Two month checkup today. 13lb 14.5 oz (80%) 24.5 in (95%) Healthly, just a big boy!
Did not like his shots, cranky all afternoon/evening. So hard to see my normally mellow baby all distressed.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Swinging
Ell loves his swing. Which is good, because his is such a needy snuggly baby that without his swing I'd never get anything done.
Friday, September 21, 2012
A day away
Today Ell and Mike (and a cooler of frozen milk) went to Roseburg. Without me. I've spent the day apart before, but was always only 15 minutes away. :(
Ell spent the day being held and pampered until he (and grandpa) were worn out:
Ell spent the day being held and pampered until he (and grandpa) were worn out:
(Of course he's wearing an OSU Beaver sleeper!)
I used the time sans baby to visit the dentist, get a manicure and go slightly more blonde.
Now it's time for movie night with my big guy while we wait for the other half of our family to make it back.
Monday, September 17, 2012
On waking up
I am not a morning person. The 12am-3am-6am feedings are killing me. (That whole 5+ hours asleep thing only lasted a few days).
Lawrence is not a morning person "1 more minute" is an everyday request at wake-up time.
Ellsworth is undecided. Most likely because he doesn't really understand what 'morning' is. He does, however, appear to struggle with 'waking up'. I'll try to get a video in here, but his stretching with eyes shut routine is priceless. He is successful in stretching himself awake only about half the time, the rest he sighs and falls back to deep sleep.
Lawrence is not a morning person "1 more minute" is an everyday request at wake-up time.
Ellsworth is undecided. Most likely because he doesn't really understand what 'morning' is. He does, however, appear to struggle with 'waking up'. I'll try to get a video in here, but his stretching with eyes shut routine is priceless. He is successful in stretching himself awake only about half the time, the rest he sighs and falls back to deep sleep.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Run Big L, Run!
Lawrence is trying out cross country this fall. Yesterday was his start of season time trial. I honestly have no idea what his time was. He was at least a minute behind the person in front of him, and they brought up the end. Mike, Ell and I were there cheering him on and he was struggling. 3000 meters (1.8 miles) for a kid who spent the last 2 months playing video games and dodging learning how to change diapers is a LONG way in the end of summer heat.
He finished. Even when the coach gave him the option of skipping the last lap he said "no, I can make it."
I was worried he would want to quit. I thought it might have been disheartened to be lapped so early, or to know that your team is waiting for you to finish. Instead, he apologized to us that he was so slow. His teammates came out to run with him to the end.
We celebrated hugely! Out to dinner and new shoes, lots and lots of congratulations.
He finished. Even when the coach gave him the option of skipping the last lap he said "no, I can make it."
I was worried he would want to quit. I thought it might have been disheartened to be lapped so early, or to know that your team is waiting for you to finish. Instead, he apologized to us that he was so slow. His teammates came out to run with him to the end.
We celebrated hugely! Out to dinner and new shoes, lots and lots of congratulations.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Six weeks already!
Ellsworth is 6 weeks old and the time has flown by. As proof that they only stay little "for a minute" -
At birth: 9lb 3oz, 21 inches
Today: 13 lb, 24 inches
We knew he was growing like crazy since we already had to move out of newborn diapers (at 2 weeks), adjust the car seat straps bigger (at 4 weeks and again soon!) and pack up the "newborn" size of clothing (5 weeks). He is doing great and started sleeping 'through the night' (meaning 5+ hours at a stretch) Friday night.
He love, love, loves to take baths with mom and dad, just floating and smiling (yes smiling! another first this past week) in the warm water. He hate, hate, HATES cold water, as evidenced by his death screams when dad put his toes in Panther Creek, which was, to be fair, breathtakingly cold.
He loves his swing and dislikes tummy time. He is a pacifier kid (sigh) although he has almost found his thumbs. He is a fairly needy baby - just wants to be held as much as possible, preferably by someone who is lactating. Obviously he likes to eat, and has the cute little baby chubbiness to prove it. Overall, though, he is very mellow. When he wants something he "talks" for while before he moves on to crying, and even then starts out quiet and gradually gets louder.
Life has become somewhat blurry. We eat, take baths, change diapers and sleep. Chores are done sporadically. Occasionally I watch some TV or do some schoolwork. Lawrence started middle school this past week and I have no idea how we will handle it once everyone is back working/going to school. I can't believe this is Mike's last week at home and that I am more than halfway done with my maternity leave. Sigh.
At birth: 9lb 3oz, 21 inches
Today: 13 lb, 24 inches
We knew he was growing like crazy since we already had to move out of newborn diapers (at 2 weeks), adjust the car seat straps bigger (at 4 weeks and again soon!) and pack up the "newborn" size of clothing (5 weeks). He is doing great and started sleeping 'through the night' (meaning 5+ hours at a stretch) Friday night.
He love, love, loves to take baths with mom and dad, just floating and smiling (yes smiling! another first this past week) in the warm water. He hate, hate, HATES cold water, as evidenced by his death screams when dad put his toes in Panther Creek, which was, to be fair, breathtakingly cold.
He loves his swing and dislikes tummy time. He is a pacifier kid (sigh) although he has almost found his thumbs. He is a fairly needy baby - just wants to be held as much as possible, preferably by someone who is lactating. Obviously he likes to eat, and has the cute little baby chubbiness to prove it. Overall, though, he is very mellow. When he wants something he "talks" for while before he moves on to crying, and even then starts out quiet and gradually gets louder.
Life has become somewhat blurry. We eat, take baths, change diapers and sleep. Chores are done sporadically. Occasionally I watch some TV or do some schoolwork. Lawrence started middle school this past week and I have no idea how we will handle it once everyone is back working/going to school. I can't believe this is Mike's last week at home and that I am more than halfway done with my maternity leave. Sigh.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Shopping with boys
I love having boys. Clothes are easier for boys.
This is what school shopping looked like for us this year:
We went into one store, walked up to the jeans wall and I pointed out the "slim straight" section. Lawrence picked a color. I grabbed his size. On our way to the fitting room he grabbed an angry birds shirt from the graphic tee display. Two minutes after entering the fitting room, he came out and announced that they looked great and that he was ready to go home.
We ordered everything off his school supplies list from amazon.
School shopping done in approximately 30 minutes.
This is what school shopping looked like for us this year:
We went into one store, walked up to the jeans wall and I pointed out the "slim straight" section. Lawrence picked a color. I grabbed his size. On our way to the fitting room he grabbed an angry birds shirt from the graphic tee display. Two minutes after entering the fitting room, he came out and announced that they looked great and that he was ready to go home.
We ordered everything off his school supplies list from amazon.
School shopping done in approximately 30 minutes.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
What have you done in the past month?
Ell has:
-been born, stared down jaundice and successfully healed and gained weight
-gone to his first movie - 'Pirates, Band of Misfits' at the Northern Lights Theatre Pub (www.northernlightstheatrepub.com)
-held his first gun, a gift from grandpa Dan
-displayed impressive diaper sound effects
-taken a bath with mom and a shower with dad
-spent time with the Harper clan, grandma Waters and friends
-read a book at the library
-experienced, and been confused by, the magic of telephone - where on earth was grandmas voice coming from?
-been babysat by big brother, and slept through the whole thing
He has not, however, realized that 4am is not actually the appropriate hour to begin your day. Oh well, he;s still the cutest little garden gnome around.
-been born, stared down jaundice and successfully healed and gained weight
-gone to his first movie - 'Pirates, Band of Misfits' at the Northern Lights Theatre Pub (www.northernlightstheatrepub.com)
-held his first gun, a gift from grandpa Dan
-displayed impressive diaper sound effects
-taken a bath with mom and a shower with dad
-spent time with the Harper clan, grandma Waters and friends
-read a book at the library
-experienced, and been confused by, the magic of telephone - where on earth was grandmas voice coming from?
-been babysat by big brother, and slept through the whole thing
He has not, however, realized that 4am is not actually the appropriate hour to begin your day. Oh well, he;s still the cutest little garden gnome around.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Little Ell Photobomb
Here is the link:
Pics of the first few weeks...
This is only a sample, Mike really loves his boy and carries the camera!
Pics of the first few weeks...
This is only a sample, Mike really loves his boy and carries the camera!
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Our hospital story
Having a scheduled cesarean birth is a somewhat surreal experience. It was like going out to dinner, but instead of ordering up a nice entree, I requested a baby.
We had a quiet morning, just killing time until we could head into the hospital. We stopped and bought some fancy coffee drinks for the boys on the way in. I was already hungry and nervous but couldn't have anything.
At the hospital they asked me if I wanted/needed a wheelchair, which I thought was funny. I walked up to the maternity floor and Mike got my mom and Lawrence settled into a waiting room before coming back to hang out with me. There was lots of paperwork and lots of waiting, although we were ready to go in about an hour.
Mike must have asked me "are you excited" about a hundred times. It became a bit of a joke after awhile. Neither of us knew what to talk about really. He admitted later that he was pretty nervous, but I didn't know that at the time, he seemed really calm.
Finally, they wheeled me away to the operating room and I started to feel even more nervous. The anesthesiologist came and gave me a spinal block and my legs instantly got too heavy to move and I was really wishing Mike was with me. The doctors and nurses got everything prepared and finally Mike was led into the room all dressed in scrubs. He held my hand and we tried to talk, but it was mostly just more "are you excited" and some nervous laughter. Then there was the cry of our little guy and they lowered the screen a little so Mike could see. I didn't get to see anything then and was disappointed. Mike told me later that the first sight of our baby was actually a little scary, all grey and covered in goo, so maybe I didn't miss anything important. He also admitted that he was a bit teary, but he didn't seem shaken or overwhelmed at all, just happy and proud of his boy.
They kept the baby in the OR while I got stitched up and Mike was able to be at the warmer and watch him get cleaned up and even trim the umbilical cord. He brought the baby over to see me and then carried him to the recovery room next to me as I was wheeled down the hallway.
I was overwhelmed by how quick and 'easy' the whole process was. I had originally said absolutely NO visitors the first day in the hospital because I remembered being exhausted and generally feeling (and looking) like crap with Lawrence, but this was so much better I actually let my mom and Lawrence come in for a few minutes right away.
Then Mike and I had a lovely few hours to ourselves before visiting hours started.
The hospital stay was fine, a little boring actually. The private room was lovely, the food was delicious (not kidding!) and the only bad part was how often someone (nurse, CNA, pediatrician, intern, OB, etc) came into the room to poke and prod at me, Ellsworth, or both. Nursing went well right from the beginning which was such a relief. I was ready to go home right away but had to stay because my blood pressure was staying really high. Finally after 4 nights in the hospital we got our walking papers and came home where big brother and grandma were waiting for us.
We had a quiet morning, just killing time until we could head into the hospital. We stopped and bought some fancy coffee drinks for the boys on the way in. I was already hungry and nervous but couldn't have anything.
At the hospital they asked me if I wanted/needed a wheelchair, which I thought was funny. I walked up to the maternity floor and Mike got my mom and Lawrence settled into a waiting room before coming back to hang out with me. There was lots of paperwork and lots of waiting, although we were ready to go in about an hour.
Mike must have asked me "are you excited" about a hundred times. It became a bit of a joke after awhile. Neither of us knew what to talk about really. He admitted later that he was pretty nervous, but I didn't know that at the time, he seemed really calm.
Finally, they wheeled me away to the operating room and I started to feel even more nervous. The anesthesiologist came and gave me a spinal block and my legs instantly got too heavy to move and I was really wishing Mike was with me. The doctors and nurses got everything prepared and finally Mike was led into the room all dressed in scrubs. He held my hand and we tried to talk, but it was mostly just more "are you excited" and some nervous laughter. Then there was the cry of our little guy and they lowered the screen a little so Mike could see. I didn't get to see anything then and was disappointed. Mike told me later that the first sight of our baby was actually a little scary, all grey and covered in goo, so maybe I didn't miss anything important. He also admitted that he was a bit teary, but he didn't seem shaken or overwhelmed at all, just happy and proud of his boy.
They kept the baby in the OR while I got stitched up and Mike was able to be at the warmer and watch him get cleaned up and even trim the umbilical cord. He brought the baby over to see me and then carried him to the recovery room next to me as I was wheeled down the hallway.
I was overwhelmed by how quick and 'easy' the whole process was. I had originally said absolutely NO visitors the first day in the hospital because I remembered being exhausted and generally feeling (and looking) like crap with Lawrence, but this was so much better I actually let my mom and Lawrence come in for a few minutes right away.
Then Mike and I had a lovely few hours to ourselves before visiting hours started.
The hospital stay was fine, a little boring actually. The private room was lovely, the food was delicious (not kidding!) and the only bad part was how often someone (nurse, CNA, pediatrician, intern, OB, etc) came into the room to poke and prod at me, Ellsworth, or both. Nursing went well right from the beginning which was such a relief. I was ready to go home right away but had to stay because my blood pressure was staying really high. Finally after 4 nights in the hospital we got our walking papers and came home where big brother and grandma were waiting for us.
Today is the day!
In a few short hours we will be headed to the hospital to bring Ellsworth out to meet us! Right now the house is quiet and we are finishing up some chores (that could wait) to pass the time until we need to get into the car.
Everyone is so excited for his arrival, its been both a welcome and anxiety filled couple of weeks with the well-wishes, questions, and plans to visit. I am hoping for at least a few hours today in the hospital to soak up our little one without anyone around except Mike to have share him with.
I am nervous about the surgery, but I know it will be better than last time, and I'm honestly not sure I could go another day with these puffy ankles waiting for him!
Everyone is so excited for his arrival, its been both a welcome and anxiety filled couple of weeks with the well-wishes, questions, and plans to visit. I am hoping for at least a few hours today in the hospital to soak up our little one without anyone around except Mike to have share him with.
I am nervous about the surgery, but I know it will be better than last time, and I'm honestly not sure I could go another day with these puffy ankles waiting for him!
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Countdown
One month! 4 weeks from today we are scheduled to welcome Ellsworth Loren Harper (Little Ell) to the world. He is on track and healthy, wiggling around and keeping me up at night already. Lawrence (Big L) is excited, but that may only be because I hinted that Big Brothers might get a gift to help pass the time at the hospital...I don't think he really has a good vision of what a baby in the house will mean. Then again, I don't think I have a very good vision of it, but I'm so looking forward to the next month flying by and our family getting started with our next great adventure.
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