz. It was SUCH a relief to have medical professionals PLEASED with his weight gain. They were even more pleased when they found out that most of the gain had been very recent due to the placenta being removed 3 weeks ago. I was one happy Momma!

The Pediatrician (who is due to have a baby in May) commented that I was still in the postpartum period considering the placenta just came out 3 weeks ago. She was aware of the problems that would cause for nursing (she said the placenta produces progesterone which inhibits lactation). The Ob/Gyn I saw last week doubted that it had any influence on nursing. Huh?!? I wish I had been given an extension on my sick leave due to having a second surgery. I have plenty of sick leave available. I used personal days yesterday and Monday. Today through Friday were to be unpaid and then I'll start at the 50% pay rate starting on Monday when I go back to work. It hit me yesterday that I could use family sick leave since Ian (and Nadia) are sick. I put in my request last night which would make today through Friday paid leave. However today is a snow day at my university so I'll be retracting my leave request for today. We can only use 5 days a year for sick leave for a child so if I don't need to use a day today that's great. I would rather Ian be healthy, but at least my paid leave has been extended to a full four weeks due to his illness.

She said that if we had been there for his 2 month appt, she would have declared him healthy. He didn't demonstrate his cough or runny nose while she examined him. She said it's viral and likely he's getting antibodies for it through nursing since I also was exposed to Nadia's bug. She said if he develops any fever, starts to work too hard to breathe, stops nursing, or continues to stop gaining weight to call them back asap. She expects he'll bounce back quickly and will be healthy enough for his shots next Tuesday. Paul and I can tell just by looking at his eyes that he doesn't feel well, and we've continued to hear LOTS of coughing and crying.  She suggested putting saline down his nose and aspirating him prior to nursing him to cut down on how much he's spewing out afterwards, but the problem with that is he gets really upset and then has a hard time calming down to latch on and nurse. I hope he feels better soon. It's so hard to listen to such a little guy cough so much. He did better in the Nap Nanny last night although I was up with him from 2-3:30am and then from 4:30 onward. Still he spent about 7 hours total in the Nap Nanny which was better than the previous night. Nadia slept through the night again, and thankfully didn't get up until 6:40 this morning. Yesterday was the first day in 9 days that she ate three meals. Progress!

I took Nadia's picture upstairs this morning because a few weeks ago I bought another set of sheer curtains for her room (on eBay as they are no longer available at BRU). I think it looks SO much better with two sets of drapes. One just wasn't enough for the size of her window. I thought it was much more noticeable without the glider in front of the window.