Three Months!

Milo stop growing up so fast!

At three months, he is ahead of the baby curve and already teething (lucky us). The doctor looked at us skeptically when we told him we thought he was starting to get teeth at the 2 month appointment. But sure enough, little white gems are poking through the bottom gums. He's drooling, irritable, and has tummy issues, which supposedly can be a result from the excessive saliva. This is not helping the night time situation. He has slept in the bassinet for up to five hours at a time but more common he wakes up every three to four times. I'm chugging coffee to make up for the loss of sleep and half the time feel like a zombie! When we move and Milo gets his own room, we'll start sleep training and hopefully that'll help!



Milo started daycare a few weeks ago. It was probably much harder for me than him. I tried to hold it together the first day at drop-off but as soon as I got to the car started sobbing. Since getting back to work I've been slammed which is a good distraction. The teachers he's with are caring and live and breathe baby. "Baby school" is also a small, cozy environment with just a few other babies. He's fine with being handed off to his teacher and doesn't seem to have any abandonment issues! And they have baby hammocks!

Getting into a routine with two kids is an adjustment and a challenge. If I can make it to both places by 9am it's a miracle. Thankfully Collin is old enough to dress himself and is pretty independent. I don't know how parents do this with two in diapers... I forgot how much time it takes to get out the door with a baby. Just when you think your'e ready to go, they're starving or they have a blow-out.

We've also successfully cloth diapered for the last few months. It's much easier than I thought (although taking the pocket out of the diaper is gross), it's worth the money we're saving, not to mention no big plastic piles in the landfill.  The cloth diapers themselves are just like disposables except they're soft and cute with bright colors and they get stuffed with an insert. They also seem to leak less than disposables. Yes you do have to remember to wash them every other day but once you get into a routine it's not so bad.

Now onto his personality. Besides the sleeping situation, this is a pretty easygoing baby. Milo likes to hang out on his floor mat, rock his vibrating chair, or sleep in the swing. We have lots of conversation with coos and smiles. He tries to propel off our chests and I wonder if he'll be an early crawler (although no attempt at rolling over yet). He's starting to discover his hands, grabbing at toys and squeals. He's also gone from being in the 25% on the growth chart to over 75%. Our little chunk loves to eat and has delicious rolls of baby fat. He's nearly outgrown all the 0-3 month clothes. His bright blue eyes love to watch his brother and focus on faces and patterns.

Collin is also a sweet brother. Although he can be too rough and I wouldn't trust him alone with him for more than couple minutes, he loves to try to get Milo to smile. He comforts him when he cries and can even hold him in the bath (with mom and dad standing close by). The "look at me," give me attention thing definitely happens but overall he seems to be adjusting pretty well.

Two Months!

A month makes a huge difference in a newborn life. Milo is much more like a real person now and alert and awake to the world. He loves watching us talk and responds to the conversation with coos and big smiles. The swing is a sanity saver as his nap place where he'll sleep up to four hours in it during the day. He likes watching big brother and also is starting to take swipes at hanging toys. He's got pretty good neck control for such a little guy and acts like he's close to taking off when he's stuck on his tummy. 

Night time is still a struggle. He doesn't want to sleep anywhere but wedged next to us and wakes up every two to three hours (sometimes every hour on particularly fun evenings). At three months Collin slept nine hours straight through the night but I think we lucked out with having a good sleeper the first time around. Hopefully the trade-off is Milo turns out to be more mellow!

But besides the continued sleep deprivation, I really enjoy being home with Milo and know to hold onto these little baby moments that will soon drift away into memory. In less than a month he'll start at daycare for three days a week and I don't think that'll be easy for me. As much as I like work, I'm not looking forward to dropping my little baby off. On the plus side, we love the place he'll be going to (Collin is at the "big house" and Milo will be in the "little house.) It's a small homey atmosphere and he'll be with caregivers that seem really nurturing. I may also drop by to nurse him once during the day for a few weeks. 

Next week Milo has his 2 month doctor appointment where the shots commence! Not looking forward to seeing the look of shock on Milo's face when they stick him with a needle. It is, however better than getting a horrid disease so sorry Milo. 

I've been a parent for four years!

It's hard to believe that four years ago on April Fool's Day, I became a parent. And now four years later, I've got two of them...

Collin woke up to his favorite breakfast: smoothie, scrambled eggs and bacon. He repeated, "It's my birthday right?" several times during breakfast (and then during the day the question became a proclamation to us, to strangers, to his friends). After breakfast he opened up his gift from us which was a cool orange scooter. 

Mike took him outside and they lasted about 15 minutes before Collin got too cold and frustrated with steering. Hopefully he'll have more fun with it as the weather warms up. 

Then it was time to get ready for the pirate party where we would squeeze ten preschoolers (plus parents and grandparents) into our house. Oh and there were the pirates of course. I found them through a quick blurb on urbanmamas.com. The pirates were from the crew of Salacia's Favour and I admit I was a little nervous about their reliability when they asked for cash. 

The pirates were right on time and looked like they walked straight out of a set from Pirates of the Caribbean. The main contact (Captain Jonathan something...) maintained his pirate speak accent throughout the hour. The parents and kids were amazed to see actual pirates had taken over our house as they approached the steps.

Collin was in pirate ecstasy and not shy at all when it came to questioning the pirates. I think they were a little surprised by his knowledge. Collin: "Do you have a main mask and a Jolly Roger? Where's your ship?" (and my personal favorite) "Do you fight zombies?"The pirates vetted questions and stories from the eager preschoolers and did a great job answering all the questions and staying in character. 

After all the kids had arrived the pirates swore them all in as official members of the crew and taught them how to be pirates! They gave out foam swords and battles ensued! The pint sized crew also got ink tattoos and treasure maps to take home.

Alas the pirates had to go back to their pirate ship but it was most definitely a memorable experience. 

Then it was time for pizza and cupcakes! Collin blew out his candle (which because my flash died did not result in the mid-blow picture. Oh well. Then of course there were the gifts. Collin's friends gathered around to "help" him open them and it was basically like a bunch of vultures swarming in on their prey. We tried to compel Collin to slow down so we could track down who gave what but things spiraled out of control pretty fast and presents were ripped open one after another without any time to absorb. 

After that the sugared out kids left with a balloon and a treat bag and hopefully happy memories of pirates. 

And thanks to his friends, Collin now has more fun toys to play with and use his imagination. He hasn't asked to watch the ipad once in the last few days (a miracle).

Happy Birthday to my little pirate!

One Month!

And there we have it...the first four weeks. 

The big accomplishment for today was a smile. A real one where his eyes sparkled and he looked up at our faces as if to tell us, "hey I know who you are, not just the cow and the one who changes my poop, and I appreciate it!"  It happened around 2am while Mike and I were exhausted and I was up yet again feeding a hungry baby. But that toothless grin made me forget about precious sleep and take in the moment. At a month, Milo is also starting to be more alert and making some new sounds. The smile was definitely the biggest perk and today he's given us a few more of these rewards. 

You don't appreciate a full nights of sleep until you start to miss it. On the good nights we're up twice, but mostly it's a blur of ever few hours, attack of the voracious baby. The co-sleeper that attaches to our bed is also of no interest to Milo (if we're lucky he'll sleep in it for a couple hours) so he ends up laying between us or nestled next to me. I don't mind this so much except he maneuvers his way over to me and I basically can't move, resulting in shoulder and back aches. 

He still sleeps through much of the day with periods of looking around with wide eyes and open mouth. The nice part of this is we can take him out especially in the morning and lunchtime and he'll generally sleep while we eat (though dinner time seems to be an eating frenzy of every hour or so). I know this stage is temporary, but I'm not one of these people that romanticizes it. It's damn hard. A different kind of difficult than the preschool stage. Despite the overwhelming exhaustion, I  appreciate this small baby time more so than I did with Collin. We sort of know what we're doing this time. Breastfeeding is much easier. I have more time off and don't have to stress about work and Mike is home longer which makes everything much smoother.  The days Collin is in preschool, I lounge around, take naps and go on walks. The non-preschool days are definitely challenging, as of course Collin demands and needs attention and naps aren't easy to come by. 

Milo seems slightly more low-key than Collin but not any less needy. He's a huge snuggler which is sweet but can also get old when you want to shower or go to the bathroom. At first he seemed to like the swing but now he screams whenever he's in it. $150 wasted. He does like his floor mat and is starting to reach out at the toys that dangle. Watching big brother build things is also fascinating. The Ergo carrier is my savior and I've managed to do some light cleaning, cook and even eat with it on. I know it'll get easier when Milo sleeps more during the night and can start entertaining himself more. For now, I'm trying to enjoy all the hugs and kisses with a tiny person and know that it's most likely the last time I'll have a baby this small (of my own) to hold.

 

First Bath

Milo's umbilical cord fell off a couple days ago so we gave him his first real bath. Collin's first bath consisted of him screaming and the beginning of Milo's bath went pretty much the same way.

Once he took in the warm water he calmed down and seemed somewhat content.



 Babies are slippery creatures so bath time was pretty quick.

One week in a tiny person's life

Milo is beginning to open his eyes more and more--which appear to be lightening up to a pretty blue. I'm sure this means poor Mike will get even more winks and jokes. But Milo definitely has Mike's nose and when you look at newborn photos of Collin, they could practically be twins (minus all the hair Collin had).

Milo still appears to be pretty chill and like most newborns sleep takes up the majority of his day, between poop and eating. Diaper changes are torturous for him, as are sponge baths. He actually enjoys his swing unlike Collin and will sleep in there or just hang out looking around. He's also an eating machine which gets old as I feel like a cow. I know as he grows he'll become more efficient at nursing and positioning him will be easier. Most of the time night feeds go pretty smooth, though last night was tiring with Milo opening his mouth over and over like a tiny bird unable to grasp his food. Then there's the joys of early breastfeeding like waking up with your shirt soaked. While I enjoy watching his tiny chest go up and down and feeling his warm body in the bed, he seems to like to force me almost off the edge by squeezing next to me. Oh how I wish we had a king! We're going to look into a co-sleeper so I can get some respite and we'll have a place to put him for naps besides the crib in Collin's room (which Collin tried to claim by filling with his toys).

So far, we're both enjoying the newborn phase much more this tine around. We don't have all the anxieties that come from being new parents. It also makes you more grateful to have a sleepy, snuggly baby when you have a preschooler who goes from being sweet to a little monster. I know it's a hard transition for Collin and for the most part he is being a kind older brother but he's also acting out and is frankly is one of those kids that you have to hold every impulse back not to slap.

My recovery continues to go well though it's hard for me to completely "take it easy." I still get nap time in but can't help doing some household stuff though Mike is doing a pretty good job taking over the majority of chores (keeping in mind I'm a bit of a clean freak and he is...not.)  We're especially grateful to the meals we've gotten from friends and family and we also have a few dinners that we froze as well as numerous take out options nearby. Though I haven't minded cooking a little bit here and there.

After giving birth, your emotions are also all over the place, just as with pregnancy I've definitely been a ball of hormones. Mike is pretty tolerant thankfully and I know when I'm able to start being active again it'll help. Five more weeks! In the meantime I'm grateful for the time we have together to bond with the baby and that I don't have to worry about work and can just focus on the new little human we created.

Hanadas Plus One

On 2/10/12 we welcomed Milo Averon Hanada. 6 lbs, 11 oz, 19 3/4 inches of perfection.

Delivery was MUCH smoother and improved than nearly four years ago.  Quick review: that involved three hours of pushing, immense pain, epidural wearing off and then not working, finding out I had to have a c-section, baby's heart rate slowing, and finally being put under general anesthesia because the epidural wouldn't work. I woke up in a drug-induced fog to meet baby Collin and had the double recovery time of old fashioned labor plus a c-section, which involved hard core pain management.

Flash forward: We came to the hospital bright and early Friday morning with our bags packed, camera ready, and car seat installed. It was like going to the airport. Collin was at my parents ready to spend four nights with them and meet his baby brother.

I was nervous. Not only was I about to have a baby I was volunteering for major surgery. We came to the maternity unit and were welcomed to our spacious room, which could've been a hotel suite minus the medical supplies and hi-lo bed. Sure the colors and decor are an 80's peach and the TV doesn't have HBO but I'm not going to complain. There was a pull-out coach for Mike to sleep in (albeit one that had metal springs poking out but it's better than the floor). After we signed all the paperwork and I was dressed in my fashionable gown and got an IV and we were off to surgery. I met the anesthesiologist who seemed kind and personable and was pretty confident I wouldn't need a general this time.

Mike waited outside while the most painful part of the procedure involved me getting a spinal (huge needle in my back). Thankfully the pain didn't last long. It's a weird sensation being in an operating room. The acoustical version of "Such Great Heights" played in the background while I tried not to panic and blinked away tears. Pretty soon though the medicine started to do its thing and I felt myself getting warm and numb. This time when the doctor asked me if I felt a sharp thing poking me, the answer was no.

"The reason the general didn't work last time is because you have pretty severe scoliosis," the anesthesiologist told me, to my and my OB's surprise. I had a mental image of those teenagers in back braces but apparently as an adult it's not too serious, just screws with stuff like anesthesia and causes shoulder and back pain.

I started feeling calmer (thank you drugs) when Mike came in fully dressed in scrubs and stood by my side. It was a pretty weird sensation but I felt no pain, just a tugging feeling as the doctor reached for Milo. I could hear her say, "You've got one tight pelvis." And I was glad I didn't end up trying a V-bac because I'm almost certain, I would've had a repeat of last time.

Then I heard that sweet newborn cry and watched as Milo was cleaned off and wrapped in a blanket for me to hold. He was about a pound smaller than Collin was when he was born and just seemed so tiny. He had a bit of soft blond hair and fuzzy skin with tiny fingernails already long enough to scratch his face. His eyes stayed closed most of the time but when they did open were that newborn blue grey so it's hard to tell if he'll have blue eyes like me and his brother or brown eyes like Mike.



The rest of the day Mike and I bonded with baby. I felt the aftermath of the drugs and constantly had the spins like a long night of drinking. I couldn't keep much down and was loaded with pain killers. Later in the afternoon my parents, brother and Collin came to meet Milo. Collin was very excited to meet his baby brother. He had a huge smile and wanted to hold "his baby."











Breast feeding, though still not easy started out much less stressful this time. Milo almost immediately latched and just like his brother is a very good eater. Milo also met his papa, and Collin and his grandparents came one more day to visit. Unfortunately Nona (Mary Ann) was sick with an infection and a high fever and obviously couldn't meet Baby Milo until she's feeling better.

The nurses we had were great and attentive and for hospital food, Providence isn't too bad. It's hard to get much sleep in a hospital with being woken up to take my medication and vital signs. Milo slept for pretty long stretches and overall just seemed to cry when he was gassy and needed a diaper change or hungry. Already he seemed more chill and less emotional than his brother, who would kick his feet away from you and scream at full volume, even as a newborn.

After three nights we left the hospital. I got around much better but still depend on Oxycodeine and ibuprofin. So far, feeding continues to go smooth and often! Suck that fat away, baby. Apparently when babies get that first taste of milk they want to eat. A lot. it's like baby crack.

It's been nice to rest at home and with Collin in preschool for three days and Mike at home for two months it makes things that much easier.

Milo wakes up two or three times at night to eat (or to change his diaper) and sleeps with us so although we're still tired, it's not too bad. Especially when we can take family naps while Collin is in school. Unfortunately Collin seems to be giving up nap time at home and still likes to wake between 6 and 7 am (and 7 am is lucky).

They say colic doesn't set in until two or three weeks so I'm really hoping our easygoing baby sticks around. And I have to say, we deserve it after Collin. Don't get me wrong, I love the kid but he is not easy in the least. He's jubilant, confident, gregarious and sweet but also a wild, thrill-seeking, emotional roller coaster. Mellow would be a great complement to Collin's personality (and sanity saving for us).

Collin is a sweet big brother. Though I think it'll be a while (like until Milo can defend himself) that we'd leave them alone in the same room together. He loves to give Milo hugs but I don't doubt he wouldn't try to lift Collin by himself like Hurley our cat. He's also been a great helper. At the same time the whininess and not listening has increased. I'm trying be as tolerant as possible. It's especially hard when I'm nursing and Collin tries to get in my face or purposely will do something naughty. But I recognize this is life-changing for him! We've been his whole world and now he has to share it with another little person.

I can see why people say you enjoy a newborn the second time around more. Starting out, labor was a whole less traumatic, breastfeeding wasn't a month of hell, and we're more confident this time around. It's still scary and strange to be responsible for a tiny little human though. It'll be exciting to watch him grow and change and see how his personality evolves.