Off the Charts

Silas had his 2 month doctor's appointment yesterday. Two months!

He was pronounced healthy and cute as a button.

What? Don't all doctors assess button cuteness?

Well, maybe he didn't pronounce him cute as a button. But you can't argue with the facts, now, can you?

The doctor did walk into the room chuckling, though. The nurse had measured and weighed Silas before he came in and the doc had charted his growth on the baby growth chart.

Silas is in the 95th percentile for height. And in no percentile for weight. Nope, none.

Because he is over the 100th. Because he is 16 pounds. Because he is HUGE. Because I am already packing up a lot of his 3-6 month clothes.

He is off the charts.

And his percentile on the button cuteness charts?

Sheesh, you don't even wanna know.

Adjustments

A new baby requires adjustments.

Back to the constant nursing, the sleep issues (HA!- like we ever outgrew those with #1), the never-ending attention.

2.5 year olds may be high maintenance but they can understand that you need a minute. Babies can't wait long, so they get more attention. Your time is most definitely not your own.

But that's just us, Sadie has had to do the most adjusting.

After all, she had been the only game in town for 2 years and 8 months.

And then brother arrived.

This what she thinks of brother most of the time:

Though she will profess her love for brother out of nowhere. Occasionally. But doesn't like him much.

But hey, he doesn't do anything fun yet. What's to like?

If you're almost 3 years old, of course. I like him just fine, thank you very much.

I can only hope that the like will arrive at some point. I'm sure it will. They'll adjust.

Then they'll team up against us, their loving parents. Conspire to pull the wool over our eyes. Have parties when we're gone. Agree with each other that we're hopeless eejits who have absolutely no idea about anything.

And that's gonna take some adjusting too.

I hope that they do find that camaraderie. I hope they see each other as a partner in crime and love and support each other.

Even if they do drive us crazy sometimes.

Lousy kids.

Rolls

Don't you just love fresh bread?

Squishy, doughy cheeks...

The round curve of a risen tummy...

A loaf waiting to go into the oven...

Soft, tasty rolls. My God, the rolls...

And those tiny, pudgy breadsticks. I could just eat them all up.

Look. Even he can't get enough.

You're never fully dressed without...

A smile. His first.

There's nothing better.

If I didn't have a colicky baby...

I would be writing some kick-ass funny stuff about the kids and what they've been doing.

But I do.

Have a colicky baby, I mean.

So I'm typing with one hand, while Silas fusses. And groans. And has boo-boos for the 1,253rd time since noon.

But I just had to post this pic. What a nutty nut I have for a daughter.

Sadie & Puddin'

First off, we had a nice, albeit short, vacation where we visited Multnomah Falls. It was fun. But most fun of all was the hotel.

As some of you may know I have a deep and abiding love for hotels. And not fine hotels, although I'm sure I would love them if I could afford them. I just love me a nice Shiloh Inn or Comfort
Inn or what have you. If there are waffles for breakfast and a pool I feel like I'm in heaven.

And it would appear that Sadie feels the same as us. She kept asking about when we were done doing whatever it was we were doing at the time- And then we'll go back to the hotel? Are we going to the hotel later? I lush (love) the hotel!

Of course, that could be directly related to the fact that in hotels all limits on TV are off. We get to the room and turn it on and watch TV the whole time. I have no idea why. We watch the morning news, Saturday cartoons, movies we've already seen 7 times, inappropriate television, the works.

Well, here we are at the falls. I've even included a picture that upon further inspection revealed exactly why my thighs don't even fit into my maternity clothes. My maternity clothes.

I have two unrelated but entertaining items to tell y'all. Wait, make that 4.

1. The doc agrees that Silas has reflux/colic but since the meds don't seem to help he does not need them. Which is great- I hated giving them to him and he hated them too.

Tell me, who decided to flavor liquid Zantac with mint?

And not just any mint. A strong, pink, Canada mint type of mint. The kind of mint that numbs your mouth.

Every time Silas got a dose he would scream and then froth at the mouth 30 minutes afterward, desperate to rid his mouth of the taste. Poor kid. So that's over, at least. Although that also means that I will have to continue sleeping at a 45 degree angle with Silas sleeping on top of me for the foreseeable future. Hey, it's that or no sleep at all for the last 3-4 hours of every night.

The good news is that even with all the spitting up Puddin' is gaining weight like a champ.

2. Oh, Puddin' is Silas' nickname. And the other 80% of the time we call him Brother. This is going to be one confused kid.

So Puddin' has gone from 8 lbs. 8 oz. to 13 lbs. 7 oz. as of today. In 5 weeks.

If you count the weight he lost right after birth he has gained a pound a week every week so far. His rolls are starting to appear and he has a big, round puppy tummy. Yum, he's so delicious.

3. Yesterday Sadie was playing with a pen and drawing. When we sat down to eat dinner and pulled Brother's chair over I noticed he has pen marks on his arm. So I asked Sadie if she had drawn on him, but she said no.

So we asked her how it had happened. Here's what she said:

Maybe when Brother was bigger he was playing with a horse and the horse scratched him and it left a line.

Then Dada said, "Did you give Brother a tattoo?"

And she grinned huge and said Yeah!

4. Sadie found a My Little Pony recently. You know, those little horses with the weird doll hair manes.

So yesterday it resurfaced and Sadie asks Dada:

S: Dada, what's this toy?

D: That's a My Little Pony.

Sadie looks very put-out by this and says:

S: No Dada, it's My little pony.

Lousy Dada, trying to steal her pony. It totally made me laugh.

Tidbits

So I don't have a picture to post today. I do have some interesting tidbits to report, though.

Tidbit 1: We are going on a fambly vacation. Admittedly a very small one, but we are going to see the Columbia River Gorge.

Tidbit 2: We shall be doing the above in our brand new (to us) minivan. A big ol' white minivan. I love it. I was trying to get Will to agree to a minivan before we ever even had kids- like 10 years ago. He said I was out of my mind. I finally won. Sometimes you just have to bide your time, eh? (or pop out 2 children)

Tidbit 3: My beautiful sleeper baby, Silas, has forsaken me. He has been up for much of the night fussing and whimpering. He wants to sleep, but he can't. Well, he can (FOR 30 MINUTE STRETCHES), but it involves me lying at a 45 degree angle while holding him tummy down on me while we sleep.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm happy to do it so he (and I) can rest. But I'd rather not, you know?

Tidbit 3A: I had put in an order with the Baby Store for an easy baby. I think that I have paid/am paying my dues for the fussy-high-need baby. But I'm thinking I didn't get my order. I know people who had easy first babies who have now gotten their EASY SECOND BABIES. So it appears that their babies were given my baby's sleep habits.

I was told it was GUARANTEED that you receive an easy 2nd. Fuckers.

Tibit 3B: I don't want y'all to take this as I am disappointed in my beautiful baby Silas, light of my life. He is actually happy in general (it seems) but it appears he has some sort of reflux. So we are trying Zantac. I was giving up dairy to see if it helped his tummy but it seemed pointless with the meds. But now I am thinking I will start again after vacay and after 2 weeks try to stop the Zantac and see if that helps. I hate to give him meds at one month old.

Tidbit 4: Sadie is pooping on the potty! And peeing. Aren't you thrilled to be privy to my toddler's bodily excretions? I am riding on the coattails of Granny, who, it would appear, is not too lazy to potty train. As we have been. So we are taking charge and sticking with it.

Tidbit 5: Sadie is starting preschool next week! Granted, it is a cooperative preschool that a few moms and I are starting, but, how cool is that?

I will keep you posted.

Tidbit 6: I promise to take pictures on vacation and inundate you with them upon our return.

Silascakes

Some almost 4 weeks old pictures of Silas:

Picture Day

Finally tried to take some pictures today while it was still light out and warm.

Here's my oldest monkey:

She's been wanting to hold her brother. She's also been wanting to punch her brother.

Par for the course, as I understand it.

Here's brother. I took a ton of pictures of him and finally got something like a smile:

He's still pretty pink and is still peeling. If I were one of those fancy photoshop folks I would have him looking all pearly and smooth. But I have no idea what I'm doing, so here he is in all his unshopped glory. Although I do like the old-timey look of this one that I messed with:

But most of the pictures came out like this:

Or like this:

What can I say? He wasn't feeling the whole picture experience. All he did was groan and creak throughout. He's a real creaky baby- he can let out a creak every few seconds for 30 minutes straight.

Anyway, we are all doing well. Silas is sleeping well and nursing great (he gained a pound in 1 week!). And, even though Sadie is having some trouble adjusting she is still interested in helping with Silas and holding him. And, like I said, punching him (or pretending to, really).

I think this picture sums it up nicely:

More Silas

Sadie got to go on a trip to the safari today. While we got to stay home and play with Silas. It is so nice to have those few hours to just sit and admire and snuggle with your new baby. You have all the time in the world with your first. Not so with your second. I also took a few pictures but due to a cool wind I didn't mess around with a naked or lightly clothed baby for too long.

We are all doing well. Sadie is adjusting (slowly) to her brother. Silas is nursing and sleeping like a champ. He is still fairly jaundiced but is definitely less so. I tried to get some of the yellow out of the pictures- the camera enhances his lovely yellow skin tone.
Tomorrow I bring him to be checked out and weighed at the midwifery baby clinic that they do once a week. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Here are some pictures from today- at ONE WEEK OLD!

Sadie and Silas

Sadie loves to hold her little brother. She plays with his fingers and holds his hands.

It's very sweet.

I love this sleeping face:

The Birth of Silas Casey

He's here! And here's the story of how he arrived.

My water broke on Friday at about 7pm and I had bloody show. We were surprised and excited. Woo! We were going to have baby any minute! Ha. Called the midwife and she agreed it sounded like it could have been my water and to hang in there and wait and see if it was.

Then came Saturday- and nothing was happening. Called the midwife and we discussed the possibility that it hadn’t been my water. So, although hoping it was, I tried to prepare myself for nothing happening. But the gushing continued and it became obvious eventually that it had been my water.

Sunday arrived. Still no real contractions, nothing happening. Now I was starting to get frustrated. What was going on here? Was I just peeing on myself ? Was I crazy? No, it had to be my water- no one could pee on themselves this much.

Was it terrible that my water was broken for so long? After talking to the midwives I felt OK with waiting longer. The midwives weren’t too concerned and had me come in for an NST (non-stress test) to make sure the baby was OK. He was.It was recommended that I might try castor oil to get things moving a bit if I wanted. I thought about it but decided to wait a bit and see if labor began as I’ve heard castor oil could be a bit harsh.

Monday. Went in to the midwives and had an NST and a fluid check. Everything looked fine. I was having the same non-painful tightening contractions I’d been having for days. They came and went. Sometimes 20-30 minutes apart- sometimes none for hours and hours.

When my midwife asked if I had tried the castor oil I said I was thinking about it. She told me to take 2oz. and then 2oz. a bit later if nothing was happening.

Now, castor oil works by stimulating the bowels (thereby sending you into the bathroom for a while) which then stimulates the uterus to maybe start contracting.

I thought about it and decided I was just desperate enough to give it a go. But I took only a small dose- a little less than 1oz. I figured it would maybe do something. That was at 3:10pm. Then I waited, but nothing happened. Nada. I decided not to take any more as it was sort of nausea-inducing. So I figured it was a bust.

But at around 7 I felt the weirdest sensation: a big “clunk,” a popping sensation in my abdomen. I said to Will That was weird and described what I felt. Then I had to go to the bathroom right away.

Sorry if y’all are feeling this is a bit graphic. But, hey, this is a post about birth. You’d better stop reading right now. I'm keepin' it clean, believe me.

So, in the bathroom, I thought I felt something like a contraction, except it was really strong. And I thought to myself that it had to be an intestinal cramp, not a labor contraction. Not this soon.

So I finish up and another contraction hits. Bad enough that all I can do is lie down on the bed and endure it. Then about 1 minute later it hits again- for 3 minutes. Then another 1 minute later. I’m thinking, Hm, these feel like transition contractions. Transition is when you’ve made it through to pushing. But there should be another stage! The one before transition. The one that actually lets you know you are in labor and gives you time to prepare.

At least that’s how Sadie’s labor worked.

I called Will into the room. I told him to call Patricia, the midwife on call. She heard me moaning over the phone and said to leave right away for the hospital.

Now, at this point my body had started pushing. I had nothing to do with it. This was weird to me because with Sadie I felt no urge to push at all, it was all work. I think Uh, oh, this baby is coming. Will hangs up with Patricia and this is our exchange:

Me: It feels like I'm pushing!

Will: Can you get in the car?

Me: Noooooooo. Ohhhhh, The baby’s coming!

Will: You can’t have the baby here!

Me: (Groaning)Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Will: What should I do?

Me: Call 911.

Will: WHAT SHOULD I DO?!?!

Me: CALL 911!

So Will calls 911 and I am trying hard not to push along with my body. Sadie’s crying and getting upset because she doesn’t even like when I stub a toe. So you can imagine her reaction to her crazy, moaning mother who was talking to her only 15 minutes or so ago.

So he’s trying to calm Sadie and talk to 911 and get ready to leave. I am having 2-3 minute contractions that are 1 minute apart. So I am a bit out of it.

The paramedics showed up and while they’re here they are timing the contractions. When they saw they really were 1 minute apart they picked me up in our quilt, using it like a hammock, and got me onto the gurney in the hall.

Then we got down the driveway and they put me into the ambulance. I see neighbors standing outside their house, watching me making a spectacle of myself. Oy. I hear the one paramedic telling another to haul ass and drive with the siren on the whole way without stopping. He calls the hospital and says we’ll be there in 10 minutes and we take off.

I could see just how much they did not want me to give birth in the ambulance. Not that I wanted to either. One of the paramedics checked to see if he was crowning and was overjoyed to find he wasn’t. It was actually kind of amusing. I tried really hard just to weather the contractions and tell my body not to push.

We got to the hospital and I was wheeled upstairs to my waiting midwife. They moved me onto the bed and I started pushing. I was hoping Will would make it there. He did. He and Sadie came rushing in, we weren’t planning for Sadie to see the birth as we thought it might be too much. But she was OK with it.

And now she has a great stuffed bear birth impersonation that she can do after watching me. It’s pretty funny.

Silas Casey was born at 8:19pm on 8-17-09. He was 8lbs. 8oz. and 21" long. My total labor from the very first contraction I felt until he was out was 1 hour and 9 minutes! And that includes an ambulance ride. I went from nothing to pushing in minutes. It was intense and crazy.

He was born with his hand up by his head, so I tore a bit. But much less than with Sadie. Silas and I spent the night in the hospital as going home 6 hours later would have been 2:30am and would have been a bit much. It was nice to have some time to snuggle just with him on our first night together too.

As for labor, I guess I just needed the mildest kick start and the castor oil was a huge kick in the butt. Wow.

Anyway, beautiful Silas is now here, nursing and snuffling and doing what babies do. Sadie is attempting to get used to having a brother, but is having a bit of a tough time today. We'll work it out.

By the way, Silas means Forest, or Of the Forest. Casey is after Will's gentle-hearted cousin who was taken from us far, far too soon by cancer.

Here are some pictures of the kids:

And now I never, ever have to be pregnant again!

Water Has Broken

And yet, here I sit.

It broke 48 hours ago but still no labor.

I will keep you updated as I wait...and wait...and wait...